Props - Plates

I made a number of breakaway plates for when we had to smash them - I poured plaster of paris into the bottom of a large bucket and left it to dry for a couple of hours. One of the plates broke in half whilst I tried to extract it from the bucket, but otherwise the plates turned out nicely, good and smooth and perfect for smashing!

Properties - Diary

To create the diary I bought a notebook from Ryman see below, that I thought well fitted the personality of our protagonist


I then discarded the pencil and cut the elastic for it off. I took a black pen and filled in several double page spreads as if they were diary entries Eve had written. I filled in more than we would need to shoot to make sure if the mum flicked through the book you would not see any blank pages.

EB

Filming Day 3 - Shooting Schedule

Here is the shooting schedule for our third and hopefully final full day of filming, after this we will only have a single scene remaining which we plan to film after school next week.

SHOOT DAY 3
Scn: 6	EXT DAY	HERNE HILL TRAIN STATION NOAH attempts to check if EVE is okay	PG CNT: 3/8	E, N
Scn: 7	EXT DAY	HERNE HILL TRAIN STATION NOAH attempts to check if EVE is okay	PG CNT: 3/8	E, N
Scn: 5	EXT DAY	BUS STOP DULWICH EVE texting boyfriend at bus stop	PG CNT: 3/8	E
Scn: 12	EXT DAY	DULWICH PARK EVE yells at pigeon, passerby stops to help	PG CNT: 3/8	E, P

EB

Filming Day 2 - Shooting Schedule

See below the shooting schedule I have made for the second day of filming

SHOOT DAY 2
Scn: 2	INT DAY	KITCHEN Breakfast - EVE shouts and runs off	PG CNT: 3/8	E, S, M
Scn: 8	INT DAY	BEDROOM EVE reveals inner thoughts to MUM - “Not in control”	PG CNT: 1/8	E, M
Scn: 9a	INT DAY	BEDROOM Out of control montage - Mirror, crying, writing	PG CNT: 1/8	E
Scn: 16	INT DAY	BEDROOM Death scene - MUM reading diary, EVE carrying knife	PG CNT: 1/8	E, M
Scn: 15	INT DAY	HALLWAY, KITCHEN, STAIRS EVE prepares for the kill	PG CNT: 1/8	E
Scn: 13	INT DAY	BEDROOM MUM walks into bedroom and reads diary	PG CNT: 1/8	M
Scn: 10	INT DAY	DOORWAY FATHER comes in through doorway	PG CNT: 1/8	F
Scn: 11	INT DAY	KITCHEN FATHER and MUM talk about EVE - plate smash!	PG CNT: 3/8	M, F

EB

Animatic

Here is the animatic I have created for my film to give me a good idea what the final product will look like. I got trial music from incompetence.com that matched my plan for the final music of the film and seeing it alongside the visuals helped to confirm that this is the sort of music I would like.

EB

Script - Third Draft

Here is the third draft of our script, we changed the first scene to add in dialogue between EVE and NOAH hinting at the sinister to come with her seemingly innocently asking hi if he'll always love her.
We have also added an extra line of dialogue into scene two as we realised we have too many shots in our shot list to fit in with only the two previous lines. To make time for this we shortened some of the later dialogue in the film in scene 11, we hope now apart from very minor changes that are script is complete.



EB and GH

Shot List - Second Draft

Below can be seen the second draft of our shot list, since our last draft we have updated it to match the third draft of our script, adding in several shots into the park montage to give more sinister undertones. Throughout the rest of the film several shots have been slightly edited, removed and added to perfect the shot list.



EB and GH

Location and Props Breakdown

I have used Celtx again here, this time using their 'Breakdown' feature to create an easy to read and understand breakdown of each scene, telling me what actors will be needed, at what locations and what props should be brought when filming each scene.



EB

Storyboard

Here is the storyboard for my film, I made use of some of my artistic friends to draw some of the key shots of the film with me drawing the rest, shot by shot to make filming far easier as I will have a very clear picture of what it is I want to achieve from each shot, ensuring our actors will not be left waiting while I work out the shots on set. Drawing every shot was an extremely lengthy process but it was a vital element of my planning.




EB

Music Test - First Act

Here you can see the musical test composition for our first act - This is made of three tracks, the bass piano, piano melody, and flute. Originally this was just the two piano lines but the piece sounded empty inside. I added the flute to give it some character without detracting from what I'd already made.

GH

Music Test - Third Act

GH

Sound and Music

For the first act in our trailer we have decided that we want light and piano-heavy (perhaps some strings also) music to create a relaxed atmosphere. It should have a summer feel, as well as being as minimalistic as possible.

In the second act we want the music to be more dramatic, have more instruments, and be much less relaxed.

The third act has three parts:

• The first part of the third act will be similar to the second act, but yet more dramatic and very rapid. The music should build to a climax.
• The second part of the third act will be much slower, but still share motifs with the first two to link it all together. We will add some violin (or similar) at this point to increase the creepiness.
• The third part of the third act will consist purely of the girl singing, with perhaps one instrument (A xylophone or glockenspiel if I can find one) to build the tension further

Throughout the piece we want to have a few motifs that knit the whole trailer together.

In terms of sound, we want a range of diegetic sound to build verisimilitude throughout the piece, as well as some dialogue-as-voiceover to act as a sound bridge between scenes. We will do this because it is a convention of the trailer form.

GH

Shot List - First Draft

Here is the first draft of our shot list - we used Celtx's script tagging feature to start and then filled in more shots as and when we needed them. This is of course a working document and the copy below is not final.



EB and GH

Script - Second Draft

Here is the second draft of our script - we have increased the size of the script, adding in both where our indents will go and replacing the 'Placeholder Scene' seen in the last version with an actual scene. We have also made other minor changes. We have also changed the placeholder name of the film to 'We all fall down', after the song 'ring around a rosie' which may or may not feature in the finished product. 



EB and GH

Location Scouting - House



 Here you can see the house we have chosen to use to shoot all of our inside scenes. We chose it because of the very cinematic feel we felt it had, especially at the table that we plan to shoot scene 2 at, it is next to large French Windows which will create the bright open shot we want for the first act of our film. In contrast to this, the hallway that can be seen on the right, to be used in scene 10, will work well for the Dutch angle silhouette shot of the father. The bedroom at the top above will be used in scene  8, 13 and 16, it looks like a very stereotypical teenage girl's room which is the look we are going for and we will be able to play around with a combination of natural lighting from the window and the bedside lamp see above. 

EB

Titles Test 2

For our titles I ventured onto dafont.com whereupon I encountered this font, Mocking Bird.

We like this font because of the handwritten feel and we thought it would be simple to create this in after effects for our inter titles.

I used after effects' Stroke effect to draw a mask in the shape of the text and reveal it, following the shape of the original text. I have taught my partner how to do this too (she did the 'Emma' one) and we both really like the effect it creates.

Script - First Draft

Here is the first draft of our script. We use Celtx, an online script writing and production management software, to make our script look like the real thing. We will also be using this to create our shot list.



EB and GH

Ident Testing

This is my initial attempt at an ident. It consists of a grid made of an Advanced Lightning effect, with the Lightning Type set to Bouncey, Forking to 100%, Minimum Fork Distance to 10 pixels, Complexity to 2, and Glow to 0. I then added some red glow over the top and a gold title to give it a cool effect.

After talking to my partner, we decided to make the ident redder as we thought it would fit more firmly into the thriller genre. I did this by decreasing the green and blue Curves adjustment

I was dissatisfied with the result, as I had initially liked the more golden flash. I added this back in and my partner and I agree that this looks much nicer. I also made the background more red so as to distinguish it from a title.

Here is my first attempt at what our titles might look like - the 'dust' is made of 50,000 particles per frame and this took a very long time to render. It will be a consideration going forward.

We like the font for the ident as we think it fits with both film and genre but the text for the titles is too generic and doesn't really match the thriller genre.

GH

Casting Notes

EVE - For the main protagonist of my tailer I have chosen her to be played by a friend of mine Ruby Ballantyne who is currently a drama scholar at her school and is applying to study drama at university. She also fits the age and character demographic that I was looking for.



NOAH - For the second main actor I chose another friend Robert Jones, who me and my partner agreed would loo good on screen and fit well alongside Ruby. Also the actors got along well which would make it easier for them to act their on screen relationship realistically.



THE PARENTS AND SISTER - For Eve's mother and father are initial plan was to ask two friends of my partner who were professional actors however they had prior commitments in a West End show so instead we asked a friend Olivia Bremner's parents, Tessa and Geoff Bremner as they looked similar enough that they could be Ruby's parents but also we decided to have Olivia play Ruby's sister to make her seem even further out of place in the on screen family, as the rest of her on screen family is a real family with her the only odd one out.



EB

Certification

The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) presents the following guidance for film classification:

Discrimination

"The work as a whole must not endorse discriminatory language or behaviour, although there may be racist, homophobic or other discriminatory themes and language." 

Our film definitely conforms to the guidelines here - women are not explicitly discriminated against, Eve's mental health problem is not explicitly stated and no other minorities are obviously present.

Drugs

"Drug taking may be shown but the work as a whole must not promote or encourage drug misuse (for example, through instructional detail). The misuse of easily accessible and highly dangerous substances (for example, aerosols or solvents) is unlikely to be acceptable."

Drugs are not used in our film.

Imitable behaviour

"Dangerous behaviour (for example, hanging, suicide and self-harming) should not dwell on detail which could be copied. Whether the depiction of easily accessible weapons is acceptable will depend on factors such as realism, context and setting."

The closest thing to imitable behaviour in our film would be when Eve decides to commit suicide at the end of the film - however, since we only see her decide to kill herself, it is not shown in any detail so does not really fall under imitable behaviour. Easily accessible weapons are portrayed (for example the knife scene, just before killing her mother) but are looked upon generally disapprovingly. The knife is not glamorised so falls within this bracket.

Language

"There may be strong language. Very strong language may be permitted, depending on the manner in which it is used, who is using the language, its frequency within the work as a whole and any special contextual justification."

Some strong language may be used, but very strong language will not be applied. Strong sexual expletives will not be used at any stage.

Nudity

"There are no constraints on nudity in a non-sexual or educational context. There may be nudity in a sexual context but usually without strong detail."

There will be little to no nudity in our film - it is unnecessary in our case. Any nudity will not be in a sexual context.

Sex

"Sexual activity may be portrayed, but usually without strong detail. There may be strong verbal references to sexual behaviour, but the strongest references are unlikely to be acceptable unless justified by context. Works whose primary purpose is sexual arousal or stimulation are unlikely to be acceptable."

No sexual activity is portrayed. No verbal references to sexual activity are made. Our primary purpose is not to arouse or stimulate.

Threat

"There may be strong threat and horror. A sustained focus on sadistic or sexual threat is unlikely to be acceptable."

There will be strong threat in our film but it is not sexual or sadistic - the threat is Eve, but we don't know why she is threatening people in this way.

Violence

"Violence may be strong but should not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury. The strongest gory images are unlikely to be acceptable. Strong sadistic violence is also unlikely to be acceptable. There may be detailed verbal references to sexual violence but the depiction of sexual violence must be discreet and justified by context."

Our film will contain strong violence, for example when she kills her mother, but we will be careful to portray it in such a way that little gore is present.  Sexual violence is not present.

In light of all these, we have chosen to give our film a 15 – Suitable only for 15 years and over rating.

GH