Location

Our preliminary task location was set in Heathside School because it was close to all of us and accessible in the evening, and seeing as this was mostly practice we decided we didn't want to make the location far away or only available at certain times of the day because this would slow down our filming process.

Some of the rooms have black-out blinds in so we used these to decrease the lighting facing Lana as we wanted to keep her in shadows. The room we used was spacious and therefore made it easy for us to choose the perfect spot and also create an eery atmosphere.

These were our actresses in their uniform - Helen Hancock as the victim and Lana Astin as the killer

We used VapoRub to help Helen;s eyes swell up so that they were red and watery in order to create a more realistic crying scene

This is the classroom we filmed our preliminary task in. We left it exactly how it was left from the school day to ensure it seemed really realistic

Preliminary Task

BRIEF:
Continuity task involving filming and editing a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom she/he exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. This task should demonstrate match on action, in time with the dialogue and action. There should be a shot reverse shot (of two characters) and 180 degree rule. Timing should be a maximum of 2 minutes and a minimum of 30 seconds.

FILMING:
I am glad we have the chance to do a preliminary task because it is an opportunity for me to get used to filming and handling a camera, lighting, working with other people and actors and trying out different camera shots and angles.

Me and my group took the time during one of our lessons to discuss which days we plan to film, who we can use in our film, where we should film it and what time.
We chose to use Helen Hancock and Lana Astin as our actresses, and film it in our school because it was accessible to us and close. We decided to meet up at around 5 o'clock because at this time of year it will be dark.

On our first day of filming we only needed Helen (the victim) as she was alone in the shot we needed to film. Before we started we made a mixture of ketchup and red food dye to use as blood. I feel this worked effectively because we made it the right colour and thickness. If the blood was unrealistic this would have effected the audiences opinion of our film because we needed it to be as realistic as possible. Once this was completed asked Helen to sprawl herself along the stairs in a way that made her look like she had been thrown on them. We took quite a lot of time getting this right but only because we wanted to make it seem more realistic when viewed. When we are all happy, we began to film. It was a good job Helen was so patient and cooperative, because although she didn't need to act during this part of filming, we needed her to keep as still as possible as we filmed all our different shots. We captured high angle shots, low angle shots, all in different directions. We used a variety of close ups, medium close ups, long shots and many more. I felt we needed to use this scene to show off our knowledge of the various different camera angles.

As you can see from the picture in the middle, we used props such as bracelets and nail varnish to symbolise the girls age (16). We also put her father's name as 'Daddy' so that when her phone rings you can see that she is still quite young and innocent. The use of the phone is so that the audience gets the chance to see her fingers twitch as she attempts to reach for her phone, but can only feel helpless as she clearly cannot move.

After this it was my idea to do a hand held shot which is meant to look like the "killer's" point of view as he walks away and leaves the innocent girl there. We end the shot as he walks towards the door before he opens it.

This then leads on to our second day of filming. This time we needed both our actresses; Helen and Lana. We dressed Lana up in tracksuit bottoms and a long hooded coat, because our aim was for her to look like a stereotypical killer; a man. Later on in the scene it becomes apparent that "he" is actually a she when Lana speaks her dialogue. We set this scene in a classroom because the situation contrasts with the typical use of a classroom - for help and learning, which is what a victim would have been doing hours earlier. I feel that this creates tension and adds to the suspense. As Lana enters the room after a long shot of her walking away from the camera down the corridor, we found the opportunity to use a 180° shot as she walked across the room, but after viewing our finished task we noticed that is wasn't a full 180° angle unfortunately.

We then filmed our shot reverse shot. The lighting for this scene was perfect because Helen was in the light and Lana was in the dark, which worked because we did not want the audience to find out the "killer" was a girl until she spoke. I found that the lighting really enhanced our film at this point because a shadow was formed over Lana's face in contrast to Helen, which made her look sinister and dominant.

Costumes: School uniform, black hoodie and tracksuit bottoms

Props: Fake blood, bracelets, chairs, rope, mobile

Actors/Actresses: Helen Hancock and Lana Astin

N:\As Level\Media\Preliminary Task Ppt

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Initial Ideas

Chat Room:

Story - A young girl makes an MSN account so she can pretend she's someone she's not. We see the man on the other end but not his face. This way there will be some form out mystery to entice our viewers. He has a wall of pictures behind his computer of the real girl (as he knows what she really looks like, not what her profile picture shows). These photos are ones he has taken of her at home, at school and when she's been out. He has an obsession and therefore follows her around. At the end we see him outside her window then she hears a knock on her door, the girl gets scared and decides to call the man for reassurance. She then hears his phone ringing from behind the door!
Location - his house and her house
Actors - man (approx. 50) and girl (13-16)
Additons - include a newspaper/flyer of a "Missing Girl" ad.

Field:

Story - About 8 teenagers are round a bonfire drinking etc. Music is playing, one person filming everyone and he goes into nearby woods to pee. Takes the video camera with him as a source of light. He goes the wrong way out, drops camera and we see him running from something then this "thing" picks up camera and we see him walk towards the bonfire and all the people.
Location - field and woods
Actors - Aged 16-18; casually dressed