Main Task: Editing

Whilst putting all our footage onto the macs, we found out that we had not filmed some particular shots that were crucial. Therefore, we have decided once we have edited all the footage we have already done, we will go and film the shots which come right at the end of our two minute opening.

Main Task: Research into music/sound

From my research into the deconstruction of psychological thrillers such as Silence of the Lambs, Memento and Black Swan I discovered that they open with an establishing shot with non-diegetic classical music over the top. For our psychological thriller we want to use classical music when the women is sorting out her child's room. As the women has OCD she will be making sure objects, trinkets and clothes are in an exact order, in some shots her measuring with a ruler to make sure things are precisely in place. By using classical music it will great a tension for the audience as they are expecting what the women will do next. 

Research Song 1: Lullaby composed by Johannes Brahms

Johannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist who was born in Hamburg. I felt his song 'Lullaby' would create a sombre mood over the audience and would connect well with our plotline of her child who she killed as she has schizophrenia. Due to her having schizophrenia she has two personailities; her Good Side and her Bad side who has killed her child, however her Good Side has convinced her that she hasn't. Lullaby songs are 'stereotypically' sung to by mothers to their children so they can sleep at night, so by using this song it would have connections again of the women's relationship with her child as she sorts out her child's room.

Research Song 2: Clair de Lune composed by Claude Debussy

      Claude-Achille Debussy was a French composer. I felt this     song would a good choice to use for our main task as it's quite light with a bit of a bouncy tune. 'Clair de Lune' would work well as it would create, again a sombre mood, with the audience and also would help them understand better what may have happened to this women, and how she is coping.

Research Song 3: Any Other Name composed by Thomas Newman

Thomas Montgomery Newman is an American composer and conductor who is one of the more respected and recognized composers for modern film. I feel that 'Any Other Name' is the best song out of the three which I have researched. When I listen to this song, I can imagine the audience connecting more emotionally to the women, as in their eyes they could identify her OCD disorder which she has due to her losing a child. This song would create a better sombre mood than the other two songs.

Main Task: Our Media Pitch

We did a pitch to present our ideas to the class and the teacher. We created a powerpoint to show a colloboration of images, text, initial and developed ideas.

This is the link to our pitch :

 http://www.slideboom.com/presentations/533820/Media-Pitch---Kate%27s-Silence?pk=c3ef-9964-0cbf-a8f2-4493-1c5d-83af-0d40

Main Task: Dates for Filming

We began filming for our opening two minutes on the 4th of february. Since then, we've been doing small bits of filming up until the 16th of february. We are now ready to move on to the editing and adding titles process.  When editing, if we find out that we need to do extra filming we have enough time to get that done as well as everything else that needs doing.

Main Task: Continuing research into Production Company

Hammer Film Productions

Hammer Film Productions is a film production company which is based in the United Kingdom. The Film Company was founded in 1934, when the company was best known for a series of Gothic "Hammer Horror" films from the mid-1950s to 1970s.


The Company has Produced;
- Science Fiction
- Thrillers
- Film Noir
- and in later years, Television Series. 


Due to Hammer Productions success of films, they have partnerships with United States studios, Warner Brothers.


Apart from running alongside production of the Gothic Horror FIlms, Hammer Film Productions also made a series of "Mini-Hitchcocks", which were very low-budget suspense thrillers also known as Psychological Thrillers. And they are also in association with Talisman Films, who have produced The Women in Black, showing February 10th this year.


Theses' Psychological Thrillers included;

Taste The Fear in 1961













Hysteria in 1965















Fear In The Night 1972




And they are also in association with Talisman Films, who have produced The Women in Black, showing February 10th this year.

Main Task: Research into a Production Company

From my research into Film Companies I have decided that Hammer Film Productions would be suitable for our Opening 2 Minutes.

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Main Task: Research into props

Our 2 minute opening is focusing on a mother and her child. In order to communicate the child across to the audience, without them actually being present in the two minute opening we are going to use toys and kids stuff to symbolise this whole idea of 'family.'

From our storyboard one of our shots is that of the mother reaching into her pocket and putting her keys back.

Below are some images of props which we are thinking about using for our film.

Main Task: Continuing actor research

As our Actor is a Mother in this Opening 2 Minutes, her outfit has to be very telling, particularly as her age isn't. Therefore we've done some research into outfits and below are some images of our ideas.

  

We were thinking of definitely wearing jeans and pairing them with a baggy jumper. For make-up we were thinking dark circles under the eyes, possibly make up, we do want her to look a bit dull and really tired.

Main Task: Research into Actors

Due to the fact that we needed an Actor who was old enough to be a mother, we were having difficulties in finding anybody. However, after looking through our Initial Ideas and Storyboard we saw that we never actually see the Actor until her face right at the end, we see shots of her hands and legs and arms.

Therefore, one of us (Hazel) will be playing the Actor, we are going to look at youtube tutorials on how to make someone look older. We understand that we are talking a risk, and if it doesn’t work our film will not succeed. However, we are certain that it will work. 

Main Task: Synopsis of entire film

In order to fully understand our Opening 2 Minutes, and make syre the idea is established in our minds. We decided to make a full synopsis of a film.

The whole film is based on a schizophrenic woman who has a child. Social services is continually checking up on her and making sure she is declared fit. This woman whose name is Kate, has two split personalities. One of which is good and pleasant. The other is bad and conniving. One day, Kate wakes up and finds her child not breathing, she panics and doesn’t know what to do and starts crying, she eventually goes and take the body to the lake and covers it in blankets and puts in the lake.. Our two minute opening begins with Kate walking back from the lake and coming in to the house and sorting out her child’s things. Our two minute opening then ends when she hears a knock at the door.

The film then continues to reveal two police men and social services  at the door, who take her in to custody because her neighbor said she saw Kate putting her child covered in blankets in the boot. The film then continues to Kate being in custody and having flash backs to her bad episodes and what she did to the child and believes her son is better of away from her. The policemen all believe that she killed her child, however at the end, she reveals what happened and the coroners examine the body and say it died of natural causes.

Main Task: Storyboard

Here is our storyboard for our main task, in it, we have included how long each shot should approximately take.