Filming day 6

Today we almost finished filming, we filmed a scene in the performing arts block in our school. We had to get instruments from the music department so that we could use it for filming. We managed to shoot what was needed, so all in all todays filming was a success.

Horror magazine: First draft

Final film poster

Filming day 5

Second location

We chose location because we thought it went well with the scene we were filming. One reason for this is because it sets the mood.

Target audience profile

Filming day 4

This filming day was a disaster, firstly, we did not have a microphone to use so sound wasn't clear. A maintenance guy kept interrupting us whilst we were in the middle of filming. Finally, we weren't properly focused, so we couldn't get any good footage.

We plan to film on tuesday, we've asked the music department if we would be able to use a drum kit and they agreed.

Poster: draft 1

The band mask

Genre, Ideology, Iconography and Censorship

The BBFC (British Board of Fillm Classification) was founded in 1912. The BBFC is an organisation that is funded by the film industry in the united kingdom.

Looking at their website, I now know that our film have to be a '15' instead of an '18', the main reason for this being that nobody in our group is 18. I know that the use of swear words must be limited. Also sexual references must be minimal along with the use of gore.

Poster flat plan

Filming: Murder scene 3

Our third murder scene took place in the music department at our school. We asked permission for us to be able to film in a music practise room. During this scene one of our actors is killed using a guitar lead. We had to make sure that during this process no neck injuries had occured but it had to be made to look realistic. All in all, filming was successful and we managed to get all the footage we needed.

Organizing our filming

Filming begins at 15:15 on the 23rd November, this is where we as a group have planned to shoot another one of our murder scenes. We have booked my sixth forms assembly hall and the benefits of filming after school hours is there will be a smaller chance of being intrupted and will generate a deeper focus.

Filming day 2 - photos

Filming day 2

Filming day 2 was a re-shoot of our character running away from the killer. In the first shoot our camera was not in focus, therefore our footage was not usable. On this day we learnt from our mistakes from the first day of shooting. Filming took just under an hour.

Filming day 1: pictures

Filming day 1

Today we filmed for the first time. This was an experience to learn from, first of all, quite a few of our shots were not in focus. A few main shots that we needed were out of focus and the camera work was bad. Next time, we're going to make sure that our camera is in focus and go back and look at our footage to make sure that we have what we want. Another thing that didn't go well was our teamwork, altogether I don't think we worked sufficiently as a team. However, we did manage to get quite a few good shots of our second murder scene.

Filming: Scenes in the void

Today we went into the void at our school, we managed to film a chase scene. We used a variety of shots within the horror genre so that our audience can identify this. A shot we filmed is a point of view shot, through this shot, the audience can sense the pear and panic through the panting and rush that the character is in. We also have a low angle shot just as the character is about to be killed. This idea came from the film 'Rec'.

Planning for production: Production company

Using earlier research on production companies,  As a team we brainstormed ideas for two of our very own production companies, similar to "New Line Cinema" and "Twisted Pictures",  this is what came up with:

FilmWorks International: Our main film company, the name was created by a fellow group member, the reasons that the title was chosen was because it was very simplistic and expressed the role of the company well.

Supreme Scream: This is our sub-genre production company, inspiration was derived from companies such as "Twisted Pictures" and "Raw Nerve".  This was chosen because it was deemed very clear what genre Supreme Scream represented. 

After selecting the ideal production company titles, I got onto photoshop, where I began constructing logos, this process took less than and hour and required minor tweets here and there, this was the finished product: 

Screen play: Final draft

Screen play: Second draft

Here are our groups improvements on our screen play.

Screen play: First draft

Using a programe called Celtx, me and my group began construction our screenplay.

How to use the equipment

Before we began shooting, we were taught how to use the best equipment for filming. We were taught how to use the mic and at what angles we should hold it. We were also taught how to focus a camera if we weren't using auto focus. We were also taught why we should use a clapper board. I think the things we were taught today will be very useful information for us when it comes to filming.

Production schedule

Before our group began shooting our shots, we made a schedule of when we plan on shooting.

Now that we have sorted out all of our planning, we will begin filming.

Finding a location

Today we went into the void at our school, as a group, we decided that this would be a brilliant place to film a murder scene.

Advice about make up effects

On thursday Christine Blundell and Cliff Wallace came to our school to give us advice about using make up in our production. They gave us advice on cheap effective ways to use make up. One example of this was a way of making fake blood by using golden syrup and food colouring. Our group discussed with Christine Blundell what make up would be best to use, since our trailer won't be very gory, we decided that there won't be need for to much make up.

Christine Blundell did the make up for the famous film Sherlock Holmes, she showed us the techniques that she uses whilst doing make up for films. Here is an example (INSERT IMAGE OF ANGELIA'S SCAR).

Planning for production: Final title chosen

After much debate and consideration my group and I all decided upon that using the font "impact". along with the title and tagline would be best suited because firstly it was inspired by the worldwide record label DEF JAM.

Planning for production: Typography

One of the most important aspects of film production is choosing the correct font, All the great horror films have their own identifiable fonts. The typography of a movie does really shape the target audience, if the font is too rounded it can be misunderstood in genre, also the name of the film is essential, My group and I choose the title "DEATH JAM" we all felt that this was perfect due to its a shortened summary of the plot outline.

Choosing the right font.

I logged onto www.dafont.com and chose 8 unique fonts (seen on the left), I then download and imported these into photoshop where I began to manipulate and adjust the fonts to a suitable format.

I then began to select my top 2 on the grounds how much did the font relate to the main themes and genre of the project. Using my knowledge of textual analysis I then began to weigh both fonts on how well they would suit the role of the main typography. Here are my results:

The font I have decided to headline as the typography of this project is "Cold night for Alligators"

Planning for production: Character profiles

Vocalist: Sekander Omary, 17, comes from a rather dysfunctional upbringing. He lives with his single mother and 6 year old sister in a small council estate located in the centre of Camden. Sekander’s mother suffers from depression which has caused her to give up on supporting her family. Unfortunately, Sekander has been forced to look after his little sister and rather play the role of a brother he has been the father figure of the home. Sekander’s father was a full time thief and a drug dealer for several years, he used the money to mainly benefit himself and the small proportion of his earnings that was given to his family barely covered the cost of food. Additionally, violently abused Sekander and his mother when he arrived home. He was later arrested and charged with a 15 year sentence. The impact of his home life has caused Sekander to have low aspirations and drop out of 6th form. Despite this, he has still continued his love for music and is apart of Dead Math, a heavy metal screamo band. He plays the role of lead vocalist and like the other band members desires to make it into the industry so he can separate form his family. Sekander uses music to forget his worries and responsibilities. 

Sekander is approximately 5ft 8, small framed, has a sharp chiseled facial structure and coffee complexion. 

Eye Color: Large dark brown eyes

Hair: Dark brown hair, shoulder length with a fringe 

Clothing Style: Black skinny jeans, typical t shirt with various heavy metal music artists printed on the front, Converse or Vans. 

Speaking Style: Usually the quiet one in a crowd until he is up on stage. He only speaks when spoken to and tends to say as little as possible. 

Best Qualities: Confident and talented vocalist,  Listens and observes situations, cares for those closet to him.

Worst Qualities: He is assertive, short tempered, and a perfectionist.

Weaknesses: Has a fear of not succeeding and turing into his abusive criminal father. He is hurt by the mentioning of his mother or family circumstances.

Bass Guitarist: Christopher Barnes or Chris, 18, has also dropped out of 6th form. His constant maladaptive behaviour, poor attendance, disgraceful grades, and drug/ alcoholic addiction has caused him to follow life down an awful path. He has not been affected by a dysfunctional up bring and instead lives with his parents and younger brother in a comfortable 3 bedroom house located in the quiet area of Hampstead. His parents have undoubtably given up after the many failed disciplinary attempts and instead ignore Chris and allow him to fend and support himself. His parents are disgraced and despite living in the same house they are apart most of the time. While Chris’ parents are working during the day he wakes up at noon to an already rolled joint lying beside his bed. As you can imagine, his room is covered in un washed clothes, filled ash trays and empty sprit bottles. When his parents and younger brother arrive Chris is already out either at a friends house or party and doesn’t return till after midnight. The money he is spending to fend for his hobbies comes from his savings account that was updated constantly from when he was born and until he runs out of money he will continuously repeat these daily events until he is either jailed or dead. 

Chris is approximately 5ft 11, Big boned healthy frame, has a rounded facial frame and light complexion.

Eye Color: Dark brown eyes

Hair: Shaven brown hair with a side fringe 

Clothing Style: Preppy Urban look. Typically Camel colored trousers/ straight cut jeans, woolen jumper/ Shirt partnered with vans and a baseball hat. 

Speaking Style: Confident and loud, not afraid to stand up for himself.  

Best Qualities: Confident, Comedic, Talented bass player.

Worst Qualities: Aggressive, Suspicious, Sneaky

Weaknesses: Believes he has none

Drummer: Simon Jones, 18, Studies English, Music and Dram at 6th Form with ambitions to become a well established musician and music technician. He currently lives alone and has done since the age of 16 due to his mother not supporting him and his ambitions, she always wanted him to achieve and academic profession and fails to see the possibilities of success within the creative field. He has ignored his mothers disapproval and has successfully remained in school whilst juggling with a part time job in retail. Additionally, he is passively attracted to Natalie and whilst putting on a confident front he is too afraid to admit his true feelings. Simon strongly believes that he will achieve his dream despite all the odds. 

Simon is approximately 6ft, slender phasic, smooth angular facial structure, medium complexion. 

Eye Color: Medium brown eyes

Hair: Long circular cut with a full length fringe

Clothing Style: Baggy fitted denim shorts and t shirts, trainers and a baseball hat.

Speaking Style: Confident, always has something to say, sarcastic wit, and a fondness for pushing things too far.

Best Qualities: Confident, Comedic, Talented bass player.
Worst Qualities: Irritating, isn’t as unemotionally untouchable as he makes out, compulsive liar 

Weaknesses: Failure to succeed and thrives for his mothers support 

Electric Guitarist 1: Ryan Howley, 17, studies Media, Art, and Biology at 6th form. Ryan lives a rather normal life with his parents, Younger brother and occasionally sees his older sister who is currently studying Psychology at University. Ryan has ambitions to work within the media industry yet loves the trill of playing sports and updating his knowledge on the current sport industry, therefore he is unsure of his future and what he wants to achieve, hopes of attending university are weakening.  Outside of school hours he works in a local restaurant 2 nights a week, is a guitarist in a band called Dead Math and is a team player for the school football team. He has also been dating Ella since for 2 years. 

Ryan is roughly 6ft 3inches, slim bodily frame, small yet rounded facial shape, light complexion. 

Eye Color: Small Medium brown eyes

Hair: Typical short length hair with a side fringe 

Clothing Style: Preppy style, straight cut jeans, formal shirts, trainers, clean cut image. 

Speaking Style: Cheerful at times yet can become easily quiet and distant 

Best Qualities: Confident, A team player, organised

Worst Qualities: Easily offended, reserved, two faced

Weaknesses: Deeply cares for his girl friend and doest want anything to affect their relationship

Electric Guitarist 2: Art Lynch, 17, lives with his over weight alcoholic father who 90 percent of the time barely notices or takes interest in Art’s life. His mother sadly died in a car accident on his 7th birthday and distinctively remembers what happened during that night and at the hospital, he continually thinks about it when he is feeling down and wants to forget so he can move on in life but can’t. He feels like he doesn’t belong and that no one cares or wants him around. He has attempted suicide on two occasions in his mid teens by overdosing on prescribed  medicine and alcohol, he has fortnightly psychologist sessions since these events. Art has been fired or quit many full time jobs in the past and is currently working in retail. On the side he is a graffiti artist and over the years used his creative passion to express his emotions and disconnect from society. Art has no career paths or ambitions and tackles life day by day. 

Art is approximately 5ft 8inches,  slim healthy phasic, long oval facial structure, medium complexion.

Eye Color: Dark brown eyes

Hair: Typical long curly hair 

Clothing Style: Black slim fit jeans and black shirts, black trainers. 

Speaking Style: Short and sharp

Best Qualities: Creative, Calm, Observant

Worst Qualities: Manipulative, scheming, Pessimistic

Weaknesses: Afraid of death

Typography examples

The typography of these titles are the common fonts used in horror film posters, and show how the fonts vary according to sub-genres, for example the font used in a 'western horror' genre film would be very different from a font used in a 'slasher horror' type film. These fonts will be considered when creating our film poster to advertise our horror trailer.

Planning for production: Stock characters & Protagonist

The stock characters consist of all of the band memebers who are unfortunatly killed off through the theme of revenge. The story revolves around the main protagonist and is a first hand view of their life experiences as band and as a group of friends. This is what has generated our emotional hooks of humilliation and rejection. Additionally it shows the divide between friends and carrer plans. 




As previously stated the protagonist is the individual who experiences rejection from his fellow band mates and the film is from his point of view.  

Planning for production: non-diagetic sound

After school we had a session with an ex-student at our school. He now works in the music industry creating his own songs. He came in to let us listen to his music and possibly use it in our trailer. However, for our group, the genre of his music wouldn't fit in with our trailer so we decided not to use any of his songs.

Planning for production: room plans

We used a new method of creating an ariel view of the location and pointing where every camera will be placed and all of the shot types we could use so we could have a brief idea of how our trailer will look.

Generation of ideas and story boarding

These images show the planning process and generation of ideas we had in order to come up with a fixed firm idea of what we wanted our trailer to portray and who our target market will be.