WELCOME MODERATOR

 ELLIE SMART 

CANDIDATE NUMBER 1859

CLAREMONT FAN COURT SCHOOL 64680

My production team included: Charlotte Coppellotti 1812, Jess Foster 1820 and Millie Wyatt 

My brief was the film opening task: to create the titles and opening of a new fiction film, lasting a maximum of 2 minutes. 

The title of our film is 'Camera-Shy'. It is a psychological thriller exploring the ways in which a stalker infiltrates into Sarah's life, and how the toxic obsession of capturing photographs impacts our protagonist. The ominous feeling that her every move is being captured invades Sarah's anxious thoughts until the threat to her safety becomes very real when she received text messages and notices a camera flash at her bedroom window, highlighting the invasion of privacy. We wanted to combine the typical conventions of a stalker film with star talent and genre difference with a female stalker to intrigue audiences. 

Our film opening can be accessed below:

Personally, I took responsibility for much of the camera work, and assisted with the editing process. 

Camera Work:

For the majority of time in production I was behind the camera. I enjoyed filming the lacrosse scene especially as it allowed me to experiment with different shot types and angles to create a really dynamic pace. I also filmed a lot of the dark room and singing scene, which I enjoyed as I could experiment with different shot types and also utilise lighting to create atmosphere and compliment the angles. 

Editing:

Myself and Millie took the roles of the main editors, we decided that we would have Millie as our primary editor, as it was something she had a talent for. I worked with her, offering advice on different cuts, sound effects and the order of our narrative - making sure the editing process and final outcome ran smoothly. We found it useful to have more than one person editing at a time, as it allowed us to combine creative ideas to reach the best potential result. One challenge was adding a pre-recorded audio of our protagonist singing over the top of the table top sequence, with patience however and a good practise in editing we were pleased with the smooth and professional sounding result. We completed all of our editing on Final Cut Pro, as well as editing in the intertitles. 

Directing:

When it came to directing our performance, it was largely a group effort as we were all present for the  filming of each scene. This worked well for us, as we found we worked well collectively as a group and listened to each others creative ideas, collating them effectively to reach the best end product. We often had a group discussion prior to our filming, however we found the best inspiration when we were actually on set. This was particularly relevant in the filming of the final scene, where the stalker is lingering in the dark outside Sarah's house, as the street light positioning inspired shots with sinister lighting. I loved this as I felt really involved in the process and found it amazing to see the scenes all coming together.

Design:

We used Charlotte's art skills for the planning and designing of the production company logo and film poster. As both were important elements of the production process, we were grateful to be able to use her skills to sketch rough designs and then apply these to applications like photoshop.

In terms of set design and props we worked collaboratively. For example, the photographs used in the dark room scene. Millie shot the photographs, using a cannon camera, and we all helped to print and laminate them as protection against the developing liquid (water). In the filming of that scene, I positioned the props for the table-top sequence, creating a smooth route for the camera, and Charlotte positioned and taped the photographs on the wall.

EDITS: Stalker's photographs

Using Final Cut Pro, we made made final edits to each scene to create a more professional.

In the scenes in which the stalker had taken photographs of Sarah, we neatly edited in the resulting photographs into the scene - showing the stalker's results. To illustrate a clear difference between the narrative perspective and the stalker's perspective we used the greyscale tool to make the photographs black and white. These also contributed to the sinister visual codes associated with the stalker, providing stereotypes for the audiences.

When filming our final scene, in the dark outdoor lighting, we had to play around with lighting and exposure in order to make the quality of the shots good. Especially when we were filming Sarah from the stalker's perspective through the window, we had to manage the exposure to create an evident contrast between the light room and dark outside of the house - making Sarah visible to to both stalker and camera.

For the table top sequence in the dark room, we found that the red light was insufficient to film in, but the white light from flash was too harsh and not realistic for a dark room. We therefore had to adapt and create red filters over the camera lenses to make a red glow. It was also helpful to edit in a red filter on Final Cut Pro in the later stages. 

CHANGES: Narrative

Our narrative largely changed and developed overtime, from our original treatment to our final outcome. 

We found that when planning and creating shot lists, we had developed our narrative to the extent that it was much like a short film - rather than a film opening. This would have limited the storyline of the wider film as well as audience anticipation. 

We overcame this by changing our plot, placing a bigger focus on building suspense through short snippets of the stalker's work and moments of Sarah's personal life that the stalker had captured on camera. Our main aim was to create enigma, a typical convention of film openings, and found we could not do this if we revealed too much about Sarah or too much about the stalker. So instead we focused on the process of stalking, engaging audiences as they wonder who the stalker is, and why they are so obsessed with Sarah.

An example of a change we made to do this was in the filming of the final scene. We had originally planned to reveal the stalker's identity as Sarah's best friend, however to maintain suspense and tension throughout the wider film agreed to change the final shot from a close-up of the stalker's face, to a close up of the camera, concealing the face. 

A second major change we made, was to the positioning of the lacrosse scene within our narrative. Initially, we were going to have the lacrosse scene as our first scene - to introduce the talented Sarah (and star talent) and a potential motive for the stalking. It was only during the last stages of the editing process when we decided to change the sequence's position to further back, when Sarah had already noticed an unsettling presence in her life. By doing this, we positioned lacrosse as her character's escape but then proved in the following scene that the stalker even has even invaded her personal life. 

When editing, we had to make a slight refinement when we listened to the audio of the clips. We found that wind presented an issue as it interfered with the sound quality. As the actual shots were successful, we decided to change the sound codes for that scene, by adding in non-diegetic music that was playing through her headphones.

We reshot the entirety of the conversation between Sarah and her best friend, due to finding that the lighting could have been better and the sound quality was not sufficient, due to being filmed in a noisy setting. This challenge was actually for the better, as we ended up reshooting in a new location with a much more successful outcome.

REFLECTIONS: Singing scene 11th March

A key scene in our production is the table-top sequence, where the Stalker is developing and arranging a series of pictures captured of Sarah. We knew that this scene had to be as sinister as possible, to heighten the sense of threat towards the end of the opening, fuelling intrigue and investment in the narrative. 

To do this, we included a short scene before the sequence, of Sarah (our protagonist) singing Hallelujah which had been recorded by the Stalker, hiding in the curtains. We used specific mise-en-scene, such as the microphone, to add to the sense of realism and authenticity, as well as developing our use of different camera angles to achieve diversity and keep audiences engaged.

To infer that it was the stalker recording Sarah, we purposely used a hand held shot, moving it around to create the idea it had been taken by someone who was trying not to be seen -moving in and out from behind the curtains. 

We had Jess record a voice memo of the song before hand, using sophisticated recording software, to increase the audio quality to create a more immersive experience. We then had to edit this over the top of the singing shots and then continue it as non-diegetic sound over the title sequence, using Final Cut Pro. This took time as patience, as we had to exactly line up the visual codes with the audio codes so they were synchronous - so that it was realistic. 

The scene begins with a close-up shot of the stalker's phone, as they press play on the video. A hard cut then leads to the same video, from the exact point the last shot ended - creating a clean transition. This makes it easy for the audience to differentiate between the stalkers footage and actual scene. It also makes the link between the following dark room table top sequence and the singing clear - as the stalker is playing Sarah's voice as they work. This exaggerates the extent of their toxic obsession.

Our chosen song, 'Hallelujah' we felt complimented the sinister atmosphere through its religious connotations of purity. We found that through these we could connote Sarah's vulnerability, as her beautiful singing is being taken advantage of and manipulated to satisfy the obsessive traits of the stalker. We hoped this would evoke feelings of sympathy towards her character, increasing audience engagement. The fact that we used the star talent of Jess singing also made our production as captivating as possible, increasing production values.  We thought the slow pace of the song matched the slow panning shot over the table top in the dark room, emphasising the Stalkers creepy precision and successfully built up to our final scene.

Reflecting on the scene as a whole, I am proud of what we achieved through our use of props, lighting, varying camera shots and angles, editing and star talent.

REFINEMENTS: Filming 20th March

On the 20th of March, my production team and I filmed our final scene. The scene involves Sarah's sinister concerns become rational as she catches a glimpse of a camera flash outside of her bedroom window. We wanted to capture the stalker's process and the invasion into Sarah's personal life. 

To begin with, we had to time and plan our session so that it was dark, low lighting when we filmed - creating the right ominous atmosphere. I was behind the camera for much of the session, using shots ranging from wide-shots to long-shots, pans and tracking shots.

Although we had an idea of what shots we wanted to film, we had to make a few alterations and refinements depending on the situational context of filming. For example, we had expected to film Sarah in a room at the top of the house to imply the extent of the stalkers reach. However, due to the dark lighting and angle of the camera outside we found that Sarah was actually too high up to be seen clearly - especially in two-shots from the stalker's perspective (had to include stalker and Sarah). We made a slight alteration to solve this, positioning her a floor lower. This actually worked out better as there was a window seat so we could film her carrying out activities such as brushing her hair and reading.

Secondly, we had to adjust to the available light from the street lights. The lack of daylight was an issue at first, however we actually utilised us by refining our positioning. For example, in the establishing shot the stalker walks into and then out of the light - which was successful as it represented the threat which is her ability not to be seen. We then found that the street lights often reflected onto the camera lenses, creating a glare in the shot - altering our positioning and camera angles quickly solved this.

As we were filming in the street, we encountered several cars driving past as we were in the middle of shots. This was unfortunate as it meant we had to reshoot, however we soon learnt that to avoid the headlights and sound of the engine we waited until the cars had passed. Through refining our preparation process for shooting, we preserved the eerie quiet ambience, enhancing the thrill. 

CASTING: Interviews

We conducted interviews to aid our casting process, and help us develop our ideas on the direction we wanted to take the role of the stalker.

We asked a range of young people, 3 boys and 3 girls, 3 simple questions: 

- Why should we cast you?

- What is your best quality?

- Have you had any previous acting experience?

Female Interviews:

Male Interviews:

We asked an equal ration of boys and girls so that we could best understand and consider the best options for our stalkers identity. After the interview process, we decided that we would cast a female stalker. This was because it leaves the potential motive for stalking more open to interpretation, challenging the stereotypical male stalker that is a sexual predator. As the audience are more likely to not immediately assume the motive is sexual, they might also consider jealousy, love, hate, revenge etc. 

CONSTRUCTION: Refinements made when filming 23rd April

In our production, we wanted to use the codes and conventions of our genre: a thriller, including tension, drama and suspense. We therefore wanted to use mise-en-scene to create an atmosphere that invoked tension. To do this, we decided to shoot some scenes in the woods of Sarah, our protagonist, doing photography - unaware of the stalker capturing pictures of her. We chose the woods for the shadows created by the light shining through tree branches and leaves, so we could use visual codes to infer the sinister vibe.

We planned a filming session for Friday the 23rd of March. 
Initially, we walked around to look for different shadows and potential shots we could use. We were looking for shadows to create a foreboding feel, for the moment Sarah receives a photo taken of her by the stalker. This is a pivotal point in our production, as it makes the threat much more real now that Sarah is aware.

Photoshoot:
In order to send a photograph via iMessage to Jess's (Sarah's) phone, we had to first work out the best photo to send. We walked around the Belvedere woods and played around with different angled shots from through bushes and behind trees. We focused on a canted angle, to add to the feeling of unease.

Walking around the woods, we encountered a problem that was the intensity of the shadows, making it hard to distinguish  Jess's face in detail - which we wanted to do as it is more ominous if the stalker can see everything. To avoid this issue, we then moved into a more open area, with less tree cover but sufficient bushes to hide behind, keeping with the sense of realism. We took multiple shots, before working out which one we wanted to use. In the end we went for a zoomed in mid-shot , allowing us to see her action (taking a photo) as well as a side angle of her face. This meant that when Sarah received the text, the audience can clearly see the picture.
    

Filming:
To film Sarah receiving the image, we used the camera to record an over the shoulder shot of her iPhone receiving the text and clicking on the image. However, we soon realised this did not work due to the sunlight reflection on the screen. To solve this we then refined the angle to a birds-eye-view, blocking out the sun with the camera so that the shot was clear. We actually found this shot to be more successful than the one we had originally planned, as we had not used it previously.

HOTSEATING

To better understand our characters, we used the technique of hot seating where we were asked questions and had to improvise as if we were our characters. This was useful in developing our narrative as we improved our acting skills by better understanding how our characters interact and behave. 

We asked a variety of questions, some of which were specific to our plot. This meant that we were able to explore new routes we could go down and introduce different elements to our characters. 

We filmed our hot seating in an interview like situation, in a music room. Mise-en-scene of the sound proof walls added to our intended formal visual codes, creating a sense of authenticity and realism. 

Some of the questions we asked Sarah's friends were:

- What if your name?

- What is your relationship to Sarah?

- When was the last time you saw her?

- How did she seem?

- Is there anyone who you think is jealous of her?

Some of the questions we asked Sarah friends were:

- Do you know Becky and Alice

- Do you have a best friend?

- Do you consider yourself someone somebody might be jealous of?

REFLECTIONS & REFINEMENTS: PHOTOSHOOT

Photoshoot: 12th March 2021

On the 12th of  March, we carried out a photoshoot from the stalker's perspective of our antagonist, Sarah, with a high quality, professional camera. This was so that for our table-top sequence in our dark room scene we could use the photos as a prop, to infer that our stalker had taken and developed photo's to fuel their obsession with Sarah.

We experimented with varying angles and concealed locations that the stalker would have used to capture the photos. We wanted to place emphasis on the fact that the stalker has access to all elements of her personal life, increasing the threat and tension, so we positioned Sarah in typical locations, such as on a bench or walking out of work.

To add to the sense of realism, we used long shots, and created shadows by hiding behind the trees - allowing the audience to infer that the photographer was unnoticed by Sarah.

Filming:

To make it clear it was sinister that she was having pictures taken of her, we also filmed over the shoulder shots from the stalker's perspective, with the intent of editing together the shots and revealing the photo's taken.

However, there were some challenges with this - on our day of filming the sun was shining, so therefore we had to test out different angles to ensure that the sun didn't shine on the camera screen, revealing the stalker's identity in the reflections. We ran into another challenge when shooting Sarah through a window in her 'office'. As it was a long shot and therefore slightly unclear, we had to make sure there was no other barriers between camera and Sarah. This meant that we had to open the window, however it did not fully open and, combined with the glare of the sun, we were unable to see her through the glass. We overcame this by adjusting Sarah's positioning and by using a lower angle in order to have a clearer shot.

To use the photographs in our table-top sequence, we uploaded and edited the shots on an iMac, using a greyscale to make them look more authentic and to increase the sinister visual codes. We then printed and laminated them, allowing the 'stalker' to later 'develop' them through placing them in solution, the lamination preventing them from being damaged.

PLANNING: Casting

 

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PLANNING: Risk Assessment

 Risk Assessment

Hazard to Health and Safety

Risk posed and to whom

Risk Level (H/M/L)

Control measure to reduce risk

Further action needed to reduce risk

 

Transport: Standing in the street in Walton to get the shot of Jess through the window from the stalker’s perspective (could have got hit by a car if we were too focused on shooting). Danger when travelling to destination by car. Moving vehicles (lorries) in school carpark. Students looking wrong way when crossing road. Student falling down stairs. Walking across roads. Be cautious when walking/driving to filming location and be aware of surroundings. Aim to cross roads at designated pedestrian crossings. Always have a person looking for incoming cars.

Weather: In the forest it was slippery due to rain (danger of falling and injuring ourselves). Danger of getting clothing wet and becoming too cold. Wet camera when filming outside. Students bring appropriate clothing suitable for all weather and be cautious when walking on slippery surfaces.

First Aid Issues: Trips/Falls – could trip over in the dark room. Could come into contact with harmful chemicals in the dark room. Brambles in woods. Carry a first aid kit at all times, aim to have a first-aider on stand-by, identify areas of danger (e.g. brambles or chemicals).

General Public (e.g. theft or assault): Outside in the dark on the street (danger of potential assault or kind of incident). Threat of pick-pocking in Walton (not a large risk as we are not in a crowded location). Students causing incident with member of public. Students stay in groups when in public spaces (with mobile phones), do not approach members of public or respond to provoking comments, students to remain in supervised conditions, do not film late at night, follow guidance of emergency personnel.

Accommodation (e.g. risk assessment from centre): No overnight accommodation

Major Public Incident (e.g. terrorism): Not applicable as there is minor chance of a terrorist attack in a small town. In the case of one: Ensure venue has assembly point and pupils know where it is, as well as giving pupils assembly points whilst on public transport. Ensure pupils know the national advice to run if possible and hide if not. Ensure pupils know to always follow police instruction. Issue pupils with printed emergency contact card detailing school landline and school mobile – instruct them to call if they become lost (as well as alerting security official). Ensure trip leader has a school mobile and also contact details for both the school and all pupils + families

 

 

RISK ASSESSMENT	HAZARD TO HEALTH AND SAFETY	RISK POSED AND TO WHOM	RISK LEVEL (H/M/L)	CONTROL MEASURE TO REDUCE RISK
Transport	Incoming cars when we stand in the street to get shots of Jess through window from stalker’s perspective. And moving vehicles (e.g. lorries) school car park.   Traveling in car   Crossing roads	Potential injury through getting hit by a car if we were too focused on shooting.   Danger when travelling to destination by car.   Students looking wrong way when crossing road.	H	Always have a person looking for incoming cars. Students to be made aware of risks.   Be cautious when walking/driving to filming location and be aware of surroundings.   Aim to cross roads at designated pedestrian crossings.
Weather	Rain when filming outside making ground slippery and dangerous (especially in forest)   Rain making clothes and camera equipment wet	Rain could cause students to slip and fall – potentially causing injury.         Damage to the camera and risk of students becoming cold.	M	Students bring appropriate clothing suitable for all weather and be cautious when walking on slippery surfaces.
First Aid Issues	Trips/Falls       Chemicals             Brambles	Could trip over in the dark room.   Could come into contact with harmful chemicals in the dark room.   Brambles in woods – could trip over or cut themselves on	M       L           M	Carry a first aid kit at all times, aim to have a first-aider on stand-by, identify areas of danger (e.g. brambles or chemicals).
General Public e.g. theft or assault	Assault             Theft               Incidents	Outside in the dark on the street (danger of potential assault or kind of incident).   Threat of pick-pocking in Walton (not a large risk as we are not in a crowded location).   Students causing incident with member of public	L             L           L	Students stay in groups when in public spaces (with mobile phones). No filming late at night.       Filming in supervised conditions.       Students not to approach members of public or respond to provoking comments. Students to be advised on their responsibilities and school expectations.
Accommodation e.g. risk assessment from centre	N/A (no overnight accommodation)		L
Major Public Incident e.g. terrorism	Not applicable as there is minor chance of a terrorist attack in a small town		L

 

CCR2

 

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DISTRIBUTING MY FILM

 Slide 1 : Research into a distribution campaign by a Hollywood major 

When I researched how a Hollywood major distributed a film I noticed several strands that I could replicate with my budget:. E.g.  digital posters on social media, social media (Facebook, Instagram and twitter). Facebook reaches a different target audience. Traction on radio/newspapers. Film website. Film post card (social media links, phone image, details, contact details) - can be distributed to 

Slide 2 : How a successful independent low budget film presented itself. 

E.g. Bait. Take it to festivals ideally London film festival - (try to get a screening at the BFI) and apply for potential funding , screenings listed (urging for audiences to ask independent cinemas). Film post card (social media links, phone image, details, contact details) - can be distributed to raise awareness for film.

(insert images of Bait - screenshot of festivals page and digital poster)

Tortoise In Love was picked up by the BFI who created a distribution strategy for it which was enormously successful. They paid for posters, assistance to get it screened in small venues across the country (e.g. village halls, schools), a premier/red carpet in Leister Square. 

3 :  Film website like Sorry We Missed You lists screenings and makes it easy for audiences to find screenings; other strategies like viral marketing. Lists screenings online as opposed to high budget posters - easily accessible to old and not as expensive as a huge marketing campaign. Straightforward distribution method. #sorrywemissedyou - links to social marketing on website all helps. 

 4. By looking at the FDA website I have understood that the process of distribution is all about connecting films and audiences.

I learnt from Mark Batey’s (FDA head until 2019) presentation on distribution strategies that I have to identify what genre my film is and what its unique selling point (USP) is.

I understand the important considerations to take when distributing and targeting audiences, such as:

-          What is the film (are there any comparable films and how have they performed/what factors influenced this – work out a positioning for the film and ‘how it will play’)

-          When is it released (important due to the extremely conjected market place *insert statistic pf how many films released per year* so need a good date)

-          How is it released (distribution strategies e.g. posters, social media – how much can we afford to spend on promotion)

-          Who is the target audience?

5. Kezia Williams outlines how useful it is to make a 'comp list' of comparable films to identify the target audience and what will appeal to them and investigate them to understand the target audience as well as adding a new USP that makes audiences specifically want to see that film, more than those similar. Three films that are comparable to ours are:

YOU: psychological thriller/crime

Greta: psychological thriller/horror

Secret Obsession: psychological thriller

6.   The Distribution Process:

I understand that, in the world of independent film, distribution companies tend to work on a territory by territory basis. Meaning that a UK distributor will by the film for the UK and the right to arrange for distribution in all media (cinemas, DVD, video-on-demand, television, airlines, etc.) in the UK only. A French company will buy the film for France. A German company will buy for Germany. This continues for all the territories around the world. The distributor makes decisions as to when and how it will release the film, what sort of marketing campaign it will create and how much it will pay for marketing expenses, which are known as P&A (for prints and ads) in the case of territory distribution. The distributor is responsible for the financial success of the film in its territory.

7. UK Film Distributers: Verve and Warp

When distributing our film, we will pick a UK film distributor to connect our film with audiences. Ideally, we might like to be distributed by…

1.    8. Audience Research: conducted via a questionnaire

I designed and distributed an audience questionnaire via google forms to further investigate my target audience. My aim was to better understand their preferences, in order to help my production team and I effectively market and distribute our film according to what our target audience needs and enjoys. Through the use of Google Forms, I was able to collect data that I will be able to present in both graphical forms and words, as I asked questions that yielded both quantitative and qualitative data. I also tailored my questionnaire to fit the kind of film my production team are planning on creating, so asked questions unique to the genre we are developing: psychological thriller/horror. When I received my results, I was able to then utilise the insights I had gained to unsure our film was able to meet the needs of our target audience and therefore be as successful as possible.

1.