The Unrest - Poster

The Unrest - Radio Trailer

Audience Feedback

Radio Trailer Script

[Sound - Right Behind You]


When something troubles you, it doesn't leave you alone

[Sound - Titus Calen]

[From film - Protagonist breathing heavily and gasping]



[Sound - Right Behind You] faintly

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm Just,,, I'm fine!"

[Sound - Poltergeist]



[Sound - Right Behind You]

The Unrest, coming soon

[Sound - Heart Pumping]

When dreams become a chilling reality..

[From Film - Door Slams echoed]



[Sound - Piano Playing]

The Unrest - Film

Q1. Conventions

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and convention of real media products?


Our film had challenged a few conventions and also adhered to some conventions. We had challenged conventions by dressing our main protagonist in black symbolizing darkness and evil. We had chosen our antagonist to wear white clothing to symbolize purity and innocence. This challenges the convention of good and evil as it shows our main character who is the victim as being the darkness and the ghost being the good. 

                    Ghost - Wearing white clothing.

                   Jasmine - Wearing black clothing


We had also challenged the expectation of a typical horror film's of scenes starting in darkness such as 'Knowing'. We had done this by having our opening scene being in broad daylight with the sun shining bright. However we also adhered to conventions and USED them such as having dark room's such as basement's and nightfall with some small climax's. We had also followed our narrative of Enigma Code with the film starting with a mystery and ending in a cliffhanger. Our film is also aimed at usual teenagers and young adults. 

                  Screenshot from Basement Scene


Main features in a Horror film include darkness and a lot of silence an scenes that create suspense. Our film follows these features but had decided to decrease scenes with a lot of darkness in order to challenge audience expectations. Most of the scenes are during daylight hours including our opening scene. This was to divert the audience from expecting a typical horror film set at night such as 'Insidious'. From the characters clothing the audience would be able to make out the characters profile and try to understand the story behind their character. For example the ghost, it is not clarified to why the ghost is haunting Jasmine, which leaves the audience to decide on who the real villain is. Unlike many other horror films where the villain is clearly outlined or unmasked during endings or in the climax of the film, we decided to divert from such an idea to challenge conventions. 


To add, Jasmine's profile also challenges conventions as she is unlike the typical girl who is being haunted. Instead of running away from her problems or acting as if she is in a state of panic, she decides to investigate the root of her problems. For example the scene where she is in the library where she searches for a variety of sources to help her. This clearly shows that she is not like the ordinary frightened being but instead a intelligent girl who is able to work calmly even when she is in a state of fear internally. 


The ending like many horror films had used the convention of ending in a cliffhanger. Most horror films end this way and I had chosen this particular ending as it is effective in leaving the audience wanting to know more and also still keep the suspense intact.

Q2.How effective is the combination of your Main Product, and your Ancillary Texts?

How effective is the combination of your Main Product, and your Ancillary Texts?

 We created Ancillary Texts, of a Poster and a Radio Trailer, to help support our Short Film.

 The Poster was based upon a screenshot image, after we spotted a great camera shot from the film, of the ghostly character. We felt this image had a very sinister look of our main antagonist, standing there still, with her shadow on the tree, and believed it would be the perfect visual representation of our film. Before the screenshot of the image, we had added a "compound blur" and and a certain darkening effect, on "Final Cut Pro". This illustrated the image in a dark and mysterious way, to convey that this is a horror Movie. However, due to the bright sunlight that was present on the day of filming, there was a yellow undertone to the image too, further imposing this contrast between dark and light, correlating with colour flow of the film.

 The cropped second image we used (also a screenshot from our film) was of our protagonist with a anxious look on her face, on the bottom left hand side, faded into the background through "Photoshop". We did this, firstly, because we wanted to add our main character on the poster, but also faded her into the background, connoting the idea of the main character struggling with her identity throughout this film, due to the antagonist (who is causing her a lot of distress) being created from a part of her, and a part of her dreams. Originally, the colour of this image had a strong blue undertone (despite the use of opacity), before we changed it to a more grey undertone, fitting in with the Grey/Black and Yellow/White colour scheme of the poster.

 In addition the font of the title on the poster, is the same as what is on the title page of the Film. This font is Trajan Pro. We felt this font is very strong, without being overly plain. The words were in a white colour, with a slightly yellow glow (through blending options), giving it a fairly intriguing, yet a mystical feel, reflecting the poster's mysterious outlook. The slogan, "when dreams become a chilling reality", had the same font, apart from the word "chilling". Having looked through various fonts beforehand, we felt this font (SchoolHouse Print A) had a spooky feel to it, mirroring what the word itself conveyed. This line was similarly given the same "outer glow" as the title. "Coming Soon" was done in a large "PortagolTC TT" font, because we believed it transmitted a powerful sign for an important message. We also gave the words a grey colour, fitting into the colour scheme.

 On the Radio Trailer, all the sounds we used were from the film itself, helping to illustrate the whole atmosphere of the film. This included various musical sounds and speech, I came up with the narration of "When something troubles you, it doesn't leave you alone", as it reflects the emotions experienced by our main character. This notion is symbolised in the poster, with the shadow of our antagonist on the tree. Further more, the latter two lines used, "When dreams become a chilling reality", and "coming soon", were also used on the poster. The reason we used the descriptive term "chilling", is because it illustrates the cold nature of our main chacaracters, which were conveyed through Black and White outfits they were.

Q4. How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

Q4 media

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Poster Production

For our film poster I had decided on using an image from one of the scenes during our film. This includes the main antagonist in the daylight to give the audience an idea of the story line and also the daylight shows it to be breaking conventions.

The shadow on the tree helped to create a sense of fear and to project the idea that it is a Horror film. The white clothing that the 'Ghost's' is wearing symbolizes purity instead of evil so it challenges conventions too.

Research on Poster Ideas

The Ring 2 Poster had given me some idea's on how I was to design my own poster for my film 'The Unrest'. As it is a horror, it would be a good idea to use the main protagonist on the poster like many other horror films. This would also help the audience to have an idea on the story line.

A Nightmare on Elm Street had also given me some inspiration as to what I want for my poster. The image of the main villain helped me to decide whether to use the ghost in my film as the front cover.

The photo above The Amityville Horror gave me more ideas such as the idea of a silhouette. It gives off a threatening effect as no one can make out who the shadow is. The dark colours in the posters helped me decide I had wanted to use the same.

During Filming Production

Contracts & Risk Assessment

Signed Contracts

Phoenix Productions - Meeting Schedule

Meeting schedule

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Preliminary Task

Our preliminary task helped to prepare me for the real filming. I had learnt a whole range of skills especially the usage of a professional camera. I also gained skills in editing as I and my team mates assembled the clips in order and added sounds.

The story itself was formed from the food cake. We had decided to recreate the story of Cinderella and Snow White and add a little twist. Cinderella (Jahannara) lives a life with her evil stepmother (Farzana) who abruptly tries to poison her with a cake. In the final moments when Cinderella is in a deep sleep she is awakened by her best friend Snow White (Farjana) and the evil stepmother had vanished.

This was a good way to prepare for the real filming process and research that I would need in the future for my coursework and was an exciting insight into the world of filming!

Animatic

The Unrest - Film Script

Script

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Phoenix Productions Logo

Opening Scene

Our film opens with a Tense opening scene with Jasmine being outside in the street. There would be lot of non diegetic eerie music which would help build up the tension. This would give the audience  a picture of the film's genre and leave them guessing on what will happen.

Semiotics
We have our opening scene starting with a bright sunny day but with Jasmine wearing black clothing, walking across the street like a normal day. From this the audience may not be expecting anything to happen. It also shows a contrast between the light and darkness and symbolises that something evil may happen.
This is similar to the narrative in 'The Woman in Black' as it begins with a puzzle and both start to build up tension through events.
During the opening scene we also have the appearance of the ghost who is unnoticed by Jasmine until after a few glances as she sense's an evil presence. This may confuse the audience as to who is the villain in the film as the ghost is wearing white which symbolises something pure or innocent.

Lighting

We have decided to use the Silhouette light effect in our film to enhance the ghost as a shadow rather than a materialized figure.
We will also be using Low Key Lighting  in scene's such as the bedroom scene to show Jasmine's face in the dark and give a better thriller effect.
There will also be some Flashes  to create a build of tension in the bedroom scene.

Some of my Creative Technical Decisions

Camera Shots
Some basic camera shots that I have decided on for my film include:
Establishing shot 

• I chose this shot because it would be showing the location of where the next scene will take place. I will be using this shot in the bedroom scene to show she is in her house.
• This is important because the audience will be able to see where the next scene will be held and gives them an idea of what might happen next.

Mirror Shot

• A mirror shot will also be used in my film as it will enhance the eerie feeling of the scene. The shot will be used to show the reflection of a girl in the mirror, rather than in reality.
• This is important because the main objective behind the shot is to show that the ghost doesn't exist in her reality yet but in the mirror during the scene. It is also to help enhance the fear that will build up during the film.

Sound

Some sound effects I will be using in my film are high pitched noises.

There will also be a lot of silence used in the film as there is not that much dialogue.

Most of the sound will be diegetic sound such as outside on a windy day or footsteps.

Silence and high pitched noise's are important for a horror film as it is the main sounds used in most horror films to create a scary atmosphere and focus on a particular point of view.

Transitions

A transition I have chosen is cross dissolve, I have chosen this because it would work well during the dream scene to where I would collide her expressions while she is sleeping in her room and the scene in her nightmare. This would help the audience to see that Jasmine is having some sort of premonition and it is fearful. Some music will be used from a low pitch which starts to increase as the dream continues.

Pace

The pace will be at a normal rate during the beginning and the middle of the film. It will increase towards the end where Jasmine is running home in fear. The increased pace shows the audience she is running away from what is haunting her, giving them an idea that something bad is about to happen.

Our Film Description

Phoenix Productions
The Genre of our film is Horror/Thriller, as it is one of the most popular genre's.
The title of the film is called 'The Unrest'


Film Trailer
17 year old Jasmine is a seer. Only she doesn't know it. Something is after her and it won't stop until it gets what it wants. It haunts her in her dreams and her premonitions start coming to life. Out of fear, Jasmine tries to run away from her nightmares, will she be able to succeed? 

Rule of Thirds & White Balance

Rule Of Thirds




The Rule of Thirds are guidelines in an image to where you can center someone or something to help get a good balance. It focuses on the area between the four inter-points. As shown.

White Balance

White balance is used to adjust the improper coloring of objects in images. When taking picture's digital camera's can tend to have problems with setting the white balance which can create orange or blue effects on the image.

There are pre-set settings on a digital camera to adjust the white balance. Objects that are meant to be white are rendered on the photo. By understanding the white balance you can use it to get rid of the incorrect balance.

Symbols on a digital camera's settings.

Audience Feedback

Survey results

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By creating a survey on SurveyMonkey, we received audience feedback to help us to either adhere or go against audience expectations.
From the results it shows that most people want a Horror film to begin with a Mystery and end with a Cliffhanger. 
They also want Music and Special Effects such as Flashes and Black and White Effects.
Some locations that were chosen were Bedroom, Graveyard, Park, Attic and Basement being the highest.
We hope to go against these expectations to challenge conventions.
The theory chosen for our film has been Enigma Code - Story begins with a mystery.

Classification

The BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) sets a classification on films. They are rated on the basis of how appropriate the film is for what age group. 

The 'U' means UNIVERSAL meaning it is appropriate for all ages. An example of this would be 'Ice Age' 

The 'PG' is PARENTAL GUIDANCE. This means that the an adult must accompany the person to watch the film. An example would be 'Facing the Giants'

'12' strictly allows only those over the age of 12 such as 'Twilight'

Unless it is '12A' this would certify that only over 12's can view the film accompanied by an adult. Example 'Romantics Anonymous'

The '15' doesn't allow under 15's to view the film. Such as 'Bad Teacher'

The '18' is the same way. Example 'Inbetweeners movie'

'R18' films are only allowed in special licensed cinemas as it contains inappropriate works only adults can view. Example 'The Human Centipede 2 Full Sequence' which was banned.

Our Film Pitch

Our Film Pitch by user6878139

Film Review of 'BUMP'

This is a short horror film based on two house sitters who are awoken by noises coming from the basement.
Overall, the film did succeed in creating a sense of fear in the audience that I had experienced.
From the beginning of the film, I had already begun to feel the tension and fear because of the silence ten sudden loud noises coming in from the background. There were a lot of diegetic and non diegectic sounds used such as breaking glass and the creaking of floorboards as they went down the stairs. 


The lightning was set at nightfall, and the only light that was used was light from a torch. The darkness helped build fear inside me which I found very good. Both characters played the role well, with one being braver entering the basement to find a dog. There wasn't very much talking between the actors, mainly sounds.
The camera was used in various ways in a variety of shots like Close up shots and Steady cam.


The film overall, was very well filmed and had quite a lot of views and I think it really created a good sense of fear and tension through the use of sound and lightning. I would recommend this to any horror film lovers. 

My Creative Input

Created: 17/10/11

There is a Contrapuntal Sound at the beginning during the dream. In the daylight where everything is normal there is some tense eerie background music creating a contradiction.

A Visual Bridge during her second dream as she is holding onto a ledge to keep from falling, it cuts to her room where she is reaching out in her sleep, grabbing onto her bed's headboard.

Sound Bridge is used during her first dream as she is walking through the street and she can hear, the sound of feet dragging through the ground. In fear she looks back, only to find a street cleaner clearing up the leaves.

Thriller film industry

Thriller is a popular genre in the film industry. Mainly based on being 'psychological' after the death of President Kennedy. Most thriller films have cliff hangers causign the audience to want more. One film industry which creates Thriller films is 'Hammer Film Productions'

They made a series of thriller films from the mid 1950's until the 1970's. They sometimes made a partnership with Warner Bros. Charles Saatchi was the man who bought Hammer Film Productions in the year 2000.

Different Jobs:

- Film Crew  ~ Group of people hired by a production company to produce a film. They can also be the Actor's in front of the camera or provide voice over's for the characters in the film.

- Director  ~ In charge of directing the film crew and process of film making. 

- Producer  ~ In charge of supervising, funding, hiring personnel's and delivering the film project and the voices and vision of the film to distributors. They may use their own money during pre-production of a film. They are also involved during film development.

- Arts department  ~ They may create certain art pieces for a scene but they are also have roles in advertising and marketing. They are mainly in charge of the visual appearances of the film.

- Props  ~ There are different roles in the Props department, some of these include gathering the vital props needed in the film. Another way is to build the appropriate props needed for a scene. Other roles are technical and assistants.

- Set ~ Roles such as the set designer who design interiors and decorators to decorate the set. There are also roles of dressing the sets and arranging the landscape of the set.

- Construction  ~ Order materials needed for the set and are in charge of the treatment of surfaces on set.

- Electrical  ~ Responsible for the design of the lighting plans of the set.

- Camera  ~  There are many roles for the Camera crew such as the Camera Operator who can also sometimes be the director. Lighting and framing of a scene is another, capturing scenes, assistants such as the loader to do the cuts and takes of a scene. Digital imaging technician, Steadicam operator and motion capture. 

- Sound  ~  In charge of recording music and sounds needed for all scenes. Roles including in charge of a microphone to capture the voice during a scene. Sound technicians in charge of the cables and wiring.  Sound designers and composers. Dialogue producer in charge of creating the dialogue in the soundtracks. Recording mixers and music supervisors to direct the sound crew.

- Hair and make-up ~  Some actors may have personal make up artists whose roles are to create the appearance of the character and make them look according to the script. The Hairdresser would be in charge of styling the hair.

- Editorial  ~ The Film Editor has the most important role of assembling the different takes and scenes and putting the together. The other jobs include Colorist who is in charge of the colors of a scene and also the contrast and brightness of the scene.

- Location scouts  ~ Look for possible location securities and handle all the paperwork and contracts of a location that is going to be used in the film. 

Conventions of a Thriller Film

A thriller movie has many conventions. These conventions make the film give the audience a sense of thrill and fear and tension and a wide range of feelings. Some of these conventions include the use of shadow in a movie. Shadow and darkness are a key code in thriller movies as this gives off the fear effect. (people afraid of the dark)
Flashes such as lightning or flashbacks are also a convention in thriller movies. The black and white effect create an atmosphere that the scene isn't positive and that it gives off a negative vibe. An example of a short film such as this would be 'Unwanted Attention'
The movie is about a woman and her child getting stalked by an unknown prescence. The film is in black and white and there are many conventions such as the graveyard and how she is alone with her child at the park.
There are some effects which create tension in the audience. I myself expierenced this. The sound has also helped to create a sense of fear.
Another example would be 'Asleep'.

This movie had a lot more views as it had more conventions such as a villiain in a typical thriller film. It was more professional. The movie had a lot of non diegetic sound and better quality of camera.
A third example would be 'The Keepers Wife'.

This film has a bigger sense of fear as thr storyline is hard to identify from the beginning. There is a lot of shadows and darkness and the man being the villian in the movie.

Photography 2011

                   Winning photo for Judge's Commendation Category.

                                     Winning photo for Nature Category.

                            Winning photo for Abstract Category.