Final Sequence

A-Level Group 1 Opening Title Sequence from Sidney Stringer on Vimeo.

Here is the final edit of our opening sequence. We managed to finish it on time by following our schedule which is good because it meant that we had more time to focus on our evaluation. Overall, I am very pleased with the sequence and I hope you like it!

Editing - Day Two

Today we met up again in school to finish editing our sequence. We've managed to put all of the clips in order and all we need to do now is insert the titles and soundtrack. For the first half of the day we researched on Youtube to find appropriate soundtracks to fit our genre. This was initially hard to do at first, because we came across many instrumentals but found that some of them didn't flow with our footage. Eventually, we came across a soundtrack entitled 'Halloween Theme Song' which we felt matched our footage and genre accordingly. We imported the file and played it against our footage and thought that they worked well together. We added the sound first because we could then insert the credits according to the sound.

The next step was to record the line 'Now, where was I?' on Camtasia where we could alter the pitch to make it sound robotic and sinister. However, none of the recordings we took were good enough so therefore Zarah suggested we inserted a 'gasp' sound which we found off Youtube. The gasp would be played when Megi's abuser approached her. I then suggested that we also incorporate a trigger sound and gun shot to show that her abuser has now finished where he left off, which would be the start of the actual film and its story. I also said that the at the end of the gun shot, we should put the name of the film 'Retribution' at that same point. So you would hear the gun shot and the name would instantly appear; you will see this come into effect once the editing is finished.

Finally, we inserted the credits. We kept them to a black background with a white font all in capitals. Some of the text is small whilst the names are bigger to emphasise their importance. Now we have completed our sequence and are very pleased with it! Watch this space for the final uploaded edit! 

Choosing a Soundtrack

Here are some the soundtracks that we came across. Some of them didn't match our genre, but luckily we found the Halloween Theme Song which did. We felt as though this was the only one which matched our storyline and genre appropriately so therefore concluded that this would soundtrack would be included in our sequence.

Halloween Theme Song:

This is the final soundtrack we've decided to use. We felt as though this was the only one that matched our genre accordingly so will therefore be using this one. Instantly we all liked it and thought it worked well the flashback scenes and the scenes where Megi is tied up in the chair in particular. This is because the music adds to the suspense that something isn't right and therefore builds up tension for the audience.

Thriller Beat:

This is another one we came across. However, it didn't really match our footage as it has a kind of hip-hop/grime beat to it which doesn't match our genre. Although it has a kind of scary feel to it, we decided not to use it because of this factor.

Thriller/Action Film Music:

This one is quite good and has a classical feel to it. However, once again we didn't feel as though it worked well with our film, so therefore we decided not to include it.

Editing Schedule

Editing Shoot Schedule 13/04/2011 

Location: Media Room 

Meeting Time at Location: 

10.00am - 3.00pm

Break - 12.30 - 1.30

Contact: 

Megi - 07521512037

Sonya- 07890878965

Zarah- 07986543267

Sarah- 07545367865

If anyone has any questions, let us know before Tuesday.  

Editing Process

Today we started to edit our sequence. We didn't find it hard to do as were are all already familiar with Adobe Premiere, so therefore we imported the clips and distinguished between them by erasing footage we didn't need and keeping the ones we did. We then started to construct the footage according to the time scale that they were  to play in. It was hard at first because we had to cut between clips and establish where we would like to incorporate our flashbacks.

However, we then sorted the order out and changed the flashback scenes to black and white to signify that they were flashbacks for the audience. So far we've managed to arrange the clips in order and have managed to edit about 1 minute already. Overall, we were very pleased with what we'd filmed and with the fact that we'd recorded a variety of shots. One shot in particular that I like, is the high-angle show which looks down on Megi as though her abuser has cameras in his basement and is observing her so that she doesn't break free.  We will meet up again on Wednesday to finish it off.

Editing Schedule

Editing Shoot Schedule 11/04/2011 

Location: Media Room 

Meeting Time at Location: 

10.00am - 3.00pm

Break - 12.30 - 1.30

Contact: 

Megi - 07521512037

Sonya- 07890878965

Zarah- 07986543267

Sarah- 07545367865

If anyone has any questions, let us know before Sunday.  

Filming The Basement and Toilet Scene

Today we filmed the basement scene which shows Megi, the girl, tortured and left in the basement before her abuser arrives to finish where he left off. Initially, we wanted to use the theatre but unfortunately there was an event being held in there so we had to use the drama room instead as we were pushed for time. Fortunately, this worked in our favour because we were able to use the props in the room and adjust them to create a basement like atmosphere. We took a wooden chair and some other props such as rope, a lamp, tools, and some sort of basin. We had to cover the windows with the curtains however because they were allowing too much sunlight in and we wanted to have complete darkness, with only the lamp shining of Megi's face, like a spotlight. Below are some pictures of us setting up: 

 

Megi posing with the basin whilst Sarah covers the window.

Me moving the basin like prop to a better position whilst Sarah moves the black blocks behind me.

Megi

Megi sitting in the chair to see how it would look on camera and whether we would need to make any adjustments to the props and change their position etc.

Zarah filming the toilet scene showing Megi getting ready which will be one of the flashbacks in the opening sequence. Zarah flipped the camera head around so Megi could see herself getting ready, so the camera acted like a mirror showing a different perspective.

Putting the rope around Megi and making sure it was tight enough to make the scene look authentic showing how Megi has been tied to the chair by her abuser.

Megi smearing black chalk onto her arm to look like a bruise.

Zarah smearing some more chalk onto Megi's arm to look more like a bruise.

Sir helping us with the rope. The red lamp you can see in the shot will be what shines the spotlight onto Megi.

Megi almost ready. We got this red liquid from Art which looked like blood when we applied it onto Megi, showing how she has been assaulted and abused.

We then added gaffa tape to show how Megi has been kidnapped and left in a basement.

Although a bit blurry, you can see from the picture above that Sir taped the tripod onto a moving device which acted like a dolly allowing us to take a smooth pan of Megi in the basement, showing the environment she is surrounded by. You will see this come into effect in the actual sequence.

Megi finally ready to film.

Me and Sarah filming Megi as she awakens from her 'concussion' as a result of being hit in the head by her abuser.

Zarah taking a close-up of Megi's arm to show that she has been hurt.

Filming Schedule

Wednesday Shoot Schedule 6/04/2011 

Location: School and Theatre

Meeting Time at Location: 

Dress Rehearsal and Make- up 08.40 - 09.15

Filming 9.25 - 12.00 

Break - 10.00 - 10.15 

Cast List:  

Ally- offender

Megi - victim

Equipment List: 

2 camera's 

2 tripods 

1 digital camera

Lighting: 

Key light

side light 

back light 

Props:

Make up

Clothes- uniform, 

Tie

Chair

Gaffa Tape

Paint

Rope

Contact: 

Megi - 07521512037

Sonya-07890878965

Zarah- 07986543267

Sarah- 07545367865

If anyone has any questions, let us know before Wednesday. 

Costume Ideas

Today Megi tried on the shirt, blazer and tie of the school uniform which she will be wearing for the sequence. This allowed her to feel comfortable and so that we could see whether the uniform looked right before we filmed, just incase we encountered any issues.

Although Megi is wearing stripy skirt in the pictures, she will be wearing smart black trousers when we film to make a full uniform to make the sequence look more authentic.