How I made my production company animations

Location Shots

Location of Teaser Trailer: Burntwood School
 

Production Slate Changes...

I decided against using the 'Eagle Eye Productions' slate as my production company because I have not been able to find a video showing an eagle blinking which I could edit to my advantage. I have therefore decided to change this to 'Caveman Productions,' so I do not have to find real footage, instead I can just manipulate an image of a caveman.

Magazine and Poster Mock Ups

Film Poster Mock Up:

Magazine cover mock up:

 

 For my magazine cover, I have decided that the main character which will be on the front cover will not look off to the side, instead looking only slightly off centre to the right (i.e. not looking directly into the camera lens). This will help me create mystery for the character (because I can place the right side of her face in shadows), as well as giving a larger amount of address and interaction to the audience. Also, if the character depicted on the front cover is well known, the reader will automatically realise from a front shot, which would act as a unique selling point for the magazine.

Crow Sounds at the beginning of production

I have decided to use these crow sounds at the beginning of my production (during the establishing shots of the school) in order to create realism for the piece, as well as a feeling of foreboding.

I will therefore edit this clip in Adobe Premiere Pro, so that only the crows are heard, instead of them and the cicadas.

Film Poster Photos

With the main character of my production, I have organised a time in which to take photos for my film poster (Tomorrow lunchtime at 12:55). Although I am still in the process of finding a black cloak (a key prop in my production), I have decided to take as many pictures as possible, so that I can begin editing in Adobe Photoshop.

Production Slate Progress

In Adobe Premiere Pro, I have been trying to produce an institution slate. I have decided to call it 'Eagle Eye Productions' and aim to animate the picture so that the eye in the background blinks.

Institution Research

I have found out that the majority of horror films are produced by the institutions below.

Screen Gems has produced a variety of horrors, including 'Vacancy', the franchise 'Underworld' and 'The Roommate.'

Dimensional Films has produced a large amount of horror films and is especially well known for 'Halloween,' 'Children of the Corn' and 'Scream.'

'Saw' and 'Undead' are examples of the films Lions Gate Entertainment create. Although they produce a smaller amount of horror films in comparison to other genres, the films they do produce are very high profile.

From my research, I have found that the main colour used for production company's logos is blue.

Film Magazine Names

Below are a list of names I have thought about for my film magazine:

• Apollo
• Eagle Eye
• Featuring:
• Feature Film
• Pioneer
• Replay

I have decided to choose 'Pioneer' because the majority of magazines I have seen do not explicitly tell the audience its subject.
For example,

Although there are exceptions to the rule, such as 'Total Film,' I have decided to use the conventions of a film magazine.

Film Titles

I have researched recent horror film releases (2010) in order to find out if there are any trends which I may need to adhere to. Below are a list of ten horror film titles:

1. The Crazies
2. Frozen
3. A Nightmare On Elm Street
4. Womb Ghosts
5. Dahmer Vs. Gacy
6. Resident Evil: Afterlife
7. Sparrow
8. Hatchet II
9. I Spit On Your Grave
10. The Last Exorcism

As you can see, there does not appear to be any correlation between film names, probably because one of the main appeals for a film is the escapism (i.e. 'escaping' from the boring life; being transported into an exciting environment) factor, therefore if there were any parallels, the audience may be less likely to see it.

I have realised the audience do not want prior expectations when watching the film, instead, they generally wish to be shocked by unusual aspects of the film.

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Below are some of the names I have considered for my film:

• Aberration
• Double life
• Deranged

Storyboards

Below are my storyboards. In storyboards number 5 and 6, I wrote two alternative endings, in case the first ending does not work due to problems with sound.

Friday 5th November's Lesson

On Friday's lesson, we were taught by Alex, who took our class for a workshop on key skills we needed to know for using Adobe Photoshop. I found this lesson very beneficial, due to my limited knowledge of using a photo editing software. Among other things, we learnt:

• How to open and save an edited document
• The 'ruler lines' tool
• Removing background colours/images from a picture (so you're left with the person on a white background)
• Adding text, changing font

Below, I will show you how we were taught these skills and why they are important for me in my production.

Create new document:

Adding ruler lines



Progress Update: Music

Now that I have my treatment complete and am working on my storyboard, I decided to look up royalty free music and have happened across a website filled with different links for known uncopyrighted pieces:

Surprisingly, the array of music is considerably vast, so I will therefore look into an assortment of different types and deduce from that which tracks I will choose.

Character Profile

Name: Claudia Gyring

Biography so far: Born and raised in Austria, Claudia was the most ordinary child one could ask for. Having learnt English for most of her life alongside her mother tongue (German), she decided to move to the city of London where she completed her studies to become a qualified teacher and almost instantly was able to obtain a job at Burntwood School for Girls. However, spending twenty three years in the same institution is bound to take its toll on anyone, as she soon began to realise.

Age: Early forties

Career: School teacher

Best Qualities: Determined; ability to retain information; easy going yet relatively withdrawn in social situations

Hobbies: Playing piano; reading.