Diary Post 8

After our trouble with the camera on the 24th, we returned to our location today with the battery fully charged. We tried to organise a reshoot sooner, but actors were unable to attend. Although we had considered such an issue in our shooting problems post, we needed the same actors so that we would have good continuity between the different shots. When we finally got to shooting, everything went well, and we finished quickly leaving us time to look through all our shots. We were pleased with the variety we had,  as we included different camera angles, and decided to call it a day.

Diary Post 7

Today we filmed the zombie chase scene. This was quite a lengthly process due to the amount of costume and makeup involved. We ripped the clothes of our actors and covered them in fake blood, both on their flesh to look like injuries and around their mouth to give them the zombie feel. We used white out contacts on our main zombie so that we could do close ups of his inhuman face, adding to the overall effect. After this was done, we began filming. This went relatively smoothly, as we have a shot list to hand and knew exactly what we were doing. However, towards the end of filming, we started to experience some technical difficulties, and our camera shut down due to lack of battery, meaning we will have to return to film tomorrow.

Diary Post 6

Today we began filming our final product. We filmed both the news report scene as well as villain's speech. We had help to set up the green screen, and then set up the rest of the equipment ourselves, adjusting lighting for maximum effect. We also experimented with the position of the sound recorder, to try and get the best possible sound. After finishing, we quickly checked the effect of the green screen using final cut pro and chroma key, and found that it had worked very well - we were able to insert a background  and cover almost the entirety of the green. The sound recorder, however, did not work as well and the sound levels were lower than we had hoped. The filming of the vilain went smoothly and sadie managed to get an array of different shots, which we will later use to add variety to our sequence.

Diary Post 5

In this lesson we decided on the title of our film. We came up with the name genesis, as it linked to the idea of the creation of a new race - the zombies. We began to research more into the book of genesis, and decided to include quotes from the creation story into our treament.

The modified treatment is below;

“In the beginning god created man, then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground” so God created mankind in his own image.

But God fucked up.

God didn’t think about the consequences of his actions, and neither did you. You thought it was a cure, you thought it would save millions, but your naivety has led you astray from the truth.  I created the E-396 strain purely for the development of a supreme race, free from the idiocy of you primitive humans. In your desperation, you all too readily accepted it as a savior from cancer, but in reality it will be your damnation”.

[dialogue overlaid]

“What you see now is the effect of the vaccine pulsing through their veins. For all of those that have been injected, their time is drawing closer to an end.

 The strain will strip them of their humanity, and soon the vaccine will have inhabited their skin and bones, taking control of whom they once were. Those that are already infected have been left with an uncontrollable rage and a craving for human flesh. Soon enough the virus will become airborne and it will develop into a global epidemic. You can try to escape it, but your perish is inevitable”. 

After this we began looking a title fonts. We did this by thinking about the kind of things we wanted to connote with them, and also by looking through 'art of the title' for some inspiriation. We liked the bloody effect seen in 'Dawn of The Dead' and set about recreating this, as you can see from the title fonts post.

When we had finished college, we traveled to different locations to get location shots. We had ideas about where we were going to go, but needed to inspect them properly before proceeding with any shooting. We are incredibly pleased with the places we have found, particularly the derelict building, which can be seen in the Location Photos post.

Title Fonts

We used dafont.com to help us find a suitable font for our title sequence. In order to do this, we searched through the 'horror' and 'destroyed' themed section as we believed this is where we would find something that would tie in with both our genre, and general style of the film. We then narrowed it down to three fonts by using our film title as the sample text, and selecting those that we felt were most appropriate. After doing so, we imported them onto a photoshop document to compare and select our favourite font.

We then proceeded to modify our fonts to give them a more dynamic feel. We decided to use a red colour as the basis of our fonts for several reasons. As well as the denotation that it is the colour of blood, red also connotes many things. Primarily red can be seen to represent things such as danger and anger, which tie in with the plot and iconography in our film.

We decided on using the first font as we felt that the shape and style resembled blood, reminding us of the effect produced when bloody hands are pressed against paper. We experimented with overlaying different shades of red with the brush tool, in order to give it a sense of realism and also to add another dimension to it,

Although this previous attempt was our most successful yet, we still felt that the font was missing something, and didn't quite have the sense of gore and drama we desired. In order to overcome this, we decided to use brushes found on google to add blood splatters to the font. We used overlaying and the smudge tool in order to incorporate the brushes to our font, and blend it into the letters. We feel this has created an effective font that successfully conveys the genre and overall feel of our film.

The Title

After much deliberation, we have finally chosen the name 'Genesis' as the title of our film. 'Genesis' is the first book in the bible, detailing both the creation of earth and all those that dwell upon it, as well as what is called 'the fall' where human's fall from grace.
              We believe this ties in with our plot for a number of reasons, the first being the concept of creationism. In our opening, there is a scene where a hooded figure explains how he planned to and successfully infected members of the public with a strain of virus, designed to strip them of their humanity. This in turn would lead to an extinction of the human population and from them would rise a new species of zombie like beings - the creation of a new race. This ties in with the creation story of genesis.

            As well as the creation story, genesis also includes the story of how human's fell from god's favour and became impure. This relates to the virus' creator's avid belief that human beings are tainted and therefore deserve to be punished, although in our narrative the punishment is an infection, rather than being forced from 'The Garden of Eden'.
   The final reason for choosing this title is because of the connotations such a name holds, rather than the obvious denotations. Most zombie films have names that are obvious to what the genre is, for example; 'Zombieland'. Ours is somewhat atypical in the fact that it is not so blatantly put, and this should help to inform the audience that it is not a typical zombie film. Although it still retains many conventions shared by other's in this genre, it is not so heavily reliant on pure gore and we have put more emphasis on a more intriguing back story and narrative. By using a name such as 'Genesis,' which gives a sense of complexity and adds some mystery, we believe it helps to convey this fact and should draw in a wider audience - those who would like to see stronger plots in this genre, as well as the usual zombie fans.

Location shots

Here we have travelled to our different locations and taken photos from angles and of the interiors and exteriors we intend to show in our filming. Accompanying the photos are our reasons for the use of these locations, and how we are going to use mise en scene and props to dress them accordingly.

This is a shot of the green screen we are going to be using. This is available to us in college, but needs setting up for use; this includes adjusting lighting and positioning mise en scene. We are using pens, paper, a desk, chair and water, which can be seen in real news report. The background will be changed to a news room in editing.

These are shots from inside the building we are going to use. When researching zombie film, we found that there were a lot of scenes filmed inside, presumably because a sense of entrapment heightens fear. All these buildings were decaying, and derelict, which fits in with the general negative themes in zombie films. We searched hard to find a suitable location, and cam across an abandoned building, after looking around we decided that the derelict, creepy look of them was perfect. There is a path outside with some greenery that will be used for the chain scene for convenience.

The next couple of shots are where we are going to be filming the vilain. In the treatment he is mean to be in an ordinary room, filming himself, so we decided to just use of of our homes. We will position the actor in front of the computer with the webcam, seen below. When filming we will change the lighting to that everything is dark and mysterious, giving away little about his identity.

Possible Shooting Problems

In order to make sure filming goes smoothly, we have come up with a number of possible problems that could happen during shooting, and subsequently decided how we are going to combat such issues.

Weather Conditions

As some of our scenes are filmed outside, it is important that we have the correct weather conditions. We do however have a few different scenes to film, so if there is bad weather on our planned day, it is possible for us to shoot another scene so that we are not wastingvaluable time. Ultimately, if it comes to it, we will have to work with whatever weather conditions we have, whilst making sure everything is safe and equipment is protected. 

Changes Of Natural Light

Due to the use of natural light in outside scenes, it is important that we have have some control of lighting in our filming for continuity. We plan to have filming done in a chosen slot of time, when the sun is as its highest. During this time the lighting shouldn't change significantly, meaning the lighting throughout the scene should be consistent. If it comes to it, we do have artificial lighting available, although this is a last resort. We cannot completely eliminate this problem, as a slight change in lighting from hour to hour is inevitable.

Actors Not Showing Up

If the people we have acquired to act in our film are no longer able to do it, we have a number of people available willing to step in. If necessary, we would also be able to act the parts ourselves, as we know the scripts and shots.

Travelling between locations

All those involved in filming have a bus pass available for use, which will be used for travelling between locations. If this option becomes a problem, the different locations are all within a reasonable distance of each other, and it would be viable to walk between them.

Producing The Same Shots And Camera Angles

We have planned out shooting schedule so that the majority of the scenes are filmed in the order they are shown, this means that shots that are meant to be from the same angle will be, as we will not be repositioning the camera and moving mise en scene and actors between shots. This will allow for good continuity.

Shooting Schedule

We have created this shooting schedule in order to ensure that our filming runs smoothly.


Shooting Schedule

Diary Post 4

Today we worked on the different aspects of visuals and any possible problems we would encounter. We began writing up a shot list which detailed every camera angle we would use. We then translated this into a visual medium through the means of a storyboard, which helped to conjure up an image of what was happening and really help us when shooting.

After we had done so, we started to write up a shooting schedule. This detailed things such as location, props, actors, and timings. This was done in order to help organise, and ensure that when we actually set out to film, we would get all the necessary shots.

In order to further organise ourselves, we discussed any possible shooting problems that we may have had. This included aspects such as weather and actors not showing up. We then thought of ways to solve these problems meaning that, if they did happen, we could quickly fix the issue.

Shot List

1) A long shot of a news reporter at a desk, bulletins running across the bottom.


2) Close up of the news reporter arranging his script, looking into the camera, and beginning to speak.


3) Crackling of the picture, the news reporter still slightly visible, but distorted by bad reception.


4) A medium shot of a figure sat in front of a neutral background. The lighting is somewhat low rendering their face to be slightly shadowed. The man begins to talk.


5) A medium shot, filming the figure diagonally from slightly behind. In the shot will be the man's back/ side profile and also the camera he is filming himself on.


6) A medium shot of a figure sat in front of a neutral background. The lighting is somewhat low rendering their face to be slightly shadowed, dialogue continues (essentially the same as shot 4).


7) Shot of a field with the camera at ground level.


8) Shot of a field with a camera is at ground level. A pair of legs/feet run past the camera in a close up shot, they are well coordinated and clearly belonging to an able bodied human being.


9) Shot of a field with a camera is at ground level. Blood drenched tattered feet and clothing run past in a close up shot, the footing is un-coordinated and stumbling.


10) A close up of the zombie's mouth, blood is running from it in excess.
 

11) The camera pans upwards to a close of of the Zombie's eyes. The eyes are white-out and lifeless.


12) A medium close up reveals the human's face. The person is clearly fear stricken, with blood and scratches evident on their skin.


13) A close up of the melee weapon held by the human. The weapon is shaking from the human's trembling hands, and blood is strewn across it.


14) A medium shot shows the victim running towards the camera, chased by the oncoming, bloody horde. 

15) A POV shot from the human shows their hand reaching out the open the door.

16) A medium shot from the side show them opening the door and running inside the building, closing the door behind them.

17) The medium close up from behind the zombies shows them scratching and pounding on the door.

18) A medium shot from inside the building shows the victim sliding down the door and curling into a ball.

19) A close up of the victim's face. The breath heavily and their expression changes from terror to slight relief. They breath deeply and lean their head against the door.

20)A medium shot shows the victim sitting against the door.

21) A high angle shot from above the victim shows them looking vulnerable. Just below the camera, a zombie's bloody hand bursts through the door. The scene cuts to black.

22) A medium close up shot of the news reporter from the previous report sat at his desk.

23) A close up of the news reporter's face as he says the last sentence in his dialogue.


Below is our storyboard

Actors

After reviewing our treatment, we sat down and discussed the different actors we would need for our film. Although there are 3 different scenes in total, each one does not require a great number of actors, as the most characters there are appearing in a scene at any given time is 4. This is both a blessing and a hindrance. On a positive note, this means we have to find less people that are willing to take part and act out a role in our opening. However, due to the small amount of people in each scene, there will be more focus on individuals. This means that there will be more focus on them and therefore the quality of acting. This gives us the difficult task of finding people who are perfect for the role.

Below I have put different attributes that each character needs to have, and our actor has to be able to exude.

The Broadcaster

• Confidence
• Professionalism
• Ability to speak clearly and directly
• Attractive - as most of those in the television business are
• A smart look about them

Evil Genius

• Ability to speak clearly, articulately, and convincingly
• Ability to act with disdain and negativity
• Have a somewhat rough/introverted look about them

Female Survivor

• Ability to act fearful and convey genuine emotion
• Ability to act injured and in pain
• A feminine look - to increase idea of vulnerability
• Attractive - to attract the male audience

Zombies

• Ability to make convincing zombie noises
• Ability to make convincing zombie expression eg. ravenous and soulless
• Tall - more imposing and intimidating
• Reasonably well built - more imposing and intimidating
• Ability to wear contact lenses - an essential part of the costume

We will first consider the people we know for these roles, perhaps taking up one or more of them ourselves. If our contacts do not fit the above attributes, we will ask around and search for someone that does. This is purely for the reason that, if a person does not fit the role for the character, it will be unconvincing, and the quality of film is seriously reduced.

Props List

Here we are listing the different props needed for the different sections in our opening scene and title sequence. These will need to be bought or made in time for filming.



News Report Props
Glass of water
Scripts
Green screen
Desk
Chair
Smart attire; suit, tie.




Information broadcast by villain
Low budget, home camera
Computer
Chair
Desk
Hoodie, slightly covering face, jeans.





Zombie Chase
Fake blood
Fake melee weapon
White-out contacts
Ripped, blood splattered clothing and shoes
Shorts, vest top

Costume

Zombie

We have taken inspiration from films such as Sean of The Dead, and decided to give our zombies the stereotypical look. We want them to be scary, ravenous and lifeless.

• Fake Blood
• Ripped Clothes - Casual eg. t-shirt and jeans
• White Out Contact Lenses

Survivor

We want to portray our survivor as feminine, to increase her sense of vulnerability, and this will also be done through the use of costume.

• Curly/wavy hair - more feminine
• Shorts
• Flowered top
• Casual Shoes
• Fake blood - to show injury
• Make-up

News Reporter

In order to make our product look as realistic as possible, I have researched what typical news reporters wear. They have a smart look about them, they are groomed, and as people often are on tv - attractive

• Smart top - eg. a blouse or jacket
• Smart trousers - eg. a skirt or black suit trousers
• Make up
• Groomed hair
• Glasses

Villain

In order to keep our villain looking mysterious, we want him to be wearing dark, plain clothing so as not to reveal anything about his identity. The colour black is also strongly associated with evil, which will give connotations about his personality and bad intentions.

• Black hoodie
• Black trousers 
• Bearded
• Glasses

Diary Post 3

Today we used our treatment to start planning other aspects of our film - the props and actors. We looked through our treatment and decided what kinds of qualities each of our characters portrayed, and therefore the level of acting ability we would need. From there we discussed whether there were any people we knew that we believed would fit the role, and began to contact them. We also discussed costumes for our characters.

We also made a list of props that we would need, which we did by referring back to our post on typical zombie film iconography, and also by referring to our treatment to see where they would fit in.

Diary Post 2

In this lesson we continued to develop our film treatment, drafting the speech and description for the different frames in the scene. Whilst doing so, we took some time to research the conventions of different zombie chase scenes by watching videos of them on youtube. From this we were able to draw some ideas of what to include in our own chase scenes, from establishing what was the most common imagery. We then applied this to our treatment.

Treatment

Treatement

Research - Zombie make-up

The images shown left are what i believed to be the most "convincing zombies" when i searched them up on the internet. The images shown right is myself replicating the look as realistically as i could.

I think the most captivating thing i found when doing this research was eyes. I was immediately drawn to them, because of their piercing hold they had. This then made me decide that when creating the make-up for our terrifying zombie, we would have to pay close attention to detail on the eyes, making them as fearful and ---- as possible. In particular using white contact lesnse creates an immediate deathly evil look, with the upper and lower lid shaded in with blacks, reds, pinks or purples, this outlining the eye whilst also giving it more depth and a seemingly tired appearance.
Another thing that really added to the zombies realism, is fake blood. In all of the images above theres seems to be a re-occuring pattern of being covered in blood. Whether it's splatters from their previous victims, or deep gasses from their own wounds, zombies always have some blood on them. This is why i also emphasised this as much as i could by covering my face, and mouth in particular. I also created different types of blood effects by using tissue and rags to blot on big clumps (as wounds). Physically put the fake blood in my mouth then dribbled it back out, showing the blood of the victim, once the zombie has feasted on them. To get the blood splatters, i got another person to fling the fake blood at me using a paintbrush. Giving the illusion that the zombies victims blood has spurted out at me.

Diary Post 1

Today we have completed the research of different zombie films, their conventions and all the different aspects of them. This has enabled us to become experts in this genre, and our new found level of knowledge means that our final product should look like a real zombie film. The research has given us inspiration, and we are now ready to begin the pre production of our film.

Film classification

We have researched different film classifications by looking through the BBFC guidelines. We have done this in order to make sure that our film fits the criteria to make it suitable for our target classification, and therefore our target audience.

Universal

 This film should be suitable for all aged four years and over. They should be set within a positive moral framework and offer counterbalances to any threat, violence and horror.

Parental Guidance

Unaccompanied children of any age may watch. Parents are advised to consider whether content may upset younger or more sensitive children. Mild language and implied sexual content are acceptable.

12A

This category only applies to films in cinemas. No person under the age of 12 may be allowed into the viewing, unless accompanied by an adult. Similar regulations as 12.

12

No person under the age of 12 may view this work. Brief and discreet use of nudity, sexual activity and infrequent use of drugs or reference to drugs are acceptable in this classification.  Limited use of strong language is allowed.

15

No person under the age of 15 should be allowed to view this work. Drug reference, strong violence, and immoral behaviour is allowed in part, but must not encourage it in a positive light. Sexual Activity is acceptable, but without the use of strong details. Use of the strongest language is acceptable if used in context.

18

No person under the age of 18 may view this film. Material is in breach of the criminal law, created through the commission of a criminal offense, a risk or harm to individuals through behaviour or society and the use of explicit images of sexual activity which can not be justified.

18 Restricted

Classification primarily for explicit works of consenting sex or strong fetish material involving adults. Films may be shown to adults in specially licensed cinemas or sex shops. The infliction of pain which causes lasting physical harm, portrayal of any sexual activity or material which encourages sexually abusive activity.

After researching the guidelines for the different 'BBFC' classifications, I believe that our films would fall under the classification of a '15'. This is primarily due to our use of moderate violence and gore, which although in a zombie film is graphic, is used in context. Some strong language may also be used, but again in acceptable context.

Film Production and Distribution Company Research.

I believe that the company most likely to produce and distribute our media product would be FILM4. I have come to this conclusion for a plethora of reasons. Firstly, FILM4 is known for its support of purely British films, with examples including The Iron Lady and Four Lions. As our film is set and funded in Britain, with our actors and being of British origin, it will fit among other titles produced and distributed by this company.

FILM4 doesn't produce and distribute films that are known for their huge budget, more those that are averagely priced. Although our film does require some use of special effects, these are quite minimal and simplistic. Instead we are mostly reliant on the use of talented make-up artists and prosthetics to create realistic looking gore and effects. Our film is more reliant on clever editing, filming and a good narrative than it is on cinematic use of computer effects to produce spectacle. This will keep the budget relatively low, which will suit such a company.

FILM4 has also produced titles that our similar in genre to ours, the most notable being 'Shaun Of The Dead'. This film is a 'Zom Com' which, quite simply, is a comedy based around the zombie genre. Although our film is not based on humour, being more a straight up zombie film, it obviously still has a lot of the same themes, visuals, mise en scene, and plot. This film being associated with FILM4 makes me more confident that they would want to produce and distribute our media product. After the undeniable success that 'Shaun Of The Dead' has seen, I'm sure FILM4 would want to distribute a similar product in the hope that it would also receive ravish reviews.