Shoot One

This first shoot went well as I got pretty much all of the footage needed for the film. The handheld shots, and the steady shots.

Due to the day being quite cold, overcast and sometimes raining/snowing, made the narrative more believable as it really emphasises the fact that the cabin is grim to get to.

Most of the steady shots as the characters walk to the cabin, worked really well, due to the environment and weather, making the shots look really atmospheric, and realistic. Some of the handheld shots may have to be re-done, due to focusing and quality issues. These tend to be on the shots where the camera is moving, and in an environment where lighting is minimal, inside the forest.

The establishing shot of the car as it drives up the road towards the lay by was not as good as I would have liked it to be due too not having a dynamic head on the tripod. Therefore the pan of the car as it moves around the bend is not as smooth as it could be. This is one of the shots that I would like to re-do on the next shoot. In this shot I took down the aperture and ISO of the camera due to there being more lighting than the other shots in the woods. A high depth of field was set so the moving car would be easier to focus.

For most of the shots in the woods of the cabin and the forest path I set the ISO to a higher value, to let more light on the sensor of the camera. I made sure not to set the value too high to reduce a grainy image. To get maximum light from the surroundings, I also increased the aperture, to open the lens of the camera to let more light in. This then made the image much brighter and not too dark so the viewer could not clearly see what was going on. I also set the white balance of the camera so the film did not look too orange or blue, and so the colours look correct.

For this shot the two character walk up the path, due to them walking away from the camera, I set the camera to a high depth of field meaning most of the shot was in focus. Lighting was also readily available so the ISO and aperture was set to a lower value, to reduce grain in the image.
I wanted the composition of this shot so the path was in the centre of the frame. The positioning of the characters (mise-en-scene) as they walk up the hill were carefully thought about as the male character walking on the left side closer to the dark forest where as the female character on the right closer to the bright light side. The bright light connotes innocence which foreshadows what is going to happen later on in the film, as she is an innocent female that gets attacked. Whereas the dark connotes evil and also foreshadows what he is getting the female character into, due to him taking her there.

This next shot of the two characters as they walk towards the cabin shows how grim the weather and the environment is. The composition of this shot is good as it keeps both of the characters in the frame with enough spacing around them both.
The mist in the background of the shot emphasises the fact that it is a grim day, linking back to the narrative of the opening scenes. Like the other shots, the aperture, ISO, and depth of field were all similar to the other shots.

For this next shot, the two characters walk into the scene, and are shocked by the state the cabin is in. Due to the lighting being minimal again, the ISO and aperture was set to a higher value.
For the composition of the shot I wanted to leave enough space for the characters to walk into the scene, and also include the vandalised cabin within the shot. I decided to purposely not put a gap between the cabin and the edge of the frame as it would look strange, and and the composition would be incorrect. I decided to shoot from this angle, so the characters can walk into the scene showing the viewer the state of the cabin before the characters get to see it.

For this next shot of the conversation I decided to leave quite a lot of room around the characters, but also framing the female character within the smashed door frame.
For this conversation I use over the shoulder shots with the combination of shot reverse shot and switch to the different shots depending on who is talking in the scene. I used the 180 degree rule to tell to the viewer that this conversation is ongoing. Because the female character is angry with her husband at this point in the film. I purposely decided to extend the tripod, raising the camera, looking down on the husband to show who holds the power in this scene.

For the other reversed shot, the camera looks up at the female character making her look more powerful than her husband, because she is angry with him.With both of the shots composition, I decided to show other things in the scene, in the background of the shot.
The first shot shows the smashed up caravan, to emphasise the fact that she is angry. The other shot shows the dark thick forest to shows to the viewer how isolated the cabin is. The ISO and aperture were set high due to minimal lighting in the scene.

For this shot I thought that the composition and framing was good because of the angle and spacing around the characters. The characters walk through the long shot and due to the lighting being more available, the ISO and aperture were not a high as the other scenes.
I manually focused onto the characters and used a high depth of field due to them moving, so I did not have to constantly refocus as they got closer to the camera. I think the conditions in this shot look really good. Because it was misty and raining, it makes the narrative look more realistic. I purposely added the snow in the foreground to show to the viewer that it is not a nice day to walk to an abandoned cabin.

For this cutaway shot, of the vandalised caravan, I set both the aperture and ISO to higher values due to minimal lighting, in the forest. For this cutaway shot I made sure that the composition was correct, allowing space around the caravan, but also looking at the target at an angle to make the shot look better.
In my storyboard I did not plan any cutaway shots. But when shooting, I thought it would be a good idea to include one in the opening, to simulate the fact that time is passing. Due to the caravan being smashed up and spay painted connotes that the place is not looked after, creating certain ideas and feelings for the viewer.

For the handheld and moving shots I tried to set the focus so as the camera moves, most of the frame is in focus. I also used a high depth of field so the foreground and background was all in focus. I also set the aperture and ISO appropriately for the environment and available lighting in the scene.

The handheld shots were different angles and scenes of the two characters as they journey towards the cabin. The style of the shot was suppose to simulate that they were being watched, and something bad was going to happen. The shots were taken low to the ground to simulate that the stalker was hiding, behind the trees in the forest.

This shot is the last scene of the opening, just as the stalker attacks the innocent female. It is a point of view shot of the female character, as she goes to the toilet. Because the camera moves, the footage is quite shaky, which is what is intended, but it is more shaky that I would have liked it to be. This footage will do in the final cut of the film, but it would be one of the shots that I would like to re-shoot if possible.

Rough Cut & Editing

After filming most of the shots after the first shoot, I have put together the footage that I filmed in Adobe Premiere Pro. I think that some of the footage would work well for the final project and not much needs re-shooting. Due to the day of the shoot being very windy some of the footage had very loud background noise of the wind. This makes the sound of some of the clips unusable as some clips are quiet and some are really loud. The issue is that some of the clips where the two characters are talking, the wind distorts and muffles the sound of the characters.

When editing the clips I realised that I would have to re-record the sound of the two characters when they are talking, due to the environment being too loud because of the wind. This will then have to be added on top of the footage. The recordings will ideally have to be lip-synced, but most of the shots are not that close-up therefore, viewers probably will not be able to see if the recordings of dialogue don't quite match.

This first cut of the footage mainly focuses on the cinematography of the film as I have not edited the sound for the clips together. After cutting the footage together, it helped me to realise that some of the weak footage can be removed from the final cut, and what need to be re-shot. It also helps me to see that I have filmed enough footage for most of the film opening.

For some of the footage I have started to edit and add effects to it. Using Adobe After Effects, I have started to use colour correction and altered the levels and brightness, to make certain shots fall to the blue end of the spectrum, to suggest that some thing is going to go wrong. Very popular in other horror films and therefore applying to the genre conventions. I have added this effect to the shots that are handheld, the shots implying the perspective of the stalker. Adding the effect to only this shot helps to tell the viewer that something is about to go wrong, foreshadowing the future.

Test Footage

As my inspiration for my film came mainly from the location, I still had to scout through the woods for suitable shots for the film, as the characters walk through the woods.

For this first shot, it shows the lay by that the car drives into as they get to the edge of the forest. For the actual film I would want the angle of the shot to be different so you could see more of the lay by, when the car pulls in. Although this angle of the shot is not quite correct, it shows the type of shot I would be looking for, to create this idea.






The location of the cabin is perfect for my films genre and narrative. Due to it being isolated and the woods being dark, helps to suggest to the viewer typical horror conventions. I think this shot is a perfect angle of the cabin, as it shows how smashed and damaged it is. The spray paint all adds to the effect of it being vandalized. The shot also shows quite a lot of the woods around the cabin. As the forest is really dark, it helps to make the shot more atmospheric, simulates to the viewer the fact that they are in the middle of nowhere.

When the two characters get to the cabin, they camera shows the damaged cabin. This shot shows both the broken cabin and the broken caravan. Due to it being in the forest, it being dark, helps to make it more atmospheric.

For this shot the camera shows where the characters would walk to get to the cabin. With the mud shown in the shot helps to show to the viewer that it is difficult to walk through.
This location is perfect for the characters when they walk to the cabin, as it simulates the fact that it is difficult to get to the cabin, making the story more believable, and following the typical horror genre conventions of isolation.


There will be multiple shots of the characters as they walk through the woods to get to the cabin. this shows how dark the forest is, perfect for the horror genre. The scene is quite atmospheric which helps to add to the film. This makes the viewer relate to the characters if they were in this situation.

I think that this shot shows the two characters walking away from the car to the cabin really well. as they are quite far away, it suggests that they are being watched, stalked, which is the story behind the film.

Storyboarding

Ident Ideas & Creation of the ident

For my ident, I have come up with a few ideas. I really like the idea from the Film 4 ident. The ident simulates the each individual shot of the scene on old film rolls as is goes through an old film projector, due to the rolling of the footage. As the footage moves down, it simulates each shot moving through a projector as it is lit up.
To recreate this ident, this would involve, repeating footage that moves down across a landscape, and creating a wipe in after effects connecting the two shots together, to simulate the old film roll moving through a projector. As each individual 'shot' is wiped, it shows the film 4 logo moving into place. This has been animated into place.

As the background does not move as much as the foreground, they have used a green screen to shoot the foreground footage and shot the background footage afterwords replacing the green screen. The mist has been added on afterward in after effects to make the footage more mysterious.
This mist has been simulated in front of a green screen so the background can be removed and it can be added onto anything. The footage has been layered due to the use of a green screen, so the background, mist and foreground can be all layered. The company logo has been animated and merged with the footage, to create an animation of it all falling into place.

The sound in the ident has been done well as every time a wipe has completed, the sound synchronizes with the footage, making it all fit together.

The use of the forest scene used for the ident would fit in with the type of genre of my film and would be relevant for the type of film I am going to make. Therefore I would like to stimulate the same old film roll feel with a similar forest scene.

(Analysis refers to 1:33 of the video)

For my film ident, I have come up with walking down a narrow cut through of woods. The idea is to walk down the gap, with the camera, in the forest. In the edit I will then use motion tracking in Adobe After Effects to add the 'Prime Productions' title as it pans down the gap. Using the location of a wood is perfect for the ident, as it relates to the genre and film opening I am going to create. As the woods are very dark on either side, it helps to create the horror genre feel, which is the purpose of the film and what I want to achieve.

Treatment & Influences

The Cabin is a horror film that follows the central protagonist and her boyfriend as they go and venture to find this log cabin in the forest to go and stay at. The two characters start by driving towards the forest where the university owned log cabin is. The male character, Aaron, is a university lecturer that is studying the area around the cabin. As the location was a war training ground, Aaron is studying the land to discover the history behind it. The two characters then pull into a lay by where they park up, and get ready to set off towards the cabin. As they walk through the forest, things start to go wrong, their only phone dies, no directions, and so on. When the eventually reach the cabin, they come to realise that the university owned cabin is smashed up, as some one has vandalised it. They then have to sleep in a vandalised cabin as it is too far to walk from the lay by as they are in the middle of no-where. Jess the central protagonist, then need the toilet so she has to go out side which is when the stalker is revealed.

This film could be compared to: Cabin in the woods (2012, Drew Goddard); and Cabin Fever (2002, Travis Zariwy)

Cabin fever had a quite a small budget compared to other films of $1,500,000 and a gross of $8,633,585 in the opening weekend, and $21,000,000 overall. Therefore making almost 15 times it budget. This shows there is a market for these types of film.
A more modern film Cabin in the woods, had a budget of $30,000,000 and a domestic gross of $42,000,000 therefore not making quite as much as cabin fever but still making money.

The film then continues, where Jess the runs back to the cabin where Aaron is, scared of the whole situation. When they go to investigate, Aaron does not see anything and thinks she is going mad, as he does not believe her. She then has to survive a night knowing that she saw a stalker in the forest that they are sleeping in. The next morning the two both go back to the car, as they were unprepared for the situation. They end up getting lost on the journey towards the car, and end up going in completely in the opposite direction. Further and further into the woods, in the middle of no where. When they realize that they are on the wrong track that does not lead back to the car, they are so disorientated, as the forest all looks the same. The story then progresses of them trying to reach civilization, with no phone, and the risk of the stalkers that lurks in the forest.

Location is an important one for the film as it has to be believable that it is in the middle of nowhere, in a remote area, where there is endless opportunities of filming in different parts of the forest. The location will have to make the viewer feel that they are nowhere near civilisation with only a road that goes near the edge of the forest.

Budgets of other films over the past decade have varied. For example Cabin in the woods had a high budget of $30 million where as Cabin fever had a lower budget of $1.5 million. Since the location is quite remote, and the whole film stays in one place, cost of location will not cost that much, just getting permission from land owners, will be the issue. Since the film requires the villain to be a stalker, an actor and make-up will do the job, therefore, there will be minimal special effects in the film. Things like actors will probably cost the most of the film as they will have to be believable to recreate the narrative, and give a true representation of what that situation would be like. To create verisimilitude, to make the film more believable, costume and mise-en-scene will have to be done and created well, although the film is set in quite a natural environment, things like the cabin will have to look abandoned and vandalized. Also lighting will be a big aspect of production, as the forest scenes are quite dark due to the time of day, lighting will be important. It will not only need to look natural, but also be light enough for the cameras. Therefore overall I think I would need a budget between the two films of about $25 million, so the film is believable and realistic.

My inspiration for this idea came from the location. As I live and have spent countless hours in this location, I thought it would be perfect for a horror film, due to the setting feeling like you are far from civilization, and then the damaged cabin, is perfect to fit the plot. The film Cabin in the Woods (2012) has also inspired me to create this film as the location and environment I want to film in is very similar. I have just changed the narrative and character of the film, but kept a similar location due to it following the horror conventions. also Cabin Fever, and older horror film, has inspired me to create a horror film within the woods. Due to both films making money, especially Cabin Fever, making almost 15 times it budget, shows that there is a market and audience for this type of film. Looking at both of the films for camerawork and editing, they tend to use slow sweeping pans, long shots and medium shots of the actors with long progressive shot times, whilst the plot is calm. But when everything goes mayhem, the cuts between shots become faster, and close-ups of the actors are more common. This type of genre and these films have inspired me to come up with this idea, the location, and character. Especially looking at these examples, shot types and editing of the two films, has definitely motivated me, and made me think about this when filming and editing.
In the two films, they use handheld cinematography, to symbolise and emphasise to the viewer that something is wrong, maybe following them, and to foreshadow that something may go wrong. Therefore in my film I have been inspired to use this sort of camerawork to follow the horror genre conventions.

Sweed Evaluation

Although we did not actually fully complete the sweed, we practiced filming certain shots, highlighting difficulties that may come when we start filming our main production. Things like lighting, sound were more difficult, as we were using poor cameras, that do not pick up much light, or quality sound. Although our scenes were very bright with good lighting, doing this practice helps to highlight how much light is needed to light up a scene effectively. Things like not shooting straight into light so it over exposes, setting white balance depending on the type of light (natural or artificial) that was available or most available, so the shots were not orange/blue, setting the aperture, depending on how much light was in the scene, so we could choose how much light we wanted to let in, etc.

Composition, was important to practice, making sure not to make the shot feel to crammed, or too empty. As we were following the trailer of Mean Girls exactly (copying shot types and story etc.) we some times had to adapt to the environment as certain shots were not possible at the location or time.

Things like sound, and picking up sound was difficult for some scenes, as there was quite a lot of background noise. This made the shot unusable. in an ideal world, sound would have been recorded separately, or with boom microphones rather than a poor phone microphone.

Shot scheduling was a difficult task, as you need to take into account when actors and cinematographers are available to film. Creating a schedule helped to decide when we were going to film certain scenes and helped to keep the sweed organised and to manage the time effectively.

Overall, this helped us to practice and give us the experience so we don't fall into later problems or difficulties in production, that could have been ironed out with a practice.

Production Schedule - Shot Plan, Sound Re-Record

Screenplay

Appealing to the Target Audience

To appeal to the target audience, I have used specific horror genre conventions. The characters are very similar to typical horror genres. One of them being an innocent defenseless female. this fits into the protagonist that is a victim of the situation. The villain, being a stalker, also fits into typical horror character conventions.

I have also chosen an isolated setting, that fits and appeals with the genre conventions. With it being a abandoned cabin in the middle of the woods, with no signal, and no real contact with the rest of the world helps to set the scene, perfect for a typical horror film. The time of day also is typical of horror films, using dark night or dusk scenes helps to create more of an unknown.

Specific camerawork, helps to appeal to the target audience. Using high and low angle shots can help make the innocent characters feel small, defenseless, worthless. This is effective as it makes the viewer fell in this way, forcing them to empathize for the innocent. Nearer the end of the opening, there is a point of view shot that help to simulate for the viewer what this situation is like, forcing them to think about how they would react if they were in this situation.

Specific sounds can help to relate to the typical horror genre. Using loud breaths, heartbeats, crackling branches, rustling leaves can help to build the suspense which are all typical conventions of the genre.