First Day Filming

ay we started our filming the first shots in our shot list as these were shots that were within the school grounds which meant that we could film these within our free periods opposed to many of our other shots which require us to travel to locations we have found. Creating the shot list really helped as it gave us a guide of what to do step by step so that no time was wasted, therefore i believe that it was a productive day.

We started by heading to the position to take our first shot of me. The shot was a bird eyes view of me walking along a path, this was to establish the scene but also make him look small and vulnerable as  is a victim in our film. However we planned on taking the shot from on top of the roof of our sixth form building yet once we got up there we found that the door had been bolted shut. Because of this we had to comprimise whilst still getting the same connotations from the shot. To avoid losing this we tried filming from a window from the top floor and we were able to capture the same shot from this different position. The rest of the filming involved ground level shots and it went well with little errors. Therefore overall we were pleased with are first days filming, we managed to get alot done.

Planning - Risk Assessment

There are two key scenes in which a risk assessment was crucial due to the risks involved, and these were the scenes in which India was shown to be hung and where James jumps in front of George's car.
For the hanging scene we ensured that the rope was not tied in a proper noose around India's neck and that it was in fact loose despite being made to look tight. This is important as if the noose had been tied correctly then India would have been placed in extreme danger in this scene. To further ensure her safety the rope was only dangled over a metal bar above her in order to create the hanging illusion with the other part of the rope edited out. This meant that in worst case scenario the rope would fall off of the pole, not tightening and would fall off of India's neck loosely therefore removing any danger.
For the car scene we only travelled at a low speed in order to prevent Sean (James) from being in any danger when he steps in front of George's (Joe's) moving car. We edited this effectively in a fast paced collage to make the scene look more intense and high speed however in order to maintain high safety levels the speed was kept to a minimum. If we had filmed it at a higher speed we may have misjudged the stopping distance and Sean may have become seriously injured. Removing the speed from the situation removed any threat to Sean's wellbeing.

Planning - Demographic

Our demographic is young adults and teenagers between the ages of 15 and 25. We have chosen these as our target audience as other similar movies have shown to be received well by this age group, such as 1408. We believe that they will get our preferred reading of the film, which is for them to be drawn into the mystery and to be able to relate to the characters. The four main characters are all aged within this age range and are split between males and females. This means that through the ages alone our demographic will feel directly linked to these characters.
People that are only marginally older than our selected demographic may get a negotiated reading as they may relate to some of the concepts in the film and may still feel young enough to directly relate to the 18 year olds however they have become separated and have 'grown up' therefore they will not be able to get the preferred reading of this media text.
Adults who are substantially older than our demographic will get an oppositional reading as they will not be able to relate to any of the issues presents as they are from an entirely different generation. They will not entirely understand the use of technology and will therefore be cut off from the key concepts of the film. Children under the age of our demographic will not be able to watch our film due to the 15 rating however if they were able to find a way, as past cases have proven is possible due to evolving technology, they would get a negotiated reading as they would relate to the technology side as children are now growing up surrounded by this from a young age therefore learn at a high speed. However, many of the concepts would prove too mature for them and therefore they would be unable to receive our preferred reading.

Planning - Communication

We chose that the males in our group would act however we needed to draft in two females to play the fame characters. We originally approached in person for Shauna and India and the response was good. We decided that the most effective method of talking as a group was an iMessage group chat. This was possible as we all have iPhones and it kept all of our information in one place. However, once in the group chat Shauna became less keen so we replaced her with Hayley who was more keen and proved to be a good decision. We then proceeded to use a different group chat which was particularly effective on the day which we were filming at the barn as it allowed for us all to get to the desired location at the correct time. It was also effective when someone was not able to be there for certain shots at they could still have an input despite not being present.

Planning - Production Schedule

1st - 14th December - Planning and storyboarding
14th - 18th December - School scenes filmed
28th December - Scenes at barn filmed
4th - 8th January - Low quality take re filmed, extra shots filmed.
11th - 29th January - Editing

Planning - Scripts

We did not draft scripts as we have kept dialogue to a minimum in our trailer in order to increase the mystery. We have two key scenes which involve talking, one fast paced conversation at the barn and one between James and George at the car. We chose to improvise on the day of filming as we only needed short lines and believed these would be more effective if they were genuine responses to the questions. Due to the nature of our film it was important that we were able to transfer the characters emotions of worry and fear across to the audience and this was able to be done more effectively with improvised lines.

Planning - Characters

We have 5 main characters in our films, these are the four strangers who are thrown together and the spirit who brings them together. I will introduce each of them below.

George - Male character who is 18 years old, invited on camping trip with his girlfriend for his birthday at this barn location. He is introduced in his living room at home as he receives this message from his girlfriend. This scene stands out from the other introductions as you see the ghost in the background which offers the inference that he may be targeted first. I was cast as George.



Sean - Another male character who is 18 years old. His friend messaged him and also told him to meet there for a camping trip for his birthday. He is introduced walking through the school car park alone, which shows that he may become isolated at some point. Sean was cast as Sean.



Hayley - Female character who s 18 years old. She received a text from her boyfriend, which is shown in the trailer, asking her to meet at this location for a birthday surprise. She is introduced in the school library where she is looking at books. This is important as it offers the inference that she is intelligent and may be the character whom is able to resolve the later dilemma. Hayley was cast as herself.



India - She is also a female character who is 18 years old. She is invited to this location by her friends for her birthday, similarly to James. She is introduced sat alone in school indicating that she to may be at high risk, as shown further into the trailer as she is killed off at the barn. India was cast as herself.



The Spirit - The spirit is haunting these four teenager as they were born on the day that he and his family were killed, the 18th February. The spirit is shown rarely and when shown is just a black figure in the background. This is effective as it further shrouds this character in mystery for the audience. Adam was cast as the spirit.

Planning - Settings

We have two prime settings for our trailers, with two other settings which are shown briefly. Our main setting is an abandoned barn in which the four strangers are brought together by a mysterious text from people they thought they could trust. The majority of our trailer is based here as it creates confusion and increases tension due to being a location that the audience can not relate to. This is effective for our trailer as it allows for us to confuse our demographic in order for us to create the effect of mystery.

We have countered this by using a familiar location in the school. This offers the audience comfort as they will be able to relate with the characters as they have been in similar situations themselves. This will give them more of an audience pleasure as if we based the entire film at the barn they would feel separate from the film and it would not have the desired effect.

Our two other locations are my house, and an empty street in which a car scene is filmed. The house is used for the same reason as the school in order to create a relationship between the audience and the characters, and the street is used for the same reason as the barn in order to create mystery.