Changes During Filming

A major change during the filming process was changing the actor who would play Michael. Barnaby, a student at our sixth form, was supposed to play this character as he fitted the description and would be available to film during the school day. However, his commitments outside of school meant that his schedule clashed with ours too often to be able to get filming done. Instead Lucy's brother, Matthew, stepped in to play the part and although he couldn't film in the school day, he agreed to film after school. He was also ideal for the shots we needed outside of school as most of this was at Lucy's house which was most convenient for him.

Another change we made during filming was to the script. We have very little speech in our trailer so it was important that it sounded good. The script was originally:

Holly: "Bad things have been happening to me"

Amy (voiceover): "So what's the problem?"

Holly: "Help me"

However, as we were filming we decided it sounded unnatural and scripted which would make the trailer seem unrealistic and therefore less scary. We also decided that we preferred the first line as a voiceover rather than a close up of Holly crying which we had originally planned as this fits better with the slow, calm pace at the start of the trailer as we want the tension to build up throughout the trailer. We settled on the final script being:

Holly (voiceover): "Weird things keep happening to me"
Amy (voiceover): What do you mean?"
Holly: "Help me."

USP

It is important that our film has a unique selling point (USP) to make it stand out and different to other films, especially as the thriller genre has specific conventions commonly used which we are also including.

The USP for our film is that it is a combination of supernatural thriller and horror thriller, as it includes elements of both. We aim to make the audience believe that the strange events which occur throughout the film are due to supernatural, however it is revealed towards the end that it is a friend who is responsible for the crimes. The crimes include kidnapping and murder which are gorey, a typical convention of horror but on the other hand the unexplainable events incorporate the supernatural element, along with the characters interest in it, explained at the start to plant the idea of supernatural in the audience's head. By having a combination of 2 thriller sub-genres, it also means that our demographic is wider as the film appeals to more people, those who enjoy supernatural films, and those who enjoy horror.

Another USP for our film is that it is British, set in England with British actors. Thrillers are typically American so it means that we appeal to not only American but also British audiences, again widening our demographic.

Our Demographic

Thrillers are typically certified 15+ or 18+. Our film targets both males and females aged from 15-25, therefore the age certificate for 'In The Shadows' is a 15. The group felt that this was a suitable age rating because the film includes violence, suspense, kidnapping and murder which would be unsuitable for a young audience to watch. We considered raising the age certificate to 18 due to the amount of violence in the film, however as the violence isn't actually shown, only implied and left to the audience's imagination we left it as 15. In addition to this, because our demographic is teenagers/young adults raising the age certificate would limit our targeted audience and result in a smaller audience for the film.

Research also helped us to make the decision of what to rate In The Shadows. 1408 is a thriller we studied in class, it includes suspense and the supernatural, similar to our film, and is rated at 15. The Woman in Black also features these things and is a 15 uncut and The Purge is rated 15 for it's strong violence and language. By comparing our film to others, it helped to give us an idea of what age is most appropriate for the film, considering the levels of violence and suspense that is included.

Group Communication

Before we began the filming process it was important we planned when we would be filming. We needed to organise filming during school time for the footage in a school setting and filming in our own time for the footage at home and at night. To organise this we planned timings during lesson and created a group chat for the members of our group to make communication outside of school easier and make decisions together. Here is an example of this:

  

Settings

We chose to have one of the main settings as a secondary school for our trailer. This is a setting that our demographic can relate to as it is something everyone has experienced and can understand. During research, we found that schools are common setting used in thrillers, for example The Gallows and Carrie. By using a relatable setting it makes it more scary for the audience as it seems more realistic and something that they could be affected by themselves. We filmed in areas of the school that included typical iconography such as lunch tables and desks to make the setting obvious for the trailer.

The field that features numerous times in our trailer is a key setting for the film. Unlike the school it gives a sense of isolation and loneliness, something which adds to the fear factor as there is nobody around to help if trouble occurs. In addition to this, the field is lined with trees and bushes, easy hiding places, which we show with long shots and establishing shots to emphasise the feeling of isolation and eeriness. The Last House on the Left, a thriller we studied in class, is set in almost complete isolation as it is mostly set in woods where there are no other people, or a lonely house at the end of a street in the countryside and next to a lake. This created fear as the audience worries that there is no help around, in addition to the fact that there was no power either.

Holly's house and particularly her bedroom are settings that we chose as it is a relatable place to create fear in the audience (as mentioned earlier). In addition to this, the inside of her house has a typical appearance to make the character and setting seem normal, and therefore this is also relatable for the demographic. Home is somewhere people associate with safety, however by including shots of Holly running away from something downstairs and the powercut threatens the sense of being safe at home, implying that it cannot keep danger out therefore creating fear. This setting is used in Carrie as it is common for thriller films to use relatable and realistic places like home as a technique of building fear and making it last after the film finishes.

Risk Assessment

Before filming our trailer for 'In The Shadows', we had to assess the risks that could happen during the process in order to avoid any accidents.

• The first risk that we had to be aware of was damaging the equipment. This was a threat because we needed to film in the rain and it was important the camera didn't get wet or it might stop working. To avoid this, we held an umbrella over the equipment and didn't film any shots that required moving the camera as it was safer to keep it still so rain couldn't get to it as easily under  cover. We also made sure someone was responsible for the camera and tripod at all times to look after it and ensure that it was safely put away into the bags the equipment belongs in when not in use.
• A second risk during filming was a shot that we had planned when one character pulls the hair of another character. This risked hurting her particularly as it was likely we would need more than one take to get it right so we decided to change the shot so that you only see a hand reach for the character and she falls backwards out of shot. This allowed her to be in more control by falling rather than actually having her hair pulled and although the audience can't see the attack, it is implied through this shot and therefore just as effective.
• Another risk worth our consideration before filming was a close up shot we had planned of a candle being blown out. This was a risk as it was important nothing/no one got near or touched the flame as it could burn or set something alight. To avoid this we cleared everything on the table first and were careful when lighting the candle. As we wanted a close up shot but didn't want any equipment near the flame we placed the camera further away and used the zoom to make it seem closer without any risk. When blowing out the candle we kept a fair distance away and put the candle on a plate in case of any wax dripping or even the candle tipping.
• The final risk we had to be aware of was filming in a public park. We wanted a shot of 2 characters on the swings and another shot of them swinging on its own. As it was a public place we had to make sure that nobody else was in shot or near in case of being hit or someone falling off which risked them getting hurt. To avoid this, we filmed in the park during the evening when nobody else was around so we could concentrate on filming and our safety rather than other people around.

Storyboard

Before beginning the filming process we needed to have a clear idea of the structure of our trailer and the shots we would need. To do this we created a storyboard to keep track of the order of shots, what needed to be included, duration of each shot etc to take with us throughout filming and editing and stay on track.

 

Our First Pitch

This presentation is our first pitch of the ideas for our thriller film, 'In The Shadows'. We presented it to our class mates and teacher in order to get a second opinion of our ideas and listen to any queries or suggestions they had for improvement. Each member of our group were assigned 3 slides to present:

Me:

- Unique selling point (USP)
- Target Audience
- Production company & logo
Lucy:
- Plot outline & narratives
- Characters
- Generic conventions

Victoria:

- Trailer conventions
- Music

- Setting/Locations

When presenting to the class we expanded on what the information already on the slides and went into more depth and explanation to make it clear why we made the decisions we did.