Filming our thriller

On saturday, my group finally got round with starting to film our thriller.

Mise en scene

Location: We chose to do it at our local park in an enclosed area in order to have as much space as possible and not get any interruptions from anyone passing by.

Props: Samantha and Neelam brought along some cuddly toys to rest against the tree, Samantha bought a doll as that it is one of the most essential props to have considering it is the main focus for the opening. She also bought paper plates to go with the idea of her character having a picnic. Neelam also brought along a blanket for samantha to sit on. However halfway through filming, we realised we forgot the vital prop; a knife. This would be the weapon which Samantha's character had used to kill her victim with.

Make up, costume, hair: I begun with Samantha's make up where i did half her face painted doll like (rosy cheek, light eyeshadow and fake eye lashes) and the other side in a more darker way (painted scars, dark eye shadow). Samantha was in charge of what she wore which was a dress to symbolise her inner child self. We didn't have time to do her hair as planned however samantha brought along a pink hair band which matched her shoes and bow around her waist. She created the completed look really well.

Lighting and Colour: We did it on a sunny day to represent Samantha's character innocent side however with the dead body underneath the tree in the shade it will show a more darker and corrupted side to her character. The colours of the surroundings are all very natural with the main colours of green and brown. We then blended the colours with manufactured objects such as a barbie doll and paper plates; all with a pink theme.

Positioning of objects and characters: The dead character was positioned next to the tree and was planned to be hidden from the audience view in the shade until right at the end where it would be revealed she was apart of Samantha's toy collection, however after filming, we realised we didn't hide it that well from view and that the continuity of things wouldn't work out as one mintue the body wont be there in the beginning then the next it will be visible near the end. Samantha will always be in the middle of the framing; when shes playing with the doll, with the person passing by to the dead body.

Body language; Samantha sat in the same position for the whole time and always seemed happy and calm whilst playing but did sudden movements that wouldnt of been expected such as grabbing for the knife.

Roles:

Neelam: On the camera, dead person, .
Samantha: Main character: the girl, on the camera.
Shelley: passer by, on the camera, make up artist.

Problems encountered:
-Neelam began filming however midway through i realised there was no weapon which was a vital element to show how the person died. Neelam quickly went back home to find a knife whilst i filmed a small part of the middle sequence. When Neelam returned, myself and Samantha were not aware of how she positioned herself and where she looked in my footage therefore as Neelam continued to film the next shot, Samantha may be looking in another direction, in another position which would spoil the continuity of things and be difficult to edit.
-Also the knife was placed next to Samantha mid way; therefore it would be confusing for the audience who did not see the knife at the beginning.
-The props kept being moved.

After some deliberation, my group has agreed that we may have to re-do our thriller again. We will only definately do so when we have looked over our footage and it has not reached out expectations.

If we were to re-shoot, we would;
-Bring a sharper knife
-Make Samantha's make up more clumsily and spending more time on her hair.
-Place Neelam's body behind the tree and from the audience view in order to shock them near the end.
-Make Neelam more bloody.
-Keep Samantha in the same position at all times and remember what way she looked and sat before we do the next shot.
-Shoot Samantha dropping the doll; so we can add the flashback
-Find more toys to go with the collection next to the tree.
-Do shots of my point of view when i look at Samantha to establish that she is not really holding a doll.
-BRING OUR STORY BOARD!!!