Music research

Seven

Seven was very useful when choosing music for our film trailer because it is a 1995 film. Because the film was made over 20 years ago. This means that the film has a voice over man and there is very little in terms of background music throughout the entire trailer. 
We took this older style of trailer and used it as inspiration for the first section of our trailer. Our trailer is split up into three separate sections and we used an ambient sound named "Drone Suspense 2" when the antagonist is talking, much like the sound used when Brad Pit's Seven character is being introduced. This is different from Seven because Brad Pitt plays the role of a protagonist cop, whereas in contrast Henry plays the kidnapper.





Shutter Island

Shutter Island's trailer is heavily focused on the main protagonist's actions. It starts with some calming music and identification of location, slowly building tension as the trailer progresses. The speed and intensity of the music picks up considerably once the protagonist becomes aware of the news that the prison may be corrupt or something deeper is going on - not specified in the trailer. This was used as inspiration in our trailer because once the audience is made aware that a girl has been kidnapped the music develops from slow piano-like sounds to intense, fast playing music.






Silence of the Lambs

Silence of the lambs' trailer pacing is very similar to that of Shutter Island and solidified our idea to increase the speed and music intensity later on in the trailer. Silence of the Lambs had the main focus being between the police inspector analysing Hannibal and Hannibal himself whereas our trailer focuses on the battle between our antagonist and his captive, Rosey. We used this trailer to help develop when to trigger the quickening of pacing. In Silence of the Lambs they use Hannibal saying "tick tock, tick tock" whereas we use Daniella saying "he's taken her" to symbolise the build in intensity.

Age rating

According to the BBFC, there are many factors which can lead to a film being categorised as a 15 age rating. I feel as though our film would be appropriately classes as a 15 because of it's story line. Although there is no presence of violence, nudity or anything graphically inappropriate for younger viewers, the topic of kidnapping is one which older viewers may find disturbing. Presence of violence would limit our plot because our antagonist's motive is that he loves the girl, meaning he would cause no harm to her purposely and the trailer features nobody trying to save her, meaning violence is not present.

Imitable behaviour - Dangerous behaviour (for example, hanging, suicide and self-harming) should not dwell on detail which could be copied. Whether the depiction of easily accessible weapons is acceptable will depend on factors such as realism, context and setting.

Our production dwells on the act of kidnapping and could be kidnapped to an extent. For this reason the film is worthy of a 15 age rating in this sense.

Threat - There may be strong threat and horror. A sustained focus on sadistic or sexual threat is unlikely to be acceptable.The beginning of our production consists of Henry saying "they will learn to Love Me". This is not a direct threat but has connotations that he will influence people in some way, which could be perceived as threatening.

Sound effects

We used a variety of different sound effects when creating our production and feel they all served a different purpose, giving us a diverse range of audio effects in our production. We had the ability to use such a vast range of effects because of the free sound effects and music at our disposal during editing. The effects we used also had the ability to be easily layered, meaning we could create multiple layers of sound within the editing process.

 

Heartbeat and lightning

Arguably the most important sound effects in our production are the use of a heartbeat and a lightning strike when George remembers telling Elizabeth the news of Rosey's disappearance. The heartbeat works by the audience having the ability to infer who's heart it is, George's because of stress of re-thinking events of Elizabeth's at the time of the event as she waits for the bad news. The lightning strike also puts emphasis on Elizabeth's shock because she has dropped the night in astonishment as she comes to terms with the loss of her daughter.







Car noises

We used the slam of the boot and revving of the car engine to symbolise the urgency of the antagonist after the kidnapping. We turned the car volume up to 400% on the editing software to ensure the car is a key part of the production.

Boom

We used a boom sound from the editing software to highlight when the antagonist says "Love Me" in his performance. This is because the film name is a key part of the production and was important to signify the use of the title.


Footsteps

The sound of Henry's footsteps in the production creates impact towards the audience by showing he is following the two girls. This builds suspense because you are unsure why he is following them and also because the audience is unaware what he will do once he catches the girls.

Foley effects

Foley is the reproduction of everyday sound effects that are added to film, video, and other media in post-production to enhance audio quality. These reproduced soundscan be anything from the swishing of clothing and footsteps to squeaky doors and breaking glass.


Match strike - After we had recorded the scene with the candle being lit we became aware that the sound of the match lighting was not powerful enough. To balance this we muted the audio of the original clip and me and Aaron reproduced a match strike in a quiet room in his house. This match strike is then played when a title is still being shown and causes the audience member to question the noise and creates intrigue about the next clip.

Traffic noise - Much like the noise of the match, the traffic noise was interrupted by talking in our production. This meant we were forced to film traffic sounds through use of Voice Note on Aaron's phone and put it into our production in place of the original sound clip. To do this, we recorded when a lorry went past, much like it does in the clip, creating a realistic sound replacement.

Update - Changes in production

Characters

After three days of filming and the completion of our first draft, we made the decision to make a character change to our film. We replaced Aaron as the detective in our film and instead are using George, Elizabeth's partner. The reason for this change is because Aaron is only 17 years old, and even with the glasses and appropriate attire he still does not look appropriate to work for the police, damaging the realism of our production. This meant that we used some footage we took of George when we were first brainstorming our initial ideas but never made it into the film, instead of the scene with Aaron and Elizabeth. This also promotes realism because Elizabeth is Henry's mum, meaning there is a connection between the antagonist and the victim's mother because of their similar appearance.

Performance

We felt there was a need for a change of character in our performance, however we still felt Aaron's sympathetic tone was appropriate for giving Elizabeth the bad news. This meant that we made Aaron's performance a voice over instead of live acting, as if his voice was George's. This was beneficial in our trailer because we could present the trailer in a less linear format, showing George was thinking back on telling Elizabeth. This takes place in our trailer before Rosey is kidnapped, meaning the discontinuity is more suspenseful and gives away less of the storyline than previously.

Props

Much like the police board in the prop list, we also made an initial missing board that was much more basic. This has proved very useful in our production because we can present George to be working hard on the case, even in his home environment where he is keeping logs of events.

Costume - George

Much like Aaron's costume, we wanted to present George in a professional manner, meaning he would appear serious about his job and keen to solve the case of the missing person. We also had the ability to present George in a more mature manner, emphasising the obscurity of the case because an older detective who would be less naive still could not solve the case.

Button shirt - Make George seem professional and keen to investigate.
Glasses - Signify the fact he is "looking" for someone and is desperate to find her

Second draft

https://youtu.be/b1P-9uDQF98

First draft

We used some of our footage to create a draft of our trailer. We had filmed part of the production but did not have access to them so made the decision to try the editing software so that we could gain a better understanding of how to use iMovie when we edited our finished project. This meant we gained experience in use of templates, meaning we could work with adding pre-made effects alongside ones we had creating them ourselves. We also learned about after effects and how we could create moving titles and also gave us a better understanding of our narrative. Through our trailer research we could ensure we included the conventions we needed into our trailer draft as well as gaining some critical feedback.

https://youtu.be/cvlMOanBXN0

Script

St Joseph’s Catholic Church – Day 3, filming inside Church, Henry on seat and stood with arms wide

HENRY

They don’t understand, they never have but they soon will. I will put an end to this and one way or another they will learn to LOVE ME.

 

Henry’s house – Day 3, filming inside Henry’s house of Aaron talking to family members

AARON

Is your mother home?

We have reason to believe your daughter has been kidnapped.

 

A1 motorway – Day 1, Isa voiceover with Henry looking into distance

ISA

All I remember is him pushing me over and everything was a blur, he’s taken her.

 

Henry’s house – Day 2&3, close up of Shania with her being dragged back

SHANIA

Diegetic sounds, heavy breathing and screaming




"They don’t understand, they never have but they soon will. I will put an end to this and one way or another they will learn to LOVE ME."

We used this voiceover with the backing of the church to create an asynchronous effect and place further emphasis on the dialogue. This is in the first shot of the trailer and creates immediate tension for an audience and present the antagonist in a dark way.


"Is your mother home?"
"We have reason to believe your daughter has been kidnapped."

The inclusion of Henry's younger sister to play the role of Rosey's sister was key in this scene because it shows that the impacts of the kidnapping would effect all members of her family and friends. This highlights the importance of the kidnapping to the plot and immediately presents Rosey's family as protagonists who want their daughter back.
 

"All I remember is him pushing me over and everything was a blur, he's taken her."

This is key dialogue because it is from Daniella, the only witness of the crime. Her not being able to remember much about the kidnapper places further doubt into the minds of the audience about Rosey being found.


Heavy breathing and screaming

This diegetic sound of the breathing and screaming symbolises Rosey's desperation to escape from her captor. This means that the audience sympathise with Rosey and promotes hostility towards the antagonist, who refuses to let her free.
 

 

Risk assessment

There were many potential hazards that could lead to harm throughout the filming of our production. In order to prevent these hazards I designed a risk assessment. The purpose of a risk assessment is to identify any potential hazards that could factor and take appropriate action to ensure damage was not caused to those involved in filming and the equipment used. We created this risk assessment through a preliminary visit to our setting locations. This meant we could identify the potential risks and also allowed us to take photos for our settings post. My risk assessment was very successful and no damage was caused through the filming of our production.

Editing ideas

 

 

 

iMovie gave us a range of different sound and video effects, as well as transitions to put into our film. This meant we had the ability to explore a range of different techniques that would have been otherwise unavailable using different software, such as Premier Pro.



Costumes

One of the key parts of our production was that we wanted to represent the girls in a similar way so that we could outline that Rosey was unlucky to have been taken and it could have easily been Daniella. One way we did this in costume was to make the two girls wear partly the same outfits. They both wore the same black jeans and also the same black converse trainers. This was also useful in our production because it both developed the characters as being good friends, who share similar taste meaning the voice over of Daniella has more emphasis on wanting her friend back but also promotes their characters as stereotypical, fashionable middle class 18 year olds. It was also important that the girls dressed how they would on a daily basis because realism was a vital part of production and ensuring the characters felt comfortable in the situation they were acting and also that they appeared to be how they generally are to portray their personality was crucial for this.

Shania - Rosey:       

Black jeans

Black converse

Black top - also similar to Daniella, further solidifies their friendship to the audience.

Sleeveless coat - brings individuality to Rosey, outlines her as a more important character with bolder colours.

Isa - Daniella:

Black jeans
Converse
Black top
Fur coat - dark colour makes her less significant to Rosey

Henry - Antagonist:

Blue parka - long coat signifies intentions to hide identity
Black jeans
Doc Martins - unusual shoes resemble his strange and unstable mental state


Aaron - Inspector

Black jacket - Appear professional and fit the role of detective
Glasses - Add serious undertones to character and emphasises his "analysis" and keen eye
Black shirt - Appear smart and shows he is giving bad news, much like funeral attire

Props list

We used several props to enhance our production when it was being created. The different props served different purposes within Love Me, such as promoting realism, adding suspense or being a key part of different scenes. We did not use a great amount of props in our production because we felt as a small, independent production targeting the 18-25 age range it was more important to focus on elements such as character performance and shot type. This is because typical audiences of the 18-25 bracket have been conditioned to be used to the presence of things like weapons, rope for typing people up and fast car scenes, meaning we wanted to target the audience in other ways, such as enticing characters with a sound and continuous story line.

Candle & match: 

There were multiple reasons for the inclusion of the candle and match in Love Me. Firstly, the candle itself is a very childish, playful and feminine ornament. This means that it supports the concept that the antagonist may be making up for not being loved at an early age and along with the playground, this is another subtle reference that the character is not forgetting what happened in the past and may have a role in what he is doing. Furthermore, the lighting of the candle places emphasis on the darkness that he is holding Rosey in as well as connoting that he loves her because candles are associated with romance.

Rope, tape and chair:

This was used when we tied Rosey to a chair to signify that she is being held against her will and would escape if she had the opportunity. In the later film we would go on to show that Rosey had developed Stockhold syndrome and there was a progressive removal of the rope and tape, showing she was no longer against her will and loves her captive, much like he loves her. However, in our trailer it also builds suspense because she is trapped and alone with nobody suspecting she is there, meaning there is no likelihood she will be saved. The rope and tape were used in a similar way to how the handcuffs were used when capturing the main character in Hostage. This shows the audience there is little chance of the hostage escaping and symbolises the evil ways of the antagonist.






























Car - Ford Fiesta:

Aaron's car was used for our film in two ways, firstly it was used for transportation and enabled us to pick up Shania and Isa for filming when they were available with very short notice. This meant that with help of our social media communications we had the ability to plan filming and organise meet ups efficiently to ensure we had enough footage to meet our deadline. As well as this, Aaron's car was also used as a prop in our film. His car was used to put Rosey in the boot to give urgency and intensity to the kidnapping scene and also as the getaway vehicle, when the antagonist pulls away sharply with his victim still locked in the boot. As previously outlined, Aaron also drove the car in this scene without Rosey in the boot because Henry is unable to drive and also for insurance purposes.



Knife & hammer:

We used a knife in Love Me briefly to add impact of the shock for Elizabeth when hearing news of the kidnap. Elizabeth dropped the knife and we edited the clip to slow it down 50%, furthering the impact of the news. The knife was a small, blunt tool which looked very out of place in a suspense film, this helped to symbolise that Rosey's mum was not prepared for the news and that Rosey and her family were not familiar with the surroundings, highlighting Rosey's innocence in the situation and implying she is from a very ordinary, stereotypical middle class family. We also used a quick shot of a hammer using a smash cut. The presence of the hammer symbolises that the kidnapper intends to protect Rosey if he needs to and only makes a short appearance so that the audience do not associate the hammer with being used on Rosey and ensures the purpose of love in the narrative is maintained. We took the idea of the knife drop from the Kiss The Girls trailer, where it is used more randomly to show the presence of weapons in the remainder of the production. This creates large amounts of suspense and makes the audience aware the antagonist is armed.

Police board:


We created the police board from an old prop that was not being used anymore and changed it to be something that was perfect for our production. The police board was put at the start of our production and through brief use allowed us to intrigue the audience about the rest of the production, ensuring our trailer served the purpose of attracting the audience to watch the entire film. The police board also promoted realism in our production because we had an old prop which was still in good condition and through use of some printed images of our cast and also some of our friends along with some string and red marker pen we created a convincing police board. The prop was originally a map and this also contributed to the realism because the map is of the local area where our filming took place.

Camera shots & angles

Camera shots


Close up - This shot is used to focus on a specific part of production, such as emphasising character performance or the significance of objects. It withdraws and presence of setting from a shot and causes an audience to focus on the key part of the shot. This shot can also increase audience interactivity with the production as close ups can express emotions that would otherwise be missed by the audience. This shot is used in our production to show that Rosey is crying, giving the clear indication that she feels uncomfortable and scared, both emphasising sympathy for her and promoting our antagonist's sinister nature.

Establishing shot - An establishing's purpose is to show the audience where the action is taking place, giving the action a setting and increasing audience understanding. We will use an establishing shot in Love Me of Henry's house, giving the audience a location to refer to for later footage. This establishing shot will be very brief because too much explanation can demote the curiosity of an audience member.

POV shot - A point of view shot (POV) is designed to show the audience what the character is looking at. It is used to captivate the audience and it gives them the opportunity to see what the character is seeing from their own eyes. This shot will be used in our trailer from the kidnapper's point of view to build tension towards the inevitable kidnapping and also show that the kidnapper is similar to the audience, despite having a corrupted mind.

Long shot - This shot is used to show either an entire object or human in relation to the environment they are in.  An example using this could be when the antagonist is following the two girls and is used to show that Rosey and Daniella are walking side by side down a dark alleyway. This promotes initial insecurity because of a very remote and hostile location and also shows the direction the characters are going.

Mid shot - A mid-shot usually shows the knees/waist up. It still shows enough for the audience to feel as though they are looking at the whole object. Mid shots are usually used to show a scene of dialogue or action, where the characters' feelings and behaviours are visible. This shot is used for the discussion between the inspector and the parent and also when showing Rosey is tied up and cannot move.

Extreme close up - This shot shows either an object or person that focuses on just one feature and nothing else is visible. This is used in Love Me when Rosey is crying to show the tear running down her face and has a direct connection with the audience because nothing else is visible in the scene.

Over the shoulder shot - A shot where the audience get to feel like they are peering over somebody's shoulder. It is usually used when two characters are speaking, showing a character's viewpoint and the emotion on another's face. This was useful in our production for showing the kidnapper baring down on the two girls and also when Rosey's sister opens the door, focusing on the inspector because he is the key character of the scene.

Camera Angles

High angle shot - This angle is used to make someone or an object look inferior or vulnerable, above or "bigger" than they are both physically and in life. This will be a frequent shot that will be used both throughout the Love me trailer and the film because it promotes the antagonist as being in control while still masking his identity.

Low angle shot - The low angle shot has the opposite effect of the high angle shot. Instead of portraying vulnerability like the high angle shot, this shot connotes power and strength. This can be used in our trailer to look up at the kidnapper and show that Rosey is inferior and has no control over the situation.

Canted angle shot - The camera is tilted to show something slightly distorted. It suggest to the audience imbalance and instability. This is used in our film to not only represent the instability of the antagonist's mind but also to create confusion in the kidnapping scene.

Characters

Henry Dalrymple

He is going to play the role of the main antagonist in the film, as a character who has had his concept of what it is to be loved manipulated because of events in earlier life which are unknown to the audience. This role is very complex as we felt it was key that we did not give too much information on the character away in the trailer, to ensure our target audience remained intrigued and were attracted to our film. Therefore we used the subtle undertones of voice overs and a play park, as well as the lighting of a candle to signify the character only wants love. We took inspiration from the main character of Split, where we used the multiple personalities in his performance to help develop our main character in an uneasy and unreadable manner.

Aaron Hayes

Because of the low budget of our film, Aaron was forced to both act and play the role of the getaway driver in the film. One problem we faced through filming is that we intended the kidnapper to get away in a car with his victim in the boot, however Henry cannot drive so Aaron was forced to step in and perform the driving shots in his place. Aaron also played a small role of detective in the film where he informed the victim's mother of what had happened.



Isa Cusick-Knight


Isa played the role of Daniella in our production and is the friend of the girl who is kidnapped. Her role consisted of being the only witness to the kidnapping and would play a key role in the film if we were to film it's entirety. She was used for both the following scene and also a voice over between her and Aaron which we recorded post production on iPhone voice notes to signify a potential 999 call or call to the police.



Shania Conway

Shania played the role of the main protagonist in the film and we attempted to portray her as a stereotypical "girly" girl who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. She played the role of Rosey in production and was kidnapped by Henry in our film and is 18. We chose the name Rosey because Rosey links with love because roses are considered to be appropriate flowers to gift to a loved one, much like her kidnapper sees her as a gift to him.


We ran into a problem with filming because Isa and Shania both live around 20 minutes away from our filming locations. This was dealt with by transportation methods of cars and trains on filming days and meant social media communication played a key role in film organisation and planning.

Scarlett & Elizabeth Dalrymple

Scarlett and Elizabeth both make breif cameo appearances in our production and would have played a role in the film if we were to film the entirety, much like Isa. Scarlett makes one brief appearance in the trailer and her role was Rosey's sister, where she lets the inspector into the house and Elizabeth plays the role of Rosey's mother, where she drops a knife in shock after hearing what has happened.

Settings - Decisions

Alleyway, play park & car park - East Street


We used an alleyway in our production because it was ideal for filming in the dark with the lights from the neighbouring cinema and street lamps giving us sufficient brightness so that we could see during filming. It was also important that in the shots which needed continuity there was no change from where we filmed on different days and the presence of artificial light made sure that continuity remained. The alleyway played a key role in the filming of both the girls being followed and an opening in the alleyway with the play park gave us more room to film in, meaning we could have a wide range of shots - such as canted and over the shoulder shots. 

The car park also gave us a suitable place to film the car wheel spin scene and also the kidnapping scene itself. After consulting a member of site staff, who gave us permission to use the car park for filming we had a location which looked impromptu and could be used to promote the realism of the kidnapping, with the location meaning continuity was maintained because of it's closeness to the alleyway.

The play park in the background of the kidnapping allowed us to explore the previously identified idea that the lead antagonist did not have a loved childhood and brings that into question with it being there during the kidnapping scene and also the empty swing both suggesting the girl had been taken and also the antagonist was not taken there in his early life - leaving it empty.

St Joseph's Church - East Street

We were also granted access to the St Joseph's Church in East Street after consulting somebody inside. This meant that we were granted a short period of time to get some footage of the church itself and also our antagonist inside the church, giving us a setting which would have been otherwise inaccessible and making our production appear of higher quality to our audience. This location would also appeal to our target audience because the irregular nature of it in our production emphasises the obscure and sinister behaviour of the antagonist.

Henry's home & shed - East Street

It was essential that we could use somebody's house in the production of our film for a location that the kidnapper could take his victim. This is because the use of a house makes the kidnapper appear a regular member of society, similar to the audience and also suggests that people such as the police and his neighbours are unaware that he is capable of committing such crimes, meaning he has no reason to be detected and promotes the realism of our production.

Furthermore, we also gained access to Henry's shed as a substitute for the loft or attic we initially wanted to use. This is because the shed could serve the same purpose as the first two desired locations but was also far more accessible and easy to film in. Because the shed is in Henry's garden, we had the ability to move things around so that the location suited our production and also meant that we had the ability to film without interruption for long periods.

Pathway - A1 dual carriageway

We used a pathway at the side of the dual carriageway for a few shots in our production. This was a very useful location for voice overs of Henry in an obscure location and gave us the ambient sound of cars moving past, suggesting that Henry is on the move and will not be caught. The movement of traffic and headlights of cars also worked well to transition shots smoothly.