These blurry night vision shots add tension to the video, indicating the sense of forboading and mystery.

The film itself is about a young teenager going missing after a party. The affects of drugs and alcohol are apparent as well. The main character is shown drinking and smoking as well as buying drugs at the very start of the film. The night vision shots are of him intoxicated emphasizing the state of mind he is in, also bringing in the sense of impending trouble. This working on lighting was under my control as director of Mise-en-scene, which is a new area for me, I discussed it with James and we both came to an agreement with the use of night vision.

The main character is a white male teenager who lives in a fairly urban town. It is inferred that he is Heterosexual as he is shown kissing a girl. There is no other indication of sexuality during the film. This is negative as there is no representation of homosexuals in the film, which implies that they do not fit in with the heterosexual group shown. There are also no disabled characters in the film, which is also negative representation. However the lack of religion in the film is positive as it does not show Christianity being dominant. The representation of youths in the film is very negative as it goes along side with the stereotype that all youths drink or do drugs and are loud partying people. We decided as a group to keep this negative representation in the film as it would help attract audiences just like Kidulthood, however the reason no disabled characters are in the film, is purely for the fact we did not know any one available to act for us.

As Director of the film I decided not to use some of the party shots as they went on for too long, and the acting was not at the same standard as the other shots used. For example in several shots, the actors and actresses all stopped and then quickly started again looking anxious. This would have looked bad in the final project. Also as a camera man i used a variety of different shot types such as mid shots and close-ups, some of which looked better, so as a group we decided to use those shots in the film. Another shot type we used was Jump shots of the drug dealer waiting for the main character. This is a reference to Oceans 13, showing the time passing.  Also as director of Mise-en-scene, I had to do a lot of work on costumes and the props used in the shots. I decided that the drug dealer should be wearing quite suspicious clothing as well as a large coat, also a hat to cover some of his face and features. Another costume decision I made was the main character, I decided to dress him as the stereotypical teenager, jeans and a hooded jumper. This is another way I tried to link the main character to normal teenagers in a bid to get more people to see the film. Another way to get more and more people to see the film is by putting the opening sequence up on Youtube.com, and with the video open to the public it means we can evaluate the film more easily. It also means we can see how many people are watching our film, and what they think of it.

After doing quite a lot of research in to distributors of real media products I have decided that our film would probably be distributed by Optimum Releasing, a British distributor with links in the USA as well. This would be perfect for the film as the main audience is western 15-25 year olds. With this distributor the film could reach maximum success as the company also distributes DVDs which is normally the largest seller. They also make soundtracks and posters. This would further increase profit for the film.

During the making of this film I learnt several new things. For example I had never used a camcorder properly before and learnt how to playback and edit over some shots using the camcorder, as well as this, I had to remember the 30 and 180 degree rules whilst filming which proved quite difficult. I also learnt how to change the options and turn on night vision. I also learnt that as Mise-en-scene director, there is never enough room for all the props you want to put in the shot as well as room for the actors and actresses to do what you have asked, this problem were overcome by using handheld filming rather than a tripod which limited the space available. As director, I also learnt that it is a lot easier to explain your ideas to people who have studied or study drama, as they understand the positions and can improvise well and appear confident. This was a problem in the preliminary film as well. I also learnt a lot about editing software, the importance of flowing shots is key to the film and how people will view it; we realized that the windows movie maker is hardly the best piece of software to professionally edit movies.

Plot Synopsis

Our film follows a male teenager who we see buying drugs and attending a party. The character is shown dancing around with the other teenagers there. There is an obvious presence of alcohol at the party as well. The main character is then shown running into a wooded area looking scared, introducing the element of horror. The opening shows the disappearance of this character and sets the scene for the film.

Survey Results

What Age Group are you in?

• 10-15 – 2votes
• 16-20 – 15votes
• 21-25 – 3 votes
• 26-30 – 1 vote
• 30-40 – 0 votes

What is your favorite film genre?

• Horror -  6 votes
• Comedy  – 2 votes
• Family – 0 votes
• Adventure – 1 vote
• Youth – 8 votes
• Fantasy – 1 vote
• Sci-Fi – 1 vote

Where do you normally watch films?

• Your own house – 8votes
• The cinema – 3 votes
• Friends Houses -  8votes

What do you look for in a good film?

• 1. A good plot
  2. Quality acting and a good storyline
  3. Famous director/actors
  4. Scary scenes
  5. Good acting
  6. A storyline that I can relate to
  7. Set/Plot
  8. A tense storyline
  9. A good hook
  10. Famous actors
  11. A simple but affective storyline.
  12. a good atmosphere
  13. Good acting.
  14. Special Effects
  15. Violence/Horror
  16. A good opening
  17. Action
  18. Good reviews
  19. A good storyline

What is your favorite Horror film?

• Paranormal Activity – 5votes
• The Saw saga – 4votes
• Final Destination – 4 votes
• The happening – 2 votes
• Other – 4 votes.

Genre.

The film is a hybrid of Youth drama and Horror. The film is mainly going to be a youth drama though. Our survey results suggested that youth drama would be a very popular choice, mixed with horror as the second most popular. This influenced us to proceed with the genre hybrid.

Target Audience

The target audience for our film will be for 15-25 year olds. Although this target is quite narrow, it will incorporate how most teenager’s party, and young adults. The element of horror will be the twist on the film, offering a more complex storyline.

The Unique Selling Point

Our unique selling point for this film is the Youth/Horror hybrid we have created to bring in both horror fans as well as youths. The elements of horror and mystery will broaden our audience, bringing in larger viewing numbers.

Intertexuality

The film we are creating will refer to several films/shows, the most prominent of these films/shows is “Skins” and “Adulthood.”  The youth drama “skins” is very successful as a drama, it is closely related to the party lifestyle of today’s youth. This will be referred to in our film, as will the fashion sense and the language used. This is the same with the references to “Adulthood.” The horror references will be to “Paranormal Activity” and the night vision affects when filming. This choice was made due to the popularity it showed in the audience survey I did.

Job list.

Editor + Sound + Camera – James Watts

Director + Camera + Director of Mise-en-scene – Alexander Perry.

The jobs we have given ourselves are ones which I have limited experience in, except for director. This means it is a totally new thing for me and I expect to learn a lot about the dynamics of Mise en scene and being a cameraman. James on the other hand has quite a lot of experience with sound and editing and camera.

Casting

Our main character is to be played by Tom Mitchell as he received a B in GCSE drama and has a natural ability for facial expressions which are key in the final part of our film. The drug dealer was played by me (Alex Perry) other extras have a varying experience in acting, some of which took GCSE drama which was a huge help.

Technology:

Throughout the film we will be using night vision shots which will need some experimentation as neither I or james have used this affect before whilest filming. This means that some of shots proved better than others. In the kiss scene the night vision shot will be used to create the distorted and evident change in the picture to symbolise how intoxicated the characters are and also the importance the shot has to the story later in the film.  

Schedule:

Party Sequences 18^th January

Drug Deal 19^th January

Editing of these two scenes 20^th

Wooded scene 22^nd January

Editing of this scene 23^rd of Janauary.

Shot List

1. Main character walking away from the town. – Directors Name flashes (Panning shot)
2. The drug dealer waiting (jump shots) – Editors name flashes. Cameramen names flashes.
3. Main character shown walking towards the drug dealer
4. Drug Dealer sees the main character (panning shot)
5. Main character walking towards drug dealer, money in hand. ( forward tracking shot)
6. Drug deal takes place ( Extreme Close up)
7. Main character walking away from the drug deal. (panning shot)
8. Main character walking back towards the town. (panning shot)
9. Title Flashes
10. Party scene, teenagers dancing around and drinking alcohol (Mid shot)
11. Main character rolling a cigarette, (POV shot) – Actors names flash
12. Main character dancing around (night vision affect, mid shot)
13. Main character smiling and looking intoxicated (Night vision affect, extreme close-up)
14. Party scene, teenagers dancing around ( Mid shot)
15. Main character shown smiling and smoking ( close up shot)
16. Party scene, teenagers dancing around (Mid shot)
17. Main character kissing a girl up against a wall (close-up)
18. Party scene, teenagers dancing around (mid shot)
19. Main character running through a wooded area (night vision – mid shot)
20. Drug dealer catching and beating the character (night vision – mid shot)
21. Drug dealer punching the character in the face (night vision – POV)
22. END

Sound

The soundtrack for our final film will be written by James Watts as he studies Music Tech as one of his A levels. The song will be played throughout the opening sequence, switching from diagetic sound and non diagetic. As well as it switching, there are certain actions in the film that cause the song to get louder or to change tempo. There is no diagetic sound in the first 18 shots and it is just the sound track. However this changes when the main character is in the woods.

Camera

The shooting will be done by both me and James Watts, I will be filming the party scenes and the POV shot, James will be filming the drug deal shots and the shots after the party. We will be using a variety of shots, including jump shots during the drug deal shot to emphasize the time passing by. This is a reference to the jump shots in oceans 13 when Matt Damon is sitting in the van waiting.

Props:

Money
Skateboard –help for smooth tracking shots
large speakers
Fake drugs
Alcohol

The Costumes

The costumes will be party dress. The males will be wearing casual clothing, such as jeans and t-shirts or shirts and trainers. The main character and drug dealer will also be wearing either hooded jumpers or jackets. The females will be wearing party attire such as low cut tops and skirts.