FILM REVIEW + MOVIE POSTER
Thursday, 11 May 2017
Friday, 5 May 2017
Wednesday, 3 May 2017
Monday, 1 May 2017
Tuesday, 25 April 2017
Film Review
To create a good film review for Samhain I searched through newspapers and magazines at home such as Sight and Sound. I analysed film reviews also online reading Empire, which is the biggest movie fan based magazine world wide. I studied the layout in some Empire reviews and will employ some of the same techniques used by the writers to my Film Review.
Points that must be included on a poster to give information to the potential audience and reel them in would be to have;
Points that must be included on a poster to give information to the potential audience and reel them in would be to have;
- The film's title is a very import feature that must be added to the review simply so that the audience knows what they are going to go and see, using an odd title name could create mystery around the film to draw the audience in, the same audience response could occur using a grabbing title.
- The release date will be included in the review and poster, this is to guide the reader to know when the film will be in theatres for them to see, this is a good technique to employ on a poster or a review as the reader can then make plans to go and see the film on which ever date we will set it to.
- A description of what the film entails but worded cleverly to not give away too much information should be employed at the beginning before the audience engages with the actual written review, this is good to employ early so that reader has a purpose to keep reading whether the film is a no-go or not.
- It must be the end of the film review where the final opinion should be implemented, whether the film is worth a watch or not. The final opinion of the film will be the last part that the audience read, therefore if the review ends on a good note, the audience will be inspired to go and watch it.
- The main characters' actors and the director should be featured in the review to give credit and allow the audience to know who will be in the film and knowing the director can give them a sense of what type of style the film will be.
Tuesday, 11 April 2017
Making a Film Poster: Inspiration
Before making the movie poster, it would be a good idea to learn a little behind the construction. I found a time lapse video of the creation of a 'The Dark Knight Rises' poster, watching this gives me an idea of home much time and effort should be put in to the design.
This also reminded me that credits should be added to the bottom, with a date to show the release.
My favourite types of movie posters are Compilation Posters that have depth and a lot of imagery for the audience to interpret.
Film posters used in the Star Wars series have a style which can tell the audience a story before watching it, using such attention grabbing imagery, with multiple events going on at once. This is what I aim to achieve with the creation of our film's poster.
Star Wars posters typically have the main enemy super imposed in the background, I admire this as it looks as if the villain is watching, which is a direct link to our film. I could potentially emulate this for our poster.
Looking at these montage like posters is very exciting when done right, the posters will shape an idea in the audience's mind which will want them to go to the theatre to justify it.
This version of The Wicker Man poster is a similar style, but using hand drawn images. I admire the border and symmetrical sky design. I wish to adapt this technique to our poster incorporating dismal colours. To do this, I will draw images by hand, scan the drawings and convert them on to Photoshop, where they can be perfected and formatted in a fashion to grab the audiences attention.
As the film is a horror, I will need to draw some ominous pictures, such as upset skies, desolate islands, and an unnerving portrayal of the Pagan Wildmen. Using colours such as Red, Black, Grey and Deep Purple, will further help the audience indicate that the movie is associated with the horror genre.
Incorporating key images you see in the film is important when emulating this style, the light house, town, boat and the three characters will therefore feature in this poster.
This also reminded me that credits should be added to the bottom, with a date to show the release.
My favourite types of movie posters are Compilation Posters that have depth and a lot of imagery for the audience to interpret.
Film posters used in the Star Wars series have a style which can tell the audience a story before watching it, using such attention grabbing imagery, with multiple events going on at once. This is what I aim to achieve with the creation of our film's poster.
Star Wars posters typically have the main enemy super imposed in the background, I admire this as it looks as if the villain is watching, which is a direct link to our film. I could potentially emulate this for our poster.
Looking at these montage like posters is very exciting when done right, the posters will shape an idea in the audience's mind which will want them to go to the theatre to justify it.
As the film is a horror, I will need to draw some ominous pictures, such as upset skies, desolate islands, and an unnerving portrayal of the Pagan Wildmen. Using colours such as Red, Black, Grey and Deep Purple, will further help the audience indicate that the movie is associated with the horror genre.
Incorporating key images you see in the film is important when emulating this style, the light house, town, boat and the three characters will therefore feature in this poster.
POSTER DIMENSIONS
Dimensions are an important factor for the poster mainly for advertisement. The movie poster will need to be a portrait image so that it is able to fit in to traditional poster holders located in areas such as bus stops, cinema walls, train stations etc.
One sheet: (27" X 41") is the dimensions of the standard movie poster. These posters are printed on a thin paper and displayed on the theatre walls. The next most commonly used movie posters size is 40" X 60" these posters are larger, but still come in a portrait format. This size of poster is typically used for advertisements on bus shelters and train stations.
Tuesday, 21 March 2017
Character Profiles
a few short bios of the main characters in our short film. . .this will be helpful in constructing the audiences perceptions of characters, creating a better background image in their heads.
Captain Murphy
Dermott Murphy is a long time captain of the Sail la Vie, he and his boat have sailed across the Irish waters for the last 25 years. Murphy knows the ins and outs of the Irish seas, witnessing presences unfathomable to the average man. He has a mysterious spiritual understanding and connection from his travels, which comes to be a significant trait to have in the events included in the short film.
Ian Hughes
Ian Hughes, known as 'balloon' by most people, is one of the three main boys in production of 'Monsters and caves'. Ian has always been quite slow and silly, the class clown who really just goes with the flow with his side kick Nathan, who easily persuades him to do stupid troublesome things for his entertainment. Ian shows up to the film shoot in his usual dopey attitude, poking fun at the small insignificant things that amuse him, but all of the banter stops with the upcoming events at Donaghadee sea side.
Harry Evergreen
Harry is the outcast of group, thrown in to making a project with his two classmates who he is the complete opposite of. Harry is quiet, unconfident but works well when a task is set out for him. As he may complete tasks quite well, the events at the seaside will be the toughest obstacles Harry has ever came to face.
Risk Assessment
Tuesday, 14 March 2017
Background
The background of our film is loosely built around the Pagan festival- Samhain. This is an important part of the year for Pagans as it marks the 'Feast of the Dead'. Samahain was the time of the year where the veils of underworld and our world are at their thinnest, where the dead spirits could mingle with us living humans. In Pagan ideology, death is not something to be feared, but celebrated as it is a key point in life as is being born. Samhain is what non pagans would know as Halloween.
Inspiration for the film comes from the stories of the primitive pagan barbarians, who would sacrifice humans with the award of demonic power. In researching some ancient Northern European customs, it is believed that on summer solstice; the longest summer day, human sacrifice rituals had taken place. The purpose of these savage rituals is to connect with nature or 'the other side'.
It is said to be a danger in calling on to random spirits, but by covering ones self in the blood of the sacrificed will give power in the spiritual realm, but if not protected by the blood, demonic oppression can occur.
For our film, 3 characters will have sinned or tampered with an unwelcoming presence, the acts of those seeking the 3 characters blood will be inspired from the brutish last rites of Satan's worshipers.
Inspiration for the film comes from the stories of the primitive pagan barbarians, who would sacrifice humans with the award of demonic power. In researching some ancient Northern European customs, it is believed that on summer solstice; the longest summer day, human sacrifice rituals had taken place. The purpose of these savage rituals is to connect with nature or 'the other side'.
It is said to be a danger in calling on to random spirits, but by covering ones self in the blood of the sacrificed will give power in the spiritual realm, but if not protected by the blood, demonic oppression can occur.
For our film, 3 characters will have sinned or tampered with an unwelcoming presence, the acts of those seeking the 3 characters blood will be inspired from the brutish last rites of Satan's worshipers.
Wednesday, 1 March 2017
Costume Progression
Collecting Materials.
We took a day out with our Media Studies class in a hunt to find materials to use for our costumes. We went to Helen's Bay filling large plastic bags with seaweed, and sea shells. We collect just about enough to facilitate the production of these products. The seaweed had to be kept in the school's green so wouldn't dry up and become brittle, when the costumes with seaweed incorporated are created they will more than likely be stored in the green house to keep them in good moist condition. The shells we collected were brought to the sinks in the Art rooms where we rinsed all of the sand and dirt off of them so they could be moved to the next stage of drilling.
These materials fit the short film very well as they give the nature of the scene's location more recognition.
Along with the shells and sea weed, we will also use fabrics in the costume. We utilised our school's Art and Design resources for thick fabrics with rough textures such as hessian for the main body of the costumes, we also utilised old curtains and bed sheets to help us create out costumes.
One of the costumes we are working on creating is inspired by one of the Pagan Wildmen's attire shown below.
I admired the technique the costumer designer made by having multiple acorns (from my interpretation) beaded on strings hanging from the outfit. I wanted to adapt this aesthetic to my own costume in relation to the film's setting being the beach, so with all of the shells we collected, we spent multiple hours drilling small 4mm holes in each shell to then put on string to hang from the costume. This costume design has quite the eery, spooky element to it, which was an initial aim when writing for the film.
Another costume that had inspired the head wear for our project, was this mask worn by an Eastern European Pagan Wildman. It is quite evident in the photo that a fabric has been manipulated to create the large head shape. Another method we discovered to create large helmets/masks with ease was by using paper mache, which involved creating a mould from paper to then wrapping the mould in thin strands of paper lathered in wall paper place, after around 3 solid layers of newspaper were covered around the mould, and 3 days to dry, we were left with a solid rounded mask outline, quite similar to the mask above.
The next stage was to paint the mask a darkish brown to match the other garments of the costume, Ryan painted the mask with brown acrylic paint, I finished off the mask by drawing a mouth and teeth using black and white acrylic paint, and a sharpie to outline the teeth with.
I have focused on aspects from each of these costumes to then go and create to add to our own. From the first photo, the costume has a straw skirt, we acquired straw from our school's art resource. To create a straw skirt quickly and effectively, we will:
One of the costumes we are working on creating is inspired by one of the Pagan Wildmen's attire shown below.
I admired the technique the costumer designer made by having multiple acorns (from my interpretation) beaded on strings hanging from the outfit. I wanted to adapt this aesthetic to my own costume in relation to the film's setting being the beach, so with all of the shells we collected, we spent multiple hours drilling small 4mm holes in each shell to then put on string to hang from the costume. This costume design has quite the eery, spooky element to it, which was an initial aim when writing for the film.
- Shells collected from beach
- Sand washed off of shells
- Shells drilled with 4mm drill bit
- Shells beaded on string, knotted to secure
- Hot glue gun to attach shells to the piece
- Additional shells glued to the chest of the costume representing armour.
Another costume that had inspired the head wear for our project, was this mask worn by an Eastern European Pagan Wildman. It is quite evident in the photo that a fabric has been manipulated to create the large head shape. Another method we discovered to create large helmets/masks with ease was by using paper mache, which involved creating a mould from paper to then wrapping the mould in thin strands of paper lathered in wall paper place, after around 3 solid layers of newspaper were covered around the mould, and 3 days to dry, we were left with a solid rounded mask outline, quite similar to the mask above.
The next stage was to paint the mask a darkish brown to match the other garments of the costume, Ryan painted the mask with brown acrylic paint, I finished off the mask by drawing a mouth and teeth using black and white acrylic paint, and a sharpie to outline the teeth with.
- Large ball created with newspaper (mould).
- Wallpaper paste + water used to form pieces over the mould.
- Strips of construction paper cut out.
- Strips covered in paste and applied to mould.
- 4 layers applied over mould.
- 48 hours to dry
- Once dry, newspaper mould is removed leaving mask.
- Mask painted brown, with mouth and teeth also.
I have focused on aspects from each of these costumes to then go and create to add to our own. From the first photo, the costume has a straw skirt, we acquired straw from our school's art resource. To create a straw skirt quickly and effectively, we will:
- Measure strands of straw to cut out.
- Use an old belt to attach the straw to
- Use duct tape and glue to effectively join the strands of straw to the belt.
The second photo uses shredded rags as an over coat of the costume. We will distress old blankets and utilise the spare hessian to create an overcoat for a costume
With the photo to the right, I will focus on the skirt worn, taking inspiration to make my own. I am thinking of using this 'dress/skirt' costume as an undergarment
Wednesday, 8 February 2017
Tuesday, 7 February 2017
Shot Ideas: Creating suspense
SHOT METHODS
I have been inspired by some of the techniques used by Alfred Hitchcock to create suspense in the film. I read somewhere that to make the camera movements human-like as if in search for something will create suspense, with shaky timid movement of the camera it can build an awkward and potentially scary atmosphere for the audience. This way of using the camera will also build a better connection with the audience as this will bring in to the film more, as they will be put in the situation where they feel as if they are involved in uncovering the story.
Another method I researched to create suspense in film is to give the main characters of the film extra screen time, even if it is an extra 4 or 5 seconds than the shot would usually be, this will begin to create an atmosphere. These elongated shots go hand in hand with close up shots, creating a tense atmosphere allows the audience to study the character and identify the emotions they are feeling.
CHARACTER EXPRESSION
The characters' facial expression and body language is key to creating suspense in film. This shows the audience the type of character that the acting role is playing and how they react to a certain event in the story line. The actors' body language is important to creating suspense. The audience will know how they are reacting to something in the scene and can judge how tense the scene is with the characters' movements and mannerisms. The look of shock, language, heavy breathing, these are all different ways in which the audience can detect panic of the character adding suspense to the film.
To accompany the shots and expression creating panic, sound is a huge component to creating an intense scene in film. By using extended minor keys, this can create a negative sad effect on the film. Playing these sad keys at a slow pace progressively building speed into a large thud that will make the crowd jump. Sound is key in film as it can manipulate the audiences' opinion on characters.
via GIPHY
I have been inspired by some of the techniques used by Alfred Hitchcock to create suspense in the film. I read somewhere that to make the camera movements human-like as if in search for something will create suspense, with shaky timid movement of the camera it can build an awkward and potentially scary atmosphere for the audience. This way of using the camera will also build a better connection with the audience as this will bring in to the film more, as they will be put in the situation where they feel as if they are involved in uncovering the story.
Another method I researched to create suspense in film is to give the main characters of the film extra screen time, even if it is an extra 4 or 5 seconds than the shot would usually be, this will begin to create an atmosphere. These elongated shots go hand in hand with close up shots, creating a tense atmosphere allows the audience to study the character and identify the emotions they are feeling.
CHARACTER EXPRESSION
The characters' facial expression and body language is key to creating suspense in film. This shows the audience the type of character that the acting role is playing and how they react to a certain event in the story line. The actors' body language is important to creating suspense. The audience will know how they are reacting to something in the scene and can judge how tense the scene is with the characters' movements and mannerisms. The look of shock, language, heavy breathing, these are all different ways in which the audience can detect panic of the character adding suspense to the film.
To accompany the shots and expression creating panic, sound is a huge component to creating an intense scene in film. By using extended minor keys, this can create a negative sad effect on the film. Playing these sad keys at a slow pace progressively building speed into a large thud that will make the crowd jump. Sound is key in film as it can manipulate the audiences' opinion on characters.
via GIPHY
Monday, 6 February 2017
Shot Ideas: Dolly Zoom
I want to use a variety of different shots in the film which are relevant to the mood of the scene, for tense and startling moments of the film I will try to pursue a Dolly Zoom. This shot takes practice and to achieve a good dolly zoom equipment would be needed such as a track and a dolly to put the camera and tripod on top of. There are other more low budget methods we could use to create the effect, such as a bicycle on a homemade track, or skateboards.
As the videos show, to achieve a clean dolly zoom the camera needs to keep the focused subject the same size, while the background zooms in/out.
Dolly zooms are a good way of capturing panic in a character, the vertigo effect puts the audience in to the head of the protagonist. With so much going on in the vertigo shot it is symbolic of the rushing thoughts and fears someone may be feeling, in this famous extract from Jaws, Spielberg utilises this shot method to show the audience the nausea and how uncomfortable Brody feels when seeing the giant sea monster.
Tuesday, 31 January 2017
Distribution
What is Film Distribution?
The distribution of film is what makes the film available for an audience. Accompanied by promotion, when the film is initially produced it will be shown to audiences in a movie theatre.
A professional film distributor would typically devise an efficient marketing strategy to get a film to be seen by the intended target audience. Knowing what dates are best to release the film. What cultures should be targeted and where the film is promoted is key. The film should be available to the public either by movie screening, television viewing, or online for personal home viewing.
Distribution Companies include:
There are many different distribution companies which would specialise in the promotion and distribution of film. Those may include, 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros, Film4 etc.
I believe the best movie distribution companies suit for our film would be ones within my region being Ireland and the UK.
What distribution company would I work with and why?
I would choose a company such Northern Ireland Screen, Northern Ireland Screen was the production company incorporated in the making of 'Cherry Bomb', which I believe is one of the best films to come from NI. This company is also growing rapidly with success due to the amount of films coming to be shot in NI. This company also funds some popular film festivals in Northern Ireland such as a Queens film festival, Cinemagic fest and Belfast film festival, working with this company could benefit our film as it could potentially be shown to an all Irish audience that I believe would enjoy it the most as they may be able to relate to the themes within the film.
The distribution of film is what makes the film available for an audience. Accompanied by promotion, when the film is initially produced it will be shown to audiences in a movie theatre.
A professional film distributor would typically devise an efficient marketing strategy to get a film to be seen by the intended target audience. Knowing what dates are best to release the film. What cultures should be targeted and where the film is promoted is key. The film should be available to the public either by movie screening, television viewing, or online for personal home viewing.
Distribution Companies include:
There are many different distribution companies which would specialise in the promotion and distribution of film. Those may include, 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros, Film4 etc.
I believe the best movie distribution companies suit for our film would be ones within my region being Ireland and the UK.
What distribution company would I work with and why?
I would choose a company such Northern Ireland Screen, Northern Ireland Screen was the production company incorporated in the making of 'Cherry Bomb', which I believe is one of the best films to come from NI. This company is also growing rapidly with success due to the amount of films coming to be shot in NI. This company also funds some popular film festivals in Northern Ireland such as a Queens film festival, Cinemagic fest and Belfast film festival, working with this company could benefit our film as it could potentially be shown to an all Irish audience that I believe would enjoy it the most as they may be able to relate to the themes within the film.Thursday, 26 January 2017
Script
*Short opens with black screen, fading in to a Spearhead Productions logo*
Filmed at Donaghadee pier, Bangor:
SCENE 1
Establishing shot shows picturesque views of the beach, harbor and the pier, 3 different shots showing a dull early morning. Setting the scene of location.
Long Shot shows car parked to right of the shot. Character 2 stands in the middle of the shot, watching character 1 opening boot of the car to collect props for the days filming.
Close Shot shows the car boot opening to unveil props for the students’ film. A bag of equipment, a packed lunch, props include cheap Halloween decorations (skeletons, costumes, masks) shots directed in similar style to Robert Yeoman POV shot.
Character 1- walks over to character holding the props in his hands
Character 1- ‘Here it all is’ handing some props to character 2.
Character 2 looking at the props disheartened, and sighs ‘This is actually going to be brutal’
Character 1 ‘well you could have actually done a bit of preparation for this and it wouldn’t be so brutal’
*Mid way through Character 1’s response, camera switches from a Mid shot of the 2 characters to an Over the shoulder shot of an unknown walking towards the 2, tension builds as C1 and C2 bicker*
Another over the shoulder shot in the middle of character 1 and 2 reveals character 3, arriving to the set dressed in a pathetic monster pajama onesie outfit
Character 3- “Well boys”
2 shot of C1 and C2. Character 1 is unamused and his annoyance is shown growing, while character 2 sees the funny side of it and starts laughing, the two shot shows the contrast between the two.
C1- 'what is that... why are you a lion'
C2- *still sniggering* 'yeah where's your da's Freddie Kreuger costume'
C3- 'He's using it today'
The 2 just look at him in complete confusion again.
C3- 'Do we have everything?'
C1-'Have the props, shot list, camera, script etcetera etcetera...' *As he lists the accessories, shots show C1 from a POV angle grabbing them one by one. on 'etcetera, etcetera...' it will show character 2 holding said necessities for the film.
C3- 'right sorted, and... where's the boat'
SCENE 2
* 3 quick shots show the all over the boat, inside, front and side of the boat *
* A mid shot pans across the boys one by one standing together looking at the boat *
* Enter Captain Cooper, shot from outside the boat walking to the edge holding a mug of coffee*
Cooper- 'What are ya waitin' for! Jump on, we don't have all day!!' (He laughs a little and walks back in to the inside of the boat)
* The first shot on the boat, shows the 2 sitting together in boredom twiddling thumbs, while character 1 is at the edge getting some establishing shots for 'Monsters and Caves' *
Cooper- 'don't be lookin' all dull and spiritless, there's a lot in store for you today'
C3- im so cold and hungry, i'm just gonna eat now
walks over to C1, while he's filming outside of the boat
'what do you think of the islands, any good pictures'
'Well theres no lighthouse on lighthouse island and yeah I'm taking some video'
*Captain shakes head and walks to the middle of the boat to make an announcement*
Captain - "Have any of you boys ever heard of Samhain? Or better yet...
C1 - "What... chicken and samhain sauce?"
Captain -
* Enter Captain Cooper, shot from outside the boat walking to the edge holding a mug of coffee*
Cooper- 'What are ya waitin' for! Jump on, we don't have all day!!' (He laughs a little and walks back in to the inside of the boat)
* The first shot on the boat, shows the 2 sitting together in boredom twiddling thumbs, while character 1 is at the edge getting some establishing shots for 'Monsters and Caves' *
Cooper- 'don't be lookin' all dull and spiritless, there's a lot in store for you today'
C3- im so cold and hungry, i'm just gonna eat now
walks over to C1, while he's filming outside of the boat
'what do you think of the islands, any good pictures'
'Well theres no lighthouse on lighthouse island and yeah I'm taking some video'
*Captain shakes head and walks to the middle of the boat to make an announcement*
Captain - "Have any of you boys ever heard of Samhain? Or better yet...
C1 - "What... chicken and samhain sauce?"
Captain -
Wednesday, 25 January 2017
Costume Ideas 2
From researching websites, films and documentaries, I have now seen a lot of different pagan groups and their styles and different costumes, ranging all over Europe. I have gathered from my research that many of the materials which are used to create these costumes are easily accessible, some customs use simple cloth or burlap dyed different shades. Pagans also tend to blend in man made materials with natural, such as a normal fabric base layer covered in leaves, feathers or fur. Some Pagan wildmen also wear goat horns on their heads and in some costumes they may wear a full animal skull. Another natural material incorporated with the costumes could be vegetables, wearing a necklace of chilis or garlic is part of some pagan traditions.
With all that I have gathered, I sketched some ideas I thought of to create the costumes with:
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| Concept 1 |
This costume idea uses a base layer of normal fabric clothes. These clothes will have different colours of fur sewed to them.
A largish sized helmet will be worn when wearing this costume (such as a hard hat or american football helmet), by attaching many pieces of fur to the top of it so it hangs down and makes the pagans head look big will create a frightening character.
To also create a more unusual looking costume which is what I am aiming to do, I designed the top of the characters head to have stray pieces of rope coming from the top. On the eyes of the character I designed, it shows goggles being worn, as goggles are man made and usually come from store and are branded, it does not completely fit the pagan codes and conventions, but I designed them to like very hand made and amateur, using ropes, and wood carved in to circles for the eyes of the goggles.
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| Concept 2 |
The second drawing is a more humane concept to the first one. With more of mixture man made and natural materials. The head of pagan shows a simple fabric mask with an odd slice above the eyebrow region, again just added this to make it look more unusual. I also designed this mask to have horns of a goat, to display a more a satanic effect to the costume.
The base layer of the costume is a tunic made using fabric, and over the front, shoulders and upper arms, hangs some seaweed, which is relevant to our story as it takes place on a seaside island. Thin brown ropes are used to keep the tunic tight and on the legs I designed fur shorts that will be worn. On the characters feet normal shoes will be worn but will be wrapped up in bandages and when worn for a while when walking around, they will look quite fray and used. In the characters hand is a small brown pouch prop that fits the outfit.
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The third concept would be designed to fit a smaller person for the role, Using a large white fur overcoat with a large fur mask, again using the helmet method to make the head look bigger. Black leather gloves would be worn to keep the heat in. This design is more fitted to a snowy environment. I sketched this 'wildman' with a spear type weapon with a bag similar to the bag held in concept 2. These pouches I've drawn may or may not be used in the film with a sacrificial significance, maybe the hearts of those sacrificed will be put in the bag. Rope again is used as a belt but more for the hand made pagan aesthetic. Below the waste of the character is a skirt/kilt made from straw, In my research I came across many different pagans with different tradition but many had straw in common, so I believe that it is well fitting to our short.
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Monday, 23 January 2017
Treatment
Lá Bealtaine
School students reluctantly go on a trip to shoot their film for media studies in school, very half heartedly preparing for their movie, just wanting to present enough to pass.
School students reluctantly go on a trip to shoot their film for media studies in school, very half heartedly preparing for their movie, just wanting to present enough to pass.
Their film is called 'monsters and caves' for some reason (not mentioned) , they are filming at the local seaside by the caves. They use their own halloween decorations and things found around the house that sort of fit in the theme of monsters but not really. The movie (film within the short) is meant to be presented as amateur and lacklustre.
3 characters, 2 of them commit sin in different ways giving off a jerky, disrespectful attitude, misbehaving throughout the film. The 3rd character is quite timid and doesn't involve himself with the bad behaviour of the other two kids he has been placed in a group with. the two jerks tease the timid child having 'banter' throughout the film. The quiet one of the group is the only one who is focused on creating the boring film, trying to make it as good as possible with the pathetic resource they are stuck with, by bringing all of the props, his car, his camera etc. Only one of the two disrespectful boys brings a very unfitting monster pyjama onesie on board with him.
One of the students notice multiple St. Bridget's crosses hung around different sections of the boat. The captain tells the students of ancient Irish mythology, rambling on about scary stories which the 2 annoying children don't believe, joking about him, mocking the myth. The quiet boy turns to the captain and is attentive to his story. He speaks about the pagan wildmen that live on these islands, speaking tales of sacrifice, which the wildmen believe is necessary to keep the crops from failing. As it all might seem like a big joke to the 2 kids, the captain stated that the tradition was not to be taken lightly by the students when entering the islands. The St Bridget's cross is used to ward off the evil spirits on the island.
The group arrive at the island, jump off the boat and immediately begin to prepare to shoot for their film. The shy boy does not feel comfortable, feeling an odd presence, where he and his class mates are not welcome. During the process of the group filming, many things are 'off' and weird things are happening around the island, hearing things, seeing things that are unnatural. The 2 naive characters think nothing of it, taking no notice to some of the odd distorted objects and human like figures that the main character is seeing.
The final scene shows 4 towering figures, all dressed in pagan costume, not happy to see the boys filming. The sailor turns the boat around leaving them stranded on the island against the pagan wildmen, he yells in an ancient dialogue to the pagans from the boat encouraging them to advance with the ritual. The 3 are taken away and their lives are taken for the benefit of the pagan's customs.
One of the students notice multiple St. Bridget's crosses hung around different sections of the boat. The captain tells the students of ancient Irish mythology, rambling on about scary stories which the 2 annoying children don't believe, joking about him, mocking the myth. The quiet boy turns to the captain and is attentive to his story. He speaks about the pagan wildmen that live on these islands, speaking tales of sacrifice, which the wildmen believe is necessary to keep the crops from failing. As it all might seem like a big joke to the 2 kids, the captain stated that the tradition was not to be taken lightly by the students when entering the islands. The St Bridget's cross is used to ward off the evil spirits on the island.
The group arrive at the island, jump off the boat and immediately begin to prepare to shoot for their film. The shy boy does not feel comfortable, feeling an odd presence, where he and his class mates are not welcome. During the process of the group filming, many things are 'off' and weird things are happening around the island, hearing things, seeing things that are unnatural. The 2 naive characters think nothing of it, taking no notice to some of the odd distorted objects and human like figures that the main character is seeing.
The final scene shows 4 towering figures, all dressed in pagan costume, not happy to see the boys filming. The sailor turns the boat around leaving them stranded on the island against the pagan wildmen, he yells in an ancient dialogue to the pagans from the boat encouraging them to advance with the ritual. The 3 are taken away and their lives are taken for the benefit of the pagan's customs.
Prop Research CB
Prop Research
Prop Research
- Boat
A boat will be needed for a large part of our film as we would like to get some shots of the coastline and nearby islands. We will also be doing some filming of the captain on the boat as a way to explain the backstory to the audience.
We have found two potential companies that may take us out on their boats for filming. Both are giving a similar quote of between £150-£200 for a half-day on the boat. As filming is weather dependant, we will have to wait until nearer the time to decide on a date for filming.
- Halloween decorations (Fake props)
These props will be used to show that the film being produced in our film is very amateur and is lacking quality. The characters in our film will be in the same situation as us and plan to shoot a scary movie on the island. They will have various props and costumes for their movie that are clearly not up to a high standard.
- Car
- Camera
A camera will be needed for when we are filming on the boat. One character will be filmed taking photos of the sea and surrounding cliffs, caves and islands. This will be used to establish who the sensible character is and will show that one character actually has a genuine interest in what the group is doing.
- Backpack
Each character will have their own backpack as they will be on a school trip and this will make it more realistic and genuine. These could contain the various props needed for their movie.
- Celtic sacrificial weapon
A celtic sacrificial weapon is needed when filming on the island. The pagans will have this weapon to show that they are a potential danger to the three boys making the film. These weapons were used in sacrificial ceremonies to cut the thoughts of animals and sometimes, even humans.
- St. Brigid's cross
We will need a St. Brigid's cross to put on the side of the boat. These were usually set over windows and doors in order to protect homes for any harm. As we will have these crosses around the boat, it would suggest that the captain is trying to protect the boat form something in particular.
Costume
The sailor will wear glasses similar to these in order to make him and his style look dated.
The sailor may also wear a pair of fisherman's trousers to give him the look of an authentic sailor. These will be worn over regular, casual clothes such as a wooly jumper, boots and a wooly hat.
This is a 'Pagan Wildman' from eastern Europe. His costume is made from burlap, string, stones and bits of wood.
Costume
The sailor will wear glasses similar to these in order to make him and his style look dated.
The sailor may also wear a pair of fisherman's trousers to give him the look of an authentic sailor. These will be worn over regular, casual clothes such as a wooly jumper, boots and a wooly hat.
This is a 'Pagan Wildman' from eastern Europe. His costume is made from burlap, string, stones and bits of wood.
- Shells
We will need shells in order to create one of our costumes. Our costume has been inspired by this pagan dress made with rocks and bits of wood. We will drill holes through the shells and hang them from pieces of string.
- Seaweed
We will use seaweed in this costume as well in order to make it more relevant to the setting. As our movie will be filmed near the seaside and contain many shots of the coast, it would make sense to give the costumes a seaside related aspect.
- Burlap Fabric
We will use some burlap fabric to make the base layer of the costume.
This is a 'Pagan Wildman' from eastern Europe. His costume is made from a straw-like fabric and has several cowbells hanging form it. The cowbells could be to symbolise nature or maybe just as decoration.
- Cowbells
We have taken some inspiration from this costume and have decided that we would like to use some cowbells for one of our costumes.
This is a 'Pagan Wildman' from eastern Europe. His costume is made from red fabric strips along with a wig made from wool and a wooden animal mask.
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