Filming update

Due to both mine and my actors busy schedules I will be filming any scenes with them after Christmas which will delay finishing date. To counter this I will be bringing forward the production of my ancillary products and filming what I can without my actors.

Finished Script

Teaser Trailer script from emilyapps

Timeline Update

Below i have highlighted the tasks i have completed in green. I have yet to begin my ancillary planning and am close to filming.

Date                         Task
29/11/15                Plot Finalised
7/12/15                  Story board of trailer
12/12/15                Location and mise en scene planning started
15/12/15                Script began
17/12/15                Casting complete
20/12/15                Production company idents started
28/12/15                Begin ancillary product planning

10/1/16                  Start constructing ancillary products
16/1/16                  Begin filming
28/1/16                  Start editing

7/2/16                   Ancillary products first draft complete
10/2/16                   Audience feedback on ancillary products and start making improvements
14/2/16                   First edit complete
17/2/16                 Begin production of sound/music
20/2/16                 Audience feedback on trailer and start make improvements
25/2/16                 Ancillary products finished
29/2/16                 Final trailer complete

Props and Mise-en-scene

A very important part to making a production of high quality is the props and Mise-en-scene. As i am getting closer to filming i will need to list the props and Mise-en-scene i'll be using in my trailer (below).

• Caution and Biohazard Signs
• Lab coat 
• Plain clothes (Like scrubs)
• Fake drug/pill
• Mirror
• Small torch
• Surgical mask

Props

Idents

I have decided to call my production company Screech Studios. I created this ident to fit with the horror genre. I did this through my font choice and the colours. Below is the still image and the animated versions of this ident. I added a 'screech' sound effect to the animated version to clarify that the film is in the horror genre.

Screech Ident from Emily Apps on Vimeo.

I also created an ident for the distributor. From my ident research post i decided that the distribution company ident does not have to be based around the horror genre meaning i can name it something unrelated to horror but i may still customise it to fit with the film. I have named the distribution company Pinwheel Pictures and have added an effect to the animation to show that the film is in the horror genre.  This is the animated version:

Pinwheel Pictures Ident from Emily Apps on Vimeo.

Ident Research

A film ident is basically a production or distribution companies logo that is played before a trailer or film. It is usually the companies logo animated into a clip between 1-5 seconds, but this is different for teaser trailers as they are very short in length and the idents should be a fraction of the trailer.

I am planning on having 2 idents in my trailer. One for the production company and another for the distribution company.  For most production company idents that are included in  horror films/trailers they are either companies that make horror films exclusively or they create in a wide range of genres.

Original ident

If a generally production company have their ident in a film they most of the time change their ident to fit with the genre or film subject. An example of this is Lionsgate. Lionsgate create for a variety of different genre films for example action and adventure, comedy, family, Sci-fi and horror. Lionsgate’s typical logo is grey. But they changed their ident and colour scheme to fit with the horror genre when they create a horror film. They changed the background/clouds to be red, this is becuase red is a conventional colour in 

Horror film ident

horror films as it connotate blood and death. 

Many horror production companies have their idents fit with the horror genre. This can be done with conventional horror colours such as red or black or horror related items such as abandoned houses or skulls. An example is Dark Castle Entertainment, they are known for films such as house of wax or orphan. Their ident includes castles, full moons and dark clouds.

Storyboard

Below is a slide share containing my trailer storyboard. I have included plans for my camera techniques and shots. This has allowed to to get closer to being ready to film.

Trailer Storyboard from emilyapps

Casting Update

As i have yet to receive a response on star now for my actors i have chosen to cast my friends. As their schedules match up with mine and are in the 16-23 age range my target audience prefer.

For the female character (yet to be named) i have chosen to cast Lily Potter.

She is 18 years old so is perfect for the cast age my audience like.

I have chosen to cast Harley Golder as the Doctor.

He is 17 years old so he also fits in the cast age range.

As he is only 17 and doctors are usually 25+ it may be a problem. But to over come this i will keep from showing his face with either keeping it out of the shot or wearing a surgical mask.

Casting

As my production is live action i will need to cast actors to play my characters. From my survey i found that my audience would like a cast made up of teenagers aged 16-23 or a mixed age cast. I have 2 choices with my cast i can either use class mates and hire internally or i can hire externally using casting sites such as StarNow or CastNet.

If i were to hire externally it would allow me to have a mixed cast and possibly more experienced and professional actors, this would be my first choice is casting but if i can not find suitable actors that are available at the right times i will use my classmates as they are easier to communicate with and are more likely to have schedules similar to mine.

I have posted a listing on star now to find my actors

Screen shot of casting listing