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• Document the process of my editing
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• Commentary on new footage, how it was shot, etc

Inspiration for soundtrack

The music that I wish to create for my media product will be dark, ambient and will be noticeable enough to unnerve the audience, but subtle enough so that it does not detract from my film. On Youtube I have found some examples of the general feel of what my soundtrack will be trying to emulate.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1vjTJTRn48

^ The above sountrack is entitled 'Haunted Sky' by Robert Christopher, and it is a good example of the kind of non-diegetic sound I wish to use within my film. It does not utilise any obvious instruments that can be picked out (such as guitar and piano, etc) so it has an eerie, almost natural feel to it, which is good as I do not want the audience to be overly aware of the soundtrack, but rather be immersed in the entire package. The music itself is also not very overpowering in that it will not avert attention from anything happening in a scene if used as a soundtrack.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxuvy-_F8iw

^ The above soundtrack is entitled 'Atrium Carceri', and is different to 'Haunted Sky' in that it utilises more recognisable instruments (such as chimes throughout and vocals part-way in) instead of just being an ambient soundtrack.  It would be an effective soundtrack to base my own soundtrack off since you can feel the tension building while you listen to it, which could be used to my advantage in my media product, as it reflects the horror/thriller genre. However, this soundtrack appears to be more technically complicated, both to create and listen to, and I think that this may detract from the overall experience of the media film I wish to create as the audience may be more focused on the music than what is happening aesthetically.

From these sountracks I have gathered that, in order to create a soundtrack that will be unnerving, engaging, but subtle enough so that it is not obvious that the audience is hearing a soundtrack, as this will make my media product even more unsettling. To create this I will use minimal instruments and instead utilise more ambient sounds to create a soundtrack that will enhance the aesthetics of my film rather than distract from it.

Complete storyboard

 

 

Short Film Analysis - Vanished

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sx0dCqPdysc&feature=related < Link to short film.

The above short horror film, entitled 'Vanished', was very helpful in terms of what I wish to do with my media product. Narratively, it includes a prologue scene which chronologically occurs after the main plot of the story, something I am incorporating into my media product to add tension and mystery, as well as introducing at least one of my characters, without revealing any of the following plot.

The above screencaps show the beginning scene in which the two characters interact. It is later revealed that the main character is visiting a therapist, which is very similar in plot to the opening scene I wish to create for my final media product. The rythmic cuts show that the dialogue between the two is uncomfortable and quick, which suggests that they are not entirely familiar with eachother yet. The camera is a medium shot for the supporting character, and a close-up shot for the main character, showing that the main character is dominant in the scene, although because the therapist character is shown from a low-angle shot and the main character is portrayed from a slightly high-angle shot, it is suggested that the therapist holds the most power between the two, or that the main character is more vulnerable.  The close-up shots of the main character also gives the film-maker the opportunity to better show emotion on the main character's face (which is important as in the film they do not initially reveal her reason for being at the therapists, just that she appears to be having some sort of existential guilt), and the audience will connect with this character more as they are focused solely on her as there is less of a background.

It is revealed in the first shot of the film in which the therapist holds a clipboard with 'Psychological Associates' written on it, and aesthetically, the furniture and decorations are suggestive of a therapist's office: there are numerous chairs, a desk, a lamp, and it is very neat. The costume of the therapist is consistant with this style, being quite formal in appearance. This contrasts well with the main character's clothing, which is a casual outfit with a few accessories. This draws more attention to the external surroundings being rather professional and well-kept. All of this together does suggest that the room is a therapist's office.

There is no non-diegetic soundtrack in this scene at all, which adds to the tense atmosphere that the scene is trying to portray. As the narrative of the story is relatively unclear at this point (as this scene chronologically happens after the main events of the film) a soundtrack could potentially divert attention from the emotions and subtle hints about the next scenes, which would ruin the mysterious effect that the film-maker was trying to express.

The next scene fades in from black and the location is shown in a clear white text at the bottom of the screen, which (along with the narrative from the previous scene) suggests that this scene takes place before the aforementioned opening scene.  The fact that the film-maker does not specify when or where exactly the scene takes place (beyond the name of the town and state) carries on with the mysterious connotations used in the previous scene.Indeed, it would appear that the two scenarios are only linked by the fact that the main character is in both scenes and the vague hint given by the therapist in the opening. This is further reinforced by the mise en scene: the main character is in what appears to be a dense woodland, where there is little human contact. This is also when the idea of (psychological) horror begins to instil in the audience: dense, unpopulated woodland is an unsettling location for a scene as they are completely surrounded by nature and help is unlikely to be found in the event of an emergency. Again, there is no non-diegetic sound as of yet. The diegetic (or possibly foley) sound, however (besides the characters talking), is the chirping of insects, which further reinforces the idea that the characters are alone.

The second character, a male, is introduced in the same camera shot as the main character, which may be to show familiarity between the two characters (which is confirmed by the main character claiming that it's their 6-month anniversary). The dialogue between the two characters is warm and shows emotion, and is on occasion teasing, which further suggests that they are comfortable around eachother. In the first twenty or so seconds that the secondary character is introduced, he already interacts with the main character more than the therapist did in the entire opening scene.

This shot is important to the film as not only does it establish the main setting, it is also the point where the non-diegetic music occurs, which is slightly unsettling piano music. This suggests that something is going to happen within the house, and that it will probably be something reflective of the thriller/horror genre as that is the type of reaction the soundtrack evokes. The house itself is aesthetically unnerving; it is a drab, dark grey in colour and you cannot see inside the windows, the fact that it looks so uninviting is a further indication that something bad will happen in the house. Another reason why the audience may find the location unsettling is the external scenery: it is surrounded by woodland, and, as the previous few shots show us, there is no other house around the area. This makes the scene appear even more scary as the audience realises that the two characters will be alone in the house.

The flashback scene is done well as it links to the previous scene through means of a voiceover, so the reader realises that this is the re-telling of a previous event rather than just another time skip. The short memory that the main character explains gives the audience a somewhat plausible idea as to what the unknown danger lurking within the confines of the house could be - the ghost or vengeful spirit of a young girl who went insane, killed her family, and then hung herself - in the very house that the characters reside in.

The news clipping that the main character finds in the flashback scene is aesthetically very old-looking, and the layout and font of it does make it look genuine, as well as the yellowed old-newsprint colour of the paper.

The music in this scene is, as I mentioned before, comprised of a voiceover, but there is also a subtle non-diegetic soundtrack which sounds eerie and disquieting to the audience, which may remind them of the music heard upon seeing the house so they may link these two events together.

The above shots effectively use the darkness of the house to the film-makers advantage: as an audience, we are inclined to think that bad things are more likely to happen in the dark than the light. There appears to be no natural light in the scene, and the only unnatural light used is in the form of candles, which not only provide a soft, eerie glow, but light the room well enough to establish the surroundings, but not enough to ruin the thriller effect of the darkness. The candlelight also highlights the fact that outside the windows is total darkness, and darkened windows can be unnerving for the audience as you cannot see if anything is looking in.

The next shot is a stark contrast to the previous scene: it jumps to the next morning, and the non-diegetic music soundtrack becomes a soft piano tune, which could symbolise the tenderness of the relationship within the film. The fact that the background is almost entirely taken up by a white daylight scene connotes purity and happiness, which is uncharacteristic for this genre. All is not as it appears, however, and the next scene demonstrates on how this scene was merely a method of lulling the audience into a false sense of security.

The girl from the news clipping in the flashback scene appears behind the male character and pushes him out of the window. Up until this point, the soundtrack had been soft and gentle but is quickly replaced by a horrifying swell of music as the girl appears, which unsettles the audience and creates fear, as the scene had previously been so calm.

The low-angle shot of this scene is not only reflective of the main character's view, but also very suggestive of the intimidation and power that the girl represents, not only to the characters but to the audience.

As the main character rushes to the body, he is seen to be lying on the ground below a sunflower plant. This is a pun on the location - Sunflower, Maine - and also links back to the news clipping of which the headline read "murder in Sunflower". The audience links the "murder in Sunflower" title and the literal murder and sunflower and makes the connection that the girl in the window must be the one the main character mentioned in the voiceover.

The scene then cuts back to the therapists' room, just as the main character is leaving. The camera angles at this point become more in favor of the main character than the woman, suggesting that the woman has gained some sort of status, though it is unknown why at this point. Upon leaving the room she drops a piece of paper that the therapist picks up. The camera then becomes a high-angle shot of the woman, suggesting that she has less power than she thought she did upon finding this new discovery. Also, when the therapist picks up the paper, the eerie piano music that played when the main character found the house is used as the soundtrack, suggesting that there is something sinister about the main character that was previously unknown to the audience.

The audience then discovers that the therapist has found the same news clipping from in the flashback but with one crucial difference - the main character is in the picture instead of the little girl, which links the story back to the main events again. This also leaves the audience confused as they just witnessed the little girl push the secondary character out of the window whilst the main character witnessed it, which makes them want to keep watching as, at this point, the narrative doesn't make much sense which again adds to the general mysterious feel of the film.

The final plot twist is then revealed - there never was a little girl, it was an elaborate coverup to hide the real murderer. The main character is the one who pushed the secondary character, and the reason that the audience was able to view the little girl kill the secondary character was because it was a depiction of what the main character was telling the therapist at the beginning of the scene. In the end scene the 'true' end is revealed, and suddenly the news clipping from a few shots previous makes sense. The music is still the same non-diegetic soundtrack used throughout the scene in which the therapist finds the news clipping, and this connects the two scenes to make it easier for the audience to understand the situation, as the plot twist can get rather confusing.

Overall, the movie was alluring to the audience, it was intriguing, and it invoked fear and mystery when the film-maker intended for it to. The camera angles were a good representative of the characters and their standing in the movie, and the fact that the film had a good pace to it, and basically the entire film was an elaborate plot twist, is a very good method of keeping the audience entertained and transfixed on the overall experience.