Twitter page

To get the word spread and to get people talking about our production, we created a Twitter page that people could 'follow' and directly communicate with. This enabled us to tweet frequently and keep the audience updated.

In the short caption about our production we explain the date of release and the individual 'hashtag' that we used for our production, '#SOMNIUMFILM'.

This was an effective way of targeting the specific audience through means that are common to them. We thought we would use this social media as many people can access it and it can be seen by anyone who tries to view it by having our profile unlocked.

It is a means of promotion and is a way of getting on a more relatable level with our audience by accessing them in their everyday, leisure activities.

This is a clever and cost-effective way of targeting the desired audience and the frequent ability to target the audience at any time we want to creates an efficient mode of advertisement.

Rough cut of our production

somnium from Gabrielle Royle on Vimeo.

This is a rough cut of the production so far. It is clear to see that this isn't the finished product due to a number of reasons. 
Firstly, regarding the sound we haven't yet found music that is appropriate to the production and consequently it is filled with all the background noise that was picked up during the filming of the production. There's also the aspect of sound effects that is a necessity to add - this should hopefully help the genre become easier to define and allow more of the conventions of this specific genre to be seen.
Not only this, but the screens where it fades or cuts to black aren't fully black. Unfortunately, they have two white lines on the right hand side of the image. This obviously needs to be changed and edited to a full black screen. 
Another aspect that needs to be edited is the order of the clips. Presently, the clips appear to be quite chronological which is an aspect or convention of any trailer film. Here, it is vital that these are mixed up and put in a more random order. 

There are some aspects that I do like - for example when Rosie slams the door and says 'Leave me alone!'. The match-on-action that is used here is done well, and is a scene that could be used to build up the pace to more of a crescendo. 
Not only this, but the scene when she is running down the alleyway could be used as the final image for the trailer. This could be effective as it can leave the audience wanting more and this could be aided by the sue of a billing block and either a 'coming soon' title or a certain release date. 

Overall, I think it's a good start, but title cards and sound are a necessity that need to be found and added. Not only this, but perhaps the order can be rearranged and sound effects can be added to create more of the conventions typically found in horror films. 

Production Diary 3. 3/12

For our final day of filming we had to ensure that the weather was okay as we still had some of the outside shots to film. This was only an option if the forecast didn't stop us. When we checked, the Wednesday was going to be clear but cold, which was the perfect type of condition to film in.

Our call sheet enabled us to see that we were all (cast and crew) free to film on the day required. Not only this, but the props we would need and the amount of time we needed each of the actors for. 


CALL SHEET

Call Sheet 3.12.14 PDF

We had to also go next door to film a short scene of our production. This was because of the location as it was more fitting for the production. We needed to film in a little girls' room and to create this as a whole scene would be costly and hard to do. Luckily, our actress for the start allowed us to use her room as it was a perfect scene.

We did have some input in the set design as we took a garland reading, 'sweet dreams' to hang above the sleeping girl.

We thought this was very fitting for the context used in the trailer as it is all related to nightmares etc. Not only this, but we do a close-up of the words so people understand the reference we were trying to make.

We also had to have two more actors that are involved in the opening sequence. We didn't need to cast for these, and instead just needed someone who looked similar to our main actress - Rosie. We got an actual mother and daughter to play these roles so the comfort and rapport between the two came across as natural and unforced. 

Production Diary: Shoot 1. 5/11

Our first day of filming was on Wednesday the 5th November. Here we had to shoot outside so we had to check the weather forecast to see if this was an option. It indicated that it wouldn't be raining and that it'd be a dull day, which was the perfect condition for our filming and ensured that the cameras and other equipment wouldn't get damaged from any potential rain. Luckily, it was sunny and a good day to film on.

This was our first attempt at filming and although we managed in the end to get all of our shots that we needed, we did however encounter a few problems and a few things that we would change for the next day of filming. Firstly, only two of the four members could film, because unfortunately half the group was ill. This was disappointing but luckily we were only filming one short scene so the schedule wasn't too hectic. 
We also encountered the problem that with our first few shots we had props in the corner (the bags of the actors) in the shot. Luckily we noticed this straight away and we were able to change this and re-take the shots. 

The image above shows that for one of our shots we had to take it off the tripod to get a shakey shot. This created an eerie atmosphere but also gave the shots we used a different range.

Next time to improve we will be more organised and tell the actors to come after we have set up, because this time we left for the location at the same time, which meant our actors had to wait for us while we set up for the filming. 

Prior to the filming we had to fill out a 'call sheet': 

Call sheet 1 5-11

This allowed all the information from the day of filming to be collated and kept in one same place. Not only this, but it shows us which actors were needed that day and the locations and timings for our filming.

Rating our production

Our trailer would probably be a 15; this is on the grounds that the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) prohibits certain things to be allowed to be screened to a younger audience. Below is what the BBFC allow to be seen in a film rated 15...

Within our trailer we could expect to see scenes of violence and potentially disturbing images for audiences younger than 15. It has themes that can be related to strong threat and horror, however there is no sustained focus on sadistic or sexualised threat.  

Shot List - changes

While on set, we realised we were over-ambitious with some of the shots and scenes we wanted to get done. 
Due to this, we changed and edited some of the scenes on set to allow more room for creative elements to be brought into it and allowed more room for ideas we had thought of on the spot, rather than sticking strictly to a shot list. 

Above are the images of our shot list and the marks we made on set, filming our production, that we wanted to either get rid of completely or edit. 

These were all decisions we decided on as a whole within our group as we all thought the changes we made were better, more creative and held more horror elements within them. 

Permission Letters and Location Recce

Music, Location and Cast.

Firstly, the music we got for our production was non-copyright. Therefore, we didn't need permission to use it. We gathered it from websites like www.soundbible.com and http://incompetech.com/.

Location Rec

Above are the risk assessments and the permission letters for our production. These were vital to ensure our own safety and our permission to use the locations we desired. 

Finally, we had to have permission from our cast members that we could use them in our production and have the rights to what we record. We did this by sending out letters to our different members of our cast to get signed by their parents and returned to use before their filming started. 

After we had these letters returned and all the paperwork completed, we were ready to start filming.

Make-up for Layla

Regarding our make-up, it was the first time we had tried out the make-up on Layla. This was a big part of the production because she had to look the part. We had already decided on the clothing she should wear, but when it came to face make-up and props and we needed to experiment a bit. 

We knew we wanted certain elements to be striking about her to suggest the horror element. This was things like a pale white face and dark black eyes.

Above is what she looked like before the transformation began.

Here are the different props we used to get her to look as she did in the production.

After focusing on her make-up, we then had to do her hair. Here all we used was water to make her hair look wet in clumps across her face. We then tied it up a bit at the back to make it look matted and unattended to. 

We then thought another small prop of a bandage with blood seeping through on her arm was a nice touch. This was simply done by wrapping her arm in a bandage and the fake blood was ketchup. This was easy enough to do and it looked really effective. This was another element we only decided on while we were doing her make-up; it was unplanned. 

Below is a picture of her overall make-up and costume. We were really please with how we had done in the creation of this. 

Although it was tricky, we remembered how we created this look in order to make the next time we completed her make-up more efficient and also remaining similar. 

Production Diary: Shoot 2. 12/11

Before we went filming we had to complete the call sheet: 

Call sheet 2 12-11

We completed this to indicate which scenes we were aiming to get filmed in a certain amount of time. This allows us to keep it to a rigid schedule and means we don't have to go over the top with what we need to film. It also allows us to focus on what we need to get done. 

When it came to filming, we had to get our props ready beforehand. 

This was what we used to show that our protagonist was crying. 

We also had to decide in advance about what type of clothing our actors would wear in order to have this all ready before filming started so we could begin filming promptly.

This time the location wasn't at school and we had to leave altogether. Timing this was quite difficult as there were six of us in total (including crew and cast), so finding a day when everyone was free became quite a challenge.

During this time of filming we came to change the script slightly. We geared slightly off our shot list as on set we came up with fairly creative ideas that we could complete well with the setting we were in. This meant our shot list wasn't stuck to completely, but we all felt we were happier as we had stronger scenes to put in our production. 

During the filming we tried different types of shots - one being in an alleyway to create the idea that she was enclosed and trapped.

We did check the weather forecast, however, it was unpredictable and therefore had to take precautions with us - an umbrella and thick coats to stay warm.

Shot list

Shot List

Change of cast

Into the pre-production we suffered a change of cast. 

This was down to the fact that our previous cast member, Megan Ashworth, was unavailable frequently meaning we couldn't get started with our filming as promptly as we would have liked to. 

This meant we had to try and find another member of our cast who could replace her. 

From here we asked Layla Khan...

This meant we could start filming sooner as Layla was more available and appeared to be more enthusiastic about the whole production.

Our Cast

The actress we chose to play the role of ‘Rosie’ in our trailer was a girl called ‘Rosie Goddard’. We chose her because we thought physically she fit the part, with long brown hair, quite pale skin and she is fairly innocent looking. This was essential as she was the vulnerable girl in the film, so we wanted her physicality’s to match her whole personality. However, she had the ability also to play the crazy lady which she later becomes as the film develops.

Our protagonist is an experienced actress as she has already starred in a film, ‘The Knife That Killed Me’. Therefore, we asked her if she would take part in our trailer as she has had experience in this field, and also proves she’s good at acting, which is essentially what we need as well to make our trailer more realistic.

However, it was harder to find someone to play the part of our antagonist. We wanted an older person initially, but we thought attempting to make one of our peers look like an older person would be a struggle. Therefore, we looked into it and contacted multiple local ‘Amateur Dramatic’ groups, requesting if there were any ladies that fit the criteria.

After little luck we decided we would have to slightly alter our expectations. We did have the idea of linking our antagonist to that of the grudge, with the young girl who is always present in the background. She has her hair all covering her face in order to look scary and mysterious.

We asked Megan Ashworth the play the part of the antagonist. She is 17 years old, and in our survey it became apparent that young people were scarier than old people, so we thought we’d adopt this idea.

We thought she would be ideal because we wanted quite a cold character, so we thought the pale face and really long blonde hair would fit well. We could put the long blonde hair covering her face to ensure the mystery and the whole initial idea of her being scary would be a key feature from the start. 

Storyboard

Storyboard

The primary purpose of a storyboard is to help you visualise what you're aiming to achieve with the film. It allows you to plan out and see the structure of your production and consequently gives you something to go off, alongside the script, when filming is taking place.

With our storyboard we made it quite simple, which meant that the key idea of the specific scene or shot was instantly recognisable when we looked at it whilst filming. Although the drawings are basic, the text underneath reinforces the idea we came up with which in turn made it less vague.

The longer scenes had more boxes to fill in because of the different angles of shots and people involved within a scene. Whereas with other scenes, for example Scene 5, we only needed one picture to show us what we were trying to do because the scene was only going to be a second or two long with a sustained shot, therefore less time needed to be spend prepping for that short scene.

Overall, whilst filming, the storyboard did help because the planning and the filming were quite different in time to eachother, this meant our ideas weren't as vivid as when we first thought of them. By having pictures alongside out script meant that we could visualise in more depth what we were aiming to achieve. 

Final draft of script

SOMNIUM-final Draft PDF by groyley

Second draft of Script

SOMNIUM-draft 2 PDF by groyley

Film company logo

For our company production logos we decided that we should have two different ones. 
We thought we should incorporate one real production company and then create one of our own to have in it.
Production logos are usually shown within the first few seconds of a trailer, this also helps establish genre and potentially act as a means of persuasion depending on what the production company is. For example, a huge company everyone is aware of is more appealing as they would have creating films people would have enjoyed in the past - which therefore means they're trustworthy. 

We did some research and decided we would use Blumhouse Productions as they are usually associated with horror films. Recently producing films like Insidious, Paranormal Activity and Sinister etc. These are all strictly under the horror genre which meant it was appropriate for our film. 

Not only this, but the look of the logo (shown above) has negative connotations as it is in a dark corner of an old house. 

From here we had to then create our own production company. We decided on the name, 'White Productions', which was a collective decision made by the whole group. We thought this appeared to be quite sophisticated and simple. After deciding the name we had to then create a logo. 

We initially decided on a font. Again, we went for a more simplistic approach. We though the serif font looked professional and then we decided to capitalise it completely for more of a visual impact. Not only this but we kept the font colour black, which contrasts nicely with the white background we used.

We also then though we needed an image to go alongside the text, because the text on it's own is quite boring. After much discussion we came to the overall idea of having an 'eye'. We thought this because of the connotations that this holds.

We thought it holds the idea that you are being watched or alternatively watching something. The first idea links nicely to the genre of horror, and the latter sticks to the idea of film and the audience watching the film. 

Our finished logo looked like this...

Overall, we were very happy with the production logo and thought it contrasted nicely against the Blumhouse one during the production as they were screened next to each other.

Character ideas

Below are some ideas of where we got our inspiration for the characters from, and some examples of these characters played in genuine films.

Antagonist: Our antagonist is going to be a timid girl, who’s likely to be quite scared because of what is happening to her. As the film develops, she becomes insane and her mind takes over and she becomes a killer.

A perfect example of this in a genuine film would be Jennifer Lawrence in ‘The House at the end of the Street’. Jennifer Lawrence plays a girl who gets involved with a victim of double murder. Although the genre is different, the structure of her character is quite similar.

Here she is seen in a good light, looking victimised.

Whereas here you can see the threat is turned differently.

Before she turns into this mentally unstable person, we think she would liken to Natalie Portman in ‘The Black Swan’ before she hits her mental struggles.

This is because they both also suffer from the same struggles and also because they’re of the same age, around 22 and lead normal lives. Initially we don’t see any threat from the characters in the films, but this slowly escalates, and this is where we can draw parallels between the two girls.

Protagonist: Our protagonist has to be a scary girl, who doesn’t talk. This heightens the horror aspect and the mystery that comes alongside her character. She needs to look physically drained and scary – scary enough to cause nightmares and frighten an 11 year old girl and still have this effect when she is twice the age.

We have taken our inspiration for her appearance from the film – The Grudge.

Here we see that she has her hair in front of her face and we, as the audience, become unable to see what she actually looks like. This only heightens the scary aspect and the mystery too.

Also, the same idea is apparent where she is always there in real life situations. Below we see a photo of where this is happening and she is omnipresent in situations. This creates a sense of uneasiness, creating the overall genre.

Job Roles within Film

Within the production of a film there are a few main roles that are vital to be involved so the filming and post production creates a solid, final piece.

Firstly, there's the director who directs the overall making of the film. They visualise the script and guide the crew members and the cast in their artistic vision of the script in order to create a final piece that they have envisioned. They need to, however, be mindful of the films budget but they also oversee things like the casting and the production design etc.

Moreover, there's the Producers, these prepare and then supervise the making of a film before presenting the product to a financing entity or a film distributor. However, producers can't always personally supervise all parts of their production, as a consequence of this the main producer will appoint executive producers, line producers or unit production managers who represent the main producer's interests.

After this, post-production is a key element and here we have the Editor. The editor cuts and puts the whole film together after working with the raw footage and choosing the best shots etc to put into the final production.

Crew List

Frankie Roncolli: Director, Assistant Editor, Script Writing

Alexia Docker: Assistant Director, Assistant Editor, Sound Production

Gabrielle Royle: Editor, Director of Photography, Storyboard

Rosie Chatterjea: Producer, Assistant Editor, Make-up and Hair

Naming our trailer

When coming up with the name for our production, we initially decided we wanted it to be a single word. We thought that this would have more impact as this is generally the pattern that most horror films take with naming their productions, for example 'Insidious, Sinister, Halloween, Psycho and Scream' etc. 
We thought of a few different ideas, but they didn't seem complex enough and we were aiming for a title that had an underlying meaning or something that the audience wouldn't really get until they've actually watched them film. 

We looked on different websites for ideas, and discovered different demonic names, etc. 

In the end, none of these were really that effective in our eyes. So we moved onto a different way of sourcing a name. 

Here, we had to break it down and came up with the key words that were to do with our film. We wrote a spider diagram with singular key words and then narrowed it down to the word 'Dream' as the most significant and relevant aspect of our story line. 

From here we Google translated the word into different languages, but found that the Latin translations were the ones that sounded most creepy. 

As a result of this, we collectively decided that 'Somnium' would be the name of our production. This translates directly to 'day dream' which we thought was extremely fitting considering the fact the our protagonist can't escape her nightmares, even whilst she's awake. 

Star image and power

If our film trailer was actually gong to be made into a real film, then for the actors I would choose well-known, famous actors with a star quality. This is because of the attraction people have towards a film more if it involves actors that they like.
Richard Dyer's theory can be proved to make sense as people are more attracted to a film if they have an actor they like. He suggests that 'stars act as a profitable product' for the industry. 

Firstly for the characters of Rosie I would have Jennifer Lawrence play her.

This is because firstly she is around the same age of the role she would be playing. At 25 years old she is the perfect age to have just become a teacher. She also has played some vulnerable roles in the past with the same qualities that Rosie as a character has. For example, as she played the role of Elissa in House at the End of the Street, she was a vulnerable character with some strong qualities. These qualities, however, aren't seen in the trailer - but are seen in the actual film. This is the approach that we would make with the character of Rosie. 

Not only this, but she is currently a very highly regarded actress which means the appeal to watch the film could be based massively on having her as the protagonist.

Moreover, for the role of our antagonist - Evylyn Crick, i would have someone like Helena Bonham Carter play this role. 

This is because, as an actress, she is extremely versatile. She has played hundreds of completely different roles which makes her very appealing as an actress.

Not only this, but she frequently appears as the villain in films, which means the appeal for her to perform to role of a scary, old woman would be fitting. Physically, she also fits the criteria as she is quite small with prominent facial features that could be accentuated with the use of make-up. 

Finally, for the role of the young girl - Eleni, it would be hard to actually say who I would cast for her character. This is because, children of this age haven't made their mark in the acting world yet, therefore picking an actress to play this character seems fairly impossible.