Filming and Editing: Recurrence Final Film

Evaluation: Audience Feedback

Evaluation: Progression From Preliminary Task

Evaluation: 7 Questions

Evaluation: Shot, Sound, Mise-en-scene and Editing

When filming Recurrence originally we had made the mistake of not seeing the location first hand, we had only seen pictures of certain areas of the house, yet when we arrived and looked closely at the location we realized that we could increase our shot variety, for example the high angle shot that we used to represent the isolation of Lara in the house would not of been possible without the grand staircase that was in the house.

Also when filming the first version of Recurrence the storyline was somewhat different to the final storyline. By having Lara running away we created the montage of shots of her walking down the driveway, which added value and variety to the film. In particular the close up where Lara walks towards the camera created a false sense of security as typically this  is what would occur when a troubled teenager was running away from her troubles yet she is in fact running towards her troubles.

The two locations that we filmed in greatly aided us in showing connections between the past and present. For two reasons in particular; the first the age of the house in which was shown as Lara’s Dads house bring is of an older architectural style adding age to the opening as well as working well with the storyline. The second is the contrast between the modern house that is presented as Lara’s mum’s house which and the older building of Lara’s dads suggesting that Lara instead of going to her future is crossing over to her past.

Also a huge part of the film is the symbol of the candle, a candle normally represents positive things such as romance or peace and in many religions is a sacred symbol. We use the candle in a similar sense where we have the candle lit at the start of the film symbolizing hope and peace however the candle being blown out creates this idea that all hope is soon to be lost and that there is no chance of stopping it as the idea of the candle is to represent in a simplistic way that everything is set in stone and that the past will always repeat itself.

The Soundtrack of the film originally was going to be Requiem by Mozart however we believed that this music overshadowed the content of the film. We then discovered “Peaceful Sleepers” a charity single released by a local band Amy’s Ghost and after trying it out with our footage as we believed that the genre of the music work greatly with the genre of the film,  we obtained permission from the band and added it to the final film.

During our editing we spent time looking at the different forms of transitions and practiced placing them at different aspects of unwanted footage and thereby gathering an understanding of what transitions and edits worked best with in our film.  Final cut pro was a very effective piece of software that allowed us not only to edit the film using a wide range of tools and techniques but to also export a film of extremely high visual quality.

Filming and Editing: The Editing of Recurrence

During the making of the film, we experimented using final cut pro. We used the original footage of Recurrence which we had already decided was not what we were going to use as the final opening, and so instead uploaded it as a test piece to see what edits would look most effective before we began to edit the actual footage. Due to the fact that we had only used final cut pro in the preliminary task our understanding and hands on practice with the software was not hugely expert. And so by testing our skills on the previous footage we had a real working knowledge of the technology that aided our editing of the final opening of Recurrence. Final cut pro is of professional quality and is what many film makers use when editing their films. The edits do defer from the original storyboard yet that was due to trial and error.
In terms of importing the footage we had little issues and when lining up the shots the main issue was making the parts of the film that lacked continuity link which is where using additive dissolves etc really adds to the value of the film. The main issue we encountered was placing the soundtrack in to the film, the soundtrack was not recognised as an audio file and therefore we had to record the soundtrack on to an unknown MP3 and that was successful we were concerned that the quality of the soundtrack would suffer from this however it was recorded using a very high standard of software and worked well with in the film as we had originally set out to do.
Overall we believe that the editing of Recurrence worked well with in the film and by preparing before hand we were able to work successfully, and benefit from the software itself.

Filming and Editing: Refilming

The re-film was successful, we were far stricter to the storyboard and script which allowed us not only to capture more effective and powerful footage but also allowed us to use our time more effectively as well as efficiently. We have added a few extra shots as we believed them to increase the value of our film.
The weather and lighting was well used and really added to the impact that the shot has on the audience. The two locations that we shot at were to a very high standard as the house that is used at the start and end of the opening adds age and history to the film creating the relevant link to history repeating itself by using a house that was built in the Victorian era. Where as the house where Lara and her mother argue is more modern creating the sense that time is moving backwards rather than forwards. Overall it was a very successful day of filming. 

Filming and Editing: Sound track Peaceful Sleepers

We have confirmed with the band Amy's Ghost that we have permission to use the single "Peaceful Sleepers" as the soundtrack for our film Recurrence. The soundtrack with appear in the opening two minutes of the film. We chose this particular song as we believe that is corresponds best with the content of the opening as well as the film.

Research and Planning: Finalized changed storyboard

Planning and Research: Recurrence Finalisations

We aim to target the film Recurrence at 15-18 years olds as it depicts the tragedy that befalls a teenage girl and therefore a teenage audience we believe would communicate best with the message we are sending out.

The film is something that we want the audience to be actively involved in and not passively involved in. We also wish to sell the film to a major film distributor such as Warner Bros and Paramount as the film is intended to best suit huge audiences and sold for cinema not nation television stations.

The Soundtrack for the film is Peaceful Sleepers which was Written by Amy Barton and sung by the group Amy’s Ghost, the song works really well in to the film and shows the tragedy as well as the triumph.

Planning and Research: Whole Film Synopsis For Recurrence

Synopsis of the whole film

Set in a suburban town, a teenage girl is seen to run away from her mother’s house to move in with her father. Lara (the teenager) does not realise what she is about to encounter. She enters the house expecting to be greeted by her father who appears to be out.

As she begins to explore the house and move her things in the audience begin to realise that she is not alone in the house, and that she is being watched. Lara calls her father who answers and says that he has been called out of town due to business and will be back a.s.a.p. A little spooked by the house Lara calls her boyfriend Matt explaining what has happened and he agrees to come and stay with her until her father comes back from business.

Soon the couple realise that there is something seriously wrong, and both say that they have seen a young girl walking around by the river and in the garden. Matt says that they are probably paranoid and due to the events that have happened all they need is a good night’s sleep and to put it to the back of their minds. Suddenly they couple wake in the middle of the night to find the girl standing at the end of the bed. She says that she is merely there to warn them that the same fate that had befallen her will happen to Lara and she must leave as soon as she can. They demand to know what she means but she vanishes in to thin air.

Overtaken by curiosity the couple find the old house records in a desperate attempt to find out who the girl was. They soon find out more than they wanted to. Her name was Lucinda Kent she lived in the house over a 100 years ago and was found brutally murdered along with her mother and brother her father was also found dead next to them and it seemed that he had taken his own life.

Confused Lara and Matt decide to leave and get away from the area, yet as they are about to leave Lara’s dad arrives back and says to the two that they are being stupid, that they were probably just imagining things and that they are perfectly safe with him. Reassured they decide to stay.

The next day the couple find that they cannot leave the house the doors are locked, and when they go down to the basement in search of tools to get out they find Lara’s mother and brother dead in the cellar. Frantically trying to find a way out they realise that what happened all those years ago was the father had killed his family and took his own life as he was ashamed of what he had done.

Lara and Matt as they try and leave the basement are confronted by Lara’s father as he points a shotgun at the two and states that he had to do it. But before he can shoot them both Matt leaps for the gun two shots are released in the struggle one hitting Lara’s Dad. As he lies bleeding to death on the floor Matt turns to reassure Lara and finds that she has also been shot.

He holds her until she dies and you see him leave the house before the police arrive. He later discovers that the young man who was courting Lucinda had been at the house when her father had gone insane and he disappeared after the family had been killed.

Planning and Research: Finalised Script for Recurrence Opening Two minutes

Script

Characters

Lara Allgood

Mrs Allgood

Girl

Scene 1

Fade In

Close Up : A candle is set against a stone pillar and is alight, words appear above “Some say that fate is set in stone” the words fade and new words appear above “yet what if fate was merely the past repeating itself” the words once again fade and the candle is blown out “RECURRENCE” appears above the candle.

Long shot: Of a girl leaving the house holding a lit candle

Close up of the girl holding the candle she looks up

Fade out

Fade in

Wide shot: Lara is sitting on the sofa non diegetic music plays over the top as her and her mother have an argument. Lara storms out of the room.

Long Shot: Lara slamming the door and walking up the stair well, across the landing to her room.

Montage of mid shots, close up and over the shoulder shots: Lara packing to leave the house, grabbing her things and walking back down the stair case putting on her shoes and leaving the house and walking down the street.

Fade out

Fade in

Long shot: Lara walking round the street corner and entering the drive way.

Another montage: Lara walking down the driveway approaching the house.

She lets herself in to the house and walks through the hall way under the stair well and out the back door in to the garden.

Long shot: Lara walking to the same position as the girl in the previous scene she looks around.

Fade out . 

Research and Planning: Filming

The filming of Recurrence went smoothy in terms of timing, however when we came to editing we realised that the actual footage that we captured did not work to the effect that we wanted and so as a group we have come to the consensus that some re filming was needed as well as a slight change to the plot as that was what was needed to make the concept of the film effective.

Filming: Filming Recurrence

Saturday 4^th February 2012

Filming

Time: 14:30-17:00

We had originally planned to film the first part of the opening during the early evening, however we realised that due to the room we were filming in that it would be best to film at about 15:00. The room we chose was circular and had several doors which allowed us to create this look of not knowing where the killer was coming from. And due to the time of day the lighting was just right to show enough natural light in to the room whilst letting the light from the candles show clearly in the room. The scene ran smoothly, and we made sure to repeat the shots so that there was a lot to work with when it came to editing.

We then filmed the outdoor scenes which went well, and we used at mix of long shots, close ups and panning to bring the scene together. And then we decided to change the way the opening worked. As we did the establishing shot from the front of the house yet when “Paul and Lara” moved in we shot from the back of the house and so we decided to clearly connect the past and the present. By having Lara walk through the house and looking in to the circular room. Then when her back was turned the girl from the first part of the opening would walk across, thus connecting the past and the present.

Overall the filming was very successful and we were all very happy with the changes that were made as they connected the past and the present more accurately and we gained an even wider variety of shots. 

Research and Planning: Our Chosen Location

We chose the house seen in the previous post because it is a victorian style and house and so would meet our criteria to set the film in a previous time period. We also think that the house suits both past and present and it will allow us to illustrate the idea that time moves on yet things continue to repeat as the house will be identically in both past and present shots.

Research and Planning: Storyboard artist Martin Asbury

Martin Asbury is one of the most renound storyboard artist who has worked on films such as the da vinci code, Harry Potter and James Bond. In making the storyboard for our opening we looked at his work to see what professional storyboards look like and what sort of work goes in to them.
http://www.martinasbury.com/sb_dvc4.html Link to his website and part of the storyboard for the Da Vinci Code. The image to the left if from Quantom of Solace.

Research and Planning: Synopsis of Whole Film

Synopsis

Recurrence

Set in a suburban town a young girl is praying in a very ritualistic way. Yet she is being watched, she kneels down and says the Lord’s prayer which are her last words as she is murdered horrifically by an unknown assailant.

Present day Lara and Paul Allgood daughter and father, have bought a new house near the town center and ideal for Paul to commute to work, yet little do they know that there is much more in store for them as they are moving in to the house where the girl was killed 80 years ago. They arrive at the house and begin to unpack boxes, Lara who is not all together happy about the move places a box on the hallway table, after coming back to the hall after collecting another box, she sees that the box has moved.

After moving in Paul receives a phone call telling him that he is needed at work a day earlier than expected and so he leaves his daughter alone in the house. Lara wakes up and sees that her dad is gone, and so takes the opportunity to explore the local area. She takes a stroll along the river behind the property where she meets Matt Simmons, who turns out to be her next-door neighbour, who after startling Lara offers to help her any time she needs him. Back at the house things begin to change, pictures have been moved and it looks as if the house is trying to get her to follow its inner depths.

Paul arrives home to find Lara hysterical and after discovering the root of the problem is just an “unlikely” and “unrealistic” tale about the supernatural he fails to believe her and thinks that she is merely making it up to get out of the place she didn’t want to move to. Terrified Lara calls upon Matt to help her and together they begin to explore the house finding more than they could ever bargain for.

The house is standing on a secret, a secret that no one has ever understood or never wanted to understand. That everything that we know is wrong. The world does not work in the way people assume. Time, is thought to run in a straight line with the past behind and the future in front. Which until 2000 years ago was correct, but a travesty occurred causing time to change so that everyone would be equally treated for the way the world has acted. Time now travels in a circle and the horrific things of the past come back and haunt everyone forever. And the next person to have time fall upon them is Paul and Lara.

Lara and Matt begin to search desperately to find the answer to setting the souls free. But time is running out the souls are becoming restless and soon Lara and Matt come t realise that the house will never leave them alone. 

THE PAST ALWAYS REPEATS ITSELF

RECURRENCE. 

Research and Planning: Dialogue

The script does not involve much dialogue as we wanted the audience to be actively involved in the film and so it is up to them to fill the blanks. We thought that having less dialogue in the first few scenes would mean that the audience would feel the uneasiness that we wanted the opening to portray.

Research and Planning: Sound and Music

We have decided that we wish to leave selecting music to after the filming is completed as we believe that this would allow us to create a more effective sound with in the film and so composing will begin once the editing starts.

Research and Planning: BLS MEDIA PRODUCTIONS

BLS Media Productions is a new production company, which is based in Pinewood Studios. We work on making major motion pictures for the ever growing British film industry. We are currently a low budget company that focuses on the story lines and basics of a film in order to make something great. Recurrence is our first major film yet we have made short films such as:
-The Briefcase
We consist of a production office supported by Debbie McWilliams and Shaheen Beige. And in the past have had funding from Film Four and The British Film Council.

Research and Planning: Props

The props that we need for filming are:
-A white lace night dress
- Candles
- Land River Discovery
-Boxes
-Hall Table


The main mise-en-scene that we want to be in the film is the house itself as that is the main history of the story. And so by using simplistic props the story will not be overshadowed by the mise-en-scene.

Research and Planning: Title Ideas

1.  Continuous
2. Unknown
3. Recurrence
4. Fate
5. Return of the Unknown
6. Replication 
7. Duplication
8. Repeat
9. Recurring Nightmare
10. Return
11. Chosen Destiny
12. Nightmare

We Chose Recurrence as we believed that it suited the concept of the film the most. As recurrence is about time and history repeating itself for justice of the souls to be reached.

Research and Planning: Synopsis of Opening

The film begins with a scene set 80 years ago. A young girl is seen playing for her life, before an unknown killer murders her. RECURRENCE appears on the screen with the sound of the girl screaming. The scene then changes to present day where Lara and Paul Allgood are moving in to their new house, the very same house as seen in the first scene. Lara begins to move in the boxes, yet soon realises that they are not alone in the house.

Research and Planning: Copyright Infringement Law Concerning Music

If the composer of the piece has been deceased for over 70 years then the copyright has not been infringed.

Research and Planning : Cast and Crew Confirmation

Cast
Girl: Charlotte Harris
Paul : Paul Allgood
Lara : Lara Allgood


Crew:
Production Company: BLS Media
Directed by: Sarah Harris
Written By: Rebecca Atkinson
Filmed by: Lara Allgood, Sarah Harris, Rebecca Atkinson
Hair and Make up: Lara Allgood


The above are confirmed cast and crew for the shooting of the opening 3/02/12


Music is to be composed and added in the editing stage.

Research and Planning: Animatic of original storyboard

This is the Animatic of our storyboard for our film recurrence.

Research and Planning: Original synopsis for Recurrence

Synopsis

Recurrence

Set in a suburban town a young girl is praying in a very ritualistic way. Yet she is being watched, she kneels down and says the Lord’s prayer which are her last words as she is murdered horrifically by an unknown assailant.

Present day Lara and Paul Allgood daughter and father, have bought a new house near the town center and ideal for Paul to commute to work, yet little do they know that there is much more in store for them as they are moving in to the house where the girl was killed 80 years ago. They arrive at the house and begin to unpack boxes, Lara who is not all together happy about the move places a box on the hallway table, after coming back to the hall after collecting another box, she sees that the box has moved.

After moving in Paul receives a phone call telling him that he is needed at work a day earlier than expected and so he leaves his daughter alone in the house. Lara wakes up and sees that her dad is gone, and so takes the opportunity to explore the local area. She takes a stroll along the river behind the property where she meets Matt Simmons, who turns out to be her next-door neighbour, who after startling Lara offers to help her any time she needs him. Back at the house things begin to change, pictures have been moved and it looks as if the house is trying to get her to follow its inner depths.

Paul arrives home to find Lara hysterical and after discovering the root of the problem is just an “unlikely” and “unrealistic” tale about the supernatural he fails to believe her and thinks that she is merely making it up to get out of the place she didn’t want to move to. Terrified Lara calls upon Matt to help her and together they begin to explore the house finding more than they could ever bargain for.

The House is standing on a secret 300 years ago hundreds of people were killed in the very spot where the house was built. And so for the rest of time the souls of those who died will haunt the house and kill all those who live in it. And the souls next victims are paul and Lara 

Lara and Matt begin to desperately search for the answer, to try and change the way in which time was changed, if it was changed once before maybe it can be changed again. They believe that the key is to try and find out what caused time to change originally and if they can find that and do the opposite then maybe time will change, but time is running out they have a few hours and a house that will never leave them alone.

THE PAST ALWAYS REPEATS ITSELF

RECURRENCE. 

Research and Planning: BBFC Age Rating Certification

http://www.bbfc.co.uk/classification/guidelines/15-2/


We think that the age rating of '15' would be the option in accordance with the bbfc age rating certification link which is above. We also wish to target our film at that particular age range as the main characters are ages 15-17 and so we believe that it will appear to that audience the best.

Research and Planning: Time Schedule

Monthly

November: Research
December: Planning
January: Planning/Filming
February: Post-Production
March: Post-Production/Evaluation

Weekly

Jan 2nd - 6th (Planning)
Jan 9th - 13th (Planning)
Jan 16th - 20th (Filming) [Weekend: (21st & 22nd) Film First Half]
Jan 23rd - 27th (Filming) [Weekend: (28th & 29th) Film Second Half]
Jan 30th - Feb 3rd (Filming)
Feb 6th - 10th (Post-Production)

[HALF TERM]

Feb 20th - 24th (Post-Production)
Feb 27th - Mar 3rd (Post-Production)
Mar 5th - 9th (Post-Production)
Mar 12th - 16th (Post-Production)
Mar 19th - 23rd (Evaluation)
Mar 26th - 30th (Evaluation)

[EASTER HOLIDAYS]

Research and Planning: History of Victorian Lighting

Our opening scene is set in the Victorian Era and so to be as accurate as possible the room would need to be properly lit yet with as little influence of electric light as possible and so this document has a detailed history in brief of Victorian light.
http://www.ironbridge.org.uk/downloads/

Research and Planning: Foundation Portfolio Storyboard draft