Planning/Research - Costume

Hello readers,

 Before we can film, we need to decide what our actress and actor will be wearing within the opening sequence. To gain ideas for costumes, we looked at 'The House on the Left' and, in particular, the escape scene. The woman wears little clothing, but what she is clothed in is covered in blood. She is also bruised on the face and dirty. Although we are not intending for our actress to be dressed in little clothing, we do want her to be bloody and dirty. Being so will add context to what happened with her captor before she escaped.                                Further more, we looked at the 1973 thriller movie 'Don't Look Now' (directed by Nicolas Roeg). As the genre of 'The Syndrome' is thriller, it is important we research into costume ideas from renowned films within the same genre. In the opening scene of the film we see a young girl drown. She is clothed in red from head to toe; this connotes danger, but also makes her significant as she stands out from the dull winter environment. Her other family members contrast with her, as they are all dressed in little colour. Red can also connote violence, as it is the colour of blood; she dies, so this creates a link. After watching this opening scene, our team decided to dress our victim in red. To create contrast, we will be dressing the captor in darker, dull colours. This also means he will not stand out, whereas our victim will; this will emphasize the fact that she has no hope of escaping as she can be seen easily, whereas our captor will be hard to see.

Planning - Permission to Film

Hello readers,

Before final filming proceeded, we needed to ensure that permission was received from parents/guardian. Due to our actor and actress both being under eighteen years old, it was necessary to receive permission from their carers to be filmed in an area where risks are potential.

Planning - Lighting

Hello readers,
In concern to lighting within our final opening sequence, we had originally planned to shoot at dusk; by doing so we hoped to achieve a more eerie visual. However, our group has changed this decision. We feel that the risk of having underexposed footage is too high, so we will now be shooting within the daytime. This gives us a longer time window and if we are unhappy with the colour of our film, we can always change this in the production process. Therefore, in consideration to lighting, we will be utilizing natural light as much as possible. However, in the garage scene and perhaps the caravan site, we will be using artificial lighting to highlight areas of detail. Shown in our test shots of the garage scene, we used a lamp which produced a warm glow to light dark areas; this creates ambiguity and adds a sense of mystery.

Planning - Look development (captor solo scene)

Hello readers,
 Upon choosing our location for the captors solo scene where he will be preparing weaponry and eventually realize that the hostage has escaped, we decided to do test shots in order to achieve look development and understand the shot types we would like to pursue in our final opening sequence and the lighting decisions that we face.
 After shooting we realized we underexposed to much. Although this enhances the mystery within the sequence it also means it is hard for viewers to see actions clearly; therefore, when shooting our final film we will over expose so we can later adjust through colour grading. We will use both natural and artificial lighting; natural light will ensure all can be seen, whereas artificial lighting (as done in our test shots) will be used for highlighting.
 The music placed over the montage is a soundtrack taken from Resident Evil. It is a soundtrack that may contribute to inspiring our own made track due to its ability to create tension and eeriness suited to our chosen 'thriller' genre.
 Overall, despite not being happy with the lighting within the test shots, I feel that there is some really nice shots in there that my team and I would like to pursue in our final opening sequence.
(For the clip to play the quality must be adjusted to 1080p HD)

Planning - Location Hunting (Tool shed and captive's prison)

Hello readers,

 After finding the main location for the escape scene (the woods), our team also had to find locations suitable for additional scenes; a tool shed where the captor will be filmed preparing weaponry of some sort and an alternative style prison where the hostage will be held at some point (whether this be the beginning or the end of the opening).

 We decided that this unkempt garage would be suitable for the tool shed as not only is it fitting due to the eerie feel of abandonment but  provides work tops  where some sort of arrangement of tools can be displayed. The window allows natural light in but could also be access for the character to watch over his captor from a distance. This chosen garage also implys it is in the middle of nowhere as there is no suggestion of residential or urban areas outside; this suits the thriller theme of the idea that there is 'no escape'.

 Above is the potential work top within the garage that could be ideal for the filming we are pursuing. It is ideal as there is already props (tools, ropes and so on) that are perfect for the location we had hoped for.

 As the garage is within a garden, we will ensure that the garden is not shown within the film opening.

Graffiti within the garage suggests a feel of neglect and therefore will fit the 'thriller' genre we have chosen.

For the alternative prison where the hostage is held, we chose to utilize this caravan. Not only is it fairly unkempt which will add atmosphere within our film opening, but it is also ideal for a prison as it is not your usual space to hold a captive which means there is less of a chance for suspicion to be risen and help to be brought forward to the captive, adding to the feel of helplessness and 'no escape'. Because this chosen caravan is positioned in a residential area we will have to make sure we tackle the issue surrounding not showing the external areas outside of the caravan; this is a problem we will have to consider before filming.