Thoughts/Features 7:

Throughout the opening, we filmed in Withington hospital mainly because we was relating back to the horrific genre of our piece. The hospital creates a cold and deserted atmosphere, and as many people dislike visiting the hospital in most cases we thought our film would create more of a nervous and suspension building feel. Continuously in our film, we have used flashbacks to gradually build up the nervous excitement for the audience. We have edited the flashbacks to a faded washed away red, connoting the danger, which then makes the audience feel nervous. It also suggests the evil and horror of the film. We have slightly changed the filter when focusing on to the chacater in the hospital to a faded dirty grey tint. The cloudy grey suggests the darkness of entrapment surrounding the girl which realates back to the flashbacks of the killer. Contracting with this the light whitness of the filter indicates the innocence and neglected freedom from the girl. It also shows the confusion and her cloudy memory as to why she is in that position.

Thoughts/Features 6:

The make up we chose to use in our film best suited a horror/thriller genre and added to the unsettling essence. For the girl in between the shots of the demented girl in the hospital, we chose to use a blue and grey eye shadow that emphasised the widening of her eyes and gave them a deadening dark look. The reason we did this is because the makeup not only added to the archetype of a ‘possessed’ girl but it also gave it an almost hypnotic stare, which could startle the audience. The crazy backcombed hair complemented the extreme physical look. The girl the audience see’s in the bushes plays an important role not only in the narrative but also in the mental illness of the girl seen in the hospital. We decided to include her in the opening so it gives the sequence that unnerving effect that will helpfully disturb the audience. This is why we had her looking more possessed than the girl in the hospital because she is the whole reason she is there, we emphasized this through the use of the diegetic humming and the predator expression.

The use of costume and makeup for the possessed girl in the hospital also needed to fit in with the genre and use the typical conventions. However, we did not use a typical hospital gown as it would be too obvious for our piece and did not want her character as a drop in hospital patient. Therefore, we used an old washed out dressing gown to connote that she has been there for a long period if time, multiplying the disturbing theme. For her makeup we used the effect of her crying by smearing mascara down her face, however it does not only create the effect of crying it also suggests distressing behavior. This emphasises
the zombie like walking, which encourages the audience’s imagination to wander, and question why she is like that.

Thoughts/Features: 5

We have finished our production process at our main location, Withington Community Hospital. Out of the two dates we completed the filming on the first date (15th March) as we were organised and the hospital were very helpful as they let us film in a corridor where there would be no interruptions as the appointments had all finished. They offered us various corridors upstairs and downstairs to which one would be best suited to our film genre. We explored the corridors available and practiced some of our shots and different angles, this was a great advantage as it allowed us to see which part of the hospital complimented not only our various camera shots but also the narrative and genre. In the end, we decided to shoot Ruben coming down the stairs of the hospital as it gave us the chance to use match cuts and aerial shot in an unusual angle. This connected to the atmosphere of the opening as it gave a sense of mystery.

The corridor we chose looked more effective as it was long and narrow with a large window at the end, which gave it an effect of the corridor closing in on the possessed girl.

Our choice of a hospital location worked very effectively and also gave us as directors, cameramen and editors, an essence of the feel of a horror/thriller genre and encouraged our ideas and improved them by expanding them deeper.

We are very thankful to Withington Hospital for their kindness and will be writing a letter to show our appreciation.

Main Task Shot List:

This is a shot list for our Main Task, The Reprobate, which is about a girl who becomes possessed by demons.

Shot 1. Medium shot of Nikki Leigh walking into the hospital.

Shot 2. Close up on Nikki Leigh as she enters the hospital and looks down the corridor.

Shot 3. Over the shoulder shot of Nikki Leigh, as she slowly walks down the corridor towards a flashing light.

Shot 4. Long shot of Kiera as she slowly walks down the corridor with the flashing light. However she gets closer meaning it eventually becomes a medium shot and even a close up.

Shot 5. Close ups of Aphra as the shots cut from her and back to Kiera.

Shot 6. Low angle shot of Kiera as she walks down the corridor.

Shot 7. Shot reverse shot of Nikki Leigh and Kiera in the corridor.

Shot 8. Extreme close up of Kiera’s feet.

Shot 9. High angle shot of Aphra on more than one occasion.

To be continued..?

Thoughts/Features 4:

Analysis of the opening ‘The Exorcism Of Emily Rose’.

The opening of The Exorcism of Emily Rose aims to unsettle the audience immediately and create suspense as a mysterious score surrounds the focus and attention. The titling appears by fading in and out creating, already a sense of mystery to the narrative (which is a key feature to a thriller/horror film). This is further exaggerated through the real recording of the girl Annelise Michel, who this film is based on. It is amplified into an echo to emphasise the disturbing effect on the spectator, not only through the unnerving and possessive sound but also the fact that no picture appears on the screen so it is left to your own imagination. Instead, writing in a blocked gothic font reading “This film is based on a true story” emerges and alarms the audience and expands the mystery essence. The non-diegetic sound effect is of the girl doing a devilish scream and almost growling creating a sense of a creature, which encourages an automatic response for the audience making them feel unnerved and distressed.

As a white screen fades in a medium shot of a barbed wire fence the title of the film appears. The single white screen connotes innocence and purity, which could foreshadow an unfortunate event to a vulnerable character. However it is then manipulated by the deep red colour of the title that suggests blood and danger.

As the title fades away there is a low angle wide shot of fields rustling in the wind. The diegetic sound effect is exaggerated to create an essence of anticipation for the audience as it leads to a false expectation of something about to happen. As the scene cuts to an aerial shot there is an establishing shot of a old crooked house in a desolate piece of land. This is a typical convention of a horror/thriller genre film as it builds up tension.

One of the interesting elements of the shot is that it is edited in a grey filter, which creates a de-saturation of colours making everything washed out indicating a isolating theme to the film. It also develops the mystic element of the opening. The house is emphasized in faint, which looks like, a sepia tone to imply an antique value making the audience anxious. This is another typical convention of a horror film as using the effect of something worn out or ancient creates an immediate effect of anxiety and builds up adrenaline for something to happen.