Choosing a Name for Our Film

After much discussion over the naming of our film, we have finally decided on 'Possession'. We had a few words in discussion, such as, 'I love you', 'Deception' and 'She Loves Me Not', but when these were placed at the end of our opening, they didn't seem to place as well as 'Possession'.
The writing is written in red to fit in with the blood and death theme of our opening and i also suggested to try and make the red spread across the writing as the gun shot goes off to look like the spread of blood from the character as well as the spread of colour into the title.
The actual name, 'possession', resembles what the rest of our films storyline features, about the character wanting to 'possess' the female character who features later on. The style that the writing is written in also resembles the hand writing of the character because of his mental state and the anger that he is showing; the cause of this being his mental state.

Completion of filming

We have now completed all of our filming and can now focus fully on the editing and getting our opening sequence finished on time. We encountered a few problems on location, with vital props, such as a lamp post being removed from the length of street we were using, and then trying to find the correct lighting from another lamp post further up the street. However, we were able to get the lighting similar and there was no problem with the continuity as the way we filmed it, made the street look similar to the parts we had filmed before.
There was also a change to our second flashback and instead of a proposal we are using a close up of a girls lips and a boys lips saying 'I love you'. To distinguish between the girl and boy, I wore red lipstick and we have edited this shot so it is black and white, yet the red lips are still in colour to fit in with the themes of love and blood that run through the film. It also fits with the colour of the title that appears at the end of the opening. We had a slight problem with this and had to move the clip over to a different programme to edit and then exported it back over.

Changes in the Sequence

As we haven't finished filming the rest of our sequence after encountering problems with the shadows and weather, we have decided to finish our filming tonight in the same location at a similar time, to keep with the continuity of the location and natural lighting.
Because of the problems with filming the shadow sequence, we decided to change our sequence. after someone suggested that we see the stabbing in person instead of in a shadow, I suggested that the victim drops his cigarette and we show a close up of the cigarette falling in slow motion and then show the flashbacks as the cigarette hits the floor.
I am hoping to take part in the role of filming more tonight than I did last time, especially as a member of our group may not be present.

First Day Filming

During a free lesson on Tuesday, me, Sam and Max filmed the one of the flashbacks that feature near the end of our opening. We found an office in school that wasn't being used because the owner was teaching and it was a suitable location what with the positioning of the door and the desks inside, fitting with the way I had imagined it looking.
This went very well and we managed to film different angles of the same shot so that when it comes to editing, we have a choice of which ones we wish to use and which will look more interesting.


At 5:30, we met at the end of the road we were filming on. I had brought the storyboards and a make-shift clapper board to use to make the distinction between scenes easier when uploading the film onto Final Cut, the software we're using to edit. 
We had problems with lighting, as the street lights weren't as bright as we had first thought, yet shining artificial light from a torch, didn't look realistic and ruined the effect of the shot, so our only option is to edit it brighter afterwards.
There was also the problem with passers by and cars, which meant we had to wait for them to pass before continuing filming, and the problem of the weather. The majority of the filming is completed, but the last section of filming was abandoned for another day as the temperature had dropped and it was too cold to act or hold the camera properly. 
I helped with the clapper board and setting up shots. I didn't do any filming, but next time I am hoping to take on this role a bit more. 


We have also begun editing the shots we have filmed, and are learning new ways of editing the shots each time we go on. For example, learning how to brighten up a shot but keeping the contrast with it at the same time. 

Production Company Name

As part of editing our opening sequence we have to include a production name and credits. As a group we discussed different names for our production company including "Two Ducks Full" and "Fire", before eventually settling on "Hollow Productions". "Two Ducks Full" made our film sound like it was going to be funny and the complete opposite to what it was intended and we felt that the name "Hollow" showed a similarity to the dark, dramatic opening sequence and didn't ruin our overall effect. It is also short and quick to say, so will stay in the viewers mind, but can also be related to someone dark and mysterious which keeps it tied into our film.

Plans For Filming And Shooting

The majority of our opening sequence is located outside on the street, so we needed to find a location that would be suitable for the shots needed. We chose a street in Loughton that was long enough for the character to be followed down, but also had a location at the top that overlooked the surrounding area, and as far as Canary Wharf in London, which was excellent for our establishing shot. 
We planned to film on Sunday 6th, at 5:30, as we needed it to be dark for our shots. However, we encountered a problem, as we had left the storyboards in the folder at school and so couldn't progress with filming without it. We re-scheduled to Tuesday 8th.
The flashbacks, which are featured in our opening, need to be filmed inside and so we have planned to film inside a school office during a free lesson on Tuesday. 
So that we don't need to involve other people and try and keep up with different people as well as our own group, I am taking on the role of the girl in the flashbacks, and Sam and Max are taking on the role of the two male characters. 

What Have Learnt From the Preliminary Sequence

After doing the short activity, working on the preliminary sequence, it is clear which shots are going to be difficult and which ones are going to be more difficult. As we have used final cut express to edit this and will be using it to edit our opening sequence, we have learnt how to use different styles of editing and now know how to edit our opening sequence and which ideas we have may be harder to bring into the opening and whether we will have to change them or not.
The use of the panning shot in our preliminary sequence helped us to confidently decide on keeping the panning shot at the beginning of our opening and we have also decided to use the over the shoulder shot as it created suspense in the right place and so will hopefully create the suspense we intend to create in our opening sequence.