Lighting

This is an attempt I made at a gobo for the bedroom scene. It was meant to shine light coming from a window onto the room, however it didn't work and I instead used it to diffuse the light and give it some texture.

Set Dressings

These are some Victorian vignettes I've made of the detective and his wife, that are to be hung up on the wall of the bedroom scene. I used photoshop to turn photographs of the actors into silhouettes and also added a feathered circular border. Below are examples of real victorian silhouettes.

Location - Pool Scene

For the scene where the girl falls into a river, I needed a pool. Luckily my friend Iona had one in her house. It had dark tiles on the inside, which will make it easier to merge with the background shot of the river Thames. It also conveniently had a glass roof, so I could film a shot of the actress from above. I gave her a white nightdress to wear. I lit the scene with one battery light on the water, and one Angle poised lamp to highlight the her jumping in. We did a few test jumps in her swimwear, then did a few in her costume. I also experimented with the slow motion function on my camera which looked really cool.

Another Location

After recently going to St Thomas' hospital, I was amazed to see the perfect view of big ben, across the Thames. I decided it would be great for an establishing shot within the trailer. It would also add a more professional feel to the trailer. If I shoot it well, there wont be any modern buildings/cars etc, which would ruin the shot.

An old photo of Big Ben.

Actors So Far

Victim 1

The actress playing victim 1 is Sylvie Markes, she has large gloomyeyes and a look of innocence about her.

This is her in costume and with makeup. She has very little make-up to show her youth and virginal qualities. The red lipstick dramatizes the look. I also curled her hair slightly. Her dress has a timeless quality to it, and the colour goes really well with her pale skin tone.

The detective

The actor playing the detective is Savanh Phaophanit. He is handsome, and has a young and fresh but at the same time sophisticated look about him.

Savanh pictured above in costume and make-up. I made him look paler and styled his hair in a more formal manner. The detective is dressed elegantly in monochrome colours, to signify his ability to be impartial. He wears a velvet cape. He also holds a top hat in his hand.

His wife

His wife is played by Melissa Thompson, who is pretty and has an iconic, memorable face.

The Gravedigger

The grave digger is played by Eddie Markes. A great actor who can undertake cameo roles brilliantly.

Eddie in makeup and costume. A few days before filming I asked him not to shave, so that he would look less groomed. I used brown makeup on his face to make him look dirty, put black beneath his fingernails. Gave him black-outs for his teeth, roughed his eyebrow hair up, and darkened his eyes. He wears tatty clothing, almost as though its the clothing he's taken from the dead. He wears a delicately patterned embroidered waistcoat over a collarless shirt, with a cravat and a brown cape and finally a creased black hat. I gave him rosary beads, for being a gravedigger he would want to protect himself from evil spirits. His costume is predominantly made up of different shades of brown, to relate him to the earth at which he labors. He carries a lit wooden lantern.

Main Title Ideas

These are different versions of possible titles. Im hoping to superimpose the titles over a shot of an alley-way wall, or perhaps a dark scene with the murderer subtly in the background. Or perhaps over the killer's calling card (which is positioned above) falling onto a dead body. Or I could simply lay them over a textured image. The name is just a working title.

My initial idea was to have a misty scene, and then the mist slowly forming the title.

This version is the simplest. The mist seeps in to form the white letters.

This version is just an experiment, it was meant to be reminiscent of water.

The red version.

This version is the one I like the most, although the smoke needs to fade away at a slower pace. I think this is the most creepy version. I'm planning to work into it, to make it look more professional.

Soundtrack

This piece of music works really well for the beginning section of the trailer. It is minimal, and leaves you feeling cold. It is quite timeless, which works with the film being period. The very beginning is similar to the sound effect I created but more epic, and less electronic sounding. I put it to the footage I have filmed so far, and the timing was near perfect, I'll just have to make a few tweaks to move around some of the beats. The music later on becomes very sinister and eerie, and I have not yet decided whether I will use this section or not.

Poster Inspiration

The poster for sleepy hollow is very dramatic with the large moon which silhouettes the horseman. The twisted tree heightens the curve of the sphere. The moon creates a round border within the darkness which gives the impression of a vignette - relating the image to the film's period. The left is more of a teaser poster, the one below reveals the stars. Both posters have the gothic blood-red title situated towards the bottom. The tag line is bold and minimal. The atmosphere created is dark and misty. The position of the actors is nice, with the male facing the front, and the female on an angle. Looking back, a technique i could use for the two main characters of my film.

The Frankenstein poster is very simple, the main photo creates mystery and will be understood by people who know the story. Generating an active audience. The photos along the bottom, show all the main stars. The lightening font is quite cheesy but tolerable for the film is quite old now. It also relates to one of the key elements of the story.

Although the Jane Erye isn't gothic i really like the simplicity of the poster. I also like the pastel colours and the minimal font. The title font is in a sort of foreground, making the image look slightly 3D. Within 'Jane's' dress we see another characters face, it is quite subtle but effective.

Ident Plan 1

My opinion is that its too cheesy, like a bad 80's ident, the quality also isn't very good.

Titles??

This is a very rough idea of what my titles could look like. I tried to go for a similar style to the titles from the film Winter's Bone:

My ideal would be to have the titles drift onto the screen as though they were made of mist. The background being a dark cobbled alley. Perhaps with the shadow of the murderer on the wall. I'll need to find the right font, for this one is too cheap looking.

The titles for Sleepy Hollow are as though the words are ripped into the dark screen, allowing a bright light from behind to seep through the letters. If I could create a similar effect to this, i think my main title would really work.

Shooting Schedule

28/10/2010 - scene 1 - Victim descending stairs, victim approached by killer - Loc. Church Steps.

29/10/2010 - scene 2 - Detective, Gravedigger conversation - Loc. Graveyard.

19/12/2010 - Shot 11 - Girl fall into lake - Loc. Iona's pool.

01/01/2011 - Detective, Wife bedroom, wife taken - Loc. My House or Savahns house

- Detective Talking to friend - Loc. My house

02/01/2011 - Act 1 short shots - Detective running, Detective shooting, Killer standing in silhouette - Loc. Alleyway.

(03/4)/01/2011 - Act 2 + 3 short shots - Detective out of breathe, Detective pray, Detective w/ wife, wife look over shoulder, Wife dance in snow, wife blood on hands, Prostitute, pathologist, Killer's face, Killer walk, Killer grab axe, Killer put on glove

Pickups
29/10/2010 - scene 1 - Victim descending stairs, victim approached by killer - DAYLIGHT - Loc. Church Steps.

Shot List

Character Plans

Victim 1
The first character seen in the trailer is the young woman Sylvia. She’s alone, walking home from a day in the park. She has taken the short cut home, through a dark alley. She is very vulnerable in her large impractical dress. She is scared. I imagined her to look similar to Christina Ricci’s character in Sleepy Hollow. She should look ghostly and innocent.

The murderer
The murder is very mysterious; he wears a cape and hat, and leaves a calling card of a hanged skeleton. He only murders women. He knows exactly what he is doing; they are not random killings. We hardly ever see him, for he is too fast and strategic, it is as though we experiencing everything from the detective’s point of view.

The detective
The detective is the main character. He is quite young but clever, and mature for his age. He is handsome. He is similar to the character Johnny Depp portrays in Sleepy Hollow. He is very much in love with his wife Elizabeth. He has been working on the case of the serial killings for a while and is very close to solving them. However, when the killer makes his next victim the detective’s wife, the detective looses his ability to be objective and becomes captivated by getting revenge. I hope the audience will be able to relate to him, and trust him to solve the case.

His Wife
Elizabeth is mid-twenties. She is optimistic and intellectual. I imagine her to be attractive with long dark hair. I think the audience will be shocked and upset when she is kidnapped.

Animatic

This is my animatic without dialogue, it also gives you an example of how i want the sound to possibly be like.

Possible sound effect

This is a possible sound effect for the opening of the trailer, it is minimal and dark. It would be great for when the girl is walking towards the camera, to lift the energy. While trying it, i made each next sound effect louder or more echoey, to build suspense. The one problem however, is that it sounds too electronic, and this doesn't keep with the films period. It would disrupt the Mise en scene of the trailer.

Costume Research

Costume Research - Victorian Era

The second one is closer to the look im going for in terms of the women's costumes. It is quite a gothic silhouette, less flowing than the other examples, and more conservative and eerie.

Day for Night

As well as shooting at night, I am going to try the technique that lots of hollywood directors use. This avoids the film looking grainy, you don't have to use such a bright light, which can make a film look unrealistic, and it gives a nice early hours, twilight feel.

It can sometimes be very effective:

In Sleepy Hollow, they have used the same technique:

Set design - Alleyway Scene

For one of the shots, there is a patchy wooden wall on the right hand side. In order to make this wall more interesting, and involve it in the period feel of the film, I have made and got hold of some old victorian posters to litter it with.

In these screen shots from the film Little Dorrit 1988, the same poster technique has been used.

Recce - Act/Scene 1

Location Shots - Alleyway Scene

The location I have chosen is a small path which goes up a hill. It is surrounded by brick walls, or gothic railings. There is also a church and graveyard that surrounds it. The street lights are old fashioned too, they could be victorian. There is however a problem with the lighting, it is a large area to cover, and i think the camera will be following someone, i will have to light the scene very carefully. The street lights are very orange, and i want the scene to b more grey/blue, so i think the only way i can get round this will be in post-production.