Location Ideas

Shooting Script

This is the first draft of the shooting script, this may be subject to change depending on time limits.
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Shooting Script- The Class of 96’

Opening two minute sequence

Interior- Library- Daytime

SHOT 1-           Establishing shot- WS of the queue of teens in library.

                       

SHOT 2-           ZOOM in to MS of Evan playing on his phone.

SHOT 3-           Two shot (MS) of Luke and Anna talking.

SHOT 4-           PAN right following Anna to the desk to collect the box.

SHOT 5-           Two shot of Evan and Luke laughing.

SHOT 6-           WS of Evan on his phone and Luke collecting the box.

SHOT 7-           CU of Evan responding to his name being called.

SHOT 8-           PAN right to a two shot of Evan collecting a box.

Interior- Corridor-Daytime

SHOT 9-           MLS (contrast) of the door shutting by itself.

Interior- Bedroom- Day

SHOT 10-         HIGH ANGLE MLS of Evan unpacking the box.

SHOT 11-         MS of Evan drawing the curtain.

Exterior- Car park- Daytime

SHOT 12-         WS to CU on rope (contrast).

Interior- Corridor- Day

SHOT 13-         Over the shoulder (Evan).

SHOT 14-         POV CU of timetable.

Interior- Library- Night

SHOT 15-         MLS to CU on book (contrast).

Interior- Canteen- Daytime

SHOT 16-         WS establishing scene.

SHOT 17-         CU of Evan asking question.

SHOT 18-         MCU of Evan, Luke and Anna around the table.

SHOT 19-         MS of others smiling and reacting to Evan’s final line.

Interior- Empty Classroom- Night

SHOT 20-         WS of classroom with the lights flickering (Contrast).

Interior- Library- Daytime

SHOT 21-         WS establishing scene .

SHOT 22-         MCU of Evan on the computer.

SHOT 23-         Two shot of Luke and Evan talking.

SHOT 24-         Over the shoulder shots, to mimic the flow of conversation.

In the first two minutes of this film:

·  Shots- 24 different shots, mainly WS or of numerous characters in frame. Shots in the library scenes and corridor (2) will feature people in the background apart from close ups. Shots are either still or pan from left to right.

·  Location- 6 different locations (most scenes shot in the library).

·  Editing- Light transitions and title sequences between scenes. Fast editing to build tension.

·  Characters- Introduced to the three main characters, Luke, Anna and Evan. Brief shots of library staff and background actors.

·  Sound- Dialogue or voice over’s in non-contrast scenes. Non-diagetic music played throughout contrast scenes.

Title sequence. 4 Differing title sequences relating to the scene following it. Production logo, curtain, book and flashing letters.

Introduced to Evan, Luke and Anna exploring and settling into their new environment. Evan’s character seems friendly and shy, Luke being loud and a joker, with Anna being quite posh but Luke’s partner in crime.

We see the ‘ghosts’ affecting Evan and his friends environment but no major effects as yet. Evan and his friends act like the majority of typical students and don’t reflect or overact a particular stereotype making the film accessible to the audience.

Production Logo

Here is a rough copy of the production logo and my initial ideas, I still need to create this properly in photoshop.

Title Sequence Storyboard

Here is the first draft of the title sequence storyboard which may change depending on our ability to recreate my ideas on screen.

Storyboard

Here is the storyboard of how our on screen action will mostly look, however there may be some (minor) changes.

Horror Title sequence

This title sequence caught my eye mainly because of the way the whole sequence is dim and all black and white. This is linked to our film because we are aiming to use a very dim constast to give a more horror kind of feeling to it.

"Faceless" - Title Sequence

This title sequence caught my eye mainly because of the way the clip is shown through an eye, this is linked to our film as we have a book which is opened and the credits and the directors names show up on the open pages.

Horror Film Title Sequence

This title sequence caught my eye mainly because of the way the credits etc are bought into the clip. A lot of thought is put behind them and the credits alone give off the idea that the film is going to be very scary and instantly gave me the 'spooky' vibe.

Character Profiles

NAME: EVAN YATES
AGE: 19
GENDER: MALE
OCCUPATION: STUDENT
DESCRIPTION: young looking, polite, very clever and a bit of a loner.
RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHER CHARACTERS: easily gets on this other characters even though he doesn’t actually know any of them other than meeting them the same day.
FUNCTION IN STORY LINE: plays a new student in a university, rarely believes any supernatural stories etc, completely oblivious to the connections that the university has to this.
LIKES/ DISLIKES AND HOBBIES: likes meeting new people, going out and making people laugh. Seen as a more of a people person.




NAME: LUKE WALTERS
AGE: 18
GENDER: MALE
OCCUPATION: TOPMAN SALES ASSISTANT AND STUDENT
DESCRIPTION: very bubbly, outspoken, not very educated, seen as a ‘class clown in his previous high school.
RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHER CHARACTERS: easily gets on this other characters even though he doesn’t actually know any of them other than meeting them the same day.
FUNCTION IN STORY LINE: plays a new student in a university, doesn’t pay much attention to the supernatural surroundings occurring around him.
LIKES AND DISLIKES: Enjoys going out and drinking, dislikes boring people and cleaning.




NAME: ANNA THORNTON
AGE: 18
GENDER: FEMALE
OCCUPATION: student/cafe waitress
DESCRIPTION: very pretty, well dressed and posh
RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHER CHARACTERS: gets laughed at by the boys at the beginning but begins to fit in later on.
FUNCTION IN STORY LINE: believes in the whole idea of ghosts and supernatural myths etc but keeps it to herself when she realises things are going off, she chooses to ignore the signs.
LIKES/ DISLIKES AND HOBBIES: likes meeting new people, going out etc. However she’s seen as a ‘clean freak’ and likes to keep everything tidy and in its place.

Analysis of Sixth Sense

The Trailer First begins with a quick edit of a busy chaotic street, with lots of police around, a close up of a police man lighting a fire thrower immediately catches your attention and you want to know more. This shows the audience that the film is full of drama. Soon after the trailer begins a voice of a young boy can be heard and this makes the scene feel more vunerrable as the soft tone of the boys voice grabs you and makes you listen. The Boy is having a conversation with his mom, explaining that he can see whats happened in the accident and that a lady has broken her back,
The woman looks in disbelief creating drama and interest.
The trailer then moves on and to a series of short clips edited together to create a creepy impression and a feeling of the unknown. This keeps the audience on edge and glued to the screen. It shows a mysterious red balloon floating towards the sky and the young boy searching up the stairs. The colour tonality is sepia and dull and this adds to the eerie-ness. You can see the shadow of the boy on the stairs which keeps the audience guessing if he's alone? The short fast edited clips are flashed from 1 clip to another; the transition from edit to edit is similar to a camera flash, blacking out and flashes another clip up, this demonstrates the change of scene or location. (This is similar to the strobe lighting transitions in the opening credits to the film Se7en. This seems to be a common feature of ghost films, as it scares the audience and draws them in.)The sound of a heart beating intensely adds to the tension and builds up interest making the audience want to continue to watch it. By suddenly stopping this makes you stop and think whats next this really creates a scary moment as everything for a second is quiet until,the boy screams and breaks the silence as he sees a ghost. The trailer doesn’t hide what the film is about and it is clear what the story line is and makes the audience want to watch it.

Examples of past ghost stories from universities which gave us some ideas for our film

EXAMPLE ONE-

http://www.yourghoststories.com/real-ghost-story.php?story=1113
By Mary Josephine Clare V. Bautista
Date: 2007-05-26
Country: Philippines
Paranormal Category: Haunted Places
When I was in college, I went to a university in the Philippines called Ateneo de Manila University. The university was ran by Jesuit priests and was fairly new when you compare it the Ivy League schools in the USA. The land where the university now stood was apparently either a prison camp or a war hospital during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines back in World War two. Now that fact may or may not have anything to do with my story. I only know what me and my roommates experienced.

It was summer and I was dorming in Cervini Hall with three other girls - Michelle, Kat and a girl who didn't really attend the university but was just their for summer classes and therefore I can't remember her name. For the sake of the story, I will call her SummerGirl.

Michelle, Kat and I knew each other pretty well after having lived in the same dorm for the past few terms. We usually lived in Eliazo Hall the girls dorm but during the summers, we had to make do with living in the third floor of the boys dorm. This is how ended up in Room 314.

From, the beginning, there were some strange occurrences in Room 314. It wasn't really any big deal in the beginning. It was just things like door locking themselves, hair standing on end in the middle of the night over nothing. Stuff like that.

But there were two occurrences that really marked our summer experience that year. The first one involved Michelle. Her bed was by the door. And the wall of the door had wooden window jalousies. The jalousies at the bottom half would not close. One night while Michelle was studying French, she suddenly bolted out of her study desk and ran outside. Kat and I looked at each other in surprise when she did this. Upon her return, we asked her what made her bolt like that. According to Michelle the reason that she did was that while staring off into space while studying, she had seen someone through the open jalousies walking very slowly in a long white nightgown. The pace of the person's walk as well as the what she (Michelle referred to her as a she) was wearing made her curious and that's why she ran out. Kat and I asked her then what she found outside. Michelle replied that there was no one outside. But she was sure she had seen that person in a white nightgown walking slowly.

She even went next door, she said, because at the rate the person was walking she would have just been next door - but when she opened the door to the next room, no one there was wearing a white nightgown. We never did find out what that thing was, but I remember Kat, Michelle and I praying that night for the unrestful souls.

The second incident in room 314 was even scarier. This time it involved me and Michelle. One night, I was experimenting with my new curling iron. I had a mirror positioned on my desk and I was curling my hair. From behind me through the mirror, I could see NewGirl sitting on her chair in front of her desk studying or reading at least. Kat was on her bed next to New Girl's bed Michelle was again across me sitting by her desk studying.

As I curled my hair, I could see NewGirl from her back in my mirror. A few moments on, I thought I heard her crying as well as reading a letter or something like that. The thought should I approach her and comfort her crossed my mind, but then I thought, I shouldn't be so nosy after all, I didn't know her at all. So that decided, I continued curling my hair and eventually got tired of doing so and started to straighten my hair again. She was still crying then. As I turned around to talk to Michelle, I suddenly glimpsed NewGirl sleeping on the bed next to Kat's. In the split second that I've seen her through my mirror crying and reading, there was no way that she could have gotten to the bed from the chair that fast. I suddenly realized that the person that I've been seeing in the mirror was not NewGirl. I glanced at Michelle and she told me, I saw her too! I jumped from my bed and Michelle and I ended up sleeping in the same bed that night.

When Kat saw us lying in the same bed the next day she asked what happened. And we told her. She said that NewGirl had gone to sleep the same time as her. I was curling my hair and seeing that girl in the mirror for a good 20 minutes. And all that time, it wasn't her.

From that time on, we resolved to pray for the restless souls in our midst before going to bed at night. I think we helped them, because we had an uneventful rest of the summer in Rm.314


EXAMPLE 2-

http://bgnews.com/opinion/campus-ghost-stories-link-students-to-past-uphold-fun-spooky-tradition/

There are, of course, the famous ghosts that reside here in Bowling Green. There is Alice, who haunts the theater in the Old Campus building, and there is Amanda who haunts the Chi Omega Sorority house. These stories are not just spooky tales but a link to the past that people can get excited about.

Alice, who haunts the campus' two theaters Joe E. Brown and Eva Marie Saint, is said to have been an actress on campus who died in a car accident during the 1920s. After the final dress rehearsal for every show, the director must go on stage alone and personally invite Alice to the performance. The invitation has become a tradition for the theater department.

In fact, according to http://www.prairieghosts.com, a performance of Henry IV was disrupted by Alice some years ago. Props were knocked over, two actors were injured and the box office computers all went off-line on opening night. A staff member admitted that someone must have been talking bad about Alice during one of the show's rehearsals. There have also been numerous sightings of Alice herself, wearing clothes from the 1920s and appearing very pale.

Then there is the spirit of Amanda of Chi Omega. The story is that Amanda was very excited to join the sorority, but was killed in a train accident on the very night she became a sister. Some say it was actually a hazing gone bad. Regardless of what happened, Amanda apparently still wants to be a member of the house.

There is a bedroom called "Amanda's bedroom" where things routinely get lost or seem to move on their own. But the most interesting thing about the traditions that have grown around Amanda is the house photograph. Every year, Chi Omega makes a composite picture of all their house members living there, and every year they leave an empty space on the photo for Amanda. However, the 1986-87 year photo left out the empty space. Amanda is obviously not happy with that, as the picture seems to always fall off the wall.

These stories and others like them are fun to tell. They are spooky and have become a tradition here on campus. But they are more than just that. They are a connection to Bowling Green's past and to all the people who have studied and lived here in this university before us. There are 100 years of history on this campus and people have spent lifetimes experiencing the best things college has to offer to us. It makes sense that some of us will never leave, even when we aren't living anymore.

Script

As our original script may not be quite long enough to fill two minutes of screenplay, as advised, I have also scripted a slightly lengthier alternative ending, which just extends the previous 'ending' scene.

Image Ideas

Another spooky situation during the opening sequence.
Books have a lot of meaning, sometime hidden meanings and when a particular book just happen to fall off the shelf. Again not all is what it seems. A number of things happen leading up to the truth been revealed.

Image Ideas..

To make our opening sequence more intriguing and scary we plan to take a normal situation such as moving to uni and make the "normal" things happening around our main characters true meaning come out.

For instance the opening of a door unexpectedly is often shrugged off, but watching this film the character feels the need to forget about this is a definite no no as weird things continue to happen.

Above there are two pictures of doors one appear to look normal and the other looks spooky and unapproachable, by showing an image of what appears to be a normal opening door, and then during the film flashing up an image of a scary door the audience will want to no more about what is lurking behind the door, this keeps the audience interested.

Treatment- 2 minute film

Programme: The Class of 96'
Duration: 2 minutes approx. (Opening sequence)
Suggested release for Halloween holidays, appropriate theme relating to time of release, mainly late showings at cinemas. This will help set the mood of the film, Releasing the film at Halloween will help the film ratings as at Halloween time people want to go to the cinema to see something different and something that will give them a fright, for instance on February the 14 (Valentines day) people want to see romantic films.
Audience:
- Thriller movie lovers
- 15-25 age category
- No gender target
- Interest in the supernatural

Synopsis:
The Opening Sequence is what either catches an audience or loses them so we want the opening sequence as interesting and imaginative as possible. In the opening sequence we don't want to try and tell the whole story, we just want to give the audience an incite on whats to come and also introducing the stars that play in the film with the opening credits. The actors names can be included in the opening sequence by animation or by using quick editing and flashing lights this way the theme of the film is carried out throughout.
In the opening sequence I think it is important to introduce or ensure that the main character within the film is seen. This way they can become familiar with the characters.  In the opening sequence I want it to become apparent that all is not what it should be. We will show a student moving into their new university and the process of moving in such as collecting your room key. Looking at your room for the first time, queuing up for your timetable. Just normal new "school" things. Although using normal camera shots mixed up quick edits and flashes of darkness and bright lights this will give the impression that all is not right. From the first 2 minutes of the film it will become clear that the university is very old and hasn't been used for the last 15 years as odd things began to happen the last time it was open. This then keeps the audience interested and enthusiastic to continue with the film. Flashing from bad to good images adds to the tension of the film.
The opening sequence will continue showing the young new student finding their way around the college Although everything that appears normal such as when the student is given their timetable the camera will zoom in and will flicker onto a image that seems random. The opening sequence will end with the student on the computer and the rest of the film will begin.

Suggested elements:
1) Montage and flashbacks to the days when the building was used as a former mental institution for the criminally insane.
2) First person narrative voice over.

Prop Ideas

Props are very important and can make our short preview more realistic and also add to the theme of the production. eg. if we were to do a american styled film. Wearing American clothes with American styled props can add to the effect, and capture the audiences attention .

Interview Plan

Age: Teenagers.

Aim: To try and collect information to help understand what is usually expected from a good horror film etc, and to also get ideas and points off our target audience to ensure our film would be at its best.

Participants: Four or five from around college.

Questions:
What films do you prefer to watch?
Do ghost films appeal to you?
Which is your favourite ghost/supernatural film?
Do you prefer to watch them in the cinema or comfort of your own home?
What do you think is the most predictable storyline for a average ghost film?

The Vulnerability Factor

Using images that have someone vulnerable in them appeals to the audience, as they automatically feel attached to them and are on their side. This makes the audience want to watch to ensure the vulnerable person is ok. Children are often used as the more innocent they appear the more scary something can appear to be.

Image Ideas..

This image at first appears normal but when you look again, all is not what it seems. We would like to use this kind of imagery in the opening sequence. We could flash an image of what seems normal such as a church in the nice daylight but then quickly flash back to the image in the night when it looks scary and uninviting. This is questioning what seems normal and sane to the audience.

Analysis of Se7en Opening Credits

All of the actions within the sequence (book pages turning, making tea, drawings), are in a dull colour tonality. This is a plot giveaway to the audience; that the film is dark, and makes it seem more chilling, as the images used are quite provoking. Especially as he crosses out the eyes on the photograph of a little boy. The actions within the sequence become increasingly sinister looking, as only a pair of dirty hands are shown performing them. These hands imply to the audience that they belong to an odd, and most likely central character to the film; so the audience already feels like they understand this character, without being shown his face, or knowing his name. The actions are not shown in chronological order, and often 'double vision', and flicker across each other; however, the actions seem to focus around making something.
As well as having a dull tonality, there are flashing lights at odd, erratic moments, often coinciding with the screen titles changing. This is an indication that the film is jumpy, and is likely to spook them. The screen titles are also written in the style of a young child's handwriting, which from our other research, we have found that many ghost films include a young child, as they seem to make films seem much creepier. This is probably because most people associate children with innocence and naivety, and reversing that stereotype can evoke some powerful emotions. The imagery can also confuse people, as the words crossed out in the book, are sexually related (intercourse), to be swiftly replaced with the image of a child's face being crossed out on screen.
The music follows the action on screen, as it starts off quite slow, then when the hands seem to be creating a plan or an interest in pain, the music picks up pace. It uses slow held on notes, and an uncommon drumbeat, to produce a catchy and listenable, but mismatched soundtrack. On further research, I found that the song used (Nine Inch Nails- Closer to God) which is a remix, is ironically, 7 minutes long.