P L A N F O R F I L M I N G

Quick plan for filming tomorrow at Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park. We plan to go at around midday so that we can film in both daylight and as it begins to get dark at around 4-5pm.

Melody will be changing into the clown costume once we get there and we plan to try and go on some rides or some kind of fun house etc, so that we can capture some shots of the clown in interesting scenarios and in a fair ground environment.

We want to capture shots that show the clown becoming evil e.g. looking out at people in the fair, being around people who perhaps cannot see him, hiding from people / potential victims etc.

Could include:

-creepy waving
-standing behind things
-walking in crowds of normal dressed people

A R R I V A L O F C O S T U M E S

Yesterday the costumes arrived in the post, along with the ring master costume which we are borrowing from someone. All the costumes are perfect and I think we did well with the money we had as the costumes do look really professional and fit the brief of each character. The mask in particular is really effective and scary and was definitely worth spending the most money on as it has great detail which will be picked up well on with close up shots etc. It will also increase the scariness of the clown considerably as it is really frightening and striking.

As the costumes have now arrived we will be able to begin filming scenes with characters involved, and will start with some shots of the clown leaving the ringmasters office, including some close ups and shots of the clown beginning to become evil and crazy after being drugged. These shots will be filmed in the dark corridor next to the study room at the main site school building, where it looks quite eery and is dark, with a door that can be opened for the clown to come out of, as if coming out of the 'ringmaster's office'.

C L O W N C H A R A C T E R : A C T O R

Melody and I have decided that Melody will play the clown character as it will be a lot easier for us to organise filming and the person playing the clown won't actually be seen anyway due to the mask and baggy costume so it won't be obvious she isn't a typical clown character/actor.

C O S T U M E F U R T H E R I D E A S

If the costume that we have ordered isn't right I have found this material which I could use to make some kind of clown trousers or waist coat etc. The design of the material is very clown-like with the bright colours representing innocence and fun etc. The checked print is also recognisably clown-like. Or we could find some other use for it in other shots.

C L O W N C O S T U M E P U R C H A S E

I got a reply from the seller on eBay and have now purchased this costume as it was a really cheap price. I haven't yet told Melody about this but hopefully she will like it. I had to buy it quickly before I lost the deal, plus it is cheap so will save us some money which is a bonus.

I have also negotiated with the seller to make sure he posts it soon and he has agreed she will post before 10 O'clock tomorrow morning.

C L O W N C O S T U M E

These are some possible clown costumes I have found on eBay. We like the black and white costumes as they seem scarier and we like how it looked in the example 'close enemies' music video.

After seeing this auction, which is a clown costume that is only 99p at the moment on auction, I decided to message the seller requesting a buy it now price as this would make buying a costume a lot cheaper for us.

 

                                  

M A S K P U R C H A S E

Today I have ordered the mask from eBay and have liaised with the seller so that it is distributed either today or tomorrow so we will have it as soon as possible so we can start filming scenes involving the clown character. We have also sourced a ring master costume which we will have on Friday so we can hopefully film the clown drugging scene and possibly some other off-location shots. We still need to find a clown costume at the moment. Because the mask we have just bought was quite expensive, we have also been considering making a costume or trying to source a cheap costume, as the costume we don't think will be featured as heavily in the trailer as the mask which will be in close up shots etc. We felt that the mask was the thing that would be worth investing in, especially as this one is so scarey and will have a real effect on the viewer with the gold teeth and red hair etc.

C L O W N C O S T U M E I D E A

After researching further into clown costume I came across this accessory which is a flower water squirter which sprays out water. This could potentially be used in our filming and the shot of when the clown is coming out of the door towards the camera. The clown could spray water out of the flower towards the camera, and this could be a means of drugging or poisoning people. It is quite cheap on Ebay so is definitely something we could consider ordering and is dispatched next day so we would receive it soon.

L A U G H I N G C L O W N C L I P S

We have been researching for potential clips to use to project onto the boy's face in the projector shot:

F A C E P A I N T V S . M A S K

At the moment, we are undecided as to whether to have the clown character having face paint that we would do ourselves, or to buy a mask, as after doing our voxpop I realised that quite a couple of people said that masks were what they expected or liked to see in a horror film and it seemed that they were seen as quite scary and typical of a horror film.

I have had a look on Ebay and have found some potential masks we could buy for the clown character. I have also bought some red face paint and already own white and black, which are typical clown colours. After looking at the masks on Ebay, however, I feel that the mask may work better and will also be easier to wear in public and be discreet whilst filming, which will be important when it comes to being in public and filming in places such as winter wonderland etc.

I have found these potential masks on Ebay:

This is the mask I feel is the best and most effective as it looks really terrifying with the gold teeth and the red hair. This is the description provided on Ebay of this particular mask:

GUS THE CLOWN HALF HEAD MASK

 Evil red haired clown with a serious dental hygiene problem! This one always sells out very quickly.  Shaped latex which covers the face from below the nose, over the head, ending about half way down the back of the head.

This range of masks is superb quality. They are hand painted, and uncomfortably realistic. The initial horror impact generally doesn't go away as it does with some masks - the more they are seen the more disturbing they become!

F I L M S T I L L S F R O M C I R C U S S H O T S

Some stills from the filming we did yesterday at the Circus location:

L O C A T I O N S H O T S

Here are some location shots I took when visiting the Netherlands National Circus with Melody. These are really useful to use as inspiration, and also inspired some of the filming shots we also did on the day. The location shots act as a good reminder of what the location was like and what shots we could maybe use in our actual trailer.

C O S T U M E P L A N N I N G

COSTUMES WE NEED:

Clown
-Mask
-Full costume

Ringmaster
-ringmaster jacket for sleeve shot (contact who owns ringmaster costume)

Boy
-Still need to decide on what he will be wearing

S T O R Y B O A R D

I have drawn a storyboard outlining the main shots we want to include from the shot list. By doing this, it has really helped us to now visualise the trailer and along with the shot list, has made us a lot more organised as to what we need to get done etc. I think there is a good mixture of both long shots and close ups, which I think will make the trailer interesting to watch and gripping for the viewer, evoking questions as to what will happen in the actual film. I also think that the trailer gives the viewer a good idea of the general story line yet doesn't give away too much so that they feel they already know what to expect.

S H O T L I S T

1.       Establishing shot – circus setting up/circus location in general, featuring tents, backstage aspects and Lorries etc.

2.       Over the shoulder shot – main boy/girl looking over at the circus/funfair (contemplating auditioning to become performer)

3.       Mid shots and close ups of ringmaster introducing show or performers in show – audience, performers, ringmaster etc inside the tent during a show (‘roll up, rollup’ – beginning of first show)

4.       Close up shot of Circus lights flashing fast

5.       Audience laughing, children in audience – seems innocent, nothing scary has happened yet, creating a build up

6.       Clown laughing innocently, close up of him uni-cycling or balloon making etc? Portraying clown as completely innocent

7.       Shot of audience leaving the show

8.       Long shot of ringmaster walking towards the camera angrily

9.       Close up of ringmaster drugging a clown who is performer in show – with soaked cloth, sleeve of ringmaster costume showing to show it is ringmaster doing this

10.   Clown then turns evil, shot of clown walking out of ringmasters office or tent in a possessed like state after being drugged (similar to ‘Close Enemies’ music video), getting closer and close to camera in threatening way

11.   Close up of clowns face flashing up on screen

12.   Shot of someone riding on carousel – person disappears on next go round – speeded up?

13.   Long shot of clown running in between lorries/caravans of circus backstage – at night/in darkness – very speeded up, only hint of clown running

14.   Mid shot of people on Ferris wheel, as they come down, clown in carriage above looking down evilly to the people below holding a rope or some kind of weapon?

15.   Close up of clown laughing – flashing like strobe lighting, use projector to project video of clown laughing onto clowns face? Or fast cuts of different shots of clown face laughing edited together really quickly for strobe effect

-          ENDS ABRUPTLY WITH SOME KIND OF TAG LINE/ONE LINER (‘Roll up, Roll up, In cinemas everywhere… ‘?) AND DATE OF RELEASE ETC.

B B F C R E S E A R C H

'In order to protect children from unsuitable and even harmful content in films and videos and to give consumers information they might need about a particular film or video before deciding whether or not to view it, the BBFC examines and age rates films and videos before they are released. This independent scrutiny prior to release ensures the hgihest possible level of protection and empowerment (BBFC)'.

After conducting some research into BBFC ratings Melody and I have decided to give our film, that our trailer will be based around, a BBFC classification of 15. This allows only those over the age of 15 to watch our film/trailer. We felt this was the most suitable rating as an 18 is too hardcore and we didn't want it to be so horrific. We also wouldn't be having huge amounts of violence, gore, bad language, sex or nudity so a rating of 15 was appropriate for our film as it may hint at these subject areas but not in enough detail that it would need to be an 18. We may hint at violence or bad language perhaps, however, so a 15 rating is appropriate. We will also be hinting at drug use but will not be glorifying it or promoting its misuse in order to remain within the guidelines and rules of the 15 classification. 

E X A M P L E M U S I C V I D E O - C L O S E E N E M I E S

After watching this music video I discovered that the shots used were really scarey and similar to those perhaps found in a horror film, and also featured a clown! I created some screen shots from the video to highlight the parts that I found particularly inspiring. I think the shots with the clown are particularly effective and something we could think about re-making for our horror trailer. The mise en scene of the clown's make up and costume is what I think makes it so creepy and the close up shots accentuate this. The shot of the clown coming out of the door into a dark room I think could be re-created and we could think about doing this kind of shot. We also wouldn't need to find any particular actor for this part as there is a lot fo make up and costume involved that would mask who the person is who is playing it, which is handy as we could even do it ourselves, which would save time and would be a lot easier. I also think the shot with the sack with drawn on face are really creepy and the video as a whole is really scarey, and seems to have been inspired by horror films such as IT and Saw etc.

V O X P O P

Today Melody and I went out and shot a Vox Pop. I filmed it and Melody asked the questions. I then edited the clips in Movie Maker:

V O X  P O P  Q U E S T I O N S

·        What is your favourite horror film and why?

·        What is your worst fear?

·        What do you like about horror films?

·        What do you dislike about horror films?

·        What would you like/expect to see in a horror?

·        What’s your favourite horror film character?

·        What trailer have you seen recently that you thought was particularly effective? (Any genre)

·        How do you feel about clowns?

·        What is the most terrifying film you have ever seen and why was it so terrifying?

·        What props do you think of when told a film’s genre is ‘horror’?

·        What kind of story line do you look for/enjoy in a horror film?

G R O U P C H A N G E S + L O C A T I O N V I S I T

There has been a change to our group and Hattie is no longer working with us as she has moved schools. So now it is just Melody and I and we are carrying on working on our trailer.

We plan to visit the Netherlands National Circus on the 2nd of November to start filming our establishing shots of the Circus outside, and try and see if we can get some other shots while we are there perhaps of audience members, lights, trucks etc. We also plan to film some vox pop questions while we are there. We will also take some photos of the location for future reference and inspiration.

We are taking my digitial camera which shoots in HD video, and a tripod to keep the camera still in establishing and long shots.

I N S P I R A T I O N

S O U N D T R A C K R E S E A R C H

Soundtrack Number 1 - I found this soundtrack on soundcloud.com and think it is effective in that it has a funfair/circus vibe and does have that creepiness that the original circus theme tune 'Entry of the gladiators' by Julias Fucik has:



I don't think we would be able to use the original version of this song due to Copyright, but we need to research more into this because it would be perfect for our trailer as it is recognisably circus themed and sounds really creepy, mixing the idea of innocence and horror, as it sounds innocent. It is juxtaposing and would be perfect for our horror film trailer.

I also like the idea of having some diegetic sound in the trailer and I think a contrast of this and a non-diegetic soundtrack would be really effective. I found this video on Youtube which has been made by someone experimenting with sound, and I like the effect of the diegetic sounds, and think we could possibly record some similar sounds for our trailer. We could have sounds of people setting up the circus, or lorries driving in, or audience applauding etc.

C I R C U S O F H O R R O R S (1 9 6 0) T R A I L E R

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