Trip to University of Kent

On January 14th 2015, the two AS Media classes had the opportunity to spend the day at the University of Kent attending talks, taking part in workshops and generally learning a lot from both the professors and the students. When we arrived in Canterbury, we were split into two groups and took part in the first of many activities - a lesson on screenwriting which I learnt a lot about as we had to adapt fairytales, of which we chose Sleeping Beauty. This helped with understanding the film making process and how important it is to plan things. We then had a workshop on in-camera editing where we had 50 minutes to create a short film without retakes. In small groups, we were given a camera with film in it as opposed to a memory card, which meant that we were unable to edit takes that we did not want and had around 20 minutes to create a very short film involving as many of the 5 points as we could. This workshop also made it clear how important planning and time are in the film process.

 After lunch we then attended a seminar held by two of the lecturers at the university. The talks were about anime and stardom, which were very interesting but not very useful for our current project and coursework. We had a tour of the campus and viewed a film that had been made by one of the students whom we had worked with earlier in the day. 

Overall, it was a very interesting day and I feel that I learnt a lot about planning which will come in useful for my coursework both this year and next year.

Costume make up testing

My friend Hannah has used liquid latex before so she helped us practice making a fake cut.

This is a fake cut using liquid latex, tissue paper, foundation, eyeshadow, face paint and fake blood.

Costume 

Our initial design for costume depicted the main character wearing a bright red T-shirt and the rest of the extras wearing black, dark blue and dark browns, therefore making the main character stand out from the background and the other actors, whilst also acting as a symbol for danger and violence with the colour red. This was, however, not the case when it came to purchasing costume as we could not find an appropriate shirt for our actor. We adapted our plan when we found a grey tshirt with a brightly coloured design on it. The red and blue patterning on the shirt means that the actor stands out from the backdrop and the grey is in stark contrast with the black of the extras costumes. Grey also fits with the Sci-Fi genre as it fits on the monochrome spectrum which makes it more appropriate than bright, cheery colours. It is also clear that it is what a stereotypical male teenager can be seen wearing and this is what we wanted our character to represent, someone that is relateable.

For our extras we planned for them all to be clothed in dark colours to give a sense of all the bodies blending together in the background, especially with the dark filter we intend to put on the footage. This works very well as it is difficult for the audience to figure out what exactly is in the background which gives it a sense of mystery.

Risk Assessment and health and safety

We created and evaluated the risks involved with our filming on Sunday 11th January 2015.

All of the actors we will use in our film are under 18 years old, we need to have written consent in order to show footage with them in. As a result of this, we have created a consent form to be signed by all actors on the day.

Location Scouting

We visited the location of a converted basement. We chose this location because it has adjustable lights and easily moveable furniture. We think that the stairs and corridor could be a interesting place to film as we can get some exciting shots with good natural lighting.

Make Up Practice

Before, no make up

 With white face paint mixed with foundation

With black eyeshadow and purple face paint around the eyes and black eyeshadow to highlight the cheekbones

Make up ideas

 

Infected male                Natural main character

 

Infected female                     Infected main character

Using face paint, eyeshadow, contact lenses, liquid latex for the scales and injuries and fake blood.

The Walking Dead credits inspiration