PRODUCTION- MISE EN SCENE

Of course, a main element to include within our final film opening was mise en scene. We feel as though we have managed to accomplish this in many ways, including the mask, missing poster and other more implicit items throughout the sequence.

This video assists our explanation on how the use of small props and setting has an influence on how the audience views the character.

This video explains how the poster has a large influence on the rest of the film opening, and how the smallest added prop could change the entire plot.

WORK LOG- FILMING

Once we were sure that all of our planning was in order, we set a filming date and eventually began filming our coursework.

Day one
We all met at Imogen's house as this was the first filming location. Here we did the makeup for both actresses, one being the sfx of the cut face and the other being the character make-up (eye shadow,lipstick etc)[see special effects makeup post]. We filmed the receiving of the text and the gathering of the possessions in the bedroom, which included close ups of the eyes, phone, and the items that the first victim gathers. We encountered problems with the lighting as it was somewhat a yellowish hue, in contrast to the darkness outside (thus we were unable to use natural lighting), however we resolved this by using extra artificial lighting. 

The montage of the character getting ready took many shots to film at first in order to get the match on action just right. Then we filmed the shots of her tying her shoelace and exiting the house to complete the 'getting ready' process. After completing the match on action shot with the front door, we left my house and walked across the road to the starting point of our next location.

Next, we filmed the walking shots of Katya as her character walks towards where she suspects she is receiving drugs. We had to use artificial lighting as it was very dark outside, and the street lights wouldn't provide enough lighting to make the character visible. Once this was filmed, we carried on to the overpass bridge which we would film the capturing scene. Luckily, the bridge remained unoccupied throughout filming, so we were able to complete filming the sequence quite quickly, although we were rather anxious regarding members of the public's reactions towards our mise en scene mask and camera equipment out on show.

By placing the camera behind a tree, we were able to film a POV shot of the killer looking across the road at the first victim. 

Additional filming
After we had reviewed all of our footage from the first filming session, we decided that we need additional footage to tie to the opening together. We felt that we needed more clips of the killer to cue the audience in to his motive, as it wasn't particularly clear as to what he wanted. To create the ideal atmosphere for the killer to be in- we filmed the additional scene in our school's dark room which contains red lights that we believe successfully convey the feeling of danger as well as adding to the whole 'blood and gore' aesthetic.

We made plans/blueprints of he mask that the killer would use as guidelines and we put them on the wall and put our killer in front of them. We filmed our killer holding the piece of flesh up to the plans, him putting on his mask, drawing lines on his victims face and finally washing his hands. The footage filmed here is (what we consider) as better quality than the other footage as the lens used was different and specifically for video in comparison to the previously used lens.

WORK LOG- SPECIAL EFFECTS MAKEUP

For elements for mise en scene, special effects makeup in addition to mask making and costume is helpful to input into the film opening as it helps give the audience an insight as to what the current situation of each character is as well as creating some sort of link to their personality.
In the case of our film opening, we have used various makeup types to show what has happened to certain characters after a time frame which we could not include due to both the technicality and length of the opening.

The opening features a girl who was a previous victim of the killers in the storyline, and is shown both in a missing poster and later on, dead in the place which the main victim wakes up in.
As she was a victim of killers who take skin from the face of their victims to create a mask, we had to show this in the makeup, so by using home made scar wax [see mask making for recipe] ,skin colourant, cosmetic makeup and fake blood I created the specific look we were aiming to portray on the face. Additionally, I applied makeup to areas such as under the eyes, around the lips, and on the eyebrow, to make Anna appear dead, and as though she had been attacked in some way before meeting her demise.

As I did not own any professional special effects makeup, I used the same mixture used when making the mask, adding more vaseline so that it met a more malleable consistency. I pressed it onto Anna's skin, and then used her own foundation to match her skin colour as accurately as possible. Then, using a basic eyeshadow palette, I added bruising, created a sunken in eye look, and made the lips pale so that she would appear dead on camera.

I then added a small amount of fake blood both inside the fake wound, and above the eyebrow as this would make the character look as though they had gone through some sort of physical trauma before their death.

Also, we needed to find a way of making the victim look beaten and bruised after she wakes up once she has been captured. For this, I used simple eyeshadow colours which when blended created a bruised appearance around the eyes, temples, and jaw- this creates the idea that the victim has been taken to the location she wakes up in in a brutal manner. As well as this, I have added a small cut over the eyebrow and on the lip, and have used fake blood to add to the beaten effect.

Here is a close up example of this:

BEFORE: 

AFTER: