Project Planning Sheet

        Title of project: Innocent Blood





Taken [2008] - The kidnap scene clip

Watch from 2:19 - 3:09



I plan to use the camera angles used between these times when the daughter in this film is about to be kidnapped. I felt when watching this particular scene that, with the camera angles used and the limitation of what you can see of the kidnappers; it gave me more freedom to imagine what they looked like, which was a lot scarier then they actually were when we saw who they were later on in the film.

I plan to copy certain aspects of this particular scene by using the angles Pierre Morel [Director] uses and the fact you can't see the hit man's face.

However I plan on hiding Damien's [my hit man] top half of his body until he is in the bedroom, and this will be from Bethany's [the little girl] point of view from under the bed. When Damien hears her from under the bed, he will jump into view when he bobs down that will skip to a blackout.

 This should enforce shock on the audience.

Props

As my film is based on a hit man; I have chosen to make it more effective by adding shots of Bethany as if she has been stalked for the past week; making it more understandable why he's killing her. Also, the audience will also be able to see that he has been 'told' to do it; therefore he is able to have the guilty feeling. 

Unfortunately the only pictures that came out were when I made her look back; therefore could have looked better if there were some that were of her walking normally. But as the audience will only to get to see one or two of them I am not too worried about it.

This shot was taken in a graveyard in Kirk Ella, as you can just see by the grave stone in the left side. I have used this area to create the comparison between the little girl and the typically scary graveyard she is walking around. However in this case, Bethany should be weary of the graveyard as this is where the stalker is, therefore portraying her innocence with a more extreme manner.

This straight shot is of her walking along a house on her way home, I have kept all the pictures at the straight shot as to perceive the idea that the hit man is equal to her, therefore Damien can seem more like a human being and can have a guilty conscience after the event.

I made them all to be medium shots as to create the look that the person taking the pictures was hiding somewhere, yet was getting close enough to get the details of Bethany which could be seen as quite uncomfortable as you can see how close he has gotten to her without her noticing.

Costumes

Bethany

In the photos she will be wearing quite a childish top as it is green with a tree on it. Along with her hair in bunches and a bow in her hair.
I will also be using minimalistic/ natural makeup as to all add to the look of a little girl.

Whilst she is at home and about to be murdered, she will be wearing
After she has been murdered and is seeking revenge; she will have the same clothes she was murdered in on. However, her bunches will be wonky, her face will be a dull grey with blood on her face and black around her eyes as to create the look of death and coldness.

Damien

Will wear a white top underneath a blue shirt, as when the shirt gets covered in blood; he will casually take off the shirt and shove it in the bag with all of his things. This gives the impression that he is a normal man and the casualty of her murder could have an impact on his conscience.

The Hitman's Boss

The boss will wear a black suit with a black shirt and black tie; as to give the impression that he is a part of the shadows and doesn't want to be seen. He will also wear a trilby as to hide his face to give the look of a 30's mobster; this will also be used as to hide most of his face from the audience, to make him look more sinister.

 Here is an example of a 30s mobster.



Props

• A knife

I will be using a large standard kitchen knife to show the idea that he has just grabbed it from home, and that he isn't that prepared like he may not do the hits often.

• A cloth/mop

I have included the cloth for Damien to clean up the mess, the point of this is for the audience to see that Damien is being careful about DNA and the possibility of being caught, however he will be playing the song 'Dont worry, Be happy'. This is the song that Damien normally plays for when tidying up other mens corpses as he normally enjoys it, however with this one it seems more sinister as it is a different situation as he has just murdered an innocent young girl.

• Blood

I will be using this blood on the floor, Bethanys arm and top, and Damiens shirt and hands. To make it look more realistic I put blood on my hands and  placed my hands on his shirt whilt he was wearing it to create hand marks were I would grab the man if he was trying to murder me.

• Pictures of Bethany

The pictures will be used in the film when Damien looks at the pictures of Bethany so that the audience can see that she is meant to be the one that is going to be killed and so that we can see that she is being killed because he is being told, rather than just killing her out of rage or something.
• Bethanys ring/ piece of clothing

I plan to use a ring that Bethany will be wearing throughout the film as a symbol of innocence and when he takes it off her dead corpse, he will will be taking her innocence and life off her and by giving it to his boss, he is officially taking her life and giving it to someone else.

• Murderers mask

• Money

For the film I created what looks like a big pile of money. To achieve this effect I got about 5 £20 notes, and inbetween them, I cut paper into the shape as to fill up the bulk however I hid the fact that there's paper inbetween by making sure the paper cannot be seen and folded the money like the picture above and held it together as to create a typical hitman scenario.
• Laptop

I made Bethany play on her laptop when she went upstairs and I made her go on Habbo Hotel like a typical young girl would go on in her spare time. The idea is to emphasise the fact that she is a young innocent girl, and the fact that she doesn't see whats about to happen at all. Making it a lot more suprising to the audience.

Areas for Filming:

Scene 1

Set in Bethany's house.

I will be using my:

• front room 

• hallway  

• and my sisters bedroom (I plan to use these rooms as they are quite spacious, and my sisters bedroom has mirror wardrobes that will work really well when she hides under the bed as it will not be too cramped and we will hopefully be able to see everything really well.

•  And the road outside my house for Damien to be stood; before sneaking into the house. This is because it has a clear view both in and out of the front room and the bedroom from the outside.

Scene 2

• Streets around Kirk Ella and Willerby as Damien is walking towards his colleague to get his next target.
• A good, moderately lit up area against a wall in Kirk Ella that will be able to give me a good, clear shot and yet look sneaky and illegal.

Characters

Within my film I will need three characters; I have chosen to pick three friends who live in my area for ease during my filming as I can easily get them to the area when I have access to the camera.

Bethany Dove, the 10 year old girl who is murdered and haunts the hit man.

• For this character I have chosen Holly Akrill as she is quite petite and has the face that fits the age I am trying to portray.

Damien Taylor, the hit man

• Damien is going to be played by George Taylor. As he is quite tall and slim, giving the stereotypical look of an evil villain. 

And finally, the hit man's boss

• To be played by Ross Carden. As I need another male and he also lives in the area of which I will be using him in the film.

The mask I am going to use for the kidnap scene

I plan on using this mask for the murderer to wear during the murdering scene. I have chosen a mask that is not based on any other films, for example the pig mask from Saw as I felt that this would make the film look less original; therefore found this mask that had a scary feel to it; however it also has the comical look about it as the mask has piercings and almost 'punk' appearance, almost like the murderer wasn't taking the mask too seriously when picking it; like a normal person. Giving the impression to the audience that the murderer does have feelings; therefore can still feel guilt and fear.

Inspirations

From the film Taken (The Kidnap Scene)

I will hope to use camera shots like these to re-create the effect and tension Pierre Morel generates to manipulate the audience feel in this particular film. The POV shots from under the bed creates a claustrophobic emotion to make the audience feel like you are her position, therefore fear is created.

 

This is a close-up shot of her under the bed; to create the sense of being trapped and no escape. By having her head touching the top of the bed, it enhances the idea of claustrophobia.

Morel uses a POV shot from the daugter and the fact she is under the bed at the point they make the POV shot, with the low angle, we only see the kidnappers feet and therefore do not see their faces, creating a sense of loose imagination of what they may look like from the audience.

POV shot of her looking at the guy who is looking right in her direction. Making the idea

Low shot of her feet; cannot see his face; therefore imagination is allowed to take over of the audience of what he could look like.

Todorov Narrative Structure

Script.

Scene 1

[Bethany sitting watching television; watching a horror movie with a bowl of popcorn. [shots switch between mid-shot, over the shoulder shot and close up]
Phone rings [close up of her] picks up the phone and starts talking to her mum, it's dark outside and see silhouette of a man outside. No-one else is in the house]

Bethany: Hello? Oh hi mum. [2 seconds pause] Nothing, I'm just watching the end of The Haunted House.[2 seconds pause] Yes mum I've done my homework! When are you and dad getting home?[ 2 seconds pause], Okay, hurry up. Bye!

[Watches 4 seconds of film, fidgeting] [Looks at rain, goes to the window,[low angled pan of her moving to turn off the t.v]  turns off the television, looks outside and closes the blinds] [Can just see the guy in the middle of the street] [POV long shot of her from the outside through the window]

 
[Long shot of her when she turns off the light and heads upstairs, switches to looking at her from the middle of the stairs, and switches again from the top of the stairs]
Sits in her room and does some homework [POV shot of her on the laptop];hears a smash and footsteps going up the stairs;  [Camera jumps to a close up of her looking towards the camera facing towards where the noise came from] she jumps and runs under the bed .
(POV shot under the bed)
See feet walking around and up the stairs (same shots as Bethany when she went upstairs)

She turns off the lights as she goes upstairs.

(POV shot of his feet from under the bed)
Murder in mask bobs down. When we see his mask, black out and screams and scuffling.

Scene 2

[Don't Worry, be Happy - Bob Marley]

Cleaning the blood casually, with music on (takes a ring off her finger). Has all the tools in a bag; (Cloth, bleach, gloves etc).
[Mid-shot from above, and under the bed where she was]
Gets up and walks out /and down the street; looking at the picture of her solemnly. We see Bethany stood behind him (he doesn't), makes him jump and pause for a moment, before carrying on walking.[Camera follows him to outside the street]
Meets up the his boss in the dark down a street.
[POV shot of the him walking to the guy]
Damien hands him her ring, the other guys hands him  money.
[Medium zoom of the swap, slow motion on the pictures being handed]
Sees Bethany stood behind the guy; looking dead.

Title sequence (typed - "2 months ago")

Aims and Context

Aims

The target audience I want to aim my film for are the mainstream viewers; but more specifically I think my film would be more appealing and attractive to 16 - 25 year olds of both gender.
I want to create a psychological thriller that will make emotions towards characters shift; for example, we feel sorry for Bethany at the beginning of the film, however with the use of camera angles and editing, when Damien starts getting haunted; I hopefully will make the audience feel symapthy for him.

I particularly took a look at the film Taken (Pierre Morel, 2008) for ideas on how to shoot the murder, using the sequence when the actor Liam Neeson's daughter is first kidnapped. This is because the POV shot Pierre uses is a great technique as to help create the tension and fear amongst the audience as it gives the impression that they are in that position also.

The roles I am going to undertake for the production of my independent film is: Script writer, director, cameraman and editor.

Context

During my last film project; I had trouble finding a time when the actors were all free and available and able to get to the area where the filming was taking place; but a plus within the film was that we had little to no script, therefore was easier to film as they didn't have to try and remember the words. I have learnt from this to try and include as little words as I can. Another problem we had was getting the camera angle in the right position as making the pan of the camera smooth and not jagged. I therefore have a prior knowledge of the best positions for particular scenes and where to put the camera as to get the best effect.

Synopsis

Damien Taylor, a middle aged man of Ravens Creek, has had the occupation of being a hit man for close to 15 years; has become so used to killing targets and has become a professional at his job; one of the best he is always told. But after one certain target of killing a rats daughter; his conscience, for the first time, is getting the best of him.

Whilst trying to carry on his life as normal, stalking another victim during the day and spending time with his wife at home on the night he sees the girl everywhere he goes and gets constant flashbacks of the killing and her life of which he had been stalking for some time.
He goes to see a medium to see whether he can apologise to the little girl on a spiritual level; to which he finds out that he can only repent for what he did and be rid of the little girls ghost by giving her a friend to play with. But bethany has chosen who she wants her new friend to be; Damien's little 8 year old daughter Jenny. He is puzzled between the choices of peace within his life; or peace but a life without his little girl. He tries to find another way and ends up becoming crazy and kills himself out of insanity.

Genre Conventions

The genre of my film is horror; more specifically psychological horror. I have chosen this because I have had a lot of ideas towards this genre that I think I could get a lot out of.

Looking at http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_Codes_and_conventions_of_the_horror_genre, I saw that general horror films seem to share the same narrative non linear structure as well as the same ideas to promote the genre in a way making it apparent to  the viewers; these kinds of ideas include things like; "Dark/shadowy lighting",  I will definitely try and create the sinister atmosphere by using dark lighting techniques in the shots. This is followed by the idea of "Isolated locations" as to create the tension/ atmosphere of loneliness and vulnerability against the main character involved in the situation.
However, I plan on making the main character a male as a twist and by making him seem scared and vulnerable, I will make the viewer’s feel like the situation for the full grown murderer is a lot worse and terrifying. Therefore the usual sympathising for the women as they are thought of as being weaker and more defenceless will be transferred onto the man.
I want also to create a "Disruption of normality" (when the girl he kills comes back to haunt him) in the narrative; as this is the theme of the general narrative structure of horrors; this idea will help me decide on what to base my film on and in creating the synopsis.

Looking at psychological horror films; the film is created to manipulate the audience’s sense of safety and understanding as psychological films tend to have twists in them or put in a strange order to confuse the audiences as to keep tension and maintain their interest and concentration. The main thing in psychological films that make them of this genre is the stylistics used like the characters guilt, fears, and beliefs that often are increased because of a certain turning point in the film; this is used to manipulate the audience to relate to the protagonist therefore creating a more realistic reaction from those watching the film. A good example of this technique is in the film “The Others” (2001), where the audience is led to believe what Grace (Main character, mum) also believes, yet throughout the film different clues are suggested to the audience as a way to make them see that all isn’t what it seems; this leads to the end of the film where we find out that her family have actually been dead throughout the whole film. This film also follows the main aspects of psychological horrors as they live in an “isolated location” both where the family is living, and Grace herself; the whole film is shot in “Dark lighting” as this is the main aspect of the film due to the children’s illnesses. And the “disruption of normality” occurs when the nannies come to help the very catholic mother (follows her beliefs strongly).

Another film that incorporates the aspects of a psychological horror is ”The Orphan”; throughout the film after they have brought Ester back to the home there is a strong use of dark lighting and also the aspect of the weather changes as well, when Ester arrives, the weather changes to snow and this is to represent the cold, dark atmosphere she has brought in to the family. The twist at the end of the film is a stereotypical ending to a psychological horror, Ester is not what the audience expects she is seen to be a little girl however in reality we find out that she is actually a 33 year old woman who is actually called Leena Klammer.

Compared to the traditional horror film, psychological horrors tend to have an art of subtly to them. The main aspect of the psychological horror is to tap into the mentality of the audience instead of a regular horror where violence is the main feature. Good examples of the original horror films include: “A Nightmare on Elms Street” (1984), “Friday the 13^th” (1980) and “Scream” (1996). These films are seen as ‘Slasher horrors’, where graphic violence is again the main feature, and this is what is used to scare the audience. However in comparison to psychological horrors, the means of scaring the audience is more a mental fear rather than visual shock, this is a way of creating discomfort in the viewers of the film by uncovering a fear that is now common with the entire audience.

The threat that is presented in the psychological horror genre is that the fear comes from within the main protagonist which in turn is conveyed to the audience. The aspect of the psychological horror is to reveal the evil that lies behind the normality of the world the film is set in. Psychological horrors often crossover with the psychological thriller, both genres can use each other’s conventions but the ending of the film is what differs the two genres because the psychological thriller will try and leave a different impact on the audience than  that of a psychological horror.

The brief

This year I will be using my own ideas and imagination in creating my own short film/ extract of a film of about 3-5 minutes in length. To begin with I will have to decide on the genre I am going to use as well as the stylistics and mise-en-scene to help create the theme of the genre.

To start with I will be researching the genre conventions of my chosen genre so that I am able to have a more in-depth knowledge on what I will need to include in my film; possibly researching other film directors as a way to explore what kind of mise en scene, stylistics and even looking at the different kind of script types to use, in a way that will make the genre seem much more apparent.

What i will need to do is:

• Choose my genre
• Create a storyboard
• Decide on the characters I am going to include
• Get some friends to use as actors
• Create a script as well as choosing the area it is going to be filmed in
• Think about the mise-en-scene and stylistics
• Create a timetable for days of filming
• And edit the film putting all the shots into one flowing mini film