Ripper

We decided to name our film 'Ripper' as we thought it would be suitable for our film, so we used apart of his name as our film is based around Jack the Ripper. We all thought that Ripper suited our film as the viewer would have an idea that our film about Jack the Ripper. We was originally going to name our film 'The Silver Knife', although Jack the Ripper was named the Silver Knife we did not think that it would suit our film as in one shot we have a close up of a knife which has been coloured red, so there were scenes were we incorporated the title.
We used the idea of the victim being ripped in our opening as Jack the Ripper use to rip his victims intestines and organs out, so in our film we had a mid shot on the floor showing the victims torso and Jack the Ripper holding the knife, this portrays that the victims organs are being ripped out.

The Ripper Drafts (part 2)

Final draft to Ripper

From our last draft we created a warning shot in the beginning of the opening for people who have photosensitive epilepsy to be aware that our film contains flashing images.

Im really happy with our final draft to our opening as I feel that we stuck to our Thriller/Horror genre and we kept our film looking like it was set in 1888. I am really impressed with how far we progressed with our film and how we made improvements to our film and we agreed that we liked the changes.

The Ripper Drafts

Throughout the process of editing our opening we have changed many things such as we included different shots, adjusted contrasts and shortened shots. I wanted to show the progression of our opening as we have now finished our final of our opening.

The first draft to Ripper

This clip was from our first lesson editing our opening, we later stabilised the establishing shot as it was very shaky though the camera was on a tripod, we also cut the beginning of the opening scene as there was a jump to the shot. We added a shot of Jacks eyes quickly to scare the audience, as the viewer may only see the outline of his body, this will make them aware that he is watching the woman and that he is Jack the Ripper. We kept the shot reverse shot of the women walking, the first shot shows the woman walking, the next shot shows Jack the Ripper following her and then the last shot in the sequence shows the woman walking who is oblivious that J the R is following her. We had a high angle mid shot of Jack the Rippers feet to show that he is following her. Also, during the time we were editing the opening we thought that we was going to call the film The Silver Knife though later on we decided to change the name as we wanted something to make people more aware that our film is about Jack the Ripper and the Ripper has a harsher tone.

The second draft to Ripper

From the first draft we included new shots and we changed and shortened some other shots we used before. We included a flashback when Jack the Ripper was looking at the different articles this shows the audience that the victim was not the first victim and that she will die. After the flashback we had the victim thinking she heard something and turning around, when she turned around the shot is her point of view however in the final we shortened the point of view shot as it was too long. We also included another flashback of a picture of the victim as this shows that the victims murder was planned, we had another flashback of the newspaper articles saying 'Murder' to show the audience that he is a serial murderer, another flashback we included was Jack the Ripper circling and crossing out the victim to show that she is the target and that she died. We included a wide shot of Jack the Ripper stalking the victim and the knife is glistening, I really loved this shot because it is in night mode Jacks figure is really dark so the knife really stands out. The wide shot in this sequence has changed drastically as in this draft the shot showed the H sign which ruins the 1888 feel, however in the final draft we started the shot later on and we cropped the shot. In this draft the assault and the rape was shown, the assault shows the victim being strangled, slapped and then the rape. In the final draft we decided to make the assault implied as we thought it was too graphic for the audience in the opening and they not want to watch the rest of it. There is a close up shot of the knife which is black and white I really love this shot as the blood is dripping, in the end Jack the Ripper is walking away from the crime scene which shows the victim lying on the ground this shows that she did die. We had an ellipsis shot showing later on in the day with Jack the Ripper targeting the next victim. We did not have any music in this draft so you could hear the director and the sound of cars though in our final we had music which suits for time period.

The third draft to Ripper

This draft has changed a bit from the last draft, we stabilised the establishing shot so the camera was not shaky, we cut a couple of seconds on both of the newspaper clip as we wanted the shot to be a flash. We added some credits like we included the man who played Jack the Rippers name on his top hat and when the turned his head the name disappeared. The point of view shot showing the lamp has been shortened as if the shot was on as long as it was before the audience may be able to see where Jack the Ripper was hidden. The shot of the photograph of the victim is shorter so it seems more like a flash, the flash could represent the short life span that the victim has as she is young. We cropped the wide shot showing the victim and Jack the Ripper following her so the H sign is not in the shot anymore, this makes our film less contemporary. Also, we made the walking in this shot faster as it could be seen as boring and the audience looses interest. We included a shot of Jack the Ripper looking at the picture of the victim on a wall this makes it seem like he is laughing and remembering the murder. We made the shot of Jack the Ripper crossing out the victim slower to make it more dramatic and the close up of the knife we made the colouring red to represent blood and the death of the victim and the other victims. Jack the Ripper walking away from the crime scene is longer to make the scene more dramatic and intense, after the shot of Jack the Ripper circling the next victim we included a shot of Jack the Rippers eyes which is shown near the beginning of the opening. We included the title at the end of the opening as we thought it suited well though in our final version we placed the credits in the beginning as at the end it seems like a trailer.

The fourth draft to Ripper

In draft 4 we made the credits larger as before the credits weren't very big for the actors name and after researching we noticed that hardly any films have the main characters names small. We made the picture of the victim quicker than it was in draft 3 so if the audience blinked during that shot they will miss it. Also, we made the credits last longer as in draft 3 they usually lasted for two seconds.

Fifth draft to Ripper

In this draft we used a fade in transitions for the newspaper clips and we mixed the screaming of the victim with the newspaper clips this makes the opening more interesting and it reminds me of when people feel faint so it could show the victim slipping in to unconsciousness. In this draft we wanted to experiment with different ways we could use credits, we added black screens with our names in red font in the middle of the screen. However, the black screen was only used for James Mansfields name and the rest of the names were where they were before, we decided to do this as his name was not on the screen for the same amount of time.

Sixth draft to Ripper

In draft six we introduced music in to our opening, I really like our music as I feel it suits the theme of our film. However, when adding the music to our video we noticed that some sounds from filming volume has increased so we will have to mute that in the next draft. None of the editing of the camera angles has changed since the last draft though we will have to fit the music to the opening so some sounds will go well with some camera shots which will intensify some scenes.

Seventh draft to Ripper

In this draft we included the production company which was J.E.D.I Productions, in the background was a logo. From the last draft we changed the mid shot of the feets contrast so the shot is more grey so the audience can see the feet and we changed the credits so our names to do appear on a black screen. I really liked the font as it reminded me of Jack the Rippers handwriting in the letters he wrote though in the final draft we changed the font.


Eighth draft to Ripper

In draft eight we changed the production companies name and the shot, we used extra footage and placed the production companies name on the top of the shot. We fitted the music with the opening to the film, I really like when the victim turns around and the music stop for a split second I think this adds fear to the audience. We changed the font that we used in our credits as in this font the names are clearer, though the title of our film is still in the same font as it was before. We made the credits larger and we got rid of the ending of the last draft as with the title of the film the opening seemed more like an ending to a film. Also, we added jobs above our names e.g. Screenplay by
Dominique Shiells Edwards
We made the close up of the knife shot fit in with the music so when there was a ding when the victim is getting crossed of, I really like this shot as I think the music, the shot, the colouring of the shot and the positioning of where we put the shot fits really well.

Storyboard to our film

This is our original storyboard to our opening of our film.

Researching Production Companies

I have currently been researching production companies and the genre of the film they produce to try and give our group inspiration with names. We wanted to see if there was a connection between the genre the production company produces, the history of the production companies and the name of the production company, we have discussed many names such as, J.E.D.I which is taken from Star Wars and we did not want people to think that our movie is science-fiction.

Below is research of the production company and the movies that they have produced.

Lions Gate Entertainment
The company's roots can be traced back to the original, and now-defunct, Los Angeles-based studio and the Production company who was run by filmmaker Robert Altman in the 1970s, which the director called Lion's Gate Films. Altman named the company for a hometown landmark - Greater Vancouver's Lion's Gate. The term Lion's Gate references the famed Lions Gate bridge. As of 2007, it is the most commercially successful independent film and television distribution company in North America. Lions Gate co-produced all of the Saw movies to date with Twisted Pictures. Lions Gate has produced a broad range of films with different genres, American Physco in 2000 and Crash 2004 which are both Thrillers, My Bloody Valentine 3D and The Haunting in Connecticut which are both Horrors, Youth in Revolt which is a comedy. Lions Gate produced many films with many different genres however it seems there are more Thriller and Horrors such as Crash, American Physco, The Haunting in Connecticut, My Bloody Valentine 3D, Teeth, Daybreakers and Drag me to Hell.

Paramount Vantage

Paramount Classics was launched in 1998 and released such art house fare as The Virgin Suicides, You Can Count on Me, Sunshine, Mostly Martha, Winter Solstice, and three Patrice Leconte films (Girl on the Bridge, Man on the Train, Intimate Strangers). In 2006, the Paramount Vantage brand branched off from Paramount Classics, which was relaunched in 2007 as a distributor of smaller, review-driven films including foreign-language acquisitions and documentaries. In 2007, Paramount Vantage co-produced No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood with Miramax Films. It seems that Paramount Vantage produce many Thriller films with horrific scenes such as Babel, Into the Wild, No Country for Old Men, The Kite Runner, There Will be Blood, Defiance, The Eye, The Duchess and Revolutionary Road.

Twisted Pictures

Twisted Pictures is a production company, mainly creating films of the horror genre. It gained wide attention through the production of the Saw series. The Saw Series was co-produced with Lions Gate Entertainment, the Saw series was the highest earned film with Twisted Pictures however they have made other films like Dead Silence, Repo! The Genetic Opera, The Tortured and Chain Letter.

Miramax Films

Miramax Films is an art-house/independent film production company that both produced

and distributed films including foreign films over its 31-year history. For its first 14 years the company was privately owned by its founders, Bob and Harvey Weinstein. Miramax Films has produced many different genres of films such as Romantic Comedies She's All That and Bridget Jones Diary, the Crime genre like Kill Bill vol. 1 and vol.2 and the Thriller genre such as There will be blood and No Country for Old Men with Paramount Vanatge and Comedy like Adventureland and Smart People. Miramax Films has a very broad range of films and that stands out from the other Production Companies.

After researching Lions Gate Entertainment, Paramount Vanage, Twisted Pictures and Miramax Films I find that most production companies mainly stick to one genre. Lions Gate Entertainment main genre is Thriller, Paramount Vantage main genre is Drama and Twisted Pictures is all horror films. However, Miramax Films is the only production company where I can not see that there is one main genre as all of the films have very broad genres. I have decided that the title of our production company should sound professional and I feel that we should call our production company some thing relevant to the Thriller/Horror genre as we can say that our production company could target many Thriller/Horror films as the popularity of Thriller/Horror films are increasing.

Researching Openings to Thriller/Horror Movies

I have researched openings that are the similar genre to our opening which is Thriller/Horror movies I wanted to see where they had placed there credits, how long the credits lasted, colours of the font and if the writing was it capitals.

The Game

In the beginning the production company is named which is POLYGRAM underneath it says FILMED ENTERTAINMENT and underneath PRESENTS. This shot lasts for four seconds in white writing as the background is a puzzle so the writing stands out. The Presents is smaller than the production company showing that importance of the company. The next shot is writing A PRODUCTION FILMS underneath PRODUCTION 'A' and Production is smaller than the production company showing once again the significance of the company, the pause of the writing is for four seconds again. The next shot is of the Title THE GAME which is paused for four seconds. The background is unraveling the writing in each shot. All of the writing is in capitals and is shown for four seconds this may be because of the two production companies that helped make the movie have equal rights. The actors and the director is shown at the end of the movie. I really liked this opening as I liked the puzzle and that it relates to the title 'The Game' and I liked that everything was in Capitals which makes the writing stand out. However, I feel that the opening did not give me any ideas as it was very contemporary.

The Shining

Warner Bros. Pictures is shown in the opening before the movie begins. In the openings there are many wide shots showing a car driving which gives the idea of a peaceful journey, there is writing superimposed in 1 minute and 20 seconds in to the opening of A STANLEY KIBRICK FILM going from the bottom of the shot moving to the top of the screen the directors name is shown for eight seconds. However, near when Kibricks name is leaving the shot JACK NICHOLSON name appears at the bottom going to the top, the name is on the screen for eight secongs. Even though on the seventh second another name appears SHELLEY DUVALL name appears. The people named is the directors and the main actors in the movie. Next the title of the movie appears still moving to the top of the screen in slightly bigger font. The next names says FEATURING DANNY LLOYD the next six names are different actors. After the actors the EXECUTIVE PRODUCER underneath JAN HARLAN is shown, BASED UPON THE NOVEL BY STEPHEN KING and then the production company THE PRODUCER CIRCLE COMPANY. After the different names SCREEN PLAY BY STANLEY KIBRICK is shown again showing his importance in the film. Each name has the same length of time of the screen. The font is in blue which represents tranquility and calmness which contrasts with the film and all of the writing is in Capitals. I did not like this opening as I thought it was very long however I did like the opening shots of the journey showing the setting.

No Country for Old Men

In the beginning PARAMOUNT VINTAGE underneath AND underneath MIRAMAX FILMS and underneath PRESENT the shot is black screen with white writing in Capitals for four seconds. The next shot has the title of the movie in Capitals on a black screen in white writing for four seconds. I really liked the simplicity of the opening and I think that we could try and use an opening like this as it is not too modern and it seems traditional.

Screams

In the two minute opening the assault scene is implied and we were going to have music played over the top of the opening and we may have the church bells. However, I defiantly think we should include the woman screaming which we could do using an external microphone. I feel the scream should be placed in the opening when the assault scene is taking place and the camera could cut away of the road name 'Chapel Street' which is as seen on our preliminary exercise, if we did use this shot we would have to edit the shot using iMovie to darken the shot to make it seem like it is at night.

Another idea is to have a wide shot of the assault taking place and the scream can then be in that shot or we could include the scream to a cut away close up shot to the blood on the pavement and the blood will pour on to the pavement which represents death and it alerts the audience. The scream will dramatise the opening and it shows the victims fear. This is an example of a women screaming in which we could use.:

The Church Bells

This is the sound of Church Bells in which our group was thinking about including in our two minute opening:

The sound of the Church Bells would make the opening dramatic as the loudness of the bells is spine chilling and intimidating. The use of the church bells would fit in with the movie as there was the White Chapel Church near where the murders took place. The irony of the church bells which is leading up to the assault scene which is death and religion. The use of the bells could represent Jack the Ripper's feelings about the murders as he believed that he was right, it could be seen that he was playing the role of God as he decided when the victims will die, as Jack the Ripper was thought to be a surgeon and he helped save life's.
The Church Bells could be used when the victim is walking as there is juxtaposition as she has just finished her job as she is a prostitute and religion. The Church Bells will fade as the assault gets nearer as it will create tension and drama.

Garage Band at the CLC

On Wednesday 20th January we attended a Garage Band session at the CLC. We decided that we needed the training even though we did experiment with garage band whilst editing, but we found the software confusing and hard to use.
Personally, I felt very excited about learning how to figure out how to make the music with garage band, I felt anxious to see if my group could make the elements of our music research we really liked and apply the elements in the film, worried if when experimenting with garage band we would not find anything we could use due to the fact that our two minute opening is set in 1888 and I felt happy to finally learn about garage band and for our group adding and finding music that we all liked was hard and we all wanted to find the 'perfect' piece that suited our film.
I found it difficult because we did not have our film with us, so making our music we had to constantly think about our film and remember the main points and the timing they occur. However, once I started garage band I found it really enticing and interesting. I found myself looking through every sound and mixing about five sounds together to create a 2 minute and 25 seconds music.
I am looking forward to applying our sound to our film, but we will probably have to create the music as a group as we all worked as individuals.

Footsteps and the Knife

Even though we decided that we will have music in our two minute film, we did consider having other sounds. We have to also think about the fact that our music may overpower the other sounds, so we would have to think about where to place the alternative sounds and when to lower the music.
These are the sounds that I have been considering adding.:

Footsteps

In one shot of our opening we have a close up of Jack the Ripper's feet which shows that he is going to go after the victim. I have been thinking that we should develop the music, such as a piano could be playing in the opening which gives a feeling of the film being tranquil and that the victim feels safe. Then the noise of the footsteps will alert the audience to danger. If we do decide to use footsteps it will not have to be that loud in the beginning. However, the noise will have to continue as the victim is walking but the music will also be developing maybe in to violins. This will be a slight problem that we will have to think about.

Knife

We have a quick shot of the assault scene and Jack the Ripper picking up the knife, so the knife sound will not suit this particular part of the opening. However, the knife sound may suit the newspaper flashes and the quick flashes which implies the murder. However, I do not know how we could make a stabbing noise, if it would suit the story at that point of the story and if the music develops how the sound could overpower the music. As all of the anticipation is leading up to the murder in the opening if the sound will be effective or if the music is better for the opening.

Ideas for the Name of our Film

In our group we have been trying to think of names that suit our Jack the Ripper themed two minute film. We came up with many ideas such as The Silver Knife which Jack the Ripper was known for. However, I am not sure about this name as I do not think that the viewer will know it symbolises Jack the Ripper and in our film we have a shot of the knife and 'blood' dripping of it we edited that shot so it is red, so Silver Knife would not fit in to the opening. Also, we came up with 1988 which is the year that the murders took place, but with this title I do not think it is catchy and I feel that if we named our film after the year we would need to explore the year more in depth to show how crime scenes were handled and we would need to get the historical context to do the name justice.
I recently watched Scary Movie it is a comedy film which mocks horror films as I was watching it I was amazed by how brilliant the title shot was and as I showed my group they also liked it.

Scary Movie

The film title is shown on 4.22 - 4.28. I like how there is a low angle shot before the titles of the murderer which shows his power in this stituation and a high angle shot of the victim showing her vulnerability. I like how the slash of the knife fits in with the sound which is a knife slashing. I love the editing of the shot as the titles are immediantly after the slash and the jump cut. I also like how the colouring of the text changes such as the text is white, then the red border over the white text and then red text. Also, I think how atmospheric the titles are and they also seem 3D when the text blurs and goes closer to the screen.

I was wondering if we could try and explore how my group could make our own ideas. I was thinking of getting fabric and ripping it for the sound over the titles as we are thinking about naming our movie Ripped or The Ripper, so I feel the sound will fit in with the name. I was also thinking about using the slashing as our opening titles but how we have edited our film so far it will not fit in and our film is also implied.

I will be looking out for other films and how they edit their credits to gain border ideas and knowledge about titles.

Props for our Film

Props are also important as the point of a film is to make it seem real espiecally in a horror, and if no props were used the film it would not seem real and it would not attract the audience.

We will be using a fake knife as that was the murder weapon Jack the Ripper used and to make the audience sit on the edge of there seat.

We may need to use the torch incase it gets too dark and there is not enough light.

We will be using newspaper articles, headlines and pictures which will be used in the Conference scene. We need to use the newspaper articles as it shows the time period by the year, the style of the newspaper, it shows who the murderer it aiming at next and it also represents that he is proud of all of the murders he has done and he is not ashamed.

Location of our Film

A set is very important as it creates the mood and atmosphere for a film.

In our opening of our two minute film a quarter of the film is filmed inside and three quarters of the film will be outside. We have many important locations especially as our film is suppose to be based in the 1880's so keeping that themed look is very significant in our film.

The Enfield Offices is going to be the establishing shot where the victim is going to walk out to give of the vibe she just finished her job as she is suppose to be a prostitute. We all agreed that this location will be a part of our two minute opening as it looks like large and seems very rich and it may have good lighting as there is a lamp by the offices. The only problem with this location is that where we would need to place the camera and tripod is a car park, so we must be careful and be sure that the cars are not in the frame.

This is the alley where we will be filming where all of the walking shots will be taken. We feel that this alley has an 1880's vibe. We feel that it will be effective as it seems claustrophobic and eerie when it will be dark. There are some problems with this alley as many people walk through the alley and in the background there are some cars and to resolve this issue we will need to film further back or point the camera at the angle.

We will be filming in Gentleman's Row. This is where many of our shots will be filmed, further down Gentleman's Row is where the alley and the archway is where the walking and abuse shots are. This only problem with filming in Gentleman's Row is that many people walk down there and there are some houses so we will have to be quiet and to be prepared of cutting shots as people may walk pass.

This a map of where we will be filming, this part of Enfield seems very old and Victorian. This location is very near our houses and our school so we could film immediately after school.

We will also be filming in the Conference Room in school, we will be shooting the newspaper article

scenes there, and this will help us filming in school as we can film during free periods or at lunch. The Conference Room is also very dark and the notice board is there where we will be pinning up the articles and it can represent isolation from the outside world and the darkness of the plot.

Ideas for Costumes

Costumes are very important whilst filming as the style of dress, accessories and hairstyle, represent the characteristic of a particular country, period, or people.

Jack the Rippers Costume

When I was researching Jack the Ripper all of the pictures of people interpretations and outfits of him all had top hats and black capes. Which is why our group has decided to incorporate them in to the costume. There are clothing items and objects from both pictures we will be using such as the top hats, the cape, black trouser, black shoes and gloves. We will be adding a black shirt instead of a white shirt as we want to black it clear he is the "villain" and to make the actor seem very mysterious. We will only have a knife as it is a prop we will be using. There will be no Cain or bag as we don't think we need them.

Victims Costume

This is a typical 1800's women outfit. This consists of a corset and a long skirt, we have decided that our actress Michaela who will be playing the victim will wear a corset top, long skirt, a shawl and shoes as we want to show her wealth as well, as our victim is not rich she is a poor prostitute. The left picture is a the missing poster of Mary Jane Kelly, Jack the Rippers victim and her death was the most gruesome. I thought this picture was interesting as it shows what she looked like and her social class.

The Final of our Preliminary Excerise

This is our final preliminary exercise. I am very happy with the editing as we were the first group to edit ours and as we only done one take each shot we found it easier to but them together.
Our storyboard has changed as we felt some shots fitted better with other for example, a close up then a over a shoulder. Editing was difficult as you have to be precise when you cut or add another shot. Also, the IMovie did not leave a mark where we wanted the shot to cut so we had to memorise were it stopped.
This is our preliminary task:

Thriller Research- Ideas

My group have been researching the thriller genre. I have become very intrigued in to the idea of basing the two minute film around a real experience.
There are many interesting stories that we could research more in to. However, many will be too hard to do, as we may not have sufficient resources and it will hard to try and get other people to act in the film as they may not be reliable or they may not be able to film.
I personally thought Jack the Ripper may be interesting as he is very historic and we could use or make interesting props, play on the idea of a villain and to keep him mysterious throughout the film and to create suspense and intense moments and we could also use Low Key lighting.
I really like using this idea but it seems more like a horror genre rather than a thriller.
I am going to research more real life experiences to try and to see if it is possible to have a Thriller film based on a historic experience.

Genres

In class we was discussing what genre we are interested in for our two minute film we will be creating.
The genres were thriller, romantic comedy, comedy, chick flick, horror and action all of the genres are different and have different aspects to the story lines and filming for example in a horror the camera may be shaky and zoomed into peoples faces to add tension and fear but in a comedy the camera is usually not zoomed in as many things may be going on in the background and to add a focus to the characters but also to become aware of the set.
I am very interested in thriller as i have been watching many thriller films and there are so camera shots and story lines you can add to create more drama and tension.
However, I am also interested in comedy films as not many people film them but I think it will be hard to try to be funny that it will end up being cheesy and idiotic.