BA Hons and FD Film
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Scene Analysis & evaluation – Graduation film
Scene analysis and Evaluation
Scene 1
The first scene of the film is green and sunny, happy and bright. Added purple tint for cheerfulness. The point of this is that it changes to be greyer in the scene as Slender is more present in the film to show his darkness.
The aspect ratio throughout the entire film is for greater cinematic quality and it also gives me the ability to adjust shots vertically to centre them just right into the frame. It’s all about letting the audience see only what needs to be seen.
The protagonist Kyle is dressed in black and white, the same as Slender to show the subtle connection of Kyle to him in the film. This also represents the opposites of dark and light that are both present in Slenderman and Kyle. When Slender appears I add a deep drum sound every time. Shortly into this scene the jump scare sound effect is present to break the calm silence of the beginning of the film. I use short, quick shots of the character’s faces etc to keep the tension high. Close up of faces are used to show the importance of the emotions.
I filmed quick, short shots of the Contact rifling through his paper to show the anxiety he is experiencing. When the Contact walks away he goes blurred, this is to represent how Kyle is trying to focus on what has just happened. Slenderman appears in the top right corner of the film in the very last shot – I wanted it to look like a tree and not be too obvious. He disappears when Kyle gets up – this keeps the mystery and tension going to the next scene.
This scene was filmed in about an hour with the other actor, and then about 10 seconds of facial expressions from myself were filmed the following day alone. We were the only crew on set at the time. I worked the camera myself through this entire scene while acting. He was very surprised at how fast and efficient I managed to get it all finished while it was just the two of us. Titles are scratchy writing to relate to the glitchiness of Slenderman. The titles zoom in to relate to Slenderman constantly in the distance. It draws Slenderman and adds its full form. The digital damage sounds relate to the glitches that Slenderman brings too. I’m overall happy with this scene and it worked out how I intended.
Scene 2
Another scene that was just filmed by myself. This scene has probably undergone the most reshoots. Originally, Kyle is typing on a laptop, but was later changed to be paper. Kyle writes on lined paper to relate it to the lined slender page that the Contact had given him. The lighting is kept neutral to keep it feeling as real as possible.
I show Kyle writing without thinking which fits into the high anxiety that he is experiencing. Camera focuses on what Kyle has written at the end of the scene to connect it to the beginning of the scene and to add a tense ending with mystery of danger.
When the phone call is taken the camera zooms on the mouth as the words are the most significant aspect.
Scene 3 & 4
The first scene that’s shot with a cameraman other than myself. Tunnel chosen for filming to use the lower lighting to make it feel creepy and to frame Slenderman at the end of it. The light and darkness contrasts with Slenderman.
The first attempt to shoot this film was completely cancelled after the first take because of many issues with the location, equipment and members of the public. I even nearly got a parking ticket. Going back the second time gave me time to change the scene slightly that it now starts bright and when I return from the woods, it’s dark to imply I’ve been there for a while. Originally, the entire tunnel scene was at night.
The colours and lighting are kept simple so the audience’s eyes don’t wander from the characters. I tried to obtain a strong contrast between light and dark, a kind of chiaroscuro. Glitches are placed on the Slenderman drawings to relate to the glitches in Slenderman. A metallic glean sound effect is used with the glitch to make it sound like it is broken. When Kyle is overcome by the energy from the picture a white light surrounds him to relate to death. Kyle then jumps into the woods scene to suggest the soul is jumping out of the body into another world.
The camera angle slightly looks up to Kyle when he sits next to the tree to show the bigger trees – this is done to show how small Kyle is in the woods. This is also done in a later shot at a more extreme angle. When Kyle gets up the filming of him walking is wobbly to demonstrate the uneasiness of Kyle. Creepy music starts as soon as Kyle stands up. Kyle gets distracted to look at the eclipse to signify the global effect of Slenderman’s presence. The camera zooms towards eclipse then cuts to Slenderman to connect the two.
Glitch sounds are used here to get the audience’s attention to look for Slenderman as he is partially covered by the tree. It’s so they know he is there somewhere. The page glows when Kyle’s hand moves nearer to it to show it is activated by Kyle’s presence only – signifies a portal.
I leave Slenderman out of the picture for a while to let the audience search for him. When Kyle runs the glitch sounds are present to show that Slenderman is chasing him. Each big glitch sound and distortion makes Kyle fall over.
An up angle shot of Kyle standing in the woods shows the trees towering over him and consuming him. The camera swings around in both directions to show confusion. The music is chosen for tense action.
The white bow on the tree is shown to provide a clue that this world is real and not a construct from Slenderman (as it is a symbol of the tree needing to be cut down). In this way Slenderman is claiming the human world woods as his own domain.
The forest scene is a homage to the game as it follows the exact scenario that the player experiences. I believe that this scene will be the most recognisable for Slenderman fans.
Once he is returned to the alley, it is now night and everything is distorted and hazy to represent his confusion and dizziness of what just happened. As he exits the tunnel, the contrasting shot of the football game in the distance is to represent Kyles loneliness in the world as he staggers out alone.
The shot of the dead tree by the lamppost is to represent the difference from the first scene where everything was so alive and colourful. The forest scene was filmed by another cameraman and we were accompanied by another person who carried bags for us.
Scene 5
Cuts to Kyle’s room. The posters on the walls throughout this scene have been digitally replaced over videogame posters to keep the realism of the character. I have also blurred and drained the colour from the background to detract the audience’s attention from wandering from the central character. It starts with quick short shots of the alcoholic drink with loud sounds of opening the bottle and cap thrown on the table to signify Kyle’s desperation for it.
There are no sounds added while Kyle looks at the page to get ready for the jump scene. When Kyle runs outside the camera angles change in different directions to show the confusion and disorientation of Kyle. When Kyle realises he needs to hunt for Slenderman the music sounds urgent and there are quick shots and fast movement to add to the urgency. Slenderman appears in the mirror to add a tense ending and cliffhanger. The final film of SLENDER doesn’t include this jump scare at all.
Overall I’m happy with the film and it’s already been praised by people who have seen it. I always ask if they’ve spotted Slenderman in a certain scene or not. If too many people spot him, I make him more hidden, and vice versa. If I made the film again I would try harder go get my hands on a better camera as the darker scenes really do struggle on the Canon 550D and getting rid of grain has been the real nightmare.
From the feedback that I received at the screening at the Arts Centre, I have taken into consideration that sometimes the music unnecessarily gives away the scare that Slenderman is coming for the audience. I also received suggestions on where to make him more subtle in the scene. Their favourite appearance of Slender was the very first where he’s hidden in the top right corner in the background.
When the full film is complete, I would very much like to make a sequel that is more subtle and really works on the fear of the unknown rather than revealing the monster so often. I would also get my hands on a better camera that can actually work with night conditions. I would also get a bigger crew so that I don’t find myself juggling everything at once.
Pictures below from final film which will be released for Halloween
R.E.D Evaluation and research
So the production process for my Slender film has come to an end for the R.E.D project but I will be continuing the film to see it finished afterwards. In this project, I challenged myself at directing other crew and actors, as I’m known for being a one man army when it comes to making films. I already had a completed script that I made about a year ago for last Halloween. The film never happened because of my fear of directing.
Everyone has different methods of directing, but I think it all comes down to being confident enough to order people around with clear intention without getting on their nerves too much. I wouldn’t say that my challenge for directing can be overcome by reading into other directors tips and tricks, because I’m not them and every director is different. To assist with my directing skills, I’ve been reading ‘Film Directing Fundementals: See Your Film Before Shooting’ by Nicholas Proferes (Proferes, NP, 2008. Film Directing Fundamentals: See Your Film Before Shooting. 3rd ed. England: Focal Press).
I’ve learnt from this book many tips on directing. Here’s a summary of what the book has taught me on directing actors in it’s chapter called ‘Directing Actors on the Set’:
Early on, film the easier scenes such as drive-ups and so on. As you get to the tougher scenes, shoot the most difficult parts and/or the shots that ‘you can’t live without’ early in the day to make sure you don’t run out of time or actors energy. Make sure the actors know their marks and the parameters of the frame they have to work in. Position yourself as close to the camera lenses as possible so that you will see the scene from the same angle as the camera sees it. Make sure the actors keep going until the director announces “Cut!” unless the camera operator or sound person calls “Cut!” for technical reasons. Do not ask for another take from an actor without giving them a new piece of specific direction. If a take is being done because the previous take was ruined by a technical problem, let the actor know it was’t their fault. Remind actors precisely where they are in the story and where they just came from. When the camera is rolling, stay in the moment and never take your eyes off of the action. Keep asking yourself, Do I believe him? Is she interesting? Never ignore your gut feeling that is telling you something is wrong – Figure out what it is.
In addition to all of this, while directing crew around, it’s important that everyone keeps in mind that “Everything that goes
into making a fi lm should pass through the prism of the director’s vision.” (Page 134)
This project for me is a personal challenge to take it upon myself to achieve what my initial goal was when I joined the college, to be a director.
My first step for acquiring actors for the film was to go onto a casting call website. I chose Star-Now to find my actor. In the end, I got 10 replies. Here is the add:
When I met the actor who I chose, we went to the location and filmed the scene on the bench in no more than an hour. He was surprised at how quickly we completed it and was impressed with the edit. I went back another day just to re-film a few reaction shots of my face. The downside to this scene was that I was also working the camera as well as directing and acting, so while the shots are in focus, some of them are far too over exposed. I tried my best to adjust these shots as much as possible in post-production.
Because I’m so used to working alone, I usually write my scripts on Notepad in quite an unprofessional manner. Because I’m working with other actors and crew, I rewrote the script in a traditional and professionally looking way that’s easy to understand.
The following scene involves a phone-call. I directed Guy to be the person on the other end of the phone. It took no longer than five minutes to direct him for that scene.
The last shot of the film is a slider panning shot of me walking in a dark alley. This was going to be a scene to test my abilities to direct crew. I took a cameraman with me but we encountered many problems from dead batteries, to incorrect kit given to us, to people refusing to move from the alley for about two hours.
This entire scene will be re-filmed as the footage is too dark, and the slider wasn’t handed to me with all the correct equipment, hence the shaky pan. Aside from all that, I had to abandon filming because of a threat of a parking ticket on my car.
In post-production, I made a decision to manually adjust the pixel aspect ratio to a more letterbox and cinematic view. This gives me great leniency to shots that need to be adjusted slightly higher or lower for the subject to be more centrally placed.
The title sequence of the word ”SLENDER” which then evolves to reveal a drawing of Slenderman was created on a Bamboo digital drawing pad. It is in the style of the pages that are present throughout the film.
Overall I’m happy with the outcome of the film so far and I look forward to continuing its production.
Imagined sympathetic viewers
The first sympathetic viewer could be a 15 year old male from the UK who has just played the game and is interested in checking out the film to see how much it’s like the game. He could also be rooting for Slenderman himself, hoping to see the protagonist get killed to make up for all the times he’s died on the game himself.
The second viewer could be a 20 year old female from America. She could be rooting for the protagonist, maybe she finds him attractive. My Youtube analytics claims that I have a slightly greater female audience in America.
The third viewer could be a 30 year old male from the UK. He hasn’t played Slender before, nor does he know much about the character, he is simply watching the film for the sake of a good film. He is sympathetic to the protagonist because like himself, he knows nothing of Slenderman.
Graduation Film ideas
Post Production Special Effects Research
Research – Looking at special effects and how they are created
Goal – To improve my skills in editing and creating special effects
Theme – Action
Target Audience – Youtubers – Aged between 15-27 – Mostly Male
Possible extension of R.E.D project if Directing goes well
Research – Looking further into directing films, looking at action film directing in particular
Goal – To have another aspect of filming on my CV at end of course
Theme – Action
Target Audience – Not yet decided
Funny Dubs
Research – Looking at why people like youtubing, what elements of it make it most interesting – human behaviour
Goal – To get a bigger name on youtube for promotion of my films
Theme – Comedy
Target Audience – Youtubers – Aged between 15-27 – Mostly Male
R.E.D Project Proposal
For my R.E.D project, I wish to explore an area of filmmaking that I’ve always been quite timid of. While I like to think my expertise lie in editing/post production, as well as a jack of all trades on my films that only star myself, I’ve always been quite intimidated of directing other people. My initial goal four years ago was to become a director, but I soon realized that I can’t order people around, or have much luck finding actors who are willing to find their way to the location of the scene of their own accord and accept the fact that I can’t pay them, and even then they have to put up with my obsessiveness of filming the same shots over and over to ensure the best outcome possible.
My self challenge for this project is to actually direct a film, full of other actors and more than just one on one conversation – though that will be included. Another thing I’ve always wanted to do is to make a horror movie and play with tension and suspense. With halloween coming up, and inevitably this film unfortunetaly being finished after it, I think this is the perfect chance to combine the both and try to create something good!
I went ahead and created the first scene of this film where I already demonstrate my ability to direct an actor. Unfortunately, it doesn’t show off my abilities as a camera man while I’m also an actor, as a lot of the scene is over exposed.
BA Hons and FD Film 