After searching through many clips of face morphing (both home made and within movies) it is clear that doing an effective face morph in editing is not that difficult with the right software (adobe after effects)
This is therefore probably the easiest way of going about getting a face morph for our antagonist without using an excessive amount of makeup skills as it is quick for the limited time we have.
We will also be able to put demonic sounds over the top of this to finish off the overall effect and to fully demonstrate the 'evil' side of the girl. Also to demonstrate that the girl isn't who she was and to give a sense of mystery that will be effective for an opening.
We want to do a face morph because we find it will be effective and it may be a jump factor as there aren't any signs that a face morph will occur so it will hopefully be unexpected for the audience. Face morphs also don't require excellent actors which is suitable for us so we can create an effective scene without it being staged and without it seeming fake.
In these films there seems to be a lot of acting to show possession rather than editing, there is also much make up use to create an inhuman look (demonic look).
However in Constantine there is a demon coming out of the woman, here editing could be used to morph the woman's skin on her neck with the face of a demon to show that she is possessed.
Apart from that the actor seems to be doing much of the work by writhing around on the bed and using extravagant movements to show her body is being taken over. Make up is also used to show that her skin is different than it normally is (we see how her skin is afterwards when she is no longer possessed) an editing technique here is used to have a smooth transition between, this is a graphic match. They could have also achieved this by editing her face to look greenish rather than using makeup.
In the exorcist not much editing is used and the possession is more due to the acting of the girl, however the demonic voices are put in during editing. The camera is also used to give a disorientating effect as many close ups of her face and body parts are used to give the impression that she is in the air. Makeup is also used here as her eyes go white which shows blankness of the body and that it isn't her but something else.
In The Rite acting and makeup is used to show possession. The actor does not do much except shout however the makeup shows that it is not him doing this but a demon inside him, the green in his eyes suggests this as it tells us that he has been corrupted by an exterior influence. The black around his eyes shows the evil trapping this corruption inside and therefore hints to the audience that he is being possessed.
Our opening sequence:
However we do not have actors that are able to do these possession scenes in our opening sequence therefore it is more likely that we'd use editing to portray this. Here we would use jump cuts to create an edgy scene and we would speed up or slow down certain parts to put emphasis and to disorientate the audience. We'd also use awkward camera angles and use close up shots (of for example their eyes) to give the impression that the actor is doing something out of the ordinary or unusual. We are also using makeup to emphasize the idea that the character is possessed/not their usual self.
Medium shots of Eden in opening establishing shots
Testing shots and path of antagonist
Checking the area for routes to use when actors attend
Leave Location: 4pm
Shots to be used:
Establishing shots
Medium shots
POV shots
Full shot --> Medium Shot --> Close Up Shot
Low Angle Shots
Aeiral Shot
This day was important as we had both our actors on location and were able to start filming some crucial parts of the opening. We were able to map out routes for Anna and rehearse sections, allowing us to let the actors to get to know each other and see how it would work. We were also able to film nearly all Eden's parts where she was the only person in shot, such as her opening shot and running away. We made lots of progress in this filming day and achieved everything we wanted to, including more, such as filming background noise (such as birds tweeting) to use in other shots if necessary, as there were sometimes planes flying overhead or building work sounds nearby.
When experimenting with voices for a film many aspects need to be in mind such as the age of the character and the sound that you are hoping to produce as sometimes the sound is a huge part of the scene. When recording i used my voice to sing the opening lines of "twinkle twinkle little star" to highlight the young antagonist within our opening. However, when listening to it back i had to put myself in the shoes of the audience and think about whether my voice suited our antagonists age. Obviously, if our antagonists age ranges from 12-16 then it may be quite easy to mimic their voice for voice experiment purposes. However, in this case i decided to sing the nursery rhyme in my lowest voice possible so i could resolve it and produce a more innocent sounding voice purely through editing on logic pro. This was easily achieved by adjusting the pitch of the recording a few times and it produced an effortlessly younger and innocent female voice.
However, on the other hand as we are filming a psychological horror the idea of voice morphing was key. Once i achieved a youthful, innocent sounding voice i used logic pro to adjust the reverb of the voice. I added an "ice" effect to the voice creating a cold sounding atmosphere. Additionally as mentioned previously, by adding reverb an echo was created therefore immediately adding a chilled and creepy feel to the voice. As an overall outcome, i did find the voice experiment disappointing as i found the majority of effects were extremely overpowering and distorting therefore blurring the sound of the words. Similarly to the sound experiment it's always good to have another person with you as their opinion matters too as they are the audience in the sense that they are not producing the sound. It's also hard to subvert the conventions of sound within a horror as the sound alone is what makes a horror a horror due to the exaggerated sounds of dead bodies/blood. To improve, I think what would help would be whilst filming note down what sounds would be emphasised within the particular scene, possibly ask another's opinion and record a number of recordings of that sound and apply it to the scene during the editing process and emphasise on certain aspects therefore adding the shock factor to the horror. Personally, the most challenging part of the sound would be the editing process as it's extremely easy to destroy a sound clip due to over editing such a simple sound such as someone walking, to shy away from this happening i think it's important to edit the clip simplistically listen to it back and again get others' opinion and edit cautiously to an even more realistic sound.
Walking amongst leaves
When trying to record something as simple as the footsteps among leaves there were many things to consider such as the ambient noise such as cars, dogs barking and the public especially when recording in a public area such as a park. Additionally, the wind alone can be a huge disruption. When recording, although there were many opportunities to record the walking amongst leaves we had to take into account whether the ambient sound would be too over powering if so, then the editing process would be extremely long and tedious therefore resulting to finding another location in which was a lot quieter.
Creaky Door
Although a creaky door is easy to record alone, by adjusting the pitch during the editing process can have a huge impact on how heavy the door sounds. In this case, i recorded the creaky door of a bathroom cabinet therefore the weight of the door is nothing heavy. By adjusting the pitch, the outcome which is featured in the video creates the sound of the door being extremely heavy. Additionally, a negative being that the "creak" may run on for too long possibly making the sound too cliched.
Running amongst leaves
When recording we also had to bare in mind the same things when recording the walking amongst leaves. However, because the character is travelling at a faster speed we had to bare in mind a few things. If the camera pans them, then so will the microphone therefore following the sound. However, if we remain in the middle of the distance that the character is travelling then the sound will travel from one end of the room to the next. However, if we record from the characters starting point then we produce the sound of them running away so their footsteps fade away along with them.
Dripping of water
This clip was recorded in the bathroom using the shower, although a bathroom has great acoustics when filming our environment would be a lot bigger. To create this effect, through out the editing process i decided to select a particular environment in this circumstance i chose a "grand church" which allowed the drops of water to echo giving off the impression that the sound was recorded in a much larger surrounding.
Overall, i was rather disappointed with how the editing of the sound turned out. I also found it extremely hard to produce sound without the use of a scene being filmed therefore not knowing what sounds to emphasise on and what sounds to emphasise on less. Additionally when recording sounds alone you have to trust that what you're recording will sound realistic as for this purpose you are only hearing the sounds not seeing them. To overcome this, i found that it was good to record each clip at least 3/4 times and then within the editing process eliminate the recordings that sound the less effective after getting the opinion from at least three other people as many can interpret sounds differently especially without a visual aid.
For our film opening we need to consider what kind of costumes our characters are going to be wearing. We are likely to be using period costumes as this will fit our chosen location very well. Below I have sketched some ideas and found places on line which give us ideas for costumes. I have also found links where we can buy costumes if we decide the time era is definite. In addition to this we can ask the actors if they already have clothes which are similar to this to save money in our budget. Embroidered Cotton Nightdress Belted Dress Victorian Style Dress
The bottom selection of pictures show what kind of costumes can be used if we were to have a modern protagonist mourning a dead relative (who would be wearing the period costumes). It is likely that the protagonist would be wearing black to show that they are suffering over the loss of their loved one. We decided that the antagonist should be wearing a white dress to give the impression that they are innocent and pure. However, throughout the film opening we want the dress to become dirty and possibly have blood stains. This will show how they progress into a threatening character and will make the demonic, scary ending much more sinister.
