POST #8 - OUR FILM OPENING (PART 1) [MISE-EN-SCENE]

[THIS IS UNFINISHED I'M SORRY]

Hello!

So... another Film Opening. But this time, it's focusing on mise-en-scene! :O

My group (group consisting of me, Megan and Wendy), were given 5 post-it notes which gave us the mise-en-scene elements we should use for our new 2-Minute opening. I'll mention these later on.

Along with those post-it notes, we were given two sheets that had 20 questions between them, and so we've split them up so we get a fair amount each. So, here is Part 1, or Sheet 1, or whatever you want to call it.

WHAT WAS THE TASK?
<megan>

WHAT ELEMENTS OF MISE-EN-SCENE WERE WE GIVEN?
Well, there are the 5 elements of mise-en-scene in general, which are Props, Location, Cast, Costume and Lighting. Oh, and from some sources, they say Décor as well, but we probably paired that up with Props. The elements we got were:

- Props - Newspaper

- Location - Office

- Lighting - Artificial and Natural

- Costume - Muddy Hands

- Cast - Two 7-11 year old boys

... Yay :3
We found that most of them were easy to deal with, except the Cast, since we couldn't think of anyone immediately. Eventually we did find a pair (Megan's cousins).

INITIAL PLOT IDEAS
*Looking at the elements of mise-en-scène, we came up with different genres in order to create a plot, as the genre will effect the mood of the film and therefore will need an appropriate plot to suit the mood. Our first interpretation of the mise-en-scene elements we received was to create a light-hearted film, perhaps a coming-of-age romance or a generic romantic comedy. 
An idea we thought of was using the boys as minor characters in order to bring two characters together. For example, an adult male character asked the two boys for help in order to get a girls attention, and the boys would conceive a mischievous plan in order to do this.

The second idea was a family film. Two boys are waiting in their mum's office for her to finish work. They're obviously bored and their mum is paying no attention to them. They find a newspaper on her desk and begin to make paper airplanes with it and throw it at their mum, but they stop when she scolds them. They constantly try to get her attention but she doesn't give it to them. They take their mum's potted plant and wipe the soil all over her office without her noticing.

Our final idea was for horror.
It started with a man being in an office on his computer (artificial light), he then packs up to go home. Before he leaves the office, he picks up a newspaper that reads 'Two Boys Murdered' and throws it in the bin. The man goes to leave the office and tension begins to build before it become overwhelming with suspense due to tense music. At this point a man is going down the elevator, and the music cuts out when the music cuts out, making it anticlimactic. The elevator doors open revealing an empty corridor. The man leaves the building and when he gets outside he sees a child crying. The other child is then joined by his twin, who has a twisted smile on his face. The man asks if they're alright, but then he looks behind them (what's behind them isn't revealed) and looks frightened before starting to run away. The opening finishes with the man being dragged off.* ~ Wendy (some light edits)

CASTING IDEAS

*The first idea was to use Megan's brother and his friends, since they were 12/13; only just outside the age bracket. But when I spoke to them, I realised they look much older than they are. Therefore, they wouldn't fit the age bracket.
 The second idea was that the only boys around that age (or similar looking to that age) were Megan;s cousins; they were a convenient casting choice, as the boys live in Wymondham, and her aunty trusts me to look after them. Megan texted her aunt Emma to see whether they were able and willing to act for us, this is what she said.

 So they seem like the best option as they are both free that day and willing.

The other character we need, the man working in an office hasn't been decided yet, the two options we had were Megan's dad, because then my aunty might feel a little more comfortable with an adult there, especially if we were planning on filming in the city centre. I asked him in person and he said he was more than willing to help.. However, if he backs out, Wendy's boyfriend said he was more than happy to help also.* ~ Megan (some light edits)

LOCATION IDEAS/RESEARCH
We had to choose where to film, more specifically, we had to choose an office.
Megan almost immediately mentioned how her dad worked in an office, and how she could check if her dad would let us into and film in the office(s).

However, we did have to come up with a backup location in case we couldn't film in the first office proposal. We came up with filming in one of the offices in school, most likely on one of the days during October half term when no-one will be working in the offices.

Wendy also had an idea of having an elevator scene in the opening, and we considered using the elevators in the Riverside car park.



But we thought that it could be awkward filming, since other people are going to want to use the elevator, so we did also consider using the stairwell near them. In fact, the lighting and conditions of the stairwell is fairly creepy looking, so it'll fit the genre well.

PROP RESEARCH/IDEAS
*The prop we required for the film opening was a newspaper. There were many ways this could have been featured, for example one of the characters could have been briefly reading it and it would be an insignificant feature in the film. We decided to use this prop as a plot device by hinting to the audience as to who the two boys featured are at the end - the ghosts of the newspaper featured characters (Two Boys Murdered). This would therefore give a subtle hint to the audience, as well as actually play a role in the film as opposed to being a pointless feature. In order to create this custom newspaper, we decided to design a front page cover to the newspaper and then fold the front cover over a genuine newspaper to add depth and make it realistic as a newspaper.* ~ Wendy

COSTUME RESEARCH/IDEAS
*Both of our ideas so far have been horror or thriller based so we were going to have the boys dressed in their usual clothes, but with some fake blood, we were also given the must have of muddy hands so they will have to feature somehow on the boy, also the fact our setting is an office means the man who is getting scared will most likely be in a suit or work attire.* ~ Megan

LIGHTING RESEARCH/IDEAS
The lighting we got was a mixture of artificial and natural light. This meant we have to use bulbs and the sun/moon. We decided that the artificial lighting could be done with the office, since it will obviously have the lights in the ceiling.
With the natural light, we thought that just filming "outside the office" settings would be good, since it'll be outside and either the sun will be out or the moon might be bright enough to give a unique looking light source.
However, there could be an opportunity for both at the same time; if we film later on in the day, there will probably be light from the moon and from the street lights.

TARGET AUDIENCE FEEDBACK
<wendy>

FILMING PLAN/SCHEDULE
*After checking when actors were free, we have all decided that Monday 24th of October is the best day for everyone, also considering public transport is more regular on a weekday for anyone living outside on Wymondham and Norwich, we're filming in the afternoon because the evening is too grainy for camera quality and the morning is difficult for people to get to our location.* ~ Megan

So, that concludes part 1. For anything that is quoted in *stars*, it is taken from Megan and Wendy's blog, since... you know... we split up the questions.

Join me again soon for Our Film Opening Part 2: Electric Boogaloo.

See ya!

~ Noah C :D