Mise-en-Scene: Jars

As my last attempt at making the killer's jars was unsuccessful, I tried again with different materials to make the jar look more realistic and effective.

• I used warm water and brown/yellow coloured materials such as gravy granules, honey and tea to make the liquid inside the jar look old and decayed, to show the killer has kept these jars as souvenirs for a long time. The liquid is also not as opaque as my previous attempt, so the solids in the jar can still be seen.
• For the 'body parts', I used dried orange peel and orange segments as I felt they resembled human insides or decayed human flesh.

 

Overall this attempt was more successful than the previous jar I created, as it looks somewhat more realistic. However I am still not happy with this jar as the liquid was not hot enough to mix all the ingredients together, so some of them stayed solid and stuck to the bottom and sides of the jar, and therefore took away from the effect.

Killer's Jars

To establish the mental instability and obsessive nature of our serial killer, we decided that she would keep body parts of her victims in jars, which we would include in the mise-en-scene of her lair. To prepare for the scene of the lair, I attempted to make these kinds of jars with household items.

• I used tap water mixed with green and yellow paint to create the liquid inside the jars
• I tried to use pieces of fruit as body parts, but these would float to the top of the liquid and could not be seen from the side. They also did not look realistic, and so were ineffective.
• I then moulded red and yellow plasticine into finger and toe shapes, and painted them grey and green to make them look decayed.

My first attempt was not successful, as the liquid looked too bright and was too opaque, so the plasticine models could not be seen.

 

My second attempt was slightly more successful, but was still ineffective as the liquid was still too opaque and the paint on the plasticine came off in the liquid, so the bright colours could be seen and so made the models look unrealistic.

To improve next time, I will experiment with different materials and ensure the ones I use look as effective and realistic as possible.

Garage Scene: Mise-en-Scene Log

In this scene, we are shooting our antagonist in their garage lair surrounded by items that establish to the audience that they are a serial killer and are conventional to the psychological horror genre. The mise-en-scene needed in this scene will be:

• The killer's journal
• Photos of past victims on the garage wall
• A desk
• Tools and weapons e.g. craft knives
• Jars full of body parts and liquids

In terms of costume, the killer's identity will remain hidden from the audience, so they will wear dark/black jeans and a black hooded top with the hood up over the actor's face. This scene will be shot in low key lighting with a desk lamp and a torch to create an unsettling and anticipative atmosphere for the audience. 

Mise en Scene: Jars

• To reflect on our killer's obsessive nature, we want their basement to be full of 'souvenirs' from their victims.
• One souvenir that the killer will take from each victim is a jar of their blood.
• Several of these needed to be created to place on the shelves of the killer's basement.
• I used water and acrylic paint to create a red liquid that would be visible in low key lighting.

• As our killer also keeps body parts from their victims, I placed dried fruit in the jars, as it resembles human flesh or intestines.
• Extreme close up shots are required for the 'flesh' to be visible.
• Overall, I feel that more jars must be created for the basement to be effective as a whole.

Killer's Lair Sketch

Killer's Lair

For this location we will be using a garage owned by Charlotte in our group and it will include little mise-en-scene as we want the audience to be focused on the minimal amount of things that are already in the room.

In the room we will have pictures of the killer's victims that have been killed and are going to be killed, so this will consist of images of the victims dead, alive and being stalked.

There will also be jar on shelves in the room that will contain body parts of the killer's victims to show what the killer does with them.

Killer's mask

• In American Horror Story, the masks that the killers wear are often very gruesome and attention grabbing.
•  This reflects on the characters' insanity, as they are not attempting to hide.
• These are very effective, however, our killer needs to hide their identity, and so I feel that their mask would need to be much subtler.

• Another type of mask that is commonly used is a clown mask.  This has been used in both The Dark Knight and Sherlock (BBC).

• These masks are effective as the smile on the clown's face juxtaposes with the violent acts of the villain.
• However, I feel that our killer would need an even subtler mask.

• Also in American Horror Story, one character wears a human like mask, of a 'pretty girl'.
• I feel that this would be effective for our killer, as they are striving to be pretty.

• For our killer's mask, we decided that it should be humanlike, as the killer is striving to be beautiful, rather than to be something else altogether. 
• We also decided to combine a human-like face with the mask the character 'bloodyface' in American Horror Story wears: a mask made from the skin of their victims.
• By having a mask like this, our killer can hide their identity in a way that doesn't draw too much attention, whilst having the facial features that they desire.

Mise En Scene: Journal

Maps

• Like before when I experimented with editing the journal I used tracing paper in which I traced a map of the Victim's area.
• I used coloured felt-tip pens to show the routes in which the Victim use either to go to school, to a friend's house, to a bus stop etc.
• This time I created two maps which will enabled more different shots.
• When taking these pictures I used a macro lens to enable a clearer and more defined shot.
• When filming the maps there will be shots of the camera following routes and writing on the map.

• The maps aren't very neat however this doesn't quite matter as they will be shown very briefly not allowing the viewer to look at it for long
• The shots used in the opening scene will be extreme close ups and close ups throughout.
• Like last time I will use very soft tungsten light in order to create the atmosphere the Killer is at their desk looking through and adding to their Journal
• Overall I think the maps here will be fine to work with for the film opening
• My only problem is that the coloured routes might be too colourful yet this can be adjusted in the editing process.

Remaking Killer's notebook

Previously, the killer's notebook I made was too small.  I have now created a larger one, which has a more effective appearance, as a larger book can store more information.

• Again, I used a piece of string to hold the notebook shut, as this suggests that the book is full of information (an extreme amount of recorded information shows that the killer is obsessive).
• I stuck black tape on the cover and spine of the book, to show that it is falling apart with age.
• I slipped loose pieces of paper into the book, also indicators of the book being full of information.
• I also slipped pieces of corrugated cardboard in between the pages, to make it appear thicker and harder to close.

Overall, I feel that this larger book is much more effective than the smaller book, as its size allows for more information to be stored in it, and the more recorded information there is, the more obsessive the killer appears.  The features I included that I didn't with the smaller book (cardboard between the pages, tape on the cover) also contributed to a more effective result, as it is much clearer how full of information the book is.

Basement mise en scene

• The killer's basement has a wall covered in photographs of past kills and plans for future kills.  I had already begun to create this wall, but I have expanded it, as the larger it is, the clearer their psychopathic nature is to the audience.

• I used the photographs of one of the killer's victims, Cara.
• I also made notes on pieces of notebook paper, which include observations that our killer made when stalking Cara.

• I stuck the pictures together with masking tape in a fashion that was not particularly neat, as I wanted the finished wall to have a 'home made' appearance.

• I added smudges of blood to show that the killer put this part of the wall together shortly after the murder.
• I also used charcoal to make notes around the images, and to censor certain body parts that the killer found unappealing.

• Overall, I feel that the complete wall is effective, as it clearly conveys that there have been many past killings.
• Although some features, such as the fake blood, appear unrealistic, the basement will be in low key lighting and the unrealistic result will not be as obvious.

Making a Noose.

Mise-en-Scene: Noose.

For our film opening we would be needing a noose in which the killer uses to hang their victims in their lair. 

1. For this I went and brought around 3 metres of rope from a building shop and looked up a tutorial of how to make a noose online and found a well explained video on youtube on how to do so.

 2. Firstly I made the rope into a loose 'S' shape with a long amount of rope on each end.

3. Next I made the 'S' shape closer together and pinched it in the middle making sure I had all of the loops held together.

4. Then I took one end of the rope and wrapped it around the rope 13 times to make sure the loop was secure.

5. Afterwards I had a smaller loop one end and a short length of rope. I put the short length of rope through the small loop and pulled on one side of the larger loop to secure this end.

5. Finally I pulled the other side of the large loop to make it bigger and more presentable to finish.

Evaluation.

I thought that this piece of mise-en-scene was quite effective as because it wasn't too thick it allowed it to look like anyone could have made it instead of it looking too pre-made. I also tried doing this with a much thicker piece of rope but it was very difficult to manipulate and actually make into a noose and so was not as successful or effective than the other, thinner piece of rope. I think we could use this in our film opening in small short clips of it hanging in the killer's lair, swinging and it being still as well to show that it is and has been used by the killer.

Pages of Killer's notebook

•  I used the photographs I took of the killer's past victim, Cara, in some pages of the killer's notebook.
• I cut them out and stuck them down on separate pieces of A5 paper and slipped them into the book.
• Having loose pieces of paper makes the notebook appear to be full of information, and therefore indicates many past victims.

• On the first page, I wrote down information about the victim e.g. age, hair colour, weight.
• I also wrote down what the killer had observed, including her daily routines and the company she usually keeps.
• On the 2nd to 3rd pages, I wrote down the plans the killer has for their victim (where they will kill them, what time etc)

• On the last page, I stuck down pictures of the victim after they're been killed.
• Around the images, I labeled which body parts the killer decided to keep.
• Also included was how much blood the killer managed to drain.
• Finally, I wrote what the killer planned to do with the body (dump in a river).

• I think that these pages will be effective for our opening sequence, as they briefly tell the viewer about the killer's past murders whilst they flick through the pages.
• A few more pages need to be made in order for the notebook to be effective as a whole.

Future Victim Photo Shoot

In our film opening, our killer focuses on murdering young females for their youth to bathe/drink their victims youth in the hope of remaining youthful. Our killer keeps a journal that contains images and documentation on their victims which shows the obsessive behaviour of the killer.

The photo shoot that I have taken is to feature in the killer's journal where they document their findings and followings of future and past victims. The look I tried to achieve within these photos that they are being followed. 

• For this shoot I tried to capture our future victim and their friends going out to London. I took pictures the victim at the train station purchasing tickets and in London hanging by the Thames.

• Whilst taking the photographs I tried to imitate someone taking photo inconspicuously. I also made sure to take them when the victim and her friends were looking away. 
• Another factor to this shoot was that I used my phone to take the photos. Using a normal camera would draw more attention than a phone would.

• Like Ellen I edited the images to make them black and white as the colours did not feel as effective due to them being to washed out.
•  In some of the photos I had the sun in the image which made the victims look like a silhouette leading the audience to not consider them as a person. 

• Overall I'm fairly happy with the outcome of the photographs. They don't quite meet how I perceived them to turn out but do come across as though the victim and their friend was being followed, which was the main goal.

Film Opening Mise-en-scene

Garage/Lair Scene
In this scene, we will use low key lighting from a torch and a lamp.
The props used will be:

• The killer's journal
• A desk
• Photos of the killer's victims on the wall
• Tools (saw, craft knife)
• Body parts in jars

The killer's face and gender is unknown to the audience, so their costume will be dark jeans and black hoodie with the hood up.

Stalking Scene

We will use low key lighting again in this scene as it will be shot outside at dusk with only street lights as a light source. The victim will be dressed in casual clothes typical of her age group (16-18) e.g. jeans, boots and a jacket. The props used will be a bag and a phone or music player, to make her character more authentic and approachable to the audience.

Flashback Scenes

These scenes will be showing past victims, so they will be covered in fake blood and special effects make up will be applied to them, such as strangulation marks and stab wounds. Other mise-en-scene we will use is:

• A noose
• A bloody bathtub
• A door
• Police tape
• Fake blood

Photography for Killer's Notebook

  Our killer takes photos of their victims (whilst they're stalking them and after they've been killed) and puts them in their notebook, which reflects upon their obsessive nature.
  Our first photo-shoot took place on 10th December 2013, and our first victim was played by Cara Lai Cullinane.

• The locations Megan decided to use when preparing for the shoot all centred around the school setting.

(Outside the gates, through windows, in the street.)

• This makes the victim's youth very clear to the audience.
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• The props we used were a bloodied shirt and fake blood.
• A location that we didn't plan was at the bottom of stairs leading to a storage room, which we used for taking pictures of the victim after they were dead.

These are the photos that we will be using
in our opening sequence:

• I edited them to be in black and white, as we don't feel that the killer's notebook would look as effective if it were full of colour.
• Many of the photos were taken with window frames, walls or trees in view, to show that the killer was hiding whilst taking the pictures.
• I also added a grainy effect to the pictures, or a motion blur effect, as the killer would not have had a lot of time to take the pictures as they must ensure that they are not seen by their victims.

• Overall, I feel that these pictures will be effective for our killer's notebook, as they clearly show our killer's process of stalking before killing their victims.
• Furthermore, the pictures could also be used on our killer's wall of photographs and newspaper clippings.
• By having the pictures on the wall as well as in their notebook, the audience understands that the killer's life revolves around their murders, and that the killer has become an obsessive.
• One problem is that some of the photos would not have been easy to take without the victims noticing, and so these pictures cannot be used.

Killer's Souvenir Jars

Inspired by American Horror Story season 1, our killer will have body parts kept in jars around their workspace in their basement, to reflect upon their obsessive mindset.

• I created the shape of a severed finger and some teeth from plasticine.
• I used a craft knife to make many thin indents on the finger, to make it appear shrivelled from being in a jar of chemicals for a period of time.
• I also made the plasticine into the shape of a bone protruding from the bottom of the finger, to show that it had been taken from a living person.

• I then used acrylic paint to paint the finger.
• I used yellows, blues and reds, which had the effect of making the finger appear to be decaying.
• I painted the teeth white and yellow.

• I put the teeth in an empty jar with a little fake blood.
• I put the finger in a jar of water with some diluted fake blood as well as some ochre yellow paint.
• In the third jar, I filled a quarter of it with fake blood.

• We will use these jars in the set of the basement scene, which is where the killer tortures and drains the blood of their victims.
• By having features such as these around their 'workspace', the audience will become aware of their obsessive, psychotic behaviour.