Music/Soundtrack Ideas

Unfortunately I haven't had any emails as a result of my posters (that I've covered the school walls in!) however I came across a couple of songs by a band called The Tin Soldiers, which fit well for the mood I want to create. The songs I'd like to use are "24 Hours", "Day By Day", and possibly "Telling Tales". I saw them play live at Keystone Escape a few months ago and bought their album so I went onto their Facebook page and commented that I liked it very much, and requested to use those songs for my amateur film. They replied saying they'd get back to me, so I'm just waiting for a response now.

If I am permitted to use these songs then they'll be for the more relaxed scenes of the film rather than the horror-type scenes. I want to use them to focus on Mia and how her life dramatically changes because of Iona ("24 hours and everything's changed my life, it never been rearranged so fast, you've gotta ask is everything okay?"), and the sadness she feels by the distance Iona creates between her, her mum, boyfriend and friends ("Fade out, we'll fade out again" - its a slow, melancholy mood, which would lend itself perfectly to a montage of Mia's life in its current state)

I'm just going to wait and hope for a positive response! :)


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Iona's Photo of Mia Trials

I've taken a few test photos to be the one Iona takes of Mia, unknown to her and the audience. It is going to be a mystery how the photo came to be; and it won't ever be revealed. So I want it to be sufficiently shocking and able to tell a story of its own without having to explain its part in the film.

So I've experimented with different techniques (in make up, hair, lighting and editing) ; albeit once again using very primative means (smudging make up, scruffing up hair, using the flourescent strip light in my bathroom, and editing the shadows and highlighting levels in Picasa)

Here are the best of the photos:

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I've tried to make tear tracks that appear like blood, with the weird shadows and colours for the supernatural effect. I also tried to create a truly fearful expression. I'm hoping that these things combined will avoid the need to explain the photo, I want it to be a mystery, but with no doubt at all of Iona's threat behind it.

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I couldn't decide which version of this particular photo was most effective, so please comment on your favourite :)

 

This is another photo I tried:

I tried adding some light to give it a different quality:

I also tried an extreme close up of the eyes being hidden, as though to pretect herself from Iona's invasion:

I then tried a much lighter approach, but I don't like it for the original purpose. I think it fits more as Iona's character than Mia, but I don't want Iona to ever be seen:



Film Plan

I've planned out the whole film! :) It's all saved in Celtx, (a scriptwriting program I found online) as index cards for each scene. Next I'm going to draft it out in full.

I've planned certain details outright, but I'm leaving some areas for natural development as I write each scene, e.g. I've decided to include a photo as part of Iona's haunting (for want of a better word) of Mia. What it'll be is a photo of Mia frightened and clearly at the mercy of Iona; however Mia will remember nothing of how the photo came to be, leaving her confused and scared of how Iona already is, and could continue to effect her life. I'm going to take some test shots and edit them to create the desired creepy effect.