Visual effect - Snow - Jack and Mia

Seeing as we want to create a 'Christmassy' effect we think it would be appropriate to have some shots involving snow. However, obviously we cannot predict the weather and so therefore we will be creating our own snow within visual effects.
Here are some examples that we have researched of the type of snow effect that we would like to create:

House Location-Frankie and Ella

The exterior of the house.
This is going to be featured in our film numerous times, to give an idea of the setting and to portray parts of our narrative. We decided to use this particular location as we thought it looked quite traditional, which is key to our narrative.

The Living Room.

This will be the main room in which most of our shots will take place. This is where the key event will happen. Once again, we thought this room had the traditional feel that would create the right tone for our film. We will be adding some of our own Christmas decorations to this room as we want it to look really over the top, and will also be putting the Christmas tree next to the t.v, so that it is in a key position.






Christmas Tree.

This is obviously a key feature to our film as the theme of our narrative is Christmas! We will be using this prop in a number of shots. We plan to move it into the living room (see above).



The Dining Room.

We will be using this room for out final scene, where the family will be having Christmas dinner and our final twist is revealed.  We thought that this would be a good room to use as it has a big dining table that we plan to fill up with Christmas food and have the family sitting around, creating the ideal Christmas image.

Test Shots- Ella and Jack

Here is a sequence that we filmed, primarily so that we could test out the snow effect, however we were also able to test the cropping of 2:35 that we will be placing on the film. We feel that this crop gives the film a much more cinematic look. Additionally, we also feel that changing the colour balance to a more 'cold' feel will give the scene a much more realistic effect. Below are some examples in which we adapted the colour balance, framing and cropping that we wish to be apparent within our film.

With colour correction
No crop filter

 

Close up shot
With colour correction
With crop filter - 2:35



 

 

 



Mise en Scene- Mia and Jack

In order to emphasise the Christmas theme, we think using the typical colours of; green, red, gold, and silver, would be particuarly effective in signifying the event and the mise en scene around Christmas. We want to ensure that these colours are in most of the shots so the theme of christmas is conveyed throughout the film.

 

This image is obviously very Christmassy and We think it is important that the theme is emphasised as much as possible as it also reflects the family's thoughts and feelings towards the event - which are evidently positive. The young girl, in particular, is very excited for christmas up until the event of 'Santa' kissing the mother. We want to ensure that her positive attitude towards Christmas is portrayed throughout the film so the shock of the kiss shared between the mum and 'Santa' is dramatic and shocking for the child.

Screen grabs- Frankie and Ella

below is a screen grab from a short film found on the website Vimeo, a website that features short videos and short films, entitled 'Happy holidays'. This shot particularly intrigued us due to the set up of the room and the lighting. firstly the layout of the room instantly tells the audience that it is Christmas, due to the key props, such as Christmas tree, Christmas lights, stockings and the presents. We intend to use similar props and layout in our living room of our setting. The lighting in this shot almost makes the scene look magical, this links with the theme of christmas as it is known to be a magical season.

Also in this film i have taken a few screen grabs of a sequence that i thought was a nice idea, that portrayed the young boys excitement for christmas morning. This is represented by his body language as he runs out of his room, slides and runs down the stairs in excitement.

 Again we liked the mise en scene of this scene, the little details of tinsel around the stair case ect. the lighting in this also looks like they have used a orange filter over the main lights to create a warmth to the room. the young boys outfit also portrays christmas with the colour of red on his pyjamas, it also represents the young boys age.
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 Another film found on Vimeo, entitled Snowglobe, has some nice examples of shallow depth of field using snowglobes. Below is the shot we intend to use the insperation taken from the taken sceen grabs.

This is an example of how shallow we would like our depth of field in the shot below.

 

Animatic - Mia, Jack, Frankie and Ella

Animatic with voiceover

Silent animatic

Soundtrack Ideas- Mia and Jack

We have looked at a number of different soundtracks which we would like to include in our film as both diegetic and non-deigetic sound. We have decided that we would want multiple soundtracks in order to fit in with the different contexts.

One example that we have found is a soundtrack called 'All The Family Together'.

http://francescodandrea.bandcamp.com/track/all-the-family-together

We think this would be appropriate for the opening sequence of the film, which includes the opening shot of the house, and introduces the family who are initially decorating the Christmas tree. We feel this would be apparent because the sequence is very gradual and up-beat which is parallel to the soundtrack.

Another example is a a song by Mantovani & His Orchestra which is a cover of Jingle Bells:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-8NHPasVlo

We would also like to include a traditional Christmas song which will be well known to a wide audience as we would like to emphasise the traditional Christmas events so that the spectator will be able to relate. However to create a more modern twist to the sequence we would like to use the traditional songs but covered by a modern artist.
Here are some examples of the covers:

This is a collection of different royalty free Christmas music. We think that some of the songs would be good to use over our short film as they are upbeat, and create the right mood for our narrative.