Location Recce

We have now finished taking the photos of all of the possible locations that we could use to film our trailers at. Overall I feel that we have a got a good variety of different locations that stand out when compared to each other. Its important that the locations are different as it can help the audience acknowledge the progression in the trailer as they see the characters are moving from one location to the other.

Keeping it local

When we took photos for this location are main goal was to go around the local vicinity and take a good combination of both urban and rural areas so we can create contrast in our trailer. The reason while we have chose to take photos of the local area is because it will always be possible to film in these areas as we won't have to take the filming equipment to a very far away location which could then lead to it being damage during transport it will also be easier to get my entire group to meet up at a local location as well. Below you can see a contact sheet of all the photos from this shoot and photos with green boxes are photos that I'll be talking about in depth. 

As you can see I have taken photos of many different areas such as corridors and pathways, forestry areas and bridges. Also, the photos that I have chosen not to consider as possible locations are mainly due to them contrasting from the trailers setting as the whole film is set in forest located right by a prison that is secluded from most of society so by then using locations of lots of houses, people and vehicles goes against the entire plot of the trailer. The photos in green can be seen in this montage. 

Starting from the top left I have chosen this photo because while it looks blurred this was a test to see what it would look like if I were to take a photo focusing on a building/large structure from an area with lots of foliage so that it appears as if someone is trying to get inside the building but at first observing it from afar. Also the wire makes it more serious as it implies who ever is trying to get in should not be allowed to. The next photo is taken underneath a ramp at a skate park located in the park near our college I feel like this will be a good area to shoot in because it is small metal structure and if we shoot it from the right angle like in the photo we could say that its one of the hiding spots for the killer which he uses while he waits for strike force to draw near and that is when he strikes. However an issue with this location is that if there where skaters nearby it would cause lots of unwanted background noise so we would want to film at a later time to avoid this from happening.

Now onto the top right photo, as you can see it is the underneath a bridge. I have chosen this is as a potential location as it would create a sinister atmosphere as the bridge would block out a lot of the natural light making it more scary because of the low key lighting. The next photo is located by a river with few trees but lots of space which will be useful for use as it can make scenes more intense as it can only be accessed through one way so it would be perfect for a scene where the killer traps one of the strike force members with their only escape route blocked off which will create suspense for the audience as they wonder what is going to happen next.

The middle photo is going to be used be used because of the large amount of trees in the area as they can be used for many scenes such as the killer hiding behind a tree as they stalk the strike force or having a chase scene go through this area which would thrill the audience as they will start question whats going to happen as the strike force member could run into a tree and be caught but in contrast they could use a tree to escape from the killer. The middle right photo shows a small walkway but what interests me about this location is the large wall next to it which could be used for stealth scenes as the wall is tall enough for someone to hide behind. This can be used to create tension as the killer could be right near the area the strike force members are hiding right behind the wall which scares the audience as they fear that the protagonists are going to get caught. However, their is a major issue with this location which is that this location is in a extremely close vicinity to a lot of houses so filming in this area maybe not be possible as the killer is meant to be hiding in a forest area located right by an isolated prison so this would go against continuity.

The bottom left image shows a old, decaying wooden wall. This area may potentially be used as the killers temporary hideout as the area around it is isolated from the rest of the forest with only a small pathway which leads to it. Another reason why I really like this location is because as the wood is old you there are several holes forming in it so if we were to shine a torch through them it would create several beams of light which can be used to make scenes more dramatic as it could be used to reveal small parts of the killers body as he hides. The final photo from this shoot that could be a potential location is of a very large tree that I found as the branches of it covered the area around it making it appear to be very dark and menacing so standing under this tree would also make someone look darker so having the killer stand under it will give off an ominous vibe and make them seem more threatening. 

The Lane

With this location what I like about is the natural low key lighting which is created naturally throughout this entire area. This is good because it means the area always has a unsettling vibe to it so when we film scary scenes here won't have to worry to much on what the lighting is like. However, one issue I have with this area is that it is extremely popular with many dog walkers so at times it can get quite busy so we may have to plan ahead when we film here so its at time when there are not many people around. Here you can see the contact sheet for this shoot.

You can probably see that this contact sheet is much smaller than the previous location. This is due to the location itself being very small as it only consists of a very long path with many smaller areas to the side of them. Also I have only chosen three photos but this was mainly due to some photos looking very similar or being very blurry so you were unable to make out the images. Here is the photos I chose in a larger size.

So the first photo I have chosen because of the how the pathway looks thinner because of how leaves have fallen onto it making it look narrow. Another thing that you may notice is that it is far darker than the other photos I have chosen for this shoot, this is because the trees in this section of the lane having longer branches which block out more of the sun making it look darker. This is going to be very useful for my group when we film here as we could shoot it so that it starts off bright but gradually gets darker and darker until it reaches this point making the scene a lot more sinister. 

The top right photo is of an earlier part of the lane which is much brighter than the latter part of it which is great for filming contrasting scenes as we won't have to go to a different location to get more shots. What I like about this photo is that it helps show off the length of this area as we can see that its a long pathway with the trees arching over it making it resemble a tunnel which makes the location more atmospheric as its like the trees are trying to lead you somewhere.

The final photo of this shoot shows another part of the pathway that interest me because in this are many of the trees looked tilted as if a powerful force had swept by and knocked them out of way. This could be used in filming as the strike force could chase the killer through here and the audience will notice the damaged trees and get the sense of a greater evil being a work. 

The Meadow

The next location we choose to take photos of is of a large meadow area just outside of the local photo shoot that we did earlier. What I like about this location is that it consists of many large open fields which will be good for filming chase sequences. In addition, there are many smaller more secluded locations with many trees surrounding it which can be used to make scenes more suspenseful as I could have the characters hide from the killer in these locations which will create tension.

As you can see I have chosen many photos from this shoot to analyse as there was a variety of different areas in this location for me to use. You may notice that the contact sheet looks difference this is only because it was done on a Mac instead of a Windows.

So starting from the top left this is one of the small secluded locations that I mentioned earlier. As you can see many trees cover this are making it look smaller meaning you would need to crouch down to get into here properly which is why I want to use this area for when characters are sneaking around the killer as it will increase the tension and make the audience worry for them. The top right photo is of a long pathway with tall bushes on one side and a fence on the other. This area could be good for filming as we could use the fence as what separates the prison in our film and the forest were the killer escapes to.

The next photo is of another pathway but with this one being in a much more open are. You can also see at the end of the path the trees form another close in area so this could be used for in chase scenes as well with the killer chasing the characters in this area trapping them this would make the audience panic as they start to fear if the characters are going to escape or die. After this photo the next one I took was of an area with many more trees but very similar to the previous photo. Despite this I still used the photo as if you look at the end of the path you can see that the trees form a tunnel like structure which again like the previous photo would be good for the killer to chase the characters into it to make the scenes more suspenseful.

The bottom left photo is an example of one of the large field area in this locations as you can see there are barely any trees in this area so it would be good for scenes with large amounts of action involved as there would be no obstacles in the way to make shoots more difficult. An example of a action scene that could be filmed here is a fight scene between the the killer and the strike force as they would start of in the field where they have the advantage but then the killer flees deeper into the forest where the tables are turned. The final photo I took in this area was of another secluded location but this one I liked as it was bigger than the other secluded area which will allow us to use this location for more scenes such as the killer trapping the characters in here to fight them one on one where he would have the upper hand.

The Woods

The final location that we decided to take photos of was also the furthest location from the college but we decided to take photos here as one of the members of my group lives very near to this area and he volunteered to take photos of this location as it would give us a larger variety of photos as many of the previous shoots had photos that looked similar to photos in other shoots.

While this contact sheet is not as big as ones from other shoots but it still contains many unique looking photos that stand out among my other shoots.

The first photo that I have chosen from this shoot is of a forestry area with many trees in the surrounding area. What I like about this area is that all of the leaves have fallen from the trees covering the ground which gives the location a different feel to the ones in my previous shoots as it makes it feel somewhat peaceful this may also make audiences feel nostalgic by giving them a sense of deja vu as if they been to this place before.

The next photo is of an area with less trees making useful for scenes which involve a lot of movement such as chase sequences. However despite the lack of trees it still has many area where we could have the killer hide in so that he can catch the strike force of guard.

The final photo from this shoot is another area with many trees but what I like about this area is the variety of different trees as they are of many different shapes and forms with some being straight with  branches sticking out of them as if they were arms, some are very tall and intimidating which makes you feel weaker as it appears that they are looking down on you. My favourite tree from this shoot is the large red one in the centre of the photo as the colour red connotes with many sinister meanings such as blood and death which juxtaposes with the peaceful atmosphere that the location creates.