TECHNOLOGY STANDARD

Operating a video camera:
The way I used the video camera was to especially show that the film was in a point of view of the characters. Therefore the footage wasn't still or smooth. Was quite shaky. Which is what I was going for.

Composing Shots:
I tried to keep all shots as simple as I could, therefore I didn't attempt to do any fancy shots as the message given was only that it is a movie filmed by school kids, with a handheld camera. It didn't need to look very professional.

Recording or using sound effects, dialogue or music:
I felt I didn't need music in this film considering there was dialogue throughout the whole thing. Didn't include sound effects apart from in the film Alex made a farting noise, but it wasnt artificial sound effects.

Importing images and video files:
This process didn't last long. (apart from having to do it twice because the editing process didn't quite save the first time) But it didn't take long to import the files because they were pretty much already in sequence and they didn't need much editing and cutting. It was quite an easy process to grasp onto. 

Creating music and sound effects:
I didn't use music. And the only sound effect I used, like I said before, was only the fart noise in the background that Alex made.

Editing Images:
Editing was all quite easy and straight forward for my film considering I did the whole movie in very small amounts of shots. However, It did need a couple of blank titles added. One saying "meanwhile" to show what was going on at the time of the previous scene. And another at the very end of the film with the movie title "spoofy spoof 2" to show its the end of the beginning title and about to begin the real film (which of course I did not do considering I was only meant to do the beginning title of a film).

Editing Sound:
Didn't have music or sound. The only sound that was included was dialogue throughout the whole film. Turned out ok.

RESEARCH

I didn't do any research. I just had ideas from movies that a saw a while back and thought it would be fun to slightly follow their humour. (yes, toilet humour)

I mainly got the idea from "scary movie" some of the best movies ever produced really. So funny. But mainly me and the guys just put our heads together and came up with some of our own loved humour. And this is really what we came up with!

Most of the time we just went with the flow with what we wanted to have in the film. So really, I didnt do much research, at all. 

REVIEW and EVALUATION

Positive aspects of the process- I think that considering I slacked off, lost most my actors, then gained new actors, then changed my theme/genre/ the whole movie, I believe it went a lot better than I expected it to go. I'm quite happy with how it all turned out to be honest.

Steps in the process that could have been done better- Wish I had been on task and gotten everything done a heck of a lot sooner. Would have saved me a lot of stress. I also wish I had thought out who exactly I wanted to be in my film instead of thinking "yeah they'd be good at it!" then seeing they lost interest in the end. Would have been good if I got the main idea out of the way first.

Strategies suggested to achieve this- if I had gotten my ass into gear.. (excuse my language..) If I wasn't so careless and had myself thinking that it was a simple task so it wont matter if I don't start it straight away.. I was careless and I wished I wasn't. If there's ever a next time.. I'll start the film and planning straight away.

Some evaluation of how these changes to the production process may have affected the media product-  If I had begun to plan etc from the very beginning, I would have had a much better outcome. It wouldnt have been as rushed, and the idea in the movie and of the movie would have a lot more depth in it. I would have added music either at the beginning or end of the film. All in all If I gave myself more time to do this film (which we had a long time to do) I would have produced a MUCH better film in my opinion. But With the time I had left, I think I did okay. And at the very least..I got it done! Thank God. Now it's all up to you markers. 

PRODUCTION SCHEDULE

Yes Ms Kazimi, we both know I left everything to the last minute. and I have to say.. you were right. I'M STRESSING OUT TO GET EVERYTHING DONE BY TOMORROW. there you go.

I originally had another idea with a different group of people. But a couple bailed on me a few days before I was going to start filming. But Tk, Alex, and Augusto saved my life by saying that they'll help me out. Thank God for them!

So there was nothing left to do but plan to do all the filming on Saturday. (which actually turned out quite well!...well...more so than I thought) But at least I had a slightly vivid idea of what I was going to film and how I would go about doing it.

Never again will I leave such a huge task til the last minute. Soooorrrryyyyyyyyy ;D

PROPS & COSTUMES

Our costumes basically consisted of our school uniforms to show we're school kids.
The other two, Augusto and Alex wore a couple of different props when they were the other two characters who live in the home. such as...

Alex- wore his school uniform as the school kids. But when he was the Hill Billy, he had a straw hat on, his school shirt, and track pants.

Augusto- School uniform as the school kid. Then had a zipped up hoody when he played the man in the attic, just so you could tell he wasnt playing a school kid.

Tk and I had consistent costumes the whole way through, just school uniforms.

LOCATIONS

The majority of the film was filmed in my own home. Yes I got permission from my mother! the first two scenes were filmed outside, down the street from my home. And outside a Christian school. (it wasn't on the property therefore we didn't need their permission) 

Filmed scenes in my home- Bathroom, Lounge, Hallway, second Lounge, Attic, and show closet/ room where we keep the ironing board, coats, and vacuum cleaners etc. But made sure we cleared it out so that we can all fit into such a small space. All in all, I believe it turned out quite well. Happy with the end product.

CREW LIST

This film required 4 characters who played themselves. (four school kids)

Augusto Bernardi- Played Augusto. One who was quite strong and brave until he heard a fart in the haunted home. Also played creepy man in attic.

Tk Wilkinson- Played Tk. Also brave, until he saw the house of cards and claimed that wizards made it, which too lead him to run away yelling.

Alex Salajanu- Played Alex. Came across as brave, but secretly frightened. Gets scared at everything that happens, but attempts to hide his fear. e.g, when he ran away yelling after he saw the house of cards, and after seeing Augusto on the bathroom flood supposedly 'dead'. Alex also played the Hill Billy sitting on the toilet reading his news paper.

Sara Mikdame- Played Sara. Brave at first until they all got up to the house about to climb through the window, refuses to go inside until convinced again. Get's scared at everything. Cries and screams when encountered with scary happenings. Also the main filmer/camera holder. Director and producer (with a little help from the other guys)   :D

CONCEPT

"Spoofy Spoof 2" is a comedy horror which is very much similar to the "Scary Movies". They take a serious and scary scene from a typical horror movie, and of course, change it up to make it funny. It's all fun and games really! For this movie, first of all, you will need a creative imaginary and pretend that this is a sequel to another movie. This movie is a first person point of view about four school kids who hear about a supposed haunted home, as teenagers, they are very nosey and rebellious so they decide to all go see what all the fuss is about and to see if it's truly haunted. Once they break into the home, they encounter many strange happenings which made them wish they had never entered the home. Throughout the whole movie, they use a handheld camera to stress that it is really happening and only done by school kids.

TREATMENT

Spoofy Spoof 2 is about 4 school kids who hear about a haunted home, or well people claim it's haunted. So they decide to check it out and record all the evidence to try prove everyone wrong. They sneak into the home through an open window (as you do). Its dark inside so they only have the light of the camera to find their way around. when they enter the home, they find that people actually live there. They continue walking and searching, until one of the school kids hears a fart, freaks out and runs away with his own camera recording. He runs into the bathroom hoping to be able to sneak out the window that they came into, but notices a hill billy man on the toilet reading his newspaper, both the school kid and hill billy are shocked, but only the school kid faints. Meanwhile the camera cuts back to the other 3 school kids who are convinced that the other kid just got scared and ran out of the house, not knowing what he stumbled across. So they keep exploring the house and find in one of the rooms a house made of cards and a single light shining on it. They become puzzled and zoom in to inspect it. One kid says "the only people who know how to make house of cards are...wizards" they panic and scream and run back to where they entered through, notice the other kid lying on the bathroom floor and they think he's dead. They panic, yet again, but find a dark room which they lock themselves into. they turn their camera light back on to see where they are and notice they are in some sort of closet. They look up to find an open man hole to the attic, one of the school kids decides to inspect it with the camera trying to get all evidence. as he scopes the attic, at the last minute he comes face to face with a man living up there with supposed 'blood' on his face. "uga booga!" he screeches. The kids freak out and scream. Then it blacks out to the opening title. 

Describe- Isolation

"Rosemary's Baby"

Describe:
Isolation:

"Scream"

Describe:
Isolation:

Music

Over 80% of the movie is based on music, and/or singing. As in all other musicals, the lyrics of the songs tell the story as it goes along and so are integral to the understanding of the movie.

The opening scene begins with an organ playing fortissimo. The effect of that is to grab the listeners' attention. The effect of the organ is similar to other movies such as "The Phantom of the Opera" and vampire movies; very atmospheric and forceful. Although the organ is traditionally an instrument played at large cathedrals, in contrast to the demonic themes of the movie, it adds to the opening feel of the movie as the sound of the organ and how it is played sounds more scary rather than religious. After the organ reaches its crescendo, there is a short silence and then some of the string instruments begin to play the orchestral version of "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd" softly, but quickly. As the music builds from Adagio, more instruments come in and it becomes Allegro and Staccato. Staccato gives the impression of violence and in some movies, stabbing.

The majority of the songs have a spooky feel to them, especially the high pitched, piercing, eerie singing. A lot of the lyrics in the songs are spoken more than sung. Many of the notes are sharps or flats, they are not nice crisp sounds. This gives the impression of chaos, confusion and anger. The style of the opera singing in this movie is more disjointed than in for example "The Phantom of the Opera", where the singing is beautiful and pleasing to the ear.

Script/ Dialogue

Sweeney Todd is set in London. Both Todd and Mrs. Lovett have Cockney accents which are typical of the East End of London. They drop their 'h's' saying words such as 'ouse, 'ello, 'aving and 'aunted. Mrs. Lovett says 'fink' instead of 'think'. They both have a problem with subject/verb agreement, saying things like "Times is hard.." and "I'm telling you them pussy cats is quick".

Mrs. Lovett also makes up words. For example, "Gorge himself to bloatation" meaning he ate so much that he got bloated. She refers to her "business" as "The Meat Pie Emporium" which of course is far too grand for her unsuccessful so called "business".

As for the vocabulary that is used, the word "bleeder" comes up quite a lot throughout the movie. This is a pun because a bleeder is an insulting name for a person, yet it also means that it is one who bleeds if cut while shaving. And funnily enough, the clients have their throats slit whilst getting a shave, therefore, they are all bleeders. Other words that are used are "chums" for friends and "little nipper" for young boy. A historical word that is used is "beadle" which was used to describe someone who is an officer of the law. This was before the police force was set up.

Judge Turpin speaks in a more high-class accent with rounded vowels. He says thing such as "There premises are hardly prepossessing" meaning "this place isn't great". He also says "You gandered at my ward Joanna" rather than "You looked at my ward Joanna" and "You'll rue the day you were born" meaning "You'll regret the day you were born" His choice of vocabulary shows that he is educated and well brought up.

The song lyrics play a huge part in the movie, they tell the story as it unfolds through music. They also have a way of revealing the past in a short amount of time and in great depth of emotion. Dialogues are carried out through song, like when Todd and Mrs. Lovett plan the different flavoured pies that they could create, such as Priest, Judge, Poet and Lawyer pies.

The script itself consists of comic and tragic moments. There are quite a lot of puns used like "Closest shave you've ever known" which is funny because it's a play on words between the literal meaning of close shave and figurative meaning.

Character/ Performance

Johnny Depp (Sweeney Todd), has been chosen to play this role as he is great at quirky/crazy characters. The New York Times reviewer said Depp's voice is "harsh and thin, but amazingly forceful". Although his voice is not strong, he has perfect pitch and his way of singing is crucial to the portrayal of the character Sweeney Todd.

Sweeney Todd as a character, has a vacant, sad exterior that hides murderous revengeful rage. His voice breaks with sadness whenever he begins to sing of his past and his face is always either expressionless or angry. Even in the scenes where Mrs. Lovett is dreaming of their future together. The only times he is happy and laughing is in thoughts of his past life. He always seems to have a preoccupied blank, pale-faced expression, leaving you to wonder what he is thinking.  He has very dark rings around his eyes, possibly to show sleepless nights. And his hair is wild and untamed in contrast to how it was in the past.

Helena Bonham Carter is also quite a quirky role player and has appeared with Johnny Depp in the movie "Alice in Wonderland" both playing crazy characters well suited to their real personalities. Her role as Mrs. Lovett, is well suited to her. Her wild hair, pale face, and blackened eyes show that she has had a hard life, selling pies that don't really sell in squalid conditions. Mrs. Lovett as a character is quite unrealistic as she is always dreaming of a better life. There is a huge contrast between her ideal lifestyle and what her life really is. Being socially deprived, Mrs. Lovett expresses strange behaviour in Todd's presence. She comes across as demanding, making Todd eat a pie she made, knowing that her pies are "the worst pies in London". Since no one talks to her, or even comes near her shop as they know she is not 'normal', she is surprised that Todd has anything to do with her. Therefore she gets quite giddy around him causing her to plan her future with him later on in the movie.

Lighting

The lighting throughout the whole movie, Sweeney Todd, is sombre in keeping with the theme, the weather and the cold, dark city of London in Victorian times. The lighting gives the impression of mischievous happenings of a sinister nature where Todd and Mrs Lovett work together to kill men, and turn them into pies, purely for revenge. His razor blades, with which he was reunited, catch the light coming in from the attic window which emphasizes their importance and significance in the movie. When Sweeney holds the blade up to the light he says "At last my arm is complete again" and he is bathed in light through the window.

In the opening scene there is a ship that emerges from the night fog. It is carrying Sweeney Todd on his return to London, and Anthony (another passenger). The sky over London is overpowered by thick cloud. The only lighting in the scene is the moon which is peeping through the clouds, and the street lamps flickering. The scene appears to be in black and white, but is actually in dull colour. In most of the movie, the only lighting is natural; such as the moon light shining in through the windows. You rarely see a light on, apart from street lamps.

The only time that we really get to see colour and strong lighting is in the flashbacks of happier times that Todd is reminded of. This shows that the present time he is in, he is angry and lost, while the past was happy and full of life as he had everything he ever needed. But now he has nothing, but a need for revenge.

In one of Mrs. Lovett's songs "By the Sea" she sings about the perfect life with Mr Todd. While she sings, a fantasy world begins to appear with bright happy colours, blue sky, and birds chirping. The colour reflects her unrealistically thought out future that will never be. Therefore, the only bright, happy colours are in thoughts and dreams.

- What is the mood of the opening? And how is it created?

The mood of the opening scene from Sweeney Todd, is a graphic, animated, gory opening, showing blood, London town and a barber shop. These images introduce the main ideas of the film, such as the main character, Todd, as the 'demon barber' who slits mens throats in the process of shaving their faces. Gory, I agree. The mood of all this is mainly brought out by- 1.) The colouring of the scene; the dark, dull, and stormy night with mist surrounding the city. - 2.) The music and sounds; the organ, eerie violins, and other string instruments.

The way that this thriller movie is different to others, is the fact that no other thriller movies have a barber who kills men in revenge of getting his wife and baby taken away from him in a crime he did not even commit. Yes, killing men becomes his addiction, therefore he does go overboard with his so called 'fun' business. The gory bits are extremely graphic and also make you feel ill as they are killing the men from their city, baking them into pies then selling the pies in Mrs Lovetts' business for the locals to eat to improve the business.

Genre/Atmosphere. - What is the tone?

The tone of this movie is quite dark and gothic, as most of Tim Burtons' films are. However, the film is beautifully done. The backdrop of dark, cold, Victorian England is perfect for a horror feel to the movie. Although this movie lacked on the 'horror' side of it all, it was absolute gore, and heaps of it. Bright red blood was the only colourful thing used throughout the film, even though it was very graphic; there was nothing scary about the movie. I would say throughout the whole movie, I felt comfortably uncomfortable. If that makes any sense? If not, my meaning for it is, the parts that made me feel uncomfortable was the eerie music, the wet and stormy weather, and how throughout the whole movie, the colouring was dull, and the songs chosen were quite spooky, especially the way they pronounced the lyrics. However, I still felt comfortable because it was such a well done movie, the actors suited the characters pretty perfectly, and the singing (by most of the actors) was fantastic.

Why did it appeal to you?

The reason this film appealed to me most is because Johnny Depp is a fantastic actor and played the role of Sweeney Todd very well. I believe he is very dreamy. Didn't know he could sing! Well.. sort of.

How does it fit into the film as a whole?

This film is about a "demon barber", so in the opening scene, it only make sense to include blood dripping off barbers chair as of course, Sweeney Todd killed men in revenge of one man, years ago, taking him away from his wife and baby. But in the whole movie, Todd has his eye on only one person to kill. That person is the Judge. The one who has Todds' 16 year old daughter trapped inside a room day in day out. That's where Mr's Lovett comes in. One who's business isn't going so well as meat is expensive their days. Mr Todd and Mrs Lovett work together to keep their businesses up and running by Mr Todd killing his clients by slitting their throats with knives which were used as razors, then Mrs Lovett makes the dead men into pies and sells then locally. The whole movie is an evil, creepy, and deranged story. Therefore the opening scene sums up the whole storyline in a very short space of time.

Briefly describe the opening.

In the opening scene of the movie, Sweeney Todd, It begins with the eerie sounds of an instrumental organ to set a spine chilling mood. The camera then slowly moves down from the dark, stormy skies as lightening flashes amongst the grey clouds. The camera then follows the rain falling down around the neighbourhoods' chimney's, which leads to a window, The camera looks through the window to find a barbers chair sitting alone in the dark. Blood splatters on the glass, and as it trickles down, the camera follows its every move, through and around each object that is significant to the movie. Such as a barbers chair, a meat grinder mincing meat, followed into the firey oven where pies are sitting being cooked. While frantic, spooky instrumental music is playing in the background, the blood continues down into the drains, into the sewers, and out into the ocean where we are met with a large ship coming out of a dark foggy night where the beautiful Johnny Depp begins to sing. *mouth watering*   :D