Reaper - Final ending

The pictures on the right and below I have edited a glitchy effect to make the newspaper shots more interesting and have more of an impact on the audience. 

To do this, I used:

- The newspaper free generator

- Word document

- Adobe Photoshop

- Adobe after effects

- Adobe Premiere  

After creating the newspaper, we then transferred it to word to create a JPEG file. I then took this JPEG and uploaded it to photoshop in order to crop and adjust the images. 

After this, I then used after effects to add the glitch effect in which I then moved the images back to the editing software and added the transitions between the different pictures.

Making the newspaper - Reaper ending

This is a newspaper generator that is a free online website where you can create your own newspaper. It is very easy software to use and on this, you can personalise the entire article with the titles, subheadings, dates and the story.


On the right is the final product the website as generated with the information we added.










One the left is a screenshot of another newspaper generator we could use in which all boxes must be filled out for it to work.





On the right is a picture of the newspaper it created which looks very professional as seems as though it could be real.



Overall, out of both newspapers that have been generated, we decided that we preferred the second products purely due to its professionalism and how realistic it looks. whereas, the first product seems to look unrealistic, making it obvious that it isn't a real article. Therefore, we will use this website to create the newspaper we will embed at the end of our film. We must also include pictures of the two children who have been killed as this is what a real newspaper would have.



On the right are the two pictures of Zola and Seb that we have decided to use.

UPDATE - Reaper ending

After showing the news report to our teacher and peers, we received some useful feedback.
Our teacher believed that due to the news report being a still image, it makes this part of the film look unrealistic and less professional.

A solution to this is that we create a newspaper instead of a news report which would have to be a rolling shot. By using a newspaper instead, it will make the film looking more realistic.
Another solution would be to create a voice over of a radio news report which would not need to use any additional actors.
The last solution would be to cast additional actors and create a live film report of our own.

After we had discussed this with peers and our teachers we found out that everyone thought the first solution would be the best due to the fact that if it would look the most natural and professional.

Reaper - creating the ending

 In our previous edits of the short film, we had not included an ending which sums up the story so that the audience are not left on a cliff hanger. This is because if the ending was left on a cliff hanger, it can come across to the audience as being more like a trailer instead of a short film. Also, we wanted to imply a narrative theory which is Todorov's equilibrium.





We discussed many ideas for the ending, in which our main idea was to include a newspaper article stating that the two children have been killed. Therefore, it will prevent the audience from feeling confused as to what happened to the children.



The pictures on the left and right will be used as Zola and Seb's mugshots for the newspaper.





The picture on the left is the website where you are able to personalise your own news report for free. To create this, I have had to use a software called Adobe Photoshop CS6 (shown below). This is an editing software in which allows us to merge the background, news reporter and photographs together.





After creating this news report, we will show it to others and gain feedback to satisfy our target audience.

Poster 3

Poster 2

Poster 1

Update: Casting of Grimm

Unfortunately Jonathan Oslar has unexpectedly become unavailable for the part and we need to immediately find a replacement. The only way to overcome this issue and sudden panic was for my partner to play the role of Grimm himself.

Dominic Lewis

Fortunately he is 6 foot tall which is perfect and shows intimidation. A huge benefit to casting him is that he will always be available. I will film all of the shots where he is playing Grimm.

Filming equipment list

Organising Filming and Re-filming

This picture is how me and my partner have communicated when organising when to film. This made organising actors and directors very easily and efficiently. It was a successful method.

Update: Casting of Grimm

Due to a change of narrative, we were required to cast three more cast members. When we held auditions, we casted the current actor of Grimm as someone else due to use feeling that Rupert suited the role of the father better. Now, we are looking for an actor to cast who will play the role of Grimm.
We have appointed our back-up actor, Jonathan Oslar due to his body shape and build which automatically creates an intimidating look

Auditions to play: Jane Grace

Jin Lewis

Jin was very confident throughout her audition, however she does not have any experience in this industry which unfortunately showed in her acting.
Another disadvantage we spotted was that she is slightly too old to play the role of Seb and Zola's mother which we thought would affect the realism in our short film which we are trying to portray.
It was difficult for her to commute to the filming location which resulted in her availability being poor.
From looking at both positives and negatives, we decided not to cast Jin.

Jayne Hollin

Jayne Hollin is Rupert Hollins partner is real life which allowed their relationship on film to be completely natural.
She was very calm and relax during her audition which showed that she has had past experience.
Jayne is of perfect age to play the role of Rupert's wife and the mother of Seb and Zola.
Commuting to and fro the filming location will not be an issue to to it being her own house which gives her a huge advantage to her availability.
We were yet to find any faults in this audition and have decided to cast her

Auditions to play: Rupert Grace

Andy Norgate

Andy Norgate was the first to audition for the role of Rupert Grace who plays the father of the two children.
We took into consideration his age and how it was the perfect for playing this role.
He is very confident when auditioning, however he has not had any experience which we could unfortunately see when he acts.
Another disadvantage is that his availability is poor and would be an issue to travel to the filming location in Farnham.
After weighing up the positives and negatives, we came to the conclusion that is confidence is good for the role but on the other hand, we feel as though our actor should be more experienced. Therefore, he will not be casted.

Rupert Hollin

Rupert Hollin has had plenty of experience in the past as an actor and especially in short films which was perfect.
He came across very calm and collected from start to finish and he has plenty of time on his hands for filming.
The commute for him to get to the filming location will not be an issue as we decided to film at his house.
We did not find any faults behind his audition and know that he will be reliable throughout. Therefore, he has been casted to play the role of Seb and Zola's father, Rupert Grace.

Ray Lewis

Ray Lewis was very calm and comfortable throughout his audition which put him at an advantage.
However, a disadvantage discussed was that we feel as though her is slightly too old for the role of Zola and Seb's father.
Also, access for him to travel to our filming location was difficult for him which affected his availability.
Overall, we have decided not to cast him

Auditions to play: Seb Grace

Seb Lewis

Seb Lewis is a 9 year old boy who is just under 5 foot tall which was ideal for the role of the little brother. He has participated in a range of performances such as singing, acting and dancing which is turn has benefited him as he is very comfortable and confident. Commuting to the house will not be an issue as Jayne and rupert are his grandparents which, again, is beneficial as to knowing his availability.
We decided to cast Seb

Ted Mason

Ted Mason is also 9 years old and is the same height as Seb. His availability is not great and he has not had any experience in the acting industry which showed unfortunately. Therefore, he will not be casted and we will stick with our original actor.

New narrative

Characters:

• Zola ' Mils' Grace - female protagonist
• Grimm - antagonist (masked man)
• Seb Grace - Zola's younger brother
• Rupert Grace - Father to Zola and Seb
• Jane Grace - Mother to Zola and seb

New Narrative:

Zola comes home from a friends house as her parents are going out for the night and have asked her to babysit her little brother, Seb. A while after they have left, Zola takes Seb to bed. From that point on, a mysterious man, known as Grimm, stalks and terrorises both children. However, Grimm is constantly appearing and disappearing throughout. After a series of events, Zola leaves the house to take the rubbish out. Whilst doing this, she comes face to face with Grimm himself as he tries to capture her, but again, disappears.

Ending:

We needed to create a clear ending to reaper, therefore, after Zola has just been chased, she quickly runs back inside the house to check of Seb. When she sees that Seb is still there fast asleep, she leaves and shuts the door. This is when Grimm jumps and kills Seb. Zola is also killed but this is not shown. 

Brainstorming new narrative ideas

Narrative change

After receiving feedback from peers and teacher on our narrative idea and animatic, we gained back mostly criticism due to our narrative being too similar to 'Scream' and including too many text messages. Another piece of negative feedback was that it came across as more of a trailer then a short film which would then lead to our film being unsuccessful and gain low marks. Therefore to overcome this issue, we are going to have to completely change the story.

Me and my partner have brainstormed a few new ideas, all of which involve the addition of new characters. Therefore we will hold auditions for these cast members. The protagonist and antagonist are staying the same but we need to introduce family members to make it more realistic. The protagonist is now babysitting her younger brother so we need to cast a young boy and their parents who leave the house early on in the film.

Auditions to play: Zola Mils Grace

Jade Moon

Jade Moon is the first candidate for the main role of Zola. Jade has had some past experience in acting whilst taking part in drama for three years at school. She isn't very keen on acting as she came across slightly nervous but is still happy to take part.
She is perfect height for the part as she is around 5 foot two - small enough to portray the idea of her being timid and weak.
Overall, we have decided not to cast her but she will be a good replacement if the main actor is unavailable.

Lauren Oslar

Lauren Oslar does not have any experience in the acting industry and although we were impressed with her audition, we could feel her discomfort which made her acting seem un-natural. Her height was slightly too tall for the role which we also had to take into consideration.
Her availability was of good standard, therefore we will consider her as a replacement instead of the main role due to not meeting certain criteria

Mili Lewis

Mili Lewis is very experienced in drama in and outside of school which has allowed her audition to show her confidence on stage. Her audition highlighted the fact that her acting came across very natural which we did not see in the other auditions.
She is 15 years old which is perfect age for the role of the young protagonist as it shows weakness and possibly the idea that she is young and naive.
Her availability was perfect and is very likely to be available whenever she is needed.
With all of this in mind, we have decided to cast Mili as the main actor, Zola.

Auditions to play: Grimm

Rupert Hollin

Rupert Hollin is in his fourties and has a bold build with broad shoulders which is perfect for the role as this character needs to look intimidating and strong.  Another aspect which makes his build ideal for the role is the fact that he is six foot one - tall enough to come across intimidating.
He has a lot of past acting experiences, especially in short films and playing the antagonist.
By gathering all if this information together, we decided to cast him as the antagonist, Grimm.

Luke Harman

Luke Harman has a tall build with a slim figure and is in his thirties. His height makes him look intimidating but his build makes him less intimidating than Rupert. He was very confident throughout the audition which was a positive also. Due to us being very impressed with this audition as well as Rupert's, Luke will be the perfect replacement if needed.
However, his availability may be an issue in the future due to commuting to the filming location in Farnham.

Jonathan Oslar

Again, Jonathan is ideal for the antagonist role in terms of his build and height.
He is also a perfect replacement in needed and his availability is better than Luke's which makes us lean more towards Jonathan as the first replacement if Rupert is unavailable.

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