Hannah's Film Blog

The Truman show presents multiple layers of reality to audiences, camera placement and movement is important throughout the film in conveying we are always watching and following Truman. There is a zoom shot used in the very beginning of the scene as Truman says "Good afternoon, good evening and good night", the zoom in moves closer towards Truman, giving audiences a clearer view of his expression and actions. It also shows importance to what he is saying, and as we find out later in the film it is one of his trademark expressions, it also highlights audiences are watching Truman twenty four hours a day, "in case I don't see ya" is ironic because audiences can see Truman wherever he goes, spying on his every move. When the dalmatian runs up to Truman, there is a canted/low angle shot which gives audiences a good angle of Truman's rigid body and clutching his brief case, showing he is very frightened of dogs. This is also another example of an unconventio...

Casting: James - Friend Katie - Friend Millie - Friend Lucy - Runaway Victim Esme - Present Victim Joss - Narrator Jacob/Daniel - Killer - Caitlin

Footage 1 and 2 takes place where the main conversation and present time will be filmed. Footage 3 and 4 takes place on and around the bridge, which we may use for the flashback; it doesn't matter if sound is recorded, as the flashback will be muted, so narration can be overlayed. The daylight will be good for filming, as the shadows through the trees will help to create contrast. - Caitlin

This is the final script for our horror opening. Some lines were improvised, as we added and removed dialogue during filming where we felt it was appropriate. *Some changes have also been made during editing, removing some of the narration, and also adding some different narration. - Caitlin

Costume and Hair/Makeup Ideas For our horror opening we knew we wanted to incorporate some effects makeup as a way to demonstrate gore in horror. Initially, we wanted to go to a butchers and buy pig intestines or a sheep's heart, but then we decided this was too messy and gross and I had a fake heart we could use instead. From the beginning we knew the killer needed a mask, mainly to hide his/hers identity, and we bought a mask early on in the process of developing our film which was in the final costume. Similarly, we knew the killer would have to wear all black to create a sense of mystery and anonymity, which wasn't hard to achieve. We planned I would do effects makeup on an actor because we wanted the scene to be gory and chilling whilst trying to be realistic at the same time, this was also followed through in the final makeup. Hair was never an important part of our opening and we never discussed any ideas because it wouldn't add anything to our scene. We briefly...

Final Hair and Makeup Choices The most significant makeup I did for our filming was for Lucy, who was playing the first victim of the killer. Firstly, I ripped a hole in a white shirt, then I used liquid latex and started to layer it on the area I wanted the wound to be. Once the liquid latex was dry I tore pieces of tissue paper and started to layer it on top of the latex. I kept layering the tissue paper until it resembled torn/shredded skin. I used a mixture of brown, black and red face paint to darken the corners and under the edges of tissue paper and try to make some basic definition and the illusion that the wound was a deep hole in her chest. I layered and blended the paint and then put concealer on the tissue to make it look like peeling skin. I then added a lot of fake blood around the wound and all over her shirt which made it look a bit more realistic. If I were to do this again I would buy a larger amount of fake blood because I think the more there was the more reali...

Final Costumes  - Hannah S An important costume in our opening was the costume of 'the killer', we decided the actor would wear all black so there would be a sense of anonymity and mystery. The mask was significant to this scene because it made the anonymous figure more threatening and scary, the LED lights were effective in the darkness and made the character more memorable than just being faceless. For one of our main characters played by Esme we asked her to wear clothes that were suited to a forest environment and clothes that suited her age and weren't too bold so the audiences attention was drawn to her acting and not her clothes. I like this still of her because I think the river behind her looks pretty in the lighting and she is central in the frame. I also think her expression is moving, she looks very afraid and perplexed. For one of our main characters played by Lucy, we chose a white tshirt for her to wear as the blood would show up much clearer an...

Mise en scene in horror Setting A setting such as a forest or an abandoned building are typical locations for horror because they are usually enclosed, cut off from civilisation and unknown to the victim, the idea of being alone whilst running away/hiding from something builds tension and the feeling of helplessness. Forests are commonly used in horror settings like in Friday the 13th because they can be disorientating and characters can get easily lost in them, feeling hopeless and terrified, with no easy way of escape.  Lighting Often in horror movies darkness is used because this limits the audiences vision which builds tension and fear of the unknown, the fear of the dark is a common fear that resides within most of us and so is effective in scaring the audience. The darkness is used to suggest it is concealing a presence that could harm the character and creates a sense of mystery, had some horror scenes been filmed in daylight it would completely lose this ef...