2. MISE EN SCENE

3. The first scene was based in a morgue. The deceased body is laid on the table, with
the two detectives standing opposite the coroner. This barrier between the
detective characters and the coroner give the audience an immediate image for
each character, along with representing Detective Barnes and Rosalie as a team.
We placed implements on the table next to the body, which represents a morgue
environment, and clearly shows that the body has been examined. We decided to
have high key lighting in this scene, but then later decided to tone the high lighting
down using Final Cut Pro. No spotlight was used, just the main light situated in this
particular room. The white sheet was placed over the body, as we wanted it to
mirror other films of this nature, making it as realistic as possible. The deceased
body’s head was left uncovered as that was what we wanted the actors to be
looking at and focusing on whilst our coroner character spoke.

4. This board was used in two scenes as we felt it represented a detective’s/investigator’s
office, as they often show their case studies and evidence this way. We pinned some paper
and photographs up onto it to represent this. In hindsight it would have been better to
include much more information and photographs , as this would have looked much more
realistic. As the first scene with the board, we see it behind The Boss’ head. The second
time we see it centered between Rosalie and Detective Barnes, which shows the audience
that this is the Detectives’ office and not The Boss’. As we see The Boss’ office later on
when he’s discussing Rosalie with Detective Barnes. We placed desks and books in the
shot, to represent the fact it’s an office. The desks facing opposite each other in this shot
rather than next to each other, represents the feud between the two characters. In this
scene we see Rosalie and Detective Barnes yelling at each other about the case, this
opposition of the desks and facing each other tells the audience they are no longer the
team they were.

5. Early on in the stages of deciding where we should film each scene, Guisborough
woods was somewhere we definitely wanted to include in our filming. The woods
gives the audience the typical thought seen in many films, if it’s a wood, something
bad is going to happen. It shows a big open space, where it’s easy for characters to
get lost, and it creates the sense of being lost and frightened. In this case, our male
character who gets bitten and killed by Rosalie feels as though he is being
watched, and begins running to get away. This is where the character of Rosalie is
discovered as the murderer by the audience. As I played the character Rosalie, my
hair was very distinctive whilst filming, which is something the audience would
notice as they would be looking for anything to tell them who the murderer is. This
shot portrays the character of Peter as vulnerable as he is being watched and
chased by Rosalie. It also gives the audience pleasure as they are watching from
Rosalie’s perspective, meaning they know something the other characters in the
film do not.

6. The murdering scene was filmed beside a graveyard. In hindsight, it would have been a
brilliant shot to include in the film, as the film is about the deceased. Especially as the
female protagonist is a vampire. To add to our gothic theme, we decided that we should
use the raw iron gate in this scene. The character of Peter shakes the gate, which
portrays him as frightened as it’s a dead end and Rosalie is coming up behind him. The
first still from the film above is before he faces his killer. The scene was filmed to create
sympathy for Peter, as the audience know what is going to occur. The second still from
the film above, shows the character of Peter turning around to face Rosalie, as Rosalie
prepares for the kill. In the background of the shot, the woods are still in sight, which
shows the audience it’s still in the same area. The woods add an eerie atmosphere to the
scene.

7. The interrogation scenes were filmed using a small setting. The room being small adds
tension as it’s a more intimate set up. The lighting was a very important aspect when filming
the interrogation scenes, as we were only using a spotlight. This low key lighting was perfect
for this scene, as it created shadows which added to the horror aspect of the film. The table
barrier was used once again. In the first still of the film above we see Rosalie standing in the
middle, in between the suspect and Detective Barnes. We wanted this to indicate the
character was unbiased and wasn’t on either side, as she knows something the other two
characters do not. The next interrogation scene differs from this one, as Rosalie is now
again, standing next to her partner, in order for Detective Barnes not to be suspicious of his
fellow detective. Detective Barnes is the dominant speaker for the most part of the film,
especially in this scene. This would usually be to show male dominance, but in our film’s case,
it was to show Rosalie had something to hide.

8. The ‘following’ scene where Detective Barnes and The Boss are following Rosalie was
also filmed outside in Guisborough. Some of the scenes introduce a more urban image
then we’ve seen previously in the film, as there are shops and houses included in the
shots. Although this was the case, the setting was deserted of people, as we wanted it
to feel as though it was solely the three characters, and no other people were involved.
Here we see Detective Barnes and The Boss exiting the same building Rosalie did
earlier in the film. This was our office building, which we wanted to involve as it created
a more realistic image as to where the Detective’s worked and were based. As Rosalie
is alone whilst she walks, and Detective Barnes and The Boss are acting as a team it
depicts the character of Rosalie being alone in her actions. We didn’t introduce another
vampire into the story as Rosalie’s friend, we wanted to solely focus on the relationship
between Rosalie and Detective Barnes, and The Boss’ fondness for Rosalie before he
finds out that she’s the culprit.

9. The final scene was filmed outside to continue the scene when The Boss and Detective
Barnes are following Rosalie. We chose to film it next to a memorial burial, which is
where Rosalie is standing when the two male characters look shocked to see her. This
burial is a representation of death once again, and was to symbolize Rosalie’s burial, or
coffin. We were going to involve extra dialogue from Rosalie explaining that she was
buried there, to influence the vampire theme. This still from the film above shows once
again the change in team, that was once between Rosalie and Detective Barnes, but is
now between Barnes and The Boss. We decided to cut the scene where Rosalie runs
for Detective Barnes with the intention of killing him. The ending clip is now Rosalie
giving away the intent of killing Barnes and The Boss. We have left it for the audience
to decide whether Rosalie succeeds with this, or whether she fails.

10. CAMERA SHOTS

11. The camera shots included in our film are…
Over the shoulder shots – When the focus is on the character speaking, but
also involving the character being spoken to. Seeing it from a character’s
perspective.
Extreme long shots – Effective when you want to emphasize the
background and environment the character is against.
Long shots – Involving the whole character’s body from head to toe. Good
when you still want the character’s surroundings as part of the shot.
Medium shots– More subtle actions made by the characters can be seen.
Close ups – A good way of engaging the audience with the character
emotionally, as all their actions and emotions are clear.
Shot reverse shot – Where one character is shown looking at another
character, then that character is shown looking back at the first
character.
Tilt shot – Good for when you want to film something that is above or
below eyelevel.
High angled shot – The camera looks down on the subject.
Medium long shot – When you still want to see the character’s emotions
but involve more of their body in the shot.

12. When the camera shots are used in the film…
OVER THE SHOULDER
EXTREME LONG SHOTS

13. EXTREME LONG SHOTS LONG SHOTS

14. MEDIUM CLOSE UPS

15. CLOSE UPS HIGH ANGLED SHOT
MEDIUM LONG SHOTS

16. NARRATIVE
AND GENRE

17. We looked at many theorists, and theory ideas and concepts before beginning to
plan our film and the concept of that. We looked at the Russian theorist, Tzvetan
Todorov, who suggests that many narratives follow a three part structure. That
they begin with an equilibrium where everything is balanced. Progress as
something comes along to disrupt that equilibrium, and finally to reach a
resolution when equilibrium is restored. We also researched into theorist Vladimir
Propp’s character roles theory, which assisted when deciding on our character’s
roles. We also looked at Barthes’ five codes. When deciding on a plot and idea for
our film, we began with the idea of the zombie concept. We had started to
research into zombie films, and began piecing together a plot. We then decided,
for a zombie film to succeed you need a lot of characters involved, which would
mean a lot of actors being willing to help us. We thought this might not succeed as
an idea, then came the idea of a vampire and detective theme. We thought this
was a more feasible idea, so we began writing our ideas. We researched into
vampire films, such as ‘Dracula’ and the ‘Twilight’ franchise. We liked the idea of
also having the detective theme, so we researched into films and TV series such as
‘Life on Mars’ and ‘Sherlock Holmes.’ We then began to think about characters.
We decided we wanted a male and female protagonist, to remove the
stereotypical view of a male detective. We wanted our character of Rosalie to be
as strong, if not a stronger character than that of the male protagonist, in this
case, Detective Barnes. We did however want the stereotypical character of ‘The
Boss’ in our film, this suited the plot we felt. The other characters in the film have
minor parts, especially the character of the coroner and the suspects, who appear
in one scene each. We established there should be two suspects, who get

18. interrogated. This adds more of a realistic feel to the plot. Peter, who is the ex-
boyfriend of our female protagonist, Rosalie, appears in two scenes. This gives the
audience a good incline into his character and what business he had with Rosalie.
There are two characters who the audience can feel sympathy for, one being
Peter, and the other being Detective Barnes. We felt this would appeal to the
audience, as it creates emotion for them. When we decided on this
vampire/detective theme, we changed our mind on which time period we should
have it, as this would have a huge bearing on costume, and the script. The period
of the 1960’s was our first choice, as it would be more understandable why we
wanted our film to be in black and white. We then focused more on the costume
concept and felt the 1980’s were a better time period to choose. But still wanting
our film to be in black and white, we had to decide on why this would be the case.
As the theme is based on the vampire idea, the concept of the film being in black
and white would be a perfect idea to bring out a more gothic theme to our film,
which was also mentioned in audience feedback. The black clothing worn by the
two protagonists assisted with this idea also, so altogether it worked well and was
a realistic idea and approach. My expectations of what the film would be like, and
what it was like differed hugely. We included a soliloquy from the character
Detective Barnes, when he begins to suspect his fellow detective as the culprit. A
soliloquy is a brilliant way of engaging with the audience, as the character is
talking directly to the audience and not to another character in the film. He shares
his thoughts with them, which appeals to audiences as they then share something
with a character, that no other character knows. We also include a voice over,
which is put over our flashback scene. It’s a good way of showing a scene whilst

19. a character is also speaking. This way we can show the flashback of Rosalie’s
past with Peter , whilst she explains to Detective Barnes and The Boss. The
genres of ‘Stake Out’ are horror and mystery. The ensure we chose the correct
genre for the sort of film we wanted to produce, we researched into different
genres., which was also important because of our target audience, which is 15 –
40 year olds.