Final story board for 'Vanished'

Before starting the filming process for our production, it was vital that as a group we produced a 'storyboard' in order to give direction to our day dedicated to filming. We had to change a few aspects of the film in relation to the storyboard, purely because it was difficult to get the final product exactly the same as the initial planning. However, as the filming progressed, it was clear that the order of our chosen shots could stay relatively similar to the way we envisaged them in planning.
Close to the end of the day of filming, we decided to add in another scene which we label as 'The Police Scene'. This particular scene is not highlighted on the initial storyboard, but as we finished filming we realised that something was missing. In order to set the scene and allow the plot to be as understandable as possible, we incorporated the Police scene so that we could emphasise the flashbacks experienced by the older female character, Phoebe, in the productions. Without this particular scene, the production wouldn't have flowed as well and the plot would have been left almost to ambiguous.

Final Film link - 'Vanished'

Inserted below is the YouTube link for the final cut of our final production: 'Vanished'.

Final film script

Scripting

In our production, our actors didn't have a strict script to follow. However, in order to gain desired effects, they were given a set of guidelines to follow regarding what sorts of dialect they should incorporate.

• For example, due to the given location, it was necessary for our actors to communicate with a typical 'Norfolk' accent. This allowed them to fit into their surroundings well and only made the production more believable.
• It would've been difficult to use a script considering the age of Olivia, seeing as she is only four years old. For this reason her parts in the film were entirely improvised, which again made the film seem very real and even more so relatable.
• Due to Olivia's spontaneity, Phoebe and Ben had to base their responses entirely on what she said. Therefore contributing to the reason why no script was created for our film. Both Phoebe and Ben had to speak in almost infantile tones, in order to act as if they truly were parents and the parents of Olivia.
• In the final scene (the police scene) where Olivia wasn't included, a minor script was created. This was to make the scene seem completely realistic and encourage the audience to believe that our actors were based in a Police Station.

Filming Schedule/Day of Filming

Equipment and props for Final Film

For our final film, 'Vanished', few props were necessary. However, in order to make certain scenes more believable, props were required. For example:

Police station

In order to make the police station scene legitimate, we incorporated official posters found in police stations into our set. Seeing as we were unable to shoot in an actual police station, we had to make do and create the scene to be as realistic as possible. Although these posters are relatively insignificant in the grand scheme of the film, subconsciously an audience would notice them, and therefore not feel urged to question the specific location of the scene.

Bibliography for Music/Soundtrack

Bibliography for Music

Choosing music to fit our final cut was a difficult task, seeing as the ambience of a film is portrayed hugely through the style and genre of the music. Seeing the opening of our film is ambiguous, it was important for the tone of music to be subtle and twisted; not loud and dramatic like music that traditionally appears in horror/thriller films. It was a case of trial and error, with each piece of music being carefully analysed with consideration of the production, before finally settling with: 'Come Play with Me' - Kevin Macleod.

1. Ossuary 1 - A Beginning Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

2. Come Play with Me Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

 3. Lost Frontier Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

 

First cut of Final Film (Vanished)

Setting research

Casting for 'Looking for Olivia'

Casting for 'Looking for Olivia'

 

Phoebe

Our aim when directing and producing the opening to our psychological thriller was to find a teenage girl who looked older, like a mother would. She is meant to appear as this perfect mother, paying close attention to her relationship with Olivia.

We had a decision between two girls to play the part of Phoebe, the unpredictable mother, with a sense of ambiguity about her:

Bella Thompson - our first auditionee was Bella, suggested due to her knowledge about acting and drama. Bella also offered confidence when it came to acting and was keen to be a part of the opening. The only problem was her appearance, being fair haired and owning a pale complexion displays youth and innocence. Also her physique doesn't match the one of a mothers, and so we decided not to give her the part.

Phoebe Symington - We liked Phoebe due to her past experience in both media and drama studies; this was an attractive quality because she had the confidence when acting, which was necessary in the major role of the opening. Phoebe also looked older than Bella, more mature and capable of damage. So we chose Phoebe as she fitted both the categories that Bella didn't.

Ben

For the male protagonist, the father of Olivia we were looking for a weaker character. They had to look old enough and manly enough to be married and to have children but ultimately the character of Ben had to be a weaker and less significant figure in comparison to the mother, so that there would be a sense of her holding the control.

Ben Gage - our first auditionee impressed us with his acting skills despite his lack of experience. It was an advantage, in act, that he was shy because his character was supposed to slightly shadow the relationship shared between Phoebe and Olivia. Ben also looked older than the other boys we auditioned, but although he had the physique of a man, there was something endearing and kind about his face so we decided he fit the cut perfectly in comparison to the others.

Luke Potts - Luke also had the physique we were looking for, but somewhat  lacked the acting skills we were looking for. His character seemed slightly too dominant over Phoebe's therefore we decided to go with Ben. Also look was at a lower availability then Ben for filming time.

Moodboard for the Final Film