Pre Production

Cast:

Name - Mohamamd Rohail

Hair color - Black

Hair Length - Short 

Eye Color - Dark brown

Weight - 56 kg

Height - 5 Ft 6 In 

Age - 17 yrs

Nationality - Pakistan

Character Name - Rohail (Protagonist)

Name - Kumail Hassan

Hair color - Black

Hair Length - Medium 

Eye Color - Dark brown

Weight - 67 kg

Height - 5 Ft 6 In 

Age - 17 yrs

Nationality - Indian

Character Name - Kumail

Name - Hasan Nadeem

Hair color - Black

Hair Length - Long 

Eye Color - Dark brown

Weight - 67 kg

Height - 5 Ft 8.5 In 

Age - 19 yrs

Nationality - Pakistan

Character Name - Hasan

Budget

I had a budget of AED 150, which is basically my leftover pocket money, and I was pretty confident that I would cover all the expenses under AED 150. And, sure enough, as you can see it only cost me a total of AED 55 to shoot.

Schedule/ Timetable

I also made a rough/general timetable to follow so that I complete every task within time. Here is a part of it:

Script 

Click here if the Script doesn't load 

Reccee

Since it was an indoor shot, I didn't really have to scout for a location. I knew I would shoot it in my living room for the sake of controlled environments and ease of access.

Making the Props:

I initially wanted to go with a hand-drawn Ouija Board to keep the mundane realism there, of an on-the-spot-made board, but in the end, I ended up printing it.

The first board I printed was obtained from https://www.wikihow.com/Create-a-Ouija-Board.Which is the first site that came up when I searched "how to make an Ouija Board?" I just used the template provided on the site.

Web Search for the Template

WikiHow's Website

The Template

But after I printed it, as you can see, it was too small to be used in the film.

After this, I thought of getting it printed on A3 or A2, but I didn't really like the design of the board in the template as it looked like a toy-Ouija-Board and I needed something that would give off a serious vibe.

So, I searched again, but this time for pictures of the boards.




And this was the board that I really liked and I knew once printed in Black and White, it would have a really nice contrast that will help it be the center of attention:

I used MS Paint's print setup to scale it and divide over 4 pages:

Which gave me a large and believable enough size:

Next, I cut off the excess edges and taped all of the 4 pages together to make one single board:

The last prop to be prepared was the Planchette, which is almost triangular or a heart shaped small board with a hole through it ad it used to read the letters on the board.

There was no good template on the internet for the planchette so I searched for images and found this Planchette that I thought would go well with the board.

The Planchette Image/Template

I then stuck the printed planchette on a piece of cardboard after refining and redrawing the edges 

BUT now this planchette was too thin and didn't look 3 Dimensional enough:

So, I added some extra cardboard under it to raise it and give it enough dimension:

 And it finally lifted off the planchette enough to show that it was actually a separate part of the board

End Result:

Cushion:

Around halfway, when things start to go wrong, we see a cushion that flies off off the sofa. This is how I made the cushion fly:

I attached a piece of black string to each cushion and one of my friends stood behind the camera and pulled the string in a jerking motion.

Labels indicating the sequence
that cushions will be pulled in

However, only the first one passed every test I did, the second cushion would either break the string first time or another try:

Lastly, I had in mind one very insignificant but highly advantageous step, keeping the same clothes throughout the whole shooting period. This is for consistency.

We took this picture so that we knew exactly what each of us was wearing in case of a re-shooting, but thankfully that never happened (shoes were not important because they were not in any of the scenes).

Research - Editing

Learning from what I have seen in cinemas, online and TV it was pretty apparent that everything, from angles to post-production, is deliberately chosen to impact the audience and convey the meaning which the directors and writers have envisioned.

Because my genre was horror/thriller it made sense to focus solely on these two specific topics.

Being a photographer and having edited a few videos myself, I was aware that significant conditions that are used in Horror include (but not limited to):

DESATURATION

                                                     LEFT: Before               RIGHT: After

Desaturation is basically reducing the saturation of an image, but not completely turning it Black and White.

In the above example we can see how the Greens from the leaves and the grass have been pulled, as well as a little Blue from the sky. This gives the scene an almost apocalyptic sense (Post-apocalypse if you will) which is naturally associated with something going wrong.

SOUND
I personally cannot emphasize the importance of Sound in the Horror genre. If someone asks me what percentage of sound is important in a 'Scary Movie' include I will always say "more than 50%".

Now even tho I have a reasonable knowledge of using elements to my advantage, it obviously wasn't enough. So, I started to research on film openings.

I started out by just simply watching videos of opening scenes and finding the common factors, below I have a few of those.
(Below the videos are the links leading to the source videos)

SOURCE LINK

SOURCE LINK

Editing

Although, I had a good understanding of editing scenes i.e. matching the sequences and cutting on beats, I found it good pracitce to furthermore explore the ideas and conventions of cinematic editing. Sure enough, I picked up a lot more new iformation along the way.

Dialogues 

It it essential to know when to overlap the scenes, because it is important to show emotions. Overlapping allows the editor to convey the emotional reaction. In real world scenarios, when watching two people talk, you would ocasinally turn to see the reaction to the other person, and you would not always turn to the other person exactly when they start speaking. Ofcourse there are exception, such as when two people are arguing, debating, simply just when both of the people are speaking you will hear a person's voice before looking towards them, or you will look at the person before they start speaking to see their reaction.

This kind of editing is subtle, but again, highly useful.

This video by Chris Shaw explains the types of cuts, specially the overlapping, and how they are used to convey meaning.

And this video by Chinfat explains the editing process

180 Degree Rule

This rule states that when two actors in a conversation are shot, an imaginary line between the two is drawn and the camera must never unintentionally cross the line.

This video by FilmRiot summarizes it:

Research - Movie

Ouija Board

The Ouija Board is a board (usually made out of wood) the involves the use of a planchette and letters and numbers (or words Yes, No, Goodbye) are chosen in a sequence and that sequence is turned into words.

The letters are stretched over two semi circles in the middle of the board, the row on the top contains letters A-M and the bottom row contains N-Z, the numbers are strecthed in a staright line under the letters. The top right corner conatins the word "YES", left top corner contains "NO' and line immidiately below the numbers conatins the word "GOODBYE"

The board is supposedly used to conatct the spirits, the user asks questions aloud and the spirit moves the planchette over each letter, forming an answer. E.g. A user asks "What is your name?", the planchette will go over th letter s"A-L-E-X" one by one, forming the word "Alex" which answers the question.

But before that, the rules are supposed to be read out aloud for all of the participants to hear. The three main rules are:
1) Never use it by yourself (never play alone)
2) Always say Goodbye (when you want to end)
3) Never taunt the spirit (never make fun of the spirit, basically be respectful)

An Ouija is a fairly common sight among the thrill-seeking and curious natured teens, but not everyone knows precisely how it works. I have seen videos of adventurers going into abandoned places and playing with Ouija board and other videos, and while most of them read out the rules (Codes and Conventions, if you will) they are not from a reliable source, which results in confusion amongst the Ouija community.

There is a huge debate with either side having strong arguments against Ouija boards working, majority of the people stick with the spiritual belief, and the fact that they do actually communicate with the "dead" or "the other side", while the others have scientific facts that argue that the movement of planchette is purely a subconscious body reflex known as Ideomotor Effect which is 'a psychological phenomenon where a subjects make motions subconsciously'. Vox has a detailed article about the relationship of Ouija Boards and the Ideomotor Effect and if you want to see the Ideomotor Effect in action, here is a video by The Modern Rogue on YouTube.

Keeping the debate aside, the Ouija Board has long been an essential prop in paranormal related movies as a way of communicating with the Spirits. 

More than often, a movie that includes the use of the Ouija Board has a storyline of something going wrong, a message that 'the other side should not be messed with'. 

I wanted to keep that pattern in my production, so I followed a similar storyline where a boy stops his friends from doing it, but they still do it and regret it.


Planchette

A planchette is usually a triangular shaped piece of plastic, elevated by three small legs that glides over the board and has a hole through which the chosen letter is seen a,d the word in made out following a sequnce of letters.

ZOZO The Demon

The worst supposed demon on the board is Zozo who is related to extreme fevers, misfortune, financial, physical and mental damage, and even rape. 

Zozo answers the question "What is your name?" by spelling Zozo twice on the board i.e. moving Z-O four times in total. Adittionally, the arrival of Zozo can be determined by the planchette moving in figure '8' rapidly (horizontally or vertically), scrapping on walls, or falling objects.

His interactions start out friendly, but grow malicious; he's known for cursing at and threatening contactees, sometimes personally. While he's often wrangled by a Ouija board, some believe that saying his name out loud can also summon Zozo from the depths of hell. In a way, Zozo is the Voldemort of the Ouija world. 

This article by Thought Catalog has a detailed interview with Darren Waynes Evans, the first person to come in contact with Zozo, as well as being the reason for the popularity of Zozo over the internet and contemporary entertainment media texts.

Research - Basics

Introduction to Basics of Production

A shot is a series of frames that run uninterrupted for a period of time. Film shots are the part of a motion picture where angles, movement, and sound are utilized to additionally express feeling, thoughts, and emotions.
I knew that if I wanted my opening sequence to be impactful, I needed great shots that pass on the feeling of the narrative appropriately and I found the most ideal approach to do it was to investigate other media understudies' tasks, TV arrangement and, additionally, movie shots. Essentially, every kind of media I could run over and dissect, I would.
There are various components that make up a shot, Lighting, Camera Movement, Camera Angle, and Sound and so forth.
Lighting
Lighting is a fundamental instrument for upgrading the video picture. The unobtrusive utilization of light creates the environment, state of mind, and the desired perception. It can pass on a plot line, improve key components, for example, skin tone, and flags the distinction between dull and bright, happy and sad.

Hard versus Soft Light
A Hard light is an almost no or none at all diffused light originating from a source. Hard lights are used to make hard shadows and a tensed vibe, utilized in scenes that demand attention and hint towards action, such as a fight or to cast shadows in horror movies.

Right: Hard                                      Left: Soft

As you may have speculated Soft Light is the exact opposite, light originating from a radiant source and is diffused either by being blocked by a translucent object or increasing distance and is utilized in illuminating, for example, a face. The outcome is a decent, evenly lit subject that has soft, subtle shadows.

Three Point Lighting

The most fundamental, and some may call it mainstream, kind of lighting setup utilized in cinematography is the Three-Point Lighting and comprises of Key Light, Fill Light and Back Light and are defined as follow:

Key Light - to enlighten the general area
Fill Light - to fill-in the dark/underexposed areas i.e. filling in shadows
Back Light- this lights up the back of the subject with the end goal to give the feeling of partition between the background and the subject. This enables perceive the shot in 3-D.

Sound

The sound is the crucial factor that intuitively makes a situation all the more revealing by making a more practical condition.
"Sound" alludes to everything heard in a motion picture from Ambience Noise to the Dialogues.
The sound is utilized in the film to increase a state of mind, furnish us with data about the area of a scene, advance the plot, or inform us regarding the characters in the story.

All that we hear in a motion picture whether it be a discourse or winged creatures tweeting out of sight, it is altogether arranged as "Sound". The sound is utilized for different purposes, for example, to give extra data (e.g. blast sounds out of sight of a war scene) or educate us concerning the characters (an opening scene demonstrating a character with dull music will give a feeling of him or her being unhappy).
The sound is grouped into two categories,

Diagetic: any sound that originates from the source within a movie e.g. hitting sounds in a fight scene

Dialogues

Dialogues are words spoken by a character such as "GRAB THE CAR KEYS!" or "Hey, how are you?".

Sound Effects (SFX)

Sound Effects, more than often referred to as 'SFX', are additional sounds added in order to make a scene more realistic such as a sound of metal striking with another metal could be used for sword clashing.

Non- Diagetic: Sound whose source is not visible on screen e.g. Voiceovers

Ambiance Sound

Ambient Sounds are very subtle but they make a huge impact on perception. These are everyday noises you hear but if they were missing from a scene it would give a sense of emptiness or unreality. An ideal example would be birds chirping in the morning behind a sunrise shot.

Theme

When you go for a movie you might have noticed a similar track playing at the end and start. This is the Main Theme of the movie. The theme is a composition that is played in the intro and outro/credits of a movie.

How do Music and Sound effect a movie?

Sound can be used to heighten a mood or give additional details about a movie. High pitched noises such as screaming or car tires screeching are used to create anxiety or mystery, however, a completely counter approach can be used to the advantage, the silence itself! An abrupt stop creates highlight and draws audience's attention towards the feeling that there is an upcoming doom much like just before a jump scare in a horror movie!

The film industry has adapted to Sound Effects to further heighten the experiences. They are added after a movie has been shot however they are not what they always sound! A tomato being squeezed might actually be the sound of an orange being juiced. 

The addition of surround sound has also helped directors by creating "directional sound". Directors can now control from what side the audio is being emitted, helpful in when you want the audience to think the action is going on one side. This is extremely helpful in creating a Three-Dimensional experience.

Music can be used for a number of reasons. We have all grown up seeing that movies have music, so the very idea of it being missing just weird, and quite honestly I don't think that Intros and Outros without music would be interesting, but the primary use for music is building up a mood: intense or soothing.

Film Shots, Camera Angles, and Camera Movements

Camera Movement
As the name recommends Camera Movement is the activity of moving the camera in the XYZ pivot, XYZ hub is only an alternate method for saying Horizontal, Forward, and Backward, and Vertical movement. The XYZ framework is utilized on the grounds that it is simpler to discuss the 3D Movements utilizing 3D terms. The camera moves with the subject, for instance for a climbing scene, the camera will move upwards with the subject.




Camera Angles

The Camera Angles are controlled by where a camera is set. There are five essential camera points utilized in filmmaking.




Low Angle
At the point when the subject is shot from underneath or from lower than Eye Level, the term Low Angle is utilized. The Low Angle edge is important for scenes that include emblematically demonstrating the intensity of the character or the subject.



High Angle
The High Angle is the exact opposite of Low Angle and is the arrangement of a camera at a more elevated platform than the subject and shoots at the subject. This is utilized when the shot incorporates the character looking up. The High Angle is really helpful when demonstrating the inferiority of a character or subject.


Eye Level
Probably the most well-known angle, Eye Level Angle is the angle in which a camera is a put approximately at an actor's eye line. While it's anything but an emotional edge, it is a critical factor that makes a feeling of the real world.



Bird's Eye View
This angle is actually what the name says. The camera is
put high as a bird would see. We can say that this is the nearest correlation with an elevated shot. It is utilized in shots that require looking down from an extremely high ground, for example, looking down while being in a helicopter.


Canted

Canted angle or frequently known as the Dutch Angle is turning the camera so the picture created is tilted. This sort of motion is used to make an anxious or uncomfortable feeling. This is frequently found in TV shows, yet is for the most part utilized in motion pictures to indicate POV (Point Of View) of a character.

Movement

Camera Movement is utilized for various reasons in a film. It very well may be utilized to uncover data, pursue an activity/subject, or change people's feeling of speed and time. The movements are likewise used to pursue a subject which is identical to pacing through an area making a more noteworthy feeling of activity. There are two classifications of movements:

Movement of Camera on a Tripod
For this, the camera needs to be mounted on a stationary surface because it is not the movement of the camera alone but rather the movement of the camera and the surface it is mounted on.

Pan
Pan is the movement of the camera on the level (X) pivot i.e. left to right or appropriate to left. It is ordinarily used to review the encompassing and you may have more usually observed this in following a racecar amid a race broadcasting live on TV, at some point in your life.


Tilt
This movement is the movement of the camera along the vertical (Y) pivot i.e. Through and through or base to top. Tilt is, for the most part, used to uncover the size of something. However it may also be used to capture something dropped from a high platform. PExamples can be found in footages of rocket and space rockets propelling and returning.




Zoom In/Out
This isn't generally a camera movement yet, rather the movement of the parts inside the lens (glass for the most part) as it pushes ahead, or in reverse, to either extend or contract a picture. This is used to center around points of interest from a separation or when an area is inaccessible by making a trip to it.

Movement of Camera
This is simply the physical movement of the camera. It is used to track a subject for the most part, additionally, a zoom, dish or tilt can be added. The movement is possible both on and off a tripod.




Steadicam
A Steadicam or stabilizer is a tool that has a (typically) 3 axis gimbal that enables the resultant motion to be smooth by decreasing the shake. The Steadicam was developed by Garrett Brown and presented in 1975 by Cinema Products Corporation.

Handheld
This is when a camera is held close by and shot, additional equipment may be used to decrease the shake (or diffuse the weight of the camera for prolonged periods of shooting). This gives a feeling of realism to the scene, the most widely recognized application is seen amid an action scene where there is a lot of action. The shaking in the scene makes the shot more realistic as the resultant sequence has roughly the same amount of shake a person walking alongside the action would have.


Crane
Crane, Helicopter (Aerial) or Drone shot are utilized when an area needs to be captured from an extremely high platform with the end goal to cover an expansive zone or show incredible stature. These shots can be controlled from the ground yet for aerial shots, a camera operator needs to be with the camera or close to it to control it.



Dolly
This is the movement of a tripod that has a camera mounted on it, not to mistake it for Zoom, either towards or away from a subject. This is for the most part utilized for POV shots and it makes a feeling of moving toward a subject or moving far from it.





Tracking
Tracking movements are utilized to track subject by moving parallel to the subject, keeping up a steady distance helping the audience to take part in the activity. It is for the most part, found in following a character while he or she is moving.