Props, Special Effects and EQUIPMENT
PROPS
In SYNTH, there are a select few props outside of the standard that require pinpointing, mainly for their role in the OTS as scene points.
Gas mask - One of the most noticeable elements in SYNTH is that of the killer who hides his face beneath a world war 2 styled gas mask whilst killing. Originally, the idea was to give the killer a Rain Hunter jacket with goggled pieces sewn directly into the suit as it isn't a very common piece of iconography and because of it's large, soulless eyes. However, without one close to hand, we settled on a gas mask and hoodie attire that achieved the same affect with this mask in particular having tinted black eye glass, making the face of the killer indecipherable. The mask plays a huge role in stripping away the humanity established at the beginning to a soulless monster and is also in keeping with horror tradition.
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Claw Hammer - The men that Kingston controls are not special, they're average people suffering with P.T.S.D or depression and under rehabilitation, to this end, it was important that the killer reflect this in his arsenal. While it was tempting to give him Freddy Gloves or an over sized sword, the terror of the audience is knowing that his is just a person with whispers in his ear and as such, the final weapon was a basic claw hammer. Although small, the blunt force and small size allow for repeated swings and incredibly violent sounds to come about, unlike traditional movie killers that are slow walking, the SYNTH killer tears through the house very quickly and needed a weapon that reflected this.
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Killer Car - I knew almost from the get go that the OTS would open on a person in a car, the possibility still there for them to just drive away before enacting Kingston's whims. I also knew that there would be a perspective shot from inside a boot so it became apparent that a car would be needed for a few shots, luckily, our killer (Frank Parker) drives and was able to bring it to the shoot. Although these are the main reasons, it was also one more element to humanize our antagonist, he doesn't crawl out of the ground or descend from on high or just miraculously appear, he makes the conscious decision to drive like so many others in the world
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Eviction Notice - One of the other props specifically designed for the shoot was the eviction notice that Alex is reading when the audience meet her, although mocked up to exist only in passing, the document does have a few jokes on it besides the comically over sized, bold 'EVICTION NOTICE' writing for the keen eyed thanks to one of the victims Benjamin Tarrant. It exists just to give Alex a brief bit of character drama before she is inhumanely butchered if only for the sake of poignancy.
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Shot Glasses - The ring of fire scene is the last moment of joviality between the group and as such we thought it only fitting that it be a series of vodka shots, the obvious biblical connotations of playing RING OF FIRE light foreshadowing at best. We did have to use plastic glasses specifically however as that very same counter of drinks sees one of the other victims (Jason Greaves) thrown across it and plunged into the full sink, safety of course saying that shattered glass would render the environment inoperable. Having alcohol in their system would also explain some of the characteristically strange behavior like Alex and another victims inability to open a locked door.
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Special Effects
Disco Lights - There are very few special effects in SYNTH as a whole since what isn't done with basic props is achieved through camera work more than anything else. However, the scene in which we glimpse the killer's view was one such scene; we suspended a spherical spinning disco light in the room and positioned reflectors around as to bounce the lights as best we could giving the illusion in camera of multiple beams scanning across the set. Hopefully when this comes together, it will play up the pounding pace the music has worked so hard to achieve and give the whole production a more visceral feeling.
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Pram Dolly - So at the time of recording, I didn't have a proper dolly rig yet at least two two of the shots use a sliding pan to follow a character or enter a scene. As such, the crew and I jury rigged a dolly out of a toy pram and pulled it along via a string, the camera itself nested on top of some folded clothes to give it stability. Although a little slapdash, using a dolly shot does give a real sense of motion through a scene and by combining it with the low angle it makes the door it moves towards that much more threatening.
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Dive and Drown - One of the more ambitious kills in the OTS sees Jason Greaves be grabbed and dragged across a table of shot glasses before be drowned in a filled sink as he struggles and kicks out violently. Of course, we couldn't actually do either of these things but instead figured how cheap tricks for getting around the issue, namely, filling the basin partially so that he could splutter and rave without actually drowning and replacing the shot glasses with plastic ones then adding the smashing sound in post. The effect looks subtle and the speed of the shot does leave room for questioning which I take as a good a sign as any of it's success.
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Equipment
Tripod - When filming, unless deliberate, it's very rare that you want that natural hand motion you get from hand holding the camera which is why you use a tripod. For the record, I ended up using a Manfrotto Compact Travel pod with a ball head which is partly why so few shots have pans in them as I do not have a fluid video head. The collapsible legs and socket mount to make fitting the camera into tight spots a lot easier than a normal set up whilst still providing that rigid, still shot.
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Hand Built Spider Rig with Follow Focus - Although I have since moved onto a weighted fly-cam, I still use my spider rig as go to for any on the go shots where 'Children of Men' styled cinematography is required, which is to say most of the time. Although the lack of light did away with the Matte box pretty quickly, the follow focus was incredibly helpful when shooting with the Samyang lens as it provides easily focused and stable footage in one.
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160 LED light - although not as strong as perhaps they need to be, the 160 LED is a lightweight, long lasting, tripod and camera mountable light box with an adjustable brightness, it won't fill up a room but it does a great job of flushing our shadows and for spot lighting which, considering the majority of our shoot is near or in light, is all they need to do.
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Rode Professional Video Microphone - Finally, there is the directional shotgun microphone from rode which, when set up right, is absolutely stunning. Running at - 10 dB delivers a very flexible and clean piece of audio with crisp peaks from up to about 4 meters away, meaning that the audience will have a much nicer quality of sound in the end product. Powered by 9V batteries, in my experience the mic can be left running literally for days and still be fine with audio being recorded direct to the camera for perfect synchronization too.
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