Evaluation - Question 7

7. Looking back at your preliminary task, do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

What brief were you working to?
Our preliminary task involved filming two characters having a conversation, this began with one character sat in a room and the other walking inside the room, then sits down and has a conversation.
This meant that we had to cover the basics of filming such as; shot-reverse-shots, match on action, continuity and keeping to the 180 degree rule. This had to be then edited using Final Cut Express which helped us gain some experience before hand of our film.

Our preliminary task
Having learnt the four main rules to filming we ensured that we presented this through our preliminary video, this was so that we could show that we have understood and able to produce a film successfully. During filming we were all comfortable and successful with applying the 180 degree rule because we pictured a line across the centre of the chairs which helped us to stay within the boundaries. However, we had experienced slight difficulties during the filming process with match on action as our shots didnt seem to be continuous. The changes we made to improve this was adopting the method of freezing between shots so that they were continuous. This had improved our skills and knowledge as we knew how to work through difficult situations.

How did you use what you learned in the preliminary task in the 2 minute film?

Shot-reverse-shot: We used a shot-reverse-shot in our 2 minute film when a conersation merged between 'Chris' and the desperate, injured man. This method was used in order to achieve a more tense scene which is typical of our genre, over-the-shoulder shots were used to portray this.

Continuity: All three scenes in our film were continous shots which helped add to the effect of realism. However, we did break contuinity in our film and this was to show the difference in time by adding a jump cut. This was when Chris is taken back to the beginning to show the audience what happened to him and what lead to his death.

Match-On-Action: We had become moderately confident with doing this shot after having done this successfully in our preliminary task. We made good use of this in our full film where Chris runs through a fence, the match on action shot we produced made the overall output look professional whcih boosted our confidence in being able to do this.

180 Degree rule:  During filming we made an imaginery line accross the centre of Chris's view so that we could stay within bounds of the 180-degree line. If we hadn’t done this and we went over the angle, the film itself would not flow continuity and would not be edited coordinately. I also believe that if we had not trained these shots in the preliminary exercise, it would have been challenging to understand and shooting our 2-minute film wouldn't have been as successful and produced the film to a high standard.


What have i got better at?

The preliminary task itself gave us the opportunity to understand the basics of how to use the camera and the range of shots to create a continuity overall in the video. By experimenting these rules, we gathered our own weaknesses and strengths and depending on those we decided to focus on our weaknesses, and that’s the main reason why now we all individually feel like we can use a camera without any difficulty, use variety of shots to create a meaning in a video/film, use editing on final cut express to create continuity overall for the film, and in general be familiar with all the things we have used throughout this process.

We faced many challenges during our filming, such as deciding whether our 2 minute film should be a linear narrative or not, this was dependant on the way we also shot our film so was quite tricky until we made a clear and final decision. I now feel a lot more confident with using a camera to film things around me by using different techniques and methods in order to create a story. I could also use final cut express fluently to edit videos and create a film, as I originally didn’t have much knowledge about editing before the filming process.

Evaluation - Question 6

6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Pre-production:
In our pre-production our main objectives were to plan how and where our film would be shot and also mainly what will be in our film, this meant that we had to come up with ideas. Firstly, we created a script using 'Celtex' this was very beneficial because it allowed us to easily format to different script types and has editing tools ensuring that the experience was simple and easy for us as users. Once the script was complete, it helped us gain different ideas that could be possibly used in our film. After this we created a pictured and quoted storyboard which was supposed to give a visual prediction around what our film will turn out to be like. An example of when this had helped us stay focused was; one day we had forgot how a shot should be took for a particular scene, at this point we referred back to the storyboard which helped us stay on track. We had used Blogger as a source for information to be shared within our group, we posted our research and made discussions around this easily and time effectively. Finally in our pre-production we created the shot list for our film, this contained information on every shot that will be taken for our film. The shot list contained information such as; the type of shot, angle, dialogue and equipment needed, this helped us effectively manage the time we had for each day of filming.







Production:
The filming for our film only took 4 days to produce, this was planned and set accordingly to each scene we had planned for each day. We used a Panasonic HD camcorder as this was known to be handy and effective producing high quality and resolution, this allowed us to benefit from being able to film in scenes that had low key lighting such as the abandoned street. We had used a range of shots during our filming, these include; close ups, extreme close ups, mid shots, establishing shots, POV shots, low angle and dolly shots. Most of our filming was used with the camcorder being attached to the tripod so that we had steady clear shots of the scenes. I think that after using the camera we had got more confident and believe this was a reason towards us being able to film a dolly shot, the dolly shot was produced with help from a wheelie chair and slight spread of ice on the ground as we did this for two scenes in our film.




Post-production: After we had completed all of our filming, we uploaded all the videos onto an Apple iMac so that it can be edited, to do this we used a software called Final Cut Express. This software enabled us to edit out film very easily as getting used to it was very simple having clear labels and icons displaying it's use. We were able to cut our video clips into certain lengths that we desired and had the option to add a variety of effects such as dissolve and fade. We were also able to cut videos and sounds apart which allowed us to insert the police officer's dialogue in the video of 'Chris' speaking on the phone, this made the scene look realistic as we were also able to change the frequency of the police officer's voice which output a realistic phone call. After we had completed all of our editing we uploaded our film onto YouTube and Blogger to be viewed.


         

Evaluation - Q.7

Evaluation - Q.6

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Pre production - In our pre-production we needed to plan how our film would be shot, where it would be shot and most importantly what would go in our film. The first thing we created was a script which was created using celtex which incorporated explicit themes of the psychological horror genre, including a high amount of running and blood. The script helped us incorporate different ideas that had been proposed in our film ideas and made them plausible. The next thing we needed to create was the storyboards which visualised what our film would look like, and would help us stay on track with what we had planned in our script. For example when we weren't sure or had forgotten how a certain shot should look we referred back to the storyboards which gave us a visual representation of how we had wanted the film to look. Finally, we created our shot list, which featured every single shot we would put in our film. The shot list also merged with the script and listed the different equipment we would need for each shot. We followed the shot list in reverse order and with the shot list telling us how many shots were in each scene we could effectively manage our time for each day of filming.

Production - For our filming we used a Panasonic HD camcorder as opposed to smaller digital cameras as it had a sharp resolution and generally a high level of quality which filmed well during our lower lit scenes, in the abandoned street. Some of the shots we were able to make look professional with the use of this camera included: extreme close ups, extreme long shots, establishing shots and handheld point of view shots. We also used the camera as well as the tripod to create dolly shots, which were made possible due to there being a small section of ice on the abandoned street which we used to slide the tripod and camera across.

Post production - Once we had filmed all of our scenes we uploaded our footage onto an Apple Mac computer which was then edited with Final Cut Express. With this specific technology we were able to cut our footage down into the lengths we desired, as well as adding numerous effects such as dissolves and cuts. With the sound we had recorded for the phone call scene we were able to distort it which gave the effect of a real life conversation where the phone would crackle. Once we had finished editing we were able to upload the footage to youtube with the mov. format which we then were able to upload to our blog.

Evaluation - Q.5

How did you attract/address your audience? 

Do you think you have reached your target audience?

After writing the synopsis of the first two minutes of our film and printing it off we filmed a video questionnaire with numerous individuals asking them questions relating to genre and our film. Through the video questionnaire and our research on the bbfc website we decided that the correct classification for our film would be a 15.

 

What did you include when planning your production that you thought would appeal to your audience?

The main demographic we targeted were teenagers and young adults and therefore the characters we decided to feature in our film would be around 16/17 years of age which would mean our audience would be able to relate with them more as opposed to older characters. We also decided that our characters would wear quite trendy, casual clothes like joggers, polo shirts and trainers which our demographic would associate with.

What has been successful in your production?

Time management was crucial to the success of the production, and we successfully carried out our filming in our planned time period. We created a production plan for each day (three in total) which we stuck by and referred to if we didn't know what else to do. This helped us complete our tasks in time. The three locations we filmed at were: Barnsley college, a lake within Dearne Valley Park and an abandoned industrial estate just outside of Barnsley town centre. The lake near Dearne Valley Park was often fairly busy and a few dogs walkers walked past during our first day of filming. Therefore on the second day of filming at the lake we decided to go at an earlier time which meant that less people walked past and we subsequently had more time to film. Another success we had with the production was how realistic our characters were. In order to increase the sense of realism we used a water bottle which was poured over Chris' head in order to imply he had just come out of the lake, whereas in reality he hadn't. The Desperate Man also had 'blood' placed on his white t-shirt, which was made at home. This relates back to our research, which concluded blood is often used in psychological horror films.


What was less successful? How can it be improved? 

One thing that was less successful was the efficiency of our camera in terms of battery life. For example, sometimes we would take the camera out to our location and thirty minutes later the battery would run out. This would meant the previous filming we did would have to be scrapped as the next day the lighting was completely different and subsequently the shots done on day one when compared with day 2 looked entirely different. This subsequently wasted our time as we had got prepared for the day in advance, and we subsequently had to go back to college. If I were to do the filming again I would make sure the battery life was on 100% meaning we wouldn't have to re-do shots and waste our precious time.

Evaluation - Q.4

Evaluation - Q.3

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

The distributor we chose for our film is the locally based Warp Films (Sheffield). After researching Warp Films we found out they are an independent producer and distributor who have produced critically acclaimed British films such as, Four Lions and Submarine. We believe that our film would be ideal for Warp Films seen as they haven't distributed any psychological horror films and therefore our film would help them break into a new genre. Our film's similarities with Warp's include a young protagonist of similar age to the one in 'Submarine'. We discovered that Warp Film's don't have high budget when compared with some of conglomerates such as Time Warner, however they have a niche market in the UK and distribute 'typically British Films', with their audience being teenagers and young adults which is the audience we are aiming our film at. Warp Films would also be an ideal candidate to distribute our film as they often premiere most of their films at independent film festivals like the Sundance Film Festival. If our film was to be exhibited at such an event we could be able to distribute our film to other countries like America and Australia. 


Warp films have produced the film Submarine which features the protagonist Oliver Tate and follows his life at home and school as he tries to get and maintain his relationship with Jordana. This film, despite not being of the horror genre, does feature a teenage protagonist similar to our main character, Chris. Many of Warps films have been typically British films that aren't Americanised which is exactly what we want our film to be. We also believe our target audience will be from the age of 15 above which is the audience Warp Films often distributes its films to. 

Evaluation - Q.2

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Age - In our film we have the social groups of young people in the first two minutes of our film, and throughout the rest of the film we have adults, both male and female. Our film's depiction of young people presents them as vulnerable and in danger. For example Chris throughout the film is shown through high angled shots which create a sense of danger and impending doom, which works well when accompanied by the diegetic sound of his screams and shouting. We also made use of fast paced editing in the running scenes to thrill the audience and present Chris as a very scared individual. The character of the Desperate Man in our film further reinforces the ideology that young people are vulnerable and in need of protection. The Desperate Man is shown lying on the floor covered in blood. 

Gender - Our first two minutes featured two men and the voice of another male characters. Despite, seemingly looking androcentric within the first two minutes, we had planned to add many more female characters throughout the rest of the film. The men in the first two minutes, weren't portrayed as stereotypical male characters (usually brave and masculine), and instead were portrayed as weak and vulnerable. 



Mise en scene - Through the use of clothing and props like blood we were able to make Chris look like a stereotypical teenager who wears comfortable clothing like joggers and trainers. Also the use of blood added to the sense of vulnerability of the Desperate Man as it suggested he had been stabbed and attacked. 


Editing - Through the use of editing, more specifically through the changing of colour we were able to make the woods and street scene brighter and more orange in order to make it look dreamy and denote that this happened a while later than the home scene. 

Camera - In order to portray the young character of Chris we frequently made use of high angled shots in order to convey a sense of vulnerability and make the audience empathise with Chris. We also used two dolly shots during our film in order to create a sense of realism and subsequently make the audience feel like they were there with Chris and therefore they would be more likely to be scared and question what was going on. 



Sound - In order to create a sense of suspense and portray the characters as vulnerable in our film we used as little dialogue as we could in order to make our audience question what was happening. We relied on ambient sounds like the wind and the tweeting of birds to create a sense of isolation, especially in the woods scene. We had to edit the sound of the phone call, in order to make it sound like it was a legitimate phone call that would happen if somebody was calling 999.  

Evaluation - Q.1

Click Here For Evaluation - Q.1

Evaluation - Question 5

5. How did you attract/address your audience?

Do you think you have reached your target audience?

At the beginning pre-production of our film we had scripted our first 2 minutes of the storyline an researched upon what people thought of it and there ideas around it. We did this through a questionnaire asking a number of teenagers as they were our target audience which was suitable to accumulate as much useful ideas and feedback.

What did you include when planning your production that you thought would appeal to your audience?

Our target audience was mainly aimed at young teenagers and young adults, we decided to make the main character a teenager with symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia so that the audience could feel involved and relate to the character. We thought that it would be suitable for our character to wear clothes that are classed as casual and trendy, we believed that this would allow the audience to feel aware and stereotype what they think of the character.




What has been successful in your production?

I believe that a key part to the success of our production was time management, we had organised our time effectively before hand for every day of shooting. It only took us 3 days to shoot our film, we always referred back to our plan if we had ran out of ideas which helped us stay on track and finish everything on time. We used a total of three different types of locations which were; Barnsley College, Dearne Valley Park and an abandoned industrial estate. These locations were chosen as we thought it would give us the best output and sense of feel for a psychological horror, this relates to our research where we had found out that the film is expected to be filmed near a lake, park, etc. The lake we chose was in Dearne Valley Park and was mostly busy during times we went out for shoot so we had to go during early hours when it's less busy. I also believe that another success in our production was filming and how the characters were shown, the main character in our film, 'Chris', is shown at the beginning climbing out of a lake and to make this realistic we had poured water all over him to output the best effect. Another would be that the injured, desperate man on the floor had blood on his t-shirt which was self-made for our filming. The characters were shown from different perspectives by the way we placed the camcorder, this created a unique effect and relates back to our research of psychological horror films containing shots taken from different angles and views.

What was less successful? How can it be improved?

A minor problem that we had throughout the filming process was that the camcorder's, these weren't efficient enough to remain on standby for long hours, this meant that sometimes we had to leave shooting early. Once we had collected a camcorder and all other relevant equipment  and found out that the camcorder had no charge which meant we had to go back to college and find a replacement. This can be lack of preparation and just the camera's being left without being put on charge.

Evaluation - Question 4

4. Who would be the audience for your media product?

Gender: 
The audience that we have aimed to be for our film are both; male and female. This is because our genre isn't gender specific to be based on being a psychological horror, the film we researched into such as the shining is also based on the audience of both genders. Although the first two minutes of our film only show two males as leading characters, we have thought about getting a female to play a role for our full film so that it appeals to both genders.

Age:
After researching into similar films that were psychological horrors we found that most films contained disturbing scenes, violence, etc had age ratings of 15 and over. We thought that our film also contained disturbing scenes with slight violence so it would be best to keep the age rating at 15+ because if a younger audience were to watch certain scenes they may find it distressing.

Habits and Lifestyle:
We have decided that it would be best for our film to be screened in the cinema during late viewing times. This is because our audience are mostly best suitable for late screenings having the age rating of 15, our audience are most likely to be busy during the day such as work, school, and other things they have responsibility over. Taking this into consideration we thought that this would be most convenient and suitable for our target audience.

Pre-production Research:
Our pre-production research was to find out what it takes for our target audience to want to watch a psychological horror film. We did this through the use of a questionnaire where we had interviewed three teenagers, we found out that most teenagers watch films on television or computer which came to the discussion around screenings for our short film. Our interviewees also claimed to have understood the storyline clearly and mentioned expecting the film to be set near a lake or park, this was an advantage for us pre-production of the film.