Group Feedback

.As part of our evaluation we were paired up with other groups and we would question each group about their final film product. The questions ranged from 'How did you feel your filming went' to 'what could you have improved'. This particular evaluation activity helped because it enabled us to realise what we were actually happy with and what we weren't happy with. This then also made us think about what we needed to improve on for next year.

evaluation 4- annotations of film

activity 5

EVALUATION ACTIVITY 5



How did you attract/address your audience?
You will use YOUTUBE's annotation tools to add NOTES, SPEECHBUBBLES, and LINKS to your video:

http://www.google.com/support/youtube/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=92710

These annotations will highlight the ways in which your Film Opening links to other similiar films in order to attract the particular Audience you have previously identified.

Your annotations will refer to genre conventions, use of music, similiarities with other movies and what you have identified as the Unique Selling Point of your imaginary film.

activity 3

SCRIPT
We chose Warner Brothers as our production company because they have distributed many successful horror films such as Sweeney Todd, Orphan Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street. The fact that they have produced many different horror films and they have all been successful has shown that Warner Brothers has experience in dealing with small budget films and has made them a success. For example,Nightmare on Elm Street had a very small budget of just $1.8 million and received over $26 million at the box office. This has showed that films doesn't need a huge budget to be successful. 
A production company helps create the film. It assists in the budgeting, scripting casting and much more. They are also responsible for finding a director and talented actors. However they are also responsible for anything that goes wrong and also if anyone is injured during the filming process. 
Warner Brothers is a production company and also a distributer so for our film we did not need to find a distributer.

 I believe that our film will not reach a global audience and so will only need a small budget. This means that our film can be produced using lottery funding. Because this is only a small budget it would mean that it would only be released in the United Kingdom. This is due to the fact there is no big named stars and special effects.

In our film we included the names of the directors, producers, editors and actors in the titles of our film. Unfortunately we did not put the titles in a certain order. If we did put the titles in a certain order we would have put the actors names in first because the audience can recognise famous characters names which will entice them even more to watch the film. However, what we did do was coordinate the titles to flash up in time with the characters. So when the name of one of the characters flashed up, there was a scene with the character in it. This would then allow the audience to establish which person played the character. 
Our film is institutionally similar to Nightmare on Elm Street. This was produced by Warner Brothers on a very small budget of just $1.8 million. This is similar to our film because our film will only have a small budget also.

evaluation activity 7

In our preliminary task we used a long shot of a pathway with a fence covering half the path. We did this in an attempt to make it seem like the camera was a person's eyes, perhaps the villain. However, we failed to do this as it simply just looked as though it was a plain camera shot with nothing more to it. We feel we have improved on this particular type of shot. In our final film we tried to create the same effect, and we believed it worked. The camera did look as though it was our villain because we stationed the camera in the middle of trees and it did look realistic. This has shown that we have learned something about camera positioning.

We also feel as though we edited much better in our final film compared to our preliminary task, despite our lack of time. In our preliminary task we did not do much to edit at all, we more or less left it as it was because we felt it didn't need editing, despite the fact it did. In our final film we edited in many different ways in an attempt to make our film much better. We added in non-diegetic music to make the genre stand out even more, we used the time-stretch technique which we used to shorted and lengthen the music, we also used various transitions and effects as well. This then made our film look slightly more professional because it showed our audience that we were able to add in extra features to better our film. So, due to this, we believe that we have learnt that editing is an important factor in film production because it will enable your film to have a more professional aspect about it.

However, despite these improvements we feel that we haven't improved on everything. Firstly, we did not use many high or low angle shots in our final film. However in our preliminary task we did use high and low angle shots. This has shown that we have not improved on some of our camerawork skills because we did not think carefully enough about what shot types to use which would suit our genre. As our film is a horror it means we should have used high and low angle shots to establish which character is the victim and which is the villain. As we didn't do this it meant that we did not take forward our camerawork skills from our preliminary task. Also, in our Preliminary task we used match on action however in our final film we didn't. This, again, shows that we have not thought careful about our camerawork which is quite a big downfall for us because it meant that our final film lacked in clear shot types.

Evaluation 8

I have set myself many different targets for G324 next year. The first target I have decided to set myself is to do with timing.

When we filmed our two minute opening we gave ourselves a very limited amount of time. This is due to other commitments we had made and have outside of school. Due to these commitments it meant that we didn't have much available time to film, as these commitments happened after school. However, we realised that this was a problem because it got dark at around 4.30pm every evening and we got home from school at around 4pm. This meant we could not film after 4.30 because it would have been too dark and we wanted the lighting to be fairly light in our film so that we could see the characters, but when we tried to film this late we couldn't even see anything and it started to get really cold, and this then only gave us a half an hour slot to do filming which was not nearly enough time. Due to such a limited amount of filming time it meant we gradually fell behind on filming which meant that, as our deadline day drew closer, we ended up rushing our film in order to get it finished. This meant that our film was not the best that it could be. This has led us to set targets involving the timing of our filming for next year. We have decided to start filming as soon as possible into the year which means that we will have plenty of time to film. It also means that we will not have to rush our filming which will hopefully result in a much better, well prepared final product as we will have more time to plan and prepare.


We will also make sure we start editing sooner. This year, as we filmed so late, we only left ourselves a very short amount of time to edit our film. This meant that it was very rushed so we ended up making a few mistakes. In order to make sure this doesn't happen we will make sure we do not fall behind on the filming which could result in our editing becoming rushed. The problems we faced with editing is that we were not able to sit down and thoroughly work through our film editing every aspect we could. We only had time to edit the aspects that were absolutely necessary. This clearly was a huge problem because it meant that our final product was not nearly as good as we had hoped. This has therefore been an eye opener for us and has led us to the conclusion that we must not fall behind on our filming because it will also effect our editing as well.


We have also decided to use a tripod and perhaps a better quality camera. This year when we filmed we didn't use a tripod. This resulted in the shots being quite shaky which suggests that our film is of bad quality. Also, as we didn't use a tripod it may have been hard for the audience to establish shot type. This is because the camera moved quite a bit as it was only hand held. This therefore has led us to decide that we will use a tripod next year to improve the quality of the shots and also to ensure a clear shot type. Using a better quality camera will ensure that the audience will have a clear picture of the film. This may make them more keen to watch the film because they will not have to focus too much on the characters. They will be able to easily watch our film with no trouble.


This year, after we had filmed, we realised we hadn't used enough shot types that were related to the genre of our film. The genre we decided upon was horror so the most common shots would be high angle and low angle shots to establish the villain and the victim. However, we used hardly any low angle or high angle shots so it may have been hard for the audience to completely establish which character was the villain and which character was the victim. So, next year we have decided to plan more carefully which shot types we will use and also decide on shot types which are possible to use. This year when we planned our shot types we chose bird's eye view shots. However when it came to filming we were not able to do this as there was no way we could get high enough to film the shot. This therefore resulted in us wasting our filming time as we had to decide on a new shot to do. So next year when we plan our shot types we will carefully decide on shots that are possible and also make sure we use shots that are relevant to the genre of our film.ar.

Evaluation Activity 4 - target audience

I believe that our target audience would look like this, and would be interested in horror films.
They look like they would also be interested in sci/fi films too, so that's why i believe that they would like our film as its more crime than it is horror as we don't involve any blood or gore in our film, so they might like the fact you have to try and work out what has happened to both girls. As their tastes would appear to be in crime, they might watch TV dramas like 'The Killing' which involve murders on a day to day basis, however the TV series bases the programme on the investigation and finding about the crime itself. It has the element of horror involved in it, but not to the extent where its scary as such its mainly used to build up tension and creates the sense of suspicion, which is what we tried to relate in our film so that's why i believe this audience would enjoy our film as ours isn't scary or gory.

This type of audience would shop in places such as HMV, Game and skate shops. The reason for this is because they seem like they would be into their music, which would be either heavy metal or rock just from the way they dress and look. Also in game i think they would play Xbox quite a lot on games such as Grand Theft Auto and Call Of Duty which both show elements of violence in them and shooting and theft which all relate to crime scenes as you can kill people, the heavy metal and rock music could also link to this as its very loud and can be seen as aggressive. This would make them want to watch our film as it ends on a Cliff hanger so it makes you want to carry on watching it to see what happened and as they like the crime and investigations they would want to try and work our what happened. The only problem that may occur is that they play games involving shooting and killing however our two minutes opening doesn't show any of that, so that might be the only thing putting them off, however there is nothing to say that, that wouldn't happen later on in the film once they find the missing girl so that might entice them to watch.

Evaluation Activity 2

 I have chosen to use one of our main characters, Georgia, to be compared to the girl out of the horror film ' scream' . There are many similarities that both these characters share, such as their hair colour being typically blond a convention of a horror film as blonde's are normally stereotyped with being easy victims as there are 'stupid' and 'dumb' both of them are also pretty which is another convention as a pretty female is normally used as a victim to attract different audiences and to show they are weak and more vulnerable. The facial expressions both express some kind of shock, which makes them link in well with horror films and something bad has clearly happened. This is shown in different ways though as the girl from scream is on the phone to her attacker and therefore they might have said something to her that has scared her as she is reaching for the door handle, where she could possibly be locking the door or going out to see/do what the attacker has told her to do. Georgia, however, looked shocked and scared in a different way as she seems to be focused on one thing and has more of a panic expression than scared. Another way to link these together is the fact their mouths are open suggesting they could be about to scream and the fact the girls eyes in scream are closed could indicate that she has just seen something out the window too.

Both of the girls are wearing similar clothing, which is casual as you can see earlier on in the film. This means that they obviously both didn't realise anything would happen as they are just in normal everyday clothes either on their way home from somewhere or just having a night in, so they link together as it shows in both situations they were not expecting this. Both these girls also play the same role in the films as they are both the victims which relates them, and that something 'unexpected' happens to them.

Evaluation- Story and how the opening sets it up (frame 8)

Our oppening of our two actors set up our story line as it shows them happily talking and just casually walking as if nothing bad is expected to happen. This shot sets it up nicely as the sun is out and the setting looks bright and quite pretty, compared to the woods were it is dark and gloomy. Our story line starts off with just two innocent girls supposedly walking back home on their way back from school, as this shot clearly shows this happening. From this oppening shot the audience wouldnt suspect any thing horrible or unexpected to happen.

However the music at the start is quite slow and quite and sounds creepy which gives it away but leaves the auidence guessing as to what could happen. As the film goes on you can start guessing the plot to our film and the setting turns cold and sinister compared to this shot. This shot also seems reasonably open compared to the woods where its compact with trees, which makes it seem creppier as you dont know what is behind or within them. They are also walking over a bridge, and you cant see what is at the otherside, so it sets up our story well as the auidence wont know they are about to go into the woods, as it looks like they are just walking on a normal path.

Evaluation -Special Effects (frame 7)

We used special effects with sound on this frame, when the figure walks past the music suddenly sharpens and get creppier and louder. This was effective as it would grab the audiences attention and by the way the music sounded they knew that the figure shouldnt be there and that something would happen. This special effect wasnt visual unlike the ending, but compared to the background music it was diffent and was used as a special effect.

At the end we used a blurred and faded effect on Georgias face to show the emotion on her face and emphise the fact she is scared and panicking about the situation. When we edited this shot we made the flashback effect in time with her breathing so it made it more effective. This didnt go as well as we had hoped as some of it isnt in time. The effect of thisalso makes it look a bit creepy and the fact she is so scared now could mean something has just happened to her or is about to. The length of the shot is 5 seconds which is one of our longest shots, this creates tension and leaves the audience in suspense as they dont know what has happened.

Evaluation 1- camera work and editing (frame 6)

we used this close up shot to emphasise why our actor stopped and to show that she is more vulnerable as she is now at a low angle. The reason as to why we took some close ups was because they are the conventions of a horror film to show emotion and to build up tension. We rushed our film and therefore didn't use as many close up shots as we would of liked and we didn't exactly use them in the correct way as we can see any emotion through this shot. we mainly used this shot to show the focus on the shoe and that their attention is on tieing her lace and not on what might be going on around them. We knew when we put our film together that we should of used more close ups, although our close up at the end of Georgia before the scream shows the emotion on her face as if she has seen something,so we thought that close up shot worked well.

We tried to use a variety of shot types, so this is why we used an over the shoulder shot so we could see both characters and also get the main prop/object of our film in too. We thought it would look better if we had half of my head and shoulder in the shot as it made it more effective,because when we tried it without it didn't look as good as we couldn't see who Georgia was looking at, so that's why we showed half of my head and shoulder in the shot.

When we edited our film we used white writing and a basic font,to show who was in our film, produced, filmed and directed it. The reason we chose white was so it showed up on ever shot, clearly. We faded them in and out so that they flowed with the film and we made them last longer on the screen then we originally did so that it gives the audience chance to read it and so they show over a couple of shot. We chose to make the writing come up in the bottom right hand corner so that it wasn't in the way of any of the filming and so it looked neater. When we did our research we also found that quite a lot of films did that too.

The Unexpected Improved

Evaluation 1 -The title of the film/ style (frame 5) and (frame9)

The reason why we chose this as our title was due to the fact it stands out well at the end of our film. We end our film with a scream to leave the audience guessing as to what has just happened and then play the title at the end as it leaves it on a cliff hanger, and it was also a good opportunity. The white writing shows up well on the black background and as our film in set in the woods, the black background is used to represent the darkness in the woods and the white writing is used as silhouettes of the trees. We chose not to use any red font like we planned at the beginning, because after we did our research we realised that the red font is only really used in film involving some kind of murder or gore to represent the blood, but as our film is not gory at all we chose not to use it. The font we used was called 'juice ict' which we thought went well with the genre of our film as it has an unusall
shape to the letters, which are quite sharp and pointy which could suggest danger which noramlly occurs in horror films. We chose not to have any 'fancy' or 'swirly' writing as that is usually seen as safe and assoicated with romance films, and would therefore not relate to our film and could possibly confuse the audience.

Evaluation - Genre and how the opening suggests that (frame 4)

The Genre of 'Horror' is presented in the opening by one of the first scenes, showing the conventions of a typical horror film with the setting placed in the woods which is shown in this frame. The opening also indicates this as its dark, gloomy and muddy,this makes the audience see straight away that it is a horror, as people tend to associate the fact something bad is going to happen when the weather is bad, which is what normally happens in a horror film. The two girls are also walking alone in the woods, and you can see its really quiet as there is no one else around which makes you think something will happen as any thing could now happen as no one is there to witness it, which creates a sense of suspicion towards the audience. The girls also have their backs turned making them more venerable, as they wont be able to react to anything if it comes from behind as they wont see it, their costumes also make them seem venerable as they are just teenagers so they are easily scared. The timing of the shot is also quite long and slowed paced, with are also typically used in horror films to build up the suspense. Our victims are also female and victims in horror films are normally always a female as they are seen as weak and fragile. The music we use is also quite creepy and quite showing abnormality to the scene when the two girls are walking through the woods, disrupting the normality at the beginning . The choice of lighting is also quite shadowy creating silhouettes and figures which are within horrors as the shadows could be seen as someone or something else, its also quite misty/ foggy so the picture quality isn't as clear creating suspicion.

Evaluation - Costumes and Props (Frame 3)

In this frame we show the costumes of the two characters. They are seen to be wearing everyday clothing, suggesting they could be on their way home from somewhere, which makes the audience unaware of where they have been and question why they are walking in the woods this late in the evening creating enigma codes towards the audience. By our two main actors wearing these types of clothes shows how they are just typical teenagers, which indicates their vulnerability walking in the woods by themselves. We also use a peice of their clothing, the scarf, as a prop. The reason we used it as a prop was the fact it easily comes off and therefore the reason it ends up in the tree, as it must of fallen off and someone happened to place it the tree, however that tree was infront of them which made them confused and also the auidence as they dont know how that would of got there as know onw else was around. The peice of clothing is also significant to the actor as it is made obvious to the audience as it is around her neck as we use different shots to show that, and also by the types of shots we make the scarf stand out emphising the prop.


The other prop we have in our film is a phone, this is used as a distraction, so the actor can not see the figure that walks past her, to create a tense atmoshere for the auidence as they can see it and therefore want to try and tell her to look. The phone is also a typicall object for a teenager to have and also stereotypically likely to be seen with teenagers, so therefore the prop fits in well with that scene. The fact that the actor is on the phone makes the auidence wonder what she is doing and wether or not she is texting someone telling them theyre on their way home or the fact she could just be looking at something. This makes you question the fact that if anything was to happen then people could know where they are and how far away from home they are which would give the auidence a greater sense of relief, so thats why we chose not to see what she doing so that it makes the auidence question it.
                                                                                                                                                                                         


                                                                                 

Film Diaries

We took a video of us on our way to go and film, and as you can hear it was really windy so that's why it was hard to hear us clearly. we found that due to the winds it was also hard to hear the dialogue in our as the wind effected the sound, and left a crackling noise.

In this video you can also see how windy it is, and this made us concerned about how our film will turn out, however we knew it had to be in soon so we had to get it done as soon as possible and the weather could also be bad every day so we didnt want to risk it by doing it another day where the weather could just get worse.

We knew from this diary that our film hadnt gone as well as we hoped as the weather was horrible and i was so cold out, it got rushed quite a bit as after every clip we took we didnt check it so we didnt know if anything was wrong with it, which made it hard for us when we edited the film as we did find things wrong and then we were unable to then re film it as we were not free any other day and the weather was different to what it was this day.

This was filmed after we had attempted to edit our film, when we found out we could use different transitions to create different effects on out film as we had to film in the light due to the fact it got really dark quickly so we had to film in the afternoon so that it wouldnt get too dark to film in as you couldnt really see anything that we filmed last time we did it that late.

 

Fim Production Mark

The mark you received at moderation for your production is Level 3 - 36/60.

Targets: Remove Lionsgate and create your own film production name or use a different film company. Improve titles - titles flash up too quickly let them fade in and out.

Anamatic Story Board

Evaluation - Setting and Location (Frame 2)

Our second frame was also pretty succesfull as we show the setting through a long shot of the woods, showing the conventions of a horror film such as it being dark, gloomy, cold,wet and muddy. The shot also went well becasue if you look closly you can see a black figure standing in the far distance which wansnt intentionally meant to be there but we decided to leave it as it fitted in well with our film as later on you see a black figure walking past so it could be them, and the actors just havent noticed it. The good thing about this shot is that it shows rows of trees and bushes which creates a sence of tension for the auidence as they dont know what could be in those woods and what could be amongst the trees or bushes so that worked well to build up the tension early on. The path is also shown to go on for quite a while so it indicates that it will start getting darker before they get home so it could well get very dark whilst they are still in the woods. The sky is also grey and misty relating the conventions of a horror as it makes it seem suspicous as creepy like you would feel late at night in the woods.

Evaluation of film- Introducing Characters ( Frame 1)

We introduce our film with a low angle long shot of our two main actors and also victims. I think this shot went well as there is low key lighting showing the audience it is still pretty light out so there isn't anything suspicious going to happen just yet, it also sets the scene a little as you can see there isnt anyone else around and it looks pretty quite, which condradicts the thought of nothing happening as it is a pretty sterotypical setting for a horror film so therefore as it isnt busy something could occur. As the angle is a low shot it makes the two actors seem like they are in control of the sittution and are not vunerable of anything just yet. Through mise en scene we also made our actors wear everyday casual clothing as if they were just coming back from being at school and on their way home, so that it makes it seem less lieky for anything unusual as they would most likely always walk that way home. The face they are wearing coats and jeans suggests that it is cold out and therefore winter so it means it would be getting dark soon which is a convention of a horror film.

                            

The Unexpected- Final

Consideration of Representation and Stereotyping

The usual stereotypes of a villain are male, sinister, mysterious, unknown identity, dangerous and powerful. In our film the villain will be male which is conforming to the stereotype of villains being male. We will also represent the villain as sinister and mysterious as the victims will not expect anything to happen to them. This, again, is conforming to the stereotype of villains being dangerous and mysterious. The villain also conforms to the stereotype of men being more powerful as he murders the victims without them knowing. This is showing the audience that our villain has power because he is able to commit murders without himself being hurt in anyway. Also he is in control of the situation which shows he has all the power. This also conforms to the stereotype of men being more powerful than women. This therefore means that the female victim is conforming to the stereotype of women being weak and vulnerable. Also, as she has no idea what is about to happen, it could represent her as quite ditsy and unaware. This then conforms to the stereotype of women being much weaker than men. We have not subverted the stereotype of women in any way as we have only conformed to the stereotype. However, we have two victims, one being a girl and the other being a boy. The boy victim is conforming to the stereotype of a victim but is also subverting the stereotype of a boy being strong and powerful. The boy is conforming to the stereotype of a victim because he was unaware of the events that were about to take place which shows he is very vulnerable and also perhaps a bit ditsy because he hasn't even realised that he is being watched by the murderer. However he is subverting the stereotype of boys being strong and powerful because he is the victim in all this and even though he had no idea that he was going to be murdered he could of perhaps tried to fight off the murderer.

Our Intial Plot Ideas

Initial Ideas: Our horror film begins with a teenage girl walking through the village with her friend. However, she does not know that she is being followed by a mysterious figure. The village is busy so our victim has no idea she is being followed. As the victim and her friend approach the woods, our victim decides to take a short cut through the woods as it is a cold night and she wants to get home quicker. Despite her friend advising her not to take the short cut she goes ahead and takes it anyway. As she walks further down the path she begins to get the impression someone is following her. She keeps glancing round to see if anyone is there but she cannot see anyone.

We have two main ideas as to how our opening two minutes should end. Our first idea is that the girl is murdered in the woods and our second idea is that she is followed all the way home and her and her house is being watched by the villain. We are still not entirely sure which ending to go for but we are going to film both scenarios and see which we prefer.

A Boyfriend and Girlfriend are walking home through the woods. The Girlfriend breaks up with boyfriend and he gets really angry. He forces her against the tree. The force is so hard she starts choking and blood starts spewing from her mouth. She is lying on the floor when two girls walk past. They notice her covered in blood but run off and leave her as they are too shocked to do anything. They don not even call for help, they just leave her. The boyfriend then realises she is dead and tries to wipe away the blood with a rag and drag her body under a bush so no one finds her. The two girls walk back to their houses but what they don't notice is that the 'dead' girl is not actually dead, she is watching them both. She appears in different places as they walk home.

Institution Research- 20th Century Fox

 

20th Century fox was founded on May 31st, 1935 due to the merge of 'Fox Films', founded in 1915, and '20th Century Pictures, Inc, founded in 1933. 20th Century Fox has mainly created family family and comedy genres. Examples of these are Dr. Dolittle, Dr Dolittle 2, Big Momma's House, Big Momma's House 2, Ice Age, Ice Age: The Meltdown, Cheaper by the Dozen, Cheaper by the Dozen 2, Garfield: The Movie, Night at the Museum, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Marley and Me and Aliens in the attic. Some of the films they have created are drama/thrillers but the majority of them are non- scary. Despite the fact that some of the most successful films were created by 20th century fox, such as Avatar and Star wars, we have decided that it is not the most suitable institution to use for our film. We have decided that 20th Century Fox is not the most suitable institution because the genre of our film is a horror. As our film is a horror we have decided to use an institution that has focused more on the horror genre. Despite this, 20th Century Fox has created some horror films, such as Wrong Turn 2, Shutter, taken 2 and Devil's due, which has only recently come out in cinemas. However, we still believe that we should use another institution which focuses more on the horror genre.

Instituions- Warner Brothers

Institution Research- Warner Brothers

Warner Brothers have created a variety of different films in different genres such as comedy, action, horror, romance, adventure and fantasy. Examples of the films they have produced are, Valentines Day, Clash of the Titans, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Sex and the City 2, Inception, Crazy, Stupid, Love, Final Destination 5, Happy Feet 2, New year's eve, The Hobbit: An unexpected journey, The Great Gatsby, and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. They are very dedicated in producing a variety of films in different genres. The fact that they create a variety of different genre films show us that Warner Brothers is a potential institution we will use for our film. Some of the successful horror films Warner Brothers have created are Orphan, Sweeney Todd and Friday the 13th. This shows us that they are successful in creating horror films so, therefore, it would be a good institution to use for our horror film.

Institution Research- Universal

Universal Pictures was founded in 1912 but Carl Laemmle, Mark Dintenfass, Charles O. Baumann, Adam Kessel, Pat Powers, William Swanson, David Horsley and Jules Brulatour. It is the oldest movie studio in the United States of America and it is also the fourth oldest in the world that is still in a continuous production. Some of the films created by Universal Pictures are Despicable Me, Kick-Ass, Charlie St. Cloud, Bridesmaids, Johnny English Reborn, Despicable Me 2, Kick-Ass 2, Mr Bean's Holiday, Sydney White and The Holiday. Universal Pictures prefer to focus on the Drama, Adventure and Romance genres. Universal have however created some well-known horror films such as The Strangers, Drag me up to hell, Mama and The Purge. Despite this, it is clear that horror isn't their strong point as they prefer to focus on the Romance, Drama and Adventure genres. This means that we do not think Universal is the best institution to use because they have not had that much experience with horror films and as our genre is a horror we think it would be best to use an institution which has had a lot of experience with the horror genre.

Institutions- lionsgate

Lionsgate is the largest and most successful mini-major film studio in North America. It has distributed various commercially successful films including The Twilight Saga (partially), The Hunger Games, Saw and The Expendables. Lionsgate have created films that are mostly the Drama, Action, horror and Thriller genre. Lionsgate have created quite a few horror films, some being very successful and some being not as successful. Some of the horror films they have created are, Saw 3D, Saw 1-6, The Punisher, Alone in the Dark, House of 1000 Corpses, Undead, The Devil's Rejects, Hostel, The Haunting in Connecticut, The Cabin in the Woods, The Possession, Silent Hill: Revelation 3D, Texas Chainsaw 3D, You're Next, The last Exorcism, My Bloody Valentine and The Eye. As Lionsgate have created quite a few horror films we believe that it will be a good institution to use because the genre of our film horror.

Mood Board

We used all these different pictures in our mood board as they relate to our film in a number of different ways. We used the picture of the two girls laughing because in our film we will have two girls as the main characters. They will walk into the woods looking very happy which is effective because it shows the audience that they have no idea what is about to happen to them. So this picture will represent the two girls walking into the woods acting very happen and nothing is wrong.
We used various pictures of knives to represent the weapon that will be used in our film. During the film scenes of a knife in the murderers hand will be shown. As we haven't completed filming yet we do not yet know whether the knife should have blood on it or not. So we included both pictures, one with a knife and one without a knife, to show what the two possible weapons will be like.
We included pictures of a screaming girls. This will represent the two main characters just before they are attacked. We chose different types of screams. One picture shows a girl screaming very loudly as her mouth is wide open whereas another picture looks like the girl is screaming but not as much and she looks more scared. We decided to use the two different pictures because our film will include the victims screaming but their screams may be different. For example when the victims first come across the murderer they will scream very loudly because it was so unexpected. However, once the victim knows she is going to die her screams will just turn into just purely being scared rather than shocked and scared at the same time.
We used different pictures of dark woods to represent the setting of our film. The film will be set in woods however they will not be dark woods. This is down to the fact that it gets dark very early and due to other commitments it made it hard to film just before it gets dark. So because of this we have decided to film in the light, however we will edit the film to make it look darker. So the pictures we have included will hopefully be what our wooded setting will look like once all the editing is completed.
We included a high angled picture shot and a low angled pictured shot. This is because in our film we will be using various high angle and low angle shots. We will be using the high angle shots on the victim to show her as vulnerable and weak and we will be using low angle shots of the murderer to portray him as powerful and in control.
We also included a picture of a birds eye view shot. We will also be using this particular shot type throughout our film. We will be using this shot to show the girls walking through the trees which will hopefully create a tense and scary atmosphere for the audience.
We used pictures of dark figures. We used these pictures because in our film we will have a murderer who is hiding in the trees waiting to murder the young girls. So these pictures will represent what the murderer will be like in our film- mysterious and sneaky.

Online Tutorials- Speeding up, slowing down and reversing clips

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iV0gxcV5Stk


This was a tutorial about how to speed up, slow down and reverse your video clips on Premiere Elements 10. This online tutorial was helpful in a number of ways. Firstly, we now know how to speed up the pace of our film. This is helpful because in our film we have a girl running. If we could change the speed of her running it will be quite effective. This means when we come to edit our film we will easily be able to change the speed of her running because this tutorial showed us how to. This will therefore reduce our editing time which means we won't have to spend as much time editing certain parts of our film. Also it means we will be able to edit relatively easily because we know what we are doing so we don't need to spend as long editing with it. This online tutorial also showed us how to slow down the speed of our film. This was also helpful because it means we can have different speeds in our film which could make it more interesting for the audience. However, when the tutorial showed us how to reverse the clip it wasn't very useful. This is because we won't be reversing anything in our film. But despite this it was still extremely useful because it has widened our knowledge of editing and will enable us to edit relatively easily.

Documenting on infulences of production.

There were many reasons which influenced us to make the decision to choose horror as the genre for our film. Firstly, Abbie and I both enjoy watching horror films and so do many of our friends. Due to the fact we both have a keen interest in horror films it influenced us to choose horror as the genre for our film. Also because we often watch horror films we thought it would be fun to try and create some scary scenes just like the horror films we watch. At first we weren't entirely sure that we would be able to do a horror film because it seemed quite hard to create a scary atmosphere. However, after distributing a questionnaire around we had written, the results showed that the majority of the people wanted us to do a horror film. This influenced us to stick by our idea of the genre being horror. After watching more scenes from horror films we came across some extremely scary scenes. We then decided to use the ideas from the horror films we watched and use them in our film. We were influenced to use ideas from the horror films because they were really effective, especially with the scary music that went alongside the scene. So hopefully if we get some ideas from horror films we have watched then it will ensure that our horror film opening will also be scary but also effective for the audience.

Anamatic Story Board.

This is page 1 of our animatic story board. It is very hard to see, however we have carefully planned out what we are going to be filming, shot types and how long the shot will last for. The first box shows the Warner brothers logo. We will be using this as our institution. The shot of this will last for 8 seconds. The next box is showing a screen of writing which says '13 years ago today a young girl went missing in these woods and hasn't been found since'. This shot will last for 7 seconds. While this is being shown there will be slow, sinister music playing in the background. After this, the next box illustrates two girls walking through the woods. We decided to use a long shot for this shot to show them in their surrounding which makes sure that the audience know exactly where they are. This shot will last 7 seconds. The box after this shows the back of the two girls. This is a mid, over the shoulder shot of the girls walking away from the camera. This lasts for 5 seconds.

So, on the first page of our animatic storyboard all that is being illustrated is the girls making their way through the woods.

Page 2 of our storyboard illustrates the girls beginning to hear things in the woods. The first box shows the girls walking and in the background a black figure is standing in the distance. This is shown through the use of a long shot. We decided to show this shot for around 10 seconds so the audience will fully be able to see the dark figure. The second box shows a close up of the girls. The have stopped walking as they think they have heard something. This shot will last around 7 seconds because we want to be able to get in enough dialogue to allow the audience to know whats happening. The third box shows a long shot of the pathway. The camera will act as if it is the girls eyes looking to see if anything is there. This shot will last for around 6 seconds. The fourth box shows another close up of the girls faces. They are still looking to see if anything is there but instead of looking from their point of view we are shown a close up of their faces to see their facial expressions. This shot will last for around 6 seconds. The fifth box illustrates a long shot with the girls walking away from the camera as they think they were just imagining they heard something. This shot will last for around 7 seconds.

Page 3 of our storyboard illustrates one of the girls disappearing. It also first introduces us to the villain. The first box shows a mid shot of the girls through the trees. The camera is the murderer at this point. This means we are seeing the scene from the murderers point of view. This shot will last for around 5 seconds. The second box shows a close up of one of the girls. She is looking directly into the camera because she thinks she can hear something. At this point the camera is not the murderer because the girls are not yet supposed to come across the murderer just yet. This shot will last for around 7 seconds. The third box shows a long shot of the girl looking into the trees, as she was in the box before, but instead of seeing her facial expression, we just see her whole body from behind. In the same box/scene she also turns around but then realises her friend is not there. This shot will last for around 7 seconds. The fourth box shows a high angle shot/birds eye view of the girl frantically looking for her friend as now she is very scared because she thinks she is completely alone. This shot will last for around 6 seconds. The fifth box illustrates a close up side view of the girl. In the background of this we see a dark figure walk past- the murderer. This shot will last for around 7 seconds.

Page four of our storyboard illustrates when the victim comes across the villain for the first time. Box one shows a close up of the girl. She is still looking for her friend but doesn't seem to be having any luck. In this shot we will be adding in a sound effect of a twig breaking. The twig breaking will signify the murderer moving toward the victim. The next box shows the girl slowly turn around. The shot will start off as an over-the-shoulder shot but then will turn into a close up of her face. This shot will last for around 5 seconds. The next box shows a long shot of what the audience expected to be the villain whereas in fact it is the girls friend. She is covered in blood and has been possessed. This clip will last for around 5 seconds. The next shot is a close up of the girls face. She lets out a terrifying scream. This shot will last for 4 seconds. The last shot we are shown is the image of the title flash up on the screen. There will be a blast of loud, sinister music to accompany the title 'The unexpected'.

We did not include any dialogue in our storyboard because at that point we were not completely certain on what dialogue we were going to have in our film. We knew what sound effects we wanted but we did not know what we should have our characters say. Due to the fact we did not include dialogue it meant that we had to make it up when we were filming because we did not have a definite script. At the time we thought this wouldn't be a problem but when it came to editing we realised it was a big problem. It was a problem because we made everything up so it didn't make sense. So, when it came to writing a script we were not able to do so. This meant we had to re-record our characters speaking and put them in over the top of the other speaking.

Characters Interviews

 

 We interviewed Georgia Leslie, and myself and we were asked some general questions. We didnt plan the interviews so that it made it more realistic and not seem scripted so that we get the true answers. As i was interviewed i found it quite hard to find things to say mainly because im quite shy so it didnt look very effective. We tried to make the interviews as helpful as we could to why we would play good victims and tried to ask different questions for each person so it didnt seem like you would be watching the same interview. I wanted to ask some more people people before we were going to plan our film to show that we had thought about different people to play the parts, however we ended up focusing on other blogs and completley forgot.

 

 

 

poblems we encounted

We have encountered various different problems in the process of editing our film. The first problem we came across was the fact we didn't have a set script. This was a problem for us because it meant that we could not write up a script for our film as it wouldn't of made sense as we told myself and Georgia to to have general 'chit chat' which didnt really have any relevance in our film whatsoever. Originally when we were filming we didn't think we would need a set script as we thought we could just make it up and just write the script afterwards. However, when it came to editing our film we realised that none of what the actors were saying linked together so the script would not make sense. To overcome this problem we decided to cut out all of the talking in our film so that we have no dialogue and then rerecord our actors speaking from a script that we would have produced. This therefore means that we will be able to have a script that makes sense and it will also mean that the dialogue in our film will make sense because it will all link together.
Another problem we have encountered is that our film was 42 seconds over 2 minutes. This was clearly a big problem because our film has to be 2 minutes. This means that we needed to cut out 42 seconds worth of filming time. Luckily we were able to cut out that 42 extra seconds by cutting out unnecessary scenes from our film. This therefore means that we will now be able to have our film lasting for 2 minutes.

We also found that when we went to film, we didnt end up following our story board and therefore didnt use a varitey of shots that we said we would use, so we ended up with a lot of medium shots and a lot of scences with just us walking. This wasnt very succesful as they dont really look as good as the could in our 'horror' film, as we needed alot more close ups. Another reason for our film not being as good as we would of liked it to be is due to the fact of other commitments meaning we were unable to spend as much time filming as we would of like to, we felt it was a bit rushed and not properly thought through. We should of checked our film through out the time we were in woods but the battery kept going low so we had to turn it on and off straight away which was annoying.

List Of Shot Types Used In Our Film

We decided to use a low angle shot of the two girl victims through a tree, as it shows the audience that at this moment the girls are in control of the situation and are not portrayed as being vulnerable or weak, however it could also be used to create a sense of them being watched as the murderer could be tucked behind that tree under the bridge. As the Girls have walked past the bridge they enter the woods which we show the audience by using an establishing/ long shot of the path the girls are about to walk down, the reason for this use of shot type is so that it reassures the audience of the setting so they don't get confused as we have just shown the setting to be placed outside of the woods and it wouldn't make sense for the girls to just suddenly be in the woods. The long shot also shows a tiny black figure standing at the end of the path so it builds up tension as the audience don't know what it is, or why it is there. A two shot is then used of the two girls from behind so they are shown walking from somewhere and not just randomly in the middle of the path. The fact we film them from behind indicates they are beginning to become more vulnerable as their backs are turned. As they carry on walking we film them using a full body shot going into mid shot so that we can see their body language when they claim to "hear a noise" so that it makes it more effective so the audience can see they look worried and confused so they believe something isn't right. To show that they are worried we use a side shot of both characters to show they have looked around and that they are starting to panic, it also then shows a long shot of them walking even more into the woods, building up tension again as the audience know something is in there with them.

The girls carry on walking into the woods using a full body shot of them again to show that one of their laces have come undone and they both stop, the reason for us doing that is to emphasise the fact they have stopped so something is likely to happen or they are to see something. We then change the shot to a close up of her shoe lace being undone, once again showing the audience they are being delayed meaning more time for the murderer to approach. The next shot is a two shot again showing the girl doing up her shoe lace and her friend bending down to have a look, the reason for this is to state the fact that the girls are now both focusing on the shoe lace and not on what might be going on around them.

A close up is then used too see the girls face when she is told her scarf that was around he neck has been placed on a tree in front of her, and then the camera takes its focus off of her and zooms into another close up of the scarf to emphasise on the fact someone has put it there to draw their attention to it. The shot type used next is an over the shoulder shot to show that the other girl is still there but the focus is on the other victim and the scarf, the reason for this shot type is to show all three things in one shot so we know what both girls are looking at. The long shot used next is used to be the murderer and what they can see from their point of view, this is effective as it shows the audience that someone is watching the girls and indicates they are planning on doing something, it also shows the audience that the murderers plan has worked to get them to stop so that he can maybe have closer look on how they are going to plan their attack.

The use of a mid shot is shown of one of the girls on her phone to show that she isn't playing much attention as to what is going on in the background as the black figure walks past, showing that she is unaware as she believes her friend had only gone to get her scarf. A close up of the side of the girl on the phones face is used to express the look on her face when she looks up as if she had heard the figure, but as she looks up nothing is there which we show using a long shot of the path, this is effective as it makes the audience want to tell the girls that something was just there so it makes them want to see if the girl ever see the figure. Straight after a mid shot of the same girl is used showing her facial expressions that she has seen something  go in to the bush and this shot helps to show her body language and the fact she had frozen after seeing it.

A long shot going into a close up is used of the girl who went to get her scarf walking towards the camera to show she now has her scarf and that when we see the close up we can tell she hasn't noticed anything suspicious as she is smiling. The two shot of both characters is used again to show they are back with each other. We then film them from behind so that we can see the girl who saw h figure look back to check that nothing is there and to show the audience there isn't we track the bushes as they are walking. The long shot that is taken next shows one of the girls looking into the bush when they see something moving, the reason as to why we did this shot was to make it look like the murderer was in the bush and to get the audiences attention on that fact and not the fact the other girl continues waking with her head down.

After writing this out,  believe that me and Rachel could of used more of a variety of shot types as we seemed to of done a lot of long and mid shots, when typically in horror films close ups are normally used instead. We did have different ideas in our heads but when we got there and filmed we forgot and didn't stick to the story board as we changed our idea last minute again. We also found it to be quite rushed as I had other commitments with training to do that evening.

The Codes And Conventions In Our Horror Film

In our film we adhere to some of the codes and conventions of the horror genre. However, we have not conformed to all of the possible codes and conventions.
Some of the codes and conventions we adhered to are the use of young/teenage characters. Our two main characters are teenagers which would portray them as even more weak in our film because they are young and will come across as very unaware of the situation about to unfold. Also we have conformed to the use of dark lighting. We originally filmed in the dark but we decided to re-film because it was too dark so we were unable to clearly see the characters. To deal with this problem we re-filmed in the light and decided to edit the film in a way that would make the lighting darker. This therefore means that we will be conforming to the convention of dark lighting in horror films. One of the main conventions of a horror film is a murder. We do not actually have our victim murdered in our film but we do introduce what might be a potential murderer. We decided not to have an actual murder scene because we wanted to leave our film on a cliff hanger and we believed that having a murder take place would not allow us to have the cliff hanger we wanted. Other associations with the horror genre are; an isolated location, dark lighting, murder, gore, scary music and villains and victims. We have conformed to most of these. We are using woods as the setting for our film. This is an isolated location as not many people walk through those woods so it seems as though the victims are isolated from the rest of the world. We are going to have non -diegetic music throughout our film. This music will be sinister which will put the audience on edge and also create more tension. We will also have victims and a villain in our film. There will be two female victims. This is also conforming to the usual convention of the victims being female in horror films. The villains gender will not be revealed as they will be dressed all in black with their face covered with a hood. This means we cannot conform to the convention of a male villain. We have not conformed to the use of gore and a murder. Originally there was gore included in our film but after cutting our film short we no longer have any scenes of gore. This leaves us with a dilemma. After doing our certificate research we realised that to make sure our film has an age rating of 15 we would need to include scenes of gore. However, now that we have cut out the gory scenes it means our film cannot be a 15. This doesn't necessarily mean that our film will not be scary, it just means that we have not included enough to make it a 15 which is the age rating most teenagers, who are our target audience, would consider the lowest age for a horror film rating.
Despite this, we have conformed to a variety of different codes and conventions. As we have done this it means that the genre of our film will be clearly identifiable and our target audience will hopefully enjoy watching our horror film because it has adhered to quite a few of the conventions shown in the most popular horror films.

Title Font Reseach

As you can see, the font used for this horror film is simple and there is nothing which hugely suggests that it is the usual font used for horror films. The title is in block capitals and plain white. The white font is effective because of the black background. This makes it stand out more. On some of the letters in the titles, they have grey colours in them. As the huge chainsaw is directly above the title, and the chainsaw is the same grey that is in the letters, it could possibly provide a link meaning that when the see the chainsaw and the title the audience would automatically realise that the film is based on that chainsaw. 

The font used in this film titles closely resembles hand writing. This is effective because it could show that a character from the film has written it which could emphasise the scariness of the film. Also there is no capital letters in the title so, again, it could suggest that it has been written by a character. The writing is black against a fiery red and yellow background. This is effective as it makes the title stand out. Also the colours used are red and yellow, both of which are colours that are related to horror films. 

  

The font in this horror film title is quite plain, so there would be nothing to suggest that it is a definite horror film title if it wasn't for the images behind it. The writing is plain white against a black background which therefore makes the title stand out. 

There is a trend with the three fonts I have analysed. Firstly, all of the fonts seem to be relatively plain- there is nothing that suggests they are specifically horror film titles. Secondly, the titles are either white or black against either a bright background or a plain black background to make them stand out. This helps me into my font research because now I know that horror film titles are mainly relatively plain and they are usually black or white against the opposite colour background. 

Online Sound Tutorials

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0IFprHpSaA


This sound online tutorial demonstrated to us how to get perfectly balanced audio throughout our film.
From watching this sound tutorial it has made us aware of the problems we will face when it comes to editing our film. The tutorial explains how to use various different sounds in one clip. For example, non-diegetic sounds, diegetic sounds and a narrator. In our film we will be including non- diegetic sounds and diegetic sounds, so this tutorial will help us a great deal when it comes to editing our film. The tutorial explains that when you use two different types of sounds in one clip, one sounds will overrule the other meaning that you will only be able to hear one of the sounds. For example in our film because we are including non -diegetic sounds and diegetic sounds it means that the audience may only be able to hear one of the sounds. This therefore means that our film will not be very good because we have not effectively edited our film to ensure the audio for our film has been perfectly balanced. However, after watching this tutorial we now know exactly what we need to do in order to balance our audio. The tutorial showed us exactly how to balance each of the different types of sounds we will be using to make sure the audience can hear each of the different sounds in proportion. It showed us how to increase or decrease the volume of each of the sounds. This is very helpful because in our film we will be using the non- diegetic sound of music which will play in the background and the diegetic music of our characters talking. We will need to balance both of these sounds to make sure one doesn't overrule the other. For example, the non- diegetic music is most likely to overrule the characters talking because it will be louder and so therefore the audience will not be able to clearly hear the characters talking so it means that perhaps our film will not be very effective to the audience because they will be trying to hear what the characters are saying but they won't be able to hear them.
So, after watching this tutorial on how to edit sounds we are now confident that we will be able to successfully edit our film on Premiere Elements 10 unlike before when we had no idea on how to edit sound. This therefore means that when it comes to editing our film we will be able to get on straight away and do it because we know exactly what we are doing so we won't have to experiment too much to try and work out how to do it because we already know how to do it.