Question 7

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

Preliminary task: Feed the Fish

In reviewing the first preliminary and comparing it with our full product, I have referred back to Feed the Fish and looked at the problems we faced with it and if since then; we have improved these problem areas in our recent task using audio and annotations:

Planning...

  * The planning process was very vital in the progression of the final product. Story boarding are initial thoughts as a group let us share are own ideas and start putting everyone's creativity together to make a good idea.

  * The importance of planning was vital, having to discuss and confirm location and time to ensure it was convenient for everyone. Making sure we had the correct equipment and that we had left it enough time before to ensure we would be able to keep the equipment for the whole weekend.

  * Making a Focus Group was definitely good for initial research, as I interviewed people of similar age and got there feedback on out Initial idea at the time. 

  * I have learnt that creating a happy environment whilst filming is essential in ensuring people feel enthusiastic and open to spend as much time that is needed on the task. We did this in out opening sequence of 'The Resistance' by feeding out actors and having regular breaks to relax.

  * I have also learnt for next time we film, that a shooting script can be used as a guideline rather then a reliant concept that an actors feels they have to stick to. When filming our sequence we let the characters do there own thing, but on similar guidelines. This meant they could relax when acting as they feel like they are in a more natural environment.

  * In the planning process we had just organised to shoot the certain scenes that fit the narrative, however when re-shooting we realised that the film may not be long enough, or it might be too reliant on dialogue rather then conveying genre.   So we filmed props such as the fire and snow, inside and outside the cabin, so we could remind the audience of the location in which it is set and replace empty spaces with extra scenes when it came to editing.

  * I also learnt that you should re-film the same scene a few times in different angles and proximity to give you an ensured variety when it came to editing. 

  * When it came to audience feedback, it was a lot more positive compared to our first Preliminary task, and the few things that needed to be proved we had already identified and planned to improve; showing a vast progression and natural feel of media technology and planning.

  * This opening sequence has been worked on for a long time compared to Feed The Fish, so keeping your group happy is of vital importance as the team can work together and produce the best group work as they can due to individuals stretching there own ability. 

Question 6

Annotated version of Opening Sequence

Summary

Question 6:

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

In this task I have learnt that having experience with the technology really does put you at an advantage, as learning new software means a lot of trial and error and can be very time consuming when trying to understand it. If I was to do the task again I would probably ask more for help and as advice to others taking on a similar task I would say to go and try software in your free time so when it comes to making your film you can get on with it and not be behind. Whilst shooting with the camera, I was quite hard to find a convenient spot to do the filming, especially as it was mostly inside the cabin, the space was very limited and the tripod could only be adjusted to a certain extent. For example, when filming the scene next to the fire it was very difficult to get a good frame. We had attempted to follow ‘Izzy’ inside the cabin as she got up to ‘get her phone from the car’, however the space was tight, so we resorted in filming from outside, looking directly through the window. This worked out for the better as it created a more dimensional edit. As we had to re-shoot due to timing issues, we noticed that the change of lighting from being light to dark was quite noticeable we attempted to use a light outside the cabin filming Izzy's exit, however it looked over staged so we scrapped the idea. Instead of altering the equipment whilst re-filming, we used our editing time to re-adjust the lighting by using the editing software, although finding a balance was difficult- it improved the shots vastly. The only health and safety issues we had was the fire. It took a long time to set up as it relied on flamed wood and newspaper, when working it would sometimes spit which was off putting and dangerous for the actors. I learnt when helping to edit the film, how to add and adjust sound on Adobe Premiere, use techniques such as fade to make it smoother. Using Livetype, although firstly complex, with help from a teacher Titles became easier to create and apply.

Question 5

Question 4

Summary:

The audience of our film would definitely be 15-18 year old's. By using characters of similar age, we felt it would be a good chance for the audience relate with the victims, and could empathise with the victims’ situation and imagine there own way of escape. The audience will be for youth of both genders and nationalities, as horror is a shared interest. The audience most suited would be people who can handle horror films without being too afraid or believe the feeling of fear is not desirable therefore they have no interest in watching a horror. The film will be national, as British and American films are among the most popular in the world and the worlds most known language, it can be watched by a mass audience. There is definitely space in the media market for our film as there are fewer films released in comparison to other genres such as thriller. There has only been few truly scary, popular and successful horrors, although more recently, due to a development in technology horrors have been made a lot more effectively to the aim of a horror: to scare.

                              ALL NATIONALITIES

                    A WORLDWIDE AUDIENCE

BOTH GENDERS

Question 3

Question 2

Question 1: Evaluation

Applying sound to our movie

We downloaded sound effects and background sounds to our movie using Garage band, first by downloading the relevant tracks to itunes and imported them to to Adobe Premiere Pro. We first discussed which sound would fit in with which clip without it seeming unconventional, cliche or awkward to cut. The fade tool was very useful in creating are soundtrack as we wanted it to seem as smoothe as possible. None of us had used the sound software so it did take a while to get the hang of it, we debated which sound loops where most suited as there where multiple for each mood. Although it was tricky we managed to complete it in a decent time, although we did take longer in a certain scene where the victim (Izzy) gets taken. We where unsure if we should use a scream as a recognition to her friends that she has been murdered, or the attackers voice or even the dropping of weapons. We branched out on other free sites for a better variety of choice but and when applying each to the clip, we realised that the only realistic scream was too long, the dropping of a weapon sounded like it was inside the cabin rather then out but the sound loop of the killer laughing at his sick antics, really fit the scene well. We used an acoustic sound to be used at the start of the sequence inside the cabin when everything seems fine, making it light hearted, sweet and innocent, but the classical scent made it have a creepy twist.

blogger font

I have had problems with making all my fonts the same on blogger, they are all supposed to be Courier, font size Normal but unfortunately they are not matching.  

Making Titles

As we found Livetype to be very slow to use we attempted to use 'Adobe After Effects'. First we found a website that would help us with a distinctive template called 'ae templates', we downloaded a suitable file that related to the genre of are film, with horror related text and quirky format. When importing the file on after effects it was very unclear on what we needed to do next. We tried to watch a tutorial on Youtube but we found it incredibly complex, so we decided to stick to Livetype and agreed to stay at lunch time/free periods and after school to ensure the titles where up to the standards we expected at this time.

Horror research: Conventions

Horror Films are unsettling films designed to frighten and panic, cause dread and alarm, and to invoke our hidden worst fears, often in a terrifying, shocking finale, while captivating and entertaining us at the same time in a cathartic experience. Horror films effectively center on the dark side of life, the forbidden, and strange and alarming events. They deal with our most primal nature and its fears: our nightmares, our vulnerability, our alienation, our revulsion's  our terror of the unknown, our fear of death and dismemberment, loss of identity, or fear of sexuality.

Whatever dark, primitive, and revolting traits that simultaneously attract and repel us are featured in the horror genre. Horror films are often combined with science fiction when the menace or monster is related to a corruption of technology, or when Earth is threatened by aliens. The fantasy and supernatural film genres are not synonymous with the horror genre, although thriller films may have some relation when they focus on the revolting and horrible acts of the killer/madman. Horror films are also known as chillers, scary movies, spookfests, and the macabre. See also Scariest Film Moments and Scenes (illustrated) - from many of the Greatest Horror Films ever made, Best Film Death Scenes (illustrated), and Three Great Horror Film Franchises.

source:
 http://www.filmsite.org/horrorfilms.html

opening sequence analysis

Juno

I love this opening sequence as i think it is so different to others, its not conventional or mainstream but the use of animation makes it so individual. The music is like modern american swing music, it is friendly and inviting. The actual film is very simple in terms of what it shows; a small area of  teenage girl walking around with a bottle of orange juice. The simplicity is sweet and it makes it look like an independent movie unlike most high budget movies that use multiple locations and extreme situations. In this clip we are not expecting dramatic moving images as the sound confirms the  sweet simplicity and locality of the film.

Sound research

Legally Blonde

The sound is immediately compatible with the genre. The tone is very upbeat and the singer; being a young woman represents the character with the mood of the song and the lyrics such as "They tell me to act my age", this is well related to the obsession with pink that is represented dominantly throughout. The music also relates to the genre of the film, mostly being a 'chickflick'. A very positive approach to a feel good movie is represented through the music. It is not just the music that makes this opening sequence so original; the use of glowing pink font shaped in a curvy feminine fashion makes the movie less formal. Although there is a lot of different moving image in the opening sequence you would expect it take the attention off the design of the film, however realistically all together they are matching and made very smooth throughout. 

Making sound

When searching for suitable sound for our movie we used the site 'freeSFX' as it had a lot of sound effects. However we had to narrow it down as the selection was quite large. We typed in 'horror' in the key word box and this made the process a lot quicker then what we had previously experienced. Some sounds relating to horror where more gory such as breaking bone effects, and others where more terrestrial obviously relating to monstrous/extra terrestrial figures.  However, we found some broader tunes that could be used as a dominant background noise for the beginning and end of the film. We downloaded some shorter sound effects for mid-scene clips such as a girl screaming, we would use this as Izzy (The first victim) gets attacked.   However we don't want to make it cliche so next lesson we plan to see how they flow in out movie.

scribd further research

Powerpoint on low budget horror

Powerpoint on hollywood big budget films

Initial idea planning

Our First idea was a love story. A boy and a girl who cant be together run away from home, but it is a challenge. The Cliffhanger ends when they both get caught by their 'enemy'. The audience does not know if they will escape but the film leads to lots of anticipation and tense feelings from the audience.

Film analysis

Panic Room

The genre of this film is thriller, however the use of titles and imagery can be used in our horror sequence aswell, as the opening sequence is very grimy and simple. The music is not upbeat, it is hollow and full of tension. The use of font looks like it is made out of metal or mirror, creating a three dimensional world. This is also confirmed with the background image of large buildings in a central location. All together it is very simple, but it is a very broad sequence with lots of meaning behind it, making it mysterious and intreaging. Midway through the sequence the music becomes a lot more multi-toned using 'tick tock' noises to represent time, without excluding the busy streets and sounds of cars moving past. The camera uses tilt in some areas to show the high buildings, making the film seem Hi-tech and high budget.

Editing in films

Psycho

I used this clip in particular to show how professionals use editing in film to give the audience a certain message. In this clip, the editing is very quick with a variety of different angles being used. This creates tension and fits with the horror 'code' where showing less gives a much more feared response from the audience. The use of shadow in the black and white filter is still very effective and behind the shower curtain the figure looks blurred therefore his identity is kept unknown. The camera angles such as the shower head makes the character feel as though they are the woman, use of pov angles in horror makes everything personified and this is very effective. The editing clips are very short in between each event, for example when he is 'stabbing' her with the knife the editing switches to different camera angles almost every time, keeping the murder graphic but not too much.