First cut

Final task

Sound

During our final task we used both diegetic and non diegetic sound. Diegetic sound being when the character can hear the sound, in this case Riley could hear a ghostly whispering, his mother shouting him from downstairs and noises from his toys this was then used throughout our opening scene giving the idea that audience are the forth wall looking into what Riley is seeing/hearing making us feel apart of the film. Non diegetic sound is then the opposite, occurring at the start of our opening scene and to create tension as the audience can hear it but the characters cant. In this case at the start of our opening we used a nursery rhyme as it fits in with the scene as Riley is seen to be playing with his toys. This gives the impression that Riley is a typical, innocent child giving the audience false hope for what is yet to become of him.

Mise-en-scene

Mise-en-scene is a French term meaning ‘the arrangement of scenery and stage properties in a play also the setting or surroundings of an event’. We set our opening scene in a house, the main areas used were the hallway, Riley's bedroom and the stairs this then helped keep our film ‘realistic’ also fitting in with the costume and the props as we decided to keep them simple. For the lighting we used an everyday normal light, however we did edit the lighting making it appear darker giving off a dark and eerie mood on the film. For the facial expressions and body language we told Riley to keep a straight face throughout to help create confusion with the audience as Riley was acting as nothing was bothering him even though he was hearing whispering and doing unusual things. Indicating how Riley is feeling. All these key features of the mise-en-scene help the audience establish the film being set in the present day as the house, clothing and toys are all very modern.

Editing

During the editing stages of our filming process we used many different things to edit such as transitions, fades, titles, after affects and a vignette. We used a transition to edit out the jump between the two clips, this then made the footage blend without looking like it wasn’t meant to be there. We used fades for many parts of the film such as the titles and specific clips, by putting a fade on the titles it made them come across more professional. The titles were added on premier pro through the importing system as we didn’t want to use one of the fonts already added on the computer as we found that they didn’t really suit our film so instead we used ‘Dafont’ finding a specific font. The next edit we used was a vignette throughout the whole opening scene creating a dark effect over the course of the film; I also customised the vignette myself making it darker and softer on the corners. Lastly we used after affects to edit Riley’s eyes; I got the idea from the Cannock chase black eyes child story.

Camera work

For the camera work we had a plan of what angles and movements we wanted to use and why. Firstly we started with a tracking shot this is when the camera moves towards the object in this case it was Riley, by using a tracking shot to open our scene the audience got to see the character and his surroundings also tracking shots and establishing shot are always good to start a film with. We also used many other shots such as over the shoulder shots to create tension when Riley and his mother finally become face to face after the paranormal events. Another shot would be a close up of Riley’s face showing that his pupils have now changed becoming black as he is now ‘possessed’. We used a high angle shot to create the impression that Riley is small, weak and powerless. This shot can also look as if Riley is being watched. We then used a low angle to change the effect as Riley is slowly becoming the more powerful character.

February feedback

Ensure all elements of the cousrework are complete by the end of half-term

• Research and planning
• Evaluation
• Organise the web-log

Evaluation 7

Question 7

I feel like I understood the conventions of horror better than I did before. When starting the main task I started to understand the conventions of a typical horror due to the fact I was analysing many films based on the horror genre. I found out that a lot of films used both non diegetic sound and diegetic sound, bold titles and gore in their opening scenes and trailers, by doing this the audience would get an idea of the narrative and the genre of the film, pulling them in with intensity. This helped highly with my overall film opening as I was able to create a typical horror narrative, scene and add conventions.

During our preliminary task, we used a tripod. However I do not think we used the tripod as effectively enough. Due to the lack of knowledge of cameras and tripods our preliminary task was not focused and the camera was not used as well as it could have been. Our shots were average, capturing what was needed but it was not clear enough. However during our main task we used to tripod again and this time the tripod helped with keeping our shots steady and at the right height as you could adjust the tripod to correct height using the extended legs. This meant our shots were clear and sturdy. This time knew what I was doing and how to do it, our shots looked more professional and overall our filming was successful. However some of our shots weren’t up to standard, during close ups and the tracking shot our camera skills were wobbly. We didn’t have the right equipment to film our tracking shot so we had needed to come up with an alternative so we used one of my sisters toys to place and hold the camera on, it wasn’t ideal but the shot was essential in the beginning of our opening scene. Overall our camera skills had improved but there were areas of development.

The quality of framing shots during our preliminary task was not very set out and did not look clearly into the lighting and mise-en-scene. This was due to it being filmed in school and having to use any equipment we could get our hands on. During our actual film we used many shots letting the audience know what was happening between the two characters. This leads on to the quality of selecting mise-en-scene (colour, lighting, setting ect..) During our preliminary we used zoom quite often to help focus on the timer and the character running however this was not successful as the lense would become less focused, unclear and dark. The lighting was not a problem as most of our film was based outside of the building. There was no editing done to the actual film apart from cropping and resizing the clip. On the other hand our actual film was not successful when it came to lighting as my brothers bedroom (where the film opening was based) was dark and had low lighting so during the editing we tried to change the contrast brightening up the clips. When it came to zooming we had learnt it wasn’t the best idea as the clips would become unclear which was the opposite of what we wanted so instead of zoom we used a tracking shot, this is where we moved the camera closer to the main object. Also mise-en-scene was not a big success as our props and costume were not great and didn’t give the right impression of it being a horror type opening although majority of horrors are normally based in ‘normal’ houses, clothing and props. So overall we could say the mise-en-scene was ideal for the film.

We did not edit our preliminary task greatly as we focused on cutting our scenes and putting them together. During the making of our media product we combined many different transitions e.g. fading in and out of our titles and dissolves. This helped to make the video make more sense. We also used simple tinting, vignette, film logo, titles and after affects to create Riley’s eyes towards the end of the film. This made our film as realistic as possible so that the audience would find it quite apparent as a real film.

We did not plan effectively for our preliminary task, as the task was simple and would not take to much time meaning we had time to start and finish it in lesson. For our film we organised set dates by using the script, storyboards ect… However even though we had planned so far ahead we wasn’t always available on the dates that we had planned to film on this made it hard to get our film done on time and finding actors to take part in it. We came to the conclusion to play the actors as well as edit and film. This was more time consuming as we didn’t rely on people. 

Evalutation 6

Blogger- When conducting my film research, I had to set up a blog to put my coursework on. I set it up on blogger and that is where all my research and planning coursework is based. I typed most of my work up on blogger adding images and screenshots when needed, this then gave my work added detail. I liked using blogger simply because my work would look professional once it was published.

Microsoft powerpoint- I used powerpoint to conduct my work with less information on, this then made my work look neater as I was able to add pictures and imbed clips relating the written work to my pictures. I could also annotate my work as I went along.

Microsoft word- I used word to write up all my work so that it would not be lost before I added it to blogger. This meant my work was safer as I’d have two places where I would be saved. Meaning there was less chance of it disappearing.

Premier pro- When editing my film I used premier pro to edit and import clips. This is where I based my film on as I spent most of my time on there editing and deleting clips to improve my work.

Mac- I used a mac to complete my work on including filming, research and planning and editing. I found the mac hard to use as its very different to ordinary computers having more information and tools added to it alongside the mouse and keyboard being different. This meant my work was more time consuming as I was learning more about the computer and how to use it everyday. Once I got the hang of it I found my work to be published far better than an ordinary computer would publish is and the tools the mac had would help with my essential work e.g. premier pro edited my film.

Iphone- I used my iphone to take pictures for the recce. This helps show where my film is set. My iphone was easy to connect and I imported pictures by simply plugging in my lead.

Youtube- I used youtube to upload my overall film and my first cut. I found uploading the film quick and easy. By adding the film to youtube we gained views and presented our product online for anyone to see.

Free sound- I used freesound to find my sound effects for my filming e.g. the whispers and demands from the antagonist, this created the idea that it was real. i found freesound very easy and quick to use and import into premier pro.

After affects- This is where i edited Riley's eyes to give him a spooky possessed look. I found after affects quite difficult to use and edit on as there is a lot of tools needed to create the look i wanted.

Evaluation 5

Evaluation 4