Faceless, Centre Number 61721/61740: evaluation

The same day that we filmed in the field for the second time (21st January), we went back to my house and recorded some sounds on my piano, where there is a voice setting of 'strings'. We thought this would be ideal to make our music on because it is the usual sound made in horror films and would conform to the genre.

The first sound that we recorded was a general backing track that lasted for two minutes. At the same time as recording, we had our film opening playing on another phone so that we could see when to build up the noise to add more suspense and make it more like a horror sound track - hence why 'faceless1' is two minutes long. The second sound recorded was a short burst of one of the higher keys, still set on 'strings', so at any point where it became suspenseful or at the pivotal point in the scene we could add it.

If we were to improve next time, we would discuss exactly the sound we needed instead of playing as we went along because since recording it, we added in extra shots that don't go with the soundtrack we made. We could have also made more that were different which would then allow us to have a choice and see which were better for the scene.

Overall we worked well together and got it done quickly so we were able to add in sound the next day of editing.

Filming Evaluation: Day four, 21st January

Day four of filming (re-film):

Due to the bad field conditions the first time that we filmed, we were unable to get a shot of Kelsey falling over for the scene. So, we used this day after school to quickly get back up to the field and re-film.

This was risky as we didn't know when it would get dark and we wouldn't know if it matched the colouring and lighting to the previous shots in the field, however it had started to get slightly lighter at night so the shot matched and we were able to get it on time. It only took a few minutes to film because it was just one shot we needed, however we decided to include match-on-action into the fall so it was easier to separate the shots for Kelsey to fall on the muddy ground.

To ensure that refilming would not be needed, next time we could go over the precise shots in detail so when filming came around we knew exactly what to do. This would include taking more measures into researching weather if outside, and bringing more equipment that could help (for example, Kelsey falling onto a towel that wouldn't be in the shot so it could have been made easier for her).

Thursday, 25 February 2016

Jake's Filming Evaluation

For our student made production, there was personal issues in the December of 2015 which halted me from turning up to shooting the student made production. Luckily, in early January of 2016, reshoots were needed in Gravesend for the killer's hideout scene, and thankfully I could attend to this one, and watched and helped my group. I cannot compare what was different to the original shooting day and the new one, for I was only there for the reshoot, but I believe the progress was better for there was another person there for input, and it helped for me as a new member in the group to talk more to my peers and become more friendly and not alienated out of choices like what a certain shot should look like, and helped move along the process if there was a different camera angle agreed and it could be worked out to better improve our final production. There were no problems that I can think of when it came to filming, apart from limitations with what we could do in a small space and working environment for shooting. Everything we did after this day was post production, like finding sound and editing the scenes together.

Filming Evaluation: Props

Props in our Opening Scene

We used a few props in our opening scene, there was the body bag that I made, the lambs heart I put in a jar, the rope I bought, the mask Olivia made and a hammer. There were a few props that we didn't use such as the retractable knife, the head in a jar that Jake made, and the killers book that Kelsey made.

We decided that hanging the body bag from the ceiling would make it look more dramatic and also add to the conventions of a horror opening scene. It was quite hard to tie the body bag to the ceiling because the rope we were using was new and not very easy to knot but after a few attempts we were able to make it stay there. I think the body bag was very effective and added extra scariness to the scene.

To explicitly show the genre of slasher, we closely filmed the heart in the jar. However the only problem is that we couldn't actually open the jar and get the heart out because it is screwed shut very tight and also would smell very much if we got it out as it has been in there for a while now. So we decided to film it to make it look like the killer is opening it but without actually opening it and in the end I think we made it work quite well.

I bought some thin rope for tying Kelsey to the garage door with and it was good for that, but it looked too clean and unrealistic so I think we should have made it look dirtier somehow before filming the opening scene. Also, in the shot where Kelsey cuts the rope, it took too long for her to do it all herself so we cut the rope most of the way and then filmed it with it mostly cut and it is very obvious. We could have fixed this by having the rope turned round the other way so that the cut part wasn't visible.

I bought a potato sack and then Olivia cut it up and put fake blood on it to make it look really creepy. I think it looked very good, although Olivia had problems with it when we were filming because it was scratchy on her face and it got hot underneath it.

Olivia brought her hammer and put blood on the end of it and I think it worked really well and made the killer look much scarier than if she was just wearing the mask. The only problem with bringing the hammer was that we had to travel on public transport and it seems quite dodgy to have a hammer on a bus.

Wednesday, 24 February 2016

Filming Evaluation: Day three, 17th January

Day 3 of filming (Re-filming):

Because of the continuity error of our last session we decided to re-film the whole of the killer's lair scene, set in the garage, in order to refresh our ideas whilst considering peer feedback on how to improve our introduction to the film. Last time we filmed we realised the lighting was too bright for a horror film set in a killer's lair. Whilst we could change the colouring in editing, we thought to help ourselves we could cover up one of two of the lights in the garage. Using only what we could find in the garage, we used plastic bags to cover the light up. However, it didn't make much difference to the room lighting, so we would still have to change the lighting in the editing process.

Another improvement we had to make was to be more consistent as in previous filming days, Lucy, who acted as the dead victim, often appeared and disappeared in and out of shots. This was due to there being three of us on the first filming day as all three of us had to be in the film at the same time. On our re-film day there were four of us present that made it easier to film as all three of us could be in it at once, whilst one of us filmed. The make-up took just as long as our original film day as there was no way to speed it up. This took up most of our morning. However, from our peer review of our previous footage we were told that the cut on the dead victim's arm didn't clearly show her to be dead. In our make-up we wanted to create a wound that made it stand out that this was a dead character. This took even more time as we had to apply extra wounds to Lucy (the dead victim) on her stomach.

We decided to change the narrative of the opening scene slightly. Originally, the main victim was to try and escape, only to hear footsteps and tie them self back up again to deceive the killer into thinking she wasn't awake. We changed this on the re-film and decided to have the victim go hide behind a large object. This gave us the opportunity for a variety of shots and create a tense suspenseful moment that we were lacking from our original filming.

Thursday, 4 February 2016

Costumes evaluation

For filming, I wore all black and my mask, Kelsey wore a white t-shirt and black leggings, and Lucy wore a white crop top and leggings - all exactly what we were planning on wearing.

Wearing all plain black makes me look more intimidating as the killer and means that the mask stands out more on the outfit as the defining characteristic that killers have in most films. Kelsey and Lucy wearing white allows us to make dirt show up better and their exposure makes them look more vulnerable, conforming to the conventions of victims in horror films.

To improve upon this if we did it again, I think we could have made the victims' outfits dirtier with mud and more fake blood, and also tear the material to look more worn so they were even more like they'd been dragged by a murderer. To improve on my outfit as the murderer, we could have got a more used coat that looked old and torn it, as well as putting more fake blood on the clothes. This would have made it more graphic and conform to the horror genre.

Wednesday, 3 February 2016

Filming Evaluation: Day two, 28th December

2nd day of filming

For our second day of filming we need the outside chase scene between the killer and the victim. Our options for filming was in a forest/woods or a field as it would be appropriate for genre fitting in with the conventions of a horror/slasher of a sense of isolation and distance from anyone else who can help. As Olivia lived near a field we decided to shoot there.

When filming, we had to take into consideration the time of the year as it was in December meaning it became darker quicker. We decided to do it at 2-4pm giving us plenty of time to film and leave before the continuity of the scene was ruined as it could have gone dark in some shots and light in the other which wouldn't have made sense as the scene was meant to last 30 seconds in real time. Luckily we filmed quite quickly as a lot of our shots were fast paced and instead of taking our time getting slow paced shots right we could do small quick ones. Because of the fast pace of the shots we did't need to bring a tripod. This was because we wanted the shots to look more chaotic as the chase proceeded as it lead to the victims death. Using hand-held camera gave us the shaky camera effects we wanted.

Because of the December weather, the ground was muddy. As in the previous garage scene our character had their shoes off, in order to stay continuous the character had to take their shoes off when running. This caused many incidents of slipping over and upon reviewing the shots a lot of them looked as if the actor was struggling to run and would have to be re-filmed on a drier day.

Overall the day was a success, other than slight things that were out of our control (the weather) we did the best we could and managed to finish efficiently with good footage to use.

Filming Evaluation: Day one, 23rd December

1st day of filming

On the 23rd of December we did our first day of filming in the garage where the killer's lair was. This included the scene where the victim is tied up and investigates the room, discovering small information about the killer. When first arriving at the garage we set up the killer's lair first. Originally the garage was quite messy, our first task was to move objects out of the way of the area that we wanted to film in. In the garage already there was a table full of gardening products, we put these to use by putting some of them in the scene as they fit with the them of a rouge killer, this included a spade, knives and an axe. We placed them on the table where the camera would focus on when the killer came in. We then put our mis-en-scene in the room, we already had them prepared. Lucy brought a heart in a jar that was placed on the killer's table and missing posters suggesting that the dead bodies are victims that have gone missing in the past.

Once the room was set up we began with make up. We had originally thought it would be a small task, however it took longer than expected as Lucy was the only one who knew how to do the make-up, she also had to do her own make-up on her arm. We had limited time in the garage and putting on our make-up cut into the time, this meant we had to hurry up with filming which caused us to rush it. It was a cold day as well, and because the actors playing in the opening had to wear non-warming clothing, with bare feet we kept having to stop in order to warm up. Our timing was not well managed.

A problem we encountered that we only realised during the editing process was that Lucy kept moving in and out of shots. As she was one of the dead victim's in the corner she has to stay there during the other shots to show continuity. However, because there was only three of us on filming day and all three of us were in the opening, Lucy mistakenly had to get up in order to film shots between me and Olivia and was no longer there in background shots and we would have to re-film on a later date.

Because of the change in location our storyboard had planned for us to be in a basement and a lot of our plans had been made around the location (ie. in the original plan to be in a basement, the basement had a corner where the Killer would be throughout the scene. However but because of the small scale of the garage, the killer would have to come in half way through the scene rather than be hiding in the corner) This meant on filming day we had to change some of our ideas to suit the size and scale of the garage.

A problem we encountered was the lighting. Because it was a one switch light in the garage, would couldn't dim the lighting. This made some of our shots too bright for a horror film location set in the killer's lair as it didn't suit the horror/slasher convention. We decided that during the editing process that we would have to change the colour on there as there was no way to do it during filming.

Wednesday, 9 December 2015

Se7en Evaluation

From the opening credits scene in the movie ‘Se7en’, I have learnt many new things about the way the genre of psychological horror and thriller should be done effectively.

Right away, you are put in with the killer, he remains unknown, and all you see is his hands and the detail on them. This has taught me that to create a successful opening; you need to focus on one thing with minor details to impress the eye, because with his hands you can see bandages, where he removed his finger tips and in the Mise-en-Scene you can see all of the creative things like his journal, and the detail that is put into something that is barely in focus and is only in the shot for about a quarter of a second, before it jump cuts to something else.

To make my production an effective piece, mystery is needed, because if you add the name of the actor that plays the mysterious killer, then the mystery and drama element of the film is ruined.

Opening credits usually establish what the film is about, and with this one we are left with the psychopath’s mind into how his world works, but we see little of it, and this can help our production because we can show how a psychopath acts and behaves, and use something to keep in focus instead of a whole body or a long shot that shows the room. It’s the things that we don’t understand, that frighten us the most. The opening credits are two minutes and show us what we should strive for if we are doing a horror that involves a character that is a killer and we do not know the appearance of such a person.

The typography was impressive, and was animated. It w

as rough and fits well with the genre it is.

Another big part about the opening credits is the sounds used. Sound can be a very effective way to give people Goosebumps and freak them out in a way that they want to skip the scene. If you use disturbing music, an old piece where it is disorientated and some of the notes are scratched on the record to make the singing high or low pitched, the audience will feel uncomfortable with what they are watching. Especially when the themes that are being showed on their screens are filled with horror elements like a journal with body parts and disturbing pictures of mutilated corpses, or fetuses

. Just things in general that can make you uncomfortable, like watching the mysterious man in ‘Se7en’ cut off his own finger-tips and looking up surgical procedures, adding the element of confusion.

Another thing that I learnt was how to edit effectively. In the opening credits you do not need to show the narrative, just the people involved with the film and let the audience do the rest, like piecing the film together on what they think they saw, with jump cuts to confuse them. This effective use of editing allows for a bigger mystery that the audience won’t be able to figure out until the end of the film when it is shown to them, the editing is more of a tease. It is not done linear, as we cannot tell what he has done, or is doing.

Tuesday, 6 October 2015

Evaluation of planning our preliminary

What was done?

Our first task was to create a storyboard that had six frames to draw in and create the different shots and camera angles that we would be using for the prelim video. The drawings had to be labelled with what shots they were and also the editing techniques that would be used in each one, for example we would write shot-reverse-shot for the drawing of the conversation.

What went well?

The idea for the video was thought of very quickly and we were quick with what camera angles would go where, and which editing techniques that had to be used would be used in each scene. This meant that when filming started, we were ready to go straight away.

Problems encountered

We aren't the best artists so a difficulty was making it look accurate! We also only had six frames to draw in, so it was a challenge to choose our six angles that we would use for the main outline of the idea.

What would we change if we had to do it again?

If we had some more time to plan, then we may have had a different idea for the plot altogether. Also, some of the angles that we drew weren't used in the actual task. With more time we would have been able to have a fully developed idea of the shots used and at what points, so angles wouldn't have to be discussed during filming.

Sunday, 4 October 2015

Evaluation of editing our preliminary

What was Done?
With our preliminary film being of the action genre we wanted to include fast paced editing. We wanted to do this with the upbeat non-diegetic action music, as the character walks along the corridor when killing the security guard. To do this we had to download music from YouTube, our inspiration for it being the James bond theme, when editing on final cut pro it had to be faded out as the diegetic dialogue began to make it audible.

We also wanted to include a CCTV effect to make it seem like the protagonist was being watched on camera as he shot the security guard. We filmed it on a high angle shot and then during editing added a 'security camera' effect on Final Cut Pro to create a CCTV effect. After the protagonist 'shoots' the camera, we wanted to make it look like the 'security camera' was broke, so added a static transition.

What went well?

After reviewing our work we thought the match on action worked well. Overall we used 4 different shots to show the protagonist walking through a door. When editing we used the blade tool to cut each shot to make it continuous and flowing.

Problems encountered?

When filming we had decided on what shots we wanted to use in the scene. However, after filming had been done when we were trying to upload all the clips, it wouldn't upload all of the files as we ran out of memory space on the computer. Disadvantaging us as when editing it was hard to fill in gaps for the shot reverse shot parts of the film, as parts of our clips were missing.

Due to this, towards the end of our short film, we began to run out of clips to use. We decided to re-use one of the earlier footage of Olivia walking down the hallway, and flip the image over to make it seem like she was walking in the other direction.

What would we do if we did it again?

If we had more time during the editing stages we would have focused more on the shot reverse shot scene as often moments of it seemed clumsy, due to our lack of clips, and if had the chance to do it again we would want to make it look continuous and made sure to cut to the other character when they were speaking.

Thursday, 1 October 2015

Evaluation: Filming our Preliminary

We did a preliminary video to practice using the camera and tripod as well as the editing software, Final Cut Pro. This makes sure that we know how to do everything before we start on our actual opening scene.

What was done?

We filmed our preliminary video in a corridor and in a room at school. Olivia played the shooter, Kelsey was the dealer and I was a security guard. The filming went well and we followed our storyboard the whole time and also wrote a script with descriptions of camera angles and actions, to make sure we filmed everything we needed.

First, we filmed the beginning of the video in the corridor, which we had to film a few times to get it right because I found it hard to fall over after getting shot. We then moved into the room to film the conversation part of the video, but because there was other people in there we had to wait for a few minutes until they finished so that it would be silent in there. When we filmed the conversation, we did it in different sections so that we could get the shot-reverse-shot right, then we edited it all together later on.

What went well?

We filmed in a well lit classroom which improved the quality of the shots and the room was also quiet and empty so the conversation was clear to hear as there was no background noise. The places we filmed in were good for what we wanted, in the corridor where we filmed the first part it looked professional.

Problems Encountered

The whole class was filming at the same time which meant that the corridor we filmed in got quite busy so people accidentally walked into our shots, so we then had to film those scenes again.
Also, when we were filming the conversation scene, we filmed it twice so that we could cut the video to create a shot reverse shot but Kelsey and Olivia slightly moved in both shots so that caused a continuity error. As well as that, in one shot Olivia is wearing her lanyard but in another she isn't.

What would we do if we did it again

If we did it again we would make sure that the camera is always in focus and the lighting in the room is sufficiently lit. We would also pay closer attention to keeping everything the same in different shots.