OK: Editing Reflection

On the 15th January, Our group continued to edit our rough cut, experimenting with he different effects Premiere has to offer. After placing our footage in the right order, I completed the trimming of the clips using the cutting tool, which left us with 2 minutes and 40 seconds of footage. This would further reduce as a result of effects we are going to include. After viewing the ending of our film, the group felt as if we were missing a scene that would help to add to the chilling atmosphere. This was overcome as I went back onto the D drive and looked over the footage we had captured in an attempt to see if we hadn't imported everything that was useful. After looking through the footage, I found an establishing shot that was filmed inside the building to show the detail of the 'killers lair' and so we used that was our third to last shot. After finding this clip, the lesson was coming to an end however, the group wanted to import an audio clip that we had found in a previous lesson in order to to see how the audio would synchronise with the final scenes. After downloading the audio clip from 'free sound.org', I deleted the audio from the last scenes and imported the audio clip that had been saved onto the D drive into Premiere. We didn't have a lot of time to experiment with other sounds however, the footage looked professional and the audio helped with the chilling effect. In our next few lessons, we hope to experiment with the effects that Premiere have to offer and to use different sound clips over our footage.

LH: Editing Reflection

In today's lesson we began the editing process. To begin we reviewed the footage this meant we would go through each and every one of the shots we got in sunday and choose those that we liked and would work in the film opening. Then we put these shots in to the correct order i.e. beginning with establishing shots then into the shots that show the storyline. From here we had the shots in order, so we had to begin the main editing process by starting to cut the shots down to the correct length in order for it to be within the 2 minute time boundary for the length of the film opening.

LH: Film Shoot Reflection

Upon arrival at our location in Westerham Woods, where we had decided to shoot the whole 2 minutes of footage in this day in order to concentrate on editing from then onwards. In the group we decided to share the roles, for example I had to do an acting role, this meant either Finn or Ollie had to take the cameraman role, whereas in other shots like establishing shots I assisted with the camera, for example the jib. For the directing role, we did this by discussing between the three of us in order to get the best shot possible before every shot. In many of our shots we used different camera equipment, some example are the job, track and dolly and also a small steady-cam. Much of this equipment is difficult to set up so we each had roles to do when preparing the equipment.

Prior to our filming the weather had been in a bad state, meaning that travelling to the location was more difficult than expected. The nearest road from our location was around a 30 minute walk this meant walking through mud with a large amount of equipment was a particular struggle. The next issue was later on in the shoot with the camera, due to being used for almost 5 hours it got to the stage where it nearly ran out of battery, this meant that the last shots were more rushed, we still managed to gain all of the shots before it was too late. This is likely to be because of the next problem, this is working with Howard (the dog), working with a dog was a difficult problem which we overcame by using different techniques, though it did take more shots than any others.

Personally I think that our shoot went well despite the issues we had to overcome, we managed to film the whole thing within 5 hours which shows our strong time management. Since we have returned we have reviewed the footage, I believe that what we have is of good quality.

OK: Reflection On Shoot

On the 10th January 2016, Myself, Finn and Leo went to Westerham Woods to shoot our horror film. We had planned to film the most important scenes first, including the shots with Finn dog and the shots in the woods before it got dark. It didn't matter too much if we filmed the shots inside the building as it began to get dark as we planned to use candles to light the inside of the building as well as making it looking more chilling. Throughout the day, I helped Finn with the camera work whilst I was needed for acting as the antagonist in the film. We all helped contribute to new ideas that we hadn't thought of, producing shots that helped our film to look more scary using the equipment provided including the jib and the tracking dolly. Together as a group, we all contributed to the production of our horror film. I helped Finn to set up the Jib and the tracking dolly, which proved to be a challenge at times as we filmed a few of the shots on the grass which didn't help to shoot a smooth shot.

Our storyboard helped us to plan the main shots for our film. If we hadn't storyboarded out film, we would've had to shoot our scenes from our treatment which sometimes lacked detail and creativity. Leo and I had never been to the location before so we couldn't plan all of our shots therefore we made room for extra shots that we would plan on arrival to the location. Using the storyboard/animatic also helped to identify which camera angles would be the best to film that particular scene. Throughout the day, as a team, we were particularly pleased with the shots using the jib. We successfully used it in our Wilderness Woods production so therefore knew that we would be able to capture even better footage using the jib, if we we to follow our own storyline. Another thing I was particularly pleased with was the footage we captured inside the building. We were able to make the inside look very chilling by scattering candles inside the walls and along the floor. This helped to perceive the antagonist to have a motive to killing the protagonist as well as continue to keep on track with our sub-genre by using props and locations that you would usually see in a slasher film. We experienced a number of challenges that we had to overcome throughout the day. It had rained the previous day so therefore, the environment was wet and muddy. This proved to be an issue to us as we had a half an hour walk from our meeting point to the actual location we had planned to film in. We had to work as a team to carry the equipment to the location as well as to look after Finn's dog who was also featured in our film. In order to overcome this challenge, we had planned before to wear suitable footwear for this environment, as well as being careful where we walked as the mud was very thick.

From this experience, I have learnt that you cannot plan everything beforehand. This is because we have no control over the weather or if the environment of the location we plan to film in changes. For future filming, I now understand that a storyboard is useful in ge the end film.

FP: Film Shoot Reflection

On 10/1/16, we went to our chosen location (Westerham woods) with the aim of shooting our entire slasher film opening. My principal role throughout the shoot was cameraman, although both Ollie and Leo participated in filming whilst they were not needed as actors. As a group, despite having each having separate roles of our own, we all shared part of every role. For example, if I was not operating the camera for a shot because, for instance, Leo was not acting in that shot so he took over the role of cameraman, then I would act as the director, deciding where to place the camera, which props to use, exactly what the actor in the shot (in this case Ollie) should be doing etc. Also, due to our extensive use of the jib and tracking, I was often required to operate this equipment. I provided the camera for the shoot, so part of my job was also changing lenses/settings etc. in order to ensure we were using the correct setup for each individual shot.


           There were numerous challenges that we were forced to overcome. For example the specific location we wanted to use is not directly accessible by road, which meant walking for approximately 30 minutes reach our destination. This was not made easier by the fact that it had rained heavily for most of the previous day, and the duration of the morning leading up to our shoot. Furthermore, we were carrying all of the equipment needed for our shoot, including the tracking and dolly, the jib, tripod, camera and lenses, props and a fold up chair. Also we were accompanied by a large, energetic and impatient dog. This leads me on to the next challenge we faced as a group: working with animals. As an individual I had previously failed to predict precisely how uncooperative animals can be when filming. We ended up filming around fifteen takes for a shot that I had predicted we would be able to capture in one take, involving the dog simply running away. However, despite dog related challenges we hopefully managed to record all of the clips we had planned to. Near to the end of the shoot, the camera started to run very low on battery, so we began to worry that we would not be able to finish the shoot. Because of this we were forced to hurry slightly in order to get the shots that we needed, and then when we had completed these shots there was enough battery left for us to film extra shots and establishing shots etc. Hopefully, the lack of time will not affect the quality of our final piece.
  
            Despite unfavourable conditions at times, I am pleased with how our shoot went, especially with the fact that we were able to complete it in one day and at one location, and in my opinion the footage that we gathered was of good standard and will lead to the production of a good quality film opening.

Costume and Prop plan

Costume

Ollie (antagonist) - Much of this costume is based on creating Silhouettes, therefore he will be wearing black clothing, to show his darkness as a character. Very little will be given away by this character, this is because of the fear of the unknown, his face will not be shown, covered by a mask, this mask will be plain once again giving very little away, hopefully this mask will add to the eeriness and scare the audience.

Leo (protagonist) - Casualness is key for this character, the story shows this boy walking his dog, this is an average activity meaning that he will not be dressed in anything abnormal. I think that this will add to the effect with scariness as it shows something happening to a character that could be anyone in the target audience, linking it back to them almost making the story relatable up to a point.

Props

Knife - This is a particularly powerful prop, which is very commonly used in the slasher genre which we based lots of our research on. In our questionnaire we found that knives are very important in this genre.

Candles - This is an important prop in our film opening, it makes it scary in many ways. It raises questions, and brings out hints of paranormal. The candles themselves represent death and that the protagonist is surrounded by them it suggests that he is trapped.

Dog lead - This is used in our as an element of foreshadowing, the protagonist comes across it in the abandoned building hanging up, promoting ideas of death. It also raises questions like, How did it get there? Before it is all revealed at the end.

Group: Risk assessment and Call Sheet