Power point presentation meeting

We had a meeting as a group to complete our power point presentation for our pitch on Friday. We've split the presentaion up fairly to read out. And we've had a rehearsal so we can be prepared for Friday.


Bronwyn Stevens

Ideas for make-up photo's

These are some images of the make- up that we may make use of in our opening of a horror film. The person that has done this make-up is a friend of mine that has said that she will help us with this if we need it.

Helen Gill

Homework - Marking of previous students work

- Firstly read all the Levels of the mark scheme to get an idea of each one.

- (Level 1 - 1-15, 2 - 16-30, 3 - 31-45, 4 - 36-60

- Then watch all 4 videos

- Mark each one out of 60 and explain why.

Our groups evaluations- Helen

Film 1- 28 marks- Level 2

In this film they have managed to successfully hold a shot steady where appropriate and have framed the shots very well. The colour in this piece is mainly always dark and seems to suggest vulnerability in the character. The objects do not seem important in this film as they are very rarely placed in the shot and seem to have no real importance. This film opening uses a variety of transitions and the use of the static on the television is very effective. They have also used a variety of shot lengths to establish locations and to show detail. They have effectively used music to create suspense and they have chosen to enhance the sound of the protagonist's footsteps as it approaches the victim, this makes the approach more ominous.

Film 2- 33 marks- Level 3

In this film the group has successfully managed to hold the shot steady where needed and have also be able to effectively use panning and tracking. Also the use of framing is very effective, as only things that are relevant to that particular shot are featured within it. A variety of shot distances has been used to establish the characters, setting and detail of the surroundings. The lighting within the film is quite dark which creates a sense of   danger; the characters seem to run in and out of the light during the chase, this could suggest that one is evil and one is the victim. The only object that has been put into this film(not already at the location) is the bottle that the ‘tramp’ is holding, this is important as this then turns into his weapon after it has been smashed on a tree. The only transitions that have been used within this film are jump cuts, these seem to suggest that the victim has a sense of urgency as he is trying to escape. The only sound that appears in the film is diegetic as it is the sounds that are made within the film, such as footsteps and the bottle smashing on the tree.

Film 3- 35 marks-Level 3

They have a large variety of shot types and they have managed to frame the shots very well. As well as this they have managed to successfully hold shots steady where appropriate. They have also used a variety of shot distances to go with the story e.g. long shot to establish the setting. They have not seemed to actually have picked a particular colour scheme and the lighting is generally just the light that is already there (day light). They have not really used any transitions apart from the fade in the opening titles and the flash once these are finished, other than that they have just used their footage with the occasional cut. They have made use of a music track to create suspense, other than this the only sound that they have used is diegetic sound that is featured within the story space.

Film 4- 27 marks-level 2

In this film they have successfully managed to hold a shot steady and have managed to frame the shots appropriately. The students have managed to use a variety of shot types but mainly used mid shot. The lighting within the film is quite bland this could be as they made no effort to change the lighting or they have chosen this to reflect the genre of the film.

Helen Gill

Jade - Meeting update.

Having just met up with each other for a meeting to discuss possible shots for our film, and begin planning our pitch to the majority of the class. We came across a previously made horror trailer, which although isn't our assignment, contains many elements which we'd like to recreate and place in our own work.
Seconds 10 - 15 are an effect that we are particularly interested in - and would possibly suit our genre. Also from 56 seconds onwards the use of flashing images that we were originally wishing to include, prior to the discovery of this video, is extremely effective.
The meeting increased our ideas and therefore we are gradually beginning to piece together what at the moment appears to be a really good, and hopefully successful film narrative.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuBfK2oqTFs&feature=related


We also like the use of blood to write the titles within this film.

Helen - Possible film lighting

I have chosen to put this link off of a youtube video onto this blog as I like the way in which light is used.

I think that the darkness at the beginnig of the clip is very effective to show that the character is scared. The main bit of this clip that I find particulary effective is the way that the bright light(between 2:08 and 2:38) is a complete contrast to the darkness and how the brightness seems to make the two characters vulnerable and disorientated for  a short while, whilst their eyes adjust to the light. I chose to upload this as we could possibly use the idea of light showing vulnerability and disorientation in our media project.

Jade's Evaluation

As an AS Media student I had to (as part of a group) complete a preliminary assignment in order to gain marks toward my final grade. Our task was to re-create a short sample of a previously made Bilborough student horror film.

Having finished shooting and editing our film, I believe that it clearly promotes our ability to hold shots steady with the use of a tripod. Using a tripod provided by the college allowed us to gain access to smooth shots, adding a professional edge to our film. However, in places the re-creation had shots where the camera work was extremely shaky and therefore in shots the camera was handheld.

We successfully used many differing shot types including long shots, mid shots, close ups and extreme close ups. We also included separate angles during our filming such as low, high and canted. The combination of such cinematography allows the audience to interperate the actor’s feelings and therefore receive a greater audience reaction.

Considering our composition techinques, we as a group managed to successfully use the rule of thirds, whilst maintaining our main objects (often the actress) on the golden mean. However at a certain point I am aware we exceeded the 180 degree rule, which although may confuse the audience further contributes to the horror genre, intentionally leaving them slightly confused and bewildered. It was important for us to make sure the background of our shots were not interferring with the foreground; for example bags and the public. We spent much time waiting for appropriate time to shoot our scenes.

I’m extremely pleased with our use of editing, the continuity flows well resulting in a professional finish and a true resemblence of the previous film created. The shots don’t jump, which was sometimes hard to prevent, however having cropped certain clips we eventually managed to gain a great outcome. Thankfully we managed to create the majority of this without the use of transitions. Although the option of using transitions was there, we figured that creating a more naturalistic flow between scenes would highlight the horror genre further. We felt that with a break between shots, whether it be transitions such as ‘fade’ or ‘dissolve’ they would detract from the hopeful realism of the film, and therefore it’d become less scary.

When deciding upon our mise en scene, it was obvious that the final decision was ‘average’ – having a high content of costume and make up would subtract original horror value away from the story. When considering the plot also, anything other than what appears to be a simple human being wouldn’t fit, and would just confuse the viewer. However the one prop we did use was a necklace attached to an earring – used as an improvisation reflecting the prop used in the previous film made.  This is the most important object in the film so it was important for it to stand in the foreground, another reason we requested our actress dressed simply and wore minimal make-up.

One of our group members decided upon our actress as she was close friends with her and had previously mentioned in lesson that she once did drama. We decided to accept her offer, and met her shortly before we filmed. This could have been an issue but thankfully wasn’t, perhaps next time it would be wise to use an actress we were all familiar with.

The location we used to shoot couldn’t have been more perfect, as it was the same location used in the previous film. However there was one slight issue with the setting, and that was a reconstruction fault. A bench used in the original was no longer at the location and we therefore had to switch the side of the filming. This altered the background of our films, however it proved to not cause too much trouble.

My personal contributions to the film included the planning prior to the recording, such as choosing location, drawing up storyboards and highlighting key props that needed to be present on the day of shooting. When actually recording I used the camera equipment on regular occasions, and shot some of the handheld scenes. Following the recording I looked after the tape, making sure it was safe and nothing was to be re-recorded over. The editing process required my help, and being my strongest area I was able to successfully contribute to the continuity editing, sound and lighting editing and the overall adjustments including credits, titles and exporting.

The main improvement I believe could take place is increasing the similarity between our film and the original. Some of the shots are recorded from opposing sides of the actor/actress and therefore doesn’t appear exactly the same, however our overall outcome was really pleasing. Also the day we filmed was extremely sunny and many sun spots show up on the recording, I’d like to have removed these if possible during the editing process.

If I was to do this again I’d try and record on a duller day – ultimately more fitting to the appropriate genre, and I’d perhaps try to become more organised within the group. Although we all managed to take turns, during one persons job, the others were often left with nothing to do. If constant jobs were assigned we’d perhaps finish quicker, and gain more experience.