Evaluation

For our evaluation, Fern and I designed a website and answered all the questions with input from Emma and Shannon.

Click on the link below to view the website:
http://asmediahorror.weebly.com/

Final Piece

This is our final 2 minute opening.
Here is the link for our film:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=desm-WnezwI  

Filming

   We used two different locations in our horror film. Bentley Priory was our first place which was an outside environment and then we also used our sixth form common room to get a sense of reality for a teenagers lifestyle. 

   Here are pictures of the locations that have been included in our horror film:

All group members at Bentley Priory (Myself, Fern, Emma and Shannon).

All group members at Bentley Priory. 

Swakeleys Sixth form, common room sofa.

Bentley Priory was a good location as it fit all horror style conventions with large wooded areas and places that contain murky water, which suggests fear of the unknown. We used many wooded areas as we planned to have scenes based in a forest. We used this setting as its a typical environment used in many horror films and we planned to catch many successful clips in this environment. Our filming was very effective using the woods and we still plan to use clips that were filmed in the Bentley Priory forests.

Our sixth form common room was the second location we decided to film in. We thought this was the best location to film in as the common room relates to other teenagers that go to sixth form or college, therefore it shows a sense of reality for typically 16-17 year olds. We use the sofas in the common room to release the tension from our opening productions, this is effective as it shows contrast.



Overall, Emma and Fern done the majority of the filming, where as Myself and Shannon  seemed to have the directors role. The locations we used were effective as we collected all filming clips that we planned to get so we could start building our horror film and these places fit the typical conventions.

Any pre-filming activites

These images are from footage that was filmed but not used. The footage was taken in Bentley Priory, for our original ideas for the horror opening. We changed our plans to create a solid storyline for our project. We had ideas for our horror but after the filming down, we looked at all our footage and was very unhappy. This lead us to film extra clips in order for our horror opening to be successful.

The footage we originally had made our horror to be more like a trailer then a full film, seen as we were only filming the first two minutes and we tried to get all detail in the opening. Having had time to plan our horror out further, we made ideas to allow our horror film to be complete.

We used little clips from our filming day at Bentley Priory as we thought it would be a good idea to get the audience to feel fear and then for the tension to be dropped so they had an idea of what to expect.

On a whole, I feel as if we did waste a bit of time by not planning our horror film in depth but I also feel like we immediately got to work and improved on our opening, therefore it was a success as we started to build our horror film effectively.

Health and Safety Form

Below is our health and safety risk assessment that we needed to create before we headed out to film at Bentley Priory:


This risk assessment was created by myself and Fern, as we worked together to ensure it was completed to the full health and safety expectations. We discussed what the hazards would be in the different setting and we had to say what could put us in danger if anything was to go wrong whilst filming. We had to state who might be at risk and what could prevent the incident from happening. We then completed a risk rating out of 3, which helped us become more aware of the dangers in the environment.

Research and Planning

Before going out to film, we needed to create a shot list, story board and script, in order to stay on task.
This is the shot list (created by Emma):


This is the storyboard (created by Myself):



And this is the script (created by Myself):


   
When planning the horror opening, all of the above as essential in order to stay on task and so we can get things done.

The shot list is a record of what we want to catch on camera e.g. everything that's in the frame and the camera angles. The shot list is effective as it helps us figure out what shots need to be taken and what the characters will be doing in each shot. Our shot list includes locations, camera instructions, that action that is taking place, what actors are in the shots and what equipment will be need in the frame. This potentially helped when filming as I could get on filming immediately, without having to think about what I wanted to include in each shot.

The storyboard was created as a visual aid. A storyboard is a sequence of drawings that include some dialogue and directions; our storyboard was also a plan to ensure we could get the footage done as quickly as possible so we could start putting it together.

The script was created so the conversation didn’t go off topic. It includes directions and locations to set the scene. Having a planned script helped a lot as it got us to get the filming done quicker and it prepared us for making the actual footage.

Costume

   For our horror film opening, we needed to pick out costumes for each character. These costumes needed to represent the ages of the characters and the time period the film was set in. Our horror film is set in a fairly modern time period. 

   As I played a character called Skye, who was a victim in our horror clip, we decided to have me wear plain black leggings, with white high top converse and a green parker hooded coat. 

   This outfit shows an age of 16, as this is a trend. Leggings were worn as an everyday item with converse and then the coat just shows an outdoor feeling before she meets the killer. 

   Here is the costume of Skye (my character):

This outfit also shows teenage years. This costume is for the character of Laura (Shannon), who is the best friend of Skye and tries to warn Skye from the kidnaps in the area. This costume is perfect for a character like Laura as it's a typical 16 year old outfit.
Laura's costume (Shannon's Character):

For Charlotte, played by fern, she needed a different style outfit. Darker colours were needed as she was the one that was captured at first by the killer. She wore all black, with a burgundy top and the same colour converse. This outfit was effective as it did suit the age group she was in but also set a better scene as the dark colours suggests a sign of death; which gives the audience mixed messages.

Charlotte's costume (Fern's Character):

All costumes fit in with the time period and with the age groups well. Overall, the costumes ideas were effective.

Bentley Priory location shots

For our horror film, we got the chance to go to Bentley Priory which is a Nature reserve. Bentley Priory includes lots of different settings which helped us have a background for our film. There was a river that was in the centre of a big field, which had many branches surrounding it. A few forest areas were about but there was also wide open areas; the whole nature reserve was effective as it gave us some ideas and images for our film. The lighting was perfect in some areas as it gave a feeling of different times of the day which helped us film better. 

Here are some of the different settings:

As you can see, the weather weren't the best. It was very dull and wet but this made it a perfect day for us to film our horror. We went on a day where it was raining all day, yes it did make it harder to get around the muddy puddles and through the grass, but it made the mise-en-scene for our film very effective. 

Before all the filming started, we all needed to discuss what place was best for us to film and what setting fit in with our horror, when then started filming straight away. As a group, we worked really well together and listened to each others ideas so we ended up getting all the footage we needed. 

Overall, Bentley Priory was an amazing location that we visited and included in our horror film.

Ident for your group

  This is our ident that was created by Emma. The ident is used to show who the productions by and it opens the film.  It was made using final cut pro using a template, as Emma was creating it, the rest of the group was selecting the colour scheme and the music. The colours we choose were red and black which is conventional for a horror as the red spatters represent blood and it stands out mostly against a black background.
   The website the music came from was found by Fern and as she was scrolling through the different choices, she found one by 'Russian Milk' in which she found unique and interesting. The track creates a tense atmoshphere and it makes the audience feel afraidOur ident is fairly simple which helps the audience remember our horror opening. We made the title of our productions fairly bold so it would be immediately seen.



  At first, we planned to call our ident 'Elfs Productions', but when we was creating it we changed our name to 'Self Productions' as it sounds more personal, formal and it seems a lot more professional. Our ident is 13 seconds long and this is used well with our horror as the music can be used with the titles and with the first part of our 2 minute sequence.
  We are all fairly happy with how the ident turnt out as its original and eye catching to the audience.

Idents homework and research

An ident is short for identification. It's something people can become familiar with to recognise things by. An ident, in the film industry, is used to recognise what company the film was made by. For example, 'Walt Disney' is identified with the familiar surrounding and sound. Every ident is different. An ident has to be unique to be known by the audience and to draw attention to that company and/or film. 


Lionsgate:



This is the newest 'Lionsgate' ident (2013) and it lasts for 23 seconds. The company changes there ident frequently to keep it up to date with colours, sounds and graphics. This ident shows the camera escaping the universe by quickly moving through space; this typically sends a message conveying that the production company are 'out of this world'. The music used is effective as it helps the audience follow through with the ident and it also shows a unique design which is effective as it helps viewers remember the company. The ident speeds through at a fast pace and then shows the company name 'Lionsgate' which gets brought through the clouds. The company is clear and extremely bold, with a lot of lighting aiming at the title. The moment the text enters, the camera slows down so the production company is the key feature.

There is a lot of contrast with colours and sound through-out this ident which is effective as it highlights the production company well and it show that there could be a tense atmosphere through the film. This ident is extremely powerful as it makes the audiences main focus to be on the ident and it captures attention of the audience. The main theme of colour is black, white and a range of blues which is attracting as the light colours get dragged through the dark ones causing the whole screen to light up. The ident ends with each letter slowly being highlighted by a beam of light which accentuates the company. 

This production company is used for many horror films, which helps give me an idea for my own ident to include in the horror film i will create. Every production company updates their ident after a while and they become more well known as their ident improves.

The ident below is the first ever ident that was used for Lionsgate, this was made in 1999. 



As you can see, the production company has improved there ident massively. It is not very attractive and it attracts little attention. The music is very simple. The music is building up to the image of the lion which is getting built by stars of light. When the lion appears, the title of the company enters in gold, which is effective as it is clear and eye catching. As 'Lions Gate Films' comes into view it it then becomes professional and interesting. 

The ident for 1999 was very boring, whereas 2013's one was very eye catching and effective. Lions Gates idents have improve majorly as they are now more recognise and more successful.

Walt Disney:




The ident above Is the newest Walt disney ident. It starts with a dark blue night sky with flushes of purple and the camera slowly moves down through the clouds, whilst there is a gentle, calm sound of chimes that slowly turns into a choir of violins which leads to a river, that is set behind the Disney castle. The camera then reaches the flag of the castle and then it zooms out to get a full view of the setting. Stars are seen and fireworks are being set off surrounding the castle which makes the castle attract the most attention. These fireworks light the castle up from behind and the front has been highlighted from the castle lights. The castle is clearly in view of the camera. After the camera is fully zoomed out you get the view from the front of castle which includes the river flowing in front which a view of the setting. A star like light then draws around the castle (right to left); which is effective as it grabs the audiences eye even more. The title of the production company then is shown 'Walt Disney Pictures' which is shown in a silver colour and this glitters infront of the dark background. The title is seen clearly as the pale colour stands out and the font is fancy which makes this ident unique. The ident finishes with a great view of the well known castle, with the title placed infront while the excitement of the music comes in.



This ident is the original Walt Disney ident. It is extremely plain but still does catch attention of potential audiences.
 It starts with the Disney castle slowly being formed out of a shimmering white light which is contrasting with a royal blue background.The light starts from the top of the screen, with a gentle, light spun in the background. As the ident goes on and the castle is beginning to come to a end, the music starts to gradually get louder. A sudden shaft of light then comes in to introduce the 'Walt Disney' title, which is seen to have the same fancy writing. The star like light enters (right to left) and circles the castle. The music slows down and ends with a flute sound. 

Walt Disney is very popular, its one of the biggest production companies in the world and has made some very famous films. The more the graphics improve the bigger the production company gets and Walt Disney is very popular.

Walt Disney's ident hasn't needed a big improvement as it is very popular but added better sound, colour and images.

Analysis of a Horror

This is a short analysis of the horror film 'The Conjuring'.



For this task I needed to analyse everything that happened within the clip. I needed to include: the description, the timing, mise-en-scene, sound, camera work, editing and typology. I found this very challenging as there was a lot of moving which madem it difficult to catch all the detail.
Watching these film titles helped me see how they are made to look attractive for a horror based film and they help build tension.

 This task helped my group develop our ideas as it gave us a guideline to follow. Myself and my group all created an analysis of a horror title so we could combine all our knowledge and ideas together to make our film titles effective. As as group, we saw a range of colour schemes to represent different things. For example, red represents blood which the audience would identify to be danger. The titles we discussed helped us to make our own titles conventional.

Film Pitch, Padlet and Amendments

This is our groups film pitch that we had to create in detail. We had to include: The title, log line, sub-genre, a resource list and a synopsis which needed to contain as much information as possible. Firstly, we had to create a title for our horror film and when knew it had to be related to the internet as our film forms around the a social networking site, therefore our film title is 'into-net'. We then discussed the sub genre and where our idea would come under and we decided it would be a psychological horror. The long line was next but we left this blank as we thought this would need extra attention as its a hint of what our horror film is about. It consists of a 'killer' who contacts teenagers and makes them suffer. The detailed synopsis had to contain the storyline from beginning, middle and end. We found this particularly hard as our group didn't think of the film as a whole so we had to add quiet a bit of extra information. We then wrote all the resources we were going to need for our horror film.




These are the comments made by peers which are to help improve the film fitch and give us a wider image of our film. These improvements helped by letting us know what the audience would need to know about the film as a whole.

Created with Padlet

This is our film pitch with all improvements on it. We took in all advise given and added extra information to make our horror more exciting. Now the film has been looked at as a whole and made better for our tasrget audience.