Follow Up Questions

Kim and Jenny wrote: Now that our opening 2 minutes is finally complete we are answering questions on what we have been doing.

1) In the beginning we wanted to create the opening of a horror film, but as we began filming we realised this would be difficult due to lack of special effects so we changes course and went down the route of thriller. At a micro and technical level we made sure that we had continuity throughout by checking the weather the day before we scheduled to film to ensure that it would be correct, and we also re-filmed the previous clip each time before progressing in the filming to enable us to not make any mistakes. Also we made sure that our actors wore the same clothes each time before allowing filming to start. We used a storyboard to give us an idea of the different shots we could use to create maximum effect which was extremely useful. For music we mainly used the website www.freeplaymusic.com and had to undergo a period of trial and error in order to find what we were looking for. We used different transitions to help make the footage from an audience perspective more interesting and exciting.

2) Along the way we made numerous mistakes, such as recording our voiceover inside which consequently gave an undesired echo causing a need to re-shoot. We also started filming too late during the day at one point which meant that although we were able to get a lot of filming done, when re-watching it we realised it was in actual fact too dark to make out what was going on.
In our preliminary task we made a continuity error that we saw when watching in that during the clip our actress wasn’t wearing a scarf but when she stood up to leave the room she was, and this was because we filmed the shots on different days. From this we learnt to always check that our actors were wearing what they had done previously which meant we could film more efficiently.

3) We showed our genre through simple but effect ways. We dressed our heroine in simple attire which enabled the viewers to focus on the storyline while we dressed our villain in dark clothes and along with the effects we used in photoshop, added mysteriousness and immediately showed what character he was playing. During one of the heroine’s scene we edited in the noise of feet walking over dry leaves which gave a crackling sound adding tension to the clip. Finally we used a sound score of mysterious and creepy sounding piano music which gave all of the footage the atmosphere we desired them to have.

4) We watched lots of different films within the thriller genre, and although these were helpful in giving us a couple of ideas, we decided to keep everything in our footage original and serious so we didn’t copy from anything significant from other thrillers we saw.

5) From our footage we are trying to scare the audience and to also entrance them so that they would want to watch more of what they have seen and we have tried our utmost hardest to achieve this ambition and goal.

Group Management

1) We worked to a balanced level in that if one of us was editing the other would be looking for music to accompany the footage and updating the blog. Every time there was any filming to be done we both made sure that we were both there to enable us to start doing what had to be done when back in the classroom instead of having the job of showing the other what we had shot. Our final outcome has been made from an equal level of dedication and work on both our parts.

2) In our original storyline we wanted to use a fire which would of meant that we had to ask grounds men at school for permission and assistance, and after some discussion we decided to alter the story so that the fire was not essential as to some degrees it was a big risk and unnecessary.

3) Apart from the actors, we were the only people involved in the making of our production which meant it was relatively easy to organise everything. When we wanted to film we simply email our actors and arranged a time which suited them as well as us.

4) We manage our actors by lots of communication so that everything ran smoothly and to schedule in order to avoid any unnecessary confusion. The location we decided to use was easy to access as it is in the middle of our schools grounds and is also around the main building so we didn’t need permission to use any of it. The only prop we used was a piece of paper which was used as the letter and this allowed us to explore different shots we could use which would be more feasible and it also meant we weren’t tied down in any way whatsoever.

5) In practice using a storyboard turned our to be a huge help in that we planned what we wanted to do in class and only once we had fully decided on what we wanted to achieve that day did we think about approaching our actors to film. We didn’t use much dialogue in our end production as we wanted to keep it mysterious which we think worked extremely well. We made these decisions previously and stuck to them which was a huge help and discouraged any arguments.

6) Before we even began filming we tried to set personal deadlines to achieve certain goals within time bands. We worked well within these and it meant that there was a minimum amount of issues for us to argue about.

Creative Tools

1. Digital technology was a huge component to the success of our end product. Throughout the duration of the making of it we have both learnt a huge amount about editing and adding external effects to make things more interesting from a viewer’s perspective. At one point during our editing of the footage our computer crashed which meant we had to wait for it to be fixed before we could continue what we had previously done, however we used this to our advantage and in this time we worked out what effects we were going to add to the original shots. Also, during a filming session our equipment ran out of battery which delayed the work process and meant that we got behind schedule however we soon caught up with ourselves.

Thinking About Audience

1) In the beginning after being told what we had to do we decided what genre and what age band we were aiming for. We decided to aim for a minimum age of 15 which meant that there were certain things we were not allowed to include, some of which were; sex, graphic language, and any drug implications.

2) To research into what we would be undertaking we watched a select few different films and clips to allow us to begin thinking about different feasible ideas. This took us a few days but once we got going it went relatively quickly and everything soon fell into place with ease.

3) In filming and editing we used different techniques and ways to ensure that it would be apparent to the audience what was happening in our footage. When it was not completely obvious we used a simple voice over to enable the audience to understand what was happening. Initially we were going to use a hand held camera for most of the clips but after practicing different shots we decided that it looked unprofessional and swapped to using a tri-pod to film with instead.

4) All in all the audience responded in our desired way to our production when shown it. Everyone said it was good and gave different constructive criticism which enabled us to make our final piece to the best of our ability. There is only one possible interpretation of our opening sequence and it comes across fairly obviously.