Jen Bower – Media Coursework

Media evaluation

Research

To get ideas for how our film could begin we took ideas from some films as we knew straight away we wanted to do something in the horror genre and wanted it to start straight in with action as this would mean it would be easier to demonstrate what skills we have between us. We knew that we would need to watch a lot of action/ horror films but also tried to watch those that fell into the sub genre that we were planning to create and use the influence of, teen slasher.

We watched;

The Bourne Identity/Supremacy/Ultimatum
Scream 1,2 & 3
Some James Bond films
The Descent
Shrooms

All with the exception of the James Bond and Bourne films are horror and all start with action straight away that is later explained. The opening of these films usually have chase scenes that are then explained later in the film.

We took direct influence from the Scream films as they all start with a murder that is later explained, Scream’s opening sequence is 12 minutes 46 long, the Scream 2 opening sequence is 9 minutes 24 and the opening of Scream 3 is 11 minutes 57.Much like our film, Scream stars teenagers and although has an 18 rating seems to be aimed at ages lower than this as well. In Scream there are a lot of chase scenes, close ups of the killer when he catches the victim, we planned to do somthing like this, which we did but in a different way. Although we knew he wouldn’t have the correct equipment to do tracking or dolly shots so we tried without but found that it looked shaky or unsteady which when the scenes are supposed to be suspenseful there is no need for the added suspense from the camera, this is also demonstrated in Scream. Another staple of this genre is to include shots with a canted angle, we opted not to go for this either as we thought it would seem unprofessional or as though we were trying to emphasise the drama too heavily which doesnt need to be done as it is clear what is happening.

We thought that if we were to go straight into the action like the films we watched it would create an enigma for the audience which would lead to them wanting to watch on which we know from the test screening worked. Also we opted not to use any diologue during the chase scene unlike scream as we did want to chalenge some of the conventions they used of the killer and victim building a rapor, that could be explained later in the film, the lack of exposition due the void of diologue increases the enigma portrayed.

We researched wounds using prosthetics in films and found that if not done correctly they can look worse than not bothering at all so we decided that rather than just relying on using fake blood we would use some props, we ordered a rope burn wound from a fancy dress website and got a piece of rope for the killer to carry while pursuing the victim and then would be around the victims neck in the later shots.

We decided against a specific costume for the killer and the police, instead decided the police should dress smartly, the circumstances imply who the characters are without the need of costumes to confirm it. The killer is just covered up as we decided from the beginning that the killer should be the policeman, we found it was easier to find an idea for the whole film then go from there, this meant covering Thom up as the killer but still having people wonder if it is him.

We looked around Maltby for places that we could film the two parts of the opening, we finally decided on the woods in school as they are open all the time and are not far from either of our houses, the idea of filming the second half in the library also seemed a good idea but then instead decided on my bedroom as the location of the later scenes.

We used our preliminary task as research as well as from that we learnt what works and what doesn’t in terms of what we have the skills and resources to do.

We chose the shots we did as they seemed appropriate, they were doable and not too adventurous so it wouldn’t look poorly done, we tried to include a variety of shots.

In this shot we tried to use the rule of three to frame Gee between the four main trees.

For the second screen shot we shot from below to make it seem that the killer is leering over the victim to emphasise that he has the power in the shot, it also seems that the trees are in the same position.

picture-4

picture-7

Planning

Firstly we took out a camera and tried techniques that we planned to use in the film. We found that to use hand held would look unprofessional, but we learnt what did look good and what we had the resources to do. So we went out for a second time with but this time with a tripod, but we also took a digital camera to track what we were doing and what worked. We took footage of running first of all on a pavement to see how tracking shots and zoom looked then we moved into the woods and tried panning while running and zoom again, we found that the panning worked better so decided to stay with that.

We decided to storyboard our plans twice, firstly we made a book that had a page per shot drawn by hand, and we then took this out with us to take pictures that matched the drawings in the book which we then made into a storyboard in comic life. This meant that we would have a better idea of what colours went well with the surroundings ensuring we would be able to get the most out of the mise en scene as possible. This lead to us deciding to dress the victim in white as it would not clash with the overpowering background of the leaves in the woods even though that is how we had intended it to look. Also it meant that she would be easily seen, the blood would contrast well with the top and the white emphasises that she is the victim. The green coat blends in with the woods which reiterate that the wood is not a good place for her to be as they are as one with him. As you can see, the white ensures that the audience can see the victim.

After this we decided that we would have my older brother Thom, his girlfriend Gee, me, Hannah and Matt in the film with he later addition of Grace for the change to the second half although Matt was also taken out of the film we decided to use him for the news bulletin.

We ordered our prosthetics giving plenty of time for them to arrive before we needed them to film. As we wanted to film at dusk so on camera it would seem like dawn so were tied to a time period of about a week but having Thom and Gee in the film meant it could only be at a weekend.

We planned to film at a weekend as it would mean that we had more control over timescales and planning, obviously we had to film the scenes that are set in school during school time but when filming in the woods we didn’t come across any other people. We wanted the contrast of the older people in the film as it would seem more realistic.

We made two lists for the day of the filming in the woods to make sure we were as efficient as possible, not wasting any time as the temperature was between 5° and 3° all day. The lists were of the things we needed to take with us and the shots we needed to get.

Need to take

The prosthetic wound
Fake blood
Rope
Police outfit
Killer outfit
Camera
Tripod
Video Camera
Cigarettes
Lighter
Gloves

Shot list in woods

· 5+ running shots in different areas (Gee)

· 5+ walking shots in same areas (Thom)

· Stumble #1

· Stumble #2

· Chase scene from Thom’s p.o.v

· Footsteps – Thom walking, Gee running

· Thom capturing Gee

· Close up of capture

· Thom & me looking over the body x2 angles

Shot list in Library

· Answering phone

· Matt instructing Hannah

· Hannah running upstairs x3 angles

· Hannah telling people upstairs x2 angles

Shot list in Bedroom

· Shot of Grace answering phone/turning on tv/watching news x3 angles

· Phone dropping to floor

We shot the second half of the film in the school library at first, we edited and put it all together and decided it was finished but later decided that we could do something better so we storyboarded the second half again on paper then took photos although it only consisted of one shot.

Concerning scripts we didn’t have one for the opening scene as it is only one line but as in the redone later scenes Matt read from a script while doing the podcast of the news to ensure it was done with ease and sounded professional.

Filming

We did our filming over a period of 1 week. we filmed the scenes in the library first on a Wednesday during lesson time as this would ensure there would be a good amount of people in the library, we waited until the end of the lesson to film the scenes where Hannah tells the people upstairs to leave so that in the background there are actually people leaving but it doesn’t look staged because we didn’t tell them to do it.

We did 2 attempts of filming in the library before we got the one we used, the first time we tried we didn’t take a tripod which meant that all the filming we did was shaky and unsuitable for the film, the second attempt was also unusable as there were people dancing around in the background which we hadn’t noticed until we watched the footage.

When we did eventually get the shots we needed, we had an hour of footage of which only 25 seconds was usable but luckily this was all we needed and we no longer needed to do anything to that part of the film.

The part of the film that was shot in the woods took 2 hours to film, we did the police scenes first then did the chase, this was so the police shots were filmed when it was lighter and the chase scenes were filmed when the light was going, this gives the impression that the chase happened at night then the body was discovered the next morning.

We filmed the final second half in one night. We filmed the scene from 3 different angles then later chose which was better. We had the television on a blank screen as when we had Grace turning the television on from stand-by it took almost 10 seconds to load which we knew would have been difficult to cut down during editing. We then recorded on a podcast Matt reading a news report I had prepared although we had decided not to use the entire piece in the film as it would look staged, but recording it all meant we had to option to start it from wherever seemed best. Then we recorded with the camera the podcast playing so that it would sound more like it was coming from the television rather than being overlaid on the footage, we then took the sound from the camera recording and set it as music over the scene.

Evaluation

Matt and I recorded our evaluation first as a podcast but then decided to individually do one on each of our blogs, here is the link to listen to our Podcast Evaluation

I think that our film challenges some conventions but we also used many as well. Being able to film during school hours meant that it was easier to use a cast of teenagers which makes the film appear to be aimed at teenagers although I think it could be stretched to a wider audience. I would also say that our film embraces many conventions also, if we were to try and go against what has worked so well for so many other films of this type it would have been stupid, we have certainly tried to add our own touches but not rewrite what works, after all if those things didn’t work they would be conventions. I think it is rather generic to start a horror film with a chase or in the woods but we were limited in what we could do and we made a decision that a chase would be the best way to firmly state that this was going to be a horror film which is important as we only have the first 2 minutes to let people know what is happening, it wouldn’t be successful if somebody was to watch our production and afterwards question what genre it was intended to be. The conventions we used would be the female victim as this is a normality in this sub genre but we thought it would have more of a grabbing effect as there is a lot more can be done to make a girl seem more appropriate in this situation, make up can me smeared, hair can be messed up and most of all it seems more acceptable for a girl to show how scared they are which is what we wanted. Another convention we used was to have a large built male killer; we used this as more than anything it would be unlikely to have a small female killer. Also we mentioned a citywide curfew being imposed in the city this is normally something seen in American films rather than British but I think it works well given the situation in the film.

Obviously due to the circumstances that we filmed in, our film represents a teenage group although with having an adult in the first half as a policeman it gives a senior feeling to the film. We tried not to set all of the film in school although we did decide to take advantage of the schools woods. It would have been easy to set the entire film in the school but I think that it gives a better effect having the locations vary. We took the majority of our influence from Scream and that features primarily teenagers. Had we been in a different situation where the people available were mostly adults this would have most likely changed the direction our film goes in. This made us look into other films from this sub genre then worked from there and I think we did it convincingly.

I think that if our film was to be produced it would be done so by a British company. Something along the lines of Anchor Bay Entertainment, or since our film is in the horror genre Hammer film productions. Hammer have just started producing films again, The Wake Wood is their first film of the 21^st century to be released which would hypothetically bode well for the production of our film. Recent releases from Anchor Bay Entertainment are Righteous Kill and The Alphabet Killer, both of which are American though they do distribute British films as well.

I think that the audience for our film would be teenagers although I would like to think it would appeal to a wider audience. The fact that the people in the film are primarily teenagers makes the target audience move in that direction. We decided that just us thinking that the film was good enough wasn’t enough so once we had finished our film (with the first ending) we arranged a test screening, I produced some question sheets with 5 questions on:

· Can you remember the name of the film?

· Did you enjoy the film?

· Could you tell it was in the horror genre?

· Would you want to watch the rest of the film?

· Are there any improvements you would make?

For the first four questions the answers were primarily yes with the exception of one person who didn’t remember the name of the film. Only 2 people offered improvements but both were in relation to spelling mistakes we had made. After the feedback we altered the size of the title to ensure that it was definitely noticeable and made the second ring of the phone coincide with the title appearing to draw extra attention to it. From what we had learnt during the work on British TV Drama we learnt about sound bridges so decided to incorporate that into the film to connect the two parts of the film without it seeming disjointed.

I feel that we caught the attention of a potential audience by starting straight away with action. The first two minutes of a film are as crucial in my opinion as the next 118, if the film doesn’t catch the viewer’s attention they could not want to watch the rest in the same way if there is too much information given in that time it could have the same effect. In the opening to the 2008 Louis Leterrier adaptation of The Incredible Hulk all the information that the audience needs to know is given to them in the first few minutes, I think this is a good way to open a film but if we had done this it would have seemed like a trailer rather than the start of a film though this would normally only effectively build an enigma in adapted superhero films as they have mythology and backgrounds that are usually already known.

Before making the film I had never used iMovie or Movie Maker before but now I feel confident using them. The first time we filmed actual scenes for the film we didn’t take a tripod so the footage we had was shaky and unusable so from then we made sure we had the tripod with us. I wouldn’t say we have had any problems with anything; we made sure that there was minimal background noise when filming although any that we did encounter we were able to cover up with the backing track.

When I think about our preliminary task, I feel a sense of wanting to do it again as I know I could do a far better job now, I have learnt so much since doing the task, small obvious things that make a huge different. I would have made a script, a shot list, dressed more appropriately and taken into account the surroundings.

After filming and editing the film we decided that we needed some music over the film, matt found the ambience music that is heard in the beginning of the first half of the film on a site called but we still wondered what we were going to do about a song in the second half of the film so I spoke to local band Pirouettes about using one of their songs on the second half. The song we chose is an acoustic version of one of their songs as it is quite sombre and we felt it fitted well with what was happening on screen. Also we extended the black screen at the end of the film so the line “awkward silence keeps my vocal chords” could be heard to the end, this seemed fitting in that the victim was strangled. This put us at an advantage as copyright has kept other people from using actual songs in their films. Other than this though we have used mainly diegetic sound in the film.

I decided to use a blog to present my evaluation as it would mean I could attach the podcast Matt and I made the storyboard, clips from the film and outtakes all together in one place. We tried to use as many different forms of media to do parts of this project as possible we also uploaded the final film to YouTube to try and get a more widespread feedback, we therefore tried to contribute to web 2.0 by us the audience now creating a form of media.

This page contains any videos published in media for quick and easy access for viewing!

Police Interview – Preliminary task