Editing or The Lack Thereof

OK!

In the last lesson we had planned to do some editing as we had got all of the components to do it (which was the memory stick with our filming on it) but when we got to doing it it turned out the Mac we were using didn't have enough space on it and so we could only fit one clip onto it.

We tried with a couple of Macs which were unable to be used due to the lack of memory but then we found one which had more than enough space and so we started to copy our clips onto it with very little time left and so we ended up not doing any editing at all, but only uploading them to the computer.

We will start editing properly this week and we will also be doing the last of our filming to make sure everything comes together.

Filming on Location!

OK!

Yesterday was the day that we all decided to start our filming at Ashton Court at 12.30 but instead we had to start at 2. i was running late and didn't know how to get there and so i had to look on google for directions. I made it there eventually, although I got lost and it took quite a while on the bike. The weather was also quite cold which didn't help.

We filmed quite a lot of footage like children playing, the different credits on the props we had and the main bulk of the scene. We filmed the mise en scene of the scene which was the presents and the cake, balloons etc. and we then filmed a few shots of the dark figure looking at the party which made the horror aspect of the scene.

We then filmed the part where the child was running up to the log which looked very good indeed and gave the impression that she was being chased by something. Next we had to capture the balloon going up into the sky which went up quite quickly but ultimately went well and looked good. Lastly we got the child in the log and captured a scream which helped create the impression that something bad had happened to her.

After this we wrapped up filming and made our way home after we had taken a picture of all of us! Although i did get lost again but eventually made it home :D

I'm on the bike by the way.

Editing!

OK!

Today we worked on our continuity exercise that we had started last week and we were given an editing exercise. We worked on the movie editing program on the Macs and we started to cut away the bits of film that we didn't want any more such as the parts where we weren't ready to start.

We then got the different parts of the film from all three camera perspectives and then made them transition smoothly from one perspective to another and back again. We made use of the three perspectives well and made sure it was easy to pick up what was happening. During one part involving a slap we had to make it look as realistic and as smooth as possible and so we decided to do an action match, making the slap an extended amount of time.

Lastly for today we added some sound effects such as a clock ticking sound and a visual effect which was a black and white finish for the CCTV perspective camera, making it look more realistic.

At the moment there is still more editing needed to do such as sound dubbing for the voice acting because the microphones on the camera weren't very good and a loud realistic slapping noise to make it seem more prominent. It should be finished by either tomorrow or after half-term and when done it will be put here on my blog for you people to enjoy!

Storyboarding 2

OK!

We have now completely finished our storyboard which is shown below, and it details all of the shots the will be taken and the different props that will be used. This is only a simple foundation for what we will be filming and it will most likely be changed quite a lot.

Today we looked at our storyboards again, and decided on what we wanted to do and made our filming schedule. We had decided it was more important that we film the first 2 scenes because they could be elongated, as they contain the titles. We will be filming either next Monday or Tuesday. Each of us has been designated props to bring from the birthday cake, to balloons. We are all prepared thoroughly for the filming process and think that it should be done before the filming weeks are done so that we can start the editing process.

Storyboarding

OK!

For our story boards we started to incorporate more ideas into the storyboard.

This included more ideas and angles from which to film our scene, and how to change from each scene to the next fluently, showing continuity.

We came up with some ideas on how to present each scene realistically, and came up with our plans of action such as what times to start filming and the positioning of the different titles and how we will be innovative with it, like having a tracking shot move around the party props all made into names. The storyboard isn't fully complete yet but when it is we should be filming as soon as possible.

OK!
Today we will be carrying out our filming of the task that was set last week, to do with continuity.
The props have been brought in and the script has been learnt and so we are ready to film and hope that it goes well.

Another task that we have been set is to find out about the genre we our basing our clip off of which is the horror genre.
We have been asked to find out about the history, institutions, target audiences, sub genres, conventions, representation and examples of classic films such as Dracula and Frankenstein.

Our film went very well and took advantage of the setting in mind with camera usage taken from a security camera perspective. the group works very well together and seems to be able to communicate with increasing ease, which will make it easier to get a good scene for our completed work.

We also started our storyboards today.

This exercise consisted of us bringing together ideas for what do film and in what angles. we haven't got our timings yet but we have our mise en scene for about half of the scene we are doing, and so far we have got somebody to play the child, and our 6 teenagers for the main part of the scene. We each put together several ideas for what to do in our scene such as playing around with the different ways in which the child could be walking away from a party and eventually came to the conclusion of having the child walking away with a balloon in hand giving the viewer the implication that she had left a party. We also chose to have some asynchronous sounds of children playing to make it more believable while having a bright filter for filming to make it more eerie.

Filming 1

OK!

For our film we had ultimately decided to choose a conventional horror which is set in a forest. The plot is a s follows: a child had wandered from a party, which was seemingly lured by sweets and a voice towards a log, which she was then found dead by people who had found her.

A few years later some teenagers of age 17 had decided to have a camp out in the forest knowing of the curse but not heeding any warnings. One of the teenagers there is also a distant relative of the child that died, and so a serious of deaths starts occurring in the forest involving each of the teenagers.

This is the simple basis for our plot so far and it will be expanded and improved throught the completion process.

Group Ideas 2

OK!

Unfortunately we didn't get to do any filming in the lesson and instead were given a task, to write a questionnaire, and to draw up a draft storyboard for our scene to show the different camera angles and make it easier for us to film our scene.

The questionnaire we wrote addresses the different aspects of horror and what people would like to see in our film.

- what is your favourite horror film?
- what makes it a good film?
- do you like to see explicit violence or do you like the scary elements of the film to be subtle?
- do you prefer conventional horror films?
- what is the scariest part of a horror film? - e.g. the darkness / lighting, the killer, the music, claustrophobia?
- do you like to know the identity of the villian/killer from the beginning or do you like to be kept unaware?

Next our group had decided to come up with some quick ideas for our storyboard.

Our first idea was having the child be lured away by a voice from a picnic/birthday party to a forest.

We also thought of our budget and how we would be able to create a party as we don't have a particularly big amount of money to spend and finding that amount of people for a film would be quite hard, so we had decided on finding props found at a party using mise-en-scene and placing them in such a way that it gives the illusion that a party is going on.

Then we have a jump to a later time when the real stars come in which are the teenagers and incorporate them into the story.

For the actors we have each chosen 1 or 2 people to be in the film so that it can be more controlled.

The completion of the storyboard will hopefully be done next lesson. :)

Group Ideas 1

OK!

This week so far my group has been brainstorming together to try and come up with an idea for an activity set by the teacher, which was all about continuity editing. Continuity editing is a style which gives a scene realistic time progression throughout.We had to film a clip showing off a variety of camera shots, to see what we could do. This was an opportunity for the teacher to see our skills of camera usage and the many ways in which we could implement continuity editing well into the film.

We had come up with many ideas which are shown below and we eventually had chosen to do an idea which was a police interrogation scene involving a policeman and a suspect widow, who had been brought in due to her husbands death. The characters involved were James and Chelsea, who had to use their acting skills to realistically portray a police investigator and a suspect widow.

We had chosen to go along with a stereotypical 70's style portrayal of these characters with James(Investigator) wearing a trench coat or leather jacket with sharp clothes, while Chelsea(Widow) will be dressed in all black with a veil and small hat, who has come straight from her husbands funeral.

We created a draft for our script which is the basis for our clip, which can be seen below which has some seriousness, stereotypical crime aspects and comedy. The script also shows some of the angles we had come up with to use in the scene to show continuity.

Inspiration

Here is a clip from The Blair Witch Project which helped to inspire the film we are doing, This film is a horror which is also based in a forest and used a handheld camera technique to convey a sense of realism and claimed to have real footage.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D51QgOHrCj0&feature=related