Completed Film Opening: The Campout

Completed Preliminary Task

Evaluation

Question 1:

 

Question 2:



Question 3:




Question 4 and 5:



Question 6:



Question 7:

Construction: Editing Process

Once all the filming had been finished we decided to start filming. This meant we had to import all footage from the camera onto the Mac so we could start editing. For editing we decided to use Adobe Premire Pro CS6. This type of software is particularly good as it allows easy editing and gives a wide range of effects, transitions and other features that allow you to develop footage even more.

VIDEO EDITING

Once we had opened up and started the program, we had to insert all of our footage onto the program. This just meant dragging and dropping all the footage from the camera and putting it into an area on premiere pro, as seen below.

After we had imported all footage we wanted we could start to add them onto the editing reel and put them in the order we wanted. When we were putting them in order we had to cut and edit some of the clips to make sure that it was only what we wanted out of the clip that we put on. For example, there could be a couple of seconds of a clip that we didn't want to have in it so we would trim it to make sure that it adds more and better continuity.

To make sure that the opening was as horror like as possible i looked at changing the colours within each clips, the main effect change within the opening are the titles. As you can see from the images below, the titles have a very yellow/green effect throughout that makes it creepy and spooky. We were inspired to use this type of titles by the film 'Solstice'. We not only took colour inspiration but we also implemented how they had use a mirror effect to make the titles more spooky and quite disturbing.

'The Campout' Opening Titles

'Solstice' Opening Titles

To get these effects we had to look for video effects that allowed me to change the colours and another which would allow me to mirror the clip.

 The different effect options above allowed me to change the colouring within the clips and the mirroring. I changed the input and output levels of black and white to make shadows and dark areas look more bold and dominant within each clip to make it that bit more scary and horror like. This made it much like the Solstice's opening again as they have very dark and dominant sections of there titles.

Another area of the opening i have edited a lot to show darkness within the clip is one of the last ones. This clip really represents a stereotypical villain as they have a weapon and you don't actually see the villain either. These are common horror conventions that you would expect to see within horror films as we found out in our survey.

During this scene I also changed the speed of the clip to make it more tense and add suspension. I did this by slowing down the clip to around 65.3% of what it would of normally been. This slows it down enough for the audience to experience the tension and listen to the suspense which has been built up.

Construction: Reflection on Recording

On reflection of our recording, we did happen to run into some problems along the way. These problems included camera issues, time management and weather.

First of all, as we started recording for the first time, it was going well with no problems at all. Unfortunately the camera ran out of battery so this affected a couple of things for us. This could of been avoided if we had ensured that the camera was fully charged. Also, we found that the camera we were using wasn't the best of quality so we asked for another and were able to be upgraded to a much higher quality camera which would really improve our footage.

Another thing was time management. This was the main problem within our group as it took a while for us to get all the people we needed at the same place at the same time. Some people could do a certain time but others could not. This lead us to changing our cast a bit to suit the times that were preferred to the majority of people.

A problem which I discovered during the editing process was that our dialogue is not the best. By this I mean some parts a louder than others and some of the actors didn't speak loud enough which means they are quitter than others. This can be overcome however by simply increasing certain clips of the film whilst editing.

Some good things about our filming however included:

• Same type of weather kept continuity.
• Actors kept same clothes for continuity.
• We didn't have to re-shoot any scenes again once we had finished filming.
• Secluded area meant we were not disturbed.

These factors all helped us to ensure our filming was successful and recorded easily.

If we were to film again however, I would make sure everyone was available and that they all knew when we were filming. This saves us the hassle of getting new actors in at the last minute.

Construction of The Titles

 The image above shows how we have created titles for our opening. When making the titles we had to consider different things that would help to represent the horror theme within the opening. First of all we looked at the font it self. We thought it was best to keep the font as standard with a bold effect on it, just to make it that bit clearer. We had to consider how big we wanted the titles so we kept it at 51.0 font size throughout to ensure there was continuity. The font size is not the only thing we kept the same however as we made sure that every title was white. The white font makes it easy to read as it stands out and also can give a spooky effect when shadows are added. Once we were happy with our title we would add it to the specific part of the film where we wanted it to go.

As you can see fro the image above we have added titles to specific parts of the film and have added cross dissolve transitions throughout to make sure the film is fluent. As we have put the titles on top of the clips, this means that each title will appear over each clip, much like the example below.

 The table below shows the list of titles we have implemented into our film opening.

Construction: Non-diegetic Sound Only

This is our final film opening just without the diegetic sound added to it at the end. This allows us to compare how much of a difference sound makes to the film opening by watching it without sound and then with sound. We could also gather some audience feedback based on what types of sound they would expect to hear within the opening.


The most popular type of sound that was expected was an eerie background noise that added a large sense of a disturbing and mysterious presence. Because of this we could look for a sound which we knew the audience would prefer.

            

Construction: First Rough Edit

This is some raw footage of our opening to our horror film. It shows that we have implemented some key media/filming techniques like 180 degree rule, shot reverse shot and high/low angle shots. We  edited this raw footage to add a lot more continuity to make it seem like a real opening to a movie. In this footage we have tried to make sure it is already quite continuous so that it has match on action for when each clip changes. What we have made sure as well is that we have filmed it all as quick as we can so that the time of day doesn't effect the continuity within the opening. however we still need to add in sound of our own and the opening titles.

As you can see from this rough edit, the lighting is quite bright due to the time of day we filmed at. To improve this, we will look at some colour effects in the editing phase to get a colder and more horror like feel to the film. This could mean adding some blue and changing the input levels for black and white.

Music is another feature that needs to be added. This will add a lot more tension and suspense during the film which will make it more like a horror. As I researched my previous post 'The importance of sound', Sound is a key element to any type of film as it can affect the mood and atmosphere of it all.

Construction: Sound Editing

Sound

Sound is a massive part of horror films as they add a lot of tension, drama and suspense which is all very much needed if you want your film to be successful. Within our horror film we added a lot of sound to enable us to achieve that horror feel to it. This meant adding background noise throughout to give a generally spooky mood for the whole film.

All of the sounds we collected were off of a very good free website called 'free sound.org'. This site allowed us to download any type of sound we could find and use it within our film. They had an extremely wide variety of sounds as well which allowed us to browse loads of different tracks until we found the one we wanted.

Once we had found and downloaded the sounds that were most suitable for our film opening we dragged and dropped each clip, much like the camera footage we had used. This made it very easy to edit and arrange each track to our liking.

A problem which i noticed during the sound editing stage was that some tracks were much too loud for a clip. This meant that it was so loud that the audio in the original clip couldn't be heard. To overcome this problem we had to look at how to decrease the volume of the track slightly just when the dialogue had commenced. This was very much the case during a clip where Sam and Elliott were talking. The image below shows how the sound dips to compliment the dialogue so they can be heard.

Sound was also a key factor in adding suspense to the opening. So during the clips where the villain was shown holding the hammer and when he goes for Brian when he was taking a pee, we added some sound that would really add tension to the scene. Heavy breathing and a very dark and bold sound could be heard when we were shown the hammer which help to indicate danger and that Brian was in trouble. The clip afterwards is a lot faster which indicates danger is coming rapidly and the use of sound on top of this is much like a scuttling insect running quickly. This makes it seem more creepy and exciting.

           

Production: Raw Footage

This is some raw footage of our opening to our horror film. It shows that we have implemented some key media/filming techniques like 180 degree rule, shot reverse shot and high/low angle shots. We can edit this raw footage to add a lot more continuity to make it seem like a real opening to a movie. In this footage we have tried to make sure it is already quite continuous so that it has match on action for when each clip changes. What we have made sure as well is that we have filmed it all as quick as we can so that the time of day doesn't effect the continuity within the opening.

Construction: Evidence of Filming Taking Place

This is the evidence that we have taken from the filming of our horror opening. It shows that we have all got involved with the filming process by helping each other to add constructive ideas for the filming. It shows that we have used the location that we originally planned to use and have used the camera we were given. It also shows how we have used the trip-pod to get steady and effective shots to get the best out of our filming. The reason why there is not complete continuity throughout the pictures regarding jamie's clothes is because we had to re-film some clips as one of our initial actors unfortunately broke his leg within the time we were filming.

Planning: Storyboard

This is the storyboard for the opening of our film 'The Campout' the way we did it was simple in that we just created the panels using templates and shots from our opening. 

Each panel included:

The shot number, the location, the type of camera shot, movement, angle and cast involved in this shot.

From doing this i have learnt that planning is a ver important phase in the production of films and our opening, as it is vital so that the filming and production can flow.

The purpose of doing story boards is so that we can see how the opening  will look appear and have a plan for the shots that we will use in our film opening. It will also help us to gain an understanding with the opening titles on the two minutes. All of this will make it easier for us when we come to filming and editing our horror film opening.

Planning: Filming Schedule

This is the filming schedule for our teen horror film opening called 'The Campout'. The main purpose behind a  filming schedule is to make sure that we achieve a successful production of our opening. This involves getting the camera shots, movements and angles prepared in order to get a smooth flow of filming which is continuous, when it is edited. The filming schedule is vital as it ensures that the whole of the group, including actors and the camera production, know what is happening and when it will happen.

Planning: Shot List

Shot number	Shot type	location	Cast required	Props required	Brief description
1	Establishing shot	Quarry entrance	none	none	Shot off the quarry woods where the cast will be situated
2	Panning shot	quarry	Brian, Alicia and William	bag	The group on their way to the camp location
3	Two shot Midshot	Groups camp	Brian and William	Vodka bottle	Brian asks to have some of the groups alcohol
4	Two shot Midshot	Groups camp	Alicia and William	Vodka bottle	Alicia passes Brian the vodka bottle
5	Midshot	Groups camp	Brian	Vodka bottle	Brian drinks from the bottle then offers it to William
6	Midshot	Groups camp	William	none	William isn’t keen on the idea of consuming alcohol
7	Two shot midshot	Groups camp	Brian and William	none	Brian mocks the idea of William being boring and not drinking
8	Two shot midshot	Groups camp	Alicia and William	none	Alicia persuades William to drink
9	High angle midshot	Groups camp	William	none	William feels vulnerable about the idea of getting intoxicated
10	Two shot	Groups camp	Brian and William	Vodka bottle	Brian insures William that he will be fine and that nothing bad would happen
11	midshot	Groups camp	William	Vodka bottle	William agrees to take the vodka but proceeds to spit it out after consuming it
12	midshot	Groups camp	Brian	Bottle lid	Brian passes the lid to William as he needs to go to the toilet
13	Two shot midshot	Groups camp	Alicia and William as well as Brian in the background	Vodka bottle	The group fret about what may happen to Brian as he goes to the toilet
14	midshot	The journey to the toilet	Brian	none	Brian walking to find a suitable place to go toilet
15	Over the shoulder	The journey to the toilet	Brian	none	Brian walking to find a suitable place to go toilet
16	Aerial/ crane shot	The journey to the toilet	Brian	none	Brian walking to find a suitable place to go toilet
17	Panning shot	The journey to the toilet	Brian	none	Brian walking to find a suitable place to go toilet
18	midshot	Brian finding a suitable location	Brian	none	Brian going to the toilet
19	Various close ups	The toilet location	Brian	none	Brian becoming anxious as he hears noises of twigs snapping all around him
20	Long shot	The toilet location	Mysterious figure	none	The all black figure in the background looking at Brian
21	Extreme close up	The toilet location	Brian	none	Screams as Brian is brutally murdered with a close up of his dead hand
22	Two shot	Groups camp	Alicia and William	none	Screams are heard by the rest of the group and they begin to worry
23	Two shot	Groups camp	Alicia and William	none	They decide to split up and William goes to look for Brian leaving them separated
24	Panning shots	The journey to the toilet	William	none	William following the route searching for Brian
25	Long shot	The journey to the toilet	Mysterious black figure	none	The black figure discovering William
26	Close up	The toilet location	William	none	William looking distraught as his discovers Brian’s body
27	High angle Midshot	Groups camp	Alicia	none	Alicia hears the screams of another character
28	Close up	Groups camp	Alicia	none	Alicia is very worried and decides to go looking for the other members
29	Panning shots	The journey to the toilet	Alicia	none	Alicia looking for the other members
30	Close up	The toilet location	Alicia	none	Alicia discover the others bodies, however the mysterious figure is over her shoulder
31	Midshot	The toilet location	Brian and William	none	The bodies covered in blood up against a tree, screams of Alicia can be heard
32	longshot	The toilet location	Mysterious black figure	none	The figure can be seen in the distance for the last time.

This is our shot list for the production of the opening 2 minutes. It is important to have a shot list for the production as it allows us to make sure we've filmed everything that is needed to piece together the opening and in the right order of events. This links back to the storyboard as these are the shots needed for the storyboard panels.