Evaluation

In this production piece, we were given the task to create a two minute film opening of any film genre of our choice. So I decided to create a thriller film opening as to me it would be the easiest of genres in order to create enigma and keep the audiences attention throughout the two minutes. I didn’t want to use the genre of horror, action and film noir as I think it would be difficult to achieve due to the limited time I had left to create my film opening as I was late starting due to many reasons. By choosing the genre of thriller I thought it would be easy to create a list of props, camera shots and be able to find a suitable location which would work successfully for this genre of film. I thought it would be easy to create enigma and suspense within this genre very easily due to focusing on the types of camera shots and sound.

After completing my filming work i created a questionaire with the intention of having feedback from my targeted audience in order to see if my film opening was successful and targeted the audience in the correct way. The questionaire consisted of questions such as:

• did you enjoy the film opening?
• would you go on to watch the rest of the film?
• is this the sort of film you would normally watch?
• who do you think the tyical audience are for this film would be?
• where might this film be shown?
• what do you like about the film?
• what do you think could have been improved?

I gave out ten questionaires to an audience watching my film opening. The results show that i targeted the correct age range of the audience as 10/10 questionaires said aimed at older teens/ young adults. Also, 8/10 liked the score and sound effects used throughout my sequence which i was happy with for a result as i found the sound most difficult when trying to create enigma. On the other hand through the questionaire i found that my audience thought i could have improved my film opening by making it longer which has been said by 60% of the people who took the questionaire, 30% said make the narrative clearer and 20% said the use of the piano in the score sounded too repetitive. I took into carefull consideration the questionaires i had been given in order to see how i could improve my work in the future.

I decided to create a narrative based around the idea of two females arguing, which is going to be viewed through a series of flashbacks in order to create enigma. Then I wanted one of the females to be seen in a series of shots with a knife viewed again in a flash back effect, then have the same female sat on a bench as though she is reminiscing over her past memories. The enigma and suspense created will leave the audience questioning “does she kill the other girl?”. I wanted to leave it as though it was leading that way, but maybe if I was creating the whole film, I could have created a slight twist to the story so that the woman in red was not indeed the murder of the female but someone else. This is shocking as the woman in red has the connection of a femme fetale taken from the genre of film noir and has the stereotype of seducing a male character and later being killed herself, where as in this film opening there is no male involved which furthermore leads to the more shocking effect of a female being a murder as this breaks the stereotype of a female which is supposed to be kind, innocent and vulnerable.

These two shots taken from the jump cut, flash back sequence is how i have related the knife to the main character to suggest she has or is about to do something dangerous. e.g. commit a murder.

For my media product I think the media institution which would distribute it would be something like Channel 4 as they show British films of different genres but mostly lw budget, independant productions, therefore my film would fit the specification. Channel 4 is a well established institution which is well known for distributing British film’s, therefore are highly recognised and popular within British society.
The audience of media product would be aimed at the young adult age range interested in thriller films. This is due to my characters (actress’s) being young themselves which therefore makes them more appealing to this audience age range. If the audience feel like they can relate to the characters, they are more interested in the situations the characters are faced with as they can then see how they react to certain situations and furthermore idolise them.

I attracted my audience by establishing each of the characters in the same way, as well as creating the suspense and creating the different views on each character, e.g. the woman in red to be negatively portrayed. I did this by using a series of different shots of the character but leaving the shot of the face till the last of the sequence where the character would be revealed with an identity, I chose to do this in order to create suspense and build the enigma. I also built the enigma through my choice of editing which was a fast sequence cut shot but done through the technique of a flash back which was created when editing using a sepia tone. I chose to use the forest setting as due to my target audience being a young adult age group, they would be familiar with the idea of a thriller genre of film through watching films such as the "Blair witch prject" which is a popular thriller amongst the targeted audience. A typical thriller is being set in deserted or isolated area’s as this portrays the idea that something negative or secretive is about to happen. Further more, creating the suspense and heightening the dramatic impact, which allows my audience to relate to the situation. My use of creating enigma attracts my audience through building up the suspense of the type of shots. For example the last couple of shots where the flashback fades into the present tense and ends on a sharp screech, this has been done to create the effect that the woman in red is reliving her past memories, the screech creates a dramatic impact and heightens the suspense as the shot cuts to black leaving the rest of the film to the audience’s imagination.

This sequence of shots is when the sharp screech sound effect comes in on the main character's blink which heightens the dramatic impact and leaves the audience on edge.

During the construction of this product I have learnt different techniques and expanded my knowledge in using the different types of technologies. For instance, before I was not so good with editing and camera work which is evident from my preliminary task. But through learning from my past mistakes I have been able to apply my new knowledge in order to produce a higher standard of work which I am happy with. At the beginning of this task, my first filming production was a disaster when I was working in a pair as it was poor quality. Realising I could do better after watching past films created for the same project and discussing ideas, I decided to work individually and start again with a strong mind on creating a better standard of work. When working with the programme “imovie” I learned new skills such as how to edit better sequences with good timing and create different effects while also experimenting with different techniques in order to create the effects that I want. However, using garage band was difficult as there are so many different sounds and music to work with and it was a case of experimenting with different ones in order to find the right ones to fit into my film opening. However, I did learn how to create a new garage band sound track and view my film and film timing in the same window so that I didn’t have to record my different timings for specific sound effects. Personally, I also think I have improved my use of techniques when experimenting with different sounds for my filming clips, such as the different scores and my use of sound bridges such as the footsteps from a blank screen into the close up of the feet walking, this has been done in order to create suspense on who the character is, where they are going and why they are in this type of setting.

This is a screen shot taken from the program imovie that i used to edit my film footage and put my filming together.

This is a screen shot taken from the program garage band

that i used to create my sound and music

In the progression from my preliminary task to my full product I think I can honestly say there has been a great improvement in my work. This is due to my use of experimenting, learning from past mistakes and new knowledge when using different technologies. But overall, I think I have most improved in my camera work as I have managed to physically capture the types of shots I wanted in my mind and put them into practice when editing. I have also used more advance types of camera editing in imovie in order to create enigma and heighten the dramatic impact for the audience which I am proud of as my preliminary task was very basic and dull. In my production piece I am very happy with my flashback sequences and how the build up the enigma as they establish the characters and also heighten the dramatic impact while leaving the audience in suspense as to what will happen next, which has been done through the fast paced jump cuts and the use of sepia when editing.How ever, if I was to redo this project I would use my time more effectively and do the work I have produced by a sooner deadline in order to spend more time on my sound editing as I feel it could be done a lot more better and to a higher standard as I am pleased with my camera editing, but feel it’s the sound that is not as good and effective.

This is an example of one of my flashback sequences that i thought was successful which creates enigma and builds tensions

To Conclude I think my production piece is successful in creating the enigma for a thriller film through using types of camera shots and editing. However if I could have improved I would have changed my sound editing to a better quality by spending more time on it in order to experiment. Also, throughout this task I have learned different skills which I will continue to improve on in future work in order to improve my standards of work.

Sound Editing

Once i had successfully completed my editing on my filming i then had to Finnish the production piece by completing my sound editing. I had the idea of not using a voice over in my film opening, as i wanted to create the enigma through the music and effects. I also thought if i used a voice over it would possibly give too much of the story line away and therefore lose the dramatic impact for the audience as well as losing the enigma.


I began by opening the application "Garage Band", i then copied my filming from "imovie" and loaded it up on Garage Band as well. I done this in order to successfully plan my timings without having to sit with pen and paper and time things myself, this strategy was time saving and also a way of learning something new as i hadn't used this process before. As i could view my filming while creating the sound track for the filming, i could easily recognize
faults and out of time effects.

This a screen shot taken from garage band before I started creating my sound track and had imported my filming clip.

I wanted to start this section of work by producing my score as to me it was the most important part of my sound editing as it portrays how the filming sequence is viewed by the audience. I had in mind that I wanted either piano or strings as this is the typical score for a thriller film, therefor I chose to follow the same conventions. I began by experimenting with different piano and string sounds, I then wrote down on paper which ones I liked that created a negative tension. I found that most the strings got boring after a while of listening to them and made the film more Gothic and old, therefore I chose to use the piano as my score. However, i did have in mind to use the strings to build up the tension in my flashback sequence's as it gave a theme of danger and a negative approach to what was happening. Next, i concentrated on the sound for my flash back sequence's which i decided to keep plain and simple with the piano quietened in the background with the strings coming in strong and loud. I personally like this sequence as it strongly portrays the idea of danger which therefore builds the main character as well as creating enigma. I got this idea from the Jaws theme tune as when every time there is danger e.g the shark coming, there is a strong use of strings.

After, I began to add my sound effects in such as the footsteps walking through the forest. At first i only had this sound at the beginning sequence of the feet walking. But after editing the rest of the sound I found that it didn't work and had to be continuous in order for it to work and run smoothly throughout the rest of the film, or else not have the footsteps in it at all. Personally, I thought I would need the footsteps in order to make the first sequence to work as it created the suspense about the character, therefore i decided to keep them throughout the film. It was difficult to find the right sound of footsteps that I wanted on garage band as there were many such a footsteps on gravel, running etc. but i finally found one which sounded like walking on forest ground and was synchronise with my filming which was successful. I then added the sound effect of a forest like atmosphere where my main character is walking through forest as it strongly portrays the enviroment in which she is in while also creating emphasis on the idea of being alone.

I then began to work on my score changing for the ending of my film sequence where it would be more slow and soft, in order to portray my main character as innocent and contrast against the harsh strings used in the flash back sequences. For this, I had found a soft and slow piano which portrayed the strong idea of innocence as well as building enigma. I also wanted a dramatic sounding for my ending, for this i thought of carrying on the soft piano untill the end when I use the extra close up, long hold shot of my main characters eyes where at the end when she blinks to have a sharp sting which leads to a blacks screen, then the title of the film "Lady In Red". I decided to use this as i thought it would create a big tension for the audience and make them want to watch the rest of the film in order to find out what really happened. The sound effect from the sharp sting i got the idea from thriller and horror films when something negative and dramatic happens, which was once again me following the conventions of a thriller film.

Second Part Of Editing

Looking over the new film footage that i had i was rather pleased with my types of shots and was feeling really positive to have finished my filming stage completely.

I began by cutting up my shots to the sections that i liked and knew would fit into my filming, but tried to do it in logical order so that i didn't get confused or muddled up. once i had my sequence in an order i began cutting specific clips in order to make the film flow and begin to take shape.

I had to pay extreme attention when completing my jump shot sequences of the flash backs in order for them to create the enigma as well as heighten the dramatic impact for the audience. this was difficult as the shots had to be timed short and made jumpy in order to create the horror like theme of a murder as well as create the enigma and establish the characters, which in the end was successfully done. I had decided to change my flash back sequences to different clips as i was going to keep the same one throughout the film which was the establish character of the killer, but i thought i would be able to create a better enigma through changing each sequence such as the first being the establishing shot of the character killer, the second being the establishing shot of the victim, the third being the sequence of both the characters aggressively arguing and the last sequence being the same as the first in order to create the emphasis around the killer, which further more created a bigger enigma for the audience successfully. i had to make sure each of these sequences were edited to look sepia in order to give a flash back effect, they also had to have the jump cut effect timed correctly in order to build up the enigma correctly as well as establish what is going on.

This is a screen shot taken from the fast cut sequence of both characters arguing. It strongly builds tension as well as portraying aggression through both characters expressions, this particular shot is an over the shoulder shot which shows the reaction from the other character. It is slightly low angled and therefore portrays the other character to be more dominant in the argument, also connotes the idea that the main character is the one that is vulnerable.

I then moved on to editing the rest of the film sequence which seemed allot more easy than trying to get the effect of the jump sequence. however i was pleased with the outcome. it took a while of cutting and re-arranging the clips before i was finally happy with my decision. i am especially happy with the way i managed to edit together the eye line match of the killer and the bench as i had expected the shot to be slightly off target, but it worked quite well. also, i was happy with the arguing sequence in the flash back effect as it was edited together so well considering it took so long to do, and at first i did have my doubts due to the actress's not being able to keep a serious face while doing it, but editing the sequence correctly helped me to overcome this problem and create the aggressive tone which i wanted. however there was one problem with this sequence, i hadn't kept to the 180 degree rule, there fore had to use the "mirror" effect in editing, but when filming i had not noticed this until it came to the editing process and was closely looking at if my film opening runs smoothly. I was also pleased with my ending sequence how i edited the extra close up shot on the eyes in sepia to "wash out" to the normal view of the eyes, giving the idea the the murder has been in the same position before in the past, and then how i cut the close up of the knife shot into the extra close up, long hold shot of the eyes every time the murder blinked in order to portray the idea to the audience that every time she closes her eyes she thinks of the knife, then cuts to black to heighten the suspense.

This is an example of the wash in effect from the sepia effect 

to normal in order to portray a time lapse.

Once i was happy with my film opening sequence i began to add in my film titles. this was very difficult as when i had attempted to make them before the shot of the title overlapped my other shots blocking them out and making them go completely black, however i some how over came this problem and managed to do them successfully. Another difficult part was thinking what to put in my titles as i wanted them spread out throughout my film opening, but i couldn't think what to write in each one, but i finally came up with a variety of titles such as the actress's, productions etc. and finally made it work smoothly in my film opening in a way it helped build up towards creating the enigma.

Overall i had successfully completed editing my film opening. personally, I'm very pleased with the way it has come together as my filming idea before was such a disaster when it came to filming and editing, and my new one actually looked more like a film opening and looked a good quality in comparison, therefore contrasting against the other one, i knew i was capable of doing a good standard of filming and i was pleased i didn't settle for the worst one. i had edited the clips so that it ran smoothly and also managed to use a variety of different camera shots while also creating the enigma. all i had to do now was the sound for my film.

Second Part Of Filming

My second stage of filming took place on the 27th of February. I had a clear idea in mind what i had to get done in order to have my filming process completely finnished. I had a series of different shots to take such as film another character walking through the forest which turned out to be Emily Pybus, i had chosen to do a variety of different shots, firstly starting with her feet in order to create suspense then a shot to establish the character, which will then be followed by a tracking shot in order to create the enigma of who is following her while also giving off the negative tension that something bad has happened or about to happen. I then also needed a shot of the killer walking towards the bench which i done by doing an eyeline match between the murderer's eyes and the bench and then a long shot of her walking towards the bench and sitting down. finnally i got a long take shot of the murderer's eyes which was an extra close up in order to highten the dramatic impact.

This is one of the unsteady handheld camera shots

 i used in order to establish character.

I was happy with the way my second filming went as it was only simple parts of filming i had left to do and had done it successfully. Lucky enough, the weather conditions were the same as my first filming therefore that didnt look out of place or odd. I was also very happy with my variety of shots on the victim character when establishing them as a character which later can be edited in greater detail. I am also very pleased with how good i got my eyeline match between the killer and the bench in order to establish thats where the killer is going. Also due to the weather being dry for the past couple of days before hand it made it easier for my characters to move around easier without slipping over and therefore me having to re-film certain shots over and over again, also it was less windy therefore it was easier to keep the camera and tri-pod steady giving it a better shot.

This is an example of the eye line match i used to show my character was looking at the bench and give the idea that that is where she is going.

On the other hand there were a few problems. when it came to the two characters arguing it took alot of shots to get it right as both actress's kept laughing while arguing as they couldnt think of anything to say while under the pressure of being filmed. however, i should be able to over come this problem in the editing process by editing all the different clips together as the argument is going to be part of one of the jump sequences. from my choices of shots i had decided to do in my second filming, i had slightly changed such as the shots of the dead body and the knife in action. i had to do this as my killer character was scared of knives and being in a public place aswell was difficult as people walking by were giving us funny looks even with the camera being there. so instead i swapped this sequence to the two characters arguing quite aggressively to create the same enigma.

I was hoping that this was my final filming as i was already struggleing with time due to personal reasons therefore had to use my time wisely, after this filming i wanted to dedicate my time towards editing so that i could catch up with the rest of the group and still produce a good quality film opening.