post production - last few days

 Last few days of editing

Looking at the last few days of editing, there were only a few small changes to the concept and idea. We didn't make any choices that were too dramatic or changed the idea in an extreme way. For example towards the end of the opening sequence when our main actor turns and screams, we decided to add a dog whining (sound effect) so that there is a reason to him turning around. Originally it was going to be that he heard footsteps and that the camera lunges towards him and we are left wondering  what happened to him. The most clear and powerful way that we created tension (in my opinion) is through the ending of our opening sequence. When we finished editing we decided that the scene would end with our actor screaming and the screen going blank. The creepy music would still play for a few seconds and then end. The tension was massively created there as the audience are left wondering what happened to our actor and the dog (whether they are alive or not)

Based off of our opening scene I feel like we successfully followed the stereotypical conventions of  a horror and were able to grip our audiences into questioning everything. The sequence ends on a cliff hanger and the audience are left wondering what was in the woods, who did it, and why etc. The audience are engaged as something has made this grown man scream. They would have to keep on watching to know what happened. I feel that our choices of editing were quick and snappy which meant that it kept the narrative moving at all our points. Quick cuts and popcorn editing was one of our successful points as we were able to see all aspects of our actors point of view as well as the location.

Looking at the titles and what we decided to keep we ended up using only a few titles as we didn't want to cramp our whole opening scene with titles as it took away from the sequence. Originally we tried to put quite a few titles, but it meant that no one actually got to read the titles properly and it felt too rushed. We only added in the important titles such as the 

- the investor group (The panic group)

- the studio (exorcist studios)

- the director (Tom Goss)

- the (directors) movie

- the main actor 1, 2 and 3 

That was it as we wanted to keep the titles at a minimum but give the basic information of the opening sequence. Now looking at sound (we kept it quite basic). We used free music from youtube and converted it into an MP3. I tried to research creepy music that reflected the atmosphere of the film. It ended up really enforcing and helping our scene and was a successful decision. We only did one use of a sound effect which was the dog whining. But apart from that we just doubled up the clearer bits of sound from the external mic and start to increase and decrease the volume of certain parts of the clip. Some of the issues that arose was that we had match the volume and make it sound natural. For example I had to start decreasing the background music so that we could hear the sound from our actor speaking. We also thought the background sound was too loud at the beginning so we had to cross fade the sound and blending it together so it faded in getting louder. The soundtrack that we used was a slow paint and violin start which started to get louder and faster as the scene goes on. We wanted something that emphasized the intensity and creepiness of the scene. 

Lastly looking at effects and anything we used. We didn't use any as we wanted to keep it to a minimum. There was also no reason to as we wanted to keep it naturalistic. The main idea of this was that something like this could happen to anyone. So we wanted to keep this as real as possible so the audience would fear it. It felt more scary if it was real. In general at times I wish we had checked when we were filming the lighting of each clip. Sometimes the clips and shots were too bright, so it didn't reflect that gloomy mood and atmosphere we were going for in the beginning. Overall tho it was realistic and communicated the key themes and ideas of our opening title sequence.

post production - first few days

 First few days of editing

The first thing that we did in the first few days of editing was the things like putting all the clips together and cutting the clips to the suitable size. This meant that we had to choose the best clips out of the selection that we had, and cut and put together. When going over all of the footage that we had' overall it was quite good and we managed to record everything that we needed. Some of the mistakes we made though was I feel th last few clips of the massacre could have been better or just given us more of a variety to look at. It was good but I feel that we could of gotten a better POV shot. 

After the cutting and putting the clips together, we started to decide which type of editing skills and methods we could use to improve the quality of it. For example, popcorn editing was one of the ,thuds we used towards the end so that we could capture both the reaction of our character and what he was seeing. It took a couple of days for us to get to a final result (before the adding of titles and sound) as there was so many clips to try perfect. What we were trying to achieve was an effective horror genre opening scene. Some of the earlier choices we made to editing were just the basic outline to the opening sequence. We wanted to create our original idea. Some of the things did change was the original concept and how the 'cult' like creature was suppose to attack the main character. And with editing we would be able to do a quick cut. But it ended up being that with the use of editing in post production we could add the sound of a dog getting hurt and that is the reason that our character turns around.

mis en scene video

Group mis en scene video

 

behind the scenes

Behind the scenes video

 

shot day reflection

 Reflection of the day

Our shoot was quite successful as we worked with the time we had as well as faced difficulties that were unexpected. It was a day that also needed a lot of preparation in advance as we could not risk wasting time. For example, the few days leading up to the shoot we started to design the symbols, pentagrams, and crosses with chunks of wood, sticks, elastic bands, and spray cans. Our idea focuses on the ideas of a satanic cult and rituals. So, anything we made and used was a key importance to the representation of our idea. We were also aware of the fact that it would take a while to set up, so it was easier to do everything a couple of days before. Our day started with us collecting the meat (pigs heads, skin, meat etc.) which we then loaded into the car with the camera equipment and props we needed. Throughout the week we had bought props such as a small dress, a wig, fake blood (as well as some blood we made). We then headed to the location with everything which only took 10 minutes to get there. Overall, we did not have much hassle in the morning getting everything together.  

Looking at the pros and cons of the day of the shoot, some of the pros were that we did not find it too difficult to get most of our shots and finding creative ways to capture the angles of the shoot. We were able to shoot the whole thing before 1pm (4 hours) which is 4 hours quicker than we gave ourselves. One of the major things that affected our shoot was the fact that the weather was terrible. As we progressed through the day the weather got worse, and it was raining. This meant that at all points we had to hold umbrellas over the equipment, and we had to rush the shoot more than we would have if the weather were better. I did come away from the shoot thinking worrying whether we could have better shots, but with the weather conditions and how windy, cold, and wet it was I think we did quite well. Another advantage of the shoot was that we were able to adapt to unexpected situations like the weather change. We also did have to put into perspective that we were working with an animal who was only needed for half the shoot. We had to consider how much time the dog was on set as it was cold an
d rainy. Some of the things I think we could have done better was do the meat handling scenes first. The reason for this was because it took a while to set up and in general included us having to really focus. By the end of the day, we were tired and needed to spend more time on it. But because of the rain we were limited to time. Something else we struggled with was the fact that this was a public location. There w
as multiple times where people on a walk or cycling would cycle across or near to our shooting location, so we had to stop and start on set. 

Within this shoot it exposed me properly and took me further than the workshops in class. For
example, I learnt about aperture shutter speed on a recording camera. Things like the different angles we could use. Having done the workshop it meant that we were comfortable with the camera enough so we could get going quickly and did not have to spend valuable time attempting to work the camera. Overall, we were prepped well but it is completely different once you are shooting. Once on set I was able to use my skills, but I also learnt certain things like the angle, shutter speed as well as the different light settings we could use to fit the scene. Things like bubbling the camera, white balance and the use of the microphone were extremely useful, and I felt that if we had not gone over it within the camera workshops, we would have suffered a bit. Overall, I was happy with the ending result of our shoot. I feel that if we had not been under the pressure of weather, we would not have rushed it as much and we would have spent more time sufficiently getting our final shots. 

Looking at the equipment which we used, we used a variety. We ended up not using any additional lighting and just used natural lighting of the sun. The gloominess of the weather ended up being used to our advantage as it set the gloominess and negative connotations of our idea. But we had smaller lights just in case it was too dark – but we did not end up using them. Things like the tripod and microphone were something we continuously used apart from one handheld shot. Something we used that made a difference to the effect of the sunlight was the use of a gold reflector. The gold reflector meant we could reflect the light on to our actor's face. This was something that ended up being useful as it got darker through the day. Overall, the equipment we used was minimal and was simple due to us working outside in the woods. One of my favorite parts of the day was the morning of the shoot as we were excited and felt really prepared. We were also really committed to learning the use of the camera outside of a studio. We began the day putting all our energy into learning new things and the skills of working on set.  

Next time I think something I would do differently is the order of filming. We started the day recording some of the easier, more simple shots. Which I feel in the weather conditions and energy everyone had would have been easier to do at the end. We should have started with the harder, more complex shots, so we could get it out of the way. In future shoots I will be much more comfortable with the camera and will be able to work with the lighting on set (both natural and artificial) more effectively as well as properly understanding it. In the future editing is putting it all together and overall, just focusing on whether it looks good or not. Some of the challenges we are going to face is also the editing of sound. Within shooting there was a lot of ambient sound such as wind, vehicles and Aeroplan's which would go by. There will be some shots we cannot use due to that or edit them to take away the sound. Overall, it was a very enjoyable experience, and I learnt a lot and feel much more comfortable around the equipment and camera.  

 

making of props

 making of our props

In the final days leading up to our shoot we ended up getting the certain things together. Things like the sticks, bands, spray paint etc. The 3 days before, we started assembling our pentagrams and symbols. We couldn't leave this till the last minute so we had to be prepared. We ended up with a good amount and variety of symbols and things we would be using. Another part of the preparation was things like the fake blood which we did the night before as we had bought the ingredients and had everything ready. We then filled the water bottles with the blood, so. that on set we could easily spray it on different objects. When looking at smaller props like the wig and the small dress we bought that the week and got the wig ready as well. It meant that on the day we could just grab it and leave to the set with it.

Saul Bass research task

 Saul Bass and Elaine Bass

Saul Bass born in 1920 was an American graphic designer and film maker who came up with imaginative way of film title sequences. He was a pioneer of the modern title sequence designing. He was also an Oscar award winning film maker who inspired many with his creative motion pictures and was seen as a much more modern maker of the time. His wife Elaine Bass worked along side Saul for 40 years being a title sequence maker, graphic designer and film maker. Together they developed multiple projects for high end people and massive film makers within the industry such as Martin Scorsese, Danny Devito, Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubreck, Otto Preminger and more. 

This is an example of their work:

Saul Bass/ Elaine Bass (Alfred Hitchcocks psycho) opening title sequence:

Information on psycho:

year - 1960

studio - Shamley productions

director - Alfred Hitchcock

Opening title sequence by Saul and Elaine bass that doesn't give away the narrative:

The film psycho was based upon the real life killings of Wisconsin series murderer Ed Gein. Its full of bursts of violence and the gore of these killings. The opening title sequence is supposed to reflect the mood and atmosphere of the film. For example the choice of the dark color palette; connotes the harsh negative ideologies that this film includes. It is almost a warning to the target audience that this sequence will be dark and not something that is stereotypically 'happy'. 

The font in which they have used is sharp and bold again communicating those 'quick' and 'sharp' ideologies. Within this opening title sequence it just uses lines and a dark color palette to communicate the mood of this film. The reason I picked this was because it didn't have anything that properly gave away the film which I felt was effective as it built the tensions of what is about to happen. It is a tension filled film with key moments of scaring and thrill. So I feel like the quick moving dark lines will connote this effectively. It juxtaposes the film with its simpleness.

opening scene that reflects the narrative more: West side story

Information on West side story:

year - 2005

studio - 20th century studios

director - Stephen Spielburg

Within west side story this opening title sequence was a lot more reflective of the narrative, atmosphere and mood. The use of the wall background that is covered in graffiti and chalk (of the characters names and actors names). This reflects the rough lifestyle that the characters of west side story live. The color scheme is dark and connotes the masculinity of both groups, as well as reflected the movie and narrative itself.

The font of the text is like it was personally written and doesn't look professional. This is reflective of the unprofessional way and the gangs. In general Movies started to change the way their opening title sequence looked after Saul and Elaine bass's creations due to they creativity and new designs. It was quick moving which reflected the quick moving narrative, and overall was different to the psycho opening title sequence. Overall Saul Bass and Elaine started a new modern era with title sequences. 

BBFC lesson

 The BBFC

The BBFC is the British board of film classification. They are basically in charge of the regulation of films and the age rating. Aswell as that, they are in charge of setting the rules that control a certain set of products in a film industry. This includes what is allowed to be in a film and what isn't. The public are able to complain or talk to the BBFC if they have an issue or are unhappy with the films content. This means that films or movies in the cinema are not allowed to be exposed to the public if they haven't received an age classification. These ratings include 6 different ratings: 

The things in which are considered when classifying the age of a film are: - violence/ obscene language/ sex or nudity/ self harm/ criminal activity/dangerous behavior/ lighting/ drugs/ alcohol/ even children acting within films.

This also look into the context of the film. Whether the film is realistic, fantasy based or animated. Animated or fantasy based films are often allowed to include more violence and get a lower age rating as audiences are able to identify that this isn't real. This is what is believed by the bbfc. This includes having to look into the way ideas are presented within films and how these are dealt with. For example if a film includes the use of drugs and it is presented in a sensible fashion, then a film might be given a lower film certificate. Where as if it is presented as fun and no consequences to it (unrealistic) then a film will be given a much higher film certificate. When it comes to violence and the way they look at it, they have to investigate it in a detailed way. For example they have to ask why there is violence/ is it self defense/ what harm or injuries were caused/ is the violence enjoyed etc. There is a lot more that is considered but this is a few of the main ones. 

When it comes to the comparison of DVD releases and cinematic release, the rating for a DVD is
normally higher than the cinematic release. An example of this would be hunger games. The cinematic release got a 12A rating, but that indicates that a child under 12 has to go see it with a parent. This isn't doable for a film so it had the choice of 12 or a 15. It resulted in being rated a 15. Thats why the process of the film is quite important. The process is where a production company has to send a copy of their film to the bbfc to watch and decide a certificate. Once it is certificated they are able to release it in DVD form ad on cinematic release. If the bbfc give a rating that the company aren't happy with, the whole process starts again. They either go with the rating or have the option to re edit the film and send it through again. The reason that production companies want the lowest age certificate they can get is it because they can then target larger audiences.

If we were to send our opening sequence (and entire film idea) to the BBFC the age rating I think it would get would either be a 15. The reason for this would be that the opening scene doesn't include any sort of physical violence, only a gory blood scene which would be the only disturbing thing and probably something children shouldn't see. I would consider a 12 rating, but I feel like our film would take a violent turn and explain the massacre more which would be disturbing to specific audiences. Which is why I would choose a higher rating. As it has negative connotations and the man is alone, it can be quite scary for younger audiences, giving it a higher rating would be the more sensible plan.

similar products and conventions research post

similar products and conventions

Looking at our opening scene and the genre it fits into, we decided it belonged in the horror genre. The horror genre is one of the biggest genres and is split into a variety of sub genres, so its important to identify the category in which our film fits into. Ours fits into a satanic horror type genre.

We had to look at a variety of films that were in the same category (a horror) as our opening scene. the films that we chose were:

- scream

- stranger things

- blare witch project

- IT

SCREAM: 

Looking at the character types within horrors in general and the movie Scream. Something that is the most noticeable thing is that there is aways a victim within the narrative (horrors). We have followed these conventions of a stereotypical horror. Within our opening scene a man who is oblivious to the massacre that has taken place. He comes across the bloody scene and it ends with the indication that something happens to him. Within Scream, the victim is spending the night in her home, making popcorn and wanting to watch a film. This is what makes these killers so effective, as it is unexpected by the victims but expected by the audience. This is what the similarities are to our sequence, as this man didn't expect it at all.

As we are doing a horror theres not really a direct theme to our opening sequence. Horror is the main theme as there is a narrative, blood, disturbance etc. Within scream this is quite similar as there isn't a direct or key theme that can be associated with it. As horror is the main theme of it.

When looking at the narrative, and what we decided to do. The beginning of our opening scene is the man walking through the forest on a dog walk. Its simple and easy to achieve, juxtaposition of whats about to occur. Scream follows a narrative of a young girl, home alone, making popcorn. She suddenly receives a call which turns into her being tormented by a male killer, and ends up dying at the end of the opening scene. Comparing this to our opening scene and the similarities between them, our character in the beginning is unknown to the danger that is further along. He ends up coming across this bloody scene, which ends up being the connoted death of him.

The setting of Scream takes place in the young women's home, she is alone which is what makes her so vulnerable within the scene. It is at night which is another contributing factor. Within our scene the main character of the scene is male. stereotypically you wouldn't (as an audience) fear for the mans life, yet what ends u happening is he is scared, and you suddenly change that opinion. This goes against the stereotypes and conventions of a horror. Overall Scream and our opening scene are quite similar yet also differentiate. Our opening scene takes place in the woods. The woods location is quite an abandoned and lonely place, you are most likely not going to get help if you need it. This created tension as there is no one to help him, he is alone with whoever is out there (cult like predators)

We are filming in the day so lighting isn't a huge deal as we will be using natural light. Just incase, we will be bringing portable tightening tubes which are small lights to brighten up the darker parts of the shoot. Within Scream it was filmed in a house so they were able to use artificial lights that the house had already, as well as high key lighting (set lights). Looking at the two opening sequences the props that were used are surroundings of a house and a woods location. The set in scream was the basic necessities of an urban house, while our opening scene is just simple necessities of the woods. What we have in common, is using what is around us to the advantage. We are using twigs, sticks, the tree foliage etc. 

The camera angles in which are similar to Scream is the variety. Within horror its important to not give too much away so that suspense is built at all moments. we have talked about the capturing of facial expressions, which scream do quite well with the use of close up shots. One of the key shots we will use is establishing shots as they are contributing factors to the introduction of a location. Scream do this as if the young girl is being watched, which is something we will be trying to achieve within our opening scene. We want to communicate the idea as if he is being watched and is not alone.

Lastly looking at the way we want to edit our opening scene to create effect, it would be very similar to scream. Both the concepts and ideas of scream and our opening scene are quite similar in the sense that there is a lot of quick cuts in place. Again the idea that we don't want to give too much away to build suspense. There won't be a vast amount of transitions, quite similar to scream (keeping it simple). Overall the editing will be quite simple and kept to a minimum, to make sure that not much is given away that ruins the scene.

BLARE WITCH PROJECT:

The characters of Blare witch project are 2 men and a woman who go on a trip to discover a certain area of the woods where paranormal activity has taken place. They are completely unaware to what is going to take place. Similar to our actor and character, he has no idea what is about to take place within the forest and is going in thinking he's on a dog walk. The man is young, probably in his thirties. The actors within Blare witch project end up screaming and are terrified of what is taking place. Similar to our opening scene, this man will be exposed to something he's never seen before and will shock and terrify him. Overall its similar in the sense that these characters are exposed to things that they had never even imagined, which is what makes the events so powerful.

Similar to the last paragraph on the theme of our opening scene. As it is a horror the is the theme. There isn't a specific (theme) category that I can put it into as it follows the basic conventions of a horror. So both the blare witch project and our opening scene would just be classified as a horror.

The narrative of the blare witch project is as they go deeper into the forest and get lost etc, they start to see more abnormal situations occur. Their friend gets kidnapped, they lose their map etc. Its the idea that as they go deeper into the forest and further along the narrative everything starts to go wrong and gets worse. Similar to our opening scene, the further he goes into the forest location, it begins to go wrong and the audience are exposed to abnormal details such as symbols, signs, meat etc. The man doesn't notice it but the camera works and shots will make it so that the audience notice it immediately.

With the set and location. The whole of the Blare witch project takes place in some woods in America. The whole of our opening scene takes place in the woods. The great thing about the woods location is that in both sequences it isolates our characters. no one can save or hear them within the woods and it makes them more alone without help. It can also give the idea that anyone could be watching at all points, which is something we massively want to take forward. That is why in some ways our opening scene is most similar to blare witch project as it is based in a forest location with no one else to help them. Something else that can be compared, is that within the blare witch project, they slowly separate and lose each other like in our opening scene. The dog there is almost a false sense of security, and then he runs away and the man is left alone with this mess. The costume, lights, makeup and hair is a difficult one as there isn't much. We are filming outside so the lighting will be at a minimum as mentioned before. Within the blare witch project they film at both night and day which we will not be doing. We will only bet filming in the day which does benefit us, as we can use the sunlight as our main source of light. The blare witch project was set in the style of a documentary, so they were able to use the natural sunlight and it wasn't questioned. Where as if we need (as mentioned previously) we are bringing small lights incase of dark scenes.

The way we are filming will be slightly different to the blare witch projects filming, because as mentioned theirs was filmed in the style of a documentary which meant that most of the shots were hand held shots. Where as we will only be using a few hand held shots to reinforce the idea that someone is with him in the forest but it is unknown. For example we will do a shot behind the tree through some leaves to do a pov of someone else (as if he is being watched). The hand held shot will make it more believable. As well as the end we will have the camera quickly go to him and then it cuts. It is the same method as the blare witch project and communicates some of the same ideas. 

With editing and the choices that we are going to make most of the transitions will be quick cuts as mentioned before. But with the use of sound and what we can add in post production. There might be the use of sound effects but mostly things that are ambient sounds (similar to the bare witch project). Most of their sound effects or recorded sound was trees rustling, leaves moving (ambient sounds). Which is something we will only add if we weren't able to catch it efficiently on the day of shooting.

STRANGER THINGS: 

Within stranger things and the way the characters work, there is the group of friends who are the victims of a paranormal monster known as the Demogorgan, especially two of the friends eleven and will. Something that is already comparable is the idea that this man specifically is the cult/ monster creatures new victim. At the beginning of stranger things it is the idea of the unknown and the question of what is out there. Similar to our opening scene it is the constant question to what is out there and as an audience should we fear for the character. Within stranger things some of the things that take place are questionable and most of which can't be answered. Within our opening scene the massacre is unexplainable and the audience is left on a cliffhanger without any explanation or answers to what happens.

As we are doing a horror theres not really a direct theme to our opening sequence. We can just link it to the satanic theme and the horror itself.

The stranger things narrative is based off of the idea that a boy goes missing and no one is able to give his family any answers to where he is, what has happened or what danger he is in. This ends up being a discovery of monsters, paranormal activity and unexplained situations. This is obviously the whole narrative of stranger things not the opening scene. Within our opening scene, a man wonders through the woods and comes across something that he wasn't suppose to, he ends up being faced which is suggested satanic/ cult like/ creature. But it is never explained. Similar to stranger things, within the first episode not much is explained, and the audience begin to have a variety of questions and want to know more. Which is the similar concept we are running with.

Within the first episode of stranger things it takes place in multiple locations, one of which is the forest. The forest within it has been made to look frightening and nowhere anyone wants to be (mainly set at night in the dark). We are obviously not working in the dark but working in a forest location. With the use of props and added items we can still create the same effect. The friend group within stranger things start to figure things out on their own but they always have each other. As mentioned before the man within our scene has his dog which means he isn't alone. Thats why it isn't great when the dog runs away. Looking at the costume, props and lighting. The lighting within our set will be natural lighting. This is different to stranger things as a lot of the lighting they use on set is artificial lighting. But at times they use natural lighting outside (as a lot of the program takes place outside). The props in which they use are very 50's themed so this isn't very comparable. I found that this is one of the things I can't massively compare to my opening sequence as it is just too different as well as costume. But with every other part of it im able to compare to it.

The way that stranger things have used camera angles and editing is again quick cuts tome the scenes along at a good pace. As this is an opening scene it is what is the decider for the audience to keep on watching or to stop. We have to make it intriguing in any way possible, that is why I believe that quick use of cuts would be the best decision as stereotypically fast moving scenes are easier to watch than something slow. The editing techniques that we might possibly use, is cross fading in order to blend the scenes together so that the sound sounds more natural. There will be a lot of leaves and ambient sounds, so it is important for it to sound naturalistic and not fake.

IT

The characters within IT follow the key conventions of a stereotypical horror as there is the stereotypical character types. There is the victim and predator creature, which touts and disturbs the victims. This is very similar to our opening scene and the character style/ placement within it. We have a predator which is unknown to the audience which makes it more scary. The predator ends up (or what is suggested) going after the main character. This follows they conventions of a horror, and are similar to each other. The clown Pennywise, is this creature in which the audience fear. He is a symbol of danger which is what we want the props to represent within our opening scene. As we are doing a horror theres not really a direct theme to our opening sequence. We can just link it to the satanic theme and the horror itself.

The narrative of IT is about the person eating clown who torments young children. They work together to defeat the clown. Within the opening scene of IT, the small child is left alone with the clown, this links to the idea of our opening scene. And how the man is left alone with the predator. Like Georgie the young boy from IT, he looses his boat which is what leads him to the clown, like in our opening scene the man looses his dog which is what leads him to the massacre. Although the characters are different (age, personality etc) it still follows the same concepts and ideas. The location of the opening scene of IT is based outside in the streets on a rainy day. This is similar to our scene as it takes place outside. Even though they are in different locations outside they still use the same idea of it being outside. The outside connotes the sense of danger and what can take place, which is what the forest connotes. There is no one that can take them. As mentioned before stereotypically you wouldn't expect a man to be traumatized as those are the stereotypes of men within movies. But this opening scene goes against the stereotypes. 

The costumes used within IT suit the location. For example, the young boy is in a yellow rain coat (perfect for the rainy evening). The yellow also connotes a sense of purity, happiness, and all things that can be associated with a young child. Like our opening scene we have dressed our actor in jeans/ trousers a black jacket and boots. This fits our character (a male in his thirties) connotes the dominance and stereotypical masculinity with the dark color palette. The lighting within the scene of IT, is quite dark with some editing they were able to emphasize the gloominess of the day and present a certain atmosphere. This is something we are going to try as the weather and colouration of the scene does reflect the mood and atmosphere of our scene.

The camera techniques used in IT have been close ups and mid shots as well as the odd establishing shots which present to us the location of the scene. The establishing shots are so important as they introduce the location and atmosphere to audiences so they understand where it takes place. The close ups of the Childs face make us feel more sympathy and love towards the character. That is why it is important for the close ups to bring out the detail. We are going to include close ups for our actor (smiling, laughing, calling out his dog). This way the audience are introduced to the actor and feel for him on a deeper level. And lastly the editing techniques in which we will use, will be mostly the adding of sound within post production, of ambient sounds etc. There is not much to say about the editing of what we want to achieve as I have listed it above. But we have decided that we want the editing techniques to be simple yet effective so that we can get the best out of what we are doing.

IN CONCLUSION:

To conclude the things in which they have in common and something I notice massively is the fact that they all follow the key conventions of a horror. The idea that there is always a victim, and a predator. There is also the use of the unknown, that something could always happen. The fear that the audience feel is something that keeps them interested and entertained. The audience always have questions and want to know the answers to them. That is why they keep watching because they have to know. The reason all these conventions are in my opening scene, is because we are targeting a specific audience. The horror target audience are people who love the gore and the fear so we have to present that in some sort of form. The reason movies and studios earn money is due to the audience watching the movie. If the target audience don't watch it, then they won't earn the money they need. That is why sadly today, majority of movies aren't made for creativity they are made to please a mass audience. The elements in which are different are the types of horrors in which we picked. IT the clown focuses on monster horrors, where as ours is a basic horror that doesn't typically go under a sub genre. If we had to narrow it down, it would have something to do with satanic cults/ or groups. The blare witch project is something that is most similar as it never actually reveals something, which is the concept in which we want to follow. Finally, these products gave us inspiration to how we should film and whats best to do. It emphasized that we need to make sure our camera angles create suspense and intrigue our audiences. 

Filming and Editing workshop

 FILMING 

Within the filming Of our small sequence we decided to capture simple dialogue. For example we had one actor positioned casually across a sofa while the other actor came in and sat next to each other. They asked each other how they both were and then that was the end of it. We made sure that we captured this dialogue in different angles, composition and movement. The main reason for this was that if an angle didn't work then we had a different angle we could use to back it up. The things in which we learnt on set were small things but ended up effecting our process of it massively. For example the 180 degree rule. This basically is a guideline when filming that states when actors maintain the same left right relationship next to each other on set. If we do not use this rule there will be a continuity error and the audience will get confused to what is happening on scene. We had to make sure that we bubbled the camera as well as the white balance, This can remove those yellow or discolored tones from the shot as well as the right angle. It means the camera wasn't wonky and captured what we wanted in the right way.

Some of the problems we faced when filming this was simple things. At first we forgot to bubble the camera, which meant we had to start again with the shot. As well as remembering to bubble the camera, and making sure the camera isn't wonky. We got towards the end of shooting but it was also making sure we didn't cut things out of the shot. For example one of the difficulties we faced was that we cut our actor out of the shot, and then when we tried again we ended up giving too much head space. Its also things like the rules of third, where we decide where we want them in the drama. Sometimes trying to capture the actors side profile was too 2D and its best to capture the side profile at a 3/4, as its more pleasing for the eye as well as the actors 'best side'. One of the final difficulties we found looking back is the capture of the sound. Our actors sounded very quiet so next time it will be about putting the mic closer to them so that the sound is clearer. This links to what we could have done differently, and that would definitely be the capturing of sound and making sure the space in the shot is valuable. It could have looked better at times duets these mistakes. So next time we can be aware of what is best to do.

The things we discovered is that certain shots are better for different things. We found the closer up the shot the more intense it was. If we got super close ups it made the scene super intense and that isn't the atmosphere we wanted to create. Next time the filming dialogue its better to go further back, as it not only captures both the reactions of the actors it also doesn't intensify things in the wrong way. 

EDITING

Within the editing process we started to cut down different clips. We ended up learning that there was to much of the clip and cutting more of the clips would of helped us more. We were able to go back again once we made notes, so we were able to correct our mistakes and the things that didn't look so good in the editing process. From the last editing workshop we learnt how to use the rushes, so we were able to use those efficiently this time. We also were aware of cutting and dragging on to the platform. Knowing these things made this editing workshop a lot quicker than last time. We were more comfortable working with Adobe premier pro than we were before, which meant that creatively we were happy to try different things. 

Overall some of the key mistakes we made was head space and rules of third. This did effect the editing process as sometimes it looked 2D, and not as good as it could of looked. Or we gave too much head space and could of captured the actors body more. This is something that was the key mistake and we can definitely look at next time. This meant that when editing we had to us other shots and angles instead which in the end did effect the way it looked. We could of captured more hand held shots or unique shots, as we had sticked to the basic shot guide. Overall we did successfully use the 180 degree rule and kept our actors to that. As one was seated it did make it slightly easier but overall we had managed to use it well. The things that we will do differently in editing is trying to be creative. Ive felt at times we have held back with certain editing techniques to keep it simple, but actually we could attempt a creative way of doing so. So hopefully when editing our actual sequence, we can try edit it in a unique way and add certain factors in. 

Overall the way we are going to approach our sequence is with an open mind. Things constantly change and so we need to work with the fact that things can go wrong. I felt at times (as mentioned before) we didn't work around stuff if it went wrong, but now doing the workshops I feel more comfortable with equipment and material.

Target audience

Target audiences

Target audiences are so important as audiences in the end are what earns the money for studios and
production companies. Target audiences help give a guide to what a film needs to follow. Like Katz uses and gratifications theory, there are normally 5 reasons to why an audience will consume a media: 

- escapism

- education

- entertainment

- self relatability

- social interaction

Within a specific genre there are particular conventions that need to be followed (expectations of society) With a target audience it allows a studio to follow them and entertain them more. It also helps a studio make specific decisions and choices like the narrative, mis en scene, character types and casting. And lastly it helps us market the product to reach the audience efficiently. Half the budget of a movie will be used on marketing, so that is why it is so important to market it efficient that'll intrigue the audience properly.

Some of the factors that effect the target audience are:

- gender

- age

- ethnicity