Final Result: Feedback

After finishing the sequence we watched all the other groups projects in our class. We then got one good point and one constructive criticism back from each individual.

Good:

• Voiceover good
• Good effects used
• Sound effects well linked with the genre
• Handheld shots
• Good use of POV shots
• Was entertaining
• Good range of shots
• Music was weird but effective
• Good production logo

Bad:

• Sound messy
• Sound didn't flow between the scenes
• Speech is unclear
• Story-line was confusing at times - but this was the aim of the genre
• Wind is distracting
• Clever editing

Final Result

Above is the final video of the sequence. Now that we have completed the editing stage of our thriller project, we have exported the sequence using the settings in the screenshot below. 

Technical Equipment

We have a range of technical equipment which would be used to create the project. The first thing we used was the camera, it was better quality as we could film in HD. It was more efficient using a digital camera as  each clip is separated into clips, so adding and cutting during the editing stage is easier.

The tripod was the second piece of equipment which we used, it balances the camera and can be adjusted to different heights. We found that in a thriller film the tripod is used less as it is more conventional to use handheld shots. Therefore we did have some handheld shots.

As well as these handheld shots we thought it would be good to have some moving shots, and so originally tested a dolly out. Unfortunately it was too shaky and noisy for filming with, and we found that would could move the tripod like a dolly - this was more effective.  In professional filming tracks are used with dollys to move the camera smoothly. Below is a picture of a similar dolly to ours.

During the editing stage we used three pieces of software. The main one was Final Cut Express for cutting and ordering clips, importing music, adding transitions and then finally exporting the sequence. We used this program over iMovie, for example, because it is more powerful and has more professional effects. Superimposing clips was one really important part of our sequence, and could have only been done in a more advanced program like Final Cut.

For the music we used Garageband, the advantage of this was that it has a large library of loops that can be arranged together to create a unique sounding sequence. There are some limitations to this, but using more advanced software like Logic Express or Studio would have meant creating our own sounds.

The next piece of technical equipment/software was Photoshop. Using layers we were able to create the production logo which was edited into a ident. We also used Photoshop for creating the credits, the font was taken from DaFont, it represents the genre of a psychological thriller well. We wouldn't have been able to create something as advanced/unique without Photoshop.

The last, less technical, piece of equipment is the use of the blog through Safari. It was important to use this in order to record our research. Below is a screenshot of our blog posts.

Editing: Progress After Feedback

Since the feedback session we have succeeded in improving our sequence based upon suggestions made by other groups. We have been able to add in the ident production logo, along with some transitions which have added to overall atmosphere for the audience. It was also important to look through the entire sequence so that we could make the cuts more accurate, and so the audio was timed correctly. Below are some screenshots to show our editing progress.

Timeline in Final Cut Express

Ident with 'bad tv' effect.

Plan For The Next Two Days

We are going to working on the final editing of the who film. We will tighten up the soundtrack, making the video noise quieter so it does not interfere with the music and music. We will also make our transactions better. We will all contribute to the work on the two days to make sure we are all happy with the final result.

Response to Feedback

Our rough cut has been viewed by the other groups in our class and they have left useful constructive criticism on our blog. One of the main issues brought up is the audio problems i.e. diegetic sound getting in the way of dialogue, For this we can try and level out as much we can with the non-diegetic soundtrack.
Another issue raised is that we haven't included many transitions, for this we plan to add more in the coming days. Also they suggested that we included our production logo in our sequence which we shall add in the coming days of final editing.

Group 66: Feedback

- The dialogue was good.
- The idea for the plot was good.
- You could tell it was a psychological thriller.
- Well thought out script.

- The audio was not consistent.
- The effect of the man appearing and disappearing was a bit choppy.

Group 61: Feedback

Diagetic sound is too loud, voices are a bit muffled over wind
good use of thriller conventions, leaves viewer asking questions about the opening scene.
Flicking between the man in blacks location is a good use of effects
Music was very good, built up suspense and tension well
Voice over was a good use and leaves a confused effect on us as an audience

Group 63: Feedback

First of all we all thought the film was really good and well thought out. We thought the voice over worked really well and also the effects of the man moving round the field was effective. However we suggest that a transition effect is put in between where the voice over says 'that was just the beginning'. We thought the music needed adjusting so that outdoor sounds don't interfere with the soundtrack.

Group 62: Feedback

Non diegetic sounds interfered with the start of the film, could hear the wind over everything. Could of unlinked the sound from the video- or turned it down? More effects could of been used- for example when you see the character in the field, could of used an effect that sped up the movement of everyone in the clip. however good use of 180 degree rule. good use of dialogue and creating innocence for the protagonists, really sets the scene well. alright location. Good use of credits- could of said produced by, edited by etc. nice title could have included production logo.

Soundtrack: Static Section

We also need to produce some music for our scene when Charlie (the evil character) flicks around the screen. The music need to be fast and confusing. We made the decision that radio static was a good way of doing this. We wrote our own drum track on garage band.

Screenshot of a our static scene music 

Soundtrack: Main Theme

We have been working on the main theme to our thriller. We decided that seeing as our thriller is called "Life After Death" the music should link into the idea of death. This is the reason we have a heart beat monitor in the background. We also felt that it should be creepy and mysterious, we did this through the use of slow piano.

Screenshot of our music in Garage Band.

Rough Cut

Above is our complete rough cut, which will be analyzed by other groups for improvement. As it is a rough cut there are still some things that we are aware need to be adjusted, or fine tuned. For example, we need to work on the soundtrack so that there is more variation, and so it reflects what the audience is seeing on-screen. Another adjustment would be to add in transitions/effects which we haven't been able to add in yet. 

Next week we will get a post from each group showing their feedback, and what they believe needs to be improved.

Editing: Day 4

Today we began adding our opening credits. We decided that our opening credits should follow the conventions set by the film se7en (read here) for this we used black and white versions of our credits
to make it appear as if it was flashing. We then cut parts of the credits our of the timeline to give it a flickering effect. We also move the credits slightly every couple of seconds because this follows the conventions in se7en. overall we think the credits look impressive when compared to the state of our credits in our Children's film project and we feel it is something that we have improved upon.

We then re-examined our sequence to see that can be made better about the sequence. We saw that part of our sequence would seem to stagger. To rectify this re-cut different shots to improve continuity and flow of the sequence. We feel our sequence is coming together very well and vast progress has been made, we look forward to the comments and criticisms of the other members of our class next lesson as we share our rough cut with the rest of the class.

Children's Film: Improvements

Since the previous project, we have made a number of improvements.

Firstly, we are noticeably better and quicker editors, with it only taking a few sessions to complete video editing. This is because we have learnt how to use the equipment better, and are more aware of what we have to do for the project.

Another improvement is the credits, these were the weakness of our previous project, but we have spent a consider amount of type creating then in Photoshop and then cutting them into Final Cut.

The third improvement is superimposing two pieces of footage together, which we did do in our other project but not to the extend of this one. The improvement is that it is far more accurate that before, and shows that we are able to spot and follow continuity.

The fourth is that we have spent a lot more time deliberating over aspects of sequence that we had not done previously in our Children's film project. For instance we had thought about the lighting aspect of our Children's film sequence. However in our Thriller sequence the lighting is vital for setting the tone that we want to create in our film that will follow the conventions of a Thriller film.

The fifth is our ability to create effective and original soundtracks that will suit the feel of our sequence. we were all inexperienced in most aspects of the creation of the children's sequence since then, our experience has made us comfortable in using software such as garageband to create soundtracks.

Opening Credits: Adding to Sequence

After creating the credits in Photoshop last week, we needed to do some more editing, but have been able to add the credits this week. During in our last project, the opening credits were our weakness as they were simple white text. This time, our group was aware that we needed to create better credits and so have spent an increased amount of time on them. As well as creating them in Photoshop to suit the conventions of a psychological thriller, we have used some simple colour changes and cuts to create an effect with them.

Our credits are very reminiscent of Se7en's, as they move around, change colour and size. This may seem quite distracting, but it was important as we watched it back that the credits where not taking the audience away from the clips. Meaning the changes are as minimal as possible, but also keeping the conventions of a psychological thriller.

The credits will be seen in our rough cut that will be published later in the week.

Soundtrack: After 1 Week

We have been working on the soundtrack for about a week now, in this time we have been able to create the pieces for both scenes, and have also considered sound effects. We had to record a voiceover for the sequence as well, this will be added to the sequence sometime this week after manipulation in Garageband.

Garageband was used to create the entire soundtrack, there is a big library of  loops that were used but the built-in keyboard was also used on specific clips to create a unique sound. Obviously, Garageband is not the most advanced music software, but it is the quickest option available as other products would require us to record the loops/tracks.

One sound effects which is particularly crucial is static which will be used both, during the credits, and also when the illusion of the kidnapper occurs.

Evaluation of Refilming

The re-filming that we scheduled for last week was a success and has greatly enhanced our sequence. The filming was of scene one, where we see the main student character, being watched by the kidnapper. It was important that we re-filmed this scene as it was originally very dark and so the audience we have been unable to see anything. We quickly decided that this was inadequate and so set another day to film the scene.

We decided to re-film on Thursday 3rd March as this was the best possible opportunity, unfortunately Sam Payne was unable to be present on this day. However the remaining three were able to re-film the scene effectively without Sam's presence. We waited until dusk to film which was approximately 17:30
because we wanted the lighting to be dark enough to make the scene look mysterious but light enough that we would be able to use the footage. We did no come across as much problems as we had done on our previous day of filming such as Pedestrians and Cyclists which meant that we were able to film more easily without members of the public causally wandering into the shot and removing the effect of entrapment by the kidnapper.

As a result of re-filming the shots produced by overall, more accurate, and better taken. This is partly because we had recent experience in the location, but also because it was lighter and therefore we were able to see what we were filming. Filming on a different day has also benefitted the mise-en scene of the project, with there being a clear distinction between the first scene and second scene. The new re-filmed first scene now has colder, misty weather, and there are less people around. This creates a more isolated atmosphere and greatly enhanced the experience for the audience.

We have already imported and edited this footage, and are now in the credits stage. This will be explain in another post.

Call Sheet (Refilming)

After filming our original footage we found that scene one, which is supposed to be darker, was in-fact too dark. Therefore we have taken the opportunity to re-film this scene in lighter conditions.

Date & Time:

We will be filming on Thursday 3rd March after 4:10 (according to our schedule). Our group will go to our usual media office at the end of Thursday and pick up the necessarily equipment (tripod and camera), before we leave to get to our location. Once filming is completed, George will take the equipment home that evening and return it to the media department the next morning at 9:00am.

All other aspects of the shoot will remain the same (Location, Actors, Props etc). This can all be found on our previous call sheet, here.

Opening Credits: Ideas

Today we tried to create some of our titles/credits in Photoshop today. After looking at other opening credits from the films Memento, Fargo, and Se7en, we thought about the type of fonts that we would use. We visited a font website (dafont.com) which as a wide variety of free fonts, the particular fonts which we found were Pulse Sans Virgin and Crackin'. Below you can see screenshots of these fonts.

We have decided that we will experiment with the font use/positioning when we add them into our Final Cut project. The ident that was earlier designed will also be added before all the footage and credits.

Opening Credits: Inspiration

So that we are able to create effective credits it was important that we looked at other successful thriller films.

Memento:

This is particularly effective because the credits are very simple, and the audience focus on the photo behind this text. They don't distract from the film, but don't seem to follow the thriller theme as well as they could.

Fargo:

These credits are better than the Memento credits, they follow a theme and don't take as much of the focus from the action happening on-screen.

Se7en:

These credits are the most successful of the three films in my opinion. They are not just text on screen they have a clear relationship to the crime genre, the font suits the film and it's not static - an effect has been used to give the illusion of the text shaking. The credits have also been edited around the other footage, giving it equal importance.