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.

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.

Soundtrack: Beginning

Today we began to think about the soundtrack, and spent some time using Garageband's internal instruments to create some sounds for the opening. The first shot of our main character opening his eyes is an intense moment and we need to have really shocking, deep sounds for this part. Using reverb and echo we created a drum-like sound that will be used at the point. We created it through experimentation with instruments and compressors, and then using the internal keyboard. Below is a screenshot showing a section of today's composition.

Editing: Day 2

Today we continued with the rough cuts. This is an important process that will assist us in getting the correct combination of music and footage, that will in turn create a successful opening sequence. Fortunately we were able to find a way of brightening up the dark clips from our filming process, this will mean that the rough cut will be more realistic and there is less pressure on a re-shoot. Most of today's session was spent on superimposing two different clips, this will enable continuity in the illusion section of the sequence. to do this the viewed the traffic clips in the viewer, We then super-imposed the Clip over the existing clip of Charlie our Kidnapper. We then cropped the image to appear only were the traffic is supposed to appear, thus creating the illusion that Charlie is disappearing and reappearing, without the problem of breaking continuity. Below are some screen-shots to illustrate the tasks I mentioned above.

General editing

Using the 'Brightness & Contrast' video filter.

Adjusting brightness and contrast

Post-Production

The following is a list of items that need to be completed in the editing stage.

• Ident Sequence  (Using the current logo, Photoshop and Final cut express)
• Creation of Titles in Photoshop
• Soundtrack (Rough) created in Garageband
• Rough Cut of sequence - Basic cut together of the sequence using Final Cut Express.

(Creating Rough cuts of soundtrack and sequence edit will help us examine what could be improved in both soundtrack and sequence.)

• Soundtrack (Finished).
• Sequence (Finished with soundtrack added).
• Voiceover recorded

COMPLETE

Target Audience

Our thriller project will be aimed at teenagers and young adults, this is because of it's psychological and kidnap themes, it would be a threat to young audiences and uninteresting. The planned certification of 12/12A indicates that the themes and content will be more suitable for this audience, and is another reason for our target audience. The dark uncertainty of the opening sequence would put the audience on the edge of there seat and would is the kind of non-horrific thrill that audience want.

The target audience will have some interest in kidnap and psychological issues, particularly with death and the cotard syndrome mentioned by one of our characters. The film is increasingly appealing in today's media as we see more and more stories of kidnapping, this would further the size of our audience.

Editing: Day 1 (Beginning Rough Cuts)

Today we began our footage into the order predetermined by our storyboard so that we can get a rough view of our sequence. we have only made simple cuts in this edit without adding any transitions, effects or music. We found that scene one (the darker scene) needs to be re-filmed as it is too dark to watch. therefore our rough cut will initially include scene two. Below is a screen shot of our editing from today in Final Cut Express.

Test Footage

Before we filmed our final footage for this project it was important to do some test shots/footage. This allowed us to see some of the issues that we might face during the real filming process. Below is a short video showing the different shots that we tested out.

The main issue we found was the dolly is quite noisy and can be difficult to control, this is because of the small wheels. We are however going to try and use the dolly, and see the effect during and after filming. We will make a decision, on the day, if it is necessary to use the dolly. On close up shots we can see that lighting is really important and that it's hard to get the lighting right and so that the audience can see the footage. We will need to consider this on the day as well. Also, just from watching the footage back we can see that other people (the public) can get in the way of the shot and distract from the atmosphere. It's important to consider this on the day.

Filming Evaluation

We filmed our project on February 8th at Jesus Green, after college. The filming process was a mostly a success, we followed the schedule to start at 15:30, and we finished at an earlier time of roughly 17:30. We decided to film scene two first as this is the lighter day-light scene, which went really well and we have all the shots needed. The only problem we had was that it was a busy time, there were many pedestrians and cyclists which caused the filming to be disturbed, overall this has corrupted the overall atmosphere of the the piece. Another problem which we had is that the Dolly wheels were not suited to the terrain of Jesus Green, to overcome this problem we decided not to use the Dolly as it would have effected the quality of our sequence but instead we held the camera whilst moving backwards. Although we finished earlier we didn't spend enough time on filming specific scenes, we will need to book the camera for another filming day.

Scene one takes place during a dusk period and we did film at this time, although we found that it quickly got dark we the lighting is insufficient as we watch the footage back. This is obviously a major problem and so we are planning to re-film this short scene at some later date and with more time. Until then, however, we will be continuing to work on the editing of the other scene, the ident, the soundtrack and sound effects amongst other tasks.

The footpath that we filmed down