Preliminary Task- audience feedback on the pitch

When we showed the audience our pitch, there were a lot of feedback given to us about what we can do to improve our clip.

The feedback we were given was that we should add music and/or sound effects to the clip to help build tension. We were also told that we should use dark colours for the titles to show that the genre is horror. Another point made was that we should make the plot outline more clearer, we done this by making a story board. Finally we were told that we should change the location due to a lot of background noise in a school and corridors causing echoes. The location will also ruin the fact that the genre is horror as it's easy to identify where they are.

 By Theo, Beth, Jess and Molly

Preliminary Task- audience feedback on the film

The feedback we got from the audience will help us when we go to make our main task, we got a lot of positive feedback and some criticism on what we can improve for our future tasks.

Positive:

• The genre was well established.
• Used good/well fitting sound effects for the theme we wanted to portray.
• Performance made the clip more realistic.
• Conventions were well used.
• Used a wide variety of camera shots.

Negative:

• Make the dialogue more effective.
• Try not to get background noise in the piece.
• Use more close ups to show the reactions and feelings of the characters.
• Try to avoid jump cutting.

 By Theo, Jess, Molly & Beth

Roles for the main task

We have decided our roles for the main task. To do this the group got together and chose the roles we thought would be most suitable for each person.

Beth has the roles of being the producer which will mean she manages the team and will plan when things are done and sort things out with costs and risk assessments. She also has the job of finding copy-right free music for the clip, the title for this is the composer. Beth's final job is being the make up artist, this means she will have to deal with the make up of each character and find other types of make up such as fake blood.

Molly's first role is to be the writer, this will include her having to write the outline/plot of the clip and what will happen it is, she will fully explain the plot outlines and any ideas we have had. she will help create the script alongside with Bethany. Molly is also the sound editor which will mean she has to find the sound for the clip and also edit them into the clip when it is put onto the computer. Molly's role is to be the storyboard artist, this will consist of her taking pictures or drawing what will happen at each part of the two minute clip. molly will also be doing the budget list and risk assessment, she is  in charge of marketing also. She analysed the target audience and initial ideas. 

Jess' first role is to be the editor, this means she has to edit the film when it is on the computer. This role means she will need to work closely with Molly as the sound editor will need to be with the editor to add the music in. Jess is also the location scout, this will involve her taking pictures and pitching ideas for where she thinks the clip should be located. Jess' final role is to design costume, props and things needed for the set, she's responsible for mise-en-scene.

Theo has the role of being the director, this means he is in charge of the camera work and will work closely with Molly (the storyboard artist) to complete/discuss each scene and what takes place in it. His second role is to be the cinematographer, this involves him filming the clip. His final role is to be the technical director this means he'll have to write equipment lists and organise the technical equipment needed.

By Theo

Initial Ideas

• Genre: Horror 
• Actors: Jess, Beth, Molly 
• Director: Theo
• Original Plot: Three girls go to a family home, they expect to have a free house for the weekend but are shocked to when mysterious events occur.
• Opening will have tense music, to give the audience a feeling that something bad is building up to happen.
• the film will be of the beginning, in the 2 minute clip of the film  there will be push ins of the camera going down the hallway of the scary house flashing back to previous events that will happen, the camera will then cut to each room so that the audience get a sense of location, the enigma will be what happened previously in the home and then it will show the three characters going into the home which will make the audience feel scared for them and make them feel on edge. low key lighting will be used to show that the location is dangerous. there will be push ins of important objects in the flash back which will add to the enigma so that the audience can try to work out the mystery. 

By molly jess beth

Preliminary Task Self Evaluation: Beth Thomas

Preliminary Task


· Does your film use continuity editing so that the sequence of events are clear and easily understood by the viewer?
Our film had short cuts from one clip to another which made the story easy to understand and follow as there was no distractions between the clip for our attention to be drawn away from the storyline. Our story is fairly easy to follow and everything that we know, the audience knows too so there is nothing to be confused about. For example, when the lights flicker on and off or we hear a bang, we will make a statement about this whilst filming so the audience know that that sound was something to be concerned about, this way, the audience doesn’t have to wonder what bits of the film do or don’t have significance.


· Have you followed the directions in the brief? (A character opens a door, crosses a room and sits down in a chair opposite another character. An exchange of dialogue occurs.
We didn’t follow the brief but we made ours different, using a variety of camera angles and movements which follow the list of things that need to be involved within the preliminary and we believe that if we followed the brief our preliminary wouldn’t of been as good. By not following the brief, our short clip become more exciting and more interesting then what it would have been if it was of friends exchanging a conversation.


· Have you used match-on-action?
Yes we used this near the end of our Preliminary when the characters begin to walk towards the door to see what the sound was behind it, then the camera cuts to an extreme close up of my hand opening the door then there is another cut to a reaction shot which shows how we feel as to what we can see behind the door.

· Can you explain what a match-on action involves?
This is an editing technique which involves a shot of something e.g. someone opening a door and then another shot of the aftermath of that action e.g. someone’s expression as they open that door. This is like a reaction shot but we see the action first.

· Have you used shot/reverse shot?
Yes, we used shot reverse shot when myself and Molly were having a conversation. When I say my line the camera is focused on me looking off screen to where Molly is supposedly standing, then when Molly replies the camera cuts to her then to see my response the camera cuts back again to the original shot.

· Can you explain what shot/reverse shot involves?
Shot/reverse shot is a film technique which involves one character who is shown looking (usually off-screen) at another character, and then the shot cuts to the other character looking "back or responding at the character who started the shot. Since the characters are shown facing in opposite directions, the viewer will hopefully assume that they are looking at each other.

· Did you observe the 180-degree rule?
Yes, our cameraman, Theo, kept to the right side of us throughout the whole film apart from when he did a point of view shot as I was opening the door which was on the left side of me, but this wouldn’t have caused confusion as it was from a characters perspective and the audience had got a chance to take in the surroundings of the character so they knew what angle the door was at without feeling lost.

· Can you explain the 180-degree rule?
The imaginary line allows viewers to orient themselves with the position and direction of action in a scene. If there was a conversation between two characters and it was using a shot reverse shot and it broke the 180° the characters would look as if they had switched places on the screen.

· What role did you play in the making of the preliminary task? (e.g. filming, acting, editing,equipment organisation etc.)
We all had many roles for the production of our preliminary. My role was to be an actor, co-editor and co-director.

· How would you assess your contribution to the group?
I contributed as much as I could to the group, I organised us actors when we was filming, thinking of our lines to say and who would say them, where we should stand and where the camera should be facing, then when we was putting all of the clips together at the end we all contributed ideas as to when and where our sound effects should go and if they sounded right or not. We all planned the story line as a group and briefly decided on the script as a group as well but our script changed the further along the filming went as we begun to realise certain lines didn’t have relevance to the film.

· What have you learned from the process of making your preliminary film?
I have learnt a lot of different shots and learnt how to do a shot reverse shot effectively. I have come to the conclusion that when filming a shot reverse shot you should do all the shots you need on one character first before you move the camera and tripod otherwise the angle that the camera was facing the character changes then the shot doesn’t look as professional.

Preliminary Task Self Evaluation: Molly Curtis

Preliminary Task


Molly Curtis


· Does your film use continuity editing so that the sequence of events are clear and easily understood by the viewer?
Yes, we used movie maker to create a flowing video, we didn’t want the video to be jumpy we wanted it all to flow, we used edits like, fly in’ etc. this helped make the video flow. We knew this was very important because if we didn’t used edits to make the clip flow, the whole thin g would look very disorganised and messy, so this made the whole thing very clear. We showed the clip to our friends and they all said it flowed and wasn’t jumpy, they said this made it very clear and was well presented.


· Have you followed the directions in the brief? (A character opens a door, crosses a room and sits down in a chair opposite another character. An exchange of dialogue occurs.)
We didn’t follow the brief however we stull used the correct angles and camera work, so we did however we just laid ours out a little differently to make it more unique from everyone else’s. The layout of our clip was still very good we used the brief as a template so we knew what to include and how to do it, the brief really helped us and made us understand the task a lot easier. We still used communication just like the brief and we still used all the camera angles like we were supposed to do. Overall the brief really helped us with the task.


· Have you used match-on-action?
Yes we used match on action at the end of the clip, to show our expressions and what Beth was doing. This will create emphasis and make the clip seem a lot more dramatic.


· Can you explain what a match-on action involves?
We used match on action when Beth opened the door, then the camera then came in front of us to show our reaction and show the emotion we have. This made it clears to the audience how we felt and that we were scared. Match on action is where one shot cuts to another shot portraying the action of the subject in the fist shot.


· Have you used shot/reverse shot?
Yes, we used this to show how each character was feeling about what the other person was saying and it clearly showed who was talking to whom.


· Can you explain what shot/reverse shot involves?
The way we did this is when Beth and I were talking to each other; we did this so the audience could clearly see we were communication with each other, this also made the conversation more important by focusing on our faces, to see our emotion.


· Did you observe the 180-degree rule?
Yes we did, we observed the rule so the audience would know where they stand and also Theo (the cameraman) stayed on the exact same side of us so the clip wouldn’t flip if Theo stood on the other side, initially this doesn’t create confusion with the audience. Because the actors w=always stayed in the same positions and the clip didn’t flicker.


· Can you explain the 180-degree rule?
The 180 degree rule is a filming guideline that participants in a scene should have the same left-right relationship to each other, with filming only taking place with the 180 degree angle I which is maintained in a conversation. This allows the audience to have a greater sense of location in the scene in terms of what may be off screen in some shots, like reverse shot for example.


· What role did you play in the making of the preliminary task? (e.g. filming, acting, editing, equipment organisation etc.)
My role in the preliminary task was actor; co-editor/director and I as well as everyone planned the story line I also planned the story board and created it with everyone else in my group, and helped plan and also create the blog, with the other members in my group for the blog (Jess and Beth) i was also co-director i acted and tok part in equiopment organisation


· How would you assess your contribution to the group?
I think my contribution towards the group was very good, we all worked really hard and we all took part. My roles In the group were very important and I worked very hard, just like everyone else.


· What have you learned from the process of making your preliminary film?I have learned that a lot of hard work and dedication goes into this to make it very good, you have to have alto of skills to be able to use movie maker and edit efficiently.

Preliminary Task Film

This is our completed preliminary film. Actors- Jess Cooper, Molly Curtis & Beth Thomas. Director&Cameraman- Theo Benjamin.

Preliminary Task Self Evaluation: Theo Benjamin

·Does your film use continuity editing so that the sequence of events are clear and easily understood by the viewer?

Yes, our film is in order. I showed the video to my class mates and they all gave positive feedback and said that the clip made sense to them.

· Have you followed the directions in the brief? (A character opens a door, crosses a room and sits down in a chair opposite another character. An exchange of dialogue occurs.)
The group and I were flexible with what we had to do in the brief, we had Beth open the door and exchange dialogue with our other actors Molly and Jess. We had to leave out the character sitting down at a table and sitting in a chair, this is because it did not fit in with our story line and how we wanted the clip to be portrayed.

· Have you used match-on-action?
Match-on-action was used in our clip when the three girls walked towards the door and then opened it, this was effective as we wanted to give off a horror/scary mood to the audience.

· Can you explain what a match-on action involves?
A match-on-action shot is and editing technique involving two different video clips being put together to show an action happening. For example someone throwing a ball, the first clip could be of the ball being thrown from their hand and the seeing clip edited in would be seeing the ball in the air.

· Have you used shot/reverse shot?
We used shot reverse shot when Molly and Beth were talking about going to look at what the noise was that came from behind the door. I first put the camera on Beth, then to Molly and back to Beth

· Can you explain what shot/reverse shot involves?
Shot reverse shot involves two people having a conversation, as the camera man you have to film one person talking; then when they are done cut to the other person talking and then cut back to the original person talking. Shot reverse shot is used regularly in conversations in all types of films and programmes.

· Did you observe the 180-degree rule?
As the cameraman I had to observe the 180 degree rule. I done this by staying on one side of the actors throughout the majority of the clip, this meant that when we put the clip onto the computer and the shots were reversed/flipped over all the actors were still in the same position and there was no confusion seen by the audience.

· Can you explain the 180-degree rule?
The 180 degree rule is a guideline that the actors have to abide by. It means that they have to stay in the same positions that they were in in the previous shot. For example, Molly stood on the left, Jess in the middle and Beth on the right, this stayed the same throughout the clip because if they’d have changed positions without the audience seeing them move they would have been confused and not understood the clip.

· What role did you play in the making of the preliminary task? (e.g. filming, acting, editing, equipment organisation etc.)
During the making of the preliminary task I had the role of being the cameraman and director. This involved me contributing ideas, telling the actors where to stand and how to present themselves. As the camera man I had to record all the video clips and make sure that none of the actors broke the 180 degree rule, I also had to think about what shots I would use. The shots I used were long shots, medium long shots, close ups, shot reverse shot, over the shoulder shots and a point of view shot. The point of view shot was done from Beth’s view and was done with a hand held camera.

· How would you assess your contribution to the group?
I would assess my contribution to the group as a good one, this is because I gave a lot of ideas to the piece and believe that my camera skills were done well with good accuracy and movements such as tilts and pans were smooth.

· What have you learned from the process of making your preliminary film?
From making my preliminary film I have learned that it is quite hard being a cameraman/director because you have to film each clip separately and make sure everything is going well. For example, I had to film the clips and make sure it was well filmed and that I could hear the actors as the cameraman but then I had to make sure everything was in the same place as the scene before as I was also the director.

Preliminary Task Self Evaluation: Jessica Cooper

Our preliminary task was a short clip based on a horror scene, where three girls at school are walking to their next lesson and hear a mysterious noise coming from a door. Our task brief was to have two characters sitting down having a conversation, we decided to modify this slightly as we wanted to make it a horror and having the mysterious sound behind the door creates an enigma for the audience, all though we did use dialogue when the two characters Molly and Beth were discussing the mysterious sound. 

In our task the continuity of editing made sense so that the sequence of events in the clip were clear for the viewer, to ensure that it was we showed our clip to a few peers in our media studies class and they said that it made sense to them and that they understood the plot of the task.   
 In the task we used a match on action when one of the characters Beth was opening the door to see what the enigma was behind the door, a point of view shot is also used so that the audience can feel as scared as the character, this is effective as it adds tension as the viewer is about to find out what is behind their door because they don't know what to expect. My role in this was the editing so i edited the match on action by having the characters walking to the door then a cut shot to show Beth opening the door and then a reaction shot showing the characters reaction to whats behind the door, this makes it look fluent and flow naturally, to portray a false sense of continuity to the viewer. 
We used a shot reverse shot when the two characters Beth and Molly are having a conversation about the noise behind the door discussing whether they should look what it is or not, this shot reverse shot shows that Beth is the more rebellious character as she wants to see what it is, where as Molly is the more innocent/scared character as she wants to leave immediately, so it gives the viewer a sense of the characters personality's. A shot reverse shot is also used with a point of view shot so that the viewer feels more involved in the clip.

When filming for our task we observed the 180 degree rule, we did this to maintain the audiences sense of location, this is so that the clip looks natural, if we broke the 180 degree rule it would look unnatural and provoke confusion therefor we took caution to prevent this. 
In our task we used panning to show the characters movement towards the door in which was the enigma, this makes the audience feel scared for the characters as they are walking toward danger. a close up was used to show the sign on the door which said 'students are not permitted to pass this point without prior permission' a close up of this is used to add top the enigma as the audience want to know why students aren't allowed to pass the point, the colour red is used to represent danger which also adds to the horror conventions of the clip. a long shot is used at the beginning to show the characters location in which was a school, this also gives a sense of the characters as it shows that they are students. we used flashing lights and tense sound effects in the clip to add to the tension, we also used low key lighting which also adds to the enigma. we used an over the shoulder shot when the characters were walking towards the door this shows their objective towards the door and their relation to it. 
My contribution to the group was an Actor and the main editor. In my role i was the character Jess in which was the more scared character that wanted to avoid danger so i had to act scared, i could have acted a little better as i didn't look as scared as i could have done. My main role was the Editor and Molly was the co editor so i edited all of the videos into windows movie maker to put the video together and make the cut shots, shot reverse shot and the match on action in which Theo recorded as he was the camera man and director. I also edited in the digetic sound effects to add tension to the clip so that it meets the horror conversion and to make it look more professional, Molly was the co editor and helped me decided where each part of the clip should go. I feel within my role of an actor i could have done better as i didn't look very professional. i feel that with my role as an editor i did quite well as the continuity of the clip was good and everything was in the right places and looked quite professional, all though one part which was around 10 seconds into the clip the cut didn't flow very well as the characters were in slightly different positions, which we can improve on for when we make our main task. 
from this process of making the preliminary task i have understood the 180 degree angle as if it is broken the video doesn't look very natural, i have also learnt a better understanding of all of the camera angles and how to edit and add sound effects.

Preliminary Task- storyboard

The three girls meet and are on their way to there next class, this is a long shot of all 3 characters so the audience can see who they are and what their friendship is like. A pull out will be used when they walk towards the camera to show the movement. Bright lighting will be used as there is nothing happening and no music will be used.

The three girls hear a noise coming from a door, they all speak to each other about it. There will be a reaction shot to show how they respond to the noise. Low key lighting will be used to show that something bad will happen. Tense music starts to build up, it stays at a low volume so the characters voices are still audible. 

Over the shoulder shot is used to show what the characters are focused on, in this case the characters are all focused on the mysterious noise coming from the door. The intensity of the music increases so does the volume. Low key lighting used and lights start to flicker.

A close up is used on the door, the door has a warning on it to show danger. The colour red also portrays the possible danger of whats behind the door.The tense music becomes a higher pitch.

Now we use an extreme close up on Beth's hand to show an important object as they are still slowly building up to the secret that lies behind the door. The noise is louder behind the door as they get closer. this is a tense moment as they are still going in after they have seen the warning on the door so the characters are putting themselves in danger.

They finally open the door and all the characters seem shocked as they all gasp, the camera fades out to black and leaves the audience on edge with a cliffhanger. This creates an enigma as it makes the audience want to find out what the mystery is behind the door. 

http://80.86.90.247/yt/7/46/horror_piano_theme_aac_38236.m4a

This is the music that we will be using when the lights start to flicker and the noise starts to get more tense. 

Preliminary Task- Initial ideas/pitch

Title: Behind the door

Location: The Howard School

Time: During the day

Characters: Jessica Cooper, Bethany Thomas and Molly Curtis

Camera man: Theo Benjamin

Plot outline: Three girls are going to lesson walking through the empty school when they hear a mysterious sound coming from one of the classrooms, the tension of the music rises as they go towards the sound, the mysterious noises create an enigma when they get to the source it turns out to be something that’s harmless and funny. After all the building up the audience should expect something to be really frightening but this is not established in the preliminary.

Dialogue-

Molly: where youse going??

Beth:  We’re going English; think we’re all in the same class

Jess: okay let’s go now then before we’re late

Molly: oi did you hear that??

Beth: Hear what?

*sound of crunching*

*all turn to the source of the sound and mysterious music comes on*

Jess: (whispering) what is that??

Beth: oooo a ghost

Molly: jess are you scared?

*sound of something scaring along the floor*

Beth: that doesn’t sound right

Molly: I really want to know what it is

*Beth reaches to turn handle*

Jess: no!!

Molly: just open it *pulls the handle with Beth*

Comments/feedback:

• Make the dialogue edgier.
• Use something more symbolic.
• Use some form of music such as violins.
• State exactly what time of the day it is.
• Make shadows/darkness.
• Do an observational shot.
• State when each key micro feature is used.

By Molly Jess Beth and Theo

Camerawork

Two Shot

a shot that shows two characters relationship and show their

reactions towards each other.

Extreme Close-Up

to show detailed expression and give us a sense of what

 the characters really feeling, a zoom in on the eyes shows emotion.

Close Up-

to show more of the face and bit of the character's posture, also

gives us a brief idea of where the scene is set.

Medium Close Up-

Get to see more of the background and gives you a sense of the situation

the character is in and what is going on around

the character. We can also still see the characters facial expression.

Medium Long Shot-

a shot that shows the character from the knees up. This shows what the character is

wearing, their posture and the scene they're in.

Long Shot-

shows the majority of the background and fully shows the characters outfit, at this shot,

we don't get tot see the characters emotion which is telling us that knowing

 what is going on in the background is more important.

Extreme Long Shot-

takes the attention away from the character and focuses more on the setting.

This shot can often be used to show how

small or vulnerable the character is.

Over the shoulder Shot-

usually showing two characters relationship showing them having a

 conversation, an over the shoulder shot can also add mystery as it makes

the audience wonder who the character facing the camera is talking to.

Low angle shot-

a low angle shot shows how important and superior the

character is in that scene, showing power and authority. it can also give of a

certain opinion on the audience such as making them feel

on edge and threatened.

Wide shot-

a wide shot shows the movement of the character showing where the

 character is going, a side view shows what the character is wearing to

 give the audience a sense as to where they are going.

eye contact shot-

an eye contact shot shows what the character is focusing on and what

 the character is thinking, this adds a sense of mystery to make the audience

 feel on edge and to make them wonder what the character is looking at.

Canted angle shot-

a canted angle shot shows action and gives the audience a sense that something

isn't right or something is going to happen as its a unusual angle

 for something to be filmed of.

High angle shot-

A high angle shot can show how insignificant a character is, it can also

 be used to show the characters vulnerability to their opposition, this makes them look weak compared to their opposition.

Contributions:

When taking the pictures for our blog, we all had even contributions meaning that we was all in the photos and all took some photos. 

Jess: I contributed to the blog by being in the photos and taking the photos. I also was part of setting up our blog and adding the pictures, videos, captions and descriptions of the camera angles.

Beth: I contributed to the blog by being in the photos and taking the photos. I also was part of setting up our blog and adding the pictures, videos, captions and descriptions of the camera angles.

Molly: I was part of the pictures and also took pictures of my friends, I directed the pictures and said what camera angles we need to use and how we need to position ourselves in the pictures.