Evaluation

For our second film project we decided to create a title sequence for  horror/thriller film called November 13th, which we based on the month it was shot and the unlucky number 13 which is commonly used in horror films

Our film uses the common forms and conventions of horror/thriller films, because we wanted to keep our film traditionally scary, to do this we used:

• pyschological factors, the fact that we hardly see the stalker or what happens to her, allows the audience to use their imagination to work out what happened, this fear of the unknown is commonly used by filmakers to increase suspense
• remote location adds to her sense of innocence, the woods are huge and make her seem small in comparision, they are also easy to get lost in and in the end to she is trapped and isloted with only the stalker for company
• vulnerable characters, make easy prey for the stalker, and the audience, especially girls can empathize with her

We chose to stick to a conventional horror film because this is our first project and we didn't want to take on too much, which may have compromised the quality of the film, and also horror/thriller films are hugely popular so we thought it would be a good choice when considering the size of the target audience, which should be as large as possible to increase
profit margins.

November 13th has a stereotypical representation of social groups. For example, it is more common for women to be abducted then men, and are often seen as weaker, which is why they are often portrayed as the victims in horror films. This is a slightly sexist attitude so if we were to continue and create the rest of the film we would be sure to add in several female characters that hold positions of power, so we would have a Chief Inspector or detective who was a women. For many women, especially young, teenage girls, older men are seen as more threatening and so I used my dad to play the creepy stalker', although he is not a stalker or murderer for that matter, it was more convincing then if we had a 14 year old playing the stalker, because they wouldn't have the physical strength and presence to be scary.

If we completed the film, the most likely distributors would be smaller, 'indie' companies such as Warp Films, because the film would be short and low budget, so it wouldn't be able to compete with the big horror blockbusters such as the recent Cabin In The Woods(2012). We chose to give our film a rating of 15 which would enable us to make the film scary enough to attract a large audience and to be spread around by word of mouth, the main target audience would have to be teenagers, of both sexes between the ages of 15-20. This also enabled it to become a family film for those with older children aged 15+.We chose to not use the 18 rating because this would cut out 50% of our target audience, which would decrease profit.

We addressed our audience with a simple plot(girl gets kidnapped in woods) and quirky camera angles, which we would need to market correctly in order for our film to become popular.

We would attract our audience by launching a large marketing campaign, to make up for the low budget of the film. To do this we would:

• Create posters to be put up in towns, near schools and colleges
• Create a trailer to be shown on the films website and on the producers and distributors website
• Do interviews with the cast on Youtube to or on small websites such as www.indiefilms.com which aims to help market small films
• Try and get our film to be shown at smaller film festivals such as the London Independant Film Festival and the Raindance Film Festival
• Hopefully this would encourage cinemas to exhibit our film

Whilst doing this project I have learnt that technology plays a major part in the production of films. If we had had the technology we could have created a much slicker final production for example, the use of a track or dolley shot would have enabled us to film the chase much more smoothly. For our priliminary task we were unable to use a tripod to film our clip with, but in this task we did and the improved quality was very noticeable and made our title sequence look much more professional.Another lesson I learned whilst filming our preliminary task was to make sure the actors we needed were available, to make the acting consistent between to two actors, because whilst filming The Interrogation (our first task) we had to find and actor at vedry short notice, and her acting wasn't of the standard we were hoping for, so we auditioned our two actors for November 13th, and I used my dad as back up, which was lucky because we couldn't find anyone else to play the part, luckily he only had a second or two on film, and this didn't effect our end product. 

Also, if I had the skill and experience I would have used a more advanced editing software such as Final Cut Pro so I could enhance the colour of our production and make it much more dark and gloomy which would have added to the sinister plot of the film. If we had the funds or the time I would have shot the whole sequence at dusk with lighting to give a spooky effect like this

This would have made the film more convincing and made it more scary for the audience.

November 13th: the title sequence

Here is our finished title sequence!

Pre-Production:Storyboard

Before we shot our film we had to create a storyboard, which is a basic idea of how you want each shot to look, and contains information about shot type, dialogue, camera movement etc.

These are the storyboards which we created before shooting our film. But the dynamics in our group meant that we may have added a few shots after reaching the location when inspiration hit.

Post Production: The Music

We foudn the music for our film on http://www.freeplaymusic.com/ which contains free, uncopyrighted music.

This is a screenshot from freeplay music, you simply search through the genres and listen to a sample of over thousands of tracks and download the ones that you prefer.

Post Production:Editing

After importing our footage onto a Mac computer, me and my group used the editing software 'iMovie HD' To edit our footage. We did this for several reasons:

• We had used the software before during our preliminary task, which made editing quicker
• Its a very easy piece of software to use, which made editing more enjoyable

This is a screenshot from iMovie HD, as you can see, its very simple and could even be used by people with no editing knowledge.

This is a screenshot of iMovie HD:

A: These are your video clips which are imported by dragging them from your documents onto this panel
B: This is the timeline, it allows you to view the order your clips are in, transitions, titles and audio if you chose to add them in.
C: This is the screen where your video is played from, which is controlled by the play button underneath it
D: This is the timeline/clip button which allows you to switch from viewing your movie as a timeline, or just as clips, which is simpler, this allows your to chose the format which you find easiest.
E: The editing tab: this allows you to add transitional effects (how one clips goes onto the next, for example, fade in and fade out are popular). It also allows you to add titles and credits,which are essential for making your film look impressive. It also allows you to add effects such as black and white or sepia to your footage.
F: The media tab: this enables you to add sound to your movie, to help create an authentic atmosphere, it can also add photos to your film if you wanted to create slide show effect.
G: This is called the movie monitor, but it essential is just a timeline which shows you how long the piece of footage you have selected is, it is also used to crop your clips.

Shooting the film

Me and my group shot our film on the 27th November 2011. To do this we used a Canon EOS 550D camera.

This camera has 18mp and shoots high definition (HD) video which gave us  high quality  footage.

We also used a heavy weight tripod such as this one, because after completing a preliminary task without one, we realised how much having steady footage improved the film. There were several advantages to using a tripod:

• It gave us steady footage, even when shooting on uneven ground like the woods
• It allowed us to create pan and track shot, both of which we needed for our title sequence
•  It allowed us to use different angles shots as it had extendable legs

Before we went out to film we had to be prepared for all weathers, so we brought large golfing umbrellas, raincoats and wellies to make sure that we could protect our equipment and keep ourselves dry so we could get the filming done.

Location: Pictures

Location is a key part for any film. Like in The Shining (1980) we wanted to film somewhere which was pretty, but also creepy and sininster. Accessability was also a must have because we would have to get there using public transport and carry all our equipment with us. I live in Perry Woods and this seemed like a great place to film for many reasons:

• It was familiar to me, so we wouldnt get lost
• It was easy to get to and not to big to we could easily carrying our equipment to each location
• Woods are common in horror/thriller films and create a sinister atmosphere
• It is usuallly pretty empty so we wouldn't be interupted

After I filled out the Location Recce, I went into the woods to take pictures of several locations so I could disscuss them with my group.

                                   

This photo is of a part of Perry Woods, as soon as we worked out our script idea I knew that this was the place that we would use in the last shot, where the girl is killed. When we filmed it, the lighting was darker and added to the sinister effect we were looking for.

This picture is of a tunnel of trees which we used when we filming the girl being chased by the stalker, he is seen hiding in the woodland to the left. I find that this piece of woods is quite claustraphobic and adds to the tension in the shot by making the girl seem almost trapped.

This is the location we used when filming the girl running away from the stalker, she runs up this hill and then trips up at the top. We used this nlocation because it was actually hard to run up, which made our shot look realistic.



This picture is of a location that unfortunatly we weren't able to film because we were loosing light and had to get home, but we initially thought this would be a good location because the gate is old and out of place which makes the location seem scary.