Thriller Evaluation

Hi everyone.. I'M BACK! I know it's been a while but I've been spending a lot of my time creating my evaluation for my thriller video, which I'm guessing you have all seen EEEKK! In my evaluation I discuss what I have learnt over the process of planning, producing and editing my thriller, how we chose our audience, how I have improved and progressed since my preliminary task (which is on my blog from 2015 so if you would like to view that and see for yourself how I have improved then just keep scrolling) and much, much, more so check the link below to see!

NOCTURNAL

The moment you've all been waiting for.... DRUM ROLL PLEASE *drums* IT'S FINALLY HERE!! I'd like to introduce you all to my thriller opening 'NOCTURNAL'!! After all the hard work, long hours, exhausting days and stressful times me and my group have finally completed editing our thriller.. it's not perfect due to all of our technical issues which no matter what we did, continued to mess up our video including: sound not playing, then sound playing games of its own and not letting us change it, to our thriller not playing so we were delayed at adding our titles and sound effects, to clips being fuzzy.. basically, EVERYTHING that you can think of that could go wrong, went wrong! But anyway we stuck by it and tried our best to fix the problems and carried on editing as best as we could and FINALLY we have been able to finish it. What a relief! 

I hope you enjoy watching it and please take into consideration OUR AWFUL TECHNICAL PROBLEMS *cries*

Colour changing my thriller shots

In the past few weeks you'll probably know that me and my group have been editing our thriller opening and as we are new to 'Premiere Pro' which is the editing programme we use (as well as after effects) we only know the basics on how to edit! So, using youtube or google to find out how to do specific things is very ideal, for example, I wanted to change the colour of someone's eyes in one of the clips (if you want to see, you'll have to wait until I upload the final thriller opening;)!). Anyway, as I didn't know how to change the colour of certain objects I thought it would be best to use youtube and I simply typed in 'Premiere Pro How To Change The Colour Of Objects' and a range of tutorials appear but, here's the one I watched..

 

 I also googled the question as well because the clip looked quite old and I think Premiere Pro has been updated since so just to be sure, I looked on this website too! It's pretty straight forward when someone explains it to you but, its much easier than trying to figure it out yourself! If you're interested here is the link to the website! http://disposablefilm.com/Tutorial-2.html

Filming for the final time!

Hi guys, I've not updated you in a while about my filming schedule and what I've been up to for my thriller opening video! Once me and my group had done our 4 days of filming previously, we edited it bit by bit but, we decided it wasn't long enough! The criteria asks for a 2 minute (average) thriller opening but ours, once edited and cut, only turned out to be 1 minute and 20 seconds so, obviously we had a problem!

What we decided was that we'd film an extra 30 seconds or so without the previous cast members, just showing our mystery murderer and at the end of our 1 minute and 20 seconds clips we will add a shot saying '12 hours earlier" and show the murderer preparing themselves! We thought this was the best way to extend our opening and it goes into a bit more depth about the murderer, whereas before they were only shown for a couple of seconds!

Anyway, hopefully by the end of this upcoming week our thriller opening will be FINISHED! Finally after all this time and hard work we will finally have a finished thriller opening which I will be able to post on here!

I hope you're as excited as I am! See you then ;)

Location & Sneak Peeks

Hey guys, I wanted to show you some shots of locations that we are using in our thriller opening and this helps create a picture in your head of what our thriller may be like! There is a shot of the muddy track which will be in our thriller opening to show the way to our main location (the cabin) which the majority of the thriller will be filmed in. The other shot is the log cabin itself (well inside of it) which is actually located in Charlie's garden but, we are making out it is in the woods, which is why we include clips at the start of our thriller opening including the tracks and fields to help set the scene.

The picture inside the cabin shows who the characters were going to be (excluding me and Brooke) before we had to make changes. Now Callie the blonde hair girl on the right isn't in the film, neither is Ellie, the dark haired girl on the right. The shot gives you a sneak peek into what we are doing and what props we are using.

I will be filming again on Friday as we STILL HAVEN'T FINISHED, so I will update you afterwards on how it goes! See you soon, thanks for reading!

Filming Day 4!

Hey everyone!
Filming day 4 was a SUCCESS.. although we haven't completely finished filming, we did get the majority of it finished and only need around 10 seconds left of filming which we will do Friday and then hopefully we can just edit, edit and edit from the onwards!


We've have tried to include as many shots as possible in our thriller opening (to make up for the poor acting;)!) and it took us so long because as we are filming in the evening it goes dark very quickly so we have to think our shots through thoroughly and make sure we don't make any mistakes which will look bad in the film, e.g. different lighting. One of our characters couldn't make it on this day of filming so we have had to switch around some roles again but it's worked out better than we expected thankfully!


The camera did die on us (again) but it was ok, by this time we needed to stop as it was getting late so we planned our next filming session and have made a list of the shots we need! We will do some editing before the next filming day though but, this is a good thing as we are able to spot any mistakes or see if we are unhappy with any shots so we can re-film them. My fingers are aching now so I'm going to leave you guys but I have said everything I wanted to..


BYE :)

Filming Day 3!

Hey guys! Today was A LONG day, we got some much done however, one of our characters is on holiday so we've had to switch around roles but that wasn't too bad. Anyway we did around 2/3 hours of filming I think,, the time flew by and we wanted to do more because we were on a role but, sadly it got to late in the day and the sun had gone in so it was too dark to do the rest of our shots!

We managed to get around 3/4 of what we needed done so, we're going to meet up one more time in the next week, try get the final pieces and then we can start editing our thriller opening, EEEK!! We've already edited and put together the first 10/20 seconds which is our setting and intro type part of the film, then the rest we are able to start editing on Monday when we are back at school (it's currently half term). Once we have got all our shots and whilst we're editing it we can see which parts we don't like, whether we want to take parts out, add some in and then we can plan another meet up and film them parts!

I'm so excited to see the final product and I hope everyone else is too! I'll update you with my 'Filming Day 4' which like I said, should be in the next week or so! (But it is difficult to find times when everyone is free!!)

See you soon :D

Narrative Codes

Narrative codes blog from savsalt2404

Binary Oppositions

Binary oppositions blog from savsalt2404

Filming Day 2!

I am back with filming day NUMBER 2! Basically our thriller opening will start with an establishing shot of the woods and then a few clips of inside the woods, a footpath, a river etc to set the scene so, that's what today's filming consisted of! The four of us, me, Brooke, Charlie and Eloise met up at Charlie's house with our filming gear and then off we went! However it was FREEZING so.. of course.. we put our onesies on! For anyone who doesn't know what a onesie is, it is basically a one-piece pyjamas outfit and they are so comfy and cosy! So we all put our onesies and wellies on and started to walk to the woods.

Me and Eloise thought it was a 2 minute walk but, turned out it was about 1/2 a mile away and it was over fields so you can imagine how muddy and sludgy we got!! IT WAS AWFUL! But at least we got the shots we needed! I took so so many clips and shots, obviously we won't need them all but I wanted to take a range so we could just pick and choose the best ones. 

I got a long, panning like shot of a track which I thought we could put at the start and put synchronising music in the background and then a few long shots of the river, the woods from the outside and just tree's so we can show people where the cabin is supposed to be located! Charlie and Brooke got a long shot of the cabin which we will then slot in after this shots or even in between it so it sets the scene.

This part of the filming didn't take too long but we did have to go in the day light because obviously, there is no street lights in a woods so we couldn't go at night! So we're going to have to edit the clips, change the brightness and saturation so that it looks darker but that won't be too hard!

Anyway that was our second day of filming, I will be sure to update you when we have done filming day 3 but I don't think that'll be till next week because we can't find any time sooner where everyone is free. See you next time guys :)

Filming Day 1!

Hey everyone! I got in about an hour ago from filming, I am so tired..

Today was our first day filming, we booked our DSLR and tripod and we all meet at Charlie's at around 5, including the people who are acting in our thriller so: me, Charlie, Brooke, Ellie, Callie, Leah, Brad and Eloise. We are filming the majority of our thriller in Charlie's log cabin in her garden so if I keep saying in all my blogs 'we met at Charlie's house' that's why.

It wasn't the best day of filming I admit, we didn't realise how bad the lighting would be if we filmed when it was dark outside so the shot's we did take aren't great (we think we're going to redo them).We did get a chance to tell everyone what the plot is, who's acting and what everyone needs to do in each shot so it wasn't completely unsuccessful.

ALSO the tripod we had booked was broken!! So every time we tried to film without someone being behind the camera, the broken leg would start slowly collapsing and the camera would move to another angle so that was another negative of the night. Oh and another thing was that we only had one battery so the camera died after about an hour so we didn't get as much filmed as we wanted.

At least we were able to see what wasn't going right and what was, now we can change things. For example we are going to film in day light because then the lighting won't be off and because we have no windows in the cabin shots (inside), you won't be able to tell it is daytime. Also we will check before taking the tripod to film, that it ins't broken and we will pick up more than one battery so that we can film for a longer period of time. This way our next filming day should be more successful!

I hope you enjoyed reading all my failures of the day haha! I'll see you soon with my second filming day, it should be some time this week, bye!

STORYBOARD

Storyboarding? Yes, they may not be the most interesting part of pre-production and planning but a storyboard is very important in order to pre-visualise a motion picture, graphic or interactive media sequence. It takes a while to put a storyboard together but this will make it easier for me and my group whilst filming our thriller as we can see what shots we need to film from what angle and whilst in the process of doing this we can add or remove shots as well. 

Can I also just point out.. I am not an artist, so my drawings aren't the best so I apologise if it is hard to see what is happening in the shot but, hopefully from the descriptions I wrote below you can work it out! ;) 

So here is the finished storyboard; If any changes are made whilst filming, don't worry I will be sure to update you in a later blog! See you on my next post, hope you enjoyed!

Tips & Tricks for beginner film makers!

Hey guys, today I thought I'd do some research on the DSLR camera which I am using to film my thriller. Obviously, I NEED to know how to use the camera but I want to know how I can use this camera without making it obvious I am a beginner when it comes to film making so, I've been on youtube watching a range of videos about the camera and different effects, settings and ways to use it. I thought I'd link them because they are very handy for people like me!

 One of the first videos I came across was called 'How to achieve a film look' and I thought this sounded perfect and is perfect for what I am looking for. This covers the basic settings of the camera settings to a achieve a common style and some effective editing techniques. Obviously I can't learn everything in 1 day so this is just a few tips and tricks to get me started. I especially like the three way colour corrector part of this video; as my thriller will be filmed in the dark, I think this editing technique will be very useful if we want to change the lighting or make some shots more highlighted than others.


Another video which I was intrigued to watch was called 'Top 15 Mistakes Beginner Film Makers Make'. Not all of the points mentioned in this video relate to what I am doing however a couple of them were very interesting and are good tips to help me prevent wasting time in post production when I realise I have made a mistake. For example:

• Poor shot composition - I need to ensure there is no dead space in shots and use the rule of thirds when shooting to find balance and symmetry in my compositions.
• Depth is important in shots to build layers and makes them more dynamic and rich.
• Try not to include unnecessary insert shots if they don't add any tension or information. Only have insert close up shots on important areas and objects because by using a close up or insert shot you are telling your audience to pay close attention to it.

Age ratings

Age ratings from savsalt2404

Risk Assessment

There are a few vital parts of the pre-production (planning and research) for my thriller opening and one of them includes the risk assessment which you can see below. If you are unsure what a risk assessment actually it, it is a systematic process of evaluating the potential risks that may be involved in a projected activity or undertaking - in this case, the filming of my thriller opening. Now this may only be a sheet of paper but this sheet of paper is the key to our safety. Although many of the risks on here are VERY over the top and over exaggerated, we wanted to ensure we covered all possible risks and decided how we try to reduce the chance of them happening. By pointing out all the risks which are possible during our production and filming time, it enables us to be more prepared and see how we can work around them. So... DO NOT laugh at the risks such as 'struck by lightening' or 'attacked by animal' because you never know.. a fox may stroll into the garden (where we are filming) and cause a scene, lol. Ok so I'll stop rambling now, here you go!

Presenting Nocturnal

Hi guys, a few days back I posted a 'one page pitch' post and that basically explained what my thriller opening is going to be based on and what me and my group's main ideas were and here is the the one page pitch being presented to our teachers to further explain the video.

Being the examiner?

Hi guys so you may be confused when first seeing the title of this post... well today we was given a mark scheme to show how our thrillers are marked and we were able to see what areas the examiner would look at when giving out marks. So after we had a look at the mark scheme, our task was to watch a couple of past AS thriller openings and mark them; it didn't seem too hard but the some clips me (and my class friends) gave a much lower mark than it actually got awarded.
The mark scheme criteria for a level 4 (highest grade) is that there is evidence in the creative use of most of the following technical skills:

• Material appropriate for the target audience and task;
• Using titles appropriately according to institutional conventions;
• Using sound with images and editing appropriately for the task;
• shooting material appropriate for the task set including controlled use of camera, attention to framing, variety of shot distance and close attention to mis en scene;
• Using editing so that meaning is apparent to viewer and making selective and appropriate use of shot transitions and other effects. 

Here are a couple of examples...


 This was the first clip we watched and the one I enjoyed the most. I thought the voice over was a very effective use of sound instead of having any dialogue in the clip and the music in the background coincided with it very well to create an edgy feel to it. Overall I awarded this clip a level 4 which is equivalent to an 'A' grade because the editing skills were excellent, along with the sound choices, titling and they incorporated a wide variety of shots throughout. This clip was awarded a level 4 (48/60) by the real examiner.


 Another thriller opened we watched was this one above. This clips first 30 seconds I thought was excellent with the dark eerie shots and the clear titling on screen however after the titling many of the shots were blurry and the black and white effect made it look rather amateur. Also the first shots were taken at night however the rest of the clip was in the day light which shows they hadn't thought it through properly. The class agreed that this clip would be awarded a high level 2 because there was a few mistakes and problems throughout this clip, but, it was actually awarded a high level 3 (47/60).

I found this task really helpful because I was able to spot where people had done really well and what looked good e.g. the different effects, different titling and shots and I could also see which areas people didn't do so well in; so I was basically able to see the do's and dont's when filming my own thriller opening! I learned that acting isn't as important as you may think when filming and the main things you need to focus on and make sure are up done to your best ability is the sound, editing, camera angles/movements and the mis en scene because these are the areas the examiners are going to concentrate on.

Screen Play - Nocturnal

Recently me and my group have been working on our screenplay so that when it comes to film we have a basic idea of what camera shots we are going to take, what dialogue is going to be involved and which characters will play each part. Here are our idea's so far! Btw.. when filming out thriller some changes may take place. E.g more dialogue may be added, characters may change etc because we may get different ideas and decide different things will work better. ENJOY :)

Thriller nocturnal screenplay from savsalt2404

Thriller Titling Idea

Hey guys so if you read my last blog you will of read that I wanted to show you what me and my group have been thinking/planning for our titling of the thriller. Since we want it to be mysterious, eery and loud we wanted to do something similar to 'Insidious'. Here is the opening of their title.

Thriller Brief Ideas

Hola guys, I thought I'd make a brief post about my thriller and my overall ideas so far! These ideas/plans may change but for now this is what we are planning. Hope you enjoy reading :)

Nocturnal Ideas from savsalt2404

Textual Analysis - Splice

Hey guys I thought it was time for me to do another textual analysis and this time I did it on a film called 'Splice'. Hope you enjoy!

Textual analysis of splice from savsalt2404

One Page Pitch

Presenting my ideas;

I created an one page pitch which briefly explained the ideas of my thriller opening. 

The title of the thriller will be 'NOCTURNAL' because the setting will be dark and at night and it sounds mysterious. 

 

Film genre; Horror thriller

Length; 125 minutes (opening around 2 minutes).

Target Audience; Choosing the target audience is such an important step because its based on who you want to aim your film at and which age group you think are going to be most interested (obviously anyone is able to watch the film but we think this age group are likely to enjoy it the most). The age group I chose was 15-24 and this is because they are more likely to be able to relate to this film and the characters are are around this age also.

Story Synopsis; A group of girls and their gay best friend decide to go for a weekend away in a cabin. (The cabin is owned by one of the girl's uncle). One by one throughout the film each character will disappear and not return apart from one girl who is left to believe the killer has been caught and she is safe. The film skips to when the girl has grown up and has a family of her own and her children want to visit the cabin which her uncle owned but turns out the experience which took place when she was younger, may be relapsing...

Visual Realisation; The film will be fast based as it skips from her teenage years to her adulthood.

Similar films include, 'The hills of eyes' and 'Wrong turn'.

How does our thriller differ and why it appeals to our target audience? The thriller will be more realistic and relatable (obviously not the disappearing part) which is directly aimed at the younger audience. The film has a moral and educates young people abut the dangers of being independent in an unsafe area. It shows the consequences of what could happen in different/new situations if people don't be aware and aren't careful.

Audience Theories

Audience theories from savsalt2404