Group Feedback

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H56wi0znLNI




As part of our evaluation we were paired up with other groups and we would question each group about their final film product. The questions ranged from 'How did you feel your filming went' to 'what could you have improved'. This particular evaluation activity helped because it enabled us to realise what we were actually happy with and what we weren't happy with. This then also made us think about what we needed to improve on for next year.

Evaluation Activity 7

In our preliminary task we used a long shot of a pathway with a fence covering half the path. We did this in an attempt to make it seem like the camera was a person's eyes, perhaps the villain. However, we failed to do this as it simply just looked as though it was a plain camera shot with nothing more to it. We feel we have improved on this particular type of shot. In our final film we tried to create the same effect, and we believed it worked. The camera did look as though it was our villain because we stationed the camera in the middle of trees and it did look realistic. This has shown that we have learned something about camera positioning.

We also feel as though we edited much better in our final film compared to our preliminary task, despite our lack of time. In our preliminary task we did not do much to edit at all, we more or less left it as it was because we felt it didn't need editing, despite the fact it did. In our final film we edited in many different ways in an attempt to make our film much better. We added in non-diegetic music to make the genre stand out even more, we used the time-stretch technique which we used to shorted and lengthen the music, we also used various transitions and effects as well. This then made our film look slightly more professional because it showed our audience that we were able to add in extra features to better our film. So, due to this, we believe that we have learnt that editing is an important factor in film production because it will enable your film to have a more professional aspect about it.

However, despite these improvements we feel that we haven't improved on everything. Firstly, we did not use many high or low angle shots in our final film. However in our preliminary task we did use high and low angle shots. This has shown that we have not improved on some of our camerawork skills because we did not think carefully enough about what shot types to use which would suit our genre. As our film is a horror it means we should have used high and low angle shots to establish which character is the victim and which is the villain. As we didn't do this it meant that we did not take forward our camerawork skills from our preliminary task. Also, in our Preliminary task we used match on action however in our final film we didn't. This, again, shows that we have not thought careful about our camerawork which is quite a big downfall for us because it meant that our final film lacked in clear shot types.

Evaluation Activity 5

EVALUATION ACTIVITY 5
How did you attract/address your audience?

You will use YOUTUBE's annotation tools to add NOTES, SPEECHBUBBLES, and LINKS to your video:

http://www.google.com/support/youtube/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=92710

These annotations will highlight the ways in which your Film Opening links to other similiar films in order to attract the particular Audience you have previously identified.

Your annotations will refer to genre conventions, use of music, similiarities with other movies and what you have identified as the Unique Selling Point of your imaginary film.

Evaluation Activity 3

SCRIPT
We chose Warner Brothers as our production company because they have distributed many successful horror films such as Sweeney Todd, Orphan Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street. The fact that they have produced many different horror films and they have all been successful has shown that Warner Brothers has experience in dealing with small budget films and has made them a success. For example,Nightmare on Elm Street had a very small budget of just $1.8 million and received over $26 million at the box office. This has showed that films doesn't need a huge budget to be successful.

A production company helps create the film. It assists in the budgeting, scripting casting and much more. They are also responsible for finding a director and talented actors. However they are also responsible for anything that goes wrong and also if anyone is injured during the filming process.
Warner Brothers is a production company and also a distributer so for our film we did not need to find a distributer.

 I believe that our film will not reach a global audience and so will only need a small budget. This means that our film can be produced using lottery funding. Because this is only a small budget it would mean that it would only be released in the United Kingdom. This is due to the fact there is no big named stars and special effects.

In our film we included the names of the directors, producers, editors and actors in the titles of our film. Unfortunately we did not put the titles in a certain order. If we did put the titles in a certain order we would have put the actors names in first because the audience can recognise famous characters names which will entice them even more to watch the film. However, what we did do was coordinate the titles to flash up in time with the characters. So when the name of one of the characters flashed up, there was a scene with the character in it. This would then allow the audience to establish which person played the character.
Our film is institutionally similar to Nightmare on Elm Street. This was produced by Warner Brothers on a very small budget of just $1.8 million. This is similar to our film because our film will only have a small budget also.

Evaluation Activity 6

Adobe Premiere Elements 10- We used Adobe Premiere Elements 10 to edit our film. We decided to choose adobe because it was fairly simple and easy to use. Our film was only 2 minutes long so we didn't need to use really complicated software to edit. Also because our film was relatively simple we didnt't need anything too complicated. Adobe Premiere Elements 10 was best suited to our film. Abbie and I have no experience in editing as we have never edited before so we also didn't want to use anything too complicated otherwise it would of taken us too long to edit which would have pushed us back even more. Despite Adobe Premiere Elements 10 being fairly simple in our editing process, it did offer a variety of different effects and transitions. This was good because it allowed us to choose between different effects and transitions which would best fit in with our film to make it the best it can be.

Blogger- We used blogger to upload everything we have done throughout the year. Blogger was an effective website that we used as we were able to document our progress and keep a track of everything we have done. It has showed our journey right from the very start up until now so it allows us to see the progress we have made over the past few months.

Camera- The camera we used was a DV1 camera. This was the most important aspect in the making of our film because it was the item that captured our film. It was a decent camera as it did the basics (take pictures, film etc.) however it was not as good as we would have hoped. The picture was fairly clear however we had issues with zooming. Throughout our film we needed to zoom in during one of our shots however we were not able to do this. This was because when you zoomed in during one of the shots it was very jumpy which resulted in a very bad quality clip. This therefore meant that we could not zoom in during our shots.

Youtube- We used youtube to share our finished product with our audience. It is very simple to use so did not cause us any problems when it came to sharing our film. Youtube also played a big part in our research. We were able to watch other openings to films of our genre and get ideas from them and also see the conventions they follow and if they subvert any of the conventions. This helped us establish what we needed to do to make our film successful.

Evaluation Activity 8

I have set myself many different targets for G324 next year. The first target I have decided to set myself is to do with timing. When we filmed our two minute opening we gave ourselves a very limited amount of time. This is due to other commitments we had made. Due to these commitments it meant that we didn't have much available time to film. We were limited to filming after school. However, we realised that this was a problem because it got dark at around 4.30pm every evening and we got home from school at around 4pm. This meant we could not film after 4.30 because it would have been too dark. This then only gave us a half an hour slot to do filming which was not nearly enough time. Due to such a limited amount of filming time it meant we gradually fell behind on filming which meant that, as our deadline day drew closer, we ended up rushing our film in order to get it finished. This meant that our film was not the best that it could be. This has led us to set targets involving the timing of our filming for next year. We have decided to start filming as soon as possible into the year which means that we will have plenty of time to film. It also means that we will not have to rush our filming which will hopefully result in a much better, well prepared final product as we will have more time to plan and prepare.


We will also make sure we start editing sooner. This year, as we filmed so late, we only left ourselves a very short amount of time to edit our film. This meant that it was very rushed so we ended up making a few mistakes. In order to make sure this doesn't happen we will make sure we do not fall behind on the filming which could result in our editing becoming rushed. The problems we faced with editing is that we were not able to sit down and thoroughly work through our film editing every aspect we could. We only had time to edit the aspects that were absolutely necessary. This clearly was a huge problem because it meant that our final product was not nearly as good as we had hoped. This has therefore been an eye opener for us and has led us to the conclusion that we must not fall behind on our filming because it will also effect our editing as well.                 


We have also decided to use a tripod and perhaps a better quality camera. This year when we filmed we didn't use a tripod. This resulted in the shots being quite shaky which suggests that our film is of bad quality. Also, as we didn't use a tripod it may have been hard for the audience to establish shot type. This is because the camera moved quite a bit as it was only hand held. This therefore has led us to decide that we will use a tripod next year to improve the quality of the shots and also to ensure a clear shot type. Using a better quality camera will ensure that the audience will have a clear picture of the film. This may make them more keen to watch the film because they will not have to focus too much on the characters. They will be able to easily watch our film with no trouble.


This year, after we had filmed, we realised we hadn't used enough shot types that were related to the genre of our film. The genre we decided upon was horror so the most common shots would be high angle and low angle shots to establish the villain and the victim. However, we used hardly any low angle or high angle shots so it may have been hard for the audience to completely establish which character was the villain and which character was the victim. So, next year we have decided to plan more carefully which shot types we will use and also decide on shot types which are possible to use. This year when we planned our shot types we chose bird's eye view shots. However when it came to filming we were not able to do this as there was no way we could get high enough to film the shot. This therefore resulted in us wasting our filming time as we had to decide on a new shot to do. So next year when we plan our shot types we will carefully decide on shots that are possible and also make sure we use shots that are relevant to the genre of our film.

Evaluation Activity 1- Special effects

At the end of the film we used a blurred and faded effect on Georgia's face. We used this to represent time slowing down. This would create the effect that Georgia is scared and she is so confused as to what is happening. On top of this we also used the non-diegetic sound of a hearbeat. This was used to represent Georgia's heartbeat. The heartbeat was slow which could show that time is slowing down. The effect of this also makes it look a bit creepy and the fact that she is so scared could mean that something is about to happen to her. When we edited this shot we tried to make the flashback effect in time with her breathing so it would look effective. However this didn't go as well as we had hoped as some of it wasn't in time.

Evaluation Activity 4

This is our typical target audience member. 

Our typical audience member is most likely to be into watching crime dramas on television. Television programs such as Dexter, The Following and True Detective are all crime dramas that they are likely to watch. They are likely to watch these crime dramas as they all involve serial killers and lots of murders. These programs are not too scary they are more based around the detective and crime side of things rather than towards the horror side. This is much like our film because our film does not contain any real horror it is mainly minimal amounts of horror such as when our villain is first shown rather than it containing serious horror from start to finish. This means that our typical audience member is into some scenes of horror but is not a huge fan of gore and the ultimate horror movies. We decided not to use our target audience members as people who were into the extremely terrifying horror because they may not enjoy our film. This is because our film does not contain strong horror which means they may be very bored by our film and will not find it scary at all as they are used to more terrifying scenes of horror. Our typical audience member would range from around the age of 15/16 to 35 years old however we would be mainly aiming at the teenagers who are specifically male. The type of male we are aiming at is someone who is daring, curious and not afraid to try anything new. We are aiming at this particular type of person because we believe that aiming at someone who is daring, and also curious is most likely to enjoy our film. This is because they will want to know what happens next as they are curious. As we have left our film on a cliffhanger it means that they will be most likely to enjoy it because they will be trying to figure out what has happened rather than just forgetting about our film. 

 

Evaluation Activity 1- Camerawork and Editing

We used match on action to ensure continuity. This is important as we would want the film to be as fluent as possible so it wouldn't effect the audiences cinematic experience. This means that when the audience watch our film it will be easy to watch because everything will flow. This will mean that the audience will find the film easy to watch because nothing is being missed out, so the scene is continuous. Also, in our opening we used a series of close ups. This is effective because we wanted the audience to see the facial expressions of our characters so they can understand how the characters are feeling. The point of this is that the audience will know exactly what the characters are feeling which could make them feel more tense because they would be able to tell if the characters are scared or not and if they know what is going on. We also used a tracking shot of the trees. This is effective because it is showing what Abbie can see. The camera is Abbie's eyes so therefore the audience will be seeing the woods from Abbie's point of view. This may make them feel more tense because they are getting a glimpse of what the woods is like. We also used over-the-shoulder shots. This is effective because it means that the audience can see everything that is going on however not directly from the characters eyes- slightly behind. We used these shots because it means that the audience will be able to see everything that's going on and it creates the feeling that they are watching the characters because they are watching them from behind. We used quite a lot of long shots. These long shots are effective because as well as being able to see the full length of the characters the audience can also see the surrounding woods. This is a good thing because it means that the audience will know and see exactly what the woods is like which could lead them to feel more tense because they can see that the woods look quite gloomy and spooky.

Evaluation Activity 2

One of the main characters, Abbie, can be compared to the victim characters from the film 'Scream'. There are many similarities between these two characters including, appearance, costumes and the role in the film. Both characters are blonde and pretty which makes them very vulnerable victims. The fact that they are blonde and pretty makes them vulnerable because they are easy targets for the villains. They look weak and innocent which means that the audience will automatically assume that they are the victims if they don't already know. The costumes of both the victims are also similar. They are both wearing ordinary clothing which suggest that they do not expect anything is about to happen to them. As they are both wearing ordinary clothing the audience may also get a feeling that the characters have no idea about what is about to happen to them. This might make the audience feel tense because they know that what is going to happen to the victims is most likely to be unexpected. Another similarity of these two characters is their role in the film. They both play the victims and also they both are taken by surprise by their attacker. They are both taken by surprise in different ways. The character from 'Scream' receives a phone call from her attacker, which is completely unexpected for the victim. She handles this by crying and screaming down the phone. This shows she is extremely frightened and most probably knows she is going to die. However, when Abbie catches a glimpse of her attacker hidden among the trees, she decided not to scream and cry or even attempt to run, instead she decides to act as if she never even saw anything. This would make the audience feel very suspicious because they will want to know why she is just ignoring the fact that there is someone in the woods watching her. So the two characters are very similar however they differ in the way that they deal with their situations. The way the two characters differ will entice the audience because they will want to see what will happen to the character from Scream and they will want to know why Abbie is ignoring the fact that there is someone watching her in the woods.

Animatic Storyboard- Edited on Adobe

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijHYS-ORSn0&feature=player_embedded

Evaluation Activity 1- How characters are introduced

This is the first shot in the film in which the audience can fully see the characters full appearance. From this mid shot the audience can see exactly who these girls are. They are able to establish that these girls are teenagers which could lead them to be suspicious as to why these girls are walking through the woods. Also, because of the mid shot, the audience are still able to see the setting which means they can see that it is quite dark and that no one is around. This might make them feel scared for the characters because there is no one around. Also, from this shot the audience can see the characters costumes which would let them know that they are just ordinary girls as they are wearing ordinary clothing. Also, as the audience are able to see their faces it means that they will be able to see that they are pretty and blonde which is the stereotypical victim. This means that the audience may be able to establish that the girls are playing the part of the victims because they look like the perfect victims.

Evaluation Activity 1- Genre and how the opening suggests it

The opening of our film is set in a woods. As it is set in a woods it means that the audience will most likely realise that the genre of our film is a horror. As a lot of horror films are set in isolated locations it means that, as our film is in an isolated location, the audience will know what genre our film is. Also to accompany our film we have non-diegetic music. This music sounds quite sinister which will therefore allow the audience to realise that the genre of our film is horror. Also, the lighting is quite dark which suggests that its perhaps quite late which will create enigma codes for the audience as they will want to try and guess what is going to happen in the rest of the film and why our characters are out late at night. Also this shot shows that the weather is quite eery as it is raining and they skies are grey. This will automatically lead the audience to believe something bad is going to happen. This is because in most films, if something good is going to happen the skies are usually blue and there is sunshine and perhaps a rainbow. The weather is usually good in films such as romances because sunny weather usually portrays something good happening. This can be compared to horror films, where the weather is usually raining and dark as it could portray something bad happening. This could then lead the audience to wonder why our characters are out late

Evaluation Activity 1- Costumes and props

These are the costumes that our characters wear throughout our two minute opening. As you can see these costumes are quite simple. We decided to keep the costumes simple because we wanted the audience to see the characters being portrayed as just ordinary girls. We wanted the audience to see them looking as vulnerable as possible and we thought the best way to do this is to show them looking like they are just having a normal day, wearing normal clothes. Also, because we have portrayed them in this way it will show the audience that perhaps the girls have no idea about what is about to happen. This might mean that they will feel tense because it is clear to them that the girls are in an extremely vulnerable position and that it is very likely that something bad is going to happen to them. The characters are wearing jeans, and a coat with the exception of Georgia who is also wearing a scarf which is one of the main props of the film. This shot is shown through the use of a long shot. We decided to use a long shot because we wanted the audience to see exactly what the characters are wearing. This is because we wanted the audience to see them wearing normal, every day clothes which would lead them to the conclusion that they don't have a clue about what might happen to them whilst they are walking through the woods alone.
The green and black scarf around Georgia's neck is the main prop in the film. It plays a significant role in the film. When Georgia realises her scarf is missing they find it deep in the trees slightly ahead of them. This is obviously very strange to the characters and the audience because it doesn't seem possible for a scarf to end up that far away from them. The audience will nost probably assume that someone has put it there which will lead to them feeling very tense because they will think that someone is in the woods with them. The second prop we used, which is also an important prop, is the mobile phone that Abbie is seen with. This is an important prop because when the audience are first introduced to the villain Abbie is completely unaware at that moment in time. As she is so engrossed in her phone she has no idea what is going on around her. We think that this is an effective prop because it means that whilst Abbie is being distracted by her mobile phone, the audience will be able to see the villain and it will make them feel very tense because they will want Abbie to see the villain so they can get out of the woods to safety but instead she hasn't seen the villain so won't have a clue.

Evaluation Activity 1- Film Title

This is the title of our film. The title appears as the last shot of our film. We decided to use this as the last shot for our film because it would be very successful. We decided to have a tense scene right at the end and then as the scene finished have the title of our film flash up on screen with a deathly scream in the background. We did this because we thought it would be a good way to end the opening two minutes of the film. It would also leave the audience feeling very tense because they can hear a very deathly scream however they won't be able to actually see whats happen so they might question what has just happened. It will perhaps leave them wanting to watch more so they can find out why the girl has just screamed. We used a black background and white font for the title of the film. We decided to do this because it would make the writing stand out. We did not use any colour in the title as we didn't want the audience to figure out what happened. For example, if we used a red colour for the title they might assume that something gory has happened as red symbolises blood.
We used this particular font for our film because it is the typical font for a horror film. It is quite plain but it also has spikes coming off of particular letters. This could represent the font being related to the horror genre because you would usually represent spikes with horror films because they are dangerous. If we used a font with swirls instead of the spikes then people might associate the font with a romance film because it would look like a nice font that doesn't pose a threat to anyone. The spikes that you see coming off of the letters could represent danger which is linked in with the film that a character is in serious danger.

Evaluation Activity 1- Setting shot

 This is the setting for our film. This is a good shot as it shows the location for our film. We decided to use the location for our film as a wood because it is conforming to the usual convention of a horror film. Most horror films have a scary setting such as a woods so we decided to adhere to this by using a woods as the setting. By adhering to this it meant that the audience will be more likely to identify what the genre of our film is. We used a long shot to show this as it is showing the audience the full length of where the majority of our film is based. By doing this we are allowing the audience to understand what the woods looks like and also it shows the audience that no one is around so it gives them a tense feeling that something might happen because it is so deserted. Also it is showing the audience exactly what the woods is like - scary, gloomy and completely empty. By giving the audience this view of the woods it means they will perhaps feel more tense and scared because they will see that it is fairly dark so will assume that something bad will happen. Also it will set the scene for the film because if its dark and the scene is accompanied by scary music then the audience will most likely feel scared which is what we are hoping to achieve.

The Unexpected Final

Animatic story board final

 

 

This is the first shot of our film. It shows our institution, Warner Brothers, on screen for 10 seconds. We originally only wanted this particular shot on screen for around 6 seconds, but due to our film being significantly under 2 minutes we decided to lengthen this shot to extend the entire length of our film.

This is the next shot in our film. It is a long shot of our two main characters walking across a bridge. At this point the camera is still. It is a long angle shot but also it can be a low angle shot as well. We did not write that it was a low angle shot as it is not a clear low angle shot. This shot lasts for 3 seconds.

 

 

The next shot in our film is a long shot of the pathway running through the woods. We decided to use this as our next shot because we wanted to show the audience that this is the location of our film as the shot of them walking over the bridge may cause confusion as it does not look like they are in the woods. This shot lasts for 2 seconds.

 

The next shot in our film is a long shot of the two girls walking down the pathway shown in the shot before. This shot lasts for 5 seconds and the characters are having a casual conversation. We decided to show them having a casual conversation because we wanted to show the audience that they have no idea what is about to happen to them.

 

 

 

 

This next shot is a mid shot of the two girls. One of the characters, Abbie, thinks she hears something and both the girls start looking around to see if there is anything there. This shot lasts for 4 seconds.

 

 

This shot instantly follows on from the previous shot. The girls are in the same position, however we see them from behind rather than in front. The girls decide that nothing is there and so carry on walking. This shot lasts for 5 seconds.

 

 

This next shot shows one of the characters, Georgia, realising her shoe is untied. This is shown through a long shot. This shot lasts for 2 seconds.

 

 

 

This next shot continues on from the shot before, where Georgia notices her shoe has become untied. This time the shot is a close up of Georgia's shoe as she is tying it up. This shot will only last for 1-2 seconds.

 

 

This shot is a long shot of Georgia still tying up her shoe. Georgia realises that her scarf is missing and her and Abbie begin looking around for it. Just after they begin looking Abbie notices it in the tree to the side of them. She points to the tree and says 'Georgia'. This shot will last for 8 seconds.

 

This next shot is from Abbie's point of view, so the camera is supposedly Abbie. From behind the camera we hear Abbie say 'Isn't that your scarf?'. This shot will last for 6 seconds. In this shot we also see a close up shot of Georgia facing the camera and the scarf in the background. We think this is an effective shot as it shows Georgia with the scarf in the background and it shows just where the scarf is so it gives the audience a tense feeling because they will think to themselves 'How did the scarf get there?'

 

 

 

 

 

The next shot shows a long shot of Georgia reaching for the scarf and Abbie waiting on the pathway for her. The point of this shot is to show just how far away the scarf is. This may make the audience feel tense and scared because it would seem strange how a scarf would manage to get from the pathway to a tree that is quite far away from the pathway. This shot lasts for 6 seconds.

 

 

 

 

This shot is a long shot of Abbie. We see Abbie from the side and in the background a dark figure walks past. This shot lasts for 6 seconds. Abbie does not actually see the figure.

 

 

This nex shot shows a mid shot/close up shot of Abbie. She is looking past the camera to see if anything is there. This shot will last for 2-3 seconds.

 

This next shot shows a long shot of the trees in which the villain is standing. The camera is tracking the trees and the camera is acting like Abbie's eyes. This shot last for 2-3 seconds.

 

The next shot shows a mid shot of Abbie. She is looking into the trees as she has just seen the figure in the trees. This shot will last for 2 seconds and it shows her looking extremely shocked.

 

 

 

This next shot shows a long shot of Georgia walking towards the camera to Abbie after just retrieving her scarf from the tree. This shot lasts for 4-5 seconds.

 

The next shot shows Georgia by Abbie's side. Abbie is still staring into the trees and when Georgia speaks to Abbie, she instantly stops staring into the trees and they both continue walking. This shot is a long shot and lasts for 7 seconds.

 

The next shot shows a mid shot of the trees. The camera is tracking the trees and the camera is acting as Abbie. This shot lasts for 4 seconds.

 

This next shot shows Georgia walking towards the camera as she thinks she hears something in the trees. As she walks towards the camera Abbie continues walking down the pathway. By the time Georgia turns around Abbie is no longer in the shot. This is shown through a long shot, however by the end of the shot it is a close up. This shot lasts for 8 seconds.

 

 

The next shot shows a long shot of the camera moving to the left as if it is Georgia looking for Abbie. The pathway is empty. This shot will last for 2 seconds.

 

 

This next shot is very similar to the previous one however the camera is moving to the left. This shot is a long shot also and will last for 2 seconds. The point in these 2 shots is to show Georgia looking around for Abbie. It also shows the audience that Abbie is nowhere to be seen.

 

 

This next shot is a close up, side view of Georgia. She is breathing heavily and there is a loud heartbeat in the background. This shot is repeated three times only slightly differently. Overall these small shots will last for 4 seconds.

 

The last shot is of the tile of our film 'The Unexpected'. This will last for 7 seconds.

 

 

 

 

The Unexpected almost complete

Script

Abbie: I thought there would be more people here.

Georgia: (Sarcasm) well it is the woods Abbie! What do you expect?

Abbie: Georgia, what was that?

(Looking around)

Oh there probably wasn’t anything there.

Georgia: (Looking at her lace) Oh my lace!

Georgia: Wait, where’s my scarf?

Abbie: Georgia?

(Points to a tree in the distance)

Isn’t that your scarf?

Georgia: That’s weird I’ll go get it.

Georgia: You alright abs? Abs?

Abbie: Yeah, oh come on lets go.

Georgia: (Walking over to a tree) did you hear that? Abs?

Our Film

The film we have just uploaded is not the final version. We still have to add in our title 'The Unexpected' at the very end of our film and we have to add in the institution at the beginning of our film. We unfortunately did not have time to do this as we left filming too late and so therefore we hadn't left ourselves enough time to complete are whole film. This means that we will have to complete our film as soon as we get back to school so we can get marked on our final finished product.

Characters interviews

   
We interviewed Georgia Leslie and Abbie Dentus, who were the main characters in our film. The interview was not planned so we just asked general questions that we felt related to our 2 minute film. We didn't have the interview planned because we felt that it would be more realistic and reliable if we didn't have it scripted. We asked questions such as 'Why do you think you'd be the best person for this role' and then the interviewee would answer in the way they wanted rather than what we told them to answer. This meant truthful answers were being produced. We tried to change the questions we asked each interviewee to make it more interesting for the audience because they probably wouldn't want to watch the same interview twice.

The Unexpected

Shot lists

The first shot we used in our film is a long shot. We decided to use a long shot because we want the audience to get a full view of our characters so they know that they are young girls and that they are alone. This will make the girls seem vulnerable to the audience because they alone in what looks like a very deserted place.

The next shot we used is a long shot/establishing shot. The reason we decided to use this shot in our film because we want the audience to know exactly where they are. In the first shot, they are shown walking across a bridge as if they are on their way into the woods. So, to make the audience clear that the victims are in a woods we decided to use a long shot/establishing shot to make this clear to the audience. Also, because the shot has got no characters in it, it shows that the woods are completely deserted because there is no one around. This makes the victims look even more vulnerable because there is no one around and they are completely alone. 

The next shot is another long shot. This shot is of the victims and they are walking away from the camera. We decided to use a long shot because we wanted to show the audience that they are walking through the deserted woods. Also, because the pathway looks like it doesn't have an end we want to show the audience that perhaps they are going very deep into the woods. This is effective because as it is a horror film, our audience probably expects something bad will happen, so if they see the victims walking deeper into the woods they will probably feel more tense as they will probably expect something bad to happen. This will then create a scarier atmosphere for our audience.

The next shot we use is a mid shot. We decided to use this shot because we wanted to see quite clearly the faces of our victims because when they stop to hear something the audience will want to see their facial expressions. We decided to use a mid shot rather than a close up shot because we felt it was necessary to see the body language of our victims rather than just a facial expression. We also wanted the audience to see the victims stop and the best way to do this was to use a mid shot because that way they would more or less be able to see their facial expressions but also they will be able to see the victims cautiously stop because they heard a noise. This will cause tension for the audience because they might think that something is going to happen so they may feel scared for the characters.

The next shot is another mid shot of the victims They are still in the same place in the woods as last time but this time we see them from the other side of them. We decided to do this because then we could show the victims turned around to show that they are looking in that direction because they think they heard something. This is effective because it means that the audience are able to see the victims from all angles and also it shows, again, how deserted the woods really are.

After we see a long shot of Georgia crouching down to tie up her lace we are shown a close up shot. This close up shot is of Georgia tying up her lace. There is no real reason why we decided to use this particular shot we just thought it would look quite effective if the audience could see her tying up her shoelaces rather than just hearing that her lace has come undone. 

After the quick close up of her shoe we go back to a long shot of Georgia on the floor tying up her shoelaces. At this point they are looking for Georgia's scarf that appears to be lost. Abbie then suddenly points out that she sees Georgia's scarf. At this point we see a close up/over the shoulder shot of Georgia with her scarf hanging of a tree branch in the background. This is effective because not only can we see Georgia's facial expression but we can also see the scarf that had mysteriously vanished. This gives the audience a tense feeling because the position of the shot makes it look like the scarf is further up the path than them, but how is this possible? 

The next shot we see is of a long shot showing Georgia reaching for her scarf and Abbie waiting on the pathway for her. We decided to use this shot because it shows just how far away the tree is from the pathway. This will leave the audience feeling suspicious because it seems very unlikely how the scarf would manage to get from the pathway all the way to the branch of the tree. This would them make them think that someone put it there on purpose which would therefore lead to them feeling tense and perhaps a bit scared to watch.

The next shot is another long shot. In this shot we see Abbie standing to the side then in the background a dark figure walks past. The figure is walking quite slowly which is effective because it will mean that the audience will get a clear view of the villain and because of the slow pace it means that it will be very hard for the audience to miss it. Also, because of the long shot it means we can see Abbie and the villain in the shot at the same time. This is effective because it shows the audience just how close the villain is to Abbie which will make the audience feel tense and scared for Abbie. 

A mid shot/close up shot is then used to show Abbie looking into the distance as she thinks she just saw something out of the corner of her eye. We used a close up shot/mid shot so the audience could see her facial expression as being confused and a bit anxious. This will then let the audience know that Abbie has got a strange feeling that something is there. This then makes the audience feel even more scared for her because now Abbie is starting to wonder if something is following them. 

We then used another long shot to follow the mid shot/close up of Abbie. The next shot shows the camera moving to the left and into the trees. The camera is acting as Abbie's eyes. This is effective because it lets the audience know exactly what Abbie can see at this moment in time and it also gives the audience a sense that they are there with Abbie because they can see what she can. As the camera is moving more to the left a figure is then spotted among the trees. The fact that the camera(Abbie's eyes) is moving through the empty trees and then all of a sudden there is a dark figure in the trees is very effective. It means that the audience now know that Abbie has seen the mysterious figure which could make them feel very tense because now they will assume something bad will happen now that Abbie has seen the villain.

The next shot is a mid shot. Abbie is looking into the distance with a worried and confused look on her face. She has obviously just seen the villain but by looking at her facial expression the audience can perhaps assume that she thinks she has imagined that something is there because she is just staring in shock. This can be explained when, one or two shots later, Georgia comes back and she finds Abbie still staring into the distance. When Georgia looks into the distance where Abbie is still staring, the villain would have obviously disappeared so when Georgia looks back at Abbie completely un-frightened Abbie stops acting so shocked and they carry on walking. This could perhaps make the audience think that Abbie is trying not to think about what she thinks she just saw. This could also make the audience feel a bit suspicious because if Abbie just saw a figure in the trees then why would she not question it? 

The next shot is a mid shot of the trees. The camera is tracking the trees as if the camera is Abbie. This is an effective shot because it shows the audience that Abbie is having a second look to see if she can see anything because obviously she is frightened by what she thinks she saw. This could then give the audience a sense that Abbie is clearly just trying to pretend that she didn't see anything because she isn't questioning it.


We decided to use a long shot as the next shot. In this shot we see Georgia walking up into the bushes because she thinks she heard something. As she walks towards the camera, which is positioned in the trees, Abbie suspiciously continues walking in the background. As Georgia is the main person in this shot it may be hard for the audience to realise that Abbie has not stopped. However, despite this the next shot quickly makes the audience aware that Abbie has disappeared.

The next shot is a long shot of the pathway running through the woods. The camera is moving to the right so the audience are getting a view of the completely empty pathway, this happens again in a new shot but the camera shows the other end of the pathway from the left. As the camera is representing Georgia's eyes it shows the audience that Georgia cannot see Abbie anywhere which will make the audience feel tense because it seems very suspicious how Abbie has disappeared so quickly.

The final shot is of a close up side view of Georgia's face. This shot is effective because the audience can clearly see Georgia's facial expression as being really worried. Also it is effective because you can see Georgia breathing really heavily because she is extremely scared. This shot is repeated three times however each shot is slightly different. We did this because we can add in sound effects of a beating heart which will represent Georgia's heart which will put the audience even more on edge because they can hear Georgia's heart beating very fast which could show the audience just how scared she really is.

Animatic Storyboard

This is page 1 of our animatic story board. It is very hard to see, however we have carefully planned out what we are going to be filming, shot types and how long the shot will last for. The first box shows the Warner brothers logo. We will be using this as our institution. The shot of this will last for 8 seconds. The next box is showing a screen of writing which says '13 years ago today a young girl went missing in these woods and hasn't been found since'. This shot will last for 7 seconds. While this is being shown there will be slow, sinister music playing in the background. After this, the next box illustrates two girls walking through the woods. We decided to use a long shot for this shot to show them in their surrounding which makes sure that the audience know exactly where they are. This shot will last 7 seconds. The box after this shows the back of the two girls. This is a mid, over the shoulder shot of the girls walking away from the camera. This lasts for 5 seconds.

So, on the first page of our animatic storyboard all that is being illustrated is the girls making their way through the woods.

 

Page 2 of our storyboard illustrates the girls beginning to hear things in the woods. The first box shows the girls walking and in the background a black figure is standing in the distance. This is shown through the use of a long shot. We decided to show this shot for around 10 seconds so the audience will fully be able to see the dark figure. The second box shows a close up of the girls. The have stopped walking as they think they have heard something. This shot will last around 7 seconds because we want to be able to get in enough dialogue to allow the audience to know whats happening. The third box shows a long shot of the pathway. The camera will act as if it is the girls eyes looking to see if anything is there. This shot will last for around 6 seconds. The fourth box shows another close up of the girls faces. They are still looking to see if anything is there but instead of looking from their point of view we are shown a close up of their faces to see their facial expressions. This shot will last for around 6 seconds. The fifth box illustrates a long shot with the girls walking away from the camera as they think they were just imagining they heard something. This shot will last for around 7 seconds.

Page 3 of our storyboard illustrates one of the girls disappearing. It also first introduces us to the villain. The first box shows a mid shot of the girls through the trees. The camera is the murderer at this point. This means we are seeing the scene from the murderers point of view. This shot will last for around 5 seconds. The second box shows a close up of one of the girls. She is looking directly into the camera because she thinks she can hear something. At this point the camera is not the murderer because the girls are not yet supposed to come across the murderer just yet. This shot will last for around 7 seconds. The third box shows a long shot of the girl looking into the trees, as she was in the box before, but instead of seeing her facial expression, we just see her whole body from behind. In the same box/scene she also turns around but then realises her friend is not there. This shot will last for around 7 seconds. The fourth box shows a high angle shot/birds eye view of the girl frantically looking for her friend as now she is very scared because she thinks she is completely alone. This shot will last for around 6 seconds. The fifth box illustrates a close up side view of the girl. In the background of this we see a dark figure walk past- the murderer. This shot will last for around 7 seconds. 

Page four of our storyboard illustrates when the victim comes across the villain for the first time. Box one shows a close up of the girl. She is still looking for her friend but doesn't seem to be having any luck. In this shot we will be adding in a sound effect of a twig breaking. The twig breaking will signify the murderer moving toward the victim. The next box shows the girl slowly turn around. The shot will start off as an over-the-shoulder shot but then will turn into a close up of her face. This shot will last for around 5 seconds. The next box shows a long shot of what the audience expected to be the villain whereas in fact it is the girls friend. She is covered in blood and has been possessed. This clip will last for around 5 seconds. The next shot is a close up of the girls face. She lets out a terrifying scream. This shot will last for 4 seconds. The last shot we are shown is the image of the title flash up on the screen. There will be a blast of loud, sinister music to accompany the title 'The unexpected'. 

We did not include any dialogue in our storyboard because at that point we were not completely certain on what dialogue we were going to have in our film. We knew what sound effects we wanted but we did not know what we should have our characters say. Due to the fact we did not include dialogue it meant that we had to make it up when we were filming because we did not have a definite script. At the time we thought this wouldn't be a problem but when it came to editing we realised it was a big problem. It was a problem because we made everything up so it didn't make sense. So, when it came to writing a script we were not able to do so. This meant we had to re-record our characters speaking and put them in over the top of the other speaking.