Construction: First Rough Edit

This is some raw footage of our opening to our horror film. It shows that we have implemented some key media/filming techniques like 180 degree rule, shot reverse shot and high/low angle shots. We  edited this raw footage to add a lot more continuity to make it seem like a real opening to a movie. In this footage we have tried to make sure it is already quite continuous so that it has match on action for when each clip changes. What we have made sure as well is that we have filmed it all as quick as we can so that the time of day doesn't effect the continuity within the opening. however we still need to add in sound of our own and the opening titles.

As you can see from this rough edit, the lighting is quite bright due to the time of day we filmed at. To improve this, we will look at some colour effects in the editing phase to get a colder and more horror like feel to the film. This could mean adding some blue and changing the input levels for black and white.

Music is another feature that needs to be added. This will add a lot more tension and suspense during the film which will make it more like a horror. As I researched my previous post 'The importance of sound', Sound is a key element to any type of film as it can affect the mood and atmosphere of it all.
 

Construction: Evidence Of Filming Taking Place

This is the evidence that we have taken from the filming of our horror opening. It shows that we have all got involved with the filming process and help each other by adding constructive and relative ideas to the filming. It shows that we have used the location that we originally planned and have used the camera we were given. It also shows how we have used the trip-pod to get steady and effective shots to get the best out of our filming. The reason why their is not complete continuity throughout the pictures regarding jamie's clothes is because we had to re-film some clips as one of our initial actors unfortunately broke his leg within the time we were filming.

Construction: Reflection On Recording.

On reflection of our recording, we did happen to run into some problems along the way. These problems included camera issues, time management and weather.

First of all, as we started recording for the first time, it was going well with no problems at all. Unfortunately the camera ran out of battery so this affected a couple of things for us. This could of been avoided if we had ensured that the camera was fully charged. Also, we found that the camera we were using wasn't the best of quality so we asked for another and were able to be upgraded to a much higher quality camera which would really improve our footage.

Another thing was time management. This was the main problem within our group as it took a while for us to get all the people we needed at the same place at the same time. Some people could do a certain time but others could not. This lead us to changing our cast a bit to suit the times that were preferred to the majority of people.

A problem which I discovered during the editing process was that our dialogue is not the best. By this I mean some parts a louder than others and some of the actors didn't speak loud enough which means they are quitter than others. This can be overcome however by simply increasing certain clips of the film whilst editing.

Some good things about our filming however included:

• Same type of weather kept continuity.
• Actors kept same clothes for continuity.
• We didn't have to re-shoot any scenes again once we had finished filming.
• Secluded area meant we were not disturbed.

These factors all helped us to ensure our filming was successful and recorded easily.

If we were to film again however, I would make sure everyone was available and that they all knew when we were filming. This saves us the hassle of getting new actors in at the last minute.

Planning: Filming Schedule

This is the filming schedule for our teen horror film called 'The Campout'. The main purpose behind a  filming schedule is to make sure that when it comes to filming we are able to make sure that we get the certain shots filmed that we planned for that day of filming also to get certain shots done in a certain order because of their importance within the film. The filming schedule is vital as it ensures that the whole of the group that is filming as well as the actors know what is happening and when it will happen on that day of filming.

Planning: Shot List

Shot number	Shot type	location	Cast required	Props required	Brief description
1	Establishing shot	Quarry entrance	none	none	Shot off the quarry woods where the cast will be situated
2	Panning shot	quarry	Brian, Alicia and William	bag	The group on their way to the camp location
3	Two shot Midshot	Groups camp	Brian and William	Vodka bottle	Brian asks to have some of the groups alcohol
4	Two shot Midshot	Groups camp	Alicia and William	Vodka bottle	Alicia passes Brian the vodka bottle
5	Midshot	Groups camp	Brian	Vodka bottle	Brian drinks from the bottle then offers it to William
6	Midshot	Groups camp	William	none	William isn’t keen on the idea of consuming alcohol
7	Two shot midshot	Groups camp	Brian and William	none	Brian mocks the idea of William being boring and not drinking
8	Two shot midshot	Groups camp	Alicia and William	none	Alicia persuades William to drink
9	High angle midshot	Groups camp	William	none	William feels vulnerable about the idea of getting intoxicated
10	Two shot	Groups camp	Brian and William	Vodka bottle	Brian insures William that he will be fine and that nothing bad would happen
11	midshot	Groups camp	William	Vodka bottle	William agrees to take the vodka but proceeds to spit it out after consuming it
12	midshot	Groups camp	Brian	Bottle lid	Brian passes the lid to William as he needs to go to the toilet
13	Two shot midshot	Groups camp	Alicia and William as well as Brian in the background	Vodka bottle	The group fret about what may happen to Brian as he goes to the toilet
14	midshot	The journey to the toilet	Brian	none	Brian walking to find a suitable place to go toilet
15	Over the shoulder	The journey to the toilet	Brian	none	Brian walking to find a suitable place to go toilet
16	Aerial/ crane shot	The journey to the toilet	Brian	none	Brian walking to find a suitable place to go toilet
17	Panning shot	The journey to the toilet	Brian	none	Brian walking to find a suitable place to go toilet
18	midshot	Brian finding a suitable location	Brian	none	Brian going to the toilet
19	Various close ups	The toilet location	Brian	none	Brian becoming anxious as he hears noises of twigs snapping all around him
20	Long shot	The toilet location	Mysterious figure	none	The all black figure in the background looking at Brian
21	Extreme close up	The toilet location	Brian	none	Screams as Brian is brutally murdered with a close up of his dead hand
22	Two shot	Groups camp	Alicia and William	none	Screams are heard by the rest of the group and they begin to worry
23	Two shot	Groups camp	Alicia and William	none	They decide to split up and William goes to look for Brian leaving them separated
24	Panning shots	The journey to the toilet	William	none	William following the route searching for Brian
25	Long shot	The journey to the toilet	Mysterious black figure	none	The black figure discovering William
26	Close up	The toilet location	William	none	William looking distraught as his discovers Brian’s body
27	High angle Midshot	Groups camp	Alicia	none	Alicia hears the screams of another character
28	Close up	Groups camp	Alicia	none	Alicia is very worried and decides to go looking for the other members
29	Panning shots	The journey to the toilet	Alicia	none	Alicia looking for the other members
30	Close up	The toilet location	Alicia	none	Alicia discover the others bodies, however the mysterious figure is over her shoulder
31	Midshot	The toilet location	Brian and William	none	The bodies covered in blood up against a tree, screams of Alicia can be heard
32	longshot	The toilet location	Mysterious black figure	none	The figure can be seen in the distance for the last time.

 This is our shot list for the production of the opening 2 minutes. It is important to have a shot list for the production as it allows us to make sure we've filmed everything that is needed to piece together the opening and in the right order of events. This links back to the storyboard as these are the shots needed for the storyboard panels.

Planning - Considering Mise-en-Scene For Your Opening - Costume and Props

Alisha will be wearing a super dry jumper with high waisted jeans, she will be wearing quite a lot of makeup to make sure that the audience sees her as a typical girl that likes to look nice all of the time. She will have fake blood on her when she gets killed by the villain. 

 

Brian will be wearing an adidas jacket and jeans to make him look like a teenage boy who likes to keep up to date with the latest clothes. When Brian dies he will also have fake blood added to him. This symbolises that he is hurt/dead. Brian will be holding the bottle of alcohol throughout the opening scene and will  be carrying the bag with alcohol on the way to their drinking spot.

The actors will be drinking out of a used bottle of Ciroc which has been filled with water. This will replicate the vodka.

Planning: Casting For Our Opening

Casting is a very important part of the planning stages as it can have a major impact on our film if we get the casting wrong. It is important with any film anyone does. You have to get the actors that you believe will fulfil the promise of the characters that they are being required to do. In the casting process we can see if the actor/actress is actually capable of taking the role. We could do this by producing a short bit of footage of the person doing a bit of acting. This will be able to show some strengths and weaknesses that they may have. Also it will highlight whether they are a confident actor or not, which is very important. If someone we had casted isn't a good enough actor then the casting process can help us to realise this quickly. We can then move on quickly to find a more suitable

Character: Alisha Harold

Age:17

About Alisha: Alisha is an exciting girl who enjoys getting involved with activities including her friends. She is a bubbly person but can get very worried quickly if things go wrong.

We have selected Alice Piggott to participate in this role as she is an experienced actress as she took part in GCSE and got a good grade. She is also confident, which is what we are looking for in this specific character. She is also age appropriate for the role as she will be turning 17 soon. She is also showing enthusiasm towards the role which also makes her a good actress for the role.

Character: Brian Prince

Age: 17

About Brian: Brian is a close friend to Alisha and is also very confident. He likes to make sure that he is always heard and is the centre of attention most of time.

Jamie is the right person for the character as he is a similar age to the character, he is also very similar to the actual character. He is a funny and out going person who always likes to make people laugh. Jamie isn't a shy person so he will be fine in front of the camera.

Character: Rhys Elderflower

Age: 16

About Rhys: Rhys is the youngest of the group so is not as brave, bald and confident as the rest of the group. He will take a while to get involved with group activities but will get into the full swing of things as time goes on. Once he is involved however, he will have a good time.

Ben Nye has been chosen to play this character. Ben is also 16 year old so fits the age part. He isn't the most confident in front of the camera but we can use his shyness to our strengths when it comes to playing Rhys in the film. We can use this when the group start drinking and Rhys is worried whether he should join in or not.

Character: William Jones

Age: 17

About William: William is very similar to Rhys as he is a shy character. He will hang back from all the action until it is safe to join in. He enjoys spending time with his friends and likes to go camping anyway so is well prepared for this trip anyway. Like the rest of the group, he has never experienced alcohol so is worried about the trip.

Josh is the correct person for this character as he is the same age as the character and knows a thing or two about camping as well. This means we can use some of his skills to make the film more realistic when it comes to miss-en-scene. He is also confident in-front of the camera.

Planning: Location planning

Our chosen location: The Quarry

The location we are using is a place called the quarry. It is located next to the A6183 in Kettering. It is  a large abandoned area that is mostly used for dog walkers and people that like to ride there motorbikes illegally. We have chosen this specific location as it is quite large and has a lot of interesting and mysterious places that we can use to convey common codes and conventions within horror films. We will be able to achieve various different camera angles from high and low angles which will add more and more effect to the opening. This location has numerous areas where we will be able to use more advanced camera angles,shots and movements. When it is getting dark this location will be at its best as it will appear more creepy and spooky. This will suit the horror movie opening a lot more. The location has different areas like a old/broken down house, a very steep and rocky hill, and wide/open fields. All of these different areas can be used well for a chase scene for example or as a place where people are killed or captured.

These are some of the images of the location that we used for the filming at the quarry. It is is where our opening of the film will take place. We planned for the location to be here because it was easy to get to for the whole group to get to as it is not a far walk and is also good because if any adjustments or filming is needed then we can easily go back and get any filming we may need. This is also a benefit for everyone in the group and whoever is acting because everyone lives near to the location, so arranging where to meet it does and film at this location is easy. The location already came with a log which we were able to base a lot of our filming around as it is what we needed in the scene for the characters to base their camp around. When using the woods as the location doing high angle and birds eye views we were able to be recorded with a high standard as we could just climb the trees to get the best possible places for recording. The drawbacks with this location are that when we where recording there is a footpath running through the woods and right next to our location. This is used by dog walkers and other pedestrians so it means that we may be interrupted during our recording cause us to lose time on filming.

Planning: Storyboard

This is the storyboard for the opening of our film 'The Campout' the way we did it was simple in that we just created the panels using templates and shots from our opening. 

Each panel included:
The shot number, the location, the type of camera shot, movement, angle and cast involved in this shot.

From doing this i have learnt that planning is a ver important phase in the production of films and our opening, as it is vital so that the filming and production can flow.

The purpose of doing story boards is so that we can see how the opening  will look appear and have a plan for the shots that we will use in our film opening. It will also help us to gain an understanding with the opening titles on the two minutes. All of this will make it easier for us when we come to filming and editing our horror film opening.

Planning: Writing a Treatment

The film will start with an establishing shot of the quarry/woods.

The establishing shot will then fade into a long shot of a group of people walking into the woods with various bags containing drinks.

Close ups of branches and leaves will include various titles of people behind the making of the film and will establish our groups name. The shot will still be following the group as they walk down the path.

The camera then goes to a mid-shot of the group in an ideal place to have their campout. They start to drink their beverages and all seems well.

As the gathering goes on people are feeling more and more drunk and need to go to the toilet. One member walks away from the set location and quickly realises they are lost.

As the member of the group starts to panic things can be heard through the bushes and trees. Eventually, after more and more bushes are rustled something attacks the person and kills them. Leaving a close up of the dead persons hand on the floor.

People within the group get worried about there friend who was taking a while and go to find them. Over the shoulder shots are used numerously to show people searching for the friend.

One by one everyone is taken victim to the unknown threat within the bushes until there is only one person remaining. The camera pans around the person showing their vulnerability. They run back to the campsite and realise they are still on their own.

Shortly after they have realised everyone is gone after shouting there names numerously, the last person if finally killed.

Blood is splattered on the cans on the floor near the fallen victim.

Extreme close-ups of beer cans on the floor scattered around the floor with an unfocused shot of the figure of something in the background in black.