To edit my film, I used iMovie.
In my film I sed examples of fade in/out and the film titles.
I also used the software to cut my raw footage files up into sections that could be useful, this included cutting out the footage of me walking to/from the camera at the beginning and end of shots.
The film does have various flaws that I am aware of but was unable to rectify due to cast and time constraints, these include the bright sun in the background in the first shot, the fact that Chris' head is cut of at the end of that first shot and other things such as the quiet audio in the scene prior to Chris entering the woods.
Thursday, 26 February 2009
Cinematography
Since there were only two of us when filming, I had to make use of a tripod and during editing, cut out the clips of me walking to and from the camera.
For the opening dialogue between Chris and Dan, we filmed one persons dialogue all in one take and then swapped the camera over and did it again, this was good for continuity.
There is a jump in the camera movement at the end of the intro but due to time and casting constraints I was unable to remove this.
For the opening dialogue between Chris and Dan, we filmed one persons dialogue all in one take and then swapped the camera over and did it again, this was good for continuity.
There is a jump in the camera movement at the end of the intro but due to time and casting constraints I was unable to remove this.
Equipment
I also rented a tripod from the media department which proved valuble later on in the filming process.
Software
To edit my production, I used iMovie 06.
The software was on a Mac computer which I had previously only had limited experience of as I am used to using Windows systems (XP/Vista) so I had to learn how many of the functions worked.
I had also hardly ever used movie editing software before but using it in the preliminary task as well as the microdrama gave me valuble experience.
Some of the advantages of using iMovie include all the preset transitions and effects (such as fade in/out, dissolve etc.) and the stock sounds that came with it.
The software was on a Mac computer which I had previously only had limited experience of as I am used to using Windows systems (XP/Vista) so I had to learn how many of the functions worked.
I had also hardly ever used movie editing software before but using it in the preliminary task as well as the microdrama gave me valuble experience.
Some of the advantages of using iMovie include all the preset transitions and effects (such as fade in/out, dissolve etc.) and the stock sounds that came with it.
Locations
The location that I chose for my project was a path in Ilkley that connects Parish Ghyll Road and Princess Road.
It is a straight path with a wall on one side of the path and a wooded area on the other.
It wasn't quite the location that I had planned in my initial draft ideas but it was the closest that I could find.
Link to a Google Maps map of the location.
This is the top of the path, the path itself is visible between the wall on theleft and the white building.
This is the view from behind the hedges, this viewpoint will be used to give the effect that the main characters will be being watched.
This is the view down the path from about halfway.
This is the view up the path from about halfway.
This is the bottom of the path.
This is the bottom of the path looking up.
It is a straight path with a wall on one side of the path and a wooded area on the other.
It wasn't quite the location that I had planned in my initial draft ideas but it was the closest that I could find.
Link to a Google Maps map of the location.
This is the top of the path, the path itself is visible between the wall on theleft and the white building.
This is the view from behind the hedges, this viewpoint will be used to give the effect that the main characters will be being watched.
This is the view down the path from about halfway.
This is the view up the path from about halfway.
This is the bottom of the path.
This is the bottom of the path looking up.
Casting
My film opening requires 2 characters:
Chris Voorhees- A medium sized caucasian brown-haired male who is slightly cocky in attitude.
For Chris I decided to cast Ben Gibson, a caucaisan male who fit my criteria.
Dan Loomis - A medim sized, brown haired male who is more reserved than Chris.
I had to, due to my original cast becoming unavailable, take on this role myself.
Both characters' surnames feature inter-textual references and pay homage to characters from well known horror films, Dan Loomis - Loomis from Halloween and Psycho and Chris Voorhees - Jason Voorhees from the Friday the 13th/Jason series.
Chris Voorhees- A medium sized caucasian brown-haired male who is slightly cocky in attitude.
For Chris I decided to cast Ben Gibson, a caucaisan male who fit my criteria.
Dan Loomis - A medim sized, brown haired male who is more reserved than Chris.
I had to, due to my original cast becoming unavailable, take on this role myself.
Both characters' surnames feature inter-textual references and pay homage to characters from well known horror films, Dan Loomis - Loomis from Halloween and Psycho and Chris Voorhees - Jason Voorhees from the Friday the 13th/Jason series.
My initial ideas
Three friends walking down a path (wooded?) chatting.One of them thinks they see something in the woods and mentions it to the others but they shrug it off, they continue walking and he mentions it again, the other two again shrug it off but are more wary now. A third time he thinks he sees something and this time goes off to investigate it, one of the others goes with him but the other one stays on the path. They enter the woods and look around for a bit and see nothing, they return to the path and their other friend has disappeared and is nowhere to be seen, the others call his name out.
Characters – Three boys, 16-18 age range.
Character 1 – Main character, confident, tall,
Character 2 – Friend who sees something in the woods, cocky, small, funny
Character 3 – The one who disappears – nervous, the smart one
Audience – 16-30
Genre – Thriller/Horror/Action
Location – Long, straight path through a wooded area.
BBFC – 12/15
This is the idea that I decided to use as my final idea.
Characters – Three boys, 16-18 age range.
Character 1 – Main character, confident, tall,
Character 2 – Friend who sees something in the woods, cocky, small, funny
Character 3 – The one who disappears – nervous, the smart one
Audience – 16-30
Genre – Thriller/Horror/Action
Location – Long, straight path through a wooded area.
BBFC – 12/15
This is the idea that I decided to use as my final idea.
Codes and convections of film openings
Film openings often contain specific codes and convections that apply to the genre that it is portraying.
For example, we (the class) looked at various film openings from different genres.
For example, Halloween (1978, John Carpenter) set many standards that can still be seen today in many horror films.
Some of these techniques include the use of first person cameras, long unedited cuts, female heroins and the principle that only the "good" people survive, for example the people in the film (usually the studs/jocks and the blonde, busty females) that had sex were killed whereas the brown haired, female heroin survived.
For example, we (the class) looked at various film openings from different genres.
For example, Halloween (1978, John Carpenter) set many standards that can still be seen today in many horror films.
Some of these techniques include the use of first person cameras, long unedited cuts, female heroins and the principle that only the "good" people survive, for example the people in the film (usually the studs/jocks and the blonde, busty females) that had sex were killed whereas the brown haired, female heroin survived.
Prelim task
The prelim task was made by my group of 5 which we found hard as not everybody as taking part, it also made it harder to agree on a storyline as there were conflicting opinions of what should happen.
In my group were myself, Conor Potts, George Needham, Alex Snowdon and Ben Garvey.
The prelim task was:
Continuity task, involving filming and editing a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom he/she then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. This task should demonstrate match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule.
Initial analysis of a film opening
For my analysis of a film opening I chose the 2006 film Casino Royale.
Microsoft Word notes
Powerpoint presentation
Microsoft Word notes
Powerpoint presentation
Coursework Task
The brief set out for our AS coursework production is as follows:
Preliminary exercise: Continuity task, involving filming and editing a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom he/she then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. This task should demonstrate match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule.
Main Task: The titles and opening of a new fiction film, to last a maximum of two minutes.
All video and audio material must be original, produced by the candidate(s), with the exception of music or audio from a copyright-free source.
THE DEADLINE FOR A COMPLETED PRODUCTION IS THURSDAY APRIL 2ND
Preliminary exercise: Continuity task, involving filming and editing a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom he/she then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. This task should demonstrate match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule.
Main Task: The titles and opening of a new fiction film, to last a maximum of two minutes.
All video and audio material must be original, produced by the candidate(s), with the exception of music or audio from a copyright-free source.
THE DEADLINE FOR A COMPLETED PRODUCTION IS THURSDAY APRIL 2ND
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