KS: Evaluation: 6

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of making your film opening?

We presented all our research and work we completely collaboratively on this blog. We equally divided our tasks up and decided to comment on each others work to show our progress and how we are supporting each others judgements.

After researching locations and planning which scenes and shots we would be filming, we then created risk assessment forms for each location we would use to enable us to minimise risks and problems that may occur. We shot our film on a Nikon digital SLR camera and used a tripod so we could create smooth camera movements, for example tracking shots and zooms, however at parts this was not necessary when we chose to film in handy cam style.

Weather conditions made our shoots difficult, we shot our footage at different times of the day so the lighting was different, in parts the light was dull whereas in other very bright (ruins scene). It was also very important when shooting the mirror scene that the camera was not visible in the reflection of the mirror. We had to make sure that all footage we took was landscape orientation and that shadows where not wanted were not scene; particularly in our psychologists room we liked the shadow of the cinematographer however when a shadow of the camera emerged this had to be cut.

Our original footage of the mirror scene where the girl turns around yet her reflection stays stationary originally did not work as we did not use a tripod so the camera jumped and the lines of the mirror didn't match up so a re-shoot was required. 

We over came this issue with the mirror by using a tripod and making sure the footage was very steady and didn't move so when we cut a still from the footage the points of objects matched up. Also when it came to editing we were able to adjust the brightness of the footage so the scenes matched up better and was not obvious the lighting was different. We encountered what we thought a major problem when capturing new footage, we overwrote previous footage which had been uploaded in our premiere editing software, and therefore replaced our original footage with this new unedited footed, deleting our previous footage. Luckily we had previously exported the first draft of the two minute opening so we were able to cut these scenes, save them and re enter them in our opening. 

• We very closely edited our footage by first uploading all our footage, selecting the files we would be using and  dragging it all into the time line. We would then attempt to order the opening and edit scene by scene. 
• We filtered the piece as a whole in black and white and added 'old film' editing technique where needed. We individually edited the brightness and contrast of the footage and stills as the extent we used varied depending on the footage. Editing the white balance so the footage all matched up.

• Our first steps of editing involved cutting down films and compression of time. We made sure the speed of our still flashes in our montage editing were sharp, even and jumpy and that it cut to the footage smoothly, deciding which parts of the footage to use and which could be cut.
•  We added techniques such as 'spotlight' on the wallpaper scene and a series of very quick black flashes in the mirror scene and ruins scene to create a disjointed sense to the film. We did this by selecting a black image, placing it on another layer on premieres timeline and pasting it so they were consecutively repeated. 

• The 'Black Swan' style mirror shot was the hardest to edit however the results were great, we had to cut a still from the footage where we wanted the reflection in the mirror to stay still and match up the points of the mirror, so the image on top on the footage replaced the moving reflection of the girl with her stationary. We created this effect with '4 point garbage matte' positioning points where the still image fitted against the footage so this could be over layered. (See KS: Thriller Research: Black Swan)

http://twgsbmedia11asgroup13.blogspot.com/2011/01/ks-thriller-research-black-swan.html

• We added the mirror effect on the footage running down the side of the church to create an abstract distorted feel thus reflecting her state of mind. 

• A 'blur' editing technique was used in the ending wallpaper scene to add intensity and reflect back on the original footage. In the end of the opening we also picked out the colour red from the black and white connoting blood, a traditional horror convention which worked very well to contrast against the film noir style. 

• We chose to insert the colour red in our wallpaper scene using the technique 'colour pass' to give the impression of the psychologically unstable girl smothering blood on a wall, this particular colour holding traditional horror conventions, creating a sinister feel. 

After separately editing the scenes on our footage we then added flashes between them of the possessed girls twitching and eye movements from the start of the film opening where she sits in the psychologists room. By doing this the narrative was more clear cut and the audience was able to relate the fast pace action and turmoil to her mind. We repeated these shots at the end of the opening to conclude that was all part of her imagination, flashforwards of what to come; ending on a final close up shot of her opening her eyes directly pulling the audience in and closing the madness of the narrative where the film and her story can be presented.

The final stage of our editing was to add titles and transitions, we used text overlayed on our images and added the 'fade out' motion so they dissolved to the next sequence. We made sure the text was cut to the footage so it ran smoothly and looked professional. We left ourselves adequate time to do final editing and check the time of our film opening was roughly two minutes.

When we were happy with our piece we exported it on premiere by navigating on the 'share' button, saving it on our personal computer, uploading it on our youtube account then embedding this clip onto our blog as demonstrated. 

I learnt a lot in the process of making our film opening particularly the fact you must shoot a lot more footage then needed so you can select the best files to present. We learnt about depth of field and how this changes how the footage must be edited and that our composition must be clearly planned before shooting. Storyboarding was very useful to visualise how the film would look before shooting it, considering framing, camera angles and mise en scene so our composition looked how we plan when it came to filming. It was important we considered the rule of thirds when filming and the 180 degree rule .

When comparing our production to real film production, personally I think with regards to our availability of locations, actresses and filming time we successfully created a realistic yet individualistic film opening. Although it does not look as professional as mainstream movies, we created a free film opening with a unique theme and reflected horror and thriller genre conventions. The opening has proved popular amongst our peers, particularly impressed by our editing techniques and selection of locations.