Evaluation of final piece

As a media product of the horror genre, our piece both develops and challenges forms and conventions of real, existing media products. Throughout the piece we use and develop forms that make the horror genre a success, whilst challenging the conventions with our own ideas and techniques to give the opening sequence a unique flavour.

At a micro technical level, we observed the conventions and continuity of the genre. An iatrical part of our opening sequence is the contrast of two very different moods. The piece starts with up- beat music that gives a sense of security. As a result the mood is settled and at some parts even joyful. However, this mood is created only to give a viewer a false sense of security. This is a technique used in many horror films and its success in movies such as “An American Werewolf in London” prompted us to use it. As the sequence progresses there is a sudden change in mood and situation as a stalker begins focusing his evil attention on George. It suddenly becomes clear that they are not alone in the wood and the situation has changed from a joyful day out to a cat and mouse situation. This sudden change is emphasised by the discontinuation of the happy music that was essential in creating a sense of safety. When the music stops, so too does this sense of security giving a feeling of vulnerability. This feeling of vulnerability is made only more obvious by the empty silence that is created when contrasting the situation to earlier parts of the sequence. This lack of music is vital as it helps built the tension and suspense adding an eerie feel to the piece.

The speed of each shot increases dramatically as the sequence progresses into the final stages. As each shot increases in pace, there is a distinct feeling that the villain is growing ever closer to George, building up the tension. We recognised these techniques as an effective part of the horror genre so developing it within our own piece. However, to challenge the technique we opted against using highly strung, tense music that itself builds tension. Instead we choose to use silence to best possible effect. As a result, we managed to create an eerie feel that leaves a viewer unaware and confused about the location of the villain, just as the characters are. To create a looming sense of danger, we added in a simple sound effect titled “Scary accent”. This effect gave a pumping effect and so we felt this would be effective in our piece to show the mood has changed and that tension is rising, without sacrificing the eerie feel generated by the silence.

The preliminary task was of great use as it allowed us to learn about the equipment we would use in our final piece. This included the camera, tripod and editing software. As a result, most of our mistakes were encountered in the preliminary task and not the final piece, where they would be of worse effect. The preliminary task also enabled us to practice many of the shots that would play a vital part in our final piece. Match on action is often used in our sequence and much of its success was due to the mistakes we made in the preliminary task. Our editing in the preliminary task was also vital as we were able to practice creating the mood required in the final piece with use of sound and visual effects. We played about with lighting and special effects to get a feel for what we could achieve in our final piece. However, we failed to produce smooth transitions between each shot in our preliminary task. We therefore learnt from these mistakes in our final piece and we made sure that our piece ran smoothly before adding effects.

On top of our Preliminary task, we also choose to include a Practice filming day in our planning. This involved shooting some of our more complex shots from our storyboard on site so we would be able to uncover any difficulties before the final day. The opening few shots were of slight confusion to the group as we were not aware of how well they would flow and how the audience would interpret the actions. Our practice day proved that what had seemed a good idea on the storyboard was not so successful when put into practice. As a result we chose to make a creative decision that departed from our original plan. This decision was heavily influenced by possible layers of interpretation by the audience. We wanted to make it clear that the four friends were very close to one- another; close enough to have an argument and then to make up. However, after much debate we concluded that we had overdone the argumentative side of the group as they spent most of the sequence behaving aggressively to one another. This may have portrayed a very different relationship to the audience and perhaps suggested that the group were not friends at all. In order to keep this friendship obvious we opted to change a number of shots on our storyboard not only to make the piece flow better, but also to allow easy interpretation. As a whole the day helped eradicate many simple mistakes that we may have stumbled upon on the final day. This not only saved time but also allowed for improvements.

Though very few mistakes were encountered in our final piece we still encountered a few problems. In our opening, we first suggest possible danger in a shot, were the friends leave important safety equipment behind in their rush to leave. This equipment includes a first aid kit, a mobile phone, a number of other important devices and a pair of gloves. These gloves are of no significance, only that they too were left behind in the rush. However, in a later shot we made the mistake of including the gloves on Matt so bringing them back into the sequence when they were originally left behind. Though this is not a noticeable mistake it is a mistake nevertheless.

Though the practice filming day did eradicate many mistakes that we would have otherwise stumbled on, we did still encounter an extremely avoidable one. In one of the final few shots were George is seen to be stumbling about on the floor in pain. We made the unfortunate mistake of accidently catching too of the group member’s legs and feet within the shot. Though the shot is only short, the mistake can still be noticed in the top right area of the frame. However, after adding effects to the shot as originally intended, the legs disappeared and became far less obvious to a viewer. To make sure of this, we even tested our sequence on a group of people, not involved in media studies, and who were not aware of our mistake. There response was positive and they noticed no mistakes when watching the piece and so we concluded that we had successfully hidden an otherwise noticeable mistake. It is also important to bear in mind that a viewer reads a frame from left to right and the eye is drawn to the action. Considering our mistake is located in the top right of the screen, it is far away from the action so remaining hidden.

At a more symbolic, “macro” level our film both challenges and reflects the conventions of the horror genre. P.O.V shots are used regularly in the genre often to convey movement without giving away the mover itself. However, P.O.V shots are often used sparingly in the genre. We choose to challenge the genre with extensive use of P.O.V shots for both the Villain and George. As a result, the villain’s appearance is concealed, leaving his identity a mystery and adding to the tension created. The villain could be anything from a huge man to a strange disfigured mutant. It is up to the viewer’s imagination to decide. This reflects the horror genre and is reminiscent of the film “The Blair Witch Project”. The use of P.O.V shots makes the sequence far more personal, allowing a viewer to put him or herself in the position of the characters so increasing tension and adding to the fear that a viewer will feel.

Our piece challenges many conventions of the genre by delivering a more physiological horror as opposed to a bloody and perhaps disturbing horror. This meant we played more on the minds of viewers allowing them to conclude the appearance of the villain for greater effect. Our lack of budget also meant we would obviously have no access to expensive special effect software meaning that had we exposed the villain, it would have been unlikely to produce the desired effect. Though very few modern horrors conceal the villain to create effect, films such as Jaws used it to great success and we therefore hoped we would be able to achieve the same standards.

Within the opening sequence, we focus attention far more on themes and values, for example, we focused on friendship; as opposed to individuals and their attributes. This challenges the genre as many films of the horror genre like to play on the good guy, bad guy characters. We felt deviating from this would be a success as it would give our piece a unique touch.

The combination of stereotypical horror genre conventions and our own challenging ideas will allow the piece to fulfil the contractual nature of the horror genre with a unique and new touch. Element of the sequence may even subvert from expectations of the genre as the subtle introduction of the villain is less bold than the more common bloody and violent entrances that are seen in a number of horror movies. However, this by no means will reduce the overall effect of our piece, as our different techniques may be preferred by many individuals. By nature of the horror genre, we what to provide fear and suspense to a viewer through our dynamic use of tension and contrasting moods. I feel confident that this combination of common genre conventions and our own unique touch we will achieve this with great success.

Some moments within the opening sequence play with the genre’s codes and history. This gives the piece its own unique touch, making the work our own and not simply another product of the horror genre. There is a moment were the audience is deliberately fooled into thinking that one of the friends (Adam) is being stalked from the bushes as he observes the view from the top of the hill. The camera shot is P.O.V so it is not clear who is stalking Adam and what their motives are. The audience is not sure who is stalking Adam, but the effects on the screen and the positioning of the camera suggest that Adam is not aware, so there is the possibility of a villain. As the camera moves closer to Adam in P.O.V it becomes apparent that it is only one of Adams friends playing a practical joke on him. The audience is pulled into thinking that Adam is in possible danger when in- fact it is only a joke. However, the scene does nevertheless plant the seed of suspicion.

Management of time, equipment, resources and deadlines were all a vital part of our final pieces production. The effective management of these elements came from our detailed planning and awareness of our needs as well as the best possible use of human resources. Each group member was issued with a responsibility or task that it was essential they undertook for our final filming day to run smoothly. This dividing up of tasks also allowed time to be managed to great effect as no member of the group was lumbered with a job that was too much for a single individual. Though we all had our own responsibilities, we always helped each other out in order to meet deadlines.

Adam was issued with the responsibility of equipment. This involved collecting the camera we would use, and hiring out any tripods that we would need for shooting. We felt this would work well as it prevented unnecessary complications revolving around who would or wouldn’t hire out equipment. My own responsibility was organising a detailed props and costumes list that would be issued to each member of the group. The costumes list was also vital as it made each individual aware of their personal contribution on the shooting day. For example, it was important that we all worn backpacks on the day however only two of the group members, myself and Adam, were supposed to wear helmets in the shots. It was my responsibility to make each individual aware of their own costumes. The list of props was also very useful in our preparations as the list detailed what each group member was responsible for bringing. For example, the list detailed that Adam was responsible for bringing a telescope, and I was responsible for bringing the books.

It was important that we were all aware of where we each needed to be for each individual shot. The size of pitch hill meant that moving from location to location would take some time, so it was important that we selected a small collection of locations were we could film the piece. This would not only safe us time, but also energy. This was another task we completed on the practice day. Aside from practice filming, we also took time to simply wander around the hill to select the best possible locations, which would be most suitable for conveying our moods of vulnerability and fear. Therefore, we looked for locations that made us ourselves feel a little daunted, perhaps by the size of the trees around us or by the eerie emptiness. We were well aware that if we felt a little frightened at particular points on the hill, it would be far easier to convey our moods and conventions in our final piece.

The practice filming day also allowed us to manage the collaborative nature of film- making to greater effect and with deeper understanding. As mentioned earlier, the day allowed use to eradicate any mistakes and misunderstandings and allowed our final filming day to run smoothly without the mistakes we may have otherwise encountered.

Use of human resource never became a problem for the group as each person was well aware of their individual contribution to the group. However, on our two filming days we required an extra person to act as one of the friends within the group. We organised this extra person- Matt, by making him aware of our needs and likely dates for filming. This allowed him to ask for permission long before the filming day giving his family and others concerned time to consider our proposal. This also meant if he were to have turned us down, we would have had the chance to look for a replacement. However, Matt agreed to help and so we issued him with a script, outline for the opening sequence and a costume and prop list so he would have a deeper understanding of our story.

Health and Safety logistics were solved by common sense thinking. There were very few instances in the sequences were our group were put in danger. When there was the possibility of danger, we took the necessary precautions to prevent injury. The barbed wire we used in one of the final shots was one of these instances where there was a possibility of injury. To counter this danger we all handled the wire with gloves to avoid any cuts and scratches.

Both the practice filming day and the final filming day involved a lot of cycling, both on camera and off camera. Our common sense approach to the day meant we all made sure we worn helmets when off camera. Certain characters removed their helmets whilst on camera as it was part of their costumes.

A problem we faced was how to film the shot in which George is pulled away, without causing injury to him. It was essential that the shot looked authentic without sacrificing George’s safety. In order to improve the safety of the shot we wrapped a towel round George’s ankles (to protect his skin) before wrapping them in a rope which would allow us to drag him from distance. Before filming each take of the shot, we surveyed the ground on which George would be pulled to make sure that no sharp objects or roots would cause injury to George.

Creating a detailed shooting script and vivid storyboard proved very successful as it gave us a greater understanding of what we were trying to achieve in each shot. I used my skills in art to not only create the obvious movement contained in each shot, but also the mood that it was essential to create. The presence of this storyboard and shooting script proved a great success when filming on both the practice day, and the final filming day. The storyboard gave clear information on what each shot must achieve. This allowed us to easily refer to the storyboard to remind ourselves of key elements before filming a shot.

The use of technology was essential in creating our media product. Throughout the planning and production phases I gained experience of digital cameras, lighting and editing software. As expected, our lack of budget meant that many of these resources were not as close to industry standard as we would have liked.

Throughout the planning phases of our production, particularly the preliminary task we tended to use the camera offered by the school. The simplicity of the camera allowed use to practice many complicated shots, without any unwanted difficulties and complications. However, for our final piece, we wanted to capture the more dynamic and vibrant lighting that would be present at pitch hill. After asking for advice and permission on using a different camera we opted to use a H.D camera that Adam had obtained from a close friend. In contrast to the school camera, The Panasonic H.D camera filmed directly onto a hard drive. This was very different to that of the school camera which filmed onto a tape. Though filming onto a hard drive was simpler in the short term as we were able to quickly view our shots without the hassle of rewinding, the camera did prove a little too complex in the long term as I will explain shortly. The difference of the two cameras’s allowed me to broaden my knowledge and experience on the tools of the media trade. I felt this would be more beneficial than simply using one camera that was perhaps too simple to test my skills.

By nature of H.D (High definition) camera’s the image produced is far clearer and vivid than that of normal cameras. As a result, the camera picks out even the smallest details meaning it is very important that you are fully aware of what appears in the frame. We checked props in the foreground and objects in the background to make sure that nothing would spoil the overall feel we wanted our piece to generate.

Not only would the camera notice the smallest details, it would also pick up the smallest movements. This can result in attention being drawn away from actions and movement that is happening within the frame. To prevent this happening we used a tripod in all the shots that we had specified in order to give each shot the highest possible quality. However, I also leant how to use the camera’s sensitivity to our advantage. This is particularly evident in our P.O.V shots as I was able to mimic the motion created by walking with dynamic movement of the camera.

Throughout the planning and production stages of the course the importance of angled shots became obvious to me. Considering the great importance of creating tension in our piece, angled shots played a vital part in our production. An important feeling in our piece is the sense of vulnerability and I set about achieving this with high angled long shots. This shot was important as George falls behind the group and the villain begins moving in as it made George appear small and insignificant compared to the enormous, towering trees.

As I have already mentioned, the location for our opening sequence was Pitch hill, within the Surrey hills. The nature of the site meant that there was a variety of Diagetic noises, the majority of which came from the wildlife that flourishes in the woodland. We felt that capturing these noises would be of great use to us in order to emphasis the lack of human presence compared to the amount of animal presence. Thought filming, we leant of the advantages and disadvantages of capturing off screen diagetic noises. A noise of great use to us was the breaking of twigs whilst walking. We used this noise to great effect in the villain’s P.O.V shots to emphasis his movement and link with George. However, we also encountered many difficulties with diagetic sound. We noticed that it was important that the camera man was silent throughout a shot. The sensitivity of our microphone meant that even heavy breathing could be picked up so it was important to film with caution.

Editing was a skill that came to me after much practice. The importance of the preliminary task was very important here as it gave me the chance to learn and experience the software (I- movie) that would play a significant part in my final piece. Throughout the preliminary task my understanding grew as I had the chance to play around with many of the exiting features that I- movie had to offer. I realised the different moods that could be achieved by altering the lighting on the shot. The experience gained within the preliminary task meant we as a group could achieve a higher quality final piece.

The extensive use of P.OV shots within the opening sequence meant it would be essential to give each person’s view a different appearance. If George’s view looked the same as the villain’s, it would have been hard for the audience to tell the difference and perhaps have left many viewers unaware of any danger. I- movie enabled us to change the darkness and colours within the villains P.O.V shots to give him his own distinguishing features. Considering the villain is never seen, the only way to recognise him is through his view. Therefore, we significantly altered the colours and darkness to suggest his dark and gloomy character. Altering the colours turned the frame to a vibrant but distinguishable mash of colours suggesting him to be unlike your average human, possessing deranged and psychopathic motives.

To add to this sense of a deranged, psychopathic villain we recorded shallow and hoarse breathing to the P.O.V shots. The breathing also helps distinguish the villain from George. Though the nature of the breathing suggests him to be very different from a normal human, the simple fact that he breathes in a human like pattern reminds the audience that he is not supernatural.

Throughout editing I learned of the importance of transitions between shots. From the very first task we were given (the preliminary task) we as a group were aware that unless each shot followed on from the previous, our opening sequence would not flow well, reducing the overall feel of the piece. In our final piece we often faded out shots when there was a sudden change in location or situation. The fading helped suggest the movement of location instead of a sudden change that may have appeared like a mistake in the editing process.

Not only did technology allow us to develop our piece creatively it also (for a time) obstructed the progress of our creative flow. Not to our knowledge, the use of a H.D camera meant that the device would record footage and store it as a file that the I- Macs did not recognise. For a long while we were left unaware of what to do and weather we would perhaps have to re- film the sequence with the school camera. However, we eventually found out that we would have to convert the file to an A.V.I file that the Mac’s would recognise. After converting, we were able to begin our editing and quickly caught up with the other groups by taking advantage of free periods and lunch breaks.

Our analysis and research into the horror genre influenced our pre- production decision making and ideas. I analysed a number of films including the opening sequence of Dawn of the Dead. I made notes on a micro technical level, paying heavy attention to the way in which tension and suspicion is slowly drawn into the piece.

As mentioned earlier, contrast plays an important role and theme in the opening sequence. The idea for this also came from my research; in this case it came from the opening sequence of “An American Werewolf in London”. The sequence starts with up- beat and happy music before quickly fading into silence were tension and suspense take over. I felt this contrast between the happy opening to the silent horror filled ending created a larger impact than simply beginning in the action. This strongly influenced the layout of our storyboard as we wanted to achieve the same effect in our own piece.

When filming, it was important that we portrayed the meaning of the piece to our audience. From our questionnaires, we knew that our target audience (13- 20 year olds) found the idea of being stalked and alone in a wood frightening. Therefore we thought this an important theme to portray when dealing with our particular social groups. If our target audience is most afraid of the idea of being stalked, we felt it would be effective to use this against them. However, if we were to do this, it would also be important to convey our meaning of stalking to the audience so they could understand the direction and basic plot of the story. Stalking play’s a large part in creating tension within our sequence. We felt that use P.O.V shots with the diagetic noise of footsteps would best convey the meaning of this.

It was important to convey the inexperience of the group in the opening sequence whilst not focusing too much on their individual characters. Their inexperience is paramount to the overall meaning of the sequence as it provides the reason for the potentially fatal incidents. We portrayed this meaning via use of costumes, props and dialogue.

A common image we have of committed and experience bikers is the lykra leggings, biking shoes and fancy helmets. We therefore made sure that our character looked anything but organised, dressing in jeans and a jacket, some of them not wearing helmets. The use of props then suggested that the group were not in fact entirely ready for the trip and a shot shows George reading a book oblivious to the fact that the other friends franticly organise themselves.

Our media product represents particular social groups in society. The characters included in the opening sequence are very selective and the age range very small, between sixteen and seventeen. This will allow are target audience of younger adults between the ages of 13- 18 to relate more to the film as the characters posses much the same motives as them. The time period also helps our younger audience to relate to the film as the dress code of the characters is similar to that of modern day teenagers adding to the realism. This creates a very personal feel within the sequence as there is a strong link and relation between the characters and the modern youth. However, we have also included a very different social group. The villain represents a very different moral and social status within the film. Not only is he poor, he also has nothing to lose through his lack of dignity and respect. This creates contrast between the characters showing two very different angles at living life. This contrast is also essential in creating a feeling of vulnerability around the four friends, as their motives are innocent compared to that of the villains.

The location of the film also creates a link with our audience. The majority of today’s youth are used to a busy urban environment due to their parent’s careers. This is much the same for the character in our opening sequence. However, the characters are in a very different location to that of a busy urban environment. They are in an empty, vast environment were huge tree replace towering buildings. This change of what is normal will make our target audience feel uneasy when relating to the characters. A viewer will feel vulnerable and out of place in a location that he or she is not used to. This will add to the overall effect of the piece.

Due to our selective audience, the texts of our piece will exclude a large number of people who may find it hard to relate to the film. Middle age people are unlikely to find the piece appealing as the use of young characters means they will have very little in common. This will reduce the effect of the film perhaps also reduce the films ability to frighten certain individuals.

As a whole, the project was a great success for both myself and the group. This success was much to do with the excellent work ethic that me and my other group member’s posses. I feel proud of my own contribution to the group and I feel the effort I put into our storyline and storyboard paid dividends when filming our final piece. The descriptive drawings I created helped convey the moods and meanings of each shot allowing us to get an early feel for the sequence so keeping us one step ahead of the other groups. Not only this, the storyboarding also allowed the filming days to run smoothly and accurately to our original plan.

I feel my own knowledge of the horror conventions allowed me to convey this with great effect when filming the final piece. I was more aware than others of the dynamic shots that can be achieved whilst keeping the storyline clear. This was much to do with my confidence in using the camera and my want to try something new. An example of this is the final few shots, where George is thrown from his bike before being dragged away. I took responsibility for filming the shots and gave each individual one its one tense atmosphere. Each group member’s contribution was essential to the success of the final piece. Though we all contributed in different ways, the ideas that each of use provided is what gave the sequence its excellent look.