Sarah Johnson: Evaluation

This is my evaluation film:

 

Question 1 Points:
-Develop- female victim
-develop-flashbacks,(mystery created)
-name of character (British and has blood connotations)
-Suspence music
-Challenge- Brunette lead rather than blond lead
-Challenge- action occours during the day

Question 2 Points:
-Young people as vulnerable
-Innocent
- Not in control of their own lives
- Goes against the negative view normally given to young people

Question 3 Points:
-Wouldn't be shown in a mainstream cinema
-Distributed on facebook, twitter, youtube or a blogsite

Question 4 Points:
-15 to 25 young adult audience
-Thrillers generally do attract this age of audience
-Young people can identify with Scarlet's feelings shown in the voice-over
-Not gender specific
-Growing popularity of indipendant cinemas

Question 5:
-Mystery
-Flash back
-Voice over (address)

Question 6:
-iMovie
-Garage Bands
-Mac
-Live type

Question 7:
-Don't edit in camera
-Film more footage than needed
-At least two versions of each shot
-Let the actor enter frame and leave it to match on action in edit

Sarah

Uploaded film and evaluation prep

Today as our film has been finished and is uploaded to Youtube, we have started to write our evaluations ready to give in on Friday, which is the final deadline. I am proud that our group has finished on time (thanks to the deadline mix up I think!) and we now have a good head start on evaluating. I have already started preparing my answers to questions and I think I might do a PowerPoint or a podcast to hand it in.

Sarah

Dog Soldiers Analysis

The film opens on an establishing shot of a forest and a caption in the corner that reads ‘Scotland’ tells us the setting for the film. It then cross-dissolves to a long shot of man collecting water from a lake, this shot creates a picturesque and tells the audience that the character is very secluded, which due to the typical horror genre, suggests to the audience that the character is in danger. But calm opening to the film also lulls the audience into a false sense of security that the danger will arise later on in the film; this is used to make the scene where the werewolf attacks the man and the woman 2 minutes later more shocking. Another cross-dissolve is then used to show that this is the same man walking back to the camp set up in the woods with his girlfriend. In this scene it is made clear that this is a British film through the typical ‘British’ phrases used such as “big girl’s blouse” and expletives used such as “bloody”. These are typical of British film, as the British way of speaking is a main feature of conveying that a film is British. There are a series of medium close ups used, the couple are shown sitting close to each other with the camp fire flames rising between them, this foreshadows danger coming in the next minute, as fire often symbolizes danger. The girl hands the man a silver knife in a box, and the close-up used to show this tells the audience this is an important prop for later in the film. This then cuts to the couple kissing in the tent. Just as the audience begins to think that this is a love scene, the sound of the zip of the tent being pulled up slowly can be heard, the slow pace creates tension as to what could be outside and the camera zooming in on the zip creates suspense in the audience. The man and woman's scared breathing can also be heard to convey their fright to the audience. Creating tension and suspense is very important for a horror/thriller film, as the audience should feel scared and be kept on the edge of their seat. The girl’s foot is then grabbed quickly by an unknown hand. This is done to make the audience wonder what could have done this and draw them into the film as there is mystery surrounding this. The fact that there is no suspense music used suggests that it is done to shock the audience and not give them the feeling that something is coming, as the suspense music is a trait of the horror/thriller genre. The pace of the cuts speeds up dramatically and shots range from close-ups to high angle shots. This is used to show the struggle between the girl and what is pulling her out and also the man, as it is quick and almost hard to follow, which creates tension as the audience wonder if the girl will live. As it is the girl who is attacked it does conform to many horror/thriller films where the girl is the victim. Blood splatters, which shows the struggle is over as the girl has been wounded and the mystery creature has won. The girl is then dragged out of the tent quickly, this conveys the power of the creature, which tells the confirms the creatures power and status as the killer in the film. The silver knife is shown again in a close-up, which conveys to the audience a sense that they could have protected themselves and the hand slowly attempting to grab it shows the character's attempting to fight, which as the audience has seen the power of this mysterious creature they don't feel this is likely. The man is now sitting at the back of the tent is shown from a high angle with the camera looking down at him, this shows the audience he is vulnerable and powerless, also shown in the scared expression on his face which suggests that he is frozen from fright, he camera then closes in on him, suggesting that the camera's actions mimic that of the creatures and that it is coming for him to, this is also shown in the growling noises that can be heard. The growling that can be heard throughout this struggle drops hints to the audience that this killer is an animal and lets the audience decide what they think the animal is without explicitly showing it. There is then a shot of a full moon and howling can be heard this coupled with the growling and the deaths of both characters suggests to the audience that the creature is a werewolf, as the myth is that they transform during a full moon and are monsters that kill. For the target audience of this film it is likely they will get this reference, as they are likely to be horror fans, and this is common in werewolf films, to see a full moon and hear the wolf howl.
After this there is a cut to black and the title of the film is shown. The font used for this looks like the typical army writing, which suggests the main characters are in the army before the characters are even met which sets the tone for the characters, that they will most likely be men and will be tough. After this we see that the film has gone back to '2 hours earlier', this is a flashback from the action we have just seen, and tells the audience there is plot to unravel and mystery, this engages the audience, as they will be keen to unravel the mystery and find out what happened.
We have used a flashback in our film and hope it will have the same affect.

Sarah

Music

Today we carried on putting our music on to the film. So far I am really happy with it. We have used some fast paced running music to start with, to show her running and like it is her normal routine. When she stops to catch her breath the music quietens to show it as diegetic sound as if the audience is standing where the camera is and can her the music slightly from her headphones. After the twig sound is used I thought it would be better id it was silent as t shows Scarlet trying to listen out for anymore noises and the audience will at this point be listening with her as there is a hint towards some threat. We then used some tense running music to show Scarlets threat and create suspense for the audience. Tomorrow we just need to finish this off.

Sarah

Voice-Over recording

I have recorded 6 different versions of the voice-over. I showed them to Becky while we were working through lunch and we picked the one we thought was best (i had already picked this one as the one I liked the best and Becky agreed). I made sure to do many different versions just in case, and to make sure that the group had a say in which they thought was best.

Sarah

Titles

On Friday Becky and I worked during lunch and in our lesson to get the titles finished. At the end of lunch we had finished doing titles, but they were not at the standard myself or the group wanted. When the whole group worked on it during the lesson, we couldn't make the titles we didn't want go. It also made some of our clips duplicate. This was very frustrating as we had worked so hard on the film so far only for something to go wrong. We asked Mr Roberts to help and after about 15 minutes the clips were fixed but their were still some issues with the titles not deleting. Mr Roberts helped us to use LiveType. This programme has better fonts and styles for titles and we really liked the one we made, which used a red font with shadows behind it. However when it was put back into iMovie, the quality was bad and the picture looked foggy. We now have to decide whether the titles or the quality is more important in the end and we now have to try and sort the problems out during this week.

Sarah

Deadline Confusion

On Friday we had some confusion as to what day the deadline for the film was. It is actually next Friday. Although this made us panic and meant Becky and I worked through our lunch time, it actually was good as now we are ahead of schedule and have some time to make sure the title's and the music is completed.

Sarah

Research on the BFI

BFI

The British film Institute (or BFI as it is also known) was founded in 1933. It aims to promote “understanding and appreciation of film and television heritage and culture”.

They have many activities such as cinemas; one of the most well known is the BFI Southbank (London) and also owns the IMAX Theater, which has one of the biggest screens in the UK. The BFI also runs the annual London Film Festival, which is the largest UK public film event. To support the teaching of film and media studies in schools the BFI also provides a range of education initiatives in print and online.  

The BFI also releases films in cinemas across the UK, bringing classic titles to a new generation of film-lovers. An example of this which is being advertised at the moment is ‘The Disney 50’, which is screening all 50 of Disney’s animated films in their cinema’s, to celebrate the release of Disney’s 50^th animated film release. The BFI has the most significant and rich collection of film and television in the world.

The BFI has recently taken over the funding role of the UK Film Council, after it has been cut from the governments spending budget. The role of distributing lottery money to film-makers has been taken by the BFI. At this time Amanda Nevill is the director of the BFI.

Sarah

Final Script Idea's to choose from

My name is Scarlet Jones and I was just like everyone else, until one day I wasn't anymore. I had a good life, it wasn't perfect but it was mine. Until it was taken from me. But lets go back to the beginning. This is the story of how I died.

My name is Scarlet Jones and I was just like everyone else, until one day I wasn't anymore. I was happy, I had a good life, it wasn't perfect but it was mine. Until it was taken from me. But lets go back to the beginning. This is the story of how I died.

My name is Scarlet Jones and I was just like everyone else, until one day I wasn't anymore. I had a good life, it wasn't perfect but it was mine. Until it was taken from me.  This is the story of how I died.

My name is Scarlet Jones and I was just like everyone else, until one day I wasn't anymore.  I had a good life, it wasn't perfect but it was mine. Until it was taken from me. But lets go back to the beginning. This is the story of my death.

Sarah

Deadline Tommorow

As the film is due in tommorow I am slightly worried we won't be able to complete the film to the best of our ability in the time we have left. We have all worked hard on the film and it is important to us. I don't think we have too much left to finish and we have tried to stick to our deadlines. I made sure I was thinking realistic when considering time and I think this has helped to keep us on schedule, so we don't have too much left to do tommorow, but as the film is really important to me I can't help but be apprehensive we won't get it done. We will all work very hard tommorow to make sure it is finished.

Sarah

Tormented Poster

A poster needs to represent the film in a good way in order to attract the right audience to see the film and to show them whcich genre the film is.

The film Tormented is aimed at a teenage to young adult audience. This is clear as in the poster the characters are obviously in high school as they are wearing school uniform. The colour scheme used of red, black and white suggests the film is a horror film as these colours are typically used, as the colour black suggests dark themes and the colour red represents blood of the victims in the films. The horror genre is also shown through the line "a new class of terror" which makes it clear that the film is scary. The poses of the characters also suggest the film is a horror film as the poses look like a pile of bodies as they are lying down which suggests they are the victims.

Sarah

Music

Yesterday we used a programe called Garage Bands to begin looking for the music we want to use in our film. We have picked out a few favirotes so far and it is just a case of finding the right sound that matches the mood we are trying to create. I know the kind of sound I want and it is just a case of finding it and making sure it fits the film.

Sarah

Acting in the film

Overall acting in the film has been fun. Our organisation was good on the days we filmed which really helped and although it was difficult for us to work out how to get the best shot by working together we have produced some good work. Acting in the film was a big pressure for me and I really wanted to do well, especially as I was the only actor in the film. In some cases it was difficult as none of us had ever done anything like this making sure we all knew what to do was a challenge, especially as it is crusial for all of us especially me as the actor to know exactly what we were doing but I think we have learnt from this about our communication skills and also about working in a group. Although we had some trouble with schedules most of these things that were out of our control I think we have worked really hard as a group and worked through any issues we had well. The only part I didn't enjoy was having sticky fake blood on my face and hands!

Sarah

Filming the re-shoots

We filmed the re-shoots today and have got the shots we needed. First we filmed the opening sequence shots and then moved on to the shots of the feet running. As we were filming we suddenly realised that the camera was running out of battery, so we shot until the camera turned itself off and then went back to my house which was 2 minutes away to charge it. It was unfortunate but there was nothing we could have done as we had only gotten the camera today too. Also as the sun was out in the shots today and it was not as sunny on previous days we have filmed. We are hoping this will not affect the quality of the film or that the lighting will look too different. But we have got shots we needed and we in good time. We now just have to edit these next week.

Sarah

Re-shooting scenes: What we are going to shoot

These are the scenes we are planning on shooting/ re-shooting tomorrow:

1. Close up of putting in headphones (to replace previous shots in opening sequence)
2. Stretch shot and running into the wood (to make the edit smoother)
3. High angle shot (as it didn't look the way we wanted it to)
4. When she stops running and hears noises (need to see a shocked reactions)
5. Another shot of running feet, low angle (we didn't have enough shots of this and need one more)
6. POV shot gets closer and she turns and screams (when watching it we were not sure it was clear enough that she is attacked)

Hopefully by shooting these scenes we can improve our film.

Sarah

Watching the Film

Today we watched the film which we had edited. After watching it we all had an input on where certain scenes should be placed and what order and making sure the editing flowed well. Overall I am very pleased with the finished product and I think it has all come together well. However some re-shoots were needed as in some cases it just didn't flow well, such as the opening scene, which we have planned what footage we want to replace it with and we also have booked out a camera for tomorrow (Friday) so we can shoot can shoot it tomorrow.

Sarah

Editing Day 2

Today in our lesson most of the computers were taken up so we decided not to edit. So at lunchtime i decided to go and edit some of the footage that wasn't worth keeping or footage that went wrong. During this time i made a list of some of the footage that we need to re-shoot. Sarah came along at the beginning with me and started me off and then i carried on since my role is the main editor. Tomorrow both myself and Duresh will edit some more since we are the ones that are familiar with iMovie because as previously stated we want to complete the editing of the first cut of the sequence complete this week so we have all of next week to spend adding, deleting clips from both groups of footage.

Becky, Sarah

Preparing for day 2 of shooting

At the moment our group is preparing for the first day of shooting our main task. As my house is very close to where we are shooting we have decided it will be our base and where we will prepare for filming. We are making sure make-up and costume will be right. I am a little nervous for shooting tomorrow as it very important our group to make a good quality film.

Sarah

Filming:Day 1

Today was the first day of filming and we managed to shoot 5 tiles on our storyboard and used lots of different angles and made sure to shoot two different takes to make sure we had lots to work with during edit. We have kept on schedule with filming even though the camera had no battery and we had to wait for it to charge for a while before we could film which lost us some valuable time. We have made good progress today and have sot some good material. I was a little nervous before hand as acting in the film is a big pressure, but hopefully I have done and will do a good job.

Sarah

Tormented opening sequence analysis

Tormented was directed by Jon Wright.

The film had an estimated budget of £700,000 and was produced by BBC Films, Pathé and Forward Films.   

Tormented is a low budget British horror released in 2009. It is about a school student who commits suicide after being bullied and ‘tormented’ as the title of the film suggests and comes back to get revenge on the people that bullied him, by sending threatening texts and then murdering them one by one and making the pupils turn on one another in the process.

Tormented begins with head girl Justine, being taken out of the High School by police which establishes the setting and as she is wearing school uniform it is immediately clear she is in high school.
It then cuts to a flashback 5 days earlier and Justine is reading a speech at a funeral for a student who has committed suicide.
This introduces the audience to the dark themes of the film as there is a death introduced within the fist 2 minutes of the film. The speech also shows again that it is a British film through the British accents. The British way of speaking and humour is shown throughout the film through one-liners which is typical of British films.
The use of the flashback in the film shows that there something to be solved with in the plot of the film, in this case that the students are being murdered and throughout the film we see that it is the dead boy killing them, however Justine being arrested suggests to the audience she is the killer. This intrigues the audience and draws them in as there is a mystery to be solved and gaps in the narrative to be filled in. We are going to use a flashback in the film and if it works should have an effect similar effect of intriguing the audience.  

Sarah