Thinking about fear

For this task we got put into groups of 4 in which we each had to discuss our fears and then decide on which was each of our biggest fears. We then split an A3 sheet of paper into 4 sections and each person had a section each to write about their main fear. The criteria for this was to explain what the fear was, why you fear and how it developed. Here below is the work we produced on our biggest fears:

As you can, each individual had a very different fear to each other. My fear, seen in the bottom right, is the fear of the woods at night time (when it's dark). This picture shows a close up of my piece of what I fear:

In my piece I talk about what my fear is, why I fear it and how it has developed. The words in this image are quite hard to make out. I have written; 

'I'm scared of the woods at night time (when it's dark) because all the trees enclose it in so it just makes it look like a pitch black long tunnel. Also, you don't have a clue what is in there and this makes you want to stay as far away as you possibly can

I believe this fear has developed because I live just round the corner from the woods which means I regularly have to walk past them when it is dark. Although I have got more used to it, it is still a scary experience each and every time' 

Main Task : Set Brief

The titles and opening of a new teen horror 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 effects from a copyright-free source.

Preliminary task evaluation

What did you learn from the experience of filming the footage required for your preliminary task? What went well and what could have been done better?

I learnt several things from the experience of filming the footage required for the preliminary task. Firstly, I learnt that the pre production stage is very important when it comes to the filming. For example, the story board was very useful to refer to and made the filming flow more smoothly. This was one of the things that our group did well. I also learnt that all the filming must take place in landscape. This is one of the things that our group could`ve have done better as some of the clips were filmed in portrait. In addition, I learnt that it is important to have good location planning so you know were each is going to be filmed and that the location is suitable for what you`re filming. Although our group did carry out a location plan, it wasn`t thorough enough and this led to us rushing around trying to find a suitable location for our filming. Again, this is another thing our group could have done better. Furthermore, I learnt that it is vital to maintain continuity during the filming. There are a few examples in our filming where there is a lack of continuity and this is another area we would look to improve upon. 

What is the difference between pre-production, production and post-production?

Pre production is the preparation that goes before any type of film, TV, radio etc. An example of pre production is creating a story board which can be referred to when it comes to the production. Production is the actual process of filming. For example, in our case the production was filming the clips for our task. Post production is the process that takes place after filming has stopped. An example of post production would be editing the filming.

How easy did you find editing in iMovie? Explain at least 4 different skills or techniques that you learnt during this process. 

I found editing in iMovie fairly easy and learnt several new skills in the process. Firstly, I learnt how to cut clips down to precise timings. This allowed me to cut a clip that may last 12 seconds down to 4 seconds worth of relevance because the other 8 seconds of clip weren't relevant. This is a useful clip to have because it will allow me to create a clip that has match on action and continuity. Another skill I learnt was how to add text into clips. This meant that I could add text into the foreground of clips to show a message to the viewer. This was an important skill to have for this task as I needed to add a title and credits. Also, I learnt how to add sound to clips. This meant I could choose from the list of sounds on iMovie and add them in where it was relevant. This was an important skill to have for this task as there was a clip where I needed to add a footsteps sound. Furthermore, I also learnt how to take sound away from clips. This allowed me to take out sound where it was needed/wanted. This was important for this task as there were a few clips where inappropriate background noise affected the clip therefore needed to be removed.

What is continuity editing?

Continuity editing is editing that creates action that flows smoothly across shots and scenes without causing visual inconsistencies. The purpose of this is to create an established story for the viewer.

What do the following terms mean; a) match on action, and b) shot / reverse shot

Match on action is where there is a change in the perspective of the camera and the and scene continues to flow. Shot reverse shot is a film technique where one character is shown looking at another character and then the other character is shown looking back at the first character. Since the characters are shown facing in opposite directions, the viewer assumes that they are looking at each other.

Analyse your preliminary task as a piece of continuity editing. What are its strengths and what are its weaknesses. You may find it useful to include targeted screen shots (cmd+shift+4)to illustrate the points that you make

As a piece of continuity editing our film certainly had its strengths and weaknesses. A strength of ours was that we were able to create a good piece of match on action film from the filming we did. However, our preliminary task had its weaknesses too. An example of this is were we filmed a clip were the door was shut and when we re filmed that same clip the door was open which showed a lack of continuity. Another weakness of ours was that some of our filming took place in landscape and some took place in portrait. This showed a lack of continuity as some clips would be filmed in portrait and then the next clip would be filmed in landscape. The pictures below, along with the explanations highlights some of the strengths and weaknesses in our task. 

This is an example of one of the strengths of our production.
The pre production stage was important for this is we knew
when we wanted to include the title and the opening clips
was when we did this.  

This is another example of one of the things we did well as
we filmed this clip in landscape which was what we were
meant to do. However, there was a continuity error as some
of the previous clips were filmed in portrait. 

This is an example of one of the weaknesses of our production.
This is a weakness as we were meant to film everything in
landscape and this is filmed in portrait. This shows a lack
of continuity and also filming in portrait means you get black
strips down the side (as you can see in the picture) and
you don't get the full filming potential. 

Completed preliminary task

 

My first test edit and what I have learnt

For this task, we were given a selection of clips that were filmed by another group and our task was to edit these clips using iMovie into a series of clips that make sense. By the word 'sense' I mean match on action which means clip after clip that makes sense when all put together. Here below is my test edit and what I have learnt from it

I have learnt several skills from the process of editing the raw footage with iMovie. One skill I have learnt is how to cut the clips down to the precise timing. This is a vital skill to have when it comes to editing because you need exact timings so that your edited work makes sense. Another skill I have learnt is how to add and take away sound affects to each clip. This is a good skill to have when it comes to editing as it allows you to add and take away sounds which may have affected the clips that were filmed at the time. However, in my test edit I couldn`t add sound affects due to the time element but with more time I would be able to add sound affects if I wanted to. Furthermore, I also learnt how to add text to clips. This is another good skill to have when it comes to editing as it allows you to add text to your film where it might be needed. Before this task, I had hardly used iMovie so every skill I`ve learnt since the start of the task is completely new which means I can now do so much more on iMovie then I could before the start of this task.

All the skills that I have learnt from my first test edit will be extremely useful when it comes to the editing of the preliminary task. Firstly, the skill of cutting clips down to the precise timing will be helpful when it comes to my preliminary task editing because it will allow to me to make my short film footage accurate and it will make sense to the viewers. Also, the skill of adding and taking sound affects will be helpful when it comes to my prelim task editing because there are some clips where it is important that sound affects are added and there also some clips where sound needed to be removed due to background noise. In addition, the skill of adding text to clips is helpful with my editing of the prelim task because there some clips such as the introduction and the ending where text needs to be added so the title of the filming and the actors who took part in the filming can be stated. 

Planning : Casting

We found some possible candidates for our filming and once we identified who they were we had to see whether they were suitable for the role or not

This is Harrison. He is not suitable becuase he
 isn`t a good enough actor.

This is Marshal. He is not suitable because he
isn`t confident enough and gets camera shy
easily. 

This is Aberto. He isn`t suitable because he
is unable to get the time out of his lessons
for his filming. 

This is Jerin. She is unsuitable for the role
because she is too shy and we need someone
with confidence to fill the role. 

This is Matt. He is suitable for the role
and will be in our cast because he is a
confident and funny person. 

This is Panashe. He is the 2nd suitable candidate
for the role and will be in our cast because he is a
confident person and has good acting skills.