Filming

We decided to film the opening at a location which seemed to suit our storyboard and shooting script, along with the narrative. Our first attempt at filming was not as good as expected when we later viewed it, and didn't really fit the shooting script. We then decided to film the opening again, a week later. This filming session went much better and was a success in comparison to the previous. I was the cameraman, Amy: the opening director, Laura: the talent and Georgie was the major editor of the footage. It also rained during our filming, which enhanced our footage, as it gives the opening a more realistic approach.

Storyboarding

Next, we had to storyboard the narrative of our opening scene, and include all the appropriate camera shots, camera movements, mise en scene and shot lengths. This storyboard will allow us to film time efficently and hopefully correctly.

Shooting Script

We later produced a shooting script, which included desired camera shots, camera movement, lighting, costume etc. and the length of each proposed shot. We made our shooting script as accurate as possible so that the filming stage would be as simple and time efficient as possible. However, the climax of our opening scene (filmed in a school) is something which may not be involved in our opening, but as a group we decided to include it in our shooting script.

Pitch Idea

My pitch idea had to consist of an idea for the opening scene, a detailed version of the opening, the synopsis of the whole film and the opening, an example of the script and storyboard, and how our opening will link to the general codes and conventions of the horror genre. Our pitch had to be 10 minutes long, so it had to be to a good level of detail. We also had to create a name for our film. We decided to call it the 'Revenge of the Missing'.

Planning and research continued

We then had to create a preliminary filming task, which involved a variety of camera shots, movement and framing techniques. We then edited this filming on 'iMovie' and created a small narrative which we then burned to a DVD. We later evaluated this piece of filming, and discovered that we have a lot of aspects of filming to work on, such as a steady camera hold, and correct framing of certain characters.

Planning and research continued

We also had to create a document on our findings of institutional context, such as 21st Century Fox and the BBFC. We then had to make a guide (document) to 'Lionsgate', to see what institutional contextual factors affect horror films.

Planning and research continued

On the 25th and 26th January we pulled our 8 essays each together to figure out the key codes and conventions for the opening of a horror film. We then created a powerpoint presentation to feedback to the class to show what we felt was needed to create a sucessful horror film opening. Codes and conventions as lighting, framing, editing and camera shots created a clearer perspective of what needs to be inputted within our opening and gave us a clearer view on all the aspects of mise en scene, sound etc. we have to include.

Planning and research continued

I have now completed 5 analysis pieces on the openings of horror films; looking at camera shots and movement, Mise en Scene, iconography, sound, lighting and editing. I have also analysed 3 whole films; looking specifically at stock characters, stock settings, narrative structure, iconography and themes. These textual analysis pieces will allow me to understand how the codes and conventions of the genre complement the opening scene.

Planning and research continued

On Friday, the 22nd of January, we (as a group) had to perform our powerpoint presentation, to reveal our findings that we had pulled from the completed questionnaires. The most important findings we found were most probably that an audience would expect dark colours, an abandoned setting and a villain to appear in the opening of a horror film.

Planning and research continued

On Thursday, the 21st of January, we went through the outcome of each questionnaire, allowing us to pull an average for each question. It was reasonably time consuming (because of 50 questionnaires), but allowed us to have a more significant and fair set of results. We then created a simple powerpoint presentation, which had the graph results of each question on a seperate slide. We also included some brief information on our findings on each slide of the powerpoint.

Planning and research continued

After Mr Cramb just reviewed our questionnaire, we realised that a couple of changes had to be made so that our questionnaire will give us the best results; therefore showing us who our intended target audience are, when we receive the results.

Planning and research

My AS Level Coursework group consists of myself, Amy Link, Georgie Collyer and Laura Devine.

My first lesson consisted of producing a spider diagram on the codes and conventions of the horror genre. I also produced a questionnaire involving questions on the horror genre, to ensure who our target audience are. This questionnaire will be handed to a variety of different people, to allow an even and fair spread of results.

Wecome

Thank you for inviting me. Welcome to blogging and your foundation portfolio. Make sure you maintain your blog a couple of times a week as this should be a reflective working document.