Evaluation

Overall I think that our film opening was successful in meeting the generic conventions of a slasher horror and including a variety of camera angles, shots and editing skills.

What went well?
I think that our group had very good teamwork and communication skills as we all worked well together and shared the workload equally, remembering to bring our required props and equipment to the filming day and each taking turns to film shots. Our film opening included a wide variety of camera angles and shots which made it look more professional and successful. It also conformed to the genre we originally set out to make because of the isolated location, vulnerable female victim, and the use of a dagger and gore.  We worked hard on achieving a more successful second film opening as the first was not good or long enough, this meant we worked on our improvements and made the second attempt much better. For example, we had a lot of footage to use and edit, a variety of camera angles and editing skills, and improved acting skills.

I also think that the production companies was a success and looks professional within our film opening. Furthermore, the title 'The Woods' was successful as it was made effectively on photoshop. It also appears at the end of our opening with a loud 'boom' sound to make it more effective.

What could be improved?
Obviously the first the attempt did not go well at all because there was not enough footage which meant it did not reach the time requirements, did not include enough shots or angles, and was not a high enough quality of filming. This therefore led to inconveniences as we had to go out and re-film the whole thing again,

Another area of our final film opening that could be improved is the editing of it. I think that we could have made the titles more effective by adding transitions and effects on them so that they bring more to the film. I also think that we should have added in a more dramatic soundtrack towards the end of the opening where the chase scene begins, in order to build suspension and create a more tense atmosphere.

Film Opening - Evaluation

Overall, I feel that our film opening was successful despite having small issues and improvements to make and overcome. We all worked well together by making our own suggestions on changes to make and what we think would work as well as all doing our own bit when editing and filming.

What went well?:
I feel that a lot went well when planning and filming our film opening as we all worked well and got on well as a group. I feel that this was a huge advantage when producing our film opening as it meant that we all communicated our own thoughts and ideas for the film opening effectively and also meant that there were no disputes when planning, filming and editing. We also worked well by all carrying out our chosen roles and bringing all the props and equipment we needed to film all of the footage.
I feel that one of the first things that went well was when we planned our first storyboard draft. We all agreed that the genre of our film opening would be a slasher horror and then began planning the plot of our film. We all made an input into the storyboard and worked together to decide the best camera angles and techniques that we could use to make it effective. We know that this was successful as it aided us when we were filming all the shots and enabled us to ensure that we filmed all the shots we needed. We also worked well as a group to create the longer and altered second storyboard when our first lot of footage wasn't long enough.
I also think that we worked well when we filmed the second lot of footage for our film opening as the first lot wasn't long enough. We were a lot more successful when we filmed our footage the second time round as we created a much more detailed and longer storyboard to follow when filming and we also worked a lot better and quicker as we had already filmed some of the footage and we knew what camera angles and shots to use and where the best places to set up and film the footage was. We came out of the second day of filming with a lot more footage which meant that when edited and cut down the footage we had was long enough.
Another thing that was successful was the editing of the footage. We all made suggestions and inputs into what we thought worked well and what we thought didn't and took each others ideas on board. We all took turns editing by using the blade tool, using slow motion, adding and removing sound, adding opening credits and creating and inserting the production companies. Everyone was able to make changes and improvements to the film opening as we went over what had been done and changed areas that we thought didn't work or took some sections out completely if they were too long or shaky. We also all made different improvements that were suggested in the feedback we received and were able to change areas that we hadn't noticed needed improving or altering.

What didn't go well?:
One of the main issues we had was that the our first set of footage wasn't long enough and that we had to refilm. This meant that we had to add in some extra scenes and redraw our storyboard. However, this turned out to be a positive as the footage was a lot better quality and we were able to improve any areas that we thought weren't to a high quality. It also meant that we had a lot more footage once we had finished which meant that we had a lot more to edit and work with for out film opening.
Another issue we had was when we were editing the sound in our film opening. We decided that our sound recordings of the girl screaming were to a high enough quality and so we decided to download one from Soundcloud. However, we found it extremely difficult to find a scream that sounded realistic that fitted with our film opening. It took us a while to find the scream we thought would work but we eventually found one that was high quality and realistic that we could use. As well as this we found it difficult to find a soundtrack to use that sounded tense and built suspension. For this we used Youtube as there was a bigger variety of tracks that we could look through and download. It also took us a while to find the soundtrack that we used as we wanted one that fitted well with the scenes in our film opening and gradually got more tense as the film opening neared the end.

Refilming evaluation

Re filming evaluation:

Once we had finished filming out footage the first time round and we collected it all together onto the computer we realised that we didn't have enough footage to cover the time frame that we needed and that it didn't include all the camera angles and shots that we needed. As we had to re film this created a lot of practical issues within our group as we all had to available fairly soon and we had to all be able to get to the same location.

However some of these things weren't possible as in our first set of footage there was a girl who played the girl who gets chased and she was unable to make it for a long time which meant we had to change the person who played that part meaning that we had to re film most of the footage which had her in it with the girl who was going to play her part.

Another practical issue that we encountered was trying to all be able to get back to the same location which we used before which also wasn't possible but as it was a woods within our footage it isn't visible that other parts were filmed in a different location.

Once we had overcome these problems and we had a new set of footage the footage that we obtained was better than the first time and this is due to the fact that we knew what we were going to film with a more detailed storyboard and we knew that we needed more footage with more camera angles in it. Once wed had re filmed it and we collated all of our new footage we had a lot more footage which we were able to edit with and we could cut parts and use. Also the camera angles within our footage were more varied.

Filming Evaluation - Refilming

Once we had filmed our film opening the first time we found that the footage when had filmed wasn't long enough when we began editing. This was an issue as it meant that the film opening wouldn't be 2 minutes once it had been cut and edited. Due to this issue, we decided to go back to our storyboard and add in some extra scenes at the beginning to ensure that it was long enough.

Once we had redrawn and discussed our storyboard we set a date to refilm our film opening. To begin with we planned to use the same actor and just film the extra scenes needed. However, we had am issue with us all being able to meet on the same day and decided that it would be best to refilm the whole film opening again. This meant that we could use a different location and also allowed us to ensure that every thing looked the same such as the lighting, clothing, actors and location.

We all met on Saturday 16th January at 10am to refilm. We planned for everyone to bring the exact same props as last time and we met at the actors house. We then walked for 10 minutes to the location near by and set up to film.

This time round we were quicker when filming as we had already filmed most of the scenes once before and so knew which camera angles and shots to use and where to set up, this made it a lot easier and meant that we could refilm some sections very quickly. However, the added scenes which we had not filmed before took a little longer as we had to plan where to film and discuss the shots chosen in a lot more detail to get it right. We also had to use a dog in our added scenes and these took considerably longer to carry out and get right.

We found that the weather conditions were a lot better this time round as they were a lot easier and more comfortable to film in and the lighting in the footage made it easier to see some scenes, which were harder to see in the first set of footage filmed. Using a different location was also successful as it was a lot more practical as it wasn't muddy and there were paths available to use when filming.

Once we had finished filming we had ended up with considerably more footage compared to the first time we filmed, which meant that it was long enough for us to use for our film opening and could still be cut and edited and be long enough. This meant that refilming our opening scene was successful and that we could begin to edit and finish our film opening.

Filming Evaluation

We all met at the location planned on Monday the 21st December at 12.00pm. We ensured that we had everything we needed for to film our film opening, including the camera, tripod, black boots, black coat, black trousers, dagger, phone, fake blood and the top covered in blood.

What went well?:
I think that out choice of location was successful as it was open and outside so we could film at different times in order to get different lighting effects. We chose to film between 12-2 as we thought the lighting would be darker than in the morning but not too dark that nothing can be seen on the footage, this chosen time also allowed us to film in lighting that looked eerie and creepy and helped to set the scene for our film opening. The location was also successful as it was close to one our of houses and so we could access the woods easily whenever we wanted.

I think that we followed our storyboard very well when filming by ensuring that we included the variety of different shots that we wanted to use to make out film opening effective. By using the range of different camera angles and shots we were able to make sure that our film opening was interesting and that the suspense built up throughout until the end. However, we did change some parts of our storyboard towards the end of the opening scene by adding in some different camera angles and shots that we hadn't planned to, to help built tension as it got towards the end.

What went wrong?:
When we first arrived at the filming location we had slight trouble getting the camera to work correctly. We had to test filming in the location a few times before it began to work properly. We also had trouble finding the correct settings on the camera in order to ensure that the footage wasn't too dark and that everything could be easily seen when watched back.

Once the camera was set up we found that the uneven floor and the outside location made the filming a little tricky as the wind made the filming shaky and the floor made it wonky. This meant that the quality of our footage wasn't as good as it could've been first time and so we had to shoot each frame multiple times in order to ensure it was as best as it could be. We also found that the use of an outdoor location made the filming trickier than expected because of the un reliable weather conditions, the cold and rain meant that the camera and equipment was getting wet and that we were all struggling to carry out the tasks because of the conditions.

Filming Evaluation

What went well?

Our chosen location and time to film worked well because it was not too dark, yet it was still dim enough to look eery and create a creepy atmosphere. Since the location was close to one of our houses, it was easily accessible and so we were able to complete all our filming in one day.

I also think that we included a lot of different camera shots and angles throughout our filming to keep the film opening diverse. It also helped in building tension and keeping the suspension high.

What to improve?

I think one area of improvement is the quality of camera filming. At certain points the shot was not completely straight because of the uneven wooded location and appeared wonky or a little shaky, making it look unprofessional.

Another improvement to be made was the standard of acting; although we are all unprofessional actors, it was found to be very difficult to keep the filming at a high quality when it was difficult to stay so serious.

Choosing an outdoor location had its disadvantage because due to the time of year the weather was very unreliable. It was extremely cold and slightly rainy, so made it even more challenging to get all of our filming completed in one day because we were so uncomfortable, particularly for those acting in the film opening in very thin costumes.