Rough Cut - Miss Miller

Why it was important to make a rough cut?

It was very important to make a rough cut rather that just create our final opening scene as it will allow the group to be able to receive feedback from an audience, which will be our peers. Our rough cut is base on how far we was into the editing process, we was quite far so only a few changes in our mind were needed.  Our rough cut includes the sequence, sounds, and changes in editing like filters, credits. From this now we can see if they audience likes, understands and important feels that the product is finished.

Once our rough cut was finished we exporting and uploaded it to YouTube, the rough cut is below, this was purely for the audiences viewing and for them to be able to give us feedback on how we could improve our opening scene.

   

Why audiences feedback is important ?
The audience is a major factor to consider as they are the people that will be watching our final opening scene. So it will be vital for us to be able to obtain feedback from them. The audiences feedback will not be based on there true thoughts about the scene and will not be subject to bias as it will not be criticized openly by members of our own group. This means that all things that need to be improved will be taken into account as it is the audiences true opinion.  

How we got our feedback?

We were given our feedback in two different ways......

Powerpoints and Questions - As a group we made a presentation to show to all the fellow groups of the media course in our class. Within this PowerPoint we included how we got our main ideas for our narrative from each person, the location of our setting and our characters and the main ideas behind them. From this our peers will be able to understand our main inspirations, and ideas behind our opening scene. After we had presented we received questions on the PowerPoint from our class, from which we answered them. 

Peer Group Reviewing - After our powerpoints had been presented and while the class had been watching the rough cut, they were given forms to fill out. This forms contained the mark they would be giving us that they had obtained from the mark scheme. Also they contained what went well and what could be improved in our rough cut. These were given to the all the groups in our class and they were collected and given to us to read over and take into account how we could improve our final piece. 

Feedback
We received back all of the forms from our peer groups that reviewed our work. From analyzing these results, it is clear that we have a mixture of results.

Mark out of 60 - We obtained a mark of 37-54 from our peers with an average of, 44. This means that we are obtaining a Level 3 Band Rough Cut for our opening scene.  By improving our scene and obtaining 4 or more marks we will be able to hit the top band Level 4 for our rough cut.

What Went Well - Our peers thought we did the following well. Good use of camera angles, editing techniques, low key lighting, sounds and effects, characters chosen, conventions,narrative. In addition some groups liked the twist at the end of our scene.

Even Better If - Clearer narrative, some shots made lighter, credits too small, louder soundtrack, antagonists face was lighter at the end.

From looking at these results it is clear that we need to improve some sections of the film, particularly the lighting of some shots as it is clear that the audience cannot see or understand what is happening. From this the audience will be able to understand the narrative. But we cannot make our soundtrack any louder as there is no technique to improve the loudness of the audio. In addition the sound was loud on the Mac that we were using we just think it was a technical issue with the speakers as they were very quiet. Now we understand the issues that need to be fixed and will resolve them to make our final opening scene better for the viewing of our target audience. 

Opening Scenaration - Miss Miller

Opening Scene Narrative

Our opening scene follows the plot of......

A young girl has been abandoned and is walking along an industrial estate at night. The girl is wearing a nighty, with her treasured teddy bear. She is seen as a victim of some kind as she is a little girl in a dangerous setting on her own and is therefore completely vulnerable. She walks along the estate lonely and fragile in the freezing cold, showing barely any emotions through her face or body language as if she is being secretive concealing something unknown to the viewer. She walks under very dim light, through deep, dark shadows cast by the lampposts, with the natural elements passing by her, like the wind and rain again showing no emotion. She is really pale from the cold and has really black eyes to make the assumption that she has been beaten. She decides to walk down and alley way on a diversion from her course that she has been walking on. She walks for a small amount of time down the alley way and then is encountered by a tall, dark figure that walks up to her. He looks and stars at her drawing to his attention that she is injured and obviously fragile. As he becomes more draw to her, a large and deathly scream is heard in the background. The man turns around to try and locate the source of the sound. He turns back to find the little girl has disappeared. In shock he stands and tries to justify what has just happened. He goes deeper into the alleyway retracing his steps and going further into the dark in search of the little girl. As he is walking down the alleyway one of the lights turns off leaving him blind as he cannot see a large part of the sections he was search. Nonetheless he decide to continue his search into the dark and find the girl. He turns his light on his phone on which gives him a very dim light so he can see where he is walking barely. Little does he know the little girl appears behind him in the distance out of hiding with her teddy bear which is concealing a knife. As he has reached the end of the alley he turns around to see the girl running towards him with her knife up in the air. She receptively stabs the man until he is dead. She stands there over the body reflecting on what she has done. She suddenly turns around and walks off into the distance to never be seen again.

Each Frame of the Narrative

The narrative starts of as a panning shot of the scene so the setting is established to the audience and then they are familiar with the setting then they are introduced to the small girl walking on her own down the street into the alley way. They will see the girl walking down the setting as a surprise as they will only see her for a couple of seconds and as she is in the corner of the shot. This will be accompanied by the use of the soundtrack to build up tension for the audience.

Then the audience will then be suddenly moved into various such as the mid-shot and long shot,  surrounding the girl concentrating on her as the main focus so they become more engaged and bonded with the character. The camera angles are Long Shots from the front and back. Again the use of the soundtrack.

Then the audience see the setting through the eyes of the character in a point of view shot that they have been introduced to this will make the audience feel as if they are in the characters shoes (empathy)  and will begin to sympathize with the character. At this point the soundtrack will peak an have a mystery feeling as the audience has now been tricked into thinking that the girl is the victim. Again the use of the soundtrack.

The girl then turns off course and begins to walk down a path into the alley way on the side of the street this is seen through the use of the high angle this intends to show the audience the vulnerability of the character. This camera angle is filtered to look like a security camera, this is in attempt to make the audience engage more as cctv is a normally of everyday life. The soundtrack will peak at this point as it is now the audience have an understanding that this character is a victim.

Then the audience is introduced to the second character in the scene walking out of a boxing club this is just a Mid - Shot simply showing to the audience that this is another character that is within the scene.

The next series of shots are Reaction Shots, they are not used to show a conversation but, a encounter between the two characters showing there emotions this is quite a long part of the scene relating to the content, but is used to engage the audience and make them feel uneasy as they would be if they were to encounter a small girl and not have any conversation with them and just complete silence.

After this a scream is herd in the background and the teenage male turns around and back in a Point of View Shot of the character reacting to the scream. He turns around to face the general direction of it and then reverses back to see the character gone. At this point there is a high pitched sound as it is used to create an sense of uneasiness in the audience.

After this there is a High Angle through the use of another cctv camera to show to the audience that the balance of power and vulnerability has shifted to the teenage male as he is been place in venerable position. This is where the soundtrack will continue throughout the scene.

 The character continues to walk down the route into the dead end of the alley way in search of the girl. This become more tense for the audience as they know it is likely at any moment that something is going to happen to this character given the current events. This is displayed by various camera angles such as panning shot and Mid-Shots and Panning as he is walking further into the darkness of the setting. This again where the soundtrack peaks to give the audience an indicator that something is going to happen to the character in the scene.

He then comes to the end of the alley way to find he cannot go any further shown by a Mid- Shot. This is only after a mid shot and a zooming in shot are used to display to the audience the reappearance of  the small girl that he is in search for. Again another eerie sound will be used to further the shock that the audience will feel.

Once he comes to a standstill another Point of View shot is used to show to the audience him turning around to face the girl with a knife in her hand rapidly running towards him.

One of the final shots used again is a zooming in shot of her face to show her facial expressions of the events that she has just committed. This shot is used to again make the audience feel uneasy as they are starring into her dark face striped of her emotions. There will be no sound used in this particular shot as the silence will be used to create further tension for the audience as they will begin to doubt whether this is the end of the killing of the little girl.

Finally she is seen walking off into the distance in a long shot, I feel this is a good ending to the opening scene as it leave the audience pondering what the event of the future of the film will be.         

Summary

There are a few elements which will make our sequence better/conventional such as...........

Scream - at first we was going to include a brief conversation between the two characters in the scene. It would be a conversation about the injures to the girl and how he was going to help her. This is slightly unconventional to a thriller opening scene as opening scenes to not generally contain dialogue. To overcome this we decided to use a Scream instead of a conversation. As it would take less time in the film length and also would also be conventional to the thriller genre.

Removal of the phone - In my original idea I had included a phone at which a sub-narrative between the girl and someone was taking place. Although this would make the opening scene more relateable to the target audience, it would also draw there attention away from the scene and what is taking place. So we decided to take this element out as it would take to much time up in the opening scene and would distracting for the audience.

Teddy Bear - With the removal of the phone we decided to add an the teddy bear into the scene because it would make it easier for the audience to be able to relate to the events of the scene. As everybody has a childhood experience of having a teddy bear and can relate to it.

Group Storyboard - Miss Miller

The purpose of creating a group storyboard is we can collaborate all the ideas of ourselves and combine certain elements of them together to create a better collaborated narrative together. We will combine different elements from our individual storyboards that stand out to create the one that we all agree on so there will be an equal balanced contribution by all of us. 

We created our group storyboard by looking at each others storyboards and deciding which elements were better or stood out from the others to put in to the final ones. So we swapped all of our storyboards look at them and wrote down what we wanted to include. So I looked at Hannah's and Luke's Storyboards and visa versa for them. 

Elements

Harry Hyett 

Panning Shot, At the start of my storyboard I included a panning shot of the setting which included the character as a start to get the audience engaged with the plot and the setting.

Handheld Camera Angle - I had an idea of a point of view, handheld combination to show what the character was seeing, this was to create a connection with the audience as they were looking through the eyes of the character. I took this inspiration from The Uninvited in the scene when the character walks into the room at the start of the scene in this particular camera angle.

High Angle - This was another camera angle that was taken from my individual storyboard, this camera angle was to be used on both of the characters to show vulnerability of the character via the shift of power as well. I again took this camera angle from The Uninvited where the character is running through the corridor and this camera angle is used to show her vulnerability.    

Luke Durrance

Hidden Identity- We felt that the idea of hidden identity should be used so we took this from Luke's. This is because it is conventional to the thriller genre and will add to the element of mystery. The hidden identity can be acheived by both characters. If the girl is wearing dark make up over her face it will not be clear and the audience will not be able to see completelty what the character looks like. And again the same for the male character if he is wearing some form of clothing that covers a section of his face it will make the audience feel as if the character is the killer although he is not. Although they are not fully hidden they will not be clear to the audience making them feel nervous about the situation for the oppsing character.
 

Weapon - This was taken from Luke's as we didn't know what weapon we should include in our opening scene. And Luke's idea of how the knife would be used in the scene was a good and effective idea.

Reaction Shot- This element was taken from Luke's as we though it was a good idea that we should include this to show the audience the reaction of the character. This will make it easy for the audience to engage in the scene and become more relate able with the characters via the conversation between the two.

Hannah Mahoney
Long Shot- We decided to take the element of the long shot from Hannah's Individual Narrative as we all felt that the section of the scene that she used these camera angles on was effective in creating an emotional responses with the audience for both the protagonist and the antagonist.

Tracking- Hannah had the idea of using the camera angle of tracking in the scene we all felt that this angle was conventional to the thriller genre as, it makes the audience feel as if the character is being watched.

Extreme Close Up- Another Camera Angle we decided from Hannah's storyboard was the extreme close up at the ending of the scene this was as we felt it was a engaging ending for the scene to end on as it would show the audience how powerful the character has become over the course of the scene. Also it is a creepy ending to end on as only the eye will be focused on not show the true emotions of the character to the audience.

Evaluation

I think that our group storyboard is a massive success as we have a clear understanding of our narrative that we will be filming in the near future. We have done this by incorporating different elements that stood out from each persons individual storyboard and collected them together and combined them into one for a storyboard that we all like and agree on. Now when we go to film we will all have a clear idea what it is we need to achieve when we film and have a understanding of how the final opening scene will be. If there was anything that I would change to the storyboard it would probably be the conversation the man has on the phone with the emergency services as it unconventional for an opening scene and draws the audience away from the plot of the scene. During the film of the scene I think it should be changed to a distraction of some kind that draws the character away from the other so then they disappear rather. This will keep the audience interested and engaged within the scene.

                 

Risk Assessment - Miss Georgiou

Risk Assessment

Why is it important to consider risks before filming?
It is very important to consider all the risks that we may encounter during the filming period, this was to ensure that the health and safety of my group was taken in account.By creating a risk assessment I can identify all of the risks we will need to look out for before and during the filming process, by identifying this hazards we can prevent from any form of injury occurring to the group. Any faults we found with the setting could therefore be resolved by following the risk assessment and identifying the problems, and making changes to the setting to ensure it was safe while we were there.

 How will the Risk Assessment assist me with filming?
The Risk Assessment will help me with the preparation of filming as now I know what needs to be identified first so we can have a smooth filming problem that will not encounter and problems during the process.

Knife - In our narrative we have included a knife as the main killing weapon, at first we were going to use a real knife. By preparing this risk assessment we can clearly see that this needs to change as it is a sharp weapon that can easyly be harmful if not used with proper precautions. To prevent this hazard we made the decision to purchase a fake plastic knife, as it looks real and will not cause any harm on ourselves. In addition we will also not be running the risk of being arrested as we will be carrying a weapon. If we were to be arrested we would face a minimum of 4 years in prison and a fine of £5000.

Filming Down Roads - This is also another hazard that we need to prevent, as this could inflicted serious injury to members of the group if we are struck by a car. injury's such as broken bone, internal bleed and even death. There are many things that we can do to prevent one of us being seriously injured such as be careful when filming near the roads and be on consistent lookout for traffic when filming. But I think the most effective way of solving the problem is for people that part of the filming process and not actors to be wearing high visibility jackets so it is easier for passing cars to be able to see us and slow down.

Broken Glass - Another hazard that we will have to look out for will be broken glass or anything else that will be sharp on the floor of our setting. This is as it can hurt, or cause bleeding if stood on which can result in serious injury. This is why it is extremely important to make sure the area that is being used for filming is clear of any sharp objects.

Filming Schedule - Miss Georgiou

Why is a Filming Schedule so important?
The Filming Schedule was created during the planning stage of our thriller opening scene, this was for the reason that we had a plan that we could use when filming that we could stick to so we were more organized and productive when we went to film. By making this schedule we defined what we needed to complete on certain days at particular times so we completed the task in time interval we were given to film. This meant that we would not missing anything out and would not have to re-film later on, taking up time from editing therefore making our final scene lack what we would have completed if done in the time interval. Our filming schedule consist of a breaking down of what we needed to include in our film which was the Date and Time we were filming specific parts, location, content and action of each of the shots, there type and duration and then what was included in the shot in the form of Iconography, Personnel and Equipment. From this we have a structured Filming Schedule that we can follow, this will benefit us because we will have something to follow when filming and we can tick off sections when they are complete.

Was the Schedule followed or were any changes made?
We followed the schedule best as possible. We filmed on the proposed data as we were all available on the 13/11/13 and we meet around 4:30 to inspect the setting for any health and safety risk (further explained in risk assessment post). We filmed all of our shots in chronological order that we placed them so that we didn't miss out any of the shots that we needed. We followed it like this as some of us live quite far from the setting so we wanted to complete the filming in one day to increase time being able to edit the footage. However we did decide that some shots weren't need so we removed them from our film one example would be the Point of View shot of the man in search of the girl. This was as we had to many shots of the man walking down the alley way and it would take up more time of the 2:00 minutes if we had to many. In addition we filmed an extra long shot at the end of the girl walking off into the distance, as we felt this was a better cliff hanger. This was because it gives the audience the impression that the girl is walking off to commit a murder again and we saw this ending to be more creepy than a  zooming in close of for the child's face.