My research throughout this FMP has been effective. The research I carried out helped me to create this short film that I did. Researching into structure of it and how a horror is different to a non-horror was very useful because I could then apply these conventions I researched to my film, a example of this is the night setting and camera angles/shots that create tension. During my research i  looked into different codes and conventions of the genre (horror), which i think was effective research. Doing this research, I found that low-angle shots were typical of the horror genre and used the most, so I changed my script and shot list to make sure i use a low angle shot. This shot type usually indicates power and the upper-hand, and is commonly used on the villain, this works well on the perpetrator in my film. The low angle shot was not used as much as i thought because from researching into the conventions of horror i also found out that high angle shots show dominance and power over someone else. This shot was used a couple of times when introducing the perpetrator.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One aspect to my research was looking into pre- existing short films, this helped gather my ideas for my own and get inspirations. I got these inspirations by watching them more than once and writing down notes. While watching these i picked out the shots used and how were they used such as how was tension built, i also looked into how the genre of horror was met. This was definitely  a helpful aspect to my research especially because i wasn't as knowledgeable on short horror films than i am now. Watching these short horror films in depth allowed me to gather the shot types, camera moving and lighting techniques they used. In the Short horror film "text" i applied certain scenes from that film into mine such as the finding out scary news on the persons phone. In the short horror film text the messages what are exchanged between the main character and her friend are displayed on  the screen for the audience see. This creates tension because we can see the expressions on the characters face while she is receiving the text messages from her friend. Another aspect of this short film what creates tension is when we wait for the text to come through and when it does the sound effects put in place are very dark and intense creating a creepy atmosphere around the messages itself. This is not always directed at a target audience but either way the tension keeps the audience engaged on the edge by the use of the silence around the text messages and the dramatic thuds when the text messages come through. All though i stated that there are no specific target audience this would be viewed mostly by younger people due to the modern day texting and “The usual age for the target audience of a horror film is 15- 25. The most common reason for this is that young adults and teenagers enjoy thrills. These thrills are more likely to excite a younger audience rather than an older one.” 

 

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I researched into range of narrative and representational theories. Personally from researching into some theories I felt that  narrative theories was useful because it allowed me to think about typical narrative structures and make my own decision on whether I wanted mine to follow convention or not. For Example Lawrence Gross Berg outlines three theories of meaning when discussing the relationship between genres.Lawrence Gross Berg was the only theory what I found useful due to the fact that he speaks about camera angles and I also believe this is crucial when making a short horror film and this is something I focused on the most when working on production.

 

 

Practical research was super beneficial to this project because I got a chance to understand and make many mistakes before the real one, a example of this is the practice shots. During my research i took some time on trying out different angles and physically see how they look, this then gave me a understanding of what looks right and what looks wrong. When doing practical research i found that following the conventions of horror helped shape my film, such as testing the tilted camera effect, this is a common convention used in the horror genre because it make viewers feel uneasy. Using a Dutch angle shot signals that something is wrong, unsettled, or disorientating. . Practical research helped me to correct my many mistakes I made but that was the point of all the research for me to improve and fail so then production would go well. My target audience is aimed at teenagers 12-18 so it was crucial that my research was aimed at that generation. I personally think I met my target audience when doing this research, everything I researched helped me and was beneficial. As part of my research I looked into different theories, these were not as useful as I hoped. The theories gave me a broad understanding of how a film works and what conventions they consists to give the affect of horror. The theories were not applied to my film as much as I thought I would but they still helped to give me a understanding. Throughout this project I did get help, I was confused on some of the technical parts such as camera use and adobe premiere. To overcome this my teachers taught me how to use a camera. I mostly watched YouTube videos and went out and done practical work to improve my technical skills before production.

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A method I used which helped me stay on track was making a reflective log, this helped me write down exactly what I done on this day. This was very useful because I can look back on it and reflect on the use of writing down each day. The reflective log also contains my stress levels through this project and times when everything ran very smoothly. I used a website called trello to keep myself organised, this website gave me the opportunity to jot down what I need to do and what I have completed. Trello was 100% the lifesaver through this project, this saved so much stress because I could plan out what needs doing what needs improving and what is incomplete. I will be using this website throughout other projects or anything I do where I need to stay organised. I also think by using Trello and staying organised it showed directing skills because a director needs to be organised, so the production goes smoothly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think I missed some opportunities in the sense that I fell behind a couple of times so I didn’t get a chance to get feedback on everything but I did still get positive and improvement feedback through the project and this has been reflected on my work. Something I learnt while planning as a director was that  being organised and planning is so crucial for everything to go well. Using a calendar helped me stay in line through this project and has taught me for future projects to make calendars and to-do sheets because these help and reflect massively on your work. A missed opportunity was that during my top slice I carried on re writing a old script i made in a previous project. This had a really good story line so I wish I carried it on and turned the script into a film. This was a opportunity i missed because it was a horror and the conventions i used in this film are very similar to the ones i used in my real film, such as the mask and a mysterious figure intruding into a house for revenge. 

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The final concept turned out well for a first attempt, I was so happy with it when finishing the editing stage. This was my first time interacting with anything to do with film on my own (not as a group) and I have learnt so much through it. I was super happy with act 1, especially the sound. The sound was something I was stressed about because it looked very difficult on how to merge the sound but after researching into it and having some practical research I did it and I couldn’t ask for it to go better. Act 2 was not as successful as act 1 due to the fact that my actor was ill and we still had to film because the equipment was due to be back a couple of days after, they gave their best performance and I am grateful for that. The sound on act 2 went well but we had some slip ups, these were shortly fixed during the editing stage, the problem was some of the sound was not at a good standard so I had to meet up with my actor to reshoot it, luckily the tone of the voice and moth movement matched the character. When editing act 2 I realised it was a bit rushed but due to the fact that the equipment needed to be returned I worked with it and just reshot some audio scenes if it sounded poor. Overall, I am happy about the final concept, especially because this was my first time and I feel like I have gained many new directing skills such as, being organised and planning times, working out what and when equipment is needed. I have a passion to do more with directing now and after doing this project this has opened a potential new career path for me. The narrative structure changed a lot during my research, a example of this is I knew I wanted to have someone who murdered another person but i wasn't sure on the reason why they wanted this person to be killed. I had a idea that the killer was a ex boyfriend who wanted revenge but then set on the idea of a man escaping prison and going to get revenge on someone who was the cause of his imprisonment.

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I personally think my planning was efficient because I made calendars and to do boards such as writing out what I will be completing each day. I also reflected after each day I done some work and this was a great task for me to do because I could keep check of my stress levels and just really think about what needs doing. My planning got out of hand every now and then because I fell behind and didn’t have time to adjust my plan, once I got back on track the plans I made throughout this project were super helpful. Compared to my last FMP my planning has increased positively, I was so much more organised this time and new exactly what I was doing. Throughout the planning what didn’t go as well was the calendar, when I got behind I had to try and stick to the calendar I made and this was difficult but anything I fell behind on I jotted down on Trello so I could complete later. During the planning stage I had to make sure the equipment was right and ready. I originally was going to use a boom operator until I came to realise that we did not have enough participating. I used the lavalier microphone and I found this to be useful because I could hide it in the clothing and the sound turned out better than I could of asked. A challenge I did have to face with this microphone was that every time I shot a scene or practise scene I had to some home how hide my phone on the actor because this is how I was saving the audio ( through voice memos). Something what I found challenging was getting the equipment to the location from collage, this was difficult because I had a lot of equipment and I was on my own. Once I got the equipment to the location the setting up process was fine because I already practised on how to work the equipment and set up before shooting. The planning was definitely a upgrade in comparison to my last projects, i was very organised with making sure the actors had what they needed and times for shooting.

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Whilst I didn't always stick to the shot-list, due to other ideas replacing it, the list was a foundation meaning i had a idea of what would be happening during each scene. The shot list was difficult because you don't know until you are shooting what your head will decide so to improve i would of done more planning/practical research before creating the final shot list.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

During the stage of pre production something I wanted to focus on the most are the eyes, this is because in a film especially something like horror many emotions are shown through the eyes, they are a strong point of emotion portrayal for an an actor.   I used a side-angle  close-up in some shots. The extreme close-up aspect of it allowed me to focus on the actress (Harriet) eyes, the side-angle meant that I was not blocking any of the light with the camera. The lighting was a difficult because it didn't react well with the camera and i was taking on a role of the light as well as my main roles. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Preparing props was another aspect of pre-production that I completed, after i decided on a narrative i worked out what props I needed. Throughout the research stage i became more informed by what props suit the scenes this was mostly through test-shoots.​ When choosing my shot types and camera angles, I evaluated carefully thinking about how best to portray aspects of the film. For example, when Harriet is in her house receiving a phone call the clothes would be casual wear because of her being in the comfort of her own home. As the genre of my short film was horror i wanted to give dominance, power and creepiness to the perpetrator. I bought a scary mask off amazon because it fit well with the character (Brian Banks)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Production was a success to what I thought it would be but i did have errors what occurred such as technical issues. There were many times when either the battery ran out on the camera or i needed to change equipment, such as the tri pod because the angle was not right. This is my first time doing anything with film on my own (Being in charge) so I thought it would be a disaster but it went very well and I learnt so much on the way, such as time management, editing and camera work. The production was stressful at first because I was doing a lot of It on my own so my stress levels were high, but I took my time and explained to my actors that this is my first time but despite that a I am very happy with the outcome. One challenge I faced was hiding the microphone, this was difficult because when researching I learnt if its hidden In the clothes you can hear the clothes rubbing against the microphone and can ruin the whole audio. The sound ended up sounding great in the end and I could not of wanted it to sound better. I also think I hid the microphone very well because when I watched my scenes, I didn’t see it in any scenes, the fact that its connected to my phone as well and we had to hide that under her clothing I think we done very well. When I arrived at a problem such as how to do something on the camera or a editing problem I used YouTube. YouTube was a very useful source to go to when I was stuck and I watched a fair amount of videos when I got confused on what I need. As i scouted out the locations I could assess how the lighting was going to be effective or not. I wanted to do an evening shoot or either night shoot because I wanted the rest of the film to be set at night-time to uphold the horror genre conventions, but upon doing my test shoot, the kitchen lighting was very strong and had a odd effect on the camera. To solve this problem I shot some scenes when it was more dusk than very dark so the light seemed a bit more natural. The outcome personally for me was not what I expected because i feel like the dark outside set the scene to quickly. If i would ever do something like this again I would perhaps shoot when it is more dusk so a bit lighter so there feels like there is more of a story to it.

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During the stage of post-production many challenges were faced but I manged to overcome them. Something what I knew would be a challenge is merging the audio to the clip, this was difficult but by watching others doing it and testing it in my research I manged to get it precise and perfect.

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During act 2 some of the sound was not at a good standard so I had to reshoot this as well as some scenes, but re-shooting is something so crucial to making a film because you can fix mistakes you made. By doing more practice scenes the chance of the real scene looking good and sharp is high. An example of when i needed to re-shoot is these scenes below. 

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How I overcame this challenge was the day before I shot Act 2 I had the actors round to finish off and perfect act 1 by shooting this scene again. When we done this scene again my actress was ill so it was hard for her to co-operate but she managed and we finished the scenes we needed too.

 

Overall the editing and using the sound effects went really well and I’m comfortable with the outcome.

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Along the way of the making of this film I did run into some technical problems such as on the day I was shooting the battery of the camera ran out and the back up battery had no charge in. I had to make sure my actors could come round on the Thursday because the equipment was due to be returned on the Friday, this was when my stress levels were at the highest but once I got a new battery we manged and finished all the scenes we needed too. I had to watch some videos and ask help from a teacher on how to work the memory card because I wasn’t sure on what I had to do but they taught me to flick a switch on the card to make it work. I wouldn’t say I had many technical problems and if I did, I overcame them but either learning by myself or asking a peer. A big problem throughout this project was the lighting, I originally had someone who was going to be in charge of that but then dropped out a couple of days before production (was very unreliable anyway). In the end I had to do some editing on adobe premier with the lighting, this was challenging because there were some dark spots and light spots so equalling it out was difficult. I used the white balance effect and its made the lighting a bit better but it did not work as well as I thought it would.

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I sorted all of the footage into folders based off of their Act/location or scene number. Having done this, I then picked out the clips which I felt were not at a good standard or quality and I placed them in their own folders. This definitely helped me a lot with the editing process , as it meant that I could upload only the footage that was of use to me to premiere pro and it also meant that I didn't have to spend time evaluating different takes whilst I was trying to edit and figuring out what goes with what. This also helped me very much because my stress levels was not as high at this point.

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When making this film I was influenced very much by the opening of scream. Scream opening such as the phone call inspired me because of the tension built. I wanted to use certain conventions they used in scream in my film, I personally think I done this because of the phone call and the tension of knowing someone is in your house.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In terms of management, I thought I was good with this due to myself playing the role of a director and taking on a lot of time management and anything else involving being organised. I made sure my actors and crew knew what time and what day they need to be at the location for filming and I was prepared for someone to get ill and had back up just in case, fortunately one actor who got ill could still act. Time management was something I was super good at through this project because as a person I’m very organised but mainly because I wanted to show off my directing skills.

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My emotional state through this was very mixed in the sense that some days I was feeling positive and happy about how the workflow is going and then other days would be constant stress and a negative attitude. I wrote down on my reflective journal how I’m feeling each day and many of the days are me stressing but I also think stress helps me create the best bit of work I can do. How I dealt with this was just taking it day by day and writing down what to do each day, this way I don’t feel overwhelmed with lots of work.

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Personally I do think I have met the brief because I focused on the main role of directing and I showed plenty of skills to show it, such as organizing, management, props and costumes and of course making sure the actors are happy and prepared. I also had a day when we done rehearsals so we could all get a feel and I could adjust anything what needs to be adjusted.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The brief was for me to pick a main role and learn more about it and I can confidently say I have met that brief and I’ve got lots of evidence to show it by looking back at my work. Next time I would make sure I have planned out who is working on this project with me and set certain roles because I think when it came to giving roles I was unorganised and found out we don't have enough people, this back tracked and did have a affect on the film when shooting but we managed. I'm not upset or regretting that I didn't have enough people because I have learnt form it and these are the mistakes I can be aware of in future projects. A big lesson I have learnt from this project is that ask for help and get as many people as possible, "a film can not be made alone " but from experiencing a film on my own I have learnt so much such as directing skills e.g. management and being organised with booking equipment and organising rehearsals.                              

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 I've reflected on each lesson and practical work, even when I done work at home. The days i did not do any practical work I've given a general view of what I did and achieved for that day this allowed me to maintain progress and keep up with managing my time however, I did fall of track a bit over the Christmas  holidays for about a week due to some technical issues and I was having my personal time however this was a learning curb and allowed me to work with a clearer and open mind when working after Christmas and in the new year. I do generally believe reflection page had its benefits and disadvantages and overall I thought it was positive to avoid missing any class work and to keep up with work and manage what I have left to complete.

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Throughout this FMP I had a really good positive approach, this mostly stayed with me however, I changed my ideas a couple of times what meant more work. This was difficult because at times I became behind but I did try and stay positive. From the start of this project which was a mixture of emotions to the end I've noticed many things that have increased and decreased my motivation from having a idea of a short film and then growing that to become an actual project in action was a great boost and proud moment for myself. How I started this year in general and seeing where I've got to has been a huge motivation itself as I've struggled with managing my time and managing to stay up to date on a criminology course and a retake of a maths course which has brought a lot of stress and more than necessary work all in at once. I've noticed this project has been a great challenge and the final weeks were the most hardest seeing the way I've had to squeeze in acting, reflection, evaluation, pre-production has been the most difficult. This has been my first time being a solo film maker so i am very proud of myself and I feel like I have learnt so much in such a small amount of time. These emotions have made me learn not to be weak minded about any work and continue no matter how difficult things get and hopefully you'll see the results of hard work soon.