Blog Reflection Week 10

 This week we managed to complete:

• Feedback Evaluation

After holding our focus group, we gathered our feedback and analysed it. We analysed it's: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and the threats it had. We also reflect what we could have done as an individual to improve upon.

We evaluated on this feedback and what they said and we went over what we could improve upon.

Focus Group Feedback

 

SWOT Analysis of offline edit

 

Focus Group- Evaluating Feedback

After finishing our short movie, we held a focus group with people in our target audience. We asked them questions such as: "What do you think went well in the short film", "What could be improved upon in the short film", etc. The audience gave responses about how they felt commenting such as: "The sound effects help create a good atmosphere", "The acting was good and felt realistic", "Conventions from horror movies were made clear,", etc. 

It was said that we followed a lot of conventions from Horror/Thriller movies, and a lot of these aspects were made clear when watching the short film. (e.x. dark colour palette, loud noises, etc.) 

They also gave feedback on what they believe we could improve upon such as: "An actor looks as if they are reading from a script and sounds quite robotic", 'Some audio should be cut out, etc." Comments regarding how we should practice the short film before recording too was made. 

Our main aim with the focus group was to find out what we did well and where we could improve, it was also to find out information on what the liked the best and if we were to create another short film create it surrounding the answers of this focus group.  

To improve upon this, I believe that if we were to ever record a short film again we should spend more time practicing and reading the script before going ahead and recording. As we did not spend a lot of time practicing the script more, we ended up forgetting a lot of our lines and some lines delivered came across as a like shaky or robotic sounding.

We also discussed ourselves in the focus group about our personal opinions on what we could improve upon and what we could of added if we could go back and change things. We asked them if they enjoyed the story and if they wanted to ask any general questions about it or more. For example, a member of the focus group asked if they think we could do a continuation of our short film (a sequel) and we gave them our responses. We also continued to talk about what we did on the short film, how we  did it and what we liked ourselves.  

For my own individual improvement, I believe that there was more I could of done with the editing. With the Zoom call screen, I feel as if I could have given it some more life instead of it being a bland Zoom Call screen. I have the knowledge to be able to add chroma key onto the edit, and if I had enough time I feel as if I should have tried to incorporate with the short film. I could have added more visual effects to make the atmosphere feel eerie and creepy, making the viewers feel unsettled. With this, I believe it would be appealing to the viewers. (For example, adding a grunge border around the screen.)

In the short film, my own acting (Maria's) could have been improved upon. I feel as if I could have practiced the script more with my own lines so I was more confident with it. During the short film, there are parts where I seem unfocused; to improve upon this I believe even when something else is doing their role on screen (as I would still be visible on the short film) I should still try to act along to make it seem more realistic. My voice sounded very shaky and stuttering, despite my character being scared: it still felt very unnatural and it appeared I needed more practice. 

During the production, I believe we should of planned out our dates more and followed the production shcedule more closely. We could of had multiple days to shoot our shots for the short film giving us more practice and confidence each time, making the short film be more realistic. Myself and my colleague should have communicated more about what tasks we should have done so that the work production could have been done more efficiently and at a faster pace. This would have vastly improved our short film as if we had completed it more quickly, we would have had more time to look over the short film and fix any mistakes that we had found before exporting it and uploading it onto Youtube. 

Week 10 Task Allocation

 

Sound editing explanation

As our short film is a Horror/Thriller, we wanted to attempt to create a scary and unsettling atmosphere. During our short film, people are killed off one by one and the main character is left all on her own. After all of the deaths occurred and the main character is left on our own we wanted the viewers to feel unsettled. We pitched down the audio so that the mood feels uncanny and strange, connoting that something bad was going to happen afterwards. As it was pitched down, the music sounded slower and deeper. 

On certain parts on our short film, we wanted to try and emphasise the importance of what was being said. For example, when one of the main characters asks "Did you get the notification too?" we wanted it to foreshadow something ominous and bad being in this notification to the viewers. The loud sound effect catches the viewers attention and draws them to the screen. We also turned up the volume on it so it sounds louder. 

We wanted to use music as a way to dennote the mood in the short film. For example, when we wanted to create a tense atmosphere we cut the music down and speed it up so it draws the viewers attention to the screen. This foreshadows that something bad was going to happen and that the viewers should pay attention of what will happen next.

So that the audio fades out smoothly, we added dissolve effects so it doesn't abruptly cut out. We also overlapped audio to make the atmosphere more tense and threatening, for example we had ominous and scary music overlapped with the heartbeat sound effects to make the viewer feel worried about what will go down in the short film and what dangers will be featured in it.

When we recorded, some of our audio did not sound clear enough. To fix this, we did a voice-over so that the audio sounds clearer and it sounds louder to the viewers when they were not able to hear it before. 

To enhance the audio, we also used a program called 'Adobe Audition' to enhance the audio and make it of the best quality. It was also use to help reverb and lower the sound to make it sound more eerie. 

Visual Editing Explanation

 

To Introduce the Short film, we started off with with a title that sets the scene of our short film.

We used 'fade to colour' so that the title smoothly appears onto the screen and it is satisfying for viewers to watch as it appears onto the screen instead of it just coming onto the screen. 

On the subtext, we spilt the clip in half and coloured it red. After doing this, we used a dissolve effect to this text so it would smoothly turn into red. We did this to emphasize the importance of this word on the screen and make it stand out to the viewers as the short film being set in the lockdown plays a huge part in our short film. The red text also feels unsettling and scary, making it seem like something bad is going to happen during the short film. 

In horror movies, they're usually dark and gritty. Darkness is commonly interpreted as something as mysterious and creepy, as anything could be lurking in the darkness that could pose as a threat to the main character(s). To make the atmosphere feel unsettling to viewers we used a vignette We also used colour correct to make the clip even darker and to make the scene look more darker and threatening to the viewers connoting impending doom. 

We used a static transition to catch viewers by surprise and catch them off guard. We used this static transition to cut out what the main character was going to say. We cut it out with this transition to make it seem like the Unknown Caller was working behind the scenes to cut the main character off. We also did this to emphasize the importance of what the main character was about to say, and as it was on a Zoom Call it would seem like the video was buffering to the viewers.

To make it seem like it was glitching out and buffering on the call, we added the 'earthquake' effect to make it seem like it was glitching, we also added a vignette effect to make it darker on the screen. We also added a RGB colour effect on the screen to emphasize the glitching. We did this to keep the viewer's attention on the screen and get them wondering why it could possibly be glitching out. 

Generic Conventions

The short film we had created was a Horror/Thriller movie. So that the audience could recognise that it is apart of this genre, and to keep viewers interested we implemented conventions that you would typically see in a film of this genre.

One convention that we had was that we both had was: victims and a killer. Often these are typically of a younger age (such as teenagers in our short film) so that the audience can sympathise with them. The killer is an impeding threat in the film and the viewers wonder when/how the killer will strike. However, the main character doesn't typically die and instead everyone close to them does which is exactly what happens in our short film. What we did in our short film to achieve this was create a story of: each of the characters fall victims to the mysterious killer apart from the main character, which at the end reveals that she had something to do with the disappearance of Laura (the first victim) 

For example, in 'Unfriended: Dark Web' similar to our short film, each person on the call is targeted as a victim. In this scene, the character is swatted and falls victim to the killer as they sent the SWAT team to the location meeting his demise. In 'Unfriended: Dark Web' each character continues to fall victim to the mysterious killer before we find out whom it is that is behind it. 

Another convention that we had was the music used in the short film. Horror films usually use quite dramatic music or sound to emphasize when something is going to happen. For example, in our short film we frequently used fast paced music when we were trying to anticipate something bad was going to happen. We used this fast music when the death scene of one of characters and we attempted to build up to this death scene slowly so that the viewers would be drawn to the screen. Horror movies typically have loud sound effects and noises, used to startle the viewers. On the death scene, we used a loud sound effect that would startle the viewer and catch them off guard as they watch to scare and frighten them. 

In the movie: 'Scream' (1996), music to build up something bad is going to happen is used. When the killer Scream is after the girl, fast paced music is used to connote a tense atmosphere; when the girl is caught or she sees something bad the music suddenly gets loud or a loud scream plays. 

Another convention in our short film is the situation the main characters find themselves in. In horror movies (for example such as Saw) the main characters are forced to play a game by a killer otherwise the characters will face death by this killer. They are also trapped in a secluded locations (another theme in horror movies) where no-one can find them or get to them if something happens. For example: the alleyway the  main character visits and as the characters are trapped in the darkness of their room with no-where to go. 

For example, in the movie 'Saw (2004)' the characters are stuck in a secluded location forced to play a game with a mysterious figure otherwise they face death. In our short film, the killer forces the characters to play the game or tell the truth otherwise they face death. Similar, Saw tests his victims until they tell the truth or find the suspect. 

Another convention we used was have low-key light. In horror movies, low-key lighting is used for horror films due to the effects it creates. It creates tension due to it's dark, mysterious atmosphere and controlling how much of the surroundings and characters are revealed. After the lights go out in our short film, all of the lighting is low-key and dark making the atmosphere feel tense and threating as there may be an impeding threat.

In the movie 'IT 2017' the main characters have to explore a haunted house to find the clown 'Pennywise'. In the haunted house, it is portrayed as grim, dark and mysterious as the characters need to find their way to navigate across the house. The house appears as threatening due to its darkness and how powerless it makes the characters feel like in our own short film where they are trapped in their rooms. Later in the movie, the main characters are trapped in the haunted house and they need to find a way out. 

Another convention we used in our short films was the costumes the main characters were wearing. The main characters were all wearing casual clothing, like anyone else would. Because of this, the audience can relate to the main characters as they are regular people like themselves and implying that they themselves could find themselves in a dangerous situation like this. 

In 'Unfriended 2014' the main characters are all portrayed as regular people that are stuck in this situation like our own. They all wear casual clothing and we get to find about more about who the characters are before the horror begins. Like in our short film, it's portrayed as friends getting together as they can't go outside due to the pandemic. The characters are more easy to sympathise with as like the audience they are like themselves and can relate to. 

Camera Settings explanation

 Camera settings explanation PPT

 

One of the techniques we mostly used for our short film  is pull and focus technique this is because by using this technique we were able to create the scary atmosphere we wanted for this specific project  in addiction it helps us to gather our audience attention quickly  by making them wondering what’s going on ,which that also   conclude with our purpose for this short film genre .  When it comes to this technique we concentrated mainly on how we would switch the focus from one shot to another as we can infer from here.

Now shifting our focus to the type of lenses we used during the camera settings we mostly used standard to make everything realistic as possible and keep everything basic  for the audience .

This is an example of how we used  a standard camera lens to make everything realist without zooming in or making it to dramatic for our audience to  see at very start (Beginning )

 

While in this occasion we used a wide angle in order to create a different atmosphere and also present different angle to what we been using for the short film so it doesn’t makes the audience feel like they just watching from one angle . This angle was mainly chosen because we wanted the audience  to see different angles  and not just view us from one. 

 

 Further more for our use of exposure control effect we used shutter speed in one of our scene  where we have to take  shot of the protagonist room light that comes off and on . When  it comes to this technique we used fast shutter speed and  made the shorter exposure of the amount of light the camera takes on.

 

When it comes to frame rates for different effects we used higher fps  when something tens  was going on t for instance the death of Emmanuela . This was a good way to gather audience attention as this technique flashes .

Camera and lighting evaluation

 

Camera and lighting Evaluation

 

The lighting and camera technique played a big role in every scene we filmed for our shorth film.  This is because it can easily impact our shot film with the overall outcome. Our mean goal for this shorth film was to use the different camera and lightning technique to create the right atmosphere and to present the shorth film genre without telling the audience. To start off with our shorth film me and my partner decided to begin with three scene  and collided them together in order to Crete  flashback of what the audience we be seen during the short film. By doing this we used one of the most known technique call pull focus technique this is when we changed the focus in a shot by moving from one object to another and keeping it at  a standard  camera lens. 

Now shifting our focus to the type of lenses we used during the camera settings we mostly used standard to make everything realistic as possible and keep everything basic  for the audience .This is an example of how we use d a standard camera lens to make everything realist without zooming in or making it to dramatic for our audience to  see at very start (Beginning )

While in this occasion we used a wide angle in order to create a different atmosphere and also present different angle to what we been using for the short film so it doesn’t makes the audience feel like they just watching from one angle . This angle was mainly chosen because we wanted the audience  to see different angles  and not just view us from one.

Furthermore for our use of exposure control effect we used shutter speed in one of our scene  where we have to take  shot of the protagonist room light that comes off and on . When it comes to this technique we  fast shutter speed and  made the shorter exposure of the amount of light the camera takes on.

When it comes to frame rates for different effects we used higher fps when something tens was going on t for instance the death s of Emmanuela . This was a good way to gather audience attention as this technique flashes. 

Lighting Evaluation  

 When it comes to lighting me and the person that I’m working with   decided to use on a camera light as it provided us with additional light when we were feeling in the dark. This then allowed us not to make any changes when we were editing and to keep the original.   So what we did we had on a camera light near us not to close   because we still wanted to create the dark atmosphere. 

Directing the viewers eye to details

We also use this type of technique to have a direct contact with our audience this is an effective way to get you audience engage in order  for them to follow the story line. To follow this up we made our editing effect by using lighting pop up and lots of pull for us technique to go along with this type of technique.

 

Simple three-point lighting 

  This technique was mostly used for our short film as we started from the dark then turn the key light on this was presented during  the zoom call and when maria was in her room talking to herself as we can see from the image.  This key light came from the light and left of our faces. The fill light is known to be the secondary light source.  By 'filling in' the remainder of the subject's face with softer light, it balances the key light. It should be placed on the opposite side of the key light.

 Establishing fear 

We used lighting to show our audience the actors expression  as We personally think that this is one of the most  effective  way to get our audience to pay attention  but also try to figure what’s going on in the screen by guessing what emotion  each actors are going through .

We used fill light in one of our scene. This was presented  at the end of our shorth film  where maria was going to the valley and she said her last scene . By using this type of light  it helps to create the key light on subject’s face and draw attention to her. 

Lighting design  was also another common light we used especially in maria’s room where we wanted to symbolise a dark atmosphere by using light as subject. As our short film is a Horror/Thriller, we wanted to create a creepy/unsettling atmosphere. Typically in horror movies, the darkness is represented as threatening and mysterious; to create this kind of feeling, we also used low-key lighting in our short film to create this kind of atmosphere. This was to make the ambience of the short film suspenseful and fearful for what was going to happen to the main characters. To create this, we turned all of the lights off in our rooms and then pulled the curtains to make the rooms feel darker.