Evaluation of film.

We named our film 'Transmission'. I'm am pleased with the outcome.It begins with the ipod, which is quite a mundane shot, as well as the ones of me getting ready and the shot glasses; they all suggest a party, which is quite a relaxed and normal situation. The close-up's of me getting ready have all had an impact on the way the shots are perceived and is needed to make the shots more intimate and to draw the audiences attention. The mascara shot, near the start, in particular is very close, as well as long and almost boring. However, this will relax the audience, as they are unaware of the change that will come bluntly next. That change being, the shot of the tree's and the voice over 'he keeps following me home', which is also a break in the 'boogie wonderland' song. The use of flickering the shot of the white rose, splattered with 'blood'is quite a strong image, and works best in small, quick appearances, also making the audience question why it is there. The shot where we wrote on the mirror, word by word 'my dream is your worst nightmare' was effective as it leaves unanswered questions; who wrote that? Who is it aimed at? Which is relevant in the opening of a film. Also, as we lost the shot of me 'waking up' which was supposed to bring it all together and tell the audience it was all a dream, the words 'dream' and 'nightmare' suggest this and also suggest the idea of contrasts, which is quite a key feature in our film. We started the shots fairly slow, showing the contrast between the upbeat music played over me getting ready, and the weird sort of signal noise played over the scary shots. Like a lot of real media productions, the tension is increased, so the quicker the shots became and the more scary and random. The contrast is highlighted by the use of sound, changing from 'boogie wonderland', which is an upbeat song, to eerie sounds, similar to sounds used in films like 'White noise'. As it meets the middle, the whole use of shots reverse (reminded in editing) to add a dramatic and jumpy effect. Our teacher made reference to the film 'don't look now' saying the film reminded her of the effect that film had on her. If we had had more time, it would of been good to add some opening credits.

We used quite a variety of different shot types, which all have an impact on the effect they create. We used close-ups's, mainly on the shots of me getting ready, which as well as keeping the audience's attention, adds a sense of mystery to my character, which we learnt was effective when filming our preliminary task, with the use of bex's hands. We used a few high angles, for example on the candles and the 'time is up' shot. Although high angles are supposed to decrease the scariness of a shot, it was relevant in that we needed to be able to see the cross on the cameras and to see what the book actually had written on it. However, we have used a low angle shot when filming the tree's which makes nature seem quite dominant, and the fact we put the words 'he keeps following me home' over that shot, relates to the idea of dominance and being frightened. We wanted to add a tracking shot, as we thought this would of really built tension, however due to lack of time we left, we didn't get round to it. Also we did have a couple of canted angels, which would of added to the uneasiness of the situation but like a lot of our other shots, they got lost during editing.

As for effects, our film relied a lot on the use of editing effects to bring all the shots together. We experimented with a few; one being the use of speeding up the shots. Shots such as the Russian dolls, the writing on the mirror, and the 'time is up'shot relied upon this effect to work, as they were actually minutes long. We also used a 'rewind' effect in the second half of the film. In this reminded part, we added a couple of extra shots (a tablet being dropped into some water and some metal spikes) as some shots didn't work well in the rewind effect.

As well as the contrasts of the sounds, the use of 'he keeps following me home' was used to suggest background and that there is more to the story. The panting, more obvious at the end shot suggests running from someone/something and the words 'time is up' relates to this idea of not making it in time or something.

In relation to our original ideas, we kept with the idea of using a warped dream, as when it is not supposed to be reality, a large variety of shots can be used, as they don't necessarily need to make sense. We kept with the quick shot idea, and incorporated candles, a clock (although it was drawn on paper), putting on make-up mirrors. We did have a pendulum swinging, but it also got lost during editing. We didn't stick our original idea of the pills and the Ouija board (supposed to be at the beginning) due to impracticability and ideas not being satisfyingly conveyed on the camera. We also used the random sound idea, with the signal noise, the panting and the bells. We realised when filming our ideas were slightly ambitious for the time we had. It didn't really end up feeling like it was a dream unfortunately, as there was no shot of me actually waking up from this dream.

Audience feedback:
- Good use of noise, makes it eerie.
- Good tension build up.
- Interesting ideas.
- The blunt combination of the two different types of shots really add to the scariness of it.
- Left with a sense of mystery.

Hearing the audience's feedback has helped me to realise that, by using different techniques, tension can be built up and look effective. I am pleased they notice the contrasting shots and appreciate the ideas we had for the film. I have learnt its good to use original ideas and to experiment with all different camera shots, angles and effects. Leaving them with a 'sense of mystery' has confirmed what i said about the close-up's adding mystery and the use of symbols and words can create unanswered questions, leaving quite a cliffhanger. I'm glad they grasp the concept of the film, and i can say for the future, to stick to original ideas and develop them, and most importantly, allow plenty of time for editing.

Transmission

Update

The film is finished, its rendering at the moment, and will be on here tommorow. To be honest i am pleased with the outcome, seeing as we were in quite a rush. We made use of most of the shots and i think they work well. We have used the 'boogie wonderland' song to contrast the other random shots and make them seem out of place. Unfortunately, the shot of me waking up, which told the audience it was actually a dream, got lost! So now the film doesnt have much in it to suggest it's a dream. However, it is still supposed to be a dream.Its completely random, which is what we wanted, so im happy with that.

Update on filming

Basically, we have done a lot of editing but had to comprimise on a lot of it due to the lack of time, mainly because one of our group members (Bex) has been off school a lot recently, due to a number of reasons. She out of me and natalie is the one better using the editing suite, so we have had to rush quite a bit. Im quite dissapointed the film hasnt reached my expectations, and am annoyed that it was left so late. It just seemed to be problem after problem; we took 2 days trying to figure out how to actually upload the footage onto the software. Eventually we did, but apart from an ICT specialist at our school, we had no help with it. So that is probably why it took so long. Unlike Bex at her previous 6th form college, i have never been told how to use the editing suite. However, we have done our best in the time we have and the skills we have picked up, and i hope it will convey some of our original ideas. We have yet to covert it into an AV file, which we will do tommorow. A lot of the shots i am quite proud of, one being the shot of the three candles, all lit, where the camera goes in and out of focus, until they are blown out, revealing a gothic cross. We experimented a great deal with these shots, and the video does rely soley on editing for any of them to come together and make sense. Hopefully the video should be on here soon!

Update

A quick update on some of the shots:
At the end of the film, we wanted me to sit up in bed really quickly like i had just woken up from a dream. However, this didnt work as we couldnt get the camera at the right angle for it to look effective. So, me and natalie changed it, and filmed fistly a close-up of my eye, opening, looking around the room. Then, we plan to rewind all of the footage, and end it with a shot of my eye opening abruptly. Our shots are a mix of religious, scary and quite random images, hopefully conveying what a dream really is like, obviously on a more warped scale, where sometimes things make no sense at all; they live in our subconscious mind.

Bex isnt keen on the shots of me waking up or the 'my dream is your worst nightmare', and we have had a lot of debates on what will look good, but me and natalie took ages to do it, and at the moment we need to think about bulking up our film as we have realised we have little footage, time wise.

Update on filming

I havent posted any updates for a while but due to loss of time we have changed a few things. We tried the pill scene, however, we all agreed that it just didnt look right on the camera so we took it out. To fill some gaps and create a contrast between some of the scary images, we have a girl (me) getting ready to go out for a party; quite a mundane situation, compared to the abstract images.

Scary, abstract images so far include:
- A beautiful white rose, splattered with 'blood'. We have filmed the blood actually dropping onto the rose, but it looks more effective as a still shot.
- Some footage of tree's.
- A pendulum swinging against a white wall.
- A tablet dropped into water and dissolving.
- A spike choker, surrounded by tarot cards and beads, in a dim light.
- A mirror that letter by letter spells out 'my dream is your worst nightmare'.
- Candles, being lit and blown out, revealing a black gothic cross, which could suggest the rest of the film involves religious ideas.
- Ballet shoes being tied up by candlelight. This one looks a bit out of place at the moment, but we will see how it works during editing.

Shots of me getting ready include:
- Me putting on mascara.
- Me brushing my hair.
- Me putting a necklace on.
- A zoom shot of me putting on a pair of heels.


We are slowly but surely moving forward and having to change some scenes due to practicality. We have all the sounds complete and are hoping to edit soon.

Final ideas for opening to thriller

We are going to film lots of random, sometimes chilling images and flashes, and create a dream-like mix of them. At the end, a girl is going to wake up in bed, like she has woken from a dream. Dreams can make real life seem very warped and random, so we plan to give this idea in our piece of film.

It begins with a sort of normal scene of girl and her friend getting ready to go out. Girl is putting on make-up in the mirror, and we think this is actually in real life, however, a close-up of the girls eye is shown, and then it is followed by dream-like flashes, so we realise this was a part of her dream. We have a few longer scenes of about 5 seconds long; hands on a Ouija board, tracking shot of a graveyard, pills being put continuously into girls mouth (very fast) and the smashing of a glass with red wine in it.

Then, it goes into faster shots, some examples being:
An antique clock
Hopscotching
Barbie head being broken
Ballet shoes
Bloody hand on doorknob
Mask in the mirror
Pendulum (lasts a little longer)
Lighter burning paper
Candle - in a dark room, blown out. Then everything is black, and we hear the sound of a match striking. Then the candle is lit again and all of the flashes and images are played backwards in double time, then is stopped at the sound of the glass smashing.

The girl wakes up in a bed. Shes very out of breath and disorientated.

We plan to use lots of random sounds over the images and flashes, however not the first scene. We plan to use giggles, cries, gasps, talking (various voices), humming, twigs breaking, chanting, wind, Phone and answerphone, Radio sounds, door creaks and slams, ripping paper, chairs being dragged on tiles, fast-paced heels, running water, knocking, doorbell.

We want effects such as rewinding, black and white, overexposure, negative, sepia, solarised, canted angles, fast tracking shots, blurs etc.

Its a very random collaboration of sounds, effects and images/flashes - hopefully creating the idea of a extremely warped dream, a nightmare, like night terror. We want the piece to feel very eerie and anxious, and realistic in the terms of dreams.

We have decided the girl in the film is going to played by me. We have chosen to film most of the footage in natalies mums bedroom, due to good lighting and plenty of space. We are planning to just do as many shots as possible each time we meet up to do filming. Then we will sit down, watch the footage, and get rid of anything irrelevant.