Film Evaluation

In our film opening, we tried to include some conventions of horror but we also wanted to add our own take on the genre of horror. To do this we considered sound, Mise en scene, camera and editing which, when added together, fitted in with our chosen genre fairly well.

To get our final product, we had to make a lot of changes, many explained in previous analyses. We changed where we placed the title, where we placed the music and which clips we used to create our film opening. When editing, we discovered that not everything linked to the horror genre, so we needed to add in voice overs and make the film look darker. We feel that by doing this made our film better and improved our overall story.

Even though the story line of our film was different to the films we had researched, there were elements from both 'The Woman in Black' and 'Insidious' which inspired us when creating our film, both when filming and editing
We liked the idea of using a house as a setting like in 'The Woman in Black' and 'Insidious' because the home is mainly seen as a safe haven in most films and in society. We didn't think that a haunted house would fit in with our story our film didn't include anything that referred to the supernatural. This then made the story line seem more believable as the events in the film could happen in reality.
Another element that we got the 'The Woman in Black' and 'Insidious' was showing the antagonist only at the end of the scene and also film them so that they are not fully revealed. By doing this, we created a threat to the protagonist without giving away the full identity. This means that the audience will be looking out for who the antagonist might be which gradually creates tension until the antagonist fully reveals themselves.

Filming:
When filming we got plenty of footage to choose from as we went over several shots more then once in several angles. This allowed us to make our opening more interesting and meant that we didn't have to stick to the same shot for too long. We also used a Nikon D3100 which we worked with better than the camera we used for the Preliminary task. As we were familiar with the controls on the Nikon, we were able to get all the shots we needed. We were also better at using the tripod which meant it was easier to get steady shots. One thing that would have been useful would have been a tripod dolly for the tracking shots. We didn't have access to this equipment when filming so we had to try and keep the camera as steady as possible when moving.


Costume and Character:
We needed to portray the protagonist as a neat, professional character with OCD tendencies. We did this by his costume and behavior. We decided to dress the character in a suit to portray him having a professional job and being fairly ordinary. By making the character a regular person and not someone famous or unordinary makes the audience wonder why he has been the chosen target for the antagonist. The audience then find out, later in the film, that it is because the antagonist is the doppelganger for the protagonist.
His hair and his behavior in his home shows the character as having OCD like tendencies. We slicked his hair back so that there were no stray hairs and set up the setting to have things out of place to what they normally would be like. This was so that the protagonist could put them back to how they should be in his way, showing him as a neat and organised person.

Editing:
To start with, our editing wasn't very good as we were fairly new to the software we were using, but after a few hours getting to grips with the settings and controls, we were able to but the base of our opening together. After getting the foundation done, we were able to cut bits out and fine tune any jumps that might have been in it. We found that to keep the film running smoothly, we needed to zoom in onto the timeline so we could cut the footage with more precision.
One part of the editing we did was the small jump cuts at the beginning of the scene. These were put in, to contrast with how the protagonist was portrayed and to foreshadow that there was something strange about to happen.
It took us a while to figure out how to split the footage from the sound as we wanted to delete some of the unwanted sound. We discovered that by right clicking the footage we wanted to delete the sound from, there came up an 'Unlink' option. At first we tried this just in case it did something similar to what we needed. After trialing several options, we were able to split the audio from the footage using the 'Unlink' option. This came in useful for when we wanted to add new audio to existing footage.
We decide to add the opening credits in last as they didn't take too long to do. Originally, we put the credits in the same place for each name but we changed this after looking at more film openings. By doing this, we discovered that it wasn't very often that the credits were always in the same place. As a result, we changed the positioning of the credits for each name. We also edited the credits so that it was consistent with the title font and put a shadow on the text so that it was easier to read against the background.
As previously mentioned, a dark setting is a convention of horror. We had shot our scene in the day so we needed to add something to the scene to darken the look of it. We were advised to put either a tint or a vignette onto some or all shots to make the scene look darker. As the scene is set in the day, we thought that adding a tint may have made it look like it was set in the evening, so we opted with the vignette. We thought that using  vignette would fit in with the horror genre as they were originally used in old short films. Even though we used the vignette throughout the scene, the best shot we use the vignette on was the first shot of the antagonists face. By using it here, it draws all the attention onto the antagonist and shows him as a dark character as his surroundings are dark.

Music and Sound:
In our opening scene, there is a point where the unknown antagonist turns on the radio. For this particular shot, we wanted to get some music that didn't necessarily fit with the radio station the radio was turned onto. We asked Thomas Whitehead, who did our music for us, to give us some ideas on what types of music was generally used in horror films. He recommended looking at serialism which
we thought would be appropriate for adding tension into the scene. We then sent links of Youtube videos to Thomas so that he could create an original piece of music for us. From his short 2 minute piece of music, we were able to cut and repeat it accordingly so that it would last the duration of what we needed it to.
We found that we couldn't place the music where we wanted to at first as the clips always over-lapped onto other audio clips. To get over this, we added another audio column underneath an existing one which meant we were then able to place the music where we needed it to be.
After we finished the majority of the film, we had some peers watch and give feedback on it. The main piece of feedback we got was that they didn't fully understand the story. Taking this feedback into consideration, we decided to record some voice overs to discreetly explain the setting. We got this idea from the film 'Blade Runner' as after some audience research on the film, they also put voice overs in to make it ore clear to the audience of what was happening.
The last thing we did to our film was add sound effects to our titles. As our film company was called 'Dark Moon Productions' we brainstormed ideas for sounds which would link to our name. We all agreed on a wolf howl as, as well as linking to the name, it is also a convention of horror. we overlapped the wolf sound over another audio clip which can only be described as like a creepy woods. As most horror films that are set in the woods are also set at night, we thought this would add some atmosphere to the wolf howl. As the title of the film started, we faded the wolf and woods audio and faded in the starting audio of the film which was footsteps. By doing this, the audience already gets the sense that the film starts with a character walking but doesn't reveal who they are or where they are going. Fading in the footsteps also creates a smoother transition from the titles to the film.

1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Using the Conventions of Horror:

Our opening titles, even though they don't link to our film, are typical for a horror production company. This is because we used a moon logo, horror sound effects and used minimal colour for the background and font. The moon we used for our logo connotes night which is the time of day that many horror films are set. The sound effects that we added to the logo link to the moon and also connote the night time. The wolf sound is also often in horror films to scare the characters as it is often used to foreshadow danger. For the font and background, we used black and white as this is often used for horror film titles. We decided not to use red like the 'Insidious' titles as there isn't much, if any violence in our film.

Keeping with traditional horror films, our film is set in one location. As well as this being used to keep a continuous storyline, many horror films are kept in the same location as they are normally based on the character or characters trying to escape the location.

The camera angles we used link to many film genres such as the first establishing shot to set the scene, but the range of close ups and first person shots create tension. The close up shots draw attention to objects that aren't normally seen as being of any importance. By doing this, the characters behaviour is developed as the close ups show the characters interactions with the objects. The first person shots are used to make the audience see what the antagonist is seeing. This creates tension as the audience can then realise that the antagonist is watching the antagonist but they do not yet know their motive.

When the protagonist enters the house, the light from the outside is closed out and the hall is darkened. This connotes that, even inside his own house, the protagonist is safer outside than inside. Foreshadowing triggers like this are used in many horror films. This specific trigger may not be widely used but similar shots are used to discreetly inform the audience that there is something different or dangerous within the setting.

At the end of the scene, the antagonist is shown to be in the house, but their identity is still concealed. This technique is also used in the opening scene of 'The Woman in Black'. We did this to create tension and make the audience want know the identity even more than when they didn't see the character.

Developing and Challenging the Conventions of Horror:

We challenged the conventions because most horror films, such as 'Insidious', are filmed or set in the night. This convention is often used because we feel most vulnerable at night. It could also reflect our worst nightmares which happen when we sleep at night. We challenged this convention by setting our film in the day time. We did this because people don't expect anything majorly bad to happen to the during the day as they feel more venerable at night. The character then lets his guard down when he is in his house in the day as he believes nothing can harm him.

There is also no violence in our horror film, unlike the majority of horror films that already exist. This is because the horror element in our film is more psychological than physical as the antagonist follows the protagonist around his own home without the protagonist knowing. By using the dramatic irony of the audience knowing the doppelganger is in the house, more tension is created and the audience are desperate for the antagonist to escape, even though the character doesn't feel the need to.