Preliminary Filming 2 - Editing

In my second piece of preliminary filming, I have edited the shots I have filmed.


I have used iMovie to do this, as this is the program I will be using to edit my actual short film. Therefore I have gained the necessary skills needed to edit pieces of film, which will make the editing of my horror film much easier and also better.
I have included this screenshot to show the layout of the program and how it works, along with the multiple shots of my preliminary filming (2). In this particular screenshot I was practising cropping, to make my prelim flow as the person is walking through the corridors.
iMovie is a very easy program to get used to, if one has never used it before. It's buttons and functions are easy to find, and once you've had a quick practise with it you can easily start to properly edit your own videos. This is the reason why i'm using iMovie to edit.

   

This is the final piece of my preliminary filming. I started off with my character walking from the outside of the school, straight through two doors and turning right into a corridor. I then changed the shot into a lower angled shot, as he just turned the corner. I then included an over-the-shoulder following shot of my character, as I made sure that the camera was behind his shoulder the whole time as he walked. The disadvantage to this is that the camera will shake slightly as you cannot use a tripod. This shot is followed by a close up of his foot, as he carries on walking.
I have used a tripod the whole time other that the over-the-shoulder shot to keep the film as still as possible. One factor that also needs to be kept in mind is the lighting, as it gets particularly dark at one point.

Experimenting With Stair/High Angled Shots (Preliminary Filming 1)

Due to the fact I will be including stair shots with my protagonist walking up and down them (from the hallway to the balcony) and also from the back door to the basement, I have tried filming some stair shots in school. This was very useful because I have gained confidence while filming these so I shall be able to film these shots better in my actual location. As you can see, each shot is very still. This is because the tripod I used did this, which I will be using when I film.
Also, I tried out a high angled shot which appears at the end of the video. I will be using these shots to make my protagonist look weaker, therefore it was crucial for me to try out this shot. Again, I have used a tripod to make the shot still and I shall be using it every time if I can.

Storyboard Animatic

Here I have made my storyboard into a short animation. I have chosen to do this because it makes it a lot more interesting, and each shot appears in order, like it will in my short film. Every shot gets brought to life, which again makes it more interesting to view, which will make filming slightly easier too. Also, I have added background spooky music into it, in order to get a feel for what my short film will be like, as there will be quiet spooky ambience playing most of the way through over my horror film.

'Pete's Media Blog' - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

This powerpoint is fantastic at summing up how to make a practical project. It lists 9 different factors that should be considered in order to do well, therefore I can use this to my advantage. What is great about it is that it goes from the very start to the finish (from doing basic research right up to looking back on your work and getting feedback).

So I will be following each point that is listed in order to improve my work.

Equipment/Prop List

As my cast and location are all finalised now, all I need is an equipment list before I get started. By creating this, I will not have the chance of forgetting to bring certain props, which would stop me from being able to film some scenes.
As there is no dialogue in my short film, props will play a large role in telling the story (the audience shouldn't have to lose track as to what is happening; they should be able to easily follow the story).

My equipment and props I shall be using include:

Video Camera - To film my short film

• Tripod - To keep the video camera still - keeping a still shot is incredibly important when filming as the playback will be much better, therefore a tripod will be used where possible

• Storyboard - I shall bring my storyboard as I will know the order to film my shots, so it makes it easier to film as I can just follow it.

• Mobile phone - My protagonist will have her mobile placed in the lounge, and when it starts to ring she will answer it and realise nobody is there, which will add to the spookiness of the film.

• Kitchen knife - When my protagonist starts to investigate the house, she will pick up a knife from the kitchen. Therefore this will show that she is very scared, to the point where she is willing to murder whoever is haunting her. The antagonist will have a knife that he carries to, so he can kill her at the end of the film.

First Filming - Testing The Video Cameras and Tripods

In order to get used to cameras we'll use for filming, we took them out around the school and took some shots and short clips testing different angles. This was extremely helpful because when it comes to filming we will find it a lot easier due to the testing we did.
This is a shot of me trying out a high angled shot. I experimented with this particular shot because it is one I will be using a fair amount in my short film, therefore doing this will benefit me as I will understand where and how to use high angled shots.

This is another picture of us experimenting with cameras. We tried filming with and without the tripods, and all of us came to the conclusion that using a tripod was much better. This is simply because tripods make each shot perfectly still. I found out that no matter how still your hands are, when you play the piece of film back it will always be slightly shaky. Therefore in my short film I will always be using a tripod, where and whenever I can.

Narrative For My Film

If I had to summarise my short film for someone who didn't know what it was about, I was describe it like this:

I have planned a stereotypical horror short film. The reason for it being stereotypical is because it follows many conventions from other horror films, for example, it is being filmed in a large house, without any speech. The cast is very small (only 2 people - the protagonist and antagonist), as this will add to the scariness of the film (my protagonist will not get any help).
Sound is another convention that I will be very careful with, as most of the time, if not all the time, it will be quiet in the background. Only the sound effects will be loud and attempt to make the audience jump.

Different camera angles will be used, for example many high camera angles will be used for my protagonist to show the weakness of her, and many point-of-view shots of the antagonist to make it more realistic.