Helpful Website

Hello, I just found a helpful website concerning the analysis of horror openings that we have been set.
I found a website with a list of the top horror openings. I particularly like the one that this blogger has chosen for number one.
http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50852

I have pasted a small section of the page- the start and the video that have rated as the best opening. It is from the 1995 American  film directed by David Fincher Se7en or 'Seven'. For the entire list click on the link above.

Post Editing Blog Entry

We have now finished editing out preliminary task. I was absent for some f the editing time, but when I was present me and my partner finished and also tried to perfect all the little bits we were not happy with. During editing we made sure we a window open on our computer with our animatic on, therefore we could refer back to this. Our final edit is very similar to the animatic as whilst filming we had a story bored with us. There was some small changes, including shot lengths, and types. But these are all things that were hard to get exactly right whilst making our animatic. We did face a few problems whilst editing. One, was an issue that i mentioned earlier about the sound and recording voice overs. This problem was solvable for two of the three shots applicable due to the fact that in 2 shots the actor talking did not have there face to the camera. But in the final shot the actor's face is seen. Therefore in this shot we decided not to put in a voice over and just turn up the sound throughout. This meant that the actor could be heard. The music playing in our venue did not negatively effect our task as i thought it would. One other problem we faced was that at one point we had a shot of the girl sitting down and than putting the bag on the table. The shot that was supposed to follow than showed her placing the bag on the table again- we did not notice this at first. When we notice it we decided to just cut one of the shots shorter so this mistake could not be seen, this shot than varied from the length we originally wrote on the animatic.

The video we designed was set in a cafe. But the venue we choose to film in was a school, and a school cafeteria. Therefore during the filming we had to try and make sure that the mise-en-scene did not portray that of a school.  Whilst filming we kept moving the bin so it was not in shot. And i also took down some posters that were in shot which looked 'schooly'.  I feel that the mise-en-scene fitted our task well. The spot we chose in the cafe was next to a window therefore letting in more light and making the shot brighter.

The outside of our location which is featured
at the start of the task

We tried to vary the shot types included- whilst still taking into account continuity editing. At the beginning of the video we had a long shot o the female character walking towards the character. We felt that having this long shot at the start was effective on the audience as it established the setting and also because it showed that the character was going somewhere. The camera often stayed still, and let the actors move rather than the camera. This is because we wanted it to seem quite still and tense rather than quick paced and frantic. One pan we did use was a pan down girls body showing her dress- this created an anticipated atmosphere and made the female character seem powerful to the audience. A shot we took particular care in shooting was the shot where the female walks away from the table nearing the end. We decided to have the camera completely still whilst she sits down, stands up than walks away. The shot stayed in the same perspective and she moved around within it. We got this idea from our research when we watched the film This is England, where near the stat the male character gets out of bed and the camera does not follow him. 

Whilst editing we kept the pace of the film quite steady, we didn't want it to become really fast as we wanted the task to portray a calm atmosphere- contrasting with what was actually going on.  Times when we did speed up was when editing the continuity, we wanted these shots to go a bit quicker, particularly during match on action, this would make the continuity look smoother and more fluid. There was one part of editing i was not happy with near the start. I thought the cross over between the long shot of the female walking toward the camera and the pan down the females body was not very fluid. Unfortunately this was not really fixable as we did not have enough spare footage to fix this problem. 

We had some music in our task. The music started as the pan starts on the female. This was effective as before this there was a scene with diegetic sound where footsteps could be heard and it was eerie and when the music starts it draws the audience in. The music than stops later when the dialogue starts, we wanted  this to create an effect on the audience which meant that the scene had properly started when the dialogue starts almost as if the music section was an opening. 

I felt that I did meet the brief as we included the continuity editing techniques that the brief stated we had too.  I feel that we also followed the story line that the brief stated we had too. During the preliminary task my knowledge of continuity editing grew, and i also feel more confident filming and editing now after a long break over the summer holidays. I feel that my ability to meet deadlines and be more organized has also been helped by this task. 

5 Top Tips

1. Organise all props before the filming date
2. Be prepared to experiment with shots, as information on you story bored may not be as appropriate when you’re actually filming in the location
3. Research venue intensively, taking all things into account
4. Use time efficiently- maybe even create a time plan
5. Organise all aspects of the task thoroughly, and be totally ready to film on time.

Filming Process

Our filming process went reasonably well due to the fact that we filmed all the shots required, and the two characters both wore suitable clothing, and we had all the props needed. Although we got all the shots we needed filmed, we spent some time at the start of out filming time sorting out props; therefore we lost some time of actual filming. I felt that if we had of sorted out some props before this, we could of filmed more attentively and more thoroughly- therefore being able to shoot each shot lots of times, and experimenting with angles and ways to film. Another problem we found whilst filming was that there was music in our venue playing on a pa system. The music was not to loud so we could hear the dialogue but I noticed that if the music was playing than in each shot we would hear a different part of the song playing- therefore ruining the continuation of our task which was one of the main aspects.  This was the biggest predicament we faced. Whilst planning our task we wanted to have completely diegetic sound (other than music at the start) which is what we planned on our story bored and animatic, but due to this problem we could no longer have diegetic sound and no longer hear what the actors are hearing such as a bag being pushed or a zip being opened. This problem meant that whilst editing our task we would have to mute the film and re record the dialogue on a Dictaphone, up load onto the computer and than sync it with the action.  From this filming process I have learnt to make sure I am completely prepared in all areas before filming. This includes props, costume and location. Also I must make sure that I take all things into account before making a decision on anything and fully researching my venue before choosing it.

Planning for filming.

Before our filming process we had to make a number of decisions regarding our preliminary task

One of the decisions we needed to make was location. Our story line states that we needed an everyday place that would a normal place for people to meet. We had several options, we could go to a café in town or small restaurant, but we ended up choosing the school cafeteria, we choose this because it fitted the mise-en-scene we wanted, it was brightly lit and also because it was a convenient distance so therefore it would not take away any time making our way to the location.

Imy Harvey

We also had to make decisions on actors that we would use in our task. Concerning the brief we only needed two actors. We wanted a female and a make character,- a female that could look slightly glamorous  and we wanted a male who could look formal and could also make his character look dark and slightly villainous. After asking around we choose Zander Fletcher and Imy Harvey.

Zander Fletcher

We chose these two because firstly they fitted the look we wanted and also because they were able to commit and make sure they were able to meet us at the required time. We liked the look of the two together as we felt there looks were very contrasting due to skin tone, appearance and vocal tone. I think the contrast in character would have an appropriate effect on the audience.

Storyboarding process- prelimary task.

Whilst story boarding I had to take in to account, story line, dialogue, sound, music, shot length shot type, and also how I would incorporate the methods of continuity editing.

Whilst storyboarding, we recorded all dialogue that was going to be used in our task, and also all the music and sounds that the audience would hear. Doing this would would produce an animatic as close to what we wanted the product to look like as possible.  To use the continuity editing effectively, we decided to have lots of different types of shots, from LS's to CU's to create a feeling of continuity and also give the audience variety. We wanted to use continuity editing to create a tense atmosphere witch suits the theme of our story line.
The music me used was made on garage band, and the sound effects are prerecorded on IMovie- the programmer we used to create our animatic.
In the animatic i think we have met the brief well- showing continuity editing throughout. Although we found it hard to portray continuity editing in an animatic i think we have done it well enough to be able to film confidently next week.

Preliminary Task-my interpretation of the brief

180 degree rule

We have received a brief to create a short piece of film using and showing our understanding of continuity editing. Examples of continuity editing include:

• Eye-line match
• Shot/ reverse shot
• Match-on-action
• The 180° rule

Continuity editing is a tecnique used to make a peice of film flow, rather than looking out of sync and not realistic.

Continuity editing

Eye- line match s a method used so the audience can see what the subject is looking at.  Therefore the shot will cut from an actor looking at something to a shot of what the actor is looking at.

Shot/ reverse shot can be used to show conversation more smoothly, it will show a character looking at a character, than showing the other character looking back.  Because the characters are looking in opposite directions it can be assumed by the audience that the actors are looking at each other.


Match- on- action is where the audience will see something happening from different perspectives such as you see the actor opening the door fro out side as a medium, a close up on the handle, than a long shot from inside the room.

The 180°  rule is used to show two characters looking at each other using the over the shoulder shots. The rule states that you can not cross the line between the characters otherwise it will be confusing to watch for the audience. If you do cross the line, you must show the crossing.

Harry's previous filming experience

I have some previous filming experience over the last two years of my life during my Media Studies GCSE course. As well, as filming a T.V advert for a new brand of chocolate, I also filmed a music video as the largest part of my coursework grade. The planning and production of this music video- to Kate Nash's 'Mariella', allowed me to explore different ways of filming. This exploration allowed me to gain skills in different areas. In my music video I included POV shots, which was something I had not tried before. I tried to include lots of different shot types and camera angles.