Final Film

This is the final version of our film.

Film Evaluation - Audience feedback

There has been a large amount of positive feedback on the finished film, with most of it coming in the form of comment on the YouTube page. Most of which highlight the use of sound, editing and there is also a large amount of praise for the opening of the extract containing the titles. All comments for the video are listed below.



The one point of opinion clash in the comments is the use of lighting throughout the film. Where 'TheJackCasey' mentions getting caught up in the lighting, it gives a positive view of the use of lighting, which is a contrasting view to 'taylor1n' who says that at times, the lighting is a little too dark. This will be an area of film that I will need to improve on if i make films in future, allowing darkness to still be present, but make sure all action is visible if intended.

Film Evaluation - Looking back at the preliminary task, what has been learn from the progression of it to the full product?

We've also learnt about a number of new types of software, such as Livetype and Final Cut Pro, which have improved the quality of the film significantly from when I shot my preliminary film. The effects that were available in Final Cut Pro were extremely useful in the first film, and not really required in the second film (apart from increasing the lightness of one scene which was deemed to be too dark originally). In the first film the main tool we used was 'Colour Corrector', to first slightly desaturated the colour in the image, and then change the different colour levels t create a darkness effect, and then finally but a slight blue tinge on the final product to make it appear that the film was set during night time. A screen shot of the night time effect in use can be seen below.

The effect created was not the most convincing night look, so therefore we decided to leave that idea, as it was too ambitious, and try and create a better quality film.

Film Evaluation - Audience statistics

The audience we expected for this film was of mostly males aged 15 - 30, with a specific occupation or segmentation. Youtube, where the film was uploaded for public viewing, allows the user to see the demographics of the people who have have accounts and have seen the film. The statistics are as follows.

These demographic statistics from youtube fistly show an expected male dominance in the viewing figures of the film opening, with 80% of the viewers being male, and the expected lower female figures of only 20%.

The age demographics are also very reassuring for our film are also very reassuring when it comes to the expected target audience. 70% of viewers fell within the 13-17 age group, the upper half of which is an area we are targeting, and a total of over 90% of viewers fall between the ages of 13-34, almost the very age range that we stated in our planning.

Film Evaluation - What has been learnt about technologies through the process of making the films?

The process of making the film has given me an insight into the importance of planning time, work and duties when working in a team.
Working as part of a pair means that there are more ideas for the actual film, and there is a better creative input. Because we ended up doing two film shoots instead of one, the second shoot ran a lot more smoothly than first time round, and planning from the first to the second shoot was greatly improved.
Working in a team meant that the tasks on shoot and planning before hand could be split up and we could both take specialist roles, and there were also a lot more props and pieces of equipment available for use. For example, I personally provided the camera on each shoot, whereas Harry provided the tripod on both occasions. It was advantages like this which meant that we didn't have to rely on renting school equipment or returning it late.

Film Evaluation - What has been learnt through the progression to the main film?

The original preliminary film i made was very hastily done, and the editing was of a low standard, using very few shots and only one type of cut between shots. However i believe that the final film was of a much higher quality, with a larger range of cuts, more creative shots and more time was spent on the editing in it.

With the final film we realized that it would have to look as professional as possible, therefore we pushed the boundaries of the limitations of our film. Examples of this include the shot from behind the knife block, and the range of high angle 'surveillance' shots that we attempted to create, which took a large amount of time and planning to pull off.

Film Evaluation - What has been leant through the process of making the films?

A lot of film tricks and theory has been learnt through the process of making this film. Before i was unaware of the importance of lighting a set correctly, and it required a lot of experimentation on set and with different types of lighting to get the scene lit correctly. There were many occasions where lighting had to be tested with a number of different levels, to create the dead of night effect we wanted. The final effect of the lighting changes in one of the last shots covers half of the main actress' face in darkness, and creates a large shadow behind the door.

The other lighting trick learnt was the use of smaller more compact lights to illuminate a certain area of the set. One light was transported round the house as we shot the second attempt at the film, and the effects of it in both scenes can be seen below.

Both these shots contained the same lighting, it is clearly visible in the first shot as it is a bedroom sidelight, however it would look very out of place in a kitchen and was therefore hidden from view from the camera.

Film Evaluation - How to attract/address the target audience?

The audience is immediately drawn in to the opening film with the use of an actress of the same age as the target audience, which will appeal in different ways to both genders within in the target audience. An attractive female lead is often used in horror films to attract young male viewers, as a stereotypical view of male viewers is that they often go along to films simply to see an attractive female lead. Young female viewers would also be able to relate to this character, being their age and living the lifestyle of the attempted target audience.
There is also room for everyone who watches the extract to relate in some way to it, due to the realistic setting of the film, especially for the English audience. The shot in the bedroom depicts a number of objects that many people could relate to as things they would also like. The ipod on the bedside table could be described as a representation of both a generation and the decade, allowing many people watching to relate to the room and the item. The same could be said about the posters seen around the room, which were unintentional when it came to attracting an audience, but may help with attracting part of the target age group.

Film Evaluation - How to attract/address the target audience?

As to advertising the film, low budget advertising methods should be used, with a focus on advertising to younger generations and in modern mediums. Internet or 'viral' advertising should be at the forefront of the campaign, utilizing websites such as youtube and facebook to spread the word of the film to a wider audience. To illustrate the uses of these mediums, i shall use screen shots of the new 'Nightmare on Elm Street' film's advertising.

Youtube should contain either a specific page for the film, or have the trailers for it on the host page of the production/distribution company. This is a free medium for distribution and is an extremely cost effective method of getting the film known by its target audience. The search shows that there are many videos with the latest trailer, and even a promoted video by the production company, which has recieved over 5,000 views in 2 weeks.

Another more recent medium of promotion is Facebook, and more precisely, creating a 'fan page' for the film. This fan page is then 'liked' by people who are interested, and this information is shown to that person's friends. This allows a quick spread of information, possibly around people with similar interests, and gives those people more information on the film, including release dates about the actual picture, competitions and merchandise.

The shot above shows the Facebook fan page for 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' where fans can see photos, the release date of the film, reviews and discussions about the film. This is also a very cost effective way of marketing the film, however its not full proof when it comes to targeting a large number of people.

Film Evaluation - Who would be the audience for this film?

Due to the Content of the film, and in compliance with the BBFC, the film 'Disturbance' should be rated as 15.
The opening sequence of the film only contains a small amount of Horror, and no violence. However, there is a lot more violence implied at the end of the extract and the fact that both characters are holding kitchen knives is not a good message to send out to younger viewers. It states in the BBFC classification that 'Dangerous behaviour (for example, hanging, suicide and self-harming) should not dwell on detail which could be copied. Easily accessible weapons should not be glamorised' . The collection of the knives would not be seen as weapons easily accessible and more as self defence, conforming with the rating of '15' from the BBFC system.

Film Evaluation - Who would be the audience for this film?

This is one of my class mates, Tom Vella. Tom is 17 years old, does AS level media studies and has a part time job on some weekdays. He is currently attending his secondary school's 6th form, with aims to get good A level grades, and then plans to continue on to a well respected university.

Tom's hobbies include biking, computer games, creating artistic drawings, and most importantly watching a wide range of films. Some of his favourites include 28 days later, 28 weeks later and dawn of the dead, all from the genre of horror.

As Tom has a part time job and no rent or mortgage to pay, he enjoys a disposable income, which is spent on either games or movies. This is the type of person that our film is aimed at, it does not mean that the film will not be accessable for anyone else, but it is people with these kinds of interests that the film promotion and advertising would be aimed at. This would mean advertising in publications for younger people, such as sports and gaming magazines.

Film Evaluation - Who would be the audience for this film?

The typical person we would expect to target with this film would be:

Sex - Male (stereotypically, males would be more attracted to the horror genre, however females would not be ignored)
Age - 15-30
Family Type - No family of their own/very young child with no film interest
Income - UK Average, some disposable income/NA if still at school
Occupation - First or second job, lover levels/NA if still at school
Education - 6th Form school/College
Ethnicity - All Targeted
Religion - All Targeted
Economic Group - Classes B/C, aspirational youngsters

Film Evaluation - How does the film represent particular social groups?

The main antagonist in the film, the man dressed in a suit with black hair, is representative of a seemingly well off man, with an apprarent psycopathic nature. The character is meant to be someone who would be passable on the street without people taking a second glance at them. The character profile is meant to be representative of a man with an office job and a stressful life, which would lead to the split personality.



In the film his suit appears to be open necked and with an untucked shirt. This gives the impression of someone who wishes to break free from the world that they live in and we believe was represented well in the makeup of the character.



We believe the character portrays either a high class business man, or a man in a managing role, who has a 9 to 5 job and has a stressful life. This may appeal to an audience of older working males, who may be able to relate with the character's normal lifestyle.

Film Evaluation - What type of media institution may distribute the product and why?

Due to the genre and story line behind this film, it would not be the type of film to be distributed by a major hollywood film company. There is a smaller US prduction company called 'Twisted Pictures', who are behind the production of the saw franchise amongst others, who we believe would be the type of company to take this film and distribute it.



Twisted pictures are a well known company within the horror genre due to their sucess with a certain film franchise, and therefore our product would have the brand name backing. Also, this production have no fear when it comes to backing films that some people may be opposed to, such as the Saw film franchise. It has also had previous experience with low budget films, being associated with the original saw film, made on a budget of $1.2 million, and also the original 9 minute short film idea (now called Saw 0.5) which was the pitch for the rest of the series.

Film Evaluation - In what was does the film use, develop or challenge conventions of real films?

The production style in this modern horror film means it contains a lot of darkness and a lot of shadows over the character's faces. This style is often associated with Gothic horror, supernatural horror and slasher films. Although our film could be described as a slasher film with the opening sequence being scripted and shot with the victim getting in trouble, it bears no resemblance to either gothic or supernatural horror films. This is where it develops the conventions and applies the common assets of one type of horror film and implements them in a very different type within the same genre.

The two shots above show the use of lighting in the film 'Jeepers Creepers' (2001), where the daylight shot of the character shows very little wrong with the situation, and then the shot in darkness shows the sinister nature of the supernatural character. The darkness in this case is used to hide some of the facial features of the main character, wheres in our film it is used to provide cover for the main antagonist to hide in.

Film Evaluation - In what was does the film use, develop or challenge conventions of real films?

The film does not appear typical of many horror films upon first look, however there are many common codes and conventions within the opening extract.

For example, the main character appears to be young and female, a common trait in horror films, as younger women are seen to be very vulnerable and susceptible to being caught and overpowered by the protagonist. However, there is also a difference to the common conventions of a typical horror film. It is usual that the antagonist often chases the other characters to catch, and often kill them. However this film subverts this, when the victim sees the antagonist and wishes to actively confront them. This is only usually seen at the end of horror films, sometimes in the climax, such as in the 2007 remake of the film 'Halloween' by Rob Zombie.

The image to the left is from the 2007 film 'Halloween', and shows one of the confrontations between the 2 main characters. This image shows the power the antagonist has over the victim, who is a teenage girl. This is very similar to the type of scenario that is found in many recent horror films, including ours. Other films in the genre that famously use the same types of characters include 'Friday the 13th' (2009) and 'House of Wax' (2005)

Our film doesn't conform to the common horror conventions when it comes to the killer or antagonist. A lot of the time they look like they are not human and have some sort of mask/shadow constantly covering their face. This is not conformed to in our film, where the antagonist is seen twice in the extract and his face is visible on both occasions. He also doesn't look abnormally large or have superhuman characteristics. Our antagonist is dressed in a suit, also creating more of a stereotypical psychological thriller character instead of horror.

FIlm Evaluation - First editing attempt

A first attempt of editing the film has been made. We were slightly dissatisfied with the lack of non diegetic sounds, and also the diegetic sound of the tape running on the camera. However, the film fits together well and follows the storyboard as planned. Soon the video will be uploaded to youtube so that the different stages of the film can be shown.

(*Edit* Film uploaded to youtube for evaluation on 06/05/10)

FIlm Research - Diegetic sounds

Diegetic sounds are a crucial part of horror films, and need to be placed in the right places to be used to maximum effect.
Common sounds used in horror films include:

• Screams
• Door slams
• Heavy Breathing
• Shouts
• Crying
• Loud Heartbeat

These sounds can be used in a veriety of ways, either as part of the running action, or as a sound heard in the distance, creating an air of mystery into what has happened. These sounds that are heard from far away require editing, whereas the sounds for the actions in the scene can just be placed in exactly as they are recorded.

Film Evaluation - Fonts

Many different fonts were looked at on LiveType, and most discarded from our thoughts straight away. There were hundreds of different fonts on LiveType, so many were not even looked at or registered as options. Instead we decided to look for more famous fonts that are commonly used in word documents and everyday media products such as newspapers.

The decisions now included questions such as, serif fonts vs. sans-serif fonts, will the fonts be Bold or Italics, and the size of the fonts.

Eventually we made a calculated decision to go with a Serif font, which looks very formal and in a very 'Gothic horror' style. This is very subversive to the modern environment that the film is set in, and coupled with the radio voice over, will hopefully sound almost like a modern day 'Jack the Ripper' case.


The still from the film shows the font that we ended up using for the titles sequence. Letters fell into place from above, then dropped out below. The random sequence for these letters is meant to connote the random killing attitude of the antagonist that is being mentioned in the audio.

Film Planning - LiveType

The Programme we have chosen to use for the titles in our film is LiveType. This is the best software available on the Mac computers and contains a variety of different fonts, styles and animations to use in the titles.

From looking through the livetype fonts and animations, it is clear that they are much better than the font and effect found and used on imovie. Proffesional opening sequences often have much more complex titles than a simple white font scrolling across a black background.

Film Planning - Titles

To make the title sequence interesting, the original idea of having a plain black screen with the titles was scrapped, and replaced with a more complex and interesting montage of roads and streetlights, with the occasional still shot.

The audio has also been edited to include radio reports, volume fading in an out on each report, highlighting the important details of the cases to create a tense atmosphere.

A copy of the film with the original title sequence can be found below.

Film Planning - Editing

The Editing will need to be mostly completed within the allocated lesson time and during free hour and a half lunch breaks, this allows at least 4 hours a week to complete editing tasks. As both members of the team have Mac Computers at home, it will be possible to take work home and work over weekends if required, however using this method will mean a lack of co-ordination and communication during the editing stage. Having worked on a team at GCSE level on a stop-motion animation film, I'm well aware of the time and effort that is needed to complete the editing up to a satisfactory standard.

Film Planning - Timing the shoot (result)

It's the Saturday evening and we're happy with the results of the shoot! being the first weekend of half term our actors were able to stay without worries about weekend homework, and we only ended filming for 3 and a half hours, with constant darkness outside throughout.

Film Planning - Timing the shoot

The timing of the shoot will be crucial to the effect that's created in the film. The aim would be to create an atmosphere where it is pitch dark outside the house, and all of the light is artificial. This gives the impression that the film is set in the dead of night. This will be easy to do in February, as the days get dark incredibly early, making it easier to get a 'dead of night' feel in the film. However, there is an issue with the fading light giving us away, so therefore the shoot is due to begin at 7pm sharp on the Saturday night, when it is completely dark, and the levels of outside light will be consistent.

Film Planning - Actors

The victim in this film opening film was portrayed by Claire McCoy. She'd only had a small amount of acting experience through school and drama classes, but when looking for an actress, she was able to express emotion better than anyone else who we met with. Also, her age isn't always clear in the film, and there is an impression created that she looks older than she actually is, which is a positive point for our film, where we aimed to get someone of student age at home on their own. Her height makes her seem slightly vulnerable to attack, without looking like a child.

We wanted the antagonist in our film to appear more psychotic than simply a well built killing machine, this is why we went for Alfie Shaw as the film's killer. He was the tallest and leanest person who we saw about playing the role, and we believed he was the person who best suited our image. We gave him a plain black suit as a costume, and a black wig to attempt to make him look as smart and sophisticated as possible, creating a 'slick' look for the killer, instead of someone who was a natural fighter etc. Also, his height worked well in contrast with the victim, which allowed us to make him look imposing, and generally more powerful.

Film Planning - Props

Props needed for the shoot will be -

• Knives - preferably real, due to the lack of fights/physical contact there would be little danger using real knives.
• Knife block - this is key to the shoot and allows the audience to see that there is another presence.
• Additional lighting - due to the day/night effect we wish to create, additional smaller lighting will be needed, and will probably be used in each different setting within the house.
• Bed clothing - provided by the actress this will be used to show the night time nature of the film, and also it will be a perfect fit for the actress, anchoring her in that location.
• Bedside props - as the bedroom doesn't actually belong to the actress, great care will be needed when selecting the items around her, for example there will need to be lipstick/makeup on the bedside table, to conform to the stereotype, then also modern unisex items such as an ipod, that are often associated with younger generations.
• Suit - this is required to fit the antagonist, so therefore one of his suits will need to be chosen. the best kind of suit to get would be black, however any dark colour should suit the mood.

Film Planning - Storyboard

As there was a completely new idea for the second shoot, a new storyboard was needed, and after brainstorming ideas the following was created. Most shots were implemented in the final film.

Film Planning - Change of Idea

The original idea for the film appeared too complex for the small time scale and equipment available for use, so the idea had to be changed so that it was more practical for the task in hand.

The first change was the location of the story. Instead of having the wooded area at night, it was changed to a suburban house, but it was still set at night for the before mentioned reasons. Lighting inside was much easier to control than it was outside, and a lot of time was spent setting up each shot so that lighting was effectively used. In most cases the lighting is from one side of the main character, allowing one side to stay in darkness and mystery, and also hiding the protagonist.

Having shots at the window allows the same effect as the protagonist in the woods of the original idea, but is a much easier effect to achieve. This also allows the protagonist to be hidden a lot more than in the original story line, as the the natural darkness conceals a lot more of the body than an artificial filter.

Also, audience feedback told me that the eventual day to night effect filter did not look as convincing as first planned. I believe this to be mainly down to the lighting involved in the process of creating a night effect. The lighting needed to be just right so that the colours of the natural surroundings were not too vibrant during filming, and this was not possible with such a small budget and very little lighting equipment available.

Film Planning - Change Idea?

We have thought about changing the idea for the original film to make it easier to follow, easier to shoot, easier to edit, and most importantly contain less errors.

We are now thinking about changing the film so that it is now set in a private indoors location, where it will be much warmer, more convienient for everyone involved and easier to set up all of the shots. There will also be less room for error and less continuity errors. Filming in a public location can mean that there are unwanted people in your film, whereas in a private location this is not the case. The puplic appearing in films is classically seen in another amateur film shown below, where joggers are often spotted behind the main characters.

Film Planning - Limiting factors for original shoot

Problems with the shoot included -

1. Lack of required cover from trees/bushes for time of year
2. Temperature in January made filming tough, especially with the chosen costumes
3. light was very inconsistant, required a lot of maintinence on shoot
4. The general public were about, and to make it realistic we had to wait for them to continue with their business and move out of shot.
5. The environment was not a set, and therefore was not perfect for the required tasks.

FIlm Planning - Classification Choice

We have decided to attempt to make a film that has a rating of 15, due to the guidelines mentioned in a previous post.
Often, horror films rated 18 include large amounts of blood, gore and nudity, and these aspects of the films tend to rule the picture to attract the hardcore bloodthirsty horror audience. In recent times some films have come under criticism from film journalists, who say that the large amounts of gory violence and nudity cover poor story lines and substandard acting. This is why the film opening we are going to make will not contain stupidly large levels of blood and violence, and will focus on creating a gripping storyline and professional editing.

Film Research - FIlm Classification

To create the film, first we must select a suitable rating for the film, which could be classified by a number of film characteristics.
These include -

• Discrimination
• Drugs
• Horror
• Imitable Behaviour
• Language
• Nudity
• Sex
• Theme
• Violence
  

Below are the category criteria for films rated 12 and 15 respectively:

Discrimination
Discriminatory language or behaviour must not be endorsed by the work as a whole. Aggressive discriminatory language or behaviour is unlikely to be acceptable unless clearly condemned.
Drugs
Any misuse of drugs must be infrequent and should not be glamorised or give instructional detail.
Horror
Moderate physical and psychological threat may be permitted, provided disturbing sequences are not frequent or sustained.
Imitable behaviour
Dangerous behaviour (for example, hanging, suicide and
self-harming) should not dwell on detail which could be copied, or appear pain or harm free. Easily accessible weapons should not be glamorised.
Language
Moderate language is allowed. The use of strong language (for example, ‘fuck’) must be infrequent.
Nudity
Nudity is allowed, but in a sexual context must be brief and discreet.
Sex
Sexual activity may be briefly and discreetly portrayed. Sex references should not go beyond what is suitable for young teenagers. Frequent crude references are unlikely to be acceptable.
Theme
Mature themes are acceptable, but their treatment must be suitable for young teenagers.
Violence
Moderate violence is allowed but should not
dwell on detail. There should be no emphasis on injuries or blood,
but occasional gory moments may be permitted if
justified by the context. Sexual violence may only be implied or briefly and
discreetly indicated, and must have a strong contextual justification.

Discrimination
The work as a whole must not endorse discriminatory
language or behaviour.
Drugs
Drug taking may be shown but the film as a whole must not
promote or encourage drug misuse. The misuse of easily
accessible and highly dangerous substances (for example,
aerosols or solvents) is unlikely to be acceptable.
Horror
Strong threat and menace are permitted unless sadistic
or sexualised.
Imitable behaviour
Dangerous behaviour (for example, hanging, suicide and
self-harming) should not dwell on detail which could be
copied. Easily accessible weapons should not be glamorised.
Language
There may be frequent use of strong language (for example,
‘fuck’). The strongest terms (for example, ‘cunt’) may be
acceptable if justified by the context. Aggressive or repeated
use of the strongest language is unlikely to be acceptable.
Nudity
Nudity may be allowed in a sexual context but without
strong detail. There are no constraints on nudity in a
non-sexual or educational context.
Sex
Sexual activity may be portrayed without strong detail.
There may be strong verbal references to sexual behaviour,
but the strongest references are unlikely to be acceptable
unless justified by context. Works whose primary purpose is
sexual arousal or stimulation are unlikely to be acceptable.
Theme
No theme is prohibited, provided the treatment is
appropriate for 15 year olds.
Violence
Violence may be strong but should not dwell on the infliction
of pain or injury. The strongest gory images are unlikely to
be acceptable. Strong sadistic or sexualised violence is also
unlikely to be acceptable.
There may be detailed verbal references to sexual violence
but any portrayal of sexual violence must be discreet and
have a strong contextual justification.