Unit 4D

 EVALUAITON

1.       How did you start to plan the project? Where did you start?  

2.       What did you do next? 

3.       How did you decide to organise your project? What software/systems did you put in place? How effective were they?  

4.       How did you ensure your project ran smoothly? Give an example. Did you manage to stay on top of unexpected changes and how did you document them? 

5.       Did you have any issues organising people/locations/resources? How did you overcome them? 

6.       Did you have any issues with paperwork or keeping on top of it? How did you overcome this problem? Did it affect your final product? 

7.       Were there any health and safety issues? How did you overcome them? 

8.       Were there any legal or ethical issues? (ie working with minors; using weapons in a public places, filming without permission etc) How did you overcome them? 

9.       Did you risk assess the project properly? If so did any risks come about that you didn’t expect? How did you overcome this? 

10.   Did you manage to stick to the schedule you planned? Why/why not? 

11.   Finally, how successful was your preproduction? Did you have to change plans during filming? Why? 

12.   How successful was your final film? What link is there between preproduction work and filming? How important is preproduction material in your opinion? 

13.   What could you have done better if you were to do it all again?

To begin the project, I began studying the history of horror. This gave me a lot of ideas and insight to what an audience is looking for in a horror movie. Creations of Frankenstein and Dracula, to masked mysteries of Freddie Kruger and Norman Bates opened my mind to the type of horror an audience in this century would go for. For example, in the literary years between 1900 and 1920 supernatural was popular, and was the period of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and The Werewolf. Hollywood then began pushing limits and created the unnerving ‘Freaks’ in 1932, however, this film was too much for its time and was cut, banned for 30 years in Great Britain and is now no where to be found. This shows the importance of the time period, the audiences tolerability and the type of movie you make. After Alfred Hitchcock, the 80’s slasher years and the special effects of the 90’s, the 21^st century is well known for their remakes and parodies such as Cabin In The Woods (2012), as well as stomach churning horrors like Saw.

After I did all my research I began practicing with film making. I began planning and filming a practice movie based on the 7 sins. I made a story board, planned which props I needed, found the music I wanted to use and practiced using final cut pro using school computers so I understood how to edit and use backdrops and special effects. I filmed several clips to make up a title sequence inspired by American Horror Story and Dexter. I used iMovie to edit the sequence and ensured the music would match the action. During this process, I learned a lot about how to create a film and felt it was an overall success. Doing a draft film gave me confidence to begin my movie, knowing what I had to do beforehand.

When filming, editing and keeping my files in order, I used Blogger.com to explain my process, ideas and journey, which I updated every time I did something towards my film so I stayed organised and knew exactly where I was in my film production. I also organised my documents on my computer into folders so I can easily find what I’m looking for. It also stayed dated so I can remind myself of where I am in my production. I have organised folder for my music, costume ideas and props, another for my synopsis, initial idea and final idea (my journey of exploring my movie idea), another for my production log, risk assessment and shot list. I use my computer folders as a backup for all of my work as I have uploaded everything to my blogger so it is in order and easy to understand. As well as these, I have my previous practice movie clips for the title sequence on my iMovie as well as on my computer. Keeping my work organised makes a massive difference in my project as it is easy to find what I need, reassuring that I have everything and helpful to know what I did last so I know where to start.

To ensure my project is ran smoothly I pause and re-read everything I have done so far to make changes and remind myself of where I am at. This allows me to move on to the next step much more smoothly and level-headed. I also compare my ideas to other famous horror movies which I am using for inspiration. For example, I have a scene in my film which includes water running down the drain, as seen in Psycho, so I compared my creation of it to analyse my own work and ensure my work is sufficient. I also like to consult my teachers if I ever have any problems or just want some assurance or evaluations of my work. This helps will the stress of the film because knowing my work is up to the right standards is very important. When dealing with sudden changes I make sure to keep a calm head and re-evaluate what it means and what I can do to make it better. for example, the sudden pandemic had a huge Influence on where I was going to film, who was going to be in the film and so I decided to change the overall idea to fit government guidelines. I made sure to track these changes on my blog (Blogger.com) So my whole journey is documented and for me to look back on and look areas I can improve.

Due to the pandemic I made changes to my idea so I could film at home without the need to cross households. I have all the resources at home excluding the camera which would have been provided by the school. In the case of lack of access to school supplies I have an app on my phone called iMovie which is commonly used to film short movies for low budget films. However, before the pandemic I was going to use a family members flat for my location which I could of used to film on weekends. The family member was the perfect person for my main character and a close friend was the second character I needed. Access to the flat and characters was very fortunate and it would be easy to move the props to this location. Of course this all changed due to the Coronavirus Pandemic, which was a big shock and disheartening thing to happen, however I progressed and immediately began mind mapping ideas leading to my new synopsis idea.

The main health and safety issue we face is the pandemic risk. The safety of crew and cast is the most important aspect of filming. This is why I changed my idea to make it safer and according to government guidelines. I will film at home, and there is only one character in my film which I will play myself. This reduces any risk of catching the virus or breaking guidelines. As I am filming at home there are very limited heath and safety issues, however, I made a risk assessment to determine all possible mishaps. There is a risk of using too many wires or electrical appliances and causing fire or blow to the fuses. This is very unlikely, but I will not use too many devices at once and unplug or turn off any appliance I am not using to further decrease the risk. Tripping on wires is a likely hazard so I will use duct tape to keep them in place, and ensure no one trips over them and injure themselves. Lifting equipment or moving items in a room to set up could cause harm if something is too heavy. There will always be two people in the room when equipment is being used.

As there is only one person (myself) in this film there are little legal or ethical issues to consider, However there are a few. although there is only one character needed I still need help with the filming and lifting equipment etc, so will be receiving help from a family member who lives with me. I will get written consent from this person and make them aware of health and safety guidelines, common first aid tips and provide a first aid kit at all times. I will take into consideration this family members feelings as I cover a harsh topic of mental health issues in my film so I will invite the family member to talk to me if they get upset and will allow them to leave at any moment if they get triggered. For my music, I found a website (https://filmstro.com/music/mood/scared) which is free from copyright as well as free to use. This avoids any legal issues with music. I shoot one scene out side pointing towards a lamppost across from my house. There is an issue of accidently filming pedestrians, so I will make sure no one other than myself is to be filmed in the movie. If people see me filming, I will let them know that they were not filmed and show them proof if they ask. Although I am only filming a part of a street, it is best to be careful and get in touch with the local council for permission. They allowed us to film for no price as long as we were thoughtful when it comes to not filming random people and not disturbing any people.

The original schedule was slightly hard to go by as we had to find days when everyone needed for filming was available, however there was a big time gap for the production so this wasn’t a major worry. We set a date and planned to meet where I would talk them through where I wanted them, what they were to wear and say and how I wanted it done. We then had dates to film and re-shoot if needed. It was fairly organised and obvious to stick to. Of course plans changed as the pandemic came about, whereby  my idea changed completely and the previous scheduling plan was by no fault of our own  eliminated. As I am filming at home, with only me and one family member directing, it is very easy to find time to share ideas, thoughts and shoot scenes. Planning filming at home is much easier to organise and arrange so we managed to stick to schedule majority of the time. Our only set backs was online lessons/work from home which roles over into the evenings and weekends, and loss of motivation during our time at home. We pulled through, however, and helped each other to stay motivated and keep a productive mindset.

Pre-production was very successful because everything fell into place and worked out well. Of course the major set back of the pandemic was a huge risk to production, however, during the planning and changing of ideas, I kept a calm mindset all throughout and managed to salvage my product and make it just as good as it would have been before the pandemic, if not better. Coming up with a second idea was difficult as I felt strongly for my original one, and wanted to do it justice, but eventually the thought came to me and my idea was formed. Once I evaluated my final idea, the costume, location, music, etc. all followed and was a success. From my practice title sequence and my first idea, I had lots of roots, ideas and websites in mind for production and, even though the project was hindered, I felt a step ahead.

My film came out very successful because the editing, shots and camera work made it look like a real horror film. The title sequence was extremely successful as it reminds me of the American Horror Story title sequence, which was my inspiration for it. The theme mental health issues is clear due to the camera shots, the acting, the lighting, sound and editing. Preproduction work was extremely useful in making my film look professional as it allowed me to film using the best music I could find, the easiest way to edit for myself, and the safest way to film to prevent any legal or ethical issues. Planning the production was successful as well as we could pace our selves when filming so we knew when to stop and take a look at our work, see what needed improving and what we loved, which overall made the film much more sufficient.

If I were to do this all again, I would have made a stronger, more horrifying idea, because although my film was successful, I feel as though it was more psychological horror than classic horror. For example, there was more to figure out then there was to be scared of, so noticing the signs of mental health was more prominent, whereas in movies like psycho there was a lot to figure out, but there was a huge amount of suspense and scare. I feel like my movie could have presented more gory images, suspense and jump scares. I also think the story line was quite vague, whereas if it were to be an entire movie it would be more obvious. Presenting a title sequence was a great way of foreshadowing the theme of the movie, then the beginning of the film presents the theme straight away and shows the audience what they are in store for. This could, however, confuse the audience slightly as it isn’t overly obvious in the first part of filming. I am still satisfied with how my film came out, more so how well the pre-production went and how I went about it under the circumstances.