Questionnaire.

Please complete the following questions bellow honestly and truthfully. These results will help me produce my two minute opening as it will help show me what my target audience would like to see.

1. What is your favourite genre? (Please state in the space provided)

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2. In your opinion, what aspect of this particular genre draws you in the most?

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3. What is your favourite movie from this genre?

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4. What do you dislike about the most about your chose genre?

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5. What would you expect to see in this genre?

This is the questionnaire that we gave to a wide variety of people that ranged in age and gender, we did this so that we would gain a wide view of what everyone liked. Once they had been filled out we could then see that the target audience that would be best for us would be teenagers, it showed that they liked horror films, which fitted in with our idea and was also a genre that we felt we could complete successfully. 

Above is a picture of a graph that was drew up that contains the results that we got for the first question. The question asked, 'What is your favourite genre?' and this was asked to thirteen male and females. The answers varied a fair bit, but it was obvious that the most popular was indeed comedy. Even though we had decided to do sci-fi, we still wanted to know people's opinions and what their favourite choice would be.

For the second question we simply asked the audience what they enjoy most about the genre and six out of thirteen of them said it was the characters. I think that is a very good answer because the actors obviously make the movie, and if the audience don't find their parts believable or enjoyable then who's to say that they won't dislike the film. Also another important factor of the characters would have to be their appearance, as if the characters are really attractive then people will take more interest and be more interested in their sex appeal.

For the third question I asked my audience what their favourite movie of their chosen genre was and obviously I knew this was going to vary and everyone was going to have their own opinion on what their favourite movie but we concentrated on the sci-fi section and were interested in hearing their choices. One boy said 'Cloverfield' which was really encouraging to hear because we'd decided early on that that's what would give us inspiration. The other person say the film 'Alien' which was also interesting to hear, and gave us ideas to add something supernatural or extra-terrestrial into our film.

On the forth question I asked what the person dislikes most about their genre, and once again I focused on the sci-fi answers as I thought it would help with our movie because it means it could help us avoid what people must dislike most about that genre and try not to portray it in our film. Someone said that they hate the lack of young music in the film, and it’s usually just the same type of alien like music which is extremely unoriginal and stereotypical that it’s boring. This answer helped us a lot because it gave us a good insight in what someone thinks about a sci-fi and what kind of things they want to see in it.

For the fifth question I asked what the audience would expect to see in their favourite genre and yet again, Kara and I focused on the sci-fi answers to help us with our two minute opening. One person said that they would expect to see supernatural things and beings and we thought that was a very obvious answer but still someone helping. The other answer was characters fighting for their lives, which is also a common answer. We tried to incorporate this into our film by having the teenagers escape and run looking for some shred of safety, fighting for their lives from this 'thing'.

I think that this was a very helpful way of helping us to understand what our target audience enjoy watching, it allowed us to use these aspects to create the opening 2 minutes of a successful film that they would enjoy watching.

Audience feedback.

This is the audience feedback that we received, we felt that it would be best to ask both male and female as well as range of ages from our target audience. Overall the feedback that we received was positive and they all seemed liked they would go and see the full film had it been made in full. 


Holly Campbell Barr, aged 17:
I thought that Emily's and Kara's film was very good. I liked all the effects that they have used, and the fact that it from the character's point of view which made it seem very real. I liked the bit when they dropped the camera and we saw the film from a side view. The music was also very intense and creepy which added the the suspense of the film.

Louise McEvoy,  aged 25:
Overall I really enjoyed the film Kara and Emily made. I really enjoyed the camera angels used in the film and they varied a lot. I thought the flashback was very effective, as it showed the characters personalities. Although I found the shaking titles very hard to read. 

Harry Betts, aged 15:
A lot of the film was from the characters point of view which I really liked because it made me feel like I was part of the film and I was able to see what they were seeing. I also liked when the camera was dropped because it was then followed through and we were able to see the after effects, such as when the quality went of the picture.

Music.

For the start of our film we have created our own soundtrack by using Garage Band. The reason that we decided to create our own music was so that we could make sure that music was placed at the right time and would fit in around when the characters spoke and the actions took place. We have made sure that the all of the music accompanies what is happening on screen, for example when the footage is being rewound we have imported sound that imprints this action. Music is an effective way of building tension which was another benefit of producing our own music as we were able to fit the tension in with the actions taking place, as well as letting the audience know when something dramatic is going to take place. 

We have made sure that all of the music has been kept up beat which gives the clip a more exciting feel which will keep our target audience interested in what is taking place on screen. I think that the atmosphere that the music generates will attract our target audience and further enhance their enjoyment of the start of the film.

There is some conversation that takes place during the film, we have placed it at the end of the clip so that the audience are able to see what the characters are like as people rather than just images running away from a creature. I think that this bit of conversation gives the audience a better idea of what the characters are like and an insight into what the rest of the film will entail for them.

Editing and Camera Work.

Camera work: 
It is important to use Establishing shots in the start of a film so that the audiences are able to see where the film has been placed. This is why we have used various establishing shots so that the audience can see that the setting is in the middle of nowhere with no one around to help them, this helps to add to the tension of the film.

We have also used point of view shots which allow the audience to see what the characters are seeing which I think that this is an effective piece of camera work. We have used a lot of this because we think it created an edgy feel to the film,

We have used close up’s to show the characters faces which lets the audience see their emotion. It lets the audience see that something is about to happen, for example when there is a close up on to Laurens face you are able to see that she looks distressed which would suggest that something is about to happen.

Long Shot’s show the audience the full picture, meaning that they are able to see everything that is happening. We have used a long shot when all 3 characters are seen running towards the gate at the start of the film, you are only able to see their outline as it is dark but can see their whole bodies running towards the camera.

Editing: 

We have used Final Cut Express to complete all of our editing, this allowed us to not only place all of the film together in a way that flowed well, but also to use various different techniques and effects. The effects that we used helped to created a feel that there was danger and that the creature that is after them  is scary.

One of the conventions of filming that we have used through editing is flashbacks, at the end of the 2 minutes the film shows the audience that before the characters began being chased they were having a nice day out, which I think is effective as it allows them to see that they are ordinary people which adds to the unusual circumstances that they have been placed in.    

We have broken conventions by not using a lot of cuts within the film, fast cuts are usually used to create tension but using this technique we have used a mixture of music and cuts. The reason that we did not use a lot of fast cuts is because we thought that it was important for the audience to be able to see the location at the start of the film so that they are able to get a good idea of the surroundings, and see they the characters are far away from any civilization.

The font that we have used for the titles that run thought the two minutes is Courier, the reason that we have chosen this font is because we think that it gives the impression of an old type writer which shows that what is going to happen could be something to do with the government, or another important organisation, they are after the creature that is chasing the characters, this shows how dangerous the creature is. We have added an effect on the titles called ‘Bad TV’, this makes the screen look as if it going fussy, and because the film is meant to be filmed on a handheld camera it shows that the camera has broken and is not always reliable. 

Font choices.

These are some of the fonts that we will possibly be using for the title, we want to make sure that when people look at it they are able to see what genre it is therefore we think that it will be best if it in black. Also if its clear and bold than I think that it will give the impression that the movie will to point as well and also quite dark.

In order to find the best font to use we thought that it would be best to ask our target audience what ones would make them want to go and see a film, but also which one would best represent the film as a whole. Once we had the results in it was clear that the top one was going to be our choice as its clear and we think that it gives the right impression. Although at first we thought that it would be best to make our title bold after the answers and reviews that came back 12/18 people said that they would pick the top one.

Mise-en-scene.

The settings that we have used is crucial to the film plot, we have filmed in a tunnel that is surrounded by deserted land which puts the characters in a more dangerous situation as there is no one there to help them.  When they move into the tunnel the characters think that they are safe, however the tunnel is dark which we did to build tension, as you can’t see what is happening. 

Throughout the filming that we did we were unable to control the lighting because we filmed outside, and in tunnels, which did not have any lights. As it was so dark inside the tunnels we had to take a touch with us so that we were able to shine light onto the characters and were able to see, however we only made it bright enough so that the characters could be seen, it was still dark enough to create tension.     

We didn’t use any props because we wanted to make it look realistic and they would not have taken much to such a remote location as it would have been hard to get everything there. The one prop that they did use, although not actually shown in the footage is the camera that they filmed everything on, we have shown that they are holding it by the shaking that is entailed. 

The costumes that the characters had on were chosen so that they would not stand out too much, we wanted the audience to focus on the situation that was happening rather than what was the characters were wearing. We also wanted to make it look believable, and so they are wearing clothes that any normal teenager would have worn on a normal day out, in the location that they were in. 

Location.

The location in which we are going to film is an English Heritage site meaning that we had to write to them, asking for permission to use their site to film. In the letter that we sent, we have confirmed that the film will not be put onto any social network sites, and that we will not contain any footage that will allow people to find out where the location.  The paper shows that we have been given the schools permission for us to do this. 


This is a map of the location where we filmed our coursework, it is called the Drop Redoubt and is located in Dover, there are many different tunnels which we feel sets the right scene for our film. As you can see from the map it is old fashioned and has been there for many of years. 

As we only had one day to film at the location, we had to make sure that all of the filming was completed within the timescale that we had, this meant that we filmed everything from different view's and  angle so that when we edited it together we could get the best results. 

One difficulty that we had was that inside some of the locations where we filmed it was extremely dark, this meant that we had to point a large touch on to the area where we were filming to make sure that everything was clear on the camera. However, sometimes this did not work which meant that we then had to edit the film once uploaded on to the computer.

However the main positive from filming here was that the right atmosphere was created and we were able to create suspense easily due to the unknown of the tunnels.

Costumes.

These are some examples if the kinds of outfits that our characters will be wearing, we want to make sure that everything that they are wearing is realist to what anyone else in their situation would wear. So because of this we have kept it simple and made sure that the clothes in which they are wearing would fit with the location they are in. 






We wanted to make sure that the characters were able to run around and act as if they were scared, this would not have been possible had they been in a dress, therefore we made sure that they were all dressed comfortable and prepared for the actions that they would have to carry out.   

The reason that we have chosen to use a branded product is so that we are able to show that they are from a middle class background which would therefore allow the audience to assume that they would be respectable and so not going out looking for any trouble.    

Filming schedule.

It was important that we knew what needed to be done and how we were going to do everything before we got there as we had limited time and we would not have been able to go back had we forgotten anything or something had gone wrong. 

We thought that the best way of planning everything that we needed to do was to write down everything we could think of. As you can see we just wrote down everything than went through and worked out what needed to be done first and placed it into a order.  There was a lot to consider such as what the best time of day, what the weather was going to be like and so on. One thing that we did not have control of was the day that we filmed as we were given a set day in which we could go onto the site.



The plan for filming: 

12:00pm: we arrived at the set where we were greeted by a English Heritage guide who accompanied us around all of the site to make sure that we were safe throughout our visit, but also to show us our all of the different places that were available for us to film in. 

12:30pm:  we walked down to the first site, where we discovered the start of a tunnel with light shining though and you could see the outline of our characters, this was nothing that we had first planned to do but we felt that it was a shot that created tension because you are unable to see their faces.

1:00pm: once we had finished filming inside the tower we then moved on to another grassed area where we filmed them entering a tunnel.

1:15pm: we them film the characters inside the tunnel looking round and then discovering that the creature has followed them into the tunnel.  As there isn’t much light inside the tunnel we had to take a light in the tunnel with us so that the camera is able to see them.

1:40pm: once we had finished filming inside the tunnel we then film the settings around the tunnel. 

Although we did not stick completely to the timings we did get everything done that we needed to, this meant that once we got all of the film onto the 

As well as filming on the day we also had other tasks that we had to complete, such as making sure that we had pictures of the different locations and areas in which we filmed. 

Animatic and Preliminary Task.

Films of the task.

Preliminary task:
For the preliminary task I would with Holly and Vicky, we used three different techniques which were the 180° rule, shot-reverse-shot and match on action. We did this a various amount of times as some were more successful than others, however we were able to work on this and improve our skills. We used the 180° rule so that we were able to show the audience that the characters had stayed in the same place throughout, whilst also showing them the whole of the scene. We use the technique of shot-reverse-shot to show the characters speaking, this allowed use to show the whole conversation from the point of view from both of the characters. As well as this we also used match on action which allowed use the show the continuity of Holly walking through the door, it showed her opening the door from inside the room and then walking through and continuing on, it is important that when editing this together we made sure that the cuts were placed so that the whole of the footage flowed. To make sure that all of the necessary techniques were used we had two characters that were  having a heated conversation that resulted in one of them walking out. When watching the film back one improvement that I would have made would be to improve the quality of the lighting, as some parts are are hard to see them, this is something that we would need to edit out. However the match on action that I feel was successful, as the footage flows well together.

                                                                Match on Action 

Shot reverse shot and 180 Degree

Animatic:
Before creating the animatic we had to create a storyboard so that we were able to plan out exactly what would happen in each scene, a story board was the most effective way of doing this. It also helped us to decided the props that we would need and the different camera angles that we would need. This made sure that we would be using enough of a variety of the elements to create a interesting film opening and would not leave anything out and creating the best overall film opening.

It was really helpful for use to be able to see the structure of the film opening, and how much we were able to fit into 2 minutes, which allowed us to make sure that we would include enough of the conventions whilst also including enough interesting scenes. To complete the animate we used the pictures from the storyboard and then filmed them for how long that scene would last, this also helped to estimate how long out film would have to be, and if the content would be what the audience wanted.

Planning notes.

These are some of the ideas that we had when we first started to plan what we wanted to do, as you can  see we looked into a lot of different genres so that we were able to see what genre we would best be able to recreate.  

This is an example of a film that had been filmed solely by a hand held camera, we looked at this as an example for what we had planned to do. It appears to be very similar to the plot that we had come up with and so we was a very useful way of seeing another product do this so we were able to see what the final outcome would be like. The main difference between this film and the opening that we are going to create is that it is more focused on the creature where as we will base the film on the events that unfold for the characters are going to lead due to the situation that they have been put in.    

Film plot
The basic of our film is about a creature that is chasing the three teenage girls, our characters. At the start of the film they are being chased as they have had a sighting of an unfamiliar creature, which is why they are seen to be running into the safety of a tunnel, or so they think. They soon find out that  they have run into the tunnel, they think they are safe from this creature but they soon found out that they are not safe at all and if anything they are now in more danger as they are trapped. The reason that the creature has come into the tunnel is because someone had left the door open and it has found the way in. They start to panic as the creature comes towards them, they scream and look as each other as they are extremely close to a creature that they have no idea about and what it is capable of, the looks on their faces show that they are scared.

The reason that they are all together and in a rural location is because they were all having a day out together, they were exploring the surroundings when the creature had discovered their whereabouts, and because of their location they are unable to get help which is why they had to run and find safety. This why the ended up in the tunnel as they thought they would be safe.  All of the characters are connected by their friendship, they are close but about to get even closer by the events that are about to take place and the situation they will be placed in.  

In the clip the audience are unaware of what the creature is and or what it is capable of doing, they have never seen anything like it before in real life and really shocks them. Once they are face to face with this creature they start to fear for their lives and the events start to unfold.

Feedback

We felt that it would be positive for us to be able to gain feedback from out target audience about whether they liked the idea for the film plot that we have created, this way we would be able to change anything that was strongly disliked therefore attracting the biggest audience possible.    

Most of the feedback that we had was positive and the idea for the whole think to be shot using a hand-held camera was received very well. However one thing that we have changed since receiving the feedback is the characters, at first we had planned on having a mixture of boys and girl, but it showed that the audience would have much preferred to just focus on on one gender, we therefore have changed it so that we will have an all female cast. 

Target audience research.

We think that the best way of knowing what an audience would want to see from a film is to understand them, this is why we have chosen to pick a target audience that we know the most about and would fit into the age group ourselves. Therefore the target audience that we have picked will be 15-25 year old. This will also mean that we can include potentially scenes that a younger audience would not be able to watch and so we will not have to worry too much about if the content is suitable.

Due to the higher end of the age range that we have selected it means that if we were going to make the rest of the film than we could include some more violence scenes that we could not include had there been a lower age range.  

We carried out a questionnaire so that we would be able to see what this target audience would most like to see within a film of this genre, it came back that they would like to see a film that did not stick to all of the normal conventions and so is different to other films. This is when we came up with the idea to show the whole of the film through the use of a 'hand-held' effect, therefore breaking a key convention of most films that have been created.

Ideas for opening and title.

Title for film 

The name of the film is vitally important for the success of a film as it sets the scene for the film, and gives the public the first impression of what the film will be about. We thought of many different names which we felt could be appropriate for the type of film that we want to create, all of which were centered on suggesting that the characters were trapped in a location and are now in danger. For example some of our ideas were Zone, the reason that we have not gone with this is because we felt it was too vague, we then thought of Shock Zone but again felt that it did not give the right idea of the film or the sci-fi element that we wanted. We then thought along those same line and of some kind of area in which would suggest that  the characters were taped, so we thought of shelter, bay , den and lair then added various words in front such as devils, and savage, this would create the idea of a monster that is chasing after them, therefore trying to creating the right atmosphere for the plot of the film. 

We still didn't feel that any of these titles created the right atmosphere for the film that we wanted to create, as we wanted there to be more than just a monster chasing some people, so we thought of ‘No Way Out’,  as it shows that the characters are trapped somewhere and suggests that they will have to work their way out of the tunnel while under the pressure of being chased by a monster. 

In the end we decided to call our film ‘No Way Out’ after much discussion took place, because we feel that this is an appropriate name, the main reason being that the film will be set inside a tunnel which the characters are trying to get out of, whilst also making sure not to get caught by the monster. 

Ideas for the opening:
We deiced that we were going to do a opening for the sci-fi/horror genre, which will be set in  a darkened tunnel, that is near to the edge of a cliff. The film will start with 3 characters running away from a monster which will be shown through a hand-help camera, therefore giving the audience a point of view shot. The camera will then be dropped and all the audience will see are the feet of the characters running to safety, this will be shown through the use of a worms-eye-view. The titles will appear throughout containing the actors names and the usual information that is given in the opening of a film, they will then go fussy as they disappear.  The camera will then rewind as if going back time, where it will stop to show earlier in the day. This will represent them as just normal friends that were out for a nice day out, before the event took place that lead to the main plot of the film. 

The reason that we want to do this film, rather than the other ideas that we had is because we feel that it is the one that can be created in the simplest way, but also because we feel that we can make it look the most realistic and successful.  

Film opening conventions.

This is a timeline of the opening to Confessions of a Shopaholic, it shows what usual elements are in a opening so that we are aware of what it has to include. The genre of the film is Romantic Comedy there it would start of much calmer and slower compared to other openings as this is the main atmosphere for the rest of the film. 

This is a timeline of what happens in the opening of Clover Field, which is a film that we plan to gain inspiration from. It is important that we are able to see the outline of this genre of film so that we know what should be included, and will include conventions from the genre.

This is the opening for the Hairspray, the film starts with a song therefore making it clear as soon as the film starts that it is a musical. We are also shown that Tracey is the main character and that she is school girl that lives in a dead-end town but wants to break free so that she is free to dance and sing where ever she wants.

We were able to see that the genre of the film is highly important when planning what has to go into the film opening and the conventions that have to be put in. This is illustrated from the differences of each film opening's. The genre and affect that they have on the audience is completely different which results in the opening's being different, it is vital for the opening of a film to display the atmosphere that the rest of the film will entail. From looking at a variety of different film openings this is the main element that I have picked up on, and have learnt that we will need to plan the whole film therefore guaranteeing that this element is continued.

Research into film openings.

There are various elements that fit into the Sci-fi conventions, all of which are important so that the audience are able to identify that the film is part of this genre. Some of these elements are:

Time travel: this is something that we feel would be achievable within our opening, and so are therefore considering adding it to our film opening.

Robots: this is a classic convention of the sci-fi genre, when people see a robot they can automatically see that the film is not set in a normal world, however I think that this would be a hard convention to apply while also making it look successful.

Mind and identity: a convention of this genre is that the audience have have to think about what is happening, rather than just being told. The films create a different identity for the characters throughout.

Monster: there is always some kind of monster, or evil creature within the film. This creates a problem that the characters all have to work together to combat it, or they all die because they are unable to fight against it.

Disaster: there is always a disaster that takes place that will unite all of the characters, it will then connect all of them.

Alien life form: this creates the unknown creature that all of the characters will work together to fight, this will add the scientific elements by adding a space based life form.

One film that we felt we would successful be able to recreate is Clover field, therefore we have been looking into this film a huge amount so that we are able to gain inspiration from it. We want to base elements of our film into our film opening because we felt that it was an achievable aim.  

Opening for Clover field: 

The opening gives an insight into what the film of this genre has to include, we would like to do a film of this genre so this will be using this as help when creating ours. It shows what usually appears in these kinds of films. The main elements that we were able to obtain from this opening is that the action starts straight away, there is no hanging about or introduction from the characters as that will take place through the rest of the film.