LO4 Certification Classification

We reviewed all the aspects associated with age ratings and the guidelines our film would have to meet to abide by these said rules, we have decided that our film is suitable for the universal rating and is suitable for all age ranges. And is therefore suitable for audiences aged four and over, because our film generally has a positive framework and offers reassuring counterbalances to violence or horror. We chose upon this rating because of the themes that were not present in our film including; discrimination, drugs, imitable behaviour, language, nudity, sex, threat and violence. None of these aspects are apparent in our film, our film appears to be calm and not threatening and contains no sight or mention of violence, sex, nudity and drugs. There is no imitable behaviour that could be seen as dangerous, there are no risks that the characters in the film have taken that would be seen as bad behaviour which shouldn't be copied. The only distressing theme is a young girl being found alone in the woods, but the context for the narrative explains it and that behaviour should not be imitable. But as seen as our film is targeted towards young adults it wouldn't especially apply to children, but as a film it is rated universal because it doesn't contain any scenes that would be deemed inappropriate for children.

LO4 Focus Group Reviewing

We sat a group of people together, from various age ranges and genders. Varying from young adults, to adults to make sure we got a wide range of opinions regarding the film, including some from the chosen target audience for our film. Our focus group have a wide set of tastes and interest making their feedback and opinions varied and different to those of each others. The group of people then watched the online edit of the film from start to finish and were given a questionnaire to fill in about the film. They all agreed that the film fitted with the style of drama fantasy, and showed the stylistic conventions of the genre. One of the conventions being a build up of suspense and tension which was mentioned in one of the feedback forms. Everyone agreed that the transitions and visual effects were appropriate for the film and that due to the transitions the film flowed better and the black and white effect showed that the current scene was a flashback; which was accompanied by a specific transition which I linked to the flashbacks only. Most people said the narrative wasn't especially clear, this was because we couldn't produce a film with the original narrative that we decided and had to modify it slightly, this was possibly ineffective and we could have done more to show the narrative. The voiceover could have spoken more about the current events, and we could have more scenes depicting the death of the sister, instead of walking through the forest. But it was said that the black and white flashbacks were effective at helping show the narrative. The feedback to do with age rating was consistent, there is no adult themes or violence in the film and therefore there doesn't have to be limitations when it comes to the age rating, most expected the film would be rated PG or lower. The main improvements to be made according to the feedback were that the narrative needed to be made more clear, as well as the introduction scene being shorter as it was too long and possibly that the music for the introduction and credits was too upbeat and possibly have music more neutral. This is because it gave the wrong impression about the tempo and genre of the film, implying it would be happier and more upbeat, rather than haunting and sad. Also another piece of feedback was that the daytime wasn't consistent, halfway through the forest background cuts from dark and evening time to bright and midday, this was because we couldn't get all the filming done in that specific shoot and needed to shoot at a different time. Although some comments were made about the film, I feel we created a professional developed piece of work and it was effective in its execution and purpose. However it can be improved in the above mentioned areas, the film was highly rated and praised with little criticism, and was able to connect with our target audience and shows relation to the chosen genre.

LO3 Final Film

LO3 Linking Audio to Visuals and adding Audio Effects

During this scene an alarm clock was added during the transition of the two scenes to mimic the idea of her waking up. It was faded heavily in and out in constitution to the music change in the background, helping the transition between one song to the other. I then lowered the volume of the audio because it was very loud and distracted from other aspects.

This is a screenshot of a piece of music which is playing during the credit scene which I placed an audio transition into fade the music in and out. I used the exponential fade audio transition, but increased the time in which it span to make it more seamless and subtle. I used this effect to transition from the eerie music to the credit music and then fade out, I got the music to fade out with the credit scenes, so when the last scene of the credits has left the music is barely audible and is fading out.

Below are evidence of editing the voiceover, during the beginning and the end. The voiceover was vital for our film and helped the narrative progress and let the audience know what is going on. The voiceover is a compilation of many different quotes, that was recorded as one take. I had to open the file in audition and edit the sound, cutting out any unwanted audio and separating the different parts, which we then proceeded to do in premier also when it was imported in. Also sometimes the speaker took too long pauses between sentences and lines so we had to cut out the pauses. The voiceover in sequence with the eerie music helps create and build the tension, as well as building the narrative. It also helps with escapism, as it allows you to sympathise with the protagonist and understand her story and lose yourself in the fictional story. The voiceover was a combination of the protagonist describing the situation she is in and what the girl in the forest has to do with the narrative, as well as taking a 3rd person view on the situation and analysing it from that point of view. We did this because we were originally inspired by a short film called 'A song for your mixtape' where the voiceover is the voiceover which we were inspired and based our style off. The way the words are said the 3rd person aspect was based off this style, as well as the poetical style. The end of the voiceover was an extract from a poem that I wrote about death and grief, and dealing with letting go.

Charlotte looked through and edited the first half of the voiceover compilation, and I looked through and edited the second half of the voiceover. We consulted each other throughout the process and made sure that each half connected with each other and flowed nicely.

LO3 Applying Appropriate Visual Effects and Transitions

I added many visual effects and visual aspects to my film including the title, which appeared on the screen and slid across the screen slowly. I was able to get this effect through entering a title sequence and adding text. I chose a white colour and shadows around the text, because it is eerie and links to the theme of the film. I chose to put this title in front of the forest scene at the beginning to add variety and build up tension and intrigue.

All the flashback scenes were in black and white, but for this specific scene I wanted the red ribbon to show through, because its relevant to the narrative and links to the next scene. I was able to do this by applying the effect, then creating a clipping shape and inverting the effect so instead of the black and white only being visible in the shape, the black and white effect was everywhere apart from the shape. This wasn't perfect as it didn't always line up with the bow and sometimes went out of shot, but it mostly worked and was successful up to a point. It also showed slight technical ability to create such an effect.

In this scene I used the blur effect to make this clip slightly out of focus, this was to add visual variety and was to make you feel empathy for the protagonist and mimic the confusion she was feeling during the scene. I tweaked the blur settings to make it less obvious, because it initially was too distracting.

Charlotte added credits at the end, using the title sequence and rolling. She then tweaked the rolling title settings to make sure the credits started off screen and ended off screen, so they span across the whole screen. First she created a text box and chose a bold, easy to read text and capitalised it as it made it easier to read. Then she listed off all the character names and jobs. She then copied the text box and pasted it and then inverted the direction so that the two text boxes lined up, she then replaced all the text with the people that were responsible for each role. She then made the first text red to make it contrast to the other text, so the two text boxes could easily be separated. She wanted the credits on a black background so the text was the most important aspect on it.

I used many transitions in the course of my editing including; film dissolve, cross dissolve, addictive dissolve and dip to black. Addictive dissolve was used for the scenes were transitioning into the flashbacks so they appeared to flash before the scene and therefore replicating a flashback. I used a mixture of film and cross dissolve for the rest of the scenes, because they allowed the film to flow easily and also create a visual eeriness that added to the build up of tension. I used the dissolve transition the most because it allowed the film to flow easily and contributed to the genre and theme of the film and it wasn't as obvious as some of the other transitioning effects. Also on some of the transitions I extended or decreased the time of the transition, depending on whether I wanted more or less of the following scene.

For the title sequence Charlotte changed all the font and visual settings to make it suit the background and theme and genre of the film. She changed the font to 'Photographs' as it is a bold and easy to read font. She changed the kerning to 3.0 and the tracking to 8.0.  She made sure the title was central and the right size so it wouldn't take over the screen, but also wasn't too small to notice.

She then followed to create a shadow around the text to create intrigue and mystery, as well as visual interest. The colour of the shadow was black as well as having 80% opacity and an angle of 15 degrees. The distance of the shadow was changed to 28.0 because she wanted at least a little separation from the text and the shadow, the size of the shadow being 6.0 and the spread being 39.0. The spread was important combined with the opacity, because the spread could be increased to make it appear more as a shadow and the opacity turned down so it was less obvious.

LO3 Producing and Reviewing Offline Edit

The final offline edit can be seen above, all the scenes have been cut to the appropriate length in preparation for editing for the online edit. The scenes that should follow with the voiceover parts of the film, have been cut so they are the same duration as the specific quote it is linked with, so that later when editing it is easier and the voiceover can just be placed along side the clip. All the sound has been deleted from the offline edit, because we aren't using any of the sound from the actual footage in our final film, it will consist of background music and voiceovers. All the music and voiceovers need adding to create tension, and the voiceover to explain what's going on and narrate the story. The title needs to be added towards the start to show the name of film and connote the narrative and meaning of the story, along with credits at the end. Transitions need to be added between scenes to make them flow more smoothly other cut to black when specified. The background needs to fade in and out slowly and softly transition into the next piece of music. Some blurring effects need to be added when concentrating on Elizabeth's face, which can be added through video effects.

Charlotte for the offline edit edited the introduction bedroom scene and the first forest shoot, which cuts off roughly at the first park scene roughly at 03:12. I started editing the offline edit when the park scene started and the second forest shoot started also. And I continued editing and compiling until the end.

LO3 Logging Rushes and Edit Decision List

LO2 Evidence of Footage being in the Style and Convention of the Chosen Genre

The genre we chose to work in was a drama/ fantasy in which we tried to imitate a dream. We specifically took inspiration from the short film 'A song from your mixtape' which was based in the same genre and is very similar in how it is put together, it also contains a voiceover that heavily inspired our short film and its voiceover aspect. When trying to stay true to the drama/ fantasy/ thriller genre we always looked back at that short film and looked at aspects of that and tried to include them in ours, such as the shot types, angles and voiceover aspects. We incorporated all of these aspects into our short film to make sure it appealed to the target audience involved with the drama/ fantasy genre. In this specific scene, Elizabeth can be seen walking down the path after Maya, which creates suspense which is an element of the drama genre, as well as the whole setting be apart of a dream which can be associated with the fantasy genre. Over the whole of the forest scenes we have also added a voiceover which lines up with the scenes, which can also be reminiscent of the drama genre, which also creates tension and contrast. Being that when the scenes start to speed up which are associated with the thriller genre, they are stilled slowed down and maintained by the steady voiceover which stays calm and collected throughout. The scenes of the actors running through the forest relate to the thriller genre, and create suspense and excitement.

In this scene we have focused on the facial expressions of the character and then proceeded for her to follow Maya through the woods, in this scene we have a voiceover which has been implemented in to convey similar themes to 'A song for your mixtape' which can be seen below. We are trying to convey the same effect and style of this short film, we also need to add some music reminiscent of the genre in this. Some music that would create tension and suspense, as well as being subtle enough to allow for the voiceover to be heard and understood. The music should also appeal to the fantasy/ drama / thriller genre we are trying to recreate.

LO2 Evidence of Following Production Processes

There are three stages to the production process being pre-production, production and post-production. Which involves all the planning, filming and then finally editing. The first stage pre-production includes all the script writing, storyboard planning and recces and risk assessments. The production stage includes all the filming and referring to back to the pre-production process and all the planning. The post-production  involves all the editing and assessment.

Pre-Production Process

In the pre-production process which involved all the planning, we produced a script and a storyboard so we could plan out all the scenes and exactly what they would entail. The storyboards including a rough sketch of what the scene would look like as well as a brief description, any sounds and costumes that would need to be implemented as well as any GFX or dialogue. In this scene Elizabeth can be seen brushing her teeth then proceeding to get into bed. The storyboards were based off the script. 

The script was the first thing that was produced, after the treatment and the initial idea planning. The script is the final decision of what exactly will be filmed, it includes a description of the scenes, a title of each scene (being interior / exterior, the location and day/ night.) The script also includes all the aspects of a shooting script including the transitions, shot types, angles and any sound that is involved in the shot / dialogue. This is a script extract from the scene of Elizabeth brushing her teeth as seen above in the storyboard. The script being apart of the pre-production process was a vital part of the production process.

Production Process

The production process consists of the filming of the scenes, and the set up whilst using the pre-production process to plan what will be filmed. This scene whilst not the actual take of this scene, clearly shows how we have implemented the storyboards and script to produce this scene that has been filmed. Following the same angle, shot type as stated in the storyboards and script. In the production process many of the same scene will be filmed, to get just the right outtake but there will only be one final shot from each scene that will be used and then edited in the post-production process.

Post-Production Process

The post-production process consists of the editing and finalising of the film. This involves adding all the scenes into premier, then cutting the scenes to get rid of any unwanted footage, rearranging the scenes. Whilst also adding music and audio, in which we add a voiceover because that is one of the important aspects of our film. We also need to add transitions, between the different scenes. In this specific scene of Elizabeth cleaning her teeth, we edited the scene by cutting the edges of it, the beginning and end and trimming it so we only had the important footage. And then we render and produce the final film, with all the scenes edited together.

LO2 Evidence of Following Safe Work Practices

We followed safe work practices throughout the whole of the filming of the project, we referred to the risk assessment table and assessed the possible risks and how we would deal with them if problems were to occur. For the possibility of rocks along the path and the actors tripping and falling once walking/ running through the forest, both actors wore suitable foot wear that provided good grip and had padding so the rocks wouldn't damage the shoes or hurt their feet. And they also were very careful, and we assessed the foot paths before filming to remove anything that could be tripped over or would get in the way. The other risk was of falling down steep hills in which we made sure the child had a guardian that was watching over her the entire time, and everyone stayed well away from the edge whilst filming and also whilst not filming.

Weather was a big issue when it came to filming as most of our scenes were outdoors, so we took an umbrella with us to film the scenes in case it rained, in which we were prepared to put all the equipment back in its bags and pack up. But to avoid all this we also checked weather reports prior to filming and organised the days we filmed based on the weather, because we knew we couldn't film in the rain. Because of the fact it would damage the equipment and make the floor too slippery for the actors to run/ walk on, so when it had rained we waited an appropriate amount of time for the rain to be removed before filming again.

When setting up appropriate equipment such as the tripod, we made sure all the latches and clips were tightly locked so they weren't to fall out of place, and made sure the correct height and angle was set for the correct angle, whilst making sure all the legs were to be the same height. We were also very careful when carrying the tripod and the camera around, and making sure I walked carefully and slowly whilst holding the tripod well above the ground so it didn't catch. We also made sure the camera was firmly locked into place so it didn't fall out whilst filming. We also made sure the strap was worn around the neck at all times whilst holding the camera in case it was dropped, it wouldn't be damaged.

LO2 Evidence of Following Shooting Script / Storyboard

 We used both our scripts and storyboards as reference when filming, before each scene we would refer to the script to check exactly what we were going to film and then refer to our storyboards to see how it would look. And we would also check them during filming the scene if we needed reassurance or guidance, and then continue filming in the correct style of what we wrote/ drew in the storyboards and script.

We would also check the storyboards and script after filming a scene, and watch the scene back and check it upon the sheets to make sure we have filmed the scene correctly and it looked as we had planned it to, if it didn't we would refer back to our documents and film the scene in the given image we proposed. Apart from scenes that couldn't be filmed in the intended manor, which we changed but it still centred around the same proposal.

I

n this scene the child actors were told to play together in the park, chasing each other around the swings and play on the playground equipment, we chose to span this scene across various shots, in which this is the example of the children running around the swing set. In which we referred to both the storyboards for visual guidance and storyboard for technical guidance, and camera angles and

shot types.

LO2 Evidence of Setting up Approptiate Equipment

 For all most of the scenes in the film we had to set up a tripod to get a balanced and steady shot of the scenes. This involved us setting up the tripod and also all the equipment including the camera settings, including all the focus and zoom settings. We also had to insert the SD card and then extract all the footage from there also. We also carried an extra battery and SD card in case any of the equipment was faulty.

This is an example of a scene that we filmed with the tripod in place. This scene was very similar to other scenes we filmed being in the same place, we moved the position of the tripod and camera to capture the full extent of the kids traversing across this platform whilst maintaining a steady view. We plan to cut between these scenes, which all share the same height above the ground and angle thanks to the tripod.

Here is the software I used to edit the scenes and join them with the audio from the voice over, this is how we set it up.