Final Cut of Film!!!

Audience Feedback

The feedback from our thriller on Facebook was extremely positive, and it showed that all the different aspects no matter how small played an effect. For example the extensive location research we did payed off since one Johnny Smith said "I like how the thriller was located in a dark secluded area as it makes it very tense." which is exactly the image we wanted to convey to the audience. Therefore it is quiet rewarded to see this become appreciated and understood properly and it shows us how our thriller was successful in creating a realistic feel. Oli Gotkine said "I really like the fast pace cuts between shots as it really built up the suspense for the audience", these cuts were decided to be put in to our thriller due to our questionnaire interview results finding that an important part of a thriller is action and violence, which has been simulated here with quick cuts. Along with these other examples of where our thriller succeeded in portraying the correct message are present, making it a success and worthwhile.

Evaluation Task 7 - How Have Our Skills Developed From Our Preliminary Task To Our Main Task?

From Prelim to Main Task by Jack Zabaroff

Evaluation Task 6 - How Was Technology Used?

Evaluation Task 5 - How Have We Attracted Our Target Audience?

Profile Of The Ideal Target Audience

Evaluation Task 4 - Who is Our Ideal Target Audience?

Evaluation Task 3 - Who Will Distribute Our Thriller?

Evaluation Task 2 - How Have We Addressed Social Groups?

Evaluation Task 1 - How Did We Use, Develop, And Challenge Thriller Conventions

Account of Editing

Our main task was to first gather everyone together so that we could collaborate our knowledge and ideas to create a fairly contributed film. We started off by adding a red hue to all shots outside, to emphasise the tension and dark reality it is present in, being the dark and isolated location. Next we placed all the shots we had on a timeline and cut together each scene so that a story could be easily seen and enjoyed which made it easier to edit since only small edits had to be made for great effect. We added some quick cuts by shortening the length of some of the clips and we added the fast car shots next to each other to give the film a fast pace at the beginning. This was in order to emit a foreshadowing tone to the audience, and to entice them into watching as the slight notion that there is action soon intrigues the audience.

The next step was to add sound effects. These were obtained through certain sources and we added them to give an ambient feel to the film allowing the viewer to become immersed in the film and excited by this fictional world. We also added a gun shot sound effect and a muzzle flash visual effect onto the gun shot, shot, which allowed the gunshot to look realistic rather than a visible shake which came out bad.

One problem with some of the footage was that some of the orange on the prop gun was seen on screen, therefore we cut out the bit where it showed the orange part and placed the same scene in a different shot so that it was not visible or even noticeable.

To create the title sequences we used final cut pro x which allowed us to tamper with several different factory title animations and therefore we created our own unique title animations.

Account of Shoot Day 3

Our third shoot day begin with high spirits as we had already had two days of experience with us therefore we worked efficiently to prepare all the props and script. We also were able to schedule our timings well and this allowed our main actor to be completely available during the day as we could tell him the times we were free to film.

We drove to the location however we stopped before we reached it to get some shots of our actors driving, this proved practical since we were able to make use of the distance between where we stopped and the final destination of the scene. We took the wide sideline shot of the car driving from left to right, and the car traveling towards to camera.

We then stopped the car and I took the camera of the tripod and went into the car to film the mirror view shots. It was quite hard and took quite a bit of time to compose the shot correctly due to the bumping of the car driving. We also had to configure the correct lighting for the shot while in the car since the outdoor lighting kit could be seen in the mirror while filming.

We then drove to the final destination and took some tracking shots of the car pulling in to the driveway where the acting would take place. The first shot at the location was a medium close up of the car pulling into composition and then wide over the shoulder shots of the two characters. We also took a close up of the gun and and medium shot of the main character shooting the gun, ready to be edited together in succession.

Account of Shoot Day 2

On the second day we did not have to compensate for lighting as we did in the first shooting day, however the room the scene was shot in had three windows which allowed light to seep into the room, therefore we had to start shooting after sunset when it got dark. Therefore the beginning of the day started as the first did, we set up the props and got ourselves organised before we started filming. Luckily the room we shot in was across the road to the main studio therefore it was easy to transport all the equipment and props. We then shot the office scene of the opening sequence several times in order to allow for fluidity when editing different shots one after the other since there was only one camera. The most tricky shot to pull off for me was the low angle shot because the room was very small therefore there as not a lot of space to set up the tripod and dolly, therefore it had to be shot while handheld. The office was also very cluttered, therefore to stabilise myself i had to sit on a chair and slope myself very low to keep the camera straight and steady while filming, however for the end product it was worth it.

Account of Shoot Day 1

The First shoot day was very eventful. Once i arrived at the studio, the prop guns needed to be spray painted, along with all the props needing preperation. 

We looked over our shooting schedule and schedule for the day to run through our plan and that way we could be organised and efficient in filming. Since the outdoor lighting kit was unavailable we decided to try and shoot the outside driving scene using strictly street lamps. While this was alright when filming the car shots since we were lended some light from the headlights, when shooting the over the shoulder wide shot of the two actors in front of the boot, no outlines or defined figures could be seen due to the darkness of night. Therefore we decided to scrap that day and try and shoot the scene once the outdoor lighting kit was available and it was be seen on the film.

Last Minute Changes to The Thriller

One Shot Run Through

Target Audience Representations

Research into sound effects

What is a foley artist?

A foley artist is someone who mimics the sound in the scene with a variety of props as the sound cannot be captured well enough on set.




What difference does foley make?

In amateur films like ours the sound often isn't professional enough to match the scenes within the film. This is because there is often something thin about the sound if artificial sound effects are used (or none at all), the action lacks aural depth which effects the strength that a scene portrays.

Why do sound effect problems occur?

This may be due to the film makers not adding foley to the soundtrack of the film to put emphasis on the sound and make it more thick. For example, if you have a character walking alone on a dark night, you will want the audience to hear the footsteps to increase the speed an danger of the scene. Therefore, features like these can be added in post production by specialists in foley.

Why didn't we use a foley artist?

As we are amateur film makers we couldn't afford a foley artist as we are running on a low budget to make the film. Therefore we had to use artificial sound effects bought off the internet to create the different environments we wanted to portray in our film. This meant that the sound in our film would lack aural depth as it will lack the hollowness it needs to create the fullest effect.

What is an example of an artificial sound effect used in your film?

Throughout the opening sequence we used ambient sound effects to make the film feel more real, cold and alive as the chirps of the birds allow a sense of realism and makes the audience believe and connect to the story more.

Risk Assessment

How we are Going to Light our Film

The main segment of our film is the outdoor scene, in the car and around the car. This scene will be taken at night meaning there are several problems in filming. A major problem is lighting as without any lighting equipment, the natural light of the moon and street lights are not enough to highlight a figure, and it can just about get away with filming the car driving past as we are lended extra lighting from the car headlights. Therefore we need to adjust the camera aperture and add external lighting sources behind the camera as to help create distinction between people.
The video below explains the strategies that we can take to light our film better are night:



Our second segment of the film is the office scene, which is filmed inside. Therefore we can use the lighting of the room to help highlight the figure and therefore no adjustments need to be made to the camera. This makes filming this scene easier and more flexible than the outdoor scene.