LOCKED

This is our finished opening sequence and we are all so happy that it is finally complete. We have put so much time and effort into this sequence that is so nice to see it all come together! Although it was stressful at times it was really fun to film.

There is still the issue of the sequence being over three minutes but we hope that this can be fixed.

Completed!

Today, we finally competed our opening sequence! We are so glad to have finally finished all of the editing, sound and credits! We took a selfie to celebrate:

We have exported our sequence and it will be uploaded shortly! Overall we are very pleased with the end result and we will now focus on our evaluation.

Sound Effects and Problems - UPDATE

Today we spend a free period going over the sequence and adding in some sound effects. The 'boom' sound effects that we wanted are finally part of the sequence and the credits have been completely finished. We have edited all of the shots so they flow - continuity editing - and the sound now matches the corresponding shot which is what we wanted. We have also made the 'LOCKED' logo move towards the screen which adds a bit of movement instead of it remaining in the one spot. After all this we were so close to finishing! However, after showing the sequence to our teachers they pointed out that the font  used for the credits looked a bit like an 'essay' font and did not match our genre, although we personally liked the font we were happy to change it which we have started but not completed. The second issue was to do with the length of our sequence. Our sequence is around 3 minutes long when it should be around 2 but there are no shots that we can cut out without our character jumping from one shot to another or the story missing a large piece, making the audience miss out on something. We have decided to wait until the whole group is together before cutting anything out so we can discuss as a group what can be removed without messing up the story.

 

This is the font we used for the credits but had to be changed as it was said to look a bit like a font used in a essay.

 

Update - Finishing the Sequence

As our sequence is nearly complete we watched it all the way through to see if there are any errors in the editing or sound missing. We think that it could use some more sound effects, so it looks professional. We will add in our heartbeat and some dramatic 'boom' sound effects to create suspense. After we have completed this and watched it through again, we will have completed the entire sequence!

Update

The editing of our opening sequence has been completed and all that needs to be done now is finishing the music and adding credits in. These two things were left until after the editing process was finished so we would know exactly what to put in and where. We had made a short repetitive piece of music but for our final we wanted to change it so that it was less repetitive but still matched the scene and managed to create a tense atmosphere. These two things will be completed in our next lesson so that our sequence should be completed by the end of the week.

Update on Progress

Today (16/03/15) we had to film the new ending for our opening sequence. This took place in a small media room with all of the blinds down to make the room darker. Unlike the last ending we made we wanted the new one to focus more on the psychological horror theme. We had the figure show up for a third time before disappearing once again and the computer suddenly turning back on with the words "YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE DONE THAT" on the screen. However the whole opening sequence ends with the protagonist waking up back where she started before hearing the knock that starts the sequence over again and to get to this point the protagonist needed to die. As the murder scene in our old ending had to be removed as it took away the suspense we were unsure on how to kill our character but also make it tense. We decided that after the screen turns back on, their would be a point of view shot of the killer lunging at the character, this way the audience will not see the killer's face. We are still unsure whether we will use the shot as it is a sudden transition from the last shot and it still might not match the genre. We will decide whether to keep it in the editing stage.

There were some minor issues when filming such as the wrong outfit however we managed to work our way around this with a very similar replacement and as the room is dark it would be hard for the audience to see a difference anyway. We also ran out of time when filming the last few shots and were rushed to come up with our death shot.

The Message Shown on the Computer in Our New Ending

Update + Screenshots

After re-shooting and editing the packing scene in our opening sequence we now have to re-shoot the ending and sound. We are hoping to improve our music and maybe even create a tense atmosphere through sound effects. Our sequence is still around 3 minutes which we will need to cut down to 2. This will mean that certain scenes will have to be cut out and replaced with shorter shots.

These are some screenshots of the packing scene that we re-filmed and edited. The shots were taken in different camera angles such as a low angle, medium close-up and one shot taken from inside the protagonist's backpack which we thought was different and interesting to watch. The shorter shots are a lot better to watch rather than one continuous shot.

Audience Feedback on Our First Draft

On February 13th 2015 we showed our first draft of our film opening sequence to our media class and to someone that is unfamiliar with editing so they would notice the obvious cuts and the story better. The first comment made about our sequence was that it was 3 minutes and needed to be cut down to 2, this would mean taking out a lot of scenes to make it shorter.

The next comment was that the scene of our main character packing her bag was too long, we were already aware of this before showing it to the class and it will be fixed when we next get the chance to film.

Although it was not brought up we noticed that the lighting needed to be fixed as some shots were darker than others so footage will either need to be edited or re-filmed.

The shot of the girl getting grabbed but in the next shot the person who grabbed her is gone was pointed out to be good job as it portrays our genre and shows what the film is about.

Shots inside the static media room were also liked as we used a creative way to make a everyday classroom have a creepy atmosphere. They also matched the psychological horror genre that we need to follow.

The ending was said to be to quick and as the killer attacks the main character it ruins the psychological horror atmosphere and quickly becomes a everyday horror film. A new ending will have to be planned out and filmed.

The last comment was that there should be more hints at the killer stalking or watching the main character which means several scenes will have to be done again. This will let the audience know that the stalker is always there but they will have to look for the clues.

The student that is not familiar with editing watched our opening sequence and said that she enjoyed the whole storyline as it was interesting and even though it was set in the school we did a good job of making it look creepy which is what we wanted. She also said that she did not notice that edits (continuity editing) which is good as it means no cuts were obviously bad to someone that is unfamiliar with editing. 

Finishing the First Draft

After re-shooting some scenes and filming the last murder scene there were only a few things left to be done. The rest of the editing, the sound (including the voice-over) and the credits. After spending 3 hours touching up the editing and adding the new scene, the editing stage was complete. There are some problems that will have to be dealt with such as missing shots making the character look like she's teleported from one spot to another and the lighting as some shots were filmed at day and the others when it was darker. The music will be made next to out over the top of the music.

Bloopers 10/02/15

Filming isn't all fun and games... But when you mess up a scene, or when things don't quite go as planned, it can be! Here is a compilation of short clips we gathered from today's shooting that we consider to be bloopers!

Snapshots from YouTube clip:

 

Filming Photos

During the filming process we captured 2 pictures and a quick video to show the our work while it was in progress of being filmed. This is the first picture we took:

 This picture shows the initial set-up that we were going with. We had the camera on a tripod to keep it steady and make a nicer shot. This setting was later changed to a room that we could make darker but still looked like a school classroom.

The second picture we took:

This scene is the close up of the girl getting grabbed. The camera light was automatic but it gave the scene a nice effect. The hall was also dark creating a tense atmosphere. Behind the girl is the killer/stalker however they are not in the shot as only there hand is.

The short video taken:



The video is a 7 second video of the shot of the picture above ending. This is a small blooper because as soon as the camera cuts we all laugh. It was a interesting scene to film and this small video shows that the footage was fun to film.

UPDATE - Re-Filming

After viewing the footage, we have decided to re-film certain scenes. This time we will be using different camera angles and showing the location more. This will make for a more interesting film opening. We will be re-filming certain scenes on Thursday, 29th January.

Starting to Export & Edit Footage, and Using Garage Band.

Now that we have filming out of the way, this lesson we are able to start rendering, exporting and editing the footage, and actually create the opening sequence.

What we are using:
We are using Garage Band to create our own music (in order to avoid copyright) and we are using Premier Pro to edit.

What we are learning:
In order to export the footage, we have to export the videos clip-by-clip, which makes the process time consuming.
Garage Band doesn't have the most creepy music in the world, and what we've learnt about psychological horror is that the non-diegetic music has to set the scene. If it's the wrong type of music, it completely destroys the effect of the scene, hence making the opening sequence a failure.

Locations

When filming we used several different locations to set the scene and create an atmosphere. All of our footage was taken inside school as the whole plot revolves around a girl getting locked in after staying late to study. However we used many different rooms in the school such as corridors, classrooms and staircases.

The following locations we filmed in are:

• A science classroom
• A science corridor (as it is all ready old looking and it was the easiest to make it look dark)
• Outside the science block but still in school (as it is near the gate for one of the scenes)
• The school gates (they were locked which matched the story)
• At the bottom of a staircase
• On the staircase
• In a media classroom

All of these rooms and spaces were used for specific reasons such as it was old looking or the character would have a place to run. Each location was thought through before hand and most of them were written on the storyboard during the planning stage.

UPDATE - Filming Complete

All of the footage has been taken and now all we need to do is check through all of the clips and decide which ones we want to be in our final piece. We spent over 2 hours filming all of the scenes in several different shots. After we have decided which clips to use the editing process will begin.

UPDATE - Filming

Today is the 19/01/15 and we will be beginning to film. We have finalised all of our locations and have fixed all problems. Our actor has been changed as the person we originally wanted to do it was busy on filming days. We plan to film over today and tomorrow and edit the footage later in the week.

Schedule for Shooting

SHOOTING DETAILS

Shooting Date	Duration	Cast	Location
19th January 2015	2.30 – 5.30	Borie Lucy Jasmine (Actor) Isha Asuka (Actor)	School Science room and corridor Outside by the gate English room
20th January 2015	3.30 – 4.30	Borie Lucy Jasmine (Actor) Isha Asuka (Actor)	School Science room and corridor English room
26th January 2015 (if anything needs changing or adding)	3.30 – 5	Borie Lucy Jasmine (Actor) Isha Asuka (Actor)	School Science room and corridor Outside by the gate English room

Characters and Their Story

Creating characters that are going to be in our film opening. They had to suit the genre and help the story progress.
We want to use stereotypes so that the genre can be established in the first few seconds.

Our first character idea is:

A male college student that studies psychology that sometimes hear voices in his head. Losing all his friends after he told them about the voices he is now by himself. The most recent voice told him that he would witness his old friend be hit by a car (vaguely). Not believing it he walks home and sees his friend get hit by a car, EXACTLY WHAT THE VOICE SAID!!!!

Our second character:

A female college student stays late at school to study. She is alone and stays until dark not realising the time. She hears a bang from outside and checks the time. School is shut. Leaving the classroom she goes to the gate to leave but finds that it is locked. She tries to call someone but there is no signal and in the corner of her eyes she thinks that she sees someone but when she looks back there is no one out there. She rushes inside but suddenly someone grabs her. When she frees herself there is no-one there. She runs into a classroom and hides her face in the face in the door and when she turns around there is no one.

We put more prefer and put more thought into the second character and her story so we will be making the plot for this story into more detail.