Emma Davis - Preliminary assessment evaluation

Emma Davis

Assessment Analysis

Camera

For this assessment we had to recreate a horror movie created by AS students in previous years. We chose a psychological sub-genre and worked from a 40 second clip from the movie Pendant. We kept in mind composition rules whilst filming trying to make sure I did not waste any space in the shots and kept in mind the 180 degree rule. Before each shot I helped in white balancing and focusing the camera, and all the shots were appropriately framed. Although I acted in the film, I also filmed the shots of James and of the bird cages. One of which was a extreme long tracking shot, one of which was a mid-shot panning shot and one of which was a mid-shot of the bird cages, I also helped to organise the other shots. By doing these shots I showed that I could follow the actor with a tracking shot but still keep the camera level, I also showed I could keep a camera still whilst filming in the mid-shot of the birds.

Use of editing

Continuity editing was applied to our film to make the shots flow well together. There was a tram that passed in the background during one of the shots, so we waited until the next tram came by to film the next shot so it looked realistic, although it was impossible to film the tram starting from the same position. The actors stayed in the same make-up and costume throughout the film as to not confuse the audience and make the shots flow together. Also the lighting becomes darker as the film goes on due to the time we shot the film; we will have to keep this in mind when filming our next assessment if filming outside. However the shots in the darkness may seem more frightening and makes the scene slightly more realistic. We did not feel is necessary to use any editing transitions when editing our film as none were used in the movie we were working from.

Selection of content

We chose make up and clothing which fitted in with the genre and location of the film. The young girl was wearing casual dress and little make up which suited the location of her being on a park and shows she is just a normal person being followed. The man was wearing a big hooded sweater which indicates that he is the bad character, and the fact that the audience cannot see his face makes it more frightening. We chose The Arboretum as our location for our horror film as that was the same location that was chosen in the film we were working from. Although the surroundings had changed slightly as the bench that the character sat on in The Pendant was not there, we overcame this by our character leaning on the fence instead. There were a few interruptions from passers-by and another group was filming in a similar spot, although apart from that the location was relatively undisturbed, which made it more frightening as the location seemed deserted. The characters we chose for the film was a young girl and a man, we thought made the film more frightening as the young girl seemed vulnerable with nobody round to protect her against the man.

Self-assessment

For the planning of the film I drew up some of the shots on the shot list, which we then used when filming to make sure we had filmed all of the shots correctly. I filmed three shots, a tracking shot, a mid-shot and a panning shot. I white balanced and focused the camera for many of the shots; I also acted in the film. I edited and cut some of the shots to make sure that continuity was achieved throughout the film. To improve the film we could have not included the tram in the shot, as it was in a different location in the second shot. We could have also filmed at a different time so the lighting stayed the same throughout the film. When it comes to our final coursework film I would probably choose a more deserted location, with no background activity. I would also make sure that if we are filming outside we film at a time when the lighting is going to stay the same throughout the film. I would use a bigger variety of shot choices and use some editing transitions.