SKITZ (second draft)

This is our second draft of our film opening. We have concluded that we need to add a more enticing soundtrack and fade out some of our dialogue and music into other scenes so that it isn't so jumpy. We have also decided that we should add some sound in on our last scene as it isn't very interesting. We feel that we should also try to fix the film so that it flows better. We also said that we should also build up the office scene so that the confusion is clearly conveyed.

Target Audience Feed Back (draft 1)

In order to achieve the best results, I recently set up a small focus group and asked them questions about our first draft. I asked for both negative and positive comments.

In conclusion, the group said our opening was "more like a trailer".
It was also said that we "ruin the end" because we give away too much "information".
The group understood the narrative and said that the story line was "confusing but interesting"
The group enjoyed the footage saying that "the low-key lighting was very effective, you get a cold and dark atmosphere".

SKITZ (first draft)

 
This is our first draft of our opening sequence. We have concluded that our footage appears more like a trailer rather than an opening sequence. We have now realised that we give away too much information, and that it would benefit us if we remove our flash back scene.

We have also decided to add some extra footage to our opening sequence. We are going to build up the suspense and tension in our running scene. We are going to film Sid leaving his house, putting his headphone and beginning to walk.

We are then going to hear a song that causes Sid to become stressed, a trigger song. He will then begin to run.

We have also decided to add a scene where Sid sneaks in to the psychiatrist office and looks through her files. Whilst on her computer Sid find his file, he hears the door open, close, then walking up the stairs. That is when the opening sequence cuts.

We have organised another filming day that will occur this sunday commencing.

Use of Software

The editing software that we decided to use to edit our opening was Final Cut Pro. We were drawn to Final Cut Pro after watching some very successful previous opening sequences that were edited with Final Cut Pro.
The software is also relatively easy to use, this was a major advantage for us as we
had a limited amount of time to edit our footage, and difficulty with using editing software would of hindered us.

Mind Map created by mia o'brien with GoConqr

Editing Showcase

I worked on editing scenes 6,9 and 11. I found the editing software relatively easy to use over time. When first using the software I had some difficulties however have excelled.

This is scene 11, where we have a shot reverse shot of our main character, Sid, in the mirror. He is first seen alone, then seen with two other characters, the good and bad part of his self conscience. I put a focus on Sid in this scene as he is centre frame and is our most relevant. The focus effect also helps to blur the other two characters out, which helps suggests that the characters are part of his imagination. I also altered the mid-tones, to make the tones lighter, giving a clinical complexion. The high key lighting also contributes to the fantasy effect.

This is scene 6. I put the focus on the pill falling in the water so that the audiences eyes are drawn to this, as it is a very important part of our plot. I also altered the exposure and shadows to give a dark atmosphere. The low-key lighting contributes to our aim of a dark and evil  atmosphere. Dark tones have strong connotations of evil, death and darkness, which helps reveal our chosen genre of film, Thriller.

This is our extra scene that we added on during filming. Here I added non-diegetic sound, a heart beat. The heartbeat sound helps to create tension and adrenaline, as it suggests that the character is distressed. I also added a flashing effecting, which helps to reveal that this is in fact a flash back. We also used costume to reveal this,

Mise en Scene Production Diary

In this production diary I am discussing the Mise en Scene elements within our film opening. I cover elements such as :

• Lighting
• Costume 
• Props
• Hair & Make up 
• Body Language 
• Facial Expressions
• Voice / Tone

Filming Day 1 - Production Diary

In this filming production diary i am discussing the hurdles we stumbled across and how we overcome them. I also talk about the scenes we filmed and the hours we spent filming.

Filming Day 2 - Production Diary

In this filming production diary I talk about angles, weather and the amount of filming we completed. I also discuss a new idea that was sparked when filming and how e are going to put it into our opening sequence.

Vertigo Title Sequence- Mise en scene

">

Editing (Final Cut Pro) Tutorial

Editing Practice

This is some footage the group and I practised editing on. We though that it would benefit us if we had practise using the editing software before actually editing our film opening, as it would further our knowledge and editing skills.

Chang in Cast

As a result of our chosen actor Mason Marrable not showing up to our first filming day,today, we had to quickly find back up, someone who was willing to spend their day and the next  to act in our film opening. We contacted our plan B actor, someone who we had previously auditioned and believed was a successful actor, this was Nickyta Kobilnyk. Although we were at first very stressed and worried about our last minute change, it ended up resulting in success. We wer very pleased with our final product. Nick very focused, more than Mason appeared to be during his audition. He was very dedicated and did not at once moan about anything he had to do for us, such as falling over in mud. The entire group was pleased with our result and concluded that we should have chose Nick as our primary actor.