Evaluation

Evaluation

In the assignment, we were asked to create a short silent horror film that was 3 to 5 minutes long. At the beginning of we were introduced to “German Expressionism”. We had to research what “German Expressionism” is, by looking at multiple films from the early 1900s up until the present day. I thought “German Expressionism” was very interesting and it taught me about how the horror genre started from then until now. Also, it taught me about different camera techniques such as Dutch, High and low angle shots.

For this assignment, we were asked to research the horror genre, watch some clips and movies, discuss ideas in our production groups, do group research, go through pre-production stages, shoot footage on location and did our individual edits.

The thing that went well during the assignment is that we managed to plan all the pre-production very productively. This, in turn, made our group very organised and we were ahead of schedule. Also, the team during the pre-production was proactive as we each separated parts of pre-productions to different people. This made it very easy to get the work done and this was excellent teamwork. my role during preproduction was making the equipment list, pitch, mind maps and the cast list. 

The problems we encountered throughout the pre-production period was assigning roles to team members as the new people were a bit anxious on doing the roles such as camera op, script advisor, and the shot-list. But we managed to sort out everyone in the end

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My role during production was the camera operator, alongside with Jamie who was also the camera operator. We collaborated on what shots everyone wanted, and we followed the shot list to get the right shots. We used the software on mine and Jamie’s iPhone, called ‘FiLMiC’ Pro. This is a professional camera app that the film industry uses, only available on IOS devices. The visuals looked stunning especially in one of the scenes where the actor is walking with a reflection in the distance, shining on the floor. Despite using two iPhone, it was very quick and easy to transfer the footage to another Mac through ‘Airdrop,’ this actually made is easier than using a traditional camera where we would need to worry about how much GB is on the SD card, and would have to think about transferring the footage from an SD card to a computer. Also, having the iPhone was very handy as if we made a mistake we could very easily delete and reshoot. However, using the iPhone to shoot footage drained the battery quickly, but luckily, we had power banks on hand to charge our phones.

A problem we had that we encountered was disagreement about filming; one member kept on going home very early on and the rest of the group wanted to stay and film more of our project. The production group did not want to travel there and back too many times as members of my group live far-away.

I consider the strengths of my project to be the filming and the editing part of my short film, as I have never been a camera op before. This tested my abilities from level 2 progressing onto level 3.

I consider the weaknesses of my project are the organisation of the files and how to find where everything was. Another weakness of mine is I find very difficult to start the edit, as there too many good shots to choose from. This meant I had to ask for help from another group member. The problem that we had in production was the amount of noise in some of my footage. This was because we should have recorded at a higher ISO (shutter speed). In future, we will make sure that we are recording at the correct ISO before we start. Another problem that we encountered was trying to use Maxy Express as a location because one day we were given permission to use it, but on the next day, we were told we could not use it. This made the start of our short film a bit shaky because we had to think of a new idea for the opening scene quickly, as we didn’t have a lot of time

If I were to completely re-do the assigned project, I would do the pre-production differently and be more organisation because towards the end of the pre-production tasks we had to complete, people had to re-do some of the pre-production again. This is time-wasting and we could’ve spent this time on more filming days.

What I have learnt from completing the assignment, is that teamwork is vital and being organised is also key. Also being resilient to people pushed other people to do their work, this, in turn, makes teamwork pro-active. This means that I can use this knowledge throughout my Level 3 course and future projects.

In conclusion, this was a very fun and enjoyable first project to start the course with. I built friendships, I have learned new skills, and learned more about the horror genre. I am very excited for the year to come full of more wonderful projects.

Here is the link to my video; https://youtu.be/11qh6ToRTOM


Here is my Audio commentary: https://youtu.be/-JXTx_ujnJw

Peer Observation Form

Please watch and provide comments to your peers' project for the joint units of 1&2.

YOUR NAME:  Maks                                                PEERS NAME: Ben 

RATING SCALE:

            5-EXCELLENT 4-VERY GOOD 3-GOOD 2-SATISFACTORY 1-NEEDS TO IMPROVE

NAME	RATING	OTHER COMMENTS
AUDIO LEVELS	5	Audio quality is very good, audio creates suspense
VISUALS	5	A very big range of different shots which shows understanding
CREATIVITY	4	This story very creative and is very clear to the audience

DID THE PRODUCTION FEEL AS THOUGH IT WAS WELL PLANNED?

Very well planned with an outstanding final effect of the short horror film.

LIST WHAT YOU LIKED ABOUT THE PRODUCTION

I liked the suspense which is created throughout the edit

WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED?

Added more specific sound which could increase the suspense even more

DID THE NEWS REPORT MAKE SENSE?

Yes, it made sense and showed a clear story of the horror film

OTHER COMMENTS

FINALLY, RATE THE EDIT (1-5 STARS)

4/5Stars 

Peer Observation Form 2

Please watch and provide comments to your peers' project for the joint units of 1&2.

YOUR NAME: Tom K                                               PEERS NAME: Ben

RATING SCALE:

            5-EXCELLENT 4-VERY GOOD 3-GOOD 2-SATISFACTORY 1-NEEDS TO IMPROVE

NAME	RATING	OTHER COMMENTS
AUDIO LEVELS	8
VISUALS	10	Really nicely filmed and put together really well in post-production.
CREATIVITY	9

DID THE PRODUCTION FEEL AS THOUGH IT WAS WELL PLANNED?

This production did seem well planned as every shot was on point.

LIST WHAT YOU LIKED ABOUT THE PRODUCTION

The use of the gimble makes the filming look really professional and especially for a chase scene in a horror film. I also liked the use of location which was nicely lit by the street lights and the lights in the car park.

WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED?

Maybe some more tense sound or music while the protagonist is being chased by the killer.

DID THE HORROR FILM MAKE SENSE?

Yes the horror film made sense to me

OTHER COMMENTS

Overall it was a well-prodcuted film and me enjoyed the edit and the use of camera shots

FINALLY, RATE THE EDIT (1-5 STARS)

4/5 Stars.