Evaluation

 I have learnt a lot about the different roles involved in making a film. I was involved in the editing, and the other members of the group done the filming, directing, acting and helped with the editing. I have learnt a lot from editing. It  takes a lot of patients and you have to refer a plan, to know which order the scenes go in, and so you know what effects to add where. The editing was done on Final Cut Pro, which was hard to use a first, but got easier as we became used to it. Everyone in the group had to do a lot of planning, so for this we used the storyboard. The filming had to be perfect, and we had to take more than one shot for most scenes. 
 The equipment we used was mainly the flip camera, which abled us to film and zoom where needed, tripods which made the filming steady and abled us to pan. The editing was done on the Apple Macs, using Final Cut Pro and  Garage Band for the backing track, and sound effects.

Our film is called 'The Unknown' and is about a school student being chased by a person wearing a black jacket and white mask. It is an action thriller, so we had to think about what conventions are needed to create this genre. We had to consider the camera angles, characters, mise-en-scene, effects and editing. For effects we used a CCTV camera effect, to experiment with the camera shots and a static TV effect was used as a transition. For mise-en-scene, we had to think about the characters costumes, and decided on a white mask and black jacket. We also had to think about the lighting and character placement. The lighting was difficult to consider, so when it came to editing we made it mainly black and white, and added some red which created tension and interest. I learnt how to do this in Final Cut Pro. The sound was created on Garage Band. For this we made it fast with a beat, to create the action effect and excitement and tension when the character was scared and running. There is also a scream at the beginning of the introduction, which was to create a thriller feeling.

I have learnt that when creating characters, you have to think about the characteristics, like how they walk, what their wearing, and what sound is playing whilst they are on screen. I have also learnt a lot about the story line and plot. We had to do a lot of planning, so a storyboard was needed, also a pitch as an overview of the story. The editing was very important, as its where the story takes shape. We put all of the scenes into the correct order, and added transitions and effects to make it continuos. This made it clear as to whats going on. For things we didn't know how to do on Final Cut Pro, we used YouTube tutorials which helped a lot.

We had to think about the representation a lot through out the film making process. The colour was important because it helps create the genre, and the connotation of using mainly black, white and red is horror and thriller. The sound was also very important as it helped create tension when needed. When the character was scared and running, we used a fast beat to create the feeling that he was very scared. The person who was chasing the student wore a black jacket and white mask. The dark clothing connotation showed he is the villain, as in most thriller films, also the white mask stood out from all of the black. Actors had to represent themselves in a certain way, for example the way they acted and their character placement. The camera shots also help with the representation, as they can show emotion in the characters face with a close-up, or show the scenery in a long-shot.

I've learnt alot about the audience, and that its very important to consider them whilst making a film. So for a thriller genre film, the audience would expect certain things, like alot of tension, so we made sure we added those conventions to our film opening. We had to consider the fonts and colour scheme we used, the way the credits were displayed and the music, and overall storyline. We made our films using fast-paced cuts to build tension. The music was also fast to help create the feeling that the character running was scared. The music also had to match the genre, and created excitment at the right times. We thought about what the audience expects from a thriller, and tried to include it into our opening.