Our Own Preliminary Film

This is my preliminary film that I shot with my iPhone 6 and we edited.

Group Preliminary

This is a preliminary task that I edited which we filmed as a group in the different scenes.

Pre Production: Lighting In Thriller Film

We have learnt that there are three different types of lights in film. These are; the main key light, the fill light and the back light. These are all needed in order to fully light up a subject. 

The Main Key light is the most important light as it provides the most amount of light to a character or subject. It is placed slightly towards the right of a character. Even though there is normally another light towards the left, if there is only the main key light on the right it creates "low key lighting", this is normally used in thrillers to make tension. 

The second light, positioned slightly towards the left is the Fill light. This light adds to the Main Key Light as to fully light up someones face. It mainly gives the character a more bright and important look. Having these two light s on above gives the effect of "high key lighting". 

The final light is called The Back light and it is obviously positioned towards the back of an actor. This light almost gives a halo like effect on the character and is sometimes used to highlight the characters hair. This light is sometimes used to make a character seem more intelligent or angelic, normally used with an protagonist to make them seem more important. 

We will make sure we use all of this lighting in order to give our film the best and most professional look possible. 

Editing Techniques In Film

cut A visual transition created in editing in which one shot is instantaneously replaced on screen by another. 

continuity editingEditing that creates action that flows smoothly across shots and scenes without jarring visual inconsistencies. Establishes a sense of story for the viewer. 

cross cutting
Cutting back and forth quickly between two or more lines of action, indicating they are happening simultaneously. 

dissolve A gradual scene transition. The editor overlaps the end of one shot with the beginning of the next one. 

editing The work of selecting and joining together shots to create a finished film. 

errors of continuity Disruptions in the flow of a scene, such as a failure to match action or the placement of props across shots. 

establishing shot A shot, normally taken from a great distance or from a "bird's eye view," that establishes where the action is about to occur. 

eyeline match The matching of eyelines between two or more characters. For example, if Sam looks to the right in shot A, Jean will look to the left in shot B. This establishes a relationship of proximity and continuity. 

fade A visual transition between shots or scenes that appears on screen as a brief interval with no picture. The editor fades one shot to black and then fades in the next. Often used to indicate a change in time and place. 

final cut The finished edit of a film, approved by the director and the producer. This is what the audience sees. 

iris Visible on screen as a circle closing down over or opening up on a shot. Seldom used in contemporary film, but common during the silent era of Hollywood films. 

jump cut A cut that creates a lack of continuity by leaving out parts of the action. 

matched cut A cut joining two shots whose compositional elements match, helping to establish strong continuity of action. 

montage Scenes whose emotional impact and visual design are achieved through the editing together of many brief shots. The shower scene from Psycho is an example of montage editing. 

rough cut The editor's first pass at assembling the shots into a film, before tightening and polishing occurs. 

sequence shot A long take that extends for an entire scene or sequence. It is composed of only one shot with no editing. 

shot reverse shot cuttingUsually used for conversation scenes, this technique alternates between over-the-shoulder shots showing each character speaking. 

wipe Visible on screen as a bar travelling across the frame pushing one shot off and pulling the next shot into place. Rarely used in contemporary film, but common in films from the 1930s and 1940s.

Editing Practise: Pre Shot

This is a short film that I shot and edited myself in the summer of 2015 and uploaded to Youtube. This involves the whole film being editing on iMovie, and filmed on a portable camera and my iPhone using techniques such as time-lapses.

Initial Planning: One Page Sypnopsis

One page synopsis

The name of our film will be "Jack" and it will be a thriller. 

A young boy named Jack leaves his sisters’s house to walk home, haunted by the ghost of 'Fred'.

We will have Jack shouting goodbye to his friend, and his friend responding “Bye, Jack!”

Following this, Jack will shut the door and leave the house

He will be wearing generic teenage-boy clothing: A hoodie and jeans

He will have his headphones in and be walking happily

There will be no other speech in this part of the film

Walks through the graveyard, and notices his name on a gravestone 

Jack will enter the graveyard (possibly in Middleton Cheney)

By this point it will be starting to get dark

He still has his headphones in, listening to music, walking happily

The camera will follow his gaze as he reads some of the gravestones

The camera will them skim past “JACK ADDIS” written on a gravestone

Jack will suddenly stop walking and take a step back to reread the name

He will slowly take his headphones out and stare, open mouthed, at it

He will then proceed to slowly kneel down to it

Sees a group of dead-looking children walking towards him

Jack has his head down, focusing on reading the gravestone

As he slowly looks up, he notices a row of dead looking children emerging in a row through the fog

They are all dressed in tatty, mangled looking Victorian style clothes, with blood on them 

He shouts out “HEY, WHO ARE YOU?” to which none of them reply

They slowly walk towards him, gradually getting closer

Jack scrambles about to get to his feet, and begins to back away

Runs away, trying to get home quickly

The camera shots go between Jack frantically running, getting faster and faster as he gets more freaked out, and the dead children seemingly walking quite slowly, but not getting any further away.

The music will by fast pace and scary, as well as having Jack’s heavy breathing and the children’s laughter over the top of it

It will be very dark

He will run through a field, towards what looks like an abandoned shelter

Is found hanged

The final shot will be of inside the abandoned shelter

You will see the children sat around in a circle, laughing

Whilst the camera shot goes up to see a noose around Jack’s neck and a final shot of his feet swinging slowly back and forth Runs away, trying to get home quickly.

Initial Planning - One Paragraph Sypnosis

One paragraph synopsis 

A young boy named Jack sets out on his usual walk home on a glum winter night, but his evening doesn't go as planned. He gets a shock when he sees his name engraved on a gravestone. Scared and panicked, he tries to run, only to discover he's being followed by what can only be dead children. Will Jack ever make it home?