Progress

I believe that I am almost finished editing my film, the improvements that I have made are...

1. I have added a blue filter using iMovie
2. I have used various different transitions 
3. I have cut each clip to it's right amount
4. I have edited sound, and carefully selected what I may use
5. I have played around on Garage band making different tracks
6. I have also started to think about extra footage
7. I have edited the lighting in my film because it was too light in some places so I have darkened it

I have until after half term to fully produce my piece of film, so I will need to shoot my extra footage promptly. If it is possible I will ask about loaning a MacBook over the half term.

Film certification

I plan to look at Film Certification from the BBFC website, so that I am able to make a decision on what to certify my film. I think it would be between a 12 and a 12A because it is not specifically graphic or violent in any way, it is more psychological.

Development

1. Just before the title sequences, I want a clip of the protagonists eye ball followed by a heavy breathing soundtrack which I can produce on Garage Band. If this doesn't work successfully then I may consider foot steps.
2. Followed by title sequence "Mixed Signals" and a freeze frame of the psycho child ( Antagonist )
3. Just before the end, soundtrack produced on Garage band is played. This is produced by Natasha Hodges ( myself ) using a female vocalist and changing the tone, pitch and frequency of my voice.
4. To ensure continuity a taster clip of the next victim to show how the film progresses will be added. Another idea being a short clip showing a torture rope used for hanging tied to a tree and perhaps a broken phone on the ground. A Pan shot or Tracking shot of the woods and the Antagonist appears in different places each time.

Film tash

Film tash

Evaluating

OPENING SCENE

The opening scene in any film is particularly important. It establishes the genre, sets the tone, introduces the narrative and major characters, and most importantly, catches the audience’s attention and engages their interest so that they want to see more. In this way it functions exactly like the opening scene of a play or paragraph of a book. If The Crucible has proved that it already has an engaging opening sequence in play form, what was the need to change it for the film?. It may help to think of the differences between theatre and film. In film the dominant imagery is visual, whereas in the theatre, much of the dominant imagery is verbal.

• When shooting my film I looked at who I could use to be my actors and actresses, because this plays an important role when filming. The actors have to match the right criteria for the role and type of the film. Luckily I needed a male character at the age of 14/15 to play the role of a protagonist, whereas I also needed a young female character around the age of 10/11 to play the role of a psychologically damaged school girl.

• Location was essential, and I needed to find a deserted forest which I managed to locate in Overlane, Almondsbury. This location was perfect as there were enough ditches and different levels of terrain to make the film appear believable. After shooting all of this footage I have decided that I may need a little extra footage to tie everything together, for example a short video clip before the title sequences of someones eye looking frightened, this will be followed by heavy breathing. Or perhaps at the end of the film I will add another clip to introduce the next victim.

Garage Band

I am producing a sound track for my horror film on Garage Band, I recorded myself whispering "If you go down into the woods today, you'd better not go alone" this was inspired by the Alton Towers Thirteen ride advertisement. I did a female vocalist but changed it to a lower voice which sounds eery and frightening, I also did this with another song "1,2 im coming for you, 3,4 better lock your door, 5,6 grab your crucifix, 7,8 this is your fate, 9,10 never sleep again" but on this sound recording I used a more high pitched tone to make it sound like a child that was singing it.

NJH Film Editing

Hello I am Tash, over a period of time I have looked at different genres of film and have come to the conclusion of making the opening to a horror film, in which I have called 'Mixed Signals'. The footage for this film has already been shot, and at this present moment I am editing and cutting it, to make room for extra footage that may be needed. I am considering special effects and will look further into these, already I have changed and enhanced the lighting conditions for my film and looked at cutting and adding sound tracks. My main objective at the moment is to produce a soundtrack for the title sequence that allows the reader to feel tension.

The Guardian Podcast

We listened to a podcast about women's involvement in the media in one of our lessons recently and the representation of them. I found out 78% of articles are mostly written by men and on Radio 1 in the morning 84% talk about men and what's happening in the media that concerns them. Women are still represented like they were back in the 1920's and onwards being a 'house wife' or dealing with pregnancy. You could also see this as men are supposedly dominant and this is why women are in some ways shy but perhaps in the long run more effective. Unfortunately they're aren't many female role models in the media many people haven't got someone to aspire to. 5000 women have dropped out of employment in the past two years. More jobs need to be offered to women such as sport journalists as it's less than 10% and 5% coverage of recording them.

Film Editing

http://digitalfilms.wordpress.com/2011/08/20/film-editing-tips-–-round-ii/

STORY BOARD FOR MIXED SIGNALS

Plans for Shooting

Sunday 8th January 2012

• At approximately 2pm I will begin shooting at Spring wood Nurseries Woods.
• I will use Actor 1 - Psycho girl in the opening scene, followed by mysterious music.
• Plot Summary - Scene 1 - extreme close up on the antagonist, to show that she is the bad character, this is then followed by the protagonist walking through the woods at a mid shot, the protagonist is then tapped on the shoulder by the antagonist and when the protagonist turns round, the antagonist is not there anymore. This follows a series of mind games inspired by the film 'Orphan'. This could then be followed by another extreme close up of the protagonist's face to portray confusion and fear. As the film is called 'Mixed Signals' I think that there needs to be a scene where the protagonist is contacted via mobile, to receive a creepy phone call. I want to use creepy music at the start and the end to create a lot of tension, this can be done using iMovie.