Preliminary Exercise Evaluation - Jake Stephenson

Our final exercise shows that we can hold the camera correctly creating a steady shot. We achieved this by keeping the camera on the tripod, so there was no additional movement. I felt that we framed the shots correctly using the rule of thirds, when filming we used the 9 grid frame guide so that all our shots were framed appropriately. We left enough head room and lead room for our actors and actresses for example when the characters run on screen and then the zombies follow. I thought that overall our composition was good.

We have used a variety of shots such as canted angles to film the grave stones, low angles to film the zombie running towards the camera, high angles when the characters were running to and away from the camera. We also used mid shots, long shots and a POV angles.

I felt that we applied the rule of continuity creating 'seamless editing'. However for shot 6 and 7 we felt we were unable to create seamless editing due to the fact that we ignored the 30 degree rule to create a POV shot. I think that our shots flowed together and we applied appropriate transitions. For the last slide we used a fade out transition before the zombies attacked the civilians. We also added a blank slide to give the impression of a camera flash. In addition we changed the lighting in each shot to emphasize the darkened areas and shadows to make the film look more foreboding and ominous.  Lastly, we muted the sound, as we thought that it quickened the paste  and increased the tension in the film.


I felt that we used appropriate costumes, make-up and props for our film. For the zombies make-up we used white, grey, black and red face-paints. We painted their faces white to emphasize there paleness, and painted under their eyes with grey, then black (See image below). We then painted around the mouth with a deep red to give the impression that they had been feeding on human flesh. After making the fake blood we dripped it near and around the forehead  and mouth, to give a better impression of blood. We choose white t-shirts for each of our zombies as we thought that would best emphasize the blood and muck on their top. We splashed and printed our hands on the t-shirts to make them look more effective.
I thought that the location we chose was appropriate in setting the scene for a zombie film. We choose a graveyard which we thought was a likely setting for zombies. The grave stones created an eerie feeling and, the abandoned church was effective in creating a feeling of uneasiness as it towered over the graveyard. The trees in the grave yard surrounded the paths which built tension because it meant that the characters couldn't escape.
In my opinion i thought that the actors we choose were appropriate for our film, they delivered a good and believable performance when acting as a zombie or a civilian. 

* I edited this picture by changing the lighting, brightness and contrast.

For the planning of the film, i went shopping to collect the variety of different ingredients for the fake blood, face paints and to buy the T-shirts. I painted most of the zombies faces using brushes and sponges and decorated the zombies t-shirts with the fake blood. 

When filming i directed the characters into the right positions, so that it created enough lead and head room for when we was filming. I helped position the camera using the rule of thirds so that the shots looked more effective. For the editing process I helped split and crop the film so that we could achieve seamless editing and make sure that there was no jumps in-between each sequence. I helped with the transition affects, such as the fade out and the flash of the camera.

For improvements to the film i feel that we could have improved shots 6 & 7. We thought that there was a slight jump between that character taking the picture and the zombies. This could be improved by filming it differently, by shooting the picture being taken then the zombies in stead of him standing there for ages and then having to edit the shot later on.

When  filming for our final coursework i will check over the film to make sure that there is no continuity issues, as in this exercise in shot 5 only two character ran past the camera, when there should have been three.

Preliminary Exercise Evaluation - Charlotte Cox

Our final exercise proved that we could hold a steady shot as there was no unnecessary movement throughout our film which was due to the constant use of a tripod. I believe that our composition was quite good as the majority of our shots were framed correctly, such as the headroom and lead room. We constantly left enough room for the actors and actresses to move into and we made sure that they had enough space above their heads so that they weren't chopped off. However, if you take into consider other framing rules we could have filmed things slightly differently. For example, even though we continually used the nine square grid to make sure that we kept to the rule of thirds, in shot 4 the grave stone is perhaps too centered and could have been placed more towards the right, so the audience would naturally be drawn towards the empty space in which the actors would then run into. In our short sequence, we used a variety of shot types such as canted angles to film the grave stones to give an, distorted effect, high angles when the zombies were running towards the camera and low angles when they were running away from the camera. We also used long shots, close ups, POV shots and medium close ups. 


 In my opinion, we achieved seamless editing as we generally followed the 180 degrees line and 30 degrees rules, except for shot 6/7 in which we did not follow the 30 degrees rule for because we tried to achieve a POV shot to make it seem like the actor was taking a photo of the zombies at that precise time. We also used editing transitions such as fading the last scene to black to portray a bleak ending in which the zombies feasted upon the civillians. We also wanted to use a flash as an effect to make it clear that the actor was documenting the zombie attack with his camera, however it didn't seem right so we just extended the clip and chaged the colour to white, which I think gave the same effect and was a success . We also determined the lighting during our film, by adjusting the dark and light levels whic gave it an eerie atmosphere. Finally, we muted all noise as we believed that it increased suspense and in turn quickened the pace of the entire film.


I believe that we used appropriate costume as the tops were bloodstained and dirty however we only customized the tops as we didn't think that trousers were overly necessary to give the impression that they were zombies. In addition to the costume, I feel that the hair and make-up was also of a high standard. I believe that our location was brilliant, the graveyard definitely fit well with the zombie theme and made the whole scenario more realistic as it wasn't just grassy backgrounds and forestry. Lastly, our actors and actresses were great, they put their upmost effort into the acting and weren't bothered at all with the messy hair and make-up so I believe that our overall content was great.

During the process of the  exercise I directed the film and through the planning I helped gather the costume and make-up and on the final day joint made the actors and actress into zombies, who I think looked extremely realistic. I believe that all jobs within the group were equally distributed which is why we worked so well as a team, for exaple we all gave our input in directing by telling actors and actresses alike what to do/say/and where to stand etc. If we were to redo/improve the film I would propose the idea of reshooting certain shots becasue, although only myself and the other two people in the group realised it, we had one specific continuity issue which was that one of the civillian actors didn't run through one of the shots for some reason which proves that we hould also . I also think that we could reshoot scene 6 by filming the actor full on in the face so that the editing wouldn't seem as jumpy. When it comes to shooting the final coursework film, I think that we should especially take care when it comes to continuity to make sure we don't encounter the same problems when editing again, and try and achieve 'seamless editing'.

Preliminary Exercise Evaluation - Sophie Lowe

Our finished piece has shown that we can hold a steady shot, with the use of a tripod and that we can frame a shot appropriately, using the rule of thirds. 

We used a variety of shot types, for example we used canted angles at the start when we have the actors running past the gravestone. Also we used high angles when they were running away and the girl fell and we used a low angle when the zombies were coming towards the camera in the last scene. This was from the view of the people as the zombies were crowding around them. We made sure that when we were filming that in each scene there was enough head room for each character and that when they were running they had enough room to run into or if they were running off camera they were on for a reasonable about of time.

Each shot flows well, this is because we used a 180 degree line and made sure that we moved at-least 30 degrees everytime we filmed a new scene. This made sure that there were no jump shots. We tried to use a flash effect on the end of the clip where he takes a photo on his phone, however this did not end up working how we wanted it to work, so we created an extra clip and made it white and how long we wanted it and this created a flash between clips. Also the fade out at the end of the film worked really well when the zombies came towards the camera.

The costume and make-up worked really well for the genre of film we made. Although the zombies were not fully clothed as zombies they did have all dirty and bloody tops and all had great make-up and hair. You could tell that they were zombies. It was a fantastic location and setting for the genre we chose, because we could have the gravestones for extra effect rather than a lots of trees and grass. We did choose appropriate actors as they were not bothered about us putting make-up on them and messing their hair up. Also they were not afraid to look stupid while filming.

I think that when we were filming i did really well, by making sure that the camera was in the correct place using the rule of three and making sure that when the actors were on camera they were in the correct position and that there was enough head room. I think to improve, we could try and make the transition for shot 6 to shot 7 a bit better by having him move a bit more     in shot 7 and then take the photo rather than having him standing there straight away. I think that next time when I am filming I need to check that the continuity is right before we leave the location because when we go to importing the video we figured out that in one shot there are only two people running past when there should be three. Also that we checked where we are filming because at one point we found we were filming at the same place when they were running so we had to move.

Preliminary Exercise - Final Assessment

Composition Exercise

For this exercise, we had to film a sequence of shots to portray the story of a person waiting for their friend, until their arrival, where they carry out a conversation before leaving together. On our first attempt the lighting was too bright therefore we were forced to reshoot.
On our second attempt we perfected the lighting and continuity issues (by means of making sure that when the friends left together they were on the same side throughout). I believe that although we didn't achieve 'seamless editing' in all of the shots, some transitions between clips were pretty smooth. Other things that I believe made our composition exercise successful were the headroom, lead room and rule of thirds.
When we were considering the headroom, we had to take into account that both of our actor's were of different heights which made it slightly trickier to make sure that we had both of them in the shot without chopping off their heads but without giving too much space(which would draw attention away from the conversation), but we feel we achieved this perfectly.
When we looked back upon our film as we got to the editing stage we noticed that in a couple of shots, it looked like there was too much lead room which couldn't be helped because we were panning the actor walking into the scene and back out again.
Finally, with regards to the rule of thirds, we believe that we achieved this successfully as we always made sure that the characters weren't situated in the middle of the screen, they were slightly towards the right or left, looking towards the middle and away from the camera.

Assessment Exercise

This is the film that we chose to recreate the first 40 seconds of.

This is the shot list for the 40 seconds we have selected.

Character Design - ZOMBIE Shot 1

Shot 1  Before Zombie Makeover

Shot 2 During the Makeover Process

Shot 3 Final Outcome. Makeover complete

Shot 4 Scene1: The Zombie Escapes

Shot 5 Scene 2: Zombie on the Prowl

    
              Shot 6 Scene 3: Zombie Finds

PREY

Shot 7 Scene 4: Dinner Time!!!

*We edited the pictures by changing the lighting and contrast.

Evaluation: Continuity Exercise 2nd Attempt

For the second attempt, compared to the first video we made i believe that this one was mores seamless between each shot, however it was not perfect. For most of my shots i feel i have correctly filmed each one. But i felt like the close up of the watch could have been a bit more focused and shot more directly above to give the impression of the character looking at the watch. I have included the number of shots that i intended and felt that the video had more pace and atmosphere than the first. I felt that the video we created could have been improved by making sure the shots we filmed correctly and that when filming a different scene we moved the camera more the 30 degrees so it doesn't create a jump shot.

Evaluation: Continuity Exercise

For this exercise i had to edit it by myself.

I don't think i have achieved 'seamless editing' I feel in some shots the camera jumps from one scene to the next, creating a feeling of uneasiness. I feel i have framed my shots correctly according to the sheet, when trying to create the variety of different shots like the close up on the feet, marching up the stairs. However when i did a close up of the watch it was slightly out of focus. I have included the number of shots that i intended, and i feel that my piece has some pace and atmosphere. I feel that it could be improved by making the shots more smooth as they move from one scene to another. Also to make sure that the close ups are in focus to make it clear.