Lastly...

MS KAZIMI IS MY FAVORITE TEACHER EVER!

Changes to the Storyboard

I made only a couple of changes to the storyboard that I submitted pre-production. They are: 1) The POV shot of the teacher viewing the students. Originally I was not going to have him stand up and walk over towards the desk in that cut, but I decided to do so so that the audience gets to see another view of the students, but still keeping them engaged. 2) The second change I made was the shot when the protagonist checks his phone. Originally I was planning to cut between the shots, but I thought it provided better variety by being one continuous shot.

Technology Standard

Operating a Video Camera: The operation of this I found ok as I had worked with such technology before. The basic running of the camera was relativley easy, and I believe that I was able to get some good effective shots, in particular the birds eye view of the student at the end. I was unhappy with the video quality of the film (shot it with a microwave) as it was not in HD adn the shots were pixelated becuase of it. However, I thought that I used the camera well when I used the zoom. This was especially apparent during the final shot, with Bronson's character coughing into his hand, highlighting that the disease has been passed. Composing Shots: I thought I composed my shots well. I used plenty of POV shots in an effort to engage the audience into the fear and horror shown by the characters. I also did this to show the symptoms of the disease, and how quickly it can strike. I also intertwined several shots of a clock. I did this in order to show the gradual progression of time. What it also shows is the small amount of time it takes for the disease to take effect, further enhancing the horror of the film. Almost all shots of the teacher are taken as a low angle shots, showing his power and authority. Recording or Using Sound Effects, Dialogue or Music: I used very little diegetic sound in my film. That was done specifically to highlight the beating heart and the ticking clock sound effect. I had also thought about recording sound for the school bell and ambient background noise, but decided it would be a more clear and easy-to-edit if I just used a sound effect for that. I had the heartbeat noise added because I thought it would show the symptoms as they worsen. The heartbeat does not sound natural, either. This adds to the effect of the horror because it is something out of the ordinary. Importing Images and Video Files: I found this to be a very stress-free process. I think that this is because I organised all the raw footage that I possessed into one folder filled with all the usable shots. Then, all I had to do was import them, which was trouble-free. (also helps that my laptop has an SD Card reader) Creating Music or Sound Effects: In this film all the sound effects I used were taken royalty-free off of websites (no credit was needed to be given for any website used). This was because the impression I had to leave with the audience was one of a normal classroom and school environment, with these providing perfect vehicle in which to do that. The only music of sorts in the film is at the end where there is the little girl singing. That is again because I wanted to give a horrifying experience to the audience, and the haunting audio of the small girl provides just that.

Production Evaluation

Overall I am happy with the production process. Several aspects of the production process mak me feel this way. One of these is the almost easy-to-use editing software that I used. I found that for a base-level understanding that I have gained for "Adobe Premiere Pro CS5.5" made the editing process one easier, and I believed because of this it enhanced my film considerably. One exaple of this is during the trimming of my clips. Using the "T" shortcut I managed to easily trim the clips to the exact frame that I wanted. This was very efficeint and definately cut down on some time editing. In saying this I only feel I had a base knowledge of the program. Premiere Pro is a well renowned program used by people much more proficient in film-making than myself. This is because of the vast amounr of features present in the software. I feel that my film may have been better if I had learnt how to use more features available. One example of this is the "blur" effect I placed on 3 shots. For those shots, I wanted the blur to fluctuate in the level of blurriness, showing the character going in and out of consciousness. I would imagine that there is a way to do this, but I did not have the expertise to be able to do it. If I had perhaps spent more time reading about it I may have been able to find the way to do it, bettering my film. Another difficult part was the filming. I filmed in the same location on 2 separate days. Unfortunately the lighting was very different on the two days, which I did not notice at the time. This meant that I had to add a colour filter and adjust the brightness of the individual clips, taking more time. To change this I could have filmed on the same day, or, I could have taken more care and provsion when I fimed on the day. I could have reviewed the footage I shot previously in order to achieve the same lighting. This would have led to a more polished film. The audiences reaction to the film was pleasing as well. The class were slightly annoyed when I played the film out loud as they thoight that the bell at the begining of the film was a real one. This was pleasing becuase that meant that they recognised it as a school setting. Another reaction was that the fake blood was scary and realistic, which iis fantastic. It was so pleasing because of the idea of the film was to make the audience feel involved to heighten their reactions, which I believe it did.

Other Pre-Production tasks

4. As I only plan on having one main character in this opening (the guy who dies) I have only confirmed Michael Dunlop as a main actor. However, I have got the services of Matt Rhodes and Bronson McNaughton to fill my other 2 roles required.
5. As per sheet
6.Costume - Casual Mufti (supplied by actors)
Props - Folder (I provide)
- Pen (I provide)
- Paper (I provide)
- Fake Blood (already made using household ingredients, I will supply)
7. As per sheet

Treatment

There is a classroom about to begin. The teacher requests that the students get out there work. One student is shown to get out his folder and flick through it. This student coughs. Teacher continues to teach, remarks about the "use of the unknown monster in horror films to make it more scary". We see the protagonist drawing a monster on his notepad. He coughs louder this time, and more than once. A concerned friend next to him asks if he is ok, the protagonist responds with "Yeah yeah yeah, don't worry about me." Then we see the student grab his mobile phone out of his pocket, a text message reads "OMG cud this get ne more boring lol" . We then see him reply but all of a sudden grab his chest. We hear the faint noise of a heartbeat in the background. He coughs a couple of times, and he checks the palm of his hand, where there is a few drops of blood. We then see him look up at the board, but his vision becomes blurry. The sound of the heartbeat intensifies, becomes quicker. The coughing now becomes louder, violent. We then see his vision, which is completely blurry, almost blacking out. Then we see his face, blood dripping out of his mouth and nostrils. We then see him fall off his chair, landing face down. We hear a noise that sounds like someone flatlining. Then the opening credits come up, we see the title in amongst the black background.

Genre Concept Paragraph

The genre of the opening is Horror. It doesn't have a title yet, but it will most likely be one or two words, as are many films of the horror genre. I want to show the quickness and the brutality of the disease, and to do this I want to engage the audience and make them feel as though they are in the movie, by using such shots as POV shots, to show the effects (eg drowsiness shown by soft focus POV. The scene (breifly) is as follows:
1) Average person, nothing much happening.
2) He coughs, still innocuous.
3) Symptoms get worse, he starts uncontrollably coughing.
4) Coughs up blood.
5) Vision gets hazy.
6) Vomits blood and falls off chair.
7) Someone else coughs.
8) CREEEEEEEDITS.