Production: Final Cut for 'Welcome Home'

                                                                                  

Above is the final cut for Amber and I's 'Welcome Home' horror short film.

Ancillary Product No.2: Final Article

Ancillary Product No.2: Magazine Research

                        

Production: Filming Day 4

After the discussions on the previous filming day about what mise en scene would be used/included in the main paranormal event, it was time to begin filming these shots. As it always has been during media filming days, it was essential to collect multiple versions of the same take as it would allow Amber and I some relief if any of our shots turned out not to be useful. Due to our large focus on the scenes in the child's playroom, ending shots for the film - which include my sister as the antagonist - were not completed as we had no time on that day for the extra filming.

As mentioned in the last write up of filming day 3, Amber had been able to access some thin, invisible fishing line. This aided us greatly as it would allow for shots of objects moving 'on their own' to be achieved. For these shots we used the pram to move with a doll in the pram. We chose this to be the main prop used as it is a common toy that young children play with; the antagonist's identity can be figured out through this, if the audience had not already assumed the age of the antagonist. It was also a practical prop to use as the wheels make it a smooth and easy prop to manoeuvre. We also decided to use the door to reflect paranormal activity in the house. By attaching the fishing line to the outside door handle, we could film the door moving as if the antagonist was closing the protagonist in the room. After multiple recordings of each shot, we had footage that we could easily include in the final production.

Issues that we encountered on the day were similar to that of the other days with camera focus being temperamental in the dull lighting that we used. The set up time of the mess in the playroom and the positioning of props and fishing line was larger than our usual set up, which led to the lack of filming outside of this room. Apart from this, Day 4 was a success.

Production: Audience Testing

For our audience testing we intended to film the response of our target audience. The areas of the film that were to be commented on were the opening scene, the scene when paranormal activities begin in the house, and the build towards the final crescendo. Sadly, due to technical issues, we were unable to film the audience reaction. However, we were able to get written responses from the audience, meaning we were able to act on the audience's opinions.

Josie Pamment commented:

Overall the film was very good I thought the opening title font was good and well suited to the films genre and created a suitable atmosphere right from the start. the camera shots were diverse and very professional. I especially liked the opening of the fridge shot. The story could have been developed more but that comes down to the amount of time you had to create it but overall it was well thought out story and a really well done film piece.

Amy Martin commented:

I thought that the film was good in showing the horror genre and built up a story well. Obviously, the film doesn't fully make sense at the moment as it's not finished but I can see where you are going with it. Some shots need to be redone because they go out of focus slightly but all in all, good film. 

From this audience research we can gather that our horror short film is on the right path towards satisfying our target audience, with our interpretation of the genre being praised by both interviewees. They appreciated that our film had not been fully completed, meaning some of our criticisms were based on the lack of content we had at this point in time. Going forward from this, both Amber and I are aware that our production is seemingly going to be successful, if we pay good attention to the camera work and editing work. 

Production: Editing Day 2

Due to lost time on the first day of editing, cutting shots to fit the timescale planned before-hand had to be delayed until the second day of editing. Due to the sound sourcing done on the first day of editing, we firstly imported all sound effects/soundtracks that Amber and I felt would be ideal for our short film. These sound effects/soundtracks range from ambient horror sound to sounds of crying/laughing children and heavy wind.

After reviewing our first sequence, we then began to trim each shot to the correct timescale set when we created the storyboard, whilst also adding in extra shots that we had not intended to use. We planned extra shots whilst filming as we believed that it would be ideal in order to emphasise the portrayal of comfort within the home, however, did not intend to use them in case of the opening being to tedious and not connoting the horror genre as well as the idea of comfort. We feel that the extra shots we've added to not cause the film to gain a monotonous tone and help establish this comfortable feel and so have been added to the opening sequence of the film.

Ancillary Product No. 1: Final Piece

Above is the final poster for my first ancillary task. This poster follows the more traditonal information poster I first researched, however, I also researched teaser posters in order to see if there are any ideas I could incorporate into the poster. From the information poster I realised that the credits are an essential part of the poster as they are featured on all posters and are required in order to reference all companies involved. I found a credit font on the internet and used this to create the 4-line credit at the bottom of the page. Keeping on the topic of fonts, the title of my film 'Welcome Home' is created in the 'Creature of Darkness' font, which I feel represents the horror genre well. I also feel that the font helps the title look like a 'Welcome Home' banner. I wanted this look to the title as it subverts the idea of moving house being a celebratory event. The tagline featured at the top of the poster reflects the storyline of the short film and allows audiences to make predictions and to anticipate what could occur in the film.

The picture used for the poster shows the protagonist (me) walking into the light with his back to the camera. The reason why I chose this as my poster shot is because this could be classed as a representation of the horror genre. The protagonist remains focused on the light infront, which signifies safety in a conventional horror film. The darkness behind him represents the danger and shows how the protagonist is not aware of his danger. I chose not to show the antagonist in this poster as the short film rarely shows the antagonist, keeping an element of mystery within this character. It would also get audiences to build an image of what the antagonist could be, again building anticipation and excitement around the short film.