Changes throughout filming period

Changes throughout the filming period

The baby

As it was based around a single mother we had to take into account the best way to film a baby. Originally we wanted to use a real baby and the plan was to film my baby cousin. However we figured it would be difficult to organise times to film and it became awkward. So we then resulted in using a doll. At the beginning I didn't find the idea great as I thought it would look unprofessional.  

The park scene

We originally loved the idea of including a park scene to show the single mother life and film the stalker in action. When we came to planning it we figured it wouldn't work well as the audience would be curious as to why her stalker would be at the park. We needed to plan carefully in order to keep up the twist ending. 

Poster draft

This is a draft of my poster revealing my first ideas when deciding on what I was going to include. I firstly thought I was going to use a different image but felt this one worked well to portray the victim.

Prior short film reviews

 

This image is a review on 2 short films we watched "Orphanage" and "Note to self". I am now going to review them both.

Orphanage

I thought this short film had a clear narrative in parts however there was a scene where a fire started with no clear idea of how it started to the audience. The genre was pretty clear from the start and the sound at the beginning revealed it was a horror. I felt the camera work was most professional out of both short films, the use of the variety of shots showed clearly it was a horror.

All the scenes were relevant but one slight mistake was the fact we see the orphanage building from the start and it is burnt and derelict. Then later on in the film we see the actual fire happen so the settings muddled the order up. This then made the short film difficult to follow.
There was sound throughout and I felt it was slightly unneeded at points. An example is when the girl is walking over the rubble and the sound of her feet on the ground was not in sync with the actual sound effect. I liked the non-diegetic sounds as it really did create a weary, scary effect.
Finally, the use of using a series of match cuts of the diary worked really well to create suspense.

From watching this short film I feel I have gained a wider knowledge of what works well in a short film and what doesn't. As a group we will learn from this and ensure our short film doesn't make the same mistakes. It has made me realise the importance of editing and making sure we do a final check to secure we have made no major mistakes. 

Note to self

I found the short film "note to self" clear at the start but wasn't consistent with enticing the audience. It was rather boring at times and when it was all beginning to reveal, it didn't quite all add up. The setting was pretty standard and lacked any creativity as it was all filmed in one home. It was clear that they had not thought everything through as where were the parents?. 

The camerawork was not amazing and it lacked any wow factor. However the use of the flashbacks worked really well with the storyline. The music used was very basic which I felt was unneeded, and it  didn't fit in at all with the scene. Also there wasn't much editing involved which sadly made it look like it could have been filmed on a phone for example. This made the short film amateur with no climax to it.

Overall I feel I have learnt that using camera techniques and good use of editing is key to a good short film. Acting is also important and I felt they lacked real effort. It was an eye opener to watch as it reminded me how realistic, strong and professional I wish ours to be. 

Voice-over Andrew Thompson

This is a video of a voiceover Andrew Thompson kindly did for us. It is played when the stalker is writing the letter and getting the gifts.

Filming for 'AWAY'

This is a prezi showing you the different filming we have for our short film and the planning of which ones we feel will work well with our short film.

Filming montage scene

This video is explaining our current situation on filming as we filmed the montage scene.

Risk assessment

These are a risk assessment sheet and a consent form. We have these to ensure everyone's safety and care when filming.