Megan RobinsonIG4 Final Major Project

Final Edit EvaluationIntroduction

At the very start my tutor, Iain told us that we have to create a Final Major Project such as video, audio, motion graphics, photography and graphic design. I chose video and wanted to produce a short film. I had to research it and produce some idea generations which included

Tagxedo, a mind map, moodboard and Pinterest Influences. I decided what genre I wanted to use which was horror because when I research short film, most of them did horror and I liked the idea how they did it. Next I produced a pitch and delivered to my tutor. After this I started my production by filming and sound recording then once that was done, I completed my post production by editing using software such as ‘Adobe Premiere Pro’ and ‘ Adobe After Effects’.

Technical Quality of Final Product

Footage – The quality of camera footage was of a higher standard than previous projects because I had more experience and took my time checking each shot making sure it was clear. I used the cameras Canon 7D and Nikon D3100 which both professional cameras and record in HD. This improved the quality as it was much sharper.

Use of Sound – I used a separate sound recorder which included a ‘boom microphone’ and this made the quality of the sound very good because it caught all of the noise including background noises. When I recorded the screaming scene, I found the sound was too loud so I had to turn the volume down.

Editing – Overall the editing has worked well because I used techniques such as cutting from scene to scene which was effective in explaining my narrative. I also pretended to drop my camera in one scene which had a mystery effect because the viewer wasn’t sure what was happening. I used the black eyes technique because it concluded the story with a twist ending which was what I originally wanted. Whilst editing I added some sound effects which made it more scary. My editing techniques are similar to my secondary research and follow horror genre conventions.

Composition – The composition throughout my film was shaky composition for the house scenes because I wanted the handheld shot effect to make it more realistic and like a ‘home movie’. In the interview scenes, the composition used different camera angles to try and add the variety to the shots. The composition was very still to create an effect of an interview style.

Lighting – The lighting I used was all indoor artificial and I was happy with the quality because it suited the setting where I was filming and everyone could be seen clearly and things were much brighter.

Megan RobinsonIG4 Final Major Project

Costume/Props – The costumes I used showed the characters because I wanted the spirits to look old fashioned like they had been dead for a 100 years and the priest was wearing appropriate clothes although you couldn’t see his outfit properly. The characters that lived in the house were dressed in normal modern clothes. In the interview room, you could tell it was clinical because the doctor wore a white lab coat and the patient was in plain hospital clothes. I think the costumes helped to show the characters and the role they should have played.

Make-up – I used some make-up throughout my film to create better effects and to make things more realistic. The bedroom scene, I thought the cut looked good and quite professional, it added to the horror suspense theme.

Use of setting – I feel the setting was relevant to my original idea because I wanted to do a ‘home movie’ and being in my house to film made this very realistic. For the interview scenes, I used a blank meeting room in an office which was effective however could have been better if it was a proper clinical setting.

Production Skills you have newly acquired and existing skills you have further developed

I have learned new skills such as black eyes, T.V. static, subtitles, converting sounds, putting sound and footage together, credits, and the existing skills are ‘Reaper’, and ‘Adobe Premiere Pro’.

Putting Sound and Footage Together – While I was filming, I used a video camera and sound recorder. The video camera did have sound but my tutor said it would be better if I used a sound recorder separately to have a better sound quality. Once I finished filming, I uploaded all the footage and sounds. Then I created a new project called ‘Adobe Premiere Pro’, I imported all the footage and sounds that I wanted to use for my short film. Then once I got the footage and

sound, I had to match it up and checked that it was correct. I deleted the original sound that was with the footage then once they are all right and together, I exported it and added the ‘SS’ an example, ‘Scene 1 Take 1 SS’. I found matching up the sound and the video slightly difficult however I used the clapper board so it was easier to see where the

sound matched up because there was a visual representation of the audio waveform peaking when the clapper board shuts.

Converting Sounds – I needed to convert sounds because I wanted to add suspense music to certain scenes therefore I found the sounds on ‘YouTube’ and then used a website called ‘hddownloader.com’ which converted the music into a compatible file that I could put into ‘Adobe Premiere Pro’. At first I was unsure on what to do however I asked my tutor for some support, he showed me how to use it and after that I was quite confident to convert other sounds file using this website.

Megan RobinsonIG4 Final Major Project

Reaper – After completing my first edit short film, my tutor watched it and advised me to introduce the sound better by introducing my music by having slowly increasing and at the end of the music having it slowly fading out. I used the software called ‘Reaper’ which allowed me to change the volume. It wasn’t difficult because I have used this software before in other project so I was used to editing sound in this way.

Subtitles – First I watched my short film and due to my deafness I had to ask for help when listening to the specific words, so I went to my support tutors. It was important to me that it was accurate. I asked my tutor how to put subtitles on my short film. He showed me how to use it. First you clicked ‘Title’ then ‘New Title’ and ‘Default Still’. It comes up with a scene where I wanted to put the subtitles. I had to choose what title style I wanted and where I wanted them placed. I did it for all the scenes. I knew how to do it but it was difficult because there were so many subtitles to do and it was a lengthy process. The reason why I wanted to have subtitles is because it is very important that hearing impaired people have access to them. I wanted to make this point as I know how frustrating it is not to have them.

T.V. Static – I wanted to use T.V. static because there’s one scene when I ‘supposedly’ dropped my camera. I have never used this effect before so I researched tutorials on ‘YouTube’ which were difficult because some of them were too fast or complicated however I found one to work with which took a lot of time. I ended up being happy with the results. I used ‘Adobe After Effects’ and followed the tutorial and then exported it out of ‘Adobe After Effects’ and imported it into ‘Adobe Premiere Pro’ and replaced the original footage. The T.V. static I created had no sound therefore I used the skill of converting sounds and found some T.V. static sound from ‘YouTube’.

Black eyes – As part of my narrative I wanted the main character to become possessed at the end of the short film therefore I thought it would be a good idea for her to have a black eyes. Again this is a skill I have never used before and I had to research a tutorial from ‘YouTube’. Then I exported it out of ‘Adobe After Effects’ and imported it into ‘Adobe Premiere Pro’ and replaced the original footage. This process took me a whole day to get it right as it was lots of new things to learn however in the end I was happy with how it turned out.

Megan RobinsonIG4 Final Major Project

Credits – I wanted to do credits because I felt it would look more professional so I created credits on ‘Adobe After Effects’. I used previous experience of this software to create these credits using the techniques such as style of text, opacity, position, background colour and timing. Then I exported it out of ‘Adobe After Effects’ and imported it into ‘Adobe Premiere Pro’ and replaced the original footage. I enjoyed creating credits because it wasn’t too difficult and added to the professional look on the film.

Adobe Premiere Pro – To edit the film, I used a software called ‘Adobe Premiere Pro’ and I used this for my music video last year so I was used to using it however this film was a lot longer and therefore the editing was more complicated. I also had to consider adding sound, suspense sound effect and T.V static noise. I organised my footage and sounds very well so I could use them properly and effectively. I enjoyed creating my short film using ‘Adobe Premiere Pro’ but found it difficult because it took so long.

How closely your Final Major Product matches your Original Intentions

My final short film reflects quite closely the original ideas and theme. However, I have added extra scenes to create a more dramatic effect. These scenes include the interview with the doctor and the ‘bedroom’

scene was changed to make it less complicated. I feel the interview scenes really added to the mystery and suspense of the film. It makes the audience wonder what’s going on and also makes the narrative more clear.

Time Management and Problem Solving

When shooting my footage, I had to consider my timing because I had to book the equipment from college and it wasn’t always available therefore I had to reschedule which sometimes was difficult. However when I shot my footage I didn’t have problem with my locations because there were only two which were available through my family members and therefore I could have a choice of when I shot my footage. Building on improvements from last year’s music video, I managed my time well and solved problems by not including too many characters and planning ahead who I would use. This worked well because I could be in control of my characters and my time.

Reaching your Target Audience

Megan RobinsonIG4 Final Major Project

I completed a survey to get feedback about my short film, 37 people responded which has helped me to get a lot of different opinions. I asked 7 questions, first one was, ‘Do you think my short horror film is suitable for my target audience which is teenagers and young adults of both genders?’ 100% said yes that they thought it was suitable which is good because it shows I have met my target audience’s needs. My second question was, ‘Do you think my short film fits in the genre of horror?’ Again 100% of people said yes which is positive because it has met the aims of my final major project. My third question was, ‘Do you think my editing techniques were successful?’ All respondents said it was successful which makes me happy because I have put a lot of effort into the editing process. The fourth question was, ‘Do you think the sound used was appropriate?’ Which again everyone said yes, this is good because I struggled to find appropriate sounds and also with editing however it shows that the sounds has been effective. My fifth question was, ‘Do you think it

was a good idea to add subtitles?’ 95% of people have said yes and 5% of people have said no. The majority of people thought it was good which pleases me because normally subtitles annoy people who are not deaf however this shows that it does not have a major impact on the viewing of my film. The sixth question was, ‘If I was to do it again,

do you think there is anything I could do differently?’ 19 people said that I don’t need to do anything differently whereas 18 people have commented suggesting changes, some of the comments are, ‘Spend more time making the eyes black at the end, otherwise everything else is fine’ , ‘Don’t add subtitles, it takes away from the realistic horror’ and ‘More explanation at the end.’ All of this feedback is constructive and I would consider some of this if I create another short film. I have print screened the rest of responses below. Finally, the last question was, ‘Overall how would you rate my short horror film? 1 being low and 10 being high?’ the majority of people rated my short film between 8 and 10 which is extremely positive and shows my work is quite professional. However 3 people rated my short film between 6 and 7 which shows I can improve but they still like it.

Another way I got feedback was to set up a closed private Facebook group where I invited members of my target audience to leave comments from their opinions. This was good because it allowed me to interact with my target audience. Below it is a print screen of some comments from my group.

Overall I’m pleased with the majority of the feedback and feel I have done quite well in meeting my project’s aims.

Summary Conclusion of how you would respond to your Project Brief if you were to do it again

Megan RobinsonIG4 Final Major Project

If I was given this project brief again, I would do a short film again but challenge it in a different way such as giving it a different genre and narrative. I would also extend my target audience. I would make sure the narrative was clear so the audience wouldn’t be confused. I feel I managed this project extremely well including all of my planning and organisation and I would repeat this process in any future projects. I worked independently for the majority of my project, only requiring minimal support with some hearing technical issues. All of the other technical issues I managed myself seeking support from the tutorials on ‘YouTube’ when required. I am proud of my short film and feel I have put a lot of effort into this project but have enjoyed doing so.