Re-shoot Blog: The Coronavirus Outbreak

          After my group and I finished editing our film, we had a decent product. We tried to think of things we could do to improve our product because we wanted our film to be the best it could possibly be. My group and I then realized that some of our scenes could be improved by reshooting them. My group and I all joined a group FaceTime call and decided on a day to reshoot these scenes. This was a perfect idea yet bad timing. Unfortunately, we were not able to reshoot any of our scenes as a disease known as the coronavirus unexpectedly started to rapidly spread across the world. As a result of this outbreak, my school ended up shutting down and we are now expected to stay in quarantine until further notice. After this was announced, my groupmates and I created another group FaceTime call and talked about the situation that we were in referring to not only our re shooting plans but our health as well. After some discussion, we decided to cancel our re-shooting plans as we came to the conclusion that it was too dangerous. We realized that reshooting some of our scenes was not mandatory so we decided to keep the footage that we have and put our health first.
          After deciding to cancel our reshooting plans, my group and I tried to think of any more ideas to improve our film. We knew that we couldn’t reshoot any footage leaving us with only one thing left to do; watch our film and fix any editing mistakes. One Of the two scenes that we were going to reshoot only had a small lighting issue. I tried to think of many ways this could be fixed. After a lot of brainstorming, I remembered that we filmed some of our scenes more than once just in case an issue as this occurred. Luckily, this scene was one of the scenes that we shot more than once. As a result of this, my group and I had to search through our deleted footage to find the specific scene that had bad lighting. After about 10 minutes of searching through our deleted footage, my group and I were thrilled as we found the piece of footage that was needed. As a result of our findings, we were able to switch the footage that had bad lighting with footage that had much better lighting and quality. Switching this footage not only made our film appear more professional, but will allow our film to be more enjoyable to the audience that craves higher quality footage.

Editing Blog: Incorporating Sound

          After organizing title sequences, it was time for my group and I to move on to the final step in editing. We were all very excited to finish editing to see our final product. As a result of this, my group and I got to work immediately. There were a couple of things that needed some improvements which is what we started to work on. We quickly realized that the time duration between each sequence needed to be set correctly. We didn’t want to confuse the audience if one sequence appeared on the screen at the same time as another sequence. This is not complicated to achieve as resets the specific times that we wanted each sequence to appear and disappear. My group and I didn’t only want the transitions between each sequence to be smooth, we also wanted the transitions between each seen to be smooth as well. These smooth transitions between each scene are important as it informs the audience that switching of scenes has occurred. These smooth transitions also assist the audience to find and notice different shots and angles used within each scene.
          After setting the duration between each sequence, my group and I had one last thing to edit. This was to incorporate music throughout some scenes within our film. My group and I had many good ideas for songs that could have been used however, we had to use copyright free music. In search of copyright Free music, my group and I used the power of YouTube to our advantage. We searched and listened to many songs and soon found the perfect song to incorporate into our film. After selecting this song, we edited it into the introduction of our film. We incorporated the song to be playing when the title sequences are being displayed. The song had the perfect beat and mood to match the content being viewed by the audience. The song also provided the perfect intro for a horror film, exhibiting more horror as the film proceeded. Once this process was completed, my group and I finally finished our editing journey and had a fully completed product.

       

Editing Blog: Organization of Title Sequences

          After cutting and trimming all of the pieces of footage that we selected to use, my group and I knew we still had a lot of work to do. Because of this, we got straight to work immediately. After importing all of our selected footage, we didn’t know what to do next. After some discussion, my group and I decided to organize our footage. With the use of iMovie, we were able to move pieces of footage around. As a result of this, Our footage would all be in order in the way it is displayed to the audience. Organizing The order of our footage is essential as the film would not make any sense if the scenes are all mixed up. This will also result in there being no storyline within the film. If there is no story within the film, it will be uninteresting and confusing for the audience. The organization of our scenes and footage will overall make our film look more professional but most importantly, it will cause our film to make sense and be very interesting.
          After putting all of our scenes and pieces of footage in order, my group and I started to think of what we could do next. After some brainstorming, we decided to start working on the introduction of our film. The introduction of the film needed to contain many title sequences. Incorporating these tiles was very time-consuming. This was because we had to have the titles sequences in the correct order with the corresponding scenes. All of the title sequences are shown at the beginning of the film in different scenes. The order in which these titles are placed is very important for helping the introduction of our film make more sense. The main purpose of these title sequences is to give credit to the participants relating to the creation of our film. Additionally, the incorporation of these title sequences results in our film looking more professional. Overall, title sequences give the introduction of our film a much cleaner and organized introduction, making the audience more excited to watch the film.

Editing Blog: Trimming and Exporting Footage

          After my group and I finished filming all of the footage needed for our film, we were ready to start editing. Before we started editing, my group and I went back and looked at all of the footage we had. We wanted to ensure that we used the best footage we had to incorporate into our film. When filming,  my group and I filmed many shots per scene. Because of this, we had to go back and choose what footage was best for each scene. When selecting the footage, it was very time consuming as we had to delete the footage that was not wanted or worthy to be in our film. My group and I had to pick the footage that turned out the best and supported the genre of the film. After this selection process, my group and I began to trim the footage. We had to ensure that each clip was short enough to meet the time limit that was instructed. After many attempts, my group and I finally met the required time for our film.
          During this process, there were many issues that had to be resolved when trying to meet the required time limit. Our edited footage kept going over the maximum time limit. My group and I came to an agreement that some of the less important scenes needed to be trimmed. After trimming these scenes, we just managed to meet the maximum time limit and had no further concerns about the maximum time limit. After overcoming this issue, my group and I began to import all of the trimmed footage. We all came to an agreement to use iMovie instead of Pinnacle Studios. We knew that using iMovie was going to make this editing process much easier as all of our footage was filmed using my iPhone. My group and I faced some difficulties when trying to import all of our footage due to technical issues within the computer that we decided to use. We easily resolved this issue by using a different Mac computer to export our footage onto. After we switched computers, the footage was capable of being exported without any remaining issues.

Conducting a peer review

          In class on Tuesday, my group mates and I conducted a peer review of another group's film. The film had many positive values however, negative values as well. There were many things I liked about the film however there was one thing in particular that I really liked. The one thing I really liked about the film was the scary “creature” shown throughout the film. The “creature” was very realistic making the film look more professional. The realistic effect of the “creature” made watching the film more enjoyable. Additionally, the way the “creature” moved was very spine chilling. This really brought out the horror the audience craves and wants to watch. The “creature” made the overall film much scarier and interesting for the audience. Without the appearance of the “creature”, the film would have lacked interest as well as suspense and horror.
          Although there were many things that I liked about the film, there were a few things that could have used some improvements. Out of the many improvements that could have been made, there was only one main issue that could use some suggestions. One main suggestion I would make to the film is to improve the lighting throughout the entire film. All of the footage was very dark making it hard to see the overall setting and characters. The darkness of the footage resulted in the audience being unable to see the character’s facial expressions when being scared by the “creature.” This issue is very crucial as it decreases the quality of the film. Not being able to see the character's expressions or the setting in which the characters lye makes the film significantly less interesting and scary for the audience. The lighting of the film could be fixed by simply turning on a small lamp when filming, slightly opening the curtains, or increasing the brightness through the use of editing. If this main issue is resolved, the film will become better and more professional as a whole. Overall, the film isn't considered one of the best films I have seen however, it was good and somewhat interesting for my group and me to watch.

Filming blog: Establishing horror within the film

          When establishing the overall film introduction, my group and I wanted to ensure that the audience could clearly understand the genre. This is significantly important as the audience may find the film uninteresting or hard to comprehend and follow along with. My group and I recognized the importance of this and automatically took action. My group and I took many steps to ensure that our film inquired multiple senes that exhibited horror. To assist with this, we decided to film in dark locations, increasing the suspense and level of horror for the audience. For example, the scariest scenes were filmed in the bathroom, laundry room, and closet. These locations were very beneficial as each of those rooms sustained no windows, thus letting no unwanted lighting into the room we were filming in. When we were filming in these very dark locations, we used our flashlights to create just enough light to allow the audience to see what is happening in each scene. The usage of flashlights allows more darkness in the room and fewer objects to be identified. This results in an increase in horror in the effect of mysterious and creepy surroundings.
          When establishing the overall film introduction, my group and I also ensured that the audience could clearly understand the genre through the usage of props. During the scariest scenes, my group and I made sure to incorporate props to expand the feeling of horror within the audience. The most used prop which was incorporated in most of our scenes was the Ouija Board. Many individuals recognize the Ouija Board as a popular yet very scary board game. The usage of the Ouija Board intensifies the level of horror and warns the audience how scary the following scenes may be. If my group and I didn't have the Ouija Board, it would be more difficult for the audience to know that something scary was going to happen. When relating to other props, the scariest scene of our film was shot in the bathroom. In this scene, we wanted one of the characters to get possessed and pulled away. The usage of the shower curtain made this scene not only possible but scary and believable as well. To create this scene, I had to get into the bathtub and pretend to possess one of the characters by pulling her head back into the curtain (not hard enough to hurt her). This creates somewhat of a mystery leaving the audience wondering what happened to the possessed girl and who that antagonist was that possessed her.