Main Task : Windows Creek

Coursework feedback

The tone is set stylishly in this simple but sophisticated film opening. There is an excellent variety of camera movements, tilts and pans, as well as some creative and excellent framing, notably the dead body arm in the foreground while the antagonist approaches. The credits follow conventions and keep pace with the slow but sophisticated pace. There is a clear narrative and the editing is excellent with a clear build up of sequences and match on actions. This is clearly fulfilling the task set and meaning is conveyed through editing, the sophisticated soundscape and editing.

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Coursework Feedback Response

I am very pleased with my coursework, in particular my film, and the feedback I have been given for it is very positive. To match its quality I believe more works needs to be put into my evaluation and possibly research.

Evaluation Q7 : Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression of it to the full product?

Since producing my preliminary task, I believe my film making ability has increased tremendously as there has been much I have learnt since then to making my opening sequence. The final product is much more technically advanced then the preliminary task, as it was very simple and used very basic camera angles, however in the opening sequence many more complicated angles are used for a variety of effect.



The Preliminary task was very simple, it had not really any dialog and used standard non diagetic sound such as music and basic camera angles such as medium shots and close ups. It lasted for about maybe a minute and didn't much fit into any genre of film. However there opening sequence was much more refined. It was easy to notice the genre and lasted over about twice as long. I used very fitting camera angle which were very technical.



One of the basic camera angle types we used was close ups in our prelim task. We also used a close up, but we used one in a a much more technical way, as it was a close up on the hand of someone on the ground while having someone in the background walking toward the person, out of focus. This worked much better than the prelim shot as this shot fits well with the horror genre, as similar sort of shots are used in slashers such as Friday 13th. Also in our film we used numerous high angle shots, looking up at the subject murderer

Evaluation Q6 : What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

I have learned much about the technologies since beginning to construct my media product, as I have known very little prior to beginning. One of the key things I learned was how to edit my film, a sin it   there  is a large amount of post production editing, such as filters. We needed to do this was we filmed on three separate days, and the lighting was different each time we filmed so we had to use something to make the footage flow better. We also were able to use the software we were using, which was adobe premier to cut some of our footage short, which was useful as some of our original shots were too long or had parts we did not need. This was helpful as this saved us having to re shoot some clips which would have delayed our filming schedule. As well as this in post production, we used Adobe After effects to create a production company title screen. This was a complicated process

Evaluation Q5 : How did you attract/address your audience?

Our audience was attracted to our media product for the characters, I believe. The film followers the murderer, rather than a protagonist, which is a unique twist. We did this because in horror films people are more interested in the murderers, like Jason from Friday the Thirteenth. Nobody really remembers the protagonists however everyone remembers Jason. This feature in our production would make people interested and want to watch our production.

Also the psychological aspect of our film may also be interesting to audiences, as it is mentioned in many Art House style films, Our film would be similar in the way it explores things that might even create sympathy towards the killer.

Evaluation Q4 : Who would the audience be for your media product?

Our targeted audience is 16-25. This is because the main characters in our production are late teens, thus making a younger audience more engaged. Demographics also support that this is the largest age group of horror film viewers. The second largest group, 25-35 year old's would be our secondary audience. This maybe be because the physiological aspects of our film may be interesting to older viewers. Also people who are currently in this age bracket would have grown up during the slasher era of horror, such as Friday the 13th and Halloween, so may watch for the brutality of the main character. Our audience in general would most likely be middle class or around that status.

The U.K box office shows that horrors similar to the one we have created is very popular. A recently released film, Woman in Black 2 : Angel of Death has done exceptionally well in the UK box office, making around £4,000,000. In the UK alone this has done well, and a product such as ours has opportunity to be just as successful.

Evaluation Q3 : What kind of media institution might distribute your media product?

There are many film institutions that would possibly distribute our film. As it covers a number of genres. The main two I believe would be Miramax and Universal, mostly because both these have distributed a wide range of horrors, some of which being similar to ours, like Psycho and Scream.

Miramax is credited for distributing mostly independent films, such as Halloween and Ritual ...

Evaluation Q2 : How does your media production represent particular social groups?

Evaluation Q1 : In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Our sequence opens up with an establishing shot of the setting, which is a dense forest. The shot pans downwards to display the denseness, which also may connote the feeling of entrapment and being lost. The text which is displaced has a shadowy outline, so it can be seen better seen. We went for a simple font over something more elaborate, as if it were more elaborate, it may not have set such a calm opening



The next shot that is seen tracks the main character,who we later discover is a murderer. However, the way the shot is placed, it makes him seem as the victim, as a long shot use used to show how isolated he is. We also have titles placed among this with opening credits. We keep the font consistent throughout the opening. We keep these to the side and out of focus to not distract from what is happening elsewhere in the shot. We have also placed a darker tint over it, similar to what is used in other horror films.


The next shot is the murderer standing up and walking towards another part of the woods. We tracked up to a certain point, to establish the direction he is heading and how isolated he is. We next go into first person, so show the scene through his eyes, while he is still walking towards his destination. Similar effects are used in Horror films, such as the opening sequence to Halloween.

The next shot is a low angle shot looking up from the dead body, which what is suspected as the murderer walking towards him. The focus swaps from the murderer to the bloody hand. We used a low angle shot to display power in the murderer. This is followed with a high angle shot, which is used to show the domination over the area. It might also symbolize something else is in play, something we cannot see.

During the flashback shots we used a completely different tint on the shots, to differentiate these shots from the shots in the present. We included eerie sounding music and mismatching dialog to try to create a unorganised effect for the flashback.  The facial expression in this shots of the killer are expressionless and cold. This would create discomfort.

Risk Assessment During Filming

There were not so many risks over all during our filming, as we only encountered only one or two major issues. The main being encountered during our second filming session in Hopwas woods. It had rained a few hours before and it was rather damp in the woods. One risk could have been one of us slipping with some of the equipment and causing it damage and damage to ourselves. The way we avoided this was to make our way to the filming location carefully.