Pre-lim Filming

Before going out and filming real footage for my short film it is imperative that I practise filming shots. It's important I do this as it helps me to test out my ideas and see if they are plausible whilst also helping me become more comfortable with the equipment such as the tripods and cameras. It also helps me as it allows me to test out shots that I want to use in my film to see how effective they are and if they connote what I want them to and are visually engaging enough to hold the readers attention.
Pre-lim filming familiarizes me with the whole filming process as I have never created a film before and the processes are all new to me, by practising them before I go out to shoot real footage it will help me to make sure that my shooting flows smoothly, I get all the footage I need and don't waste my actors time.
Through the pre-lim filming I have learnt a number of tips and techniques such as how to hold the camera if I'm doing a hand held shot (with my elbows in for stability), to have an assistant camera man for support, to direct the actors before we shoot so they know what I want them to do, to count down from 5 to 0 whilst filming so actors know when to start and to have a lot of extra footage for editing, to shoot an initial wide shot of all action then cutaways and close up's to edit later and to shoot with editing in mind.
When I came to edit my prelim I had a lot of problems with the computer and uploading the videos as it kept uploading my files shorter than the original size and kept crashing meaning I was loosing the edit I had made. This means that my prelim is very short as I lost a lot of footage. This has stressed the importance of filming a lot of extra footage for editing later. I also learnt that I should keep the angle of the shots the same when going between close ups and mid shots whilst filming a conversation to make it flow better.

In my prelim I practised filming a conversation as much of film is conversations. Below is my prelim.

I have also created an edit of the prelim which includes the shots I've used and why I've used them which is below.

Tip's for A2 Work

In order to help me ensure that my blog and practical work cover all the areas I need them to I have looked on Pete's Media blog for tips and found a very helpful slideshare presentation on what I need to do. I have re-posted it below so that I can keep checking that I am doing what I need to be doing.

Presentation nov 4 from petefrasers

Props

In order to try and encourage the reader to get the preferred reading from my text I need to signify a number of things and one of the most effective ways to do this is through the use of props. Each prop used needs to signify a particular message to the audience which will enable me to reveal the type of genre, help shape opinions of characters and keep the viewer engaged throughout the piece.
I have therefore created a Slideshare presentation on the props I will use in my film and the connotations of them which is below.

Lighting and Equipment List

Before being able to go out and shoot I need to think carefully about what equipment I need to take with me onto the set. As I'm shooting my film at night one of the most important things I need to think about is lighting as it needs to be light enough so that the audience can see what''s happening on screen but dark enough to provide the kind of atmosphere I want within my film (dark and foreboding).
I want to light my film in a number of ways. The first is with a warm firelight during the bonfire scene. This will contrast to the darker shots shown at the beginning and connote that the scene by the fire is of a typical teen party with no real tension or fear until it is portrayed through the dialogue.
During the bonfire scene I also want some electric lanterns carefully placed around the group as this will increase the levels of light in the shot and ensure that the viewer will be able to see what is going on. I can also use one of the lanterns or a torch during the telling of the 'curse' where I will ask them to underlight themselves with as this connotes that they are trying to scare the others.
I want the actors to use torches and take the lanterns with them when they all split up and are in the woods. This will create a colder and more foreboding light and cast intimidating shadows which will all  create tension.
 can also use the bonfire to create tension too as when the two protagonists come back I want the fire to have died down which makes the whole setting seem more foreboding and again create tension.
I also need to bring equipment such as cameras to film it with, shot lists and storyboards so I know what to film, props for the shots that I need, scripts for the actors, additional makeup incase some smudges or comes off and warm clothes as it's filmed at night.

Therefore my equipment list is:

• Lanterns
• Fuel for the bonfire
• Torches
• Cameras
• Tripod
• Scripts/storyboards/shot lists
• Warm clothes
• Props such as alcohol cans etc. 

Risk Assessment

When creating a film it's incredibly important to ensure that it's safe to film so I have created a risk assessment of both of my locations which includes the risks and possible solutions to try and make sure I keep everyone safe.
Below is a slideshare of my risk assessment.

Location	Risk	Solution
Field/bonfire	·      Burns from the fire ·      Slipping on the grass/mud ·      Falling over ·      Falling into the river/drowning ·      Twisting ankles ·      Coughing/sore eyes from the smoke ·      Tripping over equipment and props ·      Exposure to the elements ·      Exposure to the cold ·      Wild animals ·      Disrupting dog walkers ·      Polluting the field with litter ·      Going on private property	·      Keep everyone a set distance from the fire ·      Make sure everyone has appropriate footwear on and has access to a torch/lantern so they can see where they’re walking ·      Ensure everyone knows where the river is and can all swim ·      Make sure if people are uncomfortable they can move away from the fire ·      Ensure all equipment is put in appropriate places and people can see them ·      Check forecast and bring any necessary protection from the elements ·      Ensure actors bring warm clothes ·      Be aware of animals ·      Try to keep noise down ·      Make sure there are bins for all rubbish to be disposed off properly ·      Make sure all locations are on public ground
Woods	·      Tripping on roots and branches ·      Walking into trees ·      Disrupting the local wildlife ·      Disrupting dog walkers ·      Littering ·      Exposure to elements ·      Exposure to cold ·      Twisting ankles ·      Going onto private land	·      Make sure all actors have a light so can see where they are walking ·      Try to keep noise levels down ·      Make sure all rubbish is disposed of properly ·      Make sure all actors have appropriate clothing ·      Make sure all actors are wearing appropriate footwear ·      Make sure all land used is public

Target Audience

My target audience for my short film are teenagers and young people from 14 to 26 due to the content of my film which is of a teen party, alcohol and drugs which all relate to my target audience. These themes are inappropriate for younger people and may be seen as crass by much older people. It also contains characters of that age group so connects with the target audience more effectively.
My intended target audience are most likely male as men tend to watch teen comedies slightly more but my film does not alienate young women as I have represented a variety of young women within the film to and it contains themes that apply to them just as much as men, I have done this to try and appeal to as wider target audience as possible.
I have aimed to appeal to teenagers and young people as they have a huge amount of power within the film industry as they have a large disposable income and spend much of that on media products such as films and music. Due to the sway young people have over the film industry there is a trend of the horror film genre at the minute as they are mainly watched by young people so there is a large target audience readily available. This means that my genre of comedy horror appeals to my target audience as they will understand the codes and conventions of horror film and therefore understand the humour I have created by subverting them.
Young people also watch a large number of comedy films and with each trend of a genre there tends to be a number of spoofs as the conventions become overused and cliched and therefore easy to create comedy with.
Below is an  interview with some people who represent my stereotypical target audience as it is imperative I understand them because if I do not understand what they want from a film and provide it my film won't be successful.

Response:

• From  my interview I have discovered that the stereotypes I want to present in my short film fit the expectations of the target audience. For example I am representing a teen party as out of control, full of drugs, alcohol, sex and rebellion which are all of the words that my target audience used to describe a teen party.
• I have also found out that my target audience do watch horror and comedy films and a combination of the two which is very important to know as I need to be certain I have targeted the right audience.
• I also asked if a short film that contained real teenagers would appeal to them and they all answered yes which implies that I have cast the film well as it will apply to the target audience.
• They also said that portraying a different kind of beauty would be a good idea so I will defiantly use that. 

I found asking my audience questions incredibly helpful as it indicates that I have targeted the right audience and am including things that appeal to them.

Representation, Cast and Costume in my Short Film

I have a number of characters in my short film and I have thought carefully about how I am going to represent them to best connect to my target audience and create humour. I have thought about using stereotypes and subverting them to ensure that my film isn't too cliched. I have also included cast pictures in the presentation to show how I have chosen my actors to allow me to represent the characters in the way I want to.
A vital aspect of representation is the costume I will get my characters to wear and I have also included this in my presentation.
Below is a prezzi presentation on the representation of characters and cast members within my film.

Representation, Cast and Costume on Prezi