Evaluation- Activity one

Institution

This is the institution, which is located at the beginning of our opening two minutes. The placement of this was at the beginning because it enabled the audience to automatically know who helped produce the film and in our previous research into directing and producing the film we discovered, generally, these were displayed at the start of the film, so conforms the conventions of horror film. However if we placed our 'MJC Productions' institution further on, we thought it would interrupt the atmosphere of the film, which we are trying to convey, meaning they would not engage with the film as much as we would like, as we believed it was critical that they feel part of the film and are able to relate to it. We used this font for the institution because they are bold and contrasts from the background image on the screen. The fonts are both the same font type and size, so the audience can associate the two institutions as being the same company. As we designed these institutions, it meant we could choose the fonts used, music, transition of font, arrangement of font and the background image. We decided to have natural background such as the sky and the top of the mountain as we believed it portrays us discovering our ideas and uncovering them to produce our final opening minutes. The mountain institution was placed after the other one as the eerie music of the brusque air creates tension to introduce the establishing shot of our film. The transition of the writing in these institution enables the continuity of the two, making these fluent and fairly professional looking. Although the use of 'Arial Black' font allows the writing to stand out, the use of colour of the font in  the first institution, does not contrast from the background that easily, meaning to some of the audience it would be hard to read. This is a factor film distributors and producers considers as important as they would desire the title sequences to be clear legible and distinct.

Establishing shot

This is the establishing shot of our opening two minutes, which follows our distinctive institutions which we designed ourselves. This establishing shot is very effective as having the focus of the camera blurred, as the girl walks away, creates an eerie atmosphere, which is follows the conventions of a horror film and introduces the film effectively. This blurred effect does not generate a distinctive focus pull, however,  the movement of our actor, reinforces that she is the focus of the shot. However due to not having a clear focus pull it allows the audience to not only focus on the actor but also the environment surrounding the actor. Having the medium shot behind the girl, enables the perfect introduction to her character as she is the only on in the shot although there is an absence of her face it makes the audience wonder what is so significant about this character. This shot also creates an image of someone stalking her or watching her every move, which is how we wanted to portray it. The lighting of this shot enables the audience to see every aspect of the shot in fine details, which is due to the high resolution of the camera, which captures everything very clearly for the audience to see. The transition from the institution ensures the continuity of our film, so there is no sudden change, which would disrupt the tension we want to create from the very first few seconds of our film. We used a black fade in transition instead of a white one as we thought, using the white 'fade in' would imply that it was a flashback, which we didn't want to convey so we decided to use a black transition ensure the continuity of our film. Also the colour black connotes death, badness and most of all horror and scared happenings. The use of having the phrases 'A Movie Based on True Events', allows the audience to relate to the film, as they begin to feel this could happen to them, increasing their adrenaline. However to improve this it may be better to say 'Based on True Events', as the audience already know that it is a film. The use of white font, conforms to the stereotypical writing which are present within horror films, which makes the opening two minutes effective. The 'fade in' transition of the titles allows the titles to flow and makes our film more fluent, rather than having our titles suddenly appearing onto the screen, which would be amateur looking and less effective. The music we used during this shot synced with the actions of the characters movement, for example, having the non diegetic noise of the leaves. Having the noise of the leave crunching under the girls shoes created a sharp crisp sound which emphasises the silence of 'the woods', generating a scary unnerving atmosphere for the audience. Another piece of music was added here in the background, which increases the tension due to its a low toned pitch. Involving a young lady in the establishing shot makes the audience suspect that something bad is going to happen to her, which conforms to a horror genre as, stereotypically, its usually a blonde innocent girl, which is the antagonist and the one who is victimised, as they are seen as weak. This establishing shot gives very minimal information amount the story of the film, except that the main character is most likely would be the young girl. However the following few seconds, about 5/6 seconds into the film, allows the audience begin to create a sense of what the story is about; the girl. The opening sets up the story  by having the presents of the girl within all of the shots, which suggests that the storyline would be mainly based about this girl and due to the types of camera work used it is about whatever or whoever is stalking her.
The genre of the film is obviously a horror, but what tells us that from the opening? Well, the black 'fade in' transition suggests that its something bad, due to the connotations of the colour black being associated with death etc. The use of the non diegetic music of the leaves, adds a subject of suspense as usually in the woods you could hear a lot more things, so to a certain extent the music makes the woods seem mysteriously and unnervingly silent. The use of the unfocused shot intrigues the audience and makes the atmosphere of the film eerie which conforms to the genre of a horror. Also the use of the white formal font conforms with the titles of horror film, which further increases the genre of the film. 

Camerawork
We used many close up shot throughout our opening two minutes as they add tension and suspense, partly due to the minimal amount of aspects you can see. This low angled close up of the boot of the girl walking through the wood suggests that this may be important to the film to trace the tracks of the girls whereabouts, as close up shots can imply the significance of things. This close up provides extra information about the girl, as they can create an image of what the girl looks like due to the type of clothes she is wearing. We used countless close ups as they conform to the conventions of a horror film as they create tension, which the target audience like to feel when watching a horror. The use of the close up shots also allows us to shorten the duration of the shot, reinforcing tension and anxiety of the audience as the short cuts of the close up generates a feeling of urgency and suspense. We also used some long duration shots as this makes the audience feel uneasy as they do not know what to look for as they are afraid of something jumping out on them, which was reinforced with the background music.  We ensured that the camerawork was to be stable, avoiding amateurish shots to be captured. This conformed to the techniques of not only horror film makers but every single film maker, as stabilizing the shot, ensure a fluent high quality and professional  film.
Setting/ location
The location of 'The Woods' was firstly set within a wood, as we believed it was very relatable to the audience as its a very everyday place to go. This location also is a very traditional setting for a horror film, for example, 'Friday the 13th', meaning our location conforms to a horror genre. This shot in the woods is called a 'subjective shot which is a type of shot in which the camera is positioned as if looking through the subject's eyes. This is very effective as it allows the audience to become involved within the film as they feel as if they are the antagonist. The shot allows the audience to see a panorama of the woods, which gives the audience a feel of the atmosphere. The use of the diegetic music of the girl panting, and the shot moving frantically from side to side, suggest the fear and weariness the character has, which emphasises the spookiness of the silent wood.
Within our opening two minutes we had two locations; firstly the location of the woods and then a fade in transition of what is seen as the girls house. Having the secondary location of a household, makes the audience relate and associates themselves to the film as they think this could happen to them. The house location also conforms to the horror genre as usually this is when murders or the scary events happen. This high angled long shot enables the audience to see the neighbourhood of the antagonist due to the highness of the shot; the neighbourhood looks unnervingly peaceful.
Editing 
Editing is essential to keep the continuity of the a film, as bad editing can lead to a film being unsuccessful and disrupting the atmosphere for the target audience. We ensured that our editing was accurate and precise so it would make our opening two minutes as professional as we could and to ensure the continuity of the film. An example of our editing skills was the match-on-action of the girl entering the bathroom of her house. This involved us filming three different shots and editing them to create a fluent opening of the door. The match-on-action shows may elements of mise en scene, such as the use of the white clothing in which the girl is wearing. This use of white clothing suggest innocence, purity, youth and symbolises that she is or may be the victim of what will commence. The use of lighting in this editing technique is fairly effective because it suggests that something bad is following her, demonstrated by the dark light behind her. We also used this match-on-action shot previous, when the character is in the wood. We thought this technique makes the whole of our opening two minutes more fluent and shows our skills of editing. In the non diegetic music, we added a piano rhythm when she opens the door, which suggest a sense of discovery while she's opening the door. This sense is created by the use of match on action as she is revealing what is behind or inside the bathroom of her house. We also used hot lighting within the film, which subverts to a stereotypical horror film. This use of hot lighting makes our film more contemporary and creates a sense of realism due to making the colour in the shot warm and bright, which makes the audience relate to the film even more as they can relate to a cosy, warm atmosphere. We decided to use hot lighting to create a sense of realism, which would furthermore engage the audience. Having used two locations within our opening two minutes, it allowed us to use many different shots, which expressed different effects, which we wanted to portray, such as the point of view shots. We used many point of view shots within the woods scene, to create a sense of the antagonist stalking and following the young girl in the wood; however we used many more point of shots with in the second sequence. We did this to engage the audience even more so they could relate to the film but also to make them feel as this is through their eyes, meaning they would be more scared as they feel as this is happening to them presently.

Props and special effects

There are two types of special effect categories; optical effects and mechanical effects. Optical effects are the effects where computer technology is needed after or during the filming,for example, SGI. Mechanical effects is where the use of props and effects which are physically used, for zombie skin make up. In our film we used mechanical effects which was the use of the fake blood. We used this so we could make the cut as realistic as possible as the more realistic it looked the more the target audience would be engaged with the film. We used other props such as the scarf, which the protagonist is wearing for most of the film. The scarf could come under the category of costumes and props as it is not a necessity piece of clothing. The scarf was used to show the youthfulness of the girl, as we wanted to portray her as innocent as we could, which is why we used a more childish like scarf which is reflected by the scarf being multicoloured. We also used shampoo and conditioner containers in the shot were the girl is looking up from water in response to the bang outside the bathroom door. We made sure that these containers were in it as they made the shot more realistic as they are necessities which stereotypically girls require. We also had them within the shot for our sponsors, meaning used them as product placement. This is when specific products are shown on purposely in the shot so the audience would want to buy them more and gives the product advertisement, which therefore increases the chances of the product being brought. Finally we also used toilet paper when the girl quickly covers the cut with it so she can close the door. This prop was also used to make the response of the girl reaction more realistic and life like as when you usually cut yourself you place something on it to stop it from bleeding. Generally, we involved all our props to ensure that our film was realistic as possible, which would allow the audience to engage, relate and associate themselves with the film quickly and more easily. 

Another special effect would be the use of the underwater camera, which we used within the bathroom scene. We used this to explore new angles and ways of filming, which would engage and involve our target audience even more as it creates a sense of them hiding and gazing from beneath. This effect also created unnerving quietness, as all you could hear was the diegetic noise of the rippling water. This was effective as it created tension as the non diegetic music fades out, making the audience feel uneasy as they are expecting something to make them jump. The angle of the camera was a low angled shot, which makes the audience feel less superior than the girl, to certain extent, we are the germs and blood on her hands she is washing off. Having it low angled, gives limited view as the audience can only see the rippling girls face through the water, therefore increasing their adrenaline. We used our protagonist to exploit the male audience (stereotypically), voyeuristic nature as this would attract this side of the target due to having an attractive protagonist.   

Costumes- Protagonist and Antagonist

We believed that costumes were vital to ensure we portrayed the full effect of each character. We wanted to make the protagonist to be seen as innocent and as normal as we could, which would make the audience feel more sympathetic for the girl, if something bad happened to her. This portrayal conforms to an horror film as stereotypically a young girl is used to to emphasis her vulnerability within the film. The protagonist clothing, which was visible on screen for the first minute, consisted of; blue jeans, brown boots, multicoloured scarf and a green jackets. The use of the jeans, boots and jacket made the girl seem as normal as any other, which would make the audience feel similarly vulnerable as they can relate themselves being in this position. The use of the normality of the clothing makes it more realistic and makes the protagonist seem more of a target. Further on, the protagonist takes off her green jacket to reveal a white coloured top underneath, which is visible for the remaining time of the film. The white top connotes purity, innocence and youthfulness, which was the explanation of using this colour of top, as we want the audience to feel lots of sympathy for the young lady. We decided having the white top showing from here as this is where the girl needs to feel most vulnerable due to the oncoming events about to occur, meaning reinforcing even more sympathy for the audience to feel for her character. The use of camera shots emphasised and supported what we wanted to portray, for example; the long shots of the girl made her feel more vulnerable due to the distance of the character from the camera. The lighting we used for the girl was fairly bright, so it would bring out the features of her face and suggests that she is innocent and vulnerable, due to the light intensity we used on her. Having the girl wearing two costumes within our opening two minutes emphasises the normality of the girl and furthermore reveals that she is the protagonist of the opening due to the white top being revealed when the bad events are about to take place.
In contrast, our antagonist had to be portrayed as the complete opposite of the protagonist, meaning being portrayed as scary, fearful and just as evil as possible. The costume, which was visible on screen, for the antagonist consisted of a brown jumper, with a brown velvet jacket over the top, with maroon jeans, and finally a brown towel with a stitched on smile to suggest that evil wears an unnerving smile. The part of the costume which was not seen were the shoes of the antagonist, which were high heels, which obviously subverts to a stereotypical horror film as high heels are stereotypically designed and worn by girls not murderous antagonists. We used the high heels so that the character was towering over the protagonist, which emphasised the vulnerability of her and the superior and powerfulness the antagonist has over her; which is reflected through the clothes worn and the stance the antagonist has. The clothes which were visible, were all the same colour, brown, but different shades, which makes the antagonist seem more serious, meaning they have planned to do this. The colour brown also connotes to being down-to-earth, suggesting the person behind the mask could be anyone, even the last person you expect it to be. This colour also hides dirt, which could suggest what ever happens to his victims the blood on  his hands will not show. The use of having normal clothes subverts the stereotypical horror film as the antagonists in horrors usually have a costume which contrasts from everyday life, for example, the clown from the film 'IT', or scream, with the oversize black cloak and mask. The mise en scene of the mask of the antagonist makes the audience feel fear due to the hidden identity of their face and the stitched smile. The stitched smile suggests that they are happy this is happening, which the audience feels unnerving, which furthermore adds to the scare factor. We had the antagonist standing behind the young girl for many reasons, such as, it creates another enigma of what the girl is screaming at even though there is something much worse standing warm blooded behind her. Also having the antagonist  behind the girl shows the superior of him and the vulnerability of the girl, making the audience feel more sympathetic for her as there looks like there is no escape from his grasp. Finally the antagonist is standing behind her so the audience can see what he looks like, which gives them a little insight of this character and also implies that bad things always creep up on you! The costume of the antagonist contrasts with the protagonists white top, so when she is standing in the foreground of the medium shot, they contrast making the focus pull more on the antagonist due to the contrasting colours and the expression of the girls face.
This medium shot introduces the secondary character of our film, the antagonist. We introduced the antagonist in the last few seconds of our opening two minutes so our film would end on a cliffhanger and create many enigmas for the audience to ponder on. Also it makes the audience scared and fearful as the antagonist just popped out nowhere, making the audience feel as though this could happen to them.
Fonts and font styles (Opening credits)
 The image on the right shows different opening credits which are present throughout our film. These opening titles allows the audience to see who is involved in the film, from acting to producing and costume designing, which enables them to see if there is any well known actors in it. Having well known actors usually attracts audiences due to the reputation of the actors acting history and success in previous films. Our opening credits began at the beginning of our opening minutes, where we used a fade in and fade out transitions, which gave our film the continuity, instead of the credits jumping on screen disrupting the atmosphere we wish to set. We decided to have the font the colour of white, as it connotes innocence which refers to the protagonist, but also conforms to a stereotypical horror film. The use of the white allows the font to contrast from the background, enabling the font to stand out clearly and boldly. The font was mainly placed in the bottom right and left hand corner so the audience can see all the aspects of the shot. We also ensured the font was a reasonable size so the audience could easily read them, meaning this would not disrupt the film. The font we used was 'Ringbearer', which we then edited and adapted it to suit our film. We added small scratch marks to make the font look a little wood like, which would link to the name of the film 'The Woods'.
Title- The Woods
This is the final image you see of our opening two minutes, the title 'The Woods'. The placement of the title was at the end as we believed that the film was building up to the revealing of the antagonist and the title of the film. Having it at the end also ensures that this is the final images the audience remembers and imprinted in their minds , which would make them intrigued and wanting to watch more of 'The Woods'. We used white font so the font would clearly contrast from the black background so that the font is clearly visible and creates a sense of fear and ghostly effects. To reinforce the scariness and fright, we added the use of diegetic noise of the girl's echoing scream, which would increase tension and scare the audience watching the film. This scream reinforces the enigmas in which the title, 'The Woods', creates, for example; what is the girl screaming at as the antagonist is standing behind her? The title also creates an enigma of why is the woods so significant to the film, which furthermore intrigues the audience into watching the film.