Construction: Strengths and Weaknesses

Construction: Reflection 1

Reflection:1

In terms of our opening scene it has played out completely different from how it started.


In the beginning we came up with the idea of having the characters Rasheda, Destiny and Abby walking down the high street with shopping bags, Abby was the quiet girl- in essence the last girl who would be the person to over come the curse, Rasheda was the lead girl who was the typical bitchy spoiled rich girl and destiny who was her side chick. What would have happened is Rasheda, Destiny and Abby would have walked past an alley way and seen a poor old man on the floor, Rasheda would have laughed at him and Destiny would have joined in but Abby being the kind hearted person she is she didn't laugh she looks at the poor old man with sympathy, when Rasheda, Destiny and Abby walk away the old man puts a curse on them and they all start to die one by one in a mysterious way, for instance rasheda would be the first one to get killed by a bus, by when it comes to Abby she has to find a way to stop the curse.


This idea was good in the beginning but as time when on we found that it would be difficult to film and there was too many disagreements with the development of the idea for us to carry on with it. For instance when filming the very first scene which would have been us strutting down the high street Ralia, Ade and myself- Demmy, so that meant that Diego had to film, and we learnt very quickly that  Diego isn't good at filming because every time he would film the camera angle would be of or faces would have been cropped, and we also learnt that I am not good at acting because when they tried to film me I wouldn't know what to do or how to be sassy like they needed me to be as that was Destiny's character, and I would laugh when I was feeling awkward.


So I came up with a new idea which is the idea that we are using now of a serial killer called Roman (Diego) who has a fixation with killing women and keeping pictures of them in his bathroom.


Looking back I feel that we could have handled the arguments better because in the group we are all quite strong when it comes to putting our points across and we don't necessarily do that in the right manner, but now we are all good now because we now all have a better understanding of each other and what we like and don't like and I feel that we can make this movie really good, because the idea I came up with seems to be really strong and everyone likes it.     

Construction: Reflections 2

Reflections 2

Since our last reflection, as a group we had spoken about how we wanted to film our opening scene and we had discussed ideas on what we would like to include and what technical aspects we would include such as camera angles, lighting, props settings and lots more.

So far as a group we have filmed the room scene where Roman marks Rasheda, Destiny and Abby's picture.

In the first scene we had talked about having a long shot for the room in which the killer Roman will be marking his next victim. We also wanted there to be a low key lighting because low key lighting is dramatic and creates a dark atmosphere and tension.

We wanted the tension to be really thick so we talked about having close ups and extreme close-ups to the face, the hands and the knives.


All the things we talked about we added, so far this idea has been really good and it seems to be really easy to develop and add ideas to. The only complications that we have had so far is planning because we all have different class schedules so finding time where we were all free was hard but we managed to do I, for instance we when we were filming the room scene half way through Diego had to go because he had a class but lucky the sun didn't go down to much so we were able to finish that whole scene that day. 

Communication within the group has also changed, we all talk to each in a way that we are able to understand and we all listen to each others ideas and points.

We have even found out each others strengths, for instance Diego is very good at acting, I am very good at filming, Ralia is very good at coming up with ideas and Ade is very good at making props and putting things together.


I really like how this film is looking so far and I think if we carry on the way we are going to get a good grade.



Construction: Reflections 3

Reflections 3:

Preparation

In terms of the preparation our group decided to create the first scene in a room which looked like a bathroom. We decided to make the first scene as a bathroom because we wanted to show the main character’s identity/personality.  We tried our best to make the scene look like a bathroom at home by getting props for decoration, display or for the character to use the props. We specifically chose the room because the space was convenient as we just moved some obstacles like chairs, mirrors etc. This helped make the scene look realistic.

Our group decided to bring some objects from home like brushes, cotton buds, soap etc. so that the room will look more lie home. We then brought a collection of knives in order to help the main characters personality. So we layered out the knives on top of a cloth so that it will be shown clearly. 

Also, for the display on the wall I printed out several of different random females, although the pictures were quite pixelated and some were in black and white we could have prevent this by getting better quality pictures and keep the consistency of black and white. Furthermore, we then decorated the pictures on the wall and scattered them everywhere with red crosses on each of the pictures. We brought our own paints which was specifically the colour red as it signifies blood. We used brushes to flick paint on them and then our fingers to draw the cross this conveys how psychotic the character is which was a brilliant idea, which came out successfully. 

We planned Romans costume which was a smart outfit for him because we wanted his identity to be sophisticated. Then, we deliberately applied red paint onto the main characters (Roman) hand in order to portray blood but we realized that the paint we used was quite dry so it was quite obvious that it was fake blood so we should have used ketchup to make it more realistic. Even people noticed that it was fake blood instantly.

Also, in terms of pictures I specifically put the 3 main victims apart from the main pictures to show what will happen to the 3 victims. We purposely put the 3 main pictures on the mirror as it is understandable/reasonable as it is Roman's next targets, from there we now had a brief idea for the next scene. 

In terms of lighting we constantly filmed during the day in order to keep the consistency in the film and have natural light upon Romans face and see every details in the room. However, there was a slight point where the sunlight possibly went down a bit so I decided bring my photography light just in case so I then prepared to adjust the light similar to the natural light in the room. Linking to lighting we then spoke about the camera angles and shots so we wrote down a plan of the angles and shot in the first scene. 

As a result, the ideas that was taken place was my idea since I am the creative artistic person in the group. We all have different talents to share within the group and that's how we all came together to prepare for the first scene.



Construction: Reflections 4

Reflection 4

Now that we have completed our first time of filming, I think that it went really well since it was our very first time of filming. As the scene only contained the main character which was Diego as Roman. Before, we filmed we had to set to the room up to make it look like a bathroom which was extremely good because of the way we layered out the props.

As a group, we all came up with ideas on how we should present the first scene and we discussed what camera shots and angles should be used, and also what the set should be like before we started to film. then we combined our ideas into one.

After, we all combined our ideas we started to film. One of the strengths of the first scene was the camera shots and angles because we tried our best to put different camera shots and angles in one scene appropriately which made the film look quite professional at one point.

However, the disadvantage about the first scene was the lighting because some parts were quite dark and then the majority were bright which caused a problem, so we thought that we could attempt this by editing the parts where it is dark.

Overall, I think that the first scene went really, really well and hoping that the rest of the scenes will be as good as the first scene, as a group we are looking forward for the project to be complete and see how it turns out to be.

Construction: Reflections 5

Reflections 5

Rasheda Murder Scene

Since our last reflection we have filmed the scene where Rasheda gets murdered by Roman.
As a group we spoke about us making it look like a flashback so we have decided that when we start to edit it properly we want the scene to be black and white.

While filming we had a lot of problems for instance, because we were in  a public environment people kept walking by and disturbing our filming and we had to  be careful because Diego was holing a knife so we had to do that scene quickly because if anyone had seen that scene they could have called the police because they could have thought it was real especially when Ralia screams because I had her scream multiple times.

Another complication we had was when i was filming. Because I filmed the whole scene I came up with the idea that i wanted a P.O.V shot for Roman and that involved we running and chasing after Ralia with the camera, at first when i did it it was looking blurry and it just ended up looking messy so i put it on the tripod and mad it as small as possible and surprisingly it working and it ended up looking quite nice.
Another hard bit to film was when Roman was raising his hand to kill Rasheda because Diego's arm kept getting in the way of the camera so we had to keep re-taking that scene. We also had to keep re-taking the scene where Rasheda screams because before we came up with the idea of having a voice over we thought about having Rasheda actually screaming in the scene, but it either sounded o fake or she would laugh or her throat started to hurt- because i made her scream a lot or Diego's hand would get in the way because i tried to make it one continuous shot from when he raises his hands to kill her to where she screams.    


But overall the most annoying bit to shoot was when Rasheda screams and birds fly away. Ralia came up with the idea and seeing that we were in a park and birds where there it was fitting, but actually getting it on camera was hard. i had to keep running after the birds and every time I would get close they would fly away, so i ended up  having to throw a stick from a distance and quickly get it on film, after 17 takes i finally got it.

I can't wait till we start to edit the film properly so we can put it all together because so far it is looking so good.
As a group I think we are doing well and we are getting on with it and even when we are filing it doesn't feel that long, until we look at the clock and realise that we have been i the park for 4 hours but apart from that it's all good. 

Construction: Reflections 6

Reflection 6

So far we have completed the scenes of Diego's (Roman) and Ralia's (Rashida). We have finally finished filming Demi's (Destiny) scene which was quite an interesting plot.

The concept of the third scene is very unique as it makes the whole opening scene even better because of the whole scenario. One of the strengths in the scene was the camera angles, we all reflected together as a group, that the use of the camera shots and angles were used effectively. Also, we thought about  the props, costume, set etc deeply as a result the whole combination came out beautifully.

The disadvantage of the scene was the acting skills at the end could have been improved and better camera shots at the end could have been improved because viewers may not understand what the scene is portraying quickly, as the action was at the side of the screen instead of the center even when Roman was about to stab Destiny the camera shot could have changed to make it look more realistic. Furthermore, the acting could have been more powerful at the end as it was not as good as we all thought it would be.

However, the scene as a whole looked good and successful even though there was minor things that needed to be improved. Next we are hoping to do the ending scene.

Construction: Reflections 7

Reflection 7

Since our last reflection we have filmed Ade's and Diego's scene where their characters Roman and Abby are planning on meeting. Meaning that we have finished filming.



This scene wasn't planned if anything it was kind of rushed, originally we planned that Roman would be hiding in a bush and that Abby would walk past and that would show that Abby was the next victim but we then changed that because we realised that it wouldn't make sense in the film because at the beginning of the film we have 3 pictures of Rasheda, Destiny and Abby so it wouldn't go together because in order for her to be the next victim she had to know Roman prier.



So we all quickly came up with this idea of Roman arranging a time for them to meet and we filmed it in a matter of 10 minutes tops due to the deadlines we had to meet.


One of the major flaws of us rushing was that we missed out on a lot of important things, for instance we was meant to have the rose that Roman gave to Destiny and Abby as it was meant to be significant as that's what Roman gives all his victims but because of the way we filmed it didn't show in the shot so now we don't have a rose and I feel as thought the whole movie won't make sense, but my group feel that it doesn't matter and I see what they are saying but I feel like the rose was what in a way tied the whole movie together, but we said we would just wait for the audience research when the watch the movie and see what they say and what they think about it.


Another flaw that we noticed was that when Roman called Abby, Diego forgot to change Ade's name to Abby so now when he calls her it says 'Ade' on the phone and it also shows her number.


But apart from all those flaws and the fact that it was quite rushed, everything looks quite nice, we are just about to start editing, and we are all excited to start editing and making everything look professional.

Construction: Reflections 8

Reflections 8:

Putting the films altogether

Now that the film is complete our group has finally put all the scenes together on the editing software. As soon as we imported all the scenes it was 10minutes altogether which is meant to be 2mins. We had good scenes that were not that necessary. We noticed that our recording was a film instead of a opening scene. We realized that there has to be a lot done in the filming which are cropping, title graphics, linking sequences to another etc.



Construction: Reflections 9

Reflections 9:

We have finally finished our filming, and we have moved on to the editing. So far, once we imported the videos altogether we realized the timing of the film was beyond 2minutes which the film was 10mins therefore we had to crop out extremely a lot. We had a lot to edit because our film was quite long. I thought that the editing will be simple and easy to do but it was quite long and complicating due to our group because there is 4 of us in a group.

In editing we mainly take in turns on the editing, the disadvantages of editing as a group is that we have very strong opinions about the project so it makes it difficult for us to co-operate and have a final conclusion. But at the end of the day we some how agree with each other.

Moreover, we all have certain editing that we mostly do because we are interested or even good at doing,

  

Construction: Reflections 10

Reflection 10

The Highs and Lows of Production

Looking back as a group we have come every far from where we started, we have all come together to make a movie prier to not knowing each other that well, and I can say we have had good times and tense times, but I think that we can all say that we are all good friends now. We made a movie which in our opinion is very good and all that time and effort that we put into it has really paid off.


I remember when we would argue over each other trying to get each others points across and how we would argue over the smallest of things but now we all listen to each other, we can laugh at each other and we don't take things as seriously as we would in the beginning. If anything making this movie has taught us about life skills for the future because it has taught all of us how to work with different groups of people and how you communicate with people you don't know, how to talk to them, how to act, how top conduct yourself and it has also given all of us three new friends.


Some of the lows of production was defiantly the beginning as we didn't really know each other that well and we didn't know what we wanted to do. Also the awkward meetings when we would all plan to meet up and when we got their we would know what to say.


The Highs of production are a lot, more that I can put into words but as an overall summary, I would say one of them was making this movie because as I said before it turned out to be quite good, another high was learning all the skills we did along the way, in media terms, camera angles, how to use Photoshop, media software, even how to use a MAC- apple computer.


We as a group are all just happy that we got the opportunity to film and make a movie and enjoy ourselves while making it.

Construction: Blooper Reel

This is our Blooper Reel which contains bloopers that have taken place during the course of filming or Horror film. Throughout this process in the beginning we found ourselves making a lot of mistakes but as time went on we began to get the hang of things. Bloopers did not occur so often when filming but we mainly had some "distracting" moments whilst filming. - enjoy :)

Construction: Adding Title Graphics

Adding title graphics from RADDltd

Construction - Editing

Construction: Non Diegetic Music

Non Diegetic Music

In Deadly Love, I have chosen to use this non diegetic music called "The Threat" as a form of dark dramatic music to build suspense throughout the opening scene. The reason why I decided to use "The Threat" as the soundtrack of the film is because the sound of it is very mysterious, creepy and suspenseful with the addition of horror sound effects with crescendo violins. I have also played with diegetic and non diegetic sounds to create ambiguity like in horror movies. And I really believe that non diegetic music suggests how we ought to emotionally interpret the scenes we see; as a matter of fact "The Threat" matches perfectly what we see. 

Construction - Adding Non Diegetic Music

Adding non diegetic music from RADDltd