self evaluation

Year 11 Film, Television and New Media Teaser Trailer Production – Term 01 Mr. Andrews

Teaser Trailer Task 11.1: Self-reflection and evaluation:

Please answer each question using complete sentences, including as much detail as possible.

Discuss your feelings about the production task: Please explain your responses:

• Did you enjoy creating your Teaser Trailer?

I had a great time creating my teaser trailer. I liked how it was our own project that we got to create individually, so that we could use just our ideas and film skills to produce our final product. I also feel that it took less time than I thought it would. 

• Are you satisfied with the final result?

I really liked the final result, I think it is my best effort. 

• Did your Trailer turn out as you had pictured it in your mind?

My trailer pretty much turned out exactly as I expected it to, except I imagined there would be a scene where the killer stole her victims necklace, put it in a small bag in her car, and stored it among various other bags with peoples possessions in them, to represent that she keeps tokens of her victims and is psychotic. The only problem with this was I didn't have  the small neat bags that I needed, I had no idea where to get them, and my trailer was already 45 seconds long. Also my sister was be smiling when she was meant to be ‘dead’ but we re shot that scene many times and it was the best she could do, that was one thing that I pictured differently in my mind. 

• Would like to change or improve any aspects of your final trailer (storyline, shots, editing etc.)?

If I could change one thing I would change the fact that my sister is smiling in one of the shots where she was meant to be ‘dead’ but we had filmed that shot so many times and it was the best she could do. 

I also wish the ‘blood’ that was being washed off the knife was more realistic looking, but it really just looks like red food dye. 

• If you could start the project again, what would you do differently?

Maybe replace my sister with another actor who didn't smile when they were meat to be ‘dead’, also I wish I had some more realistic looking fake blood to wash off the knife. 

As this task focused on mise-en-scene and cinematography, describe: 

• How you used specific elements of mise-en-scene to depict your film’s genre and enhance the narrative?

I wanted the lighting to be a bit creepy at the start when the killer was murdering her victim and walking upstairs, so I set the lights up in a way that would cast creepy looking shadows around the room. I feel like sharp shadows are a common element of miss en scene used in horror.

I feel I successfully conveyed the character of the psychotic killer who kills to feel powerful. This character is quite prominent in horror films. The shots that specifically show that she is psychotic are the shots of her neatinging the victims dress, folding her arms in her lap and straightening her legs. These represent that not only is this killer dangerous and scary, she is also psychotic. 

I wanted to use a gender swap with my character, making the viewers think she the psychotic male killer stereotype till the end when she was revealed as female. I also wanted to make her look scary and tough so I feel that her props and costume enhance that. I got Michelle, who played my killer, to wear a big black coat, black pants and big black boots to make her look like a tough scary character and a male. It was only at the end, when she looked in the rear-view mirror, that it was relieved that she was a female. 

I also think the use of the prop of the folder labelled ‘my achievements’ with the documents inside all about different murders, helps to convey the killers psychotic character, enhance the narrative and convey the horror genre. 

• How you used specific shot types to convey the storyline without dialogue?

A lot of the shots of the ‘killer’ are low angle shots to enhance the narrative by conveying that she is scary, and powerful. 

Some of the shots of the victim are high angle to enhance the narrative and represent that she is vulnerable.

I feel that the close up shots at the start, of the victims hands struggling, cut with the close up shots of the killer tightening a scarf around her throat represented, without sound, that she was being murdered. 

When the killer straightens the victims dress in a close up high angle, places her hands in her lap from a mid shot high angle and straightens out her legs from a close up high angle, the message that she is a psychotic person who is obsessive about neatness is conveyed well. 

I think that the close up shots where the killer pulls out a knife and crosses out a name on a list of names, clearly conveys that she is a killer and has murdered these people. Also I feel that the shot taken soon after of her washing blood off a knife helps to enhance the fact that she is a murderer and clearly conveys the storyline that a victim has been killed by her.

The high angle close up shots of her folder in her car labelled ‘my achievements’ and shots of newspaper articles inside all about murder help convey her character as a psychotic character. 

• Whether the intended genre is depicted clearly, or if this could be improved?

I feel based on the elements of film that I used and the way I characterised my killer and represented dark genre elements of murder, psychotic and scary characters, my genre was depicted clearly. 

Reflecting upon your completed task, respond to the following points:

• How did other people respond to your rough-edit? Did you use their feedback to make changes to the film?

A lot of people said that there were too many shots of the knives being washed in the sink. I had put this many shots in to convey that the killer was and obsessive person. Unfortunately this did not really come across to the audience, they just saw it as if I hadn't really edited the scene properly. So I cut down the shots of the knives and found other ways to make my killer seem obsessive. 

Another person suggested I put blood on the knife when I was washing it in the sink, I thought this would make the whole ‘murder’ seem more realistic so I took this advice. 

Someone else said some of the shots were too long so I shortened most of my shots, I really agreed with them as it was making my horror film, which was meant to be suspenseful and shortening the shots made it so much more suspenseful. 

I had some shots where Michelle was meant to be driving the car she was in, but someone said they looked unrealistic as my garage was in the background showing that the car was clearly not moving. I completely agreed, I re shot them so Michelle was just meant to be sitting in the car, not actually driving. I feel that this worked much better. 

I originally used my mum as the victim, as both my sisters were doing homework, in the shot that I got of her being ‘dead’. The problem here was she was berating so I reshot this and used my sister instead. 

• Did you plan and prepare effectively? (i.e did you use storyboards, shot lists etc ) 

Yes I used all the templates on blackboard and found them crucial to planning my task. 

• Did production require more or less time than you thought? Why?

I feel it took much less time than I originally thought, probably because I planned everything out so well, using the templates, and knew exactly where each shot was meant to be and exactly what it was meant to be. Also Michelle was a really reliable partner to work with and I found her really corporative. 

• Were there any problems or difficulties during filming and how did this affect your project. (Difficulties may include; shooting, technical, time-management, teamwork, absences or editing etc.);

Not really, I didn't find I had many problems while filming, except that one shot of my sister smiling when she was meant to be ‘dead’ I don't feel like this greatly impacted my project though. 

• Discuss whether you undertook adequate and detailed reflection to support your work? (Review your blog and consider how frequently and detailed your posts were);

I definitely feel I undertook adequate and detailed reflection throughout this process.