Equipment Used

In our opening sequence, we mainly filmed using panning shots and close ups. We all suggested ideas where we could possibly film. We shot in several areas around Burnley including parks and deserted bits of land.  

For our filming we used a Canon Md325 video camera, I personally believe that the camera isn't the best camera for filming but we didn't much choice since neither us didn't have anything better. The camera itself isn't a bad camera, it lacked battery life, but i suppose you could say that with any standard video camera.
The zoom on the camera was pretty good, although the picture quality does slightly go a bit fuzzy when you do zoom in. Overall the camera is okay, but i think that a better defined picture would have been better.

The tripod we used was a Velbon DV 7000. Although I didn't really have a chance to use it due to my job role. From what saw and heard from Calum and Cameron, it looked difficult to keep still if there was a slight breeze.

Blogging

Obviously as part of this coursework we have to keep an up to date blog to show what we've been doing during the filming of our film.

For our blogs we have mainly been using laptops and computers at home and college. Thankfully i am fortunate enough to own an iPhone. I downloaded the blogger app, so I could blog whilst on the move. I found this the easiest way to keep updating my blog. Using my iPhone I also found it easier to upload photos i had taken to show what goes on while we are filming. I was given the title "chief blogger" because of my iPhone app.

Immunity Draft

Below is our 1st draft to our opening sequence titled "Immunity". We need to adapt one or two things for example, the "Naughty Wizard Products", this was just a temporary production company until we created another one we all agreed on.

Also in this version of our film, there is a new shot of traffic lights on a dual carriageway, we shot this in the early hours of a Saturday morning to reduce the chances of traffic being in the shot. There also a shot of a car in a car park with its doors open, this hopefully sends a message to our audience that the car has been dumped. Calum also volunteered to be an actor in the film after we agreed that it was lacking a character. So we filmed Calum walking across a field with white overalls on and a paper mask. This hopefully suggests that  Calum is the only human left on the planet.

Relevent Changes

During the process of film making, you have to change and adapt a few things, and that is no different with ourselves. Some examples of changes we have made include the font of the credits in the sequence, the timing of when the credits come in, and the duration of the credits remaining on the screen.

We have also we constantly been altering the contrast and the brightness of certain scenes, we have done this becuase a lot of our footage was shot in pure daylight, when lots of horror films are dark and dingy. We have also slowed a lot of footage down to give a dramatic effect.

Introducing the charater.

After reviewing the footage shot, we mutually agreed that our film was lacking a character. So Calum volunteered to dress up in some white overalls and paper respiratory mask. Hopefully the character in the film will suggest that he is immune to the virus spread across the country.

It starts in an extreme long shot, with Calum walking across a field, getting closer to the camera.

Calum dressing in the overalls

Target Audience (Gender)

Judging from my general knowledge, I would say that our target audience is more likely going to be males. This is because the stereotypical male likes violence and action films, as women prefer romantic comedes and feel good films etc.

An example of a film similar to ours would be "28 Weeks Later". This is more of  a mens taste in films, the blood, violence and action is what all men crave in a film.

Target Audience (Age)

After doing plenty of research on other horror films and seeing what BBFC had rated horror films, we believe that we should be aiming for a specific audience of between 15-30 year olds.

Our film involves shots of empty streets, roads, dual carriageways and town centres. We are trying to get a message across to our audience that the country has been wiped out from a deadly virus. We believe that a younger audience would be confused and wouldn't have a clue whats going on.

I also did research on other films with a similar age certificate. Some films I did research on was 28 Days Later, Dawn of the Dead and The Happening. (Trailers below). These films have inspired us to do our own post apocalyptic film.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eunaclr-WgU (28 DAYS LATER)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZGLRIOQHOY (Dawn of the Dead

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIQ21m1Ks08 (The Happening)

Concluding our Film

With the deadline approching, we have been hoping to conclude the final footage of our 2 minute opening sequence.

We got up in the early hours of a Saturday morning to film empty roads and dual carriageways to make the film look more authentic  We also went to the town centre and did panning shot across the deserted centre, to show that the town had been wiped out.

After reviewing the footage shot, we mutually agreed that our film was lacking a character. So Calum volunteered to dress up in some white overalls and paper respiratory mask. Hopefully the character in the film will suggest that he is immune to the virus spread across the country.  I have also included the video of Calum attempting to put on the overalls, i find this rather amusing. (Explicit content)