3. Stage Four: Evaluation/Task Ten: Production Process.

One of the aspects of my film that I like is the variety of shots that I had. For example, the shots that I had of Ashleigh and Will walking through the trees showed first person points of view and third person points of view, implying that someone is watching these people, however these people are unaware. Also, the shots themselves, such as the two close ups at the end and the shot where Ashleigh stands over Will are exactly what I wanted, so I am pleased. I am also pleased with my actors' work, as the filming process itself took no longer than two hours! I also had the shots that I wanted - plus an additional two or so clips. There are many things that looking back on my film and production process, I could have done better. For example:

1. The length of the shots. My film as a whole are very short, and I could have expanded on selected pieces of footage, such as when Ashleigh and Kristyan look into the camera, and when Ashleigh is scared and looking around.

2. Sound effects. I wish I had filmed them on the day.

3. A higher quality camera. That way the actors can be focused on with more clarity.

4. Writing up a production log so I could have more to evaluate.

5. Managing my time wisely, as in in the editing process, I should have gotten more organised.

-For the 'length of shots' problem, I should have looked at my footage in a critical way afterwards and then have organised another production day. I was hesitant to do so as I did not want the actors to feel fustrated and not want to give up their free time again. In the future, I would get over this feeling and pluck up the courage to ask the actors - for all I know, they may have been very happy to do so!

-For the 'sound effects' problem, I should have made a list of what I wanted to achieve on my filming day. As well as my story board, I could have written down sound effects, shots I wanted duplicates of, a recording device. Etc.

-For the 'higher quality camera' problem, I could have sought after my footage before my parents went away - therefore I would have high quality clips, aswell as a tripod.

-For the 'production log' problem, again this was to do with my organisation skills.

-For the 'managing time wisely' problem, I should have constructed a plan of when I would like everything done.

Also, the editing programme Adobe Premiere Pro, was absolutely hopeless. I had so many problems that I had difficulty keeping up to date. One day Adobe Premiere Pro would shut down and take at least 10 minutes to do so, and then if I switched computers to open up the same file, Adobe would encounter the same problem. Also, the footage would expire regularly, and I would have to begin my movie again as Adobe would no longer accept my file type. Very fustrating to day the least.

If I had made these changes, my film would have a better chance of achieving higher. I do like my film, and I like the way it was put together, however my film is lacking qualities which could score my film opening a higher grade. In the future, I would get more organised and make sure I have enough room on my H Drive! (The clips had difficulty uploading onto the school computers, which wasted countless periods).

3. Stage Four: Evaluation/Task Eleven: Technology Standard.

The camera which I used to film my movie opening was a digital camera. Unfortunately, the camera which I had planned to use I couldn't as my parents took it with them on their holiday. Therfore, I had to make do with what I had. The camera itself was straightforward to use, however holding the camera steady so I could get sufficient footage proved difficult. In the very first clip, for example, took more time than expected to film as the panning was very difficult to perfect - infact in the end I still felt I could have filmed this piece of footage, along with others, better. While I was filming, it did not occur to me to use sound effects, and trying to include them while editing my film did not work. I am disappointed with this. If I had included sound effects, such as the knife penetrating Will and the blood dropping from the knife, I felt these sounds would add up to the overall effect - giving the audience  a more ghastly feel. Dialogue was easy to film as I only had two lines of dialogue, and since I was close to the actors, the lines were easy to hear. Importing videos into the editing software (Adobe Premiere Pro CS5) was an easy process - although sometimes it had to be repeated, which was a right pain. For example, I would open the file which I saved my movie to, only to find that the footage had expired. So, not only did I need to re-import these videos, I also had to import them one by one - which was a tedious task. Finding music to suit my film was one of the biggest problems I had. I wanted a piece of music which was joyful and comforting - however having an element of surprise every now and then. I could not find music which suited my specific criteria, so I had to find music with an entirely different tone. In the end I chose the pieces: The Grand Duel (by Luis Bacalov) and Fortuna (by Carl Orff). One piece really suited the atmosphere, for example having a low whistle which suited the forest environment. The other had such a dramatic feel that I wanted to convey to the audience that this event was extremelt dramatic. The sound effects did not even work in this editing programme, so I had to go without. Using an infamiliar editing programme was really, really hard. I had to figure out how to make a clip show in slow motion, how to shorten it, how to add transitions, how to rotate the clips themselves, how to increase the qualty etc. etc. So trying to find out how to perform these tasks put me behind in the editing process. Trying to find out how to make a piece of music slowly fade out to silence was challenging and fustrating. I looked up instructions on the internet on how to do so, however the instructions were not detailed enough for me to follow. In the end, through trial and error, I found my way.

3. Stage One: Pre Production/Task Eight: Test Shots.

I did not try out test shots per say, however on the actual filming day, I played around with my camera (for the opening clip where we zoom on on tree branches, from a low angle, and pan towards the walking path) to practice smoothness and the speed in which I wanted to reveal the path. Also, when selecting a path, I filmed one scene on the different paths to see where the lighting was best.

3. Stage One: Pre Production/Task Seven: Locations, Permissions.

For my media movie, I used only one location. This location was the Ilam Gardens by the University of Canterbury. As it was a public place, I did not need to ask for permission to use it. I filmed at this location on the 31st of July.

3. Stage One: Pre Production/Task Six: Art Department.

Props Required:

• Tomato Sauce - I will provide this prop.
• A Kitchen Knife - I will provide this prop.
• A Water Bottle - I will provide this prop.
• A Water Dispenser - I will provide this prop.

Costumes Required:

I told Ashleigh Hamilton (The Woman) and Kristyan Evans (The Murderer) that they could wear whatever they desired, as my film is set in the present day and I wanted my characters to wear casual clothing. Also, Ashleigh Hamilton is out on a relaxed outing, so I wanted her clothing to reflect this idea. I told William Thomsom (The Man) to wear an item of clothing that was old, so I could create the effect that I desired - the ripped shirt and the 'blood' pouring from the wound.

3. Stage One: Pre Production/Task Four: Crew & Talent.

The Cast:
Ashleigh Hamilton - The Woman.
Kristyan Evans - The Murderer.
William Thomsom - The Man.

3. Stage One: Pre Production/Peer Review

My friend Siani Wyatt read through my concept and treatment, and then gave me positive feedback, constructive criticism and asked me questions about ideas that she was uncertain about.

Positive Feedback:

Siani liked the idea of a romantic/horror as my genre breaks the typical stereotype/gnere. She said my storyline seemed like a good one - not too difficult to film and it "ropes in the viewers". She could also picture my opening already, "it sounds great".

Constructive Criticism:

Siani had no constructive criticism for my film opening.

Questions:

- How are you going to show the man dying?

- Are you still going to have the "passionate kiss"?