The Wakefield Punishment

Feedback 

Each member of the group showed the opening to a number people who meet the requirements of our target audience. We asked them to share what they thought were it's strengths and weaknesses. The following are their responses:

Strengths -

• There was a very good use of sound effects and music to create the tense atmosphere
• The head slam effect and sounds were very impactful
• The profile shots looked unique and showed off the location well
• The practical effects were ambitious and well executed - The hair raising effect was particularly appreciated, apparently due to its 'different components'.
• The animated credits added value to the production. their placement, font and animation was good.
• The visuals were very strong (referring to use of lighting, camera movement, framing)
• One source said that the lighting was 'impeccable'
• We explored some effective camera angles
• The use of fog was a very strong positive asset to the production
• The choice of location was very good, providing a realistic and convincing environment for the events in the opening

Weaknesses -

• There is a noticeable audio cut when the protagonist gasps after the head slam
• The fading out of the church bells makes it obvious that they were added in post

My contribution to Editing

• The main editor of our opening sequence was Kurt however I did do some of the editing
• I did a large part of the editing for the skateboard scene where she is being dragged across. This one was particularly hard to edit as we needed to get the right cutting rate. Also much of the footage for this part was not so good as it was obvious that she was pushing herself across the ground. Therefore I had to really zoom in on the footage to get the perfect parts of the footage so it looked authentic.
• I also suggested to the group about cutting out a whole sequence of the footage where the candle was to roll on the ground and reach the protagonists foot. We had previously edited this part into our sequence however it did not look right and the continuity was not there. Therefore when I had a chance at editing I decided to take out that whole section to see if it would look better without it.
• After I did that, I asked feedback from the group and Kurt and Harry agreed it did flow better without the candle sequence. It also cut down time from our sequence which was good as it was over the time limit at this point in editing.
• Afterschool, I did some more editing with my group and we edited out some of the hair lifting scene due to feedback suggesting the cutting rate needs to be faster and she needs to react faster.
• We also replaced one of the shots when the protagonist is on the skateboard, this is because the current clip does suggest she is pushing herself, despite it being a fast cutting rate, however we cut this out anyway and put in a clip where there is no sign of her pushing herself.
• We also edited the sound that we are using for the hair lift scene, we had to edit it so we had the loud bang part we wanted. This however, was from different sections of the sound clip therefore we had to cut sections of it and fade-in and out to make the transition smooth.
• The diegetic sound from the screaming has also been inserted into our clip now. It took some time matching a scream to the protagonists mouth movement but we were able to do it in the end    

Risk Assessment Purpose

• The purpose of the risk assessment is to show awareness of the risks that are involved when filming on location. 
• The risk assessment our group filled in shows the most obvious risks that we were subject to when we were filming.
• When filming on location we did not get harmed as we thoroughly read through the risk assessment so we had a clear idea of what we needed to be careful of.

The purpose of a call sheet

• To have a clear idea on what shots we will need to shoot
• To organise the group effectively so each person knows what they have to bring
• To reduce time when we are on location. As we will be aware of what shots we are doing, we would not need to waste time on discussing what shots to film next

 

All fonts considered were downloaded from either http://www.1001fonts.com/ or http://www.dafont.com/

Potential Fonts

 1 - Chinese Rocks

• This font originated from the console game 'Red Dead Redemption' and holds a western sub - genre style.
• This style was inapporpriate for our production, ruling this font out as a possibility
• However it did have a rough, grungy style which fitted our intentions for the title.
• It holds connotations of suffering and hardship and seems like it would have fit a wood texture had we chosen to use and animate this font. It may have stood to resemble the wooden pews, cross or door from the church.

1 - Chinese Rocks

2 - God of War

•  This font featured the strong, blocky style we desired for the title after ruling out a handwritten style title. 
• The font has sharp corners and interesting bumps and additions to the letters, which could have allowed the text to be textured with a metallic texture if we had animated this font.
• The style suits our period setting, resembling the Victorian style iron bars featured in front of many townhouses and churches.
• We eventually ruled out this font as an option as we felt it overpowered its surroundings on the screen and would not have been subtle enough to fit the section of the opening sequence in which we desired to place them.

2 - God of War

3 - Heaven Gate

•  This font reminded us of the stick man logo from the Blair Witch Project (Myrick/Sánchez, 1999) and has connotations of the supernatural and evil.
• The font is very thin, which did not fit our intended criteria for the font, however this has allowed the font to display a very sharp and distinctly makeshift style, which fits our sub-genre of supernatural/paranormal horror. It also has some weak gothic links, although some the other fonts we looked at had a much stronger gothic style.

3 - Heaven Gate

Final Font Choice

4 - I Still Know

4 - I Still Know

• We  finally chose this font for our credits and titles as it fit all of the criteria we set for our potential titles. 
• These criteria included that the title must:

1. Be bold and blocky, not handwritten
2. Have a slightly grungy feel to it
3. Reflect the period setting
4. Reflect the gothic and supernatural sub-genres of our opening

•  The style of this font suggested it was run down, almost decrepit, shown by the cracks and holes in the letters.
• These cracks and holes allowed us to create a stone like finish during animation, linking them to the appearance of the church walls and the gravestones in the graveyard.

  

  Final Title Card

Diegetic sound

• We opened with a black screen and the sound of church bells, which Mia created herself. There are two layers, one simulating the gong hitting the bell and the other layer simulating the bell swaying after being hit and hitting the gong several times after with a lower volume
• This was accompanied by a wind effect that helps establish atmosphere before any shots are even visible to the audience and serves as a sound-bridge that leads into the opening shot
• A harsher wind sound is used in the shot outside of the camera pulling over the protagonist's shoulder and the sound of the bells stops. This gives the note and picture in her hand added significance through stopping sound for it and the harsher wind effect subtly hints at there being a darker element than merely the protagonist mourning her mother
• In the transition from the titles to the protagonist walking into the church we used a creaking door sound as a sound-bridge so that the cut is not too jarring, which is accompanied by the amplified sound of the protagonist's footsteps. The sound of Cat's shoes are the only sound we captured ourselves in this case, the door is one Mia found and edited to make the sound lower and more ominous
• There is a symbolic element to the silence used when Cat crosses her chest, which highlights the religious element to our production and gives it added weight
• There is minor ambience used in numerous shots of the church, which gives the church a certain presence and force in the production, which raises tension
• The sound of the candle falling is amplified and contrasts well with the eerie quietness of the church
• We added a cracking sound in post production when the protagonist's head is smashed into the altar in front for shock and brutality
• The sound of Cat's screams are amplified as she is dragged down the aisle at the end of the sequence to highlight her fear

Non-diegetic sound

• Fairly low volume music will be played underneath the sound of the church bells and the wind during the very start of the production which reaches it's peak when the bells and the wind end and the title is revealed
• We used music to anchor the scene where the protagonist's hair gets raised, it relies on grating and sustained notes that should raise the tension to levels that would make the audience uncomfortable

Our initial idea was that Mia would create the soundtrack for our opening. However, we have decided to not to do this anymore. The reasons for this are:

• The music she did compose for the opening did not create the effect we wanted
• The instruments on the software she used did not sound authentic enough
• Our horror opening is very much dependent on the soundtrack therefore, by using royalty free music that has the effects we want on it, it will give us the opportunity to make our horror as best as it can be

Mia's new role will be to find the music we want and edit it into the video

Feedback

We showed our film at a semi-complete stage to a group of our peers and recorded the feedback given to us on our film opening so far in post-production.

Positive Points

• The use of fog in the first part of the sequence was effective and gave the film the appearance of a slightly higher production film.
• The use of sound effectively creates a suspenseful atmosphere during the opening.
• The animated titles were very effective and fit the style of the film well.
• The hair raise effect was convincing and had a very creepy appearance. It's slow speed helped to build  up the tension in this part of the opening.
• The group particularly liked the low angle dolly zoom (slider) shot as the protagonist walks up the aisle.

Points for Improvement

• Of specific note to us is that most of the group felt that the hair raising section was either too long, or the cutting rate too slow. To reduce running time slightly and stop this section from dragging on we should shorten the clips or increase the cutting rate with the close up shots in this sequence.
• There is a continuity error between the candle falling shot and the close up of the protagonist after this. To fix this we should cut the close up shot later so that the protagonist's eyes are already looking forward and not down. 
• Another continuity error is present during the hair raising sequence when one of the close ups shows the protagonist's head moving and the next shot shows it still, and then it starts moving. Again we need to cut this clip a little later to remove the issue.
• Another significant point for us is that the soundtrack changes very little as the main title comes up, and the majority of the feedback group felt that there should be a change or growth in sound at this point to highlight the titles.