Evaluation

EVALUATION

Throughout this year, I went into this course with photography as a stronger means of expression. As we started the pathway stage of the project, I made the transition into film, as I found all my photography had a strong narrative which I felt needed to be explored further. As we entered the confirmatory part of the project, I wanted to create a short film which was a progression from every other project. As well as this I wanted to improve my skills technically, in film making and be more adventurous in my ideas.

During the project 24/24, we were given 24 words and had to express each one through photography. When doing this project, I shot in raw and took photos of my sister, alone at night, in a dark street. In the photos through the use of high exposures and the flash gun as well as shooting in raw, with the ability to change many of settings and create a striking visual style. These photos essentially acted as a springboard for this entire year, the dark narrative which featured, ran throughout the following projects. From the stop-motion animation poetic piece that, which featured a series of photos which this time were presented as an animation with text and also music. I continued a similar theme for the next project, which was based around the word Love. I chose to do the darker side of love, obsession and love from afar; this once again had a dark narrative which ran throughout. Therefore it made most sense to me to explore a darker narrative for my final project, in the genre of horror and psychological thriller.

The first thing I did was look at the work of classic horror film makers and more modern short film makers. The work of Alfred Hitchcock, I looked his style of direction as well as the way he portrays a female character, typically icy blonde haired and beautiful and his use of twist endings. As well as this looked at the work of horror and science film maker John Carpenter and the way he creates atmosphere within his films. What struck me the most about his work was his portrayal of everyday suburban streets and the way he can twist a shot of picket fenced houses in broad daylight into a dark and sinister image. What I also thought was important was to focus solely on the atmosphere that he creates in these films rather than the blood and gore. It was during this point in my research that I wanted this short film to focus solely on one person, their expression and their journey in the story, overall making more of a psychological horror film essentially frightening the viewer through the use of my own skill as a film maker, through editing and through sound. I also researched more modern film makers such as the work Chris Cunningham, a music video director. As the length of my film was going to be around three minutes, his technique and his work was very helpful in helping me tell a story in a short space of time.

The soundtrack for this project was the next thing I did. I felt it was important to create the soundtrack before I did anything else. I bought a pair of USB to MIDI leads and connected my piano to my laptop and used Mixcraft (a multi-track sequencer) to create drum loops, beats and melodic phrases as well additional sound effects. This was a long process as the track itself had sixteen different layers to it. However I feel to create the soundtrack first was a huge benefit as it gave me an even clearer idea of the structure of the video. The music itself was inspired by electronic music and modern alternative dance music as well as more traditional horror soundtrack scores, for example the chromatic string section which comes in halfway through the piece.

When shooting the video I managed to do it in two days, in the evening. I filmed in a small village in Frenchay which felt very secluded and empty yet also quite homely. The lighting was a very important factor for me as I wanted to create the illusion that it was the night time when in fact it was still daylight. The reason for this was because I needed enough light to tell the story and filming after sunset would have been very difficult. As well as this, in the video there’s a point in the story where the female character meets her own self dressed in a black veil. Therefore I used the tripod and fixed it in place so I was able to merge two separate shots into one frame, creating the illusion that there was two of her.

The next step was the post-production stages. I edited the video using Sony Vegas, which I had used on my previous projects. I added visual effects to all the footage, bringing up a stronger contrast between black and white and added an icy de saturated filter to the video. I made sure I used quick sharp clips in my video and edited them at a fast pace to add suspense in the film. What was also a challenge for me was lining the video up with the soundtrack that I had already made, several re-edits of the music had to be made and in the end, I condensed the film from five minutes to three and a half minutes to keep a good pace going for the viewer.

After the video was made, I had to plan what I wanted to do when presenting the work at the exhibition. I did an art installation where I set up a mini set where the viewer could sit and watch the video. In the set I wallpapered a black backdrop had a sofa where the viewer could sit and watch my video, whilst also being watched by others as well. The idea was a mirror link, where the viewer would be watched as they sit and watch my video, making them part of the installation and part of the project. As well as this during the video there are several scenes at the start where the girl is watching herself on TV which also relates to the idea behind the installation. I researched into similar installation artists who have looked at this idea. Dan Graham used the idea of a mirror, where the audience watched themselves so they became the viewer and the installation at the same time.

I was very pleased with the response I had to my video, I feel it works at its best when viewed with the previous projects and where the sound can be fully experienced and heard. However all in all I think I managed to produce a video which startled viewers with the just the one character, through the use of the soundtrack and the quick jumpy edit of the video. The installation piece worked how I had a planned as a set where the viewer has to step in to becoming part of the project themselves. Many seemed to enjoy the video and others were left a bit startled and confused which was part of my intention in the first place.

The Presentation of My Work

As this is our final project, we will be putting on an end of year show exhibition where we are going to display the work. For the exhibition I plan on creating an art installation piece for viewing my video. I will construct a set which has visual references to my project and have the viewer inside of it viewing my work.

Initially I wanted to create an actual enclosed room and space separate for the video to be viewed in, however due to time constraints I was unable to do this, this idea of mine changed as I researched further into art installation. My next idea was to have the installation almost as a piece within itself and having the viewer become part of that installation.

I used wallpaper similar to the ones in the background of the opening titles to my film and attached it to the black backdrop which lay on the floor for my project. The wallpaper I felt instantly made the space feel like an actual room. I placed a leather sofa outward facing other people and this was a conscious decision of mine as I wanted the viewer to also become viewed themselves. This created almost like an endless loop as the viewer is being watched whilst they sit in the installation watching my work, but also because in the video itself the female character is also watching herself on a TV screen. This idea of the mirrored imagery and the viewer becoming part of the project is similar to the work of installation artist Dan Graham.

In this video below you can see an example of some of his work and the way he makes the viewer's image of themselves part of the installation.

In my installation I had the viewer sat on the sofa uncomfortably close to the TV screen so they were unable to escape the video in sense, yet still facing outwards. On the screen I created a menu for the DVD which just said PRESS ENTER, I wanted to create my intentions for the video quite understated. Beside the sofa was a table which had some of the first initial images which basically kick started this entire year working as a springboard and giving me inspiration for the rest of the related projects to come.

Final Video

Here you can see the final version of my video, I changed the visual effects and re-edited some of the clips just so the whole thing flows better and to the music.

First Rough Version

Below you can see the first edit of my video, despite me thinking that this would be the final version, I noticed a few things which weren't quite right. The main thing that I will change is the purple filter which has been put on the video, I feel that it's slightly too strong and takes some of the detail out of my shots. View below and see what you think for yourself.

Opening Titles

For the video I also wanted some striking visual titles for the opening. I decided to call the the film at first The Twisted Soul Inside as the video is based around the inner soul of one's self and how that can haunt you and bring out the evil inside of you. I later changed the title to The Twisted Soul Within.

Below you can see the inspiration behind the opening titles, I thought the way the titles were dimly lit causing the viewer to only see the word partially yet still clear enough for the viewer to the read, was not only clever but also strongly effective. I also felt this style went very well this introduction in the music.

Below you can see the images which I created on photoshop as the opening titles, as well as the background of the wallpaper in the titles. I created the images then looped them in Sony Vegas fading in and out each giving the illusion that word was being lit. 

Video Post-Production

Like in my previous projects I used Sony Vegas to edit the video, as it was a programme similar to Adobe Premiere and one which I was very familiar with. Editing the video was a very lengthy process as this time around the video was much more complex had more of a detailed narrative and featured several visual effects.  When editing the video I made the decision once again to keep very quick cuts and edits, as I wanted to keep to the similar themes of my previous video as well as had the image flow with the music.

Editing the footage was mostly done by the use of several different video tracks editing on top of each other, I'd lay some of the footage, almost the base clips of the video down on the bottom track before laying smaller secondary shots of different angles and extra flashing imagery over the top. One of the more challenging shots was lining up the split screen shot which features two of her, however after some careful precision I managed to line up the shots so you couldn't see the join. As well as quick pace of the editing I also reversed several shots and cut them up to distort the story from the viewer.

One of the last things I did with the video was added image filters over the top giving the footage a bolder visual style and creating more of an atmosphere. This was achieved by the use of three different visual fx on my video, the changing of the brightness and contrast, increasing the contrast and reducing the brightness making the video seem darker. A bump map effect, which gave me the chance to add lighting to the video and reduce the light source in different sections of each shot, essentially increasing the focal point of each shot. The final visual fx I added was the colour balance I desaturated some of the colour to give the video a colder feel as well increasing the red and blue shadows to make the video more visually striking.

Final Soundtrack

Below you can listen to the finished versions of my soundtrack for the film. After starting to edit my film I realised that it would be much more effective with a shorter version of the song. Therefore I edited the track down taking a minute out, which was essentially a minute of different repeats.

The First Version

Soundtrack Final by Lookitsjon

The Re-Edited Final Version

Soundtrack Final by Lookitsjon

Shoot Feedback

The shoot went very well, something which I did find challenging was the way I had to light the shot yet keeping the illusion that it was still followed a clear continuity, because of this I also shot a long sunset and time lapsed the footage speeding it up and reversing the clip to create the illusion that the sun was setting and rising. As well as this I found it challenging to do some of the shots of the car and perhaps if it were to be done again I would get hold of more professional camera equipment.

On the other hand I was very pleased with the footage, as well as the shots that I had already planned I also discovered an old abandoned phone box which I filmed in as an added extra scene. This scene was similar to one I looked in my research, when watching Hitchcock's The Birds. As well as this I also filmed several extra scenes such. I wanted to create the illusion that this dark ghostly figure was going into the female character in the film possessing her. Therefore I used black food colouring and filmed it pouring out underneath her feet, during the post production I will reverse the shot so it looks as if this black liquid is going inside of her.

Shoot Plan

Before I went out filming I went wrecking and decided to film in the small village in Frenchay. I went during the sunset and the dark to get an idea of what the lighting would be like when going out to film and planned on which part of the video would be filmed in each specific place. The village itself is a very serene and peaceful looking part of the area, with a large land of green with a tall church towering above the scenery visible in every angle. I think what makes this location even more effective is the way it's almost so perfect it seems like something must be wrong. It also is quite deserted therefore I will be able to film without any other person in the background. 

As well as this at night the dim street lights, quietly light the small winding roads which lead off the main road as well as the high walls which gate around several houses. Overall the whole location has a empty feeling to it yet at the same time looks like the perfect small village, the contrast of these two moods make it much more interesting to the viewer.

Final Treatment

The video opens with the shot of a blonde girl (seen in previous projects 'The Affliction of Love' and 'The Last Light') sat in an armchair, with her feet up. The camera cuts to a shot of a TV infront of her she is watching those previous projects. She sits up as she suddenly realises that's it's her and suddenly comes distressed. As the videos in front of her on the TV screen flash before her eyes she bends down and gets on the floor crawling over to the TV touching the screen in shock. The screen flickers off and she sits back burying her head in her arms. The camera then cuts to her running out of a house at night looking around and getting into a car before driving off.

The camera then cuts to shots of the road from an eyeline shot of the road through the windscreen, as well as shots of her driving. She suddenly sees something in the road and breaks suddenly, screeching all over the road. Still looking distressed she gets out of the car and lifts up the bonnet, with nothing she can do she closes back down standing alone in the deserted road. Suddenly we see a shot of a black veiled figure standing in the distance, she turns around suddenly and sees this figure, looking confused she looks away where the figure has disappeared. With her car broken down she walks off into the early hours of the morning down the road, no one seems to be around.

The video cuts to different shots of her walking around the small village she passes a church and eventually enters the woods. Suddenly the black veiled figure appears behind her, she turns around and steps into the shot, where they both stand. The ghostly figure lifts up her veil revealing to be herself, as it comes towards her she sits back and falls to floor. The shot cuts to her asleep against a tree before the camera cuts where she suddenly opens her eyes with an evil look in her eyes.

Initial Storyboards

Here are the few of the sketches I did for my rough ideas for the video. The show the different stages of the video. In the next post I will write a proper treatment for the video and a rough idea of the plot. Storyboard are not something which comes naturally to me when they are hand drawn, however as I've shown with the last E4 project when creating them in Photoshop, as a photomontage I find that much easier and find I end up with a much closer result to the idea and vision that I have in my head.

Soundtrack Production

For this project I wanted to create completely original music, producing and writing it myself. Therefore to do this I bought some USB to midi leads, which allowed me to connect my electric piano up to my laptop, the midi leads then send a small digital signal into the computer which then produces the note. I used a multi-track sequencer audio production programme called Mixcraft which has a large library/bank of synthesized sounds as well sound effects, beats and loops. 

With a rough idea of what would happen in my video I produced I created the music structuring in three different sections. During the introduction I featured two low pitched notes on the string with added sound effects to create a haunting atmosphere as well as a heartbeat in the background. I then wanted to make a first verse as such a strong bass line which echoes into the chorus which has the riff which features throughout the entire piece. The next section is built specifically on what's going to happen in the video, with her breaking down in her car and then getting out and seeing a ghostly figure in the distance. During this part of the music I included howling wind and footsteps on the ground. The last part of the video builds up until the end until the part of the video which will reach a dramatic climax.

The reason why I wanted to make the soundtrack for the piece instead of dialogue as I feel it will be harder to use dialogue when I don't have the proper equipment. Overall making the music was quite challenging and a lengthy process as it did take lots of time to construct as you can see in the screen caps above.

Soundtrack Possibilities

I feel the soundtrack for this project will be more important than ever. For the first time this year I plan on making my own completely original music score to go with the film. This way I am given complete freedom to structure the music around my ideas for the film.

Several different tracks have caught my attention recently all very different and all quite different. What I wanted to do was quite modern electronic music playing but also with stronger melodic references to classic horror movie synth sounds, sound effects and chromatic and minor phrases.

The production on this recent song really strikes me, the last part of the song, from about 3:00 onwards I find really interesting with the production values. Especially as this giant wall of sound gets taller and taller as the song builds up to a dramatic climax and ending at the end of the track.

This next track which I have looked at the video for also strikes me for being really interesting. The production values and the atonal synths which play throughout the track really go with the editing of the video and the erratic nature of the video.

First Treatment Ideas

What I tend to do with many of my projects is run through what I plan on happening in the video visualizing the narrative and the direction that it's going to take. I like to write down what's going to happen in the video and ideas of set ups scenes and what's going to happen in the version of a list.

I want the video to be continuation of the Love project and I also want to have this based around her being haunted by herself the dark side within and her battle with the dark side of herself.

Here is the rough list that I have typed up



Shot Opens


Alex dressed in sparkly dress high shoes lots of jewellery. Standing in front of TV static on screen. Holding balloon? walking through the streets, doing mundane things, shopping trolley?
She sees black veiled figure standing in the distance.


Drives off, car breaks down in lane, looks around, black veiled figure standing in the distance again. She calls out it walks away.


Alex starts walking reaching destinations seen in previous videos? She starts to drop things on the way photos of parts of other projects. Grabs a bottle of wine and sits outside on deserted building site, She sees herself on TV screen?


Black veil figure reappears and walks closer toward her. Words flash up, black veil and Alex split screen if possible? Veil lifts up, raw photos flash up, black oil part, draining into her (reverse shot), back to first photo with light bursting out.


Cut with shots in front of wallpaper used in final show and sat on sofa.

Research & Other Inspiration

Alfred Hitchcock film director and producer has carved his mark in the film industry by his distinct style of direction and his technique in the psychological thriller and suspense genres. The way he frames shots manages to convey anxiety, empathy and fear to maximum potential. He also features many twist ending which, are unexpected to the audience. Most of his films feature attractive icy blonde female characters these are all traits which I plan on using in my short film. In some sense his films almost don't come across like horror films because despite them being frightening, they explore a deeper meaning and are so distinct that they don't fall into most people's perception of what a horror film looks like. His shots don't rely on blood and gore and almost come across as understated, for example in the film Psycho the famous shower scene, the knife never even touched the female character as they simply used the a shot of the shadow on the bathroom wall creating the illusion that the female character was being stabbed.

This next scene is a scene from another one of Hitchock's classic The Birds. This is different in the sense that the film's plot is based around a bizarre scenario where birds start going crazy and attacking a small town. Despite it's plot not being very relevant to what I'm going to do, the way this film is directed is very effective. The shots of just the female character running through the town, are very similar to the initial ideas I have for this project. The empty and vacant atmosphere in them is something I'm going to try and achieve. Especially from 1:03 onwards where she's outside, the way it's edited and the way you can just tell through her facial expression I think looks very effective.

Embedding not available with this clip....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVDT4bWPypk

The next filmmaker that I will look at is the work of John Carpenter, Carpenter was a film maker most famous for his work in the genre of horror and the late 70s, 80s slasher movies. Films like Halloween were the first in a long series of slasher movies where endless sequels were made. What I want to look at with his work though is the way he portrays locations, streets and normal locations. Somehow me manages to twist things into looking menacing and suspenseful, whether it be from the slight tilt of a shot or the uncertainty of a hand held camera shot. It's often the scenes which are in broad daylight which strike me in being most interesting, maybe it's because when daylight is meant to be a very safe time of day and moment for the relax for the viewer, being surrounded by gruesome muder scenes and uncertainty, daylight suddenly feels very unsafe.

As well as looking at the more traditional film makers I also wanted to go into a film maker who is quite similar to what I'm trying to do myself. Therefore I chose to look at the work of Chris Cunningham. He makes short advertisements, video art, and music videos. This video for Windowlicker by the Aphex Twins is not exactly similar to what I'm doing but features similarities in the sense of it's style it's image manipulation, it's outrageous and insane, especially the music in this piece.

This other video Come To Daddy by Aphex Twins directed by Chris Cunningham I also like for it's style of editing. Especially when it gets to halfway through, it's quite unclear to follow because of the fast pace of the editing yet it works in favour of the narrative of the video.

This next video by directed by Chris Cunningham is unlikely pairing between him and Madonna. The video Frozen is very similar to the ideas, in the visual effects. Parts in particular that I like are the black liquid going into the hands something I may try and do as well as the way there are three Madonnas and the atmosphere the darkness which surrounds the video and the blue tint.

The film Moon was released in 2009 and is a science fiction drama about a man who experiences a personal crisis as he reaches the end of his three year mining job in solitary.  Without ruining the film too much, this film is not not only similar to my End of The World project through the fact they are both very similar genres, however with this film there are stronger references to the narrative, of my last video and the way someone deals with a situation when they are haunted by themselves. Overall it's a fantastic film as a psychological thriller and it's not until the plot fully builds to it's climax that you finally realise what exactly is going on.

Research Into Horror

For this project, as I have already discussed I want it be in the genre of a horror film, unsettling and startling for the viewer. Most horror films deal with viewer's worse nightmares, fears, realizations and the supernatural. This is the direction that I plan on taking rather than all the blood and gore, I want to create a psychological horror film. Something which can scare the viewer through the power of the soundtrack and the editing and the actual content which once again will feature just one girl, alone in the world.

I plan on looking at the classic film makers like Hitchcock and the work in the 1980s of John Carpenter, classic horror films which are have atmosphere to them, and which have a mood to them. I also plan on looking at more modern experimental shorter films, music videos and advertisements.


Horror Film Timeline - http://www.killriculum.co.uk/horror-film-timeline

1960: Finally with a larger budget to work with and freed from the constraints of his back to back movies Roger Corman begins a cycle of horror films based upon the works of Edgar Allen Poe, many starring Vincent Price and all borrowing liberally from Hammer’s style of filmmaking. The first in the cycle is House of Usher. Hammer itself releases Brides of Dracula a sequel to their first Dracula movie, again Fisher directs this visually stunning film and Cushing appears as Van Helsing. Lee however is absent as the character of Dracula is not in this film.

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1970-1979

1970: A more permissive society and a tired formula encourages Hammer to make The Vampire Lovers an out and out erotic exploitation film with lesbian vampires and lots more nudity.

1971: Hammer releases an exploitation movie not linked to vampirism Dr Jekyll and Sister Hyde.

1980-1989

1980: In an attempt to cash in on the success of Halloween, Paramount releases Friday the 13th. Sean S. Cunnigham (Last House on the Left) produces. Jason Vorhees becomes the latest screen slasher. The film will spawn ten formulaic sequels, a tv series, novels and comics. Master filmmaker Stanley Kubrick releases his answer to the slasher movies, the terrifying The Shining starring Jack Nicholson. Italian film Cannibal Holocaust is banned in many countries around the world due to it’s scenes of sexual violence and real animal torture.

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1990-1999

1992: In a decade in which the horror genre is characterised by a never ending series of tired and hackneyed slasher sequels and during a largely barren period as far as new ideas for horror movies are concerned the genre films become increasingly more knowing and ironic. Peter Jackson takes gore to a new level for comic effect and releases Brain Dead. Elswhere looking back rather than forward for inspiration Francis Ford Coppola releases his own version of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. It is a box office if not always a critical success and draws heavily on Hammer’s visual style.

Statement of Intent

As this is our last project we have been asked to write five hundred words as a statement of intent, our aim and an explanation as to what our last project is going to be about.

STATEMENT OF INTENT

By Jon Farley

During the course of this year, I have made a transition from photography to moving image and film. Throughout my previous projects I have created bold and over exaggerated visuals as well as strong reoccurring themes of mystery and suspense. For my confirmatory project I have made the decision to expand on this and make a haunting, menacing and captivating five-minute horror film with original music, will which act as a concluding chapter to everything else I have done on this foundation course. As well as this I aim to create a different way of viewing my work, something more than just a screen but an actual physical piece for the end of year exhibition, a proper experience for the viewer. I will construct a set, which will be decorated in keeping with the visual themes of my video, making the viewer essentially part of the project as they will be sat in the set viewing the video almost isolated.

For this project I am also going to evaluate my work. I will gain feedback from my tutors and peers through them seeing several developing edits of my film as well as experiencing my work at the exhibition and through the journey of this project which will be on my blog. I will take on board their comments and suggestions and will develop my work.

The video itself will expand on other techniques I have learnt from this year, I want to try and create a visual illusion as well as enhance the style of the video, so that It helps to create more of an atmosphere. As well as this I aim to create more visually impressive video by stronger research into location and a longer thought process into the mise en scene of my video. The narrative for this final video will also have more depth and meaning, focusing solely on one character and her journey. In the video this character will be haunted by a ghostly veiled figure during one ordinary mundane evening, the figure will continue to stalk her until the two come face to face just as the video reaches a dramatic climax. I will produce all the music myself, which will be completely original. Despite my decision to not include any dialogue in the video, through the use of sound effects and great detail being put into the structure of the music and how I have edited the music the sound will link into the video more than it ever has done before.

The visual experience, which I will create for viewing the video in the exhibition, will include several references to previous projects, as I feel it is important to establish this project as a conclusion to the rest. I will have images scattered from other projects. As well as this I aim to have my previous projects playing in the video as a part of the narrative. The set which I will create will be created and decorated into looking like a room which could be a part of the video. I have also made the conscious decision to have the sofa facing outwards so that the viewer is almost being watched by other as they watch the video, which also features a girl watching herself on a TV. Through doing this it will create an endless loop of the viewer watching the viewer. As well as making the viewer essentially part of the project itself.

Previous Work Inspiration

As this is our last project on this course I want to create a video which is more shocking, a video which acts as a final part to every previous project. Basically I want to play to my strengths in doing something similar to what I've done before yet also expanded upon so it's not only technically better but also has a stronger storyline as well as a more ambitious one.

Below is my previous two short films which can relate to what I'm going to produce.

The Last Light

The Affliction of Love

The Affliction of Love from Jon Farley on Vimeo.


I feel with these two projects especially with the Love project I can continue the theme and take it to new levels. I also am going to include both of these videos somehow into my final one, as I want there to be a strong link, therefore part of the storyline will feature the girl watching herself on the TV, almost becoming haunted by what she has seen.

Introduction

For our last project, we are now in the confirmatory stage of the course. This last project should be stronger piece in itself compared to projects in previous units, as we are able to be graded, merit or distinction as well as a pass. For my final piece, I want to make it a clear reference point to some of the previous units work that I have done, as throughout the course of this year I feel there has been a clear narrative storyline running throughout. Therefore my plan is to make a short film to conclude to the rest of my projects, I plan on sticking to the same style, and in keeping with the feel of the storyline to my previous works yet go further one step in my technical ability and my approach to production and post-production.

As most of my previous works have all had dark, menacing undertones to them, for the last time, I want to bring those themes to the center of my work and create a haunting final video. I will look at the genre of horror films and psychological thriller films as well as advertisements and other short moving image work. As well as this I will also look into the possibilities for displaying my work at our final exhibition, in a mini performance art piece.