Evaluation of my Fmp project

1. FMP: EVALUATION
Adam Lepard

2. INITIAL RESEARCH
When I started my project my initial thoughts were quite different from what I
have made in my production. My main idea was to create a horror film based
in a house party that would fit the themes of a slasher/cult film and I tried to
keep this main thought in my production. The reason I chose to explore this
idea was because I wanted to focus on creating a film that had an intense
atmosphere which would allow me to make a horror project which had a
traceable storyline as my previous horror work had just been trailers. My
starting plan was to have the film explore the theme of love in a horror context
which was an idea inspired by Romeo and Juliet as I thought that the idea of
fate and tragedy being bound to love could be seen in as something linked to
horror. I would’ve liked to explore this idea further however I eventually
decided not to follow this idea as I was only making one scene I knew it would
be impossible to build strong and believable relationships in such a short
space of time so instead I chose to focus more on creating horror. I was
inspired by films such as Climax and Suspiria for the horror aspect of my work,
I thought that both films brought strong atmospheres to their films through the
use of lighting and colour which is something that I wanted to try and replicate
in my production

3. SUBJECT RESEARCH
Initially I wanted to create a scene which would flow as one shot where it
would follow one character around the party so in my research I looked
at action films such as Hard Boiled and The Protector which both have
long lasting one take shots which feature heavy amounts of explosive
action. Although I didn’t plan to have to much action in my scene
watching these scenes helped me to understand more about the process
of making a shot like this and how I could use movement to of the
camera and the actors to create a visual journey through a scene. I also
looked at the scene from The Shining where Danny is riding around the
room on his bike as it’s a tracking shot that’s used to create a sense of
unease as we keep turning around corners in expectation of something
waiting on the other side, which is a set up for the scene with the twins
later in the film. As part of my research I researched demons and
explained what the cult in my film would look like so that I could kind of
create a draft of the cult for the film. I was also going to do some
research into real cults however I realised that it was something I didn’t
really want to write about due to various cases of real life suicides and
murders which have been caused by cults which wasn’t something that I
wanted to put in my research so instead I wrote about what cults are and

4. AUDIENCE RESEARCH
I wanted to get a better understanding of how well my initial ideas
appealed to an audience so I created a survey with questions about what
they think makes a good horror film such as their favourite sub-genre and
things that they don’t want to see in a horror film. I think that most of my
questions were necessary as it gave me ideas for what appeals to the
audience as well as what I would need to avoid in order to keep my
audience engaged. I posted the survey to different horror film and film
maker communities on Reddit and shared it among my peers as well so
that I would get lot’s of different responses. The result of the survey was
successful in giving me a better understanding of my audience and what
horror does and doesn’t appeal to them although I think that I could’ve
asked some more questions just to make the most of the survey. Some
more audience research I did was looking at audience reviews for films
that had inspired me to see what audiences thought could’ve been
improved which was useful as it helped me to understand what aspects I
could focus on in my production. I think that I could’ve improved my
audience research at the time if I had done some interviews to find out a
bit more about why others would want to watch horror films so that I
could learn a bit more about what the horror genre means to people
other than myself.

5. PROPOSAL
The first thing I did in my proposal was decide on the name Sacrifices for
my project as I believe this best suited the cult horror film that I wanted to
make. In my rationale I explained how I wanted to make “a strong
emphasis on gripping story-telling” which was the main thing that I
wanted to achieve in this project as it wasn’t really something that I’d
done in any of my previous work as I’d chosen instead to focus on
aesthetic and technicality which was still something that I wanted to
include in this project but I wanted to develop story-telling skills in this
project. The concept I proposed was a party where things aren’t as they
seem and the characters we follow are unaware of a cult wanting to use
them as sacrifices which is something that I think remains true in the
product I created. I made a bibliography of articles, websites and films
which inspired my initial plans for the project and I made a week by weak
plan which detailed what I would do each week to progress my project. I
found my proposal as a really useful resource in my project as I would
come back to it each week to understand what I would aim to get done
that week and this allowed me to stay on track with my time which was
something that I’d struggled with in previous projects.

6. PROBLEM SOLVING
In my problem solving powerpoint I wanted to explore all of the issues
that could occur when making my production and then explain how these
issues could be prevented or how a solution them could be made. I wrote
about technical and theoretical problems that I would face, the most
important of which that I covered was the Corona Virus which became
the biggest issue that I would face. It would’ve pushed my progress back
very far and left me with limited options however due to my awareness I
was able to spot that this would be an issue and I planned to use my
family to help me film an alternate scene in case the lockdown happened
which was what ended up happening resulting in this problem solving
helping me to stay on track. Thankfully a lot of the problems I could’ve
encountered didn’t happen although this helped me prepare for any
eventuality that could’ve happened and in the case of my corona virus
plan it helped me to prevent myself from loosing any major progress that
I could’ve lost. If I were to do the project again I would’ve bought
coloured lighting early on so that I could actually use it in my scene as I
knew that lockdown was a possibility so if I got the lights knowing this I
could’ve regained some aesthetic quality in the production.

7. EXPERIMENTS
I made a couple of videos for my production experiments where I
attempted to practise various techniques that I originally planned to have
in my production. I made one video where I explored one take tracking
shots as well as match-cuts and I think that the tracking shots with the
shoulder mount was really effective and could’ve worked really well in my
film if I was able to get it before lockdown however I think that the match
cuts taught me a more valuable lesson about checking my footage to get
an understanding of continuity. Although there weren’t any match cuts in
my finished production the lessons I learnt about continuity were useful
for making sure that there was a consistent quality without any
anomalies. I also explored coloured lighting in a video I made where I
tested colour filters over the camera lens and over a flash light and I
compared the footage. I wanted to have my own original music in the
scene so I created a track for the scene in my experiments which was
something I was really proud of however I made a mistake where I forgot
to send myself the music so I wasn’t able to use it in my film so if I were
to do my experiments again i’d make sure to send myself the music I
made so that I could’ve used it in my product.

8. PRE-PRODUCTION
In my first week of pre-production I explored various visual and aesthetic
qualities that I wanted to include in my work such as primary coloured
lighting inspired by Suspiria (1978), the setting I would use, the font
design for the title and costume designs for the characters. I think that
my planning for the visual aspects of the film was good as I tried to put a
lot of detail into it so that I could get an accurate representation of what I
wanted in my film scene and pretty much the only change from planning
to production in this aspect was the lighting which I changed due to not
having the right equipment to make this possible. In the second week of
pre-production I worked of a lot the non visual aspects such as writing
about time management, casting, filming dates, character motives,
editing, equipment and music. I think that I could’ve explored quite a lot
of non visual aspects in this week which was pretty useful however a lot
of this work became irrelevant due to the lockdown which happened the
week after. I would’ve gotten more done in the second week however I
became ill and unable to work for quite a bit, this set me back a little in
progress but I recovered and got back to the project as soon as I could.

9. PRE-PRODUCTION
I used more time on my pre-production in order to update it with my new
plans for my project due to the lockdown. This included a new filming
date, the new cast which was me and my family, my prop I would use for
a mask, my equipment list and an update on time management. After
updating the pre-production I created a storyboard along with some
concept sketches so that there was a clear story line for the scene. I then
created an initial draft for a screenplay of the scene which got updated
twice improving in quality each time, once I completed my third draft I
wrote about it in the slideshow as the final part of my planning. I think
that if I were to do my pre-production again I would write my screenplay
before the storyboard so that there are no differences in plot between
both works and I would’ve tweaked my screenplay a bit so that the
dialogue was a bit more realistic as I feel like the dialogue limited me and
my brothers acting a bit which was one of the weaker aspects of my
production. Overall I think my pre-production was pretty good especially
due to the change in quality caused by the transition into lockdown, I
think things could’ve been a lot worse.

10. PRODUCTION
In my production I had to use only members of my family to film and act, so my brother
played two characters and me and my dad played a character each as well with the
three of us deciding to take turns filming when we aren’t needed for a shot. My mum
couldn’t film with us as she wasn’t very confident that she could do a good job filming or
acting. The hardest part of production was the first night of filming, I had to teach my
dad how to use the camera, create a set for the dinning room which had bottles and
cups, maintain continuity as we moved around somethings while acting and me and my
brother struggled to give good performances. Overall it took us from 9pm – 12am to get
1 shot that we could use in the film as all of the other takes had either been ruined by
our acting or by my dad’s camera work. Once we finished shooting the first shot we
managed to speed up our process as the next night we were able to film until we
managed to get to the shot that would take place on the stairway. Before I started
filming I thought that the process wouldn’t take a long time however it took us three
nights over the course of four days to film the scene. On the final night of filming we
were very efficient and managed to film about two minuets worth of usable footage
which included my characters death scene which was quite messy to film as the fake
blood I poured on my face ran down into my mouth and nose which made it difficult to
get a shot of because I couldn’t speak to get the attention of my brother who was
filming. The shots we did end up getting looked pretty good, I think that the film looks
more cheesy that I wanted it to be but it has some charm to it and I enjoyed filming it
even if it was a little frustrating at times.

11. PRODUCTION
The editing process for the scene was quite unusual for me as I
was having to work with a different editing software to what I would
be using at college. I’m used to working on Adobe Premiere Pro
however due to quarantine I’ve had to use a free trial of Final Cut
Pro on my brothers Mac which had a very different layout to Adobe
Premiere after a while I got used to the new layout and different
was of editing became more clear. In my first day editing I complied
all of my footage onto the timeline and cut parts out the I didn’t
want to use and essentially created the framework for my scene by
getting the clips in order. The next part of my process was to
remove any background noise from the clips and make sure that
everything was cut together in a was that looked neat. I then began
adding music to my work making sure to use songs that I thought
suited the tone and brought out the atmosphere in the scene. Final
touches to the edit were details such as transitions, adjustments to
the volume, clips of background chatter to give the sense that it
was a house party setting and a title/credits sequence. Overall I
thought that my editing was pretty good considering the fact that I
was having to figure out how to edit on Final Cut as I was editing. I
think I was able to efficiently create a scene that will appealing to
my target audience and teenage demographic.

12. AESTHETIC QUALITIES
Due to the lack of coloured lighting I missed out on creating the Argento
inspired party scene that I wanted to create originally, because this option
was no longer available to me I decided instead to go with a more typical
colour scheme. I chose to film my scene at night time so that the shot would
look darker with lighting being used to cast shadows on peoples faces which
made it so that there was a sense of mistrust permeating the scene, the low
lighting being used to intensify a sense of paranoia. I chose a motif of
sunflowers to represent incoming danger with a sunflower painting being
shown just before a noise is heard upstairs and the mask that the killer wears
also has a sun with a face in it making it a part of this motif which is why I
superimposed the mask onto the painting in one shot.
I think that in a way the aesthetics of the film
resemble the slasher style of Halloween 1978 while
having a sense of humour similar to the likes of
Creep-show 1982 although the more tacky aspects
of the scene weren’t intentional. Although I’m
pleased with the aesthetics of the scene I would’ve
preferred to stick with the original plan as I think
that it would’ve elevated the scene further with bold
choices of lighting and the potential to have more
gore and practical effects however this was
unfortunately not the case due to the quarantine.

13. AESTHETIC QUALITIES
For the title I chose to use the font Men In Blue from DaFont as I
liked the font split the word into lines which to me could sort of
represent a strobe light which I thought added further to the idea that
this was a horror film based in a house party.
NOBODY (2019)
After the title appeared on screen it becomes tv static which
was a reference to the FMP I made last year where the trailer
ended in tv static, I wanted to re-incorporate this idea into my
FMP as a reference as well as a way to show my credits. Me
and my brother shot some extra footage for the credits with a
close up of my eyes which had the tv static over-laid on top,
this sequence also included a shot of the killer and a close up
of the sunflower painting. I like the credit sequence as it’s
meant to look quite unusual and the sudden cut to it is meant
to leave the viewer wanting to see more. I’m pleased with the
horror aesthetic I’ve managed to create with such limited
supplies however I would’ve liked to have created something
more stylistic if I had more resources available to me.

14. TECHNICAL QUALITIES
During the editing process I created various sound effects for the scene such
as the impact of the killer cleaver which was made by chopping up various
vegetables (we found out potatoes made the most impressive sound for this
noise). The was a shot where the killer reveals the knife which I made a
sound for by scraping the knife across the stone mask which I thought
sounded good when added into the scene. I asked my brother to create a
theme for when the killer emerges which he did by recording his guitar on
Garage-Band and putting it in reverse, I made a loop of this noise and had it
play until the my character is about to be killed. For the noise that my
character hears and goes to investigate I recored various clips of me banging
my hand on our table and I compiled these noises to create one loud thudding
sound which fit the scene surprisingly well. I used a clip from youtube of a
crowd speaking to make the setting more accurate to that of a house party as
atmosphere was very important to me. I for the music I didn’t want to use
typical party music was I instead chose to use different songs for different
moods Sun-shower by Home is the intro music and is what brings us into the
atmosphere of the scene where as Six Forty Seven by Instupendo plays when
my character is distracted by the painting, it’s meant to sound creepy and out
of place in a way. The final track I used was Tear Drop by Santo and Johnny
which sounds unnatural and distorted due to the use of the steel guitar. Even
though I chose to use pre-existing music I chose the tracks I did for the
improvement of the scene.

15. TECHNICAL QUALITIES
I wanted to add details to the filming of my production to add to the
technical aspects of the scene, this can be seen in the shot where my
character is staring at the painting as I overlaid an image of the stone
mask onto the painting to create a sense of foreshadowing. With the shot
where the killer emerges I specifically aimed for a shot where the camera
sweeps around the room and zooms in on the killer which I did by taking
a step forward when the camera reaches the killer. I think that the
technical qualities for the visual aspects of the scene could be seen as
lacking a bit which is something that I would’ve improved under different
circumstances as I feel that I could have made some more visually
interesting shots with the use of a shoulder mount or a gimble.
unfortunately I only had my camera available to me which meant that the
amount of quality shots I could use was fairly limited however I feel like I
did my best with the limited resources I had. I would’ve liked to include
more tracking shots with a shoulder mount and if I had a gimble I could
use it to gain more dynamic movement through the house, this could’ve
made the visual style more unique and give the scene less of a cliché
horror vibe.
Included a box saying “Hush” to mirror the
gesture of the killer.

16. TIME MANAGEMENT
I think that in previous projects time management has been something that I have struggled
with a lot however in this project I think that due to making in depth plans early on I was able
to stay on track more easily even after lockdown derailed my original plans. I think that
planning really helped me to manage my time more efficiently over the course of the project
as the weekly plan I made in my proposal kept me on track throughout the entirety of my
FMP until production where I started following the plans that I’d made in my pre-production.
Following these plans were useful for me as it made a change to how I would normally work
as each week I knew exactly what I was aiming to get done, this made keeping track of my
progress much easier which save me a lot of time. I think that time sort of slipped away
towards the end of production as I would’ve liked to get some more things done such as
making some more original music and making a trailer for the film however I’m happy with
what I’ve managed to get done with the time and resources I’ve had available and I think that
under different circumstances I would’ve been able to create some extra work in my
production.

17. AUDIENCE APPEAL
The main target audience I had in mind while creating the project was for horror film fans
with a demographic for people in their late teens. I think my project would appeal more to a
male audience as there is already a male majority that watch horror films and the fact that
there are no female characters in the scene I produced may make it less relatable for a
female audience. I think that my production didn’t quite reach the target age demographic of
late teens as I would say that the scene isn’t scary enough to shock this audience, I believe
that if I had the skills with practical effects to craft believable gore then I would’ve been able
to frighten this age category. I believe that my product still has some appeal to maybe mid-
teens as it does feature a build up of tension with a violent pay off however with the
resources available this wasn’t quite as shocking as it needed to be to scare an older
audience. I do think that the scene has some charm to it that would still appeal to my target
audience as I tried to put detail into the setting and visual aspects of the film as I knew that I
wouldn’t be able to meet the quality I had envisioned due to quarantine. I enjoyed working on
it and I think that with the effort we put into filming it that entertainment should carry over to
the people I show it to when looking for feedback.

18. Peer Feedback
I sent a draft of my project to my peers for feedback

19. PEER FEEDBACK
Peer 1
Positive aspects
● I like the use of lighting to create distinct shadows
● I’m a fan of the shots and camera angles you’ve used
● I think the music you’ve used is fitting
Things that can be improved
● Sometimes it’s hard to hear what characters are saying. You should adjust the sound for
some parts of dialogue
● The acting could be better, then again I probably couldn’t do any better my self. Maybe be
a bit more expressive

20. PEER FEEDBACK
Peer 2
Positive aspects
● The story was good, I liked the pacing and would definitely watch a longer version
● The use of music worked really well, didn’t feel like it was there to fill out the silence
● I liked visual aspects like the face in the sunflower painting and the makeup used at the
end
Things that can be improved
● Some of the dialogue and the acting was a little cheesy/unsubtle
● The shots on the stairs lasted a little too long

21. PEER FEEDBACK
Peer 3
Positive aspects
● I like the use music as I think it fits the film
● Some of the shots were great, I particularly liked the shot of the sunflowers
● I think the use of lighting worked well
Things that can be improved
● The dialogue could’ve been better
● The credits were maybe a bit too long

22. FEEDBACK RESPONSE
I thought that the feedback that I got helped me to understand my production more as most
of the responses gave similar positive feedback, complimenting my lighting, shots, story and
music. I was pleased with the positive aspects that were brought up as these were points
that I had previously been worried about such as the lighting as I had to scrap my original
idea of coloured lighting in favour of a more traditional approach however this hasn’t seemed
to matter much as people still seem to like it. The suggested improvements were pretty much
what I expected as they picked up on the poor acting and dialogue which isn’t exactly a
surprise to me as acting is just not something me and my brother are used to and I think that
if I made my dialogue a bit more natural we could’ve given some better performances. There
were some improvements that could be made which I hadn’t noticed such as the length of
some of the shots being too long and some of the dialogue being too quiet, I will adjust these
issues as they can be fixed easily. I think that the feedback I’ve got has been really positive
despite the setbacks that I’ve experienced which is encouraging as I was disappointed when
I realised that I wouldn’t be able to work with actors or make the product I originally intended
however it seems like I was able to make an appealing project in spite of this.

23. FEEDBACK RESPONSE
I adjusted some elements such as the length of some shots and the sound quality so there's
a noticeable difference in the audio, it still doesn't sound that great however this is mainly
due to the fact I was using the cameras microphone for the dialogue. I think that after editing
the video the only issue left is the quality of the acting and the dialogue which would take
quite a lot of time to improve but I’m proud of what I’ve made even if it wasn't what I wanted
to make going into this project. I think that it was a quite fun making my production with my
family and showing them my production process as they learnt more about what sort of work
goes into creating a video. I think that in the future I’m going to need to consider what
resources I actually need and what could just be an expensive way of improving aesthetic or
technical aspects of the film as this project has proven to me that it doesn’t take lot of
equipment and resources to create an appealing product but it just needs good execution of
basic qualities. I think that this project has taught me to improve my skill by working with the
fundamentals of filmmaking.