4) Filming Process and Recap - Evaluation - How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluationstages?

The programme we used to make our film was Adobe Elements, this was an editing package that allowed us to merge all the different video clips together, with options of layering texts and transitional effects over the top of our film which can be seen throughout. We found this important as it really allowed us the freedom to do what we wanted without worrying about mistakes we had made as they could be easily erased. There was also an option of speeding up the footage which came in handy at certain points also such as the car scene. A vital aspect of the Elements package was that sound could be layered over or in the background of a scene which was necessary in parts as there was dull sounds that could not add suspense and tension on their own. For this post I thought it would be beneficial to show the editing package in the majority of screen shots just to give an idea of the journey we have taken and to show the edits along the majority of shots in the film.

For the final version film our opening scene of just the road that set the scene with cars driving up and down whilst our production studio flashed up "M&M Studios". The setting of the road and cars driving suggests that the film will centre around this point or that the significant and memorable moment will involve a car.

The opening scene was shot on a main road, so that lots of cars could be filmed at one time. We decided on filming on a main road as it stuck with the theme of cars throughout and gave the audience an idea of what was to follow.

M&M Studios then appears in the bottom left corner which was our studio ident, we had it appear like this so that the audience can see it but they are still focusing on the introduction scene.

The same again with Presents however this time in the bottom right corner, it was put in the bottom right for a change up and is also discreet so that the main attention is still on the scene as a whole.

The second scene for the film is where the narrative begins and we are introduced to one of our main characters in the opening shot (Stephen Maguire). The back of him shows no facial expression so the audience are unclear of his state of mind at this point.

Still in the same shot we have the title "The Following" appear next to Stephen and we made it appear as he walked past that point to make it look like the text was following him, so we would stick to that specific trait in the film.

The second shot of the opening scene continues where Stephen is walking alongside the school building, this is the first time the audience see Stephen's face and notice that he is not focused on his surroundings as he is looking down at the floor and is listening to music which means that his attention will not fully be on what is happening around him.

The first shot of the car was along the school drive, we had to get up as much speed as possible to make it look like the car was speeding and also giving it a dangerous and menacing look. 

This is the next camera angle that was used, it was intended to be  from Stephen's perspective just before impact and was also speed up in the editing package so that the audience would get the idea that on the point of impact there would be no chance of survival for Stephen. We felt it important to have a shot of Stephen's perspective before death as the audience would be able to grasp what it would be like in a moment like that.

The next shot is from the drivers perspective (Jack McGrath),  and his view of the event, the way that the victim came out of no where in his eyes, and he could not have done anything to prevent it, we sped this up also to look like the driver was still travelling at speed. 

This reaction shot was of Stephen the split second before his death, this was important as it reflects his last seconds and the audience can really see what he is thinking with the shocked expression over his face.

The blacked out screen after the death shows the drama and devastation that has fallen over these two characters, and also gives the audience a moment to reflect over this.

This shot shows the aftermath of the accident and also confirms the death of Stephen with a focus on his crumpled body.

In this shot Jacks reaction is one of clear shock and devastation, and he does not know what to do as being a driver this is one of the worst situations you can be in. We decided to do a side angle as you can see my facial expressions, but also my body language which is important as it is one of panic. 

The shot following my reaction is where I panic and drive away due to fear and not knowing what will happen to me for hitting him. This was done from a perspective just over where Stephen's body was lying so its still showing the car from above his perspective.

The second scene is still in the aftermath of the death, a couple of days later where the school are still in shock and are grieving Stephen's death. Here are two pupils discussing the death and reminiscing over Stephen.

Guilt stricken and still not coping properly, Jack enter the scene and is tired of everyone going on about Stephen's death but he still debates on whether to come forward and confess or not.

Jack overhears the girls conversation talking about Stephen which puts him in even more of a depressed state of mind.

Jack gets stopped in the corridor and is asked by fellow sixth formers whether he knows anything about Stephen's death and whether he is alright. He quickly avoids these questions and makes up an excuse to get away from the whole situation.

It is clear that the "two weeks later" is an indicator that time is passing and is an attempt at advancing the plot. At this point as directors we could go two ways about this, we could either have made Jacks state of mind take a turn for the worst and him spiral out of control due to the death, or we could have shown him dealing with it, recovering from it and trying to move on with his life. We chose the second option.

In this scene Jack is playing on his games console, trying to put his mind at ease and move on in life from the trauma of Stephen's death. Two weeks on from the event and he appears to be getting over it and is beginning to lead a normal life again. The edits used here are effective in implying that time is passing by as Jack is playing the computer game, we used blur effects and zooms to suggest a passing amount if time to imply a great deal of time passing and we were able to smooth out transitions through the effects, it also gave the effect of a montage which we thought the audience would enjoy.

Jack celebrates scoring a goal by jumping in the air for joy, this implies that the smallest, most trivial thing will please him after what he has been through. It appears that this is the most happiness he has experienced in a long time. 

At this moment in the plot Jack hears a noise out in the hallway, whilst he does not know what the noise was he feels obliged to investigate. To make the noise of the crashing in the hall while Stephen was filming me he slammed the door behind him.

In this shot Jack is leaving the room he was in and is going into the hallway to see what the noise was.

Unable to located the source of the noise in the hallway he ventures upstairs to try and seek where the noise has come from. Throughout these scenes we wanted to build up the tension so it is dead silent and we, throughout these few shots wanted to make it look like Jack was being watched therefore the camera angles are quiet obscurely placed to have the effect that somebody could be based in the house watching him. The "Paranormal Activity" franchise inspired us with the stairs scene as it had similar camera angles on the stairs in the second film and the camera angles worked effectively throughout. Another reason "Paranormal Activity" was an inspiration is that it is a supernatural horror film which has close links with the psychological film genre.

In this shot we have jack walking up the stairs, and we have the camera following him to give the impression he is being followed and that his is not alone in the house.

When he reaches the top of the stairs he thinks that it is the tumble dryer making the noise so he switches it off and carries on to get ready for bed.

Here is a screenshot from "Paranormal Activity 2" which inspired our stair scene with the quirky camera angles.

Whilst he washes it becomes clear that he is being watched in the bathroom behind him. The camera angle insinuates this as it moves along the room, suggesting whoever is watching him is moving along the room, Jack is oblivious to this at this point as he is focused on the wash.

At this point the person who has being watching him is revealed to be Stephen who has come back from the dead to haunt and stalk Jack, trying to give him a guilty conscience for what he has done and make him suffer with it. With this specific camera shot, we had to position the camera over my shoulder but far away enough so that it would not get caught in the line of the mirror, therefore we had to put both camera and tripod in the bath and had to wedge the tripod in so it would not fall over.

"1 Month Later..." was put into the film to suggest how time was passing, still showing jacks journey through dealing with the killing of one of his fellow pupils. It was to give over a message that over the course of the film it would show Jack either being able to handle killing somebody or, on the other hand, his mental state deteriorating and falling into a cycle of depression, when directing and writing the scenes for the film we decided to be realistic and think what would happen if this situation occurred in real life and we felt that the majority of peoples mental states would seriously decline if a traumatic even like this happened.

I decided to not include a screenshot of the last scene as it is an ambiguous scene and is up to the viewers to determine what they think of the ending, what has happened and what the message is, the aim of this film was to get people to think about it afterwards and raise important questions to one another about the elements of the plot and the characters within it.

In the credits we went for a simplistic style of text that credited all the people involved in the film, it had mysterious music in the background to fit in with the film itself.

This was the final studio ident, the one that features in our first scene and at the end of our credits, it is simple but also eye-catching and unique.