Test footage.

We filmed some test footage so we could then play around with the light and try out some effects in Final Cut Express. I cut the footage and used a range of different techniques and effects on each section. In our thriller we aim to create a dark atmosphere. We are also planning to use a number of point of view shots to imply that the stalker involved in our sequence if following the girl.

• The first thing i tried to alterring the brightness and contrast within the footage. I tried to make it darker to create a sinister effect. I thought this was a very good tool to use and we will be using this in our final opening sequence.
  
• The second technique i used was altering the white and black lines in the colour correction tab. This worked well to create the image of a dark night or the image of a very bright, intense atmosphere.
• The third effect i tried was 'channel blur'. This effect blurs the footage to create a slightly distorted effect, it would be very useful to keep swtiching too when we are trying to create a view from the eyes of the stalker.
• I then selected the 'fish eye lense' on the footage. This created the effect of the fish eye. It distorted the footage and gave it a very abstract effect.
• I then used the effect of 'echo' under the heading of timing. It blurred the image like the 'blur' effect did but made it seem like you were seeing duplications of the footage.
• I then tried out the 'stobe' effect from the same catergory. This slightly delayed the footages and made it quite jumpy which gave the footage a very edgy effect.
• Staying within the same category i then tried the 'trail' effect. This trailed the image and duplicated it. It also gave the effect that it was vibrating almost because of how shaky it was. We liked this effect to use when we are filming handheld.
• The last effect i tried was the 'scrub' effect. It made it seem as if the footage was vibrating but i did not see that much difference to the footage.

From what I tried out i decided for our final footage we will use some of the effect found it the timing category to create the good effect when using the handheld camera trying to create the point of view of the stalker. The fish eye lense will definitely be used at some point because it creates an edgy lense like effect as if somebody is being watched. This research will definitely help us when it comes to doing the final editing of our thriller opening because we now know how to alter the contract and colours to make it seem as if its dark without having to film in the dark and the quality therefore being poor.