Filming

Today we finished filming after two evenings. We have made a few in-process changes since our storyboarding: instead of using a young blonde woman Our introduction can now mainly be divided into three parts: the tension-building 'running' shots, the first house scene, and the teenage investigation.
Our original plan was to have some kind of armed force investigate the house, but we decided it was both more practical and conventional to use a pair of curious teenagers to investigate instead.
We took various shots of me running through a local cemetery, in an alleyway and inside and outside my house. We tried to use as many different types of shot as possible in order to create different effects:

• A low shot of just my feet running -- this is used to isolate the audience's concentration and trigger various innate responses. For example, the fact that a character is running and we can't see what from, makes the audience ask: "Why is he running?", "Where is he going now", and "Should I be scared too?". 
• A high-angle shot of a character running and looking behind -- this technique is used to belittle the power of the character we see running. He or she becomes vulnerable and the looking behind ensures the audience recognise a genuine fear, and that whatever the character is running from as dangerous. This empathy is what generates fear on the audiences side of the screen.
• Tracking -- the camera is used to emulate the perspective of the character and thus give a more direct empathy. It allows us to see what the character sees, and with a camera shake, it is possible to express a feeling of panic and disarray. Here is an example from our film:
  
• Shot-reverse-shot -- We use this for a conversation between the two teenagers who investigate the house. It demonstrates an intellectual connection between the characters. 
• Establishing shots -- We use two stills to set the scene at the start. They are of Reigate from Reigate Hill, and an empty road. When used in the context of a apocalypse/zombie horror film, empty and lifeless scenes can be used to create a feeling of loneliness and vulnerability in the audience.  
• Close up -- We used to focus on a facial expression / emotion. For example, a close up on Calum's face during the sentence "Brenan, what's that?" on the word 'what'.
• Point of view (subject) -- Used after a two-shot of Alex Tzanis (a friend) and Calum who look at a zombie on the floor.