Pros and Cons of Location: Forest/Woods

When looking at possible locations we could use for films in our film opening, a forest or wooded area seemed like a good place to research and see if it would be useful. As part of researching the pros and cons of filming in a forest I went out to a nearby area and filmed some different shots to get an idea of how it would work if used for our film opening. This has enabled me to see some pros and cons I would not have thought of before hand. 

Pros

• You can use the same area for multiple shots and make it look like many different places. This is because woods are not going to look the same in every angle, and if shots are short they will not be able to tell if it the same place over and over again. 
• Often woods are quite quiet meaning there won't be people around to disturb or interrupt your filming. 
• Woods are usually quite dark even in the day time which can add a scary atmosphere to the filming. 
• They can allow for the element of surprise or shock because actors can hide and jump out on camera which will surprise the viewer, creating a good scene. 
• You can use trees and bushes to your advantage as it allows you to film from behind them or beside them to get interesting shots and angles for the opening. This also means that it is as if the person featured in the opening is not aware they are being watched. 
• Weather, such as rain or a cloudy day can give a scary feel to the filming, useful for a horror opening. 

Cons

• The darkness of the woods can sometimes be a problem because the camera may produce grainy footage due to low lighting. It is difficult to light the area.
• You cannot alter the location in anyway, for example, if a tree is in your way, you can't simply cut it down to suit you, you have to find somewhere which fits your story and doesn't need to change. 
• The location can have implications on the audio of filming, for example in the shots I filmed, in the background you can hear the traffic noises of a nearby motorway. This didn't matter so much for the research, however if you wanted diegetic sound in the opening, such as someone speaking, this could be an issue due to nearby sounds. 
• Weather can impact on filming in the woods. When filming my clips it was a very raining day, this meant that the ground was wet and very muddy. This isn't great while filming in the woods because it makes access to the area harder and also you need to think about safety for the actors. When running, the actor had to be careful not to slip while still running at the same speed. 

Overall, I think a forest area would be very good for a least some of our film opening because it presents lots of ways to allow the same area to be used many different times. I also think it lends itself well to the horror genre because you can add a sense of unknown and mystery, which could if used well and edited in a certain way, be used to scare the viewer.