Why film Test footage?

We filmed test footage to gain a clear idea and create a plan of how we will film the real thing. We filmed our test footage over Shenfield Common as it is a similar location to our decided location - Thorndon country park. It has given us a clear understanding of what will work and what will not in terms of costumes, equipment etc. Originally, the antagonist was going to wear a cape but after analysing a similar location we feel it will move away from the thriller genre and could be reviewed as a horror and give the stereotypical antagonist villain look rather than a mind-interrogating thriller. To prevent this, the antagonist will wear casual attire such as a hoodie, jeans and trainers but we will still use white and black face paint to show the clear contrast between him and the other characters. 

We continue to use the desired location of the forest as it shows the antagonist is stalking and following Nicole. This is because the location can hide a lot creating anticipation for the audience as they focus on the objects that the antagonist could be hiding behind. This enhances the atmosphere of the film because of the pre-existing, useful setting. We have also decided to re-writing the script to remove dialogue from the scene and adding narration on top of the backing track. We will use a voice over rather than filming on scene as it will create suspense for the audience and also break the fourth wall.