Thursday, 25 June 2009
Thursday, 30 April 2009
Alex evaluation
Thriller evaluation
Looking over our edited thriller, opening clip we decide it should be the final piece to send off to the examiners as we couldn’t really make much improvements and was also very pleased with the copy we had made. Our teamwork, motivation and dedication enabled us to create such as what I would say an effective clip.
After we completed our task of creating a thriller opening, we then had to type up this evaluation for our blog. in order to this as a whole we all decided to catch a glance of a few other members thriller opening so we can make a few notes, comments and comparisons to get us started and into the vibe of the whole evaluation scheme.
In order for our group to get great results for our thriller opening we first looked at a few thrillers to inspire us and give us a taste of how a thriller opening should be. In class, we watched the shining, which was quite an effective thriller and in the opening it really did leave me curious for what is going to happen next causing me to want to watch more which, I’m pretty sure is what the director intended on. In my own time I also looked at a few other thrillers so that I could look over what things they did to make their opening effective
Our film shared conventions of a real thriller as we used certain shots and camera movements as seen in a few thrillers that had been produced and distributed to an audience. We also looked at a few thrillers, used a few of their techniques, and gathered them together to create our own.
Our media product represents particular social class such as a middle/working social class, as we used an average girl in a house. She had just woken up and covered in make up all over her face in a mess as she had a party last night. This is more or less what u would expect from a young girl around the age of seventeen in today’s society and it was good that we chose a girl of that age group to be the victim as it represents our intended age group for our audience.
In our thriller we made sure that the story line is something that we can relate to as we put things that accurse in every day life in this society so that it attracts the audience into the film more which makes it more intense for the viewers and more thrilling.
In my eyes looking at the type of thriller we created I strongly recon it would only be a distribution to the British industry or maybe even a TV’ film as its more or less really British based and more of what the British would like to see this is because most things that happen is what we see happening in our society which other countries may not be interested in also most films that are British are only distributed in the UK unless its about our history which would then intrigue more viewers allowing us to distribute it worldwide.
Our media product (film thriller) is aimed at the audience of everyone over the age of twelve but mainly the age group of fifteen to the age of twenty four as they are usually the people that would be interested in this and also the people who could suffer from such incidents.
I think our film will attract our intended audience because of the type of characters in the film and the roles they play along with the incidents that happens which we usually see in today’s society certain characters are very needed such as the teenage girl who represents most urban girls that like to go clubbing and look good. The use of the person coming in at the same moment of her having a shower is also good as it rather makes the viewers think whether or not if the guy is going to rape her which I’m sure is what they are expecting as we hear a lot of that happening.
We decided that for it to be advertised to our intended audience we shall use certain ways of enticing them. We did some research on how our target audience normally find about films and what reaches out to them the most and, we then realised that most of them notice things on the internet, TV, radio and on buses and least of all magazines especially when it came down to boys, so looking at that we decided to go on famous site that youths go onto such as MySpace, Fcebook and YouTube then we also decided to broadcast it on radio and television as we know a lot of people watch the television, as the amount of people who said that they notice things through magazines we decided not to use it to get across to them.
In the process of constructing this product, I have learnt a few things or two on the technology side, as I was able to work on a camera, which I had not done before I learnt how to operate one alongside how to get certain effective camera shots which were very vital in our thriller or many as a matter of fact. Not only did I learn something with the camera work but also with the computer parts or the editing shall I say. I learnt how to work with final cut pro, which again was something I had never used in my life further more something that I had never herd of.
I did not only know how to use it but I also realised how much of impotents it had and one thing for sure it was a lot because without it the whole thriller would have looked like a shambles which wouldn’t have got us nowhere in other words the final cut pro was an amazing lifeline for us and I am pretty sure it was to many others as well.
Using this programme aloud me to learnt how to do such things as add a sound track and more amazing skills like the fade cuts and all the other techniques that film producer’s use.
Over all looking at the whole task, I have learnt a lot and realised so much. Looking back at the match cut exercise I realised it was beneficial and enabled us to get the hang of how to use the camera and how to make life simpler to get it done.
We realised that everything we did had all linked up somehow and was all of relevance and were all needed to make the thriller work a bit like the human body as u need all the vital organs to bond together for the body to work and if one of them fails to function it has a major effect causing it not to b up to its standard which is how the media production works with the storyboard, the planning the editing and so on.
Looking over our edited thriller, opening clip we decide it should be the final piece to send off to the examiners as we couldn’t really make much improvements and was also very pleased with the copy we had made. Our teamwork, motivation and dedication enabled us to create such as what I would say an effective clip.
After we completed our task of creating a thriller opening, we then had to type up this evaluation for our blog. in order to this as a whole we all decided to catch a glance of a few other members thriller opening so we can make a few notes, comments and comparisons to get us started and into the vibe of the whole evaluation scheme.
In order for our group to get great results for our thriller opening we first looked at a few thrillers to inspire us and give us a taste of how a thriller opening should be. In class, we watched the shining, which was quite an effective thriller and in the opening it really did leave me curious for what is going to happen next causing me to want to watch more which, I’m pretty sure is what the director intended on. In my own time I also looked at a few other thrillers so that I could look over what things they did to make their opening effective
Our film shared conventions of a real thriller as we used certain shots and camera movements as seen in a few thrillers that had been produced and distributed to an audience. We also looked at a few thrillers, used a few of their techniques, and gathered them together to create our own.
Our media product represents particular social class such as a middle/working social class, as we used an average girl in a house. She had just woken up and covered in make up all over her face in a mess as she had a party last night. This is more or less what u would expect from a young girl around the age of seventeen in today’s society and it was good that we chose a girl of that age group to be the victim as it represents our intended age group for our audience.
In our thriller we made sure that the story line is something that we can relate to as we put things that accurse in every day life in this society so that it attracts the audience into the film more which makes it more intense for the viewers and more thrilling.
In my eyes looking at the type of thriller we created I strongly recon it would only be a distribution to the British industry or maybe even a TV’ film as its more or less really British based and more of what the British would like to see this is because most things that happen is what we see happening in our society which other countries may not be interested in also most films that are British are only distributed in the UK unless its about our history which would then intrigue more viewers allowing us to distribute it worldwide.
Our media product (film thriller) is aimed at the audience of everyone over the age of twelve but mainly the age group of fifteen to the age of twenty four as they are usually the people that would be interested in this and also the people who could suffer from such incidents.
I think our film will attract our intended audience because of the type of characters in the film and the roles they play along with the incidents that happens which we usually see in today’s society certain characters are very needed such as the teenage girl who represents most urban girls that like to go clubbing and look good. The use of the person coming in at the same moment of her having a shower is also good as it rather makes the viewers think whether or not if the guy is going to rape her which I’m sure is what they are expecting as we hear a lot of that happening.
We decided that for it to be advertised to our intended audience we shall use certain ways of enticing them. We did some research on how our target audience normally find about films and what reaches out to them the most and, we then realised that most of them notice things on the internet, TV, radio and on buses and least of all magazines especially when it came down to boys, so looking at that we decided to go on famous site that youths go onto such as MySpace, Fcebook and YouTube then we also decided to broadcast it on radio and television as we know a lot of people watch the television, as the amount of people who said that they notice things through magazines we decided not to use it to get across to them.
In the process of constructing this product, I have learnt a few things or two on the technology side, as I was able to work on a camera, which I had not done before I learnt how to operate one alongside how to get certain effective camera shots which were very vital in our thriller or many as a matter of fact. Not only did I learn something with the camera work but also with the computer parts or the editing shall I say. I learnt how to work with final cut pro, which again was something I had never used in my life further more something that I had never herd of.
I did not only know how to use it but I also realised how much of impotents it had and one thing for sure it was a lot because without it the whole thriller would have looked like a shambles which wouldn’t have got us nowhere in other words the final cut pro was an amazing lifeline for us and I am pretty sure it was to many others as well.
Using this programme aloud me to learnt how to do such things as add a sound track and more amazing skills like the fade cuts and all the other techniques that film producer’s use.
Over all looking at the whole task, I have learnt a lot and realised so much. Looking back at the match cut exercise I realised it was beneficial and enabled us to get the hang of how to use the camera and how to make life simpler to get it done.
We realised that everything we did had all linked up somehow and was all of relevance and were all needed to make the thriller work a bit like the human body as u need all the vital organs to bond together for the body to work and if one of them fails to function it has a major effect causing it not to b up to its standard which is how the media production works with the storyboard, the planning the editing and so on.
Friday, 27 March 2009
Thriller evaluation 27/03/09
Having completed the task, being our two minute thriller sequence, I feel more than satisfied with the work that my group and I have put in. We learnt much, having tutorials for different aids like Final Cut pro, Live type and Soundtrack, which we used to edit, manipulate and enhance our piece.Before we initially started the filming process, we looked at various other thriller openings for example “the shining” and thriller openings that other groups created and this stimulated ideas in our group. We took into consideration what they had in common- the conventions they held were very particular.www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iw23KM3-Ry8 - 75k- the opening sequence of “the shining” The conventions typical of the thriller genre are to do with the editing for example, quick cuts and camera angle changes. We find that the use of shadows, mirrors and stairs are also conventions of thriller movies. However, music that creates atmospheric tension is also typical of this genre. We included many attributes associated with real thrillers and this is clear, first and fore-most in the shot types. We used low and high angle shots to emit the vulnerability of the main character- teenage girl Corinne, and low angle shots-, which made villain, Jordane, seem bigger and more menacing. We used these in the setting of out thriller opening- in the living room and from the top of the stairs. Setting the thriller in our main characters home added realism and makes It even teffifying for the audience. This is because we all associate our homes with safety – out haven that when we arrive back from college and work, know is safe and there is no fear of being watched or that someone will invade our privacy. So setting it in the house I think is shocking as it can arouse questions. Are we really safe in our own homes or is this just something that couldn’t possibly happen? We looked at other shot types, which we think, made our thriller typical of the genre it holds. Shot-reverse-shot is effective when showing contrasting reactions between two or more characters. We used this shot type with our main characters at the end of the scene in the bathroom when our villain confronts the young teenager- the climax of the sequence. Extreme close-ups are included in our sequence, more at the end however when teenage girl Corinne comes face to face with antagonist Jordane. Definitely, something intended to keep the audience on the edge of their seats. Hand-held camera movement also creates uncertainty, a lack of steadiness and if there is any action, using the camera hand-held creates fast-paced action. Looking at the conventions that thrillers hold, to make them the distinctive genre they are was really helpful. Getting a good insight into the type of camera movement, shot types, even settings, and props gave us ideas to work with and develop. There are just two main characters in our opening sequence being perpetrator and the indefinite victim. If it were to become a proper film (middle and end included) then other possible characters would definitely be considered – maybe myself or Abdul. The characters in our thriller are Jordane and Corinne,- Corinne was representative of the typical, stroppy teenage girly girl living in London in a well presented house. Jordane however, being the antagonist was representative of a black male armed with a knife. We are all fully aware of the spree of black knife crime that has been apparent in London for some time now; we decided to portray Jordane as this stereotypical character. The media are more than aware of this “black on black” epidemic, and we touched on something sensitive and thought- provoking. Basing our work around such a surreal issue appeals to many people. It can relate to some- and make others think. I think that because our thriller touches upon something found mainly in London and the UK (black on black problem fundamentally) it could be distributed in cinemas in the UK –not a Hollywood blockbuster as such but just as a small independent UK release. I think people would be intrigued and interested in our work as it’s definitely a different take (everyone’s work is different right?) on the subject. In terms of who our thriller is particularly aimed at, I would say it definitely is not a limited range of people. Teenagers like us who filmed the work- college students,- university students even between the ages of say 17 and 25. People who aspire to make something of themselves - with ambition but who can have a laugh as well (the amount of funny takes we had! We could have compiled those into a “on the set of Illicit content!”). More importantly however, people who enjoy watching thrillers and being made to jump. Let us say for example; Curtis, 18, currently studies at university and loves watching movies with his girlfriend. In particular- thrillers! Why? Because he loves watching her jump about, scared to use the bathroom on her own! This is all done through the high level of anticipation that thrillers incur – and this is what makes them so very successful. It is the heightened climax- the red herring even. The cliffhangers and the suspense. We attracted our audience with the characters we used- who are ordinary students with no background of mental issues and nothing that makes them in relatable yet indifferent. Corinne. The typical teenage girl with the pink room and the make-up still on her face (and somewhat smudged!) From yesterdays, party….ect (the majority of girls could relate to that scenario. I certainly did!) To market our thriller, I would suggest making some leaflets first of (as it will be an independent UK release) and distributing those in colleges and universities maybe. Obviously, the internet is a terrific way to publicize your work- we could make our own site and get some feedback from the public, leaving a comments section. Moreover, we could put a little trailer up, enticing people with the beginning sequence we created. The World Wide Web is also great for internationally marketing work as we for example; we could use YouTube and other sources where videos can be posted to popularize our material. As mentioned above, I definitely learnt much whilst doing this project. This is the first time I have used blogging before to record (if I am to consider journalism in the future blogging is an imperative tool) what I have done in class and the first time I used Soundtrack. I did media last year so final cut pro and live type were somewhat familiar to me, though the lessons lead by Mickey were helpful too. Looking back to when we first started this project, we did spend some time being educated on the basics from using the camera to editing and finalizing the soundtrack and so on. We did a match cutting exercise-, which can be used to underline a connection between two separate shots. We storyboarded ideas and drafted ideas. Then we drafted again (so full of ideas!) and finally had something we wished to film with. We blogged every lesson the steps we took in the learning and filming process and post-production. I found blogging a great way of getting the things we learnt down and it’s also insightful to see what others went through in there productions and you can learn from others indefinitely. I hope we get a good grade- as a group we all added our energy and inspiration- which made our thriller what it is. I love our work, and I’m proud of what we’ve achieved so far. u
Issues we overcame! NO sweat really was it....
I must note that although our work has been completed and we are sure to get a good grade (:D!), our completed work wasnt finished without issues which we overcame...the major issue being the fact that we had to start all over again after just a few scenes in the lessons in Feburary when we were filming. When we returned to college the following thuesday to look at and edit the filming we did at my house (the first setting we chose to film our work) we realsied that it didnt make much sense at all- and on that dissapointing note- started all over again!
But. No sweat! We started immidietly, meeting at Corrines house to start again- fully aware of how behind we were (compared to our peers) and filmed everything in 1 day! And to add to our own suprise at how fast we worked- returned to college on the first day of half term which was a Monday to edit our work. We found it worked really well- made sense of course and we edited quickly. We also encountered minor problems when compiling our soundtrack. Well I had said I would do it (because I could make it at home on my keyboard- yes I play piano.. :)) but I couldnt transfer the work I had made on a USB unfortunately so in the end the group made one using the software at college. I was kinda dissapointed because I made a really good piece which I think would have fitted well- and the fact I made it made me feel that I had achieved someting for the group work we had done. But no worries we finished everything and I just thought Id blogg on the problems we faced as its important to mention thoses too. isnt it :)
But. No sweat! We started immidietly, meeting at Corrines house to start again- fully aware of how behind we were (compared to our peers) and filmed everything in 1 day! And to add to our own suprise at how fast we worked- returned to college on the first day of half term which was a Monday to edit our work. We found it worked really well- made sense of course and we edited quickly. We also encountered minor problems when compiling our soundtrack. Well I had said I would do it (because I could make it at home on my keyboard- yes I play piano.. :)) but I couldnt transfer the work I had made on a USB unfortunately so in the end the group made one using the software at college. I was kinda dissapointed because I made a really good piece which I think would have fitted well- and the fact I made it made me feel that I had achieved someting for the group work we had done. But no worries we finished everything and I just thought Id blogg on the problems we faced as its important to mention thoses too. isnt it :)
Tuesday, 24 March 2009
Evaluation
My media product develops and challenges the form and conventions of real media products as my group and I have incorporated all the technical and visual aspects into our thriller that enables it to fit within this genre. My final thriller turned out to be a great success as it has received very positive feedback from peers, family and friends who think that it was professionally edited and captured to make it worthy of a successful thriller. My thriller challenges the forms and conventions of real media, typical thrillers that have not had much effort or thought put into them contain blood, guts and gory scenes that most people (including myself) think is the stereotype for thrillers. In fact, thrillers can be portrayed using many different methods, whether it is specialised camera shots, soundtrack or props that are being used to make a film fit into the thriller genre.
For my project I did not decide to go for the famous gut & gory approach to make thriller, instead my group and I decided to make our product differ from conventional thriller that are released. We have done this by making the thriller very suspenseful and nerve racking at the same time to encourage viewers to commit themselves to watching the duration of the film and enjoy what they have seen. My product consists of specialised cameras angles, props and stars to give it a simple, but most important effective insight into the plot of our film so that viewers will stay intrigued with the film trying to figure out how it is going to pan out and what twist we have incorporated into the film which makes it a thriller. The thriller starts of as a normal urban film, but as it progresses suspense begins to build up and different characters, props and view-points are shown to the audience who are then sitting their trying to work out the on on-screen situation in their mind. In a sense creating their own conclusion before the film has even come to a close, this way the audience has been seduced by the film and are willing to watch it to the end in order to find out if what they thought would happen is correct.
The documentary that I watched by Thomas Sutcliffe prior to starting my thriller project was a great help as it explained the concepts used within successful thrillers and the negatives that shouldn’t be used when making thrillers in order for them to be successful and fit into the genre. The short documentary showed the primary methods that need to be put into a thriller in order for to fit into that genre. These methods were things such as creating suspense with the soundtrack and diagetic sound, not creating instant arousal in the film and give clues of what is going to happen later in the film without giving away too much information. The thriller should engage the audience whilst introducing main characters into the film and their role. As Sutcliffe said in the documentary, “films need to seduce their audience into a long term commitment”.
My thriller represents a teenage social group as the stars fit into this category, with Corinne being 17 years of age and myself Jordane Bingham at 18 years of age. As both of the stars fit into very similar social backgrounds we decided to portray this in the film by using a custom soundtrack and using props that represent this social status, the two main stars are Black British, I live in north London and Corinne also lives in north London. As solely, my group conducted the film and we were able to represent this social group with great ease as we all fit into this category. Examples of when we have portrayed this social group in the thriller is during the opening scenes. Corinne is filmed getting out of bed, she is accompanied by the soundtrack which represents what she is hearing in her head as she gets up, with these shots we are portraying her as a typical teenage girl who has been partying late the night before and is still half asleep. Another example of when this social group is represented in the film is when I come into the shot carrying a knife that is intended to scare or cause harm to someone later on in the film. Both of these two examples are effective at representing this social group, as the target audience will immediately be able to figure out what we are portraying in the scenes as it relates to the stereotype that many people have of young teens living in London.
The type of media institution that may distribute my media product is a small independent UK firm, which would then play the film in specific cinemas/art houses. The reason for the thriller being released in the UK only is that it is a low budget film with amateur actors featured, specifically tailored to appeal to a UK audience who can relate to the film and understand the background and origin of the film. An international audience wouldn’t be able to understand or relate to the film in a sense that would make the film as enjoyable to them as it is to a home audience. Therefore, due to the concept and plot of the film it is best for the film to be premiered in the UK only where it can be given a greater chance at success and establish itself amongst other UK releases. By doing this, the film may receive impressive ratings such as the ones from Kidulthood & Adulthood directed by Noel Clarke who used a similar idea.
The intended audience for my thriller is people between the ages of 13 – 21, who are able to relate to the film and may have witnessed a similar situation of what is shown in the movie. The audience will be directed at people from a working class background preferably from London who are aware of the situations that arise in the film. The audience will be niche as it will cater to a UK audience the inspiration behind the film, a typical person that would fit into the intended audience is someone who has been brought up and lived in the City of London all of their life and has witnessed or experienced the situations shown in the film.
As the film is aimed primarily at the UK market, I have decided that in order to attract the target audience for this film it is best to take an approach that will appeal to the intended audience and grab their attention. I was thinking of marketing the film through conventional methods such as billboards, posters and television adverts, but also through social networking channels as the intended audience for this film tend to use these resources largely in the lives. This method of marketing the film will ensure that the target audience will have been made aware of the film and will hopefully be interested enough to go and view the film.
Another approach I am going to take in marketing the film is to appeal to the audience direct by promoting the film using educational channels also where people will go into schools/colleges etc and promote the film direct to people fit into the target audience.
I have learnt so much from the process of constructing this product, from learning how to use a camera properly – learning how to use Final Cut Pro. Before I started this course I never knew how to do most of the things that I am now able to do, I was even aware of programmes such as Final Cut Pro, Livetype and Soundtrack. Since I started this course I learnt how to use many different programmes and software and the capabilities and limitations of each package. I most enjoyed using Final Cut as this was the main programme I have used throughout the duration of the course so far, this programme enables you to log & capture footage from a video camera, edit and watch it back. Livetype I used to create credits and had a great experience experimenting with different fonts and styles that I came up with and Soundtrack although tricky at first was also good to use as I was able to muck about with it and create different sounds and sequences in order to create my desired effect which I would then use later on when creating the final soundtrack for my thriller. All these programmes have broadened my technological skills and opened new ideas and paths to me that I can incorporate into my work later on. The use of the internet was an immense asset during the project as it opens many doors and creates endless possibilities; my main use for the internet throughout the project was to conduct my blogging and gather research about the pros and cons of making thrillers. I also used the internet to upload my thriller to blogger and Youtube which enabled me to show it to a wider audience base and receive much more feedback that I would of obtained without the use of these sites.
From the whole project I feel that I have learnt a huge lesson in life, this lesson is that it is best to plan ahead and work as part of a team in order to get things done of schedule and as quickly as possible to a high standard. I have learnt that film making is not just about taking out a camera and filming the first thing you see, it is about planning and using technical aspects when capturing every shot in order for the shot to look professional give the intended effect when viewed. I learnt that filming cannot be rushed; time and effort must be put into every little detail as it makes a big difference to the final product created. In order for filming to be successful, planning and storyboarding need to take place in order for things to be in order and everything have a place in the film. Editing has made helped me realise just how much work and effort goes into making films, soaps, documentary’s etc in order to make them successful and look professional.
For my project I did not decide to go for the famous gut & gory approach to make thriller, instead my group and I decided to make our product differ from conventional thriller that are released. We have done this by making the thriller very suspenseful and nerve racking at the same time to encourage viewers to commit themselves to watching the duration of the film and enjoy what they have seen. My product consists of specialised cameras angles, props and stars to give it a simple, but most important effective insight into the plot of our film so that viewers will stay intrigued with the film trying to figure out how it is going to pan out and what twist we have incorporated into the film which makes it a thriller. The thriller starts of as a normal urban film, but as it progresses suspense begins to build up and different characters, props and view-points are shown to the audience who are then sitting their trying to work out the on on-screen situation in their mind. In a sense creating their own conclusion before the film has even come to a close, this way the audience has been seduced by the film and are willing to watch it to the end in order to find out if what they thought would happen is correct.
The documentary that I watched by Thomas Sutcliffe prior to starting my thriller project was a great help as it explained the concepts used within successful thrillers and the negatives that shouldn’t be used when making thrillers in order for them to be successful and fit into the genre. The short documentary showed the primary methods that need to be put into a thriller in order for to fit into that genre. These methods were things such as creating suspense with the soundtrack and diagetic sound, not creating instant arousal in the film and give clues of what is going to happen later in the film without giving away too much information. The thriller should engage the audience whilst introducing main characters into the film and their role. As Sutcliffe said in the documentary, “films need to seduce their audience into a long term commitment”.
My thriller represents a teenage social group as the stars fit into this category, with Corinne being 17 years of age and myself Jordane Bingham at 18 years of age. As both of the stars fit into very similar social backgrounds we decided to portray this in the film by using a custom soundtrack and using props that represent this social status, the two main stars are Black British, I live in north London and Corinne also lives in north London. As solely, my group conducted the film and we were able to represent this social group with great ease as we all fit into this category. Examples of when we have portrayed this social group in the thriller is during the opening scenes. Corinne is filmed getting out of bed, she is accompanied by the soundtrack which represents what she is hearing in her head as she gets up, with these shots we are portraying her as a typical teenage girl who has been partying late the night before and is still half asleep. Another example of when this social group is represented in the film is when I come into the shot carrying a knife that is intended to scare or cause harm to someone later on in the film. Both of these two examples are effective at representing this social group, as the target audience will immediately be able to figure out what we are portraying in the scenes as it relates to the stereotype that many people have of young teens living in London.
The type of media institution that may distribute my media product is a small independent UK firm, which would then play the film in specific cinemas/art houses. The reason for the thriller being released in the UK only is that it is a low budget film with amateur actors featured, specifically tailored to appeal to a UK audience who can relate to the film and understand the background and origin of the film. An international audience wouldn’t be able to understand or relate to the film in a sense that would make the film as enjoyable to them as it is to a home audience. Therefore, due to the concept and plot of the film it is best for the film to be premiered in the UK only where it can be given a greater chance at success and establish itself amongst other UK releases. By doing this, the film may receive impressive ratings such as the ones from Kidulthood & Adulthood directed by Noel Clarke who used a similar idea.
The intended audience for my thriller is people between the ages of 13 – 21, who are able to relate to the film and may have witnessed a similar situation of what is shown in the movie. The audience will be directed at people from a working class background preferably from London who are aware of the situations that arise in the film. The audience will be niche as it will cater to a UK audience the inspiration behind the film, a typical person that would fit into the intended audience is someone who has been brought up and lived in the City of London all of their life and has witnessed or experienced the situations shown in the film.
As the film is aimed primarily at the UK market, I have decided that in order to attract the target audience for this film it is best to take an approach that will appeal to the intended audience and grab their attention. I was thinking of marketing the film through conventional methods such as billboards, posters and television adverts, but also through social networking channels as the intended audience for this film tend to use these resources largely in the lives. This method of marketing the film will ensure that the target audience will have been made aware of the film and will hopefully be interested enough to go and view the film.
Another approach I am going to take in marketing the film is to appeal to the audience direct by promoting the film using educational channels also where people will go into schools/colleges etc and promote the film direct to people fit into the target audience.
I have learnt so much from the process of constructing this product, from learning how to use a camera properly – learning how to use Final Cut Pro. Before I started this course I never knew how to do most of the things that I am now able to do, I was even aware of programmes such as Final Cut Pro, Livetype and Soundtrack. Since I started this course I learnt how to use many different programmes and software and the capabilities and limitations of each package. I most enjoyed using Final Cut as this was the main programme I have used throughout the duration of the course so far, this programme enables you to log & capture footage from a video camera, edit and watch it back. Livetype I used to create credits and had a great experience experimenting with different fonts and styles that I came up with and Soundtrack although tricky at first was also good to use as I was able to muck about with it and create different sounds and sequences in order to create my desired effect which I would then use later on when creating the final soundtrack for my thriller. All these programmes have broadened my technological skills and opened new ideas and paths to me that I can incorporate into my work later on. The use of the internet was an immense asset during the project as it opens many doors and creates endless possibilities; my main use for the internet throughout the project was to conduct my blogging and gather research about the pros and cons of making thrillers. I also used the internet to upload my thriller to blogger and Youtube which enabled me to show it to a wider audience base and receive much more feedback that I would of obtained without the use of these sites.
From the whole project I feel that I have learnt a huge lesson in life, this lesson is that it is best to plan ahead and work as part of a team in order to get things done of schedule and as quickly as possible to a high standard. I have learnt that film making is not just about taking out a camera and filming the first thing you see, it is about planning and using technical aspects when capturing every shot in order for the shot to look professional give the intended effect when viewed. I learnt that filming cannot be rushed; time and effort must be put into every little detail as it makes a big difference to the final product created. In order for filming to be successful, planning and storyboarding need to take place in order for things to be in order and everything have a place in the film. Editing has made helped me realise just how much work and effort goes into making films, soaps, documentary’s etc in order to make them successful and look professional.
Monday, 23 March 2009
Thursday, 19 March 2009
Evaluation
Our thriller develops and challenges forms and conventions of real media products in a variety of ways e.g. through mis en scene, camera shots, camera movement, the narrative and the soundtrack etc. Firstly, our story line is based around the character type of a criminal and an innocent victim; this is conventional of thriller films which are often based around a criminal and an innocent victim. E.g., the film ‘Phone Booth’, this film is based around an innocent man and an unknown criminal who is manipulating, twisted and cunning.
http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi2935882521/
In terms of camera shots our film is conventional of the thriller genre and this is because we use a as close-ups and / extreme close-ups. We used several of these intensive shots throughout our production and each of these shots intensifies the action and help to create suspense and tension. films such as ‘ The shinning’ use close ups very effectively
Our film is conventional to the thriller genre and this is because as a group we got a lot of tips on how to make a film effective when we watched the BBC documentary presented by Thomas Sutcliffe which talked about different film openings and how effective and ineffective they were and the reasons why were successful or unsuccessful. We learnt that a good beginning arouses some questions that the film must then answer. The audience should be left in suspense of what will happen next. It should give hints of what will be taking place letter in the film (foreshadow). This can be seen in our thriller in a panning shot in which a knife moves across the screen suggesting that Corinne is going to be killed or hurt. This shot also makes the audience feel on edge; stereotypical props such as knifes tend to conotate danger and death.
There are many different ways of opening a thriller. According the critic Stanley Kauffmann the classic opening is an establishing shot. This is often filmed as a long shot and at a low angle. These classic openings inform the audience of the where-about of the film and it provides them with vital information. These types of shots often start with an exterior setting followed by an interior shot; we followed this classic way of film opening. We used an upbeat soundtrack at first to suggest that the main character had been out the night before, as the opening goes on the music becomes more intense and dramatic. The contrast in sounds adds to the tension and it suggests that something bad is going to happen. For the soundtrack, we used instruments such as a piano and strings, this is conventional to thriller films that often include high-pitched string instruments and piano sounds as a part of the soundtrack, we also used sound effects such as doors creaking and a heart beat thus heightening the tension. We used many diagetic sounds and this was because when conducting our research we found that many of the successful thrillers were thrilling because of the use of natural diagetic sounds. E.g., the scene in the shinning when Danny is riding is bike in the corridors of the hotel is suspenseful because of its use of diagetic and non-diagetic sounds.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3t60oY0TbTU&feature=related
In addition, we have used techniques such as teasers and cliffhangers in order to leave the audience on edge and wanting more.
Our thriller opening focuses on two characters main and these characters include a black teenage female( Corinne) and a black male intruder. Each of these characters carry representations of age, gender and class etc. The character Corinne is represented as a stereotypical teenager. E.g. in the first scene we see Corinne waking up fully dressed in going out clothes and with smudged makeup on her face. This shot suggests that she has been out partying or drinking the night before. Also, we show a shot of the clock and this lets the audience see that it is in the afternoon which portrays Corinne as the stereotypical lazy teenager.
Her bright and very ‘pink and fluffy’ room conotates that she is very feminine and girly, the pink curtains which have embroided little girls on them add to this conotation as well as helping to portray Corinne as a young character who perhaps been rebelling. We choose to film this scene in this location as we wanted to represent Corinne as a typical teenager, we got this idea from an episode of ‘Skins’ in which we saw a young girl sneaking into her pink and girly room early hours in the morning suggesting she was a typical teenager who liked to go out and have fun with her friends.
http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2008/01/25/lge_Skins_080125124330072_wideweb__300x300.jpg
This link shows the a conventional portrayal of teenagers and we wanted to also communicate this steotipcial outlook.However,it could be argued that Corinnes character is not stereotypical but counterypical and this is because you wouldn’t expect someone that has been out partying late into the night to come home to a pink and girly room .
The intruder is represented as a stereotypical black male criminal and this is heightened e.g. the fact that he is equipped with a knife. In the media today black males are often associated with crime and trouble especially knife crime. Secondly, he is seen as intimidating and this is through features such as extreme close ups and by having shots of only his feet leaving the audience feeling tense and on edge with lots of questions in their heads.
We filmed the opening in Tottenham in north London and this was because we wanted to help the audience understand more about the characters and in our case these characters were from a working class background. The terraced houses in the opening establishing shot is a big clue as to the social class that we wanted to represent throughout out thriller.(working class).
Our film is a small, low budget ,British production with a British cast and so the kind of institution that would distribute our film is most likely to be a UK company that distributes films around a small number of UK ‘ arthouses’ cinemas ,TV, the internet. Channels such as channel four often broadcast small films made by small production companies and as it is a popular channel, it would attract a large audience(especially if was advertised well on the channel and hammocked between two popular, well-known, and established programs. Alternatively, it could broadcast before or after a popular program). Chanel 4 broadcasts short films on a regular basis e.g. on Monday 23rd March ‘3 Minute wonder’ comes on followed by ‘Dispatches’.
http://www.channel4.com/tv-listings
Other possible distribution companies include, Trinity Filmed Entertainment, Soda Pictures, Shorts International (http://www.independentcinemaoffice.org.uk/distributors.html)
I would like our film to appeal to a large audience but the target audience for our film is teenagers and middle-aged adults living in the UK and most likely in an urban environment. This is because teens and those in their middle age have large effect on the media in the sense that they are the ones who consume the most television/ cinema and this is clearly reflected in the type of films that are released. Young people are likely to enjoy our film and this is because our film includes quick images and modern technology. Institutions use many audience techniques in order to get the widest audience possible. One technique used is the use and gratification theory, this includes personal identification and it is where the viewer’s life is reflected in a piece of text. To make our thriller appealing to our target audience we have made sure that the characters are young and made sure that the film is set in an urban area (Tottenham), this will mean that the audience will be able to personally relate to the characters thus making them feel more empathetic and involved. We have also included a counter typical character ‘Corinne’ which means audiences will not always be able to predict the way that she thinks and acts thus creating suspense and thrill when dilemmas and predicaments occur. Another reason why we have decided to have Corinne as a counter typical character is because we felt that countertypes represent real life people and we want our thriller to be realistic. Our thriller will probably appeal to a niche audience of young, working class, black people and this is because all of the characters in our thriller are young ,black, and working class. The kinds of person that we feel would enjoy our film would be male/ female teenagers, living near, in, or around an urban area that enjoys watching films.
We will attract audiences to our film by having TV ads, billboards and posters. E.g. posters on busses in London thus attracting Londoners to our film. We could even advertise our film in places such as the underground and this would be a good place for capturing the attention of our target audience as well as other potential audiences (e.g. tourists). Ideally, if we had more money we could use a famous and well-known star such as ‘Aml Ameen (the star of Kidulthood) and this would inevitably bring in a large mass of people from our target audience.
http://www.amlameen.com/credits.html
I have learnt a lot during the process of making our thriller about the different technologies evolved. Firstly, I have learnt how to use a video camera and how to create different feelings through a range of shots. E.g. close-ups which often are effective in creating tension. Long shots which are good ways of helping to show settings and medium shots which often allow the audience to see a characters facial expressing etc. I have also learnt how to set up the camera correctly and how to adjust the tripod to create different levelled and angled shots etc.
I have learnt how to film in an organised manner stopping and starting the camera in the desired place without filming other old footage. In terms of framing I have learnt how to apply the correct rules when filming in order to create ‘useable’ footage e.g. making sure that there is a not mass of space above the characters head. As a group we experimented with a lot of different camera movement. We were unsuccessful in creating a tracking shot as we didn’t have the correct equipment to ensure that the camera was steady. To compromise we used shots such as panning or used a still cam.
During the project I have also learnt how to edit footage on Final Cut Pro, cutting and pasting clips in the right place without taking the attention away from the content of the actual product. I have also learnt how to create smooth match cuts e.g. we have used a match cut to show Corinne opening the door of her house and also when showing her journey down the stairs. In addition, I have learnt how to add in special effects such as cut dissolves in order to speed up time for example( we use a cut dissolve in our thriller right after Corinne gets her delivery of a usb).
Creating the soundtrack was relatively simple and it didn’t take very long due to the fact that we kept our soundtrack simple without to many layers. Also, because we could see our thriller whilst making the soundtrack we were able to put particular sound effects in the right place and at the right time e.g. we used the sound effect of a door creaking when the intruder enters Corinne’s bathroom and this conventional thriller sound adds to the suspense.
I learnt how to change volume of particular sections of our thriller in order to hide or cover up unwanted sounds e.g. various group member talking whilst filming say ‘ action, cut or go for example’. We created the credits on Livetype and we found that it was a very time consuming process. However, this was because as a group we kept over complicating things. I learnt that sometimes it’s the simple things are most effective. We discovered many potential transitions for our titles, and decided to use a live type font which meant that the credits would appear on the screen whilst the thriller opening was going on. We used a simple white font because white stood out against our product and we added an effect which emphasises the letters of each word as it appears on screen. Although are credits had a lot of movement they didn’t take away the attention from the thriller. Our main title ‘Illicit Content’ was on a black background and the words illicit is a bright red font. We decide to have the main title in this way because we felt that the red connotated danger and that the titles would stand out on the black ground. I also learnt how to conduct research on the internet and how to use blogger to plan, organise myself and refer back to. We also used the internet to blogger and YouTube to upload our video which has broadened the potential audience for our film.
Overall, I would say that the skills which I have learnt whilst producing our thriller have enabled me to become confident as a ‘film maker’ and it has given me an insight into the film making process.
From the preliminary task I would say that I have improved dramatically in terms of what I can do practically and also the knowledge which I have learnt. A lot of the facts which I have learnt I could have only learnt form getting involved and doing ‘hands on’ practical work. We used storyboarding in our preliminary task and as the project went on I started to realise and appreciate the value of storyboarding. Storyboarding helps you to stay on track as a group without moving away from the initial ideas and plans. Details storyboards are ideal because you can record down extra information like camera angles, shot types and the movements preventing you from getting stuff and idealess. They can take a long time to create however they are worth it has they are generally effective at saving time. When we did our preliminary task we didn’t think about creating a script we ‘went with the flow’, I have learnt that it is easier to create a script as this too saves valuable time. The filming process was initially very difficult when we did the preliminary task but as the project went on we got used to the equipment and developed our understanding e.g. 180 degree rule, and shot reverse shot which we had learnt in the preliminary task. The editing process was made easier by the time we came to edit our film as we already experienced it, and we had got the hang of cutting and rearranging, and adding in the front titles etc
In conclusion, we have been very successful as a group. If I were to do this project again I would plan ahead in indepth detail and communicate with other members of the group more effectively. Finally, I would be more organised, more focused and more aware of meating deadlines.
http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi2935882521/
In terms of camera shots our film is conventional of the thriller genre and this is because we use a as close-ups and / extreme close-ups. We used several of these intensive shots throughout our production and each of these shots intensifies the action and help to create suspense and tension. films such as ‘ The shinning’ use close ups very effectively
Our film is conventional to the thriller genre and this is because as a group we got a lot of tips on how to make a film effective when we watched the BBC documentary presented by Thomas Sutcliffe which talked about different film openings and how effective and ineffective they were and the reasons why were successful or unsuccessful. We learnt that a good beginning arouses some questions that the film must then answer. The audience should be left in suspense of what will happen next. It should give hints of what will be taking place letter in the film (foreshadow). This can be seen in our thriller in a panning shot in which a knife moves across the screen suggesting that Corinne is going to be killed or hurt. This shot also makes the audience feel on edge; stereotypical props such as knifes tend to conotate danger and death.
There are many different ways of opening a thriller. According the critic Stanley Kauffmann the classic opening is an establishing shot. This is often filmed as a long shot and at a low angle. These classic openings inform the audience of the where-about of the film and it provides them with vital information. These types of shots often start with an exterior setting followed by an interior shot; we followed this classic way of film opening. We used an upbeat soundtrack at first to suggest that the main character had been out the night before, as the opening goes on the music becomes more intense and dramatic. The contrast in sounds adds to the tension and it suggests that something bad is going to happen. For the soundtrack, we used instruments such as a piano and strings, this is conventional to thriller films that often include high-pitched string instruments and piano sounds as a part of the soundtrack, we also used sound effects such as doors creaking and a heart beat thus heightening the tension. We used many diagetic sounds and this was because when conducting our research we found that many of the successful thrillers were thrilling because of the use of natural diagetic sounds. E.g., the scene in the shinning when Danny is riding is bike in the corridors of the hotel is suspenseful because of its use of diagetic and non-diagetic sounds.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3t60oY0TbTU&feature=related
In addition, we have used techniques such as teasers and cliffhangers in order to leave the audience on edge and wanting more.
Our thriller opening focuses on two characters main and these characters include a black teenage female( Corinne) and a black male intruder. Each of these characters carry representations of age, gender and class etc. The character Corinne is represented as a stereotypical teenager. E.g. in the first scene we see Corinne waking up fully dressed in going out clothes and with smudged makeup on her face. This shot suggests that she has been out partying or drinking the night before. Also, we show a shot of the clock and this lets the audience see that it is in the afternoon which portrays Corinne as the stereotypical lazy teenager.
Her bright and very ‘pink and fluffy’ room conotates that she is very feminine and girly, the pink curtains which have embroided little girls on them add to this conotation as well as helping to portray Corinne as a young character who perhaps been rebelling. We choose to film this scene in this location as we wanted to represent Corinne as a typical teenager, we got this idea from an episode of ‘Skins’ in which we saw a young girl sneaking into her pink and girly room early hours in the morning suggesting she was a typical teenager who liked to go out and have fun with her friends.
http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2008/01/25/lge_Skins_080125124330072_wideweb__300x300.jpg
This link shows the a conventional portrayal of teenagers and we wanted to also communicate this steotipcial outlook.However,it could be argued that Corinnes character is not stereotypical but counterypical and this is because you wouldn’t expect someone that has been out partying late into the night to come home to a pink and girly room .
The intruder is represented as a stereotypical black male criminal and this is heightened e.g. the fact that he is equipped with a knife. In the media today black males are often associated with crime and trouble especially knife crime. Secondly, he is seen as intimidating and this is through features such as extreme close ups and by having shots of only his feet leaving the audience feeling tense and on edge with lots of questions in their heads.
We filmed the opening in Tottenham in north London and this was because we wanted to help the audience understand more about the characters and in our case these characters were from a working class background. The terraced houses in the opening establishing shot is a big clue as to the social class that we wanted to represent throughout out thriller.(working class).
Our film is a small, low budget ,British production with a British cast and so the kind of institution that would distribute our film is most likely to be a UK company that distributes films around a small number of UK ‘ arthouses’ cinemas ,TV, the internet. Channels such as channel four often broadcast small films made by small production companies and as it is a popular channel, it would attract a large audience(especially if was advertised well on the channel and hammocked between two popular, well-known, and established programs. Alternatively, it could broadcast before or after a popular program). Chanel 4 broadcasts short films on a regular basis e.g. on Monday 23rd March ‘3 Minute wonder’ comes on followed by ‘Dispatches’.
http://www.channel4.com/tv-listings
Other possible distribution companies include, Trinity Filmed Entertainment, Soda Pictures, Shorts International (http://www.independentcinemaoffice.org.uk/distributors.html)
I would like our film to appeal to a large audience but the target audience for our film is teenagers and middle-aged adults living in the UK and most likely in an urban environment. This is because teens and those in their middle age have large effect on the media in the sense that they are the ones who consume the most television/ cinema and this is clearly reflected in the type of films that are released. Young people are likely to enjoy our film and this is because our film includes quick images and modern technology. Institutions use many audience techniques in order to get the widest audience possible. One technique used is the use and gratification theory, this includes personal identification and it is where the viewer’s life is reflected in a piece of text. To make our thriller appealing to our target audience we have made sure that the characters are young and made sure that the film is set in an urban area (Tottenham), this will mean that the audience will be able to personally relate to the characters thus making them feel more empathetic and involved. We have also included a counter typical character ‘Corinne’ which means audiences will not always be able to predict the way that she thinks and acts thus creating suspense and thrill when dilemmas and predicaments occur. Another reason why we have decided to have Corinne as a counter typical character is because we felt that countertypes represent real life people and we want our thriller to be realistic. Our thriller will probably appeal to a niche audience of young, working class, black people and this is because all of the characters in our thriller are young ,black, and working class. The kinds of person that we feel would enjoy our film would be male/ female teenagers, living near, in, or around an urban area that enjoys watching films.
We will attract audiences to our film by having TV ads, billboards and posters. E.g. posters on busses in London thus attracting Londoners to our film. We could even advertise our film in places such as the underground and this would be a good place for capturing the attention of our target audience as well as other potential audiences (e.g. tourists). Ideally, if we had more money we could use a famous and well-known star such as ‘Aml Ameen (the star of Kidulthood) and this would inevitably bring in a large mass of people from our target audience.
http://www.amlameen.com/credits.html
I have learnt a lot during the process of making our thriller about the different technologies evolved. Firstly, I have learnt how to use a video camera and how to create different feelings through a range of shots. E.g. close-ups which often are effective in creating tension. Long shots which are good ways of helping to show settings and medium shots which often allow the audience to see a characters facial expressing etc. I have also learnt how to set up the camera correctly and how to adjust the tripod to create different levelled and angled shots etc.
I have learnt how to film in an organised manner stopping and starting the camera in the desired place without filming other old footage. In terms of framing I have learnt how to apply the correct rules when filming in order to create ‘useable’ footage e.g. making sure that there is a not mass of space above the characters head. As a group we experimented with a lot of different camera movement. We were unsuccessful in creating a tracking shot as we didn’t have the correct equipment to ensure that the camera was steady. To compromise we used shots such as panning or used a still cam.
During the project I have also learnt how to edit footage on Final Cut Pro, cutting and pasting clips in the right place without taking the attention away from the content of the actual product. I have also learnt how to create smooth match cuts e.g. we have used a match cut to show Corinne opening the door of her house and also when showing her journey down the stairs. In addition, I have learnt how to add in special effects such as cut dissolves in order to speed up time for example( we use a cut dissolve in our thriller right after Corinne gets her delivery of a usb).
Creating the soundtrack was relatively simple and it didn’t take very long due to the fact that we kept our soundtrack simple without to many layers. Also, because we could see our thriller whilst making the soundtrack we were able to put particular sound effects in the right place and at the right time e.g. we used the sound effect of a door creaking when the intruder enters Corinne’s bathroom and this conventional thriller sound adds to the suspense.
I learnt how to change volume of particular sections of our thriller in order to hide or cover up unwanted sounds e.g. various group member talking whilst filming say ‘ action, cut or go for example’. We created the credits on Livetype and we found that it was a very time consuming process. However, this was because as a group we kept over complicating things. I learnt that sometimes it’s the simple things are most effective. We discovered many potential transitions for our titles, and decided to use a live type font which meant that the credits would appear on the screen whilst the thriller opening was going on. We used a simple white font because white stood out against our product and we added an effect which emphasises the letters of each word as it appears on screen. Although are credits had a lot of movement they didn’t take away the attention from the thriller. Our main title ‘Illicit Content’ was on a black background and the words illicit is a bright red font. We decide to have the main title in this way because we felt that the red connotated danger and that the titles would stand out on the black ground. I also learnt how to conduct research on the internet and how to use blogger to plan, organise myself and refer back to. We also used the internet to blogger and YouTube to upload our video which has broadened the potential audience for our film.
Overall, I would say that the skills which I have learnt whilst producing our thriller have enabled me to become confident as a ‘film maker’ and it has given me an insight into the film making process.
From the preliminary task I would say that I have improved dramatically in terms of what I can do practically and also the knowledge which I have learnt. A lot of the facts which I have learnt I could have only learnt form getting involved and doing ‘hands on’ practical work. We used storyboarding in our preliminary task and as the project went on I started to realise and appreciate the value of storyboarding. Storyboarding helps you to stay on track as a group without moving away from the initial ideas and plans. Details storyboards are ideal because you can record down extra information like camera angles, shot types and the movements preventing you from getting stuff and idealess. They can take a long time to create however they are worth it has they are generally effective at saving time. When we did our preliminary task we didn’t think about creating a script we ‘went with the flow’, I have learnt that it is easier to create a script as this too saves valuable time. The filming process was initially very difficult when we did the preliminary task but as the project went on we got used to the equipment and developed our understanding e.g. 180 degree rule, and shot reverse shot which we had learnt in the preliminary task. The editing process was made easier by the time we came to edit our film as we already experienced it, and we had got the hang of cutting and rearranging, and adding in the front titles etc
In conclusion, we have been very successful as a group. If I were to do this project again I would plan ahead in indepth detail and communicate with other members of the group more effectively. Finally, I would be more organised, more focused and more aware of meating deadlines.
Monday, 2 March 2009
Putting the last bits of our thriller together.
Initally me and Abdul started to work on the soundtrack whilst Jordane focused on the credits.
The soundtrack that we came up with wasn't very thrilling and i think that i over complicated things. We decided to start again keeping things simple and using melow tones. We were later joined by Jordane and in the end we decided ended up working together on one computer and we mangaged to create a very effective soudntrack.
Our soundtrack includes natural sounds such as birds whistling and doors opening which we added on the soundtrack software, it also includes a beat and some orchestrial instruemtns ( violins). There is also the constant sound of a piano playing softly whch creates a sad and gloomy atmosphere as well as creating continuity. There is direct correlation between the soundtrack and the action e.g when the intruder comes in the house the music becomes very tense and thrilling. There is then the sound of a heartbeat which adds to the tension by making us feel empathy towards the main character.
When we had finished we imported the sountrack and the credits into the final cut pro. We out the credits in places in which we felt wernt key moments and this was to prevent the audeice missing out on key bit of infomation. The credits had to moved around several times until we were happy but in the end we managed to finish everything.
I am very happy with the work which we have produced especially in the short time that we did it. I feel our thiller 'Illicit Content' is very good and I feel that it looks very professional.
The soundtrack that we came up with wasn't very thrilling and i think that i over complicated things. We decided to start again keeping things simple and using melow tones. We were later joined by Jordane and in the end we decided ended up working together on one computer and we mangaged to create a very effective soudntrack.
Our soundtrack includes natural sounds such as birds whistling and doors opening which we added on the soundtrack software, it also includes a beat and some orchestrial instruemtns ( violins). There is also the constant sound of a piano playing softly whch creates a sad and gloomy atmosphere as well as creating continuity. There is direct correlation between the soundtrack and the action e.g when the intruder comes in the house the music becomes very tense and thrilling. There is then the sound of a heartbeat which adds to the tension by making us feel empathy towards the main character.
When we had finished we imported the sountrack and the credits into the final cut pro. We out the credits in places in which we felt wernt key moments and this was to prevent the audeice missing out on key bit of infomation. The credits had to moved around several times until we were happy but in the end we managed to finish everything.
I am very happy with the work which we have produced especially in the short time that we did it. I feel our thiller 'Illicit Content' is very good and I feel that it looks very professional.
Editting our final shots
On the first day of half term, our group came in the edit our thriller. We managed to finish most of our editing within a couple of hours and this was because we had a wide range of very effective and useful shots. We have included several uses of math cutting e.g. when I open the door and when I walk down the stairs. Our editing is smooth and our camera work is very clean. We also have use of shot reverse shot between Corinne (me) and the intruder (jordaneTo show a passing of time we included a transition cross dissolve, this looks non-naturalistic but effective. We will be having credits that run over our thriller because we have already exceeded our time limit by a few seconds.
We stared to think about the type of credits that we would want to use and also the type of soundtrack which we would like. As we want our thriller to be ‘thrilling’, we would like to create a piece of music that builds in tension whilst complimenting the action on screen. In terms of diagetic sounds, the camera managed to pick up a lot of the natural sound e.g. water running, the sound of my jewellery jangling and doors creaking etc. We will be using many of these diagetic sounds in order to help heighten the tension and make things look and appear real and natural.
Next, we will be focusing on the soundtrack in detail and inserting the credits to our thriller.
We stared to think about the type of credits that we would want to use and also the type of soundtrack which we would like. As we want our thriller to be ‘thrilling’, we would like to create a piece of music that builds in tension whilst complimenting the action on screen. In terms of diagetic sounds, the camera managed to pick up a lot of the natural sound e.g. water running, the sound of my jewellery jangling and doors creaking etc. We will be using many of these diagetic sounds in order to help heighten the tension and make things look and appear real and natural.
Next, we will be focusing on the soundtrack in detail and inserting the credits to our thriller.
Final filming day
Final filming day
We went to my house in North London, Tottenham, to film our new and improved thriller. We worked very hard and we managed to stay on track. We changed the setting to my house because my house has features that we felt would compliment our new ideas. E.g. doors with frosted glass, a doorbell, and a large open and clear space.
We started by filming with an exterior shot and establishing shot of the house which we shot as a long shot as this will allow the audience to get a grasp of the type of area that our thriller is set in, it will also allow are target audience to recognise and identify key mis en scene.
We also had a close up of my face and this was because we wanted the audience to see that I had smudged makeup over my face suggesting that I had been out the night before which is what we had indented. My costume included shorts and going out top, accessories and laddered tights, we chose this type of clothing because we felt that it would heighten the storyline about the young girl who had been out the night before.
Instead of the secret document being pulled out of a draw we decided to have it being posted in an envelope to the house, inside the envelope we put a USB as we felt this idea would look more effective then a piece of paper.
We continued with the bath scene idea and did many bathroom shots. E.g. looking into the mirror, removing makeup, taking off clothes and jewellery, running the bath etc.
We will still use the close-up of the plug that we had already filmed and edited previously and this is because we felt that this shot was extremely effective.
We also kept the idea of showing the intruders feet enter the house and we did this by panning the camera as the intruder (played by Jordane) walks further into the house.
Overall, we managed to finish filming all and more of out desired shots. We found this filming session effective because we were able to stay on task and were focused and productive. As the main character in our thriller, I had to act though I found this reasonably easy as I have had a lot of acting experience. As well as acting, I also imputed lot of my ideas into it and did lots of camera work when not having to act. Overall, I am happy with what we achieved and I look forward to editing next.
We went to my house in North London, Tottenham, to film our new and improved thriller. We worked very hard and we managed to stay on track. We changed the setting to my house because my house has features that we felt would compliment our new ideas. E.g. doors with frosted glass, a doorbell, and a large open and clear space.
We started by filming with an exterior shot and establishing shot of the house which we shot as a long shot as this will allow the audience to get a grasp of the type of area that our thriller is set in, it will also allow are target audience to recognise and identify key mis en scene.
We also had a close up of my face and this was because we wanted the audience to see that I had smudged makeup over my face suggesting that I had been out the night before which is what we had indented. My costume included shorts and going out top, accessories and laddered tights, we chose this type of clothing because we felt that it would heighten the storyline about the young girl who had been out the night before.
Instead of the secret document being pulled out of a draw we decided to have it being posted in an envelope to the house, inside the envelope we put a USB as we felt this idea would look more effective then a piece of paper.
We continued with the bath scene idea and did many bathroom shots. E.g. looking into the mirror, removing makeup, taking off clothes and jewellery, running the bath etc.
We will still use the close-up of the plug that we had already filmed and edited previously and this is because we felt that this shot was extremely effective.
We also kept the idea of showing the intruders feet enter the house and we did this by panning the camera as the intruder (played by Jordane) walks further into the house.
Overall, we managed to finish filming all and more of out desired shots. We found this filming session effective because we were able to stay on task and were focused and productive. As the main character in our thriller, I had to act though I found this reasonably easy as I have had a lot of acting experience. As well as acting, I also imputed lot of my ideas into it and did lots of camera work when not having to act. Overall, I am happy with what we achieved and I look forward to editing next.
Saturday, 28 February 2009
28 Febuary 2009... deadline was yesterday! was it met...
Unfortunately i wasnt in thursday's media lesson but this was due to reasons that are out of my hands.We worked well however considering the major changes in terms of location and storyline that occured. We have the finished piece- entitled "Illicit content" (I hope i spelt that right..). Alex was fundamentally in charge of the credits. We looked at a range of fonts, colours and types of text to find the right one for our sequence. Yet, as our thriller already ran slightly over 2 minutes, the credits would have to played over the sequence instead of haveing say, a black background for the credits.
I took the opportunity during Andrews lesson to go down to the music department and see if I could create a suitible soundtrack for our piece. I had originally made one at home on my Yamaha keyboard but as its pretty old, there was no way of somehow getting the music onto a floppy disk to use. But anyway, I tried to re-create the piece but it was a tad too upbeat for what our sequence consisted of. So, Im hoping that the others took the opportunity in Annabels lesson to create that on the sound track software the rest of the class used. I found it very easy to get to grips with so I hope they did too. Her are just some of the many range of shots we included in our thriller:
1)A long shot of the Corinne’s house (establishing shot)2.) An extreme close-up of the doorbell as it is being rung3.)A close up of Corinne’s face as she sleeps4.) A close up the a clock to show time passing4.)Various angled shots of Corinne’s journey down the stairs enabling us to have some math cutting5.) A close up of Corinne’s hand as she opens the door6.) A low angled close up f Corinne hand on the mouse7.) A close up of the water and plug as the bath is being filled up8.) A high angle of the intruder’s feet entering the house with a panning camera movement.9.) Medium shots of Corinne in the bathroom10.) Shot reverse shot between Corinne and the intruder as he enters the bathroom11.) An extreme close up of the intruders mouth as a demands for the secret information( from two different angles)12.) A medium shot of the intruder from the side showing the knife in his hand. Entitled "Illicit content", the sequence is about an intruder who needs something out victim and main character Corrinne has (is posted) he enters the house and corners her in her bathroom before brandishing a kitchen kniofe and saying "wheres the content?" "wheres the Illicit content?"
As I do not play a part in the thriller as a character, I took the oppotunity to assit in the directing and filming of the sequence. I think my handheld camera movement is improving :D which can only be a good thing, true?
I'd like to congratulate my group because I think in the short space of time we had (and considering we started from scratch less than 2 weeks before the deadline!!) we managed to create something different and Iv'e learnt alot- more than I bargained for anyway. I just hope when tuesdays lesson comes the piece is completed- soundtrack and all. We'll see. I'll write again real soon.
And to my group....
Sorry Iv'e missed a few lessons guys.. :) x
I took the opportunity during Andrews lesson to go down to the music department and see if I could create a suitible soundtrack for our piece. I had originally made one at home on my Yamaha keyboard but as its pretty old, there was no way of somehow getting the music onto a floppy disk to use. But anyway, I tried to re-create the piece but it was a tad too upbeat for what our sequence consisted of. So, Im hoping that the others took the opportunity in Annabels lesson to create that on the sound track software the rest of the class used. I found it very easy to get to grips with so I hope they did too. Her are just some of the many range of shots we included in our thriller:
1)A long shot of the Corinne’s house (establishing shot)2.) An extreme close-up of the doorbell as it is being rung3.)A close up of Corinne’s face as she sleeps4.) A close up the a clock to show time passing4.)Various angled shots of Corinne’s journey down the stairs enabling us to have some math cutting5.) A close up of Corinne’s hand as she opens the door6.) A low angled close up f Corinne hand on the mouse7.) A close up of the water and plug as the bath is being filled up8.) A high angle of the intruder’s feet entering the house with a panning camera movement.9.) Medium shots of Corinne in the bathroom10.) Shot reverse shot between Corinne and the intruder as he enters the bathroom11.) An extreme close up of the intruders mouth as a demands for the secret information( from two different angles)12.) A medium shot of the intruder from the side showing the knife in his hand. Entitled "Illicit content", the sequence is about an intruder who needs something out victim and main character Corrinne has (is posted) he enters the house and corners her in her bathroom before brandishing a kitchen kniofe and saying "wheres the content?" "wheres the Illicit content?"
As I do not play a part in the thriller as a character, I took the oppotunity to assit in the directing and filming of the sequence. I think my handheld camera movement is improving :D which can only be a good thing, true?
I'd like to congratulate my group because I think in the short space of time we had (and considering we started from scratch less than 2 weeks before the deadline!!) we managed to create something different and Iv'e learnt alot- more than I bargained for anyway. I just hope when tuesdays lesson comes the piece is completed- soundtrack and all. We'll see. I'll write again real soon.
And to my group....
Sorry Iv'e missed a few lessons guys.. :) x
Wednesday, 25 February 2009
Crunch Time
We have now returned back from half term, there is about four days until the final deadline and we have not yet finished editing the thriller.
During this whole week returning from half term my group and i have been in all the media workshops and lessons completing our thriller, once again everyone was given a specific task so that things would run smoother and we could complete the thriller as fast as possible. My job was to create credits for the thriller, Corinne was assigned to creating a soundtrack and Abdul was assigned to putting the sequence in order and making any visual/audio adjustments to the piece. Candy was not around again and was not contactable therefore the group had to crack on without her and try their best to get everything done without her present.
Initially Candy was to create the soundtrack, but due to her absence the task was assigned to Corinne instead, by about Thursday we still had much to do such as the soundtrack and making adjustments to the sequence. as Corinne was finding it hard to create a soundtrack I stepped in a created one swell as I had already finished the credits as that was the easy part, so in the end we had two soundtracks mine and Corinne's, the group decided that my soundtrack was the better of the two so I carried on editing it and making adjustments so it would fit together with the film.
Everything was almost complete, we just had to import the soundtrack into final cut pro and add the credits to the sequence in ideal places so that they didn't cover up vital information in the thriller. We have finally finished.
During this whole week returning from half term my group and i have been in all the media workshops and lessons completing our thriller, once again everyone was given a specific task so that things would run smoother and we could complete the thriller as fast as possible. My job was to create credits for the thriller, Corinne was assigned to creating a soundtrack and Abdul was assigned to putting the sequence in order and making any visual/audio adjustments to the piece. Candy was not around again and was not contactable therefore the group had to crack on without her and try their best to get everything done without her present.
Initially Candy was to create the soundtrack, but due to her absence the task was assigned to Corinne instead, by about Thursday we still had much to do such as the soundtrack and making adjustments to the sequence. as Corinne was finding it hard to create a soundtrack I stepped in a created one swell as I had already finished the credits as that was the easy part, so in the end we had two soundtracks mine and Corinne's, the group decided that my soundtrack was the better of the two so I carried on editing it and making adjustments so it would fit together with the film.
Everything was almost complete, we just had to import the soundtrack into final cut pro and add the credits to the sequence in ideal places so that they didn't cover up vital information in the thriller. We have finally finished.
New Plan - Starting out again
Today was an inset day from college and we were starting our thriller form Scratch! We now had a new location for the film and decided to use Corinne's house for the thriller instead of Candy's house which we originally used because it was easier for everyone to commute to. everyone except candy had done their task fro the night before to create shot lists and ideas of the footage that we would need for our thriller, fortunately I had managed to get hold of Candy the night before and informed her of the situation as she was not in the lesson the previous day to witness it for herself, so i explained to her that we would be meeting up at Corinne's house the nest day at 9am to start our thriller from the beginning, but again she turned up late to the shoot and myself and the group had filmed most of the footage already without her. She eventually turned up around 11:30 and was able to help us shoot some of the final shots.
even though we were starting again everyone was optimistic and positive that we could film this within the short time frame we had left, the group had now learnt a lesson that planning what to do and being prepared before you film makes it much easier to get to the location and start making progress as we all knew exactly what shots we needed and the type of angle. Everyone had been grafting hard fro the beginning of the day and we had managed to shoot so much footage in such a short space of time, it just goes to show what can be achieved is everyone works together as a group and has everything organised in advance. Time was now ticking and we had to get the final scenes shot because I had to go work that day so was unable to stay for much longer as I was needed so my shots could be filmed before it was time for me to leave. The group was working as one and most of us were doing a great job at shooting and starring in the film, every scene was shot perfectly from many different angles and view points.
It was around 2pm now and we were just getting the final shots for the thriller, these were the most important shots as they would bring the whole film together and make it work on screen. We were finally finished around 3pm and were so astonished by how much work we had actually done today, we have filmed an entire thriller from scratch in the space of 6hours, and this was a great achievement. What we had filmed today was 100 times better from the footage we had already shot and captured back at college. Hard work pays of in the end. The next step is to go to college on Monday during the half term to media workshop and upload and edit our thriller as much as we can until we come back after half term and can put in the final touches.
even though we were starting again everyone was optimistic and positive that we could film this within the short time frame we had left, the group had now learnt a lesson that planning what to do and being prepared before you film makes it much easier to get to the location and start making progress as we all knew exactly what shots we needed and the type of angle. Everyone had been grafting hard fro the beginning of the day and we had managed to shoot so much footage in such a short space of time, it just goes to show what can be achieved is everyone works together as a group and has everything organised in advance. Time was now ticking and we had to get the final scenes shot because I had to go work that day so was unable to stay for much longer as I was needed so my shots could be filmed before it was time for me to leave. The group was working as one and most of us were doing a great job at shooting and starring in the film, every scene was shot perfectly from many different angles and view points.
It was around 2pm now and we were just getting the final shots for the thriller, these were the most important shots as they would bring the whole film together and make it work on screen. We were finally finished around 3pm and were so astonished by how much work we had actually done today, we have filmed an entire thriller from scratch in the space of 6hours, and this was a great achievement. What we had filmed today was 100 times better from the footage we had already shot and captured back at college. Hard work pays of in the end. The next step is to go to college on Monday during the half term to media workshop and upload and edit our thriller as much as we can until we come back after half term and can put in the final touches.
Tuesday, 24 February 2009
Planning our Thriller again...
Planning
The story line for our new thriller revolves around a delivery that comes threw the character Corinne’s door. In the delivery that is of an envelope is a USB that contains important information (unknown to Corinne). Corinne is awoken by the sound of the doorbell and she goes and retrieves this envelope. She then see's the usb and decides to load it onto the computer. As she had been out the night before and is still in her party clothes, and is tired and slightly hung-over. She loses focus and decides to go and have a bath and then go back to the pc afterwards. Whilst she is running the bath, an intruder who knows about this usb and wants the secret files breaks into the house. He is equipped with a knife and dressed in black. He then goes into the bathroom where Corinne is and in a threatening manner and demands to know “where the content is" ( the content being the information on the usb) he then slams the door shut and this is where we will be ending it. We decided to end the opening here because it will leave the audience wanting to watch more as well as leaving them on edge which was our plan.We have planned some of the shots that we feel would make our thriller looking very effective. Some of these shots include;
1.)A long shot of the Corinne’s house (establishing shot)
2.) An extreme close-up of the doorbell as it is being rung
3.)A close up of Corinne’s face as she sleeps
4.) A close up the a clock to show time passing4.)Various angled shots of Corinne’s journey down the stairs enabling us to have some math cutting
5.) A close up of Corinne’s hand as she opens the door
6.) A low angled close up f Corinne hand on the mouse
7.) A close up of the water and plug as the bath is being filled up
8.) A high angle of the intruder’s feet entering the house with a panning camera movement.
9.) Medium shots of Corinne in the bathroom
10.) Shot reverse shot between Corinne and the intruder as he enters the bathroom
11.) An extreme close up of the intruders mouth as a demands for the secret information( from two different angles)
12.) A medium shot of the intruder from the side showing the knife in his hand.
We planned the shots in this way to prevent us from changing the storyline and to make sure that we can film the thriller opening as quickly and
effectively as possible so that we have time to do extra filming.
We also discussed appropriate props and costume that we will be using. Now that we are organised I hope that the next filming session go to plan.
The story line for our new thriller revolves around a delivery that comes threw the character Corinne’s door. In the delivery that is of an envelope is a USB that contains important information (unknown to Corinne). Corinne is awoken by the sound of the doorbell and she goes and retrieves this envelope. She then see's the usb and decides to load it onto the computer. As she had been out the night before and is still in her party clothes, and is tired and slightly hung-over. She loses focus and decides to go and have a bath and then go back to the pc afterwards. Whilst she is running the bath, an intruder who knows about this usb and wants the secret files breaks into the house. He is equipped with a knife and dressed in black. He then goes into the bathroom where Corinne is and in a threatening manner and demands to know “where the content is" ( the content being the information on the usb) he then slams the door shut and this is where we will be ending it. We decided to end the opening here because it will leave the audience wanting to watch more as well as leaving them on edge which was our plan.We have planned some of the shots that we feel would make our thriller looking very effective. Some of these shots include;
1.)A long shot of the Corinne’s house (establishing shot)
2.) An extreme close-up of the doorbell as it is being rung
3.)A close up of Corinne’s face as she sleeps
4.) A close up the a clock to show time passing4.)Various angled shots of Corinne’s journey down the stairs enabling us to have some math cutting
5.) A close up of Corinne’s hand as she opens the door
6.) A low angled close up f Corinne hand on the mouse
7.) A close up of the water and plug as the bath is being filled up
8.) A high angle of the intruder’s feet entering the house with a panning camera movement.
9.) Medium shots of Corinne in the bathroom
10.) Shot reverse shot between Corinne and the intruder as he enters the bathroom
11.) An extreme close up of the intruders mouth as a demands for the secret information( from two different angles)
12.) A medium shot of the intruder from the side showing the knife in his hand.
We planned the shots in this way to prevent us from changing the storyline and to make sure that we can film the thriller opening as quickly and
effectively as possible so that we have time to do extra filming.
We also discussed appropriate props and costume that we will be using. Now that we are organised I hope that the next filming session go to plan.
Dilema....
Today we went to do some editing of the shots that we had filmed hoever, we found that the shots which we had filmed previously were blurry and often out of focus, this means that we do not have hardly any work. We tried our best to log and capture any usable footage but from what we had it is clear that we are going to have to go over most of the shots again to make complete sequences.
As a group we began to get very stressed because we realised that the deadline was getting closer. We came up with the decision to shoot the whole thing again because we had completely sidetracked and come off task with our initial plans. We wrote down a detailed plan of each shot we would use and we made a story board to prevent us from falling off task.
As a group we began to get very stressed because we realised that the deadline was getting closer. We came up with the decision to shoot the whole thing again because we had completely sidetracked and come off task with our initial plans. We wrote down a detailed plan of each shot we would use and we made a story board to prevent us from falling off task.
3rd flimng session
Today at candy’s house we had aimed to film all of the exterior shots and we did manage to get most of the shots done. We wanted to create the feeling the Corinne (myself) was being watched as she started her journey towards Candy’s’ house. We created this effect by putting the camera behind cars and behind bushes for example. We also had a lot of close ups of me such as the close up which revealed the necklace I was wearing. We came up with this idea because we planned to show the necklace later on in the thriller opening but in the hand of an unknown man suggesting that he has harmed her. We also used the camera movement of tracking when I was walking down a road, this was good because it revealed key parts of my costume i.e. heels and we felt that this would help the audience understand and learn about my character. Also, the diagetic sound of my heels clicking created an underlying tension. Furthermore, we also had a point of view shot me walking down a road and then looking around suspiciously and we did this through the use of a hand held camera.
We did not manage not manage to get onto our shots of the unknown man entering the house but we will do that during the course of the week.
We did not manage not manage to get onto our shots of the unknown man entering the house but we will do that during the course of the week.
experimenting with credits
Credits
We had planned to film this lesson but members of the group were not around due to personal problems. Instead we started to think about the type of credits that we could use. We experimented with a range of fonts and font sizes and we managed to find one particular font which we felt look effective for the last credit which will be the title of our film Illicit content.
We had planned to film this lesson but members of the group were not around due to personal problems. Instead we started to think about the type of credits that we could use. We experimented with a range of fonts and font sizes and we managed to find one particular font which we felt look effective for the last credit which will be the title of our film Illicit content.
2nd Filming session
Today we went back to Candy’s house to do some more filming. We weren’t very productive and we were very un-organised. We focused on filming the exterior shots but this was very unpractical due to the harsh weather conditions, as a result I don’t think we performed to the best of our ability.
We did some establishing shots of the house and we also panned up and down the road. Our intentions for this was to create some shots that would show the audience of the type of area the scene is based in thus giving them a better understanding of the characters.
As we continued to film we came up with lots of ideas and we ended up changing the storyline and introducing a new character( Candy’s friend). To show that the characters knew each other we decided to show them testing and receiving texts from each other and we did this by simply having extreme close ups of the phones as they received and sent the texts.
We also re filmed the scene with Candy taking the document out of the draw and then reading it. Whilst doing this we realised the lighting was a lot darker in the room compared to the other bedroom scene which we had shot previously and this would look strange when we came to edit. After some deliberation we decided to film all the shots in the bedroom again with the exact same techniques and the same camera movement.
We have booked out the camera so we can do some more filming in our own time as we are starting to fall behind, we aim to finish the filming by next lesson.
We did some establishing shots of the house and we also panned up and down the road. Our intentions for this was to create some shots that would show the audience of the type of area the scene is based in thus giving them a better understanding of the characters.
As we continued to film we came up with lots of ideas and we ended up changing the storyline and introducing a new character( Candy’s friend). To show that the characters knew each other we decided to show them testing and receiving texts from each other and we did this by simply having extreme close ups of the phones as they received and sent the texts.
We also re filmed the scene with Candy taking the document out of the draw and then reading it. Whilst doing this we realised the lighting was a lot darker in the room compared to the other bedroom scene which we had shot previously and this would look strange when we came to edit. After some deliberation we decided to film all the shots in the bedroom again with the exact same techniques and the same camera movement.
We have booked out the camera so we can do some more filming in our own time as we are starting to fall behind, we aim to finish the filming by next lesson.
Dilemma
the group has now run into a major dilemma, we have now uploaded all the footage onto our hard drive so we began sifting through all the shots and noticed that many of them were not very professionally shot and looked very amateurish, meaning we would not obtain high marks for our thriller, but that wasn't the only problem. as we showed the footage to peers in our class they were did not look to excited about the shots as we would have expected, we then showed the teacher our footage and she informed us that are shots we not up to scratch and looked like a rookie had done them in not so many words. This created a big problem for the group as the deadline for the thriller was drawing closer and it was half term the next day.
if we stood a chance at getting our thriller up to scratch we thought that we would need at least a week to be able to correct all the shots and shoot them again, but knew that we did not have this time to use.......so we took a big leap and decided that we would book out the camera for one last time and film our thriller from scratch the next day which we had no college on due to it being an inset day. everyone was very determined that we could do this and was happy to try our hardest to film the thriller form scratch the very next day, another problem that we ran into on this day was that one of our team members was nowhere to be found so we could tell her the bad news and we found it very hard to communicate with her and find out where she is.
the group now has a big problem on our hands, we were going to try our best to film a thriller within the space of a day, we knew it could be done as we have seen thrillers that were shown to us during class time that were filmed in the space of three hours. Everyone was now given an individual task to do that night, and come up with ideas and shot scenes that we would need to put into our thriller. All the footage that we had previously shot had been scrapped and we were back to the drawing board. Very nerve racking!
if we stood a chance at getting our thriller up to scratch we thought that we would need at least a week to be able to correct all the shots and shoot them again, but knew that we did not have this time to use.......so we took a big leap and decided that we would book out the camera for one last time and film our thriller from scratch the next day which we had no college on due to it being an inset day. everyone was very determined that we could do this and was happy to try our hardest to film the thriller form scratch the very next day, another problem that we ran into on this day was that one of our team members was nowhere to be found so we could tell her the bad news and we found it very hard to communicate with her and find out where she is.
the group now has a big problem on our hands, we were going to try our best to film a thriller within the space of a day, we knew it could be done as we have seen thrillers that were shown to us during class time that were filmed in the space of three hours. Everyone was now given an individual task to do that night, and come up with ideas and shot scenes that we would need to put into our thriller. All the footage that we had previously shot had been scrapped and we were back to the drawing board. Very nerve racking!
Filming Continued
We have now had our second filming session at Candy's house and were able to capture all the shots needed to add to the footage we had already imported onto our hard drive back at college.
Unfortunately this session was not as successful as the first session as the group wasted a lot of time due to people not arriving to the location on time or being ready to shoot the rest of the footage, this then lost us about 2 hours filming time which we could have put to use to get some extra shots. This session we concentrated on getting the footage of the street where the intruder would be following the victims friend to her house, we also managed to get some scenes of Candy communicating with her friend via mobile. Now that we were filming scenes with them communicating we then introduced Corinne into the scene as she played the character of the friend that is being followed by the intruder. The exterior scenes were limited today as it started to rain and we did not have an umbrella with us at the time to cover the camera, so we decided to get what interior footage we could and call it a day as we were rushed for time due to people arriving to the set late.
Although we managed to get quite a bit of footage, I am disappointed that everyone in the group was not contributing fully to the success of the film and not taking the task serious enough; this was a definite cause for concern. Next lesson we will be uploading all the footage that we have gathered and start editing our thriller as the deadline was getting closer and closer.
Unfortunately this session was not as successful as the first session as the group wasted a lot of time due to people not arriving to the location on time or being ready to shoot the rest of the footage, this then lost us about 2 hours filming time which we could have put to use to get some extra shots. This session we concentrated on getting the footage of the street where the intruder would be following the victims friend to her house, we also managed to get some scenes of Candy communicating with her friend via mobile. Now that we were filming scenes with them communicating we then introduced Corinne into the scene as she played the character of the friend that is being followed by the intruder. The exterior scenes were limited today as it started to rain and we did not have an umbrella with us at the time to cover the camera, so we decided to get what interior footage we could and call it a day as we were rushed for time due to people arriving to the set late.
Although we managed to get quite a bit of footage, I am disappointed that everyone in the group was not contributing fully to the success of the film and not taking the task serious enough; this was a definite cause for concern. Next lesson we will be uploading all the footage that we have gathered and start editing our thriller as the deadline was getting closer and closer.
Monday, 23 February 2009
First editing session
Today we started editing our thriller. We logged and captured all of our shots into Final Cut Pro and started to edit, this was difficult in the beginning as we had forgotten what we had learnt in the tutorial weeks back. We often ended up capturing footage at the wrong time and forgetting to stop capturing.
Towards the middle of the lesson we became more confident and we were able to edit quickly and effectively. We started with the plug scene this was smooth and effective and like we planned it was a long and slow edit before the next shot. We then inserted the point of view shot. We decided to use the shot in which we used a still camera which we set up so that we could see Candy from her room in the bathroom and then walking to towards her room. This shot was smooth and the most effective. We found that the other shots that we used could not be used as the camera movement was unclear, and messy.
The shots of the draw being opened were nice and clean when we edited it however, we took a long time trying to decide which shots would be the most appropriate to use. A major problem that we faced was that the paper in which Candy took out of the draw was actually a copy of a book and this could be seen in the camera as we had used a close up. This meant that the mysterious content didn’t important and it had nothing to do with our storyline which links to secretive information.
The low angled shot which we used wasn’t very fluid because in the shot just before this shot Candy was holding the papers differently to the way she was holding the papers in the low angled shot which was noticeable and unrealistic.
We finished editing with a tilt down from the low angle to candy’s feet. We came up with this idea as we wanted to then have and exterior tracking shot of a mans feet walking down a road who was heading towards her house.
Next lesson we will be filming our exterior shots and the shot of the mans feet will be included in our plans. We will also be re filimg some of our interor shots which were unsuccesfull.
I am very happy with what we have and I feel that our thriller has a lot of features which make it conventional to the thriller genre e.g. exaggerated close ups.
Towards the middle of the lesson we became more confident and we were able to edit quickly and effectively. We started with the plug scene this was smooth and effective and like we planned it was a long and slow edit before the next shot. We then inserted the point of view shot. We decided to use the shot in which we used a still camera which we set up so that we could see Candy from her room in the bathroom and then walking to towards her room. This shot was smooth and the most effective. We found that the other shots that we used could not be used as the camera movement was unclear, and messy.
The shots of the draw being opened were nice and clean when we edited it however, we took a long time trying to decide which shots would be the most appropriate to use. A major problem that we faced was that the paper in which Candy took out of the draw was actually a copy of a book and this could be seen in the camera as we had used a close up. This meant that the mysterious content didn’t important and it had nothing to do with our storyline which links to secretive information.
The low angled shot which we used wasn’t very fluid because in the shot just before this shot Candy was holding the papers differently to the way she was holding the papers in the low angled shot which was noticeable and unrealistic.
We finished editing with a tilt down from the low angle to candy’s feet. We came up with this idea as we wanted to then have and exterior tracking shot of a mans feet walking down a road who was heading towards her house.
Next lesson we will be filming our exterior shots and the shot of the mans feet will be included in our plans. We will also be re filimg some of our interor shots which were unsuccesfull.
I am very happy with what we have and I feel that our thriller has a lot of features which make it conventional to the thriller genre e.g. exaggerated close ups.
Snow Day
Due to the adverse weather conditions which we faced today 02/02/09
collge was closed for two days and so we were not able to film today like we had planned. Next lesson we will edit the shots that we have on final cut pro.
1ST Filimg session
Today we went to Candy's house to start the opening of our thriller film. We decided that we were filming in Candy’s house it would be easier and logical to use her as the main character because she would look more at home and relaxed in the environment which she is comfortable and familiar with. The first thing that we started to film was the bath scene. This started which an extreme close up of the plug hole which then progressed to the Candy running the bath. I found that this was particularly effective in setting the tone and theme. We felt that this shot would be ideal for a long and slow opening sequence which would leave the audience anticipating what was next to come.
The image opposite shows the first shot that the audience will see.
We decided to use the hand held camera technique to show Candy's point of view when running the bath and we did this because we wanted to use a range of shots from a range of perspectives.
We used a range of different shots and camera movement techniques to show Candy walking from her bathroom to her bedroom. E.g. A point of view shot of the journey, Panning from the bathroom to the bedroom, tracking, and also use of a still camera which we set up so that we could see Candy from her room in the bathroom and then walking to towards her room. When we move on to editing we will be able to choose which shot we think will be the most effective.
We then decided to focus on Candy who would go to her room and take out a document which is of high importance. We wanted to show this importance and I feel that we achieved this through a variety of shots that we had. First of all when Candy opened the draw we shot this from behind her and had the camera at waist level, this shot suggests that she is trying to hide something and the low tripod use makes it clear the what is in the draw is important. We also had a close up of the draw as it was being opened and this was because it created tension and we felt it would make the audience want to watch on in order to see what was in the draw. When Candy had the document in her hand we decided to have a low angled shot as it made her look superior and powerful suggesting she had power and control.
We faced a lot of problems throughout the day which meant that we took a lot of time meaning we didn’t get as much filming done as we had hoped. This included having to clean rooms and space so that the camera could fit and also so that the audiences attention wasn’t diverted to unnecessary Mis en scene, However, this was not entirely our fault as we had not planned to film today and therefore the necessary preparations had not been made. Other problems that we faced were that we weren’t very confident with the camera and tripod; we had a lack of concentration and focus, and moving the camera when it was on the tripod.
Next lesson we will be going back to Candy’s house to get some exterior shots and shots of another person who will be travelling towards Candy’s house.
The image opposite shows the first shot that the audience will see.
We decided to use the hand held camera technique to show Candy's point of view when running the bath and we did this because we wanted to use a range of shots from a range of perspectives.
We used a range of different shots and camera movement techniques to show Candy walking from her bathroom to her bedroom. E.g. A point of view shot of the journey, Panning from the bathroom to the bedroom, tracking, and also use of a still camera which we set up so that we could see Candy from her room in the bathroom and then walking to towards her room. When we move on to editing we will be able to choose which shot we think will be the most effective.
We then decided to focus on Candy who would go to her room and take out a document which is of high importance. We wanted to show this importance and I feel that we achieved this through a variety of shots that we had. First of all when Candy opened the draw we shot this from behind her and had the camera at waist level, this shot suggests that she is trying to hide something and the low tripod use makes it clear the what is in the draw is important. We also had a close up of the draw as it was being opened and this was because it created tension and we felt it would make the audience want to watch on in order to see what was in the draw. When Candy had the document in her hand we decided to have a low angled shot as it made her look superior and powerful suggesting she had power and control.
We faced a lot of problems throughout the day which meant that we took a lot of time meaning we didn’t get as much filming done as we had hoped. This included having to clean rooms and space so that the camera could fit and also so that the audiences attention wasn’t diverted to unnecessary Mis en scene, However, this was not entirely our fault as we had not planned to film today and therefore the necessary preparations had not been made. Other problems that we faced were that we weren’t very confident with the camera and tripod; we had a lack of concentration and focus, and moving the camera when it was on the tripod.
Next lesson we will be going back to Candy’s house to get some exterior shots and shots of another person who will be travelling towards Candy’s house.
Sunday, 22 February 2009
22nd Febuary 2009
Having planned and created our opening sequence, which involved creating our pitch and sharing ideas, we started the filming process. We decided to shoot the footage at Corrinnes house instead as it is a bigger airier space. Through the course of our filming, we changed a few things- a few ideas came to light and other things that we thought would work we scrapped. We had alot of filming to edit (filming took just over 2 weeks!) which we started on the first day of the half term (Monday16th Febuary).
I think we had a great range os shot types- we used some match cuts and low and high angles to emitt mystery and questions. I think we succeded in not giving too much away but also keeping the audience intrigued too.
We have yet to create a soundtrack that matches out opening, but we can make a start on that on tuesdays Media lesson.
I think we had a great range os shot types- we used some match cuts and low and high angles to emitt mystery and questions. I think we succeded in not giving too much away but also keeping the audience intrigued too.
We have yet to create a soundtrack that matches out opening, but we can make a start on that on tuesdays Media lesson.
Wednesday, 28 January 2009
Editing - Upload & Capture
During this session we were uploading & capturing the footage that we had filmed in previous lessons, we uploaded all the footage that we had taken at Candy's house onto the hard drive that had been allocated to our group.
As we uploaded the footage from the tape we could then see just how much we had actually filmed and decide the bits we want to fit together or get rid of. We narrowed the footage down in to shorter clips so it would be easier later on when we start editing the footage to choose specific scenes from the list and place them into our sequence. After we uploaded all the footage and split it up into individual sequences, we then named each clip and viewed the footage bit by bit to see what scenes we would need next time we filmed.
Everything I had now seen from what we had uploaded looked fantastic, we had so much footage that could be used for our final piece and the shots looked amazing, I am very proud with the groups work and look forward to filming more and getting some even better shots.
As we uploaded the footage from the tape we could then see just how much we had actually filmed and decide the bits we want to fit together or get rid of. We narrowed the footage down in to shorter clips so it would be easier later on when we start editing the footage to choose specific scenes from the list and place them into our sequence. After we uploaded all the footage and split it up into individual sequences, we then named each clip and viewed the footage bit by bit to see what scenes we would need next time we filmed.
Everything I had now seen from what we had uploaded looked fantastic, we had so much footage that could be used for our final piece and the shots looked amazing, I am very proud with the groups work and look forward to filming more and getting some even better shots.
Filming the thriller
We have now had our first filming session of the making of the thriller, my group and I decided to use Candy's house as the main location to shoot the thriller as it was practical for everyone to be able to go to a location where we would not be disturbed and could shoot the necessary shots for our film. During this shoot we shot many scenes at Candy's house such as the establishing shot of the house where the intruder would be lurking around, the shot of the bath scene where Candy is running a bath and the shots of Candy looking at the illicit content.
This first shoot was very successful and the group managed to obtain a lot of footage that could be used in our final thriller, we spent about 3 hours filming at Candy's house until we had to return the camera and equipment back to the college. Candy’s house was a very good team decision that the group had made because when we were filming her throughout the scenes she looked very comfortable within her environment and this was portrayed in the footage which made it look real and not exaggerated.
As we had so much time to film we managed to get great shots of characters and props using the cameras tripod in many different ways that enabled us to shoot high-angle shots, low-angle-shots, medium and long shots. These shots would then be edited down into fewer shots and would look immense on screen. Next lesson we will return to Candy’s house to conduct more filming as we do not have enough footage so far too edit at the moment.
This first shoot was very successful and the group managed to obtain a lot of footage that could be used in our final thriller, we spent about 3 hours filming at Candy's house until we had to return the camera and equipment back to the college. Candy’s house was a very good team decision that the group had made because when we were filming her throughout the scenes she looked very comfortable within her environment and this was portrayed in the footage which made it look real and not exaggerated.
As we had so much time to film we managed to get great shots of characters and props using the cameras tripod in many different ways that enabled us to shoot high-angle shots, low-angle-shots, medium and long shots. These shots would then be edited down into fewer shots and would look immense on screen. Next lesson we will return to Candy’s house to conduct more filming as we do not have enough footage so far too edit at the moment.
Using credits
During this session we had hoped to conduct more filming at Candy's house but were unable to her not being around due to personal problems. So instead the group learned how to use credits and have a look at the fonts available, and how they can be manipulated to meet our requirements. Here we was able to come up with a few ideas of which fonts we would like to use later on in our thriller
Match Cutting Excercise
Unfortunately during the match cutting excercise i was unable to participte due to examinations, but my group made their best effort with out me to create an outstanding short film using the techniques they had learnt during that lesson.
Fortunately my group was able to help me catch up with the work I had missed, so that I was up-to-date with all the knowledge/skills the rest of them had learnt.
Fortunately my group was able to help me catch up with the work I had missed, so that I was up-to-date with all the knowledge/skills the rest of them had learnt.
Tuesday, 27 January 2009
The pitch for our thriller! 27/January 2009
Having had a brief discussion the lesson earlier on what the beginning of our thriller opening would contain, today our task was to pitch our idea for the opening sequence. We are required to write a script emitting our developed ideas.
Our narrative is based on a vulnerable girl, getting ready to go out in the afternoon jumping in the bath. Our key images and icons that will be used are feminine based- modelling pictures and bright fairy lights. We will use these to emphasis the girlish, vain teenage girl.
Our opening is set within an intimate location, in this instance my house. In particular, the upper level of the house- the bedroom and the bathroom. The home is seen, as a "safe haven" so setting it here will be effective, as we do not usually associate our homes with danger and mystery. In addition, we will be filming outside the house (providing an establishing shot) as our intruder lurks- waiting for the right moment. Another location we will be filming in is Tesco's- to show the audience that the Mother clearly is not the one venturing toward the house.
Music is another crucial aspect of our thriller opening. We have not made a final decision on whether we will use the college's own copyright free music or whether we will create our own as I have a keyboard at home, but that decision will be made in due course. It is imperative that out soundtrack matches with the opening in terms of the atmosphere it creates and how different sounds signify when something will significant occurs. We will have the music synchronized in time with the action. We aim to create lots of tension and mystery with the music we include- we want to scare our audience and leave them on the edge of there seats.
Our aim is to create a good film that will attract and engage many viewers. The target audience is young adults such as teenagers and we decided this because as teenagers we are aware of the things in which teenagers can relate to and therefore we will be able to use key features such as props in which teenagers are aware of and have an understanding of. This means teenagers will be able to recognise the key features, plots, themes and characters, which will help them to gain a better understanding of the film; it will make our film more realistic and therefore more thrilling and tense. In addition, we feel that our film will appeal to a much wider audience because it is based on everyday life events, which most people go through e.g. getting ready to go to a party. Furthermore, the opening is set in an intimate setting (home). Our thriller is aimed to scare our audience and leave them breathless and on edge.
For the lighting, we decided we would use natural light and standard everyday lighting. This is because we wanted to make our film look realistic and ideal for an intimate homely setting. One of our ideas is to shoot the film opening in the night and this is because darkness and night conotate mystery, crime, evil, and we felt that shooting the film in the dark would be conventional to a thriller film. We may also use white fairy lights in the bedroom scene and this is to help the audience get a wider understanding with the character thus making them develop a relationship with the character.
in terms of camera work we decided that we would use a range of camera shots the most dominant being close ups and extreme close ups. This is because close ups create a sense of drama and tension. It also reveals crucial information such as a characters emotions and feelings. An example of a close up that we will be using is of the door handle as it opens. This will create tension as the audience are left wondering what and who is behind the door and why they are there. We also have the idea to start our film with an establishing shot of a house party/ gathering/drink up, followed by an establishing shot of the main characters house. The establishing shot of the house will be filmed as a long shot and this is to help reveal the setting and the theme of the film. We may then use a medium shot or a close up of the main character getting ready and this will inform the audience whom the main character is. We will also have a range of different shots of imagery that has connotations of youth, femininity and vulnerability. We will also use high angles to shot character subordination, powerlessness, and fear. We are going to use a point of view shot to suggests that their is somebody else inside the house which we feel would be effective in creating suspense which will leave the audience guessing and wanting more.
Our narrative is based on a vulnerable girl, getting ready to go out in the afternoon jumping in the bath. Our key images and icons that will be used are feminine based- modelling pictures and bright fairy lights. We will use these to emphasis the girlish, vain teenage girl.
Our opening is set within an intimate location, in this instance my house. In particular, the upper level of the house- the bedroom and the bathroom. The home is seen, as a "safe haven" so setting it here will be effective, as we do not usually associate our homes with danger and mystery. In addition, we will be filming outside the house (providing an establishing shot) as our intruder lurks- waiting for the right moment. Another location we will be filming in is Tesco's- to show the audience that the Mother clearly is not the one venturing toward the house.
Music is another crucial aspect of our thriller opening. We have not made a final decision on whether we will use the college's own copyright free music or whether we will create our own as I have a keyboard at home, but that decision will be made in due course. It is imperative that out soundtrack matches with the opening in terms of the atmosphere it creates and how different sounds signify when something will significant occurs. We will have the music synchronized in time with the action. We aim to create lots of tension and mystery with the music we include- we want to scare our audience and leave them on the edge of there seats.
Our aim is to create a good film that will attract and engage many viewers. The target audience is young adults such as teenagers and we decided this because as teenagers we are aware of the things in which teenagers can relate to and therefore we will be able to use key features such as props in which teenagers are aware of and have an understanding of. This means teenagers will be able to recognise the key features, plots, themes and characters, which will help them to gain a better understanding of the film; it will make our film more realistic and therefore more thrilling and tense. In addition, we feel that our film will appeal to a much wider audience because it is based on everyday life events, which most people go through e.g. getting ready to go to a party. Furthermore, the opening is set in an intimate setting (home). Our thriller is aimed to scare our audience and leave them breathless and on edge.
For the lighting, we decided we would use natural light and standard everyday lighting. This is because we wanted to make our film look realistic and ideal for an intimate homely setting. One of our ideas is to shoot the film opening in the night and this is because darkness and night conotate mystery, crime, evil, and we felt that shooting the film in the dark would be conventional to a thriller film. We may also use white fairy lights in the bedroom scene and this is to help the audience get a wider understanding with the character thus making them develop a relationship with the character.
in terms of camera work we decided that we would use a range of camera shots the most dominant being close ups and extreme close ups. This is because close ups create a sense of drama and tension. It also reveals crucial information such as a characters emotions and feelings. An example of a close up that we will be using is of the door handle as it opens. This will create tension as the audience are left wondering what and who is behind the door and why they are there. We also have the idea to start our film with an establishing shot of a house party/ gathering/drink up, followed by an establishing shot of the main characters house. The establishing shot of the house will be filmed as a long shot and this is to help reveal the setting and the theme of the film. We may then use a medium shot or a close up of the main character getting ready and this will inform the audience whom the main character is. We will also have a range of different shots of imagery that has connotations of youth, femininity and vulnerability. We will also use high angles to shot character subordination, powerlessness, and fear. We are going to use a point of view shot to suggests that their is somebody else inside the house which we feel would be effective in creating suspense which will leave the audience guessing and wanting more.
Pitch
Pitch for Our Thriller
Having had a brief discussion the lesson earlier on what the beginning of our thriller opening would contain, today our task was to pitch our idea for the opening sequence. We are required to write a script emitting our developed ideas.
Our narrative is based on a vulnerable girl, getting ready to go out in the afternoon jumping in the bath. Our key images and icons that will be used are feminine based- modelling pictures and bright fairy lights. We will use these to emphasis the girlish, vain teenage girl.
Our opening is set within an intimate location, in this instance my house. In particular, the upper level of the house- the bedroom and the bathroom. The home is seen, as a "safe haven" so setting it here will be effective, as we do not usually associate our homes with danger and mystery. In addition, we will be filming outside the house (providing an establishing shot) as our intruder lurks- waiting for the right moment. Another location we will be filming in is Tesco's- to show the audience that the Mother clearly is not the one venturing toward the house.
Music is another crucial aspect of our thriller opening. We have not made a final decision on whether we will use the college's own copyright free music or whether we will create our own as I have a keyboard at home, but that decision will be made in due course. It is imperative that out soundtrack matches with the opening in terms of the atmosphere it creates and how different sounds signify when something will significant occurs. We will have the music synchronized in time with the action. We aim to create lots of tension and mystery with the music we include- we want to scare our audience and leave them on the edge of there seats.
Our aim is to create a good film that will attract and engage many viewers. The target audience is young adults such as teenagers and we decided this because as teenagers we are aware of the things in which teenagers can relate to and therefore we will be able to use key features such as props in which teenagers are aware of and have an understanding of. This means teenagers will be able to recognise the key features, plots, themes and characters, which will help them to gain a better understanding of the film; it will make our film more realistic and therefore more thrilling and tense. In addition, we feel that our film will appeal to a much wider audience because it is based on everyday life events, which most people go through e.g. getting ready to go to a party. Furthermore, the opening is set in an intimate setting (home). Our thriller is aimed to scare our audience and leave them breathless and on edge.
For the lighting, we decided we would use natural light and standard everyday lighting. This is because we wanted to make our film look realistic and ideal for an intimate homely setting. One of our ideas is to shoot the film opening in the night and this is because darkness and night conotate mystery, crime, evil, and we felt that shooting the film in the dark would be conventional to a thriller film. We may also use white fairy lights in the bedroom scene and this is to help the audience get a wider understanding with the character thus making them develop a relationship with the character.
in terms of camera work we decided that we would use a range of camera shots the most dominant being close ups and extreme close ups. This is because close ups create a sense of drama and tension. It also reveals crucial information such as a characters emotions and feelings. An example of a close up that we will be using is of the door handle as it opens. This will create tension as the audience are left wondering what and who is behind the door and why they are there. We also have the idea to start our film with an establishing shot of a house party/ gathering/drink up, followed by an establishing shot of the main characters house. The establishing shot of the house will be filmed as a long shot and this is to help reveal the setting and the theme of the film. We may then use a medium shot or a close up of the main character getting ready and this will inform the audience whom the main character is. We will also have a range of different shots of imagery that has connotations of youth, femininity and vulnerability. We will also use high angles to shot character subordination, powerlessness, and fear. We are going to use a point of view shot to suggests that their is somebody else inside the house which we feel would be effective in creating suspense which will leave the audience guessing and wanting more.
Having had a brief discussion the lesson earlier on what the beginning of our thriller opening would contain, today our task was to pitch our idea for the opening sequence. We are required to write a script emitting our developed ideas.
Our narrative is based on a vulnerable girl, getting ready to go out in the afternoon jumping in the bath. Our key images and icons that will be used are feminine based- modelling pictures and bright fairy lights. We will use these to emphasis the girlish, vain teenage girl.
Our opening is set within an intimate location, in this instance my house. In particular, the upper level of the house- the bedroom and the bathroom. The home is seen, as a "safe haven" so setting it here will be effective, as we do not usually associate our homes with danger and mystery. In addition, we will be filming outside the house (providing an establishing shot) as our intruder lurks- waiting for the right moment. Another location we will be filming in is Tesco's- to show the audience that the Mother clearly is not the one venturing toward the house.
Music is another crucial aspect of our thriller opening. We have not made a final decision on whether we will use the college's own copyright free music or whether we will create our own as I have a keyboard at home, but that decision will be made in due course. It is imperative that out soundtrack matches with the opening in terms of the atmosphere it creates and how different sounds signify when something will significant occurs. We will have the music synchronized in time with the action. We aim to create lots of tension and mystery with the music we include- we want to scare our audience and leave them on the edge of there seats.
Our aim is to create a good film that will attract and engage many viewers. The target audience is young adults such as teenagers and we decided this because as teenagers we are aware of the things in which teenagers can relate to and therefore we will be able to use key features such as props in which teenagers are aware of and have an understanding of. This means teenagers will be able to recognise the key features, plots, themes and characters, which will help them to gain a better understanding of the film; it will make our film more realistic and therefore more thrilling and tense. In addition, we feel that our film will appeal to a much wider audience because it is based on everyday life events, which most people go through e.g. getting ready to go to a party. Furthermore, the opening is set in an intimate setting (home). Our thriller is aimed to scare our audience and leave them breathless and on edge.
For the lighting, we decided we would use natural light and standard everyday lighting. This is because we wanted to make our film look realistic and ideal for an intimate homely setting. One of our ideas is to shoot the film opening in the night and this is because darkness and night conotate mystery, crime, evil, and we felt that shooting the film in the dark would be conventional to a thriller film. We may also use white fairy lights in the bedroom scene and this is to help the audience get a wider understanding with the character thus making them develop a relationship with the character.
in terms of camera work we decided that we would use a range of camera shots the most dominant being close ups and extreme close ups. This is because close ups create a sense of drama and tension. It also reveals crucial information such as a characters emotions and feelings. An example of a close up that we will be using is of the door handle as it opens. This will create tension as the audience are left wondering what and who is behind the door and why they are there. We also have the idea to start our film with an establishing shot of a house party/ gathering/drink up, followed by an establishing shot of the main characters house. The establishing shot of the house will be filmed as a long shot and this is to help reveal the setting and the theme of the film. We may then use a medium shot or a close up of the main character getting ready and this will inform the audience whom the main character is. We will also have a range of different shots of imagery that has connotations of youth, femininity and vulnerability. We will also use high angles to shot character subordination, powerlessness, and fear. We are going to use a point of view shot to suggests that their is somebody else inside the house which we feel would be effective in creating suspense which will leave the audience guessing and wanting more.
Wednesday, 21 January 2009
Camera practice excercise 1
Mickey’s camera tutorial
In Andrew’s lesson we were given a tutorial by Mickey on how to use the use the video cameras and the tripods. We were shown a range of different effects that we can create using different camera angles and shots. E.g. we saw that high angled shots made the subject look weak and inferior. In our groups we can use these types of high angle shots to show the fear and weakness of a character(s). We were also shown the symbol for when the battery was low and we learnt how to put in and how to take out the battery. we also learnt how to put the cameras safely on the tripod without breaking the camera or causing danger to ourselves. We also learnt how to basic stuff such as recording, turning the camera on/off and on standby, how to adjust the focus and so on. I found this fiddly but I’m sure as time goes on I will get used to it and become more confident with the camera.A thrilling game of cardIn order to get used to the camera.
Practice excercise
In our groups we participated a practical filming and editing exercise where we were briefed to film part of a card game. We had to create an atmosphere of suspense and mystery through choice of shot distance, choice of camera angle and movement of the camera. We had to include an extreme close up, a tracking shot and an over the shoulder shot.My group decided to shoot the clip in the lunch canteen at the tables. We used the camera and the tripod safely whilst filming and we had lots of creative and interesting ideas. One of the main problems we had was that we were far too adventurous with our ideas and this meant that we spent a lot of time trying to create effects which were unnecessary and inappropriate to the task, I learnt from this that sometimes less in more. Also a lot of our shots were not still and shaky this was because we often forgot to step back from the tripod and leave the film to run by itself. Also as a group we kept changing who was doing the filming and who was being filmed which made us fall behind and unable to capture enough effective and usable shots. I think we should have done a lot more planning and recorded our ideas on paper to prevent us sidetracking.
Editing
Because of our delayed filming process this also meant that our editing time was limited which means that our editing was incomplete and I personally think that we were not able to create tension effectively. The software we used was called 'Final Cut Pro'; which is a professional editing piece of software. Our editing wasn’t very straightforward as there were a lot of unusable and incorrect shots and the shots weren’t very smooth. We didn’t have any sound effects due to lack of time but we did have some diagetic sound through the use of dialogue.
Conclusion
Although are filming and editing attempts were unsuccessful, on a more positive note I feel that our group has learnt from our mistakes and I think we realize that we need to be a lot more organised and we should work to deadlines. We could have had longer shots for each scene as long shots can often help build to a very effective climax and create tension as I have analysed, this would have also made our editing easier. furthermore, we could have used more camera angles and camera movement. In addition, we need to work on our camera handling and filming strategies to make shots steadier, I leant from my media teacher that we can do this by simply stepping away from the tripod when filming. The experience will be very useful in the future for larger filming tasks in which we can apply the skills which have learnt and we can also learnt from our mistakes.
In Andrew’s lesson we were given a tutorial by Mickey on how to use the use the video cameras and the tripods. We were shown a range of different effects that we can create using different camera angles and shots. E.g. we saw that high angled shots made the subject look weak and inferior. In our groups we can use these types of high angle shots to show the fear and weakness of a character(s). We were also shown the symbol for when the battery was low and we learnt how to put in and how to take out the battery. we also learnt how to put the cameras safely on the tripod without breaking the camera or causing danger to ourselves. We also learnt how to basic stuff such as recording, turning the camera on/off and on standby, how to adjust the focus and so on. I found this fiddly but I’m sure as time goes on I will get used to it and become more confident with the camera.A thrilling game of cardIn order to get used to the camera.
Practice excercise
In our groups we participated a practical filming and editing exercise where we were briefed to film part of a card game. We had to create an atmosphere of suspense and mystery through choice of shot distance, choice of camera angle and movement of the camera. We had to include an extreme close up, a tracking shot and an over the shoulder shot.My group decided to shoot the clip in the lunch canteen at the tables. We used the camera and the tripod safely whilst filming and we had lots of creative and interesting ideas. One of the main problems we had was that we were far too adventurous with our ideas and this meant that we spent a lot of time trying to create effects which were unnecessary and inappropriate to the task, I learnt from this that sometimes less in more. Also a lot of our shots were not still and shaky this was because we often forgot to step back from the tripod and leave the film to run by itself. Also as a group we kept changing who was doing the filming and who was being filmed which made us fall behind and unable to capture enough effective and usable shots. I think we should have done a lot more planning and recorded our ideas on paper to prevent us sidetracking.
Editing
Because of our delayed filming process this also meant that our editing time was limited which means that our editing was incomplete and I personally think that we were not able to create tension effectively. The software we used was called 'Final Cut Pro'; which is a professional editing piece of software. Our editing wasn’t very straightforward as there were a lot of unusable and incorrect shots and the shots weren’t very smooth. We didn’t have any sound effects due to lack of time but we did have some diagetic sound through the use of dialogue.
Conclusion
Although are filming and editing attempts were unsuccessful, on a more positive note I feel that our group has learnt from our mistakes and I think we realize that we need to be a lot more organised and we should work to deadlines. We could have had longer shots for each scene as long shots can often help build to a very effective climax and create tension as I have analysed, this would have also made our editing easier. furthermore, we could have used more camera angles and camera movement. In addition, we need to work on our camera handling and filming strategies to make shots steadier, I leant from my media teacher that we can do this by simply stepping away from the tripod when filming. The experience will be very useful in the future for larger filming tasks in which we can apply the skills which have learnt and we can also learnt from our mistakes.
'The Shinning' analysis
Anaylsis of the film ‘ The Shinning’We watched the thriller film ‘‘The Shining’ in our media lesson and I found that it was very successful and making me feel tense and on edge. The film uses camerawork, sound, editing and mise-en-scene in a conventional way of a thriller film and a lot of the time I was left feeling shocked and surprised. Throughout the movie the main technique used to create suspense and tension is sound which was mostly non-dietetic. Silence was also used very effectively and it helped to build up the tension and suspense.Whilst watching this film we were ask to look for at examples of suspenseful moments in which we gave feedback at the end of the lesson.In the opening sequence there is non-dietetic sound playing while we have a Ariel shot of mountains. The camera follows a car as it undergoes this long and isolated journey up the mountains and this creates an underlying tension as it shows audience how isolated and trapped the characters are going to be. The volume and pitch also increase to create a tense and suspenseful atmosphere. The diagetic sound doesn’t sound very jolly or happy and so it makes the audience think that something bad may happen. The speed of the camera movement increases as the volume of the music increases also and so the idea of isolation and seclusion is made even more apparent.we are given a hint about the events that will happen throughout the movie because the storyline is given during the interview with the hotel owner ( dramatic irony). From this, the audience start to think this is what is going to happen to this family which is suspenseful because we know something bad can happen anytime. it also makes us feel weak as we are left feeling helpless and vulnerable to shock and fright. This is a well-known technique of Alfred Hitchcock Another example of this can be seen in the movie is when the head chef arrives near the end of the movie. we know as an audience that the father is going mad and has a axe, this gets the audience on the edge of their seats because there waiting for the action to take place. When the character is killed we feel sympathy and empathy towards him as he is seen as a hero/ good spirit.There are also scenes in which the audience are left feeling as suspenseful as the characters. e.g. when we are following Danny through the corridors of the hotel on his bike, we feel like we are behind him so we don’t know what is around the corner either. The sound of the bike on the range of surfaces makes us feel tense because it sounds very loud and it is regularly silenced when Danny rides along surfaces such as the carpet.The maze chase scene was very suspenseful as we don’t know what’s around each corner and we don’t know if Danny is going to get caught or not. The Tracking shot heightens suspense and the use of high angled shots help us to see how weak and vulnerable Danny is. One scene that I found particularly effective was the scene when Danny sees the two girls (ghosts). This is because there were faced paced/ quick shot of dead bodies this made me jump of my seat and again the quick crescendo from a subtle sound to a loud sound contributes to the effect. It’s clear that sounds can really make a difference and create a range of effects especially through the use if a particular sound. E.g. the Jaws soundtrack automatically makes audiences feel tense and alert to the potential danger which lurks.Dominant devices which are helpful in building tension are close ups, long and slow edits, high angle and low angle shots, the soundtrack and the contrasting shots put together making which often gives us a false sense of security.
Tuesday, 20 January 2009
15th January 2009..Initial research analysis and camera practice
In that lesson from what I recall we spent time identifying exactly what a thriller was and what conventions make a thriller what it is. I learnt that the intended aim of a thriller is to create feelings of anxiety and a sense of uncertainty amongst the audience. How do thrillers do this though? Well, the main character (potential victim of some psychological turmoil) is often unaware of the danger he/she may be in. Only we as the audience know what is happening or what will inevitably happen and this makes thrillers that much more effective, being we know something that the character doesn't. Tension created in thrillers will reach a heightened climax as the character may find themselfves on what seems an impossible mission to safety or an escape from a villian in some instances.
Film Openings - Thomas Sutcliffe
This media lesson we were learning about thriller openings, and what sort of features/edits make them effective. During the lesson we watched a DVD of film openings by Thomas Sutcliffe which explained what type of features that are needed to be incorporated into a thriller opening sequence in order for it to be as effective as possible. the DVD shows all the techniques needed to make the opening be true to its genre, some of these features were things such as creating suspense through leaving things to the viewers imagination so that their agony of waiting to see what comes next is prolonged as much as possible, this is so they are prepared to sit their throughout the duration of the film.
The other effects that I found very effective to use when creating the opening to a thriller is to try and leave as much detail as possible to the viewers imagination, so that they are sitting their thinking of what comes next, a way of doing for example could be to show a knife sitting on a table and then show another shot of somebody who mite have reason to use the knife. this will get the audience thinking of teh possible outcomes from the scenario.
Another useful effect is to try and avoid showing the faces of vital characters that play a key part in the thriller, this will help to create suspense and have the viewers adrenailine rushing as they are frustratated by the suspense of finding out who played the victim/criminal part etc.
Some effects that are not as attractive when creating a thriller is 'Instant Arousel', which is when the film immediately shows its best attribute of teh thriller instantly at the beginning of the film. this technique is something that should be avoided because often when this is used the film is then left with no sense of direction and the audience becomes pre-occupied doing other things instead of having their eyes fixsated on the film. this may lead to the film being unsuccessful.
The other effects that I found very effective to use when creating the opening to a thriller is to try and leave as much detail as possible to the viewers imagination, so that they are sitting their thinking of what comes next, a way of doing for example could be to show a knife sitting on a table and then show another shot of somebody who mite have reason to use the knife. this will get the audience thinking of teh possible outcomes from the scenario.
Another useful effect is to try and avoid showing the faces of vital characters that play a key part in the thriller, this will help to create suspense and have the viewers adrenailine rushing as they are frustratated by the suspense of finding out who played the victim/criminal part etc.
Some effects that are not as attractive when creating a thriller is 'Instant Arousel', which is when the film immediately shows its best attribute of teh thriller instantly at the beginning of the film. this technique is something that should be avoided because often when this is used the film is then left with no sense of direction and the audience becomes pre-occupied doing other things instead of having their eyes fixsated on the film. this may lead to the film being unsuccessful.
6th Janauary 2009..candy
On the 6th, we watched a dcoumentary on film openings and their effectiveness in capturing a audiences attention. Presented by Thomas Sutcliffe, the documentary gave great insight into succesful conventions that film dire
ctors may use when filming an opening sequence. According to Jean Jacques Benieix a good film opening should leave the audience woundering what will happen next. An example of a succesful film opening, is when the film starts with the end of the film breifly, then back to the begining to show the audience how it all started. We saw this particular type of opening in a film with Robert De niro in which after walking to his car- he became a human fireball! Then the film started offically showing us how the stort progressed to that stage. I learnt that a succesfull opening should arouse many questions that the film will then have to answer. It should also give hints in the begining certainly fore-shadowing future events that may occur.
According to Stanley Kauffmann there are many different ways a director could use an opening sequence to arouse question. He uses the classic opening of an establishing shot- useally filmed by a long shot or low angle. These kind of openings show the audience where the sequence will take place. It is generally accepted that openings sequences will have first and fore-most and exterior shot (showing location on a bigger scale) followed by an interior shot (whether it's within an intimate location or elsewhere).
ctors may use when filming an opening sequence. According to Jean Jacques Benieix a good film opening should leave the audience woundering what will happen next. An example of a succesful film opening, is when the film starts with the end of the film breifly, then back to the begining to show the audience how it all started. We saw this particular type of opening in a film with Robert De niro in which after walking to his car- he became a human fireball! Then the film started offically showing us how the stort progressed to that stage. I learnt that a succesfull opening should arouse many questions that the film will then have to answer. It should also give hints in the begining certainly fore-shadowing future events that may occur.
According to Stanley Kauffmann there are many different ways a director could use an opening sequence to arouse question. He uses the classic opening of an establishing shot- useally filmed by a long shot or low angle. These kind of openings show the audience where the sequence will take place. It is generally accepted that openings sequences will have first and fore-most and exterior shot (showing location on a bigger scale) followed by an interior shot (whether it's within an intimate location or elsewhere).
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