Amber Stubbings AS Media Coursework

Evaluation

2009-05-06T13:19:00.000-07:00

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

The thriller opening incorporates common conventions by using many close ups at the beginning, so the audience cannot immediately identify the character. The close ups also show the significance of some props or characters, extreme close ups are used in ‘Seconds’ (Frankenheimer, 1966) it is able to build tension for the audience because locations and people are not able to be fully recognised. An opening I studied to form ideas for my opening is 'Seven' (Fincher, 1995). The scrapbook is the main focus along with pictures of a torturous nature. In my thriller the album/ scrapbook is the main focus along with the pictures and the character using the props. As the main character (James Coffey) opens the sequence (00.00.46 - 00.01.15) he dominates the screen with the amount time he is featured, it shows his significance to the film and his character position. James opens a scrap book with pictures in and also starts to go through it this is similar to 'Seven' (0.28 - 0.37) when the extreme close ups of the character's fingers are moving pictures and writing on paper. The colouring of the opening sequence to 'Seven' is black, white and red, my thriller uses dark lighting with a bright light used to create the dark shadows, this is particularly evident in (00.00.50 - 00.00.54) part of the sequence. Fincher uses a similar effect (0.08 - 0.11) however the lighting isn't as strong, and looks more natural compared to 'Next' although I think the darker, artificial lighting looks better than the natural lighting in ‘Seven’. The sound in the beginning is a high pitched violin sound, this is also similar in ‘Physco’ (Hitchcock, 1960) the violins are quick and builds the tension in the opening, in ‘Next’ (00.00.14 – 00.00.24) there is a low, one note violin sound which also builds the tension as the title is in shot, then the other music comes in which builds to a crescendo. The high-pitched sound is a common convention of the thriller genre; the sound in our thriller starts off very quietly and slowly gets louder, adding a tense edge to it. Similar to ‘Seven’ we have a continuous sound that runs through the background. At the beginning we use slow editing, and then built it up slowly to create a tense atmosphere to make the audience want to watch more, however I am aware that the editing is at times too fast for an opening, which is what makes it slightly like a trailer. The use of conventions such as the focus on pictures and specific characters, close ups and the scene of the drowning in the bath (00.01.36 – 00.01.42) indicates that it is a Psychological thriller. Mise en scene highlights what other thriller mainly influenced our work. The use of the scrap book is similar to that of ‘Seven’, especially when the character is flicking the pages. When the titles comes in and out of shot, there is a sound of pages flicking, a thriller that has the titles come in and out to a sound is both ‘Psycho’ (0.36 – 0.38) when the music changes and ‘Seven’ (0.15 – 0.19). I have challenged the conventions of thrillers when the title of the sequence comes on screen, the music starts then (00.00.13 – 00.00.15) whereas with ‘Seven’, ‘Psycho’ and ‘Hostage’ (Emilio Siri, 2005) already have music playing, that changes when the title appears on screen. For ‘Hostage’ music change see: (0.22 – 0.32).

Se7en opening

Psycho Opening

Hostage opening

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

The social groups represented are teenagers and the common issue of ‘Love’ at their age. It represents both social groups as it stars female and male actors, class is not so much of an issue, and however the victim is smartly dressed, showing her age and possible dress sense, (00.01.26 – 00.01.30) we have not used any ethnic groups in our thriller; this is not purposefully done as we used the actors available to us. However it sports a stereotypical white male who is the killer, this is a common convention of a thriller. The genders are represented in a stereotypical way, the girl is inferior to the male killer, and she is also a brunette and typically in thrillers/horrors the blonde girl is always saved and the brunette is killed. The victim has less screen time than the killer, thus showing that her existence is limited in the rest of the film. It could appeal more to the male gender more because of the idea on control and dominance portrayed through the main character. However the male figure of dominance is contradictory because the woman has been unconsciously powerful enough to drive the male to commit murder. This links to the target audience, as it explores the common teenage attitude between a boy and a girl after a breakup however it takes it a step further. I also think that the stereotypes are shown in the good-looking male actor, who is the killer and a pretty female victim. On the groups Facebook page ‘ESA movie opening for Media’ we were able to get some feedback from the target audience.

‘Overall incredibly engaging. The type of film I’d choose to go and see. Narrative was easy to understand even though there was no dialogue.’

‘Has the making of a real horror film, the sound and camera were awesome.’

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1366322850&ref=profile#/group.php?gid=72056914724

What kind of a media institution might distribute your media product and why?

The media institution to distribute our product would be a small company, possibly keeping it as just an English film rather than a large Hollywood film such as MGM or Warner Brothers. It would be an art house film, this means it will be non-commercial and be independently made, and art house films are typically aimed at niche audiences, an art house film company would be ‘Sony Pictures Classics’, ‘Caravan Film’ http://www.caravanfilm.co.uk/ Examples of an art house film would be:

- ‘Pulp Fiction’ (Tarantino, 1994)
- ‘Psycho’ (Hitchcock, 1960)
- ‘The Silence of the Lambs’ (Demme, 1991)

It would be released for the entertainment of the audience, there is no opportunity for merchandise as it will be a non-commercial film. The visual style of the thriller uses dark lighting, a variety of point of view shots and was often said to be slightly confusing (see Blog Tuesday 14th April 2009) However we did get some positive feedback on the visual style of the sequence:

‘The lighting is also extremely effective, the choice of slightly red/orange lighting makes the piece seem very artistic and dramatic - making it very interesting to watch.’ (Facebook Group)

The switching back from different locations and faster editing that normal thrillers use, thus making it different from ‘mainstream Hollywood films’ such as

- ‘Sleeping with the Enemy’ (Ruben, 1991)

- ‘Presumed Innocent’ (Pakula, 1990)

These films have one long scene for the opening sequence, with hardly any cuts making the editing and pace very slow. ‘Presumed Innocent’ uses a long pan through a court room whilst the character narrates. ‘Sleeping with the Enemy’ has a scene on a beach which introduces the main characters slowly, with a slow pan in to introduce the main woman.

The thriller tends to challenge the common conventions of thriller films in this way with the locations switching, however art house films are known to not particularly follow the typical conventions. Who would be the audience for your media product? Originally the target audience would have been teenagers, but after reviewing that it would be an art house film, it is clear that a niche audience would be best for the film. It would possibly be students that are studying media or film production in University, and young film producers. This would be narrowing down the audience sufficiently. The gender of the audience would more than likely be male this is because the main theme of the thriller is an obsession with a girl. The film also puts the male in a dominant position, therefore appealing to male viewers, however there could be some female viewers because the majority of the actors would be male, thus potentially appealing to females. ‘Seven’ is similar to our thriller as it features a number of murders, done in a specific way, each murder leading to the next. Our thriller is about girls that the killer is jealous of; due to a badly ended relationship he makes happy couples unhappy by eliminating the girl. ‘Seven’ would appeal to audiences who are into crime/murder thrillers, ours is similar in terms of murdering, and however it is also psychological as the killer plays games. The age group that the thriller would be certificated to would 18. This is because the scene of the drowning in the bath (00.01.34 – 00.01.42) would be disturbing for viewers and if the film were to be produced it would possibly have sexual violence and could cause harm to the individual viewer and the society (The BBFC see Blog Post Wednesday 26th November 2008).

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing the product?

I have learnt a number of things about the technologies I used whilst constructing the thriller. I have been able to explore the many effects that Premier Pro (The editing software) is able to give to the shots, such as fading in and out and zooming in on shots that the camera hadn’t originally zoomed into, such as the ending shot in ‘Next’ (00.01.55 – 00.02.00). I have also learnt the different lighting effects that can be used on the HD cameras, and also how to handle a camera better. Lastly using a Mac has become easier whilst constructing the sequence, thus giving me skills to be able to explore other things the software can do. Strength and weaknesses of the equipment were; the camera didn’t always focus well such as in the book shot (00.01.30 – 00.01.33) what the character is looking at is hard to see because the camera took too long to refocus. However the picture was clear and picked up the natural light well. A problem that often arose was that the tri-pods were prone to breakage, which meant that when we logged one out, we sometimes had a broken one, which meant that some of our shots were unsteady. We were sometimes able to solve this problem by using a monkey tripod used for photographic cameras, and wrapped it around the top of the tri-pod. The filming camera was then attached to this and we were able to shoot relatively steady shots. Problems faced during production were the issue with being able to have actors and film crew free at certain times, we realised that we would have to carry on production without some members of the group in order to keep up with our schedule. In the original final rough sequence, we used a stand in for James as he was unavailable, (0.44 - 0.46) See blog post Tuesday 17th March 2009. I have learnt how to edit the sound that is originally picked up on camera, for example on the bath scene the scream is actually louder than it sounds. I also learnt how to use After Effects; this was used for the titles and fading them in and out and how to layer sounds appropriately. Whilst filming I found it hard to remember the continuity such as what the characters were wearing and how objects were placed before and after we had shot a scene. In the end I took to writing down what the characters had been wearing at that particular shoot. Planning took along time as we had so many ideas and we found it hard to incorporate them all, whilst we had a story board to go by, I found this constricting as I felt I had to stick to it, the animatic was easier to follow as the images were more realistic as we took photographs and I was able to visualise shots, however the end sequence turned out far from the animatic.

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel that you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

The preliminary task was our first ever use of camera and having a go at editing. I found the Mac hard to use and I did not understand the software. The continuity task, I felt could have been really good, if we had had more experience. The sounds were out of sync and the over shoulder hot of the door was shaky and unprofessional. (0.08 – 0.10) compared to this I think that I have learnt a great deal in working the Premier Pro software and using cameras to their almost full potential. The camera work in ‘Next’ is a lot more fluid and controlled than it is in the continuity task. I have learnt how to keep the camera reasonably steady and use a variety of shots, such as a POV which is used in my final sequence (00.01.30 – 00.01.33) and in the bath scene. I have become more familiar with the software since the preliminary task, and it shows when comparing both sequences. In the continuity task there are blackouts where I couldn’t get the shots correct, there are no breaks in the sequence in ‘Next’ because I managed to learn how to edit a sequence so that it flowed fluently. Because of my lack of experience with the software and the Mac the continuity task was not finished, however the thriller sequence is finished and edited properly. However I feel that the camera in our continuity task is steadier than it is at various points in the thriller opening. This is because we had a more simple storyline to follow and better surfaces to place the tripod on, as in ‘Next’ we filmed on grass, carpet, uneven pavement and broken tri-pods. The skills I picked up during the production of the continuity task and ‘Next’ have definitely helped and I feel I have improved a lot since I started using the editing software and camera equipment. My directing skills have also improved as a result, as has my team working ability.

Final Piece

2009-04-14T02:26:00.000-07:00

This is the final piece for our media coursework. We had some feedback from the class, which with them being in the target audience range, was vital for our main evaluation.

The feedback was as follows:

Positive Comments:
- Good use of music, the way it built up to create tension was effective.
- Good mise-en-scene, effective within genre.
- Realistic narrative.
- End shot of the hand over the bath 'AMAZING' - Effective.
- Good point of view shots.

Negative Comments:
- Lighting is poor in places - could be improved.
- Looks more like a trailer.
- Slightly confusing. Who are the audience supposed to be following?
- Some of the shots need trimming shorter becuase there is a delay in movement on the screen at times.

These comments helped me to recognise what would need to be improved if it were to go into full production. Also after watching it over and over so many times i became unaware of the faults that others watching it for the first time may pick up on. Furthermore i found that watching it with new veiwers around me i was able to realise what was wrong with it immeadiately, because i was anxious to see and hear their reaction.

I was initially very pleased with the end piece, becuase as a group and as an individual i had put alot of work into it, and gained valuable skills with the software and other areas of creating a sequence. However after critique and watching it for the first time in to weeks i feel my opinion of it has been downgraded and i don't feel so pleased with it anymore. In addition to the critique was a grade that i think could have been alot better. Although it is not a bad grade, it was not what i was hoping for. (B)

6th- 7th April

2009-04-14T02:09:00.000-07:00

The original deadline was Wednesday the 1st April, but I was ill and couldn't come into school to help my group finish it off so we came in over half term to do it as a group. On the Monday Me and Emily started to put the improvements in, such as elongating the shots and piecing back together shots we had pulled apart. this took a long time, but we did complete what we needed to do, Sehb added the sound in places and this took a long time too, as it was hard to get the sounds in the right places to build the right kind of atmosphere.

In the end we took Sara's shots out of the sequence completely because we felt she broke up the storyline. We used just the shots of the brown haired girl in the bath, as this connected well with Abbie and Andy's shots as she has brown hair too. Some of the shots we simply just swapped round for better continuity. We also learnt how to control the sounds so for instance the screaming is not so high pitched and is bearable but still erie. At the end of the day we had put together the sequence clips and started putting the sound in, it was just the ending sound that needed work because we wanted to get the right effect for the audience.

On the 7th I came in to finish off the sound, this took about two hours at the most, because we had done most of it as a group, it was just the fiddly bits like syncing it exactly to the next track and making it fade in and out at the right time. We also added a page flick sound for the titles, each time they changed the page 'turned' this fitted in with the scrap book that the main character has. We put it in so that it fitted with the blurring in and out of the titles, these were the bits that took most of the time up. There was also building the crecsendo at the end, but we didnt want it to build up too much, so we had to experiment alot and see what worked and what didnt, this was also time consuming. However we did get it finished and it looks alot different from our final rough cut.

31st March

2009-04-14T01:56:00.000-07:00

Today we had a production meeting to discuss further improvements and alterations. The idea of the poem being recited at the beginning had taken further development, and I had written it for my group, however when it came to recording the poem, we decided it sounded cheesey and it broke the atmosphere we intended to create, as we originally didnt want any dialogue in our sequence because we wanted the tension to build as some of the stroyline unravelled without the interruption of dialogue.

We had intended to start alterations to the sequence, however we hadnt saved the orginal clips from the camera onto the Mac meaning everytime we opened our sequence it said the clips were offline, so we just got on with altering the titles for the time being, so we rearranged them to all be at the beginning and animated them to blur in and out when coming onto the screen. We then found the folder I had orginally saved the clips into and we had to start more or less from scratch with putting the clips back in, we used our old sequence as a guide, but slowly managed to piece it back together.

Further Improvements

2009-03-26T06:21:00.000-07:00

After Teacher consultation we have further improvements to do. Our grade was a C/D for the final rough cut, we intend to get this to at least a B ideally an A. Here is a list of improvements given to us with our grading:

-Slow the piece down.

-Limit the number of cuts.

-Fix editing of sounds.

-Allow sound to over lap shots.

-Repositioning of the titles is needed.

-Overall simplify the piece.

We also listed the improvements based on particular parts of the sequence such as:

-The ESA Title shot needs to be centered.

-Loose the shot of James behind the tree.

-Lengthen the shots of Andy and Abbie.

-Small font titles.

-Lengthen book shot.

-Lengthen running water shot.

-Cut James writing out between bath running and the girl in the bath.

-Join the shot of girl in the bath that has been split back together.

-Lose over shoulder shot of James slowly writing.

-Take away james and Sarah kissing.

-Join Sarah's screaming shots back together.

-Arm over the bath at the end should Pan in or out.

We also came up with some ideas to rearrange the titles after we compared our sequence with some professional openings such as Lady in the Water, The Village and Sixth Sense which were directed by M. Night Shyamalan.

We decided to group all the titles together and have the main character (James) reciting a poem that reflects the story-line. This is to create an eerie effect, also each time the title on the screen changes we want the sound of a page turning to be heard, this will link in with the scrap book and poetry book that is used tin the sequence. We plan to slow the opening down a lot, which will consist of taking a lot of footage out, however it will also begin to look like a real thriller this way, because at the moment, compared to M. Night Shyamalan's openings it looks like a short film rather than just an opening. Where it is at the moment would suit better a trailer, which is not what we are aiming for.

Final Rough Cut

2009-03-17T06:52:00.000-07:00

This is our final rough cut, we gave it into our teacher to get feed back from it.

As a group i felt we worked well to get to the final rough cut deadline. I learnt to manage time in a valuable way that enabled me to commit to finishing the rough cut on time. As a group we had to work around each others timetables, this occasionally proved some difficulty but we always managed to resolve the problem, by realising we would have to sacrifice a group member so they could attend a lesson. However in this we managed to start to work closer as a team and individually in the group, becuase of this i was able to gain a better understanding of the Premier Pro software and use it better than i had been able to in the continuity tasks and animatics.

13th February - Editing For Final Cut

2009-03-17T06:20:00.000-07:00

Today is the last day for editing before we need to hand it in. The previous two days we have been working to get it finished and have put the shots into a correct order and have added more titles and shots that we filmed on the 6th. Our aim today was to fit the music to the images, fix up the editing and make up the time to two minutes.

This took a long time and was a slow process, especially the music because we had to ensure it fitted with the images on screen and create the intended atmosphere. We decided to add another opening title 'Seven Twenty Cinema' To this we added an effect that faded in and jittered, we felt that this added to the 'professional look' of the opening. However we then thought that we should of added effects to the rest of the titles but we didn't have enough time. We decided that we would look back at this and add it in when it came to improving it further.

We completed it on time and Me and Emily were pleased with the end result. We are aware that it still needs improvements but for now we think it is a pleasing piece.

6th March - Last Filming Session

2009-03-09T11:29:00.000-07:00

Today was our last filming session before we edited the sequence again to the final cut. Although the filming went well, and we got the shots required, our main actor James was ill and we had to use another person, but make sure the camera couldnt see his face. Although this was a challenge we overcame it and we feel we did a good job of disguisng the stand in.

the lighting that day was particularly good and we were able to get good closeups of the couple. which is what we needed the most.

Props included a beanie hat which James usually wears but also disguised the stand in, and a Love poem book which the stalker was reading. We used a POV shot of the Stalker reading the book, this was challenging but we feel we were able to overcome it well.

We filmed in a park, which can be a typical meeting place for couples. This we felt added to the reality of the scene.

26th February

2009-02-26T06:58:00.000-08:00

Today we had a meeting to decide how to improve our rough cut to a final piece. We played our sequence from start to finish and then went through it bit by bit and decided as a group on the improvements.

-There is a click sound when James picks up the photo booth picture, this need to be taken out.

-We could film more scenes of Abbie and Andy (The couple) kissing to insert into other parts of the sequence.

-We thought that after James looks away we could then have another shot of Abbie and Andy kissing, and then have James' reaction shot.

-Replace Rosie and Ryan (The couple with the book) with Abbie and Andy, to show that they are the main focus in the film. Possibly have a long shot showing all three of them. The couple will be oblivious to James' presence. Then keep with the shots from the original (behind the book etc).

-We then decided to have another reaction shot of James in this scene, this time he could be angry, whereas before he was sad. The sequence starts to pick up pace from this point.

-We have also decided to add more titles such as Cinematography and Sound.

-Elongation on Sarah's bath screams in between James writing 'I Love You', because we feel they are too short.

-Before the hand that drips water we want to put another kissing shot of Abbie and Andy, but focusing on Abbie's face looking happy and In Love. This shows the last happy memory she had was this and its what James wanted to abolish, in which he has succeeded.

-Finally we want to edit the music, it is more or less in time with the moving images but its not perfect, and there are some parts which need a more dramatic or not so dramatic sound.

We need to schedule a filming time, which will be next week and contact the actors. We plan to have this finished by Friday 13th March.

Progress Report

2009-02-25T06:00:00.000-08:00

How have i improved in Media since i started my AS Coursework?

At the beginning of the coursework I felt that I was struggling immensely and that I shouldn’t have taken media. However looking back I feel I have made significant improvement from starting my coursework. I struggled a lot when using Premier Pro on the Macs, I now know how to use one properly and using Premier Pro as become easier and easier through practice. I edited my Thriller Opening and have learnt how to direct actors and use a camera reasonably well. My technical language and essay writing still needs improvement, but compared to the grades I was achieving at the beginning of the course I feel I have improved a great deal.

The skills I have gained through doing the practical assignments have been invaluable and I have been able to use them in all my media classes. The skill that has proved most useful is being able to work closely in a group. We have had some communication issues, but we always over came them because we get on well with each other and are able to help each other out if the other has a problem. My confidence in believing what i can do has also grown due to the practice assignments on the Macs and producing a pleasing rough cut for our thriller opening along with the support from my group.

Although we hit some road blocks along the way to the final cut, i feel as a group and individually we achieved a lot, as we were always able to help out to overcome them and get back on track, even though some of the pre production tasks such as the storyboard and animatic were delayed.

22nd January

2009-02-05T03:50:00.000-08:00

After uploading our footage onto the Mac and showing our teacher, we have been advised to reshoot the whole thing. Apart from one or two shots of the bath scene.

The reason for this was that we used zoom too many times, and this to away the realism of the shot. The postioning of the Abbie and Andy (the couple) were good though.

Another thing we were advised not to do was to not have the character writing, becuase the handwriting is too 'Teenager' and the shot is too long. We have decided to use a love poem book instead of a scrap book, and possibly have a picture fall out of the book as the murderer picks it up. Our next task will be to find a love poem book, and think of possible shots to use, to do this we will re story board that part.

The drink idea has also been discarded becuase it is too cliche and the character does not look old enough to drink. Although we thought it would show his troublesome life, we realised that this was unecassary to the story line, we want to keep the focus on the girl/s that he is seeking revenge on.

We will also reshoot the couple shots, becuase we used zoom in thos aswell. We have reconsidered our shot posistions etc and have discussed which would be best where. We have yet to reshcedule the shoot and we may have to change locations, but we still have the same actor (James) So it shouldnt be too much of a problem becuase none of the shots from the original loctaion can be used.

Overall i think that re shooting most of the footage is a good idea becuase we have expert advice, and i have also gained some first hand experience on what needs to be done when using a camera in one shot. This was gained from being on a Set as an extra in a TV programme. I observed the preparation they did and what they did to ensure continuity throughout the scene. I will keep this in mind when we next shoot out footage for the third time.

28th January

2009-02-05T03:42:00.000-08:00

Today we did the bath scenes again, and although it took a long time it went quite well. The initial worry was trying not to get the camera wet, becuase we tried filming a different way this time. We got a variety of different shots and distances which we can choose between.

The lighting looked really good on the camera becuase it was dark with one bright light, which cast shadows onto the walls, making it look eeire and dramatic. We were able to get a shot of the victim in the shadowm, so all you could see was her shadow moving and the hand strangling her. Me and Emily thought that it was good shot to have because it was different from having the camera on actual people and we were testing our idea out. It came out really well and we hope to use it in our sequence.

We tried to use the tripos to get a still panning shot of the victim, however the people who used the tripod before us hadnt returned the part to which you attatch the camera to the tripod, this made us unable to film a panning shot and had to do it freehand, which did not look good enough to use. this is unfortunate becuase otherwise it would have been usuable footage.

January 21st Second Filimg

2009-02-04T10:09:00.000-08:00

The second filming attempt went better than the first. We got a wider variety of shots and we used characters that are a couple in real life, so their acting looked real. We used this to our advantage and decided to use the female actress (Abbie) as our target for the murderer. This decision came about becuase of the on screen chemistry that was visible between the two actors.

This time we used the murderer (James). We positioned him behind a tree to spy on the couple. We are aware that this is slightly cliche, however it was better having him there so that the audience could establish the kind of person he is i.e stalker. The shots we got were really good and the natural lighting helped a great deal. The positioning of shots were mostly from behind the characters so the audience could see the stalkers POV.

We also used another two people to act as a couple, this worked really well with the location and props we used (a book with a love poem) The actors worked well with teh directions given, however some of the extra's in the background ruined the best shots. Although extra's make the scene look realistic, it is hard to be convinced to use them when they can mess up the best shots we managed to take. As a result we have to shoot again, however we alos had to shoot again becuase of the shot distance, which we noticed when we uploaded the footage onto the Mac's.

After school we went to our location (the stalkers home) and re filmed the necassary scenes. We didnt do the bath scenes again as we arranged to do that on another date. We changed the shots to follow through with our focus on Abbie. We used a laptop so that the stalker could be on her facebook page saving images of her. This we realised to starting to become cliche. We used different shot positions to our previous filming becuase we wanted to see how each position would look. Again we used the artifical lighting to create an eerie effect and to make objects more visible on the screen. Our camera also had a setting that allowed the picture to become slightly orange/red, this we thought was a good colour as it can connote anger and danger etc.

We encountered a few problems suring our filming session, such as the tripod we booked out, we hadnt realised but was broken, making some of our panning shots jolty and uneven. This took the reality of the shots away. We tried to fix the problem whilst on set, but it didnt have much of an effect. Another problem was getting the actor to be willing to re do shots again and again, as this is what we had to do becuase of the broken tripod and sometimes lighting that wasnt positioned correctly.

Overall, this film shoot went better than the first one, as we had more experience with cameras and positioning. The lighting problem that we had in the first shoot was resolved this time as well. Continuity was also a problem at times, as we picked up on we we played back our footage. They are not obvious mistakes, but they could have easily been avoided.

Thurday 15th January

2009-02-04T09:59:00.001-08:00

Today we were supposed to put the footage we got onto the Mac notebooks. However the camera that we used to do the filming was not compatible with the Macs, therefore we had to shoot it again.

We didnt realise that this would be the case, and it set us back a bit, however we rescheduled the shoot date and this time used a camera that would be compatible with a Mac.

First Time filming: 14th January

2009-02-04T09:12:00.000-08:00

Our first day of filming was on the 14th January.

During the day we managed to shoot the couples we needed for the sequence. The problem we had with this was that some of the actors were unable to get into character, and therefore it didnt look right on camera. However it was still usable footage.

After school we went to our loaction for the character. The actor was easy to work with so we got some good footage and we were able to film everything we needed in around 5 hours. We used artifical lighting to get the eerie effect we needed.

The bath scene was hard to film becuase we had trouble getting over the shoulder shots of the killer so we could see his point of view on the victim. We were able to resolve this problem and we got some good shots of the victim in the bath. The issue we had with these shots is the water couldnt be seen in natural light, we used a desk lamp to give us the extra lighting, however we were unable to use a platform of any kind, so we ended up holding it, which meant we were unable to have the lighting staying completely still throughout filming.

The shots for the room, such as the bookshelves and scrap book etc went fairly smoothly. The scrapbook prop was well designed and was realistic. The only problems we encountered were that the camera started running out of battery towards the end of the filming, but we were still able to finish what needed to be done.

We also took still photos of some of the scenes. We thought these could be used in the scrap book or as still photos in the sequence. It is only a rough idea, but it also helped us with continuity of sets and costumes.

Animatic

2009-02-04T08:49:00.000-08:00

The first go of our animatic for our thriller opening, initially went really well. The photography made it look realistic and was able to give the audience a clear undestanding of what would happen in the real thing. While doing the animatic we worked generally as a team, consulting each other on what worked best. We also found certian transistion that we put into the animatic to make it look more dramatic.

The music was not our first choice, however it was from a copyright free source, which is why we used it. In our actual Thriller opening we will source suitable music. It was still able to add the right effect to the sequence for our audience.

We encountered some technical diffculties when exporting the animatic off the Mac and onto a memory stick, which is why there is a picture that floats across the screen, this should be a hand moving across a bookshelf. Another technical issue which came to light when the animatic was uploaded onto youtube is that it has a fuzzy section that appears at the drink being poured into a glass. Although this does look effective it is a technical difficulty.

There is a significant lack of diegetic sound, we struggled to record the sounds needed for the animatic, and none of the pre recorded sounds fitted.

We need to change the order of the titles and add in 'Produced by' and 'Directed by' etc. this will be done properly in the real sequence.

Overall i think our animatic turned out ok, aside the technical issues and the lack of diegetic sound. The pictures gave a real sense of relaity and enabled the audience to establish what we are planning to do.

Storyboarding for our Thriller

2008-12-28T10:00:00.000-08:00

Whilst doing the storyboard we came to some problems with production, which prevented us from getting it 100% completed n time for the presentation. One of our group members had a family issue to attend to, and they were the person we gave the storyboard to. However we were able to resolve the problem and I finished the storyboard off, Emily managed to take pictures for. We had decided to use real life photography to give a better sense of reality to the storyboard.

The storyboard did not take too long to complete, and we moved on to do the animatic. In which we encountered several problems. However we were able to resolve them by working together and learning how to do certain transitions and titles. We also had trouble exporting the completed animatic in a quick time format. Therefore resulting in a technical issue when we played it back to the class. The sequence was slightly in the wrong order. We plan to put this right when we go back to school after Christmas and when this is done we will put it up onto the Blog with an overall conclusion of the animatic.

The critique received from classmates and the teacher helped us a great deal. We are going to improve the animatic with the critique in mind before we upload it onto our Blogs. We were advised to add more titles into the sequence as we had too little and none showed the roles that our group member took. Such as ‘Produced by … “. We were also told to choose suitable music for the animatic. We would have done this, however we chose a piece of music that would enable the audience to form an idea of the type of atmosphere we are trying to create in the opening of our Thriller. For the actual opening, we will find a piece that is suitable. We also need to add some diegetic sounds. These were absent in the animatic; it therefore took away the reality of the sequence.

Props and Location

2008-12-09T04:01:00.000-08:00

- From taking pictures to use in our animatic and storyboard we have been able to think about what props are needed and the costume that the characters are to wear.

Props:

- Scrapbook

- Pictures of victims (Polaroids)

- Shot glass

- Alcohol (preferably red if not Vodka)

- Scissors

- Pens and pencils/Other scrapbook items

- Drawers

- Desk

- Laptop?

- Bookcase with books

- Fatal Attraction dvd? > Adds meaning to the opening of the film.

Costume:

Main Character:

- Black skinny jeans

- Plain white t-shirt

- Black leather jacket

- Black beanie hat

- Bear feet

Victims:

- Fully clothed

- School uniform or smart clothing

Location:

The main body of the opening will take place in the main characters bedroom, which will have low lighting and where most of the props on the list will be located. The victims will be shot either underwater or at a school. The shots at school mainly consist of couples, the victims will be shot underwater either struggling or dead.

The BBFC

2008-11-26T10:30:00.000-08:00

The BBFC stands for the British Board of Film Classification. Their job is to state that in its opinion a film should not be viewed or perchased by a person under the certified age. It is an independant, non govermental body, which has certified films since 1913. 'It was set up by the film industry in order to bring a degree of uniformity to the certification of films nationally.' (http://www.bbfc.co.uk/structure/index.php)

Uncertified recordings are not aloowed to be sold legally, regardless of the conetent. There are seven types of film rating which are; U: Universal, PG: Parental Guidance, 12A; A Person under 12 may view the film, but must be accompanied by an adult over the age of 15, 12; No person under the age of 12 can view or perchase the film, 15; No person under the age of 15 can veiw or perchase the fim, 18: No person under the age of 18 may view or perchase the film and R18; May only be shown in specially licensed cinemas, or supplied only in licensed sex shops, and to adults of not less than 18 years. (http://www.bbfc.co.uk/classification/c_R18.php)

The 18 certificate was created in 1982 developed from its successor the X certificate.

The reasons the BBFC will rate a film an 18 are:
- Hard drug use.
- Supernatural horror.
- Explicit sex.
- Sadistic violence.
- Sexual violence.
- The content could pose harm to an individual veiwer or to society.

The 15 certificate was also intorduced in 1982 on the 1st November.

Whats is allowed in a 15 rated film, and what are the boundries?

- Strong language may be frequently used, however stronger use of language will only be acceptable where suppported in the context.
- Nudity may be allowed, however only in a sexual content and without strong detail/exposure.
- Sexual activity may be shown but without strong detail.
- Violence may be strong but cannot dwell on the inflictions of pain and sexual violence must be discreet and brief.
- Techniques that can be imitated by the veiwer e.g. suicide, hanging and self harm must not be shown in detail. Weapons that are easily accessible must not be glamorised.
- Threat and meanace are permitted, however it must not be of too strong nature.
- Drugs must not be shown, promoted or encourage drug abuse.

Practice Filming

2008-11-23T04:05:00.000-08:00

This is our practice filming task. The purpose of this was to get to grips with using the camera equipment before we started to use them properly for out Contunuity Task and Thriller Opening. There are a few errors with the filming such as the over the shoulder shot when she opens the door is not steady enough and doesnt flow fluently. The 180 degree rule wasnt quite right due to the location, which we could have done better with. However we had extra's in the background, which i think added to the reality of it.

We had alot difficulty when uploading the filming onto the Mac's as it wasnt in sync and we had to cut a lot of it off, we have since then figured out how to sync the sound to match the mouth movements of the character. There is a peice in the film, when the panning wasnt very good becuase the tripod got stuck. In future I will practice the panning before we shoot it properly. I think teh shot reverse shot went reasonably well, other than the fact that the shot distance was too close, it should have been a mid close up rather than a close up.

To conclude, the practise filming went well, given the amount of time we had to do it. The problems we faced and resolved when uploading the film came in useful when we did our Continuity Task. We were able to prevent these problems from happening which therefore lead to a better finished peice.

Animatic - Terror In The Night

2008-11-23T03:53:00.000-08:00

This Animatic took us through a number of problems before we were able to get to the end result. Becuase of our lack of experience with the Mac's it was hard for us to add sound and transitions. However after experimenting with it, we managed to add sound and other effects to make the animatic seem more realistic.

We added sounds such as a horror track with a high pitched violin which created an eerie atmosphere that fitted well with the drawings. We recorded sounds such as screams, hissing and heavy breathing to match the expressions shown on the characters face.

We set oursleves specific roles in the making of this animatic to see if we were able to distinguish who was better at what. However it appeared that we all needed help with our given roles, so we decided that working as a whole team resulted in a better finished peice of work.

The best part about the animatic is the sound and drawings, this is becuase it enables the audience to establish what it would look like with moving images. I think the horror soundtrack could have been played throughout the whole animatic, to keep the tension, as the quietness took the atmoshpere away. The transistions could have been more fluent, but i think for our first try they werent too bad.

If i were to do this task again, i would ensure that we planned out group time more carefully. This is so that we can make sure we all have an equla input into the task and work more as a team.

Continuity Task

2008-11-16T09:51:00.000-08:00

The purpose of this task was to see if we knew how to use the camera properly before we start filming for our Thriller openings.

I think the end result could use some improvement, however we all worked as a team in order to produce it which helped us distinguish which roles everyone is good at. Although we have used camera's before some of the shots were slightly jumpy and could use a bit more work. I found using the editing programme on the Mac hardest, however i now know how to import sound and video, so i have also developed some valuable skills, that will help me in producing our actual Thriller.

There are a few sound faults in the film, such as it is not completely in sync and there is unwanted sound in the background. At the end of a shot, Emily starts to smile. This should have been cut out, but i was unable to cut the shot. If i was to do this again i would learn how to take unwanted sound out and sync the sound so it is perfectly in sync with the on screen acting.

The best part of the film is the shot reverse shot and the use of a two shot, which i think flows quite smoothly. The acting was spot on, and helped to make it a good peice. If the editing had been more tidy and we had more experience with the software, it would have been perfect.

After teacher and peer assessment i was graded a Level 2. The critique given from my class mates and teacher were; To keep the characters in the middle of the shot more often as some shots the characters werent in shot properly. The camera was wobbly at some points in the filming, due to a broken tripod, this will not happen next time. Another issue that was commented on is that we could have included some reaction shots instead of sticking to a simple shot reverse shot. Part of the filming that had a positive comment was the continuity for the hug at the start. The realism and use of two shot was well thought out and worked well. I think we were given good mark considering it was my first go at using a camera and editing. Next time i will take into consideration the critique and use it to improve my next grade for my Thriller Opening.

Brainstorming Ideas for Thriller opening

2008-11-10T09:04:00.000-08:00

Genres:
These are the genres we as a group have decided that would work best to base our Thriller Opening on.

Teen Thriller, Mystery Thriller, Physcological Thriller.

We have chosen a Teen/Mystery Thriller for the main base. We may use Physcological, however we feel that mixing too many genres may become confusing to the audience, and too challenging to incorporate to an opening as we are beginners.

Ideas:
We had a few ideas to begin with to incorporate the genres.

- The killing of the girlfriend. A teenage couple is at home watching a thriller with the window open. They go to kiss and their is a shot fired from the window. The killer is no where to be seen but the blood of the last victim is outside the window. This is how the killer is recognised.

- Another idea was to have an opening similar to that of 'Seven' however base it on a year book. There are close ups of gloved hands and the year/scrap book. One page has victims on it the other page has the next victims on it with crosses through their names and pictures. The pictures are unclear and the killer is writing words next to their pictures such as 'Missing', 'Shot', 'Next'. This will create tension for the audience as they will want to know what is going on.

Further developing:

- As a group we decided to go with the second idea based on 'Seven'. To develop the idea further we started to think of thing we could use to make the opening exciting but serious.

- We came up with a number of shots that could be used such as a floor shot of the person walking. A pan of a bookcase a the killers hand selecting the book. Alcohol being poured into a glass. A POV shot of the person opening the book and cutting out images, but the audience is unable to see the characters face.

- In between shots of the main character we have decided to use still, which will be images of the persons victims. They will either be Polaroids or pictures of him taking a picture of them. Another idea we had was to have quick flash backs in black and white to a murder taking place. They last for about two or three seconds and a faded screaming sound can be heard. This is so the audience will be able to establish what the main character does. However it does not reveal why, making the audience want to watch more.

Thriller Openings Conclusion

2008-11-06T08:36:00.001-08:00

What to Expect in the opening of a Thriller?

The opening of a thriller must grab the audiences attention and keep it. From the five films i analysed i can see the typical codes and conventions used in Thriller for the opening sequences.

The use of camera in a Thriller is largely close ups, panning and tilt. This can allow the director to control what is revealed. The close ups allow the director to introduce characters slowly and have the audience establish their role in the film but not give them away. This technique is used in Seven and Seconds. It sets the tone of the film because the audience gets a feel for what is going to happen. Panning and tilts is used in Hostage, this allows the audience to take in the surroundings.

Sound is important in the opening of a sequence for a Thriller because is creates an atmosphere that can be carried through the rest of the film. The films i analysed used mainly violins and drums. This helps create tension and they can be used in a fast or quick tempo in order to create different atmoshperes.Hitchcock used violins in Physco and it became a well known soundtrack. This shows that music can also be associated with films and enables the audience to remember the it.

The editing in a thriller is usually straight cuts, and the duration of the shots are usually long. This builds the suspense of the film and allows the audience to establish the genre. In Seconds the title sequence uses fades. This aids continuity with introducing the character, the music and use of closeups create an eerie feel and therefore builds tension. As does Seven. Which uses straight cuts and closeups with a 'death march' sound. The slow movement of the character is mirrored in the speed of editing, this creates suspense for the audience.

Mise en scene is a vital part of a title sequence for a thriller as it immediately sets the tone for the film. The colours used connote what is likely to happen in the film. For example, in Hostage and Seven red, black and white is used. This could connote the battle between good and bad (black and white) the red could connote danger and blood. Physco and Seconds were in black and white because of the time period they were made. However this does add to the tone that is set in the sequence.

To conclude the opening of a Thriller must create a tone that interests the audience and holds their attention this is done through sound, editing, mise en scene and use of camera. Seven is a prime example of a good opening that holds the audiences attention. This is because of the mise en scene and music.

Comaprisons and Analysis

2008-11-03T10:11:00.000-08:00

Here are the analysis i made from 5 title sequences of thrillers. I first created a table to it would be easy to compare which films had what.

Physco
Camera
One still shot throughout.
Editing
The speed of the words sliding into shot was quick at first and then slowed down. The grey lines slid in and out quicker than the words. It stayed in time with the non diegetic sound.
Sound
Quick violin strokes which lengthened when larger sections of writing came up on the screen. The quickest part of the music happened whilst the title of the film was in shot. This is like a crescendo which builds anticipation. The violin has different pitches which creates a tenser atmosphere. The audience can establish that this will be the main music used in the film. (Violins).
Mise en Scene
The colours are Black, white and grey. This adds to the mysteriousness and tense atmosphere created by the music. The animation on screen is various grey lines that slide in and out of shot horizontally or vertically. Some of the words break up as they slide out of shot. The word Physco does this whilst the music reaches a crescendo. This reinforces the tension and genre of the film.

Seconds
Camera
Extreme close ups. This makes the audience unable to see the whole character. It builds the tension because they want to know what significance he has to the film. Pans into mouth and pans in and out of the ear. The last shot of the title sequence pans into a high angle shot, which shows a location.
Editing
The shots are long in length which builds the tension. The shots of the face fade into other parts. This builds tension because it creates an eerie feel to the film. The technique used in seconds, although a fade is the image has been distorted. This creates tension because the audience are unable to focus properly on the character in shot.
Sound
The sound is very tense and sounds like a death march. It firstly starts off with a deep organ sound then other instruments are introduced, such as drums. The constant beat of the drums adds to the tension build up. The music reaches a crescendo when the title of the film appears.
Mise en Scene
Parts of the face are shown in extreme close ups. They are distorted and multiplied which confuses the audience as they attempt to distinguish what it is. The eyes give an eerie feel because they moving around in a scared or mysterious way. The mouth screams but no sound comes out. The music is the only clue that the mouth is screaming as it had one high pitched note. The title comes up inside the darkness of the mouth with just the teeth showing. This could suggest that the film is to do with only having seconds to say something or to shout for help. The images in the title sequence build tension through to the last shot where a person with a ‘sock’ over their head with holes in appears suddenly. This confuses the audience as it is not the person’s face that has been shown to them in parts.

Se7en
Camera
Mainly close an up, which builds tension as the audience is unable to see exactly what is happening. . One high angle shot at the beginning of a pair of hands. Tracking is used when showing a record collection. A jerky camera movement when the names appear on screen, as if a broken film is being rolled.
Editing
Straight cuts and some jump cuts to the titles. This builds anxiety. The shots are longer when the camera is on the person. When the titles come up the shots are shorter. No shot lasts for longer than 3 seconds. Although longer shots build tension, the shorter ones keep the audience guessing about what is happening,
Sound
Like Seconds, there is a death march tone to it, making the atmosphere solemn and tense. The instrument mainly used is drums. However there are static frequency wave sounds when the titles come up which links to the jerky camera and movements of the words. The drums and static sounds speed up as the person finishes the ‘scrapbook’. This completes the tension that has built up during the title sequence.
Mise en Scene
Close ups of someone putting what looks like a scrap book together. Blotting out words and graphic pictures of surgical operations. This establishes to the audience what is likely to be involved in the film. The main colours are black, white and red. The black and white signifies good and bad battling against each other and the red connotes blood and danger. The significance of the dollar bill close up on ‘In god we trust’ is that the film is to do with the seven deadly sins, which are religious. God gives it the religious connotations. It is evident that the person takes great care in what they are putting together this is shown with the close up of the persons fingers carefully threading red string through the eye of a needle.

Hostage
Camera
Panning reveals the location slowly to the audience, tilts – establish the location, high angle of title. Pans out and in to different characters and possible vital links to the film. Pans out to a real life person instead of cartoon.
Editing
Straight cuts. Long duration of shots which builds the tension. This links to the sound.
Sound
Low/deep drum sound which then introduces a violin of high and low pitches. As the audience gets nearer to the main person, it speeds up and there is a diegetic click of a gun being prepared to shoot.
Mise en Scene
The main colours are red, white and black. This shows the battle between good and evil and the blood signifies danger, blood and even anger. The titles are in a cartoon form which allows the director to slowly introduce the story line. In the still cartoons there are police cars, barbed wire, machine guns, police force, buildings, and a phone. The guns are featured frequently which suggests they play a main roll in the film. The titles are fitted within the environment, for example the costume designers are on a sign post near the location. The camera pans into a phone in which it then pans out again to someone holding a gun near their head. The diegetic sound of the gun clicking is heard here. This then pans out onto a real life person. The phone could signify an SOS call or a deal call from the person who is holding the hostage. The person on the other end of the phone has a vital roll in the film; this is established because they are in real life form, whereas the other characters were in cartoon stills.

The Illusionist
Camera
Long shots. Mid close ups. Close ups.
Editing
Fades to black. Or to another image. It’s hard to establish exactly what the shot is because it is grainy, which suggests it is set in the olden times. Straight cut at the end of sequence.
Sound
Classical music which reinforces the grainy images. The music is slow and gentle, but has an eerie feel to it which builds tension. The end of the title sequence cuts to a deadly silence which enhances the tense atmosphere.
Mise en Scene
The images are in a sepia tone, and are sometimes hard to make out, as if they are being played on an old film or are behind water. The images consist of: a butterfly, theatre, the audience, a town square with old fashion dressed people, a forest, a chariot wheel, newspaper article, film reel, blue prints and a pair of vivid eyes, The eyes in particular adds to the tension that gradually builds toward the end of the sequence. The images confuse the audience as they wonder what significance to the film it has. The font is old fashioned which supports the idea of it being set in the olden days as does the dress of the characters. The title sequence is very much like watching a silent movie, the moving images with no sound and then the titles. With continuing sound. The straight cut at the end gives the eeriest feel of all. It is deadly silent with a long shot of a man in a white shirt and black waistcoat, sitting on a chair in the middle of a stage completely still. This adds to the confusion of the film and the tension because of the silence and mysterious setting, which hwoever does link into the image at the beginning of a theatre.

Pre Production Research

2008-11-02T06:20:00.000-08:00

What is a Thriller?

Thrillers are also known as suspense films and are known to promote intense excitement, a high level of anticipation and nerve wracking tension. They aim to do one thing; keep the audience interested and 'cliff hanging'.
They are often hybrids such as suspense thrillers or sci Fi thrillers such as Alien. Another closely related genre is horror, which is also designated to create tension and anxiety throughout the film. Suspense thrillers take their form in many ways such as murder mysteries, private eye tales, chase thrillers, women-in-danger films, courtroom and legal thrillers, erotic thrillers etc.
The typical characteristics of a Thriller are: based in exotic or polar locations to make the atmosphere more tense as its an unfamiliar setting, The characters are usually 'hard men' accustomed to danger or risky situations. The may overlap with mysetry stories as well as Horror however they are distingusiehd by the structure of the plots. Thrillers also occur on a much grander scale: the crimes that must be prevented are serial or mass murder, terrorism, assassination, or the overthrow of governments.

There are many sub genres for Thrillers, here is the full list:

Action, Crime, Drama, Disaster, Consipracy, Eco, Legal, Eritic, Horror, Medical, Political, Physcological, Spy, Supernatural and Techno.

The characters are often very similar and include characters such as convicts, criminals, stalkers, assassins, physcotic individuals. The list is endless.

Hitchcock is a famously known thriller director and turned out films such as Physco and 39 Steps.
He usually let the viewer know that some horrible event would happen - creating unbearable suspense while viewers waited for the inevitable. Hitchcock's physcological thrillers include Suspicion, Shadow of a Doubt and Strangers on a Train.