Sehb Hundal AS Media Coursework Blog

Evaluation

2009-05-04T20:52:00.017+01:00

Final piece

2009-04-15T13:07:00.007+01:00

This is the final piece that we have produced.
We received some feedback from the rest of our class, evidently as they were the target audience, their feedback was imperative for our knowledge.

This is the positive feedback we received:

+" Good use of music- slowly builds up tension"
+"Good mise en scene- effective within genre"
+"Realistic narrative, although could have built more suspense before drowning ( effective mise en scene)"
+"Last shot of hand was AMAZING- really effective"
+"Great shot of thumb rubbing picture"

This is the negative feedback we received:

-" Lighting poor at times- could be improved"
-" More like a trailer"
-" Music at beginning of extract was too quiet"
-"Confusing? who are we following? which character?"

These comments were a good hindsight as to what our target audience thought of a final piece. This helped us as a group to identify problems that we could improve on. Due to our continuous playbacks we had become numb to realising any defects to our piece.

The feedback that we were most drawn to were the last 3 negative comments:

"More like a trailer"- we had re-pieced our entire sequence in order to avoid this sort of error as we were told by our teacher before.
"Music at the beginning of extract was too quiet"- There was no music up until the main title and we kept that low in order to build up the tension as the sequence progressed.
"Confusing? who are we following? which character?"- Ideally the randomess of the of the characters is supposed to throw the audience off track as this is a psychological thriller. However the main focus is suposed to be on the stalker and the girl from the couple, the other charater is a previous love.

I was quite impressed with our final piece and how it turned out. I had gained a lot of experience by working with the Macs and the programmes on it. Overall we received a 'B' for our group. Personally, I think that the grade could have been better, but it wasn't all too bad. Ideally i was hoping for an 'A'.

Notes on Evaluation Questions

2009-03-30T22:17:00.002+01:00

Thriller Evaluation Notes.

NEXT

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

- Dark colour to invoke danger
- Cu of objects, such as photos and couples
- Dark and moody music in order to engage audience
- Smooth editing in relation to the music
- We challenge the generic codes by having our titles on separate clips
- Teen thrillers generally tend to use younger people; darker colours and a gradual build up in editing.
- Se7en was our inspiration- C+C for that is dark colours and predominantly close ups of objects. E.g. The photo in next and the hands in se7en.

2) How does your media product represent particular social groups

- Lonely white male in his teens
- Male is framed at a lower angle predominantly
- Relation to our target audience is by invoking a dangerous dominance by the male gender.

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

-New line cinema as our product is closely based on that to what se7en is.
- Next is most likely to be a TV movie as most of our target audience is associated with a television set.
- Our media product would be released as we believe that our target audience has a major interest for this sort of thriller sub genre. It might offer opportunities for franchising and merchandising as there are many aspects of the movie that can be deviated off.
-The mise en scene is mainly books, water and very mysterious clothing as well as low key lighting.

4) Who would be the target audience for your media product?

- The target audience for our media product would be teenagers 15+ as it would be applicable to the male character shown in the film.
- Se7en is similar to ours media product. Se7en appeals to 18+ due to more violence and language misuse.

5) How did you attract your target audience?

- Our target audience is primarily white males aged 15+.
- The beginning of the film introduces a young male that identifies with the relationship problems in a teen’s life.
- There are some POV shots used in our opening. Such as the book and at the park when he is looking at the couple.
- The audience is made to empathise and sympathise with the character’s desperation for love. This draws upon the troubled relationships that teens have during their life. They are being allowed to witness the extent to which a person’s hatred dominates their life.
- This has a negative impact on the audience as they are watching people die, however it is applicable to the sub genre we’re creating.
- This draws back on to the generic C+C of horror thrillers which are to have gruesome ordeals within the context of the movie.

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

- Our strengths with the camera work is that we were able to hold our shots steady, however out weaknesses is that we had trouble positioning the camera correctly sue to faulty tripods.
- We did have a point where we had used zooming a lot and we had overcome that by our teacher telling us that we are banned from using it. This made it easier for us to focus in the task.
- We learnt how to effectively use a tripod along with its extensions and fixtures. This gave us stability throughout our filming processes.
- During the post production stage I became familiar with Premiere Pro and Sound booth as well as the overall operation on an Apple Mac. In Premiere Pro I learnt how to time the footage that we had collected, I learnt how to import footage and sounds and how to piece them next to each other. In sound booth I learnt how to record sounds, such as crunching of stones, this is evident in the animatic which I made for “terror in the night”.

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

-The research into the thriller genre was extensive. Emily was in charge of the storyboarding. We had decided on taking photographs and using them to represent the action in the opening. This helped us organise our shot list and helped us visualise what we needed to capture. The animatic allowed us to see what sort of transitions we needed and how long each shot should last. This helped us understand what shots needed to go where and how to structure our editing.
- Our shot standard has improved immensely as during the preliminary task some of the shots were very uneven and unsteady. However, in our final piece all of our shots are steady. Also, our point of view shots have improved too. They were similar to our normal shots, unsteady and uneven, but now they are smooth and focused very well.
- I feel much more comfortable with using a camera and working with the Apple Macs as I now have fluent working knowledge with them.
- I feel that our final product will be quite successful in fulfilling the required task as we have adhered to a strict regime of what we can have and what not. We have included the titles necessary in the right order and have key footage that helps to establish the narrative of our thriller.

6th March-- Final Filming session

2009-03-12T23:34:00.002Z

Today Amber and Emily had undergone our last filming session before we edited the sequence again to the final cut. I could not attend this shoot either as i had lessons during the scheduled time. Although, the filming went well and they managed to get the shots we needed. However, the main actor ,James, fell ill so they improvised with another person and made sure that the camera couldn't see his face. Although this was a very big challenge they overcame it and i felt that they did a good job of disguising the replacement.

The lighting that day was decent and this meant that they were able to get good closeups of the couple. which is what we needed the most.

The props that we included were a beanie hat which James usually wears but also disguised our replacement, and a Love poem book which the stalker was reading. They had decided to use a POV shot of the stalker reading the book, this proved to be challenging but i felt that they did a good job and they 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 as well as the seclusion of the two main characters.

Improvements

2009-03-12T22:15:00.001Z

We have currently been working on our actual film production. And having gone through the footage we have been working on, we have come to notice that we need to improve some shots and include extra footage to meet the timing requirements. We had a meeting as a group and discussed these issues and we analyzed the movie closely.

These improvements will be:

- To remove the clicking sound heard when James picks up the photo-booth polaroid.

- We will need to include more scenes of Abbie and Andy (the couple) in order to fill the time space up.

- We will also include extra titles in order meet the codes and conventions of the thriller genre.

- Also, nearing the end when the screams enter, we will elongate some of them to fill up the time space.

- The kiss with Ryan and Rosie, will be replaced with another kissing scene of Abbie and Andy in order to keep continuity of those character's. This will then be accompanied by another reaction shot of James looking angered / sad. This will be framed in a long shot so we can establish that James is in the scene.

- We may include a final kiss in order to create a high tension within the context.

- Finally, we will need to edit the music in terms of the transitions. When the music conforms into the piano, we will need to add a bridge in order to keep it smooth and help the editing run smoother.

Progress Report

2009-03-12T22:14:00.001Z

At the beginning of this course I was quite nervous about what we were going to be doing in our coursework. I had no idea on how to use the Mac’s and had no prior skills in premier pro. However, over the time period that I have passed on I have gained knowledge that surpassed my expectations. I now have full working knowledge of Premiere Pro and I am beginning to become more familiar with the Mac’s. For example, when we had to do our first storyboard task, I took on the responsibility of drawing out the images and writing the additional notes and then I was also delegated the task of editing the animatic. After having lost the initial animatic, I had to reconstruct the whole thing and this is when I became familiar with the contents of Premiere Pro and developed my skills and knowledge of the programme. Then came the filming of our actual production piece, as a group we each tried the various areas in the filming process such as , the camera, the editing , the layout of the set etc. I found out that my suited area was the editing and the directing of the filming. These became my strongest point, therefore my weakest area is camera work, and this is primarily due to my inability to have a steady hand. Overall, I found myself able to efficiently with my team and I have progressed majorly in ways I had never suspected. Therefore, I have high hopes of creating a promising final piece.

28th January 2009

2009-03-12T22:11:00.000Z

Amber and Emily had arranged to do a shoot after school today. They had told me that they were going to do the bath scenes at Amber's house. Therefore Amber asked not to attend this shoot due to her being uncomfortable with a male presence during the shoot.

They re-did the bath scenes today, and although it had taken a long time it turned out to be pretty good. Their initial worry was trying not to get the camera wet, because we tried filming a different way this time, in the bathtub, and they were able to get a variety of different shots and distances which we will be able to choose between.

22nd January 2009

2009-03-12T21:49:00.004Z

Having re- uploaded our footage onto the Mac and showing our teacher, we had been advised to re shoot the entire sequence with the exception of one or two shots from the bath scenes. The reason for this was that we used zoom too many times, and this took away the realism of the shots. Due to this we have been banned from zooming, instead we must position our shots prior to the recording of the actions.

Another thing we were advised to do was to not have the actor writing, because the handwriting was too informal and the shots were too long. Therefore as a replacement we decided to use a love poem book instead of a scrap book, and possibly have a picture fall out of the book as the actor picks it up. Our next task will be to find a love poem book, and think of possible shots to use.

The drink idea has been discarded because it was highly cliche and the actor did not look old enough to drink. Although, we thought it would show his neglected life, we then realised that it did not fit in with the narrative. However, we wanted to keep the audience's on the girls that he is seeking vengeance upon.

We will also re shoot the couple shots, because we used zoom in those too. We have reconsidered our shot positions and have discussed which couple would be best where and why. We have to re-schedule the shoot and we may have to change locations, but we will still have the same actor , James. This shouldn't be too much hassle as we were able to start fresh.

Overall , the re shooting of the footage was a beneficial experience as we were able to have our teachers advice on what we needed to do and how we were going about doing it.

21st January- Second filming shoot

2009-03-12T21:29:00.003Z

This shoot was done by Amber and Emily as I had a lesson during the time they had scheduled it for.

The second filming attempt went better than the first. We managed to obtain 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 because of the real on screen chemistry that was visible between Andy and Abbie.

This time we used the murderer ,James. We positioned him behind a tree to spy on the couple. We knew that this was a slight cliche, however it was beneficial having him there so that the audience could establish the kind of person he is i.e stalker. The shots turned out to be really good and the natural lighting helped a lot.

We also used another two people to act as a couple, Ryan and Rosie. This worked really well with the location and props we used (a book with a love poem). The actors worked well with the directions given, however some of the extras in the background did not co-operate and messed up some of the best shots. Although extras make the scene look realistic, it questioned our choice to have the in other shoots. Due to this we had to shoot again, however we also had to shoot again because of the shot distance, which we noticed when we uploaded the footage onto the Mac's. The shot distance was too far in order to establish the characters emotions.

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 because we wanted to see how each position would look. Again we used the artificial 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.

Amber and Emily had encountered a few problems during the filming session, such as the tripod we booked out, was broken, making some of our panning shots uneven. This removed the reality of the context away. They tried to fix the problem whilst on set, but it didn't 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 because of the broken tripod and sometimes lighting that wasn't positioned correctly.

Overall, this film shoot went better than the first one, as we had more footage with better quality in a way and Amber and Emily had gained more experience with the cameras and positioning. The lighting problem that they had in the first shoot was resolved this time as well. Continuity was also a problem at times, as they picked up, they played back our footage. This meant that we had some major room for improvement.

Thursday 15th January 09

2009-03-12T21:23:00.003Z

Today we were supposed to put the footage onto the Mac notebooks. However the camera that we used to do the filming wasn't compatible with the Macs, therefore we had to re- shoot the entire sequence.

This was quite a setback, but we rescheduled the shoot date and this time used a camera that would be compatible with the mac computers.

FIRST FILMING SESSION!!!!----> 14th January 09

2009-03-12T20:27:00.002Z

Our first day of filming was on the 14th January 2009

During the day we were able to shoot the couple scenes we needed for the opening. The downfall of this shoot was that the actors weren't able to get into character, this wasted a bit of time. However this footage was usable to some extent.

As today was a half day, we were able to get to our main shooting location which was James' house. Our actor, James, was very easy to work with. We managed to finish our shooting in the 5 hours allocated to us. We used artificial lighting to create the eerie effect required.

The bath scenes were quite difficult to film as it was hard to manoeuvre around the bath in order to get a clear shot of the "victim". We were able to solve this problem and managed to get some good shots of the victim in the bath. The issue we had with these shots is that the water couldn't be seen in natural light, so we used a desk lamp to give us the extra lighting. Then we realised that there wasn't a platform in order to hold so therefore whilst Emily was drowning, Amber was filming, I was in charge of the lighting.

The shots for the room, such as the bookshelves and scrap book etc went very well. The scrapbook prop was well designed, thanks to Emily, and was very realistic. The only problems we encountered were that the camera was beginning to run out of battery towards the end of the filming, but we were able to finish what we needed.

Final- Animatic

2009-03-08T18:30:00.002Z

This is the animatic for our final piece. As it was our second attempt i think we accomplished a lot. The idea of using photography was really beneficial as it helped to make the concept look realistic. This would help give the audience a better sense of what was happening. During the process of constructing our animatic, we worked as team and each provided our own contribution. Also, we discovered how to input transitions such as fades and cross dissolves ( 0.37-0.38). This helped to create a more dramatic appearance.

This music was not the ideal sort we required, however we did obtain it from a copyright free source, hence our reason for using it. When create our actual piece, we will try and find a more suitable type of background music in order to help create the atmosphere.

We had some technical difficulties exporting the animatic off the Mac and onto a memory stick, which explains the random floating shot at the beginning. Also there is a static glitch after the camera pans down the glass when the animatic was being uploaded on to youtube.

We received some positive feedback as well as negative. The positive feedback was that our choice of using photography was excellent as it allowed the audience to see what was happening more easily. The animatic was coherent and smooth. The sound was suitable for this piece.

The negative feedback thaty we received regarded the glitches in the animatics upload. Also we had muddled up our titles and include others such as " Produced by..." and "Directed by...".

Overall, i think our animatic was a huge success. We learnt about new transitions as well as keeping the editing within the range of the music.

Storyboarding for the Animatic

2009-03-08T15:28:00.000Z

The storyboard for our animatic, was going to be photographic pictures in order to give the animatic a more realistic appearance. This would be helpful towards our audience as they will be able to get a better visual stimulus therefore making it easier for them to understand the storyline.
We had given the photo task to Emily as she was the one who knew the location of our filming shoot. However, Emily had a family issue and this delayed our storyboarding and animatic from being totally completed. But, Amber had decided to draw up the remaining shots. This saved us plenty of time, therefore allowing us to complete the storyboard and begin the animatic in time.
We worked efficiently together and managed to complete both the storyboard and the animatic. However, as we were finishing it we had difficulty exporting the sequence in order to make it work. This meant that once we had successfully up loaded it onto youtube, there was a major glitch with the opening shot. This was going to be resolved when we were going to return to school after Christmas holidays.

Props and Location

2009-03-07T13:52:00.002Z

As we are having photos for our animatic, we got a sense of what sort of props would be needed and the location requirements. As we had no budget to adhere to, we had to make use and improvise with general items that we will need.

The props we will need are:

- 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

Costume: Main Character:

- Black skinny jeans
- Plain white t-shirt
- Black leather jacket
- Black beanie hat
- Bare feet

Victims will be wearing appropriate clothing, for example, smart or casual (nothing demeaning or
skimpy.)

Location
The establishing shot will be of the main character’s bedroom and the whole sequence will revolve around it. The lighting will mainly be dim in order to create a tense atmosphere and within the lighting we will compose our props for the opening. The victims will be shot either underwater drowning or at school. Our “victims” will mainly be couples in order to reinforce the main characters hatred towards romance.

Film Certification

2008-11-25T16:46:00.004Z

Thrillers are mainly orientated around the certificates of 15 to 18 years of age. This is because they will have unsuitable images and references to a younger audience. For our final piece we must target an audience that will slot in well with the type of thriller we're doing.

The Certificate of 15 involves the following aspects:

Source- BBFC ( British Board Of Film Classification)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Language:
C15 will have some very strong language ranging from swear words to sexual references in certain parts of the film where it is appropriate.

Nudity:
Nudity is permitted within a C15 movie only if i does not involve too much detail. However general nudity is allowed.

Sex:
This integrates with the nudity aspect of the C15 films. sex may be permitted as long as does not entail too much detail. Sexual references may also be made.

Violence:
Violence can be shown but not in too much context. This means that is someone is being beaten up, the camera cannot remain upon this aspect for a long period of time. Also the film may show sexual violence discreetly or briefly.

Imitable techniques:
Elements such as suicide and murder should be kept to a minimum to reduce the audiences self provocation.

Horror:
Horror must be limited, strong threats and menace is allowed. However, strong gory images are prohibited.

Drugs:
Drugs can be used but must not provoke audiences to take them or misuse them in any manner.

CERTFICATION OF 18

The Certificate of 18 includes whatever has been stated above and beyond that. C18 tends to have more inclusion of whatever is unacceptable in a C15 film. This could range from any detailed portrayal of violent or dangerous acts, or of illegal drug use, which is likely to promote the activity to portrayals of sexual violence. The certificate of 18 means that no one younger than 18 may see an 18 rated film in a cinema. No-one younger than 18 may rent or purchase an 18 rated video.

Real Continuity Task

2008-11-17T18:10:00.004Z

This task was our actual Continuity Task. I think that we worked well together as a team. We did encounter some problems but overcame them at the last minute. That problem was finding a "boyfriend" for our love scene. We had an original person, James Hall, but he wasn't able to co-operate as he had other plans. However, we did manage to find a more reliable person and in which we made this piece, Lewis Yates- as seen on video. By having sorted our actors out we were able to undertake the filming process.

The camera work could have been better as some of the shots were a bit unstable. This was due to the faulty tripod we were using. However, most of the shots were stable, so this was an apparent acheivment as we learnt how to adapt to our equipment. I think that some of the shots were really effective,such as the This made the whole thing appear more realistic.

The editing was reasonable as I beleive that it helped the whole piece flow, therefore creating continuity. However, it could have been cleaner as i thnk that some of the shots were a bit too long.

The sound wasn't too bad in this case, most of it seem to work in synch with the acting. However, there were some blank points at the end of some scenes such as the slap and the closing of the door. This was due to the excessive noise before the scenes. I took on the responsibilty of constructing the sound. It would be beneficial in future times to record a bit longer so that all of the sound can be recorded.

The location for this matter wasn't actually ideal, but it worked in the end.

The acting was perfect. We wouldn't have done it any other way. However there were some flaws in the acting, such as 0.42, when Emily smiles. This wasn't beneficial towards our piece as it lost the realism of the text.

Overall, I'm quite happy with our continuity piece. We received a low level 2 this was because of our framing, editing and camera shots. These aspects will be the most important aspects in our thriller. They will require careful consideration and determined practice to perfect them in order to acheive a higher level.

Animatic

2008-11-16T12:18:00.003Z

This was our very first task. We were to make an animatic for a thriller called "Terror In The Night". I think that we did very well as a group although we did encounter some problems, but we easily solved them with each others help.

We learnt how to use Adobe Premier Pro and Adobe SoundBooth. These were vital for accomplishing our animatic. For the Camera we learnt how to use the motion tool to help invoke panning into our animatic. This helped to make the whole piece appear more realistic. We also used directional arrows to show the characters movements. A good example of this is at 0.39secs. We tried to make it appear as a POV shot.

In terms of editing, we learnt how to shrink and expand our shot lengths varying upon the amount of suspense and tension we wanted to create. I think that the editing in this piece was quite effective as we were able to construct when we wanted the tension and suspense to occur.

The sound used was made in SoundBooth. We had some pre-recorded sounds which we used, this was in the first part- the slow footsteps. The other sounds were made by us. i think that the sound worked very well with the editing.

Overall i think that we did very well. Our pictures were clear and they helped to make a clear meaning to the animatic. However, in future endeavours we must be more organised and be able to work to deadlines.

Practice Continuity Task

2008-11-15T20:05:00.002Z

In this task we were asked to construct a concept that would involve using shot reverse shot.

In my opinion, the acting was very good, however, seeing as i personally do not prefer to undertake the major role of acting i decided to undertake the role of being the camera man. I found it particularly enjoyable. I do believe that that the panning could have been smoother, but this was primarily due to the fact that the camera and tripod were in a tight place and that i had to step over one of the tripod legs which would explain the delay in the paining. From this i have learnt that i will need to have more space when filming our next task.

We also had to demonstrate our ability to use the 180º rule effectively. In this piece i don't think that we broke that rule. Even though we did not manage to complete the shot list provided, we manage to understand the idea that was meant to be put across. We managed to work well together. We practiced each shot and then took the real take.

The editing and sound were well constructed even though there were only 2 lines. We did have problems with making sure that the whole piece was coherent. Therefore we edited it carefully and then we learnt how to edit the sound which lead to a greater progress in our first filming task.

Thriller Ideas

2008-11-10T21:09:00.004Z

This is my groups ideas for our thriller. we intended on making a thriller that applied to our age group. We used Se7en as our inspiration for this because we found it very effective in terms of how it delivered suspense and mystery to the audience. We all had a similar liking of psychological thrillers such as Saw and decided that we would incorporate this element in to our thriller. We also prefered mysteries too, this sub genre will also be put into our title sequence though we're not sure how yet. Teen thrillers such as Prom Night are a good example of thrillers that are aimed at our age group, 16- 18 yrs old. This type of sub genre will help us determine what "teen-like" elements we will have to include.

We focused on the key elements that would be evident in these kinds of thrillers such as their storyline, locations and appearances. These will all be used to help us understand what we need to do in order to make our Thriller opening a success.

Conclusion of thriller analysis

2008-11-06T19:22:00.001Z

My conclusion from having analysed a variety of thrillers are that the title sequences vary depending upon the sub-genre. The predominant colour palette is black, white and red. These colours help to invoke a sense of danger. The camera mainly focuses upon close up of subjects within the title sequence. This helps to create a connection with the audience. Furthermore, the title sequence is very dependant upon the music. This is because the music helps create the atmosphere for the title sequence. This allows the audience understand what to expect from the movie. The editing varies from the sub-genres, but, they usually go along with the soundtrack in order to create coherency within the title sequence. This helps the audience to engage with the movie. Lastly, the titles are superimposed upon footage, but, are kept small so that the audience does not deviate their attention from the action going on.

Thriller #5

2008-11-06T19:18:00.004Z

Film Title: Hostage (2005)
Director: Florent Siri.

Title Designer:

Camera – distance, angle, movement…

LS of titles.
Establishing shot of a city. Still shots
Tilting down at an MS of buildings
BEV of city
LA of city- on the ground cam
Tilts downwards on various parts of city
Panning at HA
Zooming in + out of city

The LS’s of the beginning titles are done so that the audience can see the titles clearly. This then progresses on to an ES of a city. This is done to justify the location of which the movie will be set in. the camera pans and tilts at various angles of buildings and other city-like elements. Then as the main title appears the camera is at a Birds Eye View of the city. This then moves onto a low angle of the city- thus giving it a sense of dominance. The camera zooms in and out of the city guiding the audience around the city. The camera pans, tilts and zooms out of still frame shots- this could have been done to create a ken burns effect- this heightens the verisimilitude of the title sequence. Thus allowing the audience to engage with it.

Editing – speed, style…

Fades
Cuts.
Wipes
The fades represent differences, however, the fades are only used to open the sequence and introduce the audience to the atmosphere of the movie. The sequence predominantly uses cuts to help create continuity. Wipes are used in some cases, to juxtapose scenes.

Sound – effects, musical score…

Mainly musical score
Some ambient sounds.
Eerie
Becomes more dramatic and high pitched near the end.

The title sequence is heavily dependant on the music to help create the mood for the scene. The musical score is somewhat eerie; this creates a suspicious atmosphere and creates tension throughout the audience. There are some ambient sounds of guns cocking. As the title sequence progresses the musical score becomes higher pitched near the end. This makes the title sequence become more tense and dramatic.

Mise-en-scene – props, costume, setting, lighting, colour…

Similar to Sin City- red whites and black predominant.
Guns, police, people with guns

Similarly to Sin City- the predominant colours are red, black and white. The reds in this context signify danger and impulse. The white invokes innocence which is opposed by the reds. The black connotes mystery and fear. The main focus on the mise-en-scene is guns. This reinforces the danger theme. Also it could be said that the movie is a crime thriller- this can be justified through the title and the fact that there are police evident too. The black creates a low lighting for the title sequence, thus heightening the concept of danger and mystery.

Special Effects – CGI, animation…

CGI city scape

The cityscape has been created via CGI. This has been done to give the movie a graphical appearance. Also the montage appears to be of still images

Titles – font, colour, placement, over black / over clip…

Superimposed upon buildings and various objects

The super imposing has been done to possibly establish the characters’ professions. Also to show that they are all located in this town, connecting them.

Thriller #4.

2008-11-06T19:12:00.005Z

Film Title: Sin City (2005)
Director: Frank Miller & Robert Rodriguez

Title Designer: N/A

Camera- distant, angle, movement...

1) High Angle- LS
2) MS of woman and man in BG
3) CU of woman
4) CU of her taking cigarette.
5) SRS + CU- over the shoulder cam
6) LS of comic scene
7) Low Angle- CU
8) CU’s and tilting to shows status.
9) High angle LS after he shoots her.
10) Zooms out- to an ELS

The extract opens with an establishing shot at a high angle. The characters appear to be at a penthouse party. The high angle is done to make references to the height that they’re at and possibly the characters status. Next the camera uses a MS to show a woman and a man in the background. This is done to introduce the characters. Also to divert the audiences attention to the male character. After this the camera mainly resides to CU of the characters. This is done to show the characters emotions, and speech. Later on in the sequence we see the two characters kiss, the camera tilts up to show the characters status, the man being higher than the woman. The camera undertakes a LS at a high angle to show the desolation of the area of which they’re in. Then the camera zooms out to an ELS of the city. This is done to establish the location of the movie.

Editing – speed, style…

Fades in to city
Mainly cuts

The editing begins with a fade into the opening sequence. A fade is used to represent a different time or place of a narrative. The editing predominantly uses cuts to help create continuity and help the narrative flow.

Sound – effects, musical score…

Suave jazz music
Mainly dialogue
Some overhead narration
Ambient Sound- wind, clicks, footsteps etc

The jazz style music invokes a sex appeal to the scene. The music appears to have a mysterious tone to it; this helps the audience understand the scene. There is an overhead narration that can be heard. It is very descriptive. This reinforces the comic book like aspect of Sin City. The scene after the overhead narration uses ambient sounds to help create atmosphere and engage the audience. They consist of footsteps, wind and lighter clicks. There is also an inclusion of dialogue- which appears to be very structured- this makes references to the comic book aspect of the movie.

Mise-en-scene – props, costume, setting, lighting, colour…

City landscape
Formal wardrobe
Chiaroscuro lighting- reversed to make low key
(artificial)
Black- white- red
Comic book references

The extract opens with an ELS of a building rooftop- looking out to a city landscape at night. The darkness of the scene invokes a mysterious sense to it. The mysteriousness is reinforced by the musical score at the beginning. The Chiraroscuro lighting is used to mimic the shading of a comic book. The shadows of the characters appear to be very bold. However, due to the black and white saturation the extract appears to have low key lighting, thus reinforcing the shady atmosphere. The predominant colours evident in this sequence are red, white and black. These colours are characteristics of the comic book agenda. Thus reinforcing the base of this movie. The blacks invoke a sense of formality- seen through the males wardrobe- and darkness. The whites are visual signifiers of light and connote optimism- contrasted by the music- and purity and virginity. The red is used to give the woman a sexual appeal as well as invoke it, it also implies danger. The sequence makes references to comic book art. Not only does this justify the base of the movie but, also could implies that the narrative is structured via these pictures.

Special Effects – CGI, animation…

Titles – font, colour, placement, over black / over clip…

Thriller #3.

2008-11-06T19:01:00.003Z

Film Title: Se7en (1995)
Director: David Fincher
Title Designer: Kyle Cooper.

Camera – distance, angle, movement…

Camera shots mainly consist of ECU-CU+MCU

The camera is very close to the characters hands and items in this sequence. It involves CU of hands, pictures and other objects. ECU of fingers, words and pictures. And it used a MS at the beginning when it showed a pair of hands drawn on a piece of paper. The effects of these shots are to create a disturbance throughout the audience.

Editing – speed, style…

Jump cuts predominantly
Fades

Jump cuts are used to make the title sequence very unsettled and quick paced. This reinforces the concept of distress within the sequence.

Sound – effects, musical score…

Diegetic sounds at the start but soon develops into a soundtrack.
Radio interference sounds?
Soundtrack= Drums, Guitar-> rock

We hear sounds of pages turning, razors and something that could be classified as radio interference. This all helps to highlight the unsettling atmosphere as the audience may perceive them as sounds they do not like. This soon develops into a rock-like soundtrack which implies a rebellious attitude towards it.

Mise-en-scene – props, costume, setting, lighting, colour…

Razors, pictures, hands, books,
Low key artificial lighting

The hands are a visual concept throughout. They appear to be rough, plastered and dirty. This suggests that the character has been injured several times and could be a indicator of the characters lack for personal hygiene. The low key lighting help to create a dark and mysterious tone towards the title sequence. This could reflect the narrative of the movie. In the beginning we see a razor blade peeling the characters finger skin. This helps to reinforce the disturbing atmosphere. The pictures that are shown in the sequence are those of people. However, the people are either injured, or indifferent. This could suggest that the character is abusive in ways.

Titles – font, colour, placement, over black / over clip…

WOB
Sometimes superimposed upon the sequence.
Randomised.

The effect of the black being dominant in the title sequence connotes darkness and mystery. This help the audience understand that something bad might happen. The titles are sometimes superimposed upon the title sequence. The positioning of the text is randomised this helps to reinforce the unsettling atmosphere.

Thriller #2.

2008-11-06T18:45:00.005Z

Walk On The Wild Side.

Film Title: Walk on the wild side (1962)
Director: Edward Dmytryk
Title Designer: Saul Bass

Camera – distance, angle, movement…

1) Starts off with a CU of a tube and a cat coming out. On the ground cam.
2) Tracks cat at a LS. High Angle.
3) Tracks cat again but on the ground cam. MLS
4) Tracks the cat- CU and on the ground cam
5) MCU/ MS/ CU of two cats fighting

The beginning of the title sequence is very awkward but clarifies itself as the black cat is introduced. The CU of it allows the audience to establish the cat. The camera is positioned on the ground in order to allow the audience to see where the cat is and what it’s doing. It allows the audience to engage with it immediately. The camera tracks the cat as it deviates from a line that is centralised. This refers back to the movie title. The high angle had been chosen to establish the cat’s movements clearly. As the title sequence continues the camera still tracks the cat but on the ground instead. The MLS was chosen to show the cat and its surroundings. This helps the audience to connect with the cat. Then nearing the end of the sequence we see the fight between two cats. A variety of camera shots are used and they range from MCU, MS and CU. Some of the shots were taken at a low angle. This was to help the audience determine who was of a higher stature.

Editing – speed, style…

1) Slow at the start of the title sequence
2) Quickens as the cat fight begins
3) Return to normal afterwards.

The editing was slow at the beginning, allowing the title sequence to flow smoothly. This was aided by the music as it was slow too. As the cat fight began the editing sped up dramatically. Jump cuts were most predominant and helped to create a sense of surprise and dramatisation. After the cat fight had finished the editing returned to its norm. This helped the audience calm down after the sudden event.

Sound – effects, musical score…

1) Starts off up- beat but has a mysterious undertone.
2) Instantly switches and becomes predominated by bass instruments when cat fight begins.
3) Slows back down when cat fight finishes.

The sound was the body of the title sequence. It helped the editing create continuity. The suspicious musical score, allowed the audience to recognise that something might go wrong. When the cat fight began, the music switched into a selection of deep bass instruments to help reinforce the surprise and the drama. Then after wards the music returns to its normal pace, thus creating a re-equilibrium.

Mise-en-scene – props, costume, setting, lighting, colour…

1) Tubes
2) Black and white cats
3) High key natural lighting
4) Could be a construction site- urban area.
5) Black/ white/ grey

The tubes could be a visual signifier that the cat is in a construction site and this could be taken further and it can be said that the cats are situated in an urban area; this can be justified through the fences and the pavements. The high key natural lighting help to establish that there is an equilibrium being created. The black and whites help to establish the time in which the movie was made. The significance of the black and white cats are a visual binary opposition. The defeat of the white cat could suggest that evil prevails. This can be justified through the connotations of the colours. Black indicates evil and darkness and white connotes optimism and good. The significance of the black cat is to help the audience establish immediately that something bad is going to happen as a black cat is a cultural signifier of bad omens.

Titles – font, colour, placement, over black / over clip…

1) Superimposed upon the images.
2) Formal font

The titles were superimposed upon the title sequence. This made them a minor element as the audience are more drawn to the black cat. The text was kept small so it would not interfere. Also the font of it was formal. This could suggest that the characters in this movie are of possible high status.

Thriller #1.

2008-11-06T18:18:00.004Z

Film Title: Psycho (1960)
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Title Designer: Saul Bass

Camera – distance, angle, movement…

1) Not much movement
2) Mainly LS

Stays in one place, thus giving title sequence more ‘rigidity.’
Allows the audience to see all the Titles.

Editing – speed, style…

1) Slow speed at the start and increases throughout.
2) Wipes are used.

The speed of the editing is primarily merged with the music. As the music’s pitch increases so does the speed of the editing.
The effects of the wipes are to create a sense of confusion in the audience. This relates back to the Title- ‘Psycho’- creates a very uncomfortable atmosphere for the audience.

Sound – effects, musical score…

1)Mainly high pitched throughout the title sequence. Predominantly violins.

The high pitched musical score gives the title sequence its depth. It helps to establish a distressing atmosphere and guides the editing throughout too. Violins help create a dramatic mood to the title sequence thus bringing in anticipation amongst the audience.

Mise-en-scene – props, costume, setting, lighting, colour…

1) Mainly black white and grey colour predominant.

Could reflect back to the period of time it was produced. The Black gives connotations of evil and darkness. White could indicate purity. The grey brings in a sense of pessimism, therefore reinforcing the black’s motif in the title sequence.

Special Effects – CGI, animation…

1) Stripes
2) Titles move in and out

The stripes help to create confusion throughout the audience. This relates back to the Title ‘Psycho’.
The movement of the titles are done to aid the stripes entrances and exits. It helps to create movement through a ‘stiff’ title sequence.

Titles – font, colour, placement, over black / over clip…

1) Text is sometime askew.
2) Text comes in from all angles.
3) The text is WOB
4) Informal font

The crookedness of the text has been done to reinforce the confusion, as well as the movement of the text.
The effect of the WOB is to show a contrast of situations. However since the black is predominant is creates a more gloomy appearance to the situations that could occur in this movie. The effect of the informal font could indicate the informality of the film- could reflect the characters attitudes.

What is a Thriller?

2008-10-28T08:54:00.000Z

Definition of a thriller:

Genres can help classify films according to their codes and conventions. This allows audiences to understand the aspects that create a certain movie. In the case of a thriller, conventions such as the narrative, characters and locations are the key justifiers of this genre. A thriller's main purpose is to evoke suspense, anticipation, uncertainty and create high levels of tension amongst an audience.

Thriller's are a very controversial genre as the embody the aspects of some of the other film genres. Thriller's have a vast amount of sub-genres. This is when two significant genres are combined together. In the case of thriller's examples are; horror-thriller's, medical- thriller's, crime-thriller's, action- thrillers and many many more.

The conventions of the thriller genre are as follows:

Narrative:
The narratives of the thriller genre all follow the concept of the protagonist averting the antagonists plans. The plot may contain twists and other complexities. This is what ensure that the audience is on the ' edge of their seats'. A good example of this narrative is in "Departed" by Martin Scorsese. Generally, the main character or the protagonist is made to succumb to the authority of the antagonist. The climax of a thriller results when the protagonist defeats the antagonist.

Characters:
The characters in a thriller vary depending on the sub-genre of the movie. There is predominantly a hero and a villain in most thrillers. The hero is usually depicted as a fearless person. A good example would be Leonardo DiCaprio in "Blood Diamond". They all appear to hone an attribute to assassination. This is evident in movies such as "Tomb Raider" and "Blade". As the protagonist faces threats, the director adapts the traditional conventions to the characters personality, thus increasing the tension and anticipation amongst the audience.

On the other hand, the antagonist can be portrayed in many different ways, regarding the sub-genre. They can be depicted as convicts, psychopaths, criminals or depressed individuals. Examples of these types of villains are; Jigsaw from "Saw", Mike Myers from "Halloween and Robert Mitchum from "Cape Fear". These characters all have different motives such as revenge and hate. The presentation of a character will make the sub-genre teeter to either side of the hybrid. Thus reinforcing the controversy of the thriller genre.

Location:
Location is a key aspect of the thriller genre. The setting varies from sub-genre to sub-genre. For example, if the film was an action-thriller then the audience would most likely the areas of a city. It can also be said that the thriller genre does not conform to a set location. The location provides the atmosphere for the audience. It helps create angst amongst the audiences by giving depth to the narrative.

The main conventions (camera, sound, editing and mise-en-scene) are a key aspect to the thriller genre. This is what help create the tension and suspense. The camera would be effective in creating suspense as the director may choose to undertake longer clips in order to create anticipation amongst the audience. the editing would be very effective in terms of an action scene, the use of jump cuts allows tension to be created. The mise-en-scene is vital in terms of creating a variety of emotions. This could be done through the use of the lighting, props, costume and the characters body language and facial expressions. For example, if it was a crime-thriller, then the obvious mise-en-scene would consist of handcuffs, police, 'rough' looking men, guns and convicts. The sound is, in my opinion, what actually creates the tension. It adds depth to the film. The musics parallelism is vital in order to create tension.

Overall, the key aspects that create thrillers are the location because without it the film would make no sense. The mise-en-scene is effective by establishing the key sub-genre and provide an atmosphere for an audience. Lastly, the sound is imperative as it applies a base for the movie by helping guide the audience and creating tension and continuity throughout the media.