Full name: Bradley Heath Sanders
Candidate number: 8643
Centre number: 55235
Tuesday, 6 May 2014
Final Task [Re-Post]
For ease of access...
For ease of access I wanted to repost the final film here so that it would appear at the top of my blog.
For ease of access I wanted to repost the final film here so that it would appear at the top of my blog.
Monday, 5 May 2014
Evaluation Question 7
Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in progression from it to full product?...
Answered again on Soundcloud. Click here.
Answered again on Soundcloud. Click here.
Evalutation Question 6
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?...
I have chosen to also make another Prezi to answer this question as I think that it is the best format to do so.
Prezi is here!
I have chosen to also make another Prezi to answer this question as I think that it is the best format to do so.
Prezi is here!
Evaluation Question 5
How did you attract your audience?...
Once again I used Soundcloud to answer this question. Click here.
Once again I used Soundcloud to answer this question. Click here.
Evaluation Question 4
Who would be the audience for your media product?...
Rather than only using text and audio to answer these question I decided to mix it up and use an online piece of software called Prezi. Its an alternative to something like PowerPoint. I think it works very well at answering this question. Following the link below will take you to the correct Prezi document. It can all be viewed online.
This is my Prezi for Evaluation Question 4
Rather than only using text and audio to answer these question I decided to mix it up and use an online piece of software called Prezi. Its an alternative to something like PowerPoint. I think it works very well at answering this question. Following the link below will take you to the correct Prezi document. It can all be viewed online.
This is my Prezi for Evaluation Question 4
Evaluation Question 3
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product?...
I decided to answer this question in an audio format using a website called SoundCloud. Click here to be taken to my response to this question.
I decided to answer this question in an audio format using a website called SoundCloud. Click here to be taken to my response to this question.
Evaluation Question 2
How does you media product represent particular social groups?...
Our film doesn't particularly try to represent any particular social groups. Instead we focused on how easily someone could be picked out from a crowd of a group. Our film has 4 different characters, of these 3 of them have the same outfit. This instantly draws attention to the 1 person who looks different. The reason this happens is because one of the most memorable traits of a social group is what they look like.
The group that I think that we portray are the faceless masses, with the very similar clothing and lifestyle. I do not think we really effectively represent any other groups because the only other character is an assassin/murderer. Which isn't a social group. I hope.
The men that represent the faceless masses are all wearing the same clothes and a virtually indistinguishable from each other. We mainly did this because due to us having little screen time we had almost no opportunity for any character building, therefore we decided that most of the roles would purposely have no character. These men are just doing their everyday job which the assassin decides to get involved with, violently. The very common shirt and tie look means that everyone seems rather secretive, almost like they are purposely trying to be inconspicuous. This presents and underlying sense of unease about these characters. I personally think of these men as the 'baddies' in the role of an evil corporation and the assassin as some kind of rebel underdog. The briefcase supports the idea of them being part of a business or themselves being corrupt businessmen. They way they carry themselves is very shady, like they don't want to be seen. This also paints them as rather sinister further setting them up as the 'baddies'.
The assassin's appearance is dark and creepy, but not necessarily villainous. To me it seems like they are trying to stay hidden and not be seen rather than trying to be scary. However, this is rather subjective and I fully understand how the full face mask is creepy.
A convention of the Thriller genre is mystery. Due both to the lack of time as well as the Thriller trope meant we should be able to not reveal any intentions. I think this is done well and leaves the audience wondering who the bad guys actually are.
Our film doesn't particularly try to represent any particular social groups. Instead we focused on how easily someone could be picked out from a crowd of a group. Our film has 4 different characters, of these 3 of them have the same outfit. This instantly draws attention to the 1 person who looks different. The reason this happens is because one of the most memorable traits of a social group is what they look like.
The group that I think that we portray are the faceless masses, with the very similar clothing and lifestyle. I do not think we really effectively represent any other groups because the only other character is an assassin/murderer. Which isn't a social group. I hope.
The men that represent the faceless masses are all wearing the same clothes and a virtually indistinguishable from each other. We mainly did this because due to us having little screen time we had almost no opportunity for any character building, therefore we decided that most of the roles would purposely have no character. These men are just doing their everyday job which the assassin decides to get involved with, violently. The very common shirt and tie look means that everyone seems rather secretive, almost like they are purposely trying to be inconspicuous. This presents and underlying sense of unease about these characters. I personally think of these men as the 'baddies' in the role of an evil corporation and the assassin as some kind of rebel underdog. The briefcase supports the idea of them being part of a business or themselves being corrupt businessmen. They way they carry themselves is very shady, like they don't want to be seen. This also paints them as rather sinister further setting them up as the 'baddies'.
The assassin's appearance is dark and creepy, but not necessarily villainous. To me it seems like they are trying to stay hidden and not be seen rather than trying to be scary. However, this is rather subjective and I fully understand how the full face mask is creepy.A convention of the Thriller genre is mystery. Due both to the lack of time as well as the Thriller trope meant we should be able to not reveal any intentions. I think this is done well and leaves the audience wondering who the bad guys actually are.
Friday, 2 May 2014
Evaluation Question 1
In what ways does you media product use,
develop or challenge forms and conventions...
During my entire research process I was paying extra attention to identifying any Thriller conventions that I would come across. To this end I have found a few conventions that every Thriller film uses, such as music to create an ambiance and tension with the audience. When we finally began filming the piece I was eager to use these conventions into the product. However I didn't want to just put something into the film just for the sake of having it there, so I was careful to keep the pace good and not include a random scene or idea that wouldn't improve the film and would only add time to the film which we had to squeeze down into only two minutes.
One of the most obvious conventions that we used was using music to create tension and set a mood in the piece. I believe that this is one of the main aspects of our film that makes it unique. The fact that there is not dialogue and is all simply music sets this film apart from the rest. I would say that we both use and develop this convention slightly because rather than only using it at specific points to raise tension we play music throughout the whole film. We could do this because we only had to make a 2 minute opening rather than a whole movie. The effect that I think this creates is an overarching sense of uneasiness throughout the entire opening that culminates at the very end.
Since there is not dialogue we found any sort of character building very difficult. We resorted to having to do this through costume and how they were presented in shots and camera angles, as well as how the acted on camera. To this end I had to try and pay extra attention to this and what conventions that I could possible employ. The costumes were designed to make the assassin look menacing. Everyone else in the film is wearing the same white shirt with a black tie. This is to really differentiate the assassin and make him stand our from the audience. We can almost instantly tell a lot about the assassin from when he first steps into frame, for example he is dressed is dark clothes that hide his face. This is a stark contrast to the bright white that everyone else is wearing, causing us to distrust the assassin almost instantly. This idea is a common convention in almost all forms of film. However some genres, such as mystery thrillers, love to challenge this convention and often use dress make the villain very inconspicuous. This was made obvious by the research I did.
When we were thinking of sets we found it hard to play with any conventions while at the same time not causing the film to look cliched. To this end we chose to try and make the sets as natural as possible. This is a challenge the convention that a Thriller set should try to be particularly eerie with dark corners and dim lighting. We felt that if we made the sets too creepy then the film would become more of a horror film than a Thriller like we wanted. This is an example of a convention that we tried to challenge. I do feel that we could have done this better however, by using outside scenes or sets at night.
The music was designed and produced entirely by Matt Cornes. He had the experience and the tools to make it whereas we didn't. We chose to try and develop the convention of how music is used in thriller films. Generally, music is used at very specific points to try and raise tension. In my opinion this kind of spoils the surprise of a scare because when the music starts the audience will know something will happen soon. Some films challenge this convention by either having nothing scary happen or by simply only having music at the very last second before the scare actually happens. We chose a different way of challenging this convention by simply having the eerie music playing all the time. This way, an audience member wouldn't be able to expect anything to happen while at the same time creating a unique factor about our film.
I do think that we used enough good conventions to make our film effective, as well as challenging and developing others to craft a good experience as well as challenge ourselves.
develop or challenge forms and conventions...
During my entire research process I was paying extra attention to identifying any Thriller conventions that I would come across. To this end I have found a few conventions that every Thriller film uses, such as music to create an ambiance and tension with the audience. When we finally began filming the piece I was eager to use these conventions into the product. However I didn't want to just put something into the film just for the sake of having it there, so I was careful to keep the pace good and not include a random scene or idea that wouldn't improve the film and would only add time to the film which we had to squeeze down into only two minutes.
One of the most obvious conventions that we used was using music to create tension and set a mood in the piece. I believe that this is one of the main aspects of our film that makes it unique. The fact that there is not dialogue and is all simply music sets this film apart from the rest. I would say that we both use and develop this convention slightly because rather than only using it at specific points to raise tension we play music throughout the whole film. We could do this because we only had to make a 2 minute opening rather than a whole movie. The effect that I think this creates is an overarching sense of uneasiness throughout the entire opening that culminates at the very end.
Since there is not dialogue we found any sort of character building very difficult. We resorted to having to do this through costume and how they were presented in shots and camera angles, as well as how the acted on camera. To this end I had to try and pay extra attention to this and what conventions that I could possible employ. The costumes were designed to make the assassin look menacing. Everyone else in the film is wearing the same white shirt with a black tie. This is to really differentiate the assassin and make him stand our from the audience. We can almost instantly tell a lot about the assassin from when he first steps into frame, for example he is dressed is dark clothes that hide his face. This is a stark contrast to the bright white that everyone else is wearing, causing us to distrust the assassin almost instantly. This idea is a common convention in almost all forms of film. However some genres, such as mystery thrillers, love to challenge this convention and often use dress make the villain very inconspicuous. This was made obvious by the research I did. When we were thinking of sets we found it hard to play with any conventions while at the same time not causing the film to look cliched. To this end we chose to try and make the sets as natural as possible. This is a challenge the convention that a Thriller set should try to be particularly eerie with dark corners and dim lighting. We felt that if we made the sets too creepy then the film would become more of a horror film than a Thriller like we wanted. This is an example of a convention that we tried to challenge. I do feel that we could have done this better however, by using outside scenes or sets at night.
The music was designed and produced entirely by Matt Cornes. He had the experience and the tools to make it whereas we didn't. We chose to try and develop the convention of how music is used in thriller films. Generally, music is used at very specific points to try and raise tension. In my opinion this kind of spoils the surprise of a scare because when the music starts the audience will know something will happen soon. Some films challenge this convention by either having nothing scary happen or by simply only having music at the very last second before the scare actually happens. We chose a different way of challenging this convention by simply having the eerie music playing all the time. This way, an audience member wouldn't be able to expect anything to happen while at the same time creating a unique factor about our film.
I do think that we used enough good conventions to make our film effective, as well as challenging and developing others to craft a good experience as well as challenge ourselves.
Sunday, 13 April 2014
Looking back
The beauty of hindsight...
I really wanted to look back over the whole project and reflect on what I had done and learnt. From the very beginning I had a good idea of the role I wanted to play, which was as an actor, cameraman and editor. I had never edited anything before this so i made it very clear that i really wanted to learn how. I would say that learning to edit has been one of the things I am most proud of from this project, apart from of course the final film, which I am also extremely proud of. Every member of the group put a lot of work towards the final film. For example, Jack Wilson threw himself at directing and writing the film, whereas the rest of us did parts of everything in different amounts. Matt Cornes made the music for the piece by himself, we allowed him to do this because music creation is one of his hobbies and none of us had any other prior experience. I did a lot of the editing and camera work, as well as acting a minor role in the final film. I also contributed a lot of ideas that made it into the final film, such as the pianist scenes and the idea of a 'dead drop' suitcase. Early on I made it clear that I wanted to be completely responsible for the filming and editing of a scene, for this I chose the piano scene. Every shot is filmed and edited by me and I am rather proud of it.
I feel like i have kept to a schedule well enough, early on I decided on what to include in the blog by looking at an exemplar blog and comparing what I was missing to what I already had. I also decided that I wanted to just take notes on what I did and write them to the blog all at once. I felt this worked better because it meant that I could construct the blog much better. This is also why I have been publishing the posts in spread out chunks rather than consistently. If i had made a post every week or day I feel as if i would run out of things to write as well as quickly forgetting what i had written.
We encountered a few problems during filming such as angles, timing as well as editing software. We also had to re-film a few key scenes because we feel that they weren't up to the standard that we wanted. We really wanted this film to speak well of our abilities and we decided that what we had didn't represent that well enough so we went back and fixed it.
When comparing the final piece to our preliminary we see a massive improvement in my opinion. The inexperience with both editing and film making is obvious when I look back at the Prelim. Obvious things such as lighting and music are completely overlooked, as well as dialogue. Whereas I see how the camera work and editing has progressed immensely in the first half of the final film. Shots are interlaced with the piano scene perfectly as well as the music reflecting what is happening on screen.
I do not think I would have done anything differently apart from perhaps including some dialogue, filming outside of the school and having female actresses in the film.
I really wanted to look back over the whole project and reflect on what I had done and learnt. From the very beginning I had a good idea of the role I wanted to play, which was as an actor, cameraman and editor. I had never edited anything before this so i made it very clear that i really wanted to learn how. I would say that learning to edit has been one of the things I am most proud of from this project, apart from of course the final film, which I am also extremely proud of. Every member of the group put a lot of work towards the final film. For example, Jack Wilson threw himself at directing and writing the film, whereas the rest of us did parts of everything in different amounts. Matt Cornes made the music for the piece by himself, we allowed him to do this because music creation is one of his hobbies and none of us had any other prior experience. I did a lot of the editing and camera work, as well as acting a minor role in the final film. I also contributed a lot of ideas that made it into the final film, such as the pianist scenes and the idea of a 'dead drop' suitcase. Early on I made it clear that I wanted to be completely responsible for the filming and editing of a scene, for this I chose the piano scene. Every shot is filmed and edited by me and I am rather proud of it.
I feel like i have kept to a schedule well enough, early on I decided on what to include in the blog by looking at an exemplar blog and comparing what I was missing to what I already had. I also decided that I wanted to just take notes on what I did and write them to the blog all at once. I felt this worked better because it meant that I could construct the blog much better. This is also why I have been publishing the posts in spread out chunks rather than consistently. If i had made a post every week or day I feel as if i would run out of things to write as well as quickly forgetting what i had written.
We encountered a few problems during filming such as angles, timing as well as editing software. We also had to re-film a few key scenes because we feel that they weren't up to the standard that we wanted. We really wanted this film to speak well of our abilities and we decided that what we had didn't represent that well enough so we went back and fixed it.
When comparing the final piece to our preliminary we see a massive improvement in my opinion. The inexperience with both editing and film making is obvious when I look back at the Prelim. Obvious things such as lighting and music are completely overlooked, as well as dialogue. Whereas I see how the camera work and editing has progressed immensely in the first half of the final film. Shots are interlaced with the piano scene perfectly as well as the music reflecting what is happening on screen.
I do not think I would have done anything differently apart from perhaps including some dialogue, filming outside of the school and having female actresses in the film.
Sunday, 30 March 2014
It's done
Finally Finished!...
Here is the finished product. Its been a long way since my first post last year but I think it was worth it and I have learnt a lot about Thriller films as well as the film industry in general. I am rather proud of this blog and everything that I have put onto it.
Here is the finished product. Its been a long way since my first post last year but I think it was worth it and I have learnt a lot about Thriller films as well as the film industry in general. I am rather proud of this blog and everything that I have put onto it.
Friday, 28 March 2014
Editing Pt. 4
Oh the fickle hand of fate...
The plan was for me and Sam Yip to finish off the editing with small finishing touches that will tie the whole piece together. BUT to my amazement, as I was about to do that. Adobe Premiere completely locked me out, not opening or working at all. This meant that we couldn't finish the editing. We were nearing the deadline so we all agreed to let Sam take the footage home and edit it on his home laptop. Therefore I cannot talk about the process of editing at this stage but I can talk about the changes he made.
He added a CCTV camera effect to a part of the film which I thought looked good. He also editing out the bad colour correction job that I did rather badly. There are also several smaller changes that he made which aren't worth talking about.
The plan was for me and Sam Yip to finish off the editing with small finishing touches that will tie the whole piece together. BUT to my amazement, as I was about to do that. Adobe Premiere completely locked me out, not opening or working at all. This meant that we couldn't finish the editing. We were nearing the deadline so we all agreed to let Sam take the footage home and edit it on his home laptop. Therefore I cannot talk about the process of editing at this stage but I can talk about the changes he made.
He added a CCTV camera effect to a part of the film which I thought looked good. He also editing out the bad colour correction job that I did rather badly. There are also several smaller changes that he made which aren't worth talking about.
Editing Pt.3
Finally done. Almost...
This is the third part of four 'editing stages' that I made for myself, at this point we needed to add visual effects such as the opening credits and any colour correction we want.
An example of colour correction that I at least tried to do was to when we had some footage with a window in the background which unfortunately lit the entire shot. This ruined continuity so it needed to be fixed. After experimenting with the premiere software I managed to get a satisfying result however I still don't feel completely happy with it because there is still a noticeable difference. due to a lack of time however we had to accept this. Instead I then thought to try and find an alternate piece of footage to use here. You can see the image above is where I had to edit the lighting.
Then I had to add any visual effects that we wanted. Which luckily for me wasn't that big of a job. All I had to do was to add the opening credits as well as the title screen to the film and then I would be almost done. This was simply done by overlaying the text in the desired font which can be seen in the above picture. We chose this one because when we looked at other Thriller films we found a trend where the font would be thin and not very eye catching. After some thought I realised that it could be reflective of a few conventions. Namely, how there is always a mystery that involves small details that are easy to miss. It is also very understated and subtle. The way that it looks as if it was written on the film also gives a sense of Film Noir.
This is the third part of four 'editing stages' that I made for myself, at this point we needed to add visual effects such as the opening credits and any colour correction we want.
An example of colour correction that I at least tried to do was to when we had some footage with a window in the background which unfortunately lit the entire shot. This ruined continuity so it needed to be fixed. After experimenting with the premiere software I managed to get a satisfying result however I still don't feel completely happy with it because there is still a noticeable difference. due to a lack of time however we had to accept this. Instead I then thought to try and find an alternate piece of footage to use here. You can see the image above is where I had to edit the lighting.
Then I had to add any visual effects that we wanted. Which luckily for me wasn't that big of a job. All I had to do was to add the opening credits as well as the title screen to the film and then I would be almost done. This was simply done by overlaying the text in the desired font which can be seen in the above picture. We chose this one because when we looked at other Thriller films we found a trend where the font would be thin and not very eye catching. After some thought I realised that it could be reflective of a few conventions. Namely, how there is always a mystery that involves small details that are easy to miss. It is also very understated and subtle. The way that it looks as if it was written on the film also gives a sense of Film Noir.
Thursday, 27 March 2014
Editing Pt.2
Its all coming together...
I enjoyed this part of the editing process much more than the previous step, I was tasked with interlacing my Piano scene footage into the main piece. The idea was that it would be in the background, but also provide a brief lull in the action taking place on screen. I referred to my notes and all my previous research a lot during this process.
The biggest difficulty was to get the audio to sync with the visuals. If the Pianist plays a note on screen we need to hear that note as he plays it, not a second or two afterwards. This proved a massive challenge however I feel that I managed to get around this with some very small tweaking.
When I was stuck I very often referred back to my notes and research to see how I could handle the problem I was given. For example, there is a murder scene, obviously this is a pivotal part of the opening because it is the 'explosion' or burst of suspense. This idea is one taken from Psycho, a film I watched and reviewed much earlier in the year. In Psycho Hitchcock uses a long build of tension followed by a quick burst of action. This is a both scary and effective way of using tension. I tried to use it here because of some of the quotes I got from my questionnaire support the idea that people want to be thrilled and scared. I spent an extra hour fine tuning it so it looks just perfect.
We have also made a decision on the typography of the title and how we plan to pull that off. I will talk about that in my next, and final, post about editing where I complete the visual effects and the finishing touches. The reason I mention it is because of how they tie in with how I ended the whole film (as shown above.) Personally I am rather proud of how it end because I managed to get the timing just perfect. Something happens (No spoilers!) and then the screen goes black, the title fades in. Then a hard cut to the pianist playing the last note. I love it so much because it fits with the timing perfectly.
I cannot overstate the usefulness of analysing the film openings. Especially 'Source Code' because of how it opens in a very similar way. Being able to refer to how another film had done it as well as doing it right.
I enjoyed this part of the editing process much more than the previous step, I was tasked with interlacing my Piano scene footage into the main piece. The idea was that it would be in the background, but also provide a brief lull in the action taking place on screen. I referred to my notes and all my previous research a lot during this process.
The biggest difficulty was to get the audio to sync with the visuals. If the Pianist plays a note on screen we need to hear that note as he plays it, not a second or two afterwards. This proved a massive challenge however I feel that I managed to get around this with some very small tweaking.
When I was stuck I very often referred back to my notes and research to see how I could handle the problem I was given. For example, there is a murder scene, obviously this is a pivotal part of the opening because it is the 'explosion' or burst of suspense. This idea is one taken from Psycho, a film I watched and reviewed much earlier in the year. In Psycho Hitchcock uses a long build of tension followed by a quick burst of action. This is a both scary and effective way of using tension. I tried to use it here because of some of the quotes I got from my questionnaire support the idea that people want to be thrilled and scared. I spent an extra hour fine tuning it so it looks just perfect.
We have also made a decision on the typography of the title and how we plan to pull that off. I will talk about that in my next, and final, post about editing where I complete the visual effects and the finishing touches. The reason I mention it is because of how they tie in with how I ended the whole film (as shown above.) Personally I am rather proud of how it end because I managed to get the timing just perfect. Something happens (No spoilers!) and then the screen goes black, the title fades in. Then a hard cut to the pianist playing the last note. I love it so much because it fits with the timing perfectly.
I cannot overstate the usefulness of analysing the film openings. Especially 'Source Code' because of how it opens in a very similar way. Being able to refer to how another film had done it as well as doing it right.
Editing Pt. 1
Trimming the fat...
Its official! editing has finally begun. We were all tasked with editing certain parts of the piece, such as the music or assassination scene. For me I was placed in charge of cutting down unwanted parts (I referred to this as trimming the fat) the pianist footage and finishing touches at the end of the process.
The first thing was to edit of bits that we didn't want, such as bad takes, laughing and shaving down the time between when someone says action to when some action actually happens in front of the camera.
Its official! editing has finally begun. We were all tasked with editing certain parts of the piece, such as the music or assassination scene. For me I was placed in charge of cutting down unwanted parts (I referred to this as trimming the fat) the pianist footage and finishing touches at the end of the process.
This proved to be rather easy but time consuming because I had to trawl through each piece of footage to find the needed pieces. The majority of which was either a blooper or a piece of setup.
Wednesday, 26 March 2014
Typography
Lettering...
Now that we had decided a title we needed to figure out how we wanted it to look. To this end we wanted something that both fit with the title and stood out. We all felt a thin lettering would look best, almost like smoke. After having that idea we played with the idea of having lettering with smoke in it however we all agreed it looked rather awful.
After being stuck for a while I looked at some examples of titles from other Thrillers, and the ones I liked seemed to have very thin, minimalist lettering for their titles. We have agreed to copy this idea but haven't yet found just the correct font. We have started the edit and I will update the blog on the chosen font once we have found the font that we want to use.
Now that we had decided a title we needed to figure out how we wanted it to look. To this end we wanted something that both fit with the title and stood out. We all felt a thin lettering would look best, almost like smoke. After having that idea we played with the idea of having lettering with smoke in it however we all agreed it looked rather awful.
After being stuck for a while I looked at some examples of titles from other Thrillers, and the ones I liked seemed to have very thin, minimalist lettering for their titles. We have agreed to copy this idea but haven't yet found just the correct font. We have started the edit and I will update the blog on the chosen font once we have found the font that we want to use.
Titling
[Insert witty title here...]
For me this was the very hardest part of the whole course. Picking a title for the piece. I find it impossible to do, I can never think of a good one and have to resort to someone else for help. However, thankfully I am in a group for this task so after bouncing ideas of each other for the better part of an hour we narrowed it down to;
RESONANCE
ECHO
THE PIANIST
They all relate to the film in some way, either symbolically or literally. One of the stand out features of this film idea is that there is no dialogue, only music. Therefore my personal favourite, as well as the rest of the groups favourite, is Resonance. We hope to make the film resonate within the viewer so we felt that it just fit perfectly.
For me this was the very hardest part of the whole course. Picking a title for the piece. I find it impossible to do, I can never think of a good one and have to resort to someone else for help. However, thankfully I am in a group for this task so after bouncing ideas of each other for the better part of an hour we narrowed it down to;
RESONANCE
ECHO
THE PIANIST
They all relate to the film in some way, either symbolically or literally. One of the stand out features of this film idea is that there is no dialogue, only music. Therefore my personal favourite, as well as the rest of the groups favourite, is Resonance. We hope to make the film resonate within the viewer so we felt that it just fit perfectly.
Resonance
ˈrɛz(ə)nəns/
noun
noun: resonance; plural noun: resonances
- 1.the quality in a sound of being deep, full, and reverberating."the resonance of his voice
As I said, it fits perfectly.
I love the title.
Early Feedback
NO! you can't see it yet! Its not finished...
I really wanted to get some very early feedback on the finished film so I gave a few people the very exclusive, privileged, expensive opportunity to come behind the scenes and view some of the footage we gathered. Responses were positive, saying how they enjoyed the camera angles as well as the costumes. The plot was also well understood, this was vitally important to us because of the lack of dialogue and complete reliance on music for any kind of audio. Therefore to know that the piece can stand on its own without anything else. Editing is due to start very soon.
I really wanted to get some very early feedback on the finished film so I gave a few people the very exclusive, privileged, expensive opportunity to come behind the scenes and view some of the footage we gathered. Responses were positive, saying how they enjoyed the camera angles as well as the costumes. The plot was also well understood, this was vitally important to us because of the lack of dialogue and complete reliance on music for any kind of audio. Therefore to know that the piece can stand on its own without anything else. Editing is due to start very soon.
The Questionnaire
6 small questions...
There were 25 people surveyed, These were the ratio's that we received back;
14 to 16 Years = 3
17 to 20 Years = 12
20 to 40 Years = 6
40 to 60 Years = 3
60+ Years old = 1
This is important because it gives as an idea of what age demographics like a particular thing. It also shows that we collected information from a very wide range of people. I felt that this was important because film is a thing that all ages can enjoy and thus all ages should be taken into account. However, i did try to ask more people from the target demographic of Thriller films, which is usually 16 - 25 year olds, this is why there is a disproportionate amount of these people when compared to the rest of the age groups.
I wanted to try and get a much wider group of opinions from a wider range of people, rather than just interviewing a few peers and teachers. As such I put together a Questionnaire and I sent it to 25 different people. Surprisingly they actually all responded and gave both interesting and expected responses. The youngest person surveyed was my niece, who is 14, and the oldest was my grandmother, who is 73.
Question 1 - What is your age?
14 to 16 Years = 3
17 to 20 Years = 12
20 to 40 Years = 6
40 to 60 Years = 3
60+ Years old = 1
This is important because it gives as an idea of what age demographics like a particular thing. It also shows that we collected information from a very wide range of people. I felt that this was important because film is a thing that all ages can enjoy and thus all ages should be taken into account. However, i did try to ask more people from the target demographic of Thriller films, which is usually 16 - 25 year olds, this is why there is a disproportionate amount of these people when compared to the rest of the age groups.
Question 2 - What is your favorite genre of film?
I felt that this question is important because we can cross reference it with the differing ages of people involved. The majority of people favored Comedy films over any other, telling me that it a genre that appeals to wide range of people and ages, however, comedy is a very subjective thing that will differ between people. Meaning that while a lot of people like comedy in general, not all of them will like the same 'type' of comedy, i.e. Slapstick humor rather than dark humor. Fortunately, the next most highly favored genre is Thriller, the genre that my group is currently filming. Predictably, the majority of these people were in the
17 - 25 year age bracket.
Question 3 - How often do you watch films?
I wanted to try to understand who watches film more than I already did. To try and do this I wanted to see how often these people watched films. Interestingly, both the top and bottom ends(Oldest and youngest people) of the spectrum rarely watched films at all. The majority of people who watch a lot of films are the younger crowd, such as 15 to 19 year olds. This is because of their larger amount of free time as well as how almost all of their income is disposable. This is once again beneficial for me because it tells me that my target audience is also the largest consumer of films.
Question 4 - When watching a Thriller film, what do yo want it to make you feel emotionally?
This one is impossible to show on a graph so I will instead use my 4 favorite quotes from the people surveyed.
Miranda Sharre - 16 - "When I watch a Thriller I want to be one the edge of my seat he whole time, never knowing what will happen next."
Chris Smith - 17 - "*Sigh*...Thrilled...i suppose."
Glynis Ferriby - 73 - "I would want a mystery, with a little bit a scary thrown in there to keep me on my toes."
Kim Keeping - 23 - "I much prefer creepy to scary, plant an idea and let the imagination do the rest."
This was a very fun area to look at because it got to get a glimpse into the personalities of the people as well as get their opinions in their own words. I find that this will be very useful, especially Kim Keeping's post because it gives me an excellent idea on how to piece together the final product. The idea that the unknown is scarier that than the actual monster. The question is better than the answer. I opens a whole new range of opportunities that I plan to exploit during editing.
Question 5 - How do you usually hear about a film
The majority of people found films by seeing a TV advert about them, or they saw an ad on YouTube or Facebook. I wanted to find this out because I needed to see how I could market my project to people. Unfortunately I am not able to advertise using either of these two methods because they are both far too expensive. Posters will also require for me to make them, print them, and put them around my area. This is far too time consuming and costly for a student film like ours. Therefore the film would almost entirely be spread by word of mouth of social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. The reason I am considering this at all is because it relates to one of the final evaluation questions which I will complete at the very end of the blog.
Question 6 - Do you find that you can usually predict the outcome of films?
I felt that this question is important because we can cross reference it with the differing ages of people involved. The majority of people favored Comedy films over any other, telling me that it a genre that appeals to wide range of people and ages, however, comedy is a very subjective thing that will differ between people. Meaning that while a lot of people like comedy in general, not all of them will like the same 'type' of comedy, i.e. Slapstick humor rather than dark humor. Fortunately, the next most highly favored genre is Thriller, the genre that my group is currently filming. Predictably, the majority of these people were in the
17 - 25 year age bracket.
Question 3 - How often do you watch films?
Question 4 - When watching a Thriller film, what do yo want it to make you feel emotionally?
This one is impossible to show on a graph so I will instead use my 4 favorite quotes from the people surveyed.
Miranda Sharre - 16 - "When I watch a Thriller I want to be one the edge of my seat he whole time, never knowing what will happen next."
Chris Smith - 17 - "*Sigh*...Thrilled...i suppose."
Glynis Ferriby - 73 - "I would want a mystery, with a little bit a scary thrown in there to keep me on my toes."
Kim Keeping - 23 - "I much prefer creepy to scary, plant an idea and let the imagination do the rest."
This was a very fun area to look at because it got to get a glimpse into the personalities of the people as well as get their opinions in their own words. I find that this will be very useful, especially Kim Keeping's post because it gives me an excellent idea on how to piece together the final product. The idea that the unknown is scarier that than the actual monster. The question is better than the answer. I opens a whole new range of opportunities that I plan to exploit during editing.
Question 5 - How do you usually hear about a film
Question 6 - Do you find that you can usually predict the outcome of films?
I felt that this is important because one of the most important elements of suspense is surprise. Without surprise there is no scare or tension. I wanted to try and see how adept people were at guessing plot points before they happen. Unfortunately, the data that I got back is rather useless. It tells me the approx. half of the population are good at predicting the outcomes of films. I believe that this ties into the use of cliches as well as bad plot twists. If i'm to take anything away from this it will be to try to be unpredictable, try to film the unexpected. So that the audience will be surprised, achieving the desired affect on them.
Monday, 24 March 2014
Interview
Eliot Nash, Student, 17, Film lover...
We felt that it was very important to try and get opinions from other people about our chosen genre, film etc... to get a consensus on how people feel about this topic. We put together a few questions for an interview and found our friend Eliot Nash...
We felt that it was very important to try and get opinions from other people about our chosen genre, film etc... to get a consensus on how people feel about this topic. We put together a few questions for an interview and found our friend Eliot Nash...
This interview made a lot of sense.
Film Opening Analysis 4
Source Code...
I enjoyed the way which this film opened because of how it is rather similar to how i hope my final task will look like. It opens to a lot of grand, wide shots of a city which i assume to be Chicago. The reason it is similar is because of how the footage is layered on top of some omnibus, creepy music that actually made me rather uncomfortable. Mixed in with the footage are long, panning shots of a train. This draws a focus onto this train and associates the sense of danger brought with the eerie music to this train.
We then join the main protagonist as he suddenly wakes up on the train and is very obviously confused, the reflects the mood of the audience as we are also confused with what is happening. This helps us relate the main character.
The main thing which i feel i took away from the opening of Source Code is how the music created this sense of nervousness in me, and i now hope to recreate this effect in my own piece to some extent.
I enjoyed the way which this film opened because of how it is rather similar to how i hope my final task will look like. It opens to a lot of grand, wide shots of a city which i assume to be Chicago. The reason it is similar is because of how the footage is layered on top of some omnibus, creepy music that actually made me rather uncomfortable. Mixed in with the footage are long, panning shots of a train. This draws a focus onto this train and associates the sense of danger brought with the eerie music to this train.We then join the main protagonist as he suddenly wakes up on the train and is very obviously confused, the reflects the mood of the audience as we are also confused with what is happening. This helps us relate the main character.
The main thing which i feel i took away from the opening of Source Code is how the music created this sense of nervousness in me, and i now hope to recreate this effect in my own piece to some extent.
Thursday, 20 March 2014
Film Opening Analysis 3
Taken...
Taken is an Action/Thriller film that was released in 2008 starring Liam Neeson as the main character Brian Mills. We see the film open with old home movies of a young girls birthdays. Brian Mills then wakes up on his couch with a framed picture of his daughter in his hands. This tells a lot about the character an portrays a flaw in him. He can't let go of the past. This idea of a flawed protagonist is a common convention of the Thriller genre. This is further shown later on in the opening when he buys a karaoke machine for his daughter's 17th birthday, knowing that she wanted to be a singer when she was 12. He also then wraps it in clown gift wrap, corroborating how he thinks of his 17 year old daughter as his baby girl rather than the young woman she actually is.
I don't feel like i can take anything away from this plot-wise but the editing had sparked an idea in my head on how to properly edit the piano and assassin scenes together in my head. The idea of a flawed protagonist isn't a new idea and i don't really see how we could incorporate this into my idea due to how we wont have any dialogue or any named characters.
Taken is an Action/Thriller film that was released in 2008 starring Liam Neeson as the main character Brian Mills. We see the film open with old home movies of a young girls birthdays. Brian Mills then wakes up on his couch with a framed picture of his daughter in his hands. This tells a lot about the character an portrays a flaw in him. He can't let go of the past. This idea of a flawed protagonist is a common convention of the Thriller genre. This is further shown later on in the opening when he buys a karaoke machine for his daughter's 17th birthday, knowing that she wanted to be a singer when she was 12. He also then wraps it in clown gift wrap, corroborating how he thinks of his 17 year old daughter as his baby girl rather than the young woman she actually is.
I don't feel like i can take anything away from this plot-wise but the editing had sparked an idea in my head on how to properly edit the piano and assassin scenes together in my head. The idea of a flawed protagonist isn't a new idea and i don't really see how we could incorporate this into my idea due to how we wont have any dialogue or any named characters.
Wednesday, 19 March 2014
Film Opening Analysis 2
Gravity...
Gravity is a Thriller/Drama set in the final frontier, space. The films opens with three astronauts working on the Hubble telescope. The captain (George Clooney) is joking around with the other two, trying to comfort Dr.Stone (Sandra Bullock) who is in space for the first time. A Russian satellite then self destructs nearby and throws a massive debris field at the astronauts, causing havoc and throwing Dr.Stone out into space, separated from her team. She is then alone, in space with no one to help her.
The entire opening to gravity is filmed in one, very long, 13 minutes shot with no cuts of any kinds. This is a very unique way of opening a film but it creates a very good precedent for the rest of the film. It creates the feeling that the camera is floating around in space while watching the astronauts. This is a very interesting but very weird way to create tension in a film. The other thing that creates this kind of tension is the lack of music. This is a fascinating idea when a film will purposely take something away to create a specific effect on the audience. In this case the complete lack of any 'music' represents the silent vacuum of space. Is contrasts with the chaos of the debris colliding with a space craft. This creates an eerie sense of suspense.
There are a few conventions at use here, such as conveying the protagonist (Sandra Bullock) as a 'weak' character. With a flaw that she must overcome, in this case, both her inexperience and fear. They also build tension to create specific effects in the audience, such as fear and suspense.
The thing that I will take away from Gravity is the idea of purposely removing an aspect of the film, i.e. the music, to create tension and 'eeriness'.
There are a few conventions at use here, such as conveying the protagonist (Sandra Bullock) as a 'weak' character. With a flaw that she must overcome, in this case, both her inexperience and fear. They also build tension to create specific effects in the audience, such as fear and suspense.
Tuesday, 18 March 2014
Film Opening Analysis 1
Skyfall...I wanted to analyse some film openings to see how they use conventions of their genre. The genre of my main task is Thriller so I will focus on analysing films that are part of this genre and how they use conventions and editing to, hopefully giving me ideas on how I should edit my final piece.
The first film that I wanted to analyse was Skyfall. I wanted to do Skyfall first because It isn't a 'hardcore' Thriller movie, mostly focusing on action. I felt that this would be a good idea because of how it would provide something I could compare the other film openings I look at to.
Skyfall opens with a mystery. We see 007 searching for some intel. We discover he was too late and has to chase the thief, resulting in a thrilling car, motorbike and train chase sequence ending in Bond taking a bullet to the chest, falling several hundred feet into a lake and is then presumed dead. Not the best start for Jimmy Bond. We expect that a protagonist like 007 to be invincible, but when we see him die, or so we believe, we are thrown off and are confused, not knowing will happen next. While this is not technically a convention of the Thriller Genre but is an effective way of throwing the audience off keeping them engaged. I will keep this idea in mind and look for an opportunity to employ it effectively. We then get the signature long, abstract opening credits of every Bond film. This time it is filled with skulls and graves to signify death. It also conveys an idea that the world is ending, with the sky falling, literally, like meteorites. Destroying a large building with two elk (I'm not David Attenborough, may be reindeer, I'm not sure) in front of it. The interesting thing about this opening is how it begins with a death, rather than having it at the end like most other films. This will fit very well with the final idea we had so we will use it in the final piece.
It doesn't use too many conventions of the Thriller Genre specifically, however it does build tension at the beginning using mystery as well as seemingly killing off the main protagonist. These are very interesting ideas that I will keep in mind during filming.
Friday, 14 March 2014
Film Certification
Certification of Films...
Nowadays, films are categorized into age groups. The age rating that a film receives is the age that a viewer must be to legally view the film, without an adults permission. The organisation that handles these ratings for the UK is called the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification). The reason a film will be given a certain rating depends entirely on the content of the film, this gives the viewers an idea of what to expect in the film. For example, a 3+ would not contain sex and murder, whereas a 15/18 could.
These rating could be seen as both a blessing and a curse. They provide guidelines for what the director can include, these can be seen as limits, but a talented director can build their story around these restrictions. This is something that i can aim to do when i make my films. Quite often when thinking of a film a director will try to get away with as much as he can because the lower the certification the larger the potential audience that can pay to see the film. On the other hand however, a director may write a film and know that they will not be able to get the certification any lower than an 18, therefore they may hold back any potentially dangerous subjects such as illegal drugs to rape.
Films that belong to the same genre tend to all have very similar age ratings. Horror films (Saw, Alien) are almost always 18's, whereas animated films ( Up, Snow White) are usually 3+. There are always exceptions to the rule but generally these films don't often perform that well, this has meant that most directors choose to stay away from these types of film.
The Main task, which we are currently filming, we consider to have an age rating of 15+. We think this because of the films horror inspirations as well as the themes of murder, assassination and espionage.We could have aimed at a younger audience however we felt we would have to reign in some aspects and it would have detracted from the overall feel and ambiance of the piece. Alternatively we could have gone the complete other way and made it very graphic and gory but this would have been tacky and unnecessary. It would have also spoiled the mood of the piece. Being a 15+ meant we could have a certain degree of freedom to do what we wanted while at the same time putting the necessary restrictions in place to prevent any of us going over board. This is a very good example of how deciding an age rating before even starting production is good. An extra point is that the most common age rating for Thriller films in the UK is 15+, further cementing how we have chosen a good place to build the plot around as well as giving an example of how genres tend to have specific age ratings associated with them.
Nowadays, films are categorized into age groups. The age rating that a film receives is the age that a viewer must be to legally view the film, without an adults permission. The organisation that handles these ratings for the UK is called the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification). The reason a film will be given a certain rating depends entirely on the content of the film, this gives the viewers an idea of what to expect in the film. For example, a 3+ would not contain sex and murder, whereas a 15/18 could.These rating could be seen as both a blessing and a curse. They provide guidelines for what the director can include, these can be seen as limits, but a talented director can build their story around these restrictions. This is something that i can aim to do when i make my films. Quite often when thinking of a film a director will try to get away with as much as he can because the lower the certification the larger the potential audience that can pay to see the film. On the other hand however, a director may write a film and know that they will not be able to get the certification any lower than an 18, therefore they may hold back any potentially dangerous subjects such as illegal drugs to rape.
Films that belong to the same genre tend to all have very similar age ratings. Horror films (Saw, Alien) are almost always 18's, whereas animated films ( Up, Snow White) are usually 3+. There are always exceptions to the rule but generally these films don't often perform that well, this has meant that most directors choose to stay away from these types of film.
Wednesday, 12 February 2014
Main Task Pt.11
The Production Rules...
We are due to begin filming our main task very soon. Before we start I felt I needed to outline some of the more important rules during production. We are working with very expensive equipment and we must be responsible when using them. None of us can afford to replace anything should something get broken.
1. No Swearing - Foul language is inappropriate for an AS Media production.
2. No Nudity -*Obviously* ANY nudity is extremely inappropriate for any AS Media production.
3. The Law - Just because we are filming an AS Media piece does not mean we are above the law. Illegal substances such as Smoking, Drugs or Alcohol should be avoided. All other laws such be followed, such as asking permission is members of the public are filmed. If any law is broken or abused the Police can be called.
4. Equipment - Each piece of equipment costs upwards of £1,500. Now, unfortunately, none of us can afford to replace if they are broken. Therefore we must be extremely careful with the cameras and other delicate pieces of equipment. Breakages will be replaced by the student responsible.
5. Copyright - No copyrighted sounds/products can be used in the production to copyright theft.
If all these rules are followed the filming phase of the main task should go without a problem.
I will now stop posting about the Main Task until it is filmed and ready to be edited.
We are due to begin filming our main task very soon. Before we start I felt I needed to outline some of the more important rules during production. We are working with very expensive equipment and we must be responsible when using them. None of us can afford to replace anything should something get broken.
1. No Swearing - Foul language is inappropriate for an AS Media production.
2. No Nudity -*Obviously* ANY nudity is extremely inappropriate for any AS Media production.
3. The Law - Just because we are filming an AS Media piece does not mean we are above the law. Illegal substances such as Smoking, Drugs or Alcohol should be avoided. All other laws such be followed, such as asking permission is members of the public are filmed. If any law is broken or abused the Police can be called.
4. Equipment - Each piece of equipment costs upwards of £1,500. Now, unfortunately, none of us can afford to replace if they are broken. Therefore we must be extremely careful with the cameras and other delicate pieces of equipment. Breakages will be replaced by the student responsible.
5. Copyright - No copyrighted sounds/products can be used in the production to copyright theft.
If all these rules are followed the filming phase of the main task should go without a problem.
I will now stop posting about the Main Task until it is filmed and ready to be edited.
Thursday, 30 January 2014
Main Task Pt.10
Lights...
We had to consider several different things when making any decision regarding lighting, this was because we had to try and achieve the specific effect that we wanted while also having enough space behind the camera to get the lights at the right angle and at the correct height without being in the shot at all. This proved to be a slight challenge because of how we were working indoors the entire time, all the while in corridors and a rather small TV Studio. Luckily for most of the corridor/staircase scenes the natural lighting from the windows and wall lamps proved amble for us. We wanted it to seem realistic in a sense, so having the sets be really bright detracted from that. We also decided that if we didn't like any of the lighting from any of the shots that we could edit them later.
A slightly harder challenge was that of lighting the TV Studio because we knew the natural lighting wasn't what we wanted. We finally decided that having a darker room would be more effective in creating tension and suspense, therefore we closed all the blinds to achieve this. We wanted to try and draw the audiences attention more towards the man working at the computer. We knew that this would already be partially achieved because of the contrast between the dark room and bright computer monitors, however, we also decided to have a soft spotlight on the man to show how he is important. When the Masked man sneaks up on the man working we wanted to try to keep him in the shadows. Thanks to the room already being darker this was easy to achieve.
We had to consider several different things when making any decision regarding lighting, this was because we had to try and achieve the specific effect that we wanted while also having enough space behind the camera to get the lights at the right angle and at the correct height without being in the shot at all. This proved to be a slight challenge because of how we were working indoors the entire time, all the while in corridors and a rather small TV Studio. Luckily for most of the corridor/staircase scenes the natural lighting from the windows and wall lamps proved amble for us. We wanted it to seem realistic in a sense, so having the sets be really bright detracted from that. We also decided that if we didn't like any of the lighting from any of the shots that we could edit them later.
A slightly harder challenge was that of lighting the TV Studio because we knew the natural lighting wasn't what we wanted. We finally decided that having a darker room would be more effective in creating tension and suspense, therefore we closed all the blinds to achieve this. We wanted to try and draw the audiences attention more towards the man working at the computer. We knew that this would already be partially achieved because of the contrast between the dark room and bright computer monitors, however, we also decided to have a soft spotlight on the man to show how he is important. When the Masked man sneaks up on the man working we wanted to try to keep him in the shadows. Thanks to the room already being darker this was easy to achieve.
Monday, 27 January 2014
Main Task Pt.9
Script...
My group chose to take a very different route when it came to scripting the piece. Originally there was intended to be dialogue in the piece however we felt that it was unneeded and could actually detract from the mood. Therefore we have gone down the current route of having a piano track playing over the whole piece, meaning there is no dialogue and therefore no need for a script. This has made our lives a lot easier during editing and filming, this is because during the preliminary piece we found that we needed to match audio with the film realistically and also use sounds effects. This became a rather big pain and we wanted to try and avoid it this time if possible.
My group chose to take a very different route when it came to scripting the piece. Originally there was intended to be dialogue in the piece however we felt that it was unneeded and could actually detract from the mood. Therefore we have gone down the current route of having a piano track playing over the whole piece, meaning there is no dialogue and therefore no need for a script. This has made our lives a lot easier during editing and filming, this is because during the preliminary piece we found that we needed to match audio with the film realistically and also use sounds effects. This became a rather big pain and we wanted to try and avoid it this time if possible.
Main Task Pt.8
Props...
There wont be too many props in the final task because it is more focused on the actual people rather than objects. However there are one or two important objects of use:
- Suitcase
- Piano (Not sure if this constitutes a 'prop', however it is an important object that features predominantly in the final piece)
- Computer/Headphones These are what the victim is using at the time of his demise, this means that they are important and should be payed attention to.
We will need to pay particular attention to these props because of how if they are different in two scenes they would break continuity very easily. These small changes can be easy to miss therefore extra attention will be needed.
There wont be too many props in the final task because it is more focused on the actual people rather than objects. However there are one or two important objects of use:
- Suitcase
- Piano (Not sure if this constitutes a 'prop', however it is an important object that features predominantly in the final piece)
- Computer/Headphones These are what the victim is using at the time of his demise, this means that they are important and should be payed attention to.
We will need to pay particular attention to these props because of how if they are different in two scenes they would break continuity very easily. These small changes can be easy to miss therefore extra attention will be needed.
Main Task Pt.7
Weather...(Probably rain)...
The filming of the main task will take place during the winter months of 2013/2014. We were aware of this when thinking of a location to film our piece. We also knew that this almost certainly meant that there would be rain. Naturally, this influenced our decision to use the school and stay indoors during filming. However, upon examining conventions of Thrillers i think i could make the most of the bad weather by taking footage of it and editing it in the piece, creating omnibus feelings within the audience. It would also use a technique called a pathetic fallacy or cosmic synchronicity. This is when the weather reflects the mood of the piece. This conforms with Thriller Conventions as well as not preventing filming because we will exclusively be indoors. There are however a lot of windows in the areas which we plan on filming to take advantage of this moody weather.
The filming of the main task will take place during the winter months of 2013/2014. We were aware of this when thinking of a location to film our piece. We also knew that this almost certainly meant that there would be rain. Naturally, this influenced our decision to use the school and stay indoors during filming. However, upon examining conventions of Thrillers i think i could make the most of the bad weather by taking footage of it and editing it in the piece, creating omnibus feelings within the audience. It would also use a technique called a pathetic fallacy or cosmic synchronicity. This is when the weather reflects the mood of the piece. This conforms with Thriller Conventions as well as not preventing filming because we will exclusively be indoors. There are however a lot of windows in the areas which we plan on filming to take advantage of this moody weather.
Main Task Pt.6
The Shots...
Filming will commence very shortly, and then editing after that. We have to fit all the filming into a very tight schedule while also keeping every shot to a high standard. To try and achieve this we have decided to be as efficient as possible and create a 'script' of sorts so that we can easily just work down the list rather than trying to figure out which shot we are doing next and where.
Shot 1 - Fade in to man in civilian clothing playing piano, lighting and music create tension with a slow pan behind the pianist. Conforming to the conventions of the thriller genre.
Shot 2 - Man carrying suitcase meets man standing at the top of a staircase.
Shot 3 - More footage of Pianist.
Shot 4 - After the suitcase has been exchanged between the two men they are interrupted by a third, dressed the same. They turn towards the camera and walk away, through a door, out of shot. A masked man (Assassin) appears to be following them and hides behind a pillar on the stairs.
Shot 5 - Masked man is seen to follow the men and sneaks around at the top of the stairs.
Shot 6 - Match-on-action and continuity rules are followed as the shot flips to the men opening and walking through the door from the opposite side.
Shot 7 - Shot from behind the door that the men just went through, showing the masked man looking through a window in the door. Through this window we see the man with the suitcase enter a room alone (TV Studio) and the other men continue walking down the corridor.
Shot 8 - Match-on-action and continuity rules are followed as the shot flips to inside the room the lone man just entered (TV Studio). He sits down and a computer and begins to work.
Shot 9 - More Footage of Pianist.
Shot 10 - Man puts on headphones, allowing the Masked man to enter unheard. Masked man sneaks up behind man and breaks neck. (A decision will be made on whether or not to include this footage or end it here, the choice will be made during editing.)
Shot 11 - Pianist finishes and stands up, revealing the mask on the floor (A decision will be made on whether or not to include this footage because of how this is only an opening. The choice will be made during editing.)
All of these shots are liable to change in order or in content in slight ways. This is the base of what we will do for each shot and how we will intertwine the footage to create the piece that we want.
Sunday, 19 January 2014
Main Task Pt.5
Location Scouting...
We knew that we would have trouble filming offsite mainly because it would hard for all of the team to get the time. We also aren't able to take the expensive HD cameras off site. Therefore we resigned to filming in the school. We knew that there are several appropriate locations in the school however so this was fine. We needed a quieter area as well as a staircase. We found a location very near the Studio we used the Preliminary task. The area we found has a large staircase leading up to a landing with a large window and some double doors leading to a corridor, this corridor then leads to the Studio.
The main reason why we didn't go offsite was because of the HD cameras. None of us have a decent camera that we could use as a replacement and match the quality, this left us to make a choice of a better location and worse quality or very good quality with a worse location. Despite this, i don't think that the school is a bad location, there are many different places that we could use to get good shots in an appropriate environment.
When taking conventions into account we were quite lucky because it seems that the school has a lot of locations that work very well, such as a dark staircase, eerie corridor and wide areas where we can put cameras at many interesting angles to create effects and effective use of conventions.
We knew that we would have trouble filming offsite mainly because it would hard for all of the team to get the time. We also aren't able to take the expensive HD cameras off site. Therefore we resigned to filming in the school. We knew that there are several appropriate locations in the school however so this was fine. We needed a quieter area as well as a staircase. We found a location very near the Studio we used the Preliminary task. The area we found has a large staircase leading up to a landing with a large window and some double doors leading to a corridor, this corridor then leads to the Studio.
The main reason why we didn't go offsite was because of the HD cameras. None of us have a decent camera that we could use as a replacement and match the quality, this left us to make a choice of a better location and worse quality or very good quality with a worse location. Despite this, i don't think that the school is a bad location, there are many different places that we could use to get good shots in an appropriate environment.
When taking conventions into account we were quite lucky because it seems that the school has a lot of locations that work very well, such as a dark staircase, eerie corridor and wide areas where we can put cameras at many interesting angles to create effects and effective use of conventions.
Main Task Pt.4
Costume Research...
Our next step was to think of what our characters should be wearing. This was very easy because of how few characters we have. There are only 5 characters, 3 of which all wear the same outfit. This means we only needed 3 outfits, 1 for the pianist, 1 for the assassin and 1 for the 'Targets' (for lack of a better term).
The Pianist
We wanted the pianist to seem as normal as possible, therefore we only needed the actor (Sam Yip) to wear his casual clothes for these scenes.
The Targets
Practically, we wanted this outfit to be simple to allow each us to procure them easily. However we wanted them to also seem shady, as if part of some organisation.The actors playing the targets are
(Brad Sanders, Jack Wilson and Matt Cornes) This lead to the uniform look we are now using. This style is more of a high end look.This was the photo that we based our choice on:
The Assassin
We wanted to have the assassin dressed in very dark clothes. To contrast with the professional style of the targets we chose to have him wearing cheaper, more urban clothes. We ended up using a dark hoodie and a bandanna mask to show these things. Here is the actor (Also Sam Yip) in costume:
Our next step was to think of what our characters should be wearing. This was very easy because of how few characters we have. There are only 5 characters, 3 of which all wear the same outfit. This means we only needed 3 outfits, 1 for the pianist, 1 for the assassin and 1 for the 'Targets' (for lack of a better term).
The Pianist
We wanted the pianist to seem as normal as possible, therefore we only needed the actor (Sam Yip) to wear his casual clothes for these scenes.
The Targets
Practically, we wanted this outfit to be simple to allow each us to procure them easily. However we wanted them to also seem shady, as if part of some organisation.The actors playing the targets are
(Brad Sanders, Jack Wilson and Matt Cornes) This lead to the uniform look we are now using. This style is more of a high end look.This was the photo that we based our choice on:
The Assassin
We wanted to have the assassin dressed in very dark clothes. To contrast with the professional style of the targets we chose to have him wearing cheaper, more urban clothes. We ended up using a dark hoodie and a bandanna mask to show these things. Here is the actor (Also Sam Yip) in costume:
Main Task Pt.3
Final Idea...
We have decided to move forward with Idea 3. However, we have developed this idea further. At this point the idea is that of an Assassin Pianist. The film opens with a man playing piano, each shot obscuring his face making him anonymous. These shots of the pianist will be mixed with footage of 3 men, all dressed the same, moving as a group to another room after exchanging a suitcase. Only one of these men would enter. We would then see that a masked assassin had followed them. We are unsure if we want to show what happens next or leave it at that point.
We chose this idea because we all felt it would be best to showcase skills and techniques in filming and editing. Such as using the conventions of the Thriller Genre as well as techniques for building tension.
We have decided to move forward with Idea 3. However, we have developed this idea further. At this point the idea is that of an Assassin Pianist. The film opens with a man playing piano, each shot obscuring his face making him anonymous. These shots of the pianist will be mixed with footage of 3 men, all dressed the same, moving as a group to another room after exchanging a suitcase. Only one of these men would enter. We would then see that a masked assassin had followed them. We are unsure if we want to show what happens next or leave it at that point.
We chose this idea because we all felt it would be best to showcase skills and techniques in filming and editing. Such as using the conventions of the Thriller Genre as well as techniques for building tension.
Main Task Pt. 2
Ideas...
Our group had Three main ideas that we could use for the final project. We have narrowed them down just to Two ideas.
Idea 1 - Cut idea
This idea is one that i came up with and thought could be possible, however, it was cut because we felt the other ideas would have worked better and been easier to achieve. The idea was to have a man frantically searching through a room to try and find something. The audience has no idea who the man is or what he is searching for. He would be tearing this room apart trying to locate this mystery item. This footage would then be cut together with footage of shadowy men walking down a corridor towards a closed door. The footage would then go to the man forcing a draw open, the screen cutting to black and the sound of the door opening. I feel this would have been easy to make, as well as having tension. However, we all agreed that one of the other ideas would have been more effective. Thus we didn't make any storyboards etc.. for this idea.
Idea 2
This idea was the one that we were originally going to use, however we decided not to.We had an idea to go with the name of "Hacker", and the story would be about a professional hacker who is attempting to take down the UK and Chinese police force in order to commit the worlds worst cyber attack, and withdraw every from every bank account in the world. We made this storyboard for this idea:
Idea 3
This last idea was one based on the idea of an assassin. A masked assassin who we see is following a group of men, all dressed the same. One of which is carrying a suitcase. This idea would require fleshing out slightly to be viable but we think this could make a very good opening to a film.
Since we only have to make the opening of a film we have a lot of freedom plot wise. This is because we can set up questions and plot twists without having to answer them. We can have mysteries that go unsolved and characters that go unmasked.
Our group had Three main ideas that we could use for the final project. We have narrowed them down just to Two ideas.
Idea 1 - Cut idea
This idea is one that i came up with and thought could be possible, however, it was cut because we felt the other ideas would have worked better and been easier to achieve. The idea was to have a man frantically searching through a room to try and find something. The audience has no idea who the man is or what he is searching for. He would be tearing this room apart trying to locate this mystery item. This footage would then be cut together with footage of shadowy men walking down a corridor towards a closed door. The footage would then go to the man forcing a draw open, the screen cutting to black and the sound of the door opening. I feel this would have been easy to make, as well as having tension. However, we all agreed that one of the other ideas would have been more effective. Thus we didn't make any storyboards etc.. for this idea.
Idea 2
This idea was the one that we were originally going to use, however we decided not to.We had an idea to go with the name of "Hacker", and the story would be about a professional hacker who is attempting to take down the UK and Chinese police force in order to commit the worlds worst cyber attack, and withdraw every from every bank account in the world. We made this storyboard for this idea:
Idea 3
This last idea was one based on the idea of an assassin. A masked assassin who we see is following a group of men, all dressed the same. One of which is carrying a suitcase. This idea would require fleshing out slightly to be viable but we think this could make a very good opening to a film.
Since we only have to make the opening of a film we have a lot of freedom plot wise. This is because we can set up questions and plot twists without having to answer them. We can have mysteries that go unsolved and characters that go unmasked.
Saturday, 18 January 2014
Main Task
Beginning the main task...
It is about time to begin on the main task for my AS Media Studies. I thought i should try to assemble a To-Do list to follow so that i can stay to track and complete the task to the best of my ability. I decided to stay with the same group that i was in during the Preliminary task (Brad Sanders, Matt Cornes, Sam Yip and Jack Wilson)
"the titles and opening of a new fiction film, to last a maximum of two minutes."
1. IDEAS
My first port of call should be ideas for the plot. From here we can then consider locations, characters, costume and technical requirements. We would draw up storyboards etc..
2. PREPARATION
This step is collecting the required parts and materials. Such as costumes, props and technical equipment. This is when we should do our location scouting, to try and nail down a place to film our piece.
3. FILMING
Obviously, this stage is when we would be filming the task. This should be the easiest and quickest step of the task.
4. EDITING
In contrast to stage 3, editing will be the longest and probably the hardest stage due to the nature of it. This required several runs through the product tweaking and perfecting. Personally i think it would be hard to realise when to stop and finish the task because there is always more work to be done that would tweak it slightly.
Once editing is finished we should have finished the main task. Completing the vast majority of my AS Media Blog.
It is about time to begin on the main task for my AS Media Studies. I thought i should try to assemble a To-Do list to follow so that i can stay to track and complete the task to the best of my ability. I decided to stay with the same group that i was in during the Preliminary task (Brad Sanders, Matt Cornes, Sam Yip and Jack Wilson)
"the titles and opening of a new fiction film, to last a maximum of two minutes."
1. IDEAS
My first port of call should be ideas for the plot. From here we can then consider locations, characters, costume and technical requirements. We would draw up storyboards etc..
2. PREPARATION
This step is collecting the required parts and materials. Such as costumes, props and technical equipment. This is when we should do our location scouting, to try and nail down a place to film our piece.
3. FILMING
Obviously, this stage is when we would be filming the task. This should be the easiest and quickest step of the task.
4. EDITING
In contrast to stage 3, editing will be the longest and probably the hardest stage due to the nature of it. This required several runs through the product tweaking and perfecting. Personally i think it would be hard to realise when to stop and finish the task because there is always more work to be done that would tweak it slightly.
Once editing is finished we should have finished the main task. Completing the vast majority of my AS Media Blog.
Sub-Genres
Branches of the Thriller Genre...
The Thriller genre is an very general term. There are many different types of Thriller film; i.e. Mystery Thriller or Psychological Thriller. Some genres share the characteristics and conventions with others, such as Horror and Thriller, to the point when they can sometimes be confused with each other. To try and help with this confusion common themes from these films are classified into their own Sub-Genres.
When trying to classify films in Sub-Genres we should look at three main things.
1.Similarities in Plots
2.Similarities in Protagonists
3.Similarities in Antagonists
For example, Mystery Thrillers relate a lot to plots of Crime Thrillers, however rather than focusing on the criminal as the protagonist and the police as the antagonist, these roles are switched. Having us follow the police trying to solve the crime, trying to solve the mystery, hence Mystery Thriller.
Another example would be Disaster Thrillers. Generally these films have a very similar plot idea, focusing on the end of the world. This idea could be very literal (The world being destroyed) or more metaphorical (An invasion, destroying the only world the citizens of the invaded country have ever known). The protagonist(s) is a person or a group of people trying to survive through this disaster. An intriguing part of this Sub-Genre is that the antagonist is not a person, or a group. Quite often the antagonist is Nature, because it is nature that is trying to kill/harm the protagonist(s)
There a several more Sub-Genres relating to the Thriller Genre as a whole, however, they all fall under these guidelines.
Defiance - Film Review
Defiance...
For my next film analysis I decided to review the film 'Defiance'. It is a tale set during the Holocaust, telling the story of two brother who sympathies with the Jews and end up from just trying to survive in a forest, after their village was destroyed by the Nazis, to leading a camp of hundreds of Jew survivors hiding from the Germans until the war is over. The film cast is sprinkled with stars, big names such as Daniel Craig and was directed by Edward Zwick.
The film isn't marketed as a Thriller film, however, I wanted to analyse it because while i was watching i found myself captivated in the suspense and tension of the story.
I wanted to talk about techniques used in this film relating to story and creating suspense. I talk a lot about how films create suspense or tension because it is one of the conventions of the Thriller genre and without creating this tension or suspense it would no longer be a Thriller film. Defiance has the luxury of there already being an overarching tension because of when and where the film is set, during the Holocaust. Constantly throughout the film the audience is worried that the Germans will suddenly arrive and kill everyone or how the Survivors will survive in this massive forest without any food, water or shelter. On top of this there is also animosity between the survivors, creating infighting, dividing the audience and creating bonds between the characters and the audience.
There is one scene that sticks out in my mind after watching this film. The camp had been stuck with typhoid and it is the middle of an Eastern European Winter (Snow, Ice, freezing temperatures). There has been two bullies living in the camp, intimidating other members of the camp and taking more food than they are entitled too. The main character (Daniel Craig) is ill with the virus and hasn't been seen in days. In this time, these bullies have decided to take charge of the camp, against his orders. The scene itself starts with an extraordinarily long line of sick people waiting to receive food, while the bullies eat like kings. Daniel Craig is forced to go and deal with the situation, obviously very weak and tired. The scene ends with Daniel Craig being humiliated before suddenly turning around and shooting the ringleader, the rest of the bullies quickly falling into place. The main reason that this scene sticks out to me is because the audience almost cheers at the death of the ringleader, we feel happy about this person being murdered. This is such a strange and deranged idea that it really made an impact on me.
This film at its core is a WWII Action Thriller. With loads of guns and violence, however with complex undertones of survival, love and politics. I personally really enjoyed this film for those reasons providing a perfect mix of action, dialogue and interaction. While not particularly innovative or groundbreaking both technically or story wise, the film was still a good time.
In conclusion, I found a few different ways to create tension. Rather than environmental things such as music, I could use how the characters interact and what they do will create suspense which i will try to incorporate in my film making.
For my next film analysis I decided to review the film 'Defiance'. It is a tale set during the Holocaust, telling the story of two brother who sympathies with the Jews and end up from just trying to survive in a forest, after their village was destroyed by the Nazis, to leading a camp of hundreds of Jew survivors hiding from the Germans until the war is over. The film cast is sprinkled with stars, big names such as Daniel Craig and was directed by Edward Zwick.The film isn't marketed as a Thriller film, however, I wanted to analyse it because while i was watching i found myself captivated in the suspense and tension of the story.
I wanted to talk about techniques used in this film relating to story and creating suspense. I talk a lot about how films create suspense or tension because it is one of the conventions of the Thriller genre and without creating this tension or suspense it would no longer be a Thriller film. Defiance has the luxury of there already being an overarching tension because of when and where the film is set, during the Holocaust. Constantly throughout the film the audience is worried that the Germans will suddenly arrive and kill everyone or how the Survivors will survive in this massive forest without any food, water or shelter. On top of this there is also animosity between the survivors, creating infighting, dividing the audience and creating bonds between the characters and the audience.
There is one scene that sticks out in my mind after watching this film. The camp had been stuck with typhoid and it is the middle of an Eastern European Winter (Snow, Ice, freezing temperatures). There has been two bullies living in the camp, intimidating other members of the camp and taking more food than they are entitled too. The main character (Daniel Craig) is ill with the virus and hasn't been seen in days. In this time, these bullies have decided to take charge of the camp, against his orders. The scene itself starts with an extraordinarily long line of sick people waiting to receive food, while the bullies eat like kings. Daniel Craig is forced to go and deal with the situation, obviously very weak and tired. The scene ends with Daniel Craig being humiliated before suddenly turning around and shooting the ringleader, the rest of the bullies quickly falling into place. The main reason that this scene sticks out to me is because the audience almost cheers at the death of the ringleader, we feel happy about this person being murdered. This is such a strange and deranged idea that it really made an impact on me.
This film at its core is a WWII Action Thriller. With loads of guns and violence, however with complex undertones of survival, love and politics. I personally really enjoyed this film for those reasons providing a perfect mix of action, dialogue and interaction. While not particularly innovative or groundbreaking both technically or story wise, the film was still a good time.
In conclusion, I found a few different ways to create tension. Rather than environmental things such as music, I could use how the characters interact and what they do will create suspense which i will try to incorporate in my film making.
Preliminary Pt.2
Editing the Prelim.
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We had to edit the footage for out preliminary task, cutting down on bits we didn't like or want, adding music and audio as well as graphics and visual effects. Because I had no experience with editing before rather than taking an important role here I decided to take a back seat role and learn the basics now so that later on i can do some more complex edits for the main task. Each member of the group was assigned a specific area to work on, such as lighting and audio. We took a while trying to find appropriate music as we felt this should be perfect. I personally think we have done this and it adds to the final product. Speaking of the final product...
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