Thursday 1 April 2010
Monday 22 March 2010
Evaluation Questions
Q2:
2. 2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
The main representations in our film are that of young people. Our research included the way in which the charcter are already conventionally seen. The imagery used in the scenes of the skateboarders are quite steryotypical but at the same time the challenge the conventional teenager by being serene and calm. The mise-en-scene of the 'skaters' is that of mystery, there is no clear shot of the characters so as to keep their identity secret and to show the solitarity of the characters. The characters are shown to be unknown, we see no interaction between them which goes against that of the convcentions of teenagers who are always seen to be together in groups. This also adds to the emotion of the film as the characters on their own are seen to be more intimidating. The other character in out film is me (the young woman) for this scene we have used make up and hair styling as a representation. The use of long hair is a show of innocence and purity that once again evokes sympathy in the audience however in contrast to this the use of heavy make up suggests that the character is covering something up and is prehaps pretending to be someone she is not or trying to take on a different persona to that of which we would expect of the character. This once again adding to the mystrery of the character and leaving the audeince with questions.
4. Who would be the audience for your media product?
The audience that our film would be aimed at is those of 15 an above. This would mainly be due to the film classification laws that would surround our film. The use of violence or sever psychological distress both are included in the regulations that say our viewers would have to be fifteen or over. More over this would also be due to the themes in the film, a younger generation would prehaps find it harder to condone and understand the themes in the film and the use of psycological tricks within the film would prehaps be missed by a younger audience. A good example of this is 'Paranormal Activity' the themes in this are very reliant on the mature imagination to create tension and to 'thrill' the audience.
From research we became fully aware that there would be a market for our film as other thriller films such as the above mentioned 'Paranormal Activity' have ranked in ciniema charts.
2. 2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
The main representations in our film are that of young people. Our research included the way in which the charcter are already conventionally seen. The imagery used in the scenes of the skateboarders are quite steryotypical but at the same time the challenge the conventional teenager by being serene and calm. The mise-en-scene of the 'skaters' is that of mystery, there is no clear shot of the characters so as to keep their identity secret and to show the solitarity of the characters. The characters are shown to be unknown, we see no interaction between them which goes against that of the convcentions of teenagers who are always seen to be together in groups. This also adds to the emotion of the film as the characters on their own are seen to be more intimidating. The other character in out film is me (the young woman) for this scene we have used make up and hair styling as a representation. The use of long hair is a show of innocence and purity that once again evokes sympathy in the audience however in contrast to this the use of heavy make up suggests that the character is covering something up and is prehaps pretending to be someone she is not or trying to take on a different persona to that of which we would expect of the character. This once again adding to the mystrery of the character and leaving the audeince with questions.
4. Who would be the audience for your media product?
The audience that our film would be aimed at is those of 15 an above. This would mainly be due to the film classification laws that would surround our film. The use of violence or sever psychological distress both are included in the regulations that say our viewers would have to be fifteen or over. More over this would also be due to the themes in the film, a younger generation would prehaps find it harder to condone and understand the themes in the film and the use of psycological tricks within the film would prehaps be missed by a younger audience. A good example of this is 'Paranormal Activity' the themes in this are very reliant on the mature imagination to create tension and to 'thrill' the audience.
From research we became fully aware that there would be a market for our film as other thriller films such as the above mentioned 'Paranormal Activity' have ranked in ciniema charts.
Thursday 18 March 2010
Feedback
Most shots were used with what looked like a tripod and were very steady and well done.
Shots were well framed, we liked the shots through the car windows and the shot of the sun through the railing and down into the water.
There wasn't much shot distance variety as they were all long or long/mid shots.
The lighting changed from day to night throughout which was good because there was more variety of things happening and not just consistent throughout. The location was good as they were everyday places that people go everyday so the audience can relate well.
feedback
music composed well.
lack of variety of shots.
titles used well.
transitions not tacky, mainly fade in and fade out.
baffled by the skateboarding.
the music suited the atmosphere giving a thriller impression twined with the camerawork.
lack of variety of shots.
titles used well.
transitions not tacky, mainly fade in and fade out.
baffled by the skateboarding.
the music suited the atmosphere giving a thriller impression twined with the camerawork.
Wednesday 17 March 2010
final final final editing...
Today we have done our final editing including changing the sequences of the titles and shortening some of the scenes that were too long. We have added motion to the text and we will have to reconstruct the production logo as well as our previous effort was corrupted.
Thursday 11 March 2010
Response to comments on rough cut -
We are aware that we will need to do alot mroe editing in order for the film to get to where we want it to be. This will mainly consist of cutting the project down to shorter time as one of the min comments was that it was too long. We also intend to change the music as we have recorded our own track and this will replace the rough cut that is currently the soundtrack. Furthermore we intend to use more filters and make the titles simultanious with the action that happens in the film.
comments on rought cut....
Editing:
- A flick between shots while driving
- Blatent Suts
- Camera darkened
- TOO LONG
- when in the car when the light shine brightly its effective
- Shots didn't link too smoothly together
- each shot should be shorter makes the cuts less effective
Camera Work:
- Varied camera shots, to show different views, over the shoulder, point of view
- shot lengths in car too long
Sound:
- Stays in sync with the thriller genre, doesnt change though
- promiscuity needed
Sound of skateboard
- Sound at beginning very effective
-no sound at teh beginning good use of tension but a bit long
Mise en Scen
-lighting - dark
Location flicked between a park and driving on a road
costume, not much
- A flick between shots while driving
- Blatent Suts
- Camera darkened
- TOO LONG
- when in the car when the light shine brightly its effective
- Shots didn't link too smoothly together
- each shot should be shorter makes the cuts less effective
Camera Work:
- Varied camera shots, to show different views, over the shoulder, point of view
- shot lengths in car too long
Sound:
- Stays in sync with the thriller genre, doesnt change though
- promiscuity needed
Sound of skateboard
- Sound at beginning very effective
-no sound at teh beginning good use of tension but a bit long
Mise en Scen
-lighting - dark
Location flicked between a park and driving on a road
costume, not much
Wednesday 10 March 2010
Soundtrack!
After emailing the teacher in charge of recording tracks at college we found that we would be unable to create our own track in the studio and instead we have created a sequence on garageband that we think compliments the film. we used classical paino and a simple bassline to create a relaxed but edgy feel.
Monday 8 March 2010
Editing in Progress
This week we have started editing but we have found that we need to get a frame for production such as the title sequence and which order they come in. Here is our final plan for titles after research of other thrillers and are listed in the order we intend to present them:
Production company - rocket productions
Actors…
main character 1st - Rhian Nicholls
Title of Film – Lange a venir
other producers – all our names
other significant actors and there characters – made up
Music production comp
– made up company
Editors – oli, jack, phil and rhian
Make up and costume design – Rhian
WRITTEN BY Group T1 30
Director Group T1 30
Production company - rocket productions
Actors…
main character 1st - Rhian Nicholls
Title of Film – Lange a venir
other producers – all our names
other significant actors and there characters – made up
Music production comp
– made up company
Editors – oli, jack, phil and rhian
Make up and costume design – Rhian
WRITTEN BY Group T1 30
Director Group T1 30
Thursday 4 March 2010
To Do...
1. Research into title sequence title trends (e.g. Director first, Producer second)
2. Finish Prop and costume representation analysis
3. Research into film ratings in UK cinema and which should apply our piece and why
2. Finish Prop and costume representation analysis
3. Research into film ratings in UK cinema and which should apply our piece and why
In this blog i will be analysing and evaluating the use of props ad costumes how they are used to represent and symbolize different things. Such as the skateboard which we thought would be good to represent the freedom of the memory/flashback the main character is having. Also the use of make up on the close up of the main character is good because it shows femininity which links dicectly to female objectification because we going to cut slits out of the close up like the eyes, mouth and nose. To be continued...
Monday 1 March 2010
avant garde film inpiration
this film isn't a thriller but is relevant to our project with its jitteryness of the editing this is what we would like to incorporate this into our project.
Analysis- We liked to use of editing such as the contrast of the shots because it gave a sense of mystery and simpleness. We also really enjoyed the way the individual shots were slowed down and sped up to make the jolty connections. It seemed so simple but to great effect and that is the aim of our piece in which we wanted to make a great piece in the simplest way because we recognized all those great thrillers were simple with great editing and sound track and we aimed use this inspiration to our advantage.
Analysis- We liked to use of editing such as the contrast of the shots because it gave a sense of mystery and simpleness. We also really enjoyed the way the individual shots were slowed down and sped up to make the jolty connections. It seemed so simple but to great effect and that is the aim of our piece in which we wanted to make a great piece in the simplest way because we recognized all those great thrillers were simple with great editing and sound track and we aimed use this inspiration to our advantage.
Extra Footage
Even though it was raining heavily on Sunday and the set date for filming was postponed I was still able to get some good and intersting footage. I was able to get a car and filmed some simple shots looking out of the traveling car at dusk which is what we planned for the taxi ride. I was also able to use the rain because it left some large puddles which i got the car to go through and get some great footage. The footage is good and hopefully will be put into the final product.
Filming delay SOULTION!!!
As a solution to our filming we are now going to film at the end of today. As some of our filming has already been done by Oli we will not be needing the use of a car. Most of our filming can now be done at Jesus green!
Filming Delay
Due to the poor weather over they weekend with the rain coming down none stop on Sunday we were unable to film resulting in filming delay and slowing our project.
Wednesday 24 February 2010
Update On the Music....
We have been in contact with the Head of Music and have asked to try and get some studio time to make our own track, fingers crossed!!!
Scehdule for Filming...
This will be our schedule for filming over the weekend!
Friday:
-meet in town at Starbucks on the market square at 5pm, with car...phillip!!
-have a coffee wait for it to get a dark and drive through town filming car scene, also film face scene.
Sunday:
- Meet at Jesus green at 1pm! film, skating scene x 3, and birds!!
- Lunch!!
- Train station, film train going past and walking into station scene.
Needed:
Friday:
- Rhian, make up
- Phillip, car
- jack and Oli, just be there :)
Sunday:
- Jack, all in black for skate scenes, skateboard
- Rhian, hobo chic!!
- Phillip and Oli, be there!!
Friday:
-meet in town at Starbucks on the market square at 5pm, with car...phillip!!
-have a coffee wait for it to get a dark and drive through town filming car scene, also film face scene.
Sunday:
- Meet at Jesus green at 1pm! film, skating scene x 3, and birds!!
- Lunch!!
- Train station, film train going past and walking into station scene.
Needed:
Friday:
- Rhian, make up
- Phillip, car
- jack and Oli, just be there :)
Sunday:
- Jack, all in black for skate scenes, skateboard
- Rhian, hobo chic!!
- Phillip and Oli, be there!!
Music and Sountrack....
For our soybtrck we intend to create our own song, it was be inspired by many differnt forms of music including classical, contemporary and that of french origin. We are able within our group to create the music without outside help as we are all musically inclined. Below are some examples of music we would like to incorporate into our song.....
Friday 12 February 2010
Costumes...
For our production we will require two actors they will be Jack Wilson and myself, Jack will be playing the skate boarder and I shall be playing the hitch hiker, in order for these roles to fit specific costume will be needed. Jack will be wearing all black, as the skateboarder is to be seen as a memory and the black will reflect the feelings of the actor. 
this image shows what we would like the skateboarder to be wearing although in our shot there will not be as much contrast.
this image shows what we would like the skateboarder to be wearing although in our shot there will not be as much contrast.Locations and Costumes..
the locations of which we intent to use are.
Jesus Green Skate Park
Cambridge Town Centre
Cambridge Train Station
- Jesus Green skate park
- A drive through of the centre of cambridge
- Cambridge train station outside
None of these need permission, initially we were going to use the inside of cambridge train station which would have meant we needed permission of which is often hard to obtain. Below are some pictures of the places we intend to use...
Jesus Green Skate Park
Cambridge Town Centre
Cambridge Train StationWednesday 10 February 2010
Monday 8 February 2010
Fish eye and filter
The two filters we used on top of the fish eye were 'day for night' and we turned up the 'contrast' , this was the result!
playing around with effects...
In our film we intend to use a fish eye lense to create confusion within the scene, here we have used this effect to make a preliminary film...
Wednesday 3 February 2010
Stuff For: Longue A Venir
Titles:
- Birds, titles in middle dispersed by birds.
- Train going past, train slows down titles on side
- Skater, titles on box as he goes past they dissapear
- Skater over fun box sqashes titles.
Filming: 27th + 28th Feb:
Friday Night.
- Car scene
-Skateboarding
-Birds
-Face, close up
Saturday:
-trainstation
-train going past
Sound: Half term Jack!!!
Experimental strings, distored guitar, brush drums.
Put onto ipod or cd for diagetic sound
Costume:
Skater, all black
Rhian, trilby barbour, boots, whicker bag, jeans
Thursday 28 January 2010
this is a clip of very good timing in slow motion we got the idea of skateboarding from the thriller paranoid park a thriller based on skateboard culture and a curtain kids experience ending in a murder, and how he deals with it.
the shots of skateboarding in (1:55 - 3:14) also inspired our film opening.
Pitch Feedback from Andrea
I like your idea a lot, I'd really like to see some clips of the film that inspire you put on your blog.
I also think it is going to be very important for you to do some test footage with the fish eye lens and practise overlaying images to ensure you can get the effect you require.
I would also advise you to plan out very carefully the images to be used in the memory, are these going to be found images or are you going to take them yourselves. If any of you do photography or are particularly good at photography I would encourage you to take your own images for this, that way you have complete creative control.
Good work so far guys, well done.
I also think it is going to be very important for you to do some test footage with the fish eye lens and practise overlaying images to ensure you can get the effect you require.
I would also advise you to plan out very carefully the images to be used in the memory, are these going to be found images or are you going to take them yourselves. If any of you do photography or are particularly good at photography I would encourage you to take your own images for this, that way you have complete creative control.
Good work so far guys, well done.
This is our mood board it expresses the types of shots we are thinking of using in our thriller opening. the eyes,nose and mouth of the female are going to be overplayed on our night images fading in and out. The flash backs of the birds and the skateboards showing summer events becoming contrapuntal to the thriller opening, this should create a creepy spooky effect as it is slowly narrated, reaveling the cetral character slowy but still hidding most of her identity.
definition and sub genres of thriller.
Thrillers are characterized by fast pacing, frequent action, and resourceful heroes who must thwart the plans of more powerful and better equipped villains. Thrillers are types of films known to promote intense excitement, suspense, a high level of anticipation, ultra-heightened expectation, uncertainty, anxiety, and nerve-wracking tension. Thriller and suspense films are virtually synonymous and interchangeable categorizations, with similar characteristics and features.
If the genre is to be defined strictly, a genuine thriller is a film that relentlessly pursues a single-minded goal - to provide thrills and keep the audience cliff-hanging at the 'edge of their seats' as the plot builds towards a climax. The tension usually arises when the main character(s) is placed in a menacing situation or mystery, or an escape or dangerous mission from which escape seems impossible. Life itself is threatened, usually because the principal character is unsuspecting or unknowingly involved in a dangerous or potentially deadly situation. Plots of thrillers involve characters which come into conflict with each other or with outside forces - the menace is sometimes abstract or shadowy. However, because thriller is such a broad genre, it is being more commonly used to create hybrid genres. For example; action thrillers, legal, medical, political, crime. It has been known for some companies to produce erotic thrillers. Another popular hybrid is the psychological thriller. the list of combination's is virtually endless.
Blog advice from Andrea
Your blog is designed to evidence the research and planning you have done before you start filming your thriller.
A blog in the 'excellent' category could include some of the following detail:
1. *Analysis of student thriller*
2. *More than one detailed analysis of real thriller openings*
3. Practise soundtrack for your thriller
4. *Practise soundtrack for Taking Lives intro*
5. *Production company logo*
6. *Definition of thriller, outline of different sub-genres and hybrids*
7. *Analysis of examples of political, psychological, action thriller and crime thriller*
8. *Initial ideas post*
9. *Final idea post - for pitch*
10. Influences and the thriller generic conventions you intend to explore
11. Mood board
12. *Research into other films of similar sub-genres*
13. Props list - with illustrations
14. Details of costumes - with illustrations
15. Location report - where you intend to film, if it is a public place then you need to consider the logistics of filming there. If it is private property you must seek permission from the owner.
16. Complete shot list
17. Completed storyboard
18. Test footage with a full explanation as to the technique you were testing and how successful the test was.
19. Details of when you intend to film (dates, times and places), who is responsible for bringing what props etc, what actors are needed and who is in charge of ensuring the actors are informed of times and locations.
20. Practise titles, consider the job titles and the names you wish to include. Do some research into titles. Look at Saul Bass as an industry expert in title sequences.
A blog in the 'excellent' category could include some of the following detail:
1. *Analysis of student thriller*
2. *More than one detailed analysis of real thriller openings*
3. Practise soundtrack for your thriller
4. *Practise soundtrack for Taking Lives intro*
5. *Production company logo*
6. *Definition of thriller, outline of different sub-genres and hybrids*
7. *Analysis of examples of political, psychological, action thriller and crime thriller*
8. *Initial ideas post*
9. *Final idea post - for pitch*
10. Influences and the thriller generic conventions you intend to explore
11. Mood board
12. *Research into other films of similar sub-genres*
13. Props list - with illustrations
14. Details of costumes - with illustrations
15. Location report - where you intend to film, if it is a public place then you need to consider the logistics of filming there. If it is private property you must seek permission from the owner.
16. Complete shot list
17. Completed storyboard
18. Test footage with a full explanation as to the technique you were testing and how successful the test was.
19. Details of when you intend to film (dates, times and places), who is responsible for bringing what props etc, what actors are needed and who is in charge of ensuring the actors are informed of times and locations.
20. Practise titles, consider the job titles and the names you wish to include. Do some research into titles. Look at Saul Bass as an industry expert in title sequences.
Monday 25 January 2010
Saturday 23 January 2010
Idea For Opening..
In our group we have discussed many different options for out opening credits and came to the conclusion that the main focus would be in a taxi driving through a town at night to emphasise the lights and to give a more 'spooky' feeling to the credits, over this there will be a shot of a womans eyes in an opaque way so that you can still see the taxi driving through town, as this is happening the credits will pop in and out of the shot. Eventually the taxi will stop and the 'woman' will get out, then using a fish eye lense to show confusion she will be filmed walking around town and being apporached by people. We have yet to decide upon the music but this is our initial idea, this has come from the film taxi driver.
Why Thrillers Thrive...
- A sense of fear is created in the audience whilst subconsciously they know they are safe - ‘in our subconscious we are safe, sitting in a comfortable armchair’
-The cinima allows for the audience to actually see the danger, it makes it more real - you see him fall, you see him swimming’
-Thrillers allow us to experience ‘shake-ups’ without being in any physical danger - ‘we must have these shake-ups or we will grow sluggish and jellified.
-The cinima can leave the audience with an afterthought of fear - ‘surprise his imagination into playing tricks on him’
-The cinima allows for the audience to actually see the danger, it makes it more real - you see him fall, you see him swimming’
-Thrillers allow us to experience ‘shake-ups’ without being in any physical danger - ‘we must have these shake-ups or we will grow sluggish and jellified.
-The cinima can leave the audience with an afterthought of fear - ‘surprise his imagination into playing tricks on him’
Wednesday 13 January 2010
Analysis of vertigo opening titles...
thre is a clear use of objectivification of the female features (the shot of the eyes and lips) further more there is a use of shadows which creates a darkened sense of mystery as to whom this woman is and what relevance she has to the story. The computer generated swirls representing the iris show a falling effect and this creates confusion and disorientation as an insight of the falling character in the opening scene giving a deeper relevance tot eh film named vertigo
Ideas and Inspiration...
We liked the idea of the car scene as it allows the audience to establish the location and time of day
We like this opening because of the use of editing when it came to the title sequence. We liked how it was blended in with objects such as the bottle and the grave stone.
We took great inspiration from this clip because of the different editing techniques. Such as the quick cuts showing a flash picture of flying birds and all kinds of things.
We like this opening because of the use of editing when it came to the title sequence. We liked how it was blended in with objects such as the bottle and the grave stone.
We took great inspiration from this clip because of the different editing techniques. Such as the quick cuts showing a flash picture of flying birds and all kinds of things.
Conventions of a thriller...
-Suspense, sound and silence are used to create the edge of the seat feel for the audience.
- Protagonist in danger
-Fear of the unknown, this makes the audience use their imagination and everyones villan is different
- Damsel in distress, can be a man or woman made to look vunerable
- Flawed hero, eg vertigo. this is used by exploiting the fear.
- Identity in question/ stolen/ no identity this creates confusion within the film and gives the protagonist a reason.
- Complex narratives, flash backs, non-linear speeding up and or slowing down, a common feature of thriller films.
- Different perspectives, often the story will be told from different point of veiws in order to complete the story
- Lighting dark/shadows a way to conceal the villan and create suspense
-Film Noir a focus on the lighting in the film
-Mystery, enigma revealed eventually
- Location, familiar, abandoned. these can create different feelings within the character a house will give a false sense of secutriy however an abandoned place will give a sense of mystery and horror.
-Women, naievty, voyerism the idea of seeing a woman as parts shots of eyes and lips are often used as a symbol for feminism.
- Protagonist in danger
-Fear of the unknown, this makes the audience use their imagination and everyones villan is different
- Damsel in distress, can be a man or woman made to look vunerable
- Flawed hero, eg vertigo. this is used by exploiting the fear.
- Identity in question/ stolen/ no identity this creates confusion within the film and gives the protagonist a reason.
- Complex narratives, flash backs, non-linear speeding up and or slowing down, a common feature of thriller films.
- Different perspectives, often the story will be told from different point of veiws in order to complete the story
- Lighting dark/shadows a way to conceal the villan and create suspense
-Film Noir a focus on the lighting in the film
-Mystery, enigma revealed eventually
- Location, familiar, abandoned. these can create different feelings within the character a house will give a false sense of secutriy however an abandoned place will give a sense of mystery and horror.
-Women, naievty, voyerism the idea of seeing a woman as parts shots of eyes and lips are often used as a symbol for feminism.
Deadlines...
-Shooting deadline: Wednesday 24th February
-Rough Cut: 1st march
-Final cut deadline: 22nd March
-Writing draft: 15th March
-Writing Final: 22nd March
-Rough Cut: 1st march
-Final cut deadline: 22nd March
-Writing draft: 15th March
-Writing Final: 22nd March
Thursday 7 January 2010
Preliminary Task
this was our second attempt at the preliminary task after we had gained some experience of using the equipment during the filming of our children's film opening, and also the first preliminary task.
