Friday 28 January 2011

Power Point presentation - what was learnt

plan before you start shooting:
  • draw a story board of the opening
  • make a detailed plan of all the shots and locations
  • book the camera equipment out for the days suitable for the group
  • go to the locations and take pictures to get a feel for what it will be like on shooting day
  • figure out any health and safety issues that can be solved early on and any other problems with location that can be resolved before shooting
  • label each location and shot in numbers so you can see clearly what shots need to be done at each location
  • take test shots at the locations to see if the locations works well in the shots
  • write up a time plan of what days and times all the group are able to film
  • plan the day when filming so you know what time you need to be at each location
  • start shooting

Thursday 27 January 2011

Feedback

Would it be more like a horror than a triller? We are going to do a supernatural thriller and it wouldn't show violence but the clothes the victim is wearing would indicate that she is being harmed or has been harmed as you don't know if she is a ghost or a real girl.

How would you know that the girl had gone missing? We might add in a montage of newspapers and pictures of the missing girl. Do a news broadcast of a presenter talking about a missing girl or do a radio broadcast and play it over the footage. We would play it over the first part of the opening as it would introduce the back story to the girl and a radio broadcast wouldn't take as much time or preparation.

Would the umbrella reappear every time with the girl? Yes but each time she would drop it. This would show that she is trying to protect herself with the umbrella but when she drops it it shows her protection has gone and each time she reappears it looks like she has been harmed more.

How will she disappear? we will do some test shots next week to see what effects we could use to make the fading effect we want. 

How will you film at the train station? we will ask if the person we are filming can go just inside the barriers and the people with the cameras before the barriers so they can see we wont try and go on a train. if this does not work and we are unable to film inside the station we will film outside and it will have the same effect. 

Try and film somewhere that would have more effect rather than just the quad because if you take time over the makeup and outfit the effect might be lost.  





Tuesday 25 January 2011

Pitch Post

Introduction - Story line. 
An idea for the title of our film so far is;  Lost and Found.
Our final idea was the story of a young person that went missing a long time ago, has been sighted in the playground of their old school. They were wearing the exact same clothes of the day they went missing, except holding a black umbrella to shield themselves. By the time anyone investigated, they was gone again but the umbrella remained lying on the playground floor. More regular sightings, but each time the child disappears again.


Sound.No dialogue would be necessary, just a constant non-diagetic sound track, as well as the surrounding diagetic sounds of traffic, rain and animals etc. The music will start off quiet, and strings dominated, then gradually build up in volume and with more drums. If possible we will try to use the weather to reflect the sinister nature of the film. This will therefore mean we have the sounds of the wind and rain adding to the effect of the soundtrack. Also the use of heavier breathing every time the victim appears will make the scene eerier. 


Shot Types. 
Varied and distorted shots would help to disorientate the viewer, and tie in with the confusion, manipulation and ideas about identity. First we would start with an establishing long shot in a fairly busy area, possibly a school entrance, just carrying on as normal. Then a slight juddering zoom and the missing person would appear in the background. Another juddering zoom and they have disappeared. 
This same sequence would be repeated in different locations such as, a town centre, a park and the train station. The zoom would continue to move towards a close up throughout the filming.  By doing so, it hints at the sub genres of murder mystery and fantasy with the possible ghost.


Mise-en-scene.A very dim mise-en-scene, mainly blacks and grey, with faded colours; minimal lighting but what is used should be all natural ie. the outdoor lighting. Titles would appear each time the victim appears, written in blood red, with dripping effects if possible. They would then fade out as the child disappears.
Suggestions of abuse in their costume, i.e. rips and blood etc. Also many ghost like qualities in the missing person's reappearance and disappearance. Their costume would entail either a little black dress (which we could purchase on the cheap) with rips, fake blood and then a jacket that is clearly too small for them.  They would be barefoot. Or, ripped jeans and a plain black t-shirt, with the same effects, if the dress is not possible to get hold of. 




 We would aim for a combination of these two make up styles. The paleness of the left image, but the dark eyes of the right.



This dress is something similar to the plain one we will look for and the hair style will hopefully be achievable.


Their make up would be ghostly white on their face, but dark eyes and artificial bruising. Hair would be scraggly, but tied back and possibly back combed. 


There will be four different settings where we see the victim disappear. They will be; A school, a local park, a station and a town centre. It shows the age of the girl as she is going back to the places she used to go. Almost as if she is haunting them this could suggest that she had a fatal experience as it is ambiguous to weather she's dead. 








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The only prop used in our opening is an umbrella it could suggest what type of weather conditions she was kidnapped in, just a normal winter day. It could also show that it has been a year since she went missing as it is winter again.














Editing
we will have to use many editing techniques as our filming will be simple so we will have to rely on editing to get the desired effect and right atmosphere. We would use continuity editing when it it showing the different locations as it would suggest that they were normal places in which she is appearing. We will use cuts to show the location as normal then showing the victim appear then disappear. Between locations we will use black outs to show the change in time and allow us to put in titles. We will use title animation this allows us to move the titles across the screen so they can move with the girl to reflect the girls disappearance and re appearance . The sound will go over the whole of the footage. 

Friday 21 January 2011

Sound - Ideas

For our own opening sequence, we already have ideas as to what we want to do/ achieve.
No dialogue will be included, to help disorientate our audience. However a constant non-diagetic soundtrack will play, probably mainly strings dominated to reinforce the tension and sinister nature of the film. Also diagetic sounds such as outdoor noises and household noises etc will be selective to help emphasize key points within the narrative.
Sound will play a key role, as without it the images/ filming would not have the same effect. It will do the same job as dialogue, just leaving the audience to question the plot themselves.  

analysis of sound in thriller opening


There is not much sound in this opening sequence, however the silence is equally important in building the suspense.
At the beginning, in the establishing shot we hear the diagetic sounds of birds and the outdoors, letting us know it is an ordinary quiet night. We also hear the letter box go, telling us this is important to the storyline. When in the house there is silence, only the sound of the girl drawing the curtain.
When we are outside again the diagetic sounds return, except this time with the added non-diagetic sound of the attackers heartbeat,  bringing an increasing sense of fear.
At 50 seconds, a non-diagetic soundtrack begins to play quietly. This is strings dominated as it helps to create tension. Now all that can be heard is this soundtrack and the heartbeat. Gradually the heart beat becomes louder and more drums are introduced to the soundtrack as the attacker gets closer to the victim. Both stop suddenly when the victim to be, turns and we see her reaction shot.
The lack of dialogue in this clip, makes it unclear for the audience, creating a sense of mystery.


Right from the beginning there is quite a loud, threatening non-diagetic soundtrack, played by an electric guitar. The style of this music creates a sense of urgency. However we also hear the diagetic sound of someone's running footsteps, adding to this atmosphere. In the soundtrack, in the background there is an eerie voice, making the clip seem more sinister. The footsteps are not constant, only returning when we see the character themselves running. Added to this we then get the heavy breathing of the character, despite never seeing their face. This creates a sense of mystery.
The soundtrack then dies out and we are only left with the heavy breathing as the attacker approaches their victim. This lets the silence create the tension, until the very end when the victim spots the attacker and the soundtrack comes back in, as they fall to the ground and we are left with a closing high angle shot of the attacker. The soundtrack reinforces the menacing nature of the attacker.
This also has no dialogue, confusing the audience with the sense of mystery.

Thursday 20 January 2011

Maura Stephenson - Thriller idea

my first idea is a phycological thriller. it would be about a stalker who takes girls captive after following them. the opening would be partly filmed on a bus where it would show breath on the window and water droplets trickling down on a dark morning. the camera would then scan the bus and focus on the back of a girl. she would look around looking scared or suspicious and the camera would zoom in on her face and her eye. the camera would follow her off the bus but stay in the same position. it would be shot through the window of the bus and would follow the girl across the street as she looked behind her again. there would also be some montage editing which would include photos of her and other girls and newspaper articles of missing girls.

my second idea would be about a mysterious man who has the same routine every day. it would follow him getting up and ready walking down the street and sitting in the park where he would sit and watch everyone who walks past. he would have a notepad where he would write down things when certain people walked past. he would then go back to his home where it could show a diagram he has been making up on his wall and things would start to connect together. he is obsessed with the city work men that walked past him every day and it leads him insane that he doesn't have what they have. 

Thriller opening sequence ideas.

Idea 3
The film would be a psychology thriller about a man or woman who has a split personality and murders innocent victims. The opening sequence would be flashes of an eye going into long black transitions. The eye looks agitated looking from side to side. When the clip goes into the black transitions you see the titles of the film. At the end of the clip you see the frightened eyes, turn into a smile.
The soundtrack would be made of strings instruments, the music would build suspense until you see the smiling eyes then it would suddenly stop.
The mise-en-scene would just be the eye.
Camera work would be extreme close up of a single eye. There would be hand held camera work used for the shots of the eye, this would make it look more realistic and disorientate the audience.
Editing would be build suspense with the soundtrack, so would start slow and build up speed.

Idea 4
The film is a crime thriller about a man who comes across a large amount of money. The opening would set the scene so it would show business men in suits holding a briefcase. Then it would cut back to a family man. The titles would show up between cut shots.
The mise-en-scene for the business man would be suits, the briefcase and be in a quiet suspicious location.
The soundtrack would be fast and mainly made up from drums.
The editing would be fast to keep up with the ideas of the films.
Camera shots would be a variety of shots to show how both sides of the story are so different.

Brainstorm - Thriller Opening Sequence

Idea 1: 
A child that went missing a long time ago, has been sighted in the playground of their old school. They were wearing the exact same clothes of the day they went missing, except holding a black umbrella to shield themselves. By the time anyone investigated, the child was gone again but the umbrella remained lying on the playground floor. More regular sightings, but each time the child disappears again. Suggestions of abuse in the child's costume, i.e. rips and blood etc. Also many ghost like qualities in the child's reappearance and disappearance.

No dialogue would be necessary, just a constant non-diagetic sound track, as well as the surrounding diagetic sounds of traffic, rain and animals etc.
An ending close up on a older male character with a sinister smile, would suggest the helplessness of the child (the protagonist).
A very dim mise-en-scene, mainly blacks and grey, with faded colours; minimal lighting but what is used should be all natural. Titles would appear each time the child appears, and fade out as the child disappears.
Varied and distorted shots would help to disorientate the viewer, and tie in with the confusion, manipulation and ideas about identity.
By doing so, it hints at the sub genres of murder mystery and fantasy with the possible ghost child.

Idea 2:  
People are falling fatally ill left, right and centre and the hospitals are over crowded. The staff can't cope and are at risk of catching it themselves. Doctors are working through the night to try and figure out what it is and what's causing it; so far no luck. The only correlation seems to be that they have all drunk water form the same water supplier. This company is unwillingly to comply with any investigations and stay behind locked doors. The disease continues to spread and it becomes increasingly clear it is in the water; there seems to be no way to stop the contamination and as the death rate rises the city enters a state of panic. Only when an insider of the company (protagonist) loses a family member do things start to come out in the open. This fits into the sub-genre of a conspiracy thriller.

This would need a much busier mise-en-scene, with bustling crowds and hospitals. A bigger industrial set, with all artificial lighting and uniform costumes. A voice over dialogue would introduce the narrative, as people explain their symptoms and what happened in the run up to it. Montage editing showing the victims/ patients, interrupted with prolonged close ups of flowing water.
Titles would appear in shots of flowing dirty water: flowing out of pipes, taps, into drains, dripping from showers and leaks. A non-diagetic soundtrack would build suspense, but be quite quiet, strings based and with a constant drip in the background.

Tuesday 18 January 2011

Assessing P1-03 (2008/09)

This group clearly put lots of effort into planning and researching. they also took on board constructive criticism from other groups and the teacher. Their blog is very thorough, however their final opening isn't uploaded. Also there are only subtle differences between their rough cut and the final opening on youtube.

From this group we can take ideas of where to find footage; the importance of test footage and how planning whether by storyboards or animatics will help narrow it down to the best ideas.

Student Evaluation 2 - The Return

This short thriller opening would be about a level 3  on the mark scheme, because although some aspects are met with excellence, others could have been improved upon.
They can clearly hold a shot steady where appropriate, as we see in the opening zoom:


Also we can see from this screen grab, that they have made use of appropriate titles.



In this extreme close up, we get evidence that they have varied shot distances to fit their atmosphere, we also get another example of the titles used.
To get between these two shots an interesting transition is used:
]

The blur round the edge of the frame, then took over into effectively fade in fade out, or cross blur to the eye. This was nice variety from cuts too. Also this is evidence of good framing, including and excluding elements/ surroundings as appropriate.

Most of the scenes in the montage editing, appear to be appropriate for thriller, however some don't seem to be necessary or fit in. For example this candle..


The dim/ faded mise-en-scene however is in keeping with the set task, as we can see in the frame below.  The setting is appropriate and the reappearing characters also fit in. 

Sound is used throughout, with an eerie backing track helping to build an atmosphere of tension. However the meaning is not really apparent to the viewer, as there are no clear events or purpose to what we see on screen. 
level 3
There is evidence of proficiency in the creative use of many of the following technical skills:

  • holding a shot steady, where appropriate
  • framing a shot, including and excluding elements as appropriate
  • using a variety of shot distances as appropriate
  • shooting material appropriate to the task set
  • selecting mise-en-scene including colour, figure, lighting, objects and setting
  • editing so that meaning is apparent to the viewer
  • using varied shot transitions and other effects selectively and appropriately for the task set
  • using sound with images and editing appropriately for the task set
  • using titles appropriately
(36-47 marks)

Level 4
There is evidence of excellence in the creative use of most of the following technical skills:

  • holding a shot steady, where appropriate
  • framing a shot, including and excluding elements as appropriate
  • using a variety of shot distances as appropriate
  • shooting material appropriate to the task set
  • selecting mise-en-scene including colour, figure, lighting, objects and setting
  • editing so that meaning is apparent to the viewer
  • using varied shot transitions and other effects selectively and appropriately for the task set
  • using sound with images and editing appropriately for the task set
  • using titles appropriately
(48-60 marks)


Thursday 13 January 2011

Memento Evaluation

The story of "Memento" is of a guy "Leonard" who is unable to make new memories and so uses his body as a notebook for tattoos to remind himself of key information.  This therefore acts as the protagonists 'Achilles heel'. 
At the beginning we are only shown the titles on a black screen, but we still hear a strings dominated soundtrack, used to preempt the tension.


The next sequence we see entirely in reverse. We are shown a canted angle, close up of a developed polaroid, although it is unclear as to what it is a picture of. 


Gradually he shakes the paper until it is blank again, the shot does not change. This is playing around with the audiences idea of reality and perception. .


Continued in reverse, it is then put back into the camera. We have still not been shown the face of the protagonist, as the camera keeps it at a close up, heightening the sense of mystery, confusion and building suspense. 


However here it begins to pan upwards to a  close up of his face, which is covered in cuts and bruises. This implies that he has been involved in action or peril, yet also makes him seem vulnerable. 


The camera returns to his side as the camera pans down his body, showing us how he is well dressed and giving a sense of status.  It then cuts to an extreme close up of blood running back up a wall. This is a very disorientating image as it is unclear as to where it is in relation to the victim. 


It then cuts between close ups of a bullet case on the floor, discarded glasses and then an overhead point of view shot of the victim faced down, surrounded by blood. 


We then see a low angle shot of the protagonist, the gun shoots back up to his hand, he kneels and things being to fly back to their original places: the bullet to the gun; the glasses to the victim and the victim rises slightly. He is then shot and we hear a scream. 





This all happens so quickly, it is confusing for the audience and all the while it is accompanied by the tense soundtrack.
The whole mise-en-scene is very dark for this sequence and confuses ideas of reality and perception. The film itself explores the trauma of "Leonard's" inability to create new memories and therefore his struggle for identity. 












Psychological Thriller Conventions

As well as all the regular thriller conventions, a psychological thriller also plays around with other themes, such as:
Identity; where mistaken identities, dual identities, amnesia and stolen identities are explored.
Memory; the torture of an individual of bad or traumatic memories. Also the trauma of a lost memory.
Reality and perception; a persons perceptions of what is and isn't real is also explored. Events are shown from the viewpoint of multiple characters.
Stream of consciousness; Internal thoughts.
Examples:
Inception
The tourist
The prestige
Shutter island
Inside man
Bourne identity
Catch me if you can

Wednesday 12 January 2011

Evaluation of a student thriller.

This Student thriller was called "Anonymous" and only 59 seconds in duration. However the group used this time very effectively to introduce their storyline.
It starts off with lots of interfering mechanical noises, a bit like white noise and some black and white, hand held camera work; establishing a forest location. This is slightly disorientating for the audience. 


This then goes to a sequence of extremely fast montage editing. This consists of footage/ images of hanging chains, a lake/ pond, medical x-rays showing scissors inside someone, what seem to be industrial areas, machinery and tools, an odd statue and more disturbing x-rays. There is then a slightly prolonged clip of a girl in a hospital bed; before the montage is repeated. 


The fact that all this filming is done in black and white adds a certain eeriness, along with the strings dominated accompaniment that creates a threatening atmosphere. Also the style of editing is very unsettling for the audience, providing no real sense of explanation, just implications. 
From a birds eye view shot, we then begin to get a proper introduction to who we assume is the main character in the hospital bed, as she begins to wake up, clearly disorientated. 


The montage is then repeated again and followed by an introduction to the narrative. A floor level shot catches the shoes and ankles of two medical staff walking down a corridor, discussing the patient. The voice overs explain to us that the doctors too are confused. 


The montage sequence continues to appear in between hospital shots, cutting up the parallel scenes of the doctors and the patient waking up. A voice over continues, whilst we watch the patient, establishing she is unknown, hence the name "Anonymous". We also have the music constant throughout this clip, reinforcing the sinister nature.  


The montage sequence is all in black and white and although the hospital shots are in colour, they are very dim, as the mise-en-scene is dark and mysterious. 
Throughout the opening sequence, there are titles of the production company:


the media company:


and names of people who worked on the introduction: 


This opening sequence is effective as it does not give too much away, but reveals and implies enough to hook the audience, and draw them into the atmosphere of the thriller. 


Friday 7 January 2011

classic thriller

the opening of this classic thriller 'Rear Window' introduces the setting of the film. It shows a view from inside a building, with blinds slowly opening, looking onto a block of flats.


The next shot shows the view from outside the window. It shows a bright block of flats. this confuses the viewer by creating a sense of a happy normal environment. The fact that this is an every day environment, yet is alluding that something extraordinary will happen in this setting, is a thriller convention, as it will heighten any sense of fear/ reality within the audience.


this shows a different angle showing that some one is looking around the block of flats giving the impression that this is all they can see from their position.

This shot introduces the protagonist, he appears sweaty implying he is nervous or that it is a hot day . The protagonist looks like a middle aged male.


This shows a thermometer hanging from the protagonists wall, it shows a high temperature. This object could be a McGuffin.

The view then goes back to looking out of the window, but this time focusing on neighbors (instead off setting). This is a shot of a young woman dancing round her kitchen in her underwear this could be seen as objectification of females, which Hitchcock often used in his fils.


It then goes back to another shot of the protagonist, this time it shows his weakness, which is an achilles heal which Hitchcock again uses a lot in his film, a broken leg.


This shows his position by the window and as well as the cast on his leg he is also in a wheelchair suggesting that he is weak and can not move on his own. giving the protagonist another achilles heel.


this shot shows a broken camera suggesting that it was once an important object. this can also be seen as a McGuffin because although not important now it could become a key part of the story.


After the camera photos are shown. this is a photo of a women, it tells us more about the character as he is obviously into photography.


The last shot used is the same photograph previously shown but of better quality on a magazine front page. this shows that he is a professional and is proud of his work as he has it in his home.