Friday, 23 April 2010
Thursday, 22 April 2010
Thriller Task- Feedback
Alice Conners
'I think that this opening sequence is very interesting and keeps me in suspense the whole time, the music is suitable for the mood that they are trying to create. I think that they could improve by trying to film when there is similar weather as in some shots it is really bright.'
Jordan Thorpe
'This scene is absolutely thrilling, it's a real mystery of who the character is that is following the young girl. She looks very vulnerable which make me think why is she sad. I would definitely want to watch more to get my questions answered.'
Andrew Tinley
'I think for an opening sequence it is good as it creates an narrative enigma which is good for the audience. I think they have aimed this thriller at the right audience of teenagers and young adults. Although a negative that I can point out is there are some continuity errors.'
'I think that this opening sequence is very interesting and keeps me in suspense the whole time, the music is suitable for the mood that they are trying to create. I think that they could improve by trying to film when there is similar weather as in some shots it is really bright.'
Jordan Thorpe
'This scene is absolutely thrilling, it's a real mystery of who the character is that is following the young girl. She looks very vulnerable which make me think why is she sad. I would definitely want to watch more to get my questions answered.'
Andrew Tinley
'I think for an opening sequence it is good as it creates an narrative enigma which is good for the audience. I think they have aimed this thriller at the right audience of teenagers and young adults. Although a negative that I can point out is there are some continuity errors.'
Thriller Task- Evaluation
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
For my media product of the thriller opening sequence I tried to follow the typical conventions of a thriller that could be easily recognised for this genre of film. As a group and individually, we watched a wide variety of thriller openings during the research process of this task to help us gain the knowledge of what made a thriller film. This helped me especially create potential ideas that could be incorporated using the conventions in the opening sequence.
My opening sequence does conform to some of the conventions that are often seen in thriller films. For example:
In my media product we have tried to represent many social groups, but have especially aimed our opening thriller sequence at teenagers and young adults ranging from 14-17 or 18-24 which I have found is the second largest audience that thriller films are aimed at according to (http://www.valmorgan.co.nz/nz/audiences/profiles/thrillers/files/thrillers/) . This is done by the use of characters and the actors that we have casted which are used to represent them. Character A (protagonist) looks like a normal teenager who is quite social. Her character can be compared to Casey in Scream (Wes Craven, 1996) is a young and beautiful character that appears helpless as she answers a call from an unknown character. Character A can been seen in the photo with her friends. The audience see her looking depressed and alone on the cliff top symbolises today's society where the youth now exclude and bully those who dare to be different. This can cause depression which may explain why she is all alone. The naturalistic lighti
ng establishes
s the location that teenagers may go out into the fields and may break the stereotypes that teenagers are normally lazy and never exercise. The close up of Character's A face shows her youth and innocence which can be very misleading to the audience. Her costume may represent teenagers as well as fashionistas who maybe interested in thriller films. This is because the clothes she is wearing are quite modern and the audience may envy her. The props may represent the teenager group of the 'geeks', as in the thriller opening sequence up to date technology is used such as mobile phones which are very popular with teenagers. Character B (protagonist) represent the older generation of males shows this by the use of costume of the long black coat. This suggests he is more sophisticated and discreet when appearing in the opening sequence compared to the antagonists. Another similar character to the protagonists is Rachel in The Ring (Gore Verbinski, 2002).
The distribution company that could market and distribute the film would be Lionsgate. This is because Lionsgate is a leading independent company with a strong and diverse range of motions pictures, television, home entertainment and digital distribution. Over the past few yea
rs Lionsgate had an annual revenue of $1.2 million in 2008, this has increased their market capitalisation from approximately $80 million to nearly $1.5 billion. I think this would be an appropriate company as they have a good reputation of distributing successful films in the past. These films include Basic Instinct (Paul Verhoeven, 1992), Saw (James Wan, 2004) and Crash (Paul Haggis, 2004) can be classed as typical in the genre thriller films.
Saw has been one of Lionsgate most successful franchises with the first four films already grossing more than half a billion dollars in worldwide box office and has sold more than 15 million DVD's. Lionsgate aims to distribute
small production companies that have low budgets like Saw. This company could be interested in my thriller as it is unique in terms of challenging some conventions that the average audience may not see. Their distribution strategy would include word by mouth which is a popular method and marketing the film in the UK by posters and adverts.
Another strategy could be viral marketing which is a powerful marketing tool used on the Internet. They could use social networking sites like Facebook and Myspace to promote the film targeting the audience. This could be done by above the line marketing where on the Internet trailers, wallpapers and games could be available. Or by below the line marketing which can also generate a lot of publicity by interviews and reviews done by the actors. The audience maybe interested in seeing a film that is associated with Lionsgate because it is well known because of films like Crash (Paul Haggis, 2004) which won a Oscar. Saw is quite similar to my thriller in terms of Absent becoming part of a franchise if the profit that the film made was successful. This could lead to European and US openings which would increase box office profits.
The audience that I have aimed my thriller opening sequence at would be teenagers and young adults. But would also like the thriller to appeal to a large audience as possible. A reason for this was because the sample for my questionnaire was students whom I asked at college. It will also depend on what age certificate the finished film would receive. It is aimed at this audience because the actors that are used are similar in age this way the audience could relate to the thriller in why Character A is alone and about to jump off the cliff. It also may appeal to thriller enthusiasts as it is a niche audience, it follows some of the typical thriller conventions. For example the protagonist is a young pretty girl/woman who is the victim and creates the narrative enigma. It could appeal to the female and male audience because they may want to know what happens to Character A and who this mysterious Character B is stopping her from jumping. Another reason is because the thriller genre of films are more popular with males, as it is often scary and disturbing. They may been seen as brave and strong which are connotations of being masculine. This would be the best audience as many teenagers like to go out to the cinema and is more economically viable as the prices for the cinema are not that expensive.
How did you attract/address your audience?
I tried to attract my audience of teenagers and young adults through the the casting of actors and
props which I have used. The actors do represent the age that I wanted to aim my opening thriller sequence target audience at. The close up of Character's A face when she is on the phone shows her vulnerability. The props used may appeal to the audience because of the latest technology which is used for example her phone, which is a new Blackberry phone that the female audience especially may envy. We have tried to keep the opening sequence ambiguous and the suspense throughout. The sharp transitions from each shot shows the contrast between the protagonist and antagonist which leads to an creative enigma for the audience.
Although this still image is not clear, it shows Character A holding a Blackberry.
When I was editing I found it hard to layer the audio with the extra footage, as this software was new to me. I overcame this by the help of Shaneece who showed me what to do. The problems that I encountered that I now realise, is continuity errors, as the lighting is noticably different in some shots which dont seem to make the opening sequence look as professional.
For my media product of the thriller opening sequence I tried to follow the typical conventions of a thriller that could be easily recognised for this genre of film. As a group and individually, we watched a wide variety of thriller openings during the research process of this task to help us gain the knowledge of what made a thriller film. This helped me especially create potential ideas that could be incorporated using the conventions in the opening sequence.
My opening sequence does conform to some of the conventions that are often seen in thriller films. For example:
The over the shoulder shot which shows Character A looking out into the distance this creates an narrative enigma to the audience of why she is there on top of a cliff and may want to watch more to find out why.
An establishing shot which shows the location of where the opening scene is based around. This sets the scene and gives the audience an idea of what is going to happen. This establishing shot is similar to the thriller film of Silence of the Lambs (Jonathan Demme,1991) where the audience first see that opening sequence is also set in a forest.
The establishing shot is similar to the thriller of Donnie Darko (Richard Kelly, 2001) as it creates ambiguity and suspense.
The protagonist is clearly identifiable as she is dressed in fashionable young clothes and looks vulnerable. The character who plays the protagonist in Mulholland Drive (David Lynch, 2001) is also very easy to identify, she is young, pretty and also looks vulnerable.
The conventions that I have challenged is filming in a naturalistic light environment which is not commonly seen in a thriller film. It is usually dark and gloomy which gives an sinister atmosphere towards the audience like in the opening sequence of Die Another Day (Lee Tamahori, 2002).
Another convention that we have challenged is the using the handheld camera which is zooming in on Character A. This draws the audience in as it creates an narrative enigma in the way the audience want to know who is looking at her.
We have challenged the conventions to try and make our thriller opening sequence unique and distinctive to the audience so it can stand out from other thriller films. Another reason is because this may create a new style that could be integrated into new films for the future.
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
In my media product we have tried to represent many social groups, but have especially aimed our opening thriller sequence at teenagers and young adults ranging from 14-17 or 18-24 which I have found is the second largest audience that thriller films are aimed at according to (http://www.valmorgan.co.nz/nz/audiences/profiles/thrillers/files/thrillers/) . This is done by the use of characters and the actors that we have casted which are used to represent them. Character A (protagonist) looks like a normal teenager who is quite social. Her character can be compared to Casey in Scream (Wes Craven, 1996) is a young and beautiful character that appears helpless as she answers a call from an unknown character. Character A can been seen in the photo with her friends. The audience see her looking depressed and alone on the cliff top symbolises today's society where the youth now exclude and bully those who dare to be different. This can cause depression which may explain why she is all alone. The naturalistic lighti
ng establishes
s the location that teenagers may go out into the fields and may break the stereotypes that teenagers are normally lazy and never exercise. The close up of Character's A face shows her youth and innocence which can be very misleading to the audience. Her costume may represent teenagers as well as fashionistas who maybe interested in thriller films. This is because the clothes she is wearing are quite modern and the audience may envy her. The props may represent the teenager group of the 'geeks', as in the thriller opening sequence up to date technology is used such as mobile phones which are very popular with teenagers. Character B (protagonist) represent the older generation of males shows this by the use of costume of the long black coat. This suggests he is more sophisticated and discreet when appearing in the opening sequence compared to the antagonists. Another similar character to the protagonists is Rachel in The Ring (Gore Verbinski, 2002).What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
The distribution company that could market and distribute the film would be Lionsgate. This is because Lionsgate is a leading independent company with a strong and diverse range of motions pictures, television, home entertainment and digital distribution. Over the past few yea
rs Lionsgate had an annual revenue of $1.2 million in 2008, this has increased their market capitalisation from approximately $80 million to nearly $1.5 billion. I think this would be an appropriate company as they have a good reputation of distributing successful films in the past. These films include Basic Instinct (Paul Verhoeven, 1992), Saw (James Wan, 2004) and Crash (Paul Haggis, 2004) can be classed as typical in the genre thriller films. Saw has been one of Lionsgate most successful franchises with the first four films already grossing more than half a billion dollars in worldwide box office and has sold more than 15 million DVD's. Lionsgate aims to distribute
small production companies that have low budgets like Saw. This company could be interested in my thriller as it is unique in terms of challenging some conventions that the average audience may not see. Their distribution strategy would include word by mouth which is a popular method and marketing the film in the UK by posters and adverts.Another strategy could be viral marketing which is a powerful marketing tool used on the Internet. They could use social networking sites like Facebook and Myspace to promote the film targeting the audience. This could be done by above the line marketing where on the Internet trailers, wallpapers and games could be available. Or by below the line marketing which can also generate a lot of publicity by interviews and reviews done by the actors. The audience maybe interested in seeing a film that is associated with Lionsgate because it is well known because of films like Crash (Paul Haggis, 2004) which won a Oscar. Saw is quite similar to my thriller in terms of Absent becoming part of a franchise if the profit that the film made was successful. This could lead to European and US openings which would increase box office profits.
Saw made $18,276,468 on its opening weekend and went on to gross $103 million in 9 weeks of being in cinemas.
Who would be the audience for your media product?
The audience that I have aimed my thriller opening sequence at would be teenagers and young adults. But would also like the thriller to appeal to a large audience as possible. A reason for this was because the sample for my questionnaire was students whom I asked at college. It will also depend on what age certificate the finished film would receive. It is aimed at this audience because the actors that are used are similar in age this way the audience could relate to the thriller in why Character A is alone and about to jump off the cliff. It also may appeal to thriller enthusiasts as it is a niche audience, it follows some of the typical thriller conventions. For example the protagonist is a young pretty girl/woman who is the victim and creates the narrative enigma. It could appeal to the female and male audience because they may want to know what happens to Character A and who this mysterious Character B is stopping her from jumping. Another reason is because the thriller genre of films are more popular with males, as it is often scary and disturbing. They may been seen as brave and strong which are connotations of being masculine. This would be the best audience as many teenagers like to go out to the cinema and is more economically viable as the prices for the cinema are not that expensive.
How did you attract/address your audience?
I tried to attract my audience of teenagers and young adults through the the casting of actors and
props which I have used. The actors do represent the age that I wanted to aim my opening thriller sequence target audience at. The close up of Character's A face when she is on the phone shows her vulnerability. The props used may appeal to the audience because of the latest technology which is used for example her phone, which is a new Blackberry phone that the female audience especially may envy. We have tried to keep the opening sequence ambiguous and the suspense throughout. The sharp transitions from each shot shows the contrast between the protagonist and antagonist which leads to an creative enigma for the audience.Although this still image is not clear, it shows Character A holding a Blackberry.
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
When filming the preliminary task this was the first time that I had used a DV camera and tripod, I learnt very fast of how to work the camera and the tripod as we were working to a deadline. I increased my knowledge of the equipment during this process when filming tracking and over the shoulder shots. When filming for the main task I found that I had more time to learn how to use the tripod which enabled me to film steadier close ups. I learnt how to change the white balance and use the various settings on the camera which helped to gain the best quality of film we could. We also used the high key lighting equipment in some of our shots. But this casted unwanted shadows. For future I would prefer to use naturalistic lighting. Although, when it came to the editing process I used the software Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 for the first time. With the help of Shaneece who had previous knowledge this helped me gain the knowledge and confidence to use this software to the best of my ability. When editing I felt comfortable that I knew how to edit the shots that I did not want and merge them together. For the audio I searched many websites till i found the right music that would accompany Character's B long shot of him walking towards the camera.
When filming the preliminary task this was the first time that I had used a DV camera and tripod, I learnt very fast of how to work the camera and the tripod as we were working to a deadline. I increased my knowledge of the equipment during this process when filming tracking and over the shoulder shots. When filming for the main task I found that I had more time to learn how to use the tripod which enabled me to film steadier close ups. I learnt how to change the white balance and use the various settings on the camera which helped to gain the best quality of film we could. We also used the high key lighting equipment in some of our shots. But this casted unwanted shadows. For future I would prefer to use naturalistic lighting. Although, when it came to the editing process I used the software Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 for the first time. With the help of Shaneece who had previous knowledge this helped me gain the knowledge and confidence to use this software to the best of my ability. When editing I felt comfortable that I knew how to edit the shots that I did not want and merge them together. For the audio I searched many websites till i found the right music that would accompany Character's B long shot of him walking towards the camera.
When I was editing I found it hard to layer the audio with the extra footage, as this software was new to me. I overcame this by the help of Shaneece who showed me what to do. The problems that I encountered that I now realise, is continuity errors, as the lighting is noticably different in some shots which dont seem to make the opening sequence look as professional.
Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
Since my preliminary task, I feel that I have learnt a lot and have made good progress which hopefully can be seen in my work. The preliminary task allowed me to firstly learn the match on action shot, the 180 degree rule and shot reverse shot. It also allowed me to use the camera, tripod and editing. This limited me to what I could explore with these as the preliminary task was shorter and had a smaller time period to complete. When carrying out the final piece I could use them to their full potential as I had less to learn but was able to explore more. This gave the group more time to plan and perfect our final piece the best we could. When planning I got to try different camera angles, shots and movements like many match-on-action shots; close ups; mid-shots; long shots; over the shoulder shots; extreme close ups; establishing shots and zooms.
Since my preliminary task, I feel that I have learnt a lot and have made good progress which hopefully can be seen in my work. The preliminary task allowed me to firstly learn the match on action shot, the 180 degree rule and shot reverse shot. It also allowed me to use the camera, tripod and editing. This limited me to what I could explore with these as the preliminary task was shorter and had a smaller time period to complete. When carrying out the final piece I could use them to their full potential as I had less to learn but was able to explore more. This gave the group more time to plan and perfect our final piece the best we could. When planning I got to try different camera angles, shots and movements like many match-on-action shots; close ups; mid-shots; long shots; over the shoulder shots; extreme close ups; establishing shots and zooms.
I think this is one of the transitions that was not neccessarily needed, but the use of them showed us what effect it gave.
During the editing process in the preliminary task, I came to see that certain shots flowed best when a transistion was inserted. This was a negative in this task for me as we used too many transitions this made the sequence look exaggerated (above). For the audio which was used to set the mood and create the atmosphere for the audience. We recorded a vareity of digetic, non diegetic and ambient sounds like traffic and birds to create the effect. This task showed me how much work goes into the planning a film and how many individual shots need to be filmed to get the continuity right. I learnt about what conventions were included in a thriller film. I then used these convention in my own thriller opening sequence to make it look authentic.
This is our final thriller opening sequence timline, as you can see that a lot of work that has been put in all the way through.
Thriller Task- Final Editing
Lesson 22- 22/4/10
Today, was our final editing lesson before the final deadline, we had to adjust the audio in the close up when Character A was texting her mother. As the ambient sound that was already recorded was not very clear. So we used a clip of audio that we had used on a previous shot in the opening sequence. We did this by layering the new audio over the shot this made it sound better and fitted perfectly with the rest of the footage.
Next, we rendered our opening sequence and then exported to an AVI file using Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 which took us to the end of the lesson. As uploading the video on to Youtube would take an hour or two, Shaneece offered to do this at home.
Today, was our final editing lesson before the final deadline, we had to adjust the audio in the close up when Character A was texting her mother. As the ambient sound that was already recorded was not very clear. So we used a clip of audio that we had used on a previous shot in the opening sequence. We did this by layering the new audio over the shot this made it sound better and fitted perfectly with the rest of the footage.
Next, we rendered our opening sequence and then exported to an AVI file using Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 which took us to the end of the lesson. As uploading the video on to Youtube would take an hour or two, Shaneece offered to do this at home.
Tuesday, 20 April 2010
Thriller Task- Re Editing
Lesson 21- 20/4/10
In today's lesson we had to edit what we had filmed on Saturday of Character A. The first shot that we we had to edit was Character A standing at the cliff top while the camera was looking at her from the trees. This shot was what we had hope for, we inserted this clip in to our opening sequence near the start as this would make more sense to the audience. We thought it created a tense atmosphere and general concern for the young girl. The audio of the twigs snapping could be clearly heard which we were happy about. When editing the next shot of Character A texting her mother, we encountered a problem. As we used Trisha's phone as the main prop which Character A used, you could see the reflection of the camera and Trisha's previous texts. We thought this ruined the tension and suspense, but by adjusting the colour brightness and contrast, we were able to dim part of the phones screen so they no longer could been seen. The final shot that we recorded of the pan was filmed several times but we found that the camera had recorded the two boys in the shot. As we only needed half the pan from the start we cropped the shot and tried to merge it to the previous shot. After several attempts we managed it.
In the end we decided not to have music for Character B's entrance as the ambient sound of the birds and the traffic was more than suitable and fitted the atmosphere that we were trying to create for the audience.
Next lesson we will see if there any small adjustments that could be made to our opening sequence before the deadline (22/4/10).
Saturday, 17 April 2010
Thriller Task- Re Filming
17/4/10
This was the chosen and final date that we could film before our final deadline as we were all free and the weather was suitable. Like usual we each took turns in filming and directing each others shots as best we could. We went back to the first location which was at the top of cliff top, the first shot was Cha
racter A standing at the cliff while the camera was looking through the trees, to give the impression that someone was watching her. This supposedly was to be Character B. I had to film this shot from behind these trees which was quite difficult, because of other branches that potentially could have damaged the equipment. At first I tried shaking the camera to give the impression that the shot was handheld but this did not look right. Trisha came up with the idea to have a twig snapping, showing Character A looking around and then turning back round again. Shaneece was the one who had to get a few twigs and snapped them near the camera so the audio recorded and could be heard clearly. This took a few attempts to get right, in the end we were satisfied.
racter A standing at the cliff while the camera was looking through the trees, to give the impression that someone was watching her. This supposedly was to be Character B. I had to film this shot from behind these trees which was quite difficult, because of other branches that potentially could have damaged the equipment. At first I tried shaking the camera to give the impression that the shot was handheld but this did not look right. Trisha came up with the idea to have a twig snapping, showing Character A looking around and then turning back round again. Shaneece was the one who had to get a few twigs and snapped them near the camera so the audio recorded and could be heard clearly. This took a few attempts to get right, in the end we were satisfied. The next shot that we were to film to improve our opening sequence was the close up of Character A's text, 'I love you.' to her mother. These were new shots that we decided to add as previously it was unclear to the audience of why Character A was at the cliff top. This was filmed by Shaneece as she was taller enough to get this shot. Trisha then filmed the pan from left to right of Character A looking for the phone as it rang, this needed to be re shot as when viewing the opening sequence the audience could notice that the camera did not move smoothly. When filming this shot we encountered two young boys on the cliff top who were in the shot. We asked them politely if they could move to the side for a short period of time, while we filmed. They agreed. We finally checked that we had filmed all the right shots and we were happy with what we had recorded.
When back at college we will edit the shots that we have filmed (20/4/10).
Thursday, 15 April 2010
Thriller Task- Re Editing
Lesson 20- 15/4/10
Today we had previously planned to film the final shots of Character A but due to our actress being ill this was not possible. Another reason was because the weather was cloudy and grey this would have caused a continuity error which we did not want. We decided that we would film on the Saturday (17/4/10). This was a date that we were all free and it would leave us enough time to re edit and make further improvements to the deadline.
Instead we decided to edit in the shots of Character B that we had filmed on Tuesday. We edited in the long shot of Character B walking into the shot down the graveyard as previously it looked too rehearsed. The close up of Character B was edited in which we thought looked more clearer, although the extreme close up did not appear right. So we decided to overlay the audio of the close up that was already in our thriller opening sequence. This worked perfectly and the dialogue was more clearer.
I yet again searched for music that would accompany Character B's entrance into the opening sequence but was unsuccessful.
Tuesday, 13 April 2010
Thriller Task- Re Filming
Lesson 19- 13/4/10
Although yet another problem occurred today as one of our actors (Character A) did not wear the same clothes as they were wearing the first time we were filming. If we were to film this would cause a big continuity problem and would ruin the whole opening sequence. As a group we did consider filming the whole thing again but I made the point that this would take too long to film and edit as we have only a short amount of time before the deadline.
Unfortunately as a group we did not film in the holidays, due to other prior commitments so decided to film the Tuesday (today) we got back to college. Therefore we booked out the camera and the tripod again. We asked our actors if they were able to film these extra shots as without them as well we could not film and finish the opening sequence.
Although yet another problem occurred today as one of our actors (Character A) did not wear the same clothes as they were wearing the first time we were filming. If we were to film this would cause a big continuity problem and would ruin the whole opening sequence. As a group we did consider filming the whole thing again but I made the point that this would take too long to film and edit as we have only a short amount of time before the deadline.As the other actor (Character B) is always in a separate shot we agreed to film his shots again as this was a part of our improvements. We went back to the location of the graveyard and filmed. The weather was again warm and sunny which was similar to the first time we filmed, this was quite lucky for us as the shots came out right. The shots that we took in turn to film were the long shot of Character B walking away from the camera as we thought this would make him appear more mysterious towards the audience. I filmed the close up of him dialling the number on the phone and Shaneece filmed the extreme close of Character B saying 'Don't jump.' We helped each other when filming by directing and making suggestions that could improve our shots.
On Thursday (15/4/10) we have decided to film the last shots of Character A so we can begin to re edit.
Thursday, 25 March 2010
Thriller Task- Improvements
Lesson 18- 25/3/10
In today's lesson we decided to improve the editing from the feedback we got back from Tuesday, this included cutting down the length of time of the long shot of Character B walking down the graveyard. In this shot the audience could see where he started walking and looked to rehearsed. I cut down this shot so the audience could now see the character already walking, which gives the question from the audience where is the man walking to. The opening credits needed to stay longer on the screen as they disappeared to quickly before the audience could read them. I extended the clip along the timeline and then inserted a dip to black in between each credit of the opening sequence. This gives the thriller a dark and sinister impression to the audience.
We yet again got feedback from our teacher who watched our thriller opening sequence, he suggested that we should add a flashback which would give the audience an idea of why Character A is at a cliff top and why she is looking sad and suicidal. We decided to create this flashback by filming a shot of where Character A is writing a letter to her mum saying goodbye. This would create an enigma for the audience.
We decided to book the camera and tripod out for the holidays as we could try and film in the holidays this would save us time when it comes to editing for the second time.
In today's lesson we decided to improve the editing from the feedback we got back from Tuesday, this included cutting down the length of time of the long shot of Character B walking down the graveyard. In this shot the audience could see where he started walking and looked to rehearsed. I cut down this shot so the audience could now see the character already walking, which gives the question from the audience where is the man walking to. The opening credits needed to stay longer on the screen as they disappeared to quickly before the audience could read them. I extended the clip along the timeline and then inserted a dip to black in between each credit of the opening sequence. This gives the thriller a dark and sinister impression to the audience.
We yet again got feedback from our teacher who watched our thriller opening sequence, he suggested that we should add a flashback which would give the audience an idea of why Character A is at a cliff top and why she is looking sad and suicidal. We decided to create this flashback by filming a shot of where Character A is writing a letter to her mum saying goodbye. This would create an enigma for the audience.
We decided to book the camera and tripod out for the holidays as we could try and film in the holidays this would save us time when it comes to editing for the second time.
Tuesday, 23 March 2010
Thriller Task- Feedback
Lesson 17- 23/3/10
In today's lesson my group had to export the thriller opening sequence to AVI again as I found the problem of the video footage was not right. When viewing the opening sequence on YouTube and my blog I saw that the footage was grey and you could not the effects that we had added.
Exporting to AVI was not a problem and was simple enough, this took little time. But whist uploading the video onto YouTube, it appeared to take a long time and slowed down the process. All we could do was to wait. Meanwhile, we were watching the other groups opening sequences to see what they had achieved so far. We watched through each sequence and would give both positive and negative feedback about the thriller and what they could do to improve. When it came to show our thriller we had to view it on Windows Media Player as our thriller was still uploading onto YouTube. The general feedback was good from the rest of the class, which I liked to know that others were intrigued to watch on from what we had achieved so far.
In today's lesson my group had to export the thriller opening sequence to AVI again as I found the problem of the video footage was not right. When viewing the opening sequence on YouTube and my blog I saw that the footage was grey and you could not the effects that we had added.
Exporting to AVI was not a problem and was simple enough, this took little time. But whist uploading the video onto YouTube, it appeared to take a long time and slowed down the process. All we could do was to wait. Meanwhile, we were watching the other groups opening sequences to see what they had achieved so far. We watched through each sequence and would give both positive and negative feedback about the thriller and what they could do to improve. When it came to show our thriller we had to view it on Windows Media Player as our thriller was still uploading onto YouTube. The general feedback was good from the rest of the class, which I liked to know that others were intrigued to watch on from what we had achieved so far.
The improvements that were suggested to us is to make Character B's entrance more clearer as the audience were not sure of who he was and unfortunately could not understand what he was saying. Another improvement was to use other transitions as the ones that we were currently using were not giving the right impression towards the audience.
After, Shaneece, Trisha and I decided that we needed to re-film some shots for example, Character B's entrance and dialogue, the tracking shot of Character A when she is walking towards the film, music to accompany Character's B long shot. We thought we could try and film in the Easter holidays that were coming up as this would give us more time when we came back to edit the new footage. The video finally uploaded to YouTube and I uploaded the video to my blog to be viewed and marked.
Next lesson, we will change the transitions that we are currently using to give the right impression and atmosphere to the audience.
After, Shaneece, Trisha and I decided that we needed to re-film some shots for example, Character B's entrance and dialogue, the tracking shot of Character A when she is walking towards the film, music to accompany Character's B long shot. We thought we could try and film in the Easter holidays that were coming up as this would give us more time when we came back to edit the new footage. The video finally uploaded to YouTube and I uploaded the video to my blog to be viewed and marked.
Next lesson, we will change the transitions that we are currently using to give the right impression and atmosphere to the audience.
Friday, 19 March 2010
Thriller Task- 1st Draft
This is our 1st draft of our thriller opening sequence, in which the deadline was today. When we were importing the video to YouTube we saw that the footage did not come out right. The screen was grey and you could not see what was happening. As this is our first draft I know that there are many improvements to be made.
Earlier today Shaneece and I decided to export the opening sequence by exporting to AVI and then uploading the video to YouTube and our blog to meet the deadline. I think that overall our thriller opening sequence does fit into the thriller genre of films as we have tried to create a tense atmosphere at the start which leaves the audience with questions so that they would want to watch on to find the answers. I think that we have used the right actors as Character A fits her role and tries to act out the characters sadness and anger. I think the establishing shot really gives the audience an idea of where the first scene is set.
I think that the tracking shot of Character A walking to the phone gets ruined as the camera moves, although it is not that noticeable, it gives the opening sequence an unprofessional sense. Due to the deadline date we were not able to find music to accompany Character's B scene as he walking down the graveyard. The long shot of this is too long in my opinion and needs to be cut down.
Thursday, 18 March 2010
Thriller Task- Final Editing
Lesson 16- 18/3/10
In today's lesson we decided to solely concentrate on the music that we could use for our thriller opening sequence. Individually, we looked at the different websites that gave free copyright music. It was quite hard to find the appropriate music that would give the correct atmosphere and will keep the audience in suspense. I did this by searching keywords on these websites like, 'thriller', 'suspense' and 'dark'. This helped to narrow down the results and was less time consuming. Shaneece and Trisha found a piece of music on the website: http://freeplaymusic.com called 'Abandoned'. (Found on Drama Vol 1, composed by Robert Davidson). I agreed with the rest of my group that music was fitting for the thriller opening sequence. We downloaded the track and then imported it onto Adobe Premier Pro CS4. The starting to the music piece suited the opening sequence so we placed the clip to the right point of the visuals where it matched perfectly when Character A opens the picture, it creates the right mood to the audience. We made sure that it ended at a convenient time so the suspense that is built up is not lost.
Next we moved on to the title sequence which would be placed at the start of the opening sequence. The final title of our thriller opening sequence is 'Absent' which is placed before the scene beings, the transition that we inserted is a dissolve as we decided that it gave a mysterious impression to the audience. We also included the production name and the actors name within the credits by using transitions as well. We decided to slow down these transitions to give a tense feeling towards the audience.
On Friday (19/3/10) is when the deadline for our first draft of the thriller opening sequence is due in. This is where we will receive feedback on the work that we have done so far. I think that we will have to look at the consistency of the sequence to make sure that is flows naturally and is not too jumpy.
Tuesday, 16 March 2010
Thriller Task- Editing
Lesson 15- 16/3/10
In today's lesson we carried on with the penultimate part of editing our opening sequence. We were currently editing the extreme close up of Character B on the phone saying, 'Don't jump.' From there we carried on editing till the end of the opening sequence by cutting each clip until we were satisfied. We found that many of the clips that we had previously filmed there was white noise that ruined the atmosphere. So we copied the audio of ambient sound of the birds and traffic in the background to this part of the opening sequence. We cut and stretched the audio until the audio blended into the clips. We decided to keep the footage in colour as this would give the full effect of the scenery and so the opening sequence would appeal to the audience of teenagers.
After editing the last clip of a low angle long shot of Character A running off into
the distance. This meant that we could now move on to the effects of transitions and the titles. We trailed and error a few transitions that we thought would work when the scene changes. Fortunately, this did not take a long time as we knew what effect many of these transitions gave from the previous preliminary task beforehand. We inserted a editing transition between the establishing shot and the close of Character's A feet walking. We did not add a transition or effect to after every clip as then the opening sequence would not flow and look naturalistic. Also when viewing the sequence it would not give a good impression that it is of a thriller genre.
In today's lesson we carried on with the penultimate part of editing our opening sequence. We were currently editing the extreme close up of Character B on the phone saying, 'Don't jump.' From there we carried on editing till the end of the opening sequence by cutting each clip until we were satisfied. We found that many of the clips that we had previously filmed there was white noise that ruined the atmosphere. So we copied the audio of ambient sound of the birds and traffic in the background to this part of the opening sequence. We cut and stretched the audio until the audio blended into the clips. We decided to keep the footage in colour as this would give the full effect of the scenery and so the opening sequence would appeal to the audience of teenagers.
After editing the last clip of a low angle long shot of Character A running off into
the distance. This meant that we could now move on to the effects of transitions and the titles. We trailed and error a few transitions that we thought would work when the scene changes. Fortunately, this did not take a long time as we knew what effect many of these transitions gave from the previous preliminary task beforehand. We inserted a editing transition between the establishing shot and the close of Character's A feet walking. We did not add a transition or effect to after every clip as then the opening sequence would not flow and look naturalistic. Also when viewing the sequence it would not give a good impression that it is of a thriller genre.We again started to discuss what potential music we could incorporate into our thriller opening sequence. I heard that many of the sites which were copyright free were blocked at collage therefore I decided to research into these websites at home to see what I could find. I will report back to the group to show them what I have found.
Thursday, 11 March 2010
Thriller Task- Editing
Lesson 14- 11/3/10
In today's lesson, we carried on with editing our opening sequence, currently we are editing the shot of the close up of the phone that is ringing under the leaves and twigs. When we were filming this shot, we found it very difficult to get the angle and the pace of the shot right. On many occasions this was ruined by the camera moving to fast/slow or that the camera did not pick up the phone screen due to the sunlight glistening of it. We could not find a clip that was perfect so we decided to cut clips of each clip to see if it work. This would help us avoid re filming this shot although we do have time. Whilst getting the cut at the right place we decided that the pace of the zoom in was too slow so we quickened the pace. This would keep the audience interested. When we carried onto the next clip, the Adobe Premier Pro CS4 crashed this caused us to lose the work we were currently working on. Unfortunately we lost some of the editing that we had done in today's lesson. Shaneece said she do this part of the editing again whilst Trisha and I would discuss what ideas we had about the music we would use. We decided that we did not need to record any ambient sound. But we would try find soundtrack music (copyright free) that we could use for the end of the opening sequence.
Next lesson we will carry on editing and make a decision of what sound we are going to incorporate in our opening sequence.
Tuesday, 9 March 2010
Thriller Task- Editing
Lesson 13- 9/3/10
Next lesson we will carry on editing as we have now edited just over a minute of film for our opening sequence.
In today's lesson we carried on with the editing by finding the first clip that would appear in our thriller opening sequence. This was an establishing shot which was filmed several times and lasted over 30 seconds. We thought that this time was too long to establish the scene so decided to cut out the last 10 seconds out. This would give enough time for the audience to re
cognise the scene before they get distracted from the opening. This software enables us to cut parts out of the clip that are not needed exactly to our preferences. The next clip that we edited was the close up of Character's A feet walking, we had to adjust the colour as the clip was quite bright. We went through each clip as a group deciding where to cut when appropriate. On the over shoulder we saw that the sun light was too bright, this caused the clip to look too bright in contrast to the others clips. This stopped the opening sequence from flowing and we were concerned that we had to re shoot the particular clip. But by adjusting the colour we yet again over came this problem. We went through each clip repeating this process of cutting down the clip and adjusting the audio. As all three of us are very opinionated and wanted this opening sequence to be the best as it could be. We would sometimes disagree on the clips, but would offer our ideas of how to improve.
cognise the scene before they get distracted from the opening. This software enables us to cut parts out of the clip that are not needed exactly to our preferences. The next clip that we edited was the close up of Character's A feet walking, we had to adjust the colour as the clip was quite bright. We went through each clip as a group deciding where to cut when appropriate. On the over shoulder we saw that the sun light was too bright, this caused the clip to look too bright in contrast to the others clips. This stopped the opening sequence from flowing and we were concerned that we had to re shoot the particular clip. But by adjusting the colour we yet again over came this problem. We went through each clip repeating this process of cutting down the clip and adjusting the audio. As all three of us are very opinionated and wanted this opening sequence to be the best as it could be. We would sometimes disagree on the clips, but would offer our ideas of how to improve. Next lesson we will carry on editing as we have now edited just over a minute of film for our opening sequence.
Thursday, 4 March 2010
Thriller Task- Editing
Lesson 12- 4/3/10
In today's lesson we were able to start editing the shots that we had previously filmed on Tuesday. But first we had to capture what we had filmed onto the computer from the tape, whilst capturing we realised that the footage that was playing was blurry and pixelated. This did not look good so we ejected the tape and started again. This did not make a difference and the footage was still not as its best quality. We decided to capture the footage straight from the tape when in the camera that we used. This helped and improved the quality of the footage as the pixels were not blurred. This took a while as we realised that we filmed quite a lot of shots and left the camera recording at times when it wasn't necessarily. We again would used the editing software Adobe Premiere Pro CS4. We saved the clips onto our own 'T drive' that we had been assigned to for this task.
In today's lesson we were able to start editing the shots that we had previously filmed on Tuesday. But first we had to capture what we had filmed onto the computer from the tape, whilst capturing we realised that the footage that was playing was blurry and pixelated. This did not look good so we ejected the tape and started again. This did not make a difference and the footage was still not as its best quality. We decided to capture the footage straight from the tape when in the camera that we used. This helped and improved the quality of the footage as the pixels were not blurred. This took a while as we realised that we filmed quite a lot of shots and left the camera recording at times when it wasn't necessarily. We again would used the editing software Adobe Premiere Pro CS4. We saved the clips onto our own 'T drive' that we had been assigned to for this task.
There was over 50 clips that had been captured onto the computer where many of them were needed. Most were attempts of shots that had gone wrong so we recorded again. We went through each clip deleting those that were not needed this would make it easier when editing just with a few clips. When we had completed this we were ready to starting the editing process but the timeline which would help to organise our clips was not present. Unfortunately, this took a while to find as there are many processes on this particular software which made it difficult and time consuming.
Next lesson we will carry on with the editing the clips and add the transitions which are needed. We will also think about the music that we can use and see if any of the footage needs to be re filmed.
Tuesday, 2 March 2010
Thriller Task- Filming
Lesson 11- 2/3/10
I believe that filming went according to plan as we managed to get all the shots completed. This is because we were able to get at least two or three takes of each shot to ensure we were satisfied with each shot when it came to editing. We used our time efficiently and worked well as a group. We recorded some non-diegetic sound and filmed a few extra shots that we thought would enhance our opening sequence.
Next lesson we will start editing which will be on the 4/3/10.
Today Trisha, Shaneece and I decided to start filming as we needed to keep on track in order to finish the thriller task by the deadline that is set. We used the Sony (Yellow) camera which we had previously booked along with the tripod and a tape. We had to walk to our location along with the actor Annie Nurse which was on a cliff in Stapleford. This is the location that Trisha had found and as a group we thought this would be ideal to suit the atmosphere of the opening sequence.
At the location, we started with the establishing shot of the cliff top view which would set the scene in our opening sequence. We took it in turns to film each shot, one would film, one would direct the shot and the other would make everything was alright when filming
g. I filmed the establishing shot and the pan shots of the scene. I also filmed the close up of the phone ringing. This shot took several attempts to get right as it was difficult to get the angle and the lighting right so that the audience can see the phone's screen. By 12, we had managed to complete all the shots of the scenery. The shots of Annie Nurse (Character A) which included the prop with the phone. As the photo which is one of our props was needed was at Trisha's house we had to postpone these shots until the afternoon where Jonathan Tang (Character B) would also be present to film his shots. When filming, we noticed that the tripod was a bit stiff when panning the camera from left or right, or up or down. On the way back to College we decided to change the tripod to enable it to be easier when moving the camera. This would help to eliminate bad shots when the camera is moving.
g. I filmed the establishing shot and the pan shots of the scene. I also filmed the close up of the phone ringing. This shot took several attempts to get right as it was difficult to get the angle and the lighting right so that the audience can see the phone's screen. By 12, we had managed to complete all the shots of the scenery. The shots of Annie Nurse (Character A) which included the prop with the phone. As the photo which is one of our props was needed was at Trisha's house we had to postpone these shots until the afternoon where Jonathan Tang (Character B) would also be present to film his shots. When filming, we noticed that the tripod was a bit stiff when panning the camera from left or right, or up or down. On the way back to College we decided to change the tripod to enable it to be easier when moving the camera. This would help to eliminate bad shots when the camera is moving.In the afternoon after we had changed the tripod and collected the photo that we needed. We went back to the location of the cliff top in Stapleford to continue filming the rest of Annie's shot of her taking the photo out. I filmed the mid shot of a taking the photo out and the actor looking out the photo. As Jonathan was also present we started filming his shots which would take present in a graveyard which was quite close to the cliff top which was convenient. I filmed the long shot of Jonathan walking through the graveyard, the long shot of him on phone and close up of the phone and his face. This was the end of filming our opening sequence.
I believe that filming went according to plan as we managed to get all the shots completed. This is because we were able to get at least two or three takes of each shot to ensure we were satisfied with each shot when it came to editing. We used our time efficiently and worked well as a group. We recorded some non-diegetic sound and filmed a few extra shots that we thought would enhance our opening sequence.
The problems we encountered was the naturalistic lighting, as the weather was cold but the sun was out, which were casting unnecessary shadows and in some shot was causing the actor and us to not be able to see properly due to the sunlight. Another problem that had occurred was the destination of the location, on the way there Trisha was not sure where it was which delayed us in filming time. We overcame by working hard together as a group but having as well.
Next lesson we will start editing which will be on the 4/3/10.
Friday, 26 February 2010
Thriller Task- Film Schedule
Lesson - 26/2/10
This is our filming schedule that we plan to follow when it comes to filming. 
This is our filming schedule that we plan to follow when it comes to filming.
Thriller Task- Locations
Lesson 10- 26/2/10
Trisha Sheehan was in charge of deciding the final locations and as a group we agreed for the thriller opening sequence.
Since our story is based around a girl jumping off a cliff we knew that whereever we were going to film there was going to have to be a cliff there. We discussed about various locations we could film at but we then we decided that some of the locations would take too long to get too or were too difficult to get too.
In the end we decided on filming at a place called 'Bobs Rock'.
This is the perfect location as it has wooded area and also a cliff which is vital as this is where most of our filming is going to place. There is also a graveyard where we could also film to help add to the spooky atmosphere which we are trying to capture.
Trisha Sheehan was in charge of deciding the final locations and as a group we agreed for the thriller opening sequence.
Since our story is based around a girl jumping off a cliff we knew that whereever we were going to film there was going to have to be a cliff there. We discussed about various locations we could film at but we then we decided that some of the locations would take too long to get too or were too difficult to get too.
In the end we decided on filming at a place called 'Bobs Rock'.
This is the perfect location as it has wooded area and also a cliff which is vital as this is where most of our filming is going to place. There is also a graveyard where we could also film to help add to the spooky atmosphere which we are trying to capture.
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