Here it is; our final video completed!
Tuesday, 31 January 2012
vblog 7
This is the interview of peoples reactions to our media. We conducted this to gather feedback. We felt it was better than handing out a questionare because it is more accurate.
Vblog 6
This our other interview mid-editing to see what could be improved.
These videos helped us to improve our thriller because it kept us on track to create audience satisfaction.
These videos helped us to improve our thriller because it kept us on track to create audience satisfaction.
Vlog 5
We conducted an interview during the editing process to see what people thought of it so far. We were hoping that it would give us some ideas to improve it further.
Friday, 13 January 2012
Episode 3 of the Media Team V-BLOG
Discussing further ideas, issues and concepts concerning our production.
Thursday, 12 January 2012
Shot list:
1. Black Screen
2. Establishing shot of the car.
3. Close up of Barry in the car.
4. Medium shot of Barry opening and closing car door, low angle.
5. Long shot of Barry walking across the across the field.
6. Extreme close up of coin.
7. Medium shot of booth.
8. Close up of victim.
9. Medium match on action shot of leg coming through door.
10. Long shot of the field.
11. Long shot in the cafe.
12. Medium shot of café of decoy.
13. Over the shoulder shot of Barry and the murder scene.
14. Medium two shot featuring Barry and the corpse.
15. Close up reaction shot of Barry.
16. Close up visual match of victim.
17. Long shot of the scene as a whole, zooms out.
18. Medium shot of victim, focus changes to show killer behind.
Final Storyboard
The coloured arrows mean the scene changes (red-detective, blue-diner).
The coloured circles show the character (key above).
This storyboard will be taken out with us when we are filming, so we all know clearly what needs doing and what must be filmed. This makes sure we get what we initially went out to film, but also means we can get extra footage that we think of as we do the shoot.
Video Blog Episode 2
The next video in our video-blog series documenting the progress. We prefer doing the video blogs because it enables us to discuss our ideas with each other and explain our ideas easier.
Wednesday, 11 January 2012
Rough story board
The following is a list of shot descriptions that describe shots 1 to 17.
1. Car heading towards camera on lonely, stretching road. Establishing shot.
2. Medium shot of main character through windscreen as the car slows down.
3. Low angle shot in slow motion as the main character steps out of the car.
4. Long shot of main character walking towards camera with strobe police light in background.
5. Coin flips down from camera into hand.
6. Medium shot of a man, sideways on, alone in a diner/cafe booth.
7. Close up of man's face, sideways on. Shows fear and apprehension.
8. Diner door swings open. Changes scene.
9. Prolonged tracking shot of Main Character walking across the field. Tree swipes the scene to the diner.
10. Side tracking shot of man walking into diner.
11. Man walks past character in the booth. Slows down when he reaches for something, but it's nothing.
12. Main character follows drag marks to scene. Over the shoulder shot.
13. Pan to show dead body but face.
14. Close up of main character's face. Portrays no emotion. Sets character up as hardened.
15. Close up of dead guy's face. Revealed to be the diner guy.
16. Long shot of whole scene, with main character in the centre.
17. Focus change shot in the diner, revealing the killer is in the booth behind the man.
A "neat" version of the story board will be created to add any changes to the scene and show more detail.
The BANNED List
We have created a list of banned features for our thriller, they are as follows:
Chase scene,
Stupid guns,
Axes,
Lots of blood,
Extreme murdering,
Masks,
Screaming,
Running,
No post apocalypse
Excessive swearing
Nothing out of context e.g based in the 1950’s with a mobile phone
“it’s all a dream”,
Ninjas and pirates,
Space,
Bourne,
Bourne films,
Dodgy sound tracks and effects,
Narration,
Awkward sex scene,
Drugs and booze,
UN necessary smoking,
Rubbish costumes,
Dodgy setting,
Signage,
No suicide,
Chainsaws,
No dodgy flash backs e.g warp effect.
We have done this to try and keep the piece authentic. We feel that by missing out these features it will look more profesional and create more of an atmosphere.
Questionaire Video
We gathered three members of our class who gave feedback from the Power Point in lesson for a questionaire concerning the direction of our thriller. We wanted to make doubley sure that a detective/crime thriller would be a good idea. We asked them questions and video recorded their responses.
From the video we took that a crime related thriller would be a good idea. This is because a crime based thriller was brought up by our audience. We also have decided that a physcological catch or twist needs to be added because this was a frequent answer in questions. We need to make the audience quite nervy and get them hooked into the story line. Also, music choice is key so we might have to compose our own monotonous piece because this proves to be quite popular.
On a final note, "badies" are still to be considered.
Now we are going to move on and draft a story board from our ideas.
This questionaire video has really helped because you get a lot more detail out of the people bieng asked then you would on a tick box questionaire on a piece of paper.
From the video we took that a crime related thriller would be a good idea. This is because a crime based thriller was brought up by our audience. We also have decided that a physcological catch or twist needs to be added because this was a frequent answer in questions. We need to make the audience quite nervy and get them hooked into the story line. Also, music choice is key so we might have to compose our own monotonous piece because this proves to be quite popular.
On a final note, "badies" are still to be considered.
Now we are going to move on and draft a story board from our ideas.
This questionaire video has really helped because you get a lot more detail out of the people bieng asked then you would on a tick box questionaire on a piece of paper.
Outline of ideas taken from the Power Point feed back
Idea 1:
Pitch idea one is set up to be a detective/crime thriller opening. The general "plot" of the opening would revolve around a detective arriving at a crime scene. We would use a variety of low angled shots, and panning shots, to give a sense of authority and power to the detective on camera. The crime scene would utilise police tape to make it look authentic and the car that the detective would arrive in would be fitted with a strobe light, to give the film a feeling of authenticity. The location we would use would be a bleak spot in the countryside to really emphasise the feel of isolation, which would help to follow some typical Thriller conventions, such as isolation and tension. The titles would appear afterwards and would be colourful and stylised, which would give it the feeling of a 70s police thriller. the detective in the scene would wear a suit and long coat to give him a sense of formality whilst the victim who briefly appears at the end, will be dressed more scruffily and casually, to give a sense that nobody will miss him. For the sound, we were thinking of going with monotonous sounds to give a feel of impending danger.
Idea 2:
The second pitch idea would be a Western themed opening, set in a snowy forest. The opening would be set around a mysterious man, dressed in western attire, walking through the snow, carrying a shovel. It would be a simple idea, but the use of tense guitar music would help to generate a feel of suspense. The fact that the man is carrying a shovel raises questions about the man's motives and activities, which helps to engage the audience like a Thriller should. The sound would be tense guitar music to back the things happening on screen, whereas the location would be an big wood, covered in snow, to give the impression of a cold, unwelcoming landscape.
Idea 3:
Our third idea would be set in a busy diner and would focus around a smartly dressed man who has obviously let themselves go. The "plot" will focus around this man getting more and more agitated, and then the person hunting him is finally revealed sitting behind them. The victim would wear smart attire, possible a suit and a coat, yet would wear them scruffily indicating he is stressed and on the edge. The "Murderer" would wear a Raincoat and would be otherwise dressed smartly which would create a contrast between the hunter and the hunted, and would suggest the killer is cold, calculating and professional. The sound used in the video would be the audio from the diner, but distorted in places to give a surreal feeling of isolation in a busy and crowded place.
Reception and Final Idea development:
The pitch ideas were positively received yet the western one was criticised for being too ambitious. The other two ideas however were received well and we have decided that we would combine them into our opening by using a dual narrative. This would help to incorporate lot's of elements we initially wanted to use (crime, detective, dual narrative etc) yet would include them all in an interesting way. For titles we were going to stick with the titles and style proposed in Idea 1.
Pitch idea one is set up to be a detective/crime thriller opening. The general "plot" of the opening would revolve around a detective arriving at a crime scene. We would use a variety of low angled shots, and panning shots, to give a sense of authority and power to the detective on camera. The crime scene would utilise police tape to make it look authentic and the car that the detective would arrive in would be fitted with a strobe light, to give the film a feeling of authenticity. The location we would use would be a bleak spot in the countryside to really emphasise the feel of isolation, which would help to follow some typical Thriller conventions, such as isolation and tension. The titles would appear afterwards and would be colourful and stylised, which would give it the feeling of a 70s police thriller. the detective in the scene would wear a suit and long coat to give him a sense of formality whilst the victim who briefly appears at the end, will be dressed more scruffily and casually, to give a sense that nobody will miss him. For the sound, we were thinking of going with monotonous sounds to give a feel of impending danger.
Idea 2:
The second pitch idea would be a Western themed opening, set in a snowy forest. The opening would be set around a mysterious man, dressed in western attire, walking through the snow, carrying a shovel. It would be a simple idea, but the use of tense guitar music would help to generate a feel of suspense. The fact that the man is carrying a shovel raises questions about the man's motives and activities, which helps to engage the audience like a Thriller should. The sound would be tense guitar music to back the things happening on screen, whereas the location would be an big wood, covered in snow, to give the impression of a cold, unwelcoming landscape.
Idea 3:
Our third idea would be set in a busy diner and would focus around a smartly dressed man who has obviously let themselves go. The "plot" will focus around this man getting more and more agitated, and then the person hunting him is finally revealed sitting behind them. The victim would wear smart attire, possible a suit and a coat, yet would wear them scruffily indicating he is stressed and on the edge. The "Murderer" would wear a Raincoat and would be otherwise dressed smartly which would create a contrast between the hunter and the hunted, and would suggest the killer is cold, calculating and professional. The sound used in the video would be the audio from the diner, but distorted in places to give a surreal feeling of isolation in a busy and crowded place.
Reception and Final Idea development:
The pitch ideas were positively received yet the western one was criticised for being too ambitious. The other two ideas however were received well and we have decided that we would combine them into our opening by using a dual narrative. This would help to incorporate lot's of elements we initially wanted to use (crime, detective, dual narrative etc) yet would include them all in an interesting way. For titles we were going to stick with the titles and style proposed in Idea 1.
Pitch of initial ideas powerpoint
Our media pitches were met with positive feedback. The people we showed our pitches too were taken in by the detective idea and the crime scene, but also liked the idea of using the diner, as it had not been mentioned previously. The western idea was laughed at a bit, and would have been very difficult to look authentic, so we have decided to go forward with the other two ideas. We wanted to use a dual narrative, and the two pitches that were received well can be combined into a finalised idea.
Tuesday, 3 January 2012
Analysis; Opening scene of No Country For Old Men
No country for old men begins with shots of the landscape. It is baron and desolate. You can't see anyone and there is no indication of where it is. This adds mystery to the scene. The voice over the top adds to the mystery because you don't know who he is or whether what he is saying relates to the storyline. The sound in the background is the organic sound of th landscape, e.g. the wind blowing through. This is used effectively to create mis en scene.
It then cuts to a shot of a man bieng led to a police car from behind. The viewer can still link to the landscape because it is the same as the shots before. There is alot of mystery at this point; the audience still don't know where they are, who the person bieng led to the car is or what they look like from the front. The police car looks dated and so does the police officer's unifrom, but you cannot tell much from the other person's attire. you are focused on the rolling sky, long road, the car and the two characters.
Once the person is lead to the car, it cuts to inside the car. The person in the back is still a mystery. Nothing is bieng given away because he is sat in the shadows. The image of him is broken as the offices gets into the car. This gives a feel of good and bad. The good sat in light and the bad lurking in the shadows. There is no clue as to where they have come from, what has been done or just any general story. As the car moves away we get the idea again of how empty the place is, you can see the road rolling on forever, just the officer and the man in the back of the car are there. This adds tension in a way because you begin to think that something might happen because they are alone. This is emphasised again by the natural sound of a breeze rolling through.
There is a jump cut to the police station. We see the officer sat on the phone, the sense of good and evil in the light and dark is shown again here as we can still not see the face of the other man, it is out of focus and in the shadows which creates tension through mystery. Tension begins to build at this point because your eye catches the movement in the background. The man starts to move up behind the officer, his face still hidden before attacking him. This throws the audience because it is unexpected and viscious.
It then cuts to a shot from the ceiling. This is the first time that we see the attacker, with his crazed face as he strangles the officer. This is a powerful shot because we see the affects on both characters. The officer is fighting for his life and the attacker is fighting to take it from him. They are composed in the centre of the frame so that we can see the marks bieng created on the floor by the officers shoes as he struggles. This is a very tense moment in the film as this is the first time that we see what the attacker is capable of. Something that is affective in this part is the lack of music or sound affects. They could have put frantic string music to show the panic and excessive choking noises, but they left it sort of natural which adds to the tension.
It then cuts to a shot of a man bieng led to a police car from behind. The viewer can still link to the landscape because it is the same as the shots before. There is alot of mystery at this point; the audience still don't know where they are, who the person bieng led to the car is or what they look like from the front. The police car looks dated and so does the police officer's unifrom, but you cannot tell much from the other person's attire. you are focused on the rolling sky, long road, the car and the two characters.
Once the person is lead to the car, it cuts to inside the car. The person in the back is still a mystery. Nothing is bieng given away because he is sat in the shadows. The image of him is broken as the offices gets into the car. This gives a feel of good and bad. The good sat in light and the bad lurking in the shadows. There is no clue as to where they have come from, what has been done or just any general story. As the car moves away we get the idea again of how empty the place is, you can see the road rolling on forever, just the officer and the man in the back of the car are there. This adds tension in a way because you begin to think that something might happen because they are alone. This is emphasised again by the natural sound of a breeze rolling through.
There is a jump cut to the police station. We see the officer sat on the phone, the sense of good and evil in the light and dark is shown again here as we can still not see the face of the other man, it is out of focus and in the shadows which creates tension through mystery. Tension begins to build at this point because your eye catches the movement in the background. The man starts to move up behind the officer, his face still hidden before attacking him. This throws the audience because it is unexpected and viscious.
It then cuts to a shot from the ceiling. This is the first time that we see the attacker, with his crazed face as he strangles the officer. This is a powerful shot because we see the affects on both characters. The officer is fighting for his life and the attacker is fighting to take it from him. They are composed in the centre of the frame so that we can see the marks bieng created on the floor by the officers shoes as he struggles. This is a very tense moment in the film as this is the first time that we see what the attacker is capable of. Something that is affective in this part is the lack of music or sound affects. They could have put frantic string music to show the panic and excessive choking noises, but they left it sort of natural which adds to the tension.
Prelim Evaluation
Whilst reviewing the footage of our Preliminary task, I took notes on what was good and things we could have changed.
Good Points:
Good Points:
- Continuity:I feel that we achieved our continiuty well. It flowed and costumes, locations, characters and room fittings were the same all the way through.
- Effects: The effects added in during editing worked well for our piece I feel. The colour changing freeze frames livened the scene up quite a bit. We were going to add sound effects in but decided against it because we felt that it would lower the quality of the piece, and I think this helped it alot.
- Freeze frames: As said before, these livened up the piece and also added a feel of uniqueness.
- Fades:The fades helped seperate the locations and also made the transitions smoother. It also gave the idea of time passing, which created tension for the character about to be questioned.
- Editing: On a whole, the editing worked well. The effects added weren't over the top and we managed to put everything together smoothly. For those with an eye for detail, you will see that we edited to fit with the music.
Negatives:
- Continuity: When the two "officers" walk into the room they leave the door open, but when the camera changes to another shot it is fully closed.
- Editing: The shot where the two "officers" reach the door lasts too long, it could be cut down to run smoother with the punching in of the code.
From this task we have learnt the following:
Have an eye for detail and double check everything
Get a variety of shots that aren't on the shot list, this can help if some of the shots don't turn out how you expected them to be during editing
Think of the bigger picture when videoing, think of editing as well as what you have infront of you
Editing techniques allowing you to keep things flowing
Add your own unique touch to stick out in the crowd
Don't follow the norm
We will take these forward into our final production.
Conventions of a Thriller:
- Conventions of Thriller films
- Titling
The titles tend to differ dependant on the plot of the movie. Some have titles over a black background while music plays in the back ground. These titles can cut quickly or go in time with the music. In other films, the titles are integrated into the scene and are more subliminal. Some of the titles seem to break away from the film, for example in Se7en the titles come in after the first scene with a different location and feel to it, loud electric and flashing images that you struggle to comprehend. Titles can give a feel for what the rest of the film will be like in a way. - Camera movement
Pan and Tracking shots are used quite a lot in the opening of thrillers. This gives the audience a glimpse into the setting. It can also be used to reveal characters or groups of people that may significant to the viewer. Panning can be effective in a thriller because it gives you a sense of space, so in a scene where there is little space, the viewer can feel that. Tracking helps the the audience feel even more in the action because it follows what is on screen like you are following something in real life. In some thrillers, there is a lot of hand held camera work. Although people might think this gives an unprofesional look to the final piece, it can actually work out very well. Take the Bourne films. In the fight scene in Kings Cross Station, a lot of the camera work is done by hand. This makes the viewer feel part of it and the fast jerky movements make you feel the madness of the fighting. - Framing of shot
Close up shots are used alot in thriller openings. In Se7en close ups are used to create mystery and tension from the start. Long shots are also part of the norm among thriller films. They are used to show the audience where upcoming events will take place, to set the scene and to give a feel of the environment around the characters, e.g. gritty back streets in a certain segment of a city. However, framing can be opposite in some thrillers. The framing can deliberately leave things out of view or just in view to create tension. - Camera angles
In thrillers there are quite a few high angle shots during the opening. This is to set the scene or to show something or someone in a position of power. There also alot of eye level shots, showing character's expressions or features. A combination of high angle and low levels of framing create tension which is a key part of thrillers. Low angle shots are also used to sow certain parts of someone. For example in No Country For Old Men, shots of hands, shoes or legs are used to create tension by not revealing too much. - Mise en scene
The location used for a thriller differs depending on the film and sub genre or thirller. This is the same for lighting and sound. For example, in The Dark Knight, it is set in the under belly of Gotham. The lighting is dark to match this and the sounds are the cliche dogs barking, police sirerns and gun shots. Music is monotonous but tense. Bieng in a dangerous part of the city, with dark lighting and police cars screaming past at the sound of gun shots is un-nerving which is the feel the directors want to give the audience. - Editing
The way scenes are cut affects a thriller massively. Jump cuts are common place in thriller opening. It adds mystery by missing things out, which makes the audience use their imagination, created their own sense of tension. Where scenes highten in action or tension, the cuts become a lot quicker in some cases. For example, in the Phsyco shower scene, as the stabbing takes place the cuts get faster and faster. Also, filters and freeze frames can be edited in to create tension. Freeze frames with a commentary before going into a flash back are sometimes effective. - Sound
Thrillers tend to have non diegetic music or sound added in. This can create tension or a sound bridge to an atmosphere.At the opposite end, silence can be used to create tension in a thriller. Sometimes saying nothing gives more of a message to the audience. Music and dialogue can give an insight into a character and their relationship to other characters in the movie. - Actors positioning and movement
I the openeing scenes of a thriller, it is very important as to how the characters are positioned and portrayed. For a main character they tend to be centered to show their importance. However, if a character is shown to be in the background of everything, it might add mystety as to who they are and whay they do. Movement is also important to show a characters traits. In the Dark Knight, Batman moves stealthily and swiftly, showing that he is clinical and dangerous. If he was shown to fumble everywhere there would be no tension at all.
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