The response to our film opeing sequence overall was very good. A common point made was the use of red lighting. They said that it connoted danger and was effective. Most people said that the music was dramatic and very effective. Some people also recognized the deliberate canted angle at the start to create uncertainty. However a few people commented about the storyline and said it was a bit confusing. This was the intention as we wanted to keep the audience guessing but maybe we should have made it a little bit clearer. Also we should have made the voiceovers a bit louder.
Mrs Connick (sixth form tutor) said " i am very impressed with the standard of the films, they were brilliant!"
Friday, 14 May 2010
Wednesday, 31 March 2010
Evaluation
Our brief was to create a two minute opening sequence to a thriller. My groups sequence is called Bullseye.
Joanne Andrews (Lauren Halse) is a cold blooded murderer using a game of darts to choose her next victim. Everything changes however when she picks vulnerable Emma Jackson (Natasha John), as her next victim.
After doing some individual research me and my group decided what we wanted our opening sequence to achieve. We decided that our opening sequence had to establish character and narrative context for the audience and set up some degree of enigma. This is so the audience have an insight into the narrative and who is involved without revealing what actually happens. One purpose of an opening sequence may be to establish setting. We have done this in our sequence by using an establishing shot. This is the first shot in our sequence and it is in the “murderers” garage and it is a shot of the dartboard. The dartboard is the main iconography of our film.
At a micro technical level I think we conveyed the typical conventions of continuity very well. This is because we obeyed the 180 degree rule and followed the production tip we were given regarding match on action. This enabled our sequence to flow and not confuse the audience. Although we achieved continuity, some of our original shots did not so we had to change some of our ideas. Our establishing shot was originally a shot of the murderers’ house and the camera slowly tracks down the driveway until it reaches an extreme close up of the garage. It then cross dissolves into a shot of the interior of the garage. To achieve this we strapped the camera to the seat of a bike. This idea did not work as the footage was too bumpy and we realised we did not have the technology so had to simplify our ideas.
One way which we deliberately challenged the typical conventions of a thriller is through the use of character. A typical murderer may be seen or stereotyped as a man, so in our thriller we purposely challenged this and our murderer is a woman. We thought this would be interesting and unique. In our opening sequence however it is quite difficult to know that it is a woman as we have purposely not shown her face in order to create suspense and keep the audience guessing. To keep the identity of the antagonist hidden the audience only sees shots of her feet or a 2 shot from behind both the antagonist and protagonist. The true identity will be revealed in the film making the audience want to watch it. A typical murderer may be stereotyped to wear dark, baggy clothing. We have gone along with this in order to create familiarity and help the audience to relate to other thrillers. This will help the audience immediately identify the murderer. One typical convention in the sequence is the use of binary opposites. We have complied with this convention using character. Opposite of the murderer (antagonist) is the victim (protagonist). The music we have used is typical of a thriller. It provides a sense of eeriness and atmosphere without being too creepy and sounding like a horror. In some film openings there is a lot of dialogue and so we are fully introduced to the main characters. We decided to do the total opposite. We have used no dialogue in our opening. Instead, the characters are shown through body language, lighting, music, costume, camera and other imposing factors. So our themed music plays throughout the opening, only interrupted by two voiceovers which give an underlying message to the audience. It also complies with the conventions as we have used titles which are present in all opening sequences. The titles are placed on top of the action as opposed to on a blank background so as they do not distract from the action but work with it. An important part of creating atmosphere is lighting. Thrillers tend to have more mysterious lighting effects such as blue or red instead of natural lighting. In our sequence we have used low key red lighting. We achieved this by using a bright lamp with a red gel in front of it. We also chose a red effect on imovie 09 when editing our footage. We picked red instead of the more common blue as red has connotations of blood and danger which is a common feature in thrillers. This connotation therefore was a good theme for our thriller. Low key lighting also helps to create a sense of the unknown. Our film on the whole complies with most of the typical conventions of films today. It complies with Todrovs theory which is present in most films and thrillers. He believes that the environment begins with a state of equilibrium (all as it should be, in a state of equal balance between powers of any kind). This is then disrupted in some way (disequilibrium). There is then an attempt to repair the damage of the disruption before a new equilibrium is reached. This theory applies to the whole film and not just the opening sequence alone. If equilibrium was lost and restored in the opening sequence the audience would have no reason or desire to watch the film.
Our media opening sequence presents a stereotypical view of teenage girls. All of the victims shown in our sequence are teenage girls. We have represented the girls as being vulnerable. In all of the shots of the girls they are alone which helps to give the impression of vulnerability. The victim, whom the sequence concentrates on, Emma Jackson, is wearing high heels which make her seem extra susceptible to danger. I think this representation is quite accurate of teenage girls today. We wanted this accurate representation to help give a sense of realism and help the audience get involved. We present a negative view of the murderer. The murderer’s appearance is somewhat similar to the stereotyped view of a young teenager/yob. She is dressed in black and has baggy clothing. She also has her hood up obstructing the view of her face. This helps to keep the audience intrigued as they will want to establish the identity of the murderer.
I think the main way in which we have created audience attraction is through realism. We have created realistic representations of the characters and therefore the audience will be able to connect and empathise with them. The other way we have attracted our audience is through narrative. I believe that our narrative fits in well with the typical storylines of thrillers. This will help the audience to relate and compare it with other films.
After our opening sequence was complete I did some research into media institutions and distributing our film. I found a film distribution company called Film London Microwave. This distribution company specialises in micro budget feature film making and marketing. As we would be working with a small budget this company seems like a realistic and good option. This would be a good way to distribute our film and show it to our target audience. The company also offers help with marketing, available funding, and knowledge from experts. To promote our low budget film further we could look into merchandising and promotional items to generate more interest in the film and get more people to watch it. Another option for us to distribute our film would be to distribute it online using Youtube. It is free, quick and easy and would be seen by a wide market. This is a great way for a low budget film to get audience feedback and it can be further distributed via facebook, email and twitter.
We decided that our film would be certified as a 15. The title sequence itself does not contain any unsuitable clips or language but the film itself would, and therefore a rating of 15 is appropriate. I believe that the film would appeal to an audience between 15 to early 20’s, particularly students. This is an obvious audience for us to target as we are more familiar with what appeals to them as we fit into the age group. The typical conventions including music and narrative would help them to relate the film to other thrillers, and hopefully make it more appealing. A typical viewer may be a student around 20 in their second or third year at University. They will be more mature that the younger students, maybe looking for a quiet night in. They will be looking for a well priced piece of entertainment and will not want to spend too much money. Also they will be in an ideal location to get hold of the film as it will be located in highly populated areas. A totally different viewer may be someone in their late 20’s who has finished University, has a steady job and a disposable income. They will have money to spend and will be looking for inside entertainment. The third potential viewer may be a 16 or 17 year old who has a full time/part time job so have a little money to spend. They are not old enough to “go out” and may get bored of going bowling etc. So they have a DVD night in with family or friends.
From my preliminary task to my final product I have learned a huge amount. The preliminary task was the first bit of filming that I had ever done so the whole process has been a combination of trial and error. The preliminary task helped me to create continuity and taught me that I needed to take more than one of each shot or clip in order to make sure that we have enough footage to work with in order to achieve continuity. Since the preliminary task I have learnt that being organised and time management is the key to a successful product. We had to film our opening sequence 3 or 4 times to ensure we had all of the clips that we needed. We realised that things do go wrong so leaving time to re-film is vital. I have also learned that there is a lot more to think about than just camera shots. Music, lighting, costume, characters, location and props all play a big part in the film. Some of the basic rules such as the 180 degree rule were very useful. They taught me that filming has to be done in such a way so as not to confuse the audience. I have learned that using a wide variety of shots helps to keep the product more interesting and can help to suggest or pronounce certain things.
In order to film our opening sequence we came across lots of technology that we had to use. Our group used cameras, lighting and imovie 09 on the apple Mac computers. Whilst filming our sequence we came across many problems with the cameras. The first time we filmed there was a problem with the tape so the whole day got cancelled as we did not have a spare. Our initial idea of zooming down the driveway of the house did not work as our technology was not advanced enough. Instead we took still shots using the tripod. It was very important that the tripod was secure and level so that our shots were steady and not crooked. One problem we had was with the memory on the apple Mac computers. This memory shortage meant we could not upload our footage and delayed the process greatly. When we finally got our footage uploaded and were editing our footage the editing tools came in very useful. It enabled us to change the brightness of shots, add music, titles and voiceovers. We also had to use blogging. I had never used blogger before and the experience was great! I love working on the computer and found it very different to work this way. We had some problems however using the blogging site in school but we overcame these problems and I am now a great fan of the process.
I am very pleased with the final product and think that our hard work finally paid off. If I were to do it again I would try and plan more efficiently and leave time to re film if needed to.
Joanne Andrews (Lauren Halse) is a cold blooded murderer using a game of darts to choose her next victim. Everything changes however when she picks vulnerable Emma Jackson (Natasha John), as her next victim.
After doing some individual research me and my group decided what we wanted our opening sequence to achieve. We decided that our opening sequence had to establish character and narrative context for the audience and set up some degree of enigma. This is so the audience have an insight into the narrative and who is involved without revealing what actually happens. One purpose of an opening sequence may be to establish setting. We have done this in our sequence by using an establishing shot. This is the first shot in our sequence and it is in the “murderers” garage and it is a shot of the dartboard. The dartboard is the main iconography of our film.
At a micro technical level I think we conveyed the typical conventions of continuity very well. This is because we obeyed the 180 degree rule and followed the production tip we were given regarding match on action. This enabled our sequence to flow and not confuse the audience. Although we achieved continuity, some of our original shots did not so we had to change some of our ideas. Our establishing shot was originally a shot of the murderers’ house and the camera slowly tracks down the driveway until it reaches an extreme close up of the garage. It then cross dissolves into a shot of the interior of the garage. To achieve this we strapped the camera to the seat of a bike. This idea did not work as the footage was too bumpy and we realised we did not have the technology so had to simplify our ideas.
One way which we deliberately challenged the typical conventions of a thriller is through the use of character. A typical murderer may be seen or stereotyped as a man, so in our thriller we purposely challenged this and our murderer is a woman. We thought this would be interesting and unique. In our opening sequence however it is quite difficult to know that it is a woman as we have purposely not shown her face in order to create suspense and keep the audience guessing. To keep the identity of the antagonist hidden the audience only sees shots of her feet or a 2 shot from behind both the antagonist and protagonist. The true identity will be revealed in the film making the audience want to watch it. A typical murderer may be stereotyped to wear dark, baggy clothing. We have gone along with this in order to create familiarity and help the audience to relate to other thrillers. This will help the audience immediately identify the murderer. One typical convention in the sequence is the use of binary opposites. We have complied with this convention using character. Opposite of the murderer (antagonist) is the victim (protagonist). The music we have used is typical of a thriller. It provides a sense of eeriness and atmosphere without being too creepy and sounding like a horror. In some film openings there is a lot of dialogue and so we are fully introduced to the main characters. We decided to do the total opposite. We have used no dialogue in our opening. Instead, the characters are shown through body language, lighting, music, costume, camera and other imposing factors. So our themed music plays throughout the opening, only interrupted by two voiceovers which give an underlying message to the audience. It also complies with the conventions as we have used titles which are present in all opening sequences. The titles are placed on top of the action as opposed to on a blank background so as they do not distract from the action but work with it. An important part of creating atmosphere is lighting. Thrillers tend to have more mysterious lighting effects such as blue or red instead of natural lighting. In our sequence we have used low key red lighting. We achieved this by using a bright lamp with a red gel in front of it. We also chose a red effect on imovie 09 when editing our footage. We picked red instead of the more common blue as red has connotations of blood and danger which is a common feature in thrillers. This connotation therefore was a good theme for our thriller. Low key lighting also helps to create a sense of the unknown. Our film on the whole complies with most of the typical conventions of films today. It complies with Todrovs theory which is present in most films and thrillers. He believes that the environment begins with a state of equilibrium (all as it should be, in a state of equal balance between powers of any kind). This is then disrupted in some way (disequilibrium). There is then an attempt to repair the damage of the disruption before a new equilibrium is reached. This theory applies to the whole film and not just the opening sequence alone. If equilibrium was lost and restored in the opening sequence the audience would have no reason or desire to watch the film.
Our media opening sequence presents a stereotypical view of teenage girls. All of the victims shown in our sequence are teenage girls. We have represented the girls as being vulnerable. In all of the shots of the girls they are alone which helps to give the impression of vulnerability. The victim, whom the sequence concentrates on, Emma Jackson, is wearing high heels which make her seem extra susceptible to danger. I think this representation is quite accurate of teenage girls today. We wanted this accurate representation to help give a sense of realism and help the audience get involved. We present a negative view of the murderer. The murderer’s appearance is somewhat similar to the stereotyped view of a young teenager/yob. She is dressed in black and has baggy clothing. She also has her hood up obstructing the view of her face. This helps to keep the audience intrigued as they will want to establish the identity of the murderer.
I think the main way in which we have created audience attraction is through realism. We have created realistic representations of the characters and therefore the audience will be able to connect and empathise with them. The other way we have attracted our audience is through narrative. I believe that our narrative fits in well with the typical storylines of thrillers. This will help the audience to relate and compare it with other films.
After our opening sequence was complete I did some research into media institutions and distributing our film. I found a film distribution company called Film London Microwave. This distribution company specialises in micro budget feature film making and marketing. As we would be working with a small budget this company seems like a realistic and good option. This would be a good way to distribute our film and show it to our target audience. The company also offers help with marketing, available funding, and knowledge from experts. To promote our low budget film further we could look into merchandising and promotional items to generate more interest in the film and get more people to watch it. Another option for us to distribute our film would be to distribute it online using Youtube. It is free, quick and easy and would be seen by a wide market. This is a great way for a low budget film to get audience feedback and it can be further distributed via facebook, email and twitter.
We decided that our film would be certified as a 15. The title sequence itself does not contain any unsuitable clips or language but the film itself would, and therefore a rating of 15 is appropriate. I believe that the film would appeal to an audience between 15 to early 20’s, particularly students. This is an obvious audience for us to target as we are more familiar with what appeals to them as we fit into the age group. The typical conventions including music and narrative would help them to relate the film to other thrillers, and hopefully make it more appealing. A typical viewer may be a student around 20 in their second or third year at University. They will be more mature that the younger students, maybe looking for a quiet night in. They will be looking for a well priced piece of entertainment and will not want to spend too much money. Also they will be in an ideal location to get hold of the film as it will be located in highly populated areas. A totally different viewer may be someone in their late 20’s who has finished University, has a steady job and a disposable income. They will have money to spend and will be looking for inside entertainment. The third potential viewer may be a 16 or 17 year old who has a full time/part time job so have a little money to spend. They are not old enough to “go out” and may get bored of going bowling etc. So they have a DVD night in with family or friends.
From my preliminary task to my final product I have learned a huge amount. The preliminary task was the first bit of filming that I had ever done so the whole process has been a combination of trial and error. The preliminary task helped me to create continuity and taught me that I needed to take more than one of each shot or clip in order to make sure that we have enough footage to work with in order to achieve continuity. Since the preliminary task I have learnt that being organised and time management is the key to a successful product. We had to film our opening sequence 3 or 4 times to ensure we had all of the clips that we needed. We realised that things do go wrong so leaving time to re-film is vital. I have also learned that there is a lot more to think about than just camera shots. Music, lighting, costume, characters, location and props all play a big part in the film. Some of the basic rules such as the 180 degree rule were very useful. They taught me that filming has to be done in such a way so as not to confuse the audience. I have learned that using a wide variety of shots helps to keep the product more interesting and can help to suggest or pronounce certain things.
In order to film our opening sequence we came across lots of technology that we had to use. Our group used cameras, lighting and imovie 09 on the apple Mac computers. Whilst filming our sequence we came across many problems with the cameras. The first time we filmed there was a problem with the tape so the whole day got cancelled as we did not have a spare. Our initial idea of zooming down the driveway of the house did not work as our technology was not advanced enough. Instead we took still shots using the tripod. It was very important that the tripod was secure and level so that our shots were steady and not crooked. One problem we had was with the memory on the apple Mac computers. This memory shortage meant we could not upload our footage and delayed the process greatly. When we finally got our footage uploaded and were editing our footage the editing tools came in very useful. It enabled us to change the brightness of shots, add music, titles and voiceovers. We also had to use blogging. I had never used blogger before and the experience was great! I love working on the computer and found it very different to work this way. We had some problems however using the blogging site in school but we overcame these problems and I am now a great fan of the process.
I am very pleased with the final product and think that our hard work finally paid off. If I were to do it again I would try and plan more efficiently and leave time to re film if needed to.
Saturday, 20 February 2010
Research- Film production
Phonebooth. I have decided to look at this film as the production of it is very unique. The 120 page script film which would usually take around 40 days to film, was shot in an amazing 10 days! The cast and crew got through 12 pages a day!
Another unusual twist is that even though the film is set in New York City it was actually shot in Los Angeles where an Avenue was transformed to look like New York.
The writer Larry Cohen originally pitched the idea of shooting a film in a phonebooth to Alfred Hitchcock in the 1960s (mentioned previously in my blog). Although Alfred liked the idea they could not come up with a reason for the film to take place in the phonebooth i.e the sniper situation.
Here are some facts about the production:
*They had a 38 man crew
*They had 4 cameras on every shot instead of the usual 1
*They carried out detailed character profiling (even on the many extras)
*It was shot in sequence
The last point is very important in the production of this film. Unlike in most films where they film whatever piece of action is most convenient for example the exterior of a scene may be shot at a totally different time to the interior, Phonebooth was shot in order of the script. This was very important time wise as it helped them to keep continuity. They did not have to worry about if someone was standing in exactly the same place as it is all shot in sequence and it "evolves as you go along". Another interesting feature of the production of this film is that all of the extras had not read the script so did not know what was going to happen next. This meant that the film crew were able to capture pure reactions and benefited the film greatly.
Another unusual twist is that even though the film is set in New York City it was actually shot in Los Angeles where an Avenue was transformed to look like New York.
The writer Larry Cohen originally pitched the idea of shooting a film in a phonebooth to Alfred Hitchcock in the 1960s (mentioned previously in my blog). Although Alfred liked the idea they could not come up with a reason for the film to take place in the phonebooth i.e the sniper situation.
Here are some facts about the production:
*They had a 38 man crew
*They had 4 cameras on every shot instead of the usual 1
*They carried out detailed character profiling (even on the many extras)
*It was shot in sequence
The last point is very important in the production of this film. Unlike in most films where they film whatever piece of action is most convenient for example the exterior of a scene may be shot at a totally different time to the interior, Phonebooth was shot in order of the script. This was very important time wise as it helped them to keep continuity. They did not have to worry about if someone was standing in exactly the same place as it is all shot in sequence and it "evolves as you go along". Another interesting feature of the production of this film is that all of the extras had not read the script so did not know what was going to happen next. This meant that the film crew were able to capture pure reactions and benefited the film greatly.
Planning- target audience profiling
As a group we have decided that our film will be certified as a 15. Although in the title sequence that we are creating there aren't any unsuitable images or clips, we believe that if we were to create the thriller there would be unsuitable clips in the film itself. So the thriller itself is going to be rated as a 15. We would like the title sequence to be rated individually as 12+ as we would like to show this to a wider variety of audience in order to get a wider response.I believe that the thriller itself would appeal to an audience between 15 to late 20's Particularly concentrating on students and younger, middle class adults. The typical conventions in thriller including music and storyline would help them to relate the film to other thrillers. A typicall viewer may be a student around 20 in their second or third year at university. They will be more mature than the younger students, maybe looking for a quiet night in. They will be looking for a well priced piece of entertainment and will not want to spend too much. Also they will be in a good location to pick up the film as it will be located in highly populated areas. A totally different viewer may be someone in their late 20's who has finished university, has a steady job and a disposable income. They will have money to spend and will be looking for inside entertainment. The third likely viewer may be a 16 or 17 year old who have a ful time or part time job so have a little money to spend. They are not old enough to go out and may get bored of going bowling ect so have a dvd night in with family or friends.
Research into voiceover and titles -The holiday
I particularly like the titles and the voice over in this trailer. The titles appear over half of the screen on a white background which makes them stand out. Also when the appear the clip freezes and helps us to relate the titles to the film still. This is really effective and i would like to use this in our film if we can. I also like the voice over. This is used throughout the trailer to give us an idea of the storyline. This makes the trailer unique yet very effective.
Planning-Editing- voiceover
In the phonebooth where the voiceover worked successfully, the voice was of a middle-aged man with a deep voice. It worked well and created a creepy atmosphere. As a group we think we are going to challenge this and have the voiceover of a woman. We hope we can get a creepy effect from this difference.
We are trying to decide where to put the voiceover and what to say. Here are some of our ideas that we wrote down:
Life is one big game
you have to lie, cheat and steal to win
how would you play the game
its how you play the game that counts
one life, one game, one winner
there are no rules
We think at the start we might have a voiceover saying "life is just a game", and then at the end of the title sequence, "it's how you play the game that counts!" We think that this help suggest what the film is about and also leave it on a bit of a cliffhanger.
We are trying to decide where to put the voiceover and what to say. Here are some of our ideas that we wrote down:
Life is one big game
you have to lie, cheat and steal to win
how would you play the game
its how you play the game that counts
one life, one game, one winner
there are no rules
We think at the start we might have a voiceover saying "life is just a game", and then at the end of the title sequence, "it's how you play the game that counts!" We think that this help suggest what the film is about and also leave it on a bit of a cliffhanger.
Planning- dvd cover, film image
I have been experimenting with ideas of imagery for the dvd case of our thriller. I have created this picture on my computer to help give our thriller an identity.
Editing our title sequence
After uploading our shots on to the apple macs we were ready to put everything together.
We watched all of the shots and picked the best of each to go together. We also added stills of photographs we took into the sequence so that they looked like flashbacks. These flashbacks are in the red lighting to fit in with our colouscheme. One thing that we are playing around with are the transition effects. These are how we are getting from one part of the sequence to another. We particularly like the cross dissolve transition as it enables us to merge to images together withuout there being an obvious jump.
We watched all of the shots and picked the best of each to go together. We also added stills of photographs we took into the sequence so that they looked like flashbacks. These flashbacks are in the red lighting to fit in with our colouscheme. One thing that we are playing around with are the transition effects. These are how we are getting from one part of the sequence to another. We particularly like the cross dissolve transition as it enables us to merge to images together withuout there being an obvious jump.
Planning- music for our thriller
Music in an open sequence plays a very important part in tht success of it.
The main problem that we face is finding music that is copyright free. Our teacher got hold of about 30 copyright free tracks for us to choose from if we wish. After listnening to the tracks me and my group members shortlisted about 4 or 5 that we liked. We then played the tracks alongside our title sequence to see which fitted best. The track that we all agreed we liked is called serial killer. However the middle bit of the track consists of choir like voices and is a bit odd, but we decided that it helps create an arkward atmosphere.
The main problem that we face is finding music that is copyright free. Our teacher got hold of about 30 copyright free tracks for us to choose from if we wish. After listnening to the tracks me and my group members shortlisted about 4 or 5 that we liked. We then played the tracks alongside our title sequence to see which fitted best. The track that we all agreed we liked is called serial killer. However the middle bit of the track consists of choir like voices and is a bit odd, but we decided that it helps create an arkward atmosphere.
Filming!-Complete!
When we got back from our last filming session we took the camera into the apple mac room and uploaded what we had filmed onto the apple mac computers. Some of the shots were very successfull and the red lighting worked particularly well. However we were over ambitious with the first few shots where we had tried to create a moving shot by strapping the camera to a bike! Although we tried our best, the shots were too shaky and did not look good enough for us to use. We then discussed how we could change the start and came up with the idea of cutting out the first few shots and starting the sequence in the garage! This worked much better and challenged the typical codes and conventions as we do not have an obvious establashing shot. However it is better as we go straight in to our red colour scheme. After deciding to loose the first shots we went out to film the rest of the sequence knowing exactly what we wanted to achieve! We went out when it was dark to film the "following" part of the sequence. We managed to get all of the shots that we wanted and uploaded them when we got back
Planning- development of style
After watching the three title sequences that i mentioned, Batman, Phonebooth, and the terminator (also one called Pay it Forward) i have decided with my group on two characteristics i want our thriller to contain.
The first is the colour scheme. Unlike Batman and The Terminator we have opted for red. As red can connote blood and suggest death and fear i think it will be different to blue but still give the atmosphere that the others do. I would like the lighting to be quite dark and even difficult to see as it will help to add confusion. Confusion will hopefully result in our audience to see more in order to find out what happens.
The second characteristic is a voiceover. We have decided that a voicover will be unique and different but help to create tension. We want this effect to be creepy and help outline the message of our film.
The first is the colour scheme. Unlike Batman and The Terminator we have opted for red. As red can connote blood and suggest death and fear i think it will be different to blue but still give the atmosphere that the others do. I would like the lighting to be quite dark and even difficult to see as it will help to add confusion. Confusion will hopefully result in our audience to see more in order to find out what happens.
The second characteristic is a voiceover. We have decided that a voicover will be unique and different but help to create tension. We want this effect to be creepy and help outline the message of our film.
Research- The terminator
The terminator is also very similar to the title sequence of Batman. They have used blues and blacks with white writing. The main difference in the two however is that the music in the title sequences of the terminator seems much more prominent. I noticed it more and it dragged me in to the genre of the film, with the use of low pitched, army like music.
Research- Batman title sequence
I watched the title sequence for the action/thriller Batman. It was very interesting and i particularly liked the way they used the camera and the colour scheme. The camera panned and zoomed all around the screen but in a way that did not really make sense. It seems to me that the main focus of the title sequence for this film is the titles and the music. The colour scheme is what i found most interesting. I really like how they have only used dark blues, to black and greys. This gives the impression of darkness and gives a scary atmosphere without revealing anything about the actual plot of the film. It is very simple in the way that they have stuck to a limited colour pallet and i would definatley consider doing this in our own sequence.
Research- Phonebooth trailer
I have the film phonebooth on dvd. I particularly remember a voice over in the trailer which was very effective. As i watched the trailer on you tube i was hooked to the trailer. This was mainly due to the effective use of voiceover. The voiceover was used alongside the music and created a sense of atmosphere and uncertainty. It also helped to tell the stroy and help to give an insight into the message of the film. As a group we will look at putting this effect into our title sequence as I think it would work well and give an extra dimension.
The other thing that was particularly attractive about the trailer is the use of graphics. They text appears on a plain black backround and appear in fire like rings. This creates an impression of danger. The words are also the words of the voiceover so everthing links together.
The other thing that was particularly attractive about the trailer is the use of graphics. They text appears on a plain black backround and appear in fire like rings. This creates an impression of danger. The words are also the words of the voiceover so everthing links together.
Thursday, 21 January 2010
Filming- Attempt 2!
Today we are going to film our thriller. We have a different camera and we have made sure we have a spare tape with us this time! My group and i have found it difficult to find the time to film as we are all busy at different times. I hope today goes well so that we can get it filmed ready to edit! We have our shotlist, storyboard, props and costumes ready so lets get filming!
Filming - attempt 1!
In december we attempted to film our thriller for the first time. We were all set up and ready to film but there was a problem with the tape which meant we did not have a camera that we could use and therefore the day was cancelled.
Planning- Preparation for filming!
We have now completed our storyboard and shot list so we have thought about what we will actually need when we are filming. As part of our storyline there are pictures of girls pinned onto a dartboard as if they are being stalked!
Me and my group went round school with a digital camera to take these photos. We took the photos of ourselves and friends and edited them on the apple mac computers using the editing tools. We changed the photos into black and white and added black around the edges to make it look like a lense of a camera to suggest that they are being followed. I think the pictures are very realistic and pleased with the result.
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