Evaluation
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms of real media products?
"Left astray" is a Thriller style film mainly following the genre’s conventions as to oppose to subverting them. The reasoning for this was because we felt we hadn’t familiarized ourselves to this style of film and also the different genres within them. For example Film noir was a film style we hadn’t really touched upon before. But we wanted to use some aspects of the genre within our introduction to "Left Astray" and tried to use influences from other film noir films and also different thriller movies.
When deciding if we should make an entire film noir film, we soon realized we can have different influences from several different genres. For example where we used darker, almost blurred images created on the psycho styled lady tried to pick apart from film noir films by making it look dark, disorientated and skewed images. By using dissolved edits between cuts make the images portrayed as a flash back. We tried to resemble this to the film called "Double Indemnity" which is a film noir film. The whole film of Double Indemnity is a
flashback because it starts in the present and works back to the past. The flashback refreshes the memory and gives a wider picture of what happened; it fills in gaps of evidence. The audience then can be involved in the narrative, which almost makes them the detectives in the situation; being the reason behind why we created it as a flashback.
We used a series of different shots such as, close ups to extreme close to convey the message of the character and their emotions, and what they could be experiencing. This creates suspense for the audience as they become suspicious about the character and their motives. Like the way Hitchcock conveys his in his films. For example the over shoulder shot/ close- up of the psycho styled woman holding a picture of a child whilst rocking makes the audience think that the child may be a fragment of her past which affected her into being who she is then. The audience feels suspicious of the character and tense because they aren’t sure of what her actions are going to be like. We tried to dress our character and make her look like a modern day psycho styled lady from the Hitchcock film "Psycho". This is because she seemed to send a shiver down your spine because of how she acted so violent and psychotic with a face of innocence. Showing that it’s difficult to try work out who the criminal is. We used a few more of these styled shots with the close ups of the leg and arm covered in blood and also the extreme close up used for the eyes. These were reflected like the ones off of the film "Psycho" directed by Alfred Hitchcock. It was a way of showing there has been a crime without revealing too much to the audience at the time, but making it seems gory and making the audience feels scared and vulnerable.
We used an establishing shot at the beginning and also further along in the introduction. This sets the scene for the story and allows the audience to make their first impression about the area. The Coen Brothers used a range of these to build suspension in their films. For example The Big Lebowski, they used a deserted area to make the audience feel out of place. Thrillers mainly are sequenced in deserted or quiet areas to make the audience feel nervous and helpless.
However, we tried to put some dialogue into the film to give more effect to the film, but the camera we were using for the period of time did not pick up any sound which makes it seem like there was no narrative there, due to the lack of sound. So instead, there are sound effects, sound tracks and a voice over of mumblings to make it almost like it’s in their heads. Making the audience fear to watch more from being afraid in what they are about to see.
In conclusion, we use the conventions of media products but then also challenge them with the range of camera angles, characters, sounds, different lighting and editing. However, without having some sort of dialogue with the narrative makes it seem more twisted. Even though this could be at our advantage because it makes it more effective with the other sounds edited in, building the tension alongside the image. The different conventions and use of genres makes our thriller a lot more unique, making the audience want to watch it more showing different stances of genres.
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
Our Thriller has a few different social groups which are shown within the introduction. The first characters which have been shown are the three teenagers. The guy in the middle is almost like a "player" as he has the two girls fairly close next to him which seems like there may be a bit of tension building, that may be why he is in the middle and has separated them. These are stereotyped by the hoodies, make-up, and trainers. They could also be stereotyped as "chavs". This is due to the hairstyle the girl has which is all dragged to one side to reveal her big earrings which is associated with "chavs". However, "chavs" are usually trouble makers. The audience can’t really tell whether they are because of they have the hoods down which could mean there guard is down. Even though, they seem like they are on their way to the setting for a purpose which could be a troublesome ending.
The character which is then brought into it is an older lady which seems entirely out of control. We know this by the change of fashion in costumes and she seems to not take care of her appearance by having no make-up on and non-brushed hair. The audience first thought is that she is the killer due to realizing she has a knife in her hand within the first few seconds. The t-shirt she has on is black which means, there is a sense of danger and death which could occur by or to her. The over shoulder shot image ;which is like someone is moving in the bush set behind her could also portray her as the victim as there is someone watching her for a reason. Also, in the high angled shot, it makes her look like she is unappreciated and maybe of lower importance to the other characters, of which are positioned higher on the bench. This may suggest she might feel vulnerable to them, or even bullied by them. Which are Carrying the picture of a young child could also suggest she is or was a mother. The audience is uncertain of what role she may play but clearly has deep emotion for this picture because of the facial expression.
Finally we have who we may think is the killer. With the hood up not showing any sign of their face, which could suggest they are hiding. Also this male character has a dark hoodie on suggesting he might be evil and dangerous.
Overall, the social groups are shown through the various colors, clothing camera shots and positioning.
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
Social networking is the most likely way on distributing our film. For example YouTube, this is channeled worldwide and could be viewed by a millions of people. This may build up from word of mouth to persuade bigger companies to produce it into the cinema. This also allows it to go onto DVD or even downloaded via iPod. By doing this we could also put it onto networking sites like Facebook and Twitter which is used worldwide too, so not only will it be shown to friends and family, it can also be shared to then become international.
Our thriller wouldn’t be distributed to big film companies because they would not distribute one which is only 2 minutes long. Therefore meaning we could enter competitions and festivals such as " student film festival awards", which would make our film be recognized by professionals, broadening our audience making it possible for future funding.
Therefore our film would be recognized as a independent film which could be distributed via internet, social networking, DVD or downloading the content.
Who could be your audience for your media product?
The audience for our thriller opening would be young males and females aged from 16-19 ideally. I would expect the people to be from a middle and lower class background as I believe they would understand the stereotype we have presented better and that it would be more effective because of this. Also I believe the mass amount of 16-19 year olds in the U.K come from a lower and middle class background so aiming it at this section would help make the most money if this was to be put into production.
Higher class and also other ages will be able to watch this. However, I feel the characters may be judged in a different way than what the audience targeted would think. The interests may be the same with the different age groups as the setting on the bridge or at the canal would have a range of people and ages that enjoy that type of setting.
How did you attract/ address the audience?
We did this mainly by the clothing that was chosen. Most of the audience could relate to the characters and the costume we have chosen. The hoodies and trainers represent most of the teenage population due to being so popular. The teenagers can relate to hanging out on benches and going on long walks to pass time away, and by showing that it’s not always the most appropriate thing to do.
Also that age range prefers that sort of weather where you can go out and do anything. The range of colors and settings helps attracts our audience Also where we are using all sexes helps the audience connect.
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
In this process the most important thing I have learnt I think is how the finished product relies equally on the post-production process of editing and the production itself. Our film only seemed to come to shape once we put it into final cut and played around with the different sounds, sequences and colors you could put in. What took the longest was the editing and it is fairly hard to do. But once you are comfortable with the editing process it starts to take form.
Looking back at your preliminary task, what have you learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
During our preliminary task, I thought the camera work was the most important part of making the film. However, what I have learnt that the editing of the film and how it is pieced is the most important part. Each of the scenes need to flow and also make sense. Every single part of the film is important. For example even the weather can also affect the outcome of the film. Time management is also key, by planning your time out and having enough for each part by meeting the deadline too, so things don’t get rushed. Also I’ve been told even by keeping things simple, the product can have the same outcome as it does to the most complex ones. Organization is also a good factor in all; if you are organized and know what you’re doing most things will flow into action. It’s important that everyone is working together to make a good team to ensure that all is done. Finally, I have learnt how to use final cut and garage band in case of further usage.
Dannielle
Friday, 27 April 2012
18) Overall Evaluation - Natasha
EVALUATION: NATASHA KINDRED
Main task: Create the titles and opening of a new ‘thriller’ film, to last a maximum of two minutes.
1) In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
My thriller uses aspects of Hitchcocks thriller conventions with the quick cuts between the two different groups of people on the train bridge which Hitchcock uses in 'The Birds' in the playground scene which is effective in the build up of tension.
I chose to use this technique in my thriller as it's effective and succesful in building up suspense to the audience and worked well with portraying my narrative of the teenagers being followed by a pyshcotic woman.
The close-ups of the eyes and dead body parts at the end of the opening is also a technique used in Hitchcoks work in the Psycho shower scene, with the close up of Marions eye when she's dead in the shower scene.
I also chose to not see the psychotic womans face in the opening of our production to add an element of mystery which Hitchcock also uses in the shower scene from Psycho as this creates a weary atmoshphere for the audience as it keeps them on edge throughout the entire movie as to who it is and if it will happen again. Having the mysterious element to the thriller makes it more of a psychological thriller as the audience are persistantly unpuzzling the narrative to make sense of it, which i found effective in the build up of suspense for my thriller opening to reveal the victims later on in the movie.
I chose to create and use a distorted voiceover to show the physcotic womans frame of mind as I found that using a voiceover was a succesful convention in the Coen Brothers thriller openings to engage the audience with the narrative, and the Coen Brothers also use establishing shots at the begining of many of their thriller movie openings to set the scene for their movie, I also found this technique effective however decided to use the establishing shot further on in my opening as i felt it would be more significant in having the establishing shot as they were reaching the abandoned canal setting to signify to the audience that this is a significant setting for the thriller.
The editing of my thriller is also important in portraying the narrative as i chose to make all of the shots with Hannah (psycho lady) slightly drained of colour and a final cut express 'wind blur' to emphasize her distorted mind for the audience to also feel distorted and to be inside her head.
My overall thriller is based on the Horror thriller 'Eden Lake' which is what inspired our narrative however I turned it around to be against the negative representation of teenagers in society, to make them the protagonists and innocent characters.
The flashbacks I took inspiration from the film noir film Double Indemnity, which I found effective with the narrative of my thriller as it's mysterious and keeping the audience involved, however I didn't choose to create my whole thriller in film noir as I thought it was important to make a clear distinction between who was the protagonist and antagonist, so I kept the teenagers pictures as clear as possible and only made the psychotic lady blurred.
In terms of mise-en-scene I chose for the psychotic woman to wear a black t-shirt as from the semiotics theory this signifies danger and death to society and therefore will be significant in showing that she is the antagonist.
The prop of the knife was used to create suspense and tension to the audience as at this point we're aware that she's following the teenagers and that there will be a dangerous situation. The soundtrack also adds to the build-up of tension, suspense and creating a weary atmosphere which keeps the audience enthrilled as to what exactly will happen, as there is a group of teenagers which have an instant negative representation within sociey making the audience suspicious and weary.
2) How does your media product represent particular social groups?
My thriller represents teenagers positively through the use of the natural lighting which i chose to use to contrast with the dull lighting on the antagonist (pyschotic lady). Although they are wearing stereotypical teenage costumes (hoodies etc) they go against the stereotrype of teenagers being the criminals, the lighting empasizes these antagonist and protagonist roles.
Whilst researching existing thriller openings I found that representing particular social groups wasn't only done through choice of characters but by the choice of setting and shot types, as for example in the Coen Brothers they open their movies with distinctive establishing shots of abandoned land cutting to voilent scenes which show representation of stereotypical gangs making the audience on edge and fearful, therefore whilst creating my thriller I considered the various shot types and cuts, for example starting with close ups of their feet cutting to the conflicting character clearly showing the representation of teenagers, to create the same effect on the audience as the Coen Brothers thrillers and show distinct representaion going against the stereotype or criminal teenagers.
Using the over the shoulder shot to show the (meant to be slightly older) psychotic character, also showing clearly what she's seeing; the photo of a child, really shows the characters vulnerability and leaves the audience on edge and asking questions making them want to carry on watching and this represents women as dillusional and vulnerable resulting in pyhscotic behaviour, which again goes against the stereotrype as its usually a male character that plays the criminal pyhschotic role.
3) What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
Media institutions such as forms of the web would promote my thriller using sites such as YouTube (Web 2.0) as it's available for everyone to access and is pacific to my target audience of teenagers to middle aged adults, as they're more likely to use this form of the web and will be-able to share it and make it become recognized to promote it to a wider audience. Film industry institutions such as
Universal will distribute my thriller as they already have similar crime/psychological thriller movies such as 'Eden Lake' which is a popular rated thriller movie, i think they would distribute my thriller as it would progress to keep the suspense going as in the opening as the plot unravels and becomes clear to the audience, both my thriller opening and Eden lake use quick cuts to show flashbacks and introduce the characters clearly showing the antagonist and protagonosists, and Eden lake progresses throughout the movie to reach an equilibrium ending of the couple being happy together again following Todorovs narrative theory, whereas my thriller will not reach an equilibrium as there has been murders and peoples lives have been permanently effected and therefore Todorovs narrative theory wouldnt apply to my thriller but it would fit into Blumler and Katz theory that the purpose of all film will fit into five categories, and my thriller will fit into the entertainment category.
4) Who would be the audience for your media product?
The audience for my thriller will be teenagers as it has an element of crime and is succesful for building up suspense and tension, creating a weary sinister atmosphere through the element of mystery, which will keep teenagers engaged and enthrilled, the variety of shot types is also important to help portray the narrative to the teenagers, for example through the panning and establishing shots to set the scene which teenagers will be-able to relate to. The close-ups of the feet, eyes and dead body parts show significance and make the audience aware of murder however cause confusion as to who is dead and why, which will make the audience want to watch the rest of the movie to find out all of the unanswered questions from the opening.
5) How did you attract/address your audience?
From the initial planning of my thriller I thought of how I could attract my target audience of teenagers, and therefore I chose to use teenage actors to make a crime thriller which would appeal to teenagers as they could relate to whats happening to the characters. Whilst planning the final storyboarding of my thriller I was relating all aspects of it to pacific mise-en-scene that would help show the narrative to the target audience for example using an abondoned canal would be somewhere teenagers might go with their friends to relax. The main way to attract my audience I thought was keeping alot of it mysterious with a basic narrative that was easy to understand without revealing everything, and then cause confusion at the end to make them want to carry on watching. I think the flashbacks were also important in addressing my audience for my genre of thriller because it shows whats going on and places the audience in the flashback making them aware of whats happened and how they got to whats happening in the rest of the movie.
6)What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
Throughout the process of producing our media thriller i've developed a detailed understanding of the production skills required for this task, to gain this understanding I had to do alot of research and planning of existing thriller openings and analyse them to understand what tecniques are succesful and that i'd be-able to use on my own production. We then had to produce a preliminary task, which was our first opportunity of using the media equiptment; cameras, apple mac software - final cut express and garage band. This allowed me to gain understanding of what was required to create a succesful thriller such as different camera angles, the 180 degree rule. Throughout the creation of our preliminary I learnt the process of using final cut express and creating sub-clips and realised how long I needed to be-able to produce a 2 minute thriller opening, aswell as this I learnt how to add sound and make it sound effective by laying it up on garage band and adding the right transitions and video effects to make it succesful, this was a lengthy process as we had to constantly render the video in order to make changes.
Whilst filming the final production I had a few problems with the camera equiptment and had to film the majority of it twice, although this took alot of my time I also found it better because i was able to see my mistakes and film at better times to get more accurate lighting. This also helped me with how to use the camera properly and had no problems with the filming the second time,
For our final production I became more familiar with using the software and was able to create voiceovers on garage band to add in with exisiting sound effects already on the software, and I used garageband alot to try and find appropriate sounds for the set task, however I found that some effects that i wanted to use in my production to add to the suspense i couldnt find on garage band and i was able to export sound clips from YouTube onto Final Cut Express to add onto my filming this was a very lengthy process at the begining however as i started using it more i had better understanding of the software and was able to edit precisley to get it how I wanted it.
In order to do certain things on Final Cut express such as changing the colour of the fades to white I found challenging and I had to use Google and other programmes to help me edit it exactly how I wanted which developed my understanding for the whole editing process.
7) Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the process from it to the full product?
From the production of our preliminary, we had very unsteady camera management as we didn't use a tripod and the high angle shot over the cubicle of the dead body we had the camera the wrong way round so when filming the real thing I made sure this wouldnt happen again, the filming of our preliminary we managed to export the sound of what we had already filmed from the camera (although we didnt manage to film the whole of what we wanted to as we had various members of our group absent) however when we captured our final movie onto the mac the audio didnt transfer with the movie and we therefore had no dialogue, however we researched into this and found out how we could solve it, but I decided that dialogue wasnt necessary in creating a succesful thriller opening, and from the preliminary task I feel i have progressed in using the camera accurately and being able to change the colour of the video transitions to make the narrative clear that it's a flashback and in our preliminary I used the dissolving shots of black, however i think the white makes it look more dramatic and emphasizes the thriller genre of film, I didn't know how to do this from the preliminary. From editing my preliminary I learnt how to adjust the volume of the soundtrack to make it intense and precise on the points i wanted, however i found this very challenging in my preliminary to increase/decrease the volume in the right parts so this was useful in preparation of my final production as i knew that i needed more time to get the volume accurate.
Overall from the production of our preliminary I gained basic understanding of techniques required on the software which was an advantage in creating the final thriller as we knew how to use certain aspects of programmes and the final product allowed us to explore further into the software to get our thriller accurate and precise to what we wanted.
Natasha
Main task: Create the titles and opening of a new ‘thriller’ film, to last a maximum of two minutes.
1) In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
My thriller uses aspects of Hitchcocks thriller conventions with the quick cuts between the two different groups of people on the train bridge which Hitchcock uses in 'The Birds' in the playground scene which is effective in the build up of tension.
I chose to use this technique in my thriller as it's effective and succesful in building up suspense to the audience and worked well with portraying my narrative of the teenagers being followed by a pyshcotic woman.
The close-ups of the eyes and dead body parts at the end of the opening is also a technique used in Hitchcoks work in the Psycho shower scene, with the close up of Marions eye when she's dead in the shower scene.
I also chose to not see the psychotic womans face in the opening of our production to add an element of mystery which Hitchcock also uses in the shower scene from Psycho as this creates a weary atmoshphere for the audience as it keeps them on edge throughout the entire movie as to who it is and if it will happen again. Having the mysterious element to the thriller makes it more of a psychological thriller as the audience are persistantly unpuzzling the narrative to make sense of it, which i found effective in the build up of suspense for my thriller opening to reveal the victims later on in the movie.
I chose to create and use a distorted voiceover to show the physcotic womans frame of mind as I found that using a voiceover was a succesful convention in the Coen Brothers thriller openings to engage the audience with the narrative, and the Coen Brothers also use establishing shots at the begining of many of their thriller movie openings to set the scene for their movie, I also found this technique effective however decided to use the establishing shot further on in my opening as i felt it would be more significant in having the establishing shot as they were reaching the abandoned canal setting to signify to the audience that this is a significant setting for the thriller.
The editing of my thriller is also important in portraying the narrative as i chose to make all of the shots with Hannah (psycho lady) slightly drained of colour and a final cut express 'wind blur' to emphasize her distorted mind for the audience to also feel distorted and to be inside her head.
My overall thriller is based on the Horror thriller 'Eden Lake' which is what inspired our narrative however I turned it around to be against the negative representation of teenagers in society, to make them the protagonists and innocent characters.
The flashbacks I took inspiration from the film noir film Double Indemnity, which I found effective with the narrative of my thriller as it's mysterious and keeping the audience involved, however I didn't choose to create my whole thriller in film noir as I thought it was important to make a clear distinction between who was the protagonist and antagonist, so I kept the teenagers pictures as clear as possible and only made the psychotic lady blurred.
In terms of mise-en-scene I chose for the psychotic woman to wear a black t-shirt as from the semiotics theory this signifies danger and death to society and therefore will be significant in showing that she is the antagonist.
The prop of the knife was used to create suspense and tension to the audience as at this point we're aware that she's following the teenagers and that there will be a dangerous situation. The soundtrack also adds to the build-up of tension, suspense and creating a weary atmosphere which keeps the audience enthrilled as to what exactly will happen, as there is a group of teenagers which have an instant negative representation within sociey making the audience suspicious and weary.
2) How does your media product represent particular social groups?
My thriller represents teenagers positively through the use of the natural lighting which i chose to use to contrast with the dull lighting on the antagonist (pyschotic lady). Although they are wearing stereotypical teenage costumes (hoodies etc) they go against the stereotrype of teenagers being the criminals, the lighting empasizes these antagonist and protagonist roles.
Whilst researching existing thriller openings I found that representing particular social groups wasn't only done through choice of characters but by the choice of setting and shot types, as for example in the Coen Brothers they open their movies with distinctive establishing shots of abandoned land cutting to voilent scenes which show representation of stereotypical gangs making the audience on edge and fearful, therefore whilst creating my thriller I considered the various shot types and cuts, for example starting with close ups of their feet cutting to the conflicting character clearly showing the representation of teenagers, to create the same effect on the audience as the Coen Brothers thrillers and show distinct representaion going against the stereotype or criminal teenagers.
Using the over the shoulder shot to show the (meant to be slightly older) psychotic character, also showing clearly what she's seeing; the photo of a child, really shows the characters vulnerability and leaves the audience on edge and asking questions making them want to carry on watching and this represents women as dillusional and vulnerable resulting in pyhscotic behaviour, which again goes against the stereotrype as its usually a male character that plays the criminal pyhschotic role.
3) What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
Media institutions such as forms of the web would promote my thriller using sites such as YouTube (Web 2.0) as it's available for everyone to access and is pacific to my target audience of teenagers to middle aged adults, as they're more likely to use this form of the web and will be-able to share it and make it become recognized to promote it to a wider audience. Film industry institutions such as
Universal will distribute my thriller as they already have similar crime/psychological thriller movies such as 'Eden Lake' which is a popular rated thriller movie, i think they would distribute my thriller as it would progress to keep the suspense going as in the opening as the plot unravels and becomes clear to the audience, both my thriller opening and Eden lake use quick cuts to show flashbacks and introduce the characters clearly showing the antagonist and protagonosists, and Eden lake progresses throughout the movie to reach an equilibrium ending of the couple being happy together again following Todorovs narrative theory, whereas my thriller will not reach an equilibrium as there has been murders and peoples lives have been permanently effected and therefore Todorovs narrative theory wouldnt apply to my thriller but it would fit into Blumler and Katz theory that the purpose of all film will fit into five categories, and my thriller will fit into the entertainment category.
4) Who would be the audience for your media product?
The audience for my thriller will be teenagers as it has an element of crime and is succesful for building up suspense and tension, creating a weary sinister atmosphere through the element of mystery, which will keep teenagers engaged and enthrilled, the variety of shot types is also important to help portray the narrative to the teenagers, for example through the panning and establishing shots to set the scene which teenagers will be-able to relate to. The close-ups of the feet, eyes and dead body parts show significance and make the audience aware of murder however cause confusion as to who is dead and why, which will make the audience want to watch the rest of the movie to find out all of the unanswered questions from the opening.
5) How did you attract/address your audience?
From the initial planning of my thriller I thought of how I could attract my target audience of teenagers, and therefore I chose to use teenage actors to make a crime thriller which would appeal to teenagers as they could relate to whats happening to the characters. Whilst planning the final storyboarding of my thriller I was relating all aspects of it to pacific mise-en-scene that would help show the narrative to the target audience for example using an abondoned canal would be somewhere teenagers might go with their friends to relax. The main way to attract my audience I thought was keeping alot of it mysterious with a basic narrative that was easy to understand without revealing everything, and then cause confusion at the end to make them want to carry on watching. I think the flashbacks were also important in addressing my audience for my genre of thriller because it shows whats going on and places the audience in the flashback making them aware of whats happened and how they got to whats happening in the rest of the movie.
6)What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
Throughout the process of producing our media thriller i've developed a detailed understanding of the production skills required for this task, to gain this understanding I had to do alot of research and planning of existing thriller openings and analyse them to understand what tecniques are succesful and that i'd be-able to use on my own production. We then had to produce a preliminary task, which was our first opportunity of using the media equiptment; cameras, apple mac software - final cut express and garage band. This allowed me to gain understanding of what was required to create a succesful thriller such as different camera angles, the 180 degree rule. Throughout the creation of our preliminary I learnt the process of using final cut express and creating sub-clips and realised how long I needed to be-able to produce a 2 minute thriller opening, aswell as this I learnt how to add sound and make it sound effective by laying it up on garage band and adding the right transitions and video effects to make it succesful, this was a lengthy process as we had to constantly render the video in order to make changes.
Whilst filming the final production I had a few problems with the camera equiptment and had to film the majority of it twice, although this took alot of my time I also found it better because i was able to see my mistakes and film at better times to get more accurate lighting. This also helped me with how to use the camera properly and had no problems with the filming the second time,
For our final production I became more familiar with using the software and was able to create voiceovers on garage band to add in with exisiting sound effects already on the software, and I used garageband alot to try and find appropriate sounds for the set task, however I found that some effects that i wanted to use in my production to add to the suspense i couldnt find on garage band and i was able to export sound clips from YouTube onto Final Cut Express to add onto my filming this was a very lengthy process at the begining however as i started using it more i had better understanding of the software and was able to edit precisley to get it how I wanted it.
In order to do certain things on Final Cut express such as changing the colour of the fades to white I found challenging and I had to use Google and other programmes to help me edit it exactly how I wanted which developed my understanding for the whole editing process.
7) Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the process from it to the full product?
From the production of our preliminary, we had very unsteady camera management as we didn't use a tripod and the high angle shot over the cubicle of the dead body we had the camera the wrong way round so when filming the real thing I made sure this wouldnt happen again, the filming of our preliminary we managed to export the sound of what we had already filmed from the camera (although we didnt manage to film the whole of what we wanted to as we had various members of our group absent) however when we captured our final movie onto the mac the audio didnt transfer with the movie and we therefore had no dialogue, however we researched into this and found out how we could solve it, but I decided that dialogue wasnt necessary in creating a succesful thriller opening, and from the preliminary task I feel i have progressed in using the camera accurately and being able to change the colour of the video transitions to make the narrative clear that it's a flashback and in our preliminary I used the dissolving shots of black, however i think the white makes it look more dramatic and emphasizes the thriller genre of film, I didn't know how to do this from the preliminary. From editing my preliminary I learnt how to adjust the volume of the soundtrack to make it intense and precise on the points i wanted, however i found this very challenging in my preliminary to increase/decrease the volume in the right parts so this was useful in preparation of my final production as i knew that i needed more time to get the volume accurate.
Overall from the production of our preliminary I gained basic understanding of techniques required on the software which was an advantage in creating the final thriller as we knew how to use certain aspects of programmes and the final product allowed us to explore further into the software to get our thriller accurate and precise to what we wanted.
Natasha
Friday, 20 April 2012
17) Thriller sub-genres
Thriller subgenres - there are many different types of thriller subgenres to apply to the narrative of the film all with different needs, subgenres vary from one another, although all the movies are categorized as thrillers all have the main motive to add to the elemt of thrill and suspense.
CONSPIRACY THRILLER:the hero/heroine confronts a large, powerful group of enemies whose true extent only she/he recognizes. For example in the Da Vinci Code and Edge of Darkness.
CRIME THRILLER:this particular genre is a hybrid type of both crime films and thrillers that create suspense through succesful or failed crimes. these films often focus on the criminals rather than the policeman. crime thrillers usually emphasize action over psychological aspects. Central topics of these films include serial killers/murders, robberies, shootouts and chases. Examples of crime thrillers include Seven, No Country For Old Men and The Killing.
PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER: the conflict between the main characters is mental and emotional, rather than physical, apart from there's usually a violent resolution. Charcters are usually dragged into dangerous conflict or situations that they are not prepared to resolve. Characters are not reliant on physical strength to overcome their brutish enemies, but rather are reliant on their mental resources. the suspense is created by two characters preying on oneanothers minds, by either playing decieptive games with the other or by attempting to deteriorate the others mental state. Examples of this are Suspicion, Shadow Of a Doubt, Strangers on a Train and Shutter Island.
DRAMA THRILLER: Drama combined with elements of thriller, usually slower pace than other thriller sub-genres, and involves the character developing emotionally and psychologically and sometimes physically which usually co-incides with the plot and with its twists and turns. Examples of drama thrillers include The Interpreter.
HORROR THRILLER:Conflict between the main characters are mental, emotional and physical with an element of fear throughout the narrative. The main character is usually up against superior force and will usually become the victims and directly feel the fear. Examples of horror thrillers include Silence of the Lambs and 28 Days Later
ACTION THRILLER: The work usually features a race against the clock with alot of violence and an obvious antagonist. These films usually contain large amounts of guns, explosions and large elaborate set pieces for the action to take place. Examples of this are The Transporter, James Bons movies and Jason Bourne films.
SPY THRILLERThe hero is generally a governent agent who must take violent action against agents of a rival government. For example in movies such as The Bourne Identity and Mission impossible.
GANGSTER THRILLERDeveloped around the sinister action of criminals or ganagsters, particularly bankrobbers, underworld figures, or ruthless hoodlums who operate outside the law, stealing and violently murdering their way through life. Gangster thrillers are often dark and cynical and are often categorized post war film noir or detective mystery films because of the similarities between these genres. Examples of this include Angels with dirty faces.
Natasha
CONSPIRACY THRILLER:the hero/heroine confronts a large, powerful group of enemies whose true extent only she/he recognizes. For example in the Da Vinci Code and Edge of Darkness.
CRIME THRILLER:this particular genre is a hybrid type of both crime films and thrillers that create suspense through succesful or failed crimes. these films often focus on the criminals rather than the policeman. crime thrillers usually emphasize action over psychological aspects. Central topics of these films include serial killers/murders, robberies, shootouts and chases. Examples of crime thrillers include Seven, No Country For Old Men and The Killing.
PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER: the conflict between the main characters is mental and emotional, rather than physical, apart from there's usually a violent resolution. Charcters are usually dragged into dangerous conflict or situations that they are not prepared to resolve. Characters are not reliant on physical strength to overcome their brutish enemies, but rather are reliant on their mental resources. the suspense is created by two characters preying on oneanothers minds, by either playing decieptive games with the other or by attempting to deteriorate the others mental state. Examples of this are Suspicion, Shadow Of a Doubt, Strangers on a Train and Shutter Island.
DRAMA THRILLER: Drama combined with elements of thriller, usually slower pace than other thriller sub-genres, and involves the character developing emotionally and psychologically and sometimes physically which usually co-incides with the plot and with its twists and turns. Examples of drama thrillers include The Interpreter.
HORROR THRILLER:Conflict between the main characters are mental, emotional and physical with an element of fear throughout the narrative. The main character is usually up against superior force and will usually become the victims and directly feel the fear. Examples of horror thrillers include Silence of the Lambs and 28 Days Later
ACTION THRILLER: The work usually features a race against the clock with alot of violence and an obvious antagonist. These films usually contain large amounts of guns, explosions and large elaborate set pieces for the action to take place. Examples of this are The Transporter, James Bons movies and Jason Bourne films.
SPY THRILLERThe hero is generally a governent agent who must take violent action against agents of a rival government. For example in movies such as The Bourne Identity and Mission impossible.
GANGSTER THRILLERDeveloped around the sinister action of criminals or ganagsters, particularly bankrobbers, underworld figures, or ruthless hoodlums who operate outside the law, stealing and violently murdering their way through life. Gangster thrillers are often dark and cynical and are often categorized post war film noir or detective mystery films because of the similarities between these genres. Examples of this include Angels with dirty faces.
Natasha
16) Setting for our final production:
We chose to use the canal as our setting as it is abandoned which adds an element of mystery, this is effective with our narrative as there is a death that the audience doesnt know who has been murdered, which would come into a psychological thriller as it is keeping the audience puzzling together the plot of the characters and the narrative of who has been murdered. I also chose to use the canal setting becuase it can create a sinister weary atmosphere adding to the tension and suspense, and because it's abandoned the audience will wonder if the murderer will ever get caught out which keeps the audience on the edge of their seat as they will have a constant element of doubt in the back of their mind.
Natasha
Friday, 6 April 2012
15) Storyboard of Final production
Our thriller was inspired by James Watkins 'Eden Lake' which is a thriller about teenagers brutally terrorising a middle aged couple in an abandoned lake resort that nobody is supposed to know about.
The setting is effective with the narrative as it creates something you should be afraid of from something thats supposed to be romantic and normal. This is an effective way of building up suspense as it will make the audience feel anxious and fearful of what is going to hammen which will emphasize the shock. Hitchcock also uses this technique, for example in The Birds it makes the audience feel as though they should be afraid of Birds and Psycho being afraid of staying in a hotel, Watkins makes you fear teenagers which is effective as it'll play on the audiences mind whilst they're doing normal everyday things as teenagers already have a negative stereotrype in society.
the sound is quiet and calm to start with which sets the scene for it to be romantic before the twist comes in which emphasizes it making it dramatic with the unexpected dog bark making the audience jump and feel on edge creating a weary atmosphere.
The soundtrach prgressively gets louder which instantly sets the scene for something bad to happen and therefore is an effective way of building up tension.
The quick cuts with the sounds effects and transitions is effective with the fast movements in building up tension and suspense as it reflects the middle aged coples mindset and shows the build up of their fear and makes the audience feel anxious and weary of what might happen which creates a suspicious atmosphere.
Natasha
Saturday, 17 March 2012
14) Inital planning ideas for final production
This is a few ideas of sounds, camera angles and movement I came up with from other succesful thriller openings for the inital planning of our own thriller.
Natasha
Thursday, 15 March 2012
10) The Coen Brothers
The
Coen Brothers
We have studied four of the Coen Brothers thriller openings to help understand how they have used similar techniques and aspects of creating distinct thrillers of their genre.
We have
focused on the editing, Camera shots/angles and sound they use to create an
anxious atmosphere to the audience leading to the build-up of shock, tension
and suspense.
The Hudsucker Proxy
The characters
was wearing a suit which makes him look very sinister and suspicious, this
creates a mysterious atmosphere for the audience as it signifies intelligence
and makes us weary of what he could be capable of, which creates tension and
suspense.
The lighting
was mostly coming off from the big clock which the face was lit making it very
dull and focusing significance on the clock which creates mystery.
Sound
There is not
any dialogue in the first part creating a mysterious atmosphere for the
audience and with the classical soundtrack it adds to a build up of tension.
The voiceover
at the start is with a western accent this with the establishing shots creates
a very sinister anxious atmosphere which helps to set the mystery of the scene.
The western accent could represent the trouble that he has got himself into. “Out
of rope, out of time”, this leaves the audience questioning the meanings it
could be suggesting; it could end in death or even suicide. The
character could be torn between the good and bad in themselves.. This is
effective because it leaves the audience on a cliff-hanger wanted to watch
more, making it effective to use in the opening.
Camera shots/ angles
Establishing shot of the city - awareness of the surroundings of the character, sets the scene engaging the audience in the suspense and mystery. Also shows the relationship between the setting and the character.- High angled shot of buildings, to
set the scene in a weary atmosphere.
- Zoom into the big clock on the
side of the building- “Hudsucker industries”
- Close- up of the character
looking out the window and then climbing out of the window – makes the
audience feel on edge and tense of what is going to happen.
- Zoomed into the clock hands striking
twelve- A New Year, or even a new life, relating the voice over “out of
time” again creating a tense and levels of uncertainty to the audience.
- Panning of the city, in a dark
and snowy setting could signify danger.
Barton Fink
Mise en scene
The clothing
in Barton Fink is similar to the main characters clothing in Hudsucker proxy
where they are both wearing suits which again makes them look sinister. However
in this there is more than one character shown in the introduction. The women
are wearing dresses; femme fatal – suggesting danger, and conflict in the
thriller.
The lighting
was mostly from the stage where the main character is stood watching his
creation. The lighting was high key, with very little shadowing, making the
audience tense because they are not too sure when the twists will come into it,
but are expecting it from the setting and sound.
The actor who
played Barton Fink was John Turturro. Putting glasses on the character could
signifies that he is a very intelligent man. When they are finished watching
his play they go inside.
The femme fatal also joined the table with the
married men, however, the red lipstick she was wearing made her look dangerous
and seductive which instantly suggests to the audience that she is dangerous adding
to the tension of the plot.
The props
used was a rope, which had been followed down to the stage which made the
audience feel a bit suspicious and tense on what’s going to happen, this was
also created through the dialogue because we could hear it but couldn’t see the
people speaking which shown significance on the rope, and took away the
importance of what was being said.
Sound
In Barton
Fink there is much more dialogue than The Hudsucker Proxy. “I feel I’m on the
brink of success”. Seeming like a he’s much more pleased with his work than the
character in The Hudsucker proxy. The soundtrack used created the same effect
as it did with the voiceover, setting up the narrative and creating a sinister
and mysterious atmosphere.
soundtrack was jazz music which also helped create a sinister atmosphere.
Jazz styled
music relates to gangs like the mafia and suggests danger which makes the audience
feel fearful of the narrative, and anxious of what is going to happen .
Camera
shots/ movements
- Close up on some old fashioned
wall paper, slowly zooming in, creating mystery of significance of the
wallpaper.
- Point of view shot of the man
walking into the eating area- suspicious character, villainous, troubled.
Audience feeling anxious.
- Mid shot-Still image of Barton
Fink- Making the character look cynical.
- Close up of man with something
suspicious in his hand- Might have something dangerous in his hand,
audience start feeling curious and tense of what’s going to happen.
- Being introduced to the other
characters by close ups- through reaction shots on thecharacters faces. Helps
keep the audience in the loop trying to unravel which character is significant
and the protagonist and antagonist, could suggest a twist because of their
uncertainty.
Editing
Quick cuts between
the characters faces- Identifying relationships between the characters. Builds
suspense, audience think something bad is going to happens with the involvement
of the characters.
The Big Lebowski
The first
character we see is wearing pj’s making the audience feel uncertain of what is
going on creating a mysterious atmosphere.
In this the
lighting is natural outside. However, mostly its low key lighting creating a
gloomy and weary atmosphere, which adds to the build-up of tension and shock.
The character Big Lebowski, known as “the dude” was played by an actor called Jeff Bridges. His character seems troublesome due to the fact he doesn’t care about anyone or himself, which creates anxiety for the audience as he could be potentially dangerous as he has a careless persona.
The character Big Lebowski, known as “the dude” was played by an actor called Jeff Bridges. His character seems troublesome due to the fact he doesn’t care about anyone or himself, which creates anxiety for the audience as he could be potentially dangerous as he has a careless persona.
The tumbleweed is a good prop to have at the start because it shows that they are out in the middle of no where making it easier to inflict some crime. It is set in Los Angeles where there is lots of deserted land therefore making the audience weary of what could happen as anything can happen, building tension.
Sound
· Voiceover is western which is slow and suspicious. Give the idea of what kind of character he is through the words; “he’s a man for his time and place” suggesting that he’s no amateur of what is going to happen making the audience feel the suspense of the plot. Also suggests he’s rebellious, the audience are aware there is going to be violence involved.
· Soundtrack- Old country and western, suggesting gangs and conflict. A tie in with the desserts and vast open areas- connotes freedom.
Camera shot and movements
Establishing shot- Going from dark to light. This implies that there may be trouble or conflict and that there is a good side and a bad side, creating tension for what is going to happen and the significance of this lighting.- Crabbing- Following tumbleweed.
From an abandoned area to where people live. Story started from the
abandoned area. Starts of all quiet and calm and has a quick cut to a
action violence scene which is unexpected and makes the audience jump and shows shock, keeping
them on edge and builds up suspense.
- Long shots of land, Characters,
surroundings, not many people out there, shows that it is abandoned which
makes the memorable quote ‘theres a time and a place’ from the voiceover
effective as there’s nobody there which creates anxiety.
- High angled shot of men in the bathroom, they are superior, more power. Shows significance in the characters; protagonist, antagonist and the looser character it catches the audience off guard, going from laid back to all of a sudden conflict.
Editing
Quick
cuts- conflict, fast paced, makes audience fearful of the unravelling mystery.
Fading
shots and dissolving shots into panning creating a weary atmosphere.
No
country for old men
Mise
en scene
The
main character is in a dark costume, black top and black trousers, making him
look a bit grubby and instantly makes the audience see he is the villain.
This
becomes clearer once we see the officer in his police outfit. Showing power and
authority in contrast with the villain creating tension of the police and shows
that the villain is capable of being dangerous.
The
lighting used seems natural due to being out in the middle of nowhere on
abandoned land. This shows the different shadows from the mountains giving it
the effect that it’s alone and an abandoned place.
The
actor who plays the mysterious man is called Javier Bardem. The character seems
very dark and lonely, the audience don’t entirely get to see his face in the
introduction which makes them feel vulnerable and curious in what is next going
to happen.
The
props used were mostly a part of what the police officer normally has. Like a
police car, handcuffs, a desk and a phone etc. These props seem like everyday
things, which causes more tension because it seems so realistic and calm.
Knowing that something bad is going to happen next when the police officer
arrests the strange man. The setting was like The Big Lebowski where there is
nothing but vast land and desert which has been abandoned. Makes the audience
feel unsettled that they know that no one else can see what’s happening but
them.
Sounds
·
There
is a little dialogue when the police man has caught the man and whilst on the
phone reports it. However, when it is reported something gruesome happens. The
man may prefer silence, his own company creating suspense and tension.· Voice over- Western cowboy. Suggesting conflict, groups/ gangs. “im going to hell in about 15 minutes”. He might be the man committing conflict, guilty conscience so he wants to tell his story until he’s sentenced to his death. Audience pity on him and also feel guilty that they are the ones he has come out to.
Camera shots and angles
· Establishing shot of mountains, abandoned area, still shots of the horizons. Set the scene- freedom, setting gets darker setting the scene for something bad to happen, which creates a sinister and anxious atmosphere.
· Long shot of them driving in the police car into the horizon. Makes audience feel tense whilst following, which builds on the suspense.
· Two shot of police man putting the culprit into the car. He’s the Villain, audience know he’ll probably hurt or kill the police officer makes the audience feel tension.
· Mid shot- guy on the phone reporting him whilst we can see the man coming closer, raising the audiences feeling of tension wanting to help him and creates the atmosphere for the to feel guilty, causing more suspense
· 2 shot/ high shot looking down on the police man struggling whilst the villain is strangling him with his own cord. Quick paced conflict, shown through the quick cuts, creating the audience to feel scared of what else is going to happen and adding to the mystery because they can’t see his face.
Editing
Quick cuts when the violence is going on- causes audience to panic, quickens the story, building more tension suspense and shock throughout keeping the audience engaged and thrilled in whats going to happen.
Watching the openings of the Coen Brothers movies are good to see the distinct conventions used which are succesful in all of their movies by using similar aspects in most of thethriller openings to make them successful in setting the scene for the entire thriller, he also uses the same types of characters to create conflict and se the narrative for violence.
All of the Coen Brothers openings are successful in creating tension, shock and suspense through creating sinister atmospheres and causing anxiety to his audience, I particularly think the voiceovers are effective as they help to set the scene whilst showing the setting through a variety of establishing shots and panning, we can use these aspects in our final production which will be effective in creating shock tension and suspense.
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