Saturday, 31 January 2009
Preperation for filming 26/01/09
In todays lesson we concentrated on getting our storyboards completed so that when we went out to film we would know what needed to be done and get it done efficiently. Miles brought in some pictures of Downs Park so as to help us visualise the space that we would be working in, which helped a lot but didn't help us to picture the different shots that we could use what probably would've been better is if we took pictures in the angles and directions in which we were interested filming in.
The Pitch 22/01/09
In the first half of todays lesson we were told to start thinking of ideas for our thriller opening ready to do our pitch in the following lesson. After throwing a few ideas around we came up with the idea to use the technique of film noir, meaning that our clip would be the end of the film. The narrative of our film would be a woman walking in the park reminiscing about a time when she was at the park with her friend/boyfriend who is now dead. Throughout the timein which she is walking through the park her friend/boyfriend will be following, much like a ghost, the fact the he is dead will be made clear to the audience by when we edit the opacity of him to make it less than the rest of the shot giving him a supernatural appearance. By making the boy follow the woman it suggests to the audience that something was not quite right in the way that he died hinting perhaps that he was murdered,which would be reveiled later in the film.
To make it clear that the woman is having flashbacks of herself and the boy in the park we are going to make it so they are wearing school uniforms in the flashbacks and then the woman when seen in the present time will be wearing clothes of a more mature age. Also we will make the flashback shots in black and white so as to make them even more distinctive.
We have decided to use a park for our location because we really want to use the sound of swings because we felt that that sound is really effective when it comes to setting an eerie atmosphere perfect for a thriller. We have chosen to film in Downs Park in Hackney because the children's playground is visually interesting which is vital when it comes to creating the effect that we want for our thriller so that we can use lots of different camera angles and quick cuts.
As sound is such an important factor to consider when making a thriller as we have learnt through the soundtrack tutorial and through watching some of last years thrillers which had not really made the most of their sound we spent rather a long time considering what we wanted the audience to hear. The main sound that we wanted was the squeaking of a swing to match the shot where the audience will see a swing swinging with no one on it. We will also compile an eerie soundtrack that will in he background so as to heighten the suspense and tension.
The second half of todays lesson was dedicated to the class giving our pitches to Louisa, Mickey and Marissa. It was extremely important that they liked our ideas and thought them capable of doing otherwise we would not get permission to start filming next lesson and would have to go back to the drwing board. At first they thought that the narrative to our thriller was quite hard to understand but when we elaborated further on it thankfully they thought our idea was good and that we were capable of actually doing it. All that was left for us to do was to complete the storyboards.
To make it clear that the woman is having flashbacks of herself and the boy in the park we are going to make it so they are wearing school uniforms in the flashbacks and then the woman when seen in the present time will be wearing clothes of a more mature age. Also we will make the flashback shots in black and white so as to make them even more distinctive.
We have decided to use a park for our location because we really want to use the sound of swings because we felt that that sound is really effective when it comes to setting an eerie atmosphere perfect for a thriller. We have chosen to film in Downs Park in Hackney because the children's playground is visually interesting which is vital when it comes to creating the effect that we want for our thriller so that we can use lots of different camera angles and quick cuts.
As sound is such an important factor to consider when making a thriller as we have learnt through the soundtrack tutorial and through watching some of last years thrillers which had not really made the most of their sound we spent rather a long time considering what we wanted the audience to hear. The main sound that we wanted was the squeaking of a swing to match the shot where the audience will see a swing swinging with no one on it. We will also compile an eerie soundtrack that will in he background so as to heighten the suspense and tension.
The second half of todays lesson was dedicated to the class giving our pitches to Louisa, Mickey and Marissa. It was extremely important that they liked our ideas and thought them capable of doing otherwise we would not get permission to start filming next lesson and would have to go back to the drwing board. At first they thought that the narrative to our thriller was quite hard to understand but when we elaborated further on it thankfully they thought our idea was good and that we were capable of actually doing it. All that was left for us to do was to complete the storyboards.
Filming - Thursday 29th January
In this lesson myself and Topaz were told to meet Pebbles and Sevda at Hackney Downs Park at 10am. This would hopefully give us at least two hours to shoot the shots we needed to. Pebbles and Sevda had arranged to go and get the equipment that we needed. We began by walking around the park and looking for the bridge that we would use for our establishing shot. Pebbles and Sevda shot two establishing tilt shots of the sky, then of Topaz walking, and then one establishing pan shots of the area then of Topaz walking again. This gave us alot to edit from, and meant that when it was my turn to shoot, we didn't need to shoot anymore establishing shots and could focus on just shooting action. We found that it was very cold, and we found it hard to shoot for the two hours. However we kept on going and found a bench in which we filmed different shots of action which we hoped to use when it came to editing to show that my character was a ghost that was watching over Topaz's character. We had filmed more than we thought we had done in the two hours that we were out there, and this was further backed up by the fact that the two batteries that we had for the camera both ran out. I was pleased with what we had done, but none of us were pleased with the current state of our hands and feet, as we slowly walked back to the bus stop we discussed what we were going to do on Monday. We decided to watch back what we had done, then if we were dissatisfied we would come back next week Thursday and reshoot, also because there were two crucial shots that we had not completed.
The Pitch..
In this lesson we were given the task to prepare our pitch. We had been told to prepare ideas for our pitches. This was an important lesson as if Mickey, Marrisa and Louisa didn't like or couldn't see our idea working, then they had the power to tell us that we could not film, and therefore would have put us at least one lesson behind the other groups. I had gotten some pictures of the area that we wished to use for our actual thriller. These pictures helped as it allowed us to visualize the area, however it was hard to imagine the different camera angles that we would have wanted to use. We decided to base our ideas around a woman who is reliving her past with her friend or boyfriend in the playground that they used to visit when they were younger. We decided to show that her friend or boyfriend had died from the time that they used to be in the playground, and to show this effectively we decided to make his character's opacity lesser than the rest of the shot to create a ghost like effect. Also our thriller opening was going to include a flashback of when they were younger so that not too much of the story was given away in the opening.
After pitching, we were told that our idea was realistic and would work, which we were pleased for. We then started working on our storyboards, and once this was complete began talking about what we needed to begin shooting on Thursday. We made a props list, and decided on clothes we needed, and where we were going to shoot and at what time.
In today’s lesson we discussed and put together all our ideas for our actual thriller. We had lots of ideas and we had difficulties putting together certain ideas as we could not visualise them. We presented our ideas as a pitch to the class and we were told our idea would work well. We are going to film near to hackney in a park called Downs Park where most of our group members are familiar of. Our idea is: setting is going to be in a park and have 2 characters dressed up in school uniform, during the thriller there would be black and white clips and flashbacks. Swings and see saws are going to be shown as we would have lots of different shots and camera work e.g. pans to show the location, close ups, low angle shots to show feet. We had a lot of positive feedback and some of our class mates giving us more ideas to develop on ours. I am sure our thriller is going to create lots of questions and lots of suspense. We then created some of our story boards and took some to complete at home and next lesson we would be filming.
After pitching, we were told that our idea was realistic and would work, which we were pleased for. We then started working on our storyboards, and once this was complete began talking about what we needed to begin shooting on Thursday. We made a props list, and decided on clothes we needed, and where we were going to shoot and at what time.
In today’s lesson we discussed and put together all our ideas for our actual thriller. We had lots of ideas and we had difficulties putting together certain ideas as we could not visualise them. We presented our ideas as a pitch to the class and we were told our idea would work well. We are going to film near to hackney in a park called Downs Park where most of our group members are familiar of. Our idea is: setting is going to be in a park and have 2 characters dressed up in school uniform, during the thriller there would be black and white clips and flashbacks. Swings and see saws are going to be shown as we would have lots of different shots and camera work e.g. pans to show the location, close ups, low angle shots to show feet. We had a lot of positive feedback and some of our class mates giving us more ideas to develop on ours. I am sure our thriller is going to create lots of questions and lots of suspense. We then created some of our story boards and took some to complete at home and next lesson we would be filming.
Preliminary Filming
In today's lesson we filmed and then edited our match cut excercise films. We felt much more encouraged about this because we had the experience from our first excercise, and this time we knew how to use all the equipment. The previous lesson about match cuts, and seeing Mickey's clip helped us to know what we wanted to achieve by the end of filming time. One thing we did differently compared to last time was that we shot the same shot from different angles. This gave us many shots to edit and didnt limit us to the same angled shot. We played around with angles and tried to make our clip interesting and tense. Also, we had to do this otherwise we couldnt then use match cuts in our clips. We had much more fun filming this time as it was less stressful and this allowed us to get everything we needed to do done.
Our clip was a thriller that touched slightly on the romance genre. The space that we decided to pick was a place that was very small so therefore it created intimate tension. There were many shelves and boxes in the room so we had many places to shoot from to make the shots more interesting. We felt this was good aswell because we could then shoot Topaz walking down the corridor then into the room and we realised that was a large opportunity to use match cuts just through these two actions.
After we'd finished shooting, we went into the editing suite. It was interesting to see the shots we had done compared to the first excercise, and it was safe to say that these shots were much better. Though we had many outtakes that were full of laughing, it was good to see that we were enjoying the experience more than before and we got loads of shots that could have been used. However, for realism and continuity we couldn't use all of them. As a group I think we have now become a team as we understand how each other works now, also we know each others strengths and weaknesses. Our editing in our clip was really good as it runs very smoothly and none of the cuts look wrong. We had fun filming and we cant wait to do the real thriller film.
Our clip was a thriller that touched slightly on the romance genre. The space that we decided to pick was a place that was very small so therefore it created intimate tension. There were many shelves and boxes in the room so we had many places to shoot from to make the shots more interesting. We felt this was good aswell because we could then shoot Topaz walking down the corridor then into the room and we realised that was a large opportunity to use match cuts just through these two actions.
After we'd finished shooting, we went into the editing suite. It was interesting to see the shots we had done compared to the first excercise, and it was safe to say that these shots were much better. Though we had many outtakes that were full of laughing, it was good to see that we were enjoying the experience more than before and we got loads of shots that could have been used. However, for realism and continuity we couldn't use all of them. As a group I think we have now become a team as we understand how each other works now, also we know each others strengths and weaknesses. Our editing in our clip was really good as it runs very smoothly and none of the cuts look wrong. We had fun filming and we cant wait to do the real thriller film.
Match Cut Lesson
In today's lesson we learnt about match cuts. We were taught that a match cut is literally a cut from shot to shot in which the action matches with continuous movement. After the short introduction to match cuts, we were given a task to create a shot list for a sequence that contained no more than 20 shots of someone smoking a cigarette. I wasn't sure of how to do this at first, but after talking with my group it made more sense and became easier. Mickey then showed us a clip of how he filmed the sequence and this was helpful as we managed to identify some of the shots that we had written down, and we also were given ideas as to good match cuts to use. He effectively used many match cuts in his clip, showing the continuous motion of his character lighting and then smoking a cigarette, and his character sealing a letter. Another thing that our group noticed was how Mickey had set out his credits in his clip. He used a simple black screen with slow type - writer style writing to add tension to even the credits. Mary pointed out to us that Mickey had cleverly suggested time and location in his clip, which was something that none of us had realised. He had a shot of his character's watch and his use of the weather outside suggested his clip was set in the morning / early afternoon.
We were then given our preliminary match cut excercise. The brief was to film a short sequence of a character opening a door, walking into a room and having a conversation with another character. In our clip we must include match cuts, one example of shot / reverse shot and to show our understanding of the 180 degree rule. The 180 degree rule is the idea that if you film on the right hand side of a character, it would not make sense to then cut to a shot that is on the left hand side of the character as the motions the character were doing would look to the audience as opposite. For this excercise, we all had lots of ideas for what we should do. We decided to properly plan this time, as we felt as a group that last time around we had under planned and were thinking on the spot with regards to the shots we were going to do. After discussing with Mary, she allowed us to use the Media Storage Cupboard as our main setting. We felt this was good as the cupboard was a small enclosed space that creates an intimate tension between two characters. Also the lighting in the room was dim which creates tension and there were many interesting camera angles that we could choose to shoot from.
Through planning we came up with a lot of good ideas like setting it in the media storage cupboard and positioning the camera so that it sits in between the shelves so that it looks like the audience are watching something that is secret.
We were then given our preliminary match cut excercise. The brief was to film a short sequence of a character opening a door, walking into a room and having a conversation with another character. In our clip we must include match cuts, one example of shot / reverse shot and to show our understanding of the 180 degree rule. The 180 degree rule is the idea that if you film on the right hand side of a character, it would not make sense to then cut to a shot that is on the left hand side of the character as the motions the character were doing would look to the audience as opposite. For this excercise, we all had lots of ideas for what we should do. We decided to properly plan this time, as we felt as a group that last time around we had under planned and were thinking on the spot with regards to the shots we were going to do. After discussing with Mary, she allowed us to use the Media Storage Cupboard as our main setting. We felt this was good as the cupboard was a small enclosed space that creates an intimate tension between two characters. Also the lighting in the room was dim which creates tension and there were many interesting camera angles that we could choose to shoot from.
Through planning we came up with a lot of good ideas like setting it in the media storage cupboard and positioning the camera so that it sits in between the shelves so that it looks like the audience are watching something that is secret.
Friday, 30 January 2009
filming
29th january 2009:
Me and one of my group member pebbles arranged to come and collect the equipment and set off to hackney downs as we were going to wait for the others in the park. We started off by looking around and visualising our story boards. We then shot a couple of shots but it was very hard to keep the camera in the same place as we were trying to zoom out to show our character walking down the path.
We had a couple of problems is it was too cold to film for more than 2hours in the park and also our 2 batteries ran out so we could not complete our shootings so we would have to go back and film. But then we realized that the lightings would be different as the sun was out on Thursday. We decided to watch what we had captured on Monday then were going to either carry on or change certain bits.
Me and one of my group member pebbles arranged to come and collect the equipment and set off to hackney downs as we were going to wait for the others in the park. We started off by looking around and visualising our story boards. We then shot a couple of shots but it was very hard to keep the camera in the same place as we were trying to zoom out to show our character walking down the path.
We had a couple of problems is it was too cold to film for more than 2hours in the park and also our 2 batteries ran out so we could not complete our shootings so we would have to go back and film. But then we realized that the lightings would be different as the sun was out on Thursday. We decided to watch what we had captured on Monday then were going to either carry on or change certain bits.
storyboards
26th january 2009:
we caried on completing our story boards and visualised our thriller. we then completed our story boards and thought about the location. we decided to film in hackney downs on thusday and shoot most of our shots.
we caried on completing our story boards and visualised our thriller. we then completed our story boards and thought about the location. we decided to film in hackney downs on thusday and shoot most of our shots.
Friday, 23 January 2009
preparing pitch
22nd January 2009:
In today’s lesson we discussed and put together all our ideas for our actual thriller. We had lots of ideas and we had difficulties putting together certain ideas as we could not visualise them. We presented our ideas as a pitch to the class and we were told our idea would work well. We are going to film near to hackney in a park called Downs Park where most of our group members are familiar of. Our idea is: setting is going to be in a park and have 2 characters dressed up in school uniform, during the thriller there would be black and white clips and flashbacks. Swings and see saws are going to be shown as we would have lots of different shots and camera work e.g. pans to show the location, close ups, low angle shots to show feet. We had a lot of positive feedback and some of our class mates giving us more ideas to develop on ours. I am sure our thriller is going to create lots of questions and lots of suspense. We then created some of our story boards and took some to complete at home and next lesson we would be filming.
In today’s lesson we discussed and put together all our ideas for our actual thriller. We had lots of ideas and we had difficulties putting together certain ideas as we could not visualise them. We presented our ideas as a pitch to the class and we were told our idea would work well. We are going to film near to hackney in a park called Downs Park where most of our group members are familiar of. Our idea is: setting is going to be in a park and have 2 characters dressed up in school uniform, during the thriller there would be black and white clips and flashbacks. Swings and see saws are going to be shown as we would have lots of different shots and camera work e.g. pans to show the location, close ups, low angle shots to show feet. We had a lot of positive feedback and some of our class mates giving us more ideas to develop on ours. I am sure our thriller is going to create lots of questions and lots of suspense. We then created some of our story boards and took some to complete at home and next lesson we would be filming.
Tuesday, 20 January 2009
Editing practise film
15th January 2009:
Today’s lesson we finished editing our preliminary film. We wanted to put a sound track to it but we thought it should just be natural with no sound track to it. We finally finished our editing and were given a brief on how to pitch which we would have to present in the lessons ahead of us.
Today’s lesson we finished editing our preliminary film. We wanted to put a sound track to it but we thought it should just be natural with no sound track to it. We finally finished our editing and were given a brief on how to pitch which we would have to present in the lessons ahead of us.
Monday, 19 January 2009
Preliminary Task
The task set was to create a short film showing two characters having a conversation.
Our very first practice..
The task set was to create a short film of someone reading a newspaper in a thrilling way.
Friday, 16 January 2009
Preliminary film
15th January 2009:
Today’s lesson we filmed and edited our preliminary films. Our second practise went really successful as we were better organised and we were more confident and aware of how to use all the equipment. We were certainly more confident and experimented with lots of different shot types that we recently learnt.
As a group we have learnt that between our first and second practice films we need to experiment with different shots at different angles otherwise there would be no match cuts included in our films. We also have learnt that every time we film we get better and better.
I think that in our second film we did follow the forms and conventions of real films. We used a variety of shot types and camera angels so the film got more interesting after each action. We decided to create a film that touches the romance genre which also was a bit like a thriller as well. We decided to use the media storage room to show this romance happening between these two people. The media room had a lot of technical equipment and folders which also followed the forms and conventions of real films as some films are set in storage rooms. We deliberately chose set our film in the college corridors as we thought it would be the best place to set our film making sure the surroundings fitted our film. I think our editing was excellent as it runs smooth and all the cuts are not noticeable and would not change it at all, however I’m aware that in other films I do not think they would have a edit like ours. I feel that as a group we tend to get better and better as we love having fun while filming and also we love to do our best.
Today’s lesson we filmed and edited our preliminary films. Our second practise went really successful as we were better organised and we were more confident and aware of how to use all the equipment. We were certainly more confident and experimented with lots of different shot types that we recently learnt.
As a group we have learnt that between our first and second practice films we need to experiment with different shots at different angles otherwise there would be no match cuts included in our films. We also have learnt that every time we film we get better and better.
I think that in our second film we did follow the forms and conventions of real films. We used a variety of shot types and camera angels so the film got more interesting after each action. We decided to create a film that touches the romance genre which also was a bit like a thriller as well. We decided to use the media storage room to show this romance happening between these two people. The media room had a lot of technical equipment and folders which also followed the forms and conventions of real films as some films are set in storage rooms. We deliberately chose set our film in the college corridors as we thought it would be the best place to set our film making sure the surroundings fitted our film. I think our editing was excellent as it runs smooth and all the cuts are not noticeable and would not change it at all, however I’m aware that in other films I do not think they would have a edit like ours. I feel that as a group we tend to get better and better as we love having fun while filming and also we love to do our best.
Preliminary Film (Match Cut Exercise) 15/01/09
Todays lesson was focussed on filming and editing our preliminary films. I think that this second practice film went really well because we were more organised than the first practice so it was less stressful and we were more confident with the equipment so tried lots of different types of shots.
My group have learned between our first and second practice films that when filming we need to film the same thing from many different angles because it means that it is possible to include match cuts into the film. It also makes it more interesting for the audience if a variety of angles are used. I have also learned that when editing you have to pay such close attention to detail so as to ensure continuity throughout the sequence.
I think that in this film my group did kind of follow forms and conventions of real films. We used a variety of shot types and camera angles so that it wasn't boring. Also because we decided to kind of do a film of the romance genre (which was a bit like a thriller too) the camera lingers on the characters to show lovelorn facial expressions like many romance films have in them. The narrative I think is also typical of a romance type of film where two characters have a forbidden type of love thing going on and I think the mise en scene complimented the narrative because the duologue took place in the media storage room where no one else was around. We also chose to deliberately set our film in a college seeing as though we had to film in college we felt that it would be the best thing to do to make sure that the surroundings fitted in with our film. The editing of the sequence I am not sure whether it follows forms of real films although what I do know is that the editing is BRILLIANT because it all just runs so smoothly and you hardly notice the cuts.
My group have learned between our first and second practice films that when filming we need to film the same thing from many different angles because it means that it is possible to include match cuts into the film. It also makes it more interesting for the audience if a variety of angles are used. I have also learned that when editing you have to pay such close attention to detail so as to ensure continuity throughout the sequence.
I think that in this film my group did kind of follow forms and conventions of real films. We used a variety of shot types and camera angles so that it wasn't boring. Also because we decided to kind of do a film of the romance genre (which was a bit like a thriller too) the camera lingers on the characters to show lovelorn facial expressions like many romance films have in them. The narrative I think is also typical of a romance type of film where two characters have a forbidden type of love thing going on and I think the mise en scene complimented the narrative because the duologue took place in the media storage room where no one else was around. We also chose to deliberately set our film in a college seeing as though we had to film in college we felt that it would be the best thing to do to make sure that the surroundings fitted in with our film. The editing of the sequence I am not sure whether it follows forms of real films although what I do know is that the editing is BRILLIANT because it all just runs so smoothly and you hardly notice the cuts.
Match Cut Tutorial 12/01/09
The focus of todays lesson was match cuts. We started by identifying what a match cut is, a match cut is a cut that literally matches something usually action. For example, if you was to see a character reaching for a door handle and the next thing you see is a close up of the character's hand opening the door that would be a match cut.
We were then given a task to do in which we had to create a shot list for a sequence using no more than 20 shots. At first I thought that to come up with 20 shots would be difficult but once we started to break everything down I started to think that it would actually be really difficult to not do more than 20 shots. After this Mickey showed us how he filmed the sequence and asked us to spot the match cuts. What was really good about seeing the clip was that we could identify some of the shots that we had put in our shot list. Also that way that time and location were shown, with it coming up on the screen letter by letter as the character was typing it was really good because it was effective and an easy way to tell the audience where and when it is set something that we perhaps could use in our thriller.
We were then given the match cut task that would make up our preliminary film. The brief was that we had to film a sequence where a character opens a door, walks into a room, sits down opposite another character and they share a few lines of dialogue making sure that we use at least one match cut, an example of shot/reverse shot and show our understanding of the 180 degree rule. Due to not planning very much for the last filming exercise we decided to plan this one carefully, even though the last clip turned out really good we were running around all over the place and it was stressful so we wanted to be more planned and organised ready for filming next lesson. Through planning we came up with a lot of good ideas like setting it in the media storage cupboard and positioning the camera so that it sits in between the shelves so that it looks like the audience are watching something that is secret.
We were then given a task to do in which we had to create a shot list for a sequence using no more than 20 shots. At first I thought that to come up with 20 shots would be difficult but once we started to break everything down I started to think that it would actually be really difficult to not do more than 20 shots. After this Mickey showed us how he filmed the sequence and asked us to spot the match cuts. What was really good about seeing the clip was that we could identify some of the shots that we had put in our shot list. Also that way that time and location were shown, with it coming up on the screen letter by letter as the character was typing it was really good because it was effective and an easy way to tell the audience where and when it is set something that we perhaps could use in our thriller.
We were then given the match cut task that would make up our preliminary film. The brief was that we had to film a sequence where a character opens a door, walks into a room, sits down opposite another character and they share a few lines of dialogue making sure that we use at least one match cut, an example of shot/reverse shot and show our understanding of the 180 degree rule. Due to not planning very much for the last filming exercise we decided to plan this one carefully, even though the last clip turned out really good we were running around all over the place and it was stressful so we wanted to be more planned and organised ready for filming next lesson. Through planning we came up with a lot of good ideas like setting it in the media storage cupboard and positioning the camera so that it sits in between the shelves so that it looks like the audience are watching something that is secret.
Analysis of opening to "The Shining"
"The Shining" is a psychological thriller that is about a family that heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where an evil and spiritual presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from the past and of the future.
In the opening the camera is tracking a little boy on a tricycle at a worms eyeview from behind making us, the audience, follow this boy around the hotel allowing us to have a look and become familiar with the hotel surroundings but also forcing us to go where we don't particularly want to go. Low angles and midshots were also used.
The editing used was mainly a very long continuous shot where the audience are going on a journey with the boy. Then we have a jump cut to the twins which is really effective because you are not expecting it and it literally makes you jump. There are also match cuts when the young boy walks upto the door.
The music in the opening is really effective, there's the diagetic sound of the wheels of the boy's tricycle squeaking continuously throughout. Then there was the non-diagetic soundtrack which was really eerie due to the strings changing in tempo and volume, as the boy got closer to the door the tempo became quicker, the volume got louder and the pitch got higher which created the feeling of suspense.
The lighting is artificial inside the hotel and quite dim which creates a feel of uneasiness. The lighting changes when there is a jump cut to the twins and for the second that you see them the lighting is very harsh, which adds to the shock of seeing the twins and matches the jump cut really well.
The opening is set in a hotel, inside the hotel all you see really is the brightly coloured, heavily patterned carpet which identifies the era in which it is set at the 70s. Everytime the boy turns a corner we see the same thing making it even more powerful when you see these girls in a different environment come out of no where, the audience are necer sure when something's going to happen.
The characters that we see are a little boy on a tricycle which heightens feelings of anxiety within the audience because he is just an innocent and curious child and you don't want anything to happen to him. The second characters we see are the twins who are really pale looking which suggests that they are dead.
The above conventions work really well in making the opening to "The Shining" full of suspense and tension especially the jump cut to the twins, the music and the camera work.
In the opening the camera is tracking a little boy on a tricycle at a worms eyeview from behind making us, the audience, follow this boy around the hotel allowing us to have a look and become familiar with the hotel surroundings but also forcing us to go where we don't particularly want to go. Low angles and midshots were also used.
The editing used was mainly a very long continuous shot where the audience are going on a journey with the boy. Then we have a jump cut to the twins which is really effective because you are not expecting it and it literally makes you jump. There are also match cuts when the young boy walks upto the door.
The music in the opening is really effective, there's the diagetic sound of the wheels of the boy's tricycle squeaking continuously throughout. Then there was the non-diagetic soundtrack which was really eerie due to the strings changing in tempo and volume, as the boy got closer to the door the tempo became quicker, the volume got louder and the pitch got higher which created the feeling of suspense.
The lighting is artificial inside the hotel and quite dim which creates a feel of uneasiness. The lighting changes when there is a jump cut to the twins and for the second that you see them the lighting is very harsh, which adds to the shock of seeing the twins and matches the jump cut really well.
The opening is set in a hotel, inside the hotel all you see really is the brightly coloured, heavily patterned carpet which identifies the era in which it is set at the 70s. Everytime the boy turns a corner we see the same thing making it even more powerful when you see these girls in a different environment come out of no where, the audience are necer sure when something's going to happen.
The characters that we see are a little boy on a tricycle which heightens feelings of anxiety within the audience because he is just an innocent and curious child and you don't want anything to happen to him. The second characters we see are the twins who are really pale looking which suggests that they are dead.
The above conventions work really well in making the opening to "The Shining" full of suspense and tension especially the jump cut to the twins, the music and the camera work.
Wednesday, 14 January 2009
match cuts
12th january 2009:
In this lesson we learnt about making match cuts. We learnt that a match cut follows the same action from many different angles so that it looks like one smooth shot and the audience does not notice the edit. We were set a task to plan shot types we would use to film a short sequence about a chain-smoker copying confidential computer files and plans to a CD. We watched a film that the media technicians had done using the same scenario. We were told to see how many match cuts we could spot.
After this we were set a task to plan what we would do for a short piece of film that we would be shooting next lesson. We were told to use at least one match cut, and example of shot reverse shot and showing our understanding of the 180 degree rule(by not breaking it). The scenario is supposed to be a character opening a door walking into the room sitting down opposite another character and a few lines of dialogue are shared. We came up with a lot of good ideas such as positioning the camera through the shelves. We had too many ideas that we couldn’t fit them all on paper. I hope our filming goes well and creates lots of suspense.
In this lesson we learnt about making match cuts. We learnt that a match cut follows the same action from many different angles so that it looks like one smooth shot and the audience does not notice the edit. We were set a task to plan shot types we would use to film a short sequence about a chain-smoker copying confidential computer files and plans to a CD. We watched a film that the media technicians had done using the same scenario. We were told to see how many match cuts we could spot.
After this we were set a task to plan what we would do for a short piece of film that we would be shooting next lesson. We were told to use at least one match cut, and example of shot reverse shot and showing our understanding of the 180 degree rule(by not breaking it). The scenario is supposed to be a character opening a door walking into the room sitting down opposite another character and a few lines of dialogue are shared. We came up with a lot of good ideas such as positioning the camera through the shelves. We had too many ideas that we couldn’t fit them all on paper. I hope our filming goes well and creates lots of suspense.
Film Openings 08/01/09
The focus of todays media lesson was film openings, the different types of openings you can get and why they are all effective. We learnt that there are four types of openings these being:
The traditional opening (instant arousal)- This is an opening where from the very beginning the audience's attention is grabbed through fast paced action sequences giving the audience immediate satisfaction and making them want more. The thing you have to take careful consideration of with this type of opening is if you give the audience everything that they want in the first twenty minutes or so you have to come up with something bigger and better to carry the film on.
The traditional opening (slow)- This is similar to the first traditional opening but is a lot slower, meaning that the film builds up gradually until it peaks usually at the end or near the end of the film. This type of opening instead of giving everything the audience wants at the beginning it lures the audience in preparing them for the journey in which they are about to undertake.
Graphic title sequence- This is an opening in which a title sequence opens the film. It doesn't necessarily have to feature any characters and mainly uses abstract graphics to get the audience interested and in some cases indicate to the audience what themes will be touched upon in the film.
The flashback- This is when the movie starts with the end of the film and then goes back showing the audience how that particular ending came about or it can start from the middle and the rest of the film will be worked around it.
The film openings above are all different but all have the same purpose which is to engage the audience into watching the whole film.
After learning the different ways in which a film can start we watched some of last years thrillers which was not just entertaining but quite useful. We observed that in most thriller openings there are lots of quick cuts and jump cuts which I think sets the pace of the film. One of the main things that I learnt was that sound is so important when making a film opening because it has to compliment the action which is happening on screen. The soundtrack in a thriller is generally made up of instruments of the string variety and as the opening unfolds there tends to be a crescendo in the music (gradually gets louder), the pace is normally increased dramatically and also the pitch gets higher and higher until the climax. From watching the different openings it is also apparent that mis-en-scene plays a big role because it adds a certain tone to the film for example, in the majority of thrillers that we saw the opening was set in a large, open, desolate space like a wood or the total opposite being a small dark room where certain charcters are building bombs or holding hostages. Although, I do feel that it is probably more effective if it is set somewhere more everyday-ish because it makes the audience feel more like that what's happening could actually happen making the film more intense.
I found todays lesson extremely helpful because I was able to recognise the factors that are so important when making an opening.
The traditional opening (instant arousal)- This is an opening where from the very beginning the audience's attention is grabbed through fast paced action sequences giving the audience immediate satisfaction and making them want more. The thing you have to take careful consideration of with this type of opening is if you give the audience everything that they want in the first twenty minutes or so you have to come up with something bigger and better to carry the film on.
The traditional opening (slow)- This is similar to the first traditional opening but is a lot slower, meaning that the film builds up gradually until it peaks usually at the end or near the end of the film. This type of opening instead of giving everything the audience wants at the beginning it lures the audience in preparing them for the journey in which they are about to undertake.
Graphic title sequence- This is an opening in which a title sequence opens the film. It doesn't necessarily have to feature any characters and mainly uses abstract graphics to get the audience interested and in some cases indicate to the audience what themes will be touched upon in the film.
The flashback- This is when the movie starts with the end of the film and then goes back showing the audience how that particular ending came about or it can start from the middle and the rest of the film will be worked around it.
The film openings above are all different but all have the same purpose which is to engage the audience into watching the whole film.
After learning the different ways in which a film can start we watched some of last years thrillers which was not just entertaining but quite useful. We observed that in most thriller openings there are lots of quick cuts and jump cuts which I think sets the pace of the film. One of the main things that I learnt was that sound is so important when making a film opening because it has to compliment the action which is happening on screen. The soundtrack in a thriller is generally made up of instruments of the string variety and as the opening unfolds there tends to be a crescendo in the music (gradually gets louder), the pace is normally increased dramatically and also the pitch gets higher and higher until the climax. From watching the different openings it is also apparent that mis-en-scene plays a big role because it adds a certain tone to the film for example, in the majority of thrillers that we saw the opening was set in a large, open, desolate space like a wood or the total opposite being a small dark room where certain charcters are building bombs or holding hostages. Although, I do feel that it is probably more effective if it is set somewhere more everyday-ish because it makes the audience feel more like that what's happening could actually happen making the film more intense.
I found todays lesson extremely helpful because I was able to recognise the factors that are so important when making an opening.
Monday, 12 January 2009
Storyboard tutorial and planning..
Today, our lesson was based on preparing for filming and editing our preliminary film, by learning about match cutting which is the term used when the same action is filmed from more than one angle. An example of a match cut would be a man, at a high angle mid-shot with a cigarette in his mouth and flicking a lighter in his hand. You then see the continuation of that action, which is a close up of the man lighting the cigarette which is still situated in his mouth. Also in the lesson we were given a shot list exercise in which we had to incorporate a match cut. The synopsis of this exercise was, East London. 3pm. A man chain smokes as he sits in his home on his PC. He copies confidential computer files and plans to a CD. He packages them and is seen posting them.
When first reading this and being told that we would have to make this into twenty shots, I thought that it would be impossible however, after completing the task I found that it was the complete opposite. We then had the opportunity to see what it looks like as Mickey’s version. I could see that some of the shots that we would have used were also incorporated into it which made me feel good because I know that when we are making our storyboard for our thriller opening we wouldn’t lack professional looking ideas. One idea that I noticed and really liked from Mickey’s version of the synopsis is that he used text to state the time and location which automatically sets the scene and eliminates the need for an establishing shot to set the scene which is what my group would have done.
Finally, we were given our preliminary filming task. The brief, film the sequence of a character opening a door, walking into a room, sitting opposite another character and sharing a few lines of dialogue. We had to include at least one match cut and one shot /reverse shot and showing our understanding of the 180 degree rule which is only filming on one side of the characters so that when transferred onto a screen the characters will constantly appear on the same sides. This time around we did the maximum amount of planning to maximise our films potential because we didn’t want a repeat of our first task in which we had poor time efficiency. One idea that we came up with through planning that I’m really proud of is filming in the secluded storage cupboard, in which we could use the settings to make it much more interesting to watch.
When first reading this and being told that we would have to make this into twenty shots, I thought that it would be impossible however, after completing the task I found that it was the complete opposite. We then had the opportunity to see what it looks like as Mickey’s version. I could see that some of the shots that we would have used were also incorporated into it which made me feel good because I know that when we are making our storyboard for our thriller opening we wouldn’t lack professional looking ideas. One idea that I noticed and really liked from Mickey’s version of the synopsis is that he used text to state the time and location which automatically sets the scene and eliminates the need for an establishing shot to set the scene which is what my group would have done.
Finally, we were given our preliminary filming task. The brief, film the sequence of a character opening a door, walking into a room, sitting opposite another character and sharing a few lines of dialogue. We had to include at least one match cut and one shot /reverse shot and showing our understanding of the 180 degree rule which is only filming on one side of the characters so that when transferred onto a screen the characters will constantly appear on the same sides. This time around we did the maximum amount of planning to maximise our films potential because we didn’t want a repeat of our first task in which we had poor time efficiency. One idea that we came up with through planning that I’m really proud of is filming in the secluded storage cupboard, in which we could use the settings to make it much more interesting to watch.
Soundtrack Tutorial 5/01/09
Today we had a soundtrack tutorial with Mickey. First we we watched the trailer to Casino Royale paying special attention to how non-diagetic and diagetic sound enhanced the clip. We then went on to a program where we were able to listen to what professional sound people had to say about the effectivness and the importance of sound when making a movie and got the chance to play around with different clips to see how they sounded with no dialogue amongst other things. We were then given the choice of four clips from Casino Royale to put sound to, I chose to do the casino scene. I found this quite hard to do because the choice of sounds was very limited and when I tried to match the dialogue it was just not working however it did enable me to get the gist of why sound is such an important consideration when making a film.
After the Casino Royale exercise we were then given the task of creating a soundtrack which matched the action going on in the "Bait" video clip. I found listening to the different sounds on offer fun but found it quite tedious after a while because i'm not very good at matching the sound to the action, but I am hoping that this will be a skill that I gain further on in the project.
After the Casino Royale exercise we were then given the task of creating a soundtrack which matched the action going on in the "Bait" video clip. I found listening to the different sounds on offer fun but found it quite tedious after a while because i'm not very good at matching the sound to the action, but I am hoping that this will be a skill that I gain further on in the project.
Friday, 9 January 2009
Film openings
8th January 2009:
Today’s lesson we learnt about movie openings. We watched a documentary about film openings and answered some questions about certain producers saying why they used title sequences to the film so. Why is it effective? What did the producers want to achieve with their openings and why? And lots more questions.
By the end of the lesson we understood what made a good/bad opening. We learnt that there were 4 types of openings which were:
1.Classic opening– Instant arousal – the idea in which there is a lot of action and temptation which would grab the audiences attention so they will then be ‘tempted’ to watch the rest of the film/movie.
2.Classic opening – the ides in which the producer offers something small then gradually builds up to end the movie setting up questions in mind.
3.Title sequence- the idea in which the title sequence opens the film with no necessary characters. It sets the tone through its graphical ideas making it look like a beginning scene to the movie.
4.Flash Back- the ides in which the opening scene is from the end or the middle of the film/movie working back or cutting back to the beginning of the story/plot.
All of these openings must attract the audience into watching the whole film setting up questions that the audience will expect and will want to be answered later in the film.
We also learn the mise en scene of the opening and why it is important. It is important as it sets the idea of the film. Thriller openings tend to have very dark lightings or very light lightings. Non diagetic sounds have to be very short and sharp to create suspense and tension. The camera work should usually contain close up shots and extreme close ups. There is a use of match cuts quick cuts and a selection of camera shots. The shinnings producer Standly kubrick used a very long empty road in which the camera was following the car driving on the road constantly, that built up tension which give us a thrill. The shinning is a very good example of a thriller.This lesson was really helpful and useful as we gained ideas for our thrillers and gave us a clear understanding in what made a successful thriller and a successful opening.
Thursday, 8 January 2009
Film Openings..
In today’s lesson we watched a documentary about film openings we were given the task of answering eight questions based on what was being said for the duration of the documentary. It consisted of different men such as Thomas Sutcliffe, the critic Stanley Kauffmann, Orson Welles and many more talking about their views and visions about how successful films should truly be. One thing that I specifically remember is the mentioning of all films needing to be entertaining from the first point in which it and the audience meet, which is in fact the trailers. I found it useful because it became tips to remember when creating our task of a two minute opening sequence. Soon after the highly educational documentary was finished we learnt about the four classic film openings, firstly the classic instant arousal which is an obvious impact that will ensure the audience watches the remainder of the film by satisfying them straight away. Secondly, the classic slow approach which is a small taster of what the film will have in store which lures the audience into watching the length of the film. It gradually builds up to a peek. Third, a title sequence which sets the tone through the credits, sometimes without having to introduce the main characters and last, the flash back approach, in which the opening of the film is also the way the film ends, this also has to have a large impact to make the audience want to find out how the character got into that predicament in the first place. Overall, all the styles of openings have the purpose of setting up questions that the audience expects to get answered later in the film and that is what makes it successful. My most favourable style of openings would be the title sequence approach because it allows a lot more space for creativity. My least preferable would be the instant arousal approach because I learnt that the risk of it is not being able to fulfil the audiences desire for more impact later on in the film and I would personally like to challenge myself into being able to sustain the audience up until the end of the film and not disappoint them.
08th January 09 Media Lesson
In today's Media lesson we learnt about movie openings. I enjoyed todays lesson because by the end of it I understood what made a good and not so good opening to a movie. We learnt about openings to movies which were considered classics. We learnt that there were four different types of movie openings:
1) Traditional Openings - 'Instant Arousal' - The idea in which there is a traditional 'cliche' opening to a movie, however there is alot of action and it is high tempoed which would grab the audiences attention therefore arousing their need / desire to watch the rest of the movie.
2) Traditional Openings - 'Slower Form' - The idea that you can have a traditional 'cliche opening', however it is slower paced and contains less action thus allowing the rest of the movie to build up and gradually peak at or near the end of the movie. This idea tends to nurture the audience into feeling comfortable as opposed to arousing the audience into desiring to know what happens next.
3) Graphic Title Sequence - A title sequence which opens the film and doesn't necessarily have any characters in it. It uses mainly graphics and abstract ideas to make it like a scene 1 of the movie.
4) Flashback - where the opening scene is from the middle or the end of the movie and then the movie works its way back or cuts straight back to the beginning of the storyline.
All of these movie opening types are made to engage the audience into wanting to watch further on into the movie. During this lesson we also learnt that the mis - en - scene of the opening is very important as it sets the idea of the audience off. Thriller openings tend to have dark lighting and objects which are controversial or mechanical. Also the non - diagetic sound that the opening scene has must be quite quick paced or contain lots of sticcato notes to create suspense. In terms of camera angles thriller scenes tend to have lots of extreme close ups mixed with matchbox cuts, quick cuts and varied camera lengths. The setting of the opening helps to engage the audience, thrillers tend to have either very small rooms as the openings or have large spaces like woods / parks as the openings. However as we saw in 'The Shining' by Stanley Kubrick, he used a seemingly harmless setting but his use of camera following the only car driving on an empty long road set up the tension which makes it a thriller.
I found this lesson very helpful as it instantly gave me ideas for my thriller openings and it also helped me to understand what made a good thriller opening.
1) Traditional Openings - 'Instant Arousal' - The idea in which there is a traditional 'cliche' opening to a movie, however there is alot of action and it is high tempoed which would grab the audiences attention therefore arousing their need / desire to watch the rest of the movie.
2) Traditional Openings - 'Slower Form' - The idea that you can have a traditional 'cliche opening', however it is slower paced and contains less action thus allowing the rest of the movie to build up and gradually peak at or near the end of the movie. This idea tends to nurture the audience into feeling comfortable as opposed to arousing the audience into desiring to know what happens next.
3) Graphic Title Sequence - A title sequence which opens the film and doesn't necessarily have any characters in it. It uses mainly graphics and abstract ideas to make it like a scene 1 of the movie.
4) Flashback - where the opening scene is from the middle or the end of the movie and then the movie works its way back or cuts straight back to the beginning of the storyline.
All of these movie opening types are made to engage the audience into wanting to watch further on into the movie. During this lesson we also learnt that the mis - en - scene of the opening is very important as it sets the idea of the audience off. Thriller openings tend to have dark lighting and objects which are controversial or mechanical. Also the non - diagetic sound that the opening scene has must be quite quick paced or contain lots of sticcato notes to create suspense. In terms of camera angles thriller scenes tend to have lots of extreme close ups mixed with matchbox cuts, quick cuts and varied camera lengths. The setting of the opening helps to engage the audience, thrillers tend to have either very small rooms as the openings or have large spaces like woods / parks as the openings. However as we saw in 'The Shining' by Stanley Kubrick, he used a seemingly harmless setting but his use of camera following the only car driving on an empty long road set up the tension which makes it a thriller.
I found this lesson very helpful as it instantly gave me ideas for my thriller openings and it also helped me to understand what made a good thriller opening.
The Soundtrack Tutorial.
Today we had another tutorial with the infamous Mickey who taught us about soundtracks and how they are effective in creating tension / suspense in a scene. We watched the Casino Royale trailer and saw how they used diagetic and non - diagetic sound to enhance the editing they had done previously. Then using a programme on the computers we watched clips of people who used sound to enhance the scenes in Casino Royale. Also there were a few activities on there to further allow important sound is in a scene to sink in. We had to put sounds into a scene of the movie. My scene was the Casino scene. I found this interesting, but hard at the same time. I found it hard to make the scene effective as we were only given five tracks to work with when an editor of the film said that a basic scene would consist of around 30 - 40 tracks of sound. However it was an experience learning how the sound changes the scene.
After this we were given a video that was already edited and asked to put sound onto it. This was really fun as we got to see all the sounds that were contained on the Soundtrack Programme. However, I did get sidetracked and made a soundtrack that did not match the scene. I enjoyed the music making side lesson and when it comes to making the soundtrack for my thriller opening I am very excited.
After this we were given a video that was already edited and asked to put sound onto it. This was really fun as we got to see all the sounds that were contained on the Soundtrack Programme. However, I did get sidetracked and made a soundtrack that did not match the scene. I enjoyed the music making side lesson and when it comes to making the soundtrack for my thriller opening I am very excited.
Editing Lesson
Before we could edit our short clips, Mickey gave us a quick tutorial on editing using Final Cut Pro. We learnt how to connect the hard drives which contained our work to the computers and how to safely remove them without losing our work. Also we learned how to get our videos up. However, before we could begin messing around with our clips, we were given the task to edit the clips of a video that was on the computer system already. I discovered how to use different kinds of fades to create different effects. I learnt that subtler fades could be used to show a different part of a room, or a different P.O.V, but a more obvious fade suggests a gap in time. When it came to editing our short clips my group decided to use this effect. After this, we began work on putting soundtracks onto the clips. This gave more tension in the scene. After this we began work on editing our short clips. This half of a lesson was essential because we learnt the basic tools we needed to edit a clip properly and begin to gain confidence with Final Cut Pro software. I enjoyed this lesson because it gave us the chance to learn the tools we need to progress further in Media and do our Thriller openings in a few weeks.
15th December 08 - Practice Filming Session.
For our practice filming task, we were asked to create a twelve shot clip showing a person reading a newspaper, including: an over the shoulder shot, an extreme close up and a P.O.V shot. After our camera tutorial, my group and I sat down and began to create our storyboard. We decided that Topaz and I would be the characters who are filmed, and Pebbles and Sevda were the people who would do the filming. However, we all had creative input as to what each other were doing. We decided to plan our storyboard before filming so that when it came time to film, we knew what we were doing and we didn't waste time.
Our filming was fun, and it came out very well. There were a few shaky shots that we had, but after being taught how to use Final Cut Pro, we were able to cut our shots, put them into the correct sequence, then edit them so that it looked more proffesional. My favourite shot we did was a high angled shot looking down on me. The way we edited it made it cut from a P.O.V shot to a shot as if I was being watched by a CCTV camera. It was fun playing around with Final Cut Pro and finding the Record Button and Timer on the screen to make it more like a CCTV camera.
The most difficult shot was the shot in which I was funning down Goswell Road. It was difficult, not only because it was physically demanding, but because we all soon realised that recording a moving object was difficult and we would have to retake the shot to get it perfect. As a group we found it hard to get the scene how we all imagined it. It was a challenging scene to do as it included panning. Pebbles had some trouble at keeping all of my body and in the frame, and at times had trouble following me with the camera! However, it was a learning experience for all of us, we began to get an idea as to which shots were more difficult than others, and the amount of times we would have to take every shot in order to get it done well.
When we were editing we realised that it would have been more effective to get the same shot from different angles, because when editing we were quite limited with what we could edit and how, but on the whole as a group I feel we did very well. Our short clip made sense and our continuity editing was done well. We tried to create suspense through the CCTV camera shot. Although we lucked into gettin the shot as Pebbles accidentally taped over another shot, it became possibly the most effective shot in our clip, and served to make our clip quite tense. Also tension is created in the scene were Topaz drops the newspaper onto the street. The camera follows her leaving the building and to outside where she drops the newspaper. To show her dropping the paper we used a panning shot. This tells the audience who may not neccessarily know about the task set that the newspaper has an important part to play in our clip. Also, the shot where I am running down Goswell Road creates alot of tension as this scene makes the audience wonder: Where I am running to? And; What I am running from?
If we had the chance to do this task again, I think we would have taken our same shots but done them from different angles so that we had more to edit and play around with. Also, when filming from behind a mirror, we needed to be more careful about seeing the reflection of the camera and the tripod in the mirror. However, I felt that on our first attempt as a group using cameras, we did very well. The feedback we got from our teacher was that our clip was very effective and our camera work was done very well. I am very excited to do the Thriller Opening.
Our filming was fun, and it came out very well. There were a few shaky shots that we had, but after being taught how to use Final Cut Pro, we were able to cut our shots, put them into the correct sequence, then edit them so that it looked more proffesional. My favourite shot we did was a high angled shot looking down on me. The way we edited it made it cut from a P.O.V shot to a shot as if I was being watched by a CCTV camera. It was fun playing around with Final Cut Pro and finding the Record Button and Timer on the screen to make it more like a CCTV camera.
The most difficult shot was the shot in which I was funning down Goswell Road. It was difficult, not only because it was physically demanding, but because we all soon realised that recording a moving object was difficult and we would have to retake the shot to get it perfect. As a group we found it hard to get the scene how we all imagined it. It was a challenging scene to do as it included panning. Pebbles had some trouble at keeping all of my body and in the frame, and at times had trouble following me with the camera! However, it was a learning experience for all of us, we began to get an idea as to which shots were more difficult than others, and the amount of times we would have to take every shot in order to get it done well.
When we were editing we realised that it would have been more effective to get the same shot from different angles, because when editing we were quite limited with what we could edit and how, but on the whole as a group I feel we did very well. Our short clip made sense and our continuity editing was done well. We tried to create suspense through the CCTV camera shot. Although we lucked into gettin the shot as Pebbles accidentally taped over another shot, it became possibly the most effective shot in our clip, and served to make our clip quite tense. Also tension is created in the scene were Topaz drops the newspaper onto the street. The camera follows her leaving the building and to outside where she drops the newspaper. To show her dropping the paper we used a panning shot. This tells the audience who may not neccessarily know about the task set that the newspaper has an important part to play in our clip. Also, the shot where I am running down Goswell Road creates alot of tension as this scene makes the audience wonder: Where I am running to? And; What I am running from?
If we had the chance to do this task again, I think we would have taken our same shots but done them from different angles so that we had more to edit and play around with. Also, when filming from behind a mirror, we needed to be more careful about seeing the reflection of the camera and the tripod in the mirror. However, I felt that on our first attempt as a group using cameras, we did very well. The feedback we got from our teacher was that our clip was very effective and our camera work was done very well. I am very excited to do the Thriller Opening.
Wednesday, 7 January 2009
Soundtrack Tutorial
5th January 2009:
In today’s lesson, we learnt about the different kinds of sound layers and the effect if could have on the audience. Firstly we were shown a trailer from James Bond’s movie called Casino Royale. Then we were told to think about the sounds and its effects. We were given a series of clips and entertaining tasks to complete along with watching and seeking advice from several sound producers. I enjoyed the task where we had to place sounds onto the still image as it was very interesting to see what sound worked well with others and which didn’t.
I also enjoyed layering sounds onto a clip from Casino Royale as it gave me an opportunity to add grunts and tyre screeches in right places.
We then worked on some other sound layering which we started after completing the James Bond clips. We were given our video that we had already edited and were told to make a soundtrack using the program Soundtrack Pro. Using this program I found out that for this particular footage, the drums and shakers worked well as it gave the clip a mysterious effect as you are trying to figure out what is happening in the thriller. I could control the volume of each sound that I used, could overlap them and make them go on for longer. I had fun making a soundtrack to go together with our practise thriller, although I used to hate composing music in GCSEs.
In today’s lesson, we learnt about the different kinds of sound layers and the effect if could have on the audience. Firstly we were shown a trailer from James Bond’s movie called Casino Royale. Then we were told to think about the sounds and its effects. We were given a series of clips and entertaining tasks to complete along with watching and seeking advice from several sound producers. I enjoyed the task where we had to place sounds onto the still image as it was very interesting to see what sound worked well with others and which didn’t.
I also enjoyed layering sounds onto a clip from Casino Royale as it gave me an opportunity to add grunts and tyre screeches in right places.
We then worked on some other sound layering which we started after completing the James Bond clips. We were given our video that we had already edited and were told to make a soundtrack using the program Soundtrack Pro. Using this program I found out that for this particular footage, the drums and shakers worked well as it gave the clip a mysterious effect as you are trying to figure out what is happening in the thriller. I could control the volume of each sound that I used, could overlap them and make them go on for longer. I had fun making a soundtrack to go together with our practise thriller, although I used to hate composing music in GCSEs.
Monday, 5 January 2009
Editing tutorial and Editing of newspaper task..
The lesson after our successful filming we began editing what we had filmed by transferring our recordings into special software called final cut pro; we learnt to do this in our editing tutorial which took place before filming. During the tutorial we used pre-recorded clips from a film and stuck the clips together in different ways to the original however, it had to make visual sense even if we were using the jump shot technique. By the end of the tutorial I felt as if I had enough practice from cutting clips down or making them slightly longer to be able to work with my group on our newspaper task. In my opinion, the most difficult part of editing is making the clips run smoothly although when you have more people to reassure that it looks satisfactory it becomes much easier. When editing we found small additions to make our newspaper task look better for example, we crossed two clips into one another instead of a jump cut to add more of an mysterious, tension building atmosphere. We also added a recording sign on the screen to make it appear as if, during apart of the film, one of the characters was being watched. I think that if the clip had non-diagetic and diagetic sounds it would be much more realistic. Overall, I think that it was a really good first attempt and I am looking forward to starting the real thriller film.
Sound Tutorial..
We had our sound tutorial today, in which we watched the trailer for casino Royale. The clip was filled with many diagetic sounds such as foot steps and non-diagetic sounds such as explosions. I thought it was a very complex opening because of the use of a flash back, although there wasn’t any build up of tension it was very gripping because of feeling of the unknown. If my group and I decided to use a flash back as an opening we would be sure to use sounds to create tension to make it as effective as possible because we would only have two minutes to make a connection with the audience and draw them in. We used software on the computers and practiced putting non-diagetic and diagetic sounds to different scenes of Casino Royale. Incorporated into the programme listened to a talk from two men that work with sounds and film regularly. One interesting thing I learnt from them is that when creating a film, 400 different sounds are optional at any given moment to maximise the effect of the shot. I highly enjoyed the sound tutorial today because I found it challenging to find and place the correct sounds to each action within the clip, however I managed to do my best with layering the sounds properly and I think with more practice I could become really good at composing sounds for different scenes.
Sunday, 4 January 2009
Clip Analysis..
During one of our lessons we were given the task of analysing thriller clips from films and discovering what it is that makes them give the audience a thrilling sensation. I believe that it is the emotional build up of tension, mystery, anxiety and suspense which is the expectation of something going to happen without knowing what or when. This occurs in all sub-genres of thrillers, which are crime thrillers, psychological thrillers, horror thrillers, supernatural thrillers, espionage and sci-fi. The clips that we analysed were from the films 28 Days Later, The Shining, Arlington Road, Collateral and What Lies Beneath. We analysed the lighting, the use of camera (movement, angle and distance), music, editing, setting and characters. My favourite out of the films was a psychological thriller, The Shining because unlike most pupils in my class it was my first time watching it so I truly felt the suspenseful moments and could write down an accurate assumption of what the suspenseful moments were, this will help me when planning with my group and deciding which suspenseful moments we could slightly change and use when making our thriller. Within the clip from The Shining the camera tracks a small adventurous boy on a bike at worms eye view, already this is tension building because he has dominance and the audience has no idea where the boy is going, all you are told is that the boy is in a hallway of a hotel we can tell this from the repetitive bright coloured carpet and the swift passing of many doors. Also, to add tension the sounds during the clip range from diagetic sounds of the boys bike wheels screeching which adds reality to the situation and then non-diagetic sounds of high speed to low speed and low pitch to high pitch specifically when the camera makes a jump cut to the two pale female characters behind a door, The tension and anxiety builds up from the over the shoulder shot of the boy slowly approaching the door and shocks the audience at an unexpected moment whereas if the boy physically opened the door the audience would be more prepared to find someone behind the door. I also think that because the boy is so young it makes you feel protective over him because you assume he won’t be able to get himself out of the trouble that he may get himself into. As an extra we noted down which specific parts of each clip made it suspenseful, I think for The Shining It was the violins used, the emphasis of the room number and the use of a jump shot.
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