Friday, 28 April 2017
Evaluation question 4
Who would be the audience for your media product?
We decided on our target audience after a long group discussion that the most realistic target audience for our film would be males and females aged 15-25 years of age, who have interest in the genre or interest in aspects similar to any of the genre conventions. Throughout our questioning of people who we believed to be in our target audience we found out that males were the leading gender who were interested in our product. We still aim to appeal to both genders even though our research has given us the qualitative data that males are predominately more interested. Their main interest was due to the rough-cut style and the action implemented narrative that is within our production.
Throughout the duration of our research, we often would follow aspects of stereotypical conventions of the genre whilst gathering data so during production we could maximise the appealing factors that our target audience are interested in and are also used to from similar productions under the same genre. These features consisted of the explicit language and the interesting rough-cut subtexts to the persona of the characters. Specific towards the media technologies aspect one feature was quick cut action shots which were a highlight in our production, especially during the title sequence as we used a quick cut montage affect to create an interesting sense of suspense and action under a tense atmosphere; I have added an example above showing the quick cutting montage over a small set of seconds. The characters in context have personas of older characters but the onscreen characters are the age of 18 years which are around the centre of the target audience so it is relatable for both the younger and older ages of the target audience age range spectrum. This casting was important as it made it relatable as for younger viewing audience members the cast members aren't too old to be not relatable and for the older viewing audience members the cast aren't too young to be again not relatable because the age range of the onscreen casted characters are in the middle of the target age range spectrum.
Our selected genre of Thriller often has graphic content and is not suitable for younger audience members so we have had to ensure that there is a classification on the production to protect those who are not suited to be viewing our product and therefore preventing any negative effects it may influence upon them. We have followed the BBFC guidelines to decide on the right classification for our production. The BBFC; British Broad of Film Classification, is an independent, non-government body which has been used to classify films since its initiation in 1912. These classifications are implemented to insure the protection of viewing audience members who may be too young to be viewing a product as the content may be unsuitable for them. The BBFC classifies the films through age ratings before they are released to public audiences.
The classifications of age are Universal; U, PG, 12A, 12, 15 and 18. We decided that the rating that was best fitting for our production was 15 as the guidelines are as listed:
-Strong / significant violence.
-Frequent strong / explicit language.
-Portrayals of sexual themes / activity / references / nudity.
-Brief scenes of sexual violence or verbal reference to this example.
Our film does not contain many of this but it does have, explicit language and violence so we furthermore added the 15 BBFC classification rating to prevent viewing for audience members who may be too young to view these themes.
We decided on our target audience after a long group discussion that the most realistic target audience for our film would be males and females aged 15-25 years of age, who have interest in the genre or interest in aspects similar to any of the genre conventions. Throughout our questioning of people who we believed to be in our target audience we found out that males were the leading gender who were interested in our product. We still aim to appeal to both genders even though our research has given us the qualitative data that males are predominately more interested. Their main interest was due to the rough-cut style and the action implemented narrative that is within our production.
Throughout the duration of our research, we often would follow aspects of stereotypical conventions of the genre whilst gathering data so during production we could maximise the appealing factors that our target audience are interested in and are also used to from similar productions under the same genre. These features consisted of the explicit language and the interesting rough-cut subtexts to the persona of the characters. Specific towards the media technologies aspect one feature was quick cut action shots which were a highlight in our production, especially during the title sequence as we used a quick cut montage affect to create an interesting sense of suspense and action under a tense atmosphere; I have added an example above showing the quick cutting montage over a small set of seconds. The characters in context have personas of older characters but the onscreen characters are the age of 18 years which are around the centre of the target audience so it is relatable for both the younger and older ages of the target audience age range spectrum. This casting was important as it made it relatable as for younger viewing audience members the cast members aren't too old to be not relatable and for the older viewing audience members the cast aren't too young to be again not relatable because the age range of the onscreen casted characters are in the middle of the target age range spectrum.Our selected genre of Thriller often has graphic content and is not suitable for younger audience members so we have had to ensure that there is a classification on the production to protect those who are not suited to be viewing our product and therefore preventing any negative effects it may influence upon them. We have followed the BBFC guidelines to decide on the right classification for our production. The BBFC; British Broad of Film Classification, is an independent, non-government body which has been used to classify films since its initiation in 1912. These classifications are implemented to insure the protection of viewing audience members who may be too young to be viewing a product as the content may be unsuitable for them. The BBFC classifies the films through age ratings before they are released to public audiences.
-Strong / significant violence.
-Frequent strong / explicit language.
-Portrayals of sexual themes / activity / references / nudity.
-Brief scenes of sexual violence or verbal reference to this example.
Our film does not contain many of this but it does have, explicit language and violence so we furthermore added the 15 BBFC classification rating to prevent viewing for audience members who may be too young to view these themes.
Evaluation question 1
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Narrative:
Our film narrative followed a non-linear narrative structure which is a convention of many films under the same or similar to the genre in which we used; it follows a reverse chronological order where the narrative is revealed to audience in a reverse order. However we challenged part of the conventions as we implemented elements of dual / flashbacks to further develop the plot. As a result of this it develops the overall narrative by also slightly subverting from the reverse chronology as we give away the initial climax in the opening but we slowly reveal the second narrative under the dual narrative throughout to the end and furthermore fully explains the situation of the characters to the target audience. The idea of combining the different types of narrative were our own as wanted to create something that other Thriller/Horror films have not done before to appeal to our target audience more as we have a more developed demographic. It also challenges the stereotypes of our genre which is another approach we aimed for.
Mise en scene:
The lighting in the film opening was quite dark as we wanted to create a mysterious atmospheres by not revealing to much of the Mise en scene through light and also this bleak lighting appeals to the target audience as it follows the conventions of the genre. The darkness and zero natural light helped us to give this sense as the singular street light and the car lights only reveal a small amount of what is happening within the scene and therefore represents a sense of gravitas. We changed the saturation on the clips in the first 40 seconds so that it would convey a darker, gloomy atmosphere, and by sliding down the saturation it portrays that protagonist is in a mysterious, dangerous setting. The lighting is similar to other Thriller movies, for example the opening title sequence of 'Batman, The dark knight rises' consisted of dark and shadowed locations which creates the thriller feeling, that we used as an inspiration for our opening sequence. In the first 40 seconds the antagonist appears once in a mirror and he is hooded. Through doing this we met the conventions of other media products where the antagonist is presented in a similar light. In addition to this convention it helps to create tension and the feeling of danger as the dark colours connotes a negative representation.
The other characters were dressed them in costume that linked towards a police / detective theme under the genre; shirt and tie / police uniform, the colours on the clothes aren't representing any additional subtext features but the way in which they are worn / placed add to the characters subtext. For example the open button shirt for the protagonist to add a rough subtext to his persona. We wanted to present the Chief Inspector character to have an angry / stressed on screen presence and therefore we designed his shirt and tie combination to be slightly lose representing his stressed rough look. Also in addition to this we added a coat to the costume in replacement of a blazer to show the difference in the characters of John and the Chief. As well as these two characters we had two more who had short appearances in the film opening. First was the character in the car in the opening scene and he was dressed in jeans and a plain T-shirt to add the sense that he was a normal person without any highlight to subtext to show that the victim; in which he was, could be anyone. The last character is the police officer whose costume was an official police uniform to clearly represent through the aesthetics the role and what his character was. By using these different characters they appeal to a wider audience therefore making our film opening more available to more people.
Sound:
As a whole throughout the duration of the film we used a variety of different sound to further develop the production. We used a conventional non diegetic music soundtrack to add tension to the scenes in which it was inputted, this affect created suspense as if something was going to happen. In addition to the character vocals we used addition external ambient sounds for scenes to create more of an atmosphere. For example, we added bird sounds into the outside scene between John and the Chief to aurally add a representation of there location. Also this particular affect was to soften the tension before the break in equilibrium once John enters the house to furthermore make it more unexpected. Throughout the title sequence we also added some non-diegetic loud soundtrack to add to the visuals to create a sense of fear as the things on screen were disturbing aspects that were part of the genre conventions.
Editing:
We added a variety of different techniques within our editing process to develop our final production. Firstly we increased the saturation in the scene in the car to add to the affect of the only light being the orange in car non natural light. For the title sequence we added a CCTV recording boarder which was supported by the narrative as the protagonist applied CCTV within his home and we added this affect to create an addition subtext for the audience to interpret in the first two minutes. Moving forward within the title sequence we added a montage behind the titles and we removed the saturation on these clips to give a tense and sinister atmosphere in addition to the visual graphic content. Towards the end of the production we had a scene between John and the Chief in which they converse in match on action shots. In this particular set of shots we removed the saturation from the scene to give it a smokey, sinister atmosphere. We also use a variety of quick cut shots to create more tension, and this is also something other Thriller films do to add this sense of tension and to increase the pace of the film and furthermore create the climax of the film.
Camera:
Our approach for the camerawork was initial to ensure we include and capture a variety of different shots and angles so we can have full control of the outcome by not being limited from lack of depth within our shots. Using a variety of different contrasting shots conforms to our Thriller genre as different shots and angles are one of the main concepts that are used to build up the tension to the climax in many other productions. This was applied in our film during the title sequence. For example we had a quick cut of different shots of things that were graphic and specific to a Thriller / Horror genre. We also had over the shoulder shots while also using match on action, a variety of different low to high angles and also in the match on action sequence we structured it as shot reverse shot to help show the audience a sense of both the characters within the scene so they can be aware of their persona and become invested and interested in the characters to further more develop the climax of the narrative as they find out the like the character who has been the villain within the story in addition to the hero / detective.
Titles:
An important factor for a mass of films; especially under the Thriller genre, are the titles and their sequence as a whole. During the stages of gathering a thesis for the idea of our film we decided to stray away from the typical worded titles and we in place of this used a time to be used as our title as for our narrative it was specific to a time and therefore we named our film '3:15'. Using '3:15 as out title also created a sense of mystery as it is unclear from the title any specific equilibrium due to it being a title not a word of description or context towards the narrative. In addition to this factor the limit of context to the title leaves the audience wanting more as they are then interested in the reason / the meaning of the title itself. The typography in which we used was a digital alarm theme that we created and then added a shake on top of it in photoshop. We decided on this as it was then specific and relevant to both our narrative and the number wording as it looks as if it is from a digital clock. The shake was also an important affect as it developed forward the actual clock like affect we had. Moving forward with these decisions we then decided for the colour to be red as it looks realistic as if it was a digital clock and also the colour gives connotations of blood and danger which were specific to our genre conventions.
Location:
The final location was chosen after a long trial and error process so we could find the perfect locations. Our initial opening scene was setting in a small village country road. We decided on this location as it had a dark vibe and had a sense of mystery as during our filming times there was no natural light in the area. The next location we used was a large house in which we used the main largest room. We had initial planned to film in a hotel but after contact with our selected establishment we were unable to fit our schedule in their available time and we therefore moved forward looking for a new location and after some research we found this location which we were happy with as it had a plain, abandoned look that was perfect for our protagonists rough lifestyle subtext. The next location after the title sequence was a small village home that fit the mysterious theme we were aiming for in our approach.
Narrative:
Our film narrative followed a non-linear narrative structure which is a convention of many films under the same or similar to the genre in which we used; it follows a reverse chronological order where the narrative is revealed to audience in a reverse order. However we challenged part of the conventions as we implemented elements of dual / flashbacks to further develop the plot. As a result of this it develops the overall narrative by also slightly subverting from the reverse chronology as we give away the initial climax in the opening but we slowly reveal the second narrative under the dual narrative throughout to the end and furthermore fully explains the situation of the characters to the target audience. The idea of combining the different types of narrative were our own as wanted to create something that other Thriller/Horror films have not done before to appeal to our target audience more as we have a more developed demographic. It also challenges the stereotypes of our genre which is another approach we aimed for.
Mise en scene:
The lighting in the film opening was quite dark as we wanted to create a mysterious atmospheres by not revealing to much of the Mise en scene through light and also this bleak lighting appeals to the target audience as it follows the conventions of the genre. The darkness and zero natural light helped us to give this sense as the singular street light and the car lights only reveal a small amount of what is happening within the scene and therefore represents a sense of gravitas. We changed the saturation on the clips in the first 40 seconds so that it would convey a darker, gloomy atmosphere, and by sliding down the saturation it portrays that protagonist is in a mysterious, dangerous setting. The lighting is similar to other Thriller movies, for example the opening title sequence of 'Batman, The dark knight rises' consisted of dark and shadowed locations which creates the thriller feeling, that we used as an inspiration for our opening sequence. In the first 40 seconds the antagonist appears once in a mirror and he is hooded. Through doing this we met the conventions of other media products where the antagonist is presented in a similar light. In addition to this convention it helps to create tension and the feeling of danger as the dark colours connotes a negative representation.
Sound:
As a whole throughout the duration of the film we used a variety of different sound to further develop the production. We used a conventional non diegetic music soundtrack to add tension to the scenes in which it was inputted, this affect created suspense as if something was going to happen. In addition to the character vocals we used addition external ambient sounds for scenes to create more of an atmosphere. For example, we added bird sounds into the outside scene between John and the Chief to aurally add a representation of there location. Also this particular affect was to soften the tension before the break in equilibrium once John enters the house to furthermore make it more unexpected. Throughout the title sequence we also added some non-diegetic loud soundtrack to add to the visuals to create a sense of fear as the things on screen were disturbing aspects that were part of the genre conventions.
Editing:
We added a variety of different techniques within our editing process to develop our final production. Firstly we increased the saturation in the scene in the car to add to the affect of the only light being the orange in car non natural light. For the title sequence we added a CCTV recording boarder which was supported by the narrative as the protagonist applied CCTV within his home and we added this affect to create an addition subtext for the audience to interpret in the first two minutes. Moving forward within the title sequence we added a montage behind the titles and we removed the saturation on these clips to give a tense and sinister atmosphere in addition to the visual graphic content. Towards the end of the production we had a scene between John and the Chief in which they converse in match on action shots. In this particular set of shots we removed the saturation from the scene to give it a smokey, sinister atmosphere. We also use a variety of quick cut shots to create more tension, and this is also something other Thriller films do to add this sense of tension and to increase the pace of the film and furthermore create the climax of the film.
Camera:
Our approach for the camerawork was initial to ensure we include and capture a variety of different shots and angles so we can have full control of the outcome by not being limited from lack of depth within our shots. Using a variety of different contrasting shots conforms to our Thriller genre as different shots and angles are one of the main concepts that are used to build up the tension to the climax in many other productions. This was applied in our film during the title sequence. For example we had a quick cut of different shots of things that were graphic and specific to a Thriller / Horror genre. We also had over the shoulder shots while also using match on action, a variety of different low to high angles and also in the match on action sequence we structured it as shot reverse shot to help show the audience a sense of both the characters within the scene so they can be aware of their persona and become invested and interested in the characters to further more develop the climax of the narrative as they find out the like the character who has been the villain within the story in addition to the hero / detective.
Titles:
An important factor for a mass of films; especially under the Thriller genre, are the titles and their sequence as a whole. During the stages of gathering a thesis for the idea of our film we decided to stray away from the typical worded titles and we in place of this used a time to be used as our title as for our narrative it was specific to a time and therefore we named our film '3:15'. Using '3:15 as out title also created a sense of mystery as it is unclear from the title any specific equilibrium due to it being a title not a word of description or context towards the narrative. In addition to this factor the limit of context to the title leaves the audience wanting more as they are then interested in the reason / the meaning of the title itself. The typography in which we used was a digital alarm theme that we created and then added a shake on top of it in photoshop. We decided on this as it was then specific and relevant to both our narrative and the number wording as it looks as if it is from a digital clock. The shake was also an important affect as it developed forward the actual clock like affect we had. Moving forward with these decisions we then decided for the colour to be red as it looks realistic as if it was a digital clock and also the colour gives connotations of blood and danger which were specific to our genre conventions.
Location:
The final location was chosen after a long trial and error process so we could find the perfect locations. Our initial opening scene was setting in a small village country road. We decided on this location as it had a dark vibe and had a sense of mystery as during our filming times there was no natural light in the area. The next location we used was a large house in which we used the main largest room. We had initial planned to film in a hotel but after contact with our selected establishment we were unable to fit our schedule in their available time and we therefore moved forward looking for a new location and after some research we found this location which we were happy with as it had a plain, abandoned look that was perfect for our protagonists rough lifestyle subtext. The next location after the title sequence was a small village home that fit the mysterious theme we were aiming for in our approach.
Pre / Post editing process
This is a narration from one of my group members talking over our editing software and the film on the subjects of the pre and post production editing process.
Sound design for the Film
This is a narration video of one of my group members talking over how we as a group designed the sound for the film.
Thursday, 27 April 2017
About myself
My name is Lewis Williams and in the coming year I will be studying Photography, Drama and Media Studies at the Chenderit Sixth form. I previously attended Banbury Academy Sixth Form for one year completing year 12; I achieved two grade B's and one grade C at AS level, I decided that this was not the best fit for myself and I believe with the different setting and fresh start of Sixth Form again it will benefit me more and furthermore assist in an increase of my achievements due to putting in both more work and better work for the coming year.
I have a variety of interests, many media related. I enjoy a mass of things in relation to digital media from films to photography. I have also looking into further education courses for digital media in places like London in which I aspire to enrol in after finishing Sixth Form at Chenderit. Away from the digital media aspects I also enjoy performing arts and I have performed in a mass of shows.
Out of school I work part-time and I follow dance as a hobby because I enjoy many forms in which I have a variety of practice in and this also assists in my physically aspects of performance excelling due to my practice in this area.
I have a variety of interests, many media related. I enjoy a mass of things in relation to digital media from films to photography. I have also looking into further education courses for digital media in places like London in which I aspire to enrol in after finishing Sixth Form at Chenderit. Away from the digital media aspects I also enjoy performing arts and I have performed in a mass of shows.
Out of school I work part-time and I follow dance as a hobby because I enjoy many forms in which I have a variety of practice in and this also assists in my physically aspects of performance excelling due to my practice in this area.
Wednesday, 29 March 2017
Narrative
3:15
"There have been a number of murders in a small town over the last two weeks."
The police say there is a man breaking into houses between the hours of 3:15-3:45am, murders them and then feasts on their remains. The protagonist; John Wayne, sets up surveillance cameras around his house for safety and after a week he checks the tapes. Initially he doesn't see much in this viewing but he did notice that every night around 3:15am, he would leave his house.
The narrative of our production follows a nonlinear plot structure, starting at the beginning of the storyline with a fast-paced montage. The technique us to disorientate the audience and make them feel uncomfortable as if they were the victim. We start with the disequilibrium to disrupt the audiences stream of consciousness and make the audience and make the atmosphere more dramatic and tense. This is our sense of disorder and is reflected within our main protagonist. We decided to create a dual narrative that links the protagonist to an antagonist. This links to Levi Strauss' theory of binary opposites as there is both a light and dark side to all our characters.
"There have been a number of murders in a small town over the last two weeks."
The police say there is a man breaking into houses between the hours of 3:15-3:45am, murders them and then feasts on their remains. The protagonist; John Wayne, sets up surveillance cameras around his house for safety and after a week he checks the tapes. Initially he doesn't see much in this viewing but he did notice that every night around 3:15am, he would leave his house.
The narrative of our production follows a nonlinear plot structure, starting at the beginning of the storyline with a fast-paced montage. The technique us to disorientate the audience and make them feel uncomfortable as if they were the victim. We start with the disequilibrium to disrupt the audiences stream of consciousness and make the audience and make the atmosphere more dramatic and tense. This is our sense of disorder and is reflected within our main protagonist. We decided to create a dual narrative that links the protagonist to an antagonist. This links to Levi Strauss' theory of binary opposites as there is both a light and dark side to all our characters.
Tuesday, 28 March 2017
Monday, 27 March 2017
Wednesday, 15 March 2017
Location recce pictures
For our location we initially had a vast amount of complicated sets and locations including hotels and moving cars but we steeled with a simplistic, stylistically specific thriller location setting for our scenes.
Firstly, above I have added a picture of a large white house that we used as the home of John Wayne and we filmed our opening scene inside here. We selected this location for this particular scene as it was easily available to use and also it visually fits the genre well as it has a large mysterious location presence. Also inside the high ceiling design assisted in us taking some interesting cinematic shots as we were not limited by space.
The next picture I have added above is of a small road with a singular pathway to the left. I selected this as we use this location to have an establishing shot of John walking to the crime scene in the opening. As well as this, the area is covered by trees on the side which add shadows to the road lane and furthermore give a variety of mysterious and tense atmosphere building connotations.
Above is a picture of the location we used as our crime scene. This location was selected as the house is small and is good to fit into camera shot and also is in a small village so it has an interesting unique design giving a clear juxtaposition for the detective/killer and the victim as they both live different lifestyles which is made from their characters home setting.
The picture presented above is interesting as it is a photograph of myself on set in costume. The specific aspect I am lighting is the car in the back as this was essential for our location. The car was essential as it shown the high status of the Chief Inspector driving an expensive car and it was the back shot for the shot reverse shot, match on action section we used as the Chief Inspector was leaning on the car further developing the narrative of the scene as it shown a strain that he was learning instead of standing straight as John arrived late to the crime scene. Also the raindrops on the car assisted in our high level of cinematography.
The final picture of the location recce I have presented above is of the Whatley Hall hotel. I have added this picture as it was our first initial idea of set but we were unable to film her due to time complications and therefore made it unable for us to agree terms with the hotel for a filming time to fit our schedule and we therefore developed our ideas further and used the previous locations I have stated.
Firstly, above I have added a picture of a large white house that we used as the home of John Wayne and we filmed our opening scene inside here. We selected this location for this particular scene as it was easily available to use and also it visually fits the genre well as it has a large mysterious location presence. Also inside the high ceiling design assisted in us taking some interesting cinematic shots as we were not limited by space.
The next picture I have added above is of a small road with a singular pathway to the left. I selected this as we use this location to have an establishing shot of John walking to the crime scene in the opening. As well as this, the area is covered by trees on the side which add shadows to the road lane and furthermore give a variety of mysterious and tense atmosphere building connotations.
Above is a picture of the location we used as our crime scene. This location was selected as the house is small and is good to fit into camera shot and also is in a small village so it has an interesting unique design giving a clear juxtaposition for the detective/killer and the victim as they both live different lifestyles which is made from their characters home setting.
The picture presented above is interesting as it is a photograph of myself on set in costume. The specific aspect I am lighting is the car in the back as this was essential for our location. The car was essential as it shown the high status of the Chief Inspector driving an expensive car and it was the back shot for the shot reverse shot, match on action section we used as the Chief Inspector was leaning on the car further developing the narrative of the scene as it shown a strain that he was learning instead of standing straight as John arrived late to the crime scene. Also the raindrops on the car assisted in our high level of cinematography.
The final picture of the location recce I have presented above is of the Whatley Hall hotel. I have added this picture as it was our first initial idea of set but we were unable to film her due to time complications and therefore made it unable for us to agree terms with the hotel for a filming time to fit our schedule and we therefore developed our ideas further and used the previous locations I have stated.
Target audience
How old are they?
For our two minute film opening we have given a 15 years old minimum age rating for viewing and we are initial plan to target to all above ages to this but our specific target audience age range is from 18-35. We have decided to target towards this age rating as after research online I discovered it is statistically higher for people of this age range to watch thriller films in a similar style to ours.
Where do they live?
The location of the target audience is an important factor especially for promotional videos as it is key to make targeted views aware of all information of the film to maximise view and overall interest in the production. Also in addition to this point knowing the location of the target audience is important as we can therefore add specific aspects that we may think certain niche audiences from different specific areas may find attractive in our production or film promotion.
Gender?
The gender of the target audience is also another factor that can determine many factors in the promotion for the film. For our film we have selected males as the main target gender as stereotypically they watch this style of production often more so than females but we are not excluding females as views because we are implement factors to attract both audiences and furthermore create a wide audience instead of small niche viewing audiences.
Promotion specific to target audiences?
We intend if ever taken to full production to promote online using advertisements before videos on the internet as we can add these advertisements onto videos with similar audiences to the ones in which we are targeting. For example, YouTube, Social media websites. I have selected these as examples a they are widely used everyday by a mass amount of different possible viewing audiences.
For our two minute film opening we have given a 15 years old minimum age rating for viewing and we are initial plan to target to all above ages to this but our specific target audience age range is from 18-35. We have decided to target towards this age rating as after research online I discovered it is statistically higher for people of this age range to watch thriller films in a similar style to ours.
Where do they live?
The location of the target audience is an important factor especially for promotional videos as it is key to make targeted views aware of all information of the film to maximise view and overall interest in the production. Also in addition to this point knowing the location of the target audience is important as we can therefore add specific aspects that we may think certain niche audiences from different specific areas may find attractive in our production or film promotion.
Gender?
The gender of the target audience is also another factor that can determine many factors in the promotion for the film. For our film we have selected males as the main target gender as stereotypically they watch this style of production often more so than females but we are not excluding females as views because we are implement factors to attract both audiences and furthermore create a wide audience instead of small niche viewing audiences.
Promotion specific to target audiences?
We intend if ever taken to full production to promote online using advertisements before videos on the internet as we can add these advertisements onto videos with similar audiences to the ones in which we are targeting. For example, YouTube, Social media websites. I have selected these as examples a they are widely used everyday by a mass amount of different possible viewing audiences.
Audience age rating
Audience age rating:
The audience rating of our film has been heavily discuss within our group and with others to decide on the right and appropriate age rating for the production. After discussion we decided to rate our film 15+. This means the legal viewing age for our production; especially if taken to full production, is 15 years old as a minimal, without an age cap. To ensure this age rating whilst keeping to our genre conventions we just limited the graphic content that can be seen onscreen to furthermore keep the production appropriate for even a 15 year old.
We still have a variety of violence and themes of a graphic nature in certain scenes and this could negatively affect any viewers under our recommended viewing age. In addition this our cutting edge narrative is more so of an adult onscreen age and the characters may project some explicit language will again will be inappropriate for young viewers.
The audience rating of our film has been heavily discuss within our group and with others to decide on the right and appropriate age rating for the production. After discussion we decided to rate our film 15+. This means the legal viewing age for our production; especially if taken to full production, is 15 years old as a minimal, without an age cap. To ensure this age rating whilst keeping to our genre conventions we just limited the graphic content that can be seen onscreen to furthermore keep the production appropriate for even a 15 year old.
We still have a variety of violence and themes of a graphic nature in certain scenes and this could negatively affect any viewers under our recommended viewing age. In addition this our cutting edge narrative is more so of an adult onscreen age and the characters may project some explicit language will again will be inappropriate for young viewers.
Tuesday, 14 March 2017
Costume: Chief Inspector
Chief Inspector:
The character of the Chief Inspector is an unorthodox character who strays away from the norm from his angry persona and especially his costume as it is unofficial police wear that a character in his position would normally wear. For this character we will use: shirt with a lose tie, a coat/jack with no official police labelling and a slicked back hair style.
For this costume example I have added two pictures on the left above. One picture is of Andy Samberg and the other of Ice Cube, both in unofficial police wear but are also clear represented as police officers/detectives. I have selected two as the Chief Inspector is a complicated character and furthermore needed a larger visual representation to tie down his character in to specific aspects. The picture of Andy Samberg is a shirt and tie combination with an open top button but the important factor is that these particular clothing examples are more so of a casual nature in comparison to the typical shirt and tie combination a chief inspector, police officer or detective would use. The reason for the selection of this example is because our Chief Inspector character has an unorthodox angry persona and we have decided to dress him in a more contemporary casual non-official style. Under this picture is the picture of Ice Cube and in have added this for similar reasons as the Andy Samberg picture which is due to his non-official more casual style the is presented in the picture which is the approach of our characters costume that we want for our film opening for the Chief Inspector.
Towards the right above is a screen shot I have added from our film opening of the Chief Inspector onscreen in our selected costume. In this screen shot the character is wearing an unofficial police labelled coat and a shirt and tie combination with an open top button. It is clear that we have met our objectives for the costume of this character as it is how we have previously described we wanted it to be and also the unorthodox style adds to the genre conversions because the costume gives this character an dangerous sense due to his rebellious characteristics that may make the audience feel uncomfortable, as he isn't dressed official within a scene that has a graphic narrative.
The character of the Chief Inspector is an unorthodox character who strays away from the norm from his angry persona and especially his costume as it is unofficial police wear that a character in his position would normally wear. For this character we will use: shirt with a lose tie, a coat/jack with no official police labelling and a slicked back hair style.
For this costume example I have added two pictures on the left above. One picture is of Andy Samberg and the other of Ice Cube, both in unofficial police wear but are also clear represented as police officers/detectives. I have selected two as the Chief Inspector is a complicated character and furthermore needed a larger visual representation to tie down his character in to specific aspects. The picture of Andy Samberg is a shirt and tie combination with an open top button but the important factor is that these particular clothing examples are more so of a casual nature in comparison to the typical shirt and tie combination a chief inspector, police officer or detective would use. The reason for the selection of this example is because our Chief Inspector character has an unorthodox angry persona and we have decided to dress him in a more contemporary casual non-official style. Under this picture is the picture of Ice Cube and in have added this for similar reasons as the Andy Samberg picture which is due to his non-official more casual style the is presented in the picture which is the approach of our characters costume that we want for our film opening for the Chief Inspector.
Towards the right above is a screen shot I have added from our film opening of the Chief Inspector onscreen in our selected costume. In this screen shot the character is wearing an unofficial police labelled coat and a shirt and tie combination with an open top button. It is clear that we have met our objectives for the costume of this character as it is how we have previously described we wanted it to be and also the unorthodox style adds to the genre conversions because the costume gives this character an dangerous sense due to his rebellious characteristics that may make the audience feel uncomfortable, as he isn't dressed official within a scene that has a graphic narrative.
Costume: Police officer
Police officer:
The character of the police officer doesn't have a heavy onscreen presence within our two minute opening but he is a very important character in the scene in which he makes an appearance as he establishes the scene further as a crime scene. For this character we had decided to dress the actor in a clean cut style with a police officers outfit. For this costume we will use: Police costume, badge, hate and a clean simple hairstyle.
Above on the left I have added a picture of a police officer from Google Images. I selected this image as the officer has a clean look and is clearly presented as a police officer which was essential for our film due to the limited time our officer is in shot within the scene. Also I selected this picture as the officer in the photo has a large presence and a tall straight posture which we would also like to implement as it will give our character a sense of power and therefore when John passes him in the scene it will develop both their characters and more importantly Johns as he will gain power from passing such a powerfully presented character due to his social positioning and large physical presence.
To the right of the previously stated picture I have added a screen shot from out two minute film opening of our Police officer character. In this shot it is clear that the character onscreen is a police officer. This is because the visuals clearly state or are heavily linked towards stereotypes of this type of character. Have this costume also supports our thriller genre conventions as it develops are enigma by presenting our protagonist with the previously stated power shift element which adds towards the journey of the puzzle solving style narrative which is key under the thriller genre.
The character of the police officer doesn't have a heavy onscreen presence within our two minute opening but he is a very important character in the scene in which he makes an appearance as he establishes the scene further as a crime scene. For this character we had decided to dress the actor in a clean cut style with a police officers outfit. For this costume we will use: Police costume, badge, hate and a clean simple hairstyle.
Above on the left I have added a picture of a police officer from Google Images. I selected this image as the officer has a clean look and is clearly presented as a police officer which was essential for our film due to the limited time our officer is in shot within the scene. Also I selected this picture as the officer in the photo has a large presence and a tall straight posture which we would also like to implement as it will give our character a sense of power and therefore when John passes him in the scene it will develop both their characters and more importantly Johns as he will gain power from passing such a powerfully presented character due to his social positioning and large physical presence.
To the right of the previously stated picture I have added a screen shot from out two minute film opening of our Police officer character. In this shot it is clear that the character onscreen is a police officer. This is because the visuals clearly state or are heavily linked towards stereotypes of this type of character. Have this costume also supports our thriller genre conventions as it develops are enigma by presenting our protagonist with the previously stated power shift element which adds towards the journey of the puzzle solving style narrative which is key under the thriller genre.
Costume: John Wayne
John Wayne:
The character of John is a rough, edgy detective who presents minimal effort in the way he looks. For this character we have decided to use these examples as costume: Suit with open button at the top of tie, messy hair, rugged stubble, white shirt and leather footwear.
The character of John is a rough, edgy detective who presents minimal effort in the way he looks. For this character we have decided to use these examples as costume: Suit with open button at the top of tie, messy hair, rugged stubble, white shirt and leather footwear.
On the left above I have added a picture of Kevin Bacon in a blue suit with messy hair. I have used this example because it fits our planned description of what we entail to dress our actor in as their costume for the character. Also I this picture the costume creates an extra mysterious edge to the wearer as they look rough but have a smart look which is perfect for our narrative as it supports our ideas and also fits the genre conventions specific towards costume and character.
Above and to the right I have added two screen shots from our film opening of myself playing the character of John Wayne wearing the costume we used. It is visible in these screen shots we have used the suit costume design with the lose tie. Also we have given the character messy hair and a rough stubble to fit the conventions and further add to the characterisation.
Above and to the right I have added two screen shots from our film opening of myself playing the character of John Wayne wearing the costume we used. It is visible in these screen shots we have used the suit costume design with the lose tie. Also we have given the character messy hair and a rough stubble to fit the conventions and further add to the characterisation.
Justification of genre
Justification of genre - Thriller.
The genre we have selected for our film opening is the Thriller genre. We selected thriller as our narrative is of a hanging murder mystery with aspects of both horror and action implemented to create some interesting cinematography throughout the duration of the film opening. For our two minute opening we base the narrative on a typical thriller/horror cannibal story line, similar to 'Hannibal Lecter' but then on the other hand it will be filmed within the still of 'Drive' to add a modern thriller affect on the the classic film narrative style. This particular genre style is aimed towards males but we plan to make it appealing to both male and female views as if taken to full production we would cast a visually pleasing and attractive male in the character of the protagonist to further more create a binary opposite male gaze theory, attractive females to watch due to this particular cast members of screen visual presence but also we will avoid using this as a main approach to stray away from any misandry within our media production as i main focus is on the narrative, cinematography and specific genre conventions. Also to attract a wide viewing target audience and avoid only appealing to certain niche audiences we are going to limit the graphic nature and gore within the production and instead replace this with the future stated slight hints and clues to further develop the narrative and particular characters subtexts and characterisation. The characters will also have a strong bond on screen even though they will be portrayed as very different, they all are very moral and loyal towards this aspect.
Our film opening will include the following thriller aspects; suspense and excitement for the audience, urban/suburban location areas, an enigma where an investigation is needed to reveal the truth, violence, police/government, supernatural explanation of the puzzle towards the latter stages, the hero and villain share similar/same characteristics, a sense of injustice in society, an outsider hero with an isolated secretive persona, the enigma will be solved by the end of the narrative and production.
The symbolic codes we are implementing from the thriller genre for our film opening are going to be in the montage section with the highlights of violence and slight graphic nature within to create a clear thriller aspect to the opening and especially this section. We will also add genre specific technical codes by adding certain odd shots, like a panning wide shot of the protagonist in a drunken sleep to show their character link towards the genre from this wide establishing shot that is often used in thriller productions to develop character subtexts and establish them into the specific thriller genre. We will implement this and similar shots to denote the characters onscreen personas as specific to the thriller genre.
We have structured our film in a linear structure whilst strategically adding odd camera shots from all different angles and lengths to create a some interesting aesthetically pleasing visuals and shots, to make the audience feel uncomfortable which supports the genre conventions of thriller. In the editing stage we will incorporate montages with relevant sound to create dramatic effect and tension as it builds to a climax and that is our main approach under the thriller genre. Also in addition to supporting our genre conventions in certain scenes the lighting will be dim and not bright with a plain, simple background as we want the lighting to reflect on the main character's persona and unstable subtext mindset. Another point of our film under the thriller genre towards our climatic ending approach is that we want the audience unaware that the protagonist; John Wayne, is actually the killer of the victim but we are going to leave a few clues and slight hints to empower the audience because they will be able to make a judgement and therefore add a sense of dramatic irony as the audience may know the truth of the narrative whereas the onscreen character will be unaware.
The genre we have selected for our film opening is the Thriller genre. We selected thriller as our narrative is of a hanging murder mystery with aspects of both horror and action implemented to create some interesting cinematography throughout the duration of the film opening. For our two minute opening we base the narrative on a typical thriller/horror cannibal story line, similar to 'Hannibal Lecter' but then on the other hand it will be filmed within the still of 'Drive' to add a modern thriller affect on the the classic film narrative style. This particular genre style is aimed towards males but we plan to make it appealing to both male and female views as if taken to full production we would cast a visually pleasing and attractive male in the character of the protagonist to further more create a binary opposite male gaze theory, attractive females to watch due to this particular cast members of screen visual presence but also we will avoid using this as a main approach to stray away from any misandry within our media production as i main focus is on the narrative, cinematography and specific genre conventions. Also to attract a wide viewing target audience and avoid only appealing to certain niche audiences we are going to limit the graphic nature and gore within the production and instead replace this with the future stated slight hints and clues to further develop the narrative and particular characters subtexts and characterisation. The characters will also have a strong bond on screen even though they will be portrayed as very different, they all are very moral and loyal towards this aspect.
Our film opening will include the following thriller aspects; suspense and excitement for the audience, urban/suburban location areas, an enigma where an investigation is needed to reveal the truth, violence, police/government, supernatural explanation of the puzzle towards the latter stages, the hero and villain share similar/same characteristics, a sense of injustice in society, an outsider hero with an isolated secretive persona, the enigma will be solved by the end of the narrative and production.
The symbolic codes we are implementing from the thriller genre for our film opening are going to be in the montage section with the highlights of violence and slight graphic nature within to create a clear thriller aspect to the opening and especially this section. We will also add genre specific technical codes by adding certain odd shots, like a panning wide shot of the protagonist in a drunken sleep to show their character link towards the genre from this wide establishing shot that is often used in thriller productions to develop character subtexts and establish them into the specific thriller genre. We will implement this and similar shots to denote the characters onscreen personas as specific to the thriller genre.
We have structured our film in a linear structure whilst strategically adding odd camera shots from all different angles and lengths to create a some interesting aesthetically pleasing visuals and shots, to make the audience feel uncomfortable which supports the genre conventions of thriller. In the editing stage we will incorporate montages with relevant sound to create dramatic effect and tension as it builds to a climax and that is our main approach under the thriller genre. Also in addition to supporting our genre conventions in certain scenes the lighting will be dim and not bright with a plain, simple background as we want the lighting to reflect on the main character's persona and unstable subtext mindset. Another point of our film under the thriller genre towards our climatic ending approach is that we want the audience unaware that the protagonist; John Wayne, is actually the killer of the victim but we are going to leave a few clues and slight hints to empower the audience because they will be able to make a judgement and therefore add a sense of dramatic irony as the audience may know the truth of the narrative whereas the onscreen character will be unaware.
Monday, 13 March 2017
Friday, 10 March 2017
Wednesday, 8 March 2017
Planning: Props
Sets and props help to create the background and helps to develop subtexts within productions, but it's usually best to keep them simple. Shakespeare's stage used little in the way of set, and the modern trend is also to keep things simple and easily visual. In our two minute film opening we have decided to limit the amount of props used on our set but also in the same instance make sure we have the essentials to give a full background and subtext to our characters and the scenes. Below i have listed some of the key essential props we are going to use in our productions.
Whiskey:
Using the whiskey as a prop was essential as it helped to develop and extend the characterisation of John Wayne as it does not subvert the stereotypes of his onscreen character.. The whiskey supported the rough edge to the character as the film is going to open with John passed out holding a bottle of whiskey, which conveys an unstable feature.
Glass:
The glass we used was so it could represent his messy, unclean lifestyle as on the table it would be left full whilst he has a different drink, showing he is to lazy to clean up.
Candle:
The use of the candle as a prop is very interesting. The candle has religious connotations of good and evil. This is conveyed through the flame. When it is lit it portrays a sense of good and when it is put out there is a sense of evil. We also implemented this as our narrative structure would fit this in really well by having a lit candle blow out and then the bad things from the narrative would begin to appear.
Manual printed photograph:
The manual printed photograph was a picture of the victim from the film opening with crosses over her eyes and mouth. We developed and printed our photo manually to give a different edge that a normal digital print wouldn't have. As well as this in the picture the girl fulfils all female stereotypes to clearly show she is the spoken about girl in the opening without a label.
Phone:
The phone was a keep prop for our narrative as it would call as John arises from passing out and then creates a sense of urgency for himself and also develops the angry persona of the Chief Inspector as he has a reason to be mad with John.
Cigarette:
Using the cigarettes were important to show the stressful lifestyles that John and the Inspector have and also conveys Johns unclean, messy persona as he smokes as soon as he wakes from his drunken sleep.
Match:
I added the prop of a match instead of a normal lighter as I knew the flame could be used to capture some interesting cinematic shots.
Police Tape:
The police tape was a key feature for the visuals in one scene to create an obvious visual narrative of a crime scene.
Wallet:
The wallet was added for the character of John as if it was an identification wallet so he can flash it and not have to have a badge or official police uniform to see his character. The wallet also creates an interesting entry scene between John and the police guard officer.
Whiskey:
Using the whiskey as a prop was essential as it helped to develop and extend the characterisation of John Wayne as it does not subvert the stereotypes of his onscreen character.. The whiskey supported the rough edge to the character as the film is going to open with John passed out holding a bottle of whiskey, which conveys an unstable feature.
Glass:
The glass we used was so it could represent his messy, unclean lifestyle as on the table it would be left full whilst he has a different drink, showing he is to lazy to clean up.
Candle:
The use of the candle as a prop is very interesting. The candle has religious connotations of good and evil. This is conveyed through the flame. When it is lit it portrays a sense of good and when it is put out there is a sense of evil. We also implemented this as our narrative structure would fit this in really well by having a lit candle blow out and then the bad things from the narrative would begin to appear.
Manual printed photograph:
The manual printed photograph was a picture of the victim from the film opening with crosses over her eyes and mouth. We developed and printed our photo manually to give a different edge that a normal digital print wouldn't have. As well as this in the picture the girl fulfils all female stereotypes to clearly show she is the spoken about girl in the opening without a label.
Phone:
The phone was a keep prop for our narrative as it would call as John arises from passing out and then creates a sense of urgency for himself and also develops the angry persona of the Chief Inspector as he has a reason to be mad with John.
Cigarette:
Using the cigarettes were important to show the stressful lifestyles that John and the Inspector have and also conveys Johns unclean, messy persona as he smokes as soon as he wakes from his drunken sleep.
Match:
I added the prop of a match instead of a normal lighter as I knew the flame could be used to capture some interesting cinematic shots.
Police Tape:
The police tape was a key feature for the visuals in one scene to create an obvious visual narrative of a crime scene.
Wallet:
The wallet was added for the character of John as if it was an identification wallet so he can flash it and not have to have a badge or official police uniform to see his character. The wallet also creates an interesting entry scene between John and the police guard officer.
Tuesday, 7 March 2017
Planning: Casting
Throughout the duration of our two minute film opening we have three on screen characters, two of which are named. The decision process for our casting took around one day. We held small auditions within our group to decided if any of us fit the roles as this was the most practical an efficient way to maximise filming time. In our production group it consists of myself, Navid and Sabil and we all are A level drama students who are very good in our own aspects so initial we were already confident in our possible casting.
After our small audition process where we referred to our casting call; which is also on my blog, and read some of our scripted lines, we decided to cast myself as John Wayne and cast Sabil as the Chief Inspector. The decision process for the casting of myself as John Wayne was quite because we could see myself as this rough edged character if we developed some costume and we felt confident my onscreen acting would fit the role. On the other hand for the Chief Inspector we were torn between Navid and Sabil as the final cast member for this role. In the end we went with Sabil as again we referred to our casting call and also we felt Sabil could produce a variety of interesting facial expressions and a strong onscreen persona and we therefore chose to cast him.
Once we had casted our two named characters as a group we came together to decide on who we can cast as our police officer. After this discussion we casted George in this role. We decided to cast George as he has a tall large build that we felt was perfect for the role.
After our small audition process where we referred to our casting call; which is also on my blog, and read some of our scripted lines, we decided to cast myself as John Wayne and cast Sabil as the Chief Inspector. The decision process for the casting of myself as John Wayne was quite because we could see myself as this rough edged character if we developed some costume and we felt confident my onscreen acting would fit the role. On the other hand for the Chief Inspector we were torn between Navid and Sabil as the final cast member for this role. In the end we went with Sabil as again we referred to our casting call and also we felt Sabil could produce a variety of interesting facial expressions and a strong onscreen persona and we therefore chose to cast him.
Once we had casted our two named characters as a group we came together to decide on who we can cast as our police officer. After this discussion we casted George in this role. We decided to cast George as he has a tall large build that we felt was perfect for the role.
Casting call
CATING CALL:
Character: John WayneAge: Between 28-38 years old
Hair colour: Dark blonde or light brown
Eye colour: Blue (not essential but preferable)
Complexion: White
Build: Lean
Height: 5'11-6'1
Age: 28-32
Hair colour: Black or Dark brown
Eye colour: Brown (not essential but preferable)
Complexion: Black or Brown
Build: Average
Height: 5'8-6'0
Moodboard with pictures taken by myself and our production group
To further develop my mood board and initial ideas I have added three pictures I myself or in our production group have photographed. Below on the left is a picture of myself wearing a suit in the location of our crime scene house. I have added this to highlight the costume we have selected for my character and also to show my character on set. In the centre of the three pictures is a photo of myself with half my face covered by a shadow. The use of the shadow creates a sense of mystery to my character in the photo and also in addition to this we painted my face to make my character look beaten up to again develop on the rough edge of the character. Then on the right is a photo of a bottle of whiskey, three cigarettes and a lighter and I knave photographed and added thinks a they are key props in our production; excluding the lighter, and also fit our genre conventions.
Mood board pictures
I have created a mood board consisting of a variety of picture fitting the narrative and initial ideas of my film as well as being specific towards our thriller genre conventions.
Above I have added 8 different pictures I have researched for and found online that fit well into what we want to visually achieve within our film opening. In the top left there is a picture of whiskey next to a cigarette and this particular photo gives us many ideas of shots we can create with these kind of props to further develop the characterisation of our protagonist as they will give connotations of his rough side if he is seen using and placing these types of things. To the right of this photo is a picture of Ice Cube. I selected this picture for my mood board as I view his look and persona as a character will fit perfectly in our character of the Chief Inspector due to his relaxed costume choice not wearing official police uniform and also the angry and interesting facial expressions he conveys are what we are looking for in our casting for the Chief Inspector character. I have also added a picture of a digital clock. I decided to add this because of our films title; '3:15', as the style of the numbers on the clock is what we hopefully will create our titles in the style of, using the red digital clock affect. Under the digital clock picture and also to the right of it are two pictures that I have added for similar reasons to the first picture I have previously wrote about. In addition to my previous point, the picture of the man smoking it is important to highlight I have selected a picture in which a match is being used as we are planning to do this. The match is important as it adds an edge to the character as he s using what isn't the typical lighting technique of a cigarette in todays modern society. As well as this I think we can create some interesting cinematic shots with the flame from the match. Below the top four pictures I have added another three. On the left I have added a picture of Kevin Bacon a I think his look fits perfectly for our protagonist; John Wayne. In the middle of the three is a police officer and I have selected this because his stance and posture is how I hope to direct our police officer character as it shows a sense of power so when our protagonist passes him there will be a highlight of importance in him from that moment. Finally on the right I have added a picture of police tape as this something we hope to implement onto our crime scene location.
Above I have added 8 different pictures I have researched for and found online that fit well into what we want to visually achieve within our film opening. In the top left there is a picture of whiskey next to a cigarette and this particular photo gives us many ideas of shots we can create with these kind of props to further develop the characterisation of our protagonist as they will give connotations of his rough side if he is seen using and placing these types of things. To the right of this photo is a picture of Ice Cube. I selected this picture for my mood board as I view his look and persona as a character will fit perfectly in our character of the Chief Inspector due to his relaxed costume choice not wearing official police uniform and also the angry and interesting facial expressions he conveys are what we are looking for in our casting for the Chief Inspector character. I have also added a picture of a digital clock. I decided to add this because of our films title; '3:15', as the style of the numbers on the clock is what we hopefully will create our titles in the style of, using the red digital clock affect. Under the digital clock picture and also to the right of it are two pictures that I have added for similar reasons to the first picture I have previously wrote about. In addition to my previous point, the picture of the man smoking it is important to highlight I have selected a picture in which a match is being used as we are planning to do this. The match is important as it adds an edge to the character as he s using what isn't the typical lighting technique of a cigarette in todays modern society. As well as this I think we can create some interesting cinematic shots with the flame from the match. Below the top four pictures I have added another three. On the left I have added a picture of Kevin Bacon a I think his look fits perfectly for our protagonist; John Wayne. In the middle of the three is a police officer and I have selected this because his stance and posture is how I hope to direct our police officer character as it shows a sense of power so when our protagonist passes him there will be a highlight of importance in him from that moment. Finally on the right I have added a picture of police tape as this something we hope to implement onto our crime scene location.
Thursday, 2 March 2017
Audience review of draft film opening
We asked four members of our target audience to watch and review out film opening. The four viewers we selected are of our target audience and we therefore asked them to report feedback after their viewing of our film opening.
The main criticism in our feedback was the same for all the members of our selected viewing audience and this was that the duration of the titles were too long. As well as this they all also said about the black screen we have behind the titles. This particular criticism is that it is very plain and it furthermore draws the audience away from our film opening due to the plain aesthetics within the title sequence. This feedback was very good for us to hear together as a group as we now have a clear understanding of what and where needs to be developed.
On the other hand to some criticism we also had a variety of positive feedback from our selected viewing audience. One particular example would be from Rossi as he saw our film opening to have been shot and laid out as if it was a real, professional level film opening due to the narrative structure, clean cinematography and fitting genre conventions. Also another positive example is from Tom. Toms example of something he found affective in our film was the shots between myself and Sabil towards the end. The specific example was the use of match on action and the way in which the camera also focussed both in and at the at times mark the moment by highlighting facial expressions. In addition to the previous point of the clean cinematography, Sophie and Skye said that they liked the shots that had been used in many places throughout. As a group we were happy with the positive feedback as they highlighted many of the things we worked on hard in the editing and filming process.
Tuesday, 21 February 2017
Monday, 23 January 2017
Thursday, 19 January 2017
Tuesday, 17 January 2017
Small group preliminary film
What is the purpose of the preliminary task?
The purpose of the preliminary task was to learn how to film a piece and develop our post-production skills. This consisted mostly of editing our short clips we had filmed and create a short production. In out preliminary task we were handed with the task of using the rule of match on action within out film as well as the 180 degree rule and the eye-line match. Also in this particular preliminary film we were in small groups of 3-4 instead of being in the whole class group which my previous preliminary is posted as. This was to develop our work within small groups more and also our own individual editing and shooting knowledge.
What difficulties did you face?
We had moved forward from our previous mistakes in our class preliminary film and in this small group preliminary film we did not find any specific negatives. We did find difficulties putting certain shots together as they were shot very simple and therefore didn't fit the aesthetically pleasing approach we initially went out for.
How did you plan out the shots?
As a group we discussed our ideas following that specific narrative points we had to include and we therefore create story boards to create our preliminary film shot by shot.
What did you learn about continuity editing?
As a group we all learnt about continuity even more so than the class preliminary film as we structured our shots together our selves creating a smooth set of transitions throughout.
What did you learn about demands of filming a sequence?
I learnt again what I learnt from my previous class preliminary film but also that it is essential to stay time efficient, filming at peak times to keep the narrative and the continuity consistent.
Monday, 16 January 2017
Batman, The dark knight opening sequence analysis
In the opening sequence of The dark knight there is a variety of interesting and well uses techniques embedded within the first few scenes.
In the picture above this is an establishing shot of the area and also the character in shot here.
The shot shown above is a birds eye view shot that is used effective as it creates a tense action atmosphere showing how high up the characters zip lining across are.
This particular shot from the opening sequence is an over the shoulder shot of the back character in the showing the outside area establishing the city and also showing multiple characters with clown masks furthermore informing the audience of them being in a group of characters set together.
In conclusion The dark knight uses a variety of interesting and effective shots and camera movement to establish and create an interesting setting throughout the initial opening sequence.
Hot fuzz opening scene analysis
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RAkY4R691E
Hot fuzz is a british comedy film released in 2007. The two main casted named charcters are played by Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, who are well known for their comedic values. Hot fuzz was directed by Edgar Wright and produced by Nira Park. The initial budget of the film of $12million and made $80million in box office and also lots more elsewhere. The film follows the narrative of two police officers who attempt to solve a series of mysterious deaths in Sandford, a fictional village based in England.
Throughout the duration of the opening sequence of Hot fuzz there is a non-diegetic input of a voice over that narrates what is shown on screen and also some subtext of Simon Pegg's character. The voice over is of Pegg and his descriptions are of his life up to the point of the initial opening to the film. This gives the audience an establishing subtext of information for this particular character. This section consists of flashbacks of his life as he comes to describe each section. For example as shown in the previously stated picture from the film, Pegg is taking a test as he describes doing very well in this particular test. The sound in this opening scene is mostly non-diegetic sound as the only clear sound in the scene is the voice over.
Hot fuzz is a british comedy film released in 2007. The two main casted named charcters are played by Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, who are well known for their comedic values. Hot fuzz was directed by Edgar Wright and produced by Nira Park. The initial budget of the film of $12million and made $80million in box office and also lots more elsewhere. The film follows the narrative of two police officers who attempt to solve a series of mysterious deaths in Sandford, a fictional village based in England.
The opening scene uses camera movement with a vary of different techniques. One example in the opening scene is the camera using track movement to follow the character as they walk. This shot is particularly interesting as it uses the dirty hot technique as many objects pass the camera becoming in the way of the shot. As the sequences progresses it cuts to a close-up of his face creating an interesting shot to introduce the character. The reason for this particular shot is to show the facial expressions of the character as the close-up highlights this particular factor. The lighting throughout this opening scene is typically neutral consisting of normal outside or building lighting to highlight Pegg's character to be conveyed as a normal, hard working individual.
The implementation of the voice over creates a montage affect in the opening sequence from the variety of different descriptions from his life and this therefore had lots of different locations and settings shown in the first set of scenes. From the use of the flashbacks this highlights the location to not be a significant part of the opening equilibrium. On the other hand the section where his feet are tracked whilst he walks through the office is at present time and this is important as it links to this office being an important factor in the narratives initial beginning. The key identifiable costume in this sequence is the police uniform and due to this the audience can clearly find out from these aesthetics his job within the piece.
The picture shown above is an example of a dirty shot and this is used a few times effectively within the opening sequence. The use of the dirty shot is good because it steers away from simple shots like tracking from behind. This shot shows a clear juxtaposition of different shots.
To conclude, the camera shots, mes-en-scene and editing is places well together and creates a very good and interesting piece of media for this opening scene of Hot fuzz.
Sunday, 15 January 2017
Star Trek Timeline analysis
Star Trek:
0:09- Black blank Screen
0:10- Long shot
0:11- Protagonist moving into camera focus
0:12- Mid shot
0:09- Black blank Screen
0:10- Long shot
0:11- Protagonist moving into camera focus
0:12- Mid shot
0:13- Low
shot
0:14- Mid shot
0:15- Close-up
0:18- Company indents
0:19- Low angle
0:21- Close-up
0:22- High long shot
0:25- Low close-up
0:27- Fade in and fade out of a low shot
0:31- Mid shot
0:32- Fade out
0:33- Establishing shot of location
0:40- Long shot
0:41- Low shot
0:42- Fade out
0:43- Close-up
0:48- Birds eye view
0:50- Long shot
0:51- Close-up
0:52- High angle
0:54- Release date credits
0:55- Long shot
1:00- Close up to fade
0:14- Mid shot
0:15- Close-up
0:18- Company indents
0:19- Low angle
0:21- Close-up
0:22- High long shot
0:25- Low close-up
0:27- Fade in and fade out of a low shot
0:31- Mid shot
0:32- Fade out
0:33- Establishing shot of location
0:40- Long shot
0:41- Low shot
0:42- Fade out
0:43- Close-up
0:48- Birds eye view
0:50- Long shot
0:51- Close-up
0:52- High angle
0:54- Release date credits
0:55- Long shot
1:00- Close up to fade
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