Feedback

There are still missing items from research and planning. Tom still hasn't done any of his posts - I need to see these complete by the time he returns. You need to complete/ upload your risk assessments. You all need to develop most of your posts a little more - many are quite basic and this will limit your grade for R and P. You still have time this holiday to do something about this.

Filming Complete

On Saturday, we all went up and took the shots that we needed for the sequence. The first person shot that was supposed to be in the clip was omitted, because we felt that it would make the clip too long, and there were several new shots that we incorporated that show match on actions, such as a close up of my upside down head, waking up, and some birds eye shots of me laying on the rock.

The majority of our clip is panning around the scene, and we intend on having fade to black effects for editing and we also want the titles to come up in imaginative ways over said black screen.

The day went successfully, with only a few hitches. These included the temperature being so low that I nearly caught hypothermia due to the clothes I was wearing for the mise en scene.

However, we filmed an abundance of footage, and we now go into the editing part of our production with a head start on the other group.

Feedback

The research is better than it was but is still a little on the basic side. I have put comments on your posts to help you develop them further. Qasim - your posts are very limited in what they cover - they could and should do so much more. Tom - you need to do your main research posts. Jamie - again, they are basic and could be worked up a little more. Please make sure you attend to this over the Christmas break. One big omission is that you have no post identifying your target audience and no research into their tastes.

Not sure about the quote under your blogger header - I quite like it but you may want to lose it before it gets sent to the examiners - not sure how they would view it!

Feedback

The research is better than it was but is still a little on the basic side. I have put comments on your posts to help you develop them further. Qasim - your posts are very limited in what they cover - they could and should do so much more. Tom - you need to do your main research posts. Jamie - again, they are basic and could be worked up a little more. Please make sure you attend to this over the Christmas break.

Music for our sequence

Sequence music by gingersdonthavesouls

This is a piece of music we chose from a CD with copyright free music.

we have chosen this piece as we feel it creates a sense of tension and drama which is what we want to portray as it is quite sombre and faint with occasional heavy chords and light piano interspersed with low string instruments.

Codes and Conventions of thriller movie

I think that thriller movies have a few codes and conventions.
Personally I beleive that the main codes and conventions of a thriller would be based mainly on sound and light control.

Thrillers need to use this effectively to create suspense. Sounds must create tension but it should not overwhelm the whole film.For our short opening sequence we are trying to use relevant music/sounds and also in some areas we might just use the effect of having no sound but let natural sounds take over.

Thrillers use light control to the minimal, they try to go for a dark eery look which makes the viewer unwary of what might occur. In our group we are also trying to achieve within our film to create a good atmosphere.

A good example of these types of movies would be The Hills Have Eyes.

Filming Schedule

We are planning to go up to the location this weekend (Saturday 11th December) and film all of our footage.
Due to dwindling daylight, we shall have to get up the Tor early, which is about an hour trek away from where i live. Tom and Qasim will be catching the bus or getting a lift, arriving in Haslingden hopefully bright and early.

The earlier we can get up the Tor, the better, because we shall have time to film all of our shots.

The scene will probably have to take place in the snow, because of weather conditions. However that is not a main issue for us.

We will probably start off by filming the nature shots,  such as rocks and other elements in this crater. I have an idea of a shot taken with the camera being on a rock,  looking over where I am to be lain, and focusing on another rock, close by. The camera then focuses in on me stirring. I am unsure of how to make it focus like this, however.

To be sure that we do not have to go back and get more footage, we shall be taking at least three full recordings of each part of the scene, all from different views, so that we can have a wide variety of camera shots when it comes to editing.

Script wise, there isn't really anything that we need, because the main things that the character will be shouting is "help" and "is anyone there?"

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Whilst filming, we forgot to take footage of the extreme close ups, which means that we will probably have to go back and reshoot, however, the footage that we did take is all shaping up nicely in the early editing stages, and we have many matches on action that make the scene look more professional.

So far in our editing, there is a theme of the character being circled, as the camera shots were all taken at various angles that pin the main character in the crater. This gives the viewer a sense that the character is confined, and trapped.

Evaluation of Thriller movie (Phone booth)

I have analyzed the trailer of a thriller movie "Phone booth". The movie is about a man who thinks that he has his life all under control, he has lived his life through lies.

Then one day he get an unexpected call from a phone booth, the man on the other side of the line is a sniper, who seems to know everything about him and the crimes he's committed. He threatens to take his life unless he confesses to the lies he has done, his most problematic situation is when his wife is at the scene and also the women who he cheated with. He is forced to publicly confess in front of all the spectators and camera men around.

It works because it shows a lot of tense moments in the movie. As it starts it uses titles to give us information about the scene with a lot of variation of shots setting the scene. For our sequence we could this same technique having the camera panning around showing the scene and situation the character is in.

At the end of the trailer it gives us the names of directors, producers etc. which are shown below:

Music composed my- Harry Gregson-Williams
Costume designer- Daniel Orlandi
Film editor- Mark Stevens
Production designer- Andrew Laws
Director of photography- Matthew Labatique

The Hangover Title Sequence Evaluation

The Hangover uses long shots of locations as the background for the title sequences that have text over. There is a song playing in the background.

Click the link below:

The Hangover Intro

The opening sequence is some brief dialogue, before the long shots kick in. There are lots of names over the top of the scenes, and to begin with these are just the cast members names,  "Bradley Cooper" "Zach Galifianikis", and "Ed Helms" who are the main 3 protagonists. But after this there are also names of the director, the producer, editor etc, and name the people who are in charge of the film, but are not as known as the stars of the film.

Many of the shots are helicopter nature shots, which interest the viewer in the location.

Although we sadly do not own a helicopter, or have the funds required to rent one, we are going to begin our sequence with some nature shots, and have several titles as text over said shots, before at the end going to the word CHAINED over a black screen.

Thriller Codes and Conventions

There are many codes and conventions for thriller films.

To begin with, the sound and editing are usually the main identifying feature. For editing, there are lots of quick cuts, and camera angle changes. The music gives tension when needed, but is passive for the rest of the scene.

Lighting wise, thrillers use darkness and shadows, to try and make the victims feel trapped. Mirrors and stairs are used lots in these sorts of thrillers.

Films that follow these conventions are films like
When A Stranger Calls and The Hills Have Eyes.




However there are films that do not follow the codes and conventions, such as phone-booth which is shot in broad daylight, with a man that cant be seen as the antagonist.

The characters of a thriller are usually similar as well. The main protagonist is more often that not a character who is lacking in some sort of moral way, perhaps he has comitted crime, adultery, lies. This person usually survives the horrors that befall them in thrillers, and have a changed, different view on their lives afterwards.

In the same ways that characters are similar, storylines are usually similar too. There is a main antagonist, or several main antagonists, and the reason behind the killings or hauntings or assault that occurs is revenge, or a psychotic man/woman who just wants to hurt people.























The locations of thrillers are usually very typical horror types, playing on the audiences fear of small spaces and making them feel claustrophobic, such as in The Hills Have Eyes, with the tunnels that hem the protagonists in, and in phonebooth, where the protagonist is trapped in a small secluded phone booth.

StoryBoard Review

In class we made the storyboard and Qasim drew it up properly. There are 3 sides, and they show our plans for the sequence in detail, with annotations underneath to describe camera movements or shot type.

*NOTE*

It says that there is going to be titles every time the character closes his eyes, (in a first person shot), but the shot is just too much hassle to make. Instead we are going to do tracking shots, and when the camera goes behind something, then titles will appear in the blackness.

We think that it is clear what our sequence is going to look like, and the only thing that we will change about the sequence is that we are going to film lots more shots so we have a wider variety for editing. 

Planning For Equipment, Locations, Costumes and Actors

We are nearly ready to film our sequence, at the moment it is only the snow that is stopping us from getting footage, hopefully our filming area will be clear soon, and we can start. The filming should only take part of a day, because we only need one location.

For clothes, i am thinking of wearing a plain white shirt, and some black smart pants. This would be a better overall mise-en-scene because the audience would ask more questions about the character. We also need some fake blood, not much, but i am thinking of putting some up my nose so it looks like a nose bleed, and letting it drip onto my shirt, and dry. The shirt will have to become dirty as we do the scenes, so we will need to make sure that we have enough shots of the opening part before we do the rolling around and panicking scenes, because that will just get the shirt dirty, and will cost us valuable time to clean, and possibly cause some continuity issues, of which we are determined to have none of.

We will need a camera and a tripod, and possibly something to make tracking shots a realistic goal. Smooth tracking shots could make our scene brilliant, while bad jerky ones could ruin the shot. An improvised steadicam is also an option we could take. We need a chain and a padlock and key, to make it look realistic. Ideally we would have a shackle, but i am unsure if we could get one.

*NOTE*
As we will probably be filming in icy conditions, we have to have certain safety measures so that none of us are cold. Tom and Qasim will have to wrap up extremely warm, because they will be stood filming for most of the day. We will make several thermos' full of warm drink, so that we can instantly warm ourselves up in the cold. As we may not be able to break for food, it would be wise to take a lunch each as well.

Casting Wise:

Jamie as Arnold (Chained Man)
Tom as Alan (Dark Figure on Hill)
Qasim as Cameraman.

Of course there will be some camera advice and input from me and Tom.

I think that it will be better if we all edit together, because that way we have a wider opinion, and if we dont all agree, then we can safely say something is wrong and seek help from Nikki or Mike.

Research Feedback

You must label each post with the name of the individual who has posted it. Some will be joint efforts but most of the research posts will be done on an individual basis - can you please go back and rectify this please.Use the comments on each post to improve these further. This is till fairly basic and there are still a lot of gaps to plug.Please get moving on this or your marks will suffer.

Research On Our Target Audience

This is a short presentation on who are target audience are likely to be, for our opening title sequence.

Click the link below:

PREZI