Thursday 29th January:
In this lesson, we went to our next two locations to carry on filming the thriller opening. First we went to a bus stop as this is where the other victim was being stalked. We did a long shot of her running across the road from the stalkers point of view. Then I took photos of her from the same angle as the camera so that we can use the photos for our last scene. We filmed this scene from many different angles to give variety. For example, we also filmed her running towards the camera and we filmed her at a high angle to make her look vulnerable while she was sitting at the bus stop.
We then moved on to the park where I had to act like the other victim. We filmed the scene from a high angle and from the stalkers point of view as he watched her walk through the park and sit on the swing. We also did a worms-eye-view shot and a point-of-view shot of me looking at the phone when it started ringing. We also did a quick scene where as I was leaving the park, me and the other victim crossed paths and the stalker took a picture of us. This can show that we will be in the same situation together but we have no idea. It helps creates tension.
Saturday 31 January 2009
Wednesday 28 January 2009
Flim openenigs 08/01/09
During this lesson we watched a documentary about film openings and had to answer questions. This was done so that we could get an idea of the different ways in which we could open a film and see which ones were effective. One example of a film opening is 'Flashback' and this is when a film starts with something you would use for an ending. Other film openings are Classic - this is when the film starts with instant arousal, however instant arousal may cause high expectations and the film may need to have another thing that is good to keep the audience interested. After we watched the documentary and answered questions such as 'Why is kyle coopers title sequence to seven so effective' We watched some of the past thriller openings and saw what we could and shouldn't do.
Sound- 05/01/09
In this lesson Mickey showed us a clip from Casino Royale to show us the different sounds they use and how effective it was . Then we done an exercise on Soundtrack Pro andwe hade to edit in the sounds for example dialogue, soundtracks and sound effects. After doing this i realised how important soundtrack was because a good soundtrack may attract and help build suspense. I found that editing sound into a film wasn't easy but it wasn't hard either it just required patience and was very time consuming but the result was good.
Editing first practice film -newspaper
This lesson we began editing our film using the Final Cut programme. We used 'Cature and Log' to get the shots we wanted to use. I found this very difficult because when we chose our shots we had to edit them so each shot flowed into the next shot and look like a real film. I quite liked the finished film because it looked and it was our first time using cameras. After we picked the shots we wanted and put them in the right order we then decided to add non diagetic and diagetic sounds for example the cup crashing and a soundtrack to build tension.
First film practice -newspaper
During this lesson we were taught how to use the main features on the camera for example how to put a battery into a camera, open a tripod and insert and eject tapes.
Last lesson we were given a story line about a person reading a newspaper and it was compulsory to use Close up, Over The Shoulder and Point Of view Shot. It was up to us to try convert something boring into something thrilling. So our group got together and started filming our storyboard which we had planned. When filiming we tried including a variety of shots. We began with an over the shoulder shot of a newspaper ( which was opened) and a cup of water then Khaleda walked into the shot and sat down .Previously before we edited the original shot we had decided to have a close up of the closed newspaper however we changed our minds because we had realised that the next shot began with the newspaper opened and it didnt make sense because we did not show any on open it . Also in our film we used extreme close ups for example on the eyes to show the 'shock' and we also used extreme close up to show a hand crushing the cup of water. Another shot we used that was good was the worm's eye view on the feet taping frantically not only because i was the one who done it but because it looked professional and was not shakey .Overall in the film we managed to include all the complusory shots and even add some other ones. For me i found the lesson to be quite interesting because it was the first time that we used the cameras.
Last lesson we were given a story line about a person reading a newspaper and it was compulsory to use Close up, Over The Shoulder and Point Of view Shot. It was up to us to try convert something boring into something thrilling. So our group got together and started filming our storyboard which we had planned. When filiming we tried including a variety of shots. We began with an over the shoulder shot of a newspaper ( which was opened) and a cup of water then Khaleda walked into the shot and sat down .Previously before we edited the original shot we had decided to have a close up of the closed newspaper however we changed our minds because we had realised that the next shot began with the newspaper opened and it didnt make sense because we did not show any on open it . Also in our film we used extreme close ups for example on the eyes to show the 'shock' and we also used extreme close up to show a hand crushing the cup of water. Another shot we used that was good was the worm's eye view on the feet taping frantically not only because i was the one who done it but because it looked professional and was not shakey .Overall in the film we managed to include all the complusory shots and even add some other ones. For me i found the lesson to be quite interesting because it was the first time that we used the cameras.
Monday 26 January 2009
Filming Our Opening
Monday 26th January:
In todays lesson, me and my group decided to start filming some scenes from our opening. We chose a location close to our college. It was a street full of houses. We recoreded the character walking towards the camera which was hand held to make it seem more realistic. We took photographs of her to use when editing the opening. We also used panning to give the scene a more intresting look. The charcter wore normal clothing; a jacket, jeans, bag and shoes.
In todays lesson, me and my group decided to start filming some scenes from our opening. We chose a location close to our college. It was a street full of houses. We recoreded the character walking towards the camera which was hand held to make it seem more realistic. We took photographs of her to use when editing the opening. We also used panning to give the scene a more intresting look. The charcter wore normal clothing; a jacket, jeans, bag and shoes.
Thursday 22 January 2009
Planning Our Thriller Opening
Thursday 22nd January:
In todays lesson, me and my group had to start planning our real opening sequence for our thriller. We thought about what the story should be about and decided to make it about a crazy man who stalks young girls and takes photos of them. We have flashbacks of victims he's kidnapped before but then we mix it with the present when he kidnaps the final girl. We wanted to show this by starting off the film with him secretly watching each girl and taking a few pictures and we have quick cuts to him pinning the photos to his collage of other victims photos. As he takes the pictures we hear camera shutters to add tension against the background soundtrack which we haven't decided yet.
We decided to keep the stalker a mystery by not showing his face. We will do this by having point-of-view shots and over-the-shoulder shots. He will be wearing dark, plain clothes as this connotes that he does not want to be noticed. The female victims will be wearing normal, everyday clothes eg. jeans and jacket.
The locations we chose were the park, the bus stop and a street. These are everyday locations that the audience can relate to and familiarise with. The target audience is aged 15+ as they can relate more to the situations and characters.
In todays lesson, me and my group had to start planning our real opening sequence for our thriller. We thought about what the story should be about and decided to make it about a crazy man who stalks young girls and takes photos of them. We have flashbacks of victims he's kidnapped before but then we mix it with the present when he kidnaps the final girl. We wanted to show this by starting off the film with him secretly watching each girl and taking a few pictures and we have quick cuts to him pinning the photos to his collage of other victims photos. As he takes the pictures we hear camera shutters to add tension against the background soundtrack which we haven't decided yet.
We decided to keep the stalker a mystery by not showing his face. We will do this by having point-of-view shots and over-the-shoulder shots. He will be wearing dark, plain clothes as this connotes that he does not want to be noticed. The female victims will be wearing normal, everyday clothes eg. jeans and jacket.
The locations we chose were the park, the bus stop and a street. These are everyday locations that the audience can relate to and familiarise with. The target audience is aged 15+ as they can relate more to the situations and characters.
Wednesday 21 January 2009
First Film Practice.
During this lesson we were told that we had to practice filming. We were given a storyline, that involved a person and a newspaper and had to contain at least 12 shots. We had to elaborate, and make the storyline as thrilling as possible. Our film had to contain a extreme close up, point of view shot and a over the shoulder shot. So our group got together and we started discussing what other various shots we could use to make film excting and thrilling. After several minutes we wrote down the shots we were goin to use for our film on the storyboard and off we set to film! Working the camera was not so bad, as we were given a tutorial on how to use it. At first filming the shots in order, according to the storyboard, but soon later we realised it was easier and quicker to film any shots and later we could just edit them and put them in order. I would say i was happy with the camera work, as we managed to capture nearly all the shots we wanted. I think the most successful shot we managed to capture was the worms eye view of my feet tapping on the floor, this is because this particular shot looked more proffessional, as the camera was not hand held, or moved about so it there wasn't much shaking. One shot we originally planned to have didn't not work. This was the slow zoom in from a high angle, it was difficult to capture it because it was difficult to control the zoom in button and our media teacher said we should avoid using it because it's hard to make it look perfect, instead we decided not to use the shot. Finally we captured all our shots, and we were told we had to edit our shots next lesson. This lesson i found very enjoyable, as it was my first time handling the camera.
The next lesson we were put in the media room. We were asked to edit our shots using the programme Final Cut. This i found very fustrating, as i had very little knowledge on how to work it. It was very confusing as i kept deleting the film we made and had to 'Capture and log' several times. We looked through our film a couple of times and decided on what shots we wanted to keep. It took several minutes to capture the shots we wanted, we then had to make it run continuously to make it look like an actual film. I would say the editing was very successful, because i was happy with how our film turned out. Our film was about a girl, flicking through a newspaper frantically, when she comes across an Al-Quieda aritical, she loses it and runs out of the building. We managed to create suspense and tension through our various shots. The exteme close up of her eyes expressed emotion and the close up of the crushing of the cup expressed her shock. We had other shots such as long shots of the newspaper, and a long shot of the girl runnning out of the buliding. I would say our film shared some of the conventions of thriller films. As it contained quick cuts, and our film was at a quick pace so that built up tension. Another thing we tried to work on was the music, music plays a big role when creating tension. We had run out of time to edit the music further. If i had more time i would have worked on the music allowing it to create more tension and suspense for our film!
The next lesson we were put in the media room. We were asked to edit our shots using the programme Final Cut. This i found very fustrating, as i had very little knowledge on how to work it. It was very confusing as i kept deleting the film we made and had to 'Capture and log' several times. We looked through our film a couple of times and decided on what shots we wanted to keep. It took several minutes to capture the shots we wanted, we then had to make it run continuously to make it look like an actual film. I would say the editing was very successful, because i was happy with how our film turned out. Our film was about a girl, flicking through a newspaper frantically, when she comes across an Al-Quieda aritical, she loses it and runs out of the building. We managed to create suspense and tension through our various shots. The exteme close up of her eyes expressed emotion and the close up of the crushing of the cup expressed her shock. We had other shots such as long shots of the newspaper, and a long shot of the girl runnning out of the buliding. I would say our film shared some of the conventions of thriller films. As it contained quick cuts, and our film was at a quick pace so that built up tension. Another thing we tried to work on was the music, music plays a big role when creating tension. We had run out of time to edit the music further. If i had more time i would have worked on the music allowing it to create more tension and suspense for our film!
Match Cut Tutorial.
During this lesson we were taught about match cuts. A match cut is a cut that literally matches something, usually action. It is when two different clips are cut together directly the same, of a person of an object, to make the film flow from one cut to another, this should be done so that it is unnoticeable to the naked eye. Later, we then watched several clips that included different ranges of match cuts, we were asked to identify them - this was very useful to me as i could fully understand what a match cut looked like and how it was used effectively. It also gave me ideas as to which particular shots i could use for our thriller. After we were given a task, we were asked to get into our groups and we were given the following scenario:
A man in london, 3 pm, chain smoking and working on the computer, he is seen putting private files onto a disc, packaging the disk and then posting the parcel. We were then asked to write down what various shots we would use, and descrive how we would use them if we were given this particular scenario.
A man in london, 3 pm, chain smoking and working on the computer, he is seen putting private files onto a disc, packaging the disk and then posting the parcel. We were then asked to write down what various shots we would use, and descrive how we would use them if we were given this particular scenario.
Monday 19 January 2009
Saturday 17 January 2009
Planning A Scene
Monday 12th January:
In todays lesson, we watched an opening of a thriller film that our teachers had made as an example for us. This gave me many ideas for our own practise scene we have to do in our next lesson. The soundtrack they used was repetitive yet intriuging, and it helped me think of what kind of soundtrack I can use for my thriller opening. The camera shots they used made the audience suspect what was going on but at the same time we had a clear image of the mise-en-scene which gave us a glimpse of the situation.
Later on in the lesson, we had to start planning our own scene and we discussed what shots, angles and sounds would make our scene interesting and similar to a thriller.
In todays lesson, we watched an opening of a thriller film that our teachers had made as an example for us. This gave me many ideas for our own practise scene we have to do in our next lesson. The soundtrack they used was repetitive yet intriuging, and it helped me think of what kind of soundtrack I can use for my thriller opening. The camera shots they used made the audience suspect what was going on but at the same time we had a clear image of the mise-en-scene which gave us a glimpse of the situation.
Later on in the lesson, we had to start planning our own scene and we discussed what shots, angles and sounds would make our scene interesting and similar to a thriller.
Sunday 11 January 2009
Film Openings.
(Thursday 9th Jan)
During this lesson we watched a 30 minute documentary about film openings. Whilst watching it we answered a few questions like what particular openings are effective? And how can you make your opening effective? I would say watching the documentary was really helpful, because at the end of the lesson i was able to establish what made a good opening and what made a bad opening? It also made me think about our thriller opening and how we can use various techniques to draw in the audience and keep them hooked. We also learnt a few other vital things:
There are 4 main types of openings, these are:
- Classic: this opening contains alot of action and temptation which can help to grap the audiences attention, which is also known as 'Instant Arousal.' This opening should tempt the audience to continue watching the film.
- Classic (2): sets questions as it starts of with something small and then gradually builds up.
- Title Sequence: sets tone through titles and/or credits.
- Flashback: the opening scene starts at end of the movie, then slowly works back to the beginning. This is often affective, as audiences are trying to put together clues.
When Thomas Sutcliffe says:
'Films meed to seduce thier audience into long term commitment. Whilst there are many types of seduction, the temptation to go for instant arousal is almost irresistable'
He meant that the opening needs to entice the audience to watch the full movie, beginning to end. The audience should share a long term relationship with the film rather than sharing a short relationship.
To achieve this directors use the 'instant arousal' technique. This is when they use a shocking scene in the beginning of the film.
Risks of instant arousal:
- high expectations
- you have to answer questions that the audience may ask at the beginning.
'A good beginnning must make the audience feel that it doesn't know nearly enough yet, and at the same time make sure that it doesn't know too little'
You should give enough information to attact the attention of the audience and help them to adjus to the film and make them feel comfortable establishing the characters, tone etc.
Kyle Cooper's title sequence to the film 'Seven' is so effective. It tunes the pitch, sets the tone, sets an idea. We know that someone is putting together a collage, it gives us clues that we don't see at that point. Although it doesn't show characters, or even the plot, the opening manages to set questions.
This lesson was very useful as it gave me ideas about my thriller opening and also watching opening scenes of many films has given me inspiration to create a opening that immediately graps the audience!
During this lesson we watched a 30 minute documentary about film openings. Whilst watching it we answered a few questions like what particular openings are effective? And how can you make your opening effective? I would say watching the documentary was really helpful, because at the end of the lesson i was able to establish what made a good opening and what made a bad opening? It also made me think about our thriller opening and how we can use various techniques to draw in the audience and keep them hooked. We also learnt a few other vital things:
There are 4 main types of openings, these are:
- Classic: this opening contains alot of action and temptation which can help to grap the audiences attention, which is also known as 'Instant Arousal.' This opening should tempt the audience to continue watching the film.
- Classic (2): sets questions as it starts of with something small and then gradually builds up.
- Title Sequence: sets tone through titles and/or credits.
- Flashback: the opening scene starts at end of the movie, then slowly works back to the beginning. This is often affective, as audiences are trying to put together clues.
When Thomas Sutcliffe says:
'Films meed to seduce thier audience into long term commitment. Whilst there are many types of seduction, the temptation to go for instant arousal is almost irresistable'
He meant that the opening needs to entice the audience to watch the full movie, beginning to end. The audience should share a long term relationship with the film rather than sharing a short relationship.
To achieve this directors use the 'instant arousal' technique. This is when they use a shocking scene in the beginning of the film.
Risks of instant arousal:
- high expectations
- you have to answer questions that the audience may ask at the beginning.
'A good beginnning must make the audience feel that it doesn't know nearly enough yet, and at the same time make sure that it doesn't know too little'
You should give enough information to attact the attention of the audience and help them to adjus to the film and make them feel comfortable establishing the characters, tone etc.
Kyle Cooper's title sequence to the film 'Seven' is so effective. It tunes the pitch, sets the tone, sets an idea. We know that someone is putting together a collage, it gives us clues that we don't see at that point. Although it doesn't show characters, or even the plot, the opening manages to set questions.
This lesson was very useful as it gave me ideas about my thriller opening and also watching opening scenes of many films has given me inspiration to create a opening that immediately graps the audience!
Thursday 8 January 2009
Film Openings
Thursday 8th January:
In today's lesson we had to watch a short documentary about film openings and what makes them effective. I learned some techniques such as the 'trick of Film Noir', where the ending of the film is shown at the beginning. I think this is a good way of confusing the audience yet grabbing their attention as they would want to find out what happened to lead to the situation or conclusion. I also learned the conventions of a classic thriller film where it starts off with a shot of the building, going through a window, past a reception and into the room of the hero or, in some cases, the villain. I think this lesson has helped me develop my thoughts on what kind of thriller my group could try to do and how to make it successful.
In today's lesson we had to watch a short documentary about film openings and what makes them effective. I learned some techniques such as the 'trick of Film Noir', where the ending of the film is shown at the beginning. I think this is a good way of confusing the audience yet grabbing their attention as they would want to find out what happened to lead to the situation or conclusion. I also learned the conventions of a classic thriller film where it starts off with a shot of the building, going through a window, past a reception and into the room of the hero or, in some cases, the villain. I think this lesson has helped me develop my thoughts on what kind of thriller my group could try to do and how to make it successful.
Practicing Sound Editing
Monday 5th January:
In today's lesson, we had a chance to practice editing a video clip with non-diagetic sounds. One of the clips we used was from the James Bond film. We had to edit in a plane crash sound etc. I think this activity was very useful as it helped me gain some experience and skill that I can use when making my own thriller video clip.
In today's lesson, we had a chance to practice editing a video clip with non-diagetic sounds. One of the clips we used was from the James Bond film. We had to edit in a plane crash sound etc. I think this activity was very useful as it helped me gain some experience and skill that I can use when making my own thriller video clip.
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