This is our group's final video, we worked very hard trying to produce and edit our sequence. We used black and white effect all over to create a 'Film noir' themed sequence.
Thursday, 6 October 2011
Preliminary task- Story board
This is my story board for my preliminary task, I used this to help plan what my story line is, and to then develop further onto my script. We then used the storyboard to help prompt us when we were filming
Preliminary task- Evaluation
As a group we have previously planned and then produced our preliminary task to our interrogation scene for our opening. To plan how we were going to film, we first had to create a story-line, to do this we planned out a storyboard. Also, we wrote a script ensuring we included any stage directions, shot types, character directions, character lines etc, this made the whole filming process alot easier, as we had our prompts. As a group, we planned our preliminary task very well, and in depth therefore when it came to filming our sequence we were very prepared and had an vast understandment as to what to do.
When filming we used black stage curtains around the scene, making our sequence look very professional and film noir like. We chose to make our sequence have the theme film noir as it looks very effective and it fits to the genre of thriller films very well, creating mystery and suspense throughout. Using a variety of different shots and camera angles to ensure our piece is as professional looking as it can be. We carried out match on action, whereby the character of Scarlett exited via the door, we stuck to the 180 degree rule and also the shot reverse shot, without breaking any of the rules. Tahnee was the lighting technician during the course of the filming along with being the camera woman, Georgina played officer Scarlett and James played Jim.
Georgina edited the footage using final cut pro, she had to piece it all together, and added the black and white effect to our video ensuring it fit the 'Film Noir' aspects. She also put a backing track of classical atmospheric music behind our video, again creating more suspense.
Overall, we feel our piece is very effective, as we chose correcting lighting and themes to fit the thriller brief, which then creates suspense and mystery. If we were to carry out this again, we would have held the timing longer for some of the scenes, for example the picture of the victim, as this was a very important aspect to our sequence and we did not capture the importance as we should have.
When filming we used black stage curtains around the scene, making our sequence look very professional and film noir like. We chose to make our sequence have the theme film noir as it looks very effective and it fits to the genre of thriller films very well, creating mystery and suspense throughout. Using a variety of different shots and camera angles to ensure our piece is as professional looking as it can be. We carried out match on action, whereby the character of Scarlett exited via the door, we stuck to the 180 degree rule and also the shot reverse shot, without breaking any of the rules. Tahnee was the lighting technician during the course of the filming along with being the camera woman, Georgina played officer Scarlett and James played Jim.
Georgina edited the footage using final cut pro, she had to piece it all together, and added the black and white effect to our video ensuring it fit the 'Film Noir' aspects. She also put a backing track of classical atmospheric music behind our video, again creating more suspense.
Overall, we feel our piece is very effective, as we chose correcting lighting and themes to fit the thriller brief, which then creates suspense and mystery. If we were to carry out this again, we would have held the timing longer for some of the scenes, for example the picture of the victim, as this was a very important aspect to our sequence and we did not capture the importance as we should have.
BBFC Certification for Thrillers
James research
BBFC Certification for Thrillers
BBFC stands for British Board of Film Classification, they are in charge of putting films into the right classification whether it be;
Thriller films are 9/10 times either a 15 or an 18, the films that are certificated a 15 are likely to include a strong amount of violence and bad language, the use of bad language can also contain verbal references to sexual violence. However this cannot contain images of sexual violence or a large amount of pain. sexual scenes are not prohibited in a 15 although nudity is allowed. Films that are certificated 18 are aimed at adults as it usually contains sex within the films containing clear images 18 rated films are allowed to include the use of violence and bad language. it can be based on a criminal offence or an example of a thriller rated at 18 is Seven.
- U
- PG
- 12
- 12A
- 15
- 18
- R18
Thriller films are 9/10 times either a 15 or an 18, the films that are certificated a 15 are likely to include a strong amount of violence and bad language, the use of bad language can also contain verbal references to sexual violence. However this cannot contain images of sexual violence or a large amount of pain. sexual scenes are not prohibited in a 15 although nudity is allowed. Films that are certificated 18 are aimed at adults as it usually contains sex within the films containing clear images 18 rated films are allowed to include the use of violence and bad language. it can be based on a criminal offence or an example of a thriller rated at 18 is Seven.
Composition Expert
James research
Rule of thirds
Rule of thirds
The basic Principals behind the rule of thirds is to visualize breaking down an image into thirds (both vertically and horizontally) so this gives you 9 slots like the example below;
The theory is that if you place points of interest in the slots then it makes the shot look a lot more appealing as none of the slots are empty, because if they were then the shot would look out of place and dull in certain slots. It just makes sure that the things that you want to capture the viewers eye is on eye level for example;
Here the eyes are on the top line for primary interest and the tie and flowers and of secondary interest and they are on the lower line.
Thriller Soundtrack/ sounds research
Thriller soundtrack research task
Tahnee research
I have recently carried out a research task, whereby I researched the expected sounds you would find within a Thriller movie. I used some class peer's to demonstrate what the sounding effects may be like; for example scream, footsteps, creeping doors etc. I then surveyed a couple of people and asked them what sounds they would expect to see within a thriller and why. Please watch the attached video to view my research task. Then I found the soundtracks to 5 thriller films and have linked the youtube web addresses below:
Shutter island sound track: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGtN3lpI2f4
Silence of the lambs soundtrack: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGtN3lpI2f4
Se7en opening track: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzoISWwmH1s
Taxi driver sound track: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nnk4fg14Eho
Film Noir Research
What is film noir? Tahnee Marshall
Film noir is a type of film brought to view afetr WW2. Film noir is filmed in black and white as noir meaning black in French, therefore ‘Film Black.’ The main charactersitic of film noir are shadows, as the lighting used shows the type and characteristics of the person for example using shadows and dark lighting shows the evil side to a person. The image converyed in ‘darkness in an up turned world.’ You will need a hardlight that it intense to show the film noir style, for exmaple using a 500 watt light as it shows the intensity of the shadows fulfilling the frilm noir style. Lighting should only show the parts the director wants the naudience to see, as it conveys a lot of emotion within this. The hard key light should be focused. To create sihlouttes you need to place the light behind the person/ object. To show the imagery of the smoke to need to place the light behind this also. Light a person standing infront of a wall as this creates emotion filled shadows creating the mystery effect.
Wednesday, 5 October 2011
Fight Club analysis
Tahnee Marshall
We watched the opening sequence of the Fight Club, and we analysed the start. The beginning focuses on the inside of the main characters brain, this could symbolise that the main character has a mental problem, as this focuses in a microscopic way, focusing on what is going on around him. The opening sequence is very exciting and mysterious, as we do not have an understandment as to what is going on which creates mystery and suspense. The music played is fast and powerful different from usual thriller movies, and the rate of the music portrays the heart rate of the main character. The writing used in the credits is very white and faint, almost ghost like against a dark background, maybe this could be seen as possibly good contrasting bad/evil.
Lock stock poker game sequence
This is our lock stock poker game sequence, we took eight images from the original and then made a short movie using the images, and we used a match on action shot.
LINK TO GROUP BLOG.
Hello, we have recently created our group blog for the task. The blog address is:
www.JamesGeorginaTahnee.blogspot.com
We will upload all of our group tasks, video entries, pictures etc onto the blog.
www.JamesGeorginaTahnee.blogspot.com
We will upload all of our group tasks, video entries, pictures etc onto the blog.
Se7en interpretation
Tahnee Marshall
Preliminary task- Script
Script:
Dark room, door opens.
Scarlett: enters, with the clicking of her heels, she sparks a cigarette.
(Midshot) Spot light on Jim
Jim: (cocky) “I didn’t do it, I’d never hurt her.”
Scarlett: (In darkness) “I didn’t say anything about a girl Jim”
(Close up on Jim’s eyes- worried)
Jim: “Well I’m not here for nothing. Am I Scarlett?”
Scarlett: “I’m glad you asked, Jim. Maybe this will jog your memory
(Close up on image on table)
Jim: “Never seen her”
Scarlett: “I think you should take a second to look Jim.... because a key witness has said otherwise?”
Jim: “What is the time officer?”
(Close up on clock revealing the time)
Scarlett: “Half three, why got plans?”
Jim: (Smirks) “Well I think you should go and check on your key witness, they might not be as useful as you think”
Scarlett: gets up and exits (match on action as she walks through door)
The Script above is taken from our Preliminary task, whereby we created a short scene from a thriller, we chose to do the integration of a suspect who was assumed to of murdered a young girl. Our script is very in-depth and shows all of the stage directions for the actors and the different shots used for the director.
Tuesday, 4 October 2011
Vox Pops
We have recently conducted a for of research within our group sing the method vox pops whereby we briefly interviewed people within our class about what they expect within a thriller. The video is attached
Friday, 30 September 2011
Camera angles.
There are many different angles used within shooting. These different angles show the location and characters in different ways, making the scene more interesting.
Birds eye view:
Birds eye view shots show a location looking down onto the scene, from a birds point of view. This allows the audience to view the scene from above, getting familiar with the scene.
Leigh angle- above the character
Dutch angle- slanted angle
Below angle- below the character
Eye level:
This is filmed at an angle of the characters eyes, which is a very neutral shot allowing the characters facial expressions and body language to be shown.
Low angle shot:
Taken from below the character or object, this makes the character or object look heroic as it is making the audience and camera look up to it.
Tahnee Marshall
Birds eye view shots show a location looking down onto the scene, from a birds point of view. This allows the audience to view the scene from above, getting familiar with the scene.
Leigh angle- above the character
Dutch angle- slanted angle
Below angle- below the character
Eye level:
This is filmed at an angle of the characters eyes, which is a very neutral shot allowing the characters facial expressions and body language to be shown.
Low angle shot:
Taken from below the character or object, this makes the character or object look heroic as it is making the audience and camera look up to it.
Tahnee Marshall
Camera Shots
There are many different types of camera shots and angles used to portray the scene or picture in a more interesting manner. These different shots also show the important aspects of what is going on in the scene or picture.
Extreme close up
This camera shot shows the importance of the shot and the facial expressions in much more detail. This can be used within a thriller film to give the audience clues as to what may happen, giving suspense and mystery within itself.
Close up:
Close up shows are used to view either a character or object in greater detail, those of which cannot be seen in a long shot view. Again, this shows the audience what the character is feeling, due to being able to view the facial expressions in greater detail.
Mid shot:
A mid shot view shows just below the waist to above the head, allowing the audience to see the facial expressions . The actions the character is carrying out can also be seen.
Long shot:
A long shot allows the audience to see the persons whole body, whereby from the head to the toes.
Extreme long shot.
In an extreme long shot you the whole characters body is in view, along with the location or surrounding /scenery in the background. This shot allows the audience to see where the character is and the surroundings around them.
Over the shoulder shot.
When two people are having a conversation a shoulder shot is sometimes used where you can see the shoulder and back of head of one person and the other from a front view. This shot is often used when two people are having a discussion.
Tahnee Marshall
Audience expectations of a Thriller
There are many elements to a thriller the audience would expect to find within the film. People watch thrillers to receive a sense of mystery and suspense, therefore it is important they understand the concept within a thriller film. Within a thriller film, you should be expected to see the following:
- death; murder or natural
- stereotyped characters; villain and hero? or the stereotypical gang men
- some sense of romance
- mystery allowing the audience to think about what they may be watching
- location; dark nighttime scenes
- low key lighting/ shadows to give the audience less image creating mystery and suspense
- murder weapon
- eerie elements within the scene
When watching a thriller you will not find any supernatural beings; ghosts, zombies, devil, witch etc, as this genre is classified as a Horror, not thriller. Also, you will not find any scientific elements such as aliens or UFO's as this relates to the genre sci-fi. There are also no intended comedy aspects as this again is not a thriller, it is a comedy. There will not be any 'girl' elements of a 'chick' flick, as again this will not fit with the genre.
Tahnee Marshall
Monday, 26 September 2011
9 frame analysis- Catch me if you can
Image used: The image used in the title sequence to 'catch me if you can' shows a variety of bold colours against dark colours to contrast against each other and also to symbolise and show the importance of both characters and objects throughout. An example would be in the use of Shot 5 whereby the main character is in the bright yellow New York taxi, whereas the other characters are in grey cars, which obviously shows the importance of the character.
Style used: Cartoon style is used throughout the opening sequence of 'Catch me if you can.' The characters look very suspicious and shady looking which then automatically creates mystery and suspense as the audience is only viewing the character as a cartoon, not alike a real life person.
Visual effects: the effects used are very simple, just creating the effect of a cartoon with cartoon styled font, the visual effects show the different scenery within the sequence;airport, road, elevator, library, pool etc.
Tahnee Marshall
Continuity
This lesson we began learning about the continuity within a scene.
This means the way you film and edit something so it looks as though it flows. There are three types of continuity; Match on action, Shot Rev/Shot, and180 degree rule
180 degree rule- Tahnee:
In the following video you can witness the 180 degree rule being broken, you can see the shots moving and the characters look as though they have moved meaning the whole scene does not flow as the audience can tell where the shots have ended and then been edited.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3myRRZkErs
Match on action: James
Its an Editing technique used during action for continuity, its where the action begins and then you suddenly cut to another shot portraying the action of the subject in the first shot. also its an effective way of making action look realistic.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyZFgL36pqE
This is a link that shows an example of Match on Action
Shot Reverse/ Shot: Georgina
Short reverse shot is a film technique where one character is shown looking at another character (often off screen), and then the other character is shown looking back at the first character. Since the characters are shown facing each other in opposite directions, the viewer assumes that they are looking at each other.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvof8mI6pXk&feature=related
^ A Youtube link which shows basic shot reverse shot within 'Amst 109'
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