Friday, 12 March 2010
Exporting
After exporting my video and watching the exported version back I noticed a glitch in the audio. At 53 seconds in when the title saying "Saman Aftab" comes up, a piece of audio starts playing that is not meant to be there, it is actually from the next scene when one of the actors says "Yes". When looking back at my film in the editing screen on iMovie, there is no evidence of any audio attached to that title at all. After talking to my teachers and asking for help it became evident that no one had seen this happen before and did not know how to fix it. I tried many different ways of resolving the problem, such as deleting the title, deleting the background music, exporting again, etc. and nothing worked. I looked up the problem online and after a lot of searching I found that the problem was a glitch in iMovie that happens sometimes when exporting and nothing to do with anything I'd done whilst editing the film. As there was no way to fix this problem because it was a glitch in the software I was using, I could not get rid of audio. I discussed this with my teacher and she suggested that I make this known on my blog as it was not my error, nor was it intentional.
Saturday, 20 February 2010
EVALUATION
Before evaluating I approached a group of 10 people from my target audience and asked if they would fill out a questionnaire about my film after viewing it, these are the results:
1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
I aimed to include many conventions in my thriller opening and I think I successfully included most of the main generic conventions. In the opening scene of my thriller I set the scene using an establishing shot of the house, this was set in a dark shadowy atmosphere, a convention which added to the creation of fear. It also showed that this was a realistic setting, another convention of the thriller genre, and because it was set in realistic setting the audience would instantly start to relate.
I also used a dark shadowy atmosphere in the scene where we see our first character (Rachel) in the living room. The lights are dimmed, which gives off an eerie feel and makes the audience think something will happen, giving them a feeling of suspense.
Another convention I used was a delay in showing the face of a character. I decided to cover the intruders face because it would make the audience wonder who it was and make the character more mysterious. It would also make the audience want to keep watching so they could find out who it was in the end. Again, I continued to use the dark shadowy atmosphere in the scenes where we first see the intruder, giving it that eerie feel.
I also tried to keep the audience on the edge of their seats throughout my thriller opening, because the audience could see that the intruder was in the house but the girls in the film didn't know at first it made the audience keep wondering when he was going to show himself or when the girls would find him. I incorporated twists and turns into this, for example in the scene where the girls hear the picture smash on the floor and go into the study to investigate the audience would probably expect them to walk in on the intruder. However, when they go into the study he has escaped through the window. Adding to this, the audience then thinks the intruder has got away, but as the girls go out into the dining room he is standing there, another twist in the plot.
Challenges -
I feel that my thriller opening also challenges conventions because other thriller openings I have seen such as Seven, Hostage or Panic Room tended to use random images or establishing shots of the area that the film is set to open the film. However, my thriller opening gives more of a back story and sets up the rest of the film. I also challenged the conventions by using female characters, which are not typically seen in a conventional thriller film and I used quite a lot of dialogue which is also not conventionally used in a thriller opening sequence, which is apparent in my previous examples.
Sub Genre -
The conventions I have used in my thriller also gives an insight into what sort of sub genre I have chosen. The audience will be able to see that it is a psychological thriller because of the mystery and horror elements it has too it. They will also sense there will be mental and emotional conflict, as when the intruder picks up the picture and drops it they will be wondering 'why?' and automatically think there must be something behind that. My thriller opening also takes some inspiration from the psychological thriller Seven, I decided to sample the way they showed their titles (cutting to a black background with the titles moving across the screen between scenes), I feel this creates the suspense and draws the film opening out keeping the audience on the edge of their seats. I also took inspiration from an action/adventure thriller Face Off. Although unlike mine the opening sequence of Face Off is a flashback, it gives us some back story and sets up the rest of the film like I wanted to do with my thriller opening. I also took inspiration from the fact that in the opening sequence of Face Off the victim can't see the villain and is completely oblivious to him being there and carrying on as normal. I wanted to include this in my thriller because I thought it would add suspense and keep the audience watching as they'd want to know when the intruder was going to strike.
2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
In my thriller opening I included teenage girls as a particular social group. I presented the two teenage girls as being passive and vulnerable, although one (Lex) was presented as being slightly more confident than the other, which challenges the stereotypical vulnerable, passive girl that is typically seen in a thriller but in the end they were both as scared as each other.
Because they were both teenagers it made them come across as very naive as they were totally oblivious as to what was happening in the house. They were also stereotyped because of their gender; if they were boys the audience would expect them to not necessarily be as scared or vulnerable in that situation. However, because they're girls the audience immediately sympathises and relates to their vulnerability which really plays on their emotions. This also links with my target audience, as I aimed my thriller at 16-25 year olds they will be able to relate to the girls as they are around the same age.
Clothing -
Also, the way I presented the girls clothing wise represent their social groups. Rachel, the girl who lived in the house was dress in light colours (white and blue) and also had blonde hair and blue eyes, these all have connotations of innocence, vulnerability and purity. Through her personality she also came across and innocent and vulnerable as she seemed scared at the thought of the intruder being there and didn't want to go in the study to see what the noise was, this presents the typical vulnerable female teenager.
However Lex is wearing bold colours (red and black) which have connotations of confidence, strength and bravery. She comes across as being confident and in control of the situation, at first she doesn't seem scared and is trying to convince Rachel that there is nothing going on and it is all in her head. This challenges the typical female teenager stereotype and makes more people in my audience able to relate to the characters as they may feel they would be able to handle that situation better and wouldn't be as vulnerable and passive as Rachel, however in the end Lex seems even more scared than Rachel, making them both end up being the stereotype.
3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
My thriller would probably be better suited to being produced by a smaller independent company. I don't think it would need a huge budget to produce, as the plot of the film does not involve any extravagant high speed chases or explosion that you might find in an action/adventure based thriller. Being a psychological thriller the plot is simple yet clever and the emphasis would be put on trying to figure out who the intruder is or why he's killing all these girls, not on elaborate action scenes.
Choosing an independent company also has some advantages that a major Hollywood studio doesn't, such as with an independent production company I may have more creative freedom as to how I want the film to look, but with a major Hollywood studio they may want to change certain aspects of the film so it could be turned into a franchise.
However, I know there are some drawbacks to using an independent production company, such as the film might not get to reach a wider audience as a smaller company may only be able to distribute it to a small amount of cinemas or only make it a TV movie/internet only release. An internet only release could be a step in the right direction though as with the use of viral marketing a buzz could be created about the film and then it could be chosen to be released in more cinemas or picked up by a major Hollywood studio.
Independent Film Companies -
My thriller may be released by an independent film company such as Fox Searchlight Pictures or Vertigo Films. Both of these companies try to take small budget indie films and turn them into box office successes. Fox Searchlight has released successful box office hits such as Slumdog Millionaire, Juno, Notorious and Bend It Like Beckham. They specialize in Indie and British films which would attract them to my film, and they have also produced successful thrillers such as One Hour Photo, which is also a psychological thriller like my film.
In my target audience questionnaires one person suggested that my film be a BBC production, however this is not the direction I think the film would go in as when looking into it I discovered that the BBC do not really have a large history of producing thriller films. Therefore this would be the wrong road to go down unless my film would be turned into a series, which the BBC could accommodate to as they have made thriller series in the past such as Five Days, Silent Witness and Psychoville.
Merchandising -
A film company may also be interested in my film because of merchandising opportunities. With most successful films comes a degree of media synergy, such as bringing out games to go with the film, soundtracks, posters, toys, costumes, etc. A good example of this is the Spiderman films, which have been successful and bought out Spiderman action figures, costumes, a soundtrack CD, etc. Merchandise that could be brought out based on my thriller could be masks like the intruder's or a whole costume including plastic knife replica, posters, a soundtrack CD or a video game based on the film.
4. Who would be the target audience for your media product?
When planning my thriller I decided it would be best to target both male and female 16-25 year olds. I thought this was a good age range to target because teenagers and young adults would be more likely to go to the cinema to see the film. Although I am aware that most thrillers are targeted at young adult males, I chose to target both males and females because I wanted to make a film that everyone could enjoy and not just one set gender, as that would restrict the audience and alienate people into thinking it was just for one certain gender.
I was interested in making a film for this particular target audience because I thought this audience would be more interested in a psychological thriller. A vast majority of 16-25 year olds are students, making them more interested in watching a psychological thriller because it is intellectually stimulating and not the kind of film you can just sit back and relax to. I was inclined to go for this audience because they would be interested in a film where there is something to figure out and not everything is as it seems, just like a thriller, drama or horror film - elements of which are all included in my psychological thriller. As I quoted earlier in my blog post about target audience, my target audience would be into "mysteries with a twist, they will like to try and work things out for themselves but sometimes never quite get there. Possibly a person who never gives up trying and will always give it a shot on working out what is happening, and loves the element of surprise."
When approaching my target audience and asking them to fill out my audience questionnaires the feedback was positive and I feel that over all I was successfull in targeting them and making my film appear interesting and relatable to that particular age group.
Similar films and how they attracted their audience -
A similar film to my thriller is Seven. This film also follows a story where something needs to be figured out along the way, a puzzle. The plot for my thriller is "A serial killer is on the loose, killing young girls in their own homes. The police race against the clock to find out who he is and what the connection is between the girls. As the murders continue, the police finally discover the connection. The serial killer used to be a patient at a psychiatric hospital because after his daughter died he was driven insane by guilt. Whilst he was in the psychiatric hospital the psychiatrist failed to help him, now after being let out he is taking his revenge on the psychiatrists by killing their daughters." This is similar to Seven because in the film there are two detectives trying to figure out why all these murders are happening, and then they find the connection of the Seven Deadly Sins. Seven uses a similar puzzle solving plot to my thriller to entice the audience and keep them on the edge of their seats. The opening titles to the film also raise similar questions to my film that the audience would be asking themselves making them want to watch more, such as "Who was the person who was writing? What was he writing? Why? Is he planning something?" etc.
5. How did you attract/address your audience?
I tried to attract my audience into watching my film by including actors of a similar age as my target audience, the two girls who play Rachel and Lex (Rhiannon White and Saman Aftab) are 18 and 16, so are relatable to both teenagers and young adults. They are both normal girls, and have elements to their personality that are relatable to everyone. I tried to give them both different personalities (Lex is confident and bossy, Rachel is vulnerable and passive) so anyone could relate to them. I also tried to include some twists and turns in my thriller opening to entice my audience into watching more. For example, the girls walk into the study but the intruder is not there anymore - he has escaped through the window, they walk out to call the police and he is standing in the dining room. My audience will also want to know why the intruder is staring at the picture and then drops it, what significance does it have? They will also be very intrigued to find out who the intruder is and why he is killing these girls. As my target audience are puzzle solvers and interested in mysteries they will be interested in watching more.
Audience Questionnaires -
I approached 10 people from my target audience and asked them if they would mind filling out a questionnaire about my film and showed them the opening sequence. The feedback was positive, all but one person said they would want to watch the film after seeing the opening sequence, however this was only because a thriller was not this persons type of film. They all noted wanting to find out more, for example they would like to know "..whether the girls survive and what the intruders issue is.", "..what the intruders problem was", "..does he kill someone? Did the woman in the photo mean something to the intruder?" etc. Most of my target audiences reactions after watching the opening sequence was 'scared' or on 'edge/tension/suspense'. As this is what I was going for with my film I feel this was successful. All the participants thought the setting and characters were appropriate for the genre and all but one thought that the film should get an age rating of 15, and that the target audience should be teenagers - young adults. This shows that I catered for my audience, making my film age appropriate for them.
Most participants did not suggest anything be changed about the opening sequence, however some raised the issue that the actors could have been more serious. I am aware that my actors were not the most convincing and not as serious as I would have liked them to be, but as I had my original actors let me down, making me have to recast many times the actors I used in the end were not well prepared and offered to film at very late notice. This made them unable to learn their lines or practice and therefore not come across as very into the acting. The participants from my target audience also noted what characteristics they would associate with a thriller, most noted scary background music, dark lighting/atmosphere, suspense, etc.
They all noted that all the conventions they associated with a thriller they saw in my film, showing that I successfully included many typical conventions.
The audience are put in the character shoes -
The audience are asked to be put in the position of the girls, this makes them go along the journey with them making them feel the same feelings. It plays on their emotions, making them feel vulnerable and nervous. The audience will be put on the edge of their seats wondering what is going to happen to the girls, feeling the fear, suspense and eeriness of the situation as if it were really happening to them.
Scenes that may not be appropriate for younger or older people -
I think it was wise to try and appeal to late teens/young adults as there are points in my film that would scare some people. The dark shadowy atmosphere and the intruder walking up to the house and watching the girls outside of the patio door was noted as being particularly scary for some of my audience members after filling out their questionnaires. This is what I wanted to achieve and I think setting my thriller at a certificate of 15 was the right choice.
In one of the scenes in my thriller opening the intruder walks through the patio door using a handheld point of view shot. I think this comes across well and looks more realistic than just a steady shot of him walking in from another angle, however people of an older age may not like this because it could make them feel uneasy or confused (this kind of shot was used throughout a well known thriller film, Cloverfield, and received many complaints about it making people feel sick/confused.) However, again I feel by trying t0 attract an audience of 16-25 year old I would hopefully avoid this problem, and as I have only used it for a very short amount of time in my film it shouldn't be an issue.
6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing the product?
When both filming and editing I have learnt to use completely new pieces of equipment. I had never filmed or edited before, and using the cameras, tripods and Macs was a new and exciting experience. I was able to learn how to film certain shots that I hadn't before, such as panning or tracking shots, high and low angle shots, close ups and long shots. I had some problems when filming with the cameras, seeing as I hadn't got as much space to film as I thought I had to figure out new ways of angling different shots. This was a challenge but I overcame it in the end and came out with some good shots, with help from the tripods that definitely improved my shots making them steadier and helped with the panning shots I used. The cameras we were given to use were good, but they could obviously not give the film that classic cinematic look. However I think this makes the film look more realistic in some ways and can actually be seen as an advantage, as this sort of look has been used in some successful box office films such as Cloverfield and The Blair Witch Project. I was also glad to find that we did not need to use separate microphones for the audio in the film, as there was a microphone integrated in the camera. Whilst filming I was slightly worried that the audio might not come out as well as I hoped but that was not the case and it came out perfectly.
Problems with the technologies -
I experienced some problems whilst filming and editing when it came to using the technologies. We had a lack of cameras and tripods available to use to it was difficult to get a camera when I wanted to film, however I overcame this by booking my camera and tripod out in advance and asking if I could keep it over the weekend to film. There were also problems when it came to uploading my film onto the Macs, as the school only have a very small number of Macs that are shared between both year 12 and 13 it was near impossible to be able to go on one without getting to the room extremely early. I overcame this by talking to my teachers and decided to upload my film onto my own Macbook, this was an advantage because I was then able to edit at home and take the Macbook into school and edit during my lessons.
Editing -
When it came to editing I had never edited before and was slightly worried that I wouldn't know what to do. However after experimenting with my preliminary exercise I got used to the different editing techniques and found editing to be quite a fun experience. I was able to use 'fade to black' transitions to draw out some scenes in my thriller opening, 'cross dissolve' transitions in the scene where the intruder is walking up the drive way (this gave the scene a more eerie effect and blending the shots together better than just a cut), I learned how to attach sound effects such as the glass breaking when the intruder drops the picture and the doorbells. I also learnt how to attach music to my film and place different titles in between the scenes. When I got to my last shot of the intruder (the close up of his eyes) I didn't think it looked menacing enough, so I decided to use a 'vignette' effect on that shot to make his eyes stand out more and make the over all shot look darker.
Music -
I also learnt about the importance of using copyright free music. At first trying to find good copyright free music was difficult, and I either had to pay for it or what was free and uncopyrighted wasn't long enough. I eventually found a good website whilst planning called freeplaymusic.com which had good copyright free music for thriller that I didn't have to pay for. I ended up using a track called Rusted Hull, which was too short in for my film but I ended up editing it with "clip trimmer" in iMovie and cutting different parts of track together to make it longer. I also learned how to add some sound effects to my film in iMovie. I added digetic sound such as the sound effect of a doorbell for when Lex came to the door and when the take away was delivered. I then added a sound effect of glass breaking for when the intruder drops the picture.
7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel that you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
When I made my preliminary task I wasn't very familiar with different shot types and clever angles and was only asked to do a match on action shot, shot reverse shot and demonstrate the 180 degree rule. However after doing this it made me more eager to experiment with different angles and shot types and the editing stage of making my preliminary made me really want to try new things with the editing equipment. I carefully started planning my main task, researching into the conventions of thrillers and analysing different thriller film openings. I noticed what sort of shot types are generally used to create a sense of eeriness or confusion (high and low angle, handheld point of view, etc) and began setting out my storyboard. When doing my preliminary storyboard it was very simplistic and hadn't got much detail or shot variation, so when planning my main task storyboard I aimed to include as much detail and shot variation as possible. I also had no idea what order to film my scenes in when I was filming my preliminary, so to help myself with my main task I created a detailed shooting schedule which helped me get organised and made the process smoother.
Paying attention to detail -
When filming my main task I also payed more attention to everything that was placed in every scene, making sure I didn't leave anything in shot that wasn't meant to be there. In my preliminary, you can see people sitting in the background of some shots and the mise en scene doesn't fit with the plot. However in my main film I carefully constructed my storyboard to include everything I would need and made sure that the lighting was just right, the actors were wearing the right colours and that there was nothing that could be seen as unrelated to the film in shot.
Becoming more confident with new technologies -
Filming my main task has definitely made me feel more confident with filming and editing and has made me want to continue to film more in the future. I am now comfortable with setting up shots on the tripod and editing different scenes and sounds together.
From A to B -
I feel like the progression I have made from my preliminary task to my final product has made my film successful in fulfilling the task. I researched different conventions and made sure I included them, I tried to depict the style of thrillers that I have researched and analysed and I believe I showed my knowledge of different shot types and mise en scene.
I aimed to include many conventions in my thriller opening and I think I successfully included most of the main generic conventions. In the opening scene of my thriller I set the scene using an establishing shot of the house, this was set in a dark shadowy atmosphere, a convention which added to the creation of fear. It also showed that this was a realistic setting, another convention of the thriller genre, and because it was set in realistic setting the audience would instantly start to relate.
I also used a dark shadowy atmosphere in the scene where we see our first character (Rachel) in the living room. The lights are dimmed, which gives off an eerie feel and makes the audience think something will happen, giving them a feeling of suspense.
Another convention I used was a delay in showing the face of a character. I decided to cover the intruders face because it would make the audience wonder who it was and make the character more mysterious. It would also make the audience want to keep watching so they could find out who it was in the end. Again, I continued to use the dark shadowy atmosphere in the scenes where we first see the intruder, giving it that eerie feel.
I also tried to keep the audience on the edge of their seats throughout my thriller opening, because the audience could see that the intruder was in the house but the girls in the film didn't know at first it made the audience keep wondering when he was going to show himself or when the girls would find him. I incorporated twists and turns into this, for example in the scene where the girls hear the picture smash on the floor and go into the study to investigate the audience would probably expect them to walk in on the intruder. However, when they go into the study he has escaped through the window. Adding to this, the audience then thinks the intruder has got away, but as the girls go out into the dining room he is standing there, another twist in the plot.
Challenges -
I feel that my thriller opening also challenges conventions because other thriller openings I have seen such as Seven, Hostage or Panic Room tended to use random images or establishing shots of the area that the film is set to open the film. However, my thriller opening gives more of a back story and sets up the rest of the film. I also challenged the conventions by using female characters, which are not typically seen in a conventional thriller film and I used quite a lot of dialogue which is also not conventionally used in a thriller opening sequence, which is apparent in my previous examples.
Sub Genre -
The conventions I have used in my thriller also gives an insight into what sort of sub genre I have chosen. The audience will be able to see that it is a psychological thriller because of the mystery and horror elements it has too it. They will also sense there will be mental and emotional conflict, as when the intruder picks up the picture and drops it they will be wondering 'why?' and automatically think there must be something behind that. My thriller opening also takes some inspiration from the psychological thriller Seven, I decided to sample the way they showed their titles (cutting to a black background with the titles moving across the screen between scenes), I feel this creates the suspense and draws the film opening out keeping the audience on the edge of their seats. I also took inspiration from an action/adventure thriller Face Off. Although unlike mine the opening sequence of Face Off is a flashback, it gives us some back story and sets up the rest of the film like I wanted to do with my thriller opening. I also took inspiration from the fact that in the opening sequence of Face Off the victim can't see the villain and is completely oblivious to him being there and carrying on as normal. I wanted to include this in my thriller because I thought it would add suspense and keep the audience watching as they'd want to know when the intruder was going to strike.
2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
In my thriller opening I included teenage girls as a particular social group. I presented the two teenage girls as being passive and vulnerable, although one (Lex) was presented as being slightly more confident than the other, which challenges the stereotypical vulnerable, passive girl that is typically seen in a thriller but in the end they were both as scared as each other.
Because they were both teenagers it made them come across as very naive as they were totally oblivious as to what was happening in the house. They were also stereotyped because of their gender; if they were boys the audience would expect them to not necessarily be as scared or vulnerable in that situation. However, because they're girls the audience immediately sympathises and relates to their vulnerability which really plays on their emotions. This also links with my target audience, as I aimed my thriller at 16-25 year olds they will be able to relate to the girls as they are around the same age.
Clothing -
Also, the way I presented the girls clothing wise represent their social groups. Rachel, the girl who lived in the house was dress in light colours (white and blue) and also had blonde hair and blue eyes, these all have connotations of innocence, vulnerability and purity. Through her personality she also came across and innocent and vulnerable as she seemed scared at the thought of the intruder being there and didn't want to go in the study to see what the noise was, this presents the typical vulnerable female teenager.
However Lex is wearing bold colours (red and black) which have connotations of confidence, strength and bravery. She comes across as being confident and in control of the situation, at first she doesn't seem scared and is trying to convince Rachel that there is nothing going on and it is all in her head. This challenges the typical female teenager stereotype and makes more people in my audience able to relate to the characters as they may feel they would be able to handle that situation better and wouldn't be as vulnerable and passive as Rachel, however in the end Lex seems even more scared than Rachel, making them both end up being the stereotype.
3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
My thriller would probably be better suited to being produced by a smaller independent company. I don't think it would need a huge budget to produce, as the plot of the film does not involve any extravagant high speed chases or explosion that you might find in an action/adventure based thriller. Being a psychological thriller the plot is simple yet clever and the emphasis would be put on trying to figure out who the intruder is or why he's killing all these girls, not on elaborate action scenes.
Choosing an independent company also has some advantages that a major Hollywood studio doesn't, such as with an independent production company I may have more creative freedom as to how I want the film to look, but with a major Hollywood studio they may want to change certain aspects of the film so it could be turned into a franchise.
However, I know there are some drawbacks to using an independent production company, such as the film might not get to reach a wider audience as a smaller company may only be able to distribute it to a small amount of cinemas or only make it a TV movie/internet only release. An internet only release could be a step in the right direction though as with the use of viral marketing a buzz could be created about the film and then it could be chosen to be released in more cinemas or picked up by a major Hollywood studio.
Independent Film Companies -
My thriller may be released by an independent film company such as Fox Searchlight Pictures or Vertigo Films. Both of these companies try to take small budget indie films and turn them into box office successes. Fox Searchlight has released successful box office hits such as Slumdog Millionaire, Juno, Notorious and Bend It Like Beckham. They specialize in Indie and British films which would attract them to my film, and they have also produced successful thrillers such as One Hour Photo, which is also a psychological thriller like my film.
In my target audience questionnaires one person suggested that my film be a BBC production, however this is not the direction I think the film would go in as when looking into it I discovered that the BBC do not really have a large history of producing thriller films. Therefore this would be the wrong road to go down unless my film would be turned into a series, which the BBC could accommodate to as they have made thriller series in the past such as Five Days, Silent Witness and Psychoville.
Merchandising -
A film company may also be interested in my film because of merchandising opportunities. With most successful films comes a degree of media synergy, such as bringing out games to go with the film, soundtracks, posters, toys, costumes, etc. A good example of this is the Spiderman films, which have been successful and bought out Spiderman action figures, costumes, a soundtrack CD, etc. Merchandise that could be brought out based on my thriller could be masks like the intruder's or a whole costume including plastic knife replica, posters, a soundtrack CD or a video game based on the film.
4. Who would be the target audience for your media product?
When planning my thriller I decided it would be best to target both male and female 16-25 year olds. I thought this was a good age range to target because teenagers and young adults would be more likely to go to the cinema to see the film. Although I am aware that most thrillers are targeted at young adult males, I chose to target both males and females because I wanted to make a film that everyone could enjoy and not just one set gender, as that would restrict the audience and alienate people into thinking it was just for one certain gender.
I was interested in making a film for this particular target audience because I thought this audience would be more interested in a psychological thriller. A vast majority of 16-25 year olds are students, making them more interested in watching a psychological thriller because it is intellectually stimulating and not the kind of film you can just sit back and relax to. I was inclined to go for this audience because they would be interested in a film where there is something to figure out and not everything is as it seems, just like a thriller, drama or horror film - elements of which are all included in my psychological thriller. As I quoted earlier in my blog post about target audience, my target audience would be into "mysteries with a twist, they will like to try and work things out for themselves but sometimes never quite get there. Possibly a person who never gives up trying and will always give it a shot on working out what is happening, and loves the element of surprise."
When approaching my target audience and asking them to fill out my audience questionnaires the feedback was positive and I feel that over all I was successfull in targeting them and making my film appear interesting and relatable to that particular age group.
Similar films and how they attracted their audience -
A similar film to my thriller is Seven. This film also follows a story where something needs to be figured out along the way, a puzzle. The plot for my thriller is "A serial killer is on the loose, killing young girls in their own homes. The police race against the clock to find out who he is and what the connection is between the girls. As the murders continue, the police finally discover the connection. The serial killer used to be a patient at a psychiatric hospital because after his daughter died he was driven insane by guilt. Whilst he was in the psychiatric hospital the psychiatrist failed to help him, now after being let out he is taking his revenge on the psychiatrists by killing their daughters." This is similar to Seven because in the film there are two detectives trying to figure out why all these murders are happening, and then they find the connection of the Seven Deadly Sins. Seven uses a similar puzzle solving plot to my thriller to entice the audience and keep them on the edge of their seats. The opening titles to the film also raise similar questions to my film that the audience would be asking themselves making them want to watch more, such as "Who was the person who was writing? What was he writing? Why? Is he planning something?" etc.
5. How did you attract/address your audience?
I tried to attract my audience into watching my film by including actors of a similar age as my target audience, the two girls who play Rachel and Lex (Rhiannon White and Saman Aftab) are 18 and 16, so are relatable to both teenagers and young adults. They are both normal girls, and have elements to their personality that are relatable to everyone. I tried to give them both different personalities (Lex is confident and bossy, Rachel is vulnerable and passive) so anyone could relate to them. I also tried to include some twists and turns in my thriller opening to entice my audience into watching more. For example, the girls walk into the study but the intruder is not there anymore - he has escaped through the window, they walk out to call the police and he is standing in the dining room. My audience will also want to know why the intruder is staring at the picture and then drops it, what significance does it have? They will also be very intrigued to find out who the intruder is and why he is killing these girls. As my target audience are puzzle solvers and interested in mysteries they will be interested in watching more.
Audience Questionnaires -
I approached 10 people from my target audience and asked them if they would mind filling out a questionnaire about my film and showed them the opening sequence. The feedback was positive, all but one person said they would want to watch the film after seeing the opening sequence, however this was only because a thriller was not this persons type of film. They all noted wanting to find out more, for example they would like to know "..whether the girls survive and what the intruders issue is.", "..what the intruders problem was", "..does he kill someone? Did the woman in the photo mean something to the intruder?" etc. Most of my target audiences reactions after watching the opening sequence was 'scared' or on 'edge/tension/suspense'. As this is what I was going for with my film I feel this was successful. All the participants thought the setting and characters were appropriate for the genre and all but one thought that the film should get an age rating of 15, and that the target audience should be teenagers - young adults. This shows that I catered for my audience, making my film age appropriate for them.
Most participants did not suggest anything be changed about the opening sequence, however some raised the issue that the actors could have been more serious. I am aware that my actors were not the most convincing and not as serious as I would have liked them to be, but as I had my original actors let me down, making me have to recast many times the actors I used in the end were not well prepared and offered to film at very late notice. This made them unable to learn their lines or practice and therefore not come across as very into the acting. The participants from my target audience also noted what characteristics they would associate with a thriller, most noted scary background music, dark lighting/atmosphere, suspense, etc.
They all noted that all the conventions they associated with a thriller they saw in my film, showing that I successfully included many typical conventions.
The audience are put in the character shoes -
The audience are asked to be put in the position of the girls, this makes them go along the journey with them making them feel the same feelings. It plays on their emotions, making them feel vulnerable and nervous. The audience will be put on the edge of their seats wondering what is going to happen to the girls, feeling the fear, suspense and eeriness of the situation as if it were really happening to them.
Scenes that may not be appropriate for younger or older people -
I think it was wise to try and appeal to late teens/young adults as there are points in my film that would scare some people. The dark shadowy atmosphere and the intruder walking up to the house and watching the girls outside of the patio door was noted as being particularly scary for some of my audience members after filling out their questionnaires. This is what I wanted to achieve and I think setting my thriller at a certificate of 15 was the right choice.
In one of the scenes in my thriller opening the intruder walks through the patio door using a handheld point of view shot. I think this comes across well and looks more realistic than just a steady shot of him walking in from another angle, however people of an older age may not like this because it could make them feel uneasy or confused (this kind of shot was used throughout a well known thriller film, Cloverfield, and received many complaints about it making people feel sick/confused.) However, again I feel by trying t0 attract an audience of 16-25 year old I would hopefully avoid this problem, and as I have only used it for a very short amount of time in my film it shouldn't be an issue.
6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing the product?
When both filming and editing I have learnt to use completely new pieces of equipment. I had never filmed or edited before, and using the cameras, tripods and Macs was a new and exciting experience. I was able to learn how to film certain shots that I hadn't before, such as panning or tracking shots, high and low angle shots, close ups and long shots. I had some problems when filming with the cameras, seeing as I hadn't got as much space to film as I thought I had to figure out new ways of angling different shots. This was a challenge but I overcame it in the end and came out with some good shots, with help from the tripods that definitely improved my shots making them steadier and helped with the panning shots I used. The cameras we were given to use were good, but they could obviously not give the film that classic cinematic look. However I think this makes the film look more realistic in some ways and can actually be seen as an advantage, as this sort of look has been used in some successful box office films such as Cloverfield and The Blair Witch Project. I was also glad to find that we did not need to use separate microphones for the audio in the film, as there was a microphone integrated in the camera. Whilst filming I was slightly worried that the audio might not come out as well as I hoped but that was not the case and it came out perfectly.
Problems with the technologies -
I experienced some problems whilst filming and editing when it came to using the technologies. We had a lack of cameras and tripods available to use to it was difficult to get a camera when I wanted to film, however I overcame this by booking my camera and tripod out in advance and asking if I could keep it over the weekend to film. There were also problems when it came to uploading my film onto the Macs, as the school only have a very small number of Macs that are shared between both year 12 and 13 it was near impossible to be able to go on one without getting to the room extremely early. I overcame this by talking to my teachers and decided to upload my film onto my own Macbook, this was an advantage because I was then able to edit at home and take the Macbook into school and edit during my lessons.
Editing -
When it came to editing I had never edited before and was slightly worried that I wouldn't know what to do. However after experimenting with my preliminary exercise I got used to the different editing techniques and found editing to be quite a fun experience. I was able to use 'fade to black' transitions to draw out some scenes in my thriller opening, 'cross dissolve' transitions in the scene where the intruder is walking up the drive way (this gave the scene a more eerie effect and blending the shots together better than just a cut), I learned how to attach sound effects such as the glass breaking when the intruder drops the picture and the doorbells. I also learnt how to attach music to my film and place different titles in between the scenes. When I got to my last shot of the intruder (the close up of his eyes) I didn't think it looked menacing enough, so I decided to use a 'vignette' effect on that shot to make his eyes stand out more and make the over all shot look darker.
Music -
I also learnt about the importance of using copyright free music. At first trying to find good copyright free music was difficult, and I either had to pay for it or what was free and uncopyrighted wasn't long enough. I eventually found a good website whilst planning called freeplaymusic.com which had good copyright free music for thriller that I didn't have to pay for. I ended up using a track called Rusted Hull, which was too short in for my film but I ended up editing it with "clip trimmer" in iMovie and cutting different parts of track together to make it longer. I also learned how to add some sound effects to my film in iMovie. I added digetic sound such as the sound effect of a doorbell for when Lex came to the door and when the take away was delivered. I then added a sound effect of glass breaking for when the intruder drops the picture.
7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel that you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
When I made my preliminary task I wasn't very familiar with different shot types and clever angles and was only asked to do a match on action shot, shot reverse shot and demonstrate the 180 degree rule. However after doing this it made me more eager to experiment with different angles and shot types and the editing stage of making my preliminary made me really want to try new things with the editing equipment. I carefully started planning my main task, researching into the conventions of thrillers and analysing different thriller film openings. I noticed what sort of shot types are generally used to create a sense of eeriness or confusion (high and low angle, handheld point of view, etc) and began setting out my storyboard. When doing my preliminary storyboard it was very simplistic and hadn't got much detail or shot variation, so when planning my main task storyboard I aimed to include as much detail and shot variation as possible. I also had no idea what order to film my scenes in when I was filming my preliminary, so to help myself with my main task I created a detailed shooting schedule which helped me get organised and made the process smoother.
Paying attention to detail -
When filming my main task I also payed more attention to everything that was placed in every scene, making sure I didn't leave anything in shot that wasn't meant to be there. In my preliminary, you can see people sitting in the background of some shots and the mise en scene doesn't fit with the plot. However in my main film I carefully constructed my storyboard to include everything I would need and made sure that the lighting was just right, the actors were wearing the right colours and that there was nothing that could be seen as unrelated to the film in shot.
Becoming more confident with new technologies -
Filming my main task has definitely made me feel more confident with filming and editing and has made me want to continue to film more in the future. I am now comfortable with setting up shots on the tripod and editing different scenes and sounds together.
From A to B -
I feel like the progression I have made from my preliminary task to my final product has made my film successful in fulfilling the task. I researched different conventions and made sure I included them, I tried to depict the style of thrillers that I have researched and analysed and I believe I showed my knowledge of different shot types and mise en scene.
Things I changed during filming/editing
During filming not a lot was changed, I tried to stick to my storyboard and got all the shots on there and a few more.
Filming -
I added an extra handheld shot of the intruder going through the door into the lounge and shutting the door behind him, I did this because it showed the audience where he went instead of him just randomly appearing in the study.
As I have previously said on my blog post containing my shooting schedule, I had to change all of my long shots (apart from the shots of the intruder outside of the house) to medium shots because of lack of space. This was not ideal and changed the look of a few scenes but I think it was successful as we are able to see more of the actors’ reactions and as the shot is closer up we are able to hear the actors' dialogue more clearly. It also makes the audience feel closer to the actors making them identify with them more.
Editing -
Titles: I reduced the amount of titles I had originally planned to use because I needed to shorten my film. I also changed them around as I thought the sequence I had placed them in did not make sense after looking through them again. The titles I ended up with were:
Cutting shots/scenes:
Also due to time constraints I had to cut a lot of shots out of my film. When posting my storyboard I acknowledged the fact that I had planned to film a lot of shots which may make my film longer than it should be, but I thought this was a good idea because then I could cut it down. Cutting down my shots has made my film have slightly less of a back story than I wanted it to, but I think this can be seen as a positive thing because it makes the audience want to find out more about the characters and why certain things happened, which is the whole point of a thriller; confusing your audience, making them want to watch more and keeping up the suspense.
Shots cut from the film -
- Shot 9
- Shot 13
- Shot 16
- Shot 20
- Shot 21
- Shot 22
- Shot 32
- Shot 35
I also removed shot 49 (the low angle shot of the intruder when the girls see him in the dining room) because when editing it didn't flow very well and I liked the shot where the girls just walk out of the lounge and see him there, it has made the sequence simpler but just as (if not more) effective.
Originally the shot where the intruder looks in at the girls from the patio windows using a handheld shot was split into two shots with a title in the middle (scene 24 and 26), I then decided this was unnecessary and decided to keep it all as one scene and add a title in between the intruder walking into the dining room and when he walks into the lounge and closes the door behind him. I added the title in there because the original handheld shot was too long and I needed to cut it down but still wanted to include the second shot of him going through the door an closing it, so to make it flow more smoothly I added the title in there.
In the shot where the girls come back from the door with their take away and see the patio door is open (shot 27) I had planned on panning to the patio door and panning back to the girls to see their reactions. I filmed it that way, but when editing I thought the panning shot took too long and even when sped up I didn't think it looked right so I changed it to the girls walking into the dining room, then cut to a shot of the patio door open, then cut back to the girls. I think this looks better because you can see the girls reactions quicker and it seems more realistic and flows better.
Music:
When planning my film I had chosen two pieces of music that I thought would fit well (The Platform and Stardust Collector.) However, after editing my shots together I found that blending the two wouldn't work as well as I thought it would and decided to just use one piece of music the whole way through. I decided not to use either of my original choices and found a completely new piece of music, I think this piece of music gives my film more of a mysterious, eerie feel giving it more suspense. I think it builds the tension well and creates a sense of fear for the audience.
Filming -
I added an extra handheld shot of the intruder going through the door into the lounge and shutting the door behind him, I did this because it showed the audience where he went instead of him just randomly appearing in the study.
As I have previously said on my blog post containing my shooting schedule, I had to change all of my long shots (apart from the shots of the intruder outside of the house) to medium shots because of lack of space. This was not ideal and changed the look of a few scenes but I think it was successful as we are able to see more of the actors’ reactions and as the shot is closer up we are able to hear the actors' dialogue more clearly. It also makes the audience feel closer to the actors making them identify with them more.
Editing -
Titles: I reduced the amount of titles I had originally planned to use because I needed to shorten my film. I also changed them around as I thought the sequence I had placed them in did not make sense after looking through them again. The titles I ended up with were:
- Coldhouse Pictures Presents
- An Emma Presland Film
- Starring Tony Presland
- Saman Aftab
- Rhiannon White
- Produced by EVProductions
- Directed by Emma Presland
- The Intruder
Cutting shots/scenes:
Also due to time constraints I had to cut a lot of shots out of my film. When posting my storyboard I acknowledged the fact that I had planned to film a lot of shots which may make my film longer than it should be, but I thought this was a good idea because then I could cut it down. Cutting down my shots has made my film have slightly less of a back story than I wanted it to, but I think this can be seen as a positive thing because it makes the audience want to find out more about the characters and why certain things happened, which is the whole point of a thriller; confusing your audience, making them want to watch more and keeping up the suspense.
Shots cut from the film -
- Shot 9
- Shot 13
- Shot 16
- Shot 20
- Shot 21
- Shot 22
- Shot 32
- Shot 35
I also removed shot 49 (the low angle shot of the intruder when the girls see him in the dining room) because when editing it didn't flow very well and I liked the shot where the girls just walk out of the lounge and see him there, it has made the sequence simpler but just as (if not more) effective.
Originally the shot where the intruder looks in at the girls from the patio windows using a handheld shot was split into two shots with a title in the middle (scene 24 and 26), I then decided this was unnecessary and decided to keep it all as one scene and add a title in between the intruder walking into the dining room and when he walks into the lounge and closes the door behind him. I added the title in there because the original handheld shot was too long and I needed to cut it down but still wanted to include the second shot of him going through the door an closing it, so to make it flow more smoothly I added the title in there.
In the shot where the girls come back from the door with their take away and see the patio door is open (shot 27) I had planned on panning to the patio door and panning back to the girls to see their reactions. I filmed it that way, but when editing I thought the panning shot took too long and even when sped up I didn't think it looked right so I changed it to the girls walking into the dining room, then cut to a shot of the patio door open, then cut back to the girls. I think this looks better because you can see the girls reactions quicker and it seems more realistic and flows better.
Music:
When planning my film I had chosen two pieces of music that I thought would fit well (The Platform and Stardust Collector.) However, after editing my shots together I found that blending the two wouldn't work as well as I thought it would and decided to just use one piece of music the whole way through. I decided not to use either of my original choices and found a completely new piece of music, I think this piece of music gives my film more of a mysterious, eerie feel giving it more suspense. I think it builds the tension well and creates a sense of fear for the audience.
Wednesday, 17 February 2010
Preliminary Exercise - Storyboard and Analysis
We were asked to do a preliminary exercise that included a match on action shot, shot reverse shot and the 180 degree rule. When briefed about what the short film had to include we were told an actor had to walk through a door, sit down opposite another actor and exchange a few lines of dialogue.
Storyboard (Click to enlarge)
1.
2.
3.
Analysis
When drawing my storyboard I had imagined that I would be filming my preliminary exercise in my house, therefore drawing it in the style of that location. However when it became time to film the preliminary I was informed that we would be filming them in school, making me have to switch locations so the film does not look exactly like the storyboard. I eventually found a room to film in at school that was set up similarly to my original location (it had an adjoining room that I could use for the walking shots at the beginning through the door, a table the actors could converse over, etc.)
I believe filming was successful, although I had some issues with continuity. In a couple of scenes there is a person sitting in the background which I hadn't noticed whilst filming. This taught me to be extra careful when setting up scenes, making sure that everything is in place and to always check before filming. The setting up of shots went well; I think the shot reverse shot was successful and effective in the delivery of the conversation. I also added a close up of the gun which wasn't originally in my storyboard as I thought it would be more effective than just seeing the gun being passed over in a long shot. I successfully included the match on action shot with one of my actors walking through a door, the shot reverse shot was shown when both my actors were sitting opposite each other exchanging some dialogue and I showed my understanding of the 180 degree rule by keeping all of my shots within the 180 degree angle at all times.
Editing was a new experience as I had not previously used iMovie. After editing, my film was short but I did manage to include all the shots we were asked to and followed the brief we were given. I only used the 'fade to black' transition as I felt it didn't really need anything else and the less transitions used the more realistic it would look.
The over-all experience of doing the preliminary exercise was very helpful as it taught me how to organise shots, edit them together and also helped me learn different angles. It gave me more confidence when planning my main task and made me eager to try out different kinds of shots and learn more editing techniques.
Storyboard (Click to enlarge)
1.
2.
3.
Analysis
When drawing my storyboard I had imagined that I would be filming my preliminary exercise in my house, therefore drawing it in the style of that location. However when it became time to film the preliminary I was informed that we would be filming them in school, making me have to switch locations so the film does not look exactly like the storyboard. I eventually found a room to film in at school that was set up similarly to my original location (it had an adjoining room that I could use for the walking shots at the beginning through the door, a table the actors could converse over, etc.)
I believe filming was successful, although I had some issues with continuity. In a couple of scenes there is a person sitting in the background which I hadn't noticed whilst filming. This taught me to be extra careful when setting up scenes, making sure that everything is in place and to always check before filming. The setting up of shots went well; I think the shot reverse shot was successful and effective in the delivery of the conversation. I also added a close up of the gun which wasn't originally in my storyboard as I thought it would be more effective than just seeing the gun being passed over in a long shot. I successfully included the match on action shot with one of my actors walking through a door, the shot reverse shot was shown when both my actors were sitting opposite each other exchanging some dialogue and I showed my understanding of the 180 degree rule by keeping all of my shots within the 180 degree angle at all times.
Editing was a new experience as I had not previously used iMovie. After editing, my film was short but I did manage to include all the shots we were asked to and followed the brief we were given. I only used the 'fade to black' transition as I felt it didn't really need anything else and the less transitions used the more realistic it would look.
The over-all experience of doing the preliminary exercise was very helpful as it taught me how to organise shots, edit them together and also helped me learn different angles. It gave me more confidence when planning my main task and made me eager to try out different kinds of shots and learn more editing techniques.
Thursday, 21 January 2010
Target Audience and Genre Conventions
Audience
What audience are you targeting your thriller for? Age? Gender? Occupation? Interests?
- I am targeting my audience at 16-25 year olds, both male and female. Although I have found that most thrillers are aimed at young adult males, trying to target my thriller at both males and females gives it a wider audience and does not alienate others into thinking the film is aimed at only one group of people. I chose to aim my thriller at 16-25 year olds because I feel this age group is more likely to go to the cinema to watch a thriller. Also, the majority of 16-25 year olds are students, who may be more inclined to watch a thriller as it is intellectually stimulating and not the kind of film you can just sit back and relax to. However, I do realise that a vast majority of teenagers/young adults will not be interested in a thriller film for this very fact.
My target audience will most likely be interested in films where there is something to figure out and not everything is as it seems, such as a thriller, drama or a horror film. The audience will be into mysteries with a twist, they will like to try and work things out for themselves but sometimes never quite get there. Possibly a person who never gives up trying and will always give it a shot on working out what is happening, and loves the element of surprise.
What certificate will you give your film? Why?
- I have given my film a 15 certificate. I chose this because 15's have proven to be the highest grossing films at the box office. It also allows my film to include some strong language, scenes of a sexual nature and strong violence, possibly making it also appealing to an audience older than my target audience. I decided this would be a good certificate over all as it is just below the age of my target audience, making it easily accessible to them.
How have you planned to meet the expectations and interests of your audience?
- I have planned to meet the expectations and interests of my audience by casting young (16-18 year old) actors as the two main girls. This makes the girls more relatable to the audience, making them seem more real and people will find themselves identifying themselves with them. I have also made my first 2 minutes and my film plot full of hints and twists, appealing to my audience as they would be interested in mysteries and puzzle solving.
Why would this particular audience be encouraged to watch your thriller?
- This particular audience would be encouraged to watch my thriller as I have tried to create a great deal of mystery and suspense in the first 2 minutes, which would entice them and make them want to watch more. I have also used young actors and a realistic setting that the audience can identify with, making the film more believable and adding to the eeriness and suspense.
Genre Conventions
What makes your thriller stand out as unique or original?
- I think my thriller is original as the first 2 minutes that I will be filming is not a typical thriller title sequence. I have chosen a realistic home location, most thrillers I have seen have at first been set outdoors (Face Off) or in a bigger location such as a plane (Flightplan).
I also have a story going in my title sequence, in some I have seen there have just been random images (Seven) or a scene of digitally created images (Hostage).
Also, in my title sequence I will be using more than the usual amount of dialogue that is usually found in title sequences as I want to be able to get into the story straight away instead of just confusing the audience and making them wonder what that had to do with the film. Although confusing the audience is a convention of the thriller genre, I really wanted to focus more on the suspense and mystery aspect of the genre, making my audience want to know what will happen next and why certain things happened like "Why did the intruder drop the picture?" or "Why was he even there in the first place? What is the significance of the two girls?" making them eager to find out more.
I feel my thriller is also more of a psychological thriller rather than just a contemporary thriller, as there are many different layers to the plot and it has elements of horror to it, for example I chose to set my thriller around a murderer whereas in some thrillers I have seen there have been more kidnappings, bank robberies, hostage-taking, etc.
How does your thriller meet the conventions of the thriller genre?
- In my title sequence I use many conventions of the thriller genre. I have used a build up to the action, as it starts of with just a girl (Rachel) sitting in her house on her own reading a magazine, and then her friend comes over to hang out. A series of shots flicking back and forth between the intruder and the girls builds up the the action to where eventually the intruder is then standing in the dining room with a knife.
Fear is created in my thriller by using unsettling, eerie music. This makes the audience immediately think something bad is going to happen and builds the suspense.
I have used a dark shadowy atmosphere in the outside shots and the first living room shot, this will add to the creation of fear and in most thrillers they will try and use natural lighting and then subtley introduce colours such as red, black and white. I will be doing this by having all of my characters dressed in some form of red, black and white, foreshadowing the events that are to come.
I have also used the convention of murder encourraging a suspecting audience but letting the audience know early on that the intruder is there, even when the girls in the film do not. This lets the audience know something bad is going to happen even if they are not sure what.
A realistic setting was chosen as it will make the audience feel uneasy because it shows something unusual happening in a normal every day place. This makes the audience feel uneasy as it makes them feel like this could happen to them.
I have used twists and turns, such as in the beginning we think the girls are just home on their own and then you see the shot of the intruder walking round the side of the house. There is also the shot later on where the girls see the intruder has escaped through the study window, they then turn to go back into the dining room to call the police and he's standing there with a knife. Using twists and turns like this keeps the audience on the edge of their seat, making them never know what will happen next.
How does the planning of your thriller idea match the thriller openings you have watched and analysed?
- I feel like my thriller idea doesn't completely match any other thriller opening I have seen, however I have sampled different aspects of these thrillers that I decided I would like to use in my own. My thriller is similar to that of The Sixth Sense as it set in a house and there is already a build up to the action with some back story of the characters/events leading up to the present day.
However it is also like Seven as I plan to break up the shots of what is going on in the house with black title scenes with white font moving across the screen. I feel like this will make the audience feel uneasy, along with the eerie music (eerie music was also used to create a sense of fear in the title sequence of Seven). I will also use another one of this films features as my thriller opening may come across as having horror aspects to it, which I noticed in Seven too.
I decided against using any digitally made shots like in Hostage as I have no experience in creating digital images and believe it would take a very long time to make. I also did not use any flashbacks like in the opening of Face Off as I didn't feel it was beneficial to the plot just yet and although I originally liked the idea and would have liked to use it, I thought by adding a flashback it would make my thriller opening too long.
Thursday, 14 January 2010
Shooting Schedule
Making a shooting schedule will help me organise my time and determine what shots to do and when. I realise that seeing as it is winter there will be a limited amount of time to do my exterior shots because of the lack of light, therefore I will be filming my exterior shots first. Also, when planning what days I will be shooting on I have encountered a few problems. As the weeks we have to film on are the 2 weeks year 11, 12 and 13 have exams it is proving difficult to find days 2 of my actors can film on as they are both still in school. I have overcome this by eventually finding 2 days they can both film on, however my shots wont be filmed in the same sequence as they will be shown in the film. I do not think this will be too much of a problem though as I can cut them all together in the editing stage. Only giving myself 2 days to film most of my interior shots (as the 2 main actors are the ones that are finding it hard to find time to shoot) will be a challenge, but if there are problems in filming and we do not film everything we need to I have set aside an extra day for emergency filming.
--
Wednesday 20th January:
I had planned to start filming on Tuesday 19th January, only filming exterior shots of the house and the scene where the intruder walks up to the garage. I completed this successfully but found that these scenes may need to be refilmed at a later date as I had left some things in shot that were not originally meant to be there. I also originally planned on filming on Wednesday 20th January and possibly Friday 22nd January if we hadn't got everything filmed on the Wednesday/need to refilm anything, using all of my actors. However, this did not happen because one of my female actors became ill in the morning before shooting and was unable to film. Seeing as the scenes I wanted to shoot all involved both of my female actors, I had to cancel the day of filming. I then wrote up my shooting schedule and was told that both of my actors would be able to film on Friday 22nd January and possibly Sunday 24th January if needed.
My Shooting Schedule - (Click to enlarge)
Friday 22nd January:
Two of my actors let me down the day before filming, leaving me with no one else available to film at such short notice. This led to me having to arrange new actors and reschedule my filming days with a very short amount of time left to film. Eventually, after a lot of searching I found two new actors who were available to film at such short notice, Saman Aftab and Jo Edmonds. We have now rescheduled and plan to film on Sunday 24th January. If all goes according to plan I should hopefully be able to film everything on Sunday, perhaps with only a few short scenes that I can do on Monday night.
--
Wednesday 27th January:
On Sunday morning one of my actors let me down again, making me unable to film for a 3rd time. I had to get another actor at the very last minute to film on Monday evening. I managed to get all of my filming done, however as my actors were only able to come at the last minute they had no time to prepare or learn their lines. I gave them a copy of the script, told them the plot and showed them the storyboard when they got back to the house but had to film almost immediately because we needed to use the natural light. Filming over all was successful but I did encounter a few problems.
Problems I encountered and overcame whilst filming:
Lighting - In the scenes in the study I'd planned on using natural light, however as we filmed the scene quite late it was already dark outside so to overcome this I had to use a lamp that can not be seen in the background as a light source. I also encountered a lighting problem with the scenes in the dining room where we see the intruder at the patio door and when we see the intruder walk up to the patio door in the garden. Again, it was dark outside and as the intruder is dressed in black it is difficult to see him. However, I found that this made the scene look more mysterious and subtle instead of it being obvious that you can see the intruder. I tried using the light above the patio door to add more light but then it looked really obvious that the intruder was there and the girls would have seen him if the light was on, therefore I believe this set back actually made the scene more successful than I had originally planned.
Shots/Angles - When I planned and drew my storyboard I drew some of my shots as long shots. Unfortunately, through lack of space I decided these shots would be better off as medium/medium long shots when actually filming. This was successful as we are able to see more of the actors’ reactions and as the shot is closer up we are able to hear the actors' dialogue more clearly. Also, the shot where we see the intruder outside the patio door was compromised further as the room is not as wide as I thought it was so I had to film that scene on the stairs and changed the shot from a long shot to a high angle shot. I think this is better because the high angle shot shows the vulnerability of the girls and I think this is a more inventive shot than just using a standard long shot and gives my film more shot variety.
--
Wednesday 20th January:
I had planned to start filming on Tuesday 19th January, only filming exterior shots of the house and the scene where the intruder walks up to the garage. I completed this successfully but found that these scenes may need to be refilmed at a later date as I had left some things in shot that were not originally meant to be there. I also originally planned on filming on Wednesday 20th January and possibly Friday 22nd January if we hadn't got everything filmed on the Wednesday/need to refilm anything, using all of my actors. However, this did not happen because one of my female actors became ill in the morning before shooting and was unable to film. Seeing as the scenes I wanted to shoot all involved both of my female actors, I had to cancel the day of filming. I then wrote up my shooting schedule and was told that both of my actors would be able to film on Friday 22nd January and possibly Sunday 24th January if needed.
My Shooting Schedule - (Click to enlarge)
--
Friday 22nd January:
Two of my actors let me down the day before filming, leaving me with no one else available to film at such short notice. This led to me having to arrange new actors and reschedule my filming days with a very short amount of time left to film. Eventually, after a lot of searching I found two new actors who were available to film at such short notice, Saman Aftab and Jo Edmonds. We have now rescheduled and plan to film on Sunday 24th January. If all goes according to plan I should hopefully be able to film everything on Sunday, perhaps with only a few short scenes that I can do on Monday night.
--
Wednesday 27th January:
On Sunday morning one of my actors let me down again, making me unable to film for a 3rd time. I had to get another actor at the very last minute to film on Monday evening. I managed to get all of my filming done, however as my actors were only able to come at the last minute they had no time to prepare or learn their lines. I gave them a copy of the script, told them the plot and showed them the storyboard when they got back to the house but had to film almost immediately because we needed to use the natural light. Filming over all was successful but I did encounter a few problems.
Problems I encountered and overcame whilst filming:
Lighting - In the scenes in the study I'd planned on using natural light, however as we filmed the scene quite late it was already dark outside so to overcome this I had to use a lamp that can not be seen in the background as a light source. I also encountered a lighting problem with the scenes in the dining room where we see the intruder at the patio door and when we see the intruder walk up to the patio door in the garden. Again, it was dark outside and as the intruder is dressed in black it is difficult to see him. However, I found that this made the scene look more mysterious and subtle instead of it being obvious that you can see the intruder. I tried using the light above the patio door to add more light but then it looked really obvious that the intruder was there and the girls would have seen him if the light was on, therefore I believe this set back actually made the scene more successful than I had originally planned.
Shots/Angles - When I planned and drew my storyboard I drew some of my shots as long shots. Unfortunately, through lack of space I decided these shots would be better off as medium/medium long shots when actually filming. This was successful as we are able to see more of the actors’ reactions and as the shot is closer up we are able to hear the actors' dialogue more clearly. Also, the shot where we see the intruder outside the patio door was compromised further as the room is not as wide as I thought it was so I had to film that scene on the stairs and changed the shot from a long shot to a high angle shot. I think this is better because the high angle shot shows the vulnerability of the girls and I think this is a more inventive shot than just using a standard long shot and gives my film more shot variety.
Monday, 21 December 2009
Soundtrack and sound
Throughout my thriller opening I will be using both digetic and non-digetic sounds.
Non digetic sound:
I will include eerie music throughout my thriller opening to give the effect of mystery and suspense.
I have chosen to use the website www.freeplaymusic.com to get my music from, as it is a source for free uncopyrighted music.
I have chosen 2 possible pieces of music from the website to use in my thriller opening:
1. The Platform - from the album Dark Dimensions Vol 7
2. Stardust Collector - also from the album Dark Dimensions Vol 7
Both of these pieces of music have an eerie/suspense feel to them which I think will fit in well with the plot of my thriller opening. I will be using The Platform when we see shots of the two girls and Stardust Collector when we see shots of The Intruder. However, when The Intruder sees the picture of Rachel's mother, Stardust Collector merges into The Platform just as he drops the picture.
I have chosen to use 2 different pieces of music for each set of characters as the girls represent good and The Intruder represents evil. This is shown through the music as The Platform has more of a softer eeriness to it and Stardust Collector has more of a bass to it, making it more jumpy and edgy. It distinguishes the two characters nicely, and as they are both similar in tempo I think they will blend well together in editing and wont seem messily put together.
I am considering putting another piece of music for the last title scene of the opening of my thriller, when we see the title of the film "The Intruder". However, I have yet to find a piece of music I think will fit but will continue to look.
Digetic sound:
I aim to include digetic sounds such as the actors talking, sound coming from the movement of objects and footsteps from the actors walking.
Non digetic sound:
I will include eerie music throughout my thriller opening to give the effect of mystery and suspense.
I have chosen to use the website www.freeplaymusic.com to get my music from, as it is a source for free uncopyrighted music.
I have chosen 2 possible pieces of music from the website to use in my thriller opening:
1. The Platform - from the album Dark Dimensions Vol 7
2. Stardust Collector - also from the album Dark Dimensions Vol 7
Both of these pieces of music have an eerie/suspense feel to them which I think will fit in well with the plot of my thriller opening. I will be using The Platform when we see shots of the two girls and Stardust Collector when we see shots of The Intruder. However, when The Intruder sees the picture of Rachel's mother, Stardust Collector merges into The Platform just as he drops the picture.
I have chosen to use 2 different pieces of music for each set of characters as the girls represent good and The Intruder represents evil. This is shown through the music as The Platform has more of a softer eeriness to it and Stardust Collector has more of a bass to it, making it more jumpy and edgy. It distinguishes the two characters nicely, and as they are both similar in tempo I think they will blend well together in editing and wont seem messily put together.
I am considering putting another piece of music for the last title scene of the opening of my thriller, when we see the title of the film "The Intruder". However, I have yet to find a piece of music I think will fit but will continue to look.
Digetic sound:
I aim to include digetic sounds such as the actors talking, sound coming from the movement of objects and footsteps from the actors walking.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
