Continuity Task Evaluation
In our continuity task we had to create a small film of two people in conversation. Whilst in conversation we needed to film their reactions using a range of shots that we felt were appropriate. By doing this we were gaining and experience in many things. We have never properly filmed before so it was a good experience to learn how to and for groups to all have a go at filming. Also by making the small film we were able to realise what sort of grade we were reaching. We felt that the shots we needed to use were shot reverse shot and a range of mid shots and close ups. Our aim was to not break the 180degree rule and to show the reaction of our characters.
My group received a high band 2/ low level 3 for our work and assuming this was our first go at filming we were very pleased with this. Our sound was used very well and we captured the expression of both characters well.
However we could also improve our piece. When we recorded one of our characters we should have recorded her looking down on the male as she was superior. This would have indicated to the audience that she was the dominant person in the situation. Also our editing could have been better. At one point in our filming the editing is terrible and you can see where the old scene has been cut out and the new one has been put in. As a group we must make our editing better and also use a wider range of shots showing reactions in order to gain more marks.
Wednesday 26 November 2008
Thriller movie questionnaire
1. When the term Thriller movie comes to your mind what are your first reactions of what you expect to see?
2. When you watch a thriller film what is your favourite type of thriller to watch? Crime, Horror, Spy, Drama, Sci-fi, etc, and why?
3. What do you think is the main part of building suspense in a film? Music, Sound, Setting, Camera angles, Pace etc, and why?
4. If you were to watch a thriller what would you not want to see in it and why?
5. Would you expect characters to be stereotypical in a thriller or would you like characters to represent something different to their normal association.
6. What sort of conclusion do you most like to see in a thriller, or do u like a mix?
1. When the term Thriller movie comes to your mind what are your first reactions of what you expect to see?
2. When you watch a thriller film what is your favourite type of thriller to watch? Crime, Horror, Spy, Drama, Sci-fi, etc, and why?
3. What do you think is the main part of building suspense in a film? Music, Sound, Setting, Camera angles, Pace etc, and why?
4. If you were to watch a thriller what would you not want to see in it and why?
5. Would you expect characters to be stereotypical in a thriller or would you like characters to represent something different to their normal association.
6. What sort of conclusion do you most like to see in a thriller, or do u like a mix?
Monday 24 November 2008
Certification and Audience
Every film director that wants to get his or her film released in the cinema must first get a certificate rating of their film. These range from U which means anybody can watch it to 18 where only 18year olds and older are advised to watch it. Giving a film a rating lets the audience know a little about what sort of language and content to expect and whether or not they should let their children go and see these films. Certifying that a film is accessible for somebody to watch is done so that people are not offended by what they see. For instance if there were no ratings and you took your child to a film and it was a horror movie and you didn’t know this could shock the child and give it nightmares etc.
Furthermore you can get film certificates such as 12A. This means that they advise that you should be at least 12 to view the film however with an adult it would be acceptable. You can read up on film certificates on www.bbfc.co.uk and this website keeps you posted on all new changes to certification.
As we are making a film as a group we need to discuss what scenes we are going to put into are film to meet the criteria of the certification that we want. As it is going to be a thriller we are probably going to be aiming at a 15certifcate which means it could have things such as strong language or could be slightly scary. However if we are trying to make our film appeal to an audience of 15 and above we cannot add in scenes like a Disney film as 15year olds and above would not want to see this.
I have concluded from the knowledge I have gained from the bbfc website that our film must match a certain criteria for whatever audience we want our film to appeal too.
Every film director that wants to get his or her film released in the cinema must first get a certificate rating of their film. These range from U which means anybody can watch it to 18 where only 18year olds and older are advised to watch it. Giving a film a rating lets the audience know a little about what sort of language and content to expect and whether or not they should let their children go and see these films. Certifying that a film is accessible for somebody to watch is done so that people are not offended by what they see. For instance if there were no ratings and you took your child to a film and it was a horror movie and you didn’t know this could shock the child and give it nightmares etc.
Furthermore you can get film certificates such as 12A. This means that they advise that you should be at least 12 to view the film however with an adult it would be acceptable. You can read up on film certificates on www.bbfc.co.uk and this website keeps you posted on all new changes to certification.
As we are making a film as a group we need to discuss what scenes we are going to put into are film to meet the criteria of the certification that we want. As it is going to be a thriller we are probably going to be aiming at a 15certifcate which means it could have things such as strong language or could be slightly scary. However if we are trying to make our film appeal to an audience of 15 and above we cannot add in scenes like a Disney film as 15year olds and above would not want to see this.
I have concluded from the knowledge I have gained from the bbfc website that our film must match a certain criteria for whatever audience we want our film to appeal too.
Tuesday 11 November 2008
Evaluation
Conclusion
Thriller films use a variety of codes and conventions. I have analyzed five different openings to thriller films and it is evident that they all use many of the same codes and conventions to grip the audience to the film straight away. All five of the thrillers I analyzed used music in the opening to create suspense and tension. This makes it clear to see that when making a thriller the first thing that you need to think about is your choice of music must create a suspenseful opening but what is important is that this collaborates with the camera shots, mese en sene and the editing.
It is also evident that to create a great opening to a thriller you need to introduce your main character early. All the openings I analyzed introduced their main character at one point in the opening scene. Introducing your main character with suspenseful music creates suspense for the audience when they see the character. It is giving the audience a sign that this character is a lead character and the director does this so the audience knows what character to pay close attention too.
Introducing my main character in my opening of a thriller and choosing what my suspenseful music is going to be is going to play a huge role in how good my opening is going to be and if I get this right I will certainly be on my way to making a go thriller opening
Thriller films use a variety of codes and conventions. I have analyzed five different openings to thriller films and it is evident that they all use many of the same codes and conventions to grip the audience to the film straight away. All five of the thrillers I analyzed used music in the opening to create suspense and tension. This makes it clear to see that when making a thriller the first thing that you need to think about is your choice of music must create a suspenseful opening but what is important is that this collaborates with the camera shots, mese en sene and the editing.
It is also evident that to create a great opening to a thriller you need to introduce your main character early. All the openings I analyzed introduced their main character at one point in the opening scene. Introducing your main character with suspenseful music creates suspense for the audience when they see the character. It is giving the audience a sign that this character is a lead character and the director does this so the audience knows what character to pay close attention too.
Introducing my main character in my opening of a thriller and choosing what my suspenseful music is going to be is going to play a huge role in how good my opening is going to be and if I get this right I will certainly be on my way to making a go thriller opening
Sunday 9 November 2008
Walk on the wild side
Camera
The director starts the first scene with a mid shot of guttering tube with the cat’s eyes. Zooming in on the tube we get a close up of the cat and the camera pans around it. Introducing us to the main character, the cat, the director has chosen his shots to give us a good look of the cat. Tracking the cat’s movements, the director uses a high angled shot to show us the cat’s good posture. The director has used his shots to show the cat to be powerful. He then shows us the cat with a low angle shot to show us the cats strut as it walks, reiterating that it is powerful. Always using mid shots and close ups of the cat the director wants the audience to recognise that the cat is going to be powerful in his film. The camera gives us a bird’s eye view of the cat and when the cats fight it looks down on the cats to give the audience the best view of the fight.
Editing
Using a variety of cuts throughout the opening scene the director is aiming to give us a full view of the cat and to make it look very dominant. He chooses his cuts and shots carefully to make sure that not only do the audience see the high angle of the cat’s posture but also low angle shots to show it’s strut as well. The scene is very dark making the cat look even more powerful as its strutting about at night.
Mese en sene
As the director wants to show the cat to be powerful there isn’t a great deal of props in the cat’s way as he wants us to see the cat strutting. There are a lot of pipes and fencing in the shot but as it’s black and white in this scene we don’t see anything else.
Sound
The director has the cat walk along parallel to the music to emphasise its strut even more. When close up shots of the cat are shown the music becomes stronger again showing that the cat is strong. The music works well with the cat as it is easy to strut along to and makes it seem like the cat is purposely moving with the music.
Camera
The director starts the first scene with a mid shot of guttering tube with the cat’s eyes. Zooming in on the tube we get a close up of the cat and the camera pans around it. Introducing us to the main character, the cat, the director has chosen his shots to give us a good look of the cat. Tracking the cat’s movements, the director uses a high angled shot to show us the cat’s good posture. The director has used his shots to show the cat to be powerful. He then shows us the cat with a low angle shot to show us the cats strut as it walks, reiterating that it is powerful. Always using mid shots and close ups of the cat the director wants the audience to recognise that the cat is going to be powerful in his film. The camera gives us a bird’s eye view of the cat and when the cats fight it looks down on the cats to give the audience the best view of the fight.
Editing
Using a variety of cuts throughout the opening scene the director is aiming to give us a full view of the cat and to make it look very dominant. He chooses his cuts and shots carefully to make sure that not only do the audience see the high angle of the cat’s posture but also low angle shots to show it’s strut as well. The scene is very dark making the cat look even more powerful as its strutting about at night.
Mese en sene
As the director wants to show the cat to be powerful there isn’t a great deal of props in the cat’s way as he wants us to see the cat strutting. There are a lot of pipes and fencing in the shot but as it’s black and white in this scene we don’t see anything else.
Sound
The director has the cat walk along parallel to the music to emphasise its strut even more. When close up shots of the cat are shown the music becomes stronger again showing that the cat is strong. The music works well with the cat as it is easy to strut along to and makes it seem like the cat is purposely moving with the music.
The Illusionist
Camera
Lost Highway begins with the camera very still as the credits begin to come on screen. As the clip moves on the credits are always central and the camera still. However the director shows us small parts of what’s to come with mid long shots of the characters involved. He doesn’t show their faces so we still don’t know who the main characters are and he does this to keep the audience waiting for the characters to come to role. At the end of the clip we get a four second mid shot of one of the characters and then a two second shot of him from the side. Disguising the character by keeping him still, these shots let us see him but we find out little about him keeping the directors character a secret.
Editing
The company, who have made the film, BYP, have their logo shown at the start and this is centralised. By using lots of cuts the director gives us a glimpse of where the film is set and what time it was in but he doesn’t give too much away. He does this as it builds up tension so the audience keep watching as they want to find more about what is going to happen. Cutting from clips of the film to the credits gives the audience a small look at the film reiterating that he is building up tension with small glimpses of the film. Keeping a slow pace the director is building up the scene and the film in order to keep the audience interested but not giving to much away.
Mese on sene
All characters that are shown are dressed in Victorian clothing symbolising the era that the film is set in. This lets the audience understand a little bit more about the film and will help them when they try to identify different characters. Music in the scene is parallel to this as it is Victorian music and this keeps the verisimilitude of the scene.
Sound
Sound is only used in the opening clip with the music. It is parallel to the scene and keeps the tempo of the scene slow.
Camera
Lost Highway begins with the camera very still as the credits begin to come on screen. As the clip moves on the credits are always central and the camera still. However the director shows us small parts of what’s to come with mid long shots of the characters involved. He doesn’t show their faces so we still don’t know who the main characters are and he does this to keep the audience waiting for the characters to come to role. At the end of the clip we get a four second mid shot of one of the characters and then a two second shot of him from the side. Disguising the character by keeping him still, these shots let us see him but we find out little about him keeping the directors character a secret.
Editing
The company, who have made the film, BYP, have their logo shown at the start and this is centralised. By using lots of cuts the director gives us a glimpse of where the film is set and what time it was in but he doesn’t give too much away. He does this as it builds up tension so the audience keep watching as they want to find more about what is going to happen. Cutting from clips of the film to the credits gives the audience a small look at the film reiterating that he is building up tension with small glimpses of the film. Keeping a slow pace the director is building up the scene and the film in order to keep the audience interested but not giving to much away.
Mese on sene
All characters that are shown are dressed in Victorian clothing symbolising the era that the film is set in. This lets the audience understand a little bit more about the film and will help them when they try to identify different characters. Music in the scene is parallel to this as it is Victorian music and this keeps the verisimilitude of the scene.
Sound
Sound is only used in the opening clip with the music. It is parallel to the scene and keeps the tempo of the scene slow.
Casino Royale
Camera
The opening shot starts with a long shot of a building where the action is to take place. It holds this shot for 13seconds as a car drives past containing the man James Bond is to have conflict with. The camera tracks the man who goes into a lift. There is a close up of the number as the lift goes up signifying what floor he is going to. By being shown this the director is giving us a glimpse of the character James will have some sort of action with. Inside the room at floor five the camera pans around the character as he realises his safe has been broken in to. Showing his facial expression we realise that whatever is contained is going to be significant to the storyline and the camera showing his face helps us to know this. James and the other characters conversation is filmed using shot reverse shot and also cuts. Flashbacks are used and the action in these flashbacks cuts every two seconds to build suspense and show the audience a summary of the action. Conversation takes place between James and the character and the camera looks down on James showing James is of lower status. After the character realises he cannot shoot James, the camera looks down at the other character and up on James showing the change in status.
Mese on sene
Mese on sene is not overly used in this scene as it’s very dark. This is done to create the suspense for the scene. At the start of the scene smoke is used to create a sense of danger to build up tension. A darkened office is used to signify hiding and danger and the only props used are tables and chairs in the office.
Editing
The set is very dark to show danger. There aren’t many cuts in the opening of the extract as the duration of the shots are very long. The action scenes in the flashbacks use a great deal of cuts to show a mini clip of the action and end up with the climax of James killing the man. Cuts are also used in conversation before the man tries to shoot James.
Sound
The noise of the lift is heard to help the audience establish what it is. Spooky music is used to create suspense and this lets the audience know that action is going to happen soon. Footsteps can be heard when the man is walking and we hear the noise of his car door shutting.
Camera
The opening shot starts with a long shot of a building where the action is to take place. It holds this shot for 13seconds as a car drives past containing the man James Bond is to have conflict with. The camera tracks the man who goes into a lift. There is a close up of the number as the lift goes up signifying what floor he is going to. By being shown this the director is giving us a glimpse of the character James will have some sort of action with. Inside the room at floor five the camera pans around the character as he realises his safe has been broken in to. Showing his facial expression we realise that whatever is contained is going to be significant to the storyline and the camera showing his face helps us to know this. James and the other characters conversation is filmed using shot reverse shot and also cuts. Flashbacks are used and the action in these flashbacks cuts every two seconds to build suspense and show the audience a summary of the action. Conversation takes place between James and the character and the camera looks down on James showing James is of lower status. After the character realises he cannot shoot James, the camera looks down at the other character and up on James showing the change in status.
Mese on sene
Mese on sene is not overly used in this scene as it’s very dark. This is done to create the suspense for the scene. At the start of the scene smoke is used to create a sense of danger to build up tension. A darkened office is used to signify hiding and danger and the only props used are tables and chairs in the office.
Editing
The set is very dark to show danger. There aren’t many cuts in the opening of the extract as the duration of the shots are very long. The action scenes in the flashbacks use a great deal of cuts to show a mini clip of the action and end up with the climax of James killing the man. Cuts are also used in conversation before the man tries to shoot James.
Sound
The noise of the lift is heard to help the audience establish what it is. Spooky music is used to create suspense and this lets the audience know that action is going to happen soon. Footsteps can be heard when the man is walking and we hear the noise of his car door shutting.
Psycho
Camera
The camera is still through the hole of the opening clip until the end when we get a long shot of a city. With the camera keeping still we are able to clearly see the credits. By doing this the director has made the credits quite interesting to watch as the music runs along with it all making the credits spooky, setting the tone of the film. Seeing the long shot at the end sets where the next scene is to take place and we also see hear that the film is in black and white.
Editing
Opening credits are flicked through the scene and special effects are used with lines running through the shot before evolving in to the person’s name. Again this is quite spooky and sets the tone for the rest of the film.
Mese on sene
The background is black and there are only credits in the shot so no mese on sene is used except in the last shot when we see the rundown buildings and we cannot establish anything from this as it is a one second long shot.
Sound
Sound creates the scene in all of the thriller openings I have seen so far and it does this again in Psycho. We don’t see any action or any characters and the only shot we get is of a city yet the music still manages to spook the audience. Music in the opening clip does not follow the credits but as the background is black is not out of place as it’s still slightly spooky.
As we are aiming to create a psycological type thriller this film opening could come in handy when we look to do our filming. It has enabled us to see that in the opening of our thriller we don't need a great deal of action to bulid suspense as sound in itself could be enough. However it also depends on exacly what type of pyscological film we are going for as this film is quite different to ours.
Camera
The camera is still through the hole of the opening clip until the end when we get a long shot of a city. With the camera keeping still we are able to clearly see the credits. By doing this the director has made the credits quite interesting to watch as the music runs along with it all making the credits spooky, setting the tone of the film. Seeing the long shot at the end sets where the next scene is to take place and we also see hear that the film is in black and white.
Editing
Opening credits are flicked through the scene and special effects are used with lines running through the shot before evolving in to the person’s name. Again this is quite spooky and sets the tone for the rest of the film.
Mese on sene
The background is black and there are only credits in the shot so no mese on sene is used except in the last shot when we see the rundown buildings and we cannot establish anything from this as it is a one second long shot.
Sound
Sound creates the scene in all of the thriller openings I have seen so far and it does this again in Psycho. We don’t see any action or any characters and the only shot we get is of a city yet the music still manages to spook the audience. Music in the opening clip does not follow the credits but as the background is black is not out of place as it’s still slightly spooky.
As we are aiming to create a psycological type thriller this film opening could come in handy when we look to do our filming. It has enabled us to see that in the opening of our thriller we don't need a great deal of action to bulid suspense as sound in itself could be enough. However it also depends on exacly what type of pyscological film we are going for as this film is quite different to ours.
Cape fear
Camera
Universal pictures logo comes up at the opening of the film. Centre of the camera, it shows that it is important and we get a close up of it. Mid shots are used to show the water and also close ups of it. We get close ups to show us the water and when the director wants us to see the reflection of the bird we get a mid shot. The director chooses these shots to show the size of the bird and also to make it viewable in the water to the audience. Moving closer to the water the camera gives us the impression that we are almost looking in to the water and the director does this to build up suspense, as the audience will keep watching as they are waiting to see if anything else appears in the water. At the end of the clip the camera tilts upwards to show us a ‘scary’ looking man. By doing this it enables the audience to see the main character for the first time.
Editing
The clip uses cuts to show the water from different angles and this makes the audience feel that they are viewing the water from a different place. After showing us the water for a long time the director cuts to a droplet of blood which tells the audience that at least one person is going to die or be injured in this film. We then get a cut from this to the man and he is darkened out to super impose his image. By having him darkened out the director is showing that the man is the bad character in this film. His eyes are all lit up which also super imposes him.
Mese on sene
The ripples and the droplets of the water make the clip a little bit spooky creating tension as we don’t quite know what to expect. It’s fairly dark in the scene reiterating the fact that it’s spooky.
Sound
The music makes the scene fairly spooky and it builds up the tension as it gets slightly quicker and becomes louder the closer we get to the man. The noise of the water is parallel to the water dripping and we also hear the noise of what sounds like a small waterfall.
Camera
Universal pictures logo comes up at the opening of the film. Centre of the camera, it shows that it is important and we get a close up of it. Mid shots are used to show the water and also close ups of it. We get close ups to show us the water and when the director wants us to see the reflection of the bird we get a mid shot. The director chooses these shots to show the size of the bird and also to make it viewable in the water to the audience. Moving closer to the water the camera gives us the impression that we are almost looking in to the water and the director does this to build up suspense, as the audience will keep watching as they are waiting to see if anything else appears in the water. At the end of the clip the camera tilts upwards to show us a ‘scary’ looking man. By doing this it enables the audience to see the main character for the first time.
Editing
The clip uses cuts to show the water from different angles and this makes the audience feel that they are viewing the water from a different place. After showing us the water for a long time the director cuts to a droplet of blood which tells the audience that at least one person is going to die or be injured in this film. We then get a cut from this to the man and he is darkened out to super impose his image. By having him darkened out the director is showing that the man is the bad character in this film. His eyes are all lit up which also super imposes him.
Mese on sene
The ripples and the droplets of the water make the clip a little bit spooky creating tension as we don’t quite know what to expect. It’s fairly dark in the scene reiterating the fact that it’s spooky.
Sound
The music makes the scene fairly spooky and it builds up the tension as it gets slightly quicker and becomes louder the closer we get to the man. The noise of the water is parallel to the water dripping and we also hear the noise of what sounds like a small waterfall.
What is a Thriller
What is a thriller?
A thriller is a form of categorization of film genre which allows an audience to distinguish what they are going to be watching. Different genres have different codes and conventions which enables them to be put into categories. A thrillers main codes and conventions are its settings and how its characters are portrayed. By creating a thriller your main objective should be to build up suspense with your audience using sound as your biggest way of doing this but also camera angles, fast and slow cuts and Mese en sene. This should happen throughout the film and the audience’s adrenaline should be up and down as well as the characters.
A thriller is a form of categorization of film genre which allows an audience to distinguish what they are going to be watching. Different genres have different codes and conventions which enables them to be put into categories. A thrillers main codes and conventions are its settings and how its characters are portrayed. By creating a thriller your main objective should be to build up suspense with your audience using sound as your biggest way of doing this but also camera angles, fast and slow cuts and Mese en sene. This should happen throughout the film and the audience’s adrenaline should be up and down as well as the characters.
Thursday 6 November 2008
Intro to my blog
This is a blog to record and evaluate the progress of my AS Media coursework. I will be regularly posting updates recording the research, pre-production, production and post-production process - evaluating my progress and also looking for ideas and advice.
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