Storyboarding Process

The next thing to do, in the pre-production process of creating an opening sequence of a Thriller, was to start producing storyboards. A storyboard is a detailed breakdown of the specific technicalities that a production crew must follow whilst shooting. It also provides a clear guide for the editor to construct the sequence as the creator intended it to look and sound. The storyboard therefore details camera, sound, lighting and mise en scene details as well as dictating timing, pace and editing style.

Initially our group finalized the specific shots in sequence order by carefully visualizing the sequence and researching existing movies that used a similar filmic style.

Account of first production group meeting

During our first group meeting, we discussed our idea for our title sequence, we talked about the finalized storyline, and how we would film it and how practical it would be. Or most of our lesson together, we looked at videos on You Tube of Films that have done a similar sort of idea, i.e. the columbine or school shootings. And we looked at some actual footage of the shootings. We watched the end sequence of a film called Elephant. It is a revolutionary look at school shootings which focuses on the individual stories of a few students. The way its done highlight's the casual feel of the columbine shootings, it makes the audience see the coldness of the shooters and the mindlessness and pointlessness of the shootings. This film really helped us understand the shootings and gave us insight into what we want our audience to feel and how we would consider filming it. We considered just fitting cctv cameras in the canteen and getting two students to walk in there with shotguns in full military gear and firing some blank shots, just so we could get a genuine reaction from the students. Because as its quite a large scale shoot it will be difficult to make it look authentic and get the actors to take it seriously.

Intro to using Final cut pro editing package

Final cut server (pro)

During the lesson we were shown how to use Final Cut Server in order to edit footage.
- software package
- Run on G5 macs
- Non linear editing package
- Timeline based

Final cut server is a system that allows your projet to be checked "out" and "in" to a separate server. Its a safe and reliable way of not loosing work. After having shot our preliminary task footage we digitized the rushes onto the hard drive/ server (final cut server) ready for reveiwing and logging. Logged rushes (filmed material) - we selected the best shots and they were taken into a "logged bin". Shots were placed chronologically on a timeline then trimmed and cut to create the illusion of a simultaneous event. Sound was added and special effects created.

"What is a thriller?"

In the lesson we were introduced to the concept of the "Thriller" genre.
The Thriller genre is difficult to define because so many of the emotions and reactions that come from Thrillers are part of the whole experience of film. It is a meta-genre. The thriller relies on Intricacy of plot to create fear, apprehension and suspense in the hearts and minds of the audience. It plays our most basic worries by drawing on the most infantile and therefore repressed thoughts. These thoughts can be voyeuristic, sexual or violence.

The thriller achieves this by raising questions or enigma codes in the mind of the audience. Most thrillers have universal themes at their core- the struggles over love, death or money. It is this struggle that often enthralls the spectator. It is also done through a sense of delay. When something does happen, there is a sense of relief from that tension. In many ways the thriller genre is sadomasochistic- the audience enjoys watching the director cause pain and suffering to the characters. Our Pleasure is derived from their Discomfort. The audience also experiences a sense of ambivalence. They feel a sense of identification and sympathy with the hero's (or victims) vunerability.

Preliminary Task Evalutation

On friday, myself and a group of three, shot our preliminary task which involved following a storyboard that allowed us to present a conversation between two people in a single location. we set up in the studio and the director, charlie, pointed everyone in the right direction whilst izzy and myself conveyed the scene. The actors were given scripts and our group had the advantage of being in the studio which meant we had a setting layed out for our use, which meant that the lighting was in prime position.

The camera was set up before hand and when all was prepared, we began to role. It was important to monitor the key technical elements of shooting video which included:
Observation of 180 degree rule
continuity/ compostition
camera postion (movement, angle, technique)
lighting/ focus
beginning and ending of role
catching multiple takes

Introduction to blog

Firstly, we were asked to write up an introduction about ourselves and reasons for taking media in the first place. As well as this we were also asked to add pictures with detailed descriptions of what the image is about using the right language for example “the shot is taken from a birds eye view to create tension”. Our blogs are used to show what we have done in lessons.

Introduction to studio

The introduction to the studio was one of the first things we did. We were taken to the studio and asked questions such as “what is your favourite film”. The people who set up the interview had to use the correct lighting, have the camera in the right position and limit surrounding noise so that the people being interviewed could be heard easily. It was a good way to quickly see the basics of media and what was to come for the duration of our course.

Introduction to camera and tripod

When it came to being shown the camera, the first thing we were shown was the time code. The time code is a tool for automatically synchronizing and the production soundtrack. Every frame of film is timed with a computer. A small on-set synchronizing clock links the camera time code with the sound recorder time code.The aspect ratio of an image is its width divided by its height, For example 16:9 wide. The shutter speed is the exposure time: the effective length of time a shutter is open and the total exposure is proportional to this exposure time. And lastly the DB is the game button. A Tripod is mainly used for shots in the dark. We were shown how to set up the tripod with the camera in position. When using a tripod we were told: You need to use a tripod when your shutter speed is slower than 1/focal-length of the lens. Thus with a standard 50mm lens, you should not attempt to handhold shutter speeds slower than 1/60th and with a 500mm telephoto lens, you will have to keep the shutter speed at 1/500th or faster. If you have a lens that is 50mm in length don’t shoot any slower than 1/60th of a second.

Introduction to Photoshop

In the second week of term, we were shown Photoshop which provides a number of tools that aid in automating many tasks involved in image editing. Photoshop has strong ties with other Adobe software for media editing, animation, and authoring. The Photoshop Document stores an image with support for most imaging options available in Photoshop. These include layers with masks, color spaces, transparency, text, spot colors, and clipping paths. This is in contrast to many other file formats that restrict content to provide streamlined, predictable functionality. We took some photos amongst the school grounds and edited them using Photoshop for practice then used the program to create a realistic looking horror poster.

Introduction

Welcome to my blog!!
I have chosen media for AS as I want to carry it on for A2 and enjoy it as a subject. I like watching films, especially thrillers, comedies and TV shows like Gosssip Girl and The Inbetweeners. My favourite actor is Colin Farell as he is hot and in good films. I also enjoy listening to music such as dance, alternative, dubstep.... At the moment i'm at hurtwood house and as well as studying media, i'm also doing business studies, english literature and psychology. enjoy,
xoxo cate

Marilyn

This is a long shot (LS) of one of my idol's, Marilyn. In the frame we can see most of the subject as well as the surroundings. This is a very old photo taken from the internet. The lighting is very dark however marilyn is still visible from the flash of the camera. Her body language suggests she's looking for attention. The point of view of the camera is a high angle which means everything in the frame is visible.

Me and Friends

This is a medium close up (MCU) of me and two friends. In the frame, one can see the focus quality is good as the subject/subjects are not blurred. The focal point of the camera is on my friend. Heightening of contrast was used to make the subjects (us) appear browner. This shot was taken at night, therefore flash was used. It was taken in a nightclub in london.

Horror Poster

We were given the task of producing our own horror poster. In order to do this, Photoshop was used to make the poster look realistic. A successful film poster will accomplish attracting the target audience and persuade them to watch the film. Therefore in my poster I used a large title to attract the eye, bold colours which stand out from the background, an intriguing picture, persuausive language which in this case is: "Is It your time?" and thus might persuade the viewers to go and see the film, using the main characters name for promotion , and the certification will either to ensure the right type of people attend the film. The generic conventions in my poster should attract people. The caption is one of the key features and the words "your time" are monosyllabic, they make the caption more powerful as they are two short, sharp and straightforward words. The dennotations and connotations on the poster are the rats and bloody hand as it portrays the fact that it's a horror film as the rats and the hand siginify what people would ususually be afraid of. The colours and semiotics were used in my poster to show simplicity and most likely death, the red is used to connote bloodshed.

blade poster

For prep we were asked to do our own version of a BLADE poster. I created mine using photoshop and word. I found a wideshot of the main character and put him in the middle of the poster. I found a city scape and put it behind him which made the poster more dramatic in the sense that it looks like he is above the buildings, gun in hand, ready for action..............