As our allocated filming time soon approaches, we have had to make sure everything is finalised and all decisions have been made in order for our filming to run smoothly. Although Luke and I have found it difficult to come up with suitable yet effective thriller opening ideas; We have now got our idea, after weeks of planning and thinking of various ideas which have either been used, altered or elaborated on or simply just completely dropped. (For example, below is one of our ideas, which we later had to change due to arising problems that we felt we may encounter.)
(Initial Thriller Opening idea)
Shots of a man going about his business, shot as though it's a home video recording. Pan out to reveal that the footage is being watched on a television screen in a dark room. Man is seen on train as train pulls away from the station. Short, sharp shots from the inside of the train looking out onto the platform where a 'mystery' man dressed in a long dark trench coat is seen standing on the platform. Close-up shot of man on train, reaches for his coffee in front of him, where the 'mystery' man is then seen sitting on the seat opposite him.End.
When planning further into this idea, we came across many problems that we would encounter if we proceeded with the filming idea. We realised that by getting shots of a train pulling away from the station both from inside of the train and from the outside we would have needed to of made the journey many times in order to have sufficient continuity and shots to play with. Not only this, but it would take a lot of time, cost a lot of money for train tickets and we realised that we would have to get permission to film on a public train. Therefore, we decided that this idea would not work when it came to the actual filming process and so we have decided to take forward certain extracts and ideas such as:
- The main character/s being stalked or followed.
- The use of a location shot in a dark-room.
- Footage being watched on a t.v in the dark-room.
We have decided to take forward these ideas and develop on them as we feel that they will be possible to achieve in terms of being able to realistically film it. As well as this, we feel that having a 'stalking' theme and using dark, enclosed scenery will create suspense and acumilate questions for the audience which will therefore make them want to watch more - overall are all essential elements for a thriller opening.
Becky.
Sunday, 23 November 2008
Wednesday, 12 November 2008
Evaluation of AS Thriller video...
In today's lesson, we watched Thriller openings made by an AS class a couple of years ago. We watched a number of openings and evaluated as a class each piece, recording our analytical findings in a table. I have decided to evaluate in detail the video opening called 'Hysteria'.
The beginning opened with a black background which featured an orange/yellow light, (which appeared to be a spotlight). The titles and names of the producers,(shown in bold lettering) were then set against the 'spotlight',fading in and out which therefore highlighted the text drawing the audience's attention. The use of the colours black, orange and yellow which shows a bold, contrasting dramatic effect, conveys and initializes the idea of a sinister and dangerous atmosphere, therefore preparing the audience for the following thriller opening.
The opening shows a girl in what appears to be her own home, going out into the back garden to put rubbish in the bin. There are many low to the ground panning shots which gives us a clear idea of the action which is taking place, followed by a shot looking up from inside the bin when the girl opens it. When the girl goes back inside of the house where she is then disturbed by a noise, a close up shot of her eyes are shown which remains on the screen for a while whilst the action continues. This shot is effective as it gives the audience a clear visual of the fear the girl is experiencing. Following on from this, the girl then proceeds cautiously out into the garden, picks up a torch and approaches a shed at the back of the garden.
Whilst this action is taking place, non-diegetic sounds such as animal noises and heavy breathing are added to add to the dramatic and 'on-edge' visuals taking place. The pulsating sounds adds to the tension, however i feel that the animal sounds were a little in-appropriate as i feel that they didn't fit the style of the piece - (I feel that they would have suited an opening set in a wood/forest setting more.)
The girl in the film was wearing a red jumper, therefore indicating a sign of danger, due to the fact that the colour red is often associated with blood and death. The use of involving only one charater as well as setting the scene in a home at night, automatically reveals the forthcoming dangerous events. The sinister backing music throughout also introduces us to the eerie atmosphere, building up tension, adding to yet another generic theme associated with thriller films.
Overall, the editing of the piece was clear and continuos, as it was clear to the audience what was going on. Sharp cuts added to the fast paced storyline which therefore put the audience on edge. Although i thought the opening sequence of 'Hysteria' was effective and successful due to the fact that it put me on edge and thrilled me as an audience member, i felt that it appeared to be more like a movie trailer, due to the way in which the main title was presented; By flashing up in the centre of the screen at the start of the opening - similiar to the style of trailer titles.
Becky.
The beginning opened with a black background which featured an orange/yellow light, (which appeared to be a spotlight). The titles and names of the producers,(shown in bold lettering) were then set against the 'spotlight',fading in and out which therefore highlighted the text drawing the audience's attention. The use of the colours black, orange and yellow which shows a bold, contrasting dramatic effect, conveys and initializes the idea of a sinister and dangerous atmosphere, therefore preparing the audience for the following thriller opening.
The opening shows a girl in what appears to be her own home, going out into the back garden to put rubbish in the bin. There are many low to the ground panning shots which gives us a clear idea of the action which is taking place, followed by a shot looking up from inside the bin when the girl opens it. When the girl goes back inside of the house where she is then disturbed by a noise, a close up shot of her eyes are shown which remains on the screen for a while whilst the action continues. This shot is effective as it gives the audience a clear visual of the fear the girl is experiencing. Following on from this, the girl then proceeds cautiously out into the garden, picks up a torch and approaches a shed at the back of the garden.
Whilst this action is taking place, non-diegetic sounds such as animal noises and heavy breathing are added to add to the dramatic and 'on-edge' visuals taking place. The pulsating sounds adds to the tension, however i feel that the animal sounds were a little in-appropriate as i feel that they didn't fit the style of the piece - (I feel that they would have suited an opening set in a wood/forest setting more.)
The girl in the film was wearing a red jumper, therefore indicating a sign of danger, due to the fact that the colour red is often associated with blood and death. The use of involving only one charater as well as setting the scene in a home at night, automatically reveals the forthcoming dangerous events. The sinister backing music throughout also introduces us to the eerie atmosphere, building up tension, adding to yet another generic theme associated with thriller films.
Overall, the editing of the piece was clear and continuos, as it was clear to the audience what was going on. Sharp cuts added to the fast paced storyline which therefore put the audience on edge. Although i thought the opening sequence of 'Hysteria' was effective and successful due to the fact that it put me on edge and thrilled me as an audience member, i felt that it appeared to be more like a movie trailer, due to the way in which the main title was presented; By flashing up in the centre of the screen at the start of the opening - similiar to the style of trailer titles.
Becky.
Tuesday, 4 November 2008
Film Noir..
'The Big Combo', 1955
Is a cinematic term to describe low key, black and white visual style films.
Film Noir was popular around the 1940's to late 1950's, especially during the time of The Great Depression in the USA.
The genres film noir covered were usually crime fiction and violent gangster films. The common similarities that film Noir films share are often dark/mysterious settings with a gloomy atmosphere e.g., a film set in the darkness of night with rainy streets.
As you can from the picture above (taken from the film 'The Big Combo' ,1955) the two characters are silhouetted to add to the mysterious atmosphere along with the backing of the white smoke. The contrast of the black silhouette set against the white smokey background draws focus to the characters, creating to the sinister and gloomy atmosphere - a key ingredient to the overall effect of Film Noir.
Becky and Luke.
Monday, 3 November 2008
Further Research...
Although there are various different types of Thrillers, they often share comman themes and effects, etc that allows the audience to identify the film as being a Thriller. Below I have listed themes which Thrillers are often based on as well as comman similarities which often feature in all Thriller films. This can vary from special effects, atmosphere which is created to objects or costumes. These are known as 'Iconographys'.
Themes & Iconography
-Crime
-Guns/Knives (weapons)
-Suspense
-Tension building music
-Chase
-neutral/dark coloured clothing
-Assassination
-Use of shadows
-Conspiracy
-Grim weather
-Spies
-Dark settings
-Puzzles to be solved
-Cars
-Terrorism
-Police uniforms
-Urban gritty settings
-Claustrophic worlds
Becky.
Themes & Iconography
-Crime
-Guns/Knives (weapons)
-Suspense
-Tension building music
-Chase
-neutral/dark coloured clothing
-Assassination
-Use of shadows
-Conspiracy
-Grim weather
-Spies
-Dark settings
-Puzzles to be solved
-Cars
-Terrorism
-Police uniforms
-Urban gritty settings
-Claustrophic worlds
Becky.
Editing
The post below shows our group's final edit of the preliminary video. Before taking this media course, i had not used any editing software before, therefore i was a bit sceptical about the editing stage. However, Luke had knowledge on how to use the software, so he was able to show me the basics of how to make a standard edit. I was suprised at how simple the process was once I had become familiar with how to use the programme and so I was able to contribute fairly to the editing stage.
When editing, I found that the hardest part was trying to match certain action shots, cutting at an appropriate time so that the action made sense; This is known as 'match on action'. E.g. When trying to match the door opening and closing from different angles. After completing all of the 'match on actions' and the basic edit from start to finish, we had to ensure that all shots flowed consistently so that the overall video was clean and precise.
Now that I have completed the editing stage for the preliminary video, I have an understanding and knowledge of how to use editing software, therefore giving me the confidence to use editing software in the future.
Becky.
When editing, I found that the hardest part was trying to match certain action shots, cutting at an appropriate time so that the action made sense; This is known as 'match on action'. E.g. When trying to match the door opening and closing from different angles. After completing all of the 'match on actions' and the basic edit from start to finish, we had to ensure that all shots flowed consistently so that the overall video was clean and precise.
Now that I have completed the editing stage for the preliminary video, I have an understanding and knowledge of how to use editing software, therefore giving me the confidence to use editing software in the future.
Becky.
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