Friday 28 January 2011

Mise-En-Scene Research

Our thriller opening sequence sub-genre is mystery, and by researching the different areas of Mise-en-scene such as costume, location, lighting and props, we can find out how to create a more professional and believable opening sequence.

PROPS
In our thriller, we have decided to use a number of props which will add realism and help viewers to really understand the storyline. One of the main props which we will be using is a mobile phone. This is because the character is a teenage girl and therefore always has to have her phone around her. The phone will play a large part in the narrative because when character 1 (the girl) is on the phone, the line goes dead and this is most likely to be the point where the scarier music will start. This means the phone is essential for our film to work otherwise there will be no point in which the viewer realises that something is not right. An example of a thriller in which the storyline is centred around a phone is the film 'One Missed Call'. Ours will not be as centred around a phone as this one but the phone will definitely play a significant part. Other small props will include make-up and straightners. This is because character 1 is going to begin the story by getting ready for a party in her bedroom and therefore just doing the normal girlie things such as straightening her hair and putting on her make-up. Finally a prop which we will need to get hold of is a rope. This is quite an important one as most thrillers involve a weapon for harm or threat. We have decided against using any actual violence in our opening sequence however we will need a rope as a prop to use to tie up a victim inside a garage.

LOCATION
We have decided that our main location will be at a house in an urban area. This is because it fits in best with our storyline. We wanted to have the opening sequence start off as normally as possible, with everyday life. In order to make it the thriller genre we wanted to build up tension and also; make it more believable by having an everyday situation turn very badly. The first part of the sequence will begin in the bedroom of the girl getting ready. Then after she receives the mysterious phone call from her friend, a small scene will be shot inside the house, this will include the hallway and the stairs to show that character 1 is leaving her bedroom to go outside because she hears a strange noise. Finally we will be filming just outside the house, outside the front door and also partly in the garage.

COSTUME
We have come to the conclusion for the characters, the costumes will consists of the following; for character 1 who is the main character she will be wearing a short dress in order to show she is getting ready for a night out. She will be heavily made up also. Character 2, which is the friend will be wearing a similar outfit. The difference however will be that because she has just been beaten up her dress will be ripped, and dirty etc and her make up is going to be smudged and messy. Finally character 3 who is the mystery character/murderer may feature in our film, we have not yet decided whether he will yet. If he does his costume will consist of baggy, dark clothes in order to hide the body and face. This will create mystery and questions.

LIGHTING
To begin with, the scene in the bedroom will be different to the other scenes. The lighting will be bright and well-lit in order to create an everyday scene, whilst the girl is getting ready in her bedroom. When she hears the knock at the door the lighting drastically changes because then the audience will realise the change of atmosphere. When she goes outside it will be dark and dim to create more fear, then finally in the garage scene we will try and make the lighting as dark as possible but still light enough to produce good quality filming. By making the lighting become darker throughout the opening sequence, it suggests Thriller conventions because of the build up of tension and fear.


Wednesday 26 January 2011

Feedback For Our Opening Sequence Planning.

The main points we received from the group were...
  • Our synopsis's were clear and came across well planned and thought out. It has helped us to now decide which genre was best to use and portray in our video, this being mystery. This was mainly because of the questions that the story-line will leave in the audiences heads making them question what might be going on.
  • We have also decided that there will be restrictions when wanting to film in a public place so we have chosen to film our opening sequence at a house/rural area, we also need to be more specific about this by deciding who's house we will actually be filming at.
  • It was suggested to us what music we may wish to use, basing this on our ideas this could include radio music whilst the filming takes place in the bedroom to convey the character getting ready to go out for the night. When the action of the video then begins the music could change to be come more suspense building in order to create contrast with enough tension to make the audience realise something is to follow. We haven't yet decided on which actual track we are going to use for this part, and therefore this is something we need to consider further. 

Tuesday 25 January 2011

Planning...

Narrative Description:
  • One of the narratives that we are considering is stalker/victim theme. This will include an obsession from the stalker towards the victim. Maybe following them around a public place - the victim of course unaware, using a camera to film their everyday lives. This would be a psychological genre. 
  • Another idea we have is kidnap. This would be set on a normal day with a normal situation. Suspense would then builds up and some kind of kidnap occurs for example, someone getting ready for a night out while waiting for her friend to arrive, they hear unusual noises in the garage, where they then finds their friend unconscious. This would mean it would be of a mystery thriller. 
Sub-Genres:
  • Psychological - a character has a problem in the mind, which affects the way they think and act. 
  • Action - a fight, characters confront each other.
  • Mystery - leaves audience with unanswered questions. 
Characters:
  • Stalker/Murderer - as the antagonist, acting against victim.
  • Victim - as the protagonist, narrative featured around this character. 
Suggested Locations:
  • Abandoned Property - spooky feeling, good for the element of suspense. 
  • Public Areas e.g. Grand Arcade shopping mall - for stalker narrative. 
  • The Victim's House - for a realistic view on real life. 

Production Logo Evaluation

To make our production logo we used the program Photoshop. At first it was difficult because it was a new program to us, however after experimenting we managed to produce a successful final production logo.

We started off by using an existing image of an eye as our background. We then used the text tool to add our production name which was 'i-spy productions'. This was changed to the colour white, which we thought would look effective against the black, gloomy background, therefore making it stand out to the viewer. We then used the blur tool on the writing to give it a spooky, glowing effect. We also added special effects to the image of the eye, such as yellowing the iris and red eyeliner, this helping to convey something abnormal to the audience; also very eye-catching. To finish we added a grainy texture to the whole image to make it mysterious.

Overall we thought our logo worked well to contribute to the thriller theme, the eye, the writing and the effect all combined to produce a sinister image. 

Our Production Logo

p232Logo

Friday 21 January 2011

Research Into Production Logos

DreamWorks 
The logo for DreamWorks uses bold, white font on a dark background of clouds. Due to the colour contrast of the background and font, the writing stands out a lot more to the audience. Examples of past and future releases of the thriller genre include 'What Lies Beneath' (2000) which is an American supernatural horror-thriller film. It stars a couple who experience a strange haunting that uncovers secrets about their past. 'I Am Number Four' (2011) has a action as the sub-genre. It is about a man who is a fugitive on the run from ruthless enemies sent to destroy him.


DREAMWORKS


Warner Bros. Pictures 
The main colours of this logo are gold and blue which are very contrasting colours. The bold letters WB feature in the background, these are well-known and recognisable to many people. One thriller from this production company is 'Deathtrap' (1982) which is about a Broadway playwright who puts murder in his plan to take credit for a student's script. Also, 'A Perfect Murder' (1998) which is a remake of the Hitchcock classic dial "M" for murder. 


warner-bros-1


20th Century Fox 
The 20th Century Fox logo is very well-known because of the grand, gold building which is surrounded by spot lights which portray a cinema feel. The writing and font is very large and bold which stands out in the evening sky, this could be to symbolise the way people tend to visit the cinema as an evening activity, therefore being very suited to it's purpose. 'Speed' (1994) is an example of a thriller from this production company, it's sub-genre is action. It is about a young cop who must save the passengers of a bus that has a bomb set to explode if the bus goes below 50 MPH. Another example is 'Hide and Seek' (2005) a psychological thriller about a widower who tries to piece together his life in the wake of his wife's suicide, his daughter finds solace at first in her imaginary friend.


Logo_20th_century_fox

Soundtrack Evaluation

Overall, we think that our soundtrack we produced as a group was fairly successful and we worked well together and produced a good piece of work!

What was successful...
We think that our soundtrack fits really well into the thriller genre and creates a good amount of tension. The tension built from the soundtrack gradually as we started with one beat and added more throughout which we thought worked effectively and gave off the right amount of tension without being too scary! We think that the soundtrack creates a mood which also fits well into the thriller genre.


What could have been better/Improvements...
In order to make our soundtrack better, if we had more time, we could have added more of a dramatic section within or at the end of the soundtrack. This would have added a more dramatic sense of tension and maybe put a bit of a twist into the opening.

Another improvement that would have bettered our soundtrack is if we had a better knowledge of garageband and therefore we could have experimented a little more with the program and added more of a variety and something different rather than using the safe option and keeping it stereotypically to the thriller genre.

Wednesday 19 January 2011

Our Soundtrack

Analysis of Sound in Thriller Opening Sequences

For the analysis of sound in thriller opening sequences, we watched 3 film openings...

Catch Me If You Can

This opening did not contain any diegetic sound and consisted of just the soundtrack which is non-diegetic. The soundtrack was jazzy and depending on what was happening in the film, the pace of the sound changed accordingly. For example it tended to speed up at parts in order to build up tension at an important part of the movie, then slowed down again to normal tempo. The music helped to emphasise the sub genre which is crime because where crime was shown the music seemed to draw attention to what was happening on screen.

Catch Me If You Can

Vertigo

This opening contained both diegetic and non-diegetic sound. Examples of the diegetic sound were noises such as the dialogue of the characters, a gun shot and also the movement of characters. Ambient sound included climbing the ladder. The non-diegetic sound was a soundtrack which was fast paced to convey eagerness and energy, and this fit in because the characters were running. The pitch changed from high to low according to the action happening on screen. We thought the sub-genre was action because the soundtrack was fast paced which shows energy and commotion. This goes along with the crime sub-genre

vertigo-poster

Face Off
The sound played a large part in the opening sequence of this film. When the mood changed the non diegetic music tended to change along with the visuals, for example when he was with his son the mood was happy and content so the sound was the music was more mellow and calm, however when the man with the gun was in shot the atmosphere was dramatically changed by the music because it turned more slow and depressive. Diegetic sound included the shot gun, and when he fell of the horse a sound effect of a horse was played. The sound also fit in with the film because when the man was shot the whole scene was silent. This showed shock and disbelief.

41Q73WKSNXL._SL500_AA300_

Tuesday 18 January 2011

Previous Group Analysis Q1:12

The group that we decided to analyse was group Q1:12. We chose this group because we thought that there was a lot to comment on the video and planning/research.

Video: 
As a group, we looked through the marking criteria for the videos and concentrated on the following points... 
  • holding a steady shot, where appropriate
  • framing a shot, including and excluding elements as appropriate
  • using a variety of shot distances as appropriate
  • shooting material appropriate to the task set 
  • selecting mise-en-scene including colour, figure, lighting, objects and setting 
  • editing so that meaning is apparent to the viewer
  • using varied shot transitions and other effects selectively and appropriately for the task set
  • using sound with images and editing appropriately for the task set
  • using titles appropriately 
We decided for the reasons below that an appropriate level for the group's video would be a mid to high Level 3 (44 marks). This criteria states that there is evidence of proficiency in the creative use of the technical skills that are listed above. 

Our thoughts.... 
-The majority of the shots were steady, excluding the shots within the car, however this couldn't really be helped due to it being bumpy and corners having to be turned
-There was good framing of the shots for example over the shoulder shots in the car that were effective because you still had view of the character but also their perspective and their view in the rear view mirror
-This group used a good variety of different shots and shot distances. For example establishing shot when driving around the corner. Also there were a couple of effective close ups for example the character's reflection in the rear view mirror and when the character unlocked the boot
-Mise-en-scene... The lighting could have been darker as it doesn't match to the typical thriller genre, this was evident as the colouring came off brighter than necessary. The setting could have been more deserted or on an abandoned lot as there was constant flow of traffic in the background. Props... The car that was used along with the spliff reflected the character's true personality and the spade which was used as a weapon showed thriller genre conventions when we knew that something bad was going to happen
-Editing... Displayed good continuity as the opening flowed very well right through to the end, making sense the whole way through. Instead of having credits at the beginning/or the end they had them throughout which was effective as it worked well with the footage. We think that the text could have stood out more as it didn't make a huge impression. Also there was a grammatical error where they said "wrote by" and it should have been "written by" however it didn't stand out too much. The cuts used were mainly jump cuts which again worked well with the footage and turned out to be effective. Lastly, for the editing process, the title presented at the end didn't make a huge impression as it was rather dull. In order for it to be more professional, it could have been bigger/bolder etc.
-Sound... we think that the music used in the car was a really good idea and reflected the character's image. This also helped to make an opinion of the character. Although there was no music that stereotypically could have been used for the "thriller" genre, the music that was used was still effective.

Research:
Again as a group we went through the group's blog and decided that it also should be under the level 3 marking scheme.

The layout of the blog was very good and was clearly presented. The titling of the blogs made it really easy to identify what was what within the blog and where the research was. We think that the research that was showed was very detailed and specific. However, we noticed that they could have completed more film research in order to show their understanding of the conventions of the opening sequence for a thriller film.

Thriller Film Classifications

The thriller film certification is never made under a 12/12a. The reason for this is due to the narratives involving strong content that is unsuitable for a younger audience. This includes content that portrays language or behavior that is discriminating, this could be things such as suicide and self-harming.


We have decided our thriller project will be a classification 15, mainly because it will allow us to be more creative in our content with less constrictions. This may include use of strong language, dangerous behavior with not too much detail. Violence may also be strong but will not dwell upon the infliction of pain. 


The reason ours will not be an 18 is because we produce the high standard that is expected of a thriller with the classification 18. The conventions we will use cannot be portrayed to the same level as this classification does, due to the high technology we wont be able to use. Our thriller also won't include breach of criminal laws and which treatment appears to harm in detail. 


15s200-1

Crime + Action Thriller Conventions

The crime and action genre is a hybrid of both crime films and thrillers. These often offer a suspenseful account of a crime or multiple crimes, whether or not they are successful is another question.

These films often focus on the criminal(s) rather than a investigators/police and usually emphasise action over psychological aspects. 

Crime and Action Content: 
- Serial killers/murders
- Robberies
- Chases
- Shootouts
- Heists 
- Double-crosses

An example of a crime thriller is Seven, produced in 1995. This film is about two detectives, a rookie and a veteran who go on a hunt for a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as his modus. operandi.

Monday 17 January 2011

Comparing Two Thriller Opening Sequences

Inception.
Within the first five seconds of the trailer there is a shot of who the film is appropriate for, officially done by the film rates, this is therefore the beginning of the staggered roll of credits. The main score begins and the main film production companies are then shown, eg, Legendary pictures, Warner Bros. pictures and Syncopy. Once the main trailer begins the lead character is introduced (Leonardo Dicaprio) along with a combination of narrative and voice explaining him self, this combines and links to the dialogue. A second lead character is introduced only a matter of moments after this and there are shot/reverse shots between them both all linking to the overall explanation of the film. There is a lot of montage throughout, for example near the beginning of the trailer, there is a shot of character one waking down the corridor leading on to a second shot of a shot gun being loaded and then it flicks back to the first shot again. This sequence juxtaposed creates a meaning for the audience, also it manages to introduce the thriller/action aspect of the genre to the audience. Credits are included at around twenty five seconds into the trailer saying who directed it (Christopher Nolan) and giving examples of top films he has also directed such as The Dark Knight which the follows on to introducing the rest of the top characters of the film. From then on there are repeated jump shots added in to the beat of the score creating  effect and tension, yet again there is the combination of the voice over and narrative explaining the rest of the story line and how the characters are involved. Just over halfway through the trailer the rest of the credits are shown, displaying the name of the lead actors in the film along with more of the 'intense' scenes which coincide with the score as the tempo increases to a dramatic pace, again creating  tension and anxiety, whilst it finishes with the title of the film, and the end credits such as the release date and the film and music producers in small print.

Shutter Island

Within the first five seconds of the trailer there is a shot of who the film is appropriate for, officially done by the film rate's and there is also a small clip of the well know film distributor Paramount pictures,  this is therefore the beginning of the staggered roll of credits. For the first twenty seconds there is a brief description of the name of the island and a few shots of it along with a voice over. There is a fade out and at the same time as this, 'A MARTIN SCORSESE picture' is faded in and then out of the screen, showing the producer label to the viewers, creating a superimposition. This happens along with the introduction of two of the lead characters, one whom is played by Leonardo Dicaprio. Within the next ten seconds there is a multiple number of extreme close up's on key objects such as the police marshal badge and the rifles and then the hand over of the gun and other weapons, there is a 180' degree shot between two of the lead characters and low key character, there is slow motion when the two main characters are walking through the main gates into the 'prison'. As the camera is then moving further into the grounds of Shutter Island there is a distinctive voice over describing key aspects of the main plot, whilst this happens, to match what is being said there are shots of 'ill and dangerous' patients jumping between the lead character and them. From then there are further shots such as zoom in on signs saying 'restricted area' and injections, a boot on top of a gun being dragged along the floor, along with sound, yet still with the voice over, bodies and fellow patients either behind bars or not. These are generally giving the audience clues of what the film may involve. Alot of jumpshots and a general montage follows all of this and the camera tone changes as it goes from light to very dark shots and includes a lot of flashes followed by numerous jump shots. There is also a score behind the narrative and diegetic sound gradually increasing in sound and tempo, again adding tension. Alike Inception it finishes with the film name and closing credits such as the film and music producers along with the release date.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iaYLCiq5RM

Overall both the films trailers are very similar as they both start with and introduction to key and lead characters who then throughout the trailer explain and generalise the story line and then in the middle of both the trailers they  have many jump cuts and a general montage. Then it finishes of with up tempo score and closing credits such as the release date of the film along with the name, the music and film producers etc and both end on a cliff hanger where (lasting around five seconds) a short clip of a scene with high intensity and action occurs.

Thursday 13 January 2011

What is the Difference Between Thriller and Horror? - Extra Research

Thriller Genre
Thrillers tend to build up tension and fear. They are usually suspenseful and don't usually show the violent parts. Obviously killing is involved but most gory parts are left out. A thriller excites the audience in any way such as a car chase.Thrillers are more about pursuit, and the main character is either a hero or an anti-hero whose motivations are explored. Also thrillers usually have little or no supernatural content. An example is 'The Butterfly Effect' which is a psychological thriller.

Butterfly effect



Horror Genre
Horror makes its excitement in very particular ways, through use of graphic violence and pain. It's more about being scared than being excited like in thrillers. Horror films tend to include a lot of meaningless deaths and they are likely to contain supernatural beings. The genre is characterized by the attempt to make the viewer experience fright, fear, terror, disgust or horror. Its plots often involve the intrusion of an evil force, event, or personage, sometimes of supernatural origin, into the mundane world. A good example of a horror film is the 'Saw' series. It contains a lot of bood and gore and killings with a lot of detail.

Saw



Thriller and horror genres are quite similiar however, and some films overlap into both genres.

Political Thriller Conventions

A political genre in a thriller film is one that is set against the background of the political power struggle. The conventions for this vary amongst the other genres. There is many variations of the narrative, usually they involve someone, the protagonist character being given political power while their opponents, the antagonists try and stop them from getting it.

Differences we have identified:
- Can feature innocent people becoming drawn into the political world.
- Characters aim to prove innocence.
- Location tends to focus on different cultures and countries.
- In some cases the use of another character as a helper who provides the protagonist with something useful.
- The use of false heroes, someone we think is the good guy turns out to be the opposite.

An example of a film that portrays this genre is The Contender made in 2000. This features a woman who is nominated to become Vice President following the death of the previous. During the process she becomes a victim of vicious attacks on her personal life resulting in stories from the past being spread, leaving her indecisive to fight back or refuse to comment.

Wednesday 12 January 2011

Psychological Thriller Conventions



Sub-Genres of Thrillers - Extra Research

Thriller films are also divided into sub-genres which help to explain the narrative. These can overlap and incorporate other themes. The typical codes and conventions for all genres is the the sound and editing used to build tension and hold us in suspense. As well as this the shots used will usually be quick paced with many camera angle changes.


The fast pace and recurrent action means that there can also be overlapping of these sub-genres:
- Action thriller
- Conspiracy thriller
- Crime thriller
- Disaster thriller
- Drama thriller
- Eco – thriller
- Erotic – thriller
- Horror thriller
- Legal thriller
- Medical thriller
- Political thriller
- Psychological thriller
- Spy thriller
- Supernatural thriller
- Techno – thriller



The thriller film certification is never made under a 12. The reason for this is due to the narratives involving strong content that is unsuitable for a younger audience. This means they are more vulnerable when compared to the way the target audience will be affected by the film.


We plan to investigate further into some of the sub-genres mentioned which we could possibly use in our final thriller project.

Monday 10 January 2011

Our Preliminary Task Evaluation

We think that we produced quite a good story-line to our preliminary opening sequence that was effective and fitted well with the thriller genre. Holly and Jade did very well in acting and this helped make our opening sequence more effective. The transitions that we used fitted well with our footage and helped make it look more professional overall. Also the soundtrack that we found built up the right amount of tension that we aimed for and so we were happy with that!

When putting our footage together there were a couple of times where during filming we had moved the camera by accident when re-doing shots and as a result of this there are a couple of jumps within the sequence. This is something we will consider in our final piece in order to show better continuity and make it more professional. Continuity is the main element that we need to improve on for our final piece however we could also use a wider range of shot types and be more careful when we move the camera whilst filming.

Overall we think that our preliminary task turned out quite well. We worked well together as a group and we spread out the amount of work evenly! We learnt how to build tension through the different shots. We also learnt better skills on editing as we experimented with more transitions that on our previous task.