Coursework: Filming Motorcycle Scene

I came up with this introduction scene when we found we needed to further extend the footage, I had a friend who would gladly assist with the filming by using the motorcycle. We started by filming the bike going round the area, and then having it pull into a parking spot. We did a few practise runs to see how it would look on camera and what the best angle would be to film it. We found that filming from a diagonal angle, then panning into the parking spot worked really well, so we decided to use that footage.

We found that the first attempt was somewhat shaky and wasn't usable. We decided to film again the following day and found we managed to get the perfect pan, we found that we managed to get some really good footage at this point. Following from now we would start to edit all the footage within a file at the mac we were using.

Coursework: Filming Second Shoot

We once again returned to the train station, however this did not go as planned. Although we had learnt from our past mistakes and found ways of improving out filming, we were unable to film there as we had been complained about. This meant we had no choice but to stop filming and rework the character entrys. This was when we decided on using the school for the majority of the filming. We chose this as it was the easiest place for us to film at, and was also the most convenient.

The way we remade the this part of the film was by making Aman's character walk out the schools automatic doors, this being chosen as they somewhat resemble the image of a train station. We then decided on again using parallel editing to make the characters eyes meet to show the acknowledgement. The idea worked well as we found that the set up itself worked out well, however we also found that we needed to lengthen and re-shoot this scene.

Coursework: Filming First Shoot

Our first shoot was taken near a train station in order to get the original idea of one of the characters exiting out of the train station. We also needed for him to make eye contact with the character I was playing and have a nod between the two to show they acknowledged each other. With this in mind we decided on having my character placed sitting down at a table, whilst facing the train station exit. We tried many shots out to see what worked best however in the end we found that the footage we had taken wasn't usable as the camera was shaking at some parts of the scene.

We did make a trial edit of the first scene which allowed us to get more used to premier and see all the flaws with the footage we had.


This meant we would have to return to re-film at a later date.

Coursework: Props

Once we had all the costumes planned out, we needed to make a list of all the props we would need. These were:

- Glasses

- Bottle of Alcohol

- Electric Cigarette

- Car

- Motorcycle

 

Editing Research

Editing

Editing has been around for as long as media has existed. I learnt that even back in the time of using cameras with film, there have been some form of editing. Back before digital cameras and recording I learnt that they would physically cut and paste footage to alter the old films. I also learnt how thorough they can be with modern editing. They can completely changes the opinions people have on characters.
With editing they can even manage to change the narrative structure based on changing how characters and signs are interpreted.

Coursework: Costumes Planning

Now that we had the plan for the characters, we needed to decide on the costumes that would be used in the film.

For the woman in our film, we wanted to play on the stereotypes for the woman being controlled by the man, or being objectified. To do this we planned on having the actor being dressed in a dress to appear classy. We  found a picture which gives an indication of how we want her to appear:

"Red Dress Woman Pic"

The second character was being played by one of our group members, Aman. We wanted to continue the idea of class among most of these characters, so do this we planned on having Aman wear a suit. We wanted to have him appear to be like a business man as he was to appear coming out of a train.

We once again found an image which gave an indication of how we want his character to look like:

"Suit Pic"

The third character was being played by me. We wanted this character to appear to be the serious male character, who isn't one to mess around. Both mine and Amans characters were planned to have some form of rivalry shown through the scenes as in the storyboard, when they both first meet, they make eye contact and simply nod without a word.

"Third Character Pic"

For our final character we wanted someone who opposed the class of the other characters. To do this we decided on using a 'drunkard'. We planned to have someone walking through an alley while in a drunken state. We found this interesting as is broke the chain of class that the other characters had.

"Drunken Man Pic"

Coursework - Planning: StoryLine

After much discussion we finally decided on going through with the Western Thriller Hybrid. We plan to incorporate the conventions of western into the usual Thriller codes and conventions. The next step we felt we needed to take was to create a basic story line plan for the film.

We decided on using a Western Style Poker game in a modern setting. We wanted to include a variation of  characters to display a difference in the classes and yet they are forced into the same situation. We decided on having the characters be:
- Classy Man
- Objectified Woman
- Drunkard
- Middle Class "Working man"

We thought that by using a range of stereotypes we could add tension among conflicting personalities, causing possible reason for a thriller event to follow, e.g. Murder.

The basic plan was for characters to each enter dramatically and create tension when they came into contact.
After planning out this, we then needed to create a storyboard.

Coursework - Planning

After going over our research we decided that the fist step we needed to take with planning was creating a mind map going over the ideas of what works with the audience and what we could make within reason.

(Mind Map Picture)

We came up with several ideas about how we should go about the Thriller. We shot down some of our ideas for being far too cliche, one of these was having a girl run through the woods from a killer in a classic styled Horror thriller hybrid. However it became clear to us that this had been done many times before and wouldn't have been interesting by the end as it had been done too many times before.

We after discussing all the ideas we came up with, we narrowed it down to a western styled thriller, and a thriller romance hybrid. We needed to decided between the two, and find which would be the best to make for our group.

Editing Task - Second Shoot

For this second shoot, we now knew we needed to think things out further, we started off by coming up with a Shot list for our new footage.

Shot List:

- Establishing shot of Doors, before camera begins zooming

- When the two characters enter through doors, the 'child' is shown being behind the 'mother'

- Match on Action used in this scene

- We see the character in the classroom as we are introduced to the 'teacher'

- The conversation between the parent and the teacher makes use of the shot-reverse-shot 

- Scene ends with the son looking down in disappointment, makes use of a piano instrumental, accompanied by a fade out in the end.

Final Cut Video Found Here

http://chelsea-wilsonn.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/continuity-task-second-shoot.html 

From filming this we realised that again we failed to come up with sufficient planning. Some of our cast were not the most suitable actors, as we had frequent bursts of laughter. We did however all manage to get more confident in our use with cameras.


Teacher Analysis - Due to my blog originally being made in pages rather than posts, the comments made on the removed pages became invisible, there for I decided to copy over the comment to the related post.

Level 1: 15/60 A lot of work is to be done in your understanding of how to use the camera to engage the audience and subsequently your shot selection and the reasons for them. I have the sense you have simply pointed the camera to film, instead of pointing the camera to really construct meaning in relation to the plot and story. You attempt match on action but it is not executed well, and further understanding of this technique is needed. There needs to be more fluidity across the shots to engage the audience into the idea of time passing. Your sense of clipping and timing in the editing process needs a lot more attention to detail to make the sequence seamless. Continuity is lost as you move from characters walking to a shot of the feet which start from a standing position. There is no actual SRS evident, and this particular technique is one you need to address. Your technical understanding of camera use is in need of a lot of further consideration. SRS is from the POV of each on

My Response: In response to our feedback, I have realised that there is much more research needed to be done into the process of filming, we need more experience with filming and editing and a group. We need to further look into alternative shots we can use while filming, and also remember to experiment while filming to see if we can find a better angle or shot. Our main flaw I found was our lack of planning. Without a proper plan, we only got a basic film in the end, worth few marks overall. This meant we would have to put much greater efforts into the future Thriller film. 

Editing Task - The first shoot

This was the video produced from the first film shoot.

 ("First Shoot End Video") - Link to Group Members Blog Page with First Cut
http://chelsea-wilsonn.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/continuity-task-first-shoot.html 

Teacher Feedback: After producing our first video, the teacher had a look over it and told us what was good, what was bad and how we could improve. The positives were that we kept to the 180 degree rule really well, and that our overall filming was rather good, however we found there was a few clipping issues within the clip. Another issue we had with the final video was that we used a dissolve transition for the Match on Action, we were told that this wasn't right and that it was an improper use of the transition and that it would be far better to use a quick cut between the three stages. We also were told we needed better movement tracking with the Match on Action, we were advised to change the final part of the match on action to the actors sitting down rather than them already seated. We were told this would create a better idea of passing time with cuts. This also lead us to the discovery of the mothers face being blocked by the child's. This meant she couldn't be seen and looked rather sloppy in camera work. The improvements that were suggested to us was to create an establishing shot before the entry of the actors, rather than having them come in straight away.

What I have learnt: From this first shoot I have learnt that the whole process is a case of trial and error. Shoots don't always go flawlessly and that its okay to re-shoot as many times as needed as long as we get the quality result we're aiming for. I also learnt that editing is espicially important during this post-production as there are so many ways to approach the raw footage and many different changes for different effects. Throughout the editing I found new ways and approaches to editing than I had known before and feel that it will be really beneficial for the Thriller film opening.

Editing Task - First Shoot Filming

Once we had the film planned out, we next had to start filming. This was somewhat challenging as it took a lot of organisation to get the area we needed for the filming, along with the needed people. For this task we found it easier to use ourselves as the actors, as it meant we would have greater control over the video and would have less risk of an actor not being able to show. The main issues we had with the camera was learning the best way to use the camera. None of us had much knowledge on the actual practical use of professional filming, which meant we first had to find to best ways to shoot, the best angles and then a few practise videos just to get the idea of how we do it.

The first shoot itself had a few minor bumps, delays to charging of equipment, finding a suitable tripod. Once the filming got started we had learnt what we needed and how we could get the shots we wanted. We had to repeat parts of the shoot because the actors needed time to get serious and avoid bursts of laughter which come with nervousness. We had a few of these moments however by the end of it we had the shots we needed.

The most interesting shot we used with the film was the match on action shot that we implemented. We found that the shot itself was rather interesting as it added a certain depth to our video to make it seem more dramatic.

The editing was were I felt most comfortable as I had previous knowledge of using Adobe Premier making it easier for us to proceed and opened up more editing options. After teaching the rest of the group the basics of editing we managed to produce the edited clip with the footage. We added in effects for transitions and endings to make the video look more professional and better suit a films style.

Editing Task - StoryBoarding(WIP)

The second part of this task was to plan out a usable storyboard to base our shots around.

("Image of Page with Story Board")

Editing Task - Brief and Beginning

We have been tasked with the creation of a short, 60-90 second film, based off using various editing techniques and camera manipulation.

To begin with, we looked over the tasks sheet, giving us an idea of how we should go about the task.

My first thoughts on this task was that it would make good practise for the production of the Thriller Opening later on.

The first part of this task was to plan out the shots that we would use.

Coursework - Thriller Questionairre Results

Audience Research Questionnaire:

www.surveymonkey.com/s/wcxt3wy

By using Survey Monkey for a survey we managed to gather and collect results far more effectively than if we did it by hand. The questions we used for survey were decided with the intention of finding out which target audience the thriller genre best suits.

1) What is your Gender?
     - Male
     - Female

2) What is your age range?
     - 5-12
     - 13-17
     - 18-25
     - 26-31
     - 32+
3) What is your favourite genre?
     - Action
     - Sci-Fi
     - Romance
     - Thriller
     - Comedy
     - Horror

4) What is your opinion on thrillers?
     - Like them
     - Hate them
     -Don't mind them
5) Do cliffhangers add interest to the opening of a film?
    - Yes
    - No
6)  What is your favourite Thriller film?
      - Box left open to person filling out survey

7) What music adds to an atmosphere of a thriller film?
     - Eerie
     - Mysterious
     - Calm
     - Up-Beat
     - Classic

8) What setting would best suit a thriller?
     - Abandoned Building
     - Graveyard
     - School
     - Woods

9) What aspect of a Thriller movie scares you most?
     - Relation to characters
     - Jumpy Scenes
     - Ambience
     - Music
     - Antagonist

10) What would you expect to see in the opening of a thriller film?
       - Gore
       - Death
       - Mystery
       - Weapons
       - Other

Survey Results Analysis

Question 1:

Female: 67.89%      11
Male: 42.11%          8
From this we can tell that out of the people who filled out the survey, the majority of them were female, however the difference between the numbers isn't too great, with just three more people being female. From this we can gather that the thriller genre appeals to both genders.

Question 2:

5-12: 0%                     0
13-17: 84.21%            16
18-25: 5.26%              1
26-31: 0%                   0
32+: 10.53%               2

From this we can tell, people aged 5-12 have little interest for the Thriller genre, likely due to the age limits on thrillers rarely going below 12. The graph shows that age group which Thrillers are most popular with are people aged 13-17, the teenage years. From this we can get a good idea on who to aim the Thriller at, and what age rating we should suit it towards.

Question 3: What is your favourite genre?

Question 4:

Question 5:

Question 6: What is your favourite Thriller film?

- Psycho
- Insidious
- Sinister
- Shutter Island
- The Dark Knight Rises
- Dark Skies
- The Pact
- Phone Booth
- Pulp Fiction

These results were gathered from an open box, these movies were choices from the surveys. These will be good for later research into what makes the movies popular with the target audience.

Question 7:

From here we can tell that the audience believes that Mysterious music is the most effective addition to the atmosphere. This will be useful when deciding on what sounds to include within the opening sequence.


Question 8:

From this question we can gather that the Abandoned building is the most preferred or recognised setting for a thriller film. We also can tell that the school is the next favoured. This will help give us some foresight on how we should go about making our thriller opening sequence.

 Question 9:

From here we can tell that the Jumps in thriller films is the most effective way to scare someone through a thriller film. From previous  research on the conventions of thrillers, making it scare the audience in some way or another is an important part of making the thriller genre.

Question 10:

The results shows us that mystery is what is expected during the opening of a thriller film. This links back to prior research as we learn that typography is often used to create ideas of mystery and wonder.

Coursework - Common Traits of Thrillers

Common Traits of Thriller Films

-Low Key Lighting
-Shadows
-Obtrusive Editing(Quick Cuts, Changes in camera angles)
-Tension Music
-Stairs
-Flashbacks
-Black and White
-Freeze Frames
-Slow Motion

Typography used in Thriller

Silence of the Lamb Opening

The font used in this opening is a San-serif font. It's been capitalised, which makes it stand out more and seem more dramatic. The black font indicates that something dark is to follow, for example death, bad events etc. The white outline around the font allows the black to be readable, rather than blending with the dark background.

Se7en Opening

The typography used in this opening Title is a San-serif font. The font used is rather rough, it looks as if someone has tried shredding it, this makes it seem more viscous and violent, creating the idea that something is about to happen. The title is shown at seemingly random times at different sizes throughout the opening sequence, this adds a sense of mystery to the film.

Shutter Island Opening

The font used in Shutter Island is again a San-Serif font. The font used is a rather basic, no extra details or various effects added to make it look mysterious. The colour of the font is red, which often indicates that there will be some form of bloodshed within the movie. It also represents a form of danger is sure to follow. Like other opening sequences this one seems to also fade to black to present the opening title.

From the research on the typography I have learnt that there is common traits found among the thriller genre. The idea of using fades on the text to create a rather mysterious effect. The use of San-Seriff fonts creates a surreal effect, making it seem that isn't real, perhaps adding to a psychological factor. Another common trait between the used typhography is the use of black or red, these colours are often associated with darkness or evilness, so adding them to the thriller genre creates an idea of violence or tragedy.

Coursework - Alfred Hitchcock Research(WIP)

Alfred Hitchcock

Alfred Hitchcock was the most famous thriller director of his time and was said to have helped shape the modern-day thriller genre. He was said to be considered a master of manipulating is audiences fear and desires, and taking viewers into a state of association with facing the reality of the character. He would often include a taboo or sexually-related theme into his films.

Hitchcock's films often placed an innocent victim (an average person) into a strange, life-threatening or terrorising situation, due to mistaken identity, misidentification or wrongful accusation.

The first thriller he ever made was named 'Lodger' in 1926.  This film is based upon a woman  (a landlady) who believes that her lodger is a madman murderer who is killing women who live in London.

Coursework - Thriller Codes and Conventions

Codes and Conventions

Characters: Resourceful Heroes, Convicts, Soldiers, Spies, Law enforcement, stalkers, men associated with danger, criminals, assassins, Innocents which are dragged into danger, Psychos, Prisoners

Themes: Terroism, Political conspiracy, Psychological mind games, supernatural events, crime, spies, chase, suspense

Symbolism: Cars, Weapons, Urban settings, tension building music, fast paced editing, low lighting

Effect on Audience: Excitement, suspense, anticipation, nerve wrecking tension, anxiety, uncertainty

Coursework - Thriller Genre Research

Thriller genre

Thriller uses suspense, tension and excitement as its main elements. Thrillers heavily stimulate the viewers moods, giving them a high level of anticipation, ultra-heightened expectation, uncertainty, surprise, anxiety and/or terror. Films of this genre tend to be adrenaline-rushing, gritty, rousing and fast paced.

A thriller provides the sudden rush of emotions, excitement, and exhilaration that drive the narrative, sometimes subtly with peaks and lulls, sometimes at a constant, breakneck pace. It keeps the audience on “the edge of their seats”.

Thrillers often make use of literary devices such as red herrings, plot twists and cliffhangers. A thriller is usually a villain driven plot which presents various problems a protagonist must overcome.

Psychological thrillers are fictional thriller storys which enphasizes the psychology of its characters and their unstable emotional states, with similarities to gothic and detective fiction in sense of “dissolving sense of reality”, moral ambiguity, and complex and tortured relationships between obsessive and pathological characters.

Psychological thrillers often incorporate elements of mystery, drama and horror.

Examples: The Machinist, House of 9, Straw Dogs, Shutter Island.

Supernatural thrillers bring in otherworldly elements(such as fantasy and/or supernatural) mixed with tension, suspense and plot twists. Sometime the protagonist and/or villain have some form of psychic ability or super powers. Examples: The Dead Zone, Chronicle, Frequency.

Techno Thrillers are suspense films in which manipulation of sophisticated technology plays a prominent part. Examples: Jurassic Park

Spy Thriller: The protagonist is generally a government agent who must take violent action against agents of a rival government or (in recent years) terrorists. The sub genre usually deals with the subject of fictional espionage in a realistic way. Its is a significant aspect of British cinema.

Examples: The parallax View, The Tailor of Panama, Taken, Unknown.

Comedy Thrillers: The normal aspects of thrillers are exaggerated and used in ironic ways to create humour rather than the usual effect of scaring the audience. This sub-genre uses the similair devices, but will often reverse the negative effects and replace it with something which will again create humour.

Camera Angles Research

Camera Angles

Throughout visual media, different camera angles have been used to create various effects.

Close-Up: A shot which shows shoulders and above of a person, allows the emotions of the face to be exaggerated and made clearer

Extreme Close-Up: A shot which shows either just the head, or a part of the head. Used to dramatically increase the effect of the facial expression and the emotions within.

Mid-Shot: A shot which shows the people from the waist up. Shows the body language and reactions of the characters in the shot. Allows greater effects from a conversation.

Long-Shot: A shot which shows the entire body of the people, allows groups of people to be shown, can be used to represent isolation when person is separated from a group of people in the same shot.

Aerial Shot: A view from where the camera is set up directly overhead the focus to ensure a clear view

Canted Angle: A shot in which the camera is set up tilted to one side, this angle is often used to present disorientation.

Crab Shot: A type of shot which involves the camera being placed into a confined space, for example, if a camera is place inside a container as the person opens it.

Deep Focus: A camera technique which allows objects which are both near and far be in focus simultaneously.

Establishing Shot: The shot which is used at the beginning of a scene, this is mainly used to establish the setting of the scene.

Hand-Held Shot: A shot filmed whilst the camera is held within the camera man's hand, opposed to some form of tripod. This is often used to make the shot seem shaky, which creates useful effects for making the scene seem realistic to the audience.

Head-On Shot: This is when the action comes directly towards the camera, rather than the camera following the action. This is often made use of with action movies or war films in order to give the audience a sense of involvement.

High Angle: This is when the subject of the camera is looked down upon via the camera, by having the camera held higher and angled down towards the subject. This is often used to make the subject seem small and insignificant.

Low-Angle Shot: This is when the subject of the camera is looked up to via the camera, by having the camera held lower and angled up towards the subject. This creates the idea of superiority which the subject posses.

Master Shot: A camera shot used at the beginning of a sequence to establish key component elements and relationships found within, and allow them to be able to make sense of them.

Pan: The camera is carefully and gently moving across a 180° Angle across the subject on a horizontal axis.

Point of View Shot(POV): A camera shot taken from the position of the subject in an attempt to create a sense of involvement and realism with the audience.

Pull Focus: This refers to a shot where one object was on focus, which is followed by another object becoming in focus. This is often used to present a shift in importance.

Rule of Thirds: This a common technique used in both photography and filming. They include the use of a 3x3 grid in hopes of dividing up the frames and finding which area of the frame will objects look best in.

Shallow Focus: This refers to a shot where an object in the foreground has been focused on, whilst the rest of the frame in the background has been blurred. This is often used to show the importance of an object/ character.

Soft Focus: This refers to a special blur in which a special lens or filter is used to create a hazy light around the subject(s). This is often used in romantic scenes within films.

Tight Frame: This refers to a shot in which the person or object within the frame, is given little to no free space within the frame.

Loose Frame: This refers to a shot in which the person or object within the frame, has lots of empty space around it, presenting the idea of solitude and isolation.

Tilt: A camera movement in which the camera is set in a fixed position, with the ability to move the angle vertically up and down.

Tracking Shot: A camera shot in which the camera moves along axis to follow the subject. This is normally done using a set of rails surrounding the subject in which a portable camera tripod is used.

Whip Pan: This refers to a very fast pan between two or more characters or points of interest.

Wide Shot: This can be used as an establishing shot or a shot to show the location. A good use of this is showing the size of a crowd or setting.

Zoom/ Reverse Zoom: By using the zoom function on a camera, the lens can be used to adjust how close or far the subject appears to the camera.

180° Rule: This is the rule of which during a scene, the camera must stay within the one side of the 180° Line, this line is an imaginary line which is used to add a sense of realism to the camera work, allowing it to let people get comfortable with the positioning.

Breaking the 180° Rule: This is when the decision is made to break the previously mention 180° Rule in an attempt to confuse and disorientate the audience.

Narrative Theory

Narrative Theory

Throughout the time of media, theories have been made about narrative, explaining what they thought was the cause of how the narrative was made. The theories we have learnt about are:

-  Roland Barthes: Barthes theory is based around five codes which he decided, these codes are:

   -Action

   -Enigma

   -Semic

   -Symbolic

   -Cultural

These codes have different meanings to each audience, and it means the way things are represented depends on the audiences views and their interpretations.

- Vladamir Prop: Prop's theory said that characters each had their own narrative function, which then created the structure for the narrative. He based his theory on folk tales and fairy tales and how they where the ones who 'created' the story. He thought that it was the variation in characters which made the narrative structure what it was.

- Tzvetan Todarov: His theory suggests that narrative starts with an equilibrium, followed by a disaster, followed by a conflict, which then results in a new equilibrium, where its either back to how it was, or resolved for a better world.

- Claude Levi-Strauss: Claude's theory was that its the constant creation of conflict/opposition which carried along the the narrative. He thought that narrative could only end once the story's conflict as has been resolved. Claude believed that there was always an opposition found within films, for example, when theres love that has to be hate, wheres theres good, there must be evil and so on. These are all examples of binary opposites.

Audience Theory + The effects model

Audience Theory

All media is created to a set of conventions, which are specified for the intended audience. The differences which can make the different audience groups are:
- Age
- Gender
- Class
- Disabilities
- Race/Cultural Origins/ Ethnicity
- Interests

From audience theory, three main theories have been made around the principles of this, they are:
- The Effects Model/ Hypodermic Syringe
- The uses and Gratifications model
- The Reception Model

There is three ways which are theorised ways that the audiences consume media, these are:
- Primary/ Active Audiences: The audience is paying full attention to the media, and consuming all that it offers
- Secondary: The audience isn't focused solely on the media and will often be performing another activity whilst paying some attention to the media.
- Tertiary: The Audience is consuming the media sub-consciously, without paying any real attention to the media source.


The Effects Model

The effects model is a media theory developed in the idea of how media is consumed. There are three concepts related to this model.

Imitation: The idea that the consumers of the media are passively taking in ideals and copying them within real life.

Desensitisation: The audience is become more used to things they may have previously been seen as completely inappropriate and becoming a more normal scenario.

Catharsis: The audience is using the media as a way of escaping their own lives, to make themselves feel better about life by seeing something which they consider worse than their current scenario.