Friday, 11 February 2011
Thursday, 10 February 2011
Preliminary Exercise
Criticism of Preliminary Exercise
- The walking should be smoother to make the video flow better. The solution for this issue would be filming each clip more times and making the clips longer; this would make it easier to make the clips flow into one another during editing.
- There is not much dialogue in the video. Adding more dialogue would lengthen the video and make it easier for viewers to understand the situation. This could be solved by using a more advanced situation which requires more speech to explain what is happening to the viewer.
- The video is too short. Using a more advanced situation would allow us to produce a longer and more interesting video as there would be more to explain and show. Time restrictions had an impact on this.
- There are not enough camera angle variations. If the video was filmed again, more camera angles could be used such as a worm's eye shot, a canted shot, and an extra close up.
Friday, 4 February 2011
Evaluation of Thriller
After completing my thriller, I began evaluating various aspects of my film using a variety of different technology.
In what ways does my media product use, develop or challenge form and conventions of real media products?
For the first part of my evaluation, I filmed myself discussing my media product; why certain things were done the way in which they were done, how my film compares to real media products and whether I thought the project as a whole was a success or not. The video of me discussing my media product can be viewed below.
How did my media product represent particular social groups?
Next, I evaluated how different social groups, men and women, were represented in my thriller. I also compared characters in my thriller to characters of real thrillers and drew similarities in their characterisation which helps show how real thrillers influenced mine.
What kind of media institution might distribute my film and why?
I then considered the distribution of my film. I thought of where my film might be seen, what kind of distribution could be used for my film and whether it could be distributed digitally or not, the pros and cons of distributing it in different ways, and how my film compares to a professional film. I created a PowerPoint presentation to present this aspect of my evaluation, which can be viewed below.
Who would the audience be for my media product?
To help outline the target audience for my thriller, I interviewed some of my friends who were in my target audience and asked for their opinions on how appealing my film was to them, and if they thought that if my thriller reflected the age certificate of 15 that I had decided on. I also justified my decision of making my film a 15 and asked whether they thought my thriller would appeal to people who were not necessarily in my target audience. I noted down what my friends said and their opinions helped me to draw some conclusions.
How did I attract and address my audience?
I looked back over my target audience questionnaire throughout the production of my thriller opening as I wanted to appeal to the target audience as much as possible by reacting to their answers on my questionnaire and including the most popular answers in my thriller whilst leaving out the less popular aspects. I feel that my final production is suitable for my target audience because of this. I looked back over my thriller and made note of where I included elements that my target audience wanted in my opening.
What have I learnt about technologies from the process of constructing my media product?
I created a presentation on Prezi.com to evaluate my use of technology and what I had learned about technology during the course of the project. That presentation can be viewed below - use the right arrow to navigate around my presentation.
Looking back at my preliminary task, what do I feel I have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
Finally, I evaluated the journey from my preliminary task that I produced at the start of the project to the final product. I produced an audio commentary to go over my film which evaluates my progressions as well as discussing how well my film fits the brief and compares to real thriller films. The video with commentary can be viewed below.
In what ways does my media product use, develop or challenge form and conventions of real media products?
For the first part of my evaluation, I filmed myself discussing my media product; why certain things were done the way in which they were done, how my film compares to real media products and whether I thought the project as a whole was a success or not. The video of me discussing my media product can be viewed below.
How did my media product represent particular social groups?
Next, I evaluated how different social groups, men and women, were represented in my thriller. I also compared characters in my thriller to characters of real thrillers and drew similarities in their characterisation which helps show how real thrillers influenced mine.
What kind of media institution might distribute my film and why?
I then considered the distribution of my film. I thought of where my film might be seen, what kind of distribution could be used for my film and whether it could be distributed digitally or not, the pros and cons of distributing it in different ways, and how my film compares to a professional film. I created a PowerPoint presentation to present this aspect of my evaluation, which can be viewed below.
Who would the audience be for my media product?
To help outline the target audience for my thriller, I interviewed some of my friends who were in my target audience and asked for their opinions on how appealing my film was to them, and if they thought that if my thriller reflected the age certificate of 15 that I had decided on. I also justified my decision of making my film a 15 and asked whether they thought my thriller would appeal to people who were not necessarily in my target audience. I noted down what my friends said and their opinions helped me to draw some conclusions.
How did I attract and address my audience?
I looked back over my target audience questionnaire throughout the production of my thriller opening as I wanted to appeal to the target audience as much as possible by reacting to their answers on my questionnaire and including the most popular answers in my thriller whilst leaving out the less popular aspects. I feel that my final production is suitable for my target audience because of this. I looked back over my thriller and made note of where I included elements that my target audience wanted in my opening.
What have I learnt about technologies from the process of constructing my media product?
I created a presentation on Prezi.com to evaluate my use of technology and what I had learned about technology during the course of the project. That presentation can be viewed below - use the right arrow to navigate around my presentation.
Looking back at my preliminary task, what do I feel I have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
Finally, I evaluated the journey from my preliminary task that I produced at the start of the project to the final product. I produced an audio commentary to go over my film which evaluates my progressions as well as discussing how well my film fits the brief and compares to real thriller films. The video with commentary can be viewed below.
Analysis of the opening titles of 'Malice'
Analysis of the opening titles of 'Malice'
After producing my thriller opening, I evaluated it in the same manner in which I evaluated real life thriller openings at the start of the project.
Narrative Structure:
The first thing seen on screen is a car turning a corner and parking up at a house at night - the darkness instantly creates a tense atmosphere and makes the audience concentrate more on what is happening on screen. Slowly, a man - Nigel - gets of the car and approaches the front door of the house and unlocks the door, letting himself in. Nigel closes the door and takes a few steps into the house before cautiously stopping to take a moment to wonder where his wife is - this suggests to the viewer that he is a very protective and suspicious man. Nigel then throws his folder to the floor and begins walking up the staircase. After taking a few steps, the shot switches to an outdoor one with an unknown character (seen through a point of view shot) approaching the house. Nigel's feet are then shown walking up a few more steps before the mystery character is shown next to the front door. Nigel's feet are shown once more before the mystery character is shown slowly placing their hand on the door - suggesting that they could be a careful and nervous character. Nigel is shown reaching the top of the staircase before the mystery hand is shown opening the door. Nigel then approaches the door of his bedroom (where he assumes his wife is) and places his ear next to the door, again suggesting that he is a wary and cautious man. A shot from, the inside of the house then shows the mystery character opening the door more - although their identity is still kept anonymous. Nigel then opens the door to his room and steps inside before the mystery person is shown taking their first steps into the house. Nigel's face is then shown with a close up showing a shocked expression before the shot reverses to show Nigel's wife - Janet - hurriedly putting a notebook and a phone on the side which suggests that she was doing something that she didn't want Nigel to know about. The mystery character's legs are then shown walking into the house and slowly walking down the hall after shutting the front door. They then turn to a table in the hallway and pick up a pile of letters and discard all but the last one - which shows the names of the people in the house as well as their address - which they look at for a moment before throwing it back onto the table. They then turn and walk down the hall towards the door of the kitchen and carefully opening it and reaching inside to press the light switch before stepping into to kitchen. A point of view shot then shows the person looking around the kitchen before focusing on a small pile of booklets (passports) on the side. They then approach the side and begin discarding photographs and going through the passports before taking some money out of one of the passports and throwing the passport to the floor. They then quickly turn and run out of the house, slamming the front door behind them. The sound of the door slamming alerts Nigel upstairs, who turns and heads out of his bedroom with Janet following. They both reach the top of the stairs and stand there looking down at the front door, before briefly exchanging glances. The shot then focuses on the front door and the title of the film appears.
Thriller Codes and Conventions:
The romantic hero model is used in my thriller as all of the characters shown in the opening are ordinary and do not behave in extraordinary ways. The question and answer model is also used as the viewer is made to wonder many things; such as; who is the mystery person? Why was Janet acting so suspiciously? Why did the mystery person steal the money? Concealment and partial vision were also used in my thriller as you never see the entire body of the mystery intruder, only their hands and legs. The transformed city model is also used as at first everything seems safe but there is a sense of danger by the end of the sequence.
Camera Work:
At first, a series of long panning shots shows the car approaching the driveway. A mid shot is used as Nigel gets out of the car, and a close up of his hand shows him opening the front door. There is then a low mid shot from inside the house as he enters and swings the door shut. A low close up of his shoes then shows him walking away from the door and an upwards panning shot flows into a close up to show Nigel's concerned face. Low shots then show Nigel dropping his folder and starting to climb the stairs. A point of view shot from outside then shows the mystery person approaching the house. A number of canted shots of Nigel's feet then show him continuing to walk up the stairs and a series of point of view shots show the mystery character approaching and opening the front door. A low shot is used to show Nigel approaching his bedroom door and a close up of his face shows him listening. Mid shots are used as the intruder opens the front door and Nigel opens the bedroom door, and a low shot shows Nigel entering the bedroom. A shot reverse shot is used as a close up of Nigel's shocked face is reversed to a mid shot of Janet sat on the bed. Point of view shots and low shots of the intruder's feet are used in this section to conceal their identity as they examine the letters and passports and sneak about the house, and a long point of view shot is also used as they exit the house. Mid shot are then used to show Nigel turning his head and leaving the bedroom with Janet following. Low shots show the parents at the top of the stairs before a close up of the front door concludes the opening sequence.
Mise en Scéne:
During the course of the opening sequence of Malice, there is usually only one significant thing shown on screen at once which allows the viewer to concentrate more on the important aspects of the sequence and follow the story more easily - these include things such as the car at the start and Nigel inside the house. The viewer is also made to ask questions as a result of the use of concealment in the opening sequence of Malice as only the mystery intruder's hands and legs are shown on screen. The outdoor lighting is always dark which forces the viewer to concentrate harder and creates tension.
Sound:
A tense piece of music plays throughout the opening sequence and helps project the film's suspense as the music gets louder and more intense as the action in the sequence starts to heat up. Sound effects in the opening sequence match what is going on screen such as the sound of the doors opening and footsteps.
Editing:
The clips are arranged in a linear manner in chronological order, but the narrative constantly switches between following Nigel and the mystery character to help tell the story. The clips are short and constantly changing which makes the atmosphere seem more tense. The opening sequence is arranged in such a way that it makes sense whilst still creating suspense and confusion.
Graphics:
Red lettering with a black outline is used on a dark background which stands out. The text always appears in the left corners of the screen so it is out of the way and does not interfere with the footage. The red writing is a result of the preferences stated by our target audience from the result of our questionnaire and symbolises a number or things such as death, danger, and anger. The graphics are super imposed as they are shown over the top of an image.
After producing my thriller opening, I evaluated it in the same manner in which I evaluated real life thriller openings at the start of the project.
Narrative Structure:
The first thing seen on screen is a car turning a corner and parking up at a house at night - the darkness instantly creates a tense atmosphere and makes the audience concentrate more on what is happening on screen. Slowly, a man - Nigel - gets of the car and approaches the front door of the house and unlocks the door, letting himself in. Nigel closes the door and takes a few steps into the house before cautiously stopping to take a moment to wonder where his wife is - this suggests to the viewer that he is a very protective and suspicious man. Nigel then throws his folder to the floor and begins walking up the staircase. After taking a few steps, the shot switches to an outdoor one with an unknown character (seen through a point of view shot) approaching the house. Nigel's feet are then shown walking up a few more steps before the mystery character is shown next to the front door. Nigel's feet are shown once more before the mystery character is shown slowly placing their hand on the door - suggesting that they could be a careful and nervous character. Nigel is shown reaching the top of the staircase before the mystery hand is shown opening the door. Nigel then approaches the door of his bedroom (where he assumes his wife is) and places his ear next to the door, again suggesting that he is a wary and cautious man. A shot from, the inside of the house then shows the mystery character opening the door more - although their identity is still kept anonymous. Nigel then opens the door to his room and steps inside before the mystery person is shown taking their first steps into the house. Nigel's face is then shown with a close up showing a shocked expression before the shot reverses to show Nigel's wife - Janet - hurriedly putting a notebook and a phone on the side which suggests that she was doing something that she didn't want Nigel to know about. The mystery character's legs are then shown walking into the house and slowly walking down the hall after shutting the front door. They then turn to a table in the hallway and pick up a pile of letters and discard all but the last one - which shows the names of the people in the house as well as their address - which they look at for a moment before throwing it back onto the table. They then turn and walk down the hall towards the door of the kitchen and carefully opening it and reaching inside to press the light switch before stepping into to kitchen. A point of view shot then shows the person looking around the kitchen before focusing on a small pile of booklets (passports) on the side. They then approach the side and begin discarding photographs and going through the passports before taking some money out of one of the passports and throwing the passport to the floor. They then quickly turn and run out of the house, slamming the front door behind them. The sound of the door slamming alerts Nigel upstairs, who turns and heads out of his bedroom with Janet following. They both reach the top of the stairs and stand there looking down at the front door, before briefly exchanging glances. The shot then focuses on the front door and the title of the film appears.
Thriller Codes and Conventions:
The romantic hero model is used in my thriller as all of the characters shown in the opening are ordinary and do not behave in extraordinary ways. The question and answer model is also used as the viewer is made to wonder many things; such as; who is the mystery person? Why was Janet acting so suspiciously? Why did the mystery person steal the money? Concealment and partial vision were also used in my thriller as you never see the entire body of the mystery intruder, only their hands and legs. The transformed city model is also used as at first everything seems safe but there is a sense of danger by the end of the sequence.
Camera Work:
At first, a series of long panning shots shows the car approaching the driveway. A mid shot is used as Nigel gets out of the car, and a close up of his hand shows him opening the front door. There is then a low mid shot from inside the house as he enters and swings the door shut. A low close up of his shoes then shows him walking away from the door and an upwards panning shot flows into a close up to show Nigel's concerned face. Low shots then show Nigel dropping his folder and starting to climb the stairs. A point of view shot from outside then shows the mystery person approaching the house. A number of canted shots of Nigel's feet then show him continuing to walk up the stairs and a series of point of view shots show the mystery character approaching and opening the front door. A low shot is used to show Nigel approaching his bedroom door and a close up of his face shows him listening. Mid shots are used as the intruder opens the front door and Nigel opens the bedroom door, and a low shot shows Nigel entering the bedroom. A shot reverse shot is used as a close up of Nigel's shocked face is reversed to a mid shot of Janet sat on the bed. Point of view shots and low shots of the intruder's feet are used in this section to conceal their identity as they examine the letters and passports and sneak about the house, and a long point of view shot is also used as they exit the house. Mid shot are then used to show Nigel turning his head and leaving the bedroom with Janet following. Low shots show the parents at the top of the stairs before a close up of the front door concludes the opening sequence.
Mise en Scéne:
During the course of the opening sequence of Malice, there is usually only one significant thing shown on screen at once which allows the viewer to concentrate more on the important aspects of the sequence and follow the story more easily - these include things such as the car at the start and Nigel inside the house. The viewer is also made to ask questions as a result of the use of concealment in the opening sequence of Malice as only the mystery intruder's hands and legs are shown on screen. The outdoor lighting is always dark which forces the viewer to concentrate harder and creates tension.
Sound:
A tense piece of music plays throughout the opening sequence and helps project the film's suspense as the music gets louder and more intense as the action in the sequence starts to heat up. Sound effects in the opening sequence match what is going on screen such as the sound of the doors opening and footsteps.
Editing:
The clips are arranged in a linear manner in chronological order, but the narrative constantly switches between following Nigel and the mystery character to help tell the story. The clips are short and constantly changing which makes the atmosphere seem more tense. The opening sequence is arranged in such a way that it makes sense whilst still creating suspense and confusion.
Graphics:
Red lettering with a black outline is used on a dark background which stands out. The text always appears in the left corners of the screen so it is out of the way and does not interfere with the footage. The red writing is a result of the preferences stated by our target audience from the result of our questionnaire and symbolises a number or things such as death, danger, and anger. The graphics are super imposed as they are shown over the top of an image.
Thursday, 3 February 2011
Editing Diary
After filming my film I started with the editing which took around two weeks. During this time, I kept a diary of what I was doing each day and took pictures of myself and my group editing to keep track of what I was doing each day. We also regularly took screen grabs to show us editing.
Day 1: We uploaded all 20 minutes of our footage onto the system and saved it on the computer's hard drive so that we could access it without having to use the tape. We then imported all of the footage into Abode Premiere so that we could edit the footage freely.
Day 2: We began by cutting out all of the poor shots that we would definitely not be using and we cut every shot individually and saved them in our bin so that we could access them easily when we next came to edit. Whilst this was happening, other members of our group began looking for royalty free music on the internet.
Day 3: We started watching every take of every shot one by one and chose the best take for each shot, saving them in our bin as we went along. While this was happening other group members were also producing the evaluation questionnaire.
Day 4: We arranged all of our shots on the time line to create a rough cut version of our thriller. By doing this we were able to make note of where we could cut the shots, which was necessary as our film was over 2 minutes over the 2 minute time limit at this point.
Day 5: We started trimming all of the shots and our thriller started to take shape and flow better. However, it was still over a minute too long and there were minor continuity errors to deal with. We also finished and printed off the questionnaires.
Day 6: We practically finished trimming our shots and our film was almost under 2 minutes by now. By using sources that we had found previously we also found and downloaded suitable royalty free music for our thriller.
Day 7: We finalised the trimming of our shots and synchronised our music with our thriller opening, which was now just under 2 minutes in length.
Day 8: We started added titles to our thriller opening and exported it having finished it.
Day 1: We uploaded all 20 minutes of our footage onto the system and saved it on the computer's hard drive so that we could access it without having to use the tape. We then imported all of the footage into Abode Premiere so that we could edit the footage freely.
Day 2: We began by cutting out all of the poor shots that we would definitely not be using and we cut every shot individually and saved them in our bin so that we could access them easily when we next came to edit. Whilst this was happening, other members of our group began looking for royalty free music on the internet.
Day 4: We arranged all of our shots on the time line to create a rough cut version of our thriller. By doing this we were able to make note of where we could cut the shots, which was necessary as our film was over 2 minutes over the 2 minute time limit at this point. 
Day 5: We started trimming all of the shots and our thriller started to take shape and flow better. However, it was still over a minute too long and there were minor continuity errors to deal with. We also finished and printed off the questionnaires.
Day 7: We finalised the trimming of our shots and synchronised our music with our thriller opening, which was now just under 2 minutes in length.
Day 8: We started added titles to our thriller opening and exported it having finished it.
Audience Feedback
To get feedback from our target audience we produced another questionnaire and asked those who watched it to fill it out once they had watched our thriller opening. The questions were as follows:
1. Does the opening sequence grab your attention?
Evaluation: The majority of people said that the opening to our thriller grabbed their attention, and stated reasons such as the tense atmosphere created by the music and the quick cuts as well as the sense of mystery created by the concealed character as reasons why our thriller grabbed their attention.
2. Did the opening sequence hold your attention for the whole 2 minutes?
Evaluation: Nearly all people questioned stated that the opening held their attention for the entire duration as the tension and suspense keeps building as the opening progresses.
3. Would you recommend this thriller to family or friends?
Evaluation: Most people said that they would recommend our thriller, but highlighted reasons such as the low profile actors and directors as possible reasons that their friends or family might not be interested in our thriller.
4. Would you watch the rest of our thriller?
Evaluation: Everyone that we asked said that they would watch the rest of our thriller due to reasons such as the cliffhanger created and the concealment in the opening sequence making it exciting and tense with the impression that something big will happen later on in the film.
5. Did you enjoy the opening sequence of our thriller?
Evaluation: Nearly everybody said that they enjoyed our opening sequence due to reasons such as it being easy to follow and understand and that the whole film flowed together well with short shots and suitable music creating tension.
6. Did you find any continuity errors?
Evaluation: Nobody spotted any continuity errors so this must mean that if there are any continuity errors then they are only small and not very noticeable.
7. Did you think that the sound fitted in with the opening sequence?
Evaluation: Most people said that the sound in our opening sequence was effective as it helped build suspense and made the audience concentrate on small details such as the sound of footsteps.
8. Did the opening sequence flow?
Evaluation: Everybody said that our opening sequence made sense and nobody was left asking what was going on in our film. Some people did not at first understand why the shot kept flashing between the intruder outside and the parents but understood it by the end of the opening sequence.
9. Did the music fit the footage?
Evaluation: Every single person who completed the questionnaire praised the music in our thriller opening due to reasons such as it having a very positive impact on the suspense of the scene, and that it was well synchronised with the footage to reflect what was happening on screen.
10. How good was the setting?
Evaluation: Most people said that the setting was effective and suited the story of the thriller better than any other setting would've. Some people also highlighted the fact that because our thriller opening was set in an ordinary house - similar to the ones they live in - it made them feel more vulnerable and scared when watching our opening.
11. Did our thriller opening resemble that of a real thriller's such as Se7en or Red Eye?
Evaluation: Most people said that our thriller opening looked fairly professional whilst accepting that we had limitations on the technology and time to film our thriller with. Some people said that our thriller opening was similar to that of a low-budget professional film which is a positive point as our film essentially is a low-budget thriller film. People also commented on the titles and the music being similar to those found in professional films.
12. Did the concealment of the intruder add a sense of mystery?
Evaluation: Everyone said that the way in which the intruder was concealed made our thriller opening seem more tense with a greater sense of mystery, and that it made the audience want to know what happens next and who this mystery character is.
13. What age range would you suggest this thriller to?
Evaluation: Most people said that our thriller would be suitable for people aged 12 and above based off the opening sequence which is lacking in any violence - something that would be included later in the film which would justify our film's age rating of 15.
14. Is the storyline effective?
Evaluation: Everyone managed to understand what was happening in our thriller without us having to explain anything and based off the opening sequence we received feedback about how our thriller had a tense and exciting storyline.
15. How good is the lighting?
Evaluation: We received positive feedback concerning our lighting in the indoor sections of our thriller opening as the picture is very clear and it is easy to identify what is happening. Some people were concerned about the lighting of our outdoor sections but most people said they were still able to identify what was happening despite it being dark.
1. Does the opening sequence grab your attention?
Evaluation: The majority of people said that the opening to our thriller grabbed their attention, and stated reasons such as the tense atmosphere created by the music and the quick cuts as well as the sense of mystery created by the concealed character as reasons why our thriller grabbed their attention.
2. Did the opening sequence hold your attention for the whole 2 minutes?
Evaluation: Nearly all people questioned stated that the opening held their attention for the entire duration as the tension and suspense keeps building as the opening progresses.
3. Would you recommend this thriller to family or friends?
Evaluation: Most people said that they would recommend our thriller, but highlighted reasons such as the low profile actors and directors as possible reasons that their friends or family might not be interested in our thriller.
4. Would you watch the rest of our thriller?
Evaluation: Everyone that we asked said that they would watch the rest of our thriller due to reasons such as the cliffhanger created and the concealment in the opening sequence making it exciting and tense with the impression that something big will happen later on in the film.
5. Did you enjoy the opening sequence of our thriller?
Evaluation: Nearly everybody said that they enjoyed our opening sequence due to reasons such as it being easy to follow and understand and that the whole film flowed together well with short shots and suitable music creating tension.
6. Did you find any continuity errors?
Evaluation: Nobody spotted any continuity errors so this must mean that if there are any continuity errors then they are only small and not very noticeable.
7. Did you think that the sound fitted in with the opening sequence?
Evaluation: Most people said that the sound in our opening sequence was effective as it helped build suspense and made the audience concentrate on small details such as the sound of footsteps.
8. Did the opening sequence flow?
Evaluation: Everybody said that our opening sequence made sense and nobody was left asking what was going on in our film. Some people did not at first understand why the shot kept flashing between the intruder outside and the parents but understood it by the end of the opening sequence.
9. Did the music fit the footage?
Evaluation: Every single person who completed the questionnaire praised the music in our thriller opening due to reasons such as it having a very positive impact on the suspense of the scene, and that it was well synchronised with the footage to reflect what was happening on screen.
10. How good was the setting?
Evaluation: Most people said that the setting was effective and suited the story of the thriller better than any other setting would've. Some people also highlighted the fact that because our thriller opening was set in an ordinary house - similar to the ones they live in - it made them feel more vulnerable and scared when watching our opening.
11. Did our thriller opening resemble that of a real thriller's such as Se7en or Red Eye?
Evaluation: Most people said that our thriller opening looked fairly professional whilst accepting that we had limitations on the technology and time to film our thriller with. Some people said that our thriller opening was similar to that of a low-budget professional film which is a positive point as our film essentially is a low-budget thriller film. People also commented on the titles and the music being similar to those found in professional films.
12. Did the concealment of the intruder add a sense of mystery?
Evaluation: Everyone said that the way in which the intruder was concealed made our thriller opening seem more tense with a greater sense of mystery, and that it made the audience want to know what happens next and who this mystery character is.
13. What age range would you suggest this thriller to?
Evaluation: Most people said that our thriller would be suitable for people aged 12 and above based off the opening sequence which is lacking in any violence - something that would be included later in the film which would justify our film's age rating of 15.
14. Is the storyline effective?
Evaluation: Everyone managed to understand what was happening in our thriller without us having to explain anything and based off the opening sequence we received feedback about how our thriller had a tense and exciting storyline.
15. How good is the lighting?
Evaluation: We received positive feedback concerning our lighting in the indoor sections of our thriller opening as the picture is very clear and it is easy to identify what is happening. Some people were concerned about the lighting of our outdoor sections but most people said they were still able to identify what was happening despite it being dark.
Edit Decision List
To keep track of all of the shots that we were editing - the number of them and what was included in them - and what type of editing we were doing on them, we made an edit decision list.
Filming Diary
All of our filming was done in a single night and took us around 6 hours in total. Our clips were filmed in the most practical order possible - we tried to get all of the outdoor scenes in good enough light and we had to wait for one of the actors to arrive from work so the shots including him could only be filmed once he had arrived. We had previously attempted to film on an earlier date but due to problems involving the snow we decided to wait until the snow had gone for safety reasons and so that all of our outdoor shots would be taken with no snow in the shots so that there were no issues involving continuity. We waited for the roads to be quiet to film the shots with the car to avoid any outside interferences from civilians and other cars in order to get the desired shot. We filmed any hard and concerning shots multiple times to increase our chances of getting a good take of it and used the tripod to keep the shot steady and accurate whenever possible.
Wednesday, 2 February 2011
Logging Sheets
After we had collected all of our footage - of which there were 20 minutes - we went through the entire tape evaluating every single take of every single shot, noting how long the shot was and deciding if it was a good shot or not. This would help us decide on which shots to use as we could avoid using the bad shots and keep track of how long the film was more easily.
Thursday, 13 January 2011
Production Scedule
Title: Malice
Students: Hannah Smith, Daniel Orr, Sam Taylor, Alex Roughsedge
Date Production Started: 1st November 2010
Treatment Started: 15th November 2010
Shooting Started: 12th December 2010
Rough Cut Submitted: 15th December 2010
Final Tape Completed By: January 2011
Equipment required:Camera, Tripod, Battery, Tape, Track, Jib
Transport required:
Car / Bus
Actors: Janet Orr, Alex Orr, Nigel Orr.
Props: Briefcase, phone, paper, passports, money, letters.
Students: Hannah Smith, Daniel Orr, Sam Taylor, Alex Roughsedge
Date Production Started: 1st November 2010
Treatment Started: 15th November 2010
Shooting Started: 12th December 2010
Rough Cut Submitted: 15th December 2010
Final Tape Completed By: January 2011
Equipment required:Camera, Tripod, Battery, Tape, Track, Jib
Transport required:
Car / Bus
Actors: Janet Orr, Alex Orr, Nigel Orr.
Props: Briefcase, phone, paper, passports, money, letters.
Wednesday, 12 January 2011
Animated Storyboard
After creating the storyboard for our thriller we combined all of the sketches in an animation to give us an idea of how all of the shots link together, and whether we would need to remove or add any shots to help the thriller flow better. The animated storyboard can be viewed below.
Location Sheets
Before filming, we created location sheets for every location that was to be used in our thriller opening to help us map out how things were going to work and identify and possible hazards before we actually got out there.
Monday, 10 January 2011
Story Board for Thriller
To show how each of our shots was to be filmed and to show all of our shots together in chronological order, we produced a story board. The story board consisted of sketches of what all of the shots were to look like and a description was included under each shot to describe what was happening in it.
Shot List for Thriller
To help us understand how each shot was to be taken, we created a shot list which lists every shot on on our storyboard. We briefly explained how each shot was to be taken and what was happening in the shot - this would prove helpful during filming and editing as it also displays the order of the shots.
1) Long pan of street
2) Mid pan of car into drive
3) Extreme long shot of street
4) Medium shot of door, man walks to door
5) Low shot – Man walking to door
6) Low shot – man putting key into door
7) Big close up – Twisting key in lock
8) Extreme close up – key turning in lock
9) Low mid shot – man opening door
10) Long shot – of man entering house
11) Mid shot of man shutting the door
12) Mid shot of door slamming shut
13) Extreme close up – worms eye – feet on door mat
14) Mid tilted shot – mans face listening –looking upstairs
15) High shot – mans face looking up, listening , Laughing can be heard
16) Medium close up – of man looking down
17) Extreme close up of hand placing briefcase down
18) Point of view shot – tracking shot of someone slowly entering the house
19) Panning shot of house – looking at house
20) Titled shot – Focuses in on window
21) Low angle shot – man quietly approaching table
22) High angle close up – items (wallet, keys)
23) Low medium long shot – stranger clears table – turns towards stairs
24) Worms eye medium shot – Man taking first step on stairs
25) Extreme close up (canted shot) of foot on first step
26) Point of view – Running towards door
27) Close up – Another shot of foot on step
28) Point of view – Sneaking out of shadows towards door
29) Close up – Getting nearer to the top (Canted in different angle)
30) Point of view –Different stranger reaching doorstep and looking around
31) Canted medium close up – Reaching top of stairs
32) Outside – Point of view – looking into window & around frantically
33) Canted Close Up- Nigel creeping from top of stairs to door
34) Close-Up – Nigel pressing ears against door listening to laughing.
35) Close Up – Nigel’s hand going towards handle slowly
36) Big Close Up – Nigel’s hand grasping handle
37) Medium Shot – Door opening slightly inside bedroom
38) Medium Show (Low shot) – Door swinging open from inside , man looking at floor
39) Point of View – Discarded clothes on the floor
40) Point of view from outside- Strangers hands (wearing leather gloves) press against door and grab handle.
41) Low close up of front door coming a jar
42) Point of view shot
43) Extreme close up
44) Extreme close up
45) Point of view
46) Big close up
47) Point of view
48) Low close up
49) Tracking shot
50) Over the shoulder shot
51) High Mid Shot
52) Close Up
53) Shot reverse shot (close up)
54) Extreme Close Up (canted)
55) Point of View
56) Big Close up
57) Point of View
58) Big Close up
59) Point of View
60) Big Close Up
61) Point of View
62) Big Close up
63) Point of View
64) Low Mid Shot
65) Eye level Mid Shot
66) Point of view
67) Low canted mid shot
68) Point of View
69) Over the Shoulder shot
70) Eye level mid shot
71) Medium Close Up
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