In the last two lessons we spent our time firstly deciding all our shots in detail finalizing the shot type, angle, movement and timing. We then produced a written draft version of the storyboard technicalities in order to access continuity and visual impact.
We then began the process of casting by locating an eternal actor and considering the role of the young child.
We then started working on our storyboards by initially word processing the technical directions in preparation for the insertion of the visual images.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Choosing our production groups sequence/idea:
After all our group voted on each of our presentations we ended up doing Ellie's. It was called; 'The Old Mans Haunting' It was a series of shots made into a sequence such as; a bike on the side of a walk way with the back wheel still spinning, a swing in a park swinging on it's own. A man being haunted by a little girl that's a ghost. However after looking to this idea we decided to change it. It is still about a man being haunted but now he is asleep in bed and is woken by the sound of a little girl sobbing. He looks around the house seeing bright lights in the cracks of doors. He then opens one door, as the sobbing gets louder, to find a little girl holding a broken doll crying. However she is not innocent as she has been made out to be but is ghostly and haunting.
Account of giving presentations for possible Thriller ideas:
Everyone gave a presentation on there idea for a Thriller through showing a powerpoint presentation. We then all had to vote on which one we liked the most and we thought would really work.
This was my prensentation of my idea:
First story line:
- A man awaiting his death.
- Getting ready (breakfast, shower, writing a letter, passing his cell.).
- Walking towards his death.
- Being hung.
Second story line:
- A teenage girl.
- Knocking on a door franticly, crying, screaming etc.
- Silence other then her screaming.
- She gives up knocking (when he is hung).
- Slams her back to the door and slides down.
Locations:
- A hall with a door (old looking door).
- A cell (white room).
- A corridor (looking like a prison corridor).
How does my idea create tension?
- By switching from the man walking to his death, then to the girl screaming at this door. Making the audience try and work out why he is being killed and if the girl is maybe trying to save him and if so will she save him?
- Go in between those two shots really quickly.
- Having eerie music in the background gradually building and building until it stops instantly and you just hear the rope being tugged.
Props, casting
- A man (25-40).
- A teenage girl.
- Chains/Handcuffs.
- A bed for the prison cell.
Why do I think my idea will work?
- It is not too complicated.
- There are only 3 location (the cell, the door and the corridor).
- I think it would build tension really well, with all the questions the audience will ask themselves.
- It’s original.
- It has something which people care about in life (the death penalty) that people could relate to.
- A man awaiting his death.
- Getting ready (breakfast, shower, writing a letter, passing his cell.).
- Walking towards his death.
- Being hung.
Second story line:
- A teenage girl.
- Knocking on a door franticly, crying, screaming etc.
- Silence other then her screaming.
- She gives up knocking (when he is hung).
- Slams her back to the door and slides down.
Locations:
- A hall with a door (old looking door).
- A cell (white room).
- A corridor (looking like a prison corridor).
How does my idea create tension?
- By switching from the man walking to his death, then to the girl screaming at this door. Making the audience try and work out why he is being killed and if the girl is maybe trying to save him and if so will she save him?
- Go in between those two shots really quickly.
- Having eerie music in the background gradually building and building until it stops instantly and you just hear the rope being tugged.
Props, casting
- A man (25-40).
- A teenage girl.
- Chains/Handcuffs.
- A bed for the prison cell.
Why do I think my idea will work?
- It is not too complicated.
- There are only 3 location (the cell, the door and the corridor).
- I think it would build tension really well, with all the questions the audience will ask themselves.
- It’s original.
- It has something which people care about in life (the death penalty) that people could relate to.
Target audience:
- 18 and over
- male and female
- it would be a Hollywood stlye movie company
Account of lesson on "What is a Thriller":
Our lesson explored the concept of the thriller genre and clearly identified its key conventions. The thriller genre is a difficult genre to explain because so a lot of the emotions and reactions that come from Thrillers are part of the whole understanding of film. It is a ‘meta-genre’. A good example of a film with the genre ‘Thriller’ is ‘Don’t Look Now’. A Thriller film relies on complexity of plot to generate fear, apprehension and suspense in the hearts and minds of the viewers. Thrillers need to make the audience question the film not be confused but question why? Etc. Most Thrillers have themes such as love, money or death at the heart of the film. It is this struggle that frequently enthralls the viewer. A Thriller is really a film in which the director causes hurt and anguish to the characters with in it. Our enjoyment is derived from their distress.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Account of editing peliminary task:
We used final cut pro that were run on a G5 Mac computer. All the editing took place on a timeline that was very easily modified and adjusted. The rushes were digitized from tape on to fire wire hard drives which were portable. We then looked through all the shots deciding on the ones we needed to keep and the ones we needed to discard. After deciding that we logged the footage we needed and discarded the bad takes. The best shots were dropped down onto the timeline to be trimmed and adjusted which includes; slowed, color adjusted, sped up etc. We can then after doing this manipulate the sound by importing music or sound effects etc. which we didn’t do. This allows a narrative to be constructed into a logical sequence. The shots that we discarded were the shots were either the actors made a mistake, if we broke the 180 degrees rule and thus compromised continuity. We had to take out one were one of the actors began to laugh. The shots were trimmed, adjusted and extended to enable smooth continuity editing that generated the illusion of a continues event which was our simple two person conversation.
Account of shooting peliminary task:
For our preliminary task we were put in a group of four and given a storyboard. We had to film a dialogue between two people using the same shots as the storyboard and adding more shots that were from different angles or positions. Our objective was to be introduced to video cameras and learn how to use them in the right way for example; construction of shots, composition, framing, focus and learning to deal with continuity which consisted of making sure that in every shot the actors looked the same were wearing the same clothes, the background had not changed etc. It was also to practice and then comprehend the concept of constructing a narrative sequence using continuity editing. Ultimately our objective was to produce footage that could be digitised and cut on a timeline using non-linear editing.
We used a storyboard as it helped us begin with a structure; they were not complex shots but simple ones as we were rather in experienced at the time. We used mid shots (MS) as to show the expressions of the actors from waist up. We also used some close-ups for example when one of the actors fake cried we wanted to generate close character audience proximity to draw the audience in, into feeling sympathetic for this character. We also used long and wide shots so that we could include the two actors in the shot to see both of there body gestures. We captured one high angle shot, we stood on a table to try and make one of the characters seam intimidating and superior, making the other actor look inferior contrasting the other character. It was a high angle over the shoulder shot. We didn’t end up using this shot as it did not work well with the other shots because it was out of proportion to the others. We also used low angle shots and eye level shots. We didn’t use any following pan shots or surveying pan shots. We did use zooming in at one point, which we didn’t put in the timeline though. Although we didn’t use very complicated shots we used a variety of shots to provide filmic variety. The storyboard also helped us structure the timing, the shot types, a range of shots, camera and subject positioning, chronology of the sequence, to help us never break the 180 degrees rule so not to confuse the audience, the lighting and finally the editing transitions.
When using the camera we did not increase gain as the lighting was adequate. We had class room, artificial lighting shinning down on the actors from above. We also didn’t want any shots to be grainy. It is important to set the white balance right for the internal setting which we did as we were inside. We used the focus so that we could direct the audiences attention clearly and direct there eyes to the main subject. We also used the out of focus to create depth of field which appeared well constructed.
We recorded the conversation with a directional microphone attached to the side of the camera. It was pointed directly at the source of sound all the time as it was connected to the camera and so pointed in the same direction as the camera. We did not take the microphone of and hand held it at all. The camera was not put in a position that was too high or to low so we had to set the levels so that they were right on the camera.
Our strengths and weaknesses varied as we ended up only having three people in the group. Two of us had to act in it and so only one of us could be the camera man however we all helped, checked for continuity and all of us put our opinions across and compromised as a group. One of our strengths was that we had a strong hard working compatible group. We also added in extra shots such as shooting from a very high angle by standing on a table, and attempting a shot from the floor looking up. We also used props such as eye drops to make one of the actors seam as though they were crying, to make the scene look more realistic and to make it look like it had depth to it.
We had difficulties with the room we were shooting in as one of the sides of the room was a window with darkness the other side of it so it created a reflection. We had to make sure that in each shot we didn’t get the camera’s reflection init. This did corrupt one of the shots we wanted to do unfortunately. We could only face the reflecting background when we were doing close-ups so that the actor took up the entire frame.
We used a storyboard as it helped us begin with a structure; they were not complex shots but simple ones as we were rather in experienced at the time. We used mid shots (MS) as to show the expressions of the actors from waist up. We also used some close-ups for example when one of the actors fake cried we wanted to generate close character audience proximity to draw the audience in, into feeling sympathetic for this character. We also used long and wide shots so that we could include the two actors in the shot to see both of there body gestures. We captured one high angle shot, we stood on a table to try and make one of the characters seam intimidating and superior, making the other actor look inferior contrasting the other character. It was a high angle over the shoulder shot. We didn’t end up using this shot as it did not work well with the other shots because it was out of proportion to the others. We also used low angle shots and eye level shots. We didn’t use any following pan shots or surveying pan shots. We did use zooming in at one point, which we didn’t put in the timeline though. Although we didn’t use very complicated shots we used a variety of shots to provide filmic variety. The storyboard also helped us structure the timing, the shot types, a range of shots, camera and subject positioning, chronology of the sequence, to help us never break the 180 degrees rule so not to confuse the audience, the lighting and finally the editing transitions.
When using the camera we did not increase gain as the lighting was adequate. We had class room, artificial lighting shinning down on the actors from above. We also didn’t want any shots to be grainy. It is important to set the white balance right for the internal setting which we did as we were inside. We used the focus so that we could direct the audiences attention clearly and direct there eyes to the main subject. We also used the out of focus to create depth of field which appeared well constructed.
We recorded the conversation with a directional microphone attached to the side of the camera. It was pointed directly at the source of sound all the time as it was connected to the camera and so pointed in the same direction as the camera. We did not take the microphone of and hand held it at all. The camera was not put in a position that was too high or to low so we had to set the levels so that they were right on the camera.
Our strengths and weaknesses varied as we ended up only having three people in the group. Two of us had to act in it and so only one of us could be the camera man however we all helped, checked for continuity and all of us put our opinions across and compromised as a group. One of our strengths was that we had a strong hard working compatible group. We also added in extra shots such as shooting from a very high angle by standing on a table, and attempting a shot from the floor looking up. We also used props such as eye drops to make one of the actors seam as though they were crying, to make the scene look more realistic and to make it look like it had depth to it.
We had difficulties with the room we were shooting in as one of the sides of the room was a window with darkness the other side of it so it created a reflection. We had to make sure that in each shot we didn’t get the camera’s reflection init. This did corrupt one of the shots we wanted to do unfortunately. We could only face the reflecting background when we were doing close-ups so that the actor took up the entire frame.
Intro to using Final Cut Pro editing package:
This lesson focused on the use of Final Cut Pro editing package. We learnt about the principles of editing using a timeline. This enabled us to drag shots onto the timeline from a logged bin and extend or trim them in order to create a coherent sequence and construct a narrative. We also learnt how to manipulate sound and visuals separately. We were also shown the potential of after effects.
Intro to Video Cameras:
Our lesson focused on the operation and use of the Sony PDR170 mini Dv video camera. We learnt about the importance of insuring a steady shot by using a tripod, we had to bubble up and level the tripod before starting to shoot. We had to make sure there was a neutral balance of light. We didn’t use any artificial lighting such as gain as it creates a poor quality. We only used the normal lighting in the class room. We had to make sure that the exposure was right before using the classroom lighting.
For the framing and composition we made sure that each actor had head space and room to move around when needed. We also made sure we were using the rules of thirds as needed and used a range of depth of field of the shots.
For the framing and composition we made sure that each actor had head space and room to move around when needed. We also made sure we were using the rules of thirds as needed and used a range of depth of field of the shots.
Learning about Stills Cameras:
We were first introduced to a stills camera in Media with Matt, Vicky and Scott. We learnt to turn the camera on, focus the lens, making sure the camera was on manual. We had to make sure the aperture was right, so that it was letting in enough light. We had to consider the framing and the composition rules e.g. the rules of thirds that we had discussed in class.
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