12th December Media Lesson

In todays lesson we decided that it would be best if we re-shot some of our preliminary tasks, this is because during editing we noticed that some of the dialogue has been cut accidently. As we were not wearing the same outfits as in the original (due to a failure on the continuity front) we tried to shoot the whole conversation again. This did not go to plan as we found it hard to get the camera angles and effect that we desired.
Due to this we have decide to stick to our original and just edit it AMAZINGLY :)
The editing is so far going well and we are beginning to get the hang of iMovie. Yippee.

Experimenting with a camera.

Ella and Dave got hold of a camera and tested a few simple shots that we thought we would post on here!

Our story boarding

This is evidence of our story boarding :)

Wednesday 8th December

I am currently blogging in our media studies lesson right now! We have now completed our filming and editing for our preliminary task. We have had a few problems trying to make it flow throughout so we will be making the changes on monday so we can solve the problem.

The film Treatment

Film treatment

Character one: Rebecca, The daughter of Hannah and Dave. She’s four years old and is a very timid little girl. During the first 2-3 minutes the audience are unsure whether she is actually real. She’s quite an unusual character. She has blonde hair and blue eyes typical for a victim.

Character two: Hannah, The mother of Rebecca and wife of Dave. She is a very attractive, young, caring mother who devotes her life around her family. She doesn’t ever consider her husband to have any involvement with the disappearance of her daughter.

Character three: Dave, the father of Rebecca and husband of Hannah. He cares about his career more than his family. He is a mysterious character but is liked by a lot of people therefore makes him look innocent. He is good at messing with people’s head, which he proves when he convinces his wife that they never had a daughter and she is very ill.

Character four: News reporter is unseen and is the narrator at the start. Tells the beginning of the story about how a young girl has gone missing.

Location one: The Park. This is the location in which Rebecca goes missing. She is swinging on the swings when Hannah’s phone goes off. She turns her back for a minute and then returns to see her daughter on the swing. However is not there.

Location two: outside of a house. This is where the film starts with the police car outside following the police officer that knocks on the door.

Location three: The office. This is where Dave will pick up his phone to hear that his daughter has gone missing.

Narrative code/conventions	How we will use it
Red herring	The police car arrives at 12 She goes missing at 12 The title itself is a redherring
Mysterious characters	Rebecca is a mysterious girl as we are not sure whether or not she is real.
Flashbacks	The flashback of how Rebecca disappears.

Technical code/conventions	How we will use it
Dramatic camera angles	Tilted shots to show confusion. Close ups to show emotion. Establishing shot to set the scene.
Creep, eerie music	During the flashback
Character types	Innocent victim Psychotic man
Setting/Location	At the park In a house In a car An office
Iconography	Props include a car, a swing, a phone. Colours include, black, grey.

Title of our Thriller:  STILL NOT BEEN DECIDED

The first scene: Oh here we go productions begin the film. The scene starts with the lights of a police car slowly zooming out. The police officer will knock on the door of the house and be invited in by Hannah (mother of disappearing child.)

The officer will sit in her living room with her and she begins telling the story.

It will then shift to the flashback of what happened the day Rebecca went messing. 

Monday 6th December

So this was the first time in a week that every one of us were here and we managed to get loads done. The preliminary task is well on the way and will hopefully be finished by the end of the week. We did all our filming of the conversation. It was decided that we were going to do a conversation between hannah and dave which was a short scene on a parents evening. I think it worked really well and actually proved that both of them were very good at acting which is encouraging for our final practical as they are the main characters. Ella was very good at controlling the camera which is also very encouraging as she will now be in charge of most of the filming throughout the making of our thriller. We are now on to editing it all together. Although the filming itself went well, we are struggling to make the film flow but with practice its a good skill to have when we come to film ours! 
:)

Our shot list

This is evidence of our pre production work. This is a list of our shot types in the order we will follow whilst filming. 

Extreme close up 

Panning shot 

Point of view shot 

3 shot 

Over the shoulder shot 

Mid shot 

Establishing shot

Tracking shot

Tracking shot

Two shot

Zoom 

Close up

Close up 

Tilted shot

Long shot

Long shot

Establishing shot

Zoom

Tracking shot 

Mid shot 

Midshot

Midshot 

:) :) 

Preliminary.....

We have now started our first preliminary task which was going in and out of a door. We used a variety of shots including long shot, close up shot and match up shot which is where you go through the door then match up the shot the other side of the door. This is so you see the same side of the face.

We are now starting on our second preliminary task which is a conversation between two people in whcih we use the 180 degree rule....

It's Been A While!

So as we haven't blogged in a while here is a quick update!
We have now finished our storyboard and our script... Yippee :)
So we seem to be up to date. Things are looking good.
We are starting to practice with the camera and have begun to look at our preliminary tasks.
We promise to keep you in the loop from now on :D

10th November

So in today's lesson we were told that all our pre production work should be finished next week!
we are pretty much there now with the shot list complete and the script finished with a few changes.
As a group we have decided to have as little dialogue as possible to create suspense which we had learnt was popular from the questionnaire we had produced in the previous weeks.
The pictures in the script still needs to be complete but hopefully we will be finished by the due date.


keep voting for our title please!!!!!! :)

8th November 2010

In todays lesson, we have been continuing on with our pictures for our storyboard.

We have made a new decision in which we are now not going to be having a narrator, as we feel as if this will be very effective in our thriller film as it can be quite confusing for the audience to realise what will be going on.

We have made a start with our script which is going well!

PLEASE VOTE IN OUR THRILLER TITLE POLL!!!!!

What Shall We Call It??

We are utterly undecided on what to call our thriller film :/

Please help us decided by voting like crazy :)

Thank You Very Much

:D

3rd November Media lesson

In our lesson we produced six pages of storyboarding on our chosen thriller. We have finished deciding the different shot types and when the sound begins, fades and stops. We have also finished discussing what transitions we will use between shots. We had three titles for our thriller which are as follows: Twelve, A killer's Playground and Stolen time. As a group, it was difficult to decide our final title of our thriller so we decided to ask the class for their opinion on the matter, and the class results gave us a tie between two names, A Killer's Playground and Stolen Time. As we are undecided on a title for our thriller, we will make a poll in which you can vote! please help us with our title!

Roles for our film

Storyboard Artists: All
Camera Operator: All
Director: Emily
Editor: All
Actors: Dave,Rebecca Paterson,Hannah,Jono Dorrington
Sound Design: Ella
Set Design: All
Props,Hair and make-up: Hannah and Ella
Costume Design: Hannah and Ella
Lighting: All
Special Effects: All
Continuity: Dave
Title Design: All

The results from our Questionnaire

Our group gave out the questionnaire we produced in class. We questioned twenty people, thirteen of those were female whilst seven were male. five of the twenty people were sixteen, and seven people were seventeen and eighteen.
Using our results we found out that the genre which scored the highest in popularity was the psychological genre that scored fourteen out of a possible twenty. We also discovered that not many people enjoyed the action genre or the fantasy genre which neither scored over five.
Similarly to this, the character most people chose was Psychotics scoring twelve closely followed however by criminals. Unfortunately for innocent characters, it only scored one out of twenty.
Most of our questionnaires showed clearly that males were more popular as the gender of the protagonist. Male protagonists scored seventeen beating females by a clear score.
Many people likely the idea of the location to be in an abandoned house or isolated town. There was only one score in front with the winning location being an isolated town. The graveyard was unpopular and scored zero. As well as this the score of complex plot scored a higher mark than a simple plot scoring just two.  Therefore these results showed our group that most people enjoy psychological films that are complex and make you work.
" i like the suspense,exciting"
"i like the suspense and plot twists"
" it has to have a good story line"
"i like the suspense and the unknown"
"the twists that you don't expect"
" the way i have to think about what is going on"
"unpredictable"
" the fact that you have to think"
" making me scared"
Above are a list of many of what people had to say about what the like best about thriller films.
We recognised that most people enjoy the suspense the idea about not knowing what is going to happen next.

Our Questionnaire

1.      Male or Female?

2.      How old are you?

3.      What do you like best about Thriller films?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

 …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

4.     

Which sub genre of thriller films is most appealing to you?

              Psychological

               Action

              Fantasy

              Mystery

              Crime

5.      What type of character do you prefer?

             Criminals

              Stalkers

              Psychotics

              Evil

              Innocent/naïve

6.      Would you prefer a male or female protagonist?

7.      Do you prefer a simple or complex plot?

8.      Which location would you prefer?

                 Abandoned house

                 Forest

                 Graveyard

                  Isolated town

                 Other

9.      If you go to the cinema, do you often choose thriller over other genres?

10.   What type of music do you feel should be played throughout the film?

 

Slow paced

 

Fast paced

           Cruscendo (building up)

What is a thriller?

We think a thriller is...
designed to build tension, excitement and creates suspense. If the thriller is presented in such a way these emotions give the audience their desired thrill! 

Set up-How is it used in Shutter Island?

1) What does the set up reveal to the audience about setting?

The setting during the set up is portrayed as very mysterious. The boat revealing itself from the mist makes the audience have to really think about what is going on. The hospital itself looks prison like with electric barbed wire surrounding it suggesting to the audience that there is going to be escape. 

2) What does the set up reveal to the audience about characters?

Teddy is a mysterious character right form the beginning. His reaction to the water whilst on board the boat suggests that water is something we need to consider later on which does show importance further on in the film about his past. He also mentions how he's seen barbed wire before but can't answer where when questioned about it making the audience wonder where he has seen this barbed wire. He also wears a ring even though his wife is dead highlighting his difficulties coming to terms with the loss. 

3) What does the set up reveal to the audience about the interrelationship between characters?

Teddy's relationship between the officers is immediately shown as very tense. As soon as he approaches them they show their fire arms equipment and look very on edge almost like they have previously seen or heard about him. Teddy and his assistant ( the doctor)  is told to hand over his fire arms to the officers. Whilst Teddy whips his gun out and hands it over, the doctor struggles to get his out looking unexperienced. This later reveals that the reason for this is because he isn't even a detective but is an act on behalf of the mental hospital. 

As well as this we realise that Teddy, alone is known to be a dangerous character therefore handing over his fire arms was because he was a killer.

4) What is this world like?

we are given important information right at the beginning that this is a mental hospital and that Ward C is for the most dangerous patients. When teddy is first introduced to the hospital he comes across prisoners with chains wrapped round their feet and hands suggesting the danger these patients. As an audience we only receive a negative view in the set up of what this place is like; a dangerous, isolated prison. 

5) What possible conflicts or strains are there that will become part of the story later on?

The main conflict that is revealed through the set up is the flash back he has of his wife. Originally we believe that his wife was disastrously caught up in a fire and was killed. His flashbacks juxtapose with the real world in that it's all bright and joyful colours with happy faces and laughing together in his flashbacks contrasting with the eerie music and grey colours in his reality. Therefore the audience get a sense that his life with her was better and he was in love with her however later on we understand that he didn't ever have time for her which made her go crazy and result in killing their own children. As well as this she is always be dripping wet which again relates back to water being a key theme. She was supposed to be killed in a fire but every time she confronts Teddy in his flashbacks she is always wet. 

6) How does this film opening fit with the codes and conventions of Thriller films?

Shutter Island fits well with the codes and conventions of a thriller. For example: the grey colours and the weird mist in the opening scene. The colours used have connotations of mystery which is perfect for the Thriller genre. The flashbacks also fit as this confuses the audience about time and makes us work hard to think about what is going on. Even before the opening scene, the title sequence is hidden with shadows suggesting that there is mystery to come. The use of close ups at the very start showing Teddy's reaction to the water fit well with the codes and conventions. This helps us place him as the main character to look out/ watch out for throughout the film. Another example of a convention is the use of slow motion of the prisoner and teddy first meeting eyes. She is a mysterious, weird-looking character that we almost feel will have a significance throughout the film when she does the "sh" signal like there is something to hide however she turns out to be red herring. Finally the dramatic angles throughout the sequence such as the low angles looking up and P.O.V of teddy arriving at the gates along with the dramatic music over the top creates tension and suspense which is also important for a thriller to work. 

 

Steven Spielberg.......

Name: Steven Spielberg

Date Of Birth: 18th December 1946

Place of Birth: Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

Steven Spielberg is one of the most influential film personalities in the history of film, he is Hollywood's best known director and one of the wealthiest film makers in the world.

He was born in Cincinnati in 1946 and went to California State Univer

sity Long Beach, but he dropped out to persue his entertainment career. Spielberg's first major directional effort was "The Sugarland Express," the film that marked him a rising star. It was his next effort, that made him am international superstar, "Jaws."

Steven Spielberg is known for:

• Schindlers List
• Saving Private Ryan
• Artificial Intelligence
• Poltergeist

Other films......

• Men in Black
• Jurassic Park
• Shrek
• Taken
• Catch Me If You Can
• The Haunting
• E.T
• Gremlins
• The Terminal
• Transformers

My Thriller Advert :)

ATTENTION: We want you... or do we? Can you play mind games, and win? Or will you fall victim to paranoia? You must have the ability to plot heists on a large scale, the knowledge to throw out a red herring to cover your deathtraps. You must NEVER be afraid to take on some heavy stalking.

Can you leave people wanting more...

The Director, Tony Scott

Birthday: July 21 1944


Born: Stockton-On-Tees


Thriller Films: Spy Game, Numb3rs, The Hunger


Interesting facts about him:
-"Enemy of the state" a political thriller was thoroughly enjoyed and received terrific reviews which was a vast improvement with the response from his stalker flick "The Fan."
-His mum was an avid movie goer who passed her passion of cinema into her children including him.
-"Revenge" a hard edged crime thriller about an ex pilot who fights over the love of a rich beautiful woman with a powerful mexican crime lord failed to perform a the box office because of his arguments over editing. He nearly got fired!
- He has been one of mainstream hollywood's most reliable and stylish film makers since the mid 1980's.
-In 1973 Scott partnered with brother Ridley to form the London-based company in RSA. Over the next decade Scott created some of the world's most entertaining and memorable commercials.