Feedback, 31 January

If this ideas looks like a goer it sounds as if you might like to look again at "Momento" for possible technical ideas but also to avoid obvious plagiarism.

Feedback

Characterise the guy who shows up

• Costume
• Makeup

On farm, need vantage points to show the area
A trip to the area would be advised since only sam has been there before.

Bad Boys 2 analysis

In the film Bad Boys 2 it starts with fast cuts that creates a frantic feeling to the situation at the beginning. Bad Boys 2 shows the ‘baddies’ from the beginning that creates dramatic irony, this is due to the audience knows something that the ‘goodies’ don’t so it makes the audience feel more knowledgeable than the heroes. The colour balance in is red and blue and the low key lighting both show the division in the good and bad sides. The camera tracks the coffin and it also gives the audience the feeling of looking in to create a sense of mystery for the situation.

Then when the police are looking at the Klu Klux Klan activities they are slowly moving forward with a beat, this shows how silent and serious the scenario is. Then, the two main characters suddenly reveal themselves and starts singing, this creates a dramatic effect of revealing them when in this dangerous and serious scenario but yet when they’re singing it is almost as if they are mocking them, this has a slight comic effect on this section of the film. When one of the characters is standing in the middle with the Klu Klux Klan around him a quick beat is put in over the top as the situation is so serious, this replicates the audience’s heartbeat and creates a feeling of suspense as you don’t know what he’s going to do next. When one the same character shoots to save his friend, the shot is done in slow motion and the camera follows the bullet as it emphasizes what is happening in the scene.

Meeting 9

Meeting 9 – 30/1/09
All Present

Lighting and Sound

Sound - Why?

Atmosphere – Sound fx, voice overs, soundtrack, tone of voice.
Realism – Diegetic, Movement, Use of equipment, Mise-en-scene
Dialogue – Clarity (directing and recording) External mic/camera mic

Our Plan

• Any dialogue between multiple characters, would be better for an external mic
• Personal speaking would be good as overdubbing, to get a close up sound, as well as any flashback speaking, since that would sound better if isolated and in your face.


Lighting – Plan

• Any outdoor shots we will be key and fill lighting by a tractor and or a teleporter. They have huge lights, which would be good for lighting people correctly.
• Indoor shots, (eg broken barn) would be low key lighting, will be lit by workman lights out of frame, to create the illusion, all light is natural coming through the cracks, and open doors.

plot idea extension

If we go for the idea where the main character wakes up at the farm and doesn't have any memory of how they got there, they could come across items around the farm that can remind them of struggles that happened before the situation happened or just flashbacks to how they got there in the first place, and then the flashbacks finally let them remember something like how they got to that place.

Feedback Wed 28 Jan

You need to make sure that the strong setting idea does not obliterate the development of plot and character. 'People turning up at remote farm and getting killed' is more of a horror motif (think Texas Chainsaw Massacre). Devise some enigma and focus on character development so the audience will comprehend the reasons and sympathize with the victims.

yet another idea

my next idea is based around the "day in the life of someone idea" from this we could have only one character therefore making us more able to focus on our creative sides

the person could be lost in a wood one a walk he does every day but instead of following Hess normal route he goes a different way which would have a catastrophic change on the end result as the new path leads him to a dark gloomy wood instead of hes normal happy walk

meeting 8

Meeting 8 28-1-09
All Present

Tasks since last
ï Sam researched thrillers that have been released in the past year. And is analyzing the results.
ï JCB health and safety.
ï Discussed possible shots.


Character Motifs
Protagonist
Antagonist

Meetings 6/7

Meeting 6

Wrote analysis’s of films onto blog
Created own plot ideas

Meeting 7

Updated the blog logo (Adrian’s Photoshop Skills)
Discussed ideas
Pulled together those ideas and evaluated on feasibility.

a second idea

my next idea involves using a large high rise building in a heavily populated area this could be used to base a crime thriller with the use of this we could utilize the these high building to use lots of high angle shots and simply over dub the sound to make it look and sound realistic

the idea is someone steal something form a shop and then the shop keeper proceeds to hurt them and leave them for dead will relate slightly to the parable of the good samaritan

Ideas For A Good Thriller

One of the idea I think would be effective is the use of a constant beet in the back ground which leads from the title pages to the beginning sequence I like this because not only linking the sections together it add a sequence of atmosphere based on what the music is for example if it is a slow piece of music it will add a more sinister mood to the next sequence where if it a loud fast passed song it will make it a more energetic sequence as if something is about to happen

Secondly where a wide open scene is used I believe this adds a certain atmosphere as nothing can happen which when something does unsettles the audience as it makes them feel unsettled and nervous about the forth coming sequence as it means the film –clip is very unpredictable

The used of loud one of noses I believe works well as well for example gun shots or falling objects this is no0nce again because it is very unsettling and if followed by a silence very effective when trying to introduce a scene as it makes the audience have a sudden period of excitement followed by a sudden period of silence makes the audiences adrenalin start o pump which is one of the main aims of a thriller

The use of low angle shots and high angle shots are all very effective as it makes the audience feel that they are in control and dominating the subject or with a low angle shot that they are being dominated and being used by the films character or object

Also using very simple clothing and simple stereotypes I believe is effective

Plot idea

Plot idea

A man (lead role)breaks down in his car while driving down a quiet road,he cant get any signal on his phone so he decides to start walking down the road and eventually finds a farm that looks deserted and creepy. He wonders into the farm where he meets a couple who say the farm is theirs, he asks if he can borrow their phone, the couple take him through the farm to their phone. As the man is walking through the different barns he notices that their is blood on the meat cutters but realises that there is no animals on the farm.......

Plot Idea

A woman/man suddenly awakens at a farm in the mud. She has no idea how she got there or where exactly she is. She tries to leave but is kept by hallucinations of her escape leading to certain death, and her remaining there being tortured and held captive. This story is his/her struggle for her life.

Get Carter analysis

Get carter

The opening scene of get carter is on a train, the music is quite creepy but has quite a relaxing beat to it. This scene adds tension as you know straight away that the man on the train is the main character but you do not know anything about him yet. You see him taking some kind of drug in his scene but you get know idea of what it is. throughout the scene every time the train goes through a tunnel you get a moving view from the front of the train then once the train goes through the tunnel it cuts straight to the face of Carter and he always has a different expression.

This use of cutting seems to add suspense as you wonder whether something is going to happen to carter or the train etc. This is use of false suspense though as as the music starts to slow down the scene switches to night time and the train gets to the end of the journey and everyone seems much more relaxed. just as it comes to the end of the scene you see that carter is reading some kind of Italian gangster book this kind of gives you an impression of his character as he is also dressed like he is quite important and well respected.

davinci code

the divinchi code is historical thriller which tries to tackle some of the issue of plot motives the film incorporates most of these each will be described below

it starts with a scene where one man is trying to get information out what appears to be a museum curator who later gets shot since this is at the beginning of the film this sets a very fasted pace or the rest of the film this therefore makes the Adrenalin of the viewers start to pump therefore meeting yet another aim of the thriller film genre

the use of the mix of genres helps to create a more mass appeal which the end result would mean more people Will be willing to watch is as it would appeal to more audiences which will also help boost the budgets and the chance of the film beginning a bigger success but it does have its draw back which one obvious one is advertising as this mean that they need to target more than one sector and of course the different groups of people would have different demographics and pychograpics

the use of the atmospheric change work effectively as it goes form the violent shooting scene described above to a quite chilled scene where a new character is introduced to the film

both scene has a very real sense of fear portrayed to the audiences

over all i think is a very good range of skill and options available to use though the use of the ideas portrayed in this film

the use of editing has been used to its full extent within this clip for example it goes from a country manor house /museum to a highly populated university setting with is in direct contrast with each other but yet the transition is not noticeable

once again i believe the light are very different form both scenes as well as in the first scene in the lighting is not relay present and therefore very hard to see what is happening behind her where in the lecture room the light still looks like it is coming from a light but it floods the room more this could well Be because of a multi point lighting setup with major lights flooding out the shadows of the smaller light and the lights that are above them

the use of shots in the clip are all very important in the stance of the characters appearance for example the use of the shots are very important

in the first scene there was a shot looking down on the person that has been shot this shows a recessive stance showing that there is someone dominating him or that the audience has more power

and within any film it is common to either make the audience fell they are in control or to make them feel unsettled this is so that the from is remember able and has a bigger impact on the viewer and therefore making it appeal more and increases the chance of them getting something from the film/product

finally the elements of mise en scene in this are very important as due to both scenes being very formal they are mainly wearing suits expert from the person who shot the curator this is because he is not needed to look smart as to not make him look a trustworthy person

Plot ideas

Plot idea

A man (lead role) breaks down while driving to see his family he cant get signal on his phone so he starts to walk down the road he eventually gets to a farm that looks deserted. he decides to enter the farm and meets a couple who say the farm is theirs. he asks to use their phone but as he is walking through the barn with the couple he sees blood on The cutting knifes but notices there is no animals on the farm .....

The DaVinci code

The extract started with the credits, this begins with a drip effect on black screen and the ripples of the drip is a gold colour which is a good effect as its emphasised when on the black background. Once the credits begin after this drip effect, the credits are shown afterwards with an effect as if there's a blue torch behind it, the torch is giving the effect of almost revealing the credits to the audience. Then the music begins, this gives the effect of a female choir and when this music sounds, it crescendos while getting higher towards the end.

 

The shot shows paintings then it moves to the right slightly and it reveals a man running down a corridor, this character appears to be in some sort of trouble, this creates a sense of mystery and suspense as it doesn't reveal to the audience the reason why he is running. Another character is introduced but the audience are not shown who it is as this character is lit from above so the features of his face are emphasised but yet you can't see his face properly, then when he speaks the audience is given a feeling of mystery again as they don't know who he is talking to or why he's on the phone to them.

When the first character is on the floor which could suggest that this character has submissive qualities in this scene, this shot is back lit but the shot shows the source of the light, also the characters face is lit with a blue light which could show the desperation that the man feels in this certain scenario. At the same time the voices of the two men are echoed so the audience is almost captivated by what they are saying. The other man in this scene is standing, the camera is tilted to make him look as if he's looking down to the camera like he's the dominant one in the situation, this feeling of dominance is backed up later when he shoots the character who is on the floor. The sound of the gunshot is emphasised and is given a echo as it is done in complete silence. This dominant character is lit from above, but the blue light that was highlighting the features of the characters turns white as if the desperation in the situation has suddenly been lifted.

The shot then cuts to a different situation where a new character is giving a lecture and he's first shown standing in front of a black screen with bright white lettering on, this is effective as it makes the audience wonder what he's talking about and they focus on him as he's standing in front of this background which is mainly black. The camera is at an angle so both the screen and this new character is in shot. Once the picture slide show begins on the screen behind him, the colours are mainly yellows which suggests that the colour balance has been changed to emphasize certain aspects of these pictures or just the pictures themselves.

In the next scene, the character who gives this lecture is in a room with different other men, the costumes are all smart suits that are in either navy, grey and black. These colours gives a sense of mystery as the audience isn't given any clues to what is about to happen. Then he get approached by another man in a dark coloured suit and this mysterious man speaks of a death, the audience then feels the sadness of the situation as there is a lack of colour in the screne.

Possible Plot Scenario

The lead character goes into an unknown, deserted farm that's located in the middle of nowhere. They go looking for some signs of life but doesn't find any, but they find blood and signs of struggling. The character ends up discovering a dark secret that the farm has. Along the way the character get put into situations that require brains to escape, the situations require a solution which is produced in a couple of minutes.

meeting 5

all present 

all wrote separate plot ideas and then proceeded to compare the ideas picking bits form each of them and dying how they can be improved and then saying how it is achievable within our current area and environment 

a example of this is if we were looking for a mountain scene and lived in  the centre of london this would not be very realistic 

plot motive possibilities

• killing
• unstable environment
• no go area
• blood/viscera
• crime
• loss/kidnap
• science
• theft
• quest
• 
  

Sam preliminary idea

my idea for a plot is a person that is taken out of his normal environment and put into a foreign environment where they have little understanding of what is around them for example there is a person in the country side who normal lives in the city  obviously due to the understanding this could lead onto some good music which has a very echo and ambient feel to it 

as well as this there could have lots of high angle shots this would them make the person look very inferior to the audience 

The Silence of the lambs

The silence of the lambs

the silence of the lambs used many techniques to build suspense and build a sense of eeriness. the film starts with a woman wearing an fbi jumper running and she is covered in sweat and dirt and you wonder whether she is being chased by someone. the mood at the start is very eery as it is very foggy and the music is quite creepy.it then carries on with her running until she gets to a point where she climbs over some kind of obstacle the you realise she is on some kind of training course this is use of false suspense .you then hear a man calling he but you cant see him for a while this adds to the tension.the woman then gets to some sort of special building in the middl of the woods which looks quite modern and built up but this is still quite mysterious as you wonder why there is a huge building in the middle of nowhere. the camera then follows her as she goes through the building and you notice that thee is not many woman there. it then moves onto a scene in a lift where is looks very overpowered and out of place as she is surrounded by very tall men. It then moves onto a scene where she goes into a room and a man appears in view but he is blurred which adds tension.

sams questionaire

Are you male or female

How old are you
<16
16-18
19-25
26-40
40+

do you like thriller films?

What qualities do you look for in the lead protagonists (goodies)/antagonists(badies)


What do you look for in a thriller film?

german film

last weekend (18/1/09) i watched a german thriller about a group of nazis that try to collapse other economies though the use of counterfeit money and experience the problems of looking german and being germans during this time while watching this it made me think more about the mise en scene elements of the film and less about the story line(as i much to your surprise i know hardly any  german) and therefore can only keep a basic following of the film

3 certain elements still made themselves very prominent while the film was being watched

these were suspense this was clear as there were sudden changes of scenario for example it went from a very irate hotel scene to a very tense suspicious room scene where there was no shouting at the topic was obviously meant to be kept a secret at the end of the film as well there it was left with a series of story's coming together to link there separate stories together and to show how as a unit they had been working ageist each other

the next element is a strong sense of fear among the characters this is as they know they are all breaking the law and at multiple times are risking there lives to something they know has a very small Chance of seceding

finally they all have a strong sense of right and wrong as they all at each point show there doing something wrong by either speaking with the police and being harassed or by standing next to machines that are printing the foreign currency's

the lighting thought the film is never very bright to show and enphesise the time this film is set in which is a time of depression and pain so using bright colors would spoil the mise en scene elements of the film 

Demonstrating textual analysis research skills

You all need to get on and add some actual analysis of the film openings that we have seen to your blog.

Film Analasis

Bad boys II is an comedy/action/thriller (not in that order). As a side note I think this is a great way to get people who arnt usually into thirillers, to watch them.

The opening scene is fast paced, and full of tention. You start off observing illicit drugs being manufactured on a large scale, this gives a sense of a big operation. The camera follows these drugs being packaged, slammed inside a coffin with the camera shooting out (something we can easily do, and is very effective), the camera then passing by a character in the phonebox who we do not know if he is important or not. And then the 'head of operations' guy in florida taking the orders in is imediatly established, by his white suit, and large house.
a great moment which i thourouly thought was enjoyable, and effective, was when the police officers jump out of the kkk costumes. It is slowed down, and there is a sound fx added to it. This is also a simple process, and would be effective if used correctly in our peice too.
The title credits were very digital, and had digital typing sounds on them, this was also very effective, and set the time frame of the film.

Silence of the Lambs

The opening shots are false suspense, because the scene is dark, dull grey, misty, and has bad conitations to it, and the music has an eary sensation to it, with synth pads and full of minor thirds. We see the woman emerge from the distance, and it appears she is in great distress, but in reality (as we find out in a few shots) she is doing an obsticle course for the fbi. But in the first shot we see that she is wearing an FBI shirt, but are not sure weather she is escaping or just training. She is directed later to go to the main building which appears very modernised, but hidden away within a forrest. It is very clear when she gets into the building which social group she belogs to. On the floor she walks in on, eveyone is dressed similar to her, and she interacts well, but after she goes upstairs, or even in the elevator, she is surrounded by tall well dressed men, and women are almost nowhere to be found. There is a sign which points to (i think it was something to do with mental health) which again you ask, has she got something wrong with her or is she work there or what? The camera follows her with a stedicam, which gives the impression of long halls, and other people walking around following her. It creates a very interesting shot when she sees the wall in the office. instead of shot, reaction shot, its reaction shot, shot which creates suspense, making the audience want to know whats shes seeing.
This again is very effective and would be good to use in our production.

28 Days Later

The film starts with a jolt, a exclose up on an eye awakeing, and a sudden inhalation of air. There is no other sound then him, which makes the audience wonder whats happening, and creates suspense. The LACK of sound is very effective. He gets up walks around the hospital and finds some clothes. He gets some soda from the floor, and things are strewn around, and the building is abandoned. you hear his footsteps, and music starts to bulid. He walks outside, and its central london, and noones there. They filmed early in the day with the aperature wide open. This is something we can do too, although, we may find closing off roads not within our power (haha).
there is a false suspense when he aproaches the car, and the alarm gets set off, although it may cause people to jump, it doesnt change his imediate danger.
The way suspense builds is, he finds things, the cameras get closer, the cuts are faster and musical tention builds and gets louder, until it creshendos.
this is something well within our ability to do.

I Think there are alot of good techniques available in these films, and we should really take a close look and pick and choose the ones we think would work best in our peice.

Update 1

Here is a list of things that I have done recently....

• Added dates & Times when all memebers are free together (inc weekends)
• Printed those off for all members (hard copy)
  
• Added link to meetings post to relate the relevant infomation
• Edited settings on blog, (descriptions ect)
• Added Introductory post about us and blog
• Added THIS POST! (how ironic)
  

Free Time Togther?

If someone is able to attend a day/period their name will be listed.

Afterschool

Mon : Emiel, Karen, Sam
Tues: Adrian, Karen
Wed: All
Thur: All
Fri: N/A
Sat: All
Sun: All (afternoon only)

PPAs:
Mon1 : Period 2 (all except Adrian)
Tues1: N/A
Wed1: Period 2,5 (all except Adrian)
Thrus1: Period 2 (all except Emiel)
Fri1: Period 3 (all except Emiel)

Mon2: Period 5 (Karen and Sam ONLY)
Tues2: Period 2 (all except Adrian)
Wed2: Period 4,5 (all except Adrian)
Thrus2: Period 1 (Adrian, Emiel ONLY) Period 2,4 (all except Emiel)
Fri2: Period 2 (Adrian, Emiel ONLY) Period 1,3 (Sam, Karen ONLY)

We can refer to this at anypoint to see when we can get together to arrange meetings about production. This can also include filming, editing ect. A Hard copy of this has been been printed and handed to all group memebers by Adrian.

Further Research

what does the audience look for in a thriller film 

• action
• pace
• suspense-links you to the film
• explosions to make the film more exiting and also adds to the visual ascetics
• hero
• care chase
• fake danger  
  

Meeting 4

All Present

Watched by Ho

Today we watched an extract of phone booth (first 10 mins) and evaluated it in two groups.

We then added some updates to our blog about our results of our survey. this will help us with a work inn the future as it means we can use the data more efficiently and effectively 

questionnaire analysis

from our questionnaire results we have we are now able to start analyzing these results and there fore start to use them to our advantage though fitting them with other information we have found in our secondary research on the internet.

my questionnnaire

1.Do you like thrillers?
yes,yes,yes,yes,yes,yes,

2.what do you look for in a thriller?
Suspense
Suspense
Action
edge of your seat feeling
realism
Action

3.what do look for in a lead role?
ruggedness
suave
cool
clever
clever
cool

4.is the soundtrack an imporatnat part for you?
yes,no,yes,yes,yes,no,yes

5. do you prefer a plot driven thriller or a passive thriller?
plot
plot
plot
passive
plot
plot

Meeting 1 - 3

Meeting One

All present

Sorted out transport and when each other are free at the same time.
See post Free Time Together for further infomation.

Meeting Two

All present except Adrian

Collated the questionnaire results to each of the questions.

Meeting Three

All present

Set up blog.

Introduction

Hello Readers,
This is our blog about our AS Media Coursework.

Our Group consists of four memebers.
Karen Hibbitt, Sam Herbert, Adrian Horner, Emeil Pronk

We have set out to make a 2 Minute Video. The title, sequence, music, location and all other aspects are yet to be decided. Follow us through our creative process with our blog! We will take you from this post (the start) to the very end (the final production). So Keep checking back, theres gunna be alot to read.