Saturday, 27 March 2010

Montage





I used this technique of media in order to incoporate all the different types of aspects that we could possibly use in our own thriller trailer/movie.

Saturday, 20 March 2010

Construction of Production - Cost of production

The production process will not cost any money as the equipment is provided by school to film and edit.

Filming equipment

  • Camera- (Free) Provided by Robert Clack
  • Tripod - (Free) Provided by Robert Clack
  • Microphone -(Free) Provided by Robert Clack
  • Digital Camera - (Free) Provided by Robert Clack

Editing Equipment

  • Imac - (Free) Provided by Robert Clack

LocationHouse -

We filmed at Paul's house so it was free.

Alleyway - We filmed in a public place so it was free.

Road - We filmed in a public place so it was free.

Car - Paul's brother let us film in his car so it was free.

Costume and Makeup

We did not spend money on costume or makeup, as saima did her own makeup and wore her own clothes. Paul did not spend any money on costume as he wore his brother's police vest and his own clothes.

Music

We got our music for free, from MobyGratis and freeplay music. If we composed our own music it would have taken a long time to complete, also noone in the group is very good at playing instruments. We did not choose a copyright song as it would have been very expensive to use. If we did not consult the copyrighters they could have possible sued us as a group and the school. We did not want any trouble, so we used downloaded free music, it is easy and cost effective.

Props

All of our props belonged to us, we did not have to buy any props.Overall we did not spend any money on the film.

Construction Of The Production Music (MobyGratis and Freeplay music)

At the beginning of the course we had seen the previous years thriller trailers and blogs and from there we got the most popular music sites they used in their own thrillers the sites we looked at were... www.freeplaymusic.com and www.mobygratis.com these were the two main sites we looked at. For the mobygratis site we had saima apply to be a member of mobygratis in order for us to be able to use some of their unsigned music, her application was successful but however we had requested a few tracks that we wanted to be included in our final thriller trailer but we waited for few weeks without their correspondence, so we therefore took into our own hands and decieded to give the other site a go. We then found the genre,tempo,style of music we had initially wanted without having to register or wait for weeks on end for a correspondence from them. We found using www.freeplaymusic.com to be quicker and more efficent than the other and didn't waste anytime as it had all the music we could use and more.

Construction Of Production - Changes we made form the storyboard/inital idea

We made few adjustments from the storyboard/initial idea, we wanted our film to last the full 2 minutes. Adding these adjustments will make sure our film lasts 2 minutes.

Extra Parts Added

You can see the girl (Sara) running in the back garden and climbing over the fence.When the girl (Sara) gets in the car, the car will drive off, you will hear gunshots and then followed by seeing her getting dragged out of the car and left in the alleyway.

Besides that, every part of the storyboard is the same, we just added extra scenes. We wanted to add these scenes, as it will engage the audience more. It will raise suspense and make them wander why she is running. It will keep them on the 'edge of their seats,' when they find out she has been killed, and will have them watching into the end - if it was a long featured film.

As a group we decided that we are going to add a few dissolves and fade in, as we believe these transitions will make the film flow smoothly. We want different suspenseful music used throughout as it will excite the audience, and we are going to include non-diegetic sounds. We have also decided to use medium shots, point of view shots, over the shoulder shots and panning shots.

Friday, 19 March 2010

TARGET AUDIENCE


For our thriller we discussed as to what age group our film would most suit or most likely to be viewed by. From there we did some research looking at other films that have been created and people from our chosen target group have watched and what they liked about that certain film we asked them questions such as:



1. From your personal experience which age groups do you find watching action movies or thriller films?



2. What genre film do you like and why?



3. Would you consider watching a thriller film if its initial preview intrested you?



4. What do you think about thrillers? why?



5. Do you think social groups of the age of 15-20 are the most likeliest social groups to watch action and films full of suspense and cliff-hangers, redherrings etc?



6. If you were to create your own thriller what would you put in it?



7. What do you expect a thriller to include from the beginning to attract its targeted audience?


From the research we did we then decided that our initial target audience would be 15+ and so we therefore went to do further research and asked the people from that particular age group questions such as......
1.what do they expect to see in a thriller film?
2. do they know the difference between a thriller and a horror?
3. what makes a thriller different to a horror? why?
4. what thriller films have yo u watched resently? what made you want to watch it?
and many other questions but however from our research it made clear that people from the ages of 15 onwards watched thriller films and enjoyed them more as it kept them suggesing what would happen next unlike some of the films whereby you watch a scene then you can predict what happens next whereby a thriller keeps an audience guessing and in the end test their theory as to whether they were right or wrong.

HEALTH & SAFETY

HEALTH & SAFETY




When looking at Health and Safety you have to take into consideration things such as;

  • how the risk assessment would be carried out


  • what hazadorous things could be of obstraction and harmful


  • how to control the risk



In every work environment you are required to apply health and safety at work rules and regulations :

  • inspect the premises and make sure it is safe to work in


  • check equipment and materials


  • risk assessment carried out in all premises used to avoid causing harm to others


  • always maintain spacial awareness and surrounding


  • who could be affected


  • consider the most vulnerable (disabled, frail etc)


  • note areas where there are sharp corners and edges that may be of harm


  • poor lighting can cause strain on your eye sight


Health and safety are essential for the film industry to run. It ensures that there are no hazards, which can harm people in the industry. There are many rules and regulations they have to abide by.In my film, my industry is made up of four people Paul Willis, Saima Jannath, Dionne Zara and I. According to the Health and Safety Work Act (1974), the location manager, Production Manager or First Assistant Director, has to carry out Health and Safety risk assesment.In my Industry each safety rule would have details of the person responsible for the rule, and will have instructions on how the rule should be followed. We discussed what rules we should establish, to ensure we are safe during shooting and editing of the film. We decided to make notes of what to do if we are in a dangerous situation e.g. The film shooting was mainly at Paul's house, if there was a fire we would organise ourselves in a straight line, and escape thorough the nearest exit - back/front door, then call the fire brigade.We made a list on the rules we should follow.(We did follow all these rules except the 2nd and fifth rule) - we did not shoot at night and we did not use any weapons.

Appropriate Technical Competencies

Holding a shot steady


The camera was placed on top of the tripod during the filming, except when there were point of view shots. It is important to have steady shots, as it will be easier for the audience to follow the actors. The steadiness of the camera will make the film look professional.


Framing a shot


When the girl was getting changed, we placed the camera a few feet away from her, we made sure you could see both foreground and background surroundings, as it tells the audience more about the character. There was back lighting, to build tension slowly up to the point of her running through the back garden. When she was running a medium shot was used, she was positioned in the middle, so you can see the exact location. The point of view shot, tells the audience she is on the run from the police. This will make the audience question themselves, why is she on the run? What crime has she committed?


We wanted to film in broad daylight as the light symbolizes hope and innocence. Which is ironic as the girl is not innocent. Sara has hope to escape the police, what she wanted killed her. Her drug dealer occupation was aimed in making money, unfortunately her obsession for money lead to her own destruction.


Using a variety of shot distances


We used various shots from mid-shot to point of view shot in various shot distances. In the beginning the camera was near her. When the police officer was walking towards the house the camera was quite far -it was a long shot. The camera was obviously very close when we shot all point of view shots, we had a held in my hand through the strap shot so that you can see her running as if you are apart of it. When the car was driving off, the camera was on the side of the car. It was a few feet away from it, as it drove off the camera grew more distant and distant from it. When she was dragged onto the floor the camera did a close up to her face by zooming in.


Shooting appropriate material (for a thriller)


From the audience research, (the focus group and the results from the questionnaire), we found out that males like car chases. Unfortunately we could not have any car chases with the police and the drug dealers customer, as we would have had to consult the council and they could take a long period to respond. It is unlikely they would give a 16 year old director permission to film car chases in local areas. We would also have to consult the Minister of Transport, to make sure roads are clear when we are filming, and this would cost money.


Instead a normal car scene conversation, we thought it gave the same effect as a car chase, because the last thing you expect is a customer to turn round and kill you. When she was running it added builds up suspense and tension, which will make the audience feel the emotion of thrill, they will feel anticipated to see if she will succeed in her escape from the police before he barges in. I have gained an understanding as to what a thriller movie is, and what aspects are needed to make a thriller film. We have shot appropriate material for a thriller, we did not film a murderer going on a killing spree as that plot is highly associated with horror films.


Editing



The editing was a long process, especially when your on a tight deadline. As a group we used many dissolves,overlaps and wash outs. The wash outs were only used when there was a point of view shot, of (sara) running through the garden, this was effective as it quickly moved from the perspective of the drug customer to the drug dealer. When you saw her on the floor dead, it washed out to a close up of her face. Also used dissolves and overlaps because they were the only transitions that made all the scenes flow together.



Use of Varied Captions Effect


The only captions we used were the candidate details and titles. Just before the movie starts, we had a faded black background with grey captions which said Jannath Production Presents. These captions were reflected at the bottom, this made the film look professional, the other grey captions, of job titles were moved from right to left. At the end of the film, two large words came across the scene, expanding which showed the title of our film 'Dead End.' Not many people used this titles background effect, this made our film more interesting to watch, also it has taught the audience, the important people behind the film.



Mis-en-scene



Mis-en-scene was a very important aspect of our film. It tells the audience everything about the characters, and gives clues on what will happen in the film later on. In the beginning you could easily see the surroundings - the props- you could see magazines perfume, the mirror she was looking into. You could easily see she was in a bedroom.

She straightened her hair and then followed by her makeup. It was raining before so her hair went a bit wavy.

When she was searching for the bag of drugs, her eyes were open, and eyebrows were arched and forehead folds were creased together. This facial expression showed that she was worried- worried because find could not find my drugs, which the client wanted. While she was looking for the drugs her back was hunched, and arms were loose because it made it easier to grab the drugs. All the objects were positioned at the bottom while she was positioned above it. The policeman's back was straight, his arms were by his side. This body language showed he has power.



The scenes in the house are lit in back lighting, this lighting was used because it creates a tense atmosphere. No lighting was used for the outside scenes. We used the natural resources - sun. We wanted the film to be in colour as it would have looked odd having scenes in different colours. One of the group members had suggested that we use a black and white effect on some scenes of the film, but after discussing it and pointing out that black and white images are used to tell the past/flashbacks.

You could easily see she was in a alleyway there were broken fences and tins of rubbish. When there was a point of view shot of the drug dealer and drug customer, we were positioned at then end of the camera, so the audience could see the tins of rubbish. We were near each other to show we had a close deadly relationship. When the car was speeding off, the camera was in the centre, then when the car stopped the camera was on the side of the car.



Sound


Non-Diegetic Sounds


We made sure the music was low, when my phone was ringing and when she was talking. The volume of the music increased until you could see the police knocking on the door. We wanted the audience to hear the knock as well as Sara. To emphasise the fear of the criminal, (thus she quickly searching for her drugs). She was afraid that she would get caught. You can hear the car gearing this will make it more interesting for the audience to watch.


Diegetic Sounds


The only diegetic sounds we used was the gunshots, this continues onto the next scene (sound bridge)you could hear the booming of the two gunshots, the music was low so the gunshots could be heard. This immediately engage them further, as they cannot see the person getting shot, this will make them wonder who got shot? In the end you the realise that Sara is pulled out of the car and left for dead in the alleyway.

Construction Of The Production (Filming + Editing)

1st Filming day - Friday 19th March (11:00-12:30)

As a group we started the filming on Friday, during our media lesson. We filmed the scene, where the police officer knocks on the door. Also the chase between Sara and the police, however could not film on that day, as it was raining. We as a group decided not to shoot in the rain because the other scenes would have been shot during a sunny day. The film will look unusual if the weather is different in certain scenes. Instead we filmed Sara (Saima getting changed). She brushed her hair and put on her bangles, the phone rang shepicked it up, she then ran to the window, then started to look for the package wanted. Then we filmed her running down the stairs. As a group am quite happy, we did quite a bit of filming. We then went back to school and loaded the footage. We hoped for the next days weather to sunny, we are going to shoot the chase between the police officer and Sara.

2nd Filming day - Monday 22nd March (13:00-15:00)

It was sunny today! So the group went to Paul's house and filmed him knocking on the door - he was the police officer. We also filmed her running into the garden, and climbing over the fence into an alleyway.We filmed the car scene today, the car pulled up and she got in, then the car drives down the road, finally you see her being pulled out of the car dead.We filmed the car scene today, the car pulled up and she got in, then the car drives down the road, finally you see me being pulled out of the car dead. Finally we have finished filming. Now all we have to do is the editing.

1st Editing - Wednesday 24th March (13:00-15:00)

On this day I wasn't in due too illness, so on this day saima was the one left to editing. She did the titles at the beginning, and imported the scenes and placed them in order, then from the imported clips, she then deleted the parts that we did not need. It was saima first time editing clips, with my knowledge of technology i more experienced with the Imac computers, but since i was absent it was left to another member of the group, as a group we did not want to waste any valuable time as the deadline is creeping up. Editing may seem easy but it is not as it requires full attention and concentration. It takes time to cut and put the scenes together in order for them to flow from one to the other.

2nd Editing day of our film - Friday 26th March (10:30-1:30)

On my return I looked at what my colleagues had done and what could be improved and changed. I then put in transitions, starting from the title where a fade in was added, many dissolves and overlaps too were added. When the car is speeding down, Paul suggested from that point onwards, it should be in black and white, as it is the most significant part of the scene. However when we discussed it a s a group we found that it was not apporpriate, becuase black and white images in film or media are used in flashbacks or anything to do with the past.We added music aswell from http://www.freeplaymusic.com/, we included our non-diegetic sounds as well (police knocking on the door and the car speading up). We wanted to have a variety of non-diegetic sounds and diegetic sounds, as it will make it will engage the audience. While the car is speeding down a gunshot sound was added, then from that point everything was colour and not black and white.We have finally finshed our film.

Thursday, 18 March 2010

Brainstorm of Names

We came up with a few titles for our final film such as:








and many more but as a group then decided to go with 'Dead End'



During this period in time we were trying to decide on which title would best suit our final thriller production, as a group we came up with different titles of which could be possible contenders as titles as shown above and from then we did a survey whereby we asked a few people which title they felt would be the most suitable one for us to use. The survey then gave us an idea of which title people prefered to others and from there we then decided on our final title name which we then went on to use for our thriller thereafter we went back to those people we had asked which title they prefered and then they watched the initial 2minute trailer and they thought it went well and suited the action involved in the thriller itself.





Wednesday, 10 March 2010

Animatic Storyboard

Preliminary exercise



We were set a preliminary task to complete and in the end this was our final product. The task was given in order to help us begin to use the cameras and how to use them and how no to use them, this enabled us to get to grips with the process of handling a camera and its different angles. During this task we did face a few difficulties such as how to edit the film once finished as we were not yet knowledgeable when it came to using iMovie. It was a compulsory task in which everyone in the class had to complete in order to familiarise ourselves with the equipment used in process of filming. After being given a tutorial of how to use iMovie we began our editing which then made it a lot simpler for us to use. During the process of editing we did however face a few problems e.g. trying to create a preliminary task which had a continuous flow from start to end incorporating the skills we already had from using software and computer technology excluding iMovie.

Analysis Of Preliminary Excercise
In our preliminary task we used a variety of edits e.g. cuts and fades. From the beginning shot you have a shot whereby you can see both the foreground and the background inthe same mid shot which then gives you the sort of environment the character is in and its surroundings. At the point were Saima is at the table we have a mid shot & sort of deep focus shot of here doing her work on the computer followed by a straight cut from one angle shot to another, i.e. saima to sir walking into the room we had a staright cut. After that we have sir entering the room whereby we incoporated jump cuts to him sitting down on the table to talk to saima. At the point when Mr Williamson and Saima engage in a conversation we had a deep focus shot which gives the audience a choice as to where they may want to focus either on Mr Williamson or on Saima which is good because they then have the option of choicing their central figure focus throughout. Followed by this we have another jump cut toa close up when saima is crying we did this because we wanted to show that we can capture facial expression and emotion of a character within a frame. Therefore after this we had the straight cut to sir comforting saima and then in to a fade out. We tried our best at trying to edit the preliminary footage as it was our first attempt on using unfamiliar software i.e. iMovie.

Thursday, 4 March 2010

Final Planning before filming


Group members

  • Saima Jannath (Sara)
  • Paul Willis
  • Patience Ncube
  • Dionne Zara

Cast

  • Tennage girl - Saima Jannath
  • Police officer - Paul Willis
  • Drug dealer/ gangster - Paul's older brother

Props

  • Braclets/Bangles
  • Comb
  • Gun
  • Bag which contains drugs (talcum powder)
  • Handbag
  • Car
  • Mobile phone

Costume

  • Saima Jannath - Purple Cardigan, Flowery Dress, Black tights/leggins, black shoes/sandals, Braclet,Bangles,Handbag.
  • Pauls - Black trousers, Yellow Police vest.

Settings

  • Paul's house - his room and garden
  • Alleyway
  • Road

Hair and Makeup

Saima would have her hair straight, with pink lipgloss and eyeliner. We wanted her makeup to look subtle because it will decieve the audience at the beginning. Whilst she's getting dressed they will think that it's a daily routine for every tennage girl.

Filming Timetable

Monday - 1pm to 3pm
Wednesday - 9 to 10:30
Friday - 11 to 12:30

Equipment needed

Camera
Tripod
Tape

Group Role

We decided to split the group roles on the production process as it will save time and make the jobs a lot easier as all the roles and duties would be distibuted out equally. We choose our own jobs accroding to the experiance we had.I had the role of editing and cameraman - i have experience with the imac and can edit quicker.Paul - Is the actor and is the Co-Director, Saima - was the actor, and the director of the film. Dionne - Is the Producer and costume manager.