Thursday, 27 February 2014

Final Piece Overview

Final Piece Overview


Key: Green text: camera work
Purple text = editing
pink text = sound
black text = description



Tuesday, 25 February 2014

Final Piece Sounds

Sound Effects

                                                                                                            

This sound effect we are going to use at the very beginning of the opening sequence when the words 'Based on a true story. 3 best friends went on a camping trip. Only 1 returned. This is her story' will appear on a black screen with white writing. This creepy sound will emphasize the words on the screen. 



We will use this sound to suggest to one of the protagonists that the antagonist is right behind her. This will create tension and fear within both the protagonists and the audience. Using a natural sound you can find in the woods and turning it to make it something sinister further highlights the terror these girls faced and emphasizes how quickly something innocent turned into chaos and probably death.



The screams will be used quite a lot within our piece to suggest extreme fear and that something has made the girls scream. This is typical of a thriller film and this makes the audience want to know what's happened to the girls. Similarly the screams indicate the antagonist picking off each of the girls one by one which makes it even more horrifying and scary.




This sound effect will be use to suggest fear. It will also increase in speed to suggest anticipation of something going to happen. This sound will be used over the top of a happy scene which will create contrast and this is also typical of a thriller film. By adding this to our opening sequence if further sets the tone of the rest of the film for fear and panic.



This sound will be used when Lily is skipping through the woods to further suggest the genre of the film and to also suggest she's a child which makes the opening sequence even more creepy and tense as there's a child involved somehow. 

Main Theme

 The main theme of our film and therefore opening sequence is going to be a short piano section with the sound effect of a music box which would suggest all that was ever found of Lily was her music box she took everywhere with her. This will make the music sound even more sinister and creepy which is also typical of a psychological thriller and this relates perfectly to the idea of our opening sequence. 
Here is an idea of the kind of thing we'll be looking to achieve.

Wednesday, 12 February 2014

Pitch

Pitch




We chose irish names because they're unusual and mysterious and we didn't know anyone with those names so we wouldn't have been influenced by anyone else.

Sunday, 26 January 2014

Audience Profiles

Audience Research


I've decided my target audience will be 16-24. My research has shown that the highest percentage of thriller watchers are aged 18-24 which is 48%, however, my brother and lots of my friends are aged 15-17 so I've extended the age range to 16. I haven't made it any lower as I believe some younger people might fnd some scenes in thrillers scarring as the tyical thriller conventions suggest psychological issues and brutality.
From my research, it shows that 53% of the thriller watcher popuation are male. This is why I will be mainly targeting males, however, females still enjoy thrillers which is why it's important  for me to have conventions such as a good story, good acting and action which females will enjoy to.











Audience Profile

This is Tim. He's 16 years old and goes to boarding school. He's an average boy who wears jeans and designer t-shirts. Despite being at boarding school, he often skypes his friends and when he is home, he often meets up with them. He's very tall for his age and eats his mum and sister out of the house when he's home. His favourite meal is a roast dinner which he often asks for when he comes home from school. He enjoys going to the cinema to see the latest films with his sister as she normally ends up paying for him! He enjoys football, both watching it and playing it. He supports Yeovil Town and has been to see them play many times in all types of weather. He enjoys the adrenaline you get from watching a live football match and this is why he particularly enjoys thrillers.

These are just a few of Tims favourite thriller films. He particularly enjoys thrillers with lots of action and a complicated story line. He enjoys mainstream, popular films also but some of the lesser known ones are some of the best he thinks. He likes a film which puts him on the edge of his seat and that makes his palms sweat when he watches them.


He likes to keep fit and always likes to be busy. He loves dancing so this is why he is kept very fit and healthy.  He really loves playing guitar, playing on the xbox and chatting to his friends of Facebook. He likes the latest gadgets and gizmos to keep up to date with technology, like Ipads and phones.


He loves spending time with his two dogs and likes nothing better than taking them for a walk in the park and blasting out some rock music from his Monster headphones, like Nickelback or Eminem.


Saturday, 25 January 2014

Audience Interviews

Audience Interviews



We interviewed lots of different aged people so we could get an idea of what films different generations of people like and what they look for in a film. Lots of the males we interviewed said they preferred action films and the females said a range of comedy, romcom and thrillers. No one said two favourite films the same so we had a large variation of favourite films.
We also found out that the most popular BBFC rating for films were 15 so this gave us a clear idea of the content for our films.
There was a mixed response about good vs evil plot lines so this was interesting as a lot of popular films contain this factor.

Saturday, 18 January 2014

Thriller Films

Thriller Films

Cliffhanger 10/01/14


This film is about some cliff climbers who end up caught in a robbery. A plane crashes with all the money in and they end up caught in a race to the top.
The start of the film is increibly tense and had my palms sweating as the main protagonist tries to save a women from falling off the cliff, but she has gloves on so he drops her. It's an incredibly exciting way to start a thriller and because there wasn't a lot of gore in it, I found it more exciting.
I really loved it and I would watch it again.  
9/10 




Donnie Darko 18/01/14


This film was about a boy who had visions about the end of the world.
I was a bit worried about this film as I'm not a big fan of psycho related films, however, it was really twisted and very complicated which had me deeply absorbed by the film.
It questioned about changing your future and controlling your own destiny. You felt very sorry for the main character and this made the ending all the more sad.
It had lots of big and unanswered questions which you never found out the answer to, even after the film finished.
Overall, it was a much better film than I thought and I really enjoyed it, however, I don't think it would be as interesting and absorbing a second time. 
8/10




 Vantage Point 25/01/14


This film is about an attempted assassination on a US president. The same 23 minutes are replayed 6 times from different peoples points of view and this makes the film very confusing and tense.
It was very engrossed by the film and I really wanted to know how the film ended. 
The actors were all very convincing and really into their characters so this made the film more convincing and enjoyable.
Overall, I thought the film was fantastic and I would definitely watch it again.
10/10 


Safe House 03/02/14

This film is about a man who is being hunted for wanting to leak CIA secret information about a traitor. He has to give himself in because he's being hunted by another groupt too. He ends up in a safe house with the main protagonist but the house gets attacked and they have to go on the run.
This film is very clever and very emotional as you learn to trust the traitor and end up liking the antagonist. 
The editing was very fast which kept up the tension of the film and it's purely about how the two main characters relationship develops. It's centred around the theme of truth which makes it very difficult to know which character is good and which is bad.
It has very good acting and it's a very emotion stirring film. I thought i was fantastic and I would definitely watch it again.
10/10


Blood Diamonds 14/02/2014

This is a film starring Leonardo DiCaprio who plays the main protagonist, Archer. He becomes a main businessman in conflict diamonds and this is where is all goes wrong. 
The editing is very smooth at points but with the sudden change in mood, the editing follows the panic and chaos caused by government loyalists and insurgent forces fighting during the Sierra Leone Civil War in 1996–2001.
It's a very emotional and relevant story which makes it a lot more enjoyable.
I would definitely watch it again as it really questions morals and whos side people play for.
9/10


Jack Reacher 20/02/2014

This film is about the character of Jack Reacher setting out to prove the certaintity of a muderer's guiltiness. But it ends up in a big gun fight and him fighting for his innocence and life.
The music is very good and made the film a lot more enjoyable. The editing used lots of jump cuts and this really quickens the pace and further highlights the tension and fast paced action going on on screen. 
It could easily be a true story which makes it a lot more easy to relate too and I think it does the books justic. 
I would definitely watch it again!
9/10


Whitehouse Down 08/03/2014

This is a film about the Whitehouse being taken over by terrorists and it's up to John Cale to save the president of the United States. It's an incredibly tense and action packed film, which is also stirs lots of emotions through using John's child as a hostage throughout the film.
The editing was very fast to keep up with the incredibly fast paced action happening on screen with helicopters flying through the roof and lots of gun fights.
It was absolutely amazing and I'm going to watch it again! 
10/10



The Hunger Games: Catching Fire 15/03/2014

This is the second film in The Hunger Games series. Katniss and Peeta have to go back into the arena for the second time and to try to kill to save themselves. It's really emotional and you get introduced to lots of new characters.
I'm a massive fan of the books, so the films had a lot to live up to, but they are definitely amazing! The music is fantastic and makes the film as good as it is. The editing varies between slow and fast depending on what's happening on screen. The slow editing builds up tension before action happens which makes the film have sudden pace changes.
It's one of my favourite films, so I'm definitely going to watch it again.
10/10 



Now You See Me 20/03/2014

This film is about an FBI agent and an Interpol detective as they try to track down four magicians called the Four Horsemen who pull off a bank heist during one of their performances and they reward their audiences with the money. It's a really tense film and it's also really surprising as their are twists and turns you don't see coming. There is also car chases and fight scenes which I wasn't expecting.
The editing is really fast in some places but when the Four Horsemen are performing on stage, the editing is slow so the audience can try to work out each trick as they perform it.
The sound effects and music were both good but not as good as they could've been I thought!
Overall I thought it was really good and I'm going to watch it again.
9/10  



Die Hard 24/03/2014


This film is about a man called John McClane, who is an officer of the NYPD. He has to try to save his wife Holly Gennaro and other hostages taken by the German terrorist Hans Gruber during a Christmas party at the Nakatomi Plaza in Los Angeles. It was such a tense film and had loads of action which I really loved! 
The music was really fitting to the film and made it much better. Also, the editing was really quick and there was loads of jump cuts to keep up with the action on screen.
I am definitely going to watch it again!
10/10




Clear and Present Danger 02/04/2014


This film was made in 1994 and Harrison Ford plays the main character, Jack Ryan. He is drawn into an illegal war fought by the US government against a Colombian drug cartel and ends up fighting to save his life and the lives of the few remaining US Soldiers illegally sent into Columbia.
It started off quite slow and took a long time for the action to get started, but that was essential for the storyline.
There wasn't a lot of music during the film and in places it needed some, but it had an amazing plot line and the acting was brilliant! Right from the start you knew who the bad guys were and the film made me really angry as so many people betrayed one another.
I really enjoyed it, but I don't think I would enjoy it as much as I did the first time.
8/10



Walking with Dinosaurs 3D 07/04/2014


I took my 6 year old cousion to see this and I didn't know what to expect, but for a U rated thriller, it was actually very good. It's a story where an underdog dinosaur has to battle his way through the toughest age in history to survive and ends up triumphing to become a hero.
The effects weren't the best I've seen, but the story was very clever and also really interesting as the narrator explained what each type of new dinosaur was.
It definitely wasn't the best film I've seen, but for a U and for children it was very good.
7/10



Captain America: The First Avenger 17/04/2014

After being deemed unfit for military service, Steve Rogers volunteers for a top secret research project that turns him into Captain America, a superhero dedicated to defending USA ideals.
I love marvel and this one did not disappoint. It had action and was very emotion stirring in some places which made it a really enjoyable film.
The music was amazing and made the film even better to watch! There were some places when the effects weren't very good as I could tell there were wires and fake limbs used. However, it didn't make the film any less enjoyable and I am definitely going to watch it again.
10/10



Source Code 25/04/2014

An action thriller centered on a soldier who wakes up in the body of an unknown man and discovers he's part of a mission to find the bomber of a Chicago commuter train. It is really tense and had me on the edge of my seat. 
It is quite repetitive which made me zone out every now and then, however, the editing was amazing because it was really quick and therefore quickened the pace of the film.
The music worked really well with the on-screen action and the continuity was very cleverly done and I didn't notice any errors.
I would watch it again, although I don't know how tense I'd find it a second time.
9/10


Knowing 29/04/2014

M.I.T. professor John Koestler is presented with a group of mysterious numbers which he ends up linking to past and future disasters and he sets out to prevent as many deaths as possible. 
This film was unbelievably tense! I was on the edge of my seat throughout the whole thing. The music was amazing and the editing worked really well with all the fast paced action on screen.
However, it did make me cry as lots and lots of people die which detracted from the amazing graphics and quality of the film, and because of this emotional factor, I won't be watching it again, but it was a really amazing film with an epic storyline.
8/10



National Treasure 06/05/2014

A historian called Ben Gates races to find the legendary Templar Treasure which has been a conspiracy theory for hundreds of years before a team of mercenaries he once called friends.
I love this film! I love the integration of historical factors with the action, it made it really enjoyable.
The sound was really good and worked amazingly with the on screen action. Similarly, the editing was relatively simple, but it didn't need to be any more complicated to make the film amazing! However, there was one very tense scene with a lot of action so the editing quickened which made the film even more enjoyable.
I will definitely watch it again.
9/10


Thursday, 2 January 2014

Wednesday, 6 November 2013

Storyboard Diary

Storyboard Diary


My section of the group storyboard were the first 16 shots of our shot list.


I am really bad at drawing so I really struggled to get the right amount of detail and to make it obvious what the shots were supposed to be showing. I added some colour to the peoples hair to show the obvious change in characters and to make it obvious who was in what shot. 



We have to stick exactly to what our storyboard shows when it comes to shooting our Preliminary task so I had to make sure all the camera tracking and camera movement was obvious in each picture. 



I finished it over half term so that when we came back to school I could help Emily and Aisling with their's and so we were ahead of the tasks.

Thursday, 24 October 2013

Shots For Preliminary


Shot List

THE CLASSROOM SCENE
  1. Establishing shot of school – TBGS sign
  2. Shot of classroom – from door looking in
  3. POV from A opening the door
  4. Match on action with opening the door
  5. Camera at back of class showing all students
  6. Shot reverse shot of Miss Moore and A
  7. M close up
  8. E close up
  9. Matt and Harry close up
  10. In front of back bench all laughing
  11. Close up on A’s face
  12. See A blurred in front showing all of back bench in focus
  13. All getting up to leave showing M and A as M pushes A over

OUTSIDE SCENE
  1. M and E walking towards camera - camera backing away
  2. Close up on M and E
  3. Camera goes past E and follows M into school

CORRIDOR SCENE
  1. Camera far away from door at an angle to the left

CLASSROOM SCENE 2
  1. Camera in doorway so M can walk past
  2. Camera in line with back bench
  3. Camera showing lit doorway with A in it
  4. Shot of E outside as she runs into school hearing M scream
  5. Close up shot of M under desk
  6. Doorway shot showing E running in and M
  7. Shot on floor of E’s phone hand reaching for it showing E and M’s feet walking away

TOILET SCENE
  1. Shot of E and M walking round a corner
  2. Shot of E walking into toilet
  3. Match on action entering toilet
  4. Close up on M eye line shot with pan to show A
  5. 180 of E leaving toilet showing M staring at stairs
  6. Follow E eye line – nothing there
  7. Close up on E and M talking – 180 degree
  8. Showing A at top of stairs

RUNNING SCENE AND HALL SCENE
  1. Shot showing from A POV showing running different ways and A sending text
  2. Shot of M running towards camera 
  3. M checks phone 
  4. M runs towards Hall
  5. Shot of M entering hall
  6. Shot of A entering Hall
  7. Shot reverse shot of conversation
  8. Shot of A walking over chairs with knife
  9. Shot of E entering hall
  10. Shot reverse shot of E and M ‘RUN”

RUNNING SCENE 2
  1. Hand held following E run
  2. 180 of corridor as E runs around corner
  3. Shot showing M on floor
  4. Shot showing A behind M
  5. Black screen as E screams
Aisling
Emily
Maddie

Tuesday, 22 October 2013

Preliminary Planning

Preliminary Planning

Preliminary Ideas


Storyline

  • Starts with a classroom scene with M and E and the guys at the back of the class, A walks in late and E,M&boys laugh at her as she sits at the front of the class on her own. Miss Moore says "Why are you late again Aisling?" A,"I was _________" (EXAM BOARD SHOT*) 
  • M throws a pen at A's head (MATCH ON ACTION)
  • Talking about internal fears, E says "I'm scared of spiders" M says "I'm scared of the dark" Matt says "Oh Harry is scared of girls miss!"  all laugh, then A says "I'm not scared of anything" (ZOOM ON A'S FACE) 
  • (SOUND OF SCHOOL BELL) At the end of class, (ZOOM ON FOLDER LEFT ON THE FLOOR) M pushes A to the floor and E and M walk out of the school laughing about A, show clip of "Torquay Boys Grammar School"...M realises she forgot her folder so goes back inside while E waits outside
  • Then films M inside the school, lights are flickering. When light is on, filming behind M, light goes off (SOUND OF DOOR CREAKING) and when goes back on, filming facing M and can see A behind her (SHOT REVERSE SHOT) 
  • M walks inside the classroom to get the folder, lights flick off. Camera is in the corner of the room facing the door, can see M in the foreground looking scared, A in the doorway creating a silhouette, face unshown. M ducks under the desk and screams
  • Cuts to E outside texting M "Where are you? What's taking you so long?" (MATCH ON ACTION) hears M screaming from inside, runs inside after her
  • E runs into the classroom with M under the desk, lights on and no sign of A, "What's wrong with you?' M  is speechless
  • Both leave classroom and E drops phone on the floor, camera zooms on phone as they walk away, filmed from the floor. See a hand pick it up - A as they walk away. 
  • E "I need the loo, wait a sec" while E is gone the lights flicker again when A appears. E comes back and sees M pointing and looking scared, lights go off, E looks to wear M points, lights back on and nothing there. 
  • E and M walk away a bit, with A behind them, lights flicker again so they look behind their shoulders (OVER THE SHOULDER SHOT) both run in different directions (FROM A'S POV) 
  • Running scene with them both 
  • A texts M from E's phone "come to the centenery hall, it's safe here" , to lure her in
  • M walks into the hall, conversation with A, A reveals knife, M screams
  • E runs into the hall, A is charging towards M, E&M running different ways again
  • M screams...E walks round corner, sees M dead, lights off & on again, A stood over M with knife dripping with blood, lights off, E screams 

Thursday, 17 October 2013

Ocean's 11 Opening Sequence Timeline

Ocean's 11 Opening Sequence Timeline



Preliminary Task Analysis

Analysis of a Previous Preliminary Task

The Fellowship

From the start there was a clear underlining story flowing through it which made it easy for the audience to follow however I couldn't obviously make it out to be a thriller convention. I would put it more as action or violence as there wasn't much of the typical thriller convention ideas running through it. 

Also, the lighting in some of the scenes makes the actors appear really dark which made me squint at the screen so this would detract from the effect of that particular scene. However, the light in the interview room looked really affective as it eliminated the people in it and the flicker of the light on worked really well within that scene.

My Preliminary 

I would avoid slipping into other genres of film if we'd been given a specific theme to look at as this would confuse the audience and make the film difficult to follow. Also, I would try to use lighting to the best of my ability as this would reinforce the ideas and themes of a typical thriller for example creating suspense and tension. I would try to do a vary of camera angles including low angle shots and high angle shots to keep it interesting and I would also include some kind of sound effects because otherwise it can make it drag on quite a lot without sound effects/music.

Match-on-action





This is a really good example of the Match-on-action.

Shot Reverse Shot





This is the example of the Shot Reverse Shot in the film.

180 Degree Rule





This is the example of the 180 degree rule without breaking it.