Thursday 17 February 2011

Target Audience

Our film we are producing will be rated a 15 so obviously the target audience will be people over the aged of 15 years. We feel that the Thriller we are producing will appeal to most of people from teenagers to older people. This is because people enjoy an exciting, gripping film to watch which takes them to another place where they have to work out clues and solve the mystery of the narrative. It then reaches a tense climax where the audience don't know what is going to happen which creates the "thrill' in the movie.

Our film would contain violent scenes and images of the victims as our thriller is about a murderer seeking revenge. This therefore means that our film is not suitable for children as it could influence them to play with knifes and become a danger to themselves. It is likely to contain some bad language to make it seem more realistic, which means that our target audience must be over the age of 15. We believe that our film is suitable for ages over 15 as many ages enjoy a good thriller, although students would be the main target. This is because our victims our from a family of which are young adults. As well as the main character being an adult in their 40's.   

An example of the teenager target audience is Emily, who spends 5 days a week at college, completing coursework and homework throughout the week nights. This becomes stressful and the only free time is has is on weekends. To relieve the stress of the school work she will go to the cinema with her friends and watch our Thriller movie. This will take her to another life for the two hours of the film where she will be in an unusual situation where she becomes the characters and wants to help them. This helps to detach her from her normal life and experience emotions that she wouldn't normally experience.

Soundtrack (Rough)

Thriller (Rough Cut)

Tuesday 15 February 2011

Digital Mood Board

3758748332_1fe672ec3b
2741458748_5c6f5fc4da
sevencollage peoplePretty-Green-Mens-COA-008-Black-Coat-1imagesGlove-KevlarJack_0020_the_0020_RipperSantoku Micarta Kitchen Knife Item-No. 03BA8376497673 
 Our thriller project was based on the film Seven, this uses a lot of actions of a man getter prepared to kill his victims. As a consequence we based our film on actions as it seemed like a very cleaver way to indulge the viewer as well as confuse them. By using images of our victims by placing pictures on the wall as well as showing articles from news papers to show the audience who the murderer is really after. It allows them to see throughout the film that the clues where right at the beginning allowing them to piece it all together and understand why he is targeting that particular family. The image of Jack the Ripper represents our character as he is dressed in black clothing with leather gloves and a long black coat. This makes the murderer look mysterious and like Jack the Ripper know one knows who he really is. We didn't show the face of the murderer making the audience feel tense and on edge wondering who he might be. This makes them want to watch more to find out what he truly looks like. Jack the Ripper also killed his victims with knives, which is the same as our killer. Knives are easier to come by and harder to find out who the knife belongs to as everyone has knives within the kitchens. 

Thursday 10 February 2011

Film Name Ideas

From research we have found that the names are usually short - one or two words.
Examples: Jaws, Die Hard, Inception, Psycho, Leon, Vertigo

Some of the names have a deeper meaning.

 - Idea of revenge
- Cruel Revenge
- Justice/Cruel Justice
- Guilt
- Sweet Revenge
- Vengeance 

Script (with annotations)

A man is in a dark room and opens the fridge, taking a can/bottle of drink out. He then shuts the fridge
                                        (S1:Over the shoulder/Close Up)                       (S2:Mid Shot)
and goes to stand looking at the wall with pictures on. He will scan the pictures of the victims on the
     (S3: Establishing Shot)                             (S4:Point of view)                 (S5:Over the shoulder)
wall and then turn around to switch on a lamp and sit at the desk.  He will then open the drink and
                               (S6:Mid shot)                                                                  (S7:Point of View) 
begin to flick through newspapers and cut out articles. He will be seen circling words and titles of the
               (S7:Point of view continued)                                                      (S7: Point of View continued)
cut out articles.He will then open a folder and take out some pictures of other people. He will flick
                                       (S8:Mid Shot)                                                            (S8:Mid Shot Continued)
through them, one by one until he finds his first victim. The time and date will be written on the picture
                               (S9:Point of view)                                                   (S9: Point of view continued)
of when the murder is happening.We then see a flashback of him looking at the victim as she is
                                                                                       (S10: Point of view)
walking from her house and down the street. He will be hidden behind a tree or bush. After the
                                                    (S10: Point of view continued)
flashback he will then move to a drawer and pick out a selection of weapons (knives etc) and
                    (S11: Pan/Mid Shot)                                            (S12:Over the shoulder)
place them on the table next to the picture.A map will be opened and he will mark the place where the
          (S13: Point of view)                                  (S14: Mid Shot)                        
murder is going to happen. After this we will then put on his coat . He will then use a pen to cross out
  (S15: Point of view)               (S16: Long Shot)                                      (S7: Point of view)
the victims face and place it on the wall. After going back to the desk he will pick up his gloves, put
             (S18: Mid Shot/Pan)                                         (S19: Over the shoulder)       
them on then grab the knife. He will then leave the room.
      (S20: Close up)              (S21:Long Shot)

Font and Colour Scheme Research

For our opening sequence we are going to show the credits/titles with the montage style. After most shots of the murderer we are going to flash up the credits to make it part of the montage. This is used well in the opening of Se7en which we have inspired from.
The black screen flashes up and then the titles flash over it, making the white stand out more. Because the titles are in a handwritten for it gives the impression more that the man seen on screen is the murderer as he is also writing in the sequence. The writing also looks jagged and sharp which makes the man seem evil and dark and the fact that the font flashes up quickly, it gives it a "shaky" effect. This relates to the thriller sub-genre well and also adds to the effect of the sharp, jagged font.
Picture 7Picture 8


Another title sequence we liked was the Panic Room opening sequence. The titles in there were done somewhat differently in this sequence than to Se7en. The font was big and bold compared to Se7en's small, handwritten font. The font does stand out in the sequence as it is very large and covers most of the screen, with the city skyline in the background showing the setting. The colour scheme of the font is not bright colours compared to the Se7en colour scheme, however because the titles seem to merge with the buildings behind we still notice it just as much.
Picture 10Picture 9
When compared each title sequence is completely different, yet both still effective. The Se7en sequence uses colour to make the titles stand out whereas Panic Room uses the size and font type to make the titles stand out. This research has made us think that if the titles are too be effective we will need to make sure they stand out well on the background and also are in a clear font that relates to the sub-genre.

what we learnt from amar

He showed us a powerpoint on how to prepare for a film shoot. This included lots of different elemnts firstly.
Script writing: this will show us what the charcters are doing during the shoot including there movement,  reactions and emotions. This helps give us a idea of how the characters should react to make it more realisic for the veiwer. It also helps us determin the location for each scene showing whether we are inside or outside and the time of day it is. We needed to take images to show the location where the film is based aswell as act out the script in the location. Since we are filming in jasmines garage there is no members of the public that will interfere with filming. It also means we dont need to source local information for toilets or food allowing our filming time to be shorter.

     We were also advised to create a digital storyboard including the location. This allowed us to experiment with different angles and shot types, allowing us to see how realistic it seemed. This showed us how well different shots flowed and whether they would link together to make good continuity.

    shot list is another thing we were asked to create, this will help us film quickly because we know the shots that are needed and the order to take them in. it also shows us what props are needed for that perticular scene as well as the actions of the character.

    another element we were advised to include is the shooting schedule, this is a scheudle with dates and times that we are going to do the actual filming of the film. This also indludes times of transportation for everyone involved as most people are comuting a long way to get to the filmming site. this also helps us get permision for the location we have chosen but this isnt relevent for us as we do not need permsion as it is one of the group members house. as well as what shots we are doing at what time.

lastly testing shooting this has not been relevent for us as we unable to get to the location in enough time during lessons. how ever it would include running through the script in the right location to see how it fits together as well as what equipment we would use during filming. as would help us know what to do wiht props and costumes during filmming and help show us how it could be improved.

 using elements we are more prepared for a final shooting and helps the whole process flow with less wasted time during our tight shooting opitinity. thsi should also help us reduce the amount of editing needed after the film is shot this also means we can concentrate on other parts of the production for example creatign the sound track and credits 

Tuesday 8 February 2011

Prop/Costume Checklist

Props:
Beer/Drink - Jasmine
Photos/Newspaper articles - Reece
Lamp - Reece
Folder - Jasmine/Reece
Map - Reece
Knife - Jasmine
Marker Pen - Jasmine
Coat - Henry
Scissors - Jasmine
Leather Gloves - Reece
Anything else in Jasmines Garage to make it look realistic.

Costume:
Henry -  Jeans, Black Shoes, Black Top, Long Black Coat              
Emma - Casual clothing

Other:
Camera - Jasmine
Tripod - Jasmine

Example of Pictures/Props we will use

school-childrenimagesChristmas-shopping-007DSCN1447DSCN1449 
These are examples of the photos we are using for our props in the film. We have taken some off the internet which we feel look like the man has been stalking the business man's family and we have also taken some ourselves to maintain continuity in the sequence. Because Emma is going to be the daughter in the film we needed some pictures to make it look like the murderer had stalked her. These pictures will be printed off in black and white and we will cut them out to make them look like polaroid pictures. We will then circle some of the people with a black marker to make it look like they are the target of the murderer.
We have also created some fake newspaper articles that we will also print out. These have the titles "Business man commits suicide", "Business man earns millions" and "Murder suspect found". The titles will create part of the narrative in the opening sequence and will also help the audience understand what is going on and begin to ask questions.

Friday 4 February 2011

Why Thrillers Thrive

 People go to the cinema to see life reflected on screen, although it is not based on what normal people experience themselves. It includes different emotional disturbances also known as "thrills". From day to day not many people experience thrills, as a consequence we experience them artificially on screen. These people use cinema to get away from day to day life and enter someone else's who seems more "exciting".
Within a theatre we can see what is happening, but we do not feel threatened and insecure, we feel safe. However this means we cannot engage properly with the characters, as we cannot see every point of view and understand the characters and narrative as easily. Within a film as well as feeling safe and secure, you can also experience the emotion of the characters, relating to their feelings. This is because you are able to get every point of view, using a variety of shots, to make sure the audience understands what is happening. A consequence of a well made film is that the viewer is engaged within the film, feeling as if they are the character and are actually in the film.
A good example of what has been explained above is "hells angles". This contains a pilot trying to destroy a Zeppelin by crashing the plane into it even thought he is going to die him self. as the plane swoops down we see his face become tense and shocked with horror. The shot type then changes to a point of view shot making the audience feel like they are the ones in the plane crashing into the Zeppelin, the screen then turns black.
This shows good cinematic technique as there is no actual harm to the audience as they feel emotionally involved into the film. When cinemas use props or show very disturbing films during there films the audience fear for their safety, this means that the audience don't actually like the film as there sub conscious says they might actually be in danger, which differs to just showing a normal film where the sub conscious knows there safe. Due to the change in technology films are now becoming more commonly produced within 3D, this engages the audience even more as they feel the action in the film is actually going on around them. A good example is Avatar, the blue creatures look like they are flying towards the audience, making the audience physically move out of the way.

Thursday 3 February 2011

Digital Storyboard

DSCN1220DSCN1222DSCN1224DSCN1225DSCN1226DSCN1227DSCN1228DSCN1229DSCN1230DSCN1247DSCN1231DSCN1233DSCN1234DSCN1235DSCN1236DSCN1240DSCN1241DSCN1242DSCN1243DSCN1244DSCN1245

Location Recce

P1020048P1020047P1020046P1020044This is the location for the main part of the sequence. As pictured the garage is full of lots objects will need to be cleared in order to film our sequence. However these objects could become props and add effect to the location, as it could show that the murder is living in this cramped space. The bottom left photo is where we will place all the photos and articles on the wall and where we will film the man looking/scanning across the photos. Obviously some of the the objects in front of the wall should be moved however others can be left to make the location more realistic and believable. The top left photo has captured the fridge, which we will use at the start of the scene, and to the right of it is the desk/drawers. Because this is covered with tools, we will have to get rid of them to make space of the lamp and for the character to browse pictures and articles. Other restrictions could be that the van may be in the garage at the time, so we will have to arrange a time to ensure the van isn't in the way of our shoot. As we want to make the location quite dull we have found that there are two lights in the garage, one of which we will switch on and the other we will keep off. This should make sure the lamp stands out in the sequence and that there is also enough light to film the scene. We have benefited from this Location Recce as we have realised we will have to make time to move the stuff in the way, as well as to shoot our sequence. This will need to be looked at in our shooting schedule to make sure we have enough time to do everything.

Shooting Schedule

Camera Booked for 11th, 12th and 13th February.


Lesson 1 (Tues 8th Feb): Research into photos and newspaper articles for our props. Make a prop check-list. DONE

Lesson 2 (Thurs 10th Feb): Extra research set. Annotate script with shot list to make sure we have thoroughly planned the shoot. DONE

Lesson 3 (Friday 11th Feb): Film the flashback sequence. Create check-list for shoot, organise what time everyone is meeting, making sure we know where Jasmines house is etc. We will run through the narrative and storyboard again checking if anything can be modified slightly. Pick up camera and remember to take storyboard and shot list. DONE


Saturday 12th and 13th February:
Travel
Reece: 11 train from Meldreth to Cambridge. 1150 train to Littleport, arriving at 1210.
Emma: Lift to Cambridge and 1150 train to Littleport, arriving at 1210.
Jasmine: Meet us at station, then back to house.
Henry: 12 train from Downham Market to Littleport, arriving at 1208.

Shooting
1230: Clear out garage - setting up set, props and costume.
1300: Begin filming shots 1-6.
1330: Break, set up for next shots.
1345: Shoot shots 7-9 and 11-12
1415: Break, set up for next shots
1430: Shoot shots 13-21.
1515: Break. Try to make sure we have completed everything.
1530: Film other shots again if needed.
1545/1600: FINISH

Monday 14th Feb: 9AM bring back camera to Media Staff room. Remember to ask to keep the SD card so we can upload the footage next lesson. DONE

Lesson 4 (Tuesday 15th Feb): Upload all footage and begin editing the sequence. DONE

Lesson 5 (Thursday 17th Feb): Continue editing the footage - rough cut. DONE


Lesson 6 (Friday 18th Feb): Continue editing. Upload rough cut - begin to start Garage Band soundtrack (rough). DONE

Tuesday 1 February 2011

mise en scene: costume and location

Costume

For the main character in our production we are planning on using dark clothing e.g. long black coat, dark trousers and a dark shirt. We are using this type of clothing to give the character a scary, mysterious look in order to show the audience that he is a criminal/killer. With the other characters in our production we plan to use casual everyday clothes that a 17 year old teenager would wear to show a normal persons society and it also shows they're not expecting anything to happen to them. We are using black leather gloves to show that the person is a killer as the audience would typically link black leather gloves to  a killer as they will hide the finger prints from the police.

Picture 16Picture 15













Location

We are using 2 locations in our open sequence. This will be a garage and a street. We are using the garage as the killers house this is because it is a dark place which shows the characters dark personality and creates a spooky feel to the opening. The garage shows that the killer doesnt have much money or many belongings seeing as he doesnt work. We are using the street as a comparison to the garage as a garage is not a normal place for a person to live in whereas a street is somewhere everyone goes down to get to their houses.

Picture 13
Picture 12

Mise-en-scene (Props and Lighting)

Mise-en-scene consists of costume, props, lighting and location. These four things make the sequence look realistic and believable for the audience and without them the film would look unprofessional.

Props
Santoku Micarta Kitchen Knife Item-No. 03BA8376
Example of Kitchen Knife we will use
159-4864204iA71UC552502M
Example of Fridge
Props are essential for our film as the opening sequence relies on them because we are not having much, if any, dialogue in the scene. We begin our scene with a shot of the fridge, this is a major prop in the scene so it will be needed. This shows the man in his everyday life and makes it seem that everything is normal with him as he is just taking something from the fridge. The next prop is a drink, possibly a beer and this will show that he is possibly lower class drinking by himself. The most essential props for the sequence is the pictures and articles which are of his victims. These will be placed on the wall and should be realistic and continuity should be kept from picture to picture. These props will create the narrative and the audience will begin to understand who the man is because of these props. A marker pen will be used when he is circling the daughters picture. The marker pen will represent him targeting and "marking" his victim. As the script tells us, a knife will be used for the murder so a realistic knife will need to be used. We will use a kitchen knife like we have pictured which will show he is not well off and will have to make do with a normal knife. A map will be needed as a prop to show the location of the murder he is about to commit. Lastly the black leather gloves will be an essential prop as it relates to sinister and mysterious people and will show he is trying to make sure no finger prints are left on the knife/victim.

Lighting
images
Example of Desk Lamp
We want to create a dark, damp, mysterious atmosphere within the location (garage) so we will use little light in the scene. The desk lamp, which is a very important prop in the scene, will be the main source of our light. The darkness will help the audience understand that the person is the antagonist of the film and this will complement the props and narrative. For the flashback we will use natural light to make it a realistic point of view from the murder. We will need natural light for this part as it will create a great contrast between the two scenes and because we are going to make this part in black and white, it will need to be light for the audience to see what is happening on screen.