This blog has been marked. SJA 08/05/11

Final Opening sequence

7) Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

ENVY- our final thriller opening

Preliminary task

I have created two contact sheets to show the difference and contrast in shots we have chosen and detail we've thought about in our thriller opening in comparison to the preliminary task.

In the preliminary task, as we were only getting to grips with the basic continuity techniques, the shots were very basic with not many adventurous ideas with the use of camera work and editing. However since then I have improved and found myself to have a good eye for creating a well composed shot, and I like to experiment with different colours and lights within the shot. I feel this has also helped me to develop my skills, as experimenting and improvising brings about and inspires further ideas and the motivation to create a good opening with the similar shots you've taken. The continuity techniques we used were the 180 degree rule, match on action and shot/ reverse shot. The prelim. task not only taught me the definitions however I was able to practically learn and practice them.

For example, using the contact sheets to compare, the first shot in our opening sequence is to fully establish to the audience where they're looking at and where this character is. On the other hand the audience is quite limited looking at the first shot in the preliminary task as it doesn't show the outside of the building or a wider shot with more information. This shows I have developed my understanding as someone filming, of how the audience will see this and the first impressions they'll put upon the film from it.

The shot variety expanded greatly the more we began to film and bring our ideas together for example, close ups, using the reflections of mirrors and water to create interesting shots, panning whilst moving to create tension, tracking behind the victim to feel the emotion of the character, different orientations and angles for point of view shots but also we repeated one shot to reiterate the effect and position of that character of how she's still peering over her victim.

Furthermore, linking to editing we decided to use slow paced shots at the beginning with slow cuts, but also we decided to use slow motion on one shot of the stream running to reveal the deterioration of the character as she maybe dizzy and deluded. The basics of the continuity techniques in the prelim. task are still continued however very much developed in terms of now using transitions, fades and titles. Fades out and in is are used repetitively in our sequence as it represents the victim shutting and opening her eyes. This proves we have developed our thoughts in what shots and edits could mean to the audience.

6)What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Working in a pair, we took pictures of each other using just some of the main equipment we used when making our film, for editing, steady shots and capturing our footage.


In this picture it shows an apple mac computer, which is what we used for all the editing by using I MOVIE for editing the clips and inserting the sound, FINAL CUT for rendering our movie so the separate parts are merged together and LIVE TYPE for inserting our film titles.


To track all the research, planning and preparation along the way of our opening creation, I used BLOGGER to post all my work.


Document1

Overall I used the Apple Mac computers to use all of the software in which it holds, like scribd, final cut, youtube, facebook, live type and imovie.

I used many forms of media to create my blog and my opening sequence.
First of all I used the website called Blogger to post my work on and show the progress when creating my opening. I learnt how to upload pictures and videos from youtube by using blogger uploader and copying and pasting URL links from the video embedding section.

5) How did you attract/address your audience?

To make this post more visual I decided to upload our film to my face book page, to allow my friends to comment and get a real response from our target audience who may not be media students.

The main response was the liking to the music, as it's synced with the shots, matches the genre, links with the story line and includes sound effects to grab the audiences attention and make the shots feel more realistic for example the stream running and the sharp sounds synced with the important shots.

The group was hesitant that the fake blood wasn't realistic enough, however the responses told us it was believable and did not stand out to be fake during the close ups of the victims face where it is strongly visible.

Furthermore someone even said that it was passable for a story from Crime watch!! This has given us much confidence towards the making of or film.

4) Who would be the audience for your media product?

Our target audience is a mix of both male and female young individuals who are interested in thrillers, and thrill seeking movies with some aspects of twists and unusual components for example a female as the murderer in our film.

A typical young girl who would watch our film like in the image below may have a profile like this:

"This is Lucy Plough who is 17 years old, nearly 18, and lives in the centre of London. She dresses with style andinterest, just like her film taste consisting of explosive mystery, thrill and suspense.

The music

Lucy listens to is rock, indie, and some aspects of pop, and listens to radio stations like Kerrang and Radio 1 for the top chart hits.She enjoys going to festivals like Reading, and V festival with a bit of a 'retro' and 'indie' atmosphere. This also is a burst of new material, ideas and challenging of stereotypical teenage activities, instead of hanging around on street corners etc. Hence being a girly girl, by taking shopping trips in places like Topshop and for the cheap essentials, Primark, she also has a different side to her by enjoying thrill seeking, frightening and adrenaline rush activities like bungeejumping, rollercoasters and abseiling. Whilst away from all the havoc outside in the World, she also likes to spend time inside with a few of her good friends watching horror movies and gossiping.

Her favourite T.V programmes are Silent witness, Spooks, New tricks, The killing, on channels such as BBC1/2/3, ITV, Living and Channel 4.

I think our film would appeal to this girl as she's not a stereotypical girly girl, however she can be, which is similar to our movie which challenges the stereotypes of a female murderer and the sidekick male. For this reason I think she would enjoy it as it gives the audience some thoughts to solve, instead of being a very clear story line where you know what's going to happen next, with no hints to the forthcoming story, to let the audience have their own interpretation. Therefore if this was to be shown in a cinema, this film may appear to her justlike the other films she likes such as Brick, The sixth sense, Edge of Darkness, Salt, Inception and Shutter Island. These films also include many of her favourite actors like Leonardo Decaprio, Angelina Jolie and Mel Gibson.

Considering our audience is aimed at people who are aged 15+, I decided to ask this person who is 16 to watch and comment on our opening sequence and also to take a short video recording of what he thinks of it. This is to help my evaluation, to get a realistic response to what we've created, not so we can change it however what we can reflect on and what we've learnt.

3) What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Within the Film industry there are many institutions which distribute and contribute to films made all over the World, ranging from World releases to small, not so famous and widely known creations.

A production company is responsible for supervising the filming from concept to completion, and they hold

the sole legal and financial responsibility of the movie as a whole. Furthermore a production

company must be included within the opening as they have a huge role in the making of the film, and are very important.

A film distributor is a company or individual responsible for releasing films to the public either theatrically or for home viewing (DVD, Video-On-Demand, Download, Television etc.). A distributor may do this directly (if the distributor owns the theaters

or distribution networks) or through theatrical exhibitors and other sub-distributors. In our position as creating a movie for theatre and then progressing to home viewing purposes, we would decide to put our film in cinemas or theatrical exhibits, to widen the popularity and knowledge of our film from audiences. Optimum Releasing, released Brick in 2006. This is a UK Distributor which released the film in a theatrical form, for theatre. Furthermore we would most likely use a company like this to release our Movie as it's from the UK and released the film Brick, one of our main inspirations.

Therefore I feel our movie would be distributed by more of a low profile company like our inspirations, Brick and Wallander. Brick was distributed by Focus Features therefore we have decided to include their logo within our opening at the beginning before the rest of the titles and thriller footage.

Where will the Money come from to fund such a film like ours?

• The UK Film Council is the Government backed lead agency for film in the UK ensuring that the economic, cultural and educational aspects of film are effectively represented at home and abroad.
• The Film Fund is the production and development heart of the UK Film Council. They support filmmakers in the UK who are emerging or world class and capable of creating distinctive and entertaining work.
• They welcome applications for all kinds of film – from commercial mainstream to experimental, from genre movies to personal stories, from documentaries to animation to live-action fiction. Therefore our film would be welcome to apply for funding.
• They have £15 million a year to invest across the development, production and completion of feature films.
• Being supported by the UK Film Council means more than just being given funding. It means that our project would be assisted at every step of the journey by their team, who can offer advice and practical help with many aspects of developing and producing our film.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ We most probably would get funded from the UK film council, as our film would be a small, low profile UK movie, who they might be prepared to fund for.

2) How does your media product represent particular social groups?

WALLANDER MY FILM (ENVY)

Here I have taken screen grabs from Wallander (left), and my film (right) to show the comparison of two very similar characters, through appearance, costume and their role.

Similarities

• These two characters both have splattered blood on their faces and a dirty, unclean look about them.
• They are both wearing similar clothes of casual dull colours with a top and a dark jacket over the top. This is to keep a low profile to the audience, and so they don't stand out to the public within the movie, so they have less of a chance of being caught.
• Also they're both the murderers within their separate movies, unusually being of a female gender- not the typical murderer in a thriller movie.
• The postures of both females are similar in the sense that they're both walking upright and their heads facing forwards and looking ahead.
• They also share similar facial expressions – both serious and staring straight past the camera to the right (from the audiences prospective).
• Furthermore, the background setting is very similar – both pictures were taken outside in an open space,on a field with trees, grass and in Wallander the coastline Sea in the distance.
• However, the lighting used in the photos is different with one displaying a much brighter overall foreground and background including the colours of the characters skin and costume, and the other a more overcast grey outlook. This effects the atmosphere created within the image as the dull Wallander shot/ editing, creates a more sinister and eerie effect.
• Also, they have different hairstyles – The girl's from Wallander, is longer, lighter with streaks of red through it to maybe enhance the blood on her skin but also it covers her face more, whereas the girl from our film has shorter, darker and wind swept hair.

This is why Wallander stood out to us when researching thrillers, as it would grab the audiences attention as females are underestimated characters, not normally playing murderers.

Overall I think that these elements of the photos represent a troubled young individual and that my opening reflects this throughout – the people featured in my film are quite normal looking – there’s nothing extreme or obscure about their appearances.

1) In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

BRICK CONTACT SHEET

MY MOVIE CONTACT SHEET

These contact sheets show sequentially- the title of the film, setting/ location, costume/ props, camera work and editing, Title font and style, story and how the opening sets it up, genre and how the opening suggests it, how characters are introduced and special effects.

The media product in which we have created uses many aspects of developing or challenging conventions of real media products, through inspirations from researched thrillers and use of a variety of media.

One of the first media types we were influenced by was existing films for example Wallander and Brick. We were inspired by some of their footage and how they edited their films, however we altered the techniques to our specific genre so it suited our story and wasn't directly the same. For example we have also, like Wallander, taken slow, sharp cut close ups of the victims body laying in the water, inspired by the setting and the clip tempo and speed. We have really thought about our Mise en scene within the frame, so the audience can really feel the coldness and pain the victim feels laying in the water.

We used characters to challenge typical stereotypes for example a killer would usually be a Male, however we decided to use a girl as the killer to add a slight twist and difference to the film. This also is another way to grab the audiences attention as the may underestimate her actions and not expect what she's done. Similarly this is also the case in Wallander which was one of our main inspirations, however we have just used one murderer instead of two.

On the other hand, the victim is also a female, just like in the film Brick. We thought by basing our movie on 'ENVY' and girls being stereotypically 'sly' and 'jealous' of one another, the use of the same female gender of murderer and victim, this will emphasise the title and also the hatred relationship between the two, leaving the audience wondering, what was the cause of all this?

Our victim also shows key conventions throughout the opening, with important and deep meanings when analysed. For instance she's dressed in black to match the stereotypical death image and emotion, however it also enhances a sinister and painful atmosphere as black is the general colour worn to funerals- an event due to a past death.

Another key element is the victims eyes open as she's dead lying in the river. This enhances how the murderer has no respect and kindness towards this victim as if she did, to show peace and rest, she would have closed her eyes shut herself.

Not to over complicate our thriller we used a simple, yet cleverly composed sequence of shot types for example, establishing shots, black outs, close ups, tracking shots and panning to set the scene. These shots create tension and a relationship between the audience and the victim as it creates sorrow and sympathy towards the victim who's been attacked and murdered, left in this river maybe not to be found for a while.

A key shot of ours was inspired purely by brick. This is the first opening shot in which we see any of the victims body. It shows her arm, revealing her black bracelets, laying in the stream with an ahead view of the riverbank, creating a sense of despair, loneliness and isolation. The significant ripples in the water helps towards the weak and torturous atmosphere of cold and helplessness.

The shot of the murderer walking away from the scene was inspired also by Wallander, showing just the back of the head, only hinting their feminist gender by the small frame and hairstyle.

11) TITLES

These are a few of the fonts we may want to use or

similar to these when presenting the titles of the film for example the Director and Actors.

I particularly like this one as its quite distorted and fuzzy. It also separates the letters

This font on the left is in harsh bold capitals so it will definitely stand out as the title, against the other titles which a

ren't so important.in to their own space.

I particularly like this font as the splatters could link to blood and dripping pain represented in the film. It's also bold, strong and has a lot of meaning however the small caps aren't so outgoing however could symbolise how a murderer has to be intelligent and secretive by planning his thoughts carefully by staying low and not to get noticed.

10) Casting

This is Jack and I who are going to be the killers in the thriller. This will not be our costumes so this is just the character identification of who will be who. I am the character who kills amy- the victim, and jack is the serial killer who ends up killing me- his own girlfriend.



This are what Amy's character (the victim) will be wearing in the opening sequence of the thriller. We have used a black dress to show death and no life however it is also quite a wavy dress so when laying in the water it would flow through the stream and this could suggest that her life is flowing away with the water, the purse suggests identity and gives the audience information on the girl and what she had in her life.

We're planning on dirtying her body by putting mud and dirt in her hair and on her skin. This will show the torturous events she's gone through before this point which the audience see. Without actually allowing the audience to see what has happened to her before the first shot it gives them a good indication about what could have happened.

9) Character Descriptions (JACK)

Character Profiles

Amy Martin

Amy will play the character that is a victim of a murder. During the beginning of the film we don’t know much about her and why she has died, but as the film progresses we pick up on key information that explains why someone has gone to this extreme. Amy, a young adult who looks like she was going somewhere nice, we suggest this as she is wearing a dress and boots, but ends her night with something that she didn’t expect.

Charlotte Hannah

Charlotte is the murderer of Amy. Charlotte is also a young adult, who has gone to some effort to commit murder. During the opening sequence we don’t know why she killed Amy, but as time moves on we find out that it is because of jealously. She is quite a calm character considering she has just killed her friend, by the limited expression on her face.

Jack Devonport

Jack doesn’t appear much through the opening sequence, but we understand that he has something to do with the murder. Charlotte kills Amy because she is jealous of her, however we don't know why. He has quite a stern personality and we want it to seem he is in control of Charlotte.

8) Shooting Schedule

This is a shooting schedule of when we're going to go to the selected locations and capture our footage we need to create our thriller. This guides the group into organisation and keeps us on track so we know when we need to film, where and what we need.

SHOOTING SCHEDULE

7) Script

In our thriller we do not have any dialogue therefore no script is required.

However we chose to do this to avoid any cliche moments, or any points where the audience feels our actions have been put on. This is because we cannot rely on our acting to make the thriller to a high standard therefore the shots will have to be well though out to make up for the lack in speech.

6) Lists of props, Costumes and locations

PROPS

1) One of the props we use is a sharp kitchen knife, which Charlotte holds after shehas killed

Amy. We decided to use this to show how she killed Amy, as the audience don't see this part. As it is a very dangerous object, we had to ensure it was wrapped up carefully, and no one in the public area saw us holding the knife. As it's a thriller we wanted to make it frightening therefore the knife is quite threatening and gives Charlotte power within her character, as this is a weapon she could use on anyone that gets in her way.2) Another prop is the victims purse holding change and identification cards like an oyster

forexample.

COSTUMES
1) Charlotte: She wears a white tank top, black leggings, and a grey hoody. We chose to put her in a white top so the blood and dirt would stand out as they're contrasting colours. Also these casual clothes will disguise the murder she did, in comparison to if she was wearing a baraclava etc. thatwould immediately indicate to a

member of the public that someone was in danger or she is a criminal.2) Amy: This is very contrasting to

Charlotte's, as Amy is wearing a black dress, blazor, tights, and boots. However these boots are the same as

Charlotte's hinting they were friendsand hadthe same fashion sense together. The formal clothing hints that she was either going

out somewhere or was coming back from an event, in which Charlotte had known about to kill

her.
3) Jack: He is the only male in the opening, therefore his clothing was very different, and neat compared to the other two characters. This is to

show he was not physically involved in the murder however he may have helped her plan it and

hide the evidence after. Jack's costume is a red nylon jacket, a polo and casual dark trousers.

This emphasises the layed back attidude presented by these two characters and how strange that is. Maybe it could hint, they are usual murderers and this wasnt the first time this has

happened.

LOCATIONS

1) Beddington park river: This is our main location showing the dead victim and the

river which she's in. We chose to film here as its a quiet location therefore it will look more realistic to the viewer if there are less pedestrians and public in the area. The river also had a few patchy levels of stones, which was more practical for amy to lye in as it was very cold at the time to lye in the river.

2) The Murderers House: This is the location where the murderer clears up the evidence and goes home to hide what she's done, and think about the crime in which she's committed.

5) Story board (ME)

We have created a storyboard in order to guide us through the filming process helping us to stay organised and ensure we waste no time remembering which shot or part of the plot comes next. Also by laying it out separately with each angle and shot type noted down, with all the sound camera movement and dialogue within that specific shot, it will help prevent missing any crucial elements which will make our film as good as possible. The small drawings will also indicate to us a composition we may consider using for example where each character is standing or placed in comparison to another. Through the planning process so far our ideas have changed continuously after realising something may not be appropriate or unaccessibleCAJ 1 CAJ3 caj4

4) Sounds

These are a few experimental sounds or pieces of music we may use in our thriller opening.
This is a scream we may use at the end when it goes into blackout and the boyfriend murders her- http://www.partnersinrhyme.com/soundfx/scary_halloween_sounds/Screams/hal-scream.wav

I've been looking at music/ soundtracks from other thrillers and this could be a possibility- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6rrkYPaG4A&feature=related

Another diegetic sound we could use as the murderer is walking, to emphasise the sound of wind and the fast speed she's trying to walk at- http://www.pacdv.com/sounds/ambience_sounds/air_hum.wav

Another wind breeze- http://www.pacdv.com/sounds/ambience_sounds/wind-breeze-1.mp3

Water stream in case the sound of the stream needs enhancing- http://www.pacdv.com/sounds/ambience_sounds/water-stream-1.mp3

Windy forest, as the murderer is leaving her victim and walking out of the park- http://www.pacdv.com/sounds/ambience_sounds/windy-forest-1.mp3

3) Shot Lists

Shot List for Media Studies[1]

2) Synopsis

Beginning
Camera shows a female character murdered lying in a river, and looks like she has been through a struggle. We will show this through the female characters appearance such as blood and dirt, but also a variety of well composed shots.

Middle
We find out who the killer is and why this has happened, throughout the middle of the film the audience pick up on some small bits of information, which are key to knowing why she was murdered

End
As the film comes to a close, we really find the meaning of this, and discover that the boyfriend of the murderer, turns against her and ends up killing her.

This opening sequence will hopefully leave the audience asking themselves who is the murderer as she is only revealed slightly as she's on her way home from the crime and as she gets home when her boyfriend is also revealed. There is little reason why she has killed the victim until the end when it is revealed when the killer reveals her envy against her by deleting a picture of them together from her computer. We still don't know why but there is a hint that maybe the victim did something so bad it has caused her enemy to kill her.

This opening sequence fits into the thriller genre as there is physically no violence shown however the audience are aware there has been a scene of violence before the first shot.

We will also create suspense and anticipation within the audience by hiding the killers identity until after she leaves the dead girl in the river.

1) Initial Ideas

These video's are testers we created to inspire ourselves into thinking what shots work best and what we can do with water in the screen.
These shots are supposedly going to be the first shot of the opening, when the girl has been left. It is from her own eyes so the audience are seeing what she does. This creates a relationship between the character and the audience as they can feel her cold wet state she has been abandoned in.

We were able to experiment with water reflections, and how the water gently ripples when it is touched. By putting the killer in the reflection it conveys a sinister feel and that sense of hiding identity, as the body is shown but the face is not recognisable. The ripples created by that last almost reach of hope and will to survive from the attacked character also disguises the killer's identity by blurring the audiences vision to the body in the reflection.
The reflection also widens the viewers knowledge of the surroundings and the sky above whether its dull or bright, enhancing the mood.

This is a brainstorm of our original ideas, locations, and plots for our thriller.

Our idea has changed three times however now we are definate on our decision and are sticking to the synopsis we've imagined.

I have chosen, which I think will be the best shots from our story board and drawn them again on a contact sheet. This is what we think our thriller would look like if other people were to create their own contact sheet, as we hope these shots will convey our idea the best through the characters, surroundings and the type of shot.

The angles may not be clear as I found it difficult to draw them with an angle therefore there will most likely be changes to these shots as we film.