Continuity Task: Planning and Storyboarding!

These past couple of weeks we've been working on our preliminary; designed to gauge an understanding of where we're at in terms of our ability and filming skills, the task has been subjuect to a lot of stressing out. The short film has to last around 60-90 seconds (not long!) and the focus of the task is not so much about the concept or the script, but about our ability to work as a team, creating a shotlist and (eventually) a storyboard, and film/edit our film into a clean, smooth product. There were several guidelines that we were given by Mr.Michie to give our film a focus, and it's imperative that we acknowledge these rules, given that it is these guidelines that are going to get us a good mark. They include the following:-

-You must not break the 180 degrees rule

-You must include a shot reverse shot 

-You must include a variety of appropriate camera angles

-You must edit so that continuity is apparent and meaning is clear

-You must include more than one location

-You must include some interaction between characters

-You must include some non-diegetic sound

On the surface of things, the task seemed pretty simple; however, creating something that follows all of these guidelines, as well as making the piece engaging and flowing,is much harder than it once seemed. First of all, we went about discussing the 'concept' for our film. We decided unanimously; we all agreed that the concept needed to give us the ability to use various locations, shots, angles etc. Therefore, we decided upon the idea of an angered student, who realises that his pencil case has been stolen, and looks around the school angrily, attempting to find the 'pencil case thief'. It's pretty infantile but, as I say, we thought the content would give us the ability to 'show-off' our film-making skills. We then went about the casting, and decided without too much discussion: I would play the angered student, opposite Jacob Smith who would play the innocent 'thief'. We then thought of locations: the corridors of the 6th Form centre conformed to the stereotypical idea of a 'school' setting that we wanted. Then, after this, we needed a setting for the confrontation between the two characters; we decided that the Drama studio wouldhave the appropriate lighting for a suitably dramatic face-off. Also, the room's walls are black, which acts as a metaphor for the raging anger our protagonist feels. So far, so good. After, it was down to business: the shotlist-

1) Long shot of person A approaching the doors of the 6th form centre,with an air of malice/anger (pan).

2) Close-up of the door being opened aggresively.

3) Medium shot of the back of the protagonist, looking around hurriedly.

4) Cut to the Drama studios; establishing shot of B (isolated/alone) writing an essay.

5) The door to the studios opens; person A enters, acknowledges his victim; smile crosses his face.

6) Over-the-shoulder shot (at a low angle) of B looking at A; conveys weakness of B; A approaches B.

7) Shot-reverse-shot of person A yelling 'Wheres my pencil case?!'; cut to B's fear/anxiousness; cross back to an even more infuriated person A.

8) Over-the-shoulder shot (at a high angle) of A looking at B; conveys dominance of A; B says 'Please, I really, really need it!'

9) Slow motion shot of A snatching pencil case of B; close-up.

10) Transition- screen cuts to black.

11) A leaves using the same door as before; long shot; distant wailing can be heard.

I was pretty happy with this, it had the potentitial to convey our ability, demonstrating a wide range of shots, angles whilst still being (hopefully) engaging. Next part was the storyboarding, which was inevitably full of heated-debates. I say 'inevitably' because everyone envisioned the shotlist in a slightly different way: which is good. If this process went smoothly (which it didn't) I genuinely don't think we'd have a storyboard of as high a quality. Together, we visualized the shotlist, bringing it to life, as well as considering, dialogue, non-diegetic sound/ diegetic sound, as well as the shots length. The storyboards can be found below:

Entering Chikara centre angrily



Arguing... Finley style

Leaving a bloodied Jacob, pencil-case in hand

For all those keen readers, you'll realise that the shotlist and the storyboard is not identical and I think this important; as good a shotlist you may have, it can be improved upon, especially when you're actually visualizing your shotlist through a storyboard: you realise that maybe that shot didn't work quite as well when actually putting pencil to paper. I guess thats something I've learnt throughout this process: all good practice before the real thing. So there you have it; we've basically constructed and built a minutes-worth short film that (at this stage) looks good, ready for filming. I'm happy with the progress that we have made, our group dynamic being more productive and efficient, and, quite simply, this bodes well for our final piece. So I'm looking forward to filming, which I'll blog about very soon...

Learning More About Storyboarding!

In one of our previous lessons we received the help and knowledge of a previous Media Studies student, who has since gone on to become a professional animatic storyboarder. Given that we are currently in the process of storyboarding our continuity task, I felt that the information she could offer regarding storyboarding was invaluable, and her advice could then be used to improve upon my own work and  storyboarding skills. We begun the lesson by looking at her own animatic storyboard; the purpose of this was envisioning what the sequence would look like before filming too place, pointing out the various shots, angles and movement of the characters, as well as establishing any flaws that can then be smoothed out.
The clip (entitled Full Circle) can be found below and is around halfway through the playlist:-

*Copyright Disclaimer: I Do Not Own This* 


After this, she discussed her top tips when storyboarding. For instance:-

- Ensure that you have thoroughly planned your sequence in your head; a detailed shotlist should have bullet pointed the various shots you are going to use. This care makes the storyboarding process smoother and more efficient and organised.

-You shouldn't be too worried about the chronology of your storyboard. Ideas can be jotted down on scrap paper and can be moved around if need be to establish where each shot goes.

-Finally, the 'Rule of Thirds' should be acknowledged. The frame of your shot is segmented into three parts; if you want to establish a protagonist, they should take a centralised position within the frame, as opposed to characters who are unimportant being positioned on the sidelines so to speak.

We ended the lesson by viewing a comparison between a cartoon's animatic and the final result itself. This emphasised the importance of storyboarding and how storyboards don't necessarily need to look identical to the final product; (for instance there is no movement of the characters):

*I Do  Not Own This*


Overall, this lesson gave me a better understanding of storyboarding and it's complexities. I also learnt about animatics, and how they act as the middle-ground between ideas and the actual final product; I alsop received advice on how to improve my storyboarding (from no less than a professional storyboarder!) I now feel more confident with storyboarding and I have now grasped it's importance to the film-making process...

Learning The Basics #1: The 180 Degree. It's Kinda Simple Once You Get Used To It...

The 180 degree rule is something we have been discussing recently in our lessons; it's absolutely imperative the rule isn't broken, otherwise it feels disjointed, confusing and generally just headache-inducing. Having said that, up until recently I didn't fully grasp the rule and I felt I needed some further research- in other words, what you are reading now! The 180 degree rule is there to create spatial awareness, unconsciously making the audience aware of where characters are in relation to one another without actually having to view the set in it's entirety. When filming, it's important to imagine an axis between two conversing characters:

Note that the axis goes straight through both of our characters

As you'll notice, the imaginary axis goes between both our characters. The director must then make the decision of where to position the camera for the first shot, thus determining what side of the axis said camera will REMAIN. Once this decision is made, all shots must come from that one side of the 'semi-circle' per se, other things will get really, really confusing for the audience to watch. Take a look at this summary diagram:

Pretty Self-Explanatory

Yes, it really is that simple. But, and I stress but, the 180 degree rule is unbelievably important if you even want to get close to an A grade. Therefore, as film-makers, we've got to constantly bear this in mind whilst filming to ensure we can get a product that looks professional and well thought out. I can apply this research to our Continuity task, and I feel as though I now have a complete understanding of the 180 d. rule.

A really helpful video (ie. understand what seemed like a very confusing concept in 5 minutes) explains the do' and don't s of the 180 degree rule- enjoy...

* I do not own anything, the video is being used for educational purposes*

Storyboarding

Storyboarding is important. Very important, it seems. In our past Media Studies lesson, we explored storyboarding as a film-making process and it's significance in regards to making a film that is of a higher standard. An inevitably long, monotonous process, storyboarding is ultimately incredibly significant:

- It links planning to the actual filming process itself.

- Storyboarding allows the director to revise the sequencing and narrative of the film.

- Gives the director room to make mistakes, allowing improvements and revisions.

- Unites the entire production crew in the sense that they all have one vision of the film before the filming.

- Storyboarding can be effective for pitchng an idea to film production companies.

- Helps give the director an idea of timing and sound, both diegetic and non-diegetic.

As you can see, it's kind of imperative to the film-making process. Following this, we then analysed a behind the scenes video from M. Night Shyamalan's The Sixth Sense. It gave me an insight into the ways in which storyboarding was used on a big-budget Hollywood production and how it was incredibly useful when structuring the layout of scenes, particularly for the sequences that required extra preparation. I came to the realisation that as long-winded the process might be, benefits that can reaped from storyboarding are priceless, especially if you're on set, with limited time to film and a budget to retain. 

Overall  I've learnt about the importance of storyboarding and the role it plays within the fimmaking process. I can apply this learning now to the storyboarding for the continuity task...

The Sixth Sense Storyboard

What Have I Learnt So Far in Media Studies? (Spoiler: A Lot)

Media Studies has been a steady learning curve since the beginning of the course. I've learnt about media terminology that was previously alien to me (Binary Opposition, anyone?) and I've understood the significance of the concept of genre and the various sub-genres/ hybridisations that all originate from genre. Moreover, I've practisced essay writing, from gender portrayal to binary opposition, and I genuinely feel more confident with my essay writing skills, developing my ideas and explaining myself in a more sophisticated, succint way. These skills tie into our cousework task, a task in which we ultimately have to create a two minute thriller opening. This task has covered the entire spectrum of the film-making process (research, planning, story-boarding, scriptwork, casting, the whole lot) and this task has put into practice the theory work we have been doing, analysing various clips with Mr. Michie, from Jane Eyre to Merlin. I suppose Media has given me a new perspective on the way film and television is produced; I'm now analysing the effects of editing, lighting, sound and mise-en-scene when I go to my local cinema, something that I never truely appreciated before. I've definitely improved, and I'm looking forward to the rest of the course, further developing my skills as I continue further into the world of Media Studies...

Genre is such a broad concept; within our first lessons we grasped a fundamental understanding of genre before delving deeper, exploring the numerous sub-genres and hybridisations. We discussed why genre codes and conventions define the genre of a media text as a whole, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of genre conventions: whilst conventions fulfill audience expectations and are easier to market, it's important to note the need to break away from cliched values and avoid the trap of following genre conventions to the extent where it becomes dull. We filmed this discussion within my coursework group. Also, I absorbed a lot of words I had previously never used (connoting, singnifies, the list goes on...) and from this I then found that I could use these words within the apprpriate context in my notes and essays. We also looked at thrillers and took the first steps towards creating our thriller films. The research was initially about looking other openings (and other clips) to thriller films. I was able to analyse a lot of these, including the unorthodox ending to Requiem for a Dream as well as the title sequences to political thriller Homeland and Casino Royale. I also evaluated the work of my peers, including Jacob's analysis of the opening of Taken as well as making a Vlog of my reaction to the opening of The Beach:



As well as this, we've been doing a lot of clip analysis to futher develop our exam-based skills. For instance, we worked within our class to look at various clips (Merlin, Doctor Who and Jane Eyre amongst others). We then took notes in relation to the question (the portrayal of gender, how editing/sound had been used). I took notes covering all bases including editing, sound, mise-en-scene and camera angles. These types of lessons helped me to understand the importance of all of these aspects and how they had been used to contribute to the sub-text of the clip, ie. the weakness of males within the Primeval clip. I then had to use this understanding to complete exam-style essay questions. This helped me to prepare myself for the 'real thing', using my notes as well as media terminology and the advice of my teachers to produce work that I was pleased with. Although I was pleased with my results (including a B in my 'Titanic Binary Opposition' essay) I acknowledge the targets that I was given and since then I've endeavoured to work on those targets to improve my essay-writing ability. By continuing to complete and practisce essay questions (which have been previously used in actual exams) I feel more hopeful for the written exam which once seemed a  fairly daunting prospect.

Practising Our Storyboarding...

Storyboarding is undoubtedly of paramount importance within the film-making industry; with this in mind, we were put into pairs and assigned the task of creating a short plan of a chase sequence within a fictional horror film entitled: 'Terror In The Night'. Working alongside Jess Mockler, we considered carefully what we were going to include our storyboard (which was to have a maximum of ten frames). This practice task developed my understanding of storyboarding; also, it awakened me to the many subtle decisions that need to be made from shot to shot. For instance, camera angles, mise-en-scene, editing, shot length, the sound (diegetic and non-diegetic), as well as the dialogue we are to include. In short: there was a lot to decide upon. The results can be found in the images below:-

Opening Shots: Introducing the premise of the story, as well as protagonist/s and antagonist/s

Notching up the Intense Atmosphere... Use of close-ups, panning shots

The storyboard covered three factors: a rough visualization of the shot, the type of shot and it's duration, and finally an analysis of sound and dialogue. Myself and Jess wanted to cover the codes and conventions of a horror: clichéd characters (see screaming damsel in distress), shrieking violins (straight out of The Exorcist), extreme close-ups of a crazed psychopath as well as corny dialogue such as 'I found you...' in a rasping voice. Essentially, the task was trying to acquit us with the practice of using storyboarding and understanding first-hand just how important this very visual style of planning is. We can apply this task to our actual storyboards for our final-piece, and we can adopt this film-making form of planning to understand (completely) the shots we are aiming for as a group, as well as giving us an idea of what shots/sounds we are planning to use. Overall, I found this task very helpful, and gave me a more complete understanding of the significance of story-boarding with film-making. Got to practice my drawing skills though I think...

Analysis of Melissa's 'Art of The Title Sequence'...

Our group have been discussing the importance of the opening titles themselves; one must create an opening titles sequence that is engaging, intruiging the audience yet still giving out little information, luring the viewer in. With this in mind, member of our group Melissa Kerrison has been analysing titles sequences, in particular the political thriller Vantage Point, relevant given that our opening is to follow a similar sub-genre of thriller. Here is what she studied:-

 *Following paragraph is work of Melissa Kerrison http://melissakerrison.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/the-art-of-title-sequences.html*



Poduction Company Logo



''I've been researching the art of title sequences. One of the title sequences I looked at is called 'Vantage Point.'  I chose this as it's a political thriller and I noticed that the first credit's transition lasted 5 seconds and when it was completely on screen, it stayed for around 4 seconds. The second one was a faster transition but stayed for the same amount of time as the last one- 4 seconds. The font is white and silver over a black background, making the credits stand out. A transparent red circle moves across the second title, looking as if it's a laser from a gun. The font for the first picture is big and bold making it clear to the viewer, whereas the second font has two different fonts- 'columbia pictures' in block capitals, and 'presents' in a smaller font, making the name of the company seem more important. The credits are spread out in the opening, and come up seperately. The name of the film is completely different to the other credits, below you can see the transition is made up of different lines and blocks of black shapes, and they all come together to form 'vantage point' the font colour is black and it has a yellow/gold background. The transition takes about 8 seconds and once it's completely shown, it's on screen for about 3/4 seconds.''

 

Intense, Bold Titles

 



 

You have payed to see 'Vantage Point'. Hint: the title of your film is kinda important



 

''Looking at this has helped me understand that the credits actually take up quite alot of time, and realise the lack of time we have to include our opening on top of the credits. It's also given me an insight into how long the credits are usually displayed for and the time the transitions take etc.''

What Can I Learn From This? :-

-Length of Titles/Transitions: Two minutes is a relatively short ime and the length the titles were up on the screen for (eg. four seconds) emphasised the importance of our groups new-found mantra: 'Less definitely is more...' The opening doesn't need to be plot heavy, it simply needs to entice the audience. Thats it, really.

- Gimmicks: The circle of red (which is presumably a laser on the top of a gun) reinforces to the audience that they have payed to watch a thriller. Also, it links into the title of the film as well as perhaps foreshadowing an event that is to happen later in the film. Clever stuff.

-The difference between colour/font of the actors/directors names as opposed to that of the films title: The title of your film is pretty important; it's significance in this case is shown through the titles centralised position, the length of time on screen as well as it's font and bold colours. 

Finally, Meilissa found a piece on the title designer's inspiration for the opening. It's interesting to find out the thought process for it. Flashing up names can seem tedious, but it's the various ideas he has (eg the red motif) that make it such a brilliant opening sequence:-

Lets hope our group can emulate his success by making a thrilling opening to our film...

Teacher Gone Mad...

Our group's ideas have changed drastically over the past few days; attempting to make our work more original, we wanted to include a Political element to the opening of our thriller, creating something beyond the limits of typical thriller codes and conventions. The idea of a psychological thriller has always been something I pushed for in the group, but only now with our current ideas do I think we can include psychological elements whilst still maintaining something that is suitably fresh and unique. Our concept for our opening explores the idea of supposedly 'normal' members of our society losing their sanity; this is something I believe is topical at the moment, what with the shootings in Norway as well as the 'Batman' cinema killer, and I believe that grounding our opening within the confines of reality will make our short more horrifyin and, of course, more thrilling. The opening follows a teacher at a local school plotting to assasinate the Prime Minister as he visits the school that our psycho- teacher works at. The opening will essentially be made up of a montage sequence as our teacher readies himself for what is to come. It's important to me explore that the mental illness aspect of things is dealt with seriously and not in a stereotyped fashion; also, we'd like the audience to gauge the fact that our protagonist is leading this double life, trying to hide his demons behind the facade of teacher/family man/ respectable member of the community that hides an altogether more frightening truth. Below are our developed ideas in regards to what we are planning on:

* Worked on this plan with Hannah Dunsdon*
1)The name of our production will appear and over the top will be diegetic sound of the interviewer asking the Prime Minister why he is deciding to visit the Chalfonts Community College; this image will then fade out menacingly.

2)We then open to a mid shot of the Prime Minister from waist upwards. There is a seconds pause to give the audience some time to understand the context of the shot (ie. news programme interview) then begins to speak with blood dripping down his face. However, neither interviewer nor interviewee react to this at all. 

3)Jump cut to a extreme close up of teacher with a sly creepy smile, although in the background the Prime Minister is still talking from within the television that our teacher is watching. 

4)Jump cut back to news frame, there is no trace of blood on him which comes to the end of the interview, shocking the audience as we realise the cruel intentions of our aspiring teacher. 

5)Pan out to teachers room which will be messy, strewn with newspaper articles, surveillance photos, alcohol, prescription drugs etc. and then cut away to the title sequence. The screen will display 'Directed By...' ; a distant husky laugh can be heard as this is displayed.

6)We will then have a montage sequence of him preparing for the assasination, intercut with the titles.

7)The scene will end with the teacher's oblivious wife calling from downstairs 'Dinners Ready!', reminding the audience of the double personality of the teacher. He then shuts the door, the camera zooming in on a dartboard attached to the back of the door, the Prime Ministers face stuck to the datboard, a dart stuck in the middle of the Prime Ministers proverbial 'head', acting as a metaphor for what the teacher wants to achieve. We then cut to black, displaying the title of the film.

Characters and Casting:-

We decided on the characters costume as well as colour palette.

Prime Minister- Sharp suit and haircut, white shirt and blue tie (professional and smart)

Interviewer- Smart/ Casual suit, preferably smart hair.

Teacher- bedraggled/wasted look, suit, messy hair, round glasses which sit on the edge of his nose, maybe the colour green- has connotations of illness, lack of sanity.

Teacher's Wife's voice in background- won't need a costume as we only need the voice of her.

Hannah has her friend to help her with the makeup that is needed for our Prime Minister. In terms of casting, I feel that we can get away with having our fellow students play the interviewer and the teacher's wifes' voice. However, I feel as though the more adult roles (especially the teacher) should be played adults to make our film look more professtional, and less student-ish. We are actively looking to cast these roles relatively soon, and find people who can play the roles within the short itself.

Props Ideas:

-Alcohol.
-Orange tinted pill cases.
-Newspaper cuttings about relevant events (i.e. 7/7 attacks) 
- Surveillance Pictures.
-Pinboards strewn with highlighted newspaper articles/ documents.
-Map of local vicinity.
-Small TV.
-Picture frame of family.
-Desk. 
-Lamp (red lightbulb).

I've also had ideas for the non-diegetic music to be played over the top of the montage sequence, and I feel this piece encapsulates the intenity, sadness of our scene. Obviously we would have to find a non-copyrighted version of the song itself:-



Overall, I'm really happy with our ideas and our group dynamic, everyone contributing ideas and accepting the various roles and responsibilities that are required to be successful. I love it when a plan comes together..

I Can See Dead People... The Sixth Sense Scene Analysis

As you've read in previous posts, our group has been thinking of developing a psychological-supernatural thriller; and so, for strictly research purposes, I've chosen to take a look at the Daddy of all supernatural thrillers , M. Night Shyamalan's The Sixth Sense. It's the script that makes the film here, following Bruce Willis' child psychologist as he encounters a creepy kid, Cole, who can 'see dead people'. Not only is it defined by that shock twist, but it's message about accepting death and rebuilding family relationships makes it so much more intelligent than your bog-standard B-Movie thriller. Entertaining, horrifying, yet not reckless. My kinda movie... take note Hollywood. It's this scene that really encapsulates why this film is so thrilling, whilst also portraying the supernatural elements that our group is planning on emulating in our own supernatural-thriller. At this point in the film, the audience has been told that he can supposedly 'see dead people', although the connotations of this haven't really been explained to this point. Until now. And it's disturbing, shocking and jump-out of your seat scary. A truly effective scene demonstrates why this film has become a modern classic. Take a look at the scene below:-

* I don't own this clip. It is being used for educational purposes*


The scene opens with our protagonist Cole (his centralised position highlights his importance within the scene, asking the audience to empathise with him) ; his withdrawn body language and infantile pyjamas symbolic of childhood naivety and fear; the audience sympathises with him at this point, able to relate to that childlike fear of monsters and ghouls in the dark, unknowing that Cole can actually see these bedtime creatures. The darkness of the room has metaphorical connotations of the fear that plagues him. We then cut to a shot of the AC monitor,emphasising that the temperature is decreasing rapidly, in line with Cole's words in previous scenes, making the audience question whether Cole was telling the truth. The menacing non-diegetic music foreshadows the protagonists subsequent danger, heightening the intensity of the scene as a whole. Moreover, the longshot that includes the doorframe within the shot reinforces the fact that Cole is helpless, ostracised from any care or attention, lonely within this world of ghosts. Shyamalan uses this shot effectively, suddenly revealing the silhouette of a ghost passing by the door quickly, shocking the audience, steadily increasing the danger of Cole's predicament. A close up of the protagonist turning around reveals to the audience Cole's emotions, the fear on his face reinforcing the danger he finds himself in as the ghost inhabits his safe haven: his mother's own home, conveying to the audience that the threat is always present, racheting up the horror of the scene. He then turns, walking towards the camera (re-establishing his characters prevalence) as he peers around the doorframe reluctantly, empahsising how much he fears what is hidden in the darkness.

The scene then moves to a point-of-view shot from the protagonist's perspective, reinforcing to the audience where our allegiances should lie. The camera slowly approaches the narrow doorway, connoting Cole's frightened emotions as he approaches his darkest nightmares. This lengthy shot's running time heightens the tension, the audience anticipating when the the creature is  about to appear.

Improving Essay Writing Skills...

Writing cogently and eloquently is a key component to AS Media: the ability to write technically and yet maintain the examiner's interest is, essentially, the key to success within this subject. With that in mind, our last lesson's objective was solely to improve our technical writing ability, working within groups to create a paragraph focusing on the Doctor Who clip we had used in previous lessons. The clip can be found below:



The focus of the question was how sound and editing have been used to influence the portrayal of gender within the context of the clip; the class went through the clip several times, making the following notes:-
`
Sound:
-Slow, mournful tone.
-Minor chords makes it seem sombre, melancholy.
-Guitar- Western, duel, Genre Hybridity.
-Intertextuality, molding of genre.
-No diegetic music, adds to tension.

Editing:
-Prevalence of the Master.
-Cutaway from Martha to the people she loves: good side.
-Jumpcut creates continuity.
-Attention turns to friends but is interspersed with her looking towards the Master.

We were then split up into groups, and worked together to create paragraphs addressing the question, as you can see in the images below:-

My Group



Harriet's Group




Immy's Group




Beth A-C's Group




Beth Eley's Group

After this, as a class we were able to reflect and evaluate upon what we did well and what was not so good. I felt this chance to be reflective helped me as I learned what to include and made me feel more confident about my ability, as well as using other's ideas to improve my own work. Exams and Essay's, here I come...

Idea Developments....

Our group has been discussing further about ideas regarding the opening of our thriller; we have since felt that physchological thriller lends itself to too many cliches, unable to accomodate the conventions of this sub-genre whilst being original and unique. Since then, we feel that a 'terrorism' thriller is topical at the moment, an omni-present threat that has touched many lives. Therefore, we believe that this would remain relevant to our audience, whilst still having an adequate amount of threat and intensity, making our thriller equally (if not more so) effective as our initially-proposed physchological thriller. In addition to this, we wanted to include elements of a 'western' thriller, making our opening more of a hybridisation; combing the conventions within a modern-day setting, the idea of an 'internal duel' with a terrorist could be interesting to explore. The battle between religion and family from the perspective of a terrorist could be effective, whilst still intense and engaging. This type of thriller, like 'Homeland', '24' and the 'Bourne' films, are extremely popular and I think this would still be original, yet exciting and the most important ingredient of all: 'thrilling'....

Discussing Probable Ideas For Our Movie Woop Woop!

Our group thought a discussion was in order: what were we going to do regards the type of genre of our thriller was going to follow the conventions of (whilst still staying unique)? Without further ado, here is the clip that answers those questions and more...

Bond is Back! Skyfall Opening Sequence Analysis...

Skyfall's opening prologue is undoubtedly the best opening sequence of the year; after the disappointment of 'Quantum of Solace', Daniel Craig's 007 returns with a explosive chase along the rooftops of Istanbul. Hunting down a suspected terrorist, the scene intercuts between Bond, MI6 agent-on-the-ground Miss Moneypenny (Naomie Harris) and M calling the shots a world away in the rainswept MI6 Headquarters. The opening is symbolic of what one has come to expect of a Bond film in recent years; a euro-villain, glamorous, exotic locations as well as weapons and ever-present danger. The use of this fast-editing technique ensures a fast paced opening, engrossing the audience into the glamorous world of Bond. The sequence ends on a thrilling cliffhanger, preceding Adele's animated theme tune, marking the best opening to a Bond film in recent memory. Although the action lacks realism (it is a James Bond film after all), Skyfall is Jmes Bond at it's most grittiest, darkest best...

The opening begins with 007 emerging from the darkness, searching a house. The juxtaposition of light and dark on Bond's face indexically connotes how dangerous Bond can be, a flawed, imperfect character. We then see his fellow agent strewn dead on the floor; the blood contradicting with the otherwise dark setting, emphasising to the audience the danger associated with Bond's job. Intense close-ups highlight Bond's lack of emotion, shot-reverse-shot revealing how Bond has acknowledged his death. Bond then phones M, the rain streaming down the walls of MI6 contrasting the intensity of colours at Bond's location. Her central positioning emphasises how she is a prominent character (indeed, she has an important role in the rest of the film). He then runs out of the room, trying to locate his fellow MI6 agent in her car. The non-diegetic now begins to heighten the intensity of the scene, empahsising the action that is to come. Bond reaches her car, stepping in to the vehicle without hesitation, denoting his intent on finding the baddie. Consequently, Moneypenny drives off erratically, following someone up ahead. The reckless yet calm Moneypenny goes against the female stereotype of the audience; a strong female heroine, her stony-faced reaction to the chaos around her connotes her experience, and her similarity to Bond in the sense that they are both troubled characters, embroiled within their jobs, which perhaps foreshadows the end of the prologue sequence, when Moneypenny accidentally shoots Bond himself. The colours of the various stalls provide a sense of irony, how daily life resumes amongst the prominent threat of the terrorists. The diegetic noises of screams from the Istanbul citizens further reiterate this sense of chaos.

The action then resumes when the baddie gets away on a motorcycle; in a rush, Bond gets on an unused police motorcycle, revealing to the audience his experience and fearless nature. Thus begins an action-packed motor-cross chase amon the rooftops, fast paced editing highlighting the sense of danger that Bond is under, and his undying longing to capture the bad guy. The ever-continuing discussion between Bond and M connotes the importance of the mission, that the mission is of such significance that M must know what is going on. Alternatively, it also suggests how close the pair are, again foreshadowing what is to happen during the rest of the film. The crashing of windows and racing at high-speeds through highly-populated areas further emphasises the danger accompanied with Bond's job; there is a constsant threat of death that is a part of Bonds job. The intense yellow colours of the setting creates an omnipresent atmosphere, pathetic fallacy that reflects the pressure Bond is under. The bad guy then jumps onto a train; the gradual increase in intensity now coming to its climax. Bond's irrational behaviour (jumping from bike to train) connotes his fearless nature. The way in which he doesn't share the screen symbolically connotes his loneliness, how he lives for his job, a vigilante with no fear for a family, or anyone particularly close to him.

Evaluation of Melissa's Analysis of 'Se7en'...

Featuring an all star cast (Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt, no less) and a devilishly cool cameo from Kevin Spacey, David Finchers first foray into thriller films -a pattern later continued with films such as 'Memento' and the US remake of 'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo'-  proved to be very successful, both critically and commercially. Se7en seemingly follows the conventions of your typical buddy-cop thriller movie- a retiring detective, paired up with an up and coming cop (played by Pitt) on a homicide case, a who-done-it with the inevitable chase sequences, bust-ups and an unravelling case that has to be solved. However, it was set apart by its intricate plotting, as well as the natural chemistry between Freeman and Pitt.  Here Melissa has chosen to analyse the opening sequence of the film, outlining the various codes and conventions of thriller films that have been utilised to create a thouroughly engaging and appropriately ambiguous opening to the film. Melissa discusses the film below:-

I do not own this footage, it is being used for educational purposes


''What is Se7en about?
For half of my research, I am analysing two opening title sequences, and one of them is se7en, this is a film about two detectives' hunt for a serial killer who is murdering people and justifying the crimes by absolution for the worlds ignorance of the Seven Deadly Sins. The two detectives try and track down the serial killer who chooses his victims bases on the Seven Deadly Sins. Together, the two detectives trace the murderers every step, witnessing the aftermath of his horrific crimes one by one as the victims increase, all while moving closer to a gruesome fate neither of them could have predicted.

Camera
The title sequence starts with a close-up shot of a book, this creates a sense of mystery for the viewer as they don't know what's in it, the next camera angle is a high-angle shot looking down on the book, revealing to the viewer what is on the page, it then shows lots of different shots of close-ups on objects that don't seem to have any meaning to the viewer at that point which creates suspicions and keeps the audience guessing. There are no long shots in this title sequence so it doesn't really allow the viewer to see what's fully going on, reinforcing the mystery of it. Throughout the clip all of the camera angles are high angles or at eye level which could connote that the filmmaker doesn't want you to see anything of real importance yet, and that all the objects shown are of little importance as they are looked down on.

Mise-En-Scene
The Mise-En-Scene puts across very significant ideas in this title sequence, like what to expect from the film and the overall tone it puts across, which is ominous. The lighting in this extract is very dark adding to the ominous tone throughout and there are shadows which could be perceived as someone moving about which keeps the reader on the edge of their seat, wondering who or what it is. The colours used are very dull and usually consist of brown, grey and black. You can see some words being highlighted on paper, with a black pen, the black connotes death and bad things. The objects shown such as blades and needles also help create a dark mood. The props such as the book and the images etc, add to suspicion of the viewer and make them wonder what the person is doing.


Editing
The opening title sequence starts off with slow paced shots of objects that aren't of any importance to the viewer at that point but which could be important later on in the film. The editing then changes to fast paced cuts, showing a variety of different objects, giving effect as they're shown on the screen for long enough for the audience to see what they are, but not long enough for them to figure out why they're included. The credits shown throughout help define the genre as they are messy and flicker on the screen, the credits flickering makes the viewer think of a flickering light bulb about to run out of light, which creates a sense of foreboding. Most of the images shown, look as if they're being doubled but they are blurred, which connotes to the audience that the person that is in the opening sequence is not mentally stable and doesn't see things clearly. The editing also helps set the mood and adds to the curiosity of the viewer as the shots with the books and writing being highlighted in are more slow paced than the other shots, signifying importance and makes the audience wonder what the person is doing.

Sound
The sound used in this clip, is mostly non-diegetic but some sounds are made to sound natural. For example, sometimes in the clip, a very high pitched noise occurs which tricks the viewer into thinking it's someone screaming, which connotes danger and someone desperate for help and sets the audience up for the rest of the film. The background music is heavy-sounding and is quite fast. this is typical of a thriller movie as it creates suspense.''

Evaluation of Melissa's Work:-
Providing a sound understanding of the plot's synopsis, Melissa then discusses how the intensity of camera angles and zooms create a tense atmosphere, the audience unsure of what of who or what is happening, making the audience question further what is going to happen as the film progresses. Also, she discusses how long shots in the clip further the sense of mystery, the audience suspiscious of what is taking place within the background. Melissa implies that the high shot angles connote insignificance; however, I believe this reveals to the audience how secretive the objects are, purposefully hidden from shot to intensify the sense of dagerous goings-on and mystique. After this, Melissa discusses the mise-en-scene; she says how the dark lighting createsan ominous andmelancholy tone, foreshadowing later events in the film. Furthermore, the iconography of images such as blades and needles indexically connote death, murder and hatred, themes touched on later in the film. In terms of editing, the opening credits are fast-moving reiterating the unpredictable nature of the thriller; Furthermore, the seeming randomness of the images at this stage in the fil, coupled with the blurred camera effects, build the impression that things are not what they seem, and could ultimately become dangerous. Finally, the use of non-diegetic sound builds a sense of menace and anticipation, whilst the minimal diegetic sound has a naturalistic style, grounding the film within reality. Overall, I feel Melissa has shown an advanced knowledge of the Thriller genre and how it translates to the film Se7en, discussing codes and conventions of a thriller film through the use of sound, editing, camera and mise-en-scene to analyse the opening credits.

Analysis Of The Coursework Mark Scheme...

Whilst I'm aiming for a top Level Four band in my coursework, it is of paramount importance to acknowledge what it takes to achieve this exceptional level. Below are the grade boundaries that assess the level of excellence of students' opening two minutes of the thriller, assessing in categories such as video, audio, research/planning as well as the evaluation:-

Video:-

Audio:-

Research And Planning:-

Evaluation:-

Grasping a complete understanding of what is expected from the mark scheme is a key part of the research process, giving our group renewed expectations of ourselves, expecting ourselves to aspire for the band that covers 'exceptional'. I believe that, on further analysis, of the mark scheme, we as a group should all be attempting and striving to achieve the Level Four band...

Evaluation of Melissa's Analysis of 'Mission Impossible 2'

 Cruise's character says the famous quote in Jerry Maguire: 'SHOW ME THE MONEY!' Well, M:I Two definitely provided that for Tom Cruise at the box office!

Tom Cruise's annual paycheque, the 'Mission Impossible' films are brilliant examples of popcorn fodder, providing mindless action that epitomises the stereotypical Hollywood action-thriller, making millions at the box office. Centring on CIA agent, Ethan Hunt, the films are globetrotting, Bond-esque epics, that have elements of crime, espionage as well as comic relief from Simon Pegg's character. Melissa has gone into greater detail of the opening of the Mission Impossible sequel, providing an engaging analysis of the openings use of sound, editing, camera techniques as well as mise-en-scene. The opening (the clip of this can be found below) has been analysed in the following passage:-

*I do not own this footage*

''What is Mission Impossible 2 about?
Mission Impossible two, is about a secret agent, Ethan hunt (played by Tom Cruise) who is sent to Sydney, to find and destroy a genetically modified disease called ''Chimera'' This film is an Action-Thriller, and is very fast paced and action filled with the conventions of a thriller also included.

Mise-En-Scene
Mission Impossible 2 is firstly set in a desert, this conveys loneliness and isolation of the character, however it could imply that the character is peaceful and relaxed. The bright sun reflecting on the mountains and a bit of his neck indicates the sun setting and a beautiful view which the viewer can't see, this could be foreshadowing for the events to come, and connote that the viewer will be seeing the opposite to good, this is reinforced by positioning 'Ethan Hunt' in the shadow, implying that he isn't aware of the events to come yet. Him being the only one in the shot so far connotes that he is the protagonist. The titles then begin to show and bright colours of orange, red and white give the effect of the viewer thinking of explosions and fire. 

Sound
There is a combination of diegetic sounds and non-diegetic sounds. When the opening sequence starts, you can hear a person speaking, and in the background, you can hear non-diegetic sound coming in. You can hear the wind blowing quietly and then the music gets louder and fast-paced. This creates excitement for the audience. When the sound from the titles has stopped and it changes scene, some traditional spanish music comes in and helps the viewer understand where the scene is shot.

Editing
As there is only one character presented in the opening sequence, Ethan Hunt gets a lot of screen time and from this the viewer can infer that they will be the protagonist. At the beginning of this, the shots are slow-paced, but increases as the title animation plays and it changes to fast-paced, this gives the viewer an idea of the pace of the film and what it will be like.

Camera Techniques
The opening title sequence starts with a mid-shot of the protagonists face and gives the reader an idea of the setting and the character, it slowly zooms into his face revealing him expressionless and uninterested in what the person speaking is saying. It then cuts to an extreme close-up, and we see his glasses, which give the viewer curiosity as they can't see his face. The camera then zooms back out from the side of his face to a close up and it then pans around to reveal him and his surroundings. This gives the audience an initial idea of the film and how it may turn out.

Overall, I think this opening title sequence is good and engages the viewer, although there isn't much to say about the animation of the titles and explosions as it doesn't last for that long. However they are shown for long enough that you can read it and the use of Mise-En-Scene, Editing, Sound and Camera techniques all help give this title sequence mystery and make the audience want to watch on.''

As you can see, following a brief synopsis of the film, Melissa has gone into great detail regarding the opening, creating a large and comprehensive analysis of the opening. For instance, she discusses the mise-en-scene of the opening, and how the prevalence and centralisation of Cruises' character denotes his role as protagonist. Moreover, Melissa suggests the interpretations of the clip, such as the isolation of Hunt connoting his sense of isolation, the barren landscape a reflection of his internal thoughts and emotions. As well as this, Melissa suggests how the non-diegetic soundtrack adds to the intensity and excitement of the clip running parallel to the high-octane action on screen; also, the thematic Spanish music helps to provide context for the following scene. Melissa then moves on to editing, and how the prominence of Ethan Hunt hints at his relevance within the film, as well as suggesting he is a lone warrior. Also, the sharp editing of the opening titles connotes the pace of the action of the film and reflects the violent nature of the film. Finally, Melissa suggests how camera techniques help to define the characters locations, as well as facial expressions and body language. The use of intense close-ups heighten the tension within the film. Overall, Melissa's depth gives an insight into the effectiveness of swift editing as well as intense music and camera angles.

Evaluating Jacob's Analysis of 'Taken'

'Taken'... The cult hit that rejuvenated Neeson's career

Starring Liam Neeson, 'Taken' has attracted a cult following, telling the tale of a shaken father turned vigilante, disturbed and angered by the kidnapping of his daughter and deciding to take matters into his own hands, attempting to retrieve his loved one. Jacob Smith has chosen to analyse the opening of Taken, discussing the use of camera, editing, sound and mise-en-scene within the opening two minutes of the action thriller. Jacob describes in detail the following about the film:-

 ''What is this film about?

The film Taken is about two young girls (Kim and a Friend Amanda) who decide to travel around Europe (Paris, France) so that they can follow a band tour around. While they are in Paris alone they encounter a young man who misleads them, they end up being kidnapped by the largest sex trafficking organisation in Europe, and eventually put on sale as prostitutes. Meanwhile back in America ex CIA agent Bryan Mills (Kim's father) Played by Liam Neeson travels around the globe from LA to Paris to hunt down and personally kill all of the people responsible for taking his daughter, he eventually returns Kim home safe to her mother (Lenore). Currently there is a new sequel to this film called Taken 2 that is currently being shown at the cinema.

Camera/ Mise En Scene

In the opening sequence of this film, we are introduced to the family through a home (style) video, this is iconic of the nineties. The camera work is edited in lots of jumps to make it seem as if it was in fact a real home video. Later on at Kim's birthday party Bryan (Kim's dad) gives her her present, soon after her mothers present arrives which is a horse, this very much links in with the first opening clip of Kim when she was 5 unwrapping her birthday present which was a plastic toy horse, this was clearly used as a sign to signify what was going to later happen in the film and making a link between the two of them.

The horse that Kim is given Denotes wealth. She comes from a wealthy family. When Brain see's this; a long shot camera technique is used to convey his emotions to the audience. Then we we see the longshot we can see the present at his feet that was intended for Kim, this indicates that his present and he him-self is inferior to her step dad, Stuart.

Editing and Sound

Throughout the opening of the title sequence of the film there is a mixture of slow and fast cuts, for instance in the very beginning of the film when it is the home video it starts of with slow cuts, however it begins to speed up very rapidly to gut out unwanted and un-needed bits of film.
Non-diegetic sound is also used throughout the opening of the film, this gives the audience the scene that at the time when the video was being recorded was such a magical moment in young Kim's life.

Taken is a Action, Crime, Thriller.''

Evaluation of Jacob's Analysis:-
Providing a plot synopsis, Jacob then describes the effectiveness of the camera techniques and angles. For instance, the iconography of the home movies depicts the relevant time period, revealing the close bond particularly between father and son. Moreover, the inclusion of the horse that denotes wealth, thus foreshadowing and giving reasoning to the kidnapping of his daughter. Furthermore, Jacob then examines the use of editing and sound; for instance, the unpredictable nature of the editing, a trait that is common in the thriller genre, putting the audience on tenterhooks. Also, the non-diegetic sound reveals the 'magical' nature, marking this moment of family closeness, providing a foreboding and ominous tone, that something bad is bound to happen. Finally, he shows his understanding of the various genres that combine to make Taken such an interesting and engaging movie. Overall, Jacob has shown sound knowledge of the conventions of the opening of action thrillers, and how editing and sound can be effective, foreshadowing what is to come.

The full post can be found here: http://jacobwsmith1.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/taken-what-isthis-film-about-film-taken.html

Analysis of 'The Beach' Vlog

Danny Boyle's underrated masterpiece... The Beach

So here is part one of a trilogy of vlogs I plan to make discussing the opening of various thriller films. The link to the film itself is here and should hopefully work:
http://www.free-tv-video-online.me/player/putlocker.php?id=47FI14VSLUW48WK
Enjoy the following video...

The Significance of Genre in Doctor Who

Within our recent Media Studies lesson, we have been analysing the significance of editing and it's effect it has on the representation of characters, namely the Doctor's previous companion: Martha. Moreover, the use of editing is subtly impactful on the ways in which gender is portrayed, and it's effect on the audience's perceptions of the various characters such as Martha and the mysterious 'Master'. The clip, used in a previous OCR Media Studies AS exam, can be found below:

Copyright Disclaimer: I do not own the following footage; it is being used for educational purposes.


There are various techniques that have been used that affect the portrayal of the characters within the clip. These include the following:-

1)Eyeline Match (Intercutting)- 
-Eyeline level with family members- connotes the respect/equality- establishes her importance
-Vulnerability, looking to others for help- female

2)SRS-
-Reaction of laughing to Master's cruel words shows her strength of character
-HA/LA Shots reinforces vulnerability
-Martha however still appears to be in position of authority

3)Fade Out/In Flashback-
-Two strong female characters- equal status
-Symbolic of female power

4)Motivation-
-Fighting back- begins to dominate narrative- position of strength

5) Prevalence- 
-More screen time, increases importance and status

Overall, this analysis has helped me to understand the fundamental role of editing within a text and, applied to my coursework, shows how editing can be used effectively to influence the audience's perception of characters within our thriller film. Editing, I've learnt, is of paramount importance...

'Titanic' Binary Opposition Essay Analysis

For our recent essay assignment, I had to analyse binary oppositions (and their significance) within the opening scenes of James Cameron's melodramatic epic 'Titanic'. The results are below:

I achieved a B+ on this essay; I was very pleased with this result, although I acknowledge the improvements I could make for future essay tasks. For example, I should explore and analyse the technical aspects of the text in further detail. I believe this essay has given me confidence in my ideas and has reinforced my learning regarding the importance of binary opposition.

Understanding The Key Themes Behind Genre...

...all in this neat powerpoint slide!

Creating A Lovely Survey!

Our group took it upon ourselves to create a survey regarding the 'Thriller' genre, uncovering the public's attitudes towards thrillers, including their expectations, as well as their favourite thriller sub-genres. This survey was essential to growing a fundamental understanding of what our opening should include, based upon our participants responses. First of all, we made a 'Draft Survey' to brainstorm ideas for the questions we were to pose the unexpecting public; initially, it looked a little like what you see below:

Draft Survey (Written by Hannah Dunsdon)

The draft survey established the sort of questions we wished to quiz a range of people on; it included various statistical questions (such as questions related to gender and age) to ensure we achieved a stratified sample. Moreover, the survey envisaged to uncover what the sample's favourite type of thriller sub-genre; this would ensure that we found the current taste in regards to what kind of thriller people enjoyed, ensuring we did an opening that was popular, as well as contemporary. Finally, we asked what society would expect from the opening of a thriller; this would help us to grasp what types of music, lighting, editing were applicable to modern-day popular thrillers as well as ensuring what kind of content those opening two minutes should feature. Using this initial survey, we could then lay the foundations of our proper live survey:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?pli=1&formkey=dHdsVlBCZEZIaDJuc1VlNng1RjNicWc6MQ#gid=0

(Link to the Live Survey)

Our live, complete survey ensured that we get a number of responses through a link to our online survey, shared through social networking such as Facebook, Twitter etc. We utilised our draft survey effectively, ensuring that responses could be filled out using the answer boxes such as:- 

- Multiple Choice

- Check Boxes

- Word Answer Boxes

- Paragraph Answer Boxes

Our finished survey evaluation shall (hopefully) be able to be written up soon-ish...

Feel free to complete our survey using the following link:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?pli=1&formkey=dHdsVlBCZEZIaDJuc1VlNng1RjNicWc6MQ#gid=0

Thank you!