Evaluation

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http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=y7TAHCuxIXk

You may find it is easier to pause certain areas of the evaluation thank you.

Completed Thriller Opening

Best Served Chilled

 

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http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=I37kncBNWkI

Editing

After recording the raw footage. It soon became apparent that the night footage was very dark. To overcome this, we used the editing program: 'Final cut express' and used the video filter 'colour corrector'. This soon solved the problem of darkness, however left the footage with a grainy texture. This didn't effect our original vision, so we continued with the edit process.

Using final cut, we layered the footage in a way which isn't possible using iMovie.

Final cut also enabled the use of chroma keying, which opened the possibilities of green/blue screening. This became very useful for the peep hole shots. 

However, final cut didn't give us the possibilities for tracking. This was very important in order to fix the J-peg peep hole to the live action door. For this, we used the program 'Adobe after effects, which enabled the techniques of tracking, and also masking.   

Filming day

17/11/08

In the evening we shot all of our footage. To get the night shots we filmed from six to nine o'clock. The weather was not an issue however the darkness inevitably caused the problem of low light. We over came this problem by using studio lighting to light particularly dark areas.

With filming, certain flaws in the storyboard became apparent. Therefore some shots were improvised on set.

Sound

19/11/08

Today we recorded sound with a microphone and a pistol grip. This means the sound quality of the film will be consistent and effective. As you can see from the animatic, the sound is a important feature to create a erie atmosphere.

Animatic

Before filming, it was essential that we made an animatic. This let us experiment with cut rate and timing, making sure that our Thriller opening would fit within the time limit. We also incorporated some sound effects, however we did not intend to use these in the final piece.


Click on the link below>>


http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Wa7IWu2PDAE

Risk assement

On the film set, there are many safety risks which must be evaluated. To do this, we filled in a risk assessment form:

Storyboard

Having a storyboard is a important part of the planning process and a key feature in the construction of mis-en-scene. By doing the story board we were able to discuss whether we would use diegetic/non diegetic sound. We found that our piece would be stronger if we didn't use non diegetic sound, as this would make the film more suspenseful and erie. After completing the story-board, we have gained a full understanding of what the final piece will look like, and what effects these will have. 

The first step of the storyboard is at the bottom of the page.

Research

For our research we looked at various thriller openings to see what conventions are used commonly. The first film we watched was Alfred Hitchcock's film, Marnie.

 

The film starts with the universal logo, situated on a paper page. This page is soon turned to reveal the opening titles. This denotation of turning pages connotes a story book, and suggests a story is coming. To accompany this, the music sways from soft romance to typical thriller music (fast paced etc). This suddenly cuts to a juxtaposing diagetic sound, which simply involves heels clicking. 

The first narrative shot of the film was a close up of a yellow bag. This

 use of the colour yellow helps the audience understand the importance of the bag. This along w

ith the footstep sound, lets the audience understand that it is a girl that is walking, and soon as sh

e leads out of shot, we understand that she is in fact walking along a train-station. 

This shot creates an a

enigma, as the audience don't know what's in the bag or who she is. These questions are answered as we suddenly cut to a shot of a man saying the line : "Robbed!" This implies that she has robbed him and perhaps whatever has been robbed is in her (yellow) bag. We soon discover what has been robbed as we cut to an empty safe and hear the words '9000 dollars'. The next interesting shot is the close up back to the yellow bag once again highlighting its importance. The shots are followed start to show more about the lady but we don't get to see her face till at least five minutes in. The opening is very successful in building up enigma and keeping the audience on edge .

Other films we researched:

Vertigo

• It opens with a extreme close up of a eye. Colour correction has been used to give a element of disorientation.
• The camera moves around onto other facial features, this creates enigma as the audience want to see the person fully and know who it is.
• We zoom back into the eye. The mise-en-scene is now completely filled with the pupil. With, further distortion, a 'whirlpoolish' effect emerges from the iris. This is a great example of how effective direction, can create an effect of prolonging tension.
• The title of the film appears with appropriate dramatic music, surprising the audience with a high pitched instrumental sound.  

Blade runner

• The opening of this thriller is very unique. unlike any other we have studies, we begin by seeing the context of the film. This is a very simple way to introduce the characters and the plot.
• The music accompanying this is very spasmodic and typical of the thriller genre. However there is also a element of sci-fi with in the soundtrack as it uses a very cliched futuristic sound.
• An establishing shot is then used to let the audience understand the futuristic environment. This is very effective in ensuring the viewer gains the full impact of the futuristic world.  

Seven

This whole opening is a montage. Cut to the beat of the

 distorted music, we see quickly cut images, all to do with the plot. These

 disturbing images create a very tense and uncomfortable atmosphere, ensuring the audience a

re on the edge of their seats. 

Other films we watch to gain a wider understanding of thrillers.... 

• The 3rd man
• Kiss me deadly

After looking at these films in detail, we have taken certain features on board which could improve our final opening sequence.

•  quick cuts
  
• diagetic sound creating atmosphere
• extreme close-ups
• interesting use of titles

completed continuity

Throughout filming our continuity  we made sure we referred to the story board at all times. All the shots worked and there wasn't any need to change our initial plan. However in editing the sequence we faced several problems  with imovie. For instance when exporting our  final work onto the blog it automatically cropped the image, thus removing vital aspects from the mis-en-scene (such as the mug). Therefore we came to the decision that for our thriller opening, we will use 'Final-cut Express'.

Story boarding- continuity

This is our story board for our practice continuity sequence, its of a man making a cup of tea. The camera shots are labelled along with what is happening in each.

As well as using this task to fully understand the effects of continuity. We will use this sequence to practice other techniques such as the 'whip pan' and the 'cover zoom'. This will be useful for our Thriller opening at a later date. 

 

we chose to use a lot more close ups than normally would be used. we did this to add pace and sense of originality.

Introduction

What we have done so far:

                                              

We started discussing storyboards in our group and looked at the conventional layout. We also studied the effects of continuity editing, which sets the narrative for the audience ensuring it makes sense for the audience. After watching an example of a continuity sequence, we  split off into small groups and incorporated the techniques into re-filming what we had  watched. 

After completing the task we studied a generically identifiable thriller film, Ripley's game. We analyzed essential camera shots that added atmosphere to the mise-en-scene. Finally, using the appropriate conventions (suspense, action, atmospheric music), we filmed and edited a thriller extract.  

we will now plan to create our own film opening of the same genre (thriller) ensuring that we include all the techniques we have learnt so far. 

Research source:   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1japIhKU9I