Today I wrote about our location scouting for the whole group, I incorporated both our ideas as a group and my own personal ideas. For our film one of the locations includes my house, both the outside and inside, but for different reasons. The outside being used as Mr Jones' house and my spare room being used as Katie's bedroom. I have taken pictures of both the spare room and the outside of my house to be used for the 'Location Scouting' post, I have yet to upload the exterior pictures of my house.
Information on location scouting can be seen on the group blog.
Monday 14 December 2009
Casting and Auditions
I helped to film the casting and auditions in a drama room we had ask to borrow during a lunch time. We had already spoken to people who wanted to audition and had set up a time for them to come along. I feel we had a range of talented actors but it was very clear from the start who we wanted to choose for our main characters. In the end all auditionees were able to act in our film in some way, whether is was Mr Jones' friends or the extra school pupils we had initially needed.
The video from our casting and auditions can be seen on the group blog.
The video from our casting and auditions can be seen on the group blog.
Thursday 10 December 2009
Poster Idea
Last week, I introduced the idea to create a poster that would be put up around the school to advertise our auditions. To begin with the group were cautious of the idea as it was already being done by many other groups in our class. To encourage the idea, I suggested examples such as myself drawing out a poster and photocopying. In the end, the group as a whole decided a poster advertising our auditions would be good idea.
Thursday 3 December 2009
Research for Target Audience
For the past two days I have researched into different stalking films from over the decades. I posted this on the group blog with more to come. I have researched recent films and much older films, also one film that wouldn't be classed as a horror film to some, but includes cases of stalking.
I did this research purely to help us decide on our target audience for our final film. Sophie also researched film classifications whilst Jo created a questionnaire for the public to fill out. Here is the research I did:
'Scream' was created in 1996 and it was the masked-killer film that revitalized the stalker/slasher genre. From this example you can see that usually in the subgenre 'stalking' that it is usually a male character that is used as the antagonist. The antagonist in this particular film isn't only a stalker he is also a killer, this is not always the case in the genre. Below is the synopsis of the film and also the trailer.
'Sidney has more than her share of teenage angst to cope with. Her mom was murdered a year ago, her dad is perpetually away on business, and her boyfriend Billy is pressuring her to go all the way. As if that weren't enough, a brilliant serial killer has begun to terrorize Sidney's quiet hometown, including her highschool classmate Casey Becker.'
An older film from the 1970's is 'Taxi Driver' released in 1976. This particular film, again a male antagonist is used as the stalker throughout the film. The film begins with Travis Bickle, a lonely, unstable vet with insomnia taking a job as a taxi driver to pass the nights. After the rejection of a love interest, Bickle is driven to violent thoughts and an intense physical training regime to prepare for a war on the moral decay of society. Bickle ends up trying to kill himself and to also assassinate a senator. This particular film follows the conventions of a typical stalking horror. Below is the trailer from the film.
You can see our target audience information on the group blog.
I did this research purely to help us decide on our target audience for our final film. Sophie also researched film classifications whilst Jo created a questionnaire for the public to fill out. Here is the research I did:
'Scream' was created in 1996 and it was the masked-killer film that revitalized the stalker/slasher genre. From this example you can see that usually in the subgenre 'stalking' that it is usually a male character that is used as the antagonist. The antagonist in this particular film isn't only a stalker he is also a killer, this is not always the case in the genre. Below is the synopsis of the film and also the trailer.
'Sidney has more than her share of teenage angst to cope with. Her mom was murdered a year ago, her dad is perpetually away on business, and her boyfriend Billy is pressuring her to go all the way. As if that weren't enough, a brilliant serial killer has begun to terrorize Sidney's quiet hometown, including her highschool classmate Casey Becker.'
An older film from the 1970's is 'Taxi Driver' released in 1976. This particular film, again a male antagonist is used as the stalker throughout the film. The film begins with Travis Bickle, a lonely, unstable vet with insomnia taking a job as a taxi driver to pass the nights. After the rejection of a love interest, Bickle is driven to violent thoughts and an intense physical training regime to prepare for a war on the moral decay of society. Bickle ends up trying to kill himself and to also assassinate a senator. This particular film follows the conventions of a typical stalking horror. Below is the trailer from the film.
You can see our target audience information on the group blog.
Friday 20 November 2009
Horror Remake
We created a remake of the hallway scene in the horror film 'The Shining' to help us develop ideas and a wider knowledge of the genre we had chosen. From remaking this scene I have gained skills and understood more about the genre itself.
I learnt that specific timings are vital in the making of a horror film, for example if one scene was off time it would confuse the audience by skipping key parts of the film. This is where a shot list comes in handy. I also learnt how to create a shot list which included costumes, timings, characters etc.
Our horror remake video can be seen on the group blog.
I learnt that specific timings are vital in the making of a horror film, for example if one scene was off time it would confuse the audience by skipping key parts of the film. This is where a shot list comes in handy. I also learnt how to create a shot list which included costumes, timings, characters etc.
Our horror remake video can be seen on the group blog.
Friday 13 November 2009
Preliminary Task Evaluation
I feel my piece of film demonstrates continuity well because it does not show the characters in different positions throughout the film. An example of continuity in my film is the moment where the wallet is being passed from one character to the other. It begins with Matt standing up with the wallet, about to pass it. Ending with Matt’s hand in the same position with the wallet, this is then passed to Tom. This cutaway shot flows smoothly from the shot reverse shot and then back again, without any break in the action. Another example is when Tom is leaving and is about to smack Matt on the back. A few seconds later, we’re looking at Matt, with Tom in the same position smacking Matt’s back.
Although we did not demonstrate match on action, we demonstrated shot reverse shot and the 180-degree rule. An example of where we used shot reverse shot is where Matt and Tom begin to talk after Matt has sat down. These editing techniques are helpful because, for example, shot reverse shot shows the reaction of both characters in a scene or moment after something has been said. Also the 180-degree rule is a useful technique because it gives the audience an idea of where the characters are and do not confuse them by changing it every time someone talks.
I feel my group worked well together because each person in the group had an opinion and input into the filming, editing, music choices and everything included. Although we did have troubles filming etc because of differences of how it should be done. They were easily resolved soon after.
If I were to film the piece again, I would improve on the camera angles. Some of the shots were far too close. I would also make sure it is filmed in a quieter environment as there was a lot of sound pollution in the background. Other than those things, I would not change the film.
I feel the planning that went into the film could be improved because we did not choose specifically where to put the cameras, nor did we plan how to film the piece. The planning into where the piece was filmed could also be improved also, as it was quite noisy; there were many distractions and background noise throughout the clip.
The transitions within our piece included Matt moving from the door to the chair at the very beginning. Also the chair moving away and back to the table. The wallet being moved from Matt to Tom was a key transition we used, which we decided to do a close up of. This showed the audience what was being passed, and it gave a hint as to what was to come. Finally, when Tom goes to leave, he gets up and walks away. On the editing software, we used the transitions of ‘fading in’ and ‘fading out’.
From using the editing software, I have learnt that whilst using the particular software, you can change your product completely. I learnt how to cut scenes, so they were shorter, or deleted a piece of clip that you didn’t particularly like. I learnt how to add transitions to make the film seem more interesting; I also learnt how to make sure the continuity of the piece flowed smoothly. I learnt how to add music to a piece, to add suspense, comedy etc. To begin with I did not fully understand the editing software, but soon enough I figured it all out.
From the process of constructing this film, I have learnt about the camera’s I used, and the editing software I used also. Whilst using the camera’s in this project, problems were encountered, such as the camera taking a while to load and record or stop recording. Following this, I had to re-film the piece many times. Also, when trying to load the videos from one camera we used the first time round, I encountered a problem where the camera was not being recognised, nor was Adobe Premiere letting us upload the video when recognised. I have learnt from Adobe Premiere how to use transitions, cropping clips and how to add music. Although, again, problems rose, such as the program freezing when saving, or freezing whilst trying to edit.
Although we did not demonstrate match on action, we demonstrated shot reverse shot and the 180-degree rule. An example of where we used shot reverse shot is where Matt and Tom begin to talk after Matt has sat down. These editing techniques are helpful because, for example, shot reverse shot shows the reaction of both characters in a scene or moment after something has been said. Also the 180-degree rule is a useful technique because it gives the audience an idea of where the characters are and do not confuse them by changing it every time someone talks.
I feel my group worked well together because each person in the group had an opinion and input into the filming, editing, music choices and everything included. Although we did have troubles filming etc because of differences of how it should be done. They were easily resolved soon after.
If I were to film the piece again, I would improve on the camera angles. Some of the shots were far too close. I would also make sure it is filmed in a quieter environment as there was a lot of sound pollution in the background. Other than those things, I would not change the film.
I feel the planning that went into the film could be improved because we did not choose specifically where to put the cameras, nor did we plan how to film the piece. The planning into where the piece was filmed could also be improved also, as it was quite noisy; there were many distractions and background noise throughout the clip.
The transitions within our piece included Matt moving from the door to the chair at the very beginning. Also the chair moving away and back to the table. The wallet being moved from Matt to Tom was a key transition we used, which we decided to do a close up of. This showed the audience what was being passed, and it gave a hint as to what was to come. Finally, when Tom goes to leave, he gets up and walks away. On the editing software, we used the transitions of ‘fading in’ and ‘fading out’.
From using the editing software, I have learnt that whilst using the particular software, you can change your product completely. I learnt how to cut scenes, so they were shorter, or deleted a piece of clip that you didn’t particularly like. I learnt how to add transitions to make the film seem more interesting; I also learnt how to make sure the continuity of the piece flowed smoothly. I learnt how to add music to a piece, to add suspense, comedy etc. To begin with I did not fully understand the editing software, but soon enough I figured it all out.
From the process of constructing this film, I have learnt about the camera’s I used, and the editing software I used also. Whilst using the camera’s in this project, problems were encountered, such as the camera taking a while to load and record or stop recording. Following this, I had to re-film the piece many times. Also, when trying to load the videos from one camera we used the first time round, I encountered a problem where the camera was not being recognised, nor was Adobe Premiere letting us upload the video when recognised. I have learnt from Adobe Premiere how to use transitions, cropping clips and how to add music. Although, again, problems rose, such as the program freezing when saving, or freezing whilst trying to edit.
Friday 6 November 2009
Analysis of Opening scene of The Shining.
This clip is the opening scene of the film The Shining which was released in 1980; it was directed by Stanley Kubrick.
The sound in the opening scene of The Shining is a slow moving, low pitched extra diegetic sound. No dialogue is included in the first scene of the film, this has an impact on the viewer, because they do not, as of yet, really understand what is going on. Only the image in their mind can be enough for them at this stage. The impact of the extra diegetic sound increases the impact of the director not adding any dialogue, because it adds the tension on top of the scene.
The lighting throughout the clip is naturalistic and is generated straight through the sun, it seems as though it is an early morning sun, this makes the whole scene seem soft and cosy. The slight mist throughout the clip makes the lighting seem even more natural, it also makes the scene seem more realistic to the audience. The impact of this lighting could make the audience unaware of what may happen. It may also confuse them due to the mixture of sound and lighting, the soft lighting and low pitched sound are not expected together as the sound does not seem natural in the scene.
The main camera angle used throughout the clip is an establishing shot, which is a wide tracking shot. The camera tracks the road/car all through the clip, which shows to the audience that this particular car and/or road are of high importance at the very beginning of the film. The impact of this shot used throughout the opening scene, is it creates suspense because the audience are still hidden from what could really happen in the next few moments of the film.
The setting of the opening scene is very realistic and looks like a real location. It is set in the mountain tops, or maybe even the countryside near a very large lake. It gives the whole scene suspense because the audience may not necessarily have any idea where it could be, or what is due to happen after the tracking of the car/road. Again, this setting does not particularly match the sound used, as the scene is very natural and realistic, whereas the sound included is very low pitched and extra diegetic. This creates suspense due to the whole scene being quite odd and unusual.
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