Opening Film Task - The Forgotten.

Review:
This is the video for the opening film task. we have put our footage together, edited and come up with a logical coherence between shots. We have also added music, titles, split screens etc to meet the codes and conventions of a thriller genre movie opening. I personally think that along side the screen shots as well as the music work very well together, i think the music adds a sense of mystery to the actual film opening which is perfect for a thriller genre film opening. Also the music alongside the frames have have worked very well together. The editing has been done very well, i personally think that the split screens are very effective and adds a sense of suspence.

Opening Film Task - Video Diary - Filming.

What we are going to do...

Currently we have finished filming the footage for our movie opening, we have also started the editing process, we will now continue to edit the footage, we be adding music and effects to enhance our thriller genre film opening.

Poster & Storyboard...

• This is the poster for our movie

 
These are our storyboards which were made for our film opening

Preliminary Task; Final Cut...

This is our second attempt at the preliminary task. After re-shooting and re-editing we have included everything that was needed to complete the task. Evidently this video is much better then the first one. I think the grey scale screen shots, the mellow music in the background and the logical coherence between shots work very well together. Although we experienced a slight delay due to not having the necessary shots and angles i think we have learnt from our mistakes and created a finishing clip that is a lot more effective then the first one.

Production Schedule...

This is the schedule for the production of our movie opening. This schedule will help us stay on track with our filming and aid us in completing our task. We have set realistic targets for our filming and have allowed enough time to be able to film fundamental footage for our film opening. 

Samiie, Levinia & Nasema's Animatic The Forgotten

Preliminary task; First Version

This video was initially for our preliminary task although it looks great and has been edited quite well it does not include all the needed shots for the task therefore we decided to re-shoot and re-do our filming and have another attempt at the preliminary task. We will update our blogs with the second attempt at the preliminary task which should evidentially be better and include the necessary shots to complete the task.

Preliminary task

For our preliminary task we will be incorporating many different types of shot such as...

• Match on action
• Shot reverse shot
• 180 degree rule

Our plot is..
Levinia is running from a mystery character this is were we use a 'Match on Action' shot which is basically a shot from the front and the back, she is then looking for somewhere to hide and is running towards a door in this scene we will use a close up shot of the door handle once she has walked through the door we will use a 'Match on Action', following close behind her will be the mystery character who is a murderer, in this scene we will use a shot reverse shot; this is where we see the same scene from two different perspectives, one frame will be shown from Levinias side and the other from the murders. following this the murder will say a dialogue then there will be a blackout and finally the credits. Our preliminary task will be edited in the Mac suite using a software called 'Final Cut'.

Continuity Editing...

Continuity editing is basically when seperate frames have been put together to form a selection of scenes, however they have to run smoothly to establish a logical coherence between frames.

• Temperal editing is a skill that allows you to control the time of a scene or frame, editing also makes order, duration and frequency. different types of temperal editing are Elliptical editing and Overlapping editing. Elliptical editing is when a shot has been shown in a way were it takes less time on the screen then it does in the actual story. Overlapping editing is used to expand and prolong the duration of the shot this may include zooming in very slowly to exaggerate a situation.

• Spactial editing aims mainly on the people and location in the movie. Different forms of spatial editing are the180 degree rule and shot/reverse shot. The 180 degree rule is basically a 180 degree line where the camera must stay for the audience to understand where the characters are. Shot reverse shot is the same frame from two different perspectives for example if there are two people in a scene and the camera is facing one of the characters then the frame is cut and there is another shot facing the other character the audience will instantly assume that the characters are facing one another. 

Editing...

Editing is a process of correction, condensation, organization an other varied modifications, in media an 'Editor' would be the person who edits various fames, an Editors role would include..

• Adding visual effects
• Adding music
• Making the scenes flow smoothly 
• Cutting and removing frames that are not needed 
• Cutting several hours on footage in two a specific time range

Questionnaire Results...

most people prefered a 'pyschological' subgenre

majority of people that we questioned were male

most people wanted the female as the lead character

 

most if the people questioned were ages between 15-19

 

the most popular setting was a derelict building

many people stated that they thought the most important feature in a film was the storyline and plot

 

Alot of the people we asked expected a lot of violence in a thriller genre film

Final Desicions...

                          

• 
  Setting -

big empty space or large derelict building, as our genre is a thriller we have chosen these settings this is because we want our audience to 

• Lighting-

Low key lighting, this will create a sence of mystery which is perfect for our chosen thrille genre. it will also set a mood for the audience.

• 
  
  
  Props-

Paper, fake blood, mobile phones.
 these props will add a realism to the film opening.

• 
  
  Costumes-

The characotrs will be wearing casual clothing because there specific charactors are just noral people who have been called to meet at a building

• 
  Music-

The music will start of a mellow, however it will increase in beat and tempo for added suspence and to build tension

Thriller Moodboard...

Audience Questionnaire...

As a group we came up with a questionnaire for an audience to answer. this questionnaire helped determine the storyline behind our thriller opening.

What is your Gender?

• Male
• Female

What is your age range?

• 15-19
• 20-24
• 25-29
• 30 +

What kind of setting do you prefer in a Thriller movie?

• Woods, secluded forests
• Derelict buildings
• Public places
• Other

What do you prefer in a thriller movie? A female or a male lead?

• Female
• Male
• Not important

What would you say is the most important feature in a thriller?

• Storyline, Plot
• Setting
• Music
• Actors/Actresses
• Props and costume

What sub-genre of a Thriller do you prefer?

• Disaster-Thriller
• Psychological Thriller
• Historical Thriller
• Medical Thriller
• Other

How much violence/gore do you expect in a Thriller?

• Lots
• Quite a bit
• Not important

Which of these well known thrillers have you watched before?

• Psycho
• Taken
• Inception
• The Silence of the Lambs
• Jaws
• The Happening
• None of them

Our Thriller Treatment...

Years ago, a group of school friends made fun of a new girl who started in their school. This continued for weeks and she suffered bullying from other people. One day, she decides she can no longer deal with it and hangs herself, her parents find her. The girls thought nothing of it and did not think they had a part in what happened as it was not fully explained how she died. Years pass and the girls are all leading their own separate lives, having not stayed in contact after school. However, one day, all three girls get a text message. It reads ‘I know what you did.’ They all think nothing of it until, three days later they get another text message telling them to go to a derelict building, central to where they all live. They meet there and are confused as to why exactly they’re there;. They do not recognise each and haven’t seen one another since school. Suddenly, the doors lock behind them and it seems there’s no way of escape. The light goes out and loud voice says the words ‘you can never escape your past’. Different doors in the building then unlock and clues and traps are scattered around it, something the girls do not know. Before the time runs out they must figure out why they’re here and who exactly is behind it before it’s too late. It’s eventually revealed that the one behind it is the girls younger sister who knew all about the bullying and she will not rest until she has justice for her sister’s suicide and the girls learn a potentially fatal lesson.

Symbolic Code (The Ring)...

The facial expressions in this picture are not seen, this gives sence of mystery, the body langauge of the charactor is very abnormal.

'The Usual Suspects' Trailer Analysis

This link is for the trailer of the movie 'The Usual'

'The Last Exorcism' Trailer Analsis

This is the link to the trailer of The Last Exorcism, this movie comes under the "horror" genre, the convections of a horror movie are...

• Low key lighting
• Mood music
• Scary location

I think the technical codes of this trailer is the music as well as the scene selections from the movie, music is vital in trailers because it creates a mood, as this is a horror movie, the music in the background sounds very mellow, however the music and the scene selections from the movie work very well together and have been structred really well.


The trailer portays the horror in the movie, the fact that a young teenage girl has an evil spirit inside her gives a sence of vulnerabiltiy, also there are many scenes in the trailer were the clip has been cut short, this makes it almost a cliffhanger therefore its pulling an audience in making them want to go and watch it.


I personally think that the target audience for this movie are teenagers this is because i think it would be more popular with a group of teenagers rather then a family or a group of adults.

'Going The Distance' Trailer Analysis

This link is for the trailer of the movie Going The Distance, This movie is a romantic-comedy (rom-com) the conventions of this movie are...

• high key lighting
• upbeat background music to create a mood
• funny scene selections to make an audience want to watch the movie
• a scenario, this makes the audience wonder whats going to happen next
• The technical codes of this trailer is the upbeat music as well as the funny and interesting scene selections, the trailers structure has been put together well because it gives us a teaser of the basic story of what is happening however it doesnt show whats going to happen, Right at the start of the trailer there is an introduction to the charactors and the situation there in, it has a good balance of music, scene selections and comedy, these three combined makes the trailer very interesting.

Narrative Theories...

Levi Strauss;Binary Opposition...
Binary opposition is basically a theory which was found by French athropoligist Levi Strauss, it is basically two differing catergories such as...

• Masculine - Femenine
• Black - White
• Good - Bad
• Hero - Villian

Tzvetan Todorov;Equilibrium...
An equilibrium is basically the natural pattern of situaitions in a narrative, usually the equilibruim is disturbed which creates stage such as the following...

• Equlibrium- everything is in its natural order and is balanced
• Dis-equilibrium- a situation takes place and the natural order has been effected
• New state of equilibrium- a solution has been found and the natural order to things have been instilled

Charactor Types...

In varied media forms there are charactor types. These charactor types inlclude...

• The hero - Escorts the narrative
• The heroin - usually a reward for the hero
• The vllian - has a divergence with the hero
• The donor - Somehow contributes something to the hero which helps him
• The helper - Sometimes the heros sidekick
• The mentor - A guide for the hero
• The authority figure -  Offers the reward

Genre...

There are many genres, genres allow producers to catergorize there film or programme. They can be seen as a set of rules or laws that producers use to put there film or programme into. Genre allows the audience to identify which type of film it is. Genre is not a static it is able to change over time.

The main genres are...

Action
Adventure
Comedy
Crime and gangster
Drama
Epics/Historical
Horror
Musicals
Science-Fiction
War

Western

The Sub-genres are...

Bibliographical

Chick flicks

Detective and mystery

Disaster

Fantasy

Fim Noir

Romance

Road Films

Sports

Thriller

Suspence

Supernatural

Audience Theories...

There are many different audience theories which explain the relationship between the media and its audience,  the Hyperdermic needle effect suggests that the media has the capability to manipulate an audience in a sence that the audience believe what they are seeing  has actually happened, this allows them to respond by telling others.

There is also the Two step flow model this is basically when an individual who is an opinion leader pays attention to the media and passes there own opinions towards the film or programme, so basically they observe the media by watching its context then they voice there opinions to other individuals. if you value there opinion and they state that the film or programme is good it will alter your thoughts towards it and could result in you watching the film or programme.

Importance of an audience...

Audiences are very important in media, this is because without an audience media texts would not be created, if producers decide to make a film or programme they will need to cater to a target audience the media producers and institutes view audiences as a "imaginery entity" so basically as a mass rather then an individual, this is because a mass audience will provide more income rather then a individual audience. Before a film or programmer airs advertising is vital, if the advertising has been done properly it will make the audience want to watch it.

Target Audience Research

Having research on your audience is essential, this allows producers to know what audience needs to meet. if you research your target audience before the production of a film or programme it will allow you to understand what to include in your film or programme, overall if you know what your target audience will like you can cater to them making your production a success.





If you catergorize your audience by social class you would put them in the following catergories...

• A - Upper class
• B - Middle class
• C1 - Low class
• C2 - Skilled working class
• D - Working class
• E - Lower class/ Students

If you catergorize you audience in age you would put them in the following catergories,,,

• 15-19
• 20-24
• 25-29
• 30 +

You can also catergorize them in gender...

• Male
• Female

Poster Analysis...

This is a picture of a movie in the "thriller" genre, by the look of this picture i think that movie will have many aspects of thriller the background is black this could be portraying mystery in the movie. Also main figure in the poster is very scary, the eyes on the figure is blacked out therefore showing no eye contact this gives a sense of mystery which is exactly what a thriller genre movie is about. I think the poster is very effective because it instantly catches your attention.

Film openings...

Film openings are a vital part of a movie it allows people to have a preview of whats to come,  for this reason the opening of a film should be interesting and capture an audiences attention. The trailer plays a significant part in how popular the movie is going to be this is because a trailer is a marketing tool, the aim of a trailer is to capture an audiences attention so the trailer should have maximum appeal...






As the chosen genre is Thriller i think the opening of the film should have...

• A dark background
• music that has a dreary feel to it
• it should be interesting so we have an audiences attention
• contain a good balance of information, music, images,video clips etc
• reflect what the movie is about
• finish with a cliffhanger

Our Group....

• Nasema Khanum
• Sameena Miah
• Levinia Brady