Sunday 25 March 2012
Friday 23 March 2012
New and Updated Synopsis Of Our Thriller: From The Dark
On the 8th November 2011 I posted a synopsis of what we thought our thriller opening was going to be like. However whilst we were in the late stages of planning/early stages of shooting we had some new ideas we wanted to try. There were also certain aspects of things like scheduling and location which restricted some of our original ideas.
Our Thriller is called: From The Dark
I have decided to upgrade the synopsis into the format of a shot list etc.
--Opening shot-- is an over the shoulder shot of the enigmatic figure looking out through the car windscreen, waiting.
--Dip To Black--
To our first set of titles: "LIME PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS"
--Cut To--
Panning tilt shot across the young man's bedroom to end upon him in bed.
--Dip To Black--
Dip to black with our second set of titles: "A WINTER'S SUN FILM"
--Cut To--
A high angle shot from the corner of the boys bedroom seeing an enigmatic figure simply watching him. The enigmatic figure gets a call. He takes out his phone and puts it to his ear for a few seconds. Stands up and leaves.
--Dip To Black--
With our third set of titles: "JOE STEVENS".
The reason for this is because Joe Stevens is the actor playing the enigmatic figure.
--Cut To--
Non-diegetic sound of gun shot and stationary mid-shot of boy sitting bolt upright in bed due to be awoken by this sudden noise.
--Dip To Black--
With our fourth set of titles: "JAMES WINTERBURN".
The reason for this is because James Winterburn is the actor playing the young man of 'Jonathan Cody'
--Cut To--
Slow motion wide shot of boy turning on bedside lamp.
--Cross Fade--
With a slowly zooming, low angle, tilt shot of the enigmatic figure looking out the window, taking out his phone and walking away from the window.
--Cross Fade--
To a bird's eye view, slow motion shot shot of the Jonathan Cody cautiously going down the stairs.
--Dip To Black--
With our fifth set of titles: "EDITED BY WILLIAM ROBINSON AND JAMES WINTERBURN".
--Cut To--
Point of view shot from Jonathan's point of view walking into the living room, scanning the room, and seeing his mother 'Eve Cody' dead on the couch.
--Dip To Black--
With our sixth set of titles: "SANDRA WINTERBURN".
The reason for this is because Sandra Winterburn is the actress playing 'Eve Cody'.
--Cut To--
High angle panning shot looking straight forward and then looking down onto the dead mother from behind.
--Cross Fade--
To a low angle, slow motion shot of 'Jonathan' running out of the room.
--Cross Fade--
To a slow zooming, slightly low angle shot of the enigmatic figure looking through the window.
--Cross Fade--
To a high angle shot of 'Jonathan' panicking at trying to open the door, the door opening and him running out without closing it.
--Dip to Black--
To an over shoulder shot of the enigmatic figure watching 'Jonathan' run down the garden path.
--Cross Fade--
To a reverse, long shot from outside the house looking into the window where an enigmatic figure stands. He takes out his phone and turns away slowly.
--Dip To Black--
To a slowmotion following shot of Jonathan running down the road.
--Dip To Black--
To a close up of the cars rear-view mirror in which you can see an enigmatic figures shadowed and overcast face.
--Dip To Black--
To the same over the shoulder shot as the opening shot. 'Jonathan' runs out infront of the car. Slowmotion starts as the headlights are turned on. 'Jonathan' covers his face from the bright headlights.
--Dip To Black--
To our seventh and final set off titles: "FROM THE DARK".
Our Thriller is called: From The Dark
I have decided to upgrade the synopsis into the format of a shot list etc.
--Opening shot-- is an over the shoulder shot of the enigmatic figure looking out through the car windscreen, waiting.
--Dip To Black--
To our first set of titles: "LIME PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS"
--Cut To--
Panning tilt shot across the young man's bedroom to end upon him in bed.
--Dip To Black--
Dip to black with our second set of titles: "A WINTER'S SUN FILM"
--Cut To--
A high angle shot from the corner of the boys bedroom seeing an enigmatic figure simply watching him. The enigmatic figure gets a call. He takes out his phone and puts it to his ear for a few seconds. Stands up and leaves.
--Dip To Black--
With our third set of titles: "JOE STEVENS".
The reason for this is because Joe Stevens is the actor playing the enigmatic figure.
--Cut To--
Non-diegetic sound of gun shot and stationary mid-shot of boy sitting bolt upright in bed due to be awoken by this sudden noise.
--Dip To Black--
With our fourth set of titles: "JAMES WINTERBURN".
The reason for this is because James Winterburn is the actor playing the young man of 'Jonathan Cody'
--Cut To--
Slow motion wide shot of boy turning on bedside lamp.
--Cross Fade--
With a slowly zooming, low angle, tilt shot of the enigmatic figure looking out the window, taking out his phone and walking away from the window.
--Cross Fade--
To a bird's eye view, slow motion shot shot of the Jonathan Cody cautiously going down the stairs.
--Dip To Black--
With our fifth set of titles: "EDITED BY WILLIAM ROBINSON AND JAMES WINTERBURN".
--Cut To--
Point of view shot from Jonathan's point of view walking into the living room, scanning the room, and seeing his mother 'Eve Cody' dead on the couch.
--Dip To Black--
With our sixth set of titles: "SANDRA WINTERBURN".
The reason for this is because Sandra Winterburn is the actress playing 'Eve Cody'.
--Cut To--
High angle panning shot looking straight forward and then looking down onto the dead mother from behind.
--Cross Fade--
To a low angle, slow motion shot of 'Jonathan' running out of the room.
--Cross Fade--
To a slow zooming, slightly low angle shot of the enigmatic figure looking through the window.
--Cross Fade--
To a high angle shot of 'Jonathan' panicking at trying to open the door, the door opening and him running out without closing it.
--Dip to Black--
To an over shoulder shot of the enigmatic figure watching 'Jonathan' run down the garden path.
--Cross Fade--
To a reverse, long shot from outside the house looking into the window where an enigmatic figure stands. He takes out his phone and turns away slowly.
--Dip To Black--
To a slowmotion following shot of Jonathan running down the road.
--Dip To Black--
To a close up of the cars rear-view mirror in which you can see an enigmatic figures shadowed and overcast face.
--Dip To Black--
To the same over the shoulder shot as the opening shot. 'Jonathan' runs out infront of the car. Slowmotion starts as the headlights are turned on. 'Jonathan' covers his face from the bright headlights.
--Dip To Black--
To our seventh and final set off titles: "FROM THE DARK".
Thursday 22 March 2012
Question 6: What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
The camera we used was a Full HD Panasonic HDC-TM55 Digital Camera (1920x1080). The reason why we used this camera was because this was the camera which gave us the best quality picture in terms of movement and lighting etc. Picture of camera is posted below:
Although this was an HD camera, a process we had to go through with our raw footage was to convert it down because our editing software was not compatible with HD footage. Our editing software was 'Adobe Premiere Elements Version 1.0'.
The camera made our edit rather easy in terms of file managing because each shot would be automatically saved as a separate file meaning that we were able to add the single shot we wanted into the final edit if we needed, without having to capture and then cut down masses of raw footage.
At the start of the year we had a preliminary task and our aim was to practise using different shots to imply different things e.g. high angle shot showing vulnerabililty, low angle shot to demonstrate power and authority. This opened my eyes and films became much more interesting to watch because I was able to look through the basic footage and see the deeper meanings and techniques used by the director and lead cinematographer.
At the start of the year we had a preliminary task and our aim was to practise using different shots to imply different things e.g. high angle shot showing vulnerabililty, low angle shot to demonstrate power and authority. This opened my eyes and films became much more interesting to watch because I was able to look through the basic footage and see the deeper meanings and techniques used by the director and lead cinematographer.
In terms of editing I personally learnt a lot about the effect which a simple transition can have between shots. The two transitions we use the most in our thriller is 'dip to black' and 'cross dissolve'. 'Dip to black' is used to add fluidity to the end of shots and beginning of the next. It is used to bridge the gap between shots. In our case it is also used to build suspense because of the constant cutting from the boy, to the mother, to the enigmatic figure, back to the boy etc. 'Cross-dissolve' is when two shots are seen 'through each other' i.e. it is one shot layered on top of the other. We used this to the extent of creating a feeling of 'voyuerism'.
An example taken from From The Dark is seen below. The clearest part of the first shot being cross faded over is circled in red. The second shot being cross faded into is of the enigmatic figure looking through the window circled in green. This is the second shot being cross faded into. This transition in particular is seen at 1:25 through From The Dark. Below are three screen shots to show our cross fading in this transition in particular.
An example of the second main transition used within From The Dark is dip to black. Again example screen shots taken from From The Dark are posted below:
At the start of the year when learning to use a blog I realised it was a very efficient method of displaying work compared to having a paper folder. Having to showcase your work on a blog definitely has advantages. One of these advantages is that you can go back and alter/edit any previous work.
Blogger is useful for uploading different types of documents too and this helps to add variety to your work. These programmes/documents are things like prezi's, clips from films and screen shots. A picture says a thousand words. Other technologies which have helped a massive amount with areas like G321 Thriller Research are YouTube.com and IMDb.com. I am in the knowledge that mobile phones with built in cameras are very useful to have because you can take pictures of things like location 'on-the-go'. Unfortunately I personally did not make use of this technology in particular because it was inside a house mostly. This said I did take a couple of pictures as examples of how the house can be shot to fit thriller conventions e.g. shadows. These pictures were originally taken for G321 Thriller Planning. They are posted below.
I had never used a blog before this year so this was a new experience for me however I have really enjoyed the new dimension to coursework instead of just writing etc.
The other technology that I have enjoyed learning to use is 'Prezi'. 'Prezi' is an interactive style powerpoint allowing you to take your audience on a journey through your information etc. I have found this method of showcasing work to be very rewarding and interesting.
An example taken from From The Dark is seen below. The clearest part of the first shot being cross faded over is circled in red. The second shot being cross faded into is of the enigmatic figure looking through the window circled in green. This is the second shot being cross faded into. This transition in particular is seen at 1:25 through From The Dark. Below are three screen shots to show our cross fading in this transition in particular.
An example of the second main transition used within From The Dark is dip to black. Again example screen shots taken from From The Dark are posted below:
At the start of the year when learning to use a blog I realised it was a very efficient method of displaying work compared to having a paper folder. Having to showcase your work on a blog definitely has advantages. One of these advantages is that you can go back and alter/edit any previous work.
Blogger is useful for uploading different types of documents too and this helps to add variety to your work. These programmes/documents are things like prezi's, clips from films and screen shots. A picture says a thousand words. Other technologies which have helped a massive amount with areas like G321 Thriller Research are YouTube.com and IMDb.com. I am in the knowledge that mobile phones with built in cameras are very useful to have because you can take pictures of things like location 'on-the-go'. Unfortunately I personally did not make use of this technology in particular because it was inside a house mostly. This said I did take a couple of pictures as examples of how the house can be shot to fit thriller conventions e.g. shadows. These pictures were originally taken for G321 Thriller Planning. They are posted below.
The other technology that I have enjoyed learning to use is 'Prezi'. 'Prezi' is an interactive style powerpoint allowing you to take your audience on a journey through your information etc. I have found this method of showcasing work to be very rewarding and interesting.
Question 5: How Did You Address/Attract Your Audience?
We used several devices within From The Dark to attract our audience. The first one was the soundtrack posted below.
This is a continuous soundtrack all the way through. At the beginning it is quieter and the timbre is softer. It is a pulsating sound almost like that of a heartbeat. It builds the further through you go. This is a key factor of building suspense within From The Dark. It helps to engage the audience until the very end and creates suspense.
It could be suggested that the eery electronic 'whispering' noises reflect past conversations the mother has had either with her son or perhaps the killer...pleading for her life. The muffled words being 'whispered' allude to a possible secret life or dark secrets she has never shared.
Another factor helping to build suspense is the non-diegetic gunshot heard near the beginning of the film and because the gunshot is not within the frame at the time it leaves this event shrouded in mystery. The audience want to know: Where was that gun-shot from? Why was it in the house? Was that bullet intended for 'Jonathan Cody'? The gun-shot sound effect used is posted below.
The reason why we used this non-diegetic gun-shot sound was because it contains an appropriate amount of reverb on the sound seen as smaller and smaller 'squiggly' line above after the initial attack of sound.
The final device creating suspense and tension is the cliffhanger ending. At the end of the film 'Jonathan' runs out in front of car headlights and this raises all sorts of questions within the audiences mind, such as is the person driving the car good or evil? Is this the same enigmatic figure as the one seen in the house? Is 'Jonathan' about to die himself? The ending helps to heighten suspense and curiosity.
Different audiences go to see thriller films with certain expectations. For example, when somebody goes to see a thriller they will already have a list of things in their mind which they can expect, such as the ubiquitous theme of good vs. evil, a crime (usually a murder but can be something like robbery etc), a tense soundtrack, possibly a cliff hanger. These are all thriller conventions.
Our thriller fulfils most of these. Ours contains a crime (this is the murder of the mother), a reasonably tense soundtrack (which builds towards to allow the tension to rise) and a cliffhanger.
The location was important within our film in terms of engaging and connecting with the audience. The reason why is because the location is a modern middle class family home and the audience will be able to relate to that. If the audience members are able to relate to this factor then this means they will stay interested because it reflects aspects of their own lives.
Within a film it is hugely important to connect with the audience. We hope to achieve this by having the main character as a young person caught up in a web of intrigue and danger. It is well known, that within the film industry, if the audience can connect, engage and relate to the film and its characters then they will derive much more pleasure from watching it.
In our thriller From The Dark there is a constant reminder, through the means of cross dissolved shots etc, of an enigmatic figure. Take note that the enigmatic figure is always shrouded in the dark and the boy is always seen in the light. These are thriller conventions; keeping the potential killer/criminal a mystery or secret from the audience. An example of this is in Carol Reed's 'The Third Man'. The first time we see 'Harry Lime' is just over an hour through the film. Up until this point he has been shrouded in mystery and intrigue.
The boy is always seen in the light and the enigmatic figure is always seen in the dark. It could be argued that this represents the ongoing battle in society of 'good vs. evil'. This is consistent until 'Jonathan' goes to run out of the front door after finding his mother dead. Jonathan runs out into the night and this symbolises the two characters ('Jonathan' and the enigmatic figure's) world colliding.
We had two students watch From The Dark and rate it on a questionnaire. The purpose of this excersise is to get an external view and their opinions/criticism. The results are posted below.
This is the first audience feedback form. One criticism is that we need to make the bedroom scene "feel less homey". This is one point which was raised during shooting but the reason we did not alter this scene is because we wanted to maintain the connection between the location and the audience (e.g. it looks like a typical teenage bedroom which our demographic can relate to).
This is a continuous soundtrack all the way through. At the beginning it is quieter and the timbre is softer. It is a pulsating sound almost like that of a heartbeat. It builds the further through you go. This is a key factor of building suspense within From The Dark. It helps to engage the audience until the very end and creates suspense.
It could be suggested that the eery electronic 'whispering' noises reflect past conversations the mother has had either with her son or perhaps the killer...pleading for her life. The muffled words being 'whispered' allude to a possible secret life or dark secrets she has never shared.
Another factor helping to build suspense is the non-diegetic gunshot heard near the beginning of the film and because the gunshot is not within the frame at the time it leaves this event shrouded in mystery. The audience want to know: Where was that gun-shot from? Why was it in the house? Was that bullet intended for 'Jonathan Cody'? The gun-shot sound effect used is posted below.
The reason why we used this non-diegetic gun-shot sound was because it contains an appropriate amount of reverb on the sound seen as smaller and smaller 'squiggly' line above after the initial attack of sound.
The final device creating suspense and tension is the cliffhanger ending. At the end of the film 'Jonathan' runs out in front of car headlights and this raises all sorts of questions within the audiences mind, such as is the person driving the car good or evil? Is this the same enigmatic figure as the one seen in the house? Is 'Jonathan' about to die himself? The ending helps to heighten suspense and curiosity.
Different audiences go to see thriller films with certain expectations. For example, when somebody goes to see a thriller they will already have a list of things in their mind which they can expect, such as the ubiquitous theme of good vs. evil, a crime (usually a murder but can be something like robbery etc), a tense soundtrack, possibly a cliff hanger. These are all thriller conventions.
Our thriller fulfils most of these. Ours contains a crime (this is the murder of the mother), a reasonably tense soundtrack (which builds towards to allow the tension to rise) and a cliffhanger.
The location was important within our film in terms of engaging and connecting with the audience. The reason why is because the location is a modern middle class family home and the audience will be able to relate to that. If the audience members are able to relate to this factor then this means they will stay interested because it reflects aspects of their own lives.
Within a film it is hugely important to connect with the audience. We hope to achieve this by having the main character as a young person caught up in a web of intrigue and danger. It is well known, that within the film industry, if the audience can connect, engage and relate to the film and its characters then they will derive much more pleasure from watching it.
In our thriller From The Dark there is a constant reminder, through the means of cross dissolved shots etc, of an enigmatic figure. Take note that the enigmatic figure is always shrouded in the dark and the boy is always seen in the light. These are thriller conventions; keeping the potential killer/criminal a mystery or secret from the audience. An example of this is in Carol Reed's 'The Third Man'. The first time we see 'Harry Lime' is just over an hour through the film. Up until this point he has been shrouded in mystery and intrigue.
The boy is always seen in the light and the enigmatic figure is always seen in the dark. It could be argued that this represents the ongoing battle in society of 'good vs. evil'. This is consistent until 'Jonathan' goes to run out of the front door after finding his mother dead. Jonathan runs out into the night and this symbolises the two characters ('Jonathan' and the enigmatic figure's) world colliding.
We had two students watch From The Dark and rate it on a questionnaire. The purpose of this excersise is to get an external view and their opinions/criticism. The results are posted below.
Overall between our two participants I think that our opening received high praise and positive feedback.
Tuesday 20 March 2012
Question 4: Who would be the audience for your media product?
Our target audience is likely to be middle class males between the ages of 18-25. There are several justifications as to why this is our specific target audience.
The main character is within the age demographic of our own target audience (16-25 years of age) so it is likely therefore that the audience will be able to identify with the main character the best.
Another reason why we believe this is our main target audience age demographic is because our audience will be able to sympathise with the main character. They will also be able to empathise with him. The audience can put themselves in his position.
The term 'stalking' is hard to define because unlike other crimes which are usually single defining events, stalking is a series of events over a stretched period of time. There is a constant theme running throughout From The Dark and this is the theme of voyeurism. We create the feeling that the main character is constantly being watched. From The Dark relates to the concept of stalking which has recently received renewed attention in the press due to a campaign which took place in March 2012 to create a new law solely focusing on stalking crimes. Until now stalking had simply come under the Protection from Harassment Act founded in 1997. The fact that this has had plenty of media attention recently means that our target audience are likely to be familiar with it, living in contemporary Britain.
Within society through the medium of media e.g. newspapers our chosen age demographic are often portrayed as the protagonists . However From The Dark challenges this stereotype by positioning the teenager in the role of the victim.
In From The Dark there is a shooting (although it is not within the mise-en-scene when it happens). It could be argued that From The Dark will appeal more to men than women due to the violence. The reason I state this is because in thriller films where there is a lot of action, men seem to rate it higher. The evidence I have to support this point is from the film 'Minority Report' directed by Steven Spielberg and released in 2002. This is a futuristic thriller containing lots of fast-paced action and violence. According to the respected IMDb.com (Internet Movie Database.com) user ratings, the demographic who rated it the highest were 'males under 18' rating it at 8.1 whereas 'females under 18' rated it at only 7.7. The second example is David Michod's 'Animal Kingdom'. 'Males under 18' rated this film as 7.6 and 'females under 18' rated it at only 7.4.
Below is a prezi I have compiled summarising our target audience.
The main character is within the age demographic of our own target audience (16-25 years of age) so it is likely therefore that the audience will be able to identify with the main character the best.
Another reason why we believe this is our main target audience age demographic is because our audience will be able to sympathise with the main character. They will also be able to empathise with him. The audience can put themselves in his position.
The term 'stalking' is hard to define because unlike other crimes which are usually single defining events, stalking is a series of events over a stretched period of time. There is a constant theme running throughout From The Dark and this is the theme of voyeurism. We create the feeling that the main character is constantly being watched. From The Dark relates to the concept of stalking which has recently received renewed attention in the press due to a campaign which took place in March 2012 to create a new law solely focusing on stalking crimes. Until now stalking had simply come under the Protection from Harassment Act founded in 1997. The fact that this has had plenty of media attention recently means that our target audience are likely to be familiar with it, living in contemporary Britain.
Within society through the medium of media e.g. newspapers our chosen age demographic are often portrayed as the protagonists . However From The Dark challenges this stereotype by positioning the teenager in the role of the victim.
In From The Dark there is a shooting (although it is not within the mise-en-scene when it happens). It could be argued that From The Dark will appeal more to men than women due to the violence. The reason I state this is because in thriller films where there is a lot of action, men seem to rate it higher. The evidence I have to support this point is from the film 'Minority Report' directed by Steven Spielberg and released in 2002. This is a futuristic thriller containing lots of fast-paced action and violence. According to the respected IMDb.com (Internet Movie Database.com) user ratings, the demographic who rated it the highest were 'males under 18' rating it at 8.1 whereas 'females under 18' rated it at only 7.7. The second example is David Michod's 'Animal Kingdom'. 'Males under 18' rated this film as 7.6 and 'females under 18' rated it at only 7.4.
Below is a prezi I have compiled summarising our target audience.
Sunday 18 March 2012
Saturday 17 March 2012
Question 3: What Kind Of Media Institution Might Distribute Your Media Product and Why?
The independent film company of 'Warp' could help to fund and to distribute our film if it was made to full length. 'Warp' have nurtured many new and unheard of films. Such examples of this are Justin Kurzel's 'Snowtown' released in 2011. 'Snowtown' is based on a true story of a young 16 year old boy being forced into the dark underworld of criminality and murder. Another example is Richard Ayoade's 'Submarine' released in 2010 both pictured below.
This film contains the genres of comedy, romance, spy and action/adventure.
One example of an Internet outlet which would be appropriate for distribution is social networking websites such as Facebook.com, Twitter.com, Tumblr.com and Bebo.com. A low budget film which used this method to create 'hype' around the film even before its actual release was 'Animal Kingdom' released in 2010 directed by David Michód. They achieved this within the early stages of production. Another site used for introduction of new films is YouTube.com.
Portable platforms are becoming increasingly popular with viewers who like to watch films 'on-the-go'. Such devices facillitating this type of viewing are the iPhone, iPod's, PS3, Xbox 360, Smartphones/HTC phones etc.
Another medium which is possible to use is short (and often student) film competitions. A local competition is the 'Norwich Film Festival' (NFF). This prestigious festival is due to take place from the 30th March - 7th April 2012.
These two films both focus on young men in crisis. Two other films which are about young men in difficult/dangerous situations are pictured below, both of which are directed by Shane Meadows. The first example is 'Dead Man's Shoes' directed by Shane Meadows and released in 2004. This film is "about a disaffected soldier returns to his hometown to get even with the thugs who brutalised his mentally-challenged brother years ago." This synopsis was taken from IMDb.com.
The second example would be 'This Is England' released in 2006.
I personally would not say that our film is for a mainstream audience and therefore is unlikely to be shown in multiplex cinemas. This is because our film does not include enough different characteristics/genres to be a four-quadrant film. A four quadrant film is one that contains enough genres to appeal to a mass audience. A film which is an example of a four quadrant film is 'Johnny English', released in 2003 and directed by Peter Howitt.
One example of an Internet outlet which would be appropriate for distribution is social networking websites such as Facebook.com, Twitter.com, Tumblr.com and Bebo.com. A low budget film which used this method to create 'hype' around the film even before its actual release was 'Animal Kingdom' released in 2010 directed by David Michód. They achieved this within the early stages of production. Another site used for introduction of new films is YouTube.com.
Portable platforms are becoming increasingly popular with viewers who like to watch films 'on-the-go'. Such devices facillitating this type of viewing are the iPhone, iPod's, PS3, Xbox 360, Smartphones/HTC phones etc.
Another medium which is possible to use is short (and often student) film competitions. A local competition is the 'Norwich Film Festival' (NFF). This prestigious festival is due to take place from the 30th March - 7th April 2012.
If the option of releasing the film into a cinema chain is possible my preference would be for a company such as 'Picture House'. 'Picture House' is a network operating in the UK with 18 cinema theatres. A local cinema which is part of this network is 'Cinema City'. This is located in Norwich, Norfolk, UK. The other method of distributing our film without making it into a full length film is if a company like 'Cinema City' were running a season of short films etc.
It could be possible to make a deal with a film rental company. An example of this is when Lovefilm and Studiocanal signed a 12 month contract to make Studiocanal's films available to Lovefilm members for 12 months at no extra cost, during 2011. This is a great deal because it is mutually beneficial for both Studiocanal (because they now have a medium to distribute their films) and Lovefilm (because this will increase the number of people subscribing to them at a monthly cost).
The final possibility for release would be straight onto DVD. This is a cheap yet effective way of bringing the film to the public. Releasing it straight onto DVD means that less of the budget has to be spent on advertising and more money can be spent on actual production of the film.
Thursday 15 March 2012
Question 2: How Does Your Media Product Represent Particular Social Groups?
Many thrillers take place in very gritty and run-down locations. An example of this is 'This Is England' directed by Shane Meadows, released in 2006.
A second and final example of a theatrical release displaying a run-down location is 'Essex Boys' directed by Terry Winsor and released in 2000. A prime example is in the opening.
An example of media apart from film is the use of music video's to show an example of a gritty location is featured in the music video of 'When The Sun Goes Down' by The Artic Monkeys. This album was released on the 23rd of January, 2006.This video is posted below.
The reason why media posted above use locations such as these is to portray parts of contemporary Britain.
The gritty locations are used to challenge stereotypes of British life.
Our thriller is a noir thriller due to the use of noir lighting etc. An example of a noir thriller with fantastic locations is 'The Singing Detective, Episode 1'. This clip is posted below. The location/establishing shots start at 0:52.
Screen shots from this clip are posted below.
In this one picture alone there is the convention of wet streets, chiaroscuro lighting and an enigmatic shadowed figure (to the left of the frame).
Our location is contemporary yet does not challenge thriller genre. It is keeping with the modern times where gang crime is frequent and stalking crime is seen more and more.
The victim within our thriller is a women who is found shot twice on the sofa. This makes her a passive character. Although she plays a passive role this does not mean she isn't important.
This enigma effectively acts as the 'hook' to the audience. The questions being asked are;
"what/who has this boy's mother been involved with? Has she borrowed money from a loan shark and not been able to pay it back? Has the loan shark decided to 'get even'? Has she been involved with dealing/smuggling copious amounts of drugs? Does she know something she shouldn't? Has a past lover scorned finally caught up with her?
This enigma effectively acts as the 'hook' to the audience. The questions being asked are;
"what/who has this boy's mother been involved with? Has she borrowed money from a loan shark and not been able to pay it back? Has the loan shark decided to 'get even'? Has she been involved with dealing/smuggling copious amounts of drugs? Does she know something she shouldn't? Has a past lover scorned finally caught up with her?
To avoid any possible sexist accusations we could have switched the roles and/or genders e.g. we could have used the young boy as a victim. The plot of our film could develop further to see the mother avenging her dead son. She could then be likened to the bride seen in 'Kill Bill Volume 1'.
Other examples of passive female roles within thriller films are 'Eve' from Sergio Leone's 'Once Upon A Time In America', 'Nicky Henry' who plays 'Joshua Cody's' (both pictured) girlfriend in David Michod's 'Animal Kingdom' and finally 'Anna Schmidt' in Carol Reed's 'The Third Man'.
This passivity is not restricted to the world of the thriller genre. This also extends to mainstream cinema and especially action films. There are plenty of examples in particular the classic comic-book heroes who each have their 'damsell-in-distress'.
Pictured below are 'Mary-Jane Watson' from Sam Raimi's 'Spiderman' released in 2002, 'Lois Lane' from Richard Donner's 'Superman' released in 1978 and finally 'Pepper Potts' from John Favreau's 'Iron Man' released in 2008.
These three example were all created by 'Marvel Comics'. Take note that the superheroes are frequently males and more often than not the passive character is played by a female.
Our thriller is a noir thriller and we have taken inspiration from many urban located films. Here are some examples of urban set noir thrillers. One fantastic example is from Carol Reed's 'The Third Man'. The shot mentioned below is the opening aerial, establishing, long shot of Vienna. The shot below that is from 'The Matrix' released in 1999.
Our thriller is a noir thriller and we have taken inspiration from many urban located films. Here are some examples of urban set noir thrillers. One fantastic example is from Carol Reed's 'The Third Man'. The shot mentioned below is the opening aerial, establishing, long shot of Vienna. The shot below that is from 'The Matrix' released in 1999.
Our main character of 'Jonathan Cody' is a young man aged 17-18. The fact that he is thrown into this whirlwind of criminality suggests that nowadays young people are the centre of action and attention. It could be argued that our film portrays older generations as more inert. Again to avoid any possible ageist comments we could switch the roles around and have the boy as the victim.
The zeitgeist our film is attempting to portray about contemporary Britain is the lack of privacy and the implications this can have: e.g the number of people who publicise personal information on such things as social networking sites. Another factor which is hitting the demographic between 18-25 year olds is the recession. Factors contributing hugely to this widely felt pessimism are things like the general price of living e.g. gas bills, water bills, income tax and university fees combined with the brutal cuts in public spending by the coalition government.
Friday 9 March 2012
Our Inspiration...
We had the idea of our main character (the young boy) being watched whilst himself is unaware. This inspiration came to us on the 7th February 2012 in the form of a programme on stalkers and stalking on Radio 4. With this in mind we changed our plot line and editing plan slightly so that we could create the feeling of the boy being constantly watched. This feeling is confirmed in the editing due to the multiple shots of the enigmatic figure staring blankly over him.
Other shows featuring on Radio 4 which have helped us in terms of audience etc are 'Film Programme' and 'Front Row; Media Show'.
Other shows featuring on Radio 4 which have helped us in terms of audience etc are 'Film Programme' and 'Front Row; Media Show'.
Wednesday 7 March 2012
Costumes Within Our Thriller
The costume used in our thriller for the young boy is a plain white t-shirt and stripy blue pyjama bottoms.
The pyjama bottoms used in the thriller are similar to the ones pictured left.
The pyjama bottoms used in the thriller are similar to the ones pictured left. The reason for this is becuase blue connotes to calm and a notion of sensibility. These also symbolise comfort and rest. This means that when the mother is found dead the whole world and idea of comfort and relaxation is completely eliminated.
The plain white t-shirt connotes to the young boys purity and the fact that he may be innocent in the sense of his knowledge about his mothers death.
The dark and enigmatic figure in our thriller has mainly dark clothes and this is to reflect his personality.
The purpose of the of the trilby hat is to cover his identity and to shadow his face. This makes his character frighteningly mysterious. The use of a trilby hat is also a tribute to films made in the 1940's etc when cotume such as this was a common factor in a thriller film.
The black trousers do exactly the same job as the black hat in covering his identity. The black trousers also portray his personality and his inner feelings e.g. they are very dark and evil thoughts. Black is the colour which represents death and is traditionally worn at funerals.
The mother's costume in our film was designed to look modern yet not to be mistaken as anything like an elder sister or random stranger etc. The items of clothing below come together to from the overall image of her costume.
Question 1: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
A large influence on the plot line and the characters names within my production came from David Michod's 'Animal Kingdom' released in 2010. The reason for this was due to the fact that the main character within 'Animal Kingdom' is a young adult (roughly 16-18 years old).
The other parallel between the two films is that in our thriller the main character's mother dies in a horrific way. In 'Animal Kingdom' 'Jay's' mother overdoses on heroin, whereas in our thriller plot line the mother is shot twice in the chest. The character of the mother in our thriller is designed to look like a typical yet modern housewife e.g. wearing jeans and boots etc. The young boy within our thriller can be related to 'Jay' from 'Animal Kingdom' because he is thrown into a world of criminality that he did not choose to get involved with.
The other parallel between the two films is that in our thriller the main character's mother dies in a horrific way. In 'Animal Kingdom' 'Jay's' mother overdoses on heroin, whereas in our thriller plot line the mother is shot twice in the chest. The character of the mother in our thriller is designed to look like a typical yet modern housewife e.g. wearing jeans and boots etc. The young boy within our thriller can be related to 'Jay' from 'Animal Kingdom' because he is thrown into a world of criminality that he did not choose to get involved with.
The rather baggy and casual clothes which 'Jay' wears in 'Animal Kingdom' influenced our characters. The costume of the young boy consists of a plain white top and baggy, stripy pyjama bottoms. The reason we chose to use a plain white top for the boy to wear was to show connotations of ignorance and naivety to his mothers possible involvement in criminal activity; he is "clean". This also acts as a contrast to the mothers plain white shirt which is coated in blood. The blue stripy pyjama bottoms connote calmness due to blue being the colour of calm and collected. The long red hair of the young boy could connote passion and love (maybe for his mother in death), however this said it could also represent anger, hate and revenge and perhaps even blood.
The costume for the dark, enigmatic figure within our thriller was influenced by Sergio Leone's 'Once Upon A Time In America' released in 1984. The way in which this film influenced us was through their costumes and use of such items of clothing as the classic trilby hat and the black coat with their face in silhouette. It is typical/expected of the thriller genre.
The name of the mother within our thriller is 'Eve Cody'. Her first name has biblical connotations because Eve was the first woman God created and led Adam into temptation within the garden of Eden. The original sin. This name is used to suggest her deceitful nature. The last name of Cody comes from the Aunt in 'Animal Kingdom' named 'Janine "Smurf" Cody'. 'Janine "Smurf" Cody' is a devious women with a history of crime and each of her children has had petty 'run-ins' with the law. This gives our mother character a devious and enigmatic past. The young boys' name within our thriller we decided to be 'Jonathan Cody'. The first name of Jonathan also has biblical references. The definition of Jonathan is "gift of God".
In terms of location, our main location is in a middle class house. This does not follow an obvious thriller convention which often uses run-down or derelict locations. However this said a thriller convention which we do use is that of noir lighting. This is used to make the enigmatic figure seem that much more mysterious. A screen shot from our final cut is posted below showing this.
A thriller convention is that within thriller films crimes frequently happens in the night time. Other examples of this within films is in Ridley Scott's 'Thelma and Louise' released in 1991. This is when Louise shoots a rapist (Harlem) about to rape Thelma in a car park (another thriller convention location)
The second example is in Quentin Tarantino's 'Jackie Brown' released in 1997. The example here is when Ordell Robbie shoots Beaumont Livingstone in the abandoned car park (the same location again).
The third and final example is when Marion Crane is murdered in a deserted hotel at night.
We play on this by having our mother figure killed in the night. Night-time in general is also a time when collectively we feel more vulnerable thus we are trying to play on audience paranoia.
The way we decided what the soundtrack should be like was to listen to the openings of other thriller films. We finally chose this particular soundtrack was because it fit the thriller genre e.g. it created an ambient yet tense mood, it built in intensity and volume and it had no lyrics or suddenly loud fluctuations to distract the audience from the on-screen action.
The Opening of Carol Reed's 'The Third Man'.
The opening song can tell us a lot about Harry Lime as a character through the music. The music sounds quite happy and this tells us that he is a jolly character yet when the music dips into a minor key then it could forecast darker events come later in the film to Harry Lime. The instrument this song is played on is called a 'Zither' pictured below.
This song played on the zither has had a huge influence on modern music today. An example of a song which includes a similar version of this familiar tune is 'Vince The Loveable Stoner' by 'The Fratellis' on the album 'Costello Music' released on 30th October 2006. The similar sounding section is heard at 2:09 in the song posted below.
Tuesday 6 March 2012
Possible Non-Diegetic Gun Shot Sounds
http://www.freesound.org/people/Audionautics/sounds/133966/
http://www.freesound.org/people/Shades/sounds/37236/
http://www.freesound.org/people/tradeshowmusic/sounds/136721/
http://www.freesound.org/people/steveygos93/sounds/91572/
These shall be used towards the beginning of the thriller when the boy sits bolt upright in bed. He will be shocked out of his sleep due to the loud sudden "bang" from a gun used to evidentally shoot his mother.
http://www.freesound.org/people/Shades/sounds/37236/
http://www.freesound.org/people/tradeshowmusic/sounds/136721/
http://www.freesound.org/people/steveygos93/sounds/91572/
These shall be used towards the beginning of the thriller when the boy sits bolt upright in bed. He will be shocked out of his sleep due to the loud sudden "bang" from a gun used to evidentally shoot his mother.
Monday 5 March 2012
Possible Thriller Soundtrack Ideas
http://www.freesound.org/people/tradeshowmusic/sounds/136721/
http://www.freesound.org/people/Robinhood76/sounds/82299/
http://www.freesound.org/people/suonho/sounds/58962/
http://www.freesound.org/people/hello_flowers/sounds/32424/
http://www.freesound.org/people/imaginaryband/sounds/79417/
http://www.freesound.org/people/imaginaryband/sounds/79418/
http://www.freesound.org/people/Robinhood76/sounds/82299/
http://www.freesound.org/people/suonho/sounds/58962/
http://www.freesound.org/people/hello_flowers/sounds/32424/
http://www.freesound.org/people/imaginaryband/sounds/79417/
http://www.freesound.org/people/imaginaryband/sounds/79418/
Sunday 4 March 2012
Thriller Openings
The opening of a thriller film can either make or brake the film. A trend which occurs throughout multiple thriller films is the use of the colour red in the opening title sequences. A film which demonstrates this very well is the New Zealand based filml called 'Once We Were Warriors' directed by Lee Tamahori released in 1994. The video clip mentioned is posted below:
The use of red text against a black background connotes to violence and death. This is used to show that the characters introduced in this way are shady and perhaps are into crime etc. A couple few screen shots of how this is used are below:
Notice that there is a black splatter on the 'S' in 'Morrison'. This could represent decay or even blod splattering. Whichever it may be, it surrounds this character with a slightly violent edge.
The title sequences contains the same splatters on the R and S. This gives the audience a clue as to what this film may be about. Other films which include red within the title/title sequence are Kill Bill Volume 1 directed by Quentin Tarantino released in 2003. The red streak of blood following the line of the brides' katana.
The red streak designed to look like blood surrounding the name 'Reservoir Dogs' connotes to the four men on the front as devious and possibly dangerous. The four men are all dressed the same. This deprives them of any sense of identity and creates an enigmatic aura about them.Reservoir dogs was directed by Quentin Tarantino released in 1992.
The word 'Seven' being written in red gives the audience the idea of blood, anger, hatred, danger etc. The typeface (font) of the word 'Seven' is also like handwriting. Se7en was released in 1995 and directed by David Fincher.
The fact that the symbol of the dragon starts off at the bottom as a flame is significant because it relates to a dragon breathing fire but it could also suggests that the central character 'plays with fire'. Red is also used here as the colour of blood, anger and hatred. The fact that you only see half of her face is suggestive of her enigmatic nature within the film. It keeps her identity a mystery much like in 'Reservoir Dogs'.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was released in 2011 and was also directed by David Fincher.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was released in 2011 and was also directed by David Fincher.
The red running through the centre of the crowd suggests that there is a divide between good and bad which links to the name of 'Angels & Demons'. The theme of red continues within the title by having a red '&'. The only people wearing red in the picture are Catholic priests which could represent corruption and murder within the church. This is the opposite view which religion has in the real world. The character being played by Tom Hanks is caught in the middle of the red suggesting that he is walking a very fine line.
Angels and Demons was released in 2009 and was directed by Ron Howard.
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