Tuesday 14 July 2009
Wednesday 6 May 2009
Thriller Evaluation
THRILLER EVAULATION
As part of our AS Media course, we were asked to create a short 2-minute thriller opening. The codes and conventions for a thriller are something that brings about tension and suspense and creates an expectation that something is going to happen but you are not sure when and what. The storyline usually imitates real life circumstances and are more often than not played by everyday characters. While planning for our thriller, we were required to watch a variety of thriller films. One of our focuses was ‘The Shining’ directed by Stanley Kubrick. After watching this film, I discovered many techniques, techniques such as mise en scene, camera angles, editing, sound and cliffhangers. The film had a great influence on my group due to the fact we used flashback in our thriller opening similar to ‘The Shining’. All the films that we watched and from background information on thrillers we made sure we pertained as much information as we got to create a really good thriller opening.
My group consisted of four member two boys and two girls from all different backgrounds, which I think was fair and equal balance because we all played an equal part to help one another. Our thriller opening was called ‘Once upon a kidnapper’ and we had a main character who witnessed her close friend being kidnapped at a young age and then being familiar with the villain years later. Our thriller represents young teenage friendships between 14-17 and ‘youths’ (boys) that are involved in crime and violence. The media portrays that young boys from ethnic origins are more involved in crime and violence than boys from a non-ethic origin. We used this as a stimulus for our thriller opening imitating the stereotype the media depicts for our advantage. Our thriller also represents a working class society because at the beginning of the thriller we are immediately introduced to a young black working class female adult getting on public transport, which suggest her status.
The media institutions that will distribute our thriller opening would be Channel 4. I suggest Channel 4 because they show many urban UK drama films for example, ‘Fall Out’ directed by Ian Rickson. Channel 4 is best known for showing the reality that young teenagers face in everyday life. Due to the fact we will have a low budget, we will use the internet as our source to distribution for our thriller. This would save us money because we will not have to pay distributers to sell our film.
The target audience for our thriller would be young teenagers, male and female aged between 14-19. For example an ideal person that would fit as our target audience would be; Daniel Small, aged 17, a black boy, lives in east London, works part time at schuh and attends college four times a week, loves spending quality time with his friends at the cinema and plays the drums at church. He is a Christian.
I would attract my target audience by posting posters at colleges, school. Youth clubs and having a street team to hand out flyers. I will also use networking sites such as Facebook, Myspace, Bebo, Hi5 and Twitter. To catch the attention of my target I will put images of the main characters on the posters and flyers to show the film is about teenagers so that the audience can relate to the characters and gain knowledge of what they should expect. There would also be a trailer on Channel 4 so our audience would be reminded of film and when it is released. A Myspace will be created so people can comment on how they personally feel the film was and if they have any inquires about the DVD; the trailer would be on the Myspace site. This would be effective for our audience who do not regularly watch TV and allowing a wider global audience to recognize our film.
In making any type of film, effectual technology is required to get the best quality possible. We used Cannon video cameras and Apple Mac computers to use final cut and pro to edit. I enjoyed filming in the beginning but as we progressed, it got quite tiring. We tried to be creative by thinking of different shots Editing was one of the easiest tasks, as long as we were taught the basics, we were able to try new things and include them to our editing process. We used effects like fade and match cut to have a fluidity in our thriller. Selecting the sound was quite difficult for our group because there was so many to pick from and individuals in our group were disagreeing on certain types of music so we concluded that the boys should take responsibility to create the music. Non-digetic music was used throughout our thriller. Playful and upbeat music was used to emphasise childhood while on the other hand sharp strings were used to illustrate danger. What I enjoyed most of all was being filmed. I found this part of the process quite fun and intriguing, expect for when we were told to film in the rain even though we were cold, wet and uncomfortable it created a visual mise en scene for our audience during the flashback. We used to internet to blog our progress each lesson. The internet has been very useful and has allowed us to get views and comments from other people. Our video was put on a website called ‘’Vimeo’’ which certified our video to be viewed by others, and allowed us to view other peoples videos. There is also another website called ‘’YouTube’’. This particular website allows any and everyone to view your thriller and lets them to write their comments underneath. Our video was not yet put on this site because none of us had a YouTube account. Watching our thriller in the cinema in angel was an exciting, yet scary experience. It was exciting because we were anxious to hear the view of others and it was scary because we were not sure if it we would be up to standards as the others. Overall, our feedback from out classmates and friends was positive, but we were told that we could have made our camera work shaper.
Looking back at my preliminary task, I believed it helped me a lot to prepare for my thriller opening. These tasks allow us to make mistakes and learn from them. We learnt a lot about ‘match cut’ in depth, which had an effect on our overall finished piece. I learnt that planning is key source to making any film successful but particularly with our thriller opening which we were successful in planning. We had a specific idea of our plot; setting and camera shot sequence, which made it easier for us to film, however during filming our thriller we came up with new ideas, which did not affect our storyline but added more effectively.
On the whole we all worked well together and helped one another out and I now have a insight into what filming is about and how uneasy it can be at times and also how much hard work is put in by the directors and producers not only the ’stars’ and main characters of the film but behind the scenes.
As part of our AS Media course, we were asked to create a short 2-minute thriller opening. The codes and conventions for a thriller are something that brings about tension and suspense and creates an expectation that something is going to happen but you are not sure when and what. The storyline usually imitates real life circumstances and are more often than not played by everyday characters. While planning for our thriller, we were required to watch a variety of thriller films. One of our focuses was ‘The Shining’ directed by Stanley Kubrick. After watching this film, I discovered many techniques, techniques such as mise en scene, camera angles, editing, sound and cliffhangers. The film had a great influence on my group due to the fact we used flashback in our thriller opening similar to ‘The Shining’. All the films that we watched and from background information on thrillers we made sure we pertained as much information as we got to create a really good thriller opening.
My group consisted of four member two boys and two girls from all different backgrounds, which I think was fair and equal balance because we all played an equal part to help one another. Our thriller opening was called ‘Once upon a kidnapper’ and we had a main character who witnessed her close friend being kidnapped at a young age and then being familiar with the villain years later. Our thriller represents young teenage friendships between 14-17 and ‘youths’ (boys) that are involved in crime and violence. The media portrays that young boys from ethnic origins are more involved in crime and violence than boys from a non-ethic origin. We used this as a stimulus for our thriller opening imitating the stereotype the media depicts for our advantage. Our thriller also represents a working class society because at the beginning of the thriller we are immediately introduced to a young black working class female adult getting on public transport, which suggest her status.
The media institutions that will distribute our thriller opening would be Channel 4. I suggest Channel 4 because they show many urban UK drama films for example, ‘Fall Out’ directed by Ian Rickson. Channel 4 is best known for showing the reality that young teenagers face in everyday life. Due to the fact we will have a low budget, we will use the internet as our source to distribution for our thriller. This would save us money because we will not have to pay distributers to sell our film.
The target audience for our thriller would be young teenagers, male and female aged between 14-19. For example an ideal person that would fit as our target audience would be; Daniel Small, aged 17, a black boy, lives in east London, works part time at schuh and attends college four times a week, loves spending quality time with his friends at the cinema and plays the drums at church. He is a Christian.
I would attract my target audience by posting posters at colleges, school. Youth clubs and having a street team to hand out flyers. I will also use networking sites such as Facebook, Myspace, Bebo, Hi5 and Twitter. To catch the attention of my target I will put images of the main characters on the posters and flyers to show the film is about teenagers so that the audience can relate to the characters and gain knowledge of what they should expect. There would also be a trailer on Channel 4 so our audience would be reminded of film and when it is released. A Myspace will be created so people can comment on how they personally feel the film was and if they have any inquires about the DVD; the trailer would be on the Myspace site. This would be effective for our audience who do not regularly watch TV and allowing a wider global audience to recognize our film.
In making any type of film, effectual technology is required to get the best quality possible. We used Cannon video cameras and Apple Mac computers to use final cut and pro to edit. I enjoyed filming in the beginning but as we progressed, it got quite tiring. We tried to be creative by thinking of different shots Editing was one of the easiest tasks, as long as we were taught the basics, we were able to try new things and include them to our editing process. We used effects like fade and match cut to have a fluidity in our thriller. Selecting the sound was quite difficult for our group because there was so many to pick from and individuals in our group were disagreeing on certain types of music so we concluded that the boys should take responsibility to create the music. Non-digetic music was used throughout our thriller. Playful and upbeat music was used to emphasise childhood while on the other hand sharp strings were used to illustrate danger. What I enjoyed most of all was being filmed. I found this part of the process quite fun and intriguing, expect for when we were told to film in the rain even though we were cold, wet and uncomfortable it created a visual mise en scene for our audience during the flashback. We used to internet to blog our progress each lesson. The internet has been very useful and has allowed us to get views and comments from other people. Our video was put on a website called ‘’Vimeo’’ which certified our video to be viewed by others, and allowed us to view other peoples videos. There is also another website called ‘’YouTube’’. This particular website allows any and everyone to view your thriller and lets them to write their comments underneath. Our video was not yet put on this site because none of us had a YouTube account. Watching our thriller in the cinema in angel was an exciting, yet scary experience. It was exciting because we were anxious to hear the view of others and it was scary because we were not sure if it we would be up to standards as the others. Overall, our feedback from out classmates and friends was positive, but we were told that we could have made our camera work shaper.
Looking back at my preliminary task, I believed it helped me a lot to prepare for my thriller opening. These tasks allow us to make mistakes and learn from them. We learnt a lot about ‘match cut’ in depth, which had an effect on our overall finished piece. I learnt that planning is key source to making any film successful but particularly with our thriller opening which we were successful in planning. We had a specific idea of our plot; setting and camera shot sequence, which made it easier for us to film, however during filming our thriller we came up with new ideas, which did not affect our storyline but added more effectively.
On the whole we all worked well together and helped one another out and I now have a insight into what filming is about and how uneasy it can be at times and also how much hard work is put in by the directors and producers not only the ’stars’ and main characters of the film but behind the scenes.
Monday 4 May 2009
"Once Upon A Kidnapper" Thriller Film Evaluation
“Once Upon A Kidnapper” Thriller Film Evaluation
As part of my task I had to create a two minute opening to a film of thriller genre. I was in a group consisting of four students and we were given a dated deadline to complete the task. Before starting our task we studied related media texts such as openings of thriller films. Our main case study was that of the cult classic “The Shining”. The Shining is a 1980 thriller film directed by Stanley Kubrick, based on Stephen King's novel of the same name. Though not initially successful, the film has had status as a cult film for years. After watching this film I learnt many techniques after watching this film. Techniques such as camera angles and effects that will thrill the audience. I gained many influences from the film as we used flashback effects similar to the film. I believe we as a group benefited from watching this cult classic as it allowed us to discover conventions and themes of thriller films. Techniques such as filming in the rain supported our film. This is because the rain made the film seem more thrilling and signifies the importance of the kidnapping scene.
Source 1 shows an image of actor Jack Nicholson in the film “The Shining”
Source Reference: philzine.wordpress.com/.../
(Cannot Be Shown On Blogger, Click On Link (Source Reference) To View Source)
There are many ways my film represents particular social groups. As the villain is seen wearing what could be described as wearing “ghetto clothing”. This signifies a male from an deprived background may be stereotyped as living in the “slums of London”. The villain is of an Asian background which addresses the stereotype of ethnic minorities being the “hooded criminal”. The two other characters are also other ethnic origins. There are two scenarios of age being represented in the film. Firstly is that of teenagers. During the “past flashback” the characters were in their teenage years. This is presented with the two female characters playing on the swings. Also the villain is wearing “ghetto clothing” which is portrayed in many media texts in the interests of teenagers. Secondly during the “present day scene” the two remaining characters (kidnapper and friend of kidnapped girl) are seen wearing smart clothing or “worklike clothing”. This suggests that they are in the mature stages of their living years. This shows that they have grown and is a sense of “kidulthood to adulthood”.
I believe that “Once upon a Kidnapper” will be distributed via a small UK independent release. This means that it will be shown in a limited amount of screens across the nation. This is because I believe that are film was made for the passion of film making, not the so called “moneymaker hits”. Our film has a hard-hitting thrilling storyline, which will attract a certain number of audiences. If our film is genuinely a success on the screens then plans would be put forward for a DVD release. An example of a small UK independent film is the film “London to Brighton” which critics gave rave reviews.
Source 2 shows an image of the film “London to Brighton”
Source Reference: www.moviecritic.com.au/2008-04/
(Cannot Be Shown On Blogger, Click On Link (Source Reference) To View Source)
I believe the general target audience of the film will be that of the working class origin. This is because the deep-hearted thrilling storyline and genuine locations will appeal more to this audience as it is similar to their real life surroundings. The age I believe will be generally wide, from the age of 15 to the age of economically active people. The youth or teenager will be a strong target audience. This is because of the characters in the film. The behavior and general overall look of the villain can be associated with the youth due to common stereotypes of youths being “ASBOS”. The gender target audience is that of both male and female. This is because there are scenes during the film that will appeal more to the male population and scenes that will appeal more to the female population. The character of “Amy”, the friend kidnapped “Lucy” will appeal more to the female population. This is because females will wish she uncovers the truth behind her disappearance and whether she is still alive. Whereas the male population who are often argued to be more biased will side with the villain. This is because of his gender and they may believe he has reformed. An example of a typical person who fits into my target audience Sameer, a 19 year old student who loves watching films that he can relate to.
I believe our film will attract audiences because of its genuine storyline. Our film does not star any “big stars” which audiences will queue up for the sake of seeing the so-called “star”. However due to the storyline and the natural breathtaking performances by the characters, our film will attract audiences. I believe our film is a typical British film due to its simplicity and honesty. The film will be able to associate with the audience as they may have been through a similar situation. Our main source of advertisement will be the internet. This is because it can reach out to a wide range of people, as the internet is the number one source for publicity. Posters, trailer, information and other forms of advertisement will be displayed on the official film website. A YouTube account has also been created to advertise the film featuring trailers, on shoot interviews and other promotional advertisements.
Source 3 shows an poster, which I created for “Once Upon A Kidnapper”
(Cannot Be Shown On Blogger Due To Technical Dificulties)
After the creation of “Once upon a Kidnapper”, I believe I have learnt more about technologies during constructing the film. Firstly is the use of camera and filming. When filming I learnt how to change the focus of the camera, how to playback footage etc. Secondly is the use of editing software’s such as Final Cut pro, Livetype and Soundtrack. After filming, we used the software Final Cut pro to edit the film. During the time I used this software I learnt how to “log and capture”, shorten clips, add effects etc. I used the software Livetype to add credits during the duration of the film. Whilst using this software I learnt how to change the font of the text, add effects and changing the colour of the text. I used the software Soundtrack to create a soundtrack for the film. When I was using this software I learnt how to add different, sounds, change the focus on certain sounds etc. as this was the first time I was using these software’s I believe I have learnt considerable which will be beneficial to my future projects. I also used the internet during the creation of my film. I had to blog information on the progress of my film on the blogger website. In addition, I had to upload the actual “Once upon a Kidnapper” film and the preliminary task.
Source 4 shows “Once upon a Kidnapper” on the blogger website.
Source Reference: http://thriller08group17.blogspot.com/
(Cannot Be Shown On Blogger, Click On Link (Source Reference) To View Source)
I believe that the preliminary task was beneficial for the creation of Once upon a Kidnapper. The preliminary task allowed the group to understand the use of match cutting. The preliminary task was a short scenario of a conversation between two characters. During the scenario many match cuts were done and a soundtrack was also added. During the task I learnt basic functions of a camera. During editing in the preliminary task it was at first difficult due to the fact that this was the first time in using the software (Final Cut pro). However when completing this task, i got to grips with the use of this software which allowed me to progress in making my actual film.
Source 5 shows a scene from the preliminary task
(Cannot Be Shown On Blogger Due To Technical Dificulties)
As part of my task I had to create a two minute opening to a film of thriller genre. I was in a group consisting of four students and we were given a dated deadline to complete the task. Before starting our task we studied related media texts such as openings of thriller films. Our main case study was that of the cult classic “The Shining”. The Shining is a 1980 thriller film directed by Stanley Kubrick, based on Stephen King's novel of the same name. Though not initially successful, the film has had status as a cult film for years. After watching this film I learnt many techniques after watching this film. Techniques such as camera angles and effects that will thrill the audience. I gained many influences from the film as we used flashback effects similar to the film. I believe we as a group benefited from watching this cult classic as it allowed us to discover conventions and themes of thriller films. Techniques such as filming in the rain supported our film. This is because the rain made the film seem more thrilling and signifies the importance of the kidnapping scene.
Source 1 shows an image of actor Jack Nicholson in the film “The Shining”
Source Reference: philzine.wordpress.com/.../
(Cannot Be Shown On Blogger, Click On Link (Source Reference) To View Source)
There are many ways my film represents particular social groups. As the villain is seen wearing what could be described as wearing “ghetto clothing”. This signifies a male from an deprived background may be stereotyped as living in the “slums of London”. The villain is of an Asian background which addresses the stereotype of ethnic minorities being the “hooded criminal”. The two other characters are also other ethnic origins. There are two scenarios of age being represented in the film. Firstly is that of teenagers. During the “past flashback” the characters were in their teenage years. This is presented with the two female characters playing on the swings. Also the villain is wearing “ghetto clothing” which is portrayed in many media texts in the interests of teenagers. Secondly during the “present day scene” the two remaining characters (kidnapper and friend of kidnapped girl) are seen wearing smart clothing or “worklike clothing”. This suggests that they are in the mature stages of their living years. This shows that they have grown and is a sense of “kidulthood to adulthood”.
I believe that “Once upon a Kidnapper” will be distributed via a small UK independent release. This means that it will be shown in a limited amount of screens across the nation. This is because I believe that are film was made for the passion of film making, not the so called “moneymaker hits”. Our film has a hard-hitting thrilling storyline, which will attract a certain number of audiences. If our film is genuinely a success on the screens then plans would be put forward for a DVD release. An example of a small UK independent film is the film “London to Brighton” which critics gave rave reviews.
Source 2 shows an image of the film “London to Brighton”
Source Reference: www.moviecritic.com.au/2008-04/
(Cannot Be Shown On Blogger, Click On Link (Source Reference) To View Source)
I believe the general target audience of the film will be that of the working class origin. This is because the deep-hearted thrilling storyline and genuine locations will appeal more to this audience as it is similar to their real life surroundings. The age I believe will be generally wide, from the age of 15 to the age of economically active people. The youth or teenager will be a strong target audience. This is because of the characters in the film. The behavior and general overall look of the villain can be associated with the youth due to common stereotypes of youths being “ASBOS”. The gender target audience is that of both male and female. This is because there are scenes during the film that will appeal more to the male population and scenes that will appeal more to the female population. The character of “Amy”, the friend kidnapped “Lucy” will appeal more to the female population. This is because females will wish she uncovers the truth behind her disappearance and whether she is still alive. Whereas the male population who are often argued to be more biased will side with the villain. This is because of his gender and they may believe he has reformed. An example of a typical person who fits into my target audience Sameer, a 19 year old student who loves watching films that he can relate to.
I believe our film will attract audiences because of its genuine storyline. Our film does not star any “big stars” which audiences will queue up for the sake of seeing the so-called “star”. However due to the storyline and the natural breathtaking performances by the characters, our film will attract audiences. I believe our film is a typical British film due to its simplicity and honesty. The film will be able to associate with the audience as they may have been through a similar situation. Our main source of advertisement will be the internet. This is because it can reach out to a wide range of people, as the internet is the number one source for publicity. Posters, trailer, information and other forms of advertisement will be displayed on the official film website. A YouTube account has also been created to advertise the film featuring trailers, on shoot interviews and other promotional advertisements.
Source 3 shows an poster, which I created for “Once Upon A Kidnapper”
(Cannot Be Shown On Blogger Due To Technical Dificulties)
After the creation of “Once upon a Kidnapper”, I believe I have learnt more about technologies during constructing the film. Firstly is the use of camera and filming. When filming I learnt how to change the focus of the camera, how to playback footage etc. Secondly is the use of editing software’s such as Final Cut pro, Livetype and Soundtrack. After filming, we used the software Final Cut pro to edit the film. During the time I used this software I learnt how to “log and capture”, shorten clips, add effects etc. I used the software Livetype to add credits during the duration of the film. Whilst using this software I learnt how to change the font of the text, add effects and changing the colour of the text. I used the software Soundtrack to create a soundtrack for the film. When I was using this software I learnt how to add different, sounds, change the focus on certain sounds etc. as this was the first time I was using these software’s I believe I have learnt considerable which will be beneficial to my future projects. I also used the internet during the creation of my film. I had to blog information on the progress of my film on the blogger website. In addition, I had to upload the actual “Once upon a Kidnapper” film and the preliminary task.
Source 4 shows “Once upon a Kidnapper” on the blogger website.
Source Reference: http://thriller08group17.blogspot.com/
(Cannot Be Shown On Blogger, Click On Link (Source Reference) To View Source)
I believe that the preliminary task was beneficial for the creation of Once upon a Kidnapper. The preliminary task allowed the group to understand the use of match cutting. The preliminary task was a short scenario of a conversation between two characters. During the scenario many match cuts were done and a soundtrack was also added. During the task I learnt basic functions of a camera. During editing in the preliminary task it was at first difficult due to the fact that this was the first time in using the software (Final Cut pro). However when completing this task, i got to grips with the use of this software which allowed me to progress in making my actual film.
Source 5 shows a scene from the preliminary task
(Cannot Be Shown On Blogger Due To Technical Dificulties)
Monday 6 April 2009
Thriller Evaluation
In this essay, I will be evaluating our filming project. I will examine what went well, which things could have been improved and what the audience thought about our film. The task was to make a thriller movie and we were instructed to go out and do some research on the thriller genre and also we were shown other openings of films so that we could get a good idea of what type of opening we should have to our film.
From watching the openings to thriller films, we found out that in quite a few films they were using little children in the first few minutes of the film. For example in ‘The Shining’ one of the central characters was a boy who is able to ghost were twin girls at first they seemed like normal children but at the end they turned out to be ghosts. The twin girls were aged about 11 and they audience were given clues that the girls where ghosts because most of the characters do not see them when they appear. However, a boy of roughly the same age can see them. When the girls appear, the boy sees bad things like a river of blood also he sees other dead people. The film maker all ways try to make little kids look venerable and that what we tried to do with our film even though we didn’t have kids but the actors tried to dress to look as young as possible.
Our product is aimed at young audience aged 17-26+ males and females. We have males and females in our film so both sexes can relate to our film. Teenagers often get kidnapped or assaulted. Females are often the target for criminals because they are vulnerable and also young females can be rape victims. There wasn’t any particular reason why we had an Asian girl as the victim but we used a girl to get kidnapped because girls are easy targets for a man to abduct. Ethnicity was not one of our criteria when we were casting. We kept to gender conventions by having a male abductor and a young female victim. We tried to make the victim look young by dressing her like a young girl. We did this because we thought that this made her a more likely target. Religion was not a consideration in our casting.
I think that our film has the ability to be distributed around the world because everyone likes thriller films. British films do not have a very large American audience so this makes wide distribution difficult. However, British films have a better European audience. Also, British films do not have a big budget for their films so the quality of the picture is not as good as in American films. For example ‘Donkey Punch’. In its opening weekend it was shown in two screens in the USA and it made $4,744. When it was shown in nine screens in Sweden it made 119,650 Euros and the in UK it was shown in 155 screens and made £144,953. They only had a budget of £500,000 however in Hollywood they have a minimum budget of $20million. If they had had more money for distribution it would have had more viewers. In order to find a buyer for our film, we could put a short trailer on the internet. We need to be careful to avoid losing the opportunity to sell the film. If the whole film were to be launched on the internet audiences would be able to see it without paying for a DVD or cinema ticket.
This film aimed at an audience of young adults of both genders but I think males will find it more interesting. It is for people who enjoy watching horror and thriller movies. Adam is an 18 year old, studying at university, who really loves to watch movies in his spare time. Adam likes horror movies because he says they are really exciting to see especially when the tension is built by the music playing and in some occasions changes the whole mood of the film. We tried to do that with our film. Adam finds it scary when the music goes all quiet and then there is a sudden outburst of music.
Our selling point will be having four very big stars which is a bit of a risk because if the film doesn’t do well we will lose a lot of money paying the actors. One of the actors is Brad Pitt; women love to see him on the big screen. We tried to pick celebrities that would attract women and men. The other two are Scarlett Johansson and Angelina Jolie; they are two of the sexiest women in Hollywood. We had to have one British star and that is Simon Pegg. We tried to get some American actors because we are trying to attract the American audience. Names like this are known around the world so we hope the film does well. Our main method of advertising would be on the internet. We would have some games that would be linked to the film and there would be trailers of the film on the television and internet.
Before our first project we thought that it would be easy to make a two minute film. When we learnt about all the rules of filming we realised that we were wrong. Filming is a complex process. For example we had to do the 180 degree rule and we could not use the zoom function on the camera. This meant that we had to do a long shot and then a medium shot and combine them using match cuts. Using Final Cut Pro was stressful because we had to make sure that all the shots changed smoothly. For example, we had some shots on the stairs and in one shot Shabaze was on the third step and when we tried to film from another angle we had to start it from him moving up to the fourth step. Sound Track was fun to use but it took too long to find the instrument that we wanted but I think that all our music sounded good. I liked the way it is possible to just pick one or more instruments and combine the beats in order to get a tune. Uploading the movie into the internet was easy but it took some time to upload into the blog.
What we did at the beginning of the year was a great help towards our final project because we had some ‘match cut’ practise at the beginning so that in our final piece we were able to use a lot of match cuts. The film making was difficult but it was fun and we found out that to make an effective film you need to make sure that all the little pieces are good; even just a little movement of the camera could make the film look bad. For example, we had a close-up of Precious; I moved the camera a little bit and it made the film look a bit cheap. Also, good music will make people want to continue watching. For example, there was one video that we watched which had one of the worst sounds we had ever heard. It was like a siren and everyone was holding their ears. No one wanted to continue watching the film. There was another video which had a good beat but it was not such a good video. However, people continued watching the film. Our story boards changed as we went along. The planning process was harder than the filming but because we had planned carefully we found the filming easy.
When we showed our film to the class, they liked it. They liked the black and white part of the film because it showed that it was a flash back and that’s what we wanted the audience to think. This was a very effective technique. The ‘bad guy’ of the film was dressed in a black ‘hoodie’ and the audience knew straight away that he was the villain. The change of music changed the mood of the film. For example, when Precious was ‘in present time’ the music is slow. When the film moves to the flash back the speed of the music changes; it became faster because they were in a playground having fun. Then, when the villain was getting close to them, the music became louder and faster. The rain made the film look better because it made it look like a dull day. This emphasised the mood that we wanted to create for a Thriller film.
In this essay, I will be evaluating our filming project. I will examine what went well, which things could have been improved and what the audience thought about our film. The task was to make a thriller movie and we were instructed to go out and do some research on the thriller genre and also we were shown other openings of films so that we could get a good idea of what type of opening we should have to our film.
From watching the openings to thriller films, we found out that in quite a few films they were using little children in the first few minutes of the film. For example in ‘The Shining’ one of the central characters was a boy who is able to ghost were twin girls at first they seemed like normal children but at the end they turned out to be ghosts. The twin girls were aged about 11 and they audience were given clues that the girls where ghosts because most of the characters do not see them when they appear. However, a boy of roughly the same age can see them. When the girls appear, the boy sees bad things like a river of blood also he sees other dead people. The film maker all ways try to make little kids look venerable and that what we tried to do with our film even though we didn’t have kids but the actors tried to dress to look as young as possible.
Our product is aimed at young audience aged 17-26+ males and females. We have males and females in our film so both sexes can relate to our film. Teenagers often get kidnapped or assaulted. Females are often the target for criminals because they are vulnerable and also young females can be rape victims. There wasn’t any particular reason why we had an Asian girl as the victim but we used a girl to get kidnapped because girls are easy targets for a man to abduct. Ethnicity was not one of our criteria when we were casting. We kept to gender conventions by having a male abductor and a young female victim. We tried to make the victim look young by dressing her like a young girl. We did this because we thought that this made her a more likely target. Religion was not a consideration in our casting.
I think that our film has the ability to be distributed around the world because everyone likes thriller films. British films do not have a very large American audience so this makes wide distribution difficult. However, British films have a better European audience. Also, British films do not have a big budget for their films so the quality of the picture is not as good as in American films. For example ‘Donkey Punch’. In its opening weekend it was shown in two screens in the USA and it made $4,744. When it was shown in nine screens in Sweden it made 119,650 Euros and the in UK it was shown in 155 screens and made £144,953. They only had a budget of £500,000 however in Hollywood they have a minimum budget of $20million. If they had had more money for distribution it would have had more viewers. In order to find a buyer for our film, we could put a short trailer on the internet. We need to be careful to avoid losing the opportunity to sell the film. If the whole film were to be launched on the internet audiences would be able to see it without paying for a DVD or cinema ticket.
This film aimed at an audience of young adults of both genders but I think males will find it more interesting. It is for people who enjoy watching horror and thriller movies. Adam is an 18 year old, studying at university, who really loves to watch movies in his spare time. Adam likes horror movies because he says they are really exciting to see especially when the tension is built by the music playing and in some occasions changes the whole mood of the film. We tried to do that with our film. Adam finds it scary when the music goes all quiet and then there is a sudden outburst of music.
Our selling point will be having four very big stars which is a bit of a risk because if the film doesn’t do well we will lose a lot of money paying the actors. One of the actors is Brad Pitt; women love to see him on the big screen. We tried to pick celebrities that would attract women and men. The other two are Scarlett Johansson and Angelina Jolie; they are two of the sexiest women in Hollywood. We had to have one British star and that is Simon Pegg. We tried to get some American actors because we are trying to attract the American audience. Names like this are known around the world so we hope the film does well. Our main method of advertising would be on the internet. We would have some games that would be linked to the film and there would be trailers of the film on the television and internet.
Before our first project we thought that it would be easy to make a two minute film. When we learnt about all the rules of filming we realised that we were wrong. Filming is a complex process. For example we had to do the 180 degree rule and we could not use the zoom function on the camera. This meant that we had to do a long shot and then a medium shot and combine them using match cuts. Using Final Cut Pro was stressful because we had to make sure that all the shots changed smoothly. For example, we had some shots on the stairs and in one shot Shabaze was on the third step and when we tried to film from another angle we had to start it from him moving up to the fourth step. Sound Track was fun to use but it took too long to find the instrument that we wanted but I think that all our music sounded good. I liked the way it is possible to just pick one or more instruments and combine the beats in order to get a tune. Uploading the movie into the internet was easy but it took some time to upload into the blog.
What we did at the beginning of the year was a great help towards our final project because we had some ‘match cut’ practise at the beginning so that in our final piece we were able to use a lot of match cuts. The film making was difficult but it was fun and we found out that to make an effective film you need to make sure that all the little pieces are good; even just a little movement of the camera could make the film look bad. For example, we had a close-up of Precious; I moved the camera a little bit and it made the film look a bit cheap. Also, good music will make people want to continue watching. For example, there was one video that we watched which had one of the worst sounds we had ever heard. It was like a siren and everyone was holding their ears. No one wanted to continue watching the film. There was another video which had a good beat but it was not such a good video. However, people continued watching the film. Our story boards changed as we went along. The planning process was harder than the filming but because we had planned carefully we found the filming easy.
When we showed our film to the class, they liked it. They liked the black and white part of the film because it showed that it was a flash back and that’s what we wanted the audience to think. This was a very effective technique. The ‘bad guy’ of the film was dressed in a black ‘hoodie’ and the audience knew straight away that he was the villain. The change of music changed the mood of the film. For example, when Precious was ‘in present time’ the music is slow. When the film moves to the flash back the speed of the music changes; it became faster because they were in a playground having fun. Then, when the villain was getting close to them, the music became louder and faster. The rain made the film look better because it made it look like a dull day. This emphasised the mood that we wanted to create for a Thriller film.
Tuesday 31 March 2009
For our project we wanted a location that is quite with swings a Children’s play area and we would like it if it was raining. We also where looking for a place where has some trees to make the area look dark and like something is going on to make scary. We wanted kid on the film because some thriller films have kids on their films they make you fill some type of attachment to them and something happens to them and you get scared. Also we wanted to edit some clips into black and white to show a flash back.
Aware first day going out filming didn’t go as planned. It started of good we had completed couple of good shots and as planned we had lots of ideas and as we went along more ideas stared to came. We wanted a scary location to start filming and we wanted something that was close to college and we thought of a park near a church the site was what we wanted. That day was raining it fitted with our films theme so we started filming and it came to 4 o’clock and than a park guard cam and he told us that it was closing time so we had to leave.
Second day filming was cold and but it was not raining like last time, we had to hold the umbrella to hide the camera which was hard to two things at once we did not want to use this shots because they were not too good. So we went back to the park and we started filming we shot the same angel more than once. Also we did more than we should off because after we filmed around the whole scene we did 360 degrees and then we remembered the 180 degree rule. We knew that it will be hard to edited the film as they are swinging because they kept changing their speed on the swing. Then we did some tracking and we took some time doing a shot where shabaze and Prassures cross on the road. We leant one thing from our previse filing days and that is you can never redo a shot to many times. So we tried to take 3 shots in every scene we have never did this much filming before every one was happy at the end of the day.
Today we are going to do the bus stop scene every was excited because today will be the last day filming. The day was great what we wanted, all the days that we went out filming went as we wanted. Before we went out filming we had to print a picture of Asia and Prassures so we can do the flash back of the film. We had some trouble with the busses and time we took one shot and the it came out good so wanted to take it again and it took too long for the buss to cam. At the end was relieved that we fished filming but we knew the hard work was still too came.
Today is the first day editing the movie we went to the media office and booked a camera to log and capture our film after we are finished log and capture our film we went through the videos and started to delete some videos that we did not need or don’t look good. Then we started edited the bus stop scene as we went along we were thinking of how to arrange the videos and we decided to put some of the bus stop scene at the begging and at the end in the middle we started to put the park scene.
Wednesday morning we went prepared for editing we had couple of ideas on how to put the order of the clips we started to put the film on order and then we thought that we was almost finished so we asked one of the media teachers to view our film and give us feedback on the film and they said that the villain of the film was hard unidentified and they suggested to go and do two more close up shots one of them was outside the park to show the flash back and the other one on the bus stop. Then we took back the camera back to the media office and decided to finish editing on Monday .
Me and shabaze met and then we went to the media room and took out the camera to log and capture our new shots of that we did the one in the bus stop and the park. We started to log and capture the new clips this made the film better for the audience they would now know how the bad guy is. We could not stay long because we had a lesson so we decide to meet up early in the morning we decide to be there before 9 o’clock I was the first one there so I took a computer and waited for shabaze to come.
Friday was the worst day so much pressure on me and shabaze the room was to hot and the were computer over crowded me and shabaze decide to finish the edit ding the film first. After that we went onto finishing the text that was hard we had to look at all the effects and check what we might go with our film and the other hard part was what to Wright and what to name the film we wanted to change the privies title we thought it was to bate. After this cam the music it was fun but it took us about 2 hours to fish a 2minte worth of music. But the final peace was really good even when we shoud it to the class they liked the music and the match cats also the editing. What made our day that day was writing FINIHED on the wall.
Aware first day going out filming didn’t go as planned. It started of good we had completed couple of good shots and as planned we had lots of ideas and as we went along more ideas stared to came. We wanted a scary location to start filming and we wanted something that was close to college and we thought of a park near a church the site was what we wanted. That day was raining it fitted with our films theme so we started filming and it came to 4 o’clock and than a park guard cam and he told us that it was closing time so we had to leave.
Second day filming was cold and but it was not raining like last time, we had to hold the umbrella to hide the camera which was hard to two things at once we did not want to use this shots because they were not too good. So we went back to the park and we started filming we shot the same angel more than once. Also we did more than we should off because after we filmed around the whole scene we did 360 degrees and then we remembered the 180 degree rule. We knew that it will be hard to edited the film as they are swinging because they kept changing their speed on the swing. Then we did some tracking and we took some time doing a shot where shabaze and Prassures cross on the road. We leant one thing from our previse filing days and that is you can never redo a shot to many times. So we tried to take 3 shots in every scene we have never did this much filming before every one was happy at the end of the day.
Today we are going to do the bus stop scene every was excited because today will be the last day filming. The day was great what we wanted, all the days that we went out filming went as we wanted. Before we went out filming we had to print a picture of Asia and Prassures so we can do the flash back of the film. We had some trouble with the busses and time we took one shot and the it came out good so wanted to take it again and it took too long for the buss to cam. At the end was relieved that we fished filming but we knew the hard work was still too came.
Today is the first day editing the movie we went to the media office and booked a camera to log and capture our film after we are finished log and capture our film we went through the videos and started to delete some videos that we did not need or don’t look good. Then we started edited the bus stop scene as we went along we were thinking of how to arrange the videos and we decided to put some of the bus stop scene at the begging and at the end in the middle we started to put the park scene.
Wednesday morning we went prepared for editing we had couple of ideas on how to put the order of the clips we started to put the film on order and then we thought that we was almost finished so we asked one of the media teachers to view our film and give us feedback on the film and they said that the villain of the film was hard unidentified and they suggested to go and do two more close up shots one of them was outside the park to show the flash back and the other one on the bus stop. Then we took back the camera back to the media office and decided to finish editing on Monday .
Me and shabaze met and then we went to the media room and took out the camera to log and capture our new shots of that we did the one in the bus stop and the park. We started to log and capture the new clips this made the film better for the audience they would now know how the bad guy is. We could not stay long because we had a lesson so we decide to meet up early in the morning we decide to be there before 9 o’clock I was the first one there so I took a computer and waited for shabaze to come.
Friday was the worst day so much pressure on me and shabaze the room was to hot and the were computer over crowded me and shabaze decide to finish the edit ding the film first. After that we went onto finishing the text that was hard we had to look at all the effects and check what we might go with our film and the other hard part was what to Wright and what to name the film we wanted to change the privies title we thought it was to bate. After this cam the music it was fun but it took us about 2 hours to fish a 2minte worth of music. But the final peace was really good even when we shoud it to the class they liked the music and the match cats also the editing. What made our day that day was writing FINIHED on the wall.
Sunday 29 March 2009
Once Upon A Kidnapper Hits The Vue Screen
On Thursday 17th March, the day was scheduled for our film "Once Upon A Kidnapper" which is a "PAST" production to be screened in Vue Cinema at the N1 Centre in Angel. I was really looking forward to this day as this is the day where we can rejoice at the making of our project. Also this was the chance to see other groups films so the day was to be "thriller packed" with films. I woke up early in the morning as the screening was scheduled at 09.15am. I made my way to the location full of excitement knowing my film will be shown on a cinema screen. We entered the cinema and sat at the front row. Everyone was full of excitement as the atmosphere was electric. I was watching several films from other groups and all films were received with positive responses. Then suddenly a familiar beat came and I realised that "Once Upon A Kidnapper" has hit the screen. This was a very proud moment for me and my group as all our hard work can be appreciated by being shown in such a respected cinema. Our film received rave cheers which immensely pleased. All films were shown and I believe all films were to a high standard. We exited the cinema full of happiness and joy.
Saturday 28 March 2009
Once Upon A Kidnapper Is Created On Deadline Day "Halllelujah"
It was Friday the deadline day. We had to complete the film today or our project would be deemed a failure. As the other two group members had no college and had other commitments me and other group member Tarek took the responsibility to complete the film. Tarek arrived to college before me and got a computer quickly to begin as there was heaps of other students trying to complete their. I arrived to college and both of us began editing. We first completed the storyboard of the film. I decided to change the name of the film from "Taken" to "Once Upon A Kidnapper". This is because the name "Taken" is a common name and many other groups also used this as a film. Also the name was that of a recently released film. The latter name I believe is a very different and edgey name due to the play of words. However we realised that our film was over the 2 minute margin. Due to this we began shortening the film by cutting out shots and shortening the length of clips. Then we used "desaturate" effect to make the clips of the "flashback" scene black and white. After this we were pleased with our storyboard. After this we began creating credits with the software "LiveType". This was a long and difficult task but we continued to create credits. Once we created the credits we added them to the storyboard. We then went for a well deserved break to refresh our self for what would be a challenging day. We returned from break continuing to fix up minor bits which we believed were not useful for the film. After this we had our last but major task of creating a soundtrack for the film. We used the software "Soundtrack Pro" to create the soundtrack. It was really difficult to make a soundtrack and we often had to start from scratch. However we finally completed the soundtrack and added it to our storyboard. We finally done it, we completed our film. We then uploaded our film to blogger as instructed. After this I went to the editing suite and wrote very boldly and large "FINISHED" on the sheet. It was official then our project was completed, "Once Upon A Kidnapper" was finally created. After all the hard work I was pleased that I was apart of creating such an interesting project.
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