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.

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.

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.

Thursday Lunch Time Workshop>> Deadline Day Looming

On a Thursday me and group member Tarek decided to use the media studies editing suite to continue working on our project. We met each other in the canteen and made our way to the media studies office to collect our video drive. We went to the editing suite and began editing. We first "logged and captured" the new close up shots. We added these shots to the film. This made the film more realistic as the audience and Amy would be able to identify the villain. We finished this and decided to call it a day. We agreed to come the following day (deadline day) to finish our film.

Finally Filming Is Finished (Reposted due to previous post not having my name)

On a Wednesday we had a morning media studies lesson. This was the day of our filming for the "bus stop" scene. I came to college with my attire as I will be starring in the scene. All group members arrived in the classroom. The other character in the scene Amy played by group member Precious also brought her attire as she will also be starring in the film. Before going to our location, we had to print a mini photo of Amy and Lucy to use as an prop. We done this and made our way to our location which as an nearby bus stop. We began filming and everything was going to plan, surprisingly even the weather. All members of the group participated in filming some footage. We finished filming and we were all rejoicing the fact that filming is finished. We returned to college to return the filming equipment. Even though we were happy, we knew that now the real work is about to begin with editing .

Editing Continues And New Close Up Shots

On a Wednesday we had a media studies lesson which we used to carry on with our editing. We got our equipment from the media studies office. We entered the editing suite and began editing. We linked shots together and we were really pleased with our match cutting shots. We showed our media studies teacher our progress. He pointed out the fact that there is no close up shots of the villian which will make it difficult for the audience to recognise the villian and will make it rather unrealisitic that Amy recognises the villian during the "bus stop" scene. After the media studies lesson finished me and my group member Tarek decided to shoot close up shots of the villian played by me. We booked the filming equipment and went to both locations which didn't seem a problem as both location were near each other. We finished both close up shots and returned to college pleased that due to the new shots our film would seem more realistic.

The Hard Work Begins

We returned from our half term break fully aware that the deadline for our project was imminent. On a Monday we came to our usual afternoon media studies lesson. I booked a video camera and took our videotape and video drive to the editing suite. We began to " log and capture" the bus stop scene in to the video drive. We also discussed several ideas in what effects to add and what clips to use. We picked out our best film clips to use in the film. We finished the "log and capture" of the "bus stop" scene. We also done some editing to a a certain extent. Our media studies lesson finished and I returned the equipment back to the media studies office. We would carry on editing in our next media studies lesson with deadline day looming.

Finally Filming Is Finished

On a Wednesday we had a morning media studies lesson. This was the day of our filming for the "bus stop" scene. I came to college with my attire as I will be starring in the scene. All group members arrived in the classroom. The other character in the scene Amy played by group member Precious also brought her attire as she will also be starring in the film. Before going to our location, we had to print a mini photo of Amy and Lucy to use as an prop. We done this and made our way to our location which as an nearby bus stop. We began filming and everything was going to plan, surprisingly even the weather. All members of the group participated in filming some footage. We finished filming and we were all rejoicing the fact that filming is finished. We returned to college to return the filming equipment. Even though we were happy, we knew that now the real work is about to begin with editing .

Postponed Filming To Start Editing

After the snow week fiasco we came to college on Monday 10th February. Instead of filming we decided to begin editing. This was due to the fact that starting to edit would be more practical. This is because it was an afternoon lesson and the setting was to be of daylight. Also as we have a longer media studies lesson on a Wednesday and it starts in the morning, we believed that filming would seem more practical on this day. I booked a video camera and took our videotape to the editing suite. We started to "log and capture" the clips to store them on our video drive. We finished this task and we prepared for the filming lesson by discussing the agenda of that day. We finished discussing and shortly after I returned the video camera and videotape to the media office.

Disruption Due To "Snow Week"

On Monday 2nd February our filming was due to take place. I received a phone call from group member Precious instructing me to bring "business like" attire for the "bus stop" scene. After receiving this call I prepared my attire for the scene. However severe weather conditions caused public transport to close. I later received a text message later in the morning from the college saying that college will be closed due to adverse weather conditions. Another text message was received later in the day saying college will be closed the following day. We returned to college on Wednesday with weather still being a cause for concern. I came to college with my attire. However due to dangerous weather conditions our teacher advised us to postpone filming. We agreed and instead we planned our agenda for when we film.

Rain Works In Our Advantage

On Wednesday 28th January was the day of re-filming the flashback scene from the film. As stated on the previous post, filming received a huge setback as the filming location "church park" was being closed during filming. The weather was really miserable as it was earlier pouring with rain but I believe it worked to our advantage because of the content of the scene. As filming will be done in the morning, there will be no problem with time. I decided to change my costume, rather than wearing tracksuit bottoms, I decided to wear "street style" jeans which I believe will portray the villain more clearly. All members of the group arrived in the media studies classroom. We had a quick discussion about the agenda. I booked the filming equipment using my media studies card. We gathered the equipment and made our way to the location. The two female characters were already in their attire. I was also already in my costume but I received a black leather jacket from my group member Tarek to complete my "villain like" look. We began filming and as filming was progressing, the group was pleased with filming but not the weather. All members of the group done some filming to an extent. We finished filming the flashback scene and packed up our equipment and headed back to college. We were really pleased with our footage and made plans for the next scene of filming.

Setback On First Day Of Filming

On Monday 26th January in a media studies lesson our group were prepared to shoot the flashback scene of our thriller film. We agreed a plan for shooting a week beforehand on a Wednesday media studies lesson. For costume I had to bring tracksuit bottoms and "street style" trainers for use in the film. My group member Precious booked the filming equipment using her media card. Our location was a nearby park known amongst people as the "church park". The two other female characters chose to wear "kiddish costumes" to portray their youthful age. All equipment was gathered and we reached our location. We began filming scenes of the two female characters, Amy and Lucy playing on the swings. As filming was progressing I replayed the shots and believed they were to a high standard. However the unthinkable occurred which shocked the whole group. The park keeper came to tell us the park is being closed. The group had no idea that the park has closure times and I personally believed the park was open 24/7. We were told to pack our filming equipment and leave the park. We accepted the park keepers request and decided to head back to college to return the filming equipment. We returned to college and gave the camera equipment. We decided to start from scratch with the filming as there would be a problem with continuity e.g weather. We would start filming on the next media studies lesson.

Media- Thriller Evaluation

As an AS Media task we were given the opportunity to create a short two minute thriller opening to a film. The brief was that it had to have thriller themes which were fast pacing, frequent action, suspense and cliff-hangers. All of this combined with an appropriate soundtrack self-made to accompany the thriller opening.

In order to get a full understanding of thriller movies we were required to watch parts of thriller films, which had the thriller conventions. These conventions included heart-racing scenes, a build up of tension, a change in atmosphere, turning the audience into investigators, edgy scenes and building up expectations. In addition, in a typical thriller movie there is always that certain character with a dodgy personality that helps it be listed as a thriller. For instance, the father in The Shining, the Joker from The Dark Knight or even the Hutu militants in Hotel Rwanda. All these characters play a vital role of violence, torture and often a mysterious being. All these conventions were considered and applied to our thriller opening scene. For example, the flashback in the thriller was fast pacing and included jumpy scenes, this created tension and anxiety. The part in which one of the characters witnesses the kidnap creates suspense as it is not shown to the audience. The kidnapper takes the role of that stereo-typical character alerting the audience that something bad happens in his presence. The soundtrack in the thriller creates pace, builds up atmosphere and tension and acts as a guide to the audience alerting them when all the peak scenes are screening.

The characters in the film stereo-type reality. To begin with, the two young girls are aged 15 and have woolly hats and scarves to suit the weather. They’ve got bags with them and are dressed casually. When making the film we tried to copy how girls would dress and who’d what they’d carry. We emphasised on their age by placing them in a park by the swings having fun and laughing. Both characters were non-white which helped the audience into thinking that the film was placed in London due to the ethnic diversity. Also, the asian kidnapper aged in his late teens wore a black hooded jacket with a scruffy appearance. This represented youth in society today showing that they are up to no good and always cause trouble. All these characters seemed to have come from a working class family as they are well dressed and appear healthy. Furthermore, the fact that a black woman and asian man are wearing suits indicates that they have a well-paid job highlighting the development in society and class showing that not only white people have well-paid jobs and live wealthy.

As our thriller film doesn’t include any big explosions or stunts, I think that it would be better if it were to be a small independent release showing in UK cinemas then moving onto television. To promote the film, posters and billboards advertising the film would be placed around the UK which would grab the audience’s attention by visually alerting them about this new must watch film. Plus, it would be advertised on socialising websites such as MySpace and Facebook. When being viewed on television, I think that it would be scheduled as an after 9.00pm film on Channel4. This is because the film may include scenes of violence which would not be appropriate for young children to watch. I also think that as Channel4 is widely watched by people of all age, race, class and gender it would be viewed by more viewers than if it was watched on ITV.

Once upon a Kidnap is a film targeted at people of 15+. I think that mainly young people of ethnic backgrounds would watch it predominantly because they would be able to relate to the characters in the film due to race and class. An ideal viewer would be for example, Markus- 18, mixed race, lives in East London, works in a music store, enjoys watches movies, self-admits to buying pirate DVDs, smokes, goes clubbing, casual dress sense, Nike, Adidas and Reebok, in further education. The thing that will specifically appeal to Markus is the urban location, the fact that crime is a major issue already in his neighbour hood and the diverse ethnicity.

Making any film requires good quality filming equipment. In order to create our thriller openings we used Canon cameras for filming and Apple Mac computers with Final Cut Pro to edit the film. I helped with a bit of everything but found myself better at using Final Cut Pro to edit. I found myself being more creative and coming up with good ideas when editing for instance, in the match-cut task when the two actors are exchanging the documents the angles change from an over the shoulder shot to a medium shot. Using the cameras was a slight hassle for me as I had problems with panning because I seemed to always go too slow or too fast cropping out the actor in the scene. I dealt with this issue by having practice panning people walking on the street. I then got the hang of it and produced some good panning shots like when one of the actors exits the park. As part of the course work, we were required to frequently blog on our individual group blogging accounts. We had to write about each task we were given for instance, the newspaper task (filming and editing), analysing thriller clips, the preliminary task (filming and editing) and planning and pitching our final thriller. We also had to upload each practical task we were given onto our blogging accounts which made it possible to be viewed by fellow class members. By doing this, the internet widened the potential audience for our product.

Before making the final thriller opening, we were given two tasks to complete. This included the news paper task and the preliminary task. These tasks allowed us to get a hang of the technical equipment and make mistakes only to improve them. By doing these tasks, I learnt that it is vital to plan and prepare your self before filming. I learnt that storyboards are important as a guide when filming because they help keep a track of what to film. On Final Cut Pro I leant how to input in and out points from a scene then drag it along the timeline to add any effects, text or music. I also leant how to change the colour of the film making it black and white. I realized that when filming things may not go to plan but we have to make use of what we get and make the most of it. I discovered whilst filming for the newspaper task footage may not be recorded due to faulty tapes however, making the most of what you’ve got is better than nothing. Both practice tasks helped the group a lot with creating the final thriller film. Everyone’s experiences and hard work put together produced a well-made thriller.

Monday after the deadline

The Monday after the deadline I saw two of the group members who were meant to add the final touches on Friday and asked them whether they had completed it. They said that everything was finished from soundtrack to credits and that they had changed the title to ‘Once upon a Kidnapper’. I was happy with everyone’s hard work and input and couldn’t wait to see our thriller finally finished.

Thurday afternoon- final touches

Thursday afternoon in my photography lesson the internet on the computers wasn’t working so I asked my teacher if I could go and do my media coursework as the dead line was TOMORROW! He said that was fine so I took off for the Mac computer room and again discovered the room filled with media students working on their films. I stuck around for a bit and saw that the teacher instructed some students to leave as they had been using the computers for a long period time and that it was not fair on others. I jumped for the chance to use the computer and called up my group member and asked her to meet me in the media computer room. I started without her and began to add text and add some transitions. When she had arrived we came up with a title for the film which was ‘Taken’. We did some more editing and decided that the other group members would have to finish it off as we had no college on Fridays. The other members said that this was fine so we left as the day was ending.

Lunch time Workshop

At lunch time, workshop was completely cramped with media groups editing their films and groups waiting to use the Mac computers. I felt as there was no hope to access a computer and left. Later on that day I saw a member of my group who told me that he and another member had been able to access a Mac computer and did as much editing as possible. Hearing this took a load off my shoulders making me sigh in relief.

Editing the lesson after the second half of the filming

The lesson after the second half of the filming involved me and my group uploading all the footage and sorting them out into the flashback scenes and the present scenes. We also renamed them so it was easier for us to identify and locate. We began to put footage together deciding which shots we were to use and how the shots will blend together for instance, using a dissolve transition. As the time grew closer to the end of the lesson we panicked knowing that the deadline was a few days away and said we were to meet up at workshop to continue with editing.