Production

Pre Production

Over the holidays our teacher set us a homework task of thinking of an idea for our thriller film. I decided to choose a idea that involved some kind of monster for example Predator, the next thing i thought about was narrative, The narrative i chose was a group of students choose to go into the forest after hearing about ghost sightings, they enter unaware and taking the situation as a joke then they hear things and encounter a creature and begin to run as they approach the exit, the monster jumps on them and eats them. after i though of the narrative i chose a location, which was Forty Hill, I researched times that the forest will be available for the public. Then i checked for a road near forty hill where the boys could come from at the start of the film. This is a good idea of a thriller film narrative because it involves all the common thriller film conventions also it has an equilibrium, boys going into forest taking things lightly joking around, then encounter monster, chased by monster then sadly killed by monster.

In school we got our ideas together and we was put into groups for filming, then we came up with a final idea this storyline. The final storyline was similar to mine in the way, the student were being follow and stalked the final piece was called Gone, In this production a girl is being stalked and she is very aware she has a stalker after she reads a note she found on her pillow when she was awakened during the night due to the window being open, The note read 'Ive been watching you, we will meet soon' then the following night Sofie, the main character played by Hande is on her way home from a party, she is alone and vulnerable, she feels as if she is being watched and keeps looking back, we see the stalker but when she looks back the stalker played by Lyden is Gone then as she turn around to continue on home the stalker appears  in front of her and grabs her the film ends after we hear a scream.

We was told to put the title at the end of the opening scene to show the audience the Title and also to show this is the beginning of our thriller not the whole story, also to show this is a thriller with red colour and sharp, blood red font,we then sat down in our groups we then elected Tolu Barnes as Producer&Director, we then elected myself the role of Camera&Sound as we have the smallest group Hande Silay suggested she takes on the roles of Location&Lighting and also Make-up&Costume.

For my role i had to study and think about camera shots we would use in our production, I chose to use tracking, close ups, mid shots, two shots and other shots that showed to the audience the emotions the main character was going through.

After we had conducted our research for our production we then thought as a group to conduct a Questionnaire to find out what our target audience wanted and expected from an opening sequence from a thriller film. below is a copy of my questionnaire and the results we concluded.

Below is a copy of the questionnaire and the results.

Target Audience Appeal from Thriller Production Gone

1. Circle, which gender are you? Male Female

2. Which certificate do you prefer to watch in a thriller film?
   12        15        18

3. What interest you in watching a thriller film?   

Advertisements, Word Of Mouth, Reviews Posters

4.     What do you expect to see in a thriller film?
1. Murder/Death

2. Weapons, Violence

3. Victims/Hero’s

4. Typical Conventions like Lighting, Sound

5.     Would you like a fast paced Thriller or a Thriller you really need to pay attention too?

                 6.   What part of Thriller films do you prefer?

Chase scenes, Introduction of Characters, Attacking scenes,

Events leading to demise of victim, Narrative, Vengeance Emotions & cinematography.

7. What makes a thriller film in your opinion? Circle 3

Killing, soundtrack, cinematography, lighting, Narrative,       props, iconography or Location

8. What types of actors would you expect to see in a thriller film? E.g. Main character, Investigator

9. What type of setting do you think reflects a thriller theme?
   Outdoor         Graveyard     Creepy houseStreet             other

Here are the results we got from the questionaire

If Unable To Read Please Click Image To Enlarge, From these results me and my group then had the base line for our thriller film, we chose to base the film at two locations house and the street to hit both locations we looked at in our questionnaire insted of just the one.



From these results we also had come to see that our target audience prefers, attacking scenes/chasing scenes, we also concluded that our audience will like our thriller film if it contained violence and a female victim also. Another thing we concluded was that our audience would like alot of different cinematography used in this opening sequence.

Mise En Scene

Mise-en-Scene

Objective: To be able to show an understanding of how mise-en-scene is used to create meaning

Outcome:

All: will be able to explain one element of mise-en-scene

Most: will be able to identify the 5 elements of mise-en-scene with some examples

Some: Will be able to identify the 5 elements of mise-en-scene and will also be able to use media language effectively to explain examples

Mise-en-Scene (MeS) is a French term meaning ‘what is put into the scene or frame’. What is put into or left out of a frame can make a big difference to how we receive the film and how we are supposed to feel.

Starter:

Look at the following pictures. What assumptions can you make about the pictures and also the genre of the films? 

 In the forest image the forest is green, with a simple path and brightly lit up this sends an image to the audience that this place is a nice place to be, which tell the audience the genre of film could be a Fantasy or maybe a Rom-Com, the second image on the other hand has low key lighting, fog, its located in a Graveyard and the lighting is low key, also this graveyard appears to be abandoned this tells the audience the film is a Horror/Thriller genre of film.

A simple shot of a tree can be made to look threatening by stripping it of leaves, adding a vulture and some lightening and shooting it in the darkness. The same tree can be given a very different feel if it is green and leafy, has children playing around it and is shot on a bright sunny day.

As an experienced audience we are able to read these signals and make assumptions about the films narrative.

The elements of Mise-en-scene are an indicator of the genre of the film and as an audience we have expectations of the Mise-en-scene depending on the genre.

The elements within MES include;

1. setting and props
2. costume, hair and make-up
3. facial expressions and body language
4. lighting and colour
5. positioning of characters & objects within a frame

  SETTINGS & PROPS

Settings used in a film are rarely just backgrounds to the characters and sometimes we see settings with no action taking place. Filmmakers can choose to build a set from scratch in a studio. Alternatively a lot of time and effort is put in by a location manager to find a setting that already exists.

Props is the term given to objects in a scene and are usually used to help the narrative or to follow the generic conventions of a film.

  COSTUME, HAIR & MAKE-UP

Costume plays a large part because it can indicate a character’s personality, social status and job. It tells us when the film is set and in what culture.

MAKE-UP

Make-up in the early days of cinema was used to highlight facial features, as black and white film stock could not register detail very well. 

 

Facial Expressions & Body Language

Facial expressions are a clear indicator of how a person feels. The filmmaker may use a character’s eyes to draw our attention to something or a slight change in a character’s face can tell us something has happened.

Body Language also indicates how we are thinking and feeling. Everyone is different but we recognise common features such as shaking a fist means anger, or curling into a ball to protect ourselves.

·    Lighting

Lighting can help to give a scene a realistic look (high key) or a dramatic look (low key). It can also be used to highlight particular objects, characters or to change a character’s appearance.

·   POSITIONING OF CHARACTERS & OBJECTS WITHIN A FRAME

Positioning can indicate the importance of a person or object. If a character is positioned in the foreground we know to assume they have some importance in the scene. Also the positioning of objects can direct our attention to a particular area.

TASK 1:

Look at the following still images and analyse how mise-en-scene is used:

Positioning of Characters & Objects within a frame, in this image we can see one guy standing over the other guy. This shows that maybe the guy standing has a higher status or that he could be the leader or the boss so in other words he is the more powerful of the two guys, Setting and Props in this scene are Lock-up/Garage, old chairs, bins, pipes and guns these helps set the mood of the scene and show us the place is abandoned and something is about to happen. The lighting used in this image is called Choroscuro lighting or Top lighting  this type of lighting creates deep shadows over the man on the floor and the Man standing. these emphases the gangster image, High Key and Low key lighting combined makes Light and Dark areas in the scene. Facial Expressions in this image suggest the two men do not get along as they both have a facial expression suggesting anger or hatred, Costume, Hair & Make-up, both characters are in black suit and white shirts The costume emphasises a gangster theme. Also the use of blood on both the characters faces suggests they have been fighting each other.

Facial Expressions in this scene/image suggest she is angry, she looks as though she is ready to fight or she is analysing her opponents, Costume, Hair & Make-up, in this image shows the main character is in a yellow costume, Everyone else is in Black and white because of this the female character stands out to which she looks to be more dominate and higher than the others which also suggests she in more powerful and has the upper hand, this also suggests as everyone looks scared she could probably kill everyone there.
Lighting and colour used in this scene is Low Key lighting this creates the mood for the fight scene, Film Noir- shadows on one side of the woman's face this leaves the audience wondering if she is good or bad and if she has completely lost the old version of herself and become one of the bad guys in the search for vengeance.Positioning of Characters and Objects within a frame, the female character in this scene is positioned in the middle and is closer to the camera shot this enables the character to stand out and look bigger than everyone else in the frame, it also tells us that she could be the main character, Setting and Props in this scene suggests it is set in japan with sliding old wooden doors also tells us ins a gangsters hide away because of the amount of guys also that they have swords and are all fighting one person, another thing it shows is that the gangster is wealthy because the hide out if decorated nicely with  swords and armor on the wall.

Sound

Termanology words

• Sound Code- Phycho intro music is high pitched and carming, when curtain is pulled back we hear a sharp sound which tells us danger is gunna happen then the woman is attacked, after she is attacked we hear low music which tells us something bad has happened.
• Diegetic Sound- KidultHood, sound from the film world, door slams, dialog, footsteps all examples of diegetic sound.
• Non Diegetic Sound- Xmen, Music added on after filming, for example music to add effect or voice over narratives.
• Rythem- Charles Angels, Slow rythem, calms audience then will build up to emphasis the action happening in the scene, also adds tension.
• Silence- in any film silence is always used to create suspense and make the audience on edge and wanting to know more about the following scene.
• Voice Over Narration- Fight Club, when the main character is telling the audience about his past and how he got to this stage in the film, brings the audience up to date with the Narrative.
• Contraptional Sound- where the music the audience hears doesnt match the scene for example in Jaws we see a nice peaceful beach but we hear tension building music and the famous Jaws theme song, this does not match the pleasent scene and confuses the audience.

Lighting

Objective: to learn the film language used to describe lighting techniques and effects, analyse lighting techniques and their effects, using correct terminology

Outcomes
All: will be able to describe one style of lighting technique(E)
Most: will be able to identify 2-3 lighting styles and explain the purpose it has (C)
Some: will be able to identify the lighting style and will also be able to use media language effectively to describe the purpose it has (A)

Lighting
lighting helps to convey mood and atmosphere in a scene, it can also be used to guide the audiences attention to a particular object, person or gesture. lighting can also be used to cast shadows and build tension and suspense in a scene.

Key Lighting: is usually the brightest light and most influential.









Back lighting: helps to counter act the effect of the key light, making the character/object look more rounded









Filler light: helps to soften the harsh shadows that the other lights create, there maybe more than one filler light









Angles of lighting

 


Under Lighting- Is when the main source of light comes from below the subject. this tends to have a distorting effect on the characters or object that is being lit and is often used in Horror Films.








 

Top Lighting- is when the main source of lighting comes from above, highlight the features of a character- it can be used to create a glamours look in stars.






Types of Lighting

 

Low key: lighting is created by the use of back lights. this will produce a sharp contrast of light and dark areas on the screen and cause deep shadows to form, this effect is known as Chiaroscuro


 
High Key: is basically the opposite to Low Key, High Key lighting means that more filter lights are used. the term means lighting that appears more natural and realistic to our eyes. it can be used to describe lighting on brightly lit sets such as a recreated sunny day in the park, or to describe a more subtly-lit night time scene. although shadows will be produced to contrast is allot softer.



 HomeWork, Matrix Scene

Matrix scene, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arcJksDgCOU

In this scene we see low key lighting, back lighting and 3 point lighting

Low key lighting is used in this scene to create tension it makes everything seems dim and mysterious this makes the audience wonder what’s going on and makes them get more involved into the scene, back lighting is used when we have the 2 shot and we see Neo and Morpheus sitting down talking but they are silhouettes and the audience cannot see there features this creates suspense and shows us they are interacting lastly we see 3 point lighting used when Neo is presented with the choice of pills we see Morpheus’s  hands lit up this is what catches the audiences eyes and draw them to the pills also it helps get the audience involved in the scene and creates suspense. One other thing is the way we are presented with Neo and Morpheus, we can see Neo’s face clearly and his reactions/ facial expressions but Morpheus is slightly shaded showing he is a mysterious character in the situation this makes the audience feel as if Neo is the innocent person in the scene were as Morpheus is the negative darker side of the scene. Overall this scene has a dark and mysterious mood to it. These techniques are common to fantasy /sci-fi films because they help create suspense and tension also this also helps draw the audience into the narrative

Smart Shooting

Objective: To identify convectional shots to create a successful thriller films.

Generic Conventions for a thriller film
Tracking, Shadows, Handheld camera, Establishing shot, Costumes, Close ups, Haunted house, Tilt shot, Back lighting, Diegetic/Non diegetic music, Blood, Low key lighting, Wipe pan, Creaking Doors.

Halloween Resurrection part 1
- Handheld tracking-POV(point of view) making the audience feel involved
- Low key lighting, Diegetic sound used to create suspense.
-Close ups to show actors facial expressions
-Tracking following the character when shes getting chased
- Use of flashback, brings suspense to the audience, Point of view also used in chase scene puts the audience in the victims shoes, the camera also flicks back and forth behind the victim to bring tension to the audience
Location- Asylum, Uncomfortable location, unpredictable building suspense- slow movement, then the music increases tempo and becomes louder, this also creates tension and emphasises the thrill involved in the chase.




This film allowed my group to get a better understanding of a thriller film and to understand its conventions, In the opening scene of Halloween Resurrection there was a part that appealed to me and that was when

Laurie Strode ( Jamie Lee Curtis ) looks out of her window after the nurse has told her intern about the patients past involving in a murder they say to each other it was a load of make believe stories then as they walk out of the patients room you see the killer in his mask looking right at the window as if he heard what they were saying, i think this was conventional and suspense building as it sends a message right to the crowd that he is a murderer and has returned to see the patient Laurie Strode ( Jamie Lee Curtis ). Also these conventions were essential to my planning and I would like to use a murderer as one of my chacaters as i think that this would help to appeal to my target audience and also help to show the conventions of a thriller film.

Narrative Theory- Propps Theory

Lesson Objective- To be able to show an understanding of what narrative theory is.

Lesson Aims-
All will be able to describe the different points of the theory(E)
Most will be able to explain the different theories with appropriate examples(C)
Some will be able to use media language effectively to discuss the purpose of narrative theory with a variety of examples(A)

Narrative Convection's

-series of codes and convection that need to be considered
- Genre
-Characters
-Form
-Time

Vladimir Propp was a Russian critic that published his morphology of the Folk Tail in 1928 Characters according to Propp,  they have a narrative function that they provide a structure for the text.

Characters that perform a function.

The Hero- a character that seeks something.
The Villain- who opposes or actively blocks the hero's quest.
The Donor- who provides an object with magical properties
The Dispatches- who sends the hero on his/her quest Via a message.
 The False Hero- Who disrupts the hero's success by making false claims.
The Helper- who aides the hero in his quest.
The Princess- Acts as the reward for the hero and object of the villains Plots
He's Father- who acts to reward the Her for His efforts


Actions and Functions of the narrative.

Preparation
- a Community/Kingdom/Family is in an ordered state of being a member of the Community/Kingdom/Family leaves home a warning us given to the leaders if the community or a rule is imposed on the hero the warning is discounted the rule is broken the villain attempts to discover something about the victim of the broken rule, the villain tries to deceive the victim to gain advantage, the victim unwillingly helps the villain.