We are in a predicament because we have found out that Mike, our protagonist, is going away on holiday on the 13th of december which means we will only have a week, starting from today, to film all of our footage. Also, by this time we will also have to complete our storyboards because they will have to be completed by the time we start filming.
Thursday, 6 December 2012
Thursday, 29 November 2012
Our group's Individual roles
Me: Directing, Editing (Main editor), Cinematography
The decision to make me director was entirely based on my experience with a camera- I have made several amateur short videos. Also, we decided that i would be the main editor because of my knowledge of the editing software Final cut pro x. My last role is a joint one with Mike, we will work together on the cinematography aspect of the sequence, due to us both having creative minds.
The decision to make me director was entirely based on my experience with a camera- I have made several amateur short videos. Also, we decided that i would be the main editor because of my knowledge of the editing software Final cut pro x. My last role is a joint one with Mike, we will work together on the cinematography aspect of the sequence, due to us both having creative minds.
Josh: Acting (Antagonist), Editing, Sound, Mise-En-Scene
We chose Josh as the antagonist because his appearance matches the character he is playing very well. Also, Josh is confident in front of the camera. As a group, we nominated Josh to help out with the editing and Mise-en-scene entirely due to his competence and interest in it. Additionally, Josh is in charge of sound because he knows where to find appropriate sounds and music that will suit our sequence.
We chose Josh as the antagonist because his appearance matches the character he is playing very well. Also, Josh is confident in front of the camera. As a group, we nominated Josh to help out with the editing and Mise-en-scene entirely due to his competence and interest in it. Additionally, Josh is in charge of sound because he knows where to find appropriate sounds and music that will suit our sequence.
Matt: Acting, Sound, Cinematography
We needed a character that would be in front of the camera for one scene and Matt seemed up for the job, he is going to help out with sound and cinematography because he has done lengthy research on sound techniques and his influence from behind the camera will be very helpful to me.
We needed a character that would be in front of the camera for one scene and Matt seemed up for the job, he is going to help out with sound and cinematography because he has done lengthy research on sound techniques and his influence from behind the camera will be very helpful to me.
Mike: Acting (Protagonist), Editing, Location, Setting, Mise-En-Scene
Mike seemed very enthusiastic to be the main character (protagonist) and he has great confidence and good acting skills. He also is in charge of location and setting because he knows some good areas around where he lives to film. Moreover, we are filing two scenes in and just around his house. He is also helping with Mise-en-scene because he has researched into it.
Monday, 26 November 2012
Blanc - AS Media Thriller- pro's and con's
Pro's
I like this sequence because of the saturation of the lighting and how there is a lot of shadow, it makes the sequence seem ominous and the quality of it looks professional. Also, i think the blurred filter that is applied when the character is shown waking up is effective because it reflects the characters confusion and the fact that he's just had a scary bizarre dream.
Con's
Firstly, i think the slow motion shots of the character throwing a rock in the air and him running across the terrain are cheesy and unneeded. Also, the chase looks unprofessional and no real tension is created.
The cuts aren't quick enough to make the chase exciting.
Sunday, 25 November 2012
How we are going to target our audience
TARGET AUDIENCE RESEARCH
We spoke to a range of people who we thought would be our target audience, these including media teachers, family, and friends, male and female, who we knew were media literate and some who weren't.
We had a conversation with media teachers because we were confident that we would get a reliable and effective answer, due to them having great knowledge in the subject.
Alternatively, we spoke to people with limited knowledge in media because we knew that not everybody who watches thriller movies are media experts. Therefore we looked to get an array of answer so we can infuse them and target our audience successfully.
We decided to target people of both gender so we can identify which elements of a thriller males like and then which females like. As a result, getting broad answers.
We spoke to a range of people who we thought would be our target audience, these including media teachers, family, and friends, male and female, who we knew were media literate and some who weren't.
We had a conversation with media teachers because we were confident that we would get a reliable and effective answer, due to them having great knowledge in the subject.
Alternatively, we spoke to people with limited knowledge in media because we knew that not everybody who watches thriller movies are media experts. Therefore we looked to get an array of answer so we can infuse them and target our audience successfully.
We decided to target people of both gender so we can identify which elements of a thriller males like and then which females like. As a result, getting broad answers.
We asked questions such as:
What is your favourite thriller? And why?
What thriller film do you dislike? And why?
What element of a thriller do you find most engaging?
Example 1 - During a discussion with a media teacher, he told us that his favourite thriller is the prestige because he liked the concept of the plot and how it created an enigma from the first scene onwards, also he said that the fact that nothing much is revealed in the early stages of the film it engrossed him in the movie and he wanted to watch it to the end to find out what happens.
We took this answer on board because we knew that the teacher had a lot of knowledge of thriller movies and he knew what would make a thriller effective. So the first thing we discussed after receiving this answer was how to adapt an enigma into our opening sequence
Example 2 - Whilst speaking to my family about what their favourite thriller was and what made them like it, they told me that Man on Fire was an extraordinary film because of the amount of emotion and realism there was in it and also how the characters were represented, e.g the young girl.
Through the questions we asked, we understood that our audience would like to see potent representations of characters and would like to be affected by what they are watching. Therefore, we knew we had to avoid applying anything that would bore our audience.
Example 3 - I spoke to a few of my friends, who are male, and asked them what thriller does they least like and why. they told me that they didn't enjoy panic room because it was filmed in only one location and that it didn't have much action, which caused it to drag on and get boring. Also, they said that the ending was poor and too stereotypical and expected.
Through these answers, we established that our target audience would be predominantly male because our sequence contains several locations, tense action and an enigmatic ending that the audience wouldn't expect. We discussed that our sequence would be too heavy-going and maybe too scary for a female audience, we found out that women prefer thrillers which are emotional.
Age Certificate research
Pulp Fiction: 18
Dark Knight: 12A
Inception:12A
Goodfellas: 18
The usual suspects: 18
Se7en: 18
Silence of the lambs: 18
Leon: 18
Memento: 15
Terminator 2: 15
The departed: 18
Through this and much more other research that we did, we discovered that most of the successful thriller films are rated 18, and the least successful obviously PG and 12A, however Dark Knight and Inception are amongst the top 5 and they are rated 12A. But that just depends on what is actually shown in the film
We thought about our plot, how it can be quite heavy-going and scary at times and we decided that our film should definitely be higher that '12', but lower than '18' because no deaths or sexual scenes are shown. Our film will have an age certificate of '15'
What element of a thriller do you find most engaging?
Example 1 - During a discussion with a media teacher, he told us that his favourite thriller is the prestige because he liked the concept of the plot and how it created an enigma from the first scene onwards, also he said that the fact that nothing much is revealed in the early stages of the film it engrossed him in the movie and he wanted to watch it to the end to find out what happens.
We took this answer on board because we knew that the teacher had a lot of knowledge of thriller movies and he knew what would make a thriller effective. So the first thing we discussed after receiving this answer was how to adapt an enigma into our opening sequence
Example 2 - Whilst speaking to my family about what their favourite thriller was and what made them like it, they told me that Man on Fire was an extraordinary film because of the amount of emotion and realism there was in it and also how the characters were represented, e.g the young girl.
Through the questions we asked, we understood that our audience would like to see potent representations of characters and would like to be affected by what they are watching. Therefore, we knew we had to avoid applying anything that would bore our audience.
Example 3 - I spoke to a few of my friends, who are male, and asked them what thriller does they least like and why. they told me that they didn't enjoy panic room because it was filmed in only one location and that it didn't have much action, which caused it to drag on and get boring. Also, they said that the ending was poor and too stereotypical and expected.
Through these answers, we established that our target audience would be predominantly male because our sequence contains several locations, tense action and an enigmatic ending that the audience wouldn't expect. We discussed that our sequence would be too heavy-going and maybe too scary for a female audience, we found out that women prefer thrillers which are emotional.
Age Certificate research
Pulp Fiction: 18
Dark Knight: 12A
Inception:12A
Goodfellas: 18
The usual suspects: 18
Se7en: 18
Silence of the lambs: 18
Leon: 18
Memento: 15
Terminator 2: 15
The departed: 18
Through this and much more other research that we did, we discovered that most of the successful thriller films are rated 18, and the least successful obviously PG and 12A, however Dark Knight and Inception are amongst the top 5 and they are rated 12A. But that just depends on what is actually shown in the film
We thought about our plot, how it can be quite heavy-going and scary at times and we decided that our film should definitely be higher that '12', but lower than '18' because no deaths or sexual scenes are shown. Our film will have an age certificate of '15'
Revisions after receiving feedback
After receiving feedback, we found that most of it was positive. However, with the useful criticism we were given, we took it on board to make our opening sequence better:
- After receiving constructive criticism on behalf of the clarity of the opening sequence, we had a group discussion and we said that we are going to show more continuity in our scenes instead of just showing a 5-10 second shot of a character in different locations, we concluded that this would be too random and confusing.
- Also, we talked about how we didn't make clear how our titles will appear and when. So we came up with the idea of integrating our titles into the actual footage by fading them onto the corners of the screen, which will portray and link in with the idea of the enigmatic character being spotted in the corners and edges of the frame. We thought that would be effective and emphasise the mysteriousness of the opening sequence and also give us more time to show actual footage instead of applying the titles on a boring background.
Audience Feedback after delivering the pitch
Questionnaire
What is your favourite feature of our opening sequence and why?
Is there anything you doubt will work?
Does our idea sound appropriate to the genre and why?
What about our idea sounds engaging to the audience?
What would you change?
Do you think it will make sense in the 2-minute time frame given?
Audience's favourite features:
- The 'hostage' narration
- Intriguing film title
- Several shots of the hostage seeing this mysterious character in different locations
Did the audience think the idea was appropriate to the genre:
- Yes, appropriate conventions. For example, the idea of an enigma
What ideas sound engaging:
- The psychological elements
- Unanswered questions
- Voiceover
Will it make sense in 2 minutes:
- Yes, work hard to make it comprehensive and not too confusing
"Is there anything you doubt will work?"
One group said that a lot of work will have to be put in to make it comprehensive and another said that the shots of the protagonists face may be unclear and repetitive. Also, someone asked how our kidnap would look real.
"What would you change?"
One group said not to show too much walking around and another group weren't sure about how the titles will be presented and that we made that factor unclear.
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