A teenage girl is sitting at home alone, watching TV downstairs, when she hears peculiar noises and creaks coming from upstairs. She goes upstairs into every room to see where this sound is coming from. She checks every possible room and every possible hiding place yet sees noone. She continues hearing footsteps and decides to call her friend who lives around the corner. Girl: 'I think someone is in my house, I'm hearing noises upstairs but when I went to check, nobody was there' Friend: 'Why don't you come to my house and you can stay here for the night, however, leave the phone off the hook incase I hear something' Girl puts phone down on the table, off the reciever. She walks out the front door making sure she locks it and then runs to her friends house down the road. Just as her friend sees her running to his house from his bedroom window he hears the phone on the other line put back on the reciever.
We've already been allocated our groups and I am workin with two of my very good friends: Charlotte Cooper and Loren Dodi. This will definitely help cominucation throughout this coursework yet may also cause many distractions and irrelevant conversations! We are all pretty keen media students and know when to get serious with work so I reckon shooting an opening sequence of a horror film will be an amazing experience and we'll do a pretty good job of it! Our first test shoot was on Monday 24th November. We met up at my house at 13.00 and finished shooting at 19.00 (with breaks inbetween) The test shoot was extremely useful and gave us starting confidence to shoot the real thing. After watching and reflecting back on the sequence, I realised there are many things I should take into consideration for the real shoot. Reflections on the sequence are on the group blog. The test shoot overall went very well; We accomplished what we were set to do and furthermore, discovered which shots worked well and which ones worked not so well. Because Charlotte and Loren are two of my very good friends, we did get distracted quicly and very often which made the test shoot finish later than expected. As a result we have decided that in the real shoot we are going to have an hour break where we can talk all we want after every two solid hours of media!
Please keep up with your Stage 1 posting Nisha - you need to show how the project is developing from your own perspective.No evidence for this so far on this blog. Try to avoid long-ish gaps between posts.
Please see the main blog posts for advice on how to proceed with your individual blog if you're not sure what you should be doing.Your evaluation and continuity sequence link? What's going on?
This opening sequence is one of the best I've ever seen. A spine-chilling, engaging sequence which follows the conventions of a horror opening sequence, yet is individual by not following the Todorev classic narrative theory. The sequence starts with a low establishing shot of a corridor. At the far end of the shot we see a girl running up the stairs in a skirt and a shirt,(portraying she may be school child) as if she may have just heard a noise. As she walks towards the puddle of water (in the foreground of the shot) her pace slows down, implying to the audience something mysterious is about to occur. The reaction shot really involves the audience as we know exactly how the girl is feeling. The close up of the door knob creates impact and emphasises on the dripping water. This is an enigma shot as the audience urge to know what is on the other side of the door. We are then taken into a long shot of the inside of the room, the audience are not yet sure whether this is her own room or someone elses. We hear a high pitched scream and a cut away to what the girl is looking at - a black and white fuzzy TV screen. The camera then zooms into the girls' shocked face, allowing the audience to empathise with her. CHARACTER ANALYSIS The girl is a blonde and looks innocent, making her look vulnerable and naive. She is dressed in a short skirt and an untucked shirt which gives the audience the impression she is a laid back, unorganised girl. Her nails are long and painted implying she is a 'girly-girl.' This allows the audience to sympathise with her as we believe she isn't the type of girl who will be able to defend herself. SOUND There is no soundtrack until 0.36 seconds into the sequence. This creates maximum impact on the diegetic sound in the shot. For example, the running up the stairs, and drip sound of the water are made audible and sound more primitive because of the deadly silence. The screeching of the TV stands in stark contrast to the deadly silence in the previous shots, giving the audience a suprised shock. The soundtrack then starts at 0.36 - the instument is a xylophone, paired with a more primitive string instrument which gradually seems to dominate the sountrack.
The colour theme of the 'Legally Blonde' DVD cover is blue and pink. The pink connotes girly, feminine and pretty. The blue and pink together are subtle and is 'easy going' (as blue connotes calmness) The main character is in the foreground, bigger than anything else in the image. She stands out as she is dressed differently and brightly in comparison to the people in the background. The protagonists in the back are insignificant and small. Creating all focus on Reese Witherspoon. They stand looking shocked (the girl looking jealous) in the background as she walks towards something the audience can not see: anchoring the slogan. 'Boldly goes where no blonde has gone.' Witherspoon is in her own world, ignoring the looks from other characters, showing she is determined to achieve whatever she wants. The university in the far back,clothing styles and the folders in Witherspoons' hand promises the audience that this is based at a university. Therfore, the target audience is teenage girls (maybe slightly older) as it gives the younger girls an inspirational character to look up to and the older girls something to refer back to - there uni days! 'Legally Blonde' is quite an anti climax title. 'Legally' suggest the film is based around law, and the 'Blonde' portrays clumsyness, glamourous and pretty. The words together suggest that it is adequate and achievable to be Blonde and clever! In the bottom right corner 'Two thumbs up!' emphazies on how good this film must be! It shows that the movie must be a good film. Reece Witherspoon is a well known actress with many fans, therefore having her name on the front cover will help sell the film. The back of the cover gives a small synopsis on the film. A few of the main characters are portrayed in snap shots, making the cover seem interesting and fun. 'A feel good girl power comedy!' is a valued judgement which promises the target audience that it will be funny. Witherspoons' boyfriend in one of the snap shots shows that the movie is a chickflick/romcom. On the left is an image of Witherspoon, surrounded by books and her dog. At the bottom of the back cover is a 'Special features' banner which reads everything that is included in the DVD. Such as, deleted scenes. This makes the audience think they are getting more than just what they want and therefore are encouraged to buy it. The pink and blue matches with the front of the cover. A DVD cover needs to stand out and draw in the target audience. It needs to give away the main best selling points in oder to encourage the consumer to buy the DVD. Overall, I think this DVD cover engages with the target audience very well and is extremely intriguing. I would and have already bought it!
Our preliminary exercise was a continuity task involving filming and editing a character openening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom she/he then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. This task should demonstrate match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180 degree rule.
1) Who did you work with and how did you manage the tast between you? My group consisted of five people: Jack, Bisma, Charlotte, Mary and myself. We decided the most sufficient way of of accomplishing this task was to manage it between us. In order for each of us to benefit from this practical we took turns in the different jobs - camera work, sound work and directing. The actors were Charlotte and I, Jack was mainly in control of the sound work, Bisma in control of the camera work and Mary the personal assistant.'Camera ready, sound ready, actors ready, roll camera, ACTION.' The benefit from allocating jobs was that we wouldn't waste time in swapping equipment every fifteen minutes as we were already under a strict time limit of an hour. Although we all agreed to our allocated jobs, we still helped out with other roles in order to make our sequence successful. We gave Bisma the responsibility of the camera work because she is new to media and is not yet famliar with everythin. The rest of the team aways gave her help and advice. During editing we all took turns. We had an hour to finish editing and therefore swapped editor every fifteen minutes so that every member of the group got to be familar with the editing hardware and the different tools used.
2) How did you plan your sequence? What processes did you use? In order for any task to be successful, it is essential to have beforehand preperation. Mary was the best drawer in our group and volunteered to draw out the shots on the story board whilst the rest of the group offered ideas of shot types, camera movements and character roles.The story board portrayed visually how the sequence would look like and where the person would be in each shot . It also gave us an overview of the continuity in our sequence. All of us helped out in the dialogue script at the same time. The dialogue had to match with the storboard, therfore we all decided to work on the storyboard and shooting script together. Furthermore we discussed the order of shoots. We decided all shots containing Charlotte by herself in the classroom will be shot first, then all the shots containing just me in the classroom. Finally we saved all the shots of the corridor of Charlotte walking into the room till last as this would save precious time. In the real shooting, it would be a clever idea to shoot one protagonists shots all together as it is much easier for the actor and the rest of the cast. We had a meeting the following week where we decided what props we needed, where the sequence was going to be shot and who wanted to be in charge of what. We also had a quick run through of our sequence, making sure there weren't any problems.
3) What technology did you use to complete the task, and how did you use it? Various equipment and technology was used to complete this task. We used a hardware, camera mics (boom microphones) - to absorb and exaggerate every sound, headphones - to hear exactly what is being recorded,making sure it is clear and accurate enough, therefore avoiding any suprising whilst editing! HD mini Dv cameras - to shoot the sequence. I found them very useful as they were small and easy to carry and move. tripod - to experiment with different types of shots: planning, tracking etc. Also keeping the camera steady and making the shoot look more professional. premier pro (non linear editing) - to edit the sequence, put the shots in the correct order, give the sequence a meaning and cut out any unwanted scenes. Razor tool - to cut the shots into appropriate lengths grab tool - to re-order the shots, so that the overall sequence makes sense Titling - Giving our shot a title - adding to the narrative image Fade - Beginning and eding fading in to make it look more smoothe. White board - this helps us whilst editing making the process quick and efficient.
4) What factors did you have to take into account when planning, shooting and editing? There were many factors we had to take into accounting whilst planning, shooting and editing. Planning:During planning, weather is one of the main factors we need to consider. Only the first bit of our sequence showed a protagonist outdoors therefore it didn't effect us. However if we were shooting outdoors we would have to make sure it wasn't raining as this would ruin all equipment and technology. We would have to make sure the continuity is correct and that the weather doesn't change noticably between shots - therfore checking the weather forecast is ideal. Time was another factor we had to consider during planning. We had an hour to shoot our sequence, therefore we had to work quickly and efficiently. We definitely benefited from preparing beforehand as this made us organised; preventing any time wasting. Location is another factor to consider; whether or not it is ideal for the scene (is it plausible? ls it logical?) and whether it will be available or not. Our group wasted a lot of time waiting for other groups to finish shooting in a certain location. To avoid this problem again, we would either avoid shooting at school and crowded places, or check whether or not the location is available before hand. Budget is obviously a major issue to take into account. We overcame this, as clothing and props were the property of either the actors, schools or other members in the group. Finally, the sequence was shot in school so we didn't have to hire or pay for locations or props. Shooting: During shooting continuity, lighting, sounds and shot types were the most important factors to consider. A repeating error in our sequence was the continuity. Between shots we had to make sure the actor was in the same place in the frame and the clothing, hairstyle and props were the same. For example, if someone went to open the door with their left hand and the camera turned 180 degrees, he/she should still be holding onto it with their left hand. Lighting should be the same throughout the sequence (natural and artificial); part of a sequence can't be shot in daylight and the second half in the evening as this is a continuity error and is not plausible to the audience. Artificial lights should not be obvious. High key lighting is ideal as it lights up the studio but also looks realistic and doesn't create unwanted shadows. The microphone picked up every bit of noise - including unwanted background noise, which is why it was essential to shoot a shot more than once and to hold the microphone very still. Editing: We had to make sure each individual shot was cut appropriatley and was put in the correct order. The continuity should be invisible and should not distract the audience from what is happening in the sequence itself.
5) How successful was your sequence? Please identidy what worked well and with hindsight, what would you inprove/do differently? Overall, I thought our sequence worked very well. We achieved our brief and demonstrated match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180 degree rule in the sequence. The match on action is when
The shot reverse shot is when the two protagonists exchange dialogue. The camera moves from towards an over the shoulder shot of the teacher, to the student, and back to the teacher again. The 180 degree rule is when the student walks in through the door of the classroom. We see her pushing the door and walking into the room from outside the room. The camera then switches to being in the classroom and watching her walk in. Although the overall sequence worked well, there were three minor contuinity errors which nobody out of the group could actually spot. The first one was when the student walks through the second door. She PUSHES it with her hand yet as she walks in she is HOLDING onto the handle. The second continuity error is the computer screen the teacher was working on. In the first shot of the teacher, there is a file open on the screen. As the camera moves further back to the master shot the file is closed. Finally, when it closes up on the teacher again, the file is opened. The third and final error is when the student gets up to leave. After saying 'Thanks for nothing Miss' she tucks in the chair fully under the table.However, the next panning shot shows the chair not tucked in. Although these continuity errors are not that obvious we need to be aware that the every action is the same in every shot. The location was also logical. The class being empty showed that the 'stoppy media student' came in after a lesson to complain about her group when the other group members weren't there. However, the sequence may have been more logical if it was shot in the teachers office. Overall, the continuity was invisible, the sequence made sense and flowed and there weren't any distractions.
6) What have you learnt from completing this task? Looking ahead, how will this learning be significant when completing the rest of your foundation coursework, do you think? The purpose of the preliminary tast was to experiment with different equipment and practise our shooting, planning and editing techniques. We had to also identify and learn from our mistakes (if any). I have learnt how to use the razor tool, how to title and how to fade. How to work with the microphone and that it is essential to make sure there is no unwanted background noise being absorbed. I have also learnt how to demonstrate a match on action, shot/reverse shoot and 180 degree rule. I have learnt that continuity plays a big part in shooting and that it is essential to make a sequence flow well. I have learnt that it is essential to prepare before shooting as this saves a lot of time and that you don't need to shoot in the order the sequence is going to be shown as this will only waste time. The main thing to take away from this practical is to ALWAYS shoot every shot twice or more, because there will almost always be something wrong with one of the shots. This way, you will also have a wider variety to choose from and you won't have to worry about going back and shooting the shot again. (If you did, it would ruin the continuity as the location appearance or protagonist appearance is bound to have altered). I have learnt from my mistakes and will avoid making the same ones in my real foundation coursework.
What an opening sequence should include: -Show institutions -Engage audiences attention -Introduce characters -Introduce location/setting/time -Show the theme and genre of the film -Introduce a narrative structure -Use the conventions of a certain genre -Establish the iconography -Contain soundtrack (or lack of) -Show/set the overall pace of the film -Give clues that relate to future storyline of the film
Budget is an important factor to think about before filming. In order to make sure our film looks professional without spending much there are a few things we can do: Actors (friends, drama students) - Well known characters are obviously way above our price range as they would help sell the movie. Aswell as talented actors, we need reliable ones. If actors/actresses don't turn up, production costs would rise and we would waste vaulable time. Animals and children also cost more to hire as they are harder to work with/train. Locations - Keeping our locations limited is essential. Hiring out areas would be costly and therefore an ideal place to shoot is on public roads, houses, parks etc. Also, scenes set in moving vehicles are very expensive and time-consuming. Special effects - Few low-budget movies can afford "real" special effects, such as explosions, special prosthetics, or computer graphics, so these scenes should be avoided. Instead, we'd have to add in special effects from our own software. Heavy make up and hairstyles -Difficult make up and hairstyle will be time consuming, wasting production time. This would raise the cost of production as it will take longer to film the scene and hire the crew. Costume - Although costumes are an ideal thing to make the scene seem as realistic as possible, they are also very expensive. Costumes of those in the group or the actors would be a good idea.
Costumes and make up are a ideal source to make a surreal character come to life. In 'Exorcism of Emily Rose' and 'The Ring' the deadliest aspect of the characters was their hair - messy, uncombed and dragging across their face. It made the characters look disturbed and unable to mantain themselves: looking like they just escaped from their grave. Their faces are pale and zombie like. Other movies, like the scream are based around 'the mask'- that in itself is primitive as it leaves it to the audience to imagine what stands behind the mask. The more different the characters look to humans, the more threatening and mysterious they look. The iconic image of Frankenstein is a horror in itself as the audience question how it possible to have a bolt go through your neck. These strange 'superpowers' make the characters seem to have no feelings, and therefore nothing can be done to destory them. In my opinion, if the costume and make up is done realistically, it can be far more horror like than a mask.
The ring, is quite possibly the most scariest horror movie I have seen. I thought it would be a great one to analyse because the character costume and make up are phenomonal and the basic storyline is spine chilling. The movie is about a journalist, Rachael Keller,investigating a videotape and trying to find out whether the urban legend about this tape:the viewer will die seven days after watching it, is true or not. Many people have been killed after watching this tape, proving the legend is correct, yet after she and her own son watch the tape, matters become worse and it is a race against time to find out why the tape is killing everyone and how it can be stopped. The girl in this tape is Samara Morgan, who died a dreadful death. Falling down a well, is a horror in itself. Her hair is draping across her face, showing nothing more than an eye and a bit of her nose, yet even from what we can see of her, we know she is forever frowning. This makes her seem disturbed yet mysterious, as the audience urge to see he full face. She walks with her arms stretched infront of her, like a zombie and grips onto anything which comes in her way.
THE POSTER A long shot of a young girl bowing her head down, looking at the floor. She sits on a chair, with her hands in her lap, as the audience fear to see what lurks behind that long black hair which hangs across her face. Although she looks deadly, her position is insecure: her shoulders shrugged, and her back hunched. Making the audience almost feel almost sympathetic towards her. Wearing a plain white overcoat, the young girl is in the middle of the shot, with lighting around her. The four sides of the poster are dark and mysterious, and the black becomes fainter as it comes close to the middle of the poster, bordering and revealing the young girl. The quality is bad and olden. (like an olden days film) This creates narrative image as it is indirectly relating to the tape the young girl made before she died. The room she is sitting in is empty with nothing but a chair and pitch white clinical walls, there are no other distractions which attracts the eye of the audience- therefore the focus is completely on the young girl. The room looks like a prison room. This gives the audience the impression she is guilty for doing something, yet creates enigma as they don't know what she has done. Yet. The white stands out in stark contrast to the black background. 'the ring two' is written without any capital letters and in a childs handwriting - perhaps the young girls'. This sets a primitive atmosphere as children are usually associated with innocence rather than murder. It contradicts to any parents thought. Finally the 'O' in two, is a ring - relating back to the title itself. Again, this creates enigma, as the audience have no idea what the ring does or why it is important. 'Fear comes full cicle.' - The alternative alliteration of 'C' gives off a chlastrophobic sense to the film, making the audience feel trapped and unwanted. The alternative alliteration of 'F' creates a fighting barrier - as Rachael Keller and her son fight against time to find out what the tape is about. The slogan is short, creating impact and does not give too much away. It leaves it to the audiences' imagination to decide what the slogan means.
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN
I think this poster is absolutley terrific. The layout, background, text and foreground all work so well together. The centre of the poster focuses on the main male protagonist, Johnny Depp (standing furtherst towards the audience), immediately behind is the main female protagonist, Keira Knightly. Followed by Orlando Bloom and Geoffrey Rush. The costumes of the characters set the atmosphere and location. With Johny Depp holding a sword across his body in a defensive posture and his head tilted slightly up, makes the audience feel timid towards his controlling personality. The dark night sky sets a mysterious atmostphere. The sea and boat at the back anchors the title 'Pirates of the caribbean' and the jewellery and skull in the foreground creates malignant imagery, making the movie seem eerie and mysterious. Finally, the flicky white writing stands out clearly. It is bold and looks like capital calligraphy
Narrative image is about the marketing of a film: what we think and see of the film before it is released. 'It is less that the film. It is the promise.' Narrative image is created via posters, adverts, directors, title, actors, merchandising, studio, slogan, websites, images, trailers etc
HOW DID STEP UP 2 CREATE ITS NARRATIVE IMAGE? ACTORS : Many well known actors starred in step up 2 including: Cassie - the R n B singer, Chaning Tatum - the actor from many previous successful dance movies, and Briana Evigan who starred in Step up 1 - having these characters promised the audience something similar to the first step up movie which was very successful amongst its target audience. Good looking singers such as Cassie, Tpain and Missy Elliot also attracted not only fans of the movie, but also fans of the singer, helping sell the movie. POSTERS and ADVERTS: Step up2 was advertised on billboards, sides of buses, telephone boxes, radio and TV adverts. Marketing strategies always raise the awareness of the product you are trying to sell. Step up 2 was also advertised on the internet - on a lot of youth websites. Pop up boxes on msn (a worldwide used chat) lead to the official step up website. There is also a group on facebook 'fans of step up2' and a link on myspace(www.myspace.com/stepupmovie). Advertising on well known links which have many viewers which helps spread word and mouth endorsement and boost the awareness of the film. WORD AND MOUTH ENDORSEMENT: Like mentioned earlier, this was created by branding on famous websites and over the internet. Step up2 was also featured in magazines, making the audience well aware of when this film was coming out. I think word and mouth endorsement is the most important marketing strategy. It can 'make or break' a film. Therefore to make your film look phenomonal from the start is essential. Step up 2 had a positive word and mouth endorsement as many famous actors were featuring in it: Everyone's favourite - Chaning Tatum definitely helped spread the word and mouth endorsement. TITLE: 'Step up 2' barely gives away any of the movie. It leaves the audience lingering on what or who needs to step up. It gives the movie the sense of a 'competition' based storyline. The title adds to the narrative image of the film, giving the audience a sense of what it is about. It creates enigma as it doesnt give too much away. TRAILERS:
Trailers are introduced well before the film is released to give the audience a feel of what is coming soon in cinema. It makes them aware of the storyline, the characters, the genre and the releasing date. The trailer for 'Step up' clearly indicates it is a musical with the variety of songs and dancing styles. From a mixture of RnB and hiphop to indie and jazz music, along with different dance styles including street dance and ballet, definitely brings in a huge variety of audiences. The trailer gives a brief over view of the storyline. The montage at the beginning of the trailer, fastens the paste of it, mirroring the fast music. 'Are you ready to step up?' is a rheotorical question: involving the audience. The text is messy and radical - portraying the high school life. The movie is based around the main character - Andie, therefore, so is the trailer. The camera is always around Andie or anything to do with her life. She's always having arguments or confrontations with others in the high school, making the overall story line seem more interesting and engaging. Different words such as 'respect' 'belive' and 'love' gives away a bit more on what the film is about and what the audience should expect. The audience go into the cinema knowing the movie is about the root of dancing and the rivalry between two groups. But they are left wanting to know who wins the competition and whether or not 'Andi' is accepted into the dance school.
Hi, I'm Nisha..I am currently taking media, maths, german and economics.I love this 'movie' based media topic. My top three films are Take the lead, Day after tomorrow and Step up. Overall, I love dance movies! In the future I want to be a TV presenter :)
