Preliminary Task Evaluation

I think everybody in our group equelly contiributted despite our unfortunate luck of having to re-shooting and editting our work. However, i felt although the whole of the background should have been black- so we could have possibly turned the curtain around the room. There were also props that are vaguely seen in the background which I think we could have done without- especially the light in the background in some shots of the criminal. Here you can clearly see clothing/ cloth has been used to cover crops and has been unsuccesful. This is made bolder by the white wall.

I feel although my strongest point within the task was getting the right angle in order to shoot the film and I think I am also rather good at editting and creating successful match-on action within the editting. I think I do however need to work on how to use the camera- such as different settings as I felt although I was asking for help from my peers too much. I should try to gain more knowlege of the camera before shooting out thriller openings. But in conlusion, I think that our Preliminary Task as a whole went very well as everybody equelly contributted and helped each other during the project.

Evidence of my contribution

 

 

I helped import diagetic sound onto our falling down project

I helped construct the presentation on different camera angles.

This is me and sophie importing our photos onto the computer to use in our storyboard.

 

Sophie read the order in which we were to put our photographs and I put them in that order.

This is me importing and reviewing our videos, cutting them into their orginal clips and deletting the un-necessary.

 

 

This is me and Sophie cropping our clips to make them in sycn for match on action.

 

 

 

Directors commentary

To evaluate our group work we created a directors commenty ontop of our video. We did this by recording our voices on garageband, then importing it onto the video clip and saved it as a seperate file. Since our video was only 20 seconds long, we repeated the video over and over again whilst we commentted on what went well and didnt go so well during the shoot. We could have possibly muted the sound in the video so our voices were clearer as a points it's difficult to hear our comments. We could have also paused our video to the points that we were commenting on eg. the match on action we used in our filming. Considering this is our first video together as a group, i am very pleased with the outcome and i think we worked well as a group. As we mention in the commentery, there are some errors but i think we have learnt from these mistakes and we will ensure we will not make the same mistakes during our Thriller film opening.

Preliminary Task

My group and I created an interigation scene as part of our preliminary task- using our fellow classmates as representations of the detective and criminal. We created the movie by using different filming techniques and angles to create a suspisious atmosphere to draw in the viewers attention. We then imported and editted our movie on Final Cut. We cropped the clips seperate from each other before ordering them and deletting the irrelecant clips. We then cut the clips even shorter so no irrelevant details were included and the match on action clips were in sync. I think we editted the film well and is well constructted. Everybody equelly contributted not only to the filming but to the editting too.

Prinilary Task Storyboard

 

This is our idea on how we plan to shoot our preliminary task. We tried to incorperate a range of different shot angles to create a sense of tension and suspision within the clip. Sophie and myself do not plan to act in the film however stood in as the role of the detective and criminal for the photographs. However, i think that these plans may change due to the room availible and wheather these shots are effective or not in creating a sense of atmosphere and to make the clip interesting. We also do not plan to shoot our film in this location as the setting is too bright, but we intend to shoot the footage in a dark room so the audience are unaware of where the characters are suppossed to be locatted.

Hide and Seek (2005) Spoiler Review

Hide and Seek is the story of a father, David, and his mentally unstable daughter, Emily, who experience strange occurrences since Emily makes an 'immaginary friend' she names 'Charlie' following her mother's tragic death which she had left traumatised by. The mystery of the story is to who Charlie is any why he is trying to make Derek's life misery.

The film opens with Emily and her doll spinning round and round on a round-about. This is an ideal way of introducing the child's confused characteristics that are to define her personality shortly having been traumatized by finding her mother dead bathing in her own blood in the bathroom. The colour's are bright and the atmosphere is jolly as the child and mother are laughing. This is ideal in showing the audience Emily's transition from being happy to being traumatized and psychotic.

The last time Emily sees her mother alive, she is in a bright doorway against the dark room which she closes. This is ideal in showing the last memory of the Emily's mother from the her point of view. This scene is very significant as it demonstrates the light closing on her demonstrating life. The scene is repeated several times with the father in the new house, however he does not close the door and leaves it slightly open. Later on in the film I came to realize Emily captures these moments in her drawings. We can learn this as the surrounding is dark.

At the beginning of the film Emily makes what appears to be an imaginary friend she names 'Charlie'- who her father believes is the cause of the strange occurrences. The audience are led to believe that Charlie is a demon due to her drawings and the strange occurrences. But others are led to believe that Charlie is a representation of Emily's evil behavior and knowlege of these strange occurances. However, the twist to this is that Charlie is in reality who she refers to as her father's split personality which is revealed to us in the ending- but David forgets these occurrences as if he is another person.This shot shows Emily's desperation as she moves eagerly towards her father as if for forgiveness, but her innocence is unknown to the audience.  Her figure is darker in the shot in comparison to the light in the background which only adds to the effect.

The location of the film is ideal as it's remote and away from the city. This is shown through the long journey during the opening title sequence. The setting is usually dark when the strange occurrences happen as well. It also rains alot during the film to give a sense of sadness.


The story is repetitive as Derek continues to wake up at 2:06 exactly to be led to the bathroom with a different message in the bathroom- the room in which he found his wife dead. The lighting is perfect as its dark and the candles make the message noticeable and strange as it stutters. The audience are also given the message it is Emily who wrote these messages as it is written in crayon and there is an innocent teddy below it. The audience are also told Charlie wants to ruin Derek's happiness so we know this is aimed at him. We are to learn that Derek was in fact responsible for his wife's death as his dreams gradually unravel the truth.

The trailer briefly shows the finale to the conclusion as Emily is running and Derek is calling her name but we do not directly see him, so the audience can get the impression that she is running from her own father. The film finishes in a dark cave with Emily covering her eyes from the horror of the event, possibly in the hope that it was all just a dream and in the hope that the past does not repeat itself.

In conclusion, Hide and Seek is great psychological thriller as it successfully demonstrates the characters mental illnesses and can make the audience believe in events that are not occurring. This is achieved by using a restricted sequence within the film. I would highly recommend the film to people who enjoy  unsolving mysteries and puzzling elements of a film together to discover the truth.

Overall rating: 4/5

Falling Down Sound Project

As a group, we practiced importing sound onto the opening of the film Falling Down using garageband. We did this by watching the film with the sounds presence in the short clip, then  we imported diegetic sound in the correct places of sequence in the movie by dragging the sound into Garageband, then cropping it and placing it in the correct place so the sound is in sync with the film. I am not very pleased with the result as it takes a while for the sound to come in, but atleast now we have had practice using it.

Se7en Titles Re-make

To practice using I-Movie, an application we will be using to edit our thriller films, in pairs we re-created the Se7en Opening title sequence using both images and film. We did this by dragging and cropping the secondary images to ensure the clips were not too long and only the relevant information was included. We also dragged on different effects- for example to make the image fuzzy to match the music which we kept on there. We then added text ontop of the images in the order the titles are shown (refering back to my Title sequence post). I think these effects were effective and i think we have successfully introduced the theme of a thriller, not only by the use of images and effects, but the hidden text within them. I am very pleased with the result considering it was our first attempt at creating a thriller opening.

Presentation on filming techniques

Presentation- Filming Techniques. on Prezi

This is our group presentation on different filming techniques. We will be using these shots in our own thriller filming to make our films more interesting. 

Sub Genre & Narrative thrillers

GoAnimate.com: Sub-genres by MeganDeborahSophie


Like it? Create your own at GoAnimate.com. It's free and fun!

Our group created a movie using GoAnimate to evaluate the sub-genres within a thriller. We portrayed the characters as Debra and I, discussing what sub-genre we wish to base our thriller film around- like we are currently. I am pleased with the result as its fun and colourful aswell as being informative.

The Matrix Spoiler review

The story line and theme of the matrix is introduced in the trailer as it quotes in a clear green text and black background. It quotes 'forget everything you know', as Neo has to forget everything he has ever known or did is a lie, to learn he has been a slave to robots. The text is also very computerised to show viewers that the film is based around technology and that it is futuristic. The use of the colour green is usually related to strange and unusual occurances, a theme the matrix follows.

The film opens with the police hunting down and chasing a woman. She also appears to have extra-ordinary abilities in which she can run faster and jump from building to building. She is also dressed in black clothes which introduces the character as mysterious, possibly as a spy or criminal mastermind. This interests the audience as they question who the woman is, what she has done wrong in order to be chased down by the law and how she learnt or gained these extra-ordinary abilities. This introduction shows us what people are capable of doing inside the matrix, however is un-recognised by the audience until the mystery of what the matrix really is, is unravelled. 

We are then introduced to the character of Neo, a man who appears to be living two lives. In one life he is a rebellious computer thief, and in the other he is reffered to as Mr. Anderson, an office worker who appears to be mis-treated by others as shown when his boss is punishing him and reacts emotionless. This leaves the audience questioning which life is real and which one is a dream. The creators of the film make the audience question this as he questions this matter himself. The scenes from Neo's criminal life are dark and the music is loud and screamo, representing the mystery and wreckless nature of this particular life.

In the other life, the colours are dull and Neo (or Mr.Anderson as he is reffered to) appear to be bored as he gets distractted by the window cleaner. This shows us that although Neo is living this law obiding life in which he has everything he could need, he dis-likes this life-style, in comparison to is other lifestyle in which he appears to be happy in as he goes out. The audience are not shown Neo's social life within this other life, implying that his scedule is work based and repetitive. His day dreaming only highlights this matter. 

The scene of Neo and Morphius meeting is a very significant scene within the scene as Morphius gives a wide range of different clues as it what the Matrix is, as he hint's 'what you know you can't explain', which can be refered back to when Neo questions wheather his life is real or just a dream. The image of morphius offering Neo the red or blue pill creates suspense as the audience learn they are to find out what the matrix is, as from taking the red pill he will discover the truth.


The image of Neo escaping from the matrix is un-ravelled within the trailer as a hand is reaching out out from a kind of goo with wires attached to the body inside it. It is revealed in the film that the person within this is infact Neo waking up and escaping from the slavery of the matrix. This scene also demonstates the fright as the character is confused and shocked to the reality of his life. The use of dark colours sorrounding him implies the danger. The identity of the person inside is hidden as the liquid/ substance in which they are in is not transparent and only gives us a shadow- making the identity of the being a mystery.


It is only at the very end of the film that these scenes appear to have a purpose as he prefered to be refered to as the rebellious computer theif Neo; as appose to Mr. Anderson, the push about he appears to be portrayed as in his professional life. This also shows us that Neo is more in control of his abilities and his life. This is shown as he controls the many bullets that have been shot towards him, whilst remaining calm.

In conclusion, the Martrix has been very successful thriller film as hints about the Matrix are continuously given throughout the story and keeps the audience attention. The film also remains the attention of the audience by creating a variety of action and suspense within the film. The film met all my expectations and more, as it includes all the features that the trailer highlights- such as action. They have also used relevant details such as their use of music, lighting and location to create the theme of mystery. For me, the Matrix was one of the best films of all time and would highly recommend the film to anyone who enjoys mystery thriller and lots of action.

Rating: 5/5

 

Key terms (Narrative)

Different techniques used in the sequence of a film

Different techniques are used in different films to make the film easier to follow or to make the story a mystery. These include: 

- Linear- A story which has a beginning middle and ending in that order exactly. The viewers can follow the whole story and understand exactly what is going on. This is commonly used in fairy tales as its easier for children to follow the story.

- Non-linear- Where the viewers do not see everything that is going on within the story, and commonly includes flashbacks so the story is out of sequence. 

- Restricted- This is when the viewers are unaware of what is happening within the story. This narrative technique is commonly used in thrillers as it leaves the audience puzzled and eager to uncover the truth.

- Omniscient- This is when the viewers are aware of everything that is happening within a story line. This is not usually used in thriller films as there would be no truth to unravel. 

Enigma codes

Enigma codes are clues which unravel the mystery within the film. This makes the audience more eager to uncover the truth and is commonly used in thriller films.
 

Thriller sub- genres 

There are many sub-genres within thriller films. These include: 

- Conspiricy thrillers: Focus on the characters as hero/heroines stereotypically portrayed as journalists or armmature investigators trapped in situations. Many also feature powerful organizations. 

-Crime thrillers: Focus on crime such as murder or robbery which may be successful or unsuccessful. They also emphasize on psychological aspects. Eg. The Dark Knight

- Disaster thrillers : Follow the story of a persons survival in conflict with a natural or artificial disaster. Eg. Inception

- Mystery thrillers: Follow the story of a detective/ investigator and focus on unsolving a mystery. Relate to crime thrillers.Eg. Shutter Island

- Psychological thrillers: Focusses on mentally and emotionally hindered characters who are pyscologically disturbed. Eg.

- Religious: Can focus around religious objects, aswell as the good and bad points of view of the religion. Many are based around catholic religion and the audience aim to discover truth within the story. Eg. The Da-vinci code.

-Supernatural: Something out of the ordinary happening. Eg. Incedious


How i will use these techniques and knowledge

These new techniques and information i have learnt will not only construct my film, but to also help me focus and understand which sub-genre i would use in own thriller film. When constructing my thriller film, i should make the storyline linear or non-linear and omicient or restrictted. I should also ensure i include enigma codes within my film to keep the audience intreeged. I should also ensure that the storyline is based around one of the thriller sub-genre's. I would be most interested in creating a film which is either a crime, mystery or psycological thriller having most enjoyed films of these sub-genre's. But also due to our low-budget, these films will be easier to construct and would be more effective as it doesnt require expensive high tech equiptment, softwares or great knowlege to create big effects- for example earth and bridges collapsing in a disaster thiller film.

Key terms

 

In groups we made a diagram of different terms in relation to shooting and editting a film. We explained what each term stands for and may use this in our filming for our thriller film. Learning these terms gives us a better understanding of different techniques used in filming and for editing a film and why they are used.

Self Assesment

What mark i think i will get now for my blog:

14/ 20- Level 3- Grade B3

- Ensure that my work from class is posted. Tasks to complete: 7, 9, 10.

- Annotate in detail for all posts.

-  More detail and relevance to thriller.