Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
The purpose of the preliminary task was to create a short video which would demonstrate the basic shots of the camera and to get used to using the equipment and the editing software. The shots I used were a long shot, over the shoulder, panning and close-up. From this task I learnt the positions in which the camera has to be to film these shots successfully. After filming this task we had to edit it so the frames joined together smoothly and were in the correct order.
When looking back at the preliminary task, I can say that a lot of improvements have been made on my knowledge of creating a sequence, through the whole progression from it to my media product. The preliminary task also helped me remember a variety of shots, angles and transitions that can be effective in a film if used in the appropriate scene, for example, the preliminary task only included basic shots, but when planning the cinematography for the opening sequence I included shots such as high angles, canted angles and POV shots to make each frame different and also conventional to a thriller.
Sunday 22 February 2015
Question 2
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
In my media product; a 2 minute opening sequence to a thriller film, there are three characters. These three characters consist of the female victim: Nicole (the protagonist), Nicole's boyfriend: Zak and the stalker (the antagonist) whose identity remains hidden throughout the sequence.
Nicole's boyfriend only appears at the very beginning of the sequence as he and Nicole argue about her hearing cheating allegations against him. This then leads to him ending the relationship and walking off; leaving her isolated in the street. I included this character in the narrative as he leaves an impact on the audience, as they then feel sympathy for Nicole as she stands alone.
Nicole's character is stereotypical to a thriller film as she is a young, innocent girl who has been hurt emotionally due to the recent break-up of her boyfriend and herself. These characteristics give more reason for the audience to feel sorry for her and want her to be safe due to the events she goes through during the opening sequence. For example, she goes to great lengths to attempt escaping the antagonist by running through dark, gloomy alley ways and muddy, deserted forests. Due to her gender being female, this automatically makes her more vulnerable due to her physicality; weak and emotional. I included this character in my thriller because she portrays a 'damsel in distress' like role which is often used in successful thriller films due to the mentality of a female character who is in danger; scared and panicked. This can create surprise, shock and suspense in the film, as the audience will anticipate what could potentially happen to the female victim.
I included the character of the antagonist to ensure that the opening sequence shocked and surprised the audience and created suspense. If the film did not create this, it would not be recognised as in the thriller genre. The only known fact about the stalker was the gender: male. This automatically tells the audience that if the victim and stalker came into contact, then the antagonist would have complete authority, therefore possibly putting the victim in danger.This character would appeal to the audience as dangerous and unpredictable, therefore he creates suspense and makes the audience anxious about what he is capable of.
Overall, all three characters are essential in the film, as without them, the audience would struggle to relate to the reality of the narrative. This makes the film more intense as the audience get a glimpse on the characters in the opening sequence but would want to keep watching the rest of the film to find out more about them; for example what happens the the victim after the stalker catches up and how dangerous he actually is.
In my media product; a 2 minute opening sequence to a thriller film, there are three characters. These three characters consist of the female victim: Nicole (the protagonist), Nicole's boyfriend: Zak and the stalker (the antagonist) whose identity remains hidden throughout the sequence.
Nicole's boyfriend only appears at the very beginning of the sequence as he and Nicole argue about her hearing cheating allegations against him. This then leads to him ending the relationship and walking off; leaving her isolated in the street. I included this character in the narrative as he leaves an impact on the audience, as they then feel sympathy for Nicole as she stands alone.
Nicole's character is stereotypical to a thriller film as she is a young, innocent girl who has been hurt emotionally due to the recent break-up of her boyfriend and herself. These characteristics give more reason for the audience to feel sorry for her and want her to be safe due to the events she goes through during the opening sequence. For example, she goes to great lengths to attempt escaping the antagonist by running through dark, gloomy alley ways and muddy, deserted forests. Due to her gender being female, this automatically makes her more vulnerable due to her physicality; weak and emotional. I included this character in my thriller because she portrays a 'damsel in distress' like role which is often used in successful thriller films due to the mentality of a female character who is in danger; scared and panicked. This can create surprise, shock and suspense in the film, as the audience will anticipate what could potentially happen to the female victim.
I included the character of the antagonist to ensure that the opening sequence shocked and surprised the audience and created suspense. If the film did not create this, it would not be recognised as in the thriller genre. The only known fact about the stalker was the gender: male. This automatically tells the audience that if the victim and stalker came into contact, then the antagonist would have complete authority, therefore possibly putting the victim in danger.This character would appeal to the audience as dangerous and unpredictable, therefore he creates suspense and makes the audience anxious about what he is capable of.
Overall, all three characters are essential in the film, as without them, the audience would struggle to relate to the reality of the narrative. This makes the film more intense as the audience get a glimpse on the characters in the opening sequence but would want to keep watching the rest of the film to find out more about them; for example what happens the the victim after the stalker catches up and how dangerous he actually is.
Question 1
Within my group; consisting of myself, Mikaeel Khaliq and Tyler Osman, we created a media product; a 2 minute opening sequence to a thriller film. In this sequence, it shows a girl being stalked through alley ways and a forest as she attempts to get away, after an argument and break up with her boyfriend in the street. I was responsible for writing the opening sequence, selecting which aspects of mise en scene would be effective in each scene of the sequence and playing the character of the female victim. These roles taught me how to create a potentially successful thriller film as I had to think about what would draw the audience in, what would make the sequence conventional and how each transition would link the next scene so the narrative made sense. The opening sequence could not have been successful without my other group members; we worked well together as a group and ensured decisions were made thoroughly so everything was done to the best standard.
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
In films, conventions are elements that are common within different film genres, for example thrillers. Conventions can be any aspect of the four micro-elements: mise en scene, cinematography, editing and sound. For example in a thriller film, sound, specifically a diegetic sound of footsteps, is often used to create suspense and an eerie atmosphere.
Within my media product, I included a variety of forms and conventions that are used in real thriller films, during the opening sequences. For example, the protagonist in my opening sequence is a female with blonde hair and blue eyes. She is portrayed as the victim, which demonstrates her as being vulnerable. This is used in a lot of other thriller films because it makes the audience have sympathy for the victim. I developed a conventional part of a real media product, by including iconography, such as a knife, because it can be used as a dangerous weapon, which when shown in the opening sequence would also create enigma; as the audience anticipate what the audience is going to do. The font of the credits in the frame of the opening sequence, appear jagged, slanted and distorted to imply the genre and the themes that will be included in the film that follows. This is conventional to a thriller as the font shows the audience that the film is going to be creepy, therefore creates an eerie atmosphere for the audience to experience. My opening sequence is conventional as it includes low key lighting throughout which builds suspense. The hidden identity of the antagonist is also conventional as it keeps the audience on edge and questioning who it might be. Without these key aspects included in my thriller, the genre would not be recognisable as the audience would not experience surprise, shock or suspense.
Thursday 12 February 2015
Tuesday 27 January 2015
Preliminary Task- Miss Miller
The members of my group are myself, Tyler Osman and Mikaeel Khaliq and this task was set so we could get to grips with using the equipment that we will be using when it comes to completing our thriller opening sequence. We experimented with different camera angles and movements so we could experience using them before filming our actual production.
In our preliminary task, we only used a few of the shots just so we knew the bascis of using the camera to create them. The shots we used were a long shot, panning, over the sholder, close up and mid shot. These proved to be easier than we thought and we managed to get them done quickly.
Wednesday 21 January 2015
Rough Cut- Miss Georgiou
We recieved aural feedback for our rough cuts of our thriller opening sequences from our class mates and teachers after they had watched the whole production through once. We were given some positive points of what we had done well in our opening sequences, and should therefore keep them as they are, but and also some things that could be edited in order to improve the production. The comments that were made, consisted of which mirco-elements we had included and if we had used them well.
People commented on how the sound effects we had chosen to use in specific parts of the production made it more conventional, as they created suspense, surprise and shock. For example the heavy breathing coming from the antagonist as he is getting closer to the female victim,as she attempts to excape him by running through the gloomy forest. Because of the positive feedback we recived for the sound effects and the eerie music that we had included, we have decided that when it comes to finalising our opening sequence, we will not change, remove or add any additional sounds as we could ruin the atmosphere we have created already. This determines the importance of recieving feedback as it will help make our production better.
Another example of feedback that we recieved was how we could slightly change the editing of our opening sequence, by either making some scenes shorter or we could add extra filters or change the level of brightness withing a frame to make the whole sequence look fluient. This feedback helped us see where we could improve sections of our production, for example the scene where the female victim breaks up with her boyfriend and he walks off. It was suggested that it dragged out for too long so by cutting this frame to a shorter lenght, the audience would not get bored, but instead keep watching the sequence.
Feedback is essential with all films and sequences, as it determines the sucess and popularity of it; therefore determining whether it should be officially relased or not. From the feedback, producers can see what impact a sequence or film has had on people, which can give them an insight to what they need to do to either improve their productions or if they have been sucessful and could then potentially go on to create a franchise or series linking to their previous production/s.
People commented on how the sound effects we had chosen to use in specific parts of the production made it more conventional, as they created suspense, surprise and shock. For example the heavy breathing coming from the antagonist as he is getting closer to the female victim,as she attempts to excape him by running through the gloomy forest. Because of the positive feedback we recived for the sound effects and the eerie music that we had included, we have decided that when it comes to finalising our opening sequence, we will not change, remove or add any additional sounds as we could ruin the atmosphere we have created already. This determines the importance of recieving feedback as it will help make our production better.
Another example of feedback that we recieved was how we could slightly change the editing of our opening sequence, by either making some scenes shorter or we could add extra filters or change the level of brightness withing a frame to make the whole sequence look fluient. This feedback helped us see where we could improve sections of our production, for example the scene where the female victim breaks up with her boyfriend and he walks off. It was suggested that it dragged out for too long so by cutting this frame to a shorter lenght, the audience would not get bored, but instead keep watching the sequence.
Feedback is essential with all films and sequences, as it determines the sucess and popularity of it; therefore determining whether it should be officially relased or not. From the feedback, producers can see what impact a sequence or film has had on people, which can give them an insight to what they need to do to either improve their productions or if they have been sucessful and could then potentially go on to create a franchise or series linking to their previous production/s.
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