This blog has been marked. SJA 08/05/11

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product? Q7

This is our preliminary task which we started at the beginning of the year. From this i have learnt vastly and improved my skills in media significantly.

From the preliminary task, i have improved on a lot of skills and picked up from some crucial mistakes we made. Firstly, the major thing with a film project is the location and mise en scene. As the video above shows, it is very unrealistic and not believe able. In the film, i was meant to be playing as a women, this contributed towards the unrealistic terms as i am clearly not a women. For future reference, a female character would defiantly have to be placed in. Also, the continuity was a bit off key whilst Daryl was walking through the doors and coming into where i was based. My face actions kept on changing and nothing seemed serious. Continuity is very importantand can distinguish the quality of the film. Since then, our continuity has increased as you can see in our latest film.

In our film, there was also a very bad camera shake. This was due to the fact we were inexperienced using the tripod and we set it up wrong the first time we used it.We learnt that all the legs on the tripod have to be adjusted and secured. From then, we have learnt how to set one up confidently and there is hardly ever any camera shake unless it is intentional.

What Have You Learnt About Technologies from The Process Of Constructing This Product? Q6

These are some of the things i used so far in media, to help me with both my blog and filming that i have done.

Research And Planning Blog

During my research and blog planning i used several techniques to try and illustrate what i was representing.Most of my stuff was taken off YouTube.To get ideas, i was given a good website to help me and give me ideas which was; www.watchthetitles.com. This website was very useful and gave me a clear understanding of how opening sequences operated. Another website i used was DaFont.com. This helped me with font to put into titles to help me with my film.This gave us an idea and as a group we decided for what was best.

Opening Sequence
For my opening sequence, we tried to not duplicate a opening sequence from another film, however, got small ideas and then improvised them within our own film. Using the website www.watchthetitles.com we got most of our ideas and also saw how different genres operate using different techniques such as colour and font.

Music For My Opening Sequence

For our music we got a website called www.freesounds.com. On the website there was
lots of different types of genres of music. We searched our theme and we found a couple good clips which we included in our film. Dan, a member in my group also searched for music on garage band. Analysing other films also gave us a clear understand on what type of music was best for a thriller genre.

Titles For My Opening Sequence

Titles for our opening sequence were all chosen through choice. We went on DaFont

.com and got fonts that we edited in imovie. However we then found Live type which is another editing programme. We found this beneficial and started using it. We also watched other films and saw what types of fonts they used. We didn't mimic it but went along the lines of creating something similar.

Audience Feedback

For my audience feedback, i will upload my film onto YouTube or Facebook.This will benefit me as i will get different opinions and different ways in which i can improve my film. This will also establish what i can do better next time i film and different ways in which i can improve on actual film based techniques and editing on a computer.

How did you attract/address your audience? Q5

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Who Would Be The Audience For Your Media Product? Q4

Name: Tre Gibbons

Gender: Male

Age: 16

Lives: Mitcham

Watches what TV programmes:

Eastenders, prison break,balls of steel & sky sports channels

Visits what websites:

Grime daily, face book, and social networking sites

Does what when they go out:

Chills with friends, makes music, goes shopping,cinema, plays football. He also plays xbox and his favourite game is call of duty.

Listens to what other music:

Grime,rap,hip hop, reggae and other subcultural music

Wears what clothes: typical teenager clothing (hoodie, tracksuits), However, he also wears casual clothes when needed

Reads what magazines:

Doesn't find an interest in magazines

Likes/is involved with which subcultures:

Rapping/football team

Shops where:

Kingston, Wimbledon and any areas that have good shopping facilities.For example; west field,oxford street etc

Aspires to be:

Rapper Or Footballer

Has how much spare £££:

Whenever his family provides, whether its for Christmas or his birthday or randomly

Likes this particular genre because:

He gets motivated and aspired by the lyrics.

Anything else about your ‘character’:

Chilled out guy but also takes his school work seriously along with his hobby's.

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why? Q3

Thriller and action films usually require a substantial budget to be produced and made therefore if a company was going to make my film, it would be someone like New line,20Th Century fox or Warner Bros. All These company's are very infamous for creating blockbusters, some examples are; X-Men, Die Hard and Blade Trilogy. All of these films are very well known and if i wanted my film to be as big as one of them it would be ideal for me to choose a major film company. I also no that they have made thrillers in the past so that would give me confidence with the go ahead also. The skill they have in creating the film would be in essence and only do well if i did pick a big indusrty to mainstream through.

How does your media product represent particular social groups? Q2

This character can represent Dan Decruz. (Ben Afleck, The Town)

Dan Decruz (Main Character)

Within our short opening sequence, in thrillers, u usually meet the main character. In ours, Dan Decruz is the main character, depending on what ethnic background he is, in a typical thriller film, he could be any ethnicity which breaks the stereotypical barrier.All 3 of the members in my group are white therefore we cant really show any ethnic stereotypical behaviour in which it concerns the role. However, we were going to introduce a gang leader of which he may of been an ethnic background with others as guards and so forth. However, we didn't lead down that route and we just picked me as the boss. Some can say that white people could be stereotyped as the 'hard men' through such things as from going to pubs or hooligans in modern day society. In addition, this could be backed up by another point that black youths of today are always involved in 'crime on our streets', but on the other hand this is not always the case.

In What Way Does Your Media Product Use, Develop Or Challenge forms and conventions of real media products? Q1

The opening scene we established was a typical thriller genre and we followed most of

the conventions you would usually start at the beginning of a thriller film and extracting ideas which could be projected into ours. We used colours that relate to thriller such as light blue, dark blue and grayish colours. We made these stand out and give out as much effect to the viewer as possible.

Throughout our first scene, we used several different sounds that would also distinguish our opening sequence to some what be related to a thriller genre. The type of music we got was a very tense, on the edge of your seat sound clip that would go well with the scene and whats going on within the film.

In our film , we tried to produce as many close ups and build up the storyline for the audience as much as possible.The more v

variety of shots that were included. The better and more interesting our film would be. We had to keep an eye on our continuity and had to re-shoot some bits that were wrong. Continuity consists of the character wearing the exact same clothes and the location the same etc. This will create a more realistic effect within the film and make it all round look more professional.

The first image of the three above is a screen capture of our opening sequence. Above, i have captured an image of the titles that open the film. The two pictures below it are representations that also have been extracted from other thriller films i found. Contrasting them, there is really no difference in how they are presented and how the font and colour affect everything.

Script

(phone rings)

Scott: "Hello..... Hello..... Who is this?"

Lauren: (noise of struggle or pain)

Scott: "Lauren is that you?"

Kidnapper: "If you want to see your daughter alive then bring me one million pounds at (location) in exactly 24 hours"

(phone call ends)

Shot Schedule

This is our groups shot schedule. We used this mainly for organisation to film and do everything in plan. This will significantly help our group complete our movie in time.

Titles

These were some titles made on dafont.com. We messed about with different types and looked to see which looked the best. These were my two favourite ones that i picked and may be edited and used during our opening sequence. Each title shows a different attributes. The first one is very slick and modern where the other one can be looked as upon a gritty intense title.

Casting

Daniel Purvey (Cameraman):

We chose Daniel P due to his knowledge and creative ideas from behind the camera. He came up with some fantastic ideas and examples on different camera shots on how we could make our Opening sequence look as good as possible. Also, his acting skills may not be very good therefore putting him somewhere where he will prevail was also a good idea. Daniel also may act if he is needed.

Daniel Decruz (Scott):

Daniel Decruz is Scott the wealthy businessman who's daughter is kidnapped. Daniel offered to act and also he has features that could be conveyed in the role as a businessman. He is tall and well built. Daniel will also contribute to the editing as he is very good at that specific skill.

Lauren (TBC):

As of yet we do not know who the daughter will be.However when we find a suitable person i will get a photo. Also, if lauren is not needed, we will not include her

Me (Kidnapper):

I will be playing the role of the kidnapper. I can act mysteriously and can also improvise and how kidnappers/anonymous people act whilst being involved in a kidnapping. I mostly looked at films and got an idea of several different shots and how it will make our opening sequence have an impact on the audience.

Storyboard

We created a storyboard to fully plan out our opening sequence. There were several advantages in creating a storyboard. We could get full confidence on how everything was going to work and how we should do all the shot types. Also, editing will be easier when we look back and see how transitions are going to work and how long every shot is (in seconds). Within our storyboard we also included dialogue and character details

Character Description

Daniel Decruz:

Dan is playing the part of the wealthy business man who's daughter is kidnapped and held for ransom. Daniel is a very wealthy man owning his own business. He will have to try and regain his daughter in the 24 hours or he may never see her again. Dan will be wearing businessman clothing and will be trying anyway possible to find out information regarding his daughter.

Daniel Purvey:

Daniel will be doing most of the shots with the camera however if needed he will be used as a background extra. Depending on the role he conveys he will be wearing causal clothing.

Luke Nolan (Me):

I am the kidnapper. I have kidnapped the wealthy businessman's daughter.I Am demanding a fee of 1,000,000. If i do not get paid in that time, his daughter may never be seen again. I will wear dark mysterious clothing. Something that doesn't give too much away about my character and persue a criminal role.

Props & Locations

The main props involved within our film are a mobile phone, a watch and a bag. The watch and Mobile phone play of high importance as it is what can create the whole scene. The mobile phone can be the link between the kidnappers and the watch can intertwine with the title 24 hours.

In our film we will be going with the costumes as a stereotypical nature. For example, one of our characters is wealthy, so he will dress up in a suit will a briefcase and other stuff that could represent him.

Our location will will be choosing will be Morden high street and Sutton high street. Both of these areas are busy and can create a sense of realism.One of the shots will be filmed on the high street when the business man receives a phone call from the kidnappers. This will be unexpected and take the audience by surprise.

Initial Idea

We as the group decided to choose a thriller involving a murder because the thought of the murder sets the atmosphere immediately and send chills down peoples spines as they know what the film is about. The camera angles would be close-up and extreme close-up as minimal enviromental information is given out yet fine detail to specific objects and subjects are portrayed. The location of our opening sequence would have been on a high street where we would have filmed the bussinesman walking down the street on the phone and another location would have been where the murder took place in dull, dark room. We chose these places as they would create the most atmosphere and tension.

The businessman would have been wearing smart suit, long coat/jacket, holding a briefcase and would be wearing a gold qatch on his left arm.The daughter would be wearing casual attire, blouse, skirt, hair tied back, bracelets on right arm.The Murderer would be wearing mainly black clothing with some kind of face mask and a knife as a weapon.

Film Synopsis

Our group film is called '24 Hours'. The film is about a wealthy businessmen who has had his daughter kidnapped and held for ransom. The kidnappers are demanding a substantial amount of money to set her free, but he has other ideas and decides to take matters into his own hands. Using his kill and knowledge, he has to track her down before 24 hours or it may be the last he ever sees of her.However, he is kidnapped before he can do anything productive to get back his daughter. The outcome of his life lays in the hands of the kidnappers.

As a group we decided that we are going to do a thriller based on a kidnapping. We will be using a lot of close-ups and extreme close-ups to reveal minimal mise en scene information. We will also be using a lot of over the shoulder, panning and tracking to create a sense of tension and atmosphere.

The costumes in this are very stereotypical. The businessman will have a long trench jacket on and maybe a brief case and his daughter will have on any day clothing. The kidnappers will have a full kidnappers attire. Probably dark clothing and maybe a balaclava to hide identity.

Potential Soundtracks For Our Thriller Film

http://www.freesound.org/samplesViewSingle.php?id=33796

The first sound clip is a very mysterious sound that makes u feel very uncomfortable and edgy. It creates a sense of atmosphere and gives off a feeling that something is going to happen. This soundtrack could be used in the opening maybe to have a more affect on the credits when they appear or even a chase scene

http://www.freesound.org/samplesViewSingle.php?id=33796

The second sound clip is a very suspicious and has a vulnerable tone to it. It could be used during the opening if someone is on a mission to do something. It could create that little atmospheric affect. There is a part in our movie that this would actually be conveyed very well. A part when a character runs down the alleyway. This music would create the tension and keep the viewer in suspense.

Shot List

This is the shot list i will be using for the opening sequence. Our group all made one and then picked the best one to go by.

Questionaire Survey Results

As you can see by this survey, The colors grey and blue are most popular for both males and females for a Thriller film.Red and yellow are less likely to be associated with a thriller movie as bright and vibrant colours don't represent Thrillers. The majority of mean had more of an idea of what colours would be associated with thrillers as is is targeted towards them. Women do not watch thrillers although some did think blue and grey would be the colour represented most with a thriller.

Questionaire

Here are some questions that i will be using for a questionaire. I will then produce my results in a table or graph and post them on my blog. I will also give a brief explanation on how the results came out

Filming Locations

This was taken in morden, this is where we will film and also in the underground. Sorry about the edfited picture. It was used for another course and i saved it by mistake. I will try and capture more images off good possible locations for filming

This location is in waterloo. Its off key , however would still be a good place to film. The long tunnel could be used in a running scene as it would create tension and an eary atmosphere.

Assignment Brief

For my Media assignment I have been put into a group of three including me and we have to create a two minute opening film sequence. I have been put into a group with Daniel Decruz and Daniel Purvey.We have come to a conclusion that we will do an opening sequence for a thriller movie.

We have decided that we will be filming on the underground or on a train station platform somewhere. The location is morden however i will kee my eyes open for any other good filming areas. We chosen this setting/location because we think that it relates to thriller and it is a location that is easily accessible and can also have an impact on the viewer.