| PROPS-Syringe |
| PROPS-Syringe |
Monday 28 January 2013
Evaluation of opening sequence so far
The genre for our opening sequence is a crime/psychological thriller. This is because we are inputting aspects of a crime thriller (although it is subtle-due to it being only the beginning of the film) e.g. storyline includes a crime being done, blue and red flashing lights and sirens which are indexical of police.
However, there are aspects of a psychological thriller also because there is a strong focus on emotions and what is inside the protagonist's mind. This is shown in editing from the cross dissolve used to act as blinking, and also the character's flash backs.
The target audience for our opening sequence are young adults of a white/ British origin. This is because the actors will be young adults so the audience will easily be able to associate with them and therefore enjoy the film more.
However, there are aspects of a psychological thriller also because there is a strong focus on emotions and what is inside the protagonist's mind. This is shown in editing from the cross dissolve used to act as blinking, and also the character's flash backs.
The target audience for our opening sequence are young adults of a white/ British origin. This is because the actors will be young adults so the audience will easily be able to associate with them and therefore enjoy the film more.
Animatic
Below is the animatic that we created on Adobe Premiere Pro in order to make it easier to picture the actual opening sequence and to represent editing and camera digitally. We did this by drawing out each shot, taking pictures of them, putting them into the software and then editing them together, using the transitions that will be used in the real version.
Research into psychological and crime thrillers
For our opening sequence we have decided to choose a hybrid genre of a psychological crime thriller.
Information about psychological thrillers:
Psychological thriller is a specific sub-genre of the broad ranged thriller with heavy focus on the unstable emotional states of characters.
It is defined as: Characters are no longer reliant on physical strength to overcome their brutish enemies (which is often the case in typical action-thrillers), but rather are reliant on their mental resources, whether it be by battling wits with a formidable opponent or by battling for equilibrium in the character's own mind. The suspense created by psychological thrillers often comes from two or more characters preying upon one another's minds, either by playing deceptive games with the other or by merely trying to demolish the other's mental state.
Information about crime thrillers:
Definition of crime thrillers:
Crime fiction is the genre of fiction that deals with crimes, their detection, criminals and their motives.
The following films are the top 10 best crime thrillers of all time (as rated by www.flickchart.com)
1) Pulp Fiction (1994)
2) Reservoir Dogs (1992)
3) Se7en (1995)
4) The Dart Knight (2008)
5) The usual suspect (1995)
6) The Night of the Hunter (1955)
7) Strangers on a train (1951)
8) Memento (2000)
9) Shadow of a doubt (1943)
10) Batman Begins (2005)
Information about psychological thrillers:
Psychological thriller is a specific sub-genre of the broad ranged thriller with heavy focus on the unstable emotional states of characters.
It is defined as: Characters are no longer reliant on physical strength to overcome their brutish enemies (which is often the case in typical action-thrillers), but rather are reliant on their mental resources, whether it be by battling wits with a formidable opponent or by battling for equilibrium in the character's own mind. The suspense created by psychological thrillers often comes from two or more characters preying upon one another's minds, either by playing deceptive games with the other or by merely trying to demolish the other's mental state.
Information about crime thrillers:
Definition of crime thrillers:
Crime fiction is the genre of fiction that deals with crimes, their detection, criminals and their motives.
The following films are the top 10 best crime thrillers of all time (as rated by www.flickchart.com)
1) Pulp Fiction (1994)
2) Reservoir Dogs (1992)
3) Se7en (1995)
4) The Dart Knight (2008)
5) The usual suspect (1995)
6) The Night of the Hunter (1955)
7) Strangers on a train (1951)
8) Memento (2000)
9) Shadow of a doubt (1943)
10) Batman Begins (2005)
Shooting schedule
Our actors consist of Reece Collins (as victim) and Aiden (as killer)
Day 1 (Sunday 27th January)
1) POV shot of Reece lying down, waking and beginning to struggle
3) Pan to left (still POV) to reveal syringe on table and zoom in
4) Close up of the syringe with Reece in background panicking
5) Over shoulder shot of Reece looking over and up to the window
6) POV shot of Reece lying down and identifying the white lab coat hanging up.
Day 2 (Tuesday 29th January)
1) POV shot of Reece lying down, lifting his cut hand up to the camera
2) Over the shoulder shot of Aiden's hand on Reece's shoulder and injecting him
3) Medium shot of Aiden and Reece fighting and struggling-using tracking
4) POV shot of Reece lying down, and Aiden slowly walking towards him
Shot list
- Point of view (POV) shot- e.g. man lying on table
- Close up- e.g. on syringe and on the man's cut hand
- Panning left- e.g. as the man identifies the syringe
- Medium shots- e.g. of man getting injected
- Shot reverse shot- e.g. as men struggle in the fight
- Tracking- e.g. as men fight
Final idea
The final plot of our opening sequence is:
1) man wakes up in dark room and looks around in panic.
2) man's eyes focus on a syringe, located to the left of the screen.
3) this syringe provokes a flashback of a man coming from behind him and injecting him
4) end of flashback- the man raises his hand to his face.
5) this cut provokes a flashback of a fight between him and the other man, a struggle and eventual cutting of the man's hand.
6) end of flashback- man looks around for possible escape exits and focuses on a window.
7) blue and red flashing lights resonate from the window and sirens are heard.
3) this syringe provokes a flashback of a man coming from behind him and injecting him
4) end of flashback- the man raises his hand to his face.
5) this cut provokes a flashback of a fight between him and the other man, a struggle and eventual cutting of the man's hand.
6) end of flashback- man looks around for possible escape exits and focuses on a window.
7) blue and red flashing lights resonate from the window and sirens are heard.
Research into media institutions
In class I have individually been doing a research project into one particular magazine, Horse and Hound, in aspects such as the ownership of the magazine, and also the the magazine itself.
Continuity task evaluation
How has the continuity task aided your understanding of the film-making process?
1) Shot list and storyboarding
The shot list that we composed was detailed and was set out clearly so that we all understood exactly what was meant to happen and could picture it happening in our heads. We found this useful in laying down the basic format of the short film, however we found that we changed a lot of the shots when we were actually in the situation. An example of this is that we found the over shoulder shots hard to do so often we changed these to high angle shots instead, which we felt gave the same impression.
Storyboarding was also detailed and helped is imagine what was going to take place. However, the composition of the storyboard was long because we often disagreed as to how the sequence should be shot. As well as this, we found it difficult to put onto paper what we wanted, so therefore it took longer than expected.
Furthermore, due to these factors I believe that making a shot list and storyboard helped us to understand the film-making process because without them, we would have been completely disorganised and the process would've taken much longer to complete. However, it did take longer than we planned because we took a long time to agree on plans.
2) Filming and editing
The filming process in the continuity task was relatively straight forward because we had organised our plans thoroughly which meant that we knew what we wanted to achieve. However, I think we were sometimes too ambitious in the style of shots because none of us had ever filmed before and perhaps we should have filmed something more basic. As stated before, we often had to alter shots because performing over shoulder shots were more problematic in some scenarios than we'd planned, as the camera was hard to hold still without the tripod etc. Therefore, a lot of the time shots took longer then we'd planned to carry out. As well as this, I still feel unsure about the fundamentals of the 180 degree rule.
However, the editing within our film ran very smoothly as we had jelled more as a team and had begun to make decisions individually without having to ask each other constantly. Therefore, it took much less time as we had less to disagree on.
Furthermore, this process had definitely aided our understanding of the film process because we now understood that we could not agree on everything, but simply had to compromise in some situations so that the filming could be completed as quickly as possible.
3) The importance of research and planning
I would argue that the planning process in the most important stage in the continuity task because if the task is planned well, it means that the whole process will go smoother and quicker, meaning that we will be able to meet deadlines. Because of our delay in agreeing within the composition of a plot/shot list/storyboard, it has delayed us in the whole of our coursework which makes it difficult for us to catch up.
Furthermore, when we go on to perform our real opening sequence of a thriller we will take what we've learnt and make sure we don't make these simple mistakes again.
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