We felt as though the one long shot of the detectives table worked better than several shorter ones. We feel that it builds up more tension, rather than suspense which would be showed with short durationed, quick-cuts, but we feel that for the opening sequence the tension needed to be built before the suspense.
We also felt as though the music was fitting to the visuals- it might not have fitted the genre, but at the opening sequence we thought that it was more important for our project to fit the visuals, than the genre. We thought that it wasn't contrapuntal in any way, but it does challenge the traditional thriller sounds. We do agree that the sound in the middle of the sequence changes too quickly, and this is a big shame, as it could easily have been fixed but only if we had more time.
Monday 21 March 2011
Friday 18 March 2011
Peer Feedback For Final Piece
1) Describe the type of camerawork which has been used. Do you think it is effective and why?
Good camera shots but are a bit too long.
Good use of pan.
Point of view puts audience into scene.
Close-ups and panning shots sheds light on surroundings.
2) What type of sound has been used and does it work with the visuals? How?
Non-diegetic tension-building soundtrack.
Sound doesn't fit the thriller genre- contrapuntal.
Sound challenges traditional thriller sounds.
Seemed unfitting in some ways.
Soundtrack changed in the middle too suddenly.
3) How has the mise-en-scene been constructed? Does it have an impact on the thriller genre?
Good use of location.
The fire was a good effect, as were the desk with profiles.
Well set, well lit, which fits the genre type.
Both settings worked well.
Good contrast.
Props- white sheet to cover body .
4) What editing techniques have been used?
Jump-cuts used.
Editing of the text being typed was good.
Overdone shot duration.
Transitions were fitting to the genre.
Good continuity.
Good font and typewriter effect.
Fading in and out of music and scenes.
5) Can you think of any constructive critisisms?
Overdone shot duration.
Music is a little unfitting to thriller genre.
Could have been more tense- looking for suspects.
Have a better soundtrack.
6) What was the most effective element of the production?
Lighting.
Scenes set mood.
Location.
Location and credits are good.
Good camera shots but are a bit too long.
Good use of pan.
Point of view puts audience into scene.
Close-ups and panning shots sheds light on surroundings.
2) What type of sound has been used and does it work with the visuals? How?
Non-diegetic tension-building soundtrack.
Sound doesn't fit the thriller genre- contrapuntal.
Sound challenges traditional thriller sounds.
Seemed unfitting in some ways.
Soundtrack changed in the middle too suddenly.
3) How has the mise-en-scene been constructed? Does it have an impact on the thriller genre?
Good use of location.
The fire was a good effect, as were the desk with profiles.
Well set, well lit, which fits the genre type.
Both settings worked well.
Good contrast.
Props- white sheet to cover body .
4) What editing techniques have been used?
Jump-cuts used.
Editing of the text being typed was good.
Overdone shot duration.
Transitions were fitting to the genre.
Good continuity.
Good font and typewriter effect.
Fading in and out of music and scenes.
5) Can you think of any constructive critisisms?
Overdone shot duration.
Music is a little unfitting to thriller genre.
Could have been more tense- looking for suspects.
Have a better soundtrack.
6) What was the most effective element of the production?
Lighting.
Scenes set mood.
Location.
Location and credits are good.
Thursday 17 March 2011
Evaluation Of The Editing Stage
Editing is a very important part of the movie process, especially in thrillers. It proved to be very hard for us, harder than we thought! This was due to our planning changing because of bad organisation, and we had a lot more footage than we originally thought! As we had a lot of footage, there was a lot for us to choose from, and we were able to have a variety of ideas in which we could be able to connect them in different ways. This proved hard to find the best and most effective way, however we came to a conclusion to just have the first scene. This then became a problem, as it was too short, so we cut part of scene 2 into several short clips which we inserted within scene 1, enabling the audience to gain an idea of what has happened before the detective scene, without giving it all away, and letting them imagine and think for themselves (a convention of a thriller).
Our choice of font and style for our credits proved an easier part of the editing stage for us, as we were able to get and use these with ease, and the program we used helped us to find the right style and the right transitions for these credits.
GarageBand, when a amateur user, can be difficult, and it was as it didn't provide us some of the sounds we admired, but we were able to put together a decent soundtrack which went with our theme. From this to our final piece on FinalCut, this process to us was easy.
Our choice of font and style for our credits proved an easier part of the editing stage for us, as we were able to get and use these with ease, and the program we used helped us to find the right style and the right transitions for these credits.
GarageBand, when a amateur user, can be difficult, and it was as it didn't provide us some of the sounds we admired, but we were able to put together a decent soundtrack which went with our theme. From this to our final piece on FinalCut, this process to us was easy.
Wednesday 16 March 2011
Evaluation Of Our Project So Far
So far I think we have done well on this project. We have met the aims we set out to when we planned the project and in most areas done better than most of our objectives.We each took upon ourselves an individual task which all of performed well in and it shows in our final product. Overall I feel like we could have done better with planning however. We were not as ready to film as perhaps we should have been, which was clear with our lack of props where we filmed a body under a sheet. But, we did film it well, the camera angles used and the movement of the camera really gave acroos the atmosphere we wanted the audience to feel. This was also the case with how well we made the location low lit. The editing used slow cutting to build the tense atmosphere which is what we planned and the music also helped to create this. Overall we feel everyone performed well and we are pleased with our final cut, even if there are areas we could have improved if we had other equipment.
Evaluation of Music For Thriller Opening
After viewing the film with the finished piece of music on it, we found that for most of the scene the music fitted well. However, we did need to go back and adjust some small parts, where the timings were a bit out. When we went back to 'Garage Band' we soon sorted this out and it now works really well.
16th March 2010
Today is our last lesson for editing.
This lesson, all we need to do is add the soundtrack to the video and then upload it to youtube ready to blog at the end of the lesson. Our thriller project will then be complete!
This lesson, all we need to do is add the soundtrack to the video and then upload it to youtube ready to blog at the end of the lesson. Our thriller project will then be complete!
Monday 14 March 2011
Monday 14th March- Editing Lesson
After getting the feedback from Cigdem last lesson, we are starting to cut parts of the credits scene and add in parts of the forest scene to break up the shot, as she thought that it was too long and needed a bit more depth.
Thursday 10 March 2011
Thursday 10th March- Editing Lesson
Today we finished all the sound for our opening sequence, but after feedback from Cigdem, we need to change the video a bit by putting in extra clips from a different scene to make the sub-genre more obvious. To do this, we will have to speed up the credits, then cut some of this bit to insert clips from the forest scene using quick cuts. By doing this, we will not effect the length of the sequence, as well as getting more depth into the film through the opening sequence. We will have to carry on this editing next lesson.
Wednesday 9 March 2011
The Software We Have Used
FinalCutThis is the piece of software that we used to edit and put the video all together. This was the main piece of footage that we used.
This piece of software was really good and met all the needs we had for video editing software. The user interface is fairly simple to use and makes editing easy to complete.
This is the piece of software we used to create our soundtrack.
This is fairly easy to use as it is uses a 'drag and drop' function which means you don't need to have very high knowledge of music composition.
Evaluation Of Our Thriller Advertisement Poster
There were several problems whilst creating our thriller film poster which has led to us not being able to produce it to the standard we would have originally wished to. These problems were mainly the software crashing.
However, we did manage to create a product which is effective for our project. We managed to follow some of the main conventions of a thriller poster, as well as including some features which make it individual. We based our poster around a photo from our opening sequence, which is the first scene that is shown in our film. This picture creates a very good impression, portraying the genre through simply the mise-en-scene. We chose to use white as the colour for all the text on our poster, as it contrasts and stands out against the dark background. The film title is in quite large writing, following the tag line which signifies several questionable themes which could occur in the film, as well as being narrative to the film. We also included the main participants to the film, which we left until the bottom of the page as we felt that the audience would engage more with the tag line followed by the title before reading the names, although they can still identify famous people involved in the film. We also included the classification next to the film title, as we felt that the poster itself did not make this obvious enough.
One main feature has been missed off of the poster this is the release date so if we were to do this again it would be something we would include.
If we had got the opportunity to create this poster again, we would have included a few of the actors, maybe as shadows, lightly over the photo, as well as include the release date, or 'coming soon', to give the audience more information on the film itself. We would also try to make the classification more obvious.
However, we did manage to create a product which is effective for our project. We managed to follow some of the main conventions of a thriller poster, as well as including some features which make it individual. We based our poster around a photo from our opening sequence, which is the first scene that is shown in our film. This picture creates a very good impression, portraying the genre through simply the mise-en-scene. We chose to use white as the colour for all the text on our poster, as it contrasts and stands out against the dark background. The film title is in quite large writing, following the tag line which signifies several questionable themes which could occur in the film, as well as being narrative to the film. We also included the main participants to the film, which we left until the bottom of the page as we felt that the audience would engage more with the tag line followed by the title before reading the names, although they can still identify famous people involved in the film. We also included the classification next to the film title, as we felt that the poster itself did not make this obvious enough.
One main feature has been missed off of the poster this is the release date so if we were to do this again it would be something we would include.
If we had got the opportunity to create this poster again, we would have included a few of the actors, maybe as shadows, lightly over the photo, as well as include the release date, or 'coming soon', to give the audience more information on the film itself. We would also try to make the classification more obvious.
Conventions Of A Film Poster
A film poster should include:
The Film Title.
Main Actors/actresses.
Release date (if necessary).
Production company.
Classification.
Tagline.
Directors and production company.
A film poster should also:
Be eye-catching/captivating.
Have a focal picture that should be intriguing.
Have large text that can be easily read.
Suggest the genre of the film.
Be attractive to the target audience.
Crime/thriller posters usually:
Has a dark background.
A single dominant image in the centre of the poster for thrillers.
A small majority of the cast for crime (because there is usually more than one gangster or criminal involved in the plot).
Film title in the largest font on the page.
Additional font to explain the title.
Actors and directors credits in smaller font.
The production company logo.
Release date or 'coming soon' (this creates a sense of anticipation).
The Film Title.
Main Actors/actresses.
Release date (if necessary).
Production company.
Classification.
Tagline.
Directors and production company.
A film poster should also:
Be eye-catching/captivating.
Have a focal picture that should be intriguing.
Have large text that can be easily read.
Suggest the genre of the film.
Be attractive to the target audience.
Crime/thriller posters usually:
Has a dark background.
A single dominant image in the centre of the poster for thrillers.
A small majority of the cast for crime (because there is usually more than one gangster or criminal involved in the plot).
Film title in the largest font on the page.
Additional font to explain the title.
Actors and directors credits in smaller font.
The production company logo.
Release date or 'coming soon' (this creates a sense of anticipation).
Existing Thriller Advertisements
These are all prime examples of crime thriller posters, and even at a glance have similar conventions.
The colours are all either pastel or dark colours, and they all involve one or more images which give a slight insight into the film, without giving too much away. The Departed and The Usual Suspects use the page to show off the actors, and their 'look'. Seven gives more ideas away from the words, and the viewer can tell what the main theme is in this film from the title and these words. The main actors/actresses names are given on these to make the audience aware that these actors/actresses will play a key role in the film. This could also promote the film (especially if they are well-known and famous), and are usually presented to attract the audience to these names (usually shown at the top of the page), especially in Seven and The Usual Suspects.
The titles on all these posters are bold and stand-out, but different effects are used to portray different effects. The Departed and The Usual Suspects have their title in block lettering, creating a sense of seriousness, whereas Resevoir Dogs and Seven have jaggardy lettering, perhaps to create a sense of uneasiness. In these four posters, the titles are either in red or white. These are common colours to use for text as they are contrasting to the background, and can easily be read.
From a movie poster, the audience should be able to identify the genre of the film and its target audience, as well as create an image of what the film will be like, and guess some of the themes within it.
Basic Questions & Answers About Our Project
Q) What classification is your film going to be and why?
A) We chose our film to be a 15 certificate because of the level of violence and mild language. We do not feel that anyone under this age would be comfortable when watching our project.
Q) Who did you use for your actors?
A) Stacey, Sam Brown and Ed all act in scene 2, along with Sam Pudney who we had to use to be able to meet our specification. The only actor in scene 1 will be Ollie Sim (Harriets brother). We tried to use ourselves as much as possible but this was hard to work under current circumstances.
Q) What time of day did you film this and why?
A) Scene 1 will be filmed in the evening, in contrast to scene 2 filmed in the morning- this will give the impression that they are filmed in the same day, but at different times, linked with a transition that will be obvious that they are being taken 'back in time'.
Q) Why did you choose your location?
A) For scene 1, we used Harriets living room. This was chosen as it can easily be made to look like a detectives house, as well as it being very realistic. Scene 2 we filmed in the forest by the college. This was mainly down to accessibility, as well as it being a prime location for something like the murder to happen, so the audience will be able to relate to it and realise what has happened almost instantly.
Q) What do you feel you have improved on from the last project?
A) Personally, I have built experience more than anything. We researched more into every aspect of crime thrillers, and watched more existing films to give us a better impression. I have learnt how to use all the equipment to a higher standard and used this to make us more efficient through all the production stages. We went into more trouble with the mise-en-scene, and spent more time on the editing so that it looked a lot more professional.
Q) Have you used any animation or special effects in the project?
A) In the opening sequence, no, we tried to keep it as realistic as possible, however there would be special effects used later on in the film.
A) We chose our film to be a 15 certificate because of the level of violence and mild language. We do not feel that anyone under this age would be comfortable when watching our project.
Q) Who did you use for your actors?
A) Stacey, Sam Brown and Ed all act in scene 2, along with Sam Pudney who we had to use to be able to meet our specification. The only actor in scene 1 will be Ollie Sim (Harriets brother). We tried to use ourselves as much as possible but this was hard to work under current circumstances.
Q) What time of day did you film this and why?
A) Scene 1 will be filmed in the evening, in contrast to scene 2 filmed in the morning- this will give the impression that they are filmed in the same day, but at different times, linked with a transition that will be obvious that they are being taken 'back in time'.
Q) Why did you choose your location?
A) For scene 1, we used Harriets living room. This was chosen as it can easily be made to look like a detectives house, as well as it being very realistic. Scene 2 we filmed in the forest by the college. This was mainly down to accessibility, as well as it being a prime location for something like the murder to happen, so the audience will be able to relate to it and realise what has happened almost instantly.
Q) What do you feel you have improved on from the last project?
A) Personally, I have built experience more than anything. We researched more into every aspect of crime thrillers, and watched more existing films to give us a better impression. I have learnt how to use all the equipment to a higher standard and used this to make us more efficient through all the production stages. We went into more trouble with the mise-en-scene, and spent more time on the editing so that it looked a lot more professional.
Q) Have you used any animation or special effects in the project?
A) In the opening sequence, no, we tried to keep it as realistic as possible, however there would be special effects used later on in the film.
9th March- Editing Lesson
We felt that we could get our editing finished today, but we spent more time than we thought we needed on the sound, and making sure that it fits in well with the video. We will hopefully get this finished by next lesson and will be able to upload it before the end of the week!
Monday 7 March 2011
7th March - Editing Lesson
Today we carried on from last lesson, which was mainly adding the sound which Ed had created to our film. We had to change a few things to make the sound to fit the visuals to the best possible standard.
Music
The Music For Our Thriller Opening:
For the thriller opening sequence, we thought that we should have slow but intense piece of music to set a tone of mystery and create an uneasy atmosphere. We used the software 'Garage Band' to create this piece of music.
We decided to make the music mysterious and slow paced which matched what was happening on screen, which doesn't make it contrapuntal, this makes the connection between the visual film and the music easy to understand for the viewer. This was instead of choosing to make the music fast paced and sound more upbeat which would confuse the audience.
Initially we looked through the available sounds to find ones that were slow paced, intense and dark. We narrowed down the search by choosing certain instruments we notice in other similar thriller openings, so first we looked into strings especially violins. We found a lot of pieces that worked, so before we discarded all but one, we found a collection of pieces from piano to see which ones matched well.
Soon we realised that we wanted the music to build up, much like the scene does on screen, to build the tension with the visuals. We did this by adding extra samples over a period of time, so at the climax of the film the music is equally as aggressive for the audience. Also, we used the volume fader to increase and decrease the volumes of individual tracks when we wanted them to be louder and softer.
Finally, we took the finally edited piece of film and adjusted the timing for most of the instruments and volume levels, to make the music match the film perfectly.
For the thriller opening sequence, we thought that we should have slow but intense piece of music to set a tone of mystery and create an uneasy atmosphere. We used the software 'Garage Band' to create this piece of music.
We decided to make the music mysterious and slow paced which matched what was happening on screen, which doesn't make it contrapuntal, this makes the connection between the visual film and the music easy to understand for the viewer. This was instead of choosing to make the music fast paced and sound more upbeat which would confuse the audience.
Initially we looked through the available sounds to find ones that were slow paced, intense and dark. We narrowed down the search by choosing certain instruments we notice in other similar thriller openings, so first we looked into strings especially violins. We found a lot of pieces that worked, so before we discarded all but one, we found a collection of pieces from piano to see which ones matched well.
Soon we realised that we wanted the music to build up, much like the scene does on screen, to build the tension with the visuals. We did this by adding extra samples over a period of time, so at the climax of the film the music is equally as aggressive for the audience. Also, we used the volume fader to increase and decrease the volumes of individual tracks when we wanted them to be louder and softer.
Finally, we took the finally edited piece of film and adjusted the timing for most of the instruments and volume levels, to make the music match the film perfectly.
Thursday 3 March 2011
3rd March - Editing Lesson
Today we started by adding transitions between each scene to make it flow better, but, with the added time that this put into the production, we realised that it was ridiculously long for an opening sequence, and thought that it included too much of the storyline. We thought that the first scene was very good, and, by itself, would be an excellent opening sequence. It was the strongest part of our peer feedback, and conveys all the opening scene crime thriller conventions. Because of this, we decided to remove the forest scene. Although this idea was good initially, we don't think that we could have produced this to a good enough standard to compare with the first scene. Also, because we didn't manage to get the transition done, the last scene seemed a bit out of place to jump to, and confusing the audience is what we don't want to achieve!
After finalising this decision, we inserted the credits and the transitions for these, so this has all been done.
Meanwhile, Ed was producing the soundtrack to go over this piece on GarageBand.
Next lesson, we will work on the sound together and add in any effects we may need to include.
After finalising this decision, we inserted the credits and the transitions for these, so this has all been done.
Meanwhile, Ed was producing the soundtrack to go over this piece on GarageBand.
Next lesson, we will work on the sound together and add in any effects we may need to include.
Credits Font
(http://www.dafont.com/uncle-typewriter.font)
This is the internet page we will use to get our fonts for our credits from. We have chosen to use this type as it is designed to look like a typewriter font, and this is perfect for our sequence as they will be shown on the suspects documents (a piece of paper that has been printed). We will also try and edit these credits to make them appear as they are being typed out, letter by letter. We think that this is a good effect as it fits in well with the genre as well as the visuals.
Wednesday 2 March 2011
Peer Feedback For Rough Cut Piece
1. Camerawork - what type of shots were used? Were they useful/ effective?
Only a few camera shots used!
- POV
- Pan
- Medium
2. Mise-en-scene - discuss areas of lighting, props, costumes/ location choice. Does is work with the genre?
- Successful lighting (dark/mysterious/natural).
- Costume smart.
- Props were stereotypical equipment for a detective.
- Location fits genre.
3. Editing - transitions/ pace/ shot duration - how have these ares been constructed so far?
- Shot duration is too long.
- Pace is quite slow.
- Needs more transitions.
4. Sound - diegetic/ non-diegetic?
Naturalistic soundtrack, needs a soundtrack to go and add more atmosphere.
5. Which ares need improvement?
Editing and finalising.
6. Which areas do you think work the best?
Mise-en-scene.
Only a few camera shots used!
- POV
- Pan
- Medium
2. Mise-en-scene - discuss areas of lighting, props, costumes/ location choice. Does is work with the genre?
- Successful lighting (dark/mysterious/natural).
- Costume smart.
- Props were stereotypical equipment for a detective.
- Location fits genre.
3. Editing - transitions/ pace/ shot duration - how have these ares been constructed so far?
- Shot duration is too long.
- Pace is quite slow.
- Needs more transitions.
4. Sound - diegetic/ non-diegetic?
Naturalistic soundtrack, needs a soundtrack to go and add more atmosphere.
5. Which ares need improvement?
Editing and finalising.
6. Which areas do you think work the best?
Mise-en-scene.
Thriller Rough Cut
Here is our thriller rough cut which is a basic outline of what we are going to produce.
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