Foundation Production Evaluation By Sonja Moss

Foundation Production Evaluation

In what ways does your media product use, develop or change forms and conventions of real media products?

The conventions of a thriller are the stereotypical elements that make that specific film fall within the thriller genre. The typical elements of mise en scene within a thriller are typically dim and sinister lighting along with settings where people would feel safe such as their home or with relatives also the sound/music is mostly non-diagetic to build the tension with the audience but there is some diagetic sound such as the noise of the surrounding areas e.g. in a woodland setting there would be the rustling sound of leaves and possibly the sound of twigs breaking underfoot this helps to build tension as well due to the type of sound it is edgy and unexpected. We decided on using mainly diagetic sound to further enforce the sense of gritty realism, which was a vital part in the overall look, and has aided in the crescendo of tension and suspense. We used few props within our piece but these were effective in the way we used them e.g. these props were mainly shown in fast paced shots this sparks questions in the audience, what are they for? Why do they have them? This helped to increase the build up of suspense and tension as they went as the audience only got a quick glance at them. The setting of our piece is within enclosed, dark woods this helps to create the thriller genre. The wood was large but seemed enclose and looked never ending, it had a small open space where we filmed but this still seemed small and was surrounded with tall and limp trees with no leaves on them.
In our opening sequence there is iconography show through a few objects such as the lighter. The lighter symbolises fire, danger and ignition e.g. the sparks ignite fires and the fire causes dangerous conditions when not controlled. The petrol canister can create different iconographic qualities such as it can symbolise something starting e.g. petrol/diesel is often associated with motor vehicle starting it can also symbolise danger and fire as the usual contents of a petrol canister is extremely flammable.
When filming we shot each shot from a number of different angles so that we could sit down and look at them properly before editing and also so we could get the best possible effect for our thriller piece. The camera was always handheld within our piece this gave the desired effect during specific sections of the piece although during the running sequences it gave the desire effect I think maybe it would have given an even greater effect if the camera was not as shaky and also followed the same pattern of Joe’s footsteps when following him.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

In our piece the social groups that I think are represented are 18-21 year old males that have managed to get into a bad crowd from a young age. This is because of the reasons behind the victim getting into the trouble before being kidnapped. This is also a common problem in the modern world so most people can relate to the fact that he has been kidnapped and that his position is fatal because of the bad crowd he had become part of earlier on in life. Dan represents the many young people that fall into the wrong crowd at a young age and start getting into trouble and getting pressured into misled youth culture. Jonty represents the gang leaders of today that take advantage of the weak and needy people that require some form of social stability, but happen to fall into the wrong crowd. These situations create a partial feeling of empathy within the audience although they could not help feeling it is the persons own fault.


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

For our piece I would use ‘Pathe Distribution’ this is because they have a wide range of films that they have distributed and a large quantity of these are thrillers some of which create the same effect and meaning we have created/hoping to achieve with the audience. Some of the thrillers the have distributed include Memento (Christopher Nolan: Oct 2000), ‘Black Christmas’ (Glen Morgan: 2006) and many more. Pathe Distributions have had a large number of very successful thriller releases and this is why I have decided that I would like Pathe Distributors to distribute our film. It is also the UK’s leading independent film distributors.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

The audience for this piece would be males aged 18-21 and possibly some females who like the thriller genre but the main target audience would be males aged 18-21. This is because there are a number of different thrillers that are slightly similar to ours and they have indulged in the viewing of these films. Other thrillers such as Memento and The Others have had very high admission levels. Memento gaining 330,468 admissions since 2000 and The Others has gained 2,646,656 admissions since 2001 (http://lumiere.obs.coe.int/web/search/index.php), these statistics are from Great Britain alone. These statistics show that the thriller genre is very popular within Great Britain.

How did you attract/address your audience?

The target audience would be attracted to our film due to the fact that the storyline is close to the reality of today’s social society issues within the youth culture, also many people can relate to our piece as many people have experience bullying on a personal level and have been pressured into things they are unsure of or have not wanted to do. For example, in our piece Dan (the victim) is taken unwillingly and subjected to violence being made to feel small and insignificant. The camera angles throughout our piece are mainly high angle shots of the victim this adds to the feeling of domination over the victim (strength and power to the antagonist). The victim’s body language is very withdrawn and enclosed this shows his internal monologue of feeling alone and ostracized. The antagonist’s body language is very open and strong, this shows he is in control, confident and knows what he wants. The non-diagetic sound within the piece is very dark, sinister and mysterious, this creates suspense and tension within the audience as sound is very important for creating atmosphere within a film piece. The diagetic sound within the piece is natural sound from the surrounding wood area such as rustling leaves and breaking twigs, this helps to add to the suspense and tension from the non-diagetic sound as it is unexpected.

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

The technologies that we used to create this product were:
The Camera
Light Reflector
Garage Band
After Effects
Final Cut Pro

We did not use much technology to create our piece but I think that our simplicity has created the desired effect that we were hoping for. I found that the software we used was easy to pick up once you set your mind to the task. For example, I found garage band particularly easy to pick up as the layout and commands were simple and it easy to create new project if you were not happy with the outcome of different experimentations of music.

With this piece I thought it was a success but still there are improvements that could be made. For example, I thought that the lighting towards the end of the piece was slightly to dull and grey, it looked de-saturated and I do not feel this looked the best it could. I also feel that a few shots were not the right choice of our selection as they did not look in place to me they seemed like they needed maybe a slight angle or shot size change, for example, there is a shot of Junior timidly putting petrol on Dan and I feel the shot would look better at a higher angle as it would give a more powerful effect on the piece.

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

From the preliminary task I feel I have progressed slightly as I have managed to learn some more skills to aid in my work and the whole groups. At the start of the full product I felt it was not going to be as successful as the preliminary task, this is due to the planning being delayed and re-done during filming but as time progressed so did I and the group and I started to see the product form into the planned final piece. My skills in deciding correct shots and composition have improved since the preliminary task this is due to the previous peer evaluations. However my skills in continuity editing have not improved this, is because I still do not fully understand all the aspects of editing. My construction of character and story has improved with this task as I have really tried my best with this final product, me and the group put a lot of thought into the storyline and the characters for this piece because we wanted the best possible outcome from our work.

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Evaluation of Foundation Portfolio

1) In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

The conventions of a film are similarities that make an audience know what genre of film it is by the film having similarities that stereotype it into the genre. Conventions of a thriller within mise en scene are they usually use dark colours, low key lighting and tends to be contemporary. It is also normally placed in a busy town or quiet area. The victims are mainly at their home; as this is were people tend to go to feel safe or to hide away. There use of positioning within a frame with the victim is to show a close up of the victims face and/or an important item within the room.
The victims make up and costume will change through out the film. From perfect to completely ruined, make up running down their face and dirty, from the antagonists actions through out the film ending up looking exhausted, untidy and emotionally unstable. Their hair will be the same from clean cut and styled to dirty, greasy and a plain mess. This is typically what will happen in both thrillers and horrors. It takes them out of their comfort zone of caring about there appearance and they start caring about surviving no matter what they look like. (As in the example pictures of Will Smith at the beginning and end of ‘The enemy of the state’ 1998, Tony Scott).
We only had a few props but they were very effective. Like the use of the petrol can, the lighter or the cigarette. Just the quick shots of them being used added to the suspense and the pace of the film.
It was set in a deserted, enclosed wood with a slight opening in the middle. It gave a sense of freedom from the open circle but overwhelmed the audience with entrapment as it was surrounded by woods and bushes and nobody was around to help, as it is a typical thriller. The use of trees which had no leaves on gave a sense of death or evil. Making it slightly more chilling. The colour of our film was slightly de-saturated so it added darkness to it or an evil mood. It made the film feel dangerous; it was all natural light as well, as we wanted to make it look realistic. We did have light reflectors but due to bad weather conditions they didn’t really work. However we think this helped add to the feel of the film.
The sound is typically a fast pace into dramatic loud creshendo’s or a thrilling silence. They use silence to build tension and to intensify concentration on a certain sound effect such as a squeak, bangs or odd noises. The music in the background is almost always instrumental and tends to be non-diagetic to create an ambient within the scene and make it feel more dangerous, tense and edgy. It may also cause the audiences to become uncomfortable or have aspects of anxiety. This also creates the suspense within the film and the enigma that intrigues and keeps them ‘on the edge of their seats’. The sound can add to the unease of the audience when shown a dead body or a murder etc.
In thrillers there is always a victim, in our film it is Dan, (the protagonist), a villain, Jonty and Junior, (the antagonists) and a member of authority like police, we didn’t have one as it was only the opening, (neutral character). There may even be more then jus one of each. The victim is almost always an innocent person caught in the middle of something and the villain always tends to be a kind of psycho. You can tell that Jonty is the main antagonist by his body language of being more relaxed about the whole thing, unemotionally throwing Dan around and storming around. He is the first to grab Dan, open the boot of the car, get the petrol can and move Junior out the way so he can put the petrol on Dan as Junior is too hesitant. You can also see this is all there facial expressions, Dan is terrified and is obviously fearing for his life, Jonty doesn’t really care and is determined to finish the ‘job’ through and Junior is extremely hesitant and possibly just doing everything to please Jonty. We close up on each of them at moments when the audience need to see the expressions to be able to empathise with Dan and dislike the antagonists even more. We also do it so the audience can see into the characters characteristics to help them understand what kind of people they are.
However during the main section of the film the antagonist maybe an invisible threat to the victim, but the audience knows who it is ( unrestricted narration) or the audience knows the same as the protagonist or sometimes less (restricted narration).
Iconography, in our film there are only a couple of iconographies. One would be the petrol can. It is recognised for the use of filling up cars/vans/motorbikes with petrol or diesel. However in the context of which the antagonists are referring it to it is symbolic of danger, fire and evil. It also can be used as an iconology for starting something, for example, a car or a fire. Maybe in this case it could be for the start of the film as the title appears just after the fire effects on the screen, we think was caused by the petrol can.

2) How does your media product represent particular social groups?

In our film it is representing young adult males, involved in a lot of crime and normality in assaulting other young males, which lead a supposedly good life from what you see in the beginning of this film with Dan and Joe’s characters. There is also a quite negative representation of young women involved in obviously dangerous criminals. These are shown in the clothes they wear, although these were not our first choice, we feel they have worked well. The use of tracksuits and dark more formal clothing for the antagonists and the protagonist has just a casual jeans and a top. The women are in short skirts, revealing tops and heels, which suggests highly that they are either prostitutes or jus plain ‘tarty’ or ‘easy’. The use of lighting is very important when Dan is being pulled out of the boot of the car. He can not see anything from the lack of lighting, giving the impression he is ‘left in the dark’ about where he is going and what is going to happen, therefore clearly showing he is the victim. This is enhanced when the boot is opened and the antagonists are silhouetted, so the audience and Dan still can’t see properly where he is. We did this so immediately it shows the 2 new characters being introduced are the antagonists and strengthen the clearness of Dan as the protagonist.
The use of cuts and the pace of the running sequence within the film portrays Joe as obviously panicking, distraught and trying his hardest to catch up or save Dan from the 2 antagonists. If the film is carried on Joe would be the main protagonist. The film represents the ‘war’ between young males age’s between 18-21 years of age and ‘sides against each other’. In this it is 2 antagonists against 2 protagonists. I think our film fits into stereotypes were Jonty is concerned as his look was quite a typical young male’s outfit same with Junior however Junior’s build is a lot smaller then you would stereotypically expect from the antagonists of this type event.

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

I would use Universal as our distributor as they are well known and have successfully distributed lots of popular films such as Bourne Ultimatum, (2007, Paul Greengrass) and The Interpreter (2005, Sydney Pollack). The way I would like to advertise is Viral mainly. This is because the internet is an extremely important feature in today’s society and one of the most beneficial ways of advertising. I would also have lots of posters on buses and billboards. Use magazines, merchandising and press releases. As I think our film will be a big hit, I will organise interviews with the most famous actor in our cast and invite critics to do a write up. I would have several different trailers, some with our most famous actor as the main focus of the trailer and others with more focus on the action. Along with radio adverts to keep it interesting and get the film name into our audiences heads. This will also help show different events within the film so the audience will want to piece it altogether and want to see the action in picture that they’ve heard on the radio. Eventually I will hopefully be using the word of mouth to add to the buzz. I would do all of this a month prior to the film being released but I would have my film advertised with trailers on DVDs other films 6months prior to release. I would also use universal to get our film to home TV screens etc.

4) Who would be the audience for your media product?

The audience we wanted to target from the whole film is for 18-21 year olds. Possibly males would be more attracted to this. This would fit into the same category as The Bourne Ultimatum (2007 Paul Greengrass). So we have tried to aim for the same audience. However as the film progresses on with the story lines and the violence within added with difficult storylines of drug abuse and assault it possibly would interest over 21’s as well.

5) How did you attract/address your audience?

Our film attracts the audience as it is so fast paced and such an everyday thing that people can relate to. Drug abuse and young adults falling into the wrong crowd happens everyday. In the worst cases people will fail to fund their needs and end up in more serious situations then they anticipated at the start. The kidnap immediately draws people in as it starts initiating questions like why has he been kidnapped? What has he done? What’s going to happen to him? The introduction to the characters straight of makes the audience have a relationship with them from the start. The sound is very attention grabbing as it is sharp, intensifying and interesting.

6) What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

I have learnt a lot from the beginning of the preliminary task. I have learnt how to use a camera from the start, like setting the white balance, handling the camera, use of shots on zoom. The use of lighting to help create the effect you want. Time manipulation through editing, use of shots and lighting. Making cuts so the audience don’t see them and seeing what works and doesn’t work. Match on action was an interesting, but stressful part of the editing, for example, getting Dan out of the boot of the car had to be just right when they grabbed him, pulled and dragged him away. The women’s positioning when this was happening was crucial as if we weren’t in the same place it would have ruined that part of the film. I learnt a lot about the process of shot reverse shot to show a conversation which is much more interesting than a 2 shot of the whole conversation. Also how continuity affects the audience. If the continuity isn’t very good then the audience can’t watch it and it doesn’t make sense. The audience will start to question why its jus happened and it would be a bit uncomfortable to watch. In our film we lacked continuity when Junior took the tape off of Dan’s mouth as the next shot had the taped back on Dan and the next shot it didn’t again. We had to do this as it was the only shots that would make it flow and not show the editing. It doesn’t really show unless you are looking for it but was still something we hadn’t picked up when editing. The use of garage band was new to me when we started on the foundation task, the use of Foleys and parallel sound. I quickly picked this up and how in the process of editing make sure it is a match on action to what is happening making it flow and provides continuity.

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

I have learnt a lot not just from mistakes but building up my knowledge of camera work, editing, using garage band and Foleys. Also this time round we didn’t break the 180 degree line. We learnt from our mistake in the preliminary task were we broke it several times, we were more organised on the storyline point of view and got all the filming done within 2 days. Compared to my preliminary task, my use of all the correct terms of filming such as all the editing and sound terms is much greater and has expanded noticeably. I am now able to spot things in real TV dramas that are wrong whether it be match on action or continuity. I am able to introduce characters well and show if they are an antagonist or protagonist by dialogue, editing and shot angles and types. I enjoyed making this task more as there was more to do and the filming was more interesting then last time. Also there was more to think about when it came to editing and sound effects.

Luke Graham Evaluation

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

To create our thriller we used conventions which are common to the thriller genre and developed a few of these conventions to increase effect and to make the piece more original; which would ensure our target audience yet remain interesting and unique in its own way.
Upon researching thrillers (seen throughout the blog) we noticed the enigma code to be one of the most common and most important conventions used by filmmakers to heighten suspense and mystery within the narrative; so we decided to construct the sequence as if it were ultimately the final scene of the feature length film. Beginning the sequence with the opening titles intercut with a character hurriedly running through the woods instantly conjures up ideas and questionings amongst the audience; who is he? What is the purpose of his running? Where is he running to? Which is similarly achieved in The Bourne Identity (2002, Doug Liman); not much is known about the characters and their purpose. Using restricted narration we were able to evoke feelings of sympathy and mystery (again increasing this sense of enigma); the audience witnesses the characters realisation of his brothers dead body for the first time at the same time as the character acquires this knowledge of his brothers death, no knowledge of the brothers fate is given to the audience up until that point, this shocks the audience and makes them empathise with the protagonist. Our use and development of this convention seemed successful, evidenced through peer feedback, and aided greatly in the excitement and suspense of our piece.
The mood and atmosphere of our sequence was achieved by our use of mise en scene; elements similarly constructed in successful thriller films. The majority of the scenes were shot in low key using natural lighting and reflected the look of such films as Se7en and The Usual Suspects; however our attempts at using light reflectors were repeatedly halted due to poor weather conditions and a lack of spotlights, this was picked up by our peers as they mentioned a few of the shots seemed too dark and lacked visibility, a correction that would be made if given the task again. Costume, make-up and hair remained natural as we decided on making the characters seem as realistic and as believable as possible; attempting to heighten our desired sense of gritty realism (reported in our blog). In pre-production the setting seemed to be a vital part of our sequence; setting most of the action in the middle of the woods would have created a sense of loneliness and isolation, which puts the character of the brother in an even deeper state of danger as there is no one nearby to help him, which we achieved successfully and focused the audiences attention directly onto the characters on screen and their relationship with one another (which seemed very important as this was the opening of the film). I believe that the kidnappers sense of power and control over the brother, and their importance of their role in the overall narrative, was easily distinguishable throughout our opening; their body language, facial expressions and posture gave off feelings of aggression within the kidnappers, clearly the antagonists because of our use of this convention, and feelings of despair and a want of escape within the captured brother. The majority of thrillers have a soundtrack or ambient sound playing throughout the majority of the film that reflects the mood of the scenes; however we challenged this convention by including a few scenes which the sound was solely diagetic, to further the gritty realism in which we were trying to achieve and to greaten suspense (similarly done in the opening scene of Mission Impossible 3), and resulted in sequences which kept the audience on the edge of their seats.



How does your media product represent particular social groups?

In our opening we wanted to represent the characters relationships with each other and to define the roles of protagonist and antagonist very clearly to simplify it for the audience and to set up the rest of the films narrative (if it were made into a feature). To represent the struggle between the characters of the captured brother and the two kidnappers we chose to include shaky hand-held camerawork and a faster pace of cuts to reflect the pace of the action and reflect the aggression felt amongst the kidnappers. Also, incorporating a crescendo of ambient sound near the final moments of the sequence heightened this tension.
The character types we have used are common stereotypes of antagonists and protagonists present in thrillers; the kidnappers are shown to be of an aggressive nature and clearly have more power than the brother whereas the brother is portrayed as weaker yet strong willed and has the sympathy from the target audience because of this. During the scene where the brother is soaked in petrol we decided to incorporate a few moments of hesitation in the character of Junior (the kidnapper who rips the tape off of the brother’s mouth) so as to add more diversity to the characters and to make the lead kidnapper seem more dislikeable in comparison (backed up by the birds-eye-view shot of him aggressively pouring petrol over the captured brother).
The leading characters are from a working class background (as our film revolves around ‘postcode’ gang warfare) and their body language, cursing, and accents portray this; although, to add a touch of irony and to grab the audiences attention we decided that the end of the scene would consist of the two opposing characters reciting the ‘Lords Prayer’. This allowed for the final word spoken by the lead kidnapper to be ‘Amen’ which finished the opening effectively and originally.

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

We would use Pathe Films (www.pathe.co.uk) to distribute our film as they are a well know film distributor and they are based in the UK; they produce a lot of low-budget British films, in many cases thrillers, such as Big Nothing, Crash and Memento. They would be the ideal company to distribute our film successfully and aim the advertisement at our target audience.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

The target audience we aimed our product at were 16-24 year old males; most likely to have enjoyed films such as Snatch and Memento (both of which made up to £30,000,000; www.boxofficemojo.com). We believe we would make the majority of our profit from that age group as they own the ‘leisure pound’ (disposable income) and are responsible for the majority of box office sales.

How did you attract/address your audience?

As mentioned throughout the blog we used a variety of conventions that would attract our target audience; the ‘MTV-style’ of camerawork is appealing to the younger audiences, clearly shown by the recent success of Danny Boyles Slumdog Millionaire, as it keeps the interest and attention of the audience. The issues of kidnap and revenge and the themes of brotherhood and loss are of common interest to the target audience and will be able to connect and empathise with the characters; resulting in a more emotive and engaging cinematic experience.

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

During the post production we used Final Cut Pro and GarageBand to edit image and sound together successfully and effectively; using parallel editing and fading audio into one another we were able to create continuity and improve the flow of the sequence. Also, after talking as a group I used Adobe After Effects to create the titles. I think we worked effectively as a group during the editing process although certain individuals put more of an input in than the others. I’ve learnt a lot during the editing process and how to construct moving image and sound to evoke feelings and ideas.

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

Through the development of the preliminary task and improving into the foundation portfolio I’ve learnt how to construct thriller conventions successfully and aim them at my target audience; I believed that as a group we were very successful in our preliminary sequence and already had a great deal of knowledge about moving image and thrillers, my groups construction and development of the foundation portfolio improved our skills and increased our filmmaking knowledge, and has given us more of a respect for the thriller genre.

Dan Shambrook Evaluation

Evaluation

In what ways does your media use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

One of the major aspects of thrillers is suspense. Without the audience this feeling a thriller cannot work. One of the techniques used to raise this is the enigma code. The enigma code is a word given to the way in a film raises questions in the audiences mind. We took used our story line to create this, in our opening we see two characters build up to the same event. The questions we want to raise are, why is Joe’s character running? Who is he and what relationship does he have with Dan’s character? What has Dan’s character done? Who is Dan’s character? And who are the men that kill him?

Another common convention of thrillers is the use or either restricted or unrestricted narration. With restricted narration the audience shares the experience with the characters involved, they know as much as the characters within the film. With this technique directors can create shock. We didn’t want that. We wanted our audience to fell suspense and therefore went with unrestricted. Conventionally this would mean the audience know more than the characters and this is how the suspense is achieved. We went against this idea. From our piece the audience knows less than the characters, the suspense is created and makes the audience want to know what’s happening.

Again part of the enigma with our piece we wanted to make it unclear who is the protagonist and who is the antagonist. The protagonist is the character that the story is told through, this person could be good or bad, and the antagonist is the character that opposes them. This creates a binary opposition, when the two characters collide. Within our piece there is a clear binary opposition. We want the audience to become attached to Dan’s character, this is achieved with his contact with Joe, the only character seen to be not associated with the murder. With this bond between the audience and Dan; Junior and Jonty become the characters the audience go against. This will create surprise further in the film when it becomes clear Dan is not a particularly nice character himself.

In most thrillers low key lighting is used to create a harsh tone and deeper shadows, this breaks the smoothness within characters faces and gives a dark feel to the piece. I wanted to do this with our piece to enhance the viewing experience however the equipment we needed was not available to us through college given the location we were shooting in. To get the lighting effect I wanted we would have needed a studio set or battery powered light. After looking at the first set or rushes it became clear that our piece was equally as effective with natural lighting as it gave the piece an essence of realism making it even more thrilling. We did have the issue on the reshoot that lighting was slightly different but we overcame this with a homemade reflector made with tin foil, this wasn’t used much but did assist when it came to shooting some of the close ups.

The setting of the film itself was key, we needed access to a place with a car park, and that could look desolated to create the thriller effect, the location we used had enough open space to not interfere with the camera work and still provide the look we needed. Shooting in the woods can be difficult as positioning of the sun coming through the trees has a massive effect of how shadows fall and the light available to us. In order to get around this we shot in order of events, contrast in light then become deliberate and the broken narrative can become obvious.


We wanted all the costumes and props to be as real as possible, after research we decided on a costume to suit character and assist in the development process. We wanted the audience to understand what their seeing is real and therefore used everyday clothing. The props we needed, car was provided with the casting, we cast a driver therefore we could use his car. And the petrol can was bought. In our first day of shooting we showed the three male characters walking of, however in the next shot of them we needed a petrol can, to avoid a severe continuity disruption we added a scene in which dialogue explains they forgot it and go back. Costume and props simple and effective.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

The characters we wished to represent are the youth gang culture. In particular late teen white British males the ages of our actors ranged from 17-18 to achieve this. The three main characters in our piece represent the struggle to break free from bad circles. Most of the victim is shot from a high angle, this assists in showing he is the weak and frail of the three and to some extent the innocent. His innocence is also achieved through dialogue, a strained, desperate voice whilst reciting the Lord’s Prayer gives the audience the idea he is a victim of unprovoked abuse. Later in the film we would find this not to be the case.

The second character is shown to be cocky and a bit of a suck up to the other antagonist, most of his dialogue is directed at him showing no real attachment to the victim, we also see him to be hesitant towards what he is doing, this is shown best through a powerful shot in which a fade to white leaves the shape of him with his arms behind his head in regret.

The third, the antagonist of the sequence is very in your face, achieved with a few close ups and a very personal and aggressive relationship with the protagonist. Sound also assists this as some of his lines are distorted to make him seem inhumane, adding the thriller genre.

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

The distribution company we would use would be one of British base. A major distribution company such a Lionsgate could be ideal as it is known to have success with films of a horror/thriller genre. Some examples of this would be the Saw series. Lionsgates marketing device with use of giant billboards with just the film title really worked to raise awareness and anxiety for the films release. Another advantage of our film is that is has representation of British culture this would assist us in getting funding from companies like the BFC (British film council) who have set rules as to who and why they fund films. With there backing it would become easier to get distributors and then the funding to produce more marketing techniques. A major advantage of Lionsgate is that it is a UK based American distributor, therefore we would be able to have international release furthering our audience worldwide.

In an ideal situation we would be a 1st party production company, this means we would produce the film then seeks for distribution. This is because we want to have full rights to our own film, no distributers having any input on the creative process of the piece. A good example of this way of production working is Newline cinema and their co-operation with snakes on a plane, everything about this film was built on fandom and without institution interference gained a huge fan base. We would seek marketing advice from the distributers producing billboards, and taking advantage of the internet. We would hope that through word of mouth, fandom would rise releasing podcasts, blogs, fan film and trailers. We could take this and put out invites to meet the cast and come to premiers to the fans that raise the most awareness for our film.

Who would be the audience for your media product and how do you attract them?
I feel if we were to produce the rest of the film we may have scenes of a sexual nature and severe violence therefore the BBFC would most likely class our film as an 18. This would have a massive effect on our audience’s age pushing it to around 18-24.


I feel we would attract audiences from different social classes, the working class may see our film and have a closer relationship with the characters. The film may touch on events they have come across in their lives and so they would see it in a more personal way. The middle class I think would also watch it, their enjoyment would come from prejudice as they would become enjoy watching someone in a lower state of class and become fascinated by the difference in life style.

Other themes dealt with in our film would appeal to a female audience with romance and family being major themes in our film. The film would have many sub genres and hybrids similar to ‘bullet boy’ Women may be attracted to the issues raised on family and love and therefore also be attracted to it.

To summaries our audience would be dominantly 18-24 British males of lower and lower middle class.

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

On a personal level I have always felt comfortable with lighting and cinematography. My knowledge of editing has improved as I have always had great difficulty when it comes to creating atmosphere and narrative through more than just simple cuts.

The knowledge I feel I have had from previous productions and courses surrounding film production have given me a great advantage coming into this production and I feel I have applied my skills to the best of my ability. The thing that I have discovered to be most helpful in the process is Luke’s way of directing. Whereas in the past I, myself have done a shot, moved on. Luke went back, and shot each scene over and over again from lots of angles and shot sizes giving us great opportunities when it came to the editing process.

The one piece of technology I hadn’t visited before this production was Garage Band. I found this piece of software brilliant as it allowed us to do more with sound than new ever have before. I gave the change to incorporate Foley work and great our own sounds. It really enhanced the piece and gave us the opportunity to make every element our own.
Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Time management and organisation. The preliminary was easy to organise and nothing really could go wrong. Shooting in college meant that we could always reshoot in frees if we didn’t like the look of something. It also meant we didn’t have to rely too much on bringing things in or travel, whereas shooting on a location took weeks to organise and we still got it wrong. The first day we went to shoot we forgot the petrol can, and due to lack of light we could afford to take time out to get it. Actors had to be home by certain times so we had to shoot fast. We had to organise a second shoot day. Having done it before the second day went better.

The most important thing I learnt during the progression is the amount of time and planning it takes just to produce a small 3 minute piece, taking this knowledge into further projects I feel I will be able o produce at an even higher standard.

Another thing I have learnt is that our group works well together, I was glad I didn’t change who I worked with as we all got on and decided on roles together.

words: 1976

Make-up and setting improvements

When watching our sequence back i noticed an improvement that could be made for it. In the shot where the victims brother finds him dead there is no sign as to how he has died and this could create confusion when watching as people other than us do not know our aims from this. the victim is against a tree looking lifeless and u cannot tell how he has died but when you find out he has been burnt it creates confusion as the shot you see does not show this at all his skin is clean and looks normal. We should have partially created the effect of burnt skin even though there is a distance between the camera and the actors, this should have been done to give a more effective and realistic view on the piece. Also the ground around him is settled and looks undisturbed this should have been cleared of leaves and maybe had some sort of burnt residue around the victim to also add to the realistic view of the piece as not having this looks unrealistic once you have discovered what has happened.

Posted By Sonja Moss

Camerawork and Editing Style

We decided on quick cuts and mainly hand-held camerawork to increase the pace of the sequence and to further enforce the sense of tension and panic; this style is similar to that of films such as City of God and Slumdog Millionare. This style also grabs the audiences attention, which targets our target audience of 16-24 yr olds successfully, and works well with the thriller genre.

Location survey

Location Survey

Location
Blunts Wood

Location address:
Blunts wood Crescent, Haywards Heath, West sussex, RH17

Travel
Nearest train station:
Haywards Heath Station
Commercial Square
Haywards Heath, Mid Sussex, RH16
0845 127 2920

Nearest Bus service:
Metrobus
81 Haywards Heath - Lindfield -Sharpthorne - Ardingly - Haywards Heath
82 Crawley - Copthorne -Crawley Down - Ardingly - Haywards Heath
86 Horsham - Southwater -Bolney - Cuckfield - Haywards Heath
89 Horsham - Warninglid -Bolney - Cuckfield - Haywards Heath
270 Haywards Heath -Horsted Keynes - Forest Row - East Grinstead
271 Crawley - Handcross -Cuckfield - Haywards Heath
272 Crawley - Pound Hill - Balcombe - Cuckfield - Haywards Heath
‎




Local Taxi’s:
Station taxis Ltd www.410410.co.uk - 01444 410 410
Abbey air - www.taxinumber.com - 01444 450 505
Hello taxis - www.taxinumber.com - 01444 414 840
T'n T - www.taxinumber.com - 07748 683 522
Gatwick Airport chauffeurs - www.gatwickairporttaxiservice.co.uk - 0845 675 0690
Gatwick Airport taxi Service - www.gatwickairporttaxiservice.co.uk - 0845 675 0690
Cs taxi Services - maps.google.co.uk - 01444 441 616
Andy's taxis - www.taxinumber.com - 01444 461 266
Roadrunners (eg) Ltd - www.taxinumber.com - 01444 443 300
A1 travel - www.taxinumber.com - 01444 459 341

Health and safety
Nearest doctor surgery:
The Dolphins Heath Road, Haywards Heath Tel: 414767
Newtons Surgery Heath Road, Haywards Heath Tel: 412280
Northlands Wood Surgery, 7 Walnut Park, Haywards Heath Tel: 458022

Nearest Hospital:
Princess Royal Hospital
Hurstwood Lane
Haywards Heath
West sussex
RH17

The Locations facilities
The woods offer trees and shrubs in different densities. In terms of lighting parts are open enough to enable natural light through. The tree where the last scene will be shot is open allowing possibility to shot from multiple angles and depths for a large variety of shot possibilities. There is a car park available for the car scene that again offers the same possibilities as the tree.

Continuity Issue

During the editing process we came across an issue bridging two shots together. The issue was if two of our shots were put together it would cause a jump in the frame too big to be classed as a jump cut. To get round this we placed in a shot of Dan looking up at Jonty and Junior, the problem being in this shot Dan is wearing the tape over his mouth whereas in the shot before and after it he is not. This is a minor laps in continuity that is less notable than the frame jump. We will make sure to mention this in our evaluation.

Anamatic With Sound

photographic evidence

we have a little problem in this department, we intended on taking photo's during the process however when it came to shooting we didnt have enough time or people, at no point was anyone not busy either working with the reflector to get the continuety or replotting markers in between shots. the limitations on light meant that everything had to be done quickly and effectively leaving no time to set up for photo's.

Video-Audio Comentry

We are planning on creating a comentry over our opening footage. we are going to make the fottage black and white and cut out the sound files from it, we are then going to create an audio comentry to go with the footage saying what we hoped to achieve with each shot and our initial ideas and what had to be changed and why. We are also going to explain why we chose the particular shot size, angle and postioning withing the frames. we are doing this to give a clearer explination as to why we have chosen different ideas for our piece and why we ended up changing some things during filming.

Animatic

We are planning on putting an audio clip and sound effects over the storyboard images to show our original planning of what we are trying to achieve from the sequence. This will hopefully help us with the creation of our piece and the editing as we will then have planned out what we want to happen in every section of the opening sequence.

2nd day of filming/ Shoot #2

There was no major problems unlike in the 1st shoot. All actors turned up in near enough the same clothes, we had no problem with props, everything was ready on time. Although it started raining it did not ruin or stop our filming, it may have even enhanced it, giving the footage a better atmosphere. We had a light reflector to help improve some of the close ups.

Final Filming Decisions

We decided against the charred hand of the victim as we did not like the effect given when filmed as it did not look realistic enough.

We have cut part of the ending of the sequence before the title as we had a discussion as to wether we were giving to much story away to the audience in the opening. We have decided on a fast paced action opening so that we keep the audience interested and wondering what is happening. In the sequence we have fast cuts with a one or two slow shots within them to empahsise the atmosphere within the sequence.

We have used natural lighting throughout this film piece as we felt this gave us the most realistic and desired effect that we wished to obtain, however in some shots we had to use a light reflector to maintain lighting continuity within the sequence.

We filmed each shot a number of times in different angles so that we had a choice in which shot to use when editing. we also made sure there was an overlap in action (filmed the last bit of the previous shot) in the shots so that the editing could be made easier and less complicated for us when needing to combine the shots together.

Originally we were hoping to have a slightly upper-class look to our antagonist characters but due to lack of cotume supplies we decided to change this to a more modern style of tracksuit bottoms and jeans with black tops as this is all we could get for our characters. this has worked well with our piece as the look we finally decided to give them suited the setting and story line of our piece.

Posted By Sonja Moss and Luke Graham

Opening of a thriller analysis

How is Mise en scene and Sound used in a thriller?

Name of film: Se7en

Year: 1995

Director: David Fincher

Main cast: Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt, Gwyneth Paltrow and Kevin Spacey

The opening to Se7en draws the reader in straight away by its silence and simplicity. There is no background music at all. There are just murmurs from possibly his TV or radio, but they are so quiet you have be carefully listening and focusing on them to hear. This silence helps make the audience focus on what the character is doing. Although what the character is doing is not anything of interest it is significant to showing what kind of character he is. It helps work him out. Making it very intense as we can hear every little thing he does. Every touch, every movement, and every time he picks something up or puts it down. This has a great effect on the audience as we don’t now if he is the victim or the villain; this keeps us guessing and makes us curious. With no music to help sway our opinion of him we have to wait there fore drawing in the audience.

However as there is no background music to distract the audience they feel calm. They can start trusting this character as we can start to notice subconsciously the sentimental ornaments around the rooms he enters in, what we assume is his flat, and can see how tidy and lonely he is. As by now we have assumed he lives alone and has a set routine every morning. We can see this is his usual morning routine, as he is getting dressed, making a cup of tea and generally getting ready. Nevertheless his facial expression within a big close up shows that he is possibly bored or tiered of it. With no music of any kind, diagetic and even non-diagetic, it shows how uninteresting his life maybe and also gives an edgy feel to the scene.

The brightness of the kitchen contrasts well with the dullness of possibly his bedroom were he is getting ready. This plus the silence shows really well that he is living alone. His home is also very tidy and looks like everything has its place and is in order this gives another insight into his character and more reason to trust him. The positioning of the camera while he is getting ready shows him from the waist up, this could show some kind of authority. He then walks towards the camera obviously going into the next room. However the camera does not follow or look up at him making the audience feel like maybe he doesn’t care anymore.

In the 2^nd scene it is extremely dark and the colours are dull and not very inviting compared to the first scene. Within the framing of the shot, the audience can see the body of a man from the calf up to the top of his back. Next to the man is a pool of what we assume is blood by the colour, positioning and the way it generally is placed within the frame. This ‘finding’ contrasted with the overall colour gives the scene a very eerie and dangerous feel. The voice over that is used, is obviously diagetic, as they are explaining to the character we are following, what has happened and makes us assume the man on the floor is dead as they are not helping him, panicking and also they are talking about him not to him. This makes the audience uncomfortable as it sets the scene in their head’s of the kind of noises that were heard before the man was killed and the result of what happened. This makes the audience realise he was murdered.

When we see the character in this scene he is walking around the crime scene, we immediately now he is a detective and the way he is shot within the frame suggests he has the greater authority and is good at his job. On the other hand his body language and the way his colleague talks to him with what he says, suggests the character has had enough and is retiring soon. We get the feeling he has been doing his job for years and is used to this sort of situation as he is calm and is the main focus of the camera framing. They show what his expression over the ‘case’ is and what he looks at so the audience can follow his thinking. This helps the audience keep up with the story line and starts helping them form a suspect in their minds.

Se7en has a very strong opening sequence that keeps the audience intrigued and makes them curious about the rest of the film. The use of silence helps build up the tension and shock the audience by how calm the characters are. It also suggests that something else is going to happen as it is ‘too calm’. This shows us there jobs and that they are used to seeing dead bodies. This makes the audience uncomfortable as they are not trained to be as calm. Using this opening immediately throws questions into the audiences mind of who done it? Are they going to be able to solve the case? Will who ever done it strike again? There fore drawing in the audience as they want answers to their questions. Overall I think this film intrigues the audience because it makes u start guessing from the beginning. Lighting makes it seem mysterious and dodgy in places were you can hardly see till your eyes adjust. The use of a dead body so early on in the film shocks the audience into questions and it captures their attention. Personally I have been drawn in a plan to watch the rest of this movie and take in to account things the director has done to start thinking of ideas to suggest to my group for my main task.

Luke Graham

Hi im Luke and during this project i am in charge of camerawork, storyboarding, directing and part of the editing process. I have been interested in filmmaking from a young age and hope to be a part of the industry in the future; in cinematography or editing. Im mainly interested in the 'MTV' gritty style of filmmaking and have a great interest in independant movies; which i believe will come across in the thriller opening.

Thriller Planning

Synopsis

The victim borrows money from a friend in return for his services. When he becomes stuck the victim asks his brother for some help. The victim and his brother work together on the streets, making deals, muggings and getting information on the local gangs. When the victim is found to have been double crossing he is kidnapped and driven to a wood his brother chases hoping to catch them before the victim is burnt alive. This film follows the love of two brothers, friendship and loyalty as the two learn to put aside their differences to overcome the more serious issues.

Cast List

Daniel Shambrook – The Victim – He has borrowed money from a friend and is found to be double crossing him. He is kidnapped and burnt alive. He is a nice guy but has been entrapped within a rough drug dealing crowd.

Joe Dorman – The Brother (Good Guy) – He has been dragged once again into the consequences of his brothers’ actions and has to try and free him from the grip of the gang leader before it is too late. He had seen this coming and new what to do but is very panicked.

Jonathan Egginton – The Gang Leader – The leader of the street gang that does not come across as a hard and powerful person but this persona shows through at times. He does not like to get his hands dirty so he has his followers do his dirty work.

Junior Ogwel – The Right Hand Man – He is the ‘follower’ of the gang leader, he does most of the dirty work as he is too afraid to stand up to him. He is very hesitant about doing the deed he is asked to do.

Sonja Moss – Jonty’s woman 1 – She doesn’t care much and she is very argumentative and always wants to a part of the action.

Rebecca White – Jonty’s Woman 2 – Care free and just relaxed with what the guys do.

Location

Blunts wood, Haywards Heath. We have chosen this location because it is built up enough for us to use but not too much. It is also easy to get to for all of our group and actors. It also has a clearing near it.

Costume Ideas

Girls – Mini denim skirts and heeled boots, low cut tops and jackets.

Junior and Jonty – casual everyday clothing.

Daniel – Jeans and slightly tattered shirt

Joe – Casual Clothing

Make-Up Ideas

Girls – Natural make up with coloured eyes and lips.

Jonty and Junior – Not Needed

Joe – Very slight dirty look on the face

Daniel – Severe burns on the face and one hand

Props

• VW Polo
• Nail File
• Cigarette’s
• Lighter
• Duck Tape
• Hand Bags
• Ash (lots of)
• Oil Can

Lighting

Our first issue is that the college does not have the equipment we require. The only lights they have to offer are spots with only 15 minutes of lighting power, not sufficient for our shoot. In order to get round this problem we may have to hire from an external source.

Posted By Sonja Moss

Jonty

Jonty is a perfroming arts student at the college. We have chosen to use him as the head 'gangster' as we know he is a strong enough actor to pull it of believably. he has also appeared in many of Luke's films and was a performer we could trust.

Junior

We chose Junior to act in our piece as we had seen him acting with a role that needed the same personality as the character we need him for. He is also a funny character in himself as he like to make people laugh. He is a friendly face that we all new and got on with. Junior is a talented actor and can take on different roles really well. He also creates a contrast between the main man and the right hand man within the story this works well with our story line.

Story innfluence

we wanted to do something different to the prelim. We decided on a sub-genre going with the nitty gritty british drama. I looked into current affairs and saw in the news that there was an idea of postcode warfare. In the rest of the feature this concept would have been visited. It could be argued our film has a lack of realism, however this is only so the audience watching the piece comes from a middle-class area and cant understand the extremes that gang crime leads to.

Rebecca White

Hey my names Bex. I'm a performing arts student and studying GCSE Spanish alongside this Media course. Out of college i am obsessed with my fitness and go to the gym 4 times a week. I also work 2 evenings at the weekend. I never stop and i am constantly busy. In this project i like to vary what i do. From being in front of the camera, or hair and make up to a bit of directing.

Sonja Moss

Hey hey. My name is Sonja. I am a performing arts student. i also do GCSE Spanish and Obviously Media Studies. Outside of college i enjoy spending time with my friends and keeping fit. I also like to make sure i have time for me and my boyfriend to have time together. i have been acting and singing since the age of about 6 or 7 and have always enjoyed it. in the future i hope to go into the production business, i want to work off or on screen but my main goal is to be a director in the business.

Joe

we chose to use Joe as he is a good friend of mine (Dan) Joe is a performing arts student at the college and has been used in every one of the films associated with me for about a year. We chose Joe for this particular role as we wanted someone smaller than the 'gangsters' to add intimidation and a strong performer to do the more emotional scenes.

Dan Shambrook

Howdy. Im dan, i have been acting since i was about 6 mainly just school productions. Outside of school i have been a member of shine theatre company, and am currently a member of west sussex county youth theatre. i have appeared in a few of the media pieces and worked both in front and behind the camera.

Day 1: Problems with costume

The first shooting we had several issues including costume. We had lack of choice in trousers and limited choice of size's, in such short notice. We had agreed on casual, however our actors turned up in far to casual clothing to what we would have preferred; we think this is due to lack of communication. We looked within the resources available around us before we went filming but were unable to agree or find anything that we thought would fit within what we wanted the film to look like. However in the initial filming it does not look as bad as we thought it would be. Although we know we got a lot of the costume aspects wrong, we adjusted to this and tried our best to make it look like they were meant to look how they did. This took a little change in acting rolls to keep this looking natural (to a point). We are not completely happy with our first shooting but we are working around this and improving all the time.

Day 1: Make up Mishaps

We tried to create the burnt effect on Dan's hand by using Vaseline, ash and dirt. we found this to be to runny for the desired effect, we think this is due to it being kept in Dan's trouser pocket. also we needed some form of red-ish colouring to create a more effective burnt image.

We are going to experiment with different products to see which gives the best desired effect of burnt flesh.

By Sonja Moss

Day 1 issues

1. Costume we intended to use wasn't available to us:( But we made do.

2.We hadn't brought any vaseline for make up :( But we went and got some :)

3. One of the actors hadnt turned up at the meet point :( But we phoned him and called him back :(

4.We had no duck tape :( but we borrowed some from the theater :)

5.Joe had to leave early :( so we filmed all his bits first :)

6.The make-up didnt work on camera :( so were re-developing ideas :)

7.damn lights broke :( we used natural :)

8. we ran out of light :( have to re-shoot :)

se7en

Se7en- how do mise on scene and editing establish character and situation in the opening two minutes?

Thrillers generally establish there genre immediately this is achieved in a multiple ways that I am going to explore. Se7en is a crime, mystery, thriller hybrid. This means that thriller is just an element of the piece and it is not solely based around the thriller principles. The thriller genre is renowned for its plots to surround a hard type character, that through accident or occupation is led to face a villain. Thrillers have a close link with mystery however the bold difference is that in a thriller the leads are trying to prevent what’s going to happen next, rather than uncover what has happened. Se7en is a typical thriller, two cops uncovering a murder, following clues in an attempt to prevent more from happening.

The question I have been asked is to establish how Mise-en-scene and editing establish character and situation in the opening. As this is an opening I would expect to see credits of some form and to see a character or event significant to the film. As this is a thriller my guess is that it will follow conventions of a typical thriller film, the opening may not consist of an establishing shot as to create confusion and suspense as to where we are. The shot may be tight and not give to much away again to create a mystery around the characters.

The first thing that appears before the movie is the distributing company credit. This not only establishes the companies associated with the film but also raises some audience expectation. Newline cinema is quite a large company therefore they will be a rather high budget of the film. Strong cast and direction also creates the idea its going to be a good film. Around 1995, the time of release for ‘Se7en’, Newline were producing mostly martial arts thrillers this may come through in ‘Se7en’.

The first shot consists of a character played by Morgan Freeman in what we believe to be his kitchen, this is mundane and suggests he is an ordinary guy. The use if set is simple, however as the kitchen is clean and structured it suggests the character is organised, minimal ornaments and applications suggest he is either not wealthy or he is not home allot which coincides with his occupation later.

We then cut to a shot of a him placing his tie on in a mirror, again this suggests organisation and possible occupation, we then pan up to see his face, this close up reveals his plain faced expression that suggests this is not for a special occasion or that he has done it many times, again leading to the idea of his appearance being occupation based.

It is within the next shot this character becomes clear, the use of prop (badge) informs us he works within the police force. Again the organisation of the prop reveals more about the character having been in the job for a while. We can now associate the badge with the clothes and come to the conclusion he is a detective. The pen, knife and gun show how his work ranges in action.

The next cut goes to a high angled mid shot of a dead body; we assume it to be dead as although we cannot define the colour due to the dark lighting there appears to be a pool of blood surrounding it. This creates confusion as we are unsure if this is a cut to another location or it is within Morgan Freeman’s characters home, in the back of our mind we assume he commited the murder raising questions of his character.

The change in location becomes clear a simple cut to the next shot reveals Morgan Freemans character in a corridor, the low key lighting stays the same to maintain the continuity, it also creates a dark, eerie effect creating a tension and suspense. It becomes clear that he is investigating the scene of the murder reinstating his clear character as a detective.

In conclusion, the mise en scene and editing of the opening sequence produces a tension and suspense surrounding the film. Through use of realistic location and mixing natural and low key lighting a realism is created to match the moods of the film. In terms of character establishment, key information is given such as occupation and few characteristics to gain audience expectation and question.

Opening Of A Thriller By Sonja Moss

How Lighting and Sound is Used in the Thriller Se7en


Film: Se7en
Year Created: 1995
Director: David Fincher
Writer: Andrew Kevin Walker
Starring: Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow and Kevin Spacey

The film Se7en is a Police Drama/Thriller. It is about two homicide detectives who are hunting for a serial killer. This thriller portrays the exploits of a deranged serial killer. His victims are seven people who are (to him) representatives of the seven deadly sins. The killer views himself as the Sword of God, handing out horrific punishment to these ‘sinners’.

At the beginning of this film there is only background noise from what I can only make out to be a TV or radio and also what sounds like busy traffic outside of his apartment, although background noise is very busy it is quiet and hard to hear this makes the audience focus on the character and his actions. The busy background noise conflicts with the calm visual atmosphere that the audience are witnessing. This conflict could represent the calm and relaxed atmosphere of the character at home and the busy and hectic career the character leads.

The lighting in this shot is not dim yet it is not bright either. There is light coming from what I can only assume is a small window in-between cupboards, this light highlights the white kitchen furniture in the room but the curtains/net curtains are dark. This blocks out the rest of the natural light which could be used to fill the room with light. This could have been done to portray the characters feelings that surround him. The light being him calm and relaxed home life and the dark representing his homicide case at work as it is dark and he is surrounded by death.

In the next shot there is still all of the busy background noise and also the TV dialogue but it seems slightly louder than the previous shot this could be to make the audience feel uncomfortable and as if there is atmospheric pressure building around the apartment.

The lighting in this shot is quite bright and you are able to see everything within the shot clearly. It is an over the shoulder shot of the character and you can see him in the mirror that is in front of him but you cannot see his head you can only see his white and black. This could represent a clear vision of how the character see’s life, mainly in black and white.

In the next shot there is still the same background noise and no dialogue from the character. This still makes the audience feel like the atmospheric pressure is still mounting getting more and more as the character gets closer to being ready.

The light comes from the left side of the frames. This fully lights up the left half of the shot and the right half is very dimly lit. This could represent the battle between light and dark within the characters lifestyle, the constant switching between calm and relaxed home life and death surrounded work life.

In the next shot the lighting highlights the characters face to show his neutral expression on his face. The background lighting is varied depending on the distance between the camera and the different props. This makes the audience feel uncomfortable as you cannot tell anything about the character or what will happen next. The noise in the background is almost silent in this shot. This could show that the character is further away from the noise source than he originally was.

In the next shot the sound is still very busy and much like a city centre in rush hour. It is slightly louder than in the last shot to show that the character has moved closer to the noise source again. The lighting in this shot highlights the characters cleanliness and organisation. The light could also represent his pride in his home life.

In the next shot the lighting is very dim but there is enough light to highlight the body on the floor and the pool of blood that surrounds him. The light could represent the life that is no longer and also the ‘white light’ of death. There is still the sound of a TV in the background but the characters have dialogue over the top of the background noise.

The lighting and sound in this opening sequence portrays the conflicts in life of a homicide inspector and him having such varied emotions through his job and home. You can tell he is a person to himself as everything in his home is all specifically place and all organised to his routines.

Lighting problem

Our first issue is that the college does not have the equipment we require. The only lights they have to offer are spots with only 15 minutes of lighting power, not sufficient for our shoot. In order to get round this problem we may have to hire from an external source.

what were shooting.

we are cross cutting between a guy rushing through a wood for a reason unknown to the audience and a group of unknown teens who pull into a car park take a tied up teen out of the boot, tie him to a tree and burn him alive for a reason unknown top the audience. we bring the two together in a shot of character 1 arriving at the scene a little while after the gang have left, he sees the body and a relationship between the two is shown. we want to raise the questions of what is their relationship? Who are they? what has the dead character done? and who were they who tied him up? we use both restricted and unrestricted narrative with the audience knowing more than character 1 about whats happened, but restricted in the sense that an enigma is created.

Lighting

Lighting the shoot is going to be pretty simplistic, we need to create a natural effect. to do this i will use a 3 point lighting system but not use domes to create a harsh tone on the characters depending on the shot i may not use a fill light.The lighting will be mixed high key and low key but always using a harsh tone. we want realism so not much shadow work will be needed. In the later scenes i will need to focus on specific body parts and may play with this. I need to ensure the makeup looks real so i intend to use mainly a back light to create a shadow over the burns. this will darken them and harshen the nooks and crannies in the hands.

1st script innfluence

After deciding on the story and developing characters we wanted to create a little bit of dialogue to assist the cinematography and establish some character for the film. The complicated part is making the story suffice as not only an intro but as a scene we can lead into later in the story as it is also part of the ending. we wanted to make it gritty and try to avoid the Hollywood style of thrillers. I went for diolouge based on that of British gang films such as snatch. To add a thrilling effect i brought the lords prayer in as religion is a thrilling subject and can be used in many ways. One character uses it for redemption before death, another as a power statement. It is a very dramatic speech and works extremely well in the sense of a strong opening and ending to the film.

1st draft script

As the car pulls up

(muffled speech)
Jonty: Stay in the car.

Sonja: No, I want to be part of this.

Bex: you always wanna be part of everything.

Junior: Just get back in the car.

Jonty: Get him out the trunk. (normal speech) He’s bleeding all over my fucking seats.

Junior:(He gets Dan out boot) Ha ha, he looks a lil car sick. Enjoy the ride did ya soppy bollocks.

Jonty: don’t play with him you tit. Let’s get it over with.


Tying him to tree

Jonty: don’t tie him up too hard, we don’t want him to suffocate to death.

Junior: He’s pissed himself. Look at him, wet like a fucking baby.

Jonty: Get on with it. we don’t have long.

Dan: (starts mumbling)

Junior: he’s praying. He’s fucking praying.

Jonty: forgive me father, for I am about to sin! You’re pathetic. You live your life pissing all over gods creations and now, now your about to fucking burn. You ask forgiveness. (spits in his face).

Dan: (at Jonty) Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours. Now and for ever. Amen

Crew and Cast list

Producers-
Bex White
Dan Shambrook
Luke Graham
Sonja Moss

Director-
Luke Graham
Sonja Moss
Bex White

Actors-
Daniel Shambrook
Jonty Egginton
Junior Ogwal
Bex White
Sonja Moss


Storyboard artist-
Luke Graham

Camera operator-
Luke Graham

Location Scouts-
Luke Graham
Bex white
Sonja Moss
Dan Shambrook

Make-up/Costume/Hair-
Sonja Moss
Bex White

Lighting-
Daniel Shambrook

Edited by-
Luke Graham
Bex White
Sonja Moss
Daniel Shambrook