For the last six weeks I have been working in a group of three to create a convincing thriller opening consisting of various camera angles, shots and a mixture of editing techniques. We first started researching and watching famous thriller openings such as ‘Psycho’ to analyze and take note of the typical codes and conventions that makes a successful thriller opening.
Using ‘Sony Z1’ we captured a range of shots, which we edited into a final sequence to create our thriller opening. We started planning our thriller by brainstorming ideas and trying to fuse together a continual sequence that made sense but, left our audience on the edge of their seats without giving away the storyline. We had a very wide spread of ideas, despite our different thoughts we came to a comprise and managed to narrow it down to a storyline we all agreed and felt would serve its purpose as well as not giving too much away.
We had the opportunity of filming twice, because we filmed our first shots rather early as opposed to other groups, which left us with the advantage of being able to re-shoot any shots that weren’t of a good standard. This turned out to be extremely beneficial as we were able to shoot comfortably and include all our shots from the storyboard. This meant that we stuck to the storyboard as much as possible. Although, because we shot our footage on two different days, both of which were sunny, so we had to work with sunny shots that clashed with the idea of our thriller being rather dark and conventional. This would have created tension and suspense, having said that the sunny shots worked to our advantage when we progressed and went on to edit.
We all worked collectively and took turns to film, as we thought it would be beneficial to distribute responsibilities to ensure we all got the chance to film and edit. We all included our ideas and inputted our own opinions to produce the final product. We found ourselves stuck at one point when we realised we had a lot of shots however many of them were similar and lacked variation. This left us with no other option but to repeat shots that we had and increasing the pace of them each time, by doing this we were able to ‘buy’ more time so that our opening fitted the specification of being at least 2 minutes. This turned to be very effective within out thriller and also creating a sense of tension for our audience. Doing this allowed us to make out thriller just over 2 minutes.
We had one actress, and due to other reasons our male actor was unavailable to feature in our opening. So we decided as a group to use Jonathan from our group to play the male attacker. This affected how we showed the fighting scenes in our opening. So therefore we decided to use short glimpses of the fighting scenes with this ‘washed out’ looked to it which gave a contrast between the normal day and serial events of the evening before. We found this however to be more effective because it created enigma. The audience were confused yet wanting to know more, this leaves them in a position where they have to continue watching. Once we had shot all of our footage we were ready to start editing.
Using Final Cut Pro industry standard software we began editing by trying to piece together all the shots and deleting the ones that where either too bright from where we hadn’t adjusted the white balance or simply weren’t good enough. We then started to notice continuity within our thriller opening and knew then that all we had left to do was to edit the sequence using a series of cuts and special effects to give it that thrilling mood.
We used a number of cross dissolves to start the opening to allow the audience to try and understand what has happened to this girl from various angles. We put the first shots of the victim lying on the staircase as well as the fighting scenes out of focus to highlight the time difference. By doing this the audience would be able to acknowledge that the opening is trying to re-tell the story so therefore the story may well have a narrator which is more than likely to be the victim. We noticed that out sequence was slightly under the two minute time limit, so to make up time we multiplied our shots each time getting shorter to create a montage of shots of the house to leave our audience in suspense and wanting to continue watching. We received a lot of positive feedback about our editing from the class as it seemed very complex and time consuming which they thought was what made it ‘a greatly edited sequence’.
From this we got a great idea to create a mixture of diegietic alarm clocks, telephone rings and other domestic sounds and fuse them together while playing over the shots of the house. We thought this to leave our audience puzzled, however curious to know what happens next. By creating a series of different sounds all going off at once this causes a sense of confusion, this adds greatly to the sense of tension and worked really well with the shots that we had and once again gives clues of what the story is about but does not giveaway the storyline.
The soft non diegetic music playing over the scene creates this daunting atmosphere which we used to engage the audience’s attention. We made and got all our sound tracks and sound effects from Soundtrack Pro. We imported all of our soundtracks from soundtrack Pro as we found it more convenient. When we were selecting our sound we came across a female ‘breathing’ sound effect which seemed very disturbing, and appropriate to use as we didn’t yet have a definitive concept to the film. By using this sound effect constantly playing non diegieticly over the whole opening the audience is made to believe that the breathing sound they hear is significant to the film. This is where we got the name of the film ‘Catch A Breath’. It’s short and to the point without giving too much away.
As a class we all watched each others thriller opening and received feedback. We received a lot of positive feedback majority of the class commented on how well the use of repetitive shots caused confusion and therefore made them want to continue watching. Despite this we also received some critical feedback, which was it was kind of obvious that we didn’t have a range of different footage and that certain bits of our thriller went on for a bit too long which could have made the opening tedious had it not bee for the fact that the thriller picked up its pace later on. Our thriller was compared to the channel 4 TV programme ‘Misfits’ which we saw as a great achievement as a lot of work and effort went into the production of the opening.
We had finally put our sequence together and put the soundtrack and sound effects. Lastly we had to check our audio peaks. If we hadn’t done this when we played it back it would have distorted and cause discomforting sounds to people ears. By checking the audio peaks we were able to pin point exactly where our audios were peaking and able to adjust the sound so that it wasn’t too loud but we could still hear it. Once this had all been done all that was left was to deinterlace our sequence. This had to be done to ensure that when we played it back on a normal TV these ‘fuzzy’ lines didn’t appear on the screen.
On a whole I feel that our thriller opening was extremely successful. Taking into consideration all the obstacles we had to avoid in order to make it what it was at the end, we had to a work extra hard in order to achieve what we did. I think if we were given another opportunity to do it again I would ensure that we filmed a variety of shots so that when it comes to the editing we had a lot more shots to work with as this does limit you, luckily for us we found a way to work around this.
Monday, 13 December 2010
Tuesday, 12 October 2010
Thriller Synopsis
A woman living alone, is unaware of the dedicated stalker that mysteriously follows her everywhere and is aware of her movements sometimes even before she is. Whether or not this stalker is the cause of her death is unknown to us, however we are desperate to know who her attacker is. This mind powering thriller is that bit more intriguing as people try to contact her but her phone line has some how been cut. Throughout the thriller we are left wanting to know more and discover the cause of her problems.
Tuesday, 5 October 2010
3D-3 Dimensional
What is 3D?
3D manipulates the image of the screen to make it appear as though it is coming out of the screen.
Depth perception. Increasing the amount of depth, to make it appear as though you are there.
Glasses are used to create this 3D image when watching the film.
-New Slide-
History of 3D
3D came about in the 1950s
However due to the highly costs of 3D its was not able to reach its full potential as it required such high levelled equipment which at the time cost a great deal.
Despite this cinema grew and advanced with technology meaning that 3D was becoming bigger and more highly developed.
Promoted by the Imax cinemas, 3D became more popular within films and old films were being re-released on 3d primarily Disney Pixar films.
-New Slide-
Advantages
3D creates a life like feeling and makes it seem as though you are there.
Especially amusing for children who like the thought of there animated films coming out of the screen.
Images are a lot better then normal 2D films.
Disadvantages
You must wear the specific 3D glasses in order to gain the full affect of the 3D motion.
Glasses can become rather tedious for people to wear and annoying for those who already wear glasses.
3D costs a lot more than regular 2D films and may not appear to be 3D as promised.
Some may argue that 3D is an excuse for film companies to make more money by re-releasing films on 3D.
-New Slide-
Recent 3D films
Adventures in animation
The adventures of shark boy and lava girl
Aliens of the deep
The ant bully
Toy story
Avatar
A Christmas carol.
3D manipulates the image of the screen to make it appear as though it is coming out of the screen.
Depth perception. Increasing the amount of depth, to make it appear as though you are there.
Glasses are used to create this 3D image when watching the film.
-New Slide-
History of 3D
3D came about in the 1950s
However due to the highly costs of 3D its was not able to reach its full potential as it required such high levelled equipment which at the time cost a great deal.
Despite this cinema grew and advanced with technology meaning that 3D was becoming bigger and more highly developed.
Promoted by the Imax cinemas, 3D became more popular within films and old films were being re-released on 3d primarily Disney Pixar films.
-New Slide-
Advantages
3D creates a life like feeling and makes it seem as though you are there.
Especially amusing for children who like the thought of there animated films coming out of the screen.
Images are a lot better then normal 2D films.
Disadvantages
You must wear the specific 3D glasses in order to gain the full affect of the 3D motion.
Glasses can become rather tedious for people to wear and annoying for those who already wear glasses.
3D costs a lot more than regular 2D films and may not appear to be 3D as promised.
Some may argue that 3D is an excuse for film companies to make more money by re-releasing films on 3D.
-New Slide-
Recent 3D films
Adventures in animation
The adventures of shark boy and lava girl
Aliens of the deep
The ant bully
Toy story
Avatar
A Christmas carol.
Thriller conventions
1. Typical black background with white text
2. Use of fades and cross dissolves
3. No dialouge
4. voiceover
5. Conscience
6. Either fast up beat music to create tension or slow mysterious music to build suspense.
7. Protagonist usually a women ( women are more vunerable therefore more likely to be attacked).
2. Use of fades and cross dissolves
3. No dialouge
4. voiceover
5. Conscience
6. Either fast up beat music to create tension or slow mysterious music to build suspense.
7. Protagonist usually a women ( women are more vunerable therefore more likely to be attacked).
UK BROADCASTING SYSTEMS
Terrestrial Broadcasting
• Means on the ground.
• Involves radio waves.
• TV, Radio, Paging networks often radiate from fixed terrestrial transmitters which are usually based on hills, tower hills or mobile receivers.
• Not used so much nowadays due to an advance in technology, this includes newer and faster methods of broadcasting. Such as digital and internet TV.
• Terrestrial transmitters’ waves can’t carry through objects which obstruct its path. This is a disadvantage to those living further away from the transmitter or on the other side of a hill.
• Bandwidth limits the signal to a certain degree whereby the outcome is affected and waves cannot be transmitted uninterrupted.
• Bandwidth restricts picture and sound transmissions affecting output and causing ‘fuzzy’ sounds and/or pictures.
Cable Broadcasting
• Signals are transmitted through optical fibres that are installed in the subscribers’ property.
• With cable TV one can only receive such a feature if your whole street is willingly to have it, as law will only allow the broadcaster to dig up the ground once.
• This is an advantage to the broadcaster as it means everyone on that street would have to subscribe with them.
• Cable T V has a number of advantages over the original analogue, as the reception was better. This meant that the viewers had to make few adjustments to the external antenna.
• Because cable can be somewhat ‘closed’. This means the broadcaster are authorised to show whatever they may want to show without having to comply with certain age restriction rules.
• Advancing technology means that cable can also provide their customers with internet and telephone services. Thus eliminating the costs of each individual service.
Satellite Broadcasting
• Satellites are high in the sky meaning chances of interruptions are reduced.
• Unless weather is extremely bad connection remains continuous.
• Provides a much wider range of TV channels as opposed to terrestrial or cable.
• The larger the size (diameter) the better the signal strength as there is more space to aim at it.
• Satellites can broadcast to a wide range of countries because they are so high up, meaning you can receive channels from other countries.
• You have ‘On Demand’ channels such as the weather which enables you to get the latest on the weather 24/7.
• Because satellites are so high up, they can provide clear channels for those living in rural areas. This is also very useful as they make use of internet services.
• This modern and futuristic function means that viewer can record TV programmes to watch at a later date or watch it as many times as they please. You can fit your forthcoming events around your favourite TV show as you can check in advance what programmes, films and documentaries are yet to air!
Digital Broadcasting
• The all new high definition means picture quality is at its all time high with things appearing as though they are right in front of you.
• Digital TV is gradually replacing analogue TV (all of the above).
• With more channels than ever before, clearer pictures and quality sound, with luxuries such surround sounds, bring the film to life.
• Aspect ratio- now provides a widescreen cinematic feel as it measures 16:9inches enabling the viewer to view more of that particular shot. Whereas an olden day terrestrial viewing would come up in the standard 4:3 viewing which excludes a lot of the shot.
• Pictures are clearer as a result of more pixels on the screen which give off a higher resolution and make that moving image crystal clear.
• Although digital broadcasting can sometimes be affected by the weather this problem is usually resolved within seconds followed by a general apology.
Internet Broadcasting
• Newly introduced.
• TV via the internet, most commonly used here in the UK- BBC iPlayer.
• There are two ways of which one can watch their desired programme:
• Streaming it to their media player which consists of buffering to ensure their programme is constant or simply downloading it on to their computer.
• Because the internet is such frequently used in and everyday around the world competition is up to ensure viewers stay by making content free of charge with a small minority which have to be paid for.
• Watching TV this way is a fast and efficient way of watching things as you can pause, stop, rewind and fast forward as it suits you.
• This internet package is usually inclusive with your TV and telephone connection which has upgraded a lot since it was firstly introduced with cable.
• Involves radio waves.
• TV, Radio, Paging networks often radiate from fixed terrestrial transmitters which are usually based on hills, tower hills or mobile receivers.
• Not used so much nowadays due to an advance in technology, this includes newer and faster methods of broadcasting. Such as digital and internet TV.
• Terrestrial transmitters’ waves can’t carry through objects which obstruct its path. This is a disadvantage to those living further away from the transmitter or on the other side of a hill.
• Bandwidth limits the signal to a certain degree whereby the outcome is affected and waves cannot be transmitted uninterrupted.
• Bandwidth restricts picture and sound transmissions affecting output and causing ‘fuzzy’ sounds and/or pictures.
Cable Broadcasting
• Signals are transmitted through optical fibres that are installed in the subscribers’ property.
• With cable TV one can only receive such a feature if your whole street is willingly to have it, as law will only allow the broadcaster to dig up the ground once.
• This is an advantage to the broadcaster as it means everyone on that street would have to subscribe with them.
• Cable T V has a number of advantages over the original analogue, as the reception was better. This meant that the viewers had to make few adjustments to the external antenna.
• Because cable can be somewhat ‘closed’. This means the broadcaster are authorised to show whatever they may want to show without having to comply with certain age restriction rules.
• Advancing technology means that cable can also provide their customers with internet and telephone services. Thus eliminating the costs of each individual service.
Satellite Broadcasting
• Satellites are high in the sky meaning chances of interruptions are reduced.
• Unless weather is extremely bad connection remains continuous.
• Provides a much wider range of TV channels as opposed to terrestrial or cable.
• The larger the size (diameter) the better the signal strength as there is more space to aim at it.
• Satellites can broadcast to a wide range of countries because they are so high up, meaning you can receive channels from other countries.
• You have ‘On Demand’ channels such as the weather which enables you to get the latest on the weather 24/7.
• Because satellites are so high up, they can provide clear channels for those living in rural areas. This is also very useful as they make use of internet services.
• This modern and futuristic function means that viewer can record TV programmes to watch at a later date or watch it as many times as they please. You can fit your forthcoming events around your favourite TV show as you can check in advance what programmes, films and documentaries are yet to air!
Digital Broadcasting
• The all new high definition means picture quality is at its all time high with things appearing as though they are right in front of you.
• Digital TV is gradually replacing analogue TV (all of the above).
• With more channels than ever before, clearer pictures and quality sound, with luxuries such surround sounds, bring the film to life.
• Aspect ratio- now provides a widescreen cinematic feel as it measures 16:9inches enabling the viewer to view more of that particular shot. Whereas an olden day terrestrial viewing would come up in the standard 4:3 viewing which excludes a lot of the shot.
• Pictures are clearer as a result of more pixels on the screen which give off a higher resolution and make that moving image crystal clear.
• Although digital broadcasting can sometimes be affected by the weather this problem is usually resolved within seconds followed by a general apology.
Internet Broadcasting
• Newly introduced.
• TV via the internet, most commonly used here in the UK- BBC iPlayer.
• There are two ways of which one can watch their desired programme:
• Streaming it to their media player which consists of buffering to ensure their programme is constant or simply downloading it on to their computer.
• Because the internet is such frequently used in and everyday around the world competition is up to ensure viewers stay by making content free of charge with a small minority which have to be paid for.
• Watching TV this way is a fast and efficient way of watching things as you can pause, stop, rewind and fast forward as it suits you.
• This internet package is usually inclusive with your TV and telephone connection which has upgraded a lot since it was firstly introduced with cable.
Planning and Equiptment list
1 Female. (Naomi)
Camera- Boom Microphone. (Jonny)
Props- Food
Alarm clock
Mobile phone
Cutlery
Fake blood. (Vivian)
Costumes (killer in black clothes)
Jonny, Naomi, and Vivian
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