THRILLER ANALYSIS - Kill Bill vol 2 (2004) - Quentin Tarantino - action thriller

1. What is told to the audience?
The audience is shown a women lying on the floor and then someone else shooting her. It misses out all the action as when you first see her, see is already cut up. At this point you know that the man who is called Bill is the antagonist and the audience believe that that the women is a innocent victim. There is talking between the two characters and right before Bill shoots her, she says 'It's your baby.' This tells the audience she isn't just an innocent victim and Bill killed her for revenge.
2. What is conventional?
- You get introduced to the main characters, even though you don't see the man and you don't realise that the women is also a main character.
- The music over the titles are strings and drums. This builds up tension.
- Only straight cuts are used apart from right at the end of the opening sequence to show it is ended.
- The titles are white writing on a black background.
3. What is unconventional?
- Over the titles, there is a voice over which then blends into the two characters talking.
- The action is in black and white. However this is used to show what happened in the past.
4. How has it inspired me?
I like the way it doesn't have a built up to the action or actually getting to see the fight, but it shows the after effect of it. Also, I like the way it has a connection between the two characters. In normal thriller, you see an antagonist killing an innocent victim, but in Kill Bill vol.2 it shows a connection between them.

THRILLER ANALYSIS - Scream (1996) - Wes Craven - psychological thriller and comedy thriller

1. What is told to the audience?
During the first 3 minutes of Scream not a lot is told to the audience. The only thing that is clear to the audience is the man voice on the phone is the antagonist. This isn't so clear until he says 'I want to know who I am looking at' after 2 minutes and 23 seconds of the action. When he says this, you know that something is going to happen to the girl but aren't sure whether she is a main character or just an innocent victim.
2.What is conventional?
- There is a clear antagonist (the man on the phone). This is found out after 2 minutes 23 seconds of the opening sequence.
- The titles are conventional as they are white tittles on a black background, and then the titles turn red
- The music gets faster and has more tension in it.
3. What is unconventional?
- Although we find out that the antagonist is the man on the phone, we never actually get to see who the main characters are.
- The title of 'Scream' is very animated and there is some flashing involved.
- Apart from the main tittle of 'Scream', there were no other tittles.
4.How has it inspired me?
It has inspired me, as it showed me that you can introduce your antagonist character without actually introducing him. I also like the way that, half way through the opening section, it stops to show the location of where it is happening.

THRILLER ANALYSIS - Memento (2000) - Christopher Nolan - Paranoid thriller

1. What is told to the audience?
The only thing that it shows is a man as been shot and another man is taking a picture of him. However, all this section is shown backwards. You get to meet two characters in the first few minutes. However, the man taken the picture is shown to be that bad person and the man being shot, to be just an innocent victim. So in the first few minutes, not a lot has been told to the audience.
2. What is conventional?
- The main convention of Memento is that in the first few minutes, is there are more questions are asked than been answered
- There is non-diegetic sound over the action which adds suspense to the action
- The main characters were introduced
- Sting music used to create tension
- The main man is wearing a wedding rain which suggests that he his a normal/average man
3. What is unconventional?
- It is going in a backwards order.
4. How has it inspired me?
I like the idea of no dialogue being used and the audience just getting a feel for the film from just the actions. I also like the idea of the scene going backwards as it is different and no other film does this. However, I don't think I would like to use this in our thriller as its to unique.

THRILLER ANALYSIS - Dr Strangelove (Stanley Kubrick, 1964) Disaster Thriller

1. What is revealed to the audience?
A voiceover is talking about the Russians planning a nuclear bomb attack, whilst the camera slowly zooms in (or flies towards) a group of mountains in the distance. Following this, a series of shots that looks at two airplanes together in the sky is overlaid with what appears to be hand-drawn titles.
2. What is conventional?
- Titles: white over a background of planes flying
- A clear antagonist (Russia) is established through what the voiceover is saying

3. What is unconventional?
- The main character is not introduced - we have no idea who it could be
- It is filmed in black and white. Although this would have not been unusual in it's day, nowadays it is more unheard of.
- Titles: appear to be hand drawn
- Sound: Music reminds me of theatrical ballet music, such as swan lake, and makes the scene in front of the audience's eyes seem much more tranquil

- A voiceover is heard at the start of the opening sequence
4. How has it inspired me?

I really like the hand drawn effect of the titles - it looks so much more personal than any usual font, although it may not be suitable for a different sub-genre of thriller, and I also quite like the black and white effect, especially since it adds a sense of mystery to what is going on.

THRILLER ANALYSIS - Rear Window (Alfred Hitchcock, 1954) Psychological Thriller

1. What is revealed to the audience?
Behind the titles, a large window is seen, with blinds that slowly roll up one at a time, and then the camera zooms through the window and into the courtyard beneath. Following this, a single tracking shot follows a cat up a set of stairs, then all around the courtyard, before finally coming back through the window and into a close up of the protagonist's face, sweating and clearly in pain.

2. What is conventional?
- Titles: Although rather old fashioned nowadays, the titles are a simple red and white
- Sound: upbeat, almost comedic music with cymbals throughout, yet reminiscent of old detectives etc with a hint of urgency to it.

- The main character is introduced, albeit briefly

- The setting is introduced also - an apartment block in what we assume is America

3. What is unconventional?
- Camerawork: only two shots are used in the entire opening sequence, and one of these is a highly unconventional track
- Sound: no diegetic sound is used, only the music is heard throughout the opening

- The main character is only introduced right at the very end of the introduction, and even then, only for a second.

4. How has it inspired me?
The use of very few shots has confirmed that it doesn't take a lot of different shots to set up the scene and to introduce the characters. The lack of dialogue is also good, as it is something else to bear in mind for our own thriller.

THRILLER ANALYSIS - Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese, 1976) Psychological Thriller

1. What is revealed to the audience?
Very little - a man's face is seen in extreme close up (just his eyes are revealed to the audience), and a New York street with lots of steam/smoke obscuring the view, followed by a blurry shot of another street at night through a windscreen.

2. What is conventional?
- Titles: Starting a dark red and lightening to yellow
- The main character is introduced, although we know little about him
- Editing: Straight cut editing is used predominately throughout the opening
- Camera: Mainly still shots, one tilt used right at the start to reveal to the audience that a taxi is being driven
3. What is unconventional?
- Sound: juxtaposition of slow, soft jazz and tense, orchestral music, neither of which are that conventional to the thriller genre.
- No diegetic sound, or indeed sound at all except for the music
4. How has it inspired me?
I like the way that there is no dialogue, leaving lots of questions unanswered in the audiences mind, and also the use of very few shots, which all last for quite a long time. Also, the music used shows to me that typically 'thriller' music doesn't always have to be used.

THRILLER ANALYSIS - Fight Club (David Fincher 1999) Psychological thriller

1. What is revealed to the audience?
The main character is being held at gun point by a man named Tyler Durton, whilst an organisation called 'project mayhem' is planning/carrying out a "controlled demolition" of a number of skyscrapers. We are told that everything we have seen so far all relates to a woman called Marlar Singer.
2. What is conventional?
- Titles: white lettering on a black background,
- the main character is introduced, although we are not told his name,
- the main character is being held hostage; a typical situation in this genre,
- Sound: Very high tempo non-diegetic music using drums and guitar.
- a clear antagonist (or so we think) is established.
- Editing: straight cut editing is used through the majority of the opening.
3. What is unconventional?
- A voice over is used throughout the opening,
- The narrative time is fragmented and goes back in time. The end of the film is essentially at the beginning.
- Camera: the camera zooms around the location with varying speed, frames and angles which give the action a very surreal atmosphere.
- Titles: heavily animated and flashing.
4. How has it inspired me?
I really like the use of fragmented narrative as this enhances the tension of the viewing and the ambiguity of the narrative.

THRILLER ANALYSIS - Signs (M. Night Shyamalan 2002) Supernatural thriller

1. What is revealed to the audience?
The main characters are a family living together on a farm. A scream of a young girl can be heard. The two adult male characters (one of whom is called Graham) run through the corn field and find the two children staring at the crop circle.
2. What is conventional?
- Sound: (only over the titles, when the action starts there is only diegetic sound) Strings build into a high tempo orchestrial music which builds tension and sets the mood of the film,
- main character is introduced,
- a clear protagonist is established; who is typically an average, family man.
- Camera: as Graham runs through the house and the crops, tracking is prodominantly used (alternating between a dolly and a hand-held camera)
- Editing: straight cut continuity editing.
3. what is unconventional?
- Mise-en-scene: Domestic setting of a large, American style farmhouse surrounded by corn fields,
- The antagonist is an alien threat (heavily suggested by crop circle).
4. How has it inspired me?
The antagonist does not nessecarily have to be human to be sinister, in fact, a supernatural one can build more suspense because its actions can not be measured with the limits of humanity - the audience is unable to predict it, therefore the narative is more thrilling.

THRILLER ANALYSIS - The Beach (Danny Boyle 2000) Psychological thriller

1. What is revealed to the audience?
The main character (Richard) has gone backpacking in Thailand in search of adventure and something different from America.
2. What is conventional?
- the main character is introduced,
- Mise-en-scene: set in a foreign country,
- Titles: white lettering on black background,
- Camera: there is alot of zooming, tracking and panning; a static frame is rarely used.
- Sound: high tempo non-diegetic music, almost club like in style.
3. What is unconventional?
- A voice over is used throughout the opening which gives some background information on the main character.
- Very bright colours and there is an orange tint on many of the frames which makes the action seem very surreal.
4. How has it inspired me?
The use of a voice over is very effective in building a bond between the character and the audience, although it does comprimise on the realism of the film.

THRILLER ANALYSIS - Body of Lies (Ridley Scott 2008) spy/political thriller

1. What is revealed to the audience?
There has been a number of terrorist attacks carried out across Britain by muslim extremist groups who are avenging the American wars in Iraq.
2. What is conventional?
- Deals with current issues; terrorism and the recent war in Iraq,
- Mise-en-scene: Due to the spy sub-genre there are explosions, bombs, armed police and guns,
- The action starts very quickly meaning the audience is thrown straight into the narrative,
- Titles: prodominantly white on black although the english subtitles (during the muslim man's speech) are orange.
- Mise-en-scene: there are two locations in the opening, Manchester (England) and Samara (Iraq) which are identified through the use of subtitles.
- Sound: suspenceful non-diegetic music using strings and drums that build momentum during the police raid.
3.What is unconventional?
- No main characters are introduced.
- There are no production titles, only a quote from W. H. Auden:

"I and the public know

what all the schoolchildren learn,

those to whom evil is done

do evil in return."

4. How has it inspired me?

This film has shown that plunging the audience straight into the action is perhaps the most effective and impacting for this genre, as it makes the experience much more 'on the edge of your seat'. It also inspired me to use a variety of different sets/locations as this makes the scale of the Thriller much more elaborate. Finally, I really liked Scott's use of a quote at the start of the film because not only does it establish the mood and theme of the film, but also prompts the audience to start thinking deeply early on.

THRILLER ANALYSIS - Collateral (Micheal Mann 2004)

1. What is revealed to the audience?
Vincent (wearing a slick, grey, expensive looking suit) walks through an airport in LA; we assume he has just got off the plane. He subtly exchanges his suitcase with a man (dressed completely in black) who he seems to know; suggesting that this character may be involved with something sinister.
We also meet another character who is a taxi cab driver called Max. The jutaposition of these two characters implies that at some point their lives will collide and form the basis of the thriller.
2. What is conventional?
- We are introduced to the main characters who are typically male.
- Max is an ordinary looking man (wearing casual clothes) who is working a late night shift as an average cab driver. His normality makes him very relatable and appealing to the audience which is conventional for this genre.
- Sound: high tempo, non-diegetic soundtrack which adds to the fast paced mood (however this is only played during the short second half of the opening).
3. What is unconventional?
- Sound: there is a sound bridge over the production titles of a plane landing. Only the diegetic sounds of the airport are audible until after Vincent picks up the bag which focuses the audience's attention on the action NOT the sound.
4. How has it inspired me?
It has inspired me to introduce the major characters in the film early on as this makes it easier for the audience to associate with one character and completely emmerse themselves in the narrative, therefore making the experience more thrilling.

THRILLER ANALYSIS - Vantage Point (Pete Travis 2008) Political thriller

1. What is revealed to the audience?
A anti-terror summit is being hosted by the president of the USA in Spain, however there is obviously some conflict arrisen from this decission as there are a large quantity of protestors holding anti-american signs.
2. What is conventional?
- Titles: White lettering on black background,
- Sound: Looming music using drums (is almost military in sound),
- Mise-en-scene: Set in a foreign country,
- The narrative deals with a current issue; terrorism is a typical political thriller theme,
- Due to the sub-genre of the film, major political figures are involved with the plot (in this case the president of the USA)
- Editing: straight cut continuity editing (jump cuts are used during the montage at the start of the film)
3. What is unconventional?
- No clear main characters (protagonist or antagonist) are established.
- Titles: the animation of the titling is complex, with a montage of images layered in the background.
4. How has this inspired me?
I think the theme of terrorism is a strong one as it is both realistic, menacing and relatable; every member of the audience can, in some way, relate to the threat it poses.

Thriller conventions

Thrillers are essentially about the conflict arrisen from the binary opposition between justice vs injustice; where often there is a price to be paid for the conclusion of a story. A thriller is a film of suspense with a plot structure that progress with a growing sense of threat or danger and the excitement of pursuit.
Because of the very vast number of sub-genres, the conventions of the thriller genre are varied and differ depending on its style (legal, spy, medical etc), however, the established, generic conventions are as follows:

1. NARRATIVE
Many thriller plots contain red herrings to add to the element of ambiguity. Also, the dialogue in a thriller film rarely contains a complete overview or explanantion of plots/events in an effort to conceal information and maintain the mystery - essential to building up suspense.A thriller usually includes a narrative twist at the end which the audience does not expect, which contributes to the 'thrilling', high intensity experience of the film.Jeopardy and violent confrontations are standard plot elements.

2.CHARACTERS
There is a clear protagonist in most thrillers, and are frequently "hard men" accustomed to danger: such as law enforcement officers, spies, soldiers, seamen or aviators. However, they may also be ordinary citizens drawn into danger by accident (Eagle Eye for example). While such heroes have traditionally been men, strong women characters have become increasingly common; such as Sigourney Weaver's character Ripley, in the movie Alien (1979), however it is more conventional that female characters play the role of 'damsel in distress'.
In most cases the role of the antagonist is also clear, however, in some thrillers the source of the suspence stems from the audience having to figure out this mystery for themselves - this can also relate to the conventional twist at the end. Antagonists are usually gangstas, murderers or terrorists, but in recent years monsters and aliens have also featured as the villains (Signs).

3. SETS
Thrillers strive to be dramatic and so the action often takes place wholly or partly in exotic settings such as foreign cities, deserts, polar regions, or high seas. The James Bond film are perhaps best known for this.

4. SOUND
The non diegetic soundtrack is usually made up of strings as these create a successful atmosphere of tension and mystery. The music conventionally becomes very fast paced during a chase or confrontation to emphasise the suspense.

Definitions of a Thriller genre

For preparation for our thriller course work, each group got asked to do some research on it. For my share of the research, I am finding definitions of what is classed as a thriller and where I got it from.

My first definition I found is from a website called findmeanauthor.com. This is what they wrote about a thriller genre: 'There's no narrow definition. According to International Thriller Writer, a thriller is characterized by "the sudden rush of emotions, the excitement, sense of suspense, apprehension, and exhilaration that drive the narrative, sometime subtly with peaks and lulls, sometimes at a constant, breakneck pace." In short, a thriller thrills. How? Mostly through skillful plotting. Thriller is a genre of fiction in which tough, resourceful, but essentially ordinary heroes are pitted against villains determined to destroy them, their country or the stability of the free world.'

My second definition I found is from yahoo.com. I went on this website to find out what the public think and not some professional. Also, it sees how they would word it as well. This, in my opinion, was the best one. 'A story that starts with a serious problem, a protagonist(our hero/heroine) who tries to solve the problem only to find that it gets worse and worse and worse. The plot rises to a dramatic confrontation with the antagonist (bad guy), usually on the bad guy's territory, and ends with a short denouement (wrap up).'

My third definition is from wikipedia. I used this website because a lot of people use wikipedia for many definitions so I was curious about how they would define a thriller. They wrote: 'Thriller is a broad genre of literature, film and television that includes numerous and ofter overlapping sub-genres. Thrillers are characterized by fast pacing, frequent action, and resourceful heroes who must thwart the plans of more-powerful and better-equipped villains.'

Under the wikipedia definition there was a quote from James Patterson, from June 2006, which I feel defines a thriller definition best. He said. 'Thrillers provide such a rich literary feast. There are all kinds. The legal thriller, spy thriller, action-adventure thriller, medical thriller, religious thriller, high-tech thriller, military thriller. The list goes on and on, with new variations constantly being invented. In fact, this openness to expansion is one of the genre's most enduring characteristics. But what gives the variety of thrillers a common ground is the intensity of emotions they create, particularly those of apprehension and exhilaration, of excitement and breathlessness, all designed to generate that all-important thrill. By definition, if a thriller doesn't thrill, it's not doing its job.'

Hitchcock

I have chosen to look in depth (at least a little bit) at Alfred Hitchcock, as he is often known as 'The Master of Suspense' and is the director of some of the greatest classic thrillers of our time, such as 'Psycho' (1960), 'Rear Window' (1954), 'The Birds' (1963) and 'The 39 Steps' (1935). By looking at how someone with as much experience as Alfred Hitchcock manages to create suspense, over 40 years ago, we can take the techniques he used and hopefully apply them to our own Thriller opening.

Alfred Hitchcock was born in 1899, before films with sound in (the 'talkies') even existed. However, as development of these films began to get more advanced, Hitchcock got a job in Lasky Studios, London as a title designer. He designed the titles for all the movies made at the studio for the next two years. In 1923, he got his first chance at directing when the director of 'Always Tell Your Wife'(1923) fell ill and Hitch completed the movie. Impressed by his work, studio chiefs gave him his first directing assignment on 'Number 13' (1922); however, before it could be finished, the studio closed its British operation. Hitchcock was then hired by Michael Balcon to work as an assistant director for the company later to be known as Gainsborough Pictures. In reality, Hitchcock did more than this -- working as a writer, title designer and art director. After several films for the company, Hitchcock was given the chance to direct a British/German co-production called 'The Pleasure Garden' (1925). Hitchcock's career as a director finally began. Hitchcock went on to become the most widely known and influential director in the history of world cinema with a significant body of work produced over 50 years.

Hitchcock had many trademarks throughout his films, including cameo appearances by himself, usually at the beginning of the films, so as not to distract the audience from the plot. He also tends to have a recurring motif of a lost or assumed identity, such as in Psycho (1960), with Norman and his 'Mother', The 39 Steps (1935), with Hannay lying about his identity throughout and Vertigo (1958), where Judy lies in order to fool Scottie. In orderto create suspense in his films, he often cuts between different shots to extend cinematic time, such as the infamous shower scene is Psycho (see clip). In a lot of his early films, he used to create shadows on the walls to create more suspense and tension. He also tended to use a lot of blonde women as his female leads, including Grace Kelly in 'Rear Window', Kim Novak in 'Vertigo', and Ingrid Bergman. He also tended to use a lot of 'MacGuffins' or items or devices that drove the plot and were of great interest to the characters on screen, but which the audience could forget once they had served their purpose, such as the $40,000 in 'Psycho'.

Thriller Genre - Sub Genres...there's quite a few!

ACTION THRILLER: the work often features a race against the clock, contains lots of violence, and an obvious antagonist. These films usually contain large amounts of guns, explosions, and large elaborate set pieces for the action to take place. These films often have elements of mystery films and crime films but these elements take a backseat to action.
Examples: the James Bond films, The Transporter, and the Jason Bourne trilogy.

CONSPIRACY THRILLER: the protagonist confronts a large, powerful group of antagonists whose true extent only he/she recognizes.
Examples: The Chancellor Manuscript, The Aquitane Progression (Robert Ludlum), Three Days of the Condor, Capricorn One, and JFK.

CRIME THRILLER: This particular genre is a hybrid type of both crime films and thrillers that offers a suspenseful account of a successful or failed crime or crimes. These films often focus on the criminal's perspective rather than the policeman's. Crime thrillers usually emphasize action over psychological aspects. Central topics include murders, robberies, chases, shootouts, and 'double-crosses'.
Examples: The Killing, Seven, Reservoir Dogs, Inside Man, and The Asphalt Jungle.

DISASTER THRILLER: the main conflict is due to some sort of natural or artificial disaster, such as floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, volcanoes, etc., or nuclear disasters as an artificial disaster.
Examples: Stormy Weather (Carl Hiaasen), Tremor (Winston Graham), and the 1974 film Earthquake.

DRAMA THRILLER: the story consists of the elements of a thriller and drama film. These films are usually slower paced and involves a great deal of character development along with plot twists.
Examples: The Illusionist, The Interpreter and The Prestige.

ECO THRILLER: the protagonist must avert or rectify an environmental or biological calamity, often in addition to dealing with the usual types of enemies or obstacles present in other thriller genres. This environmental component often forms a central message or theme of the story such as the danger presented by climate change/global warming.
Examples: The Loop (Nicholas Evans), Echoes in the Blue (C. George Muller), and Elephant song(Wilbur Smith), all of which highlight real-life environmental issues. Futuristic eco-thrillers are of the science fiction genre that propose ideas that will or may occur, for example, The Day After Tomorrow.

EROTIC THRILLER: It has become popular since the 1980s and consists of both erotica and thriller conventions.
Examples: Basic Instinct, Dressed to Kill, Color of Night, Eyes Wide Shut, Fatal Attraction, Looking for Mr. Goodbar, Obsessed, and In the Cut.

LEGAL THRILLER: the lawyer-heroes/heroines confront enemies outside, as well as inside, the courtroom and are in danger of losing not only their cases but their lives (very clear binary opposition between lawyers vs. criminals).
Examples: The Innocent Man (John Grisham).

MEDICAL THRILLER: the protagonists are medical doctors/personnel working to solve an expanding medical problem.
Examples: Awake.

POLITICAL THRILLER: the protagonists ensure the stability of the government that employs them. Terrorism, assasination and war often appears in the plot.
Examples: The success of Seven Days in May (1962) by Fletcher Knebel, The Day of the Jackal (1971) by Frederick Forsyth, and The Manchurian Candidate (1959) by Richard Condon established this subgenre. A more recent example is Vantage Point.

PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER: In which (until the often violent resolution) the conflict between the main characters is mental and emotional, rather than physical.
Examples: Suspicion, Shadow of a Doubt, and Strangers on a Train (Alfred Hitchcock), Blue Velvet (David Lynch) and The Good Son.

SPY THRILLER: the hero is generally a government agent who must take violent action against agents of a rival government or (in recent years) terrorists.
Examples: From Russia, with Love (Ian Fleming) and The Bourne Identity.

TECHNO THRILLER: In which (typically military) technology is described in detail and made essential to the viewer's understanding of the plot.
Examples: The Hunt for Red October, (Tom Clancy; considered to be the "Father of the Techno thriller")

RELIGIOUS THRILLER: the plot is closely connected to religious objects, institutions and questions. While suspense stories have always shown a significant affinity for religion and philosophical issues.
Examples: The Da Vinci Code.

Most thrillers are formed in some combination of the above, with horror, conspiracy, and psychological tricks used most commonly to heighten tension. Combinations are highly diverse, including:
Science fiction thrillers: Jurassic Park, Sunshine.
Techno/political/conspiracy/military: Robocop.
Legal/forensic/psychological: The Silence of the Lambs, Seven.

Preliminary Task

The finished product :)

Clips

Match On Action-

180 Degree Rule & Eyeline Match-

Music mayhem!!!

I played the music from our clip to someone who knows nothing about media and had never seen our film before and didn't know what it was about. He said; "the music has a edgy kind of feel to it. I think it goes with a fast moving pace of action and the music is kind of lively. But I really like it." I just thought I would let everyone know what someone thought of our music .

Self-Evaluation: Roisin

I am very proud of our preliminary task, and i'm sure everyone else is! I believe that we have created a simple, yet unique fit to the brief. Mixing our new skills with a new genre that none of us have worked on before was very interesting...and enjoyable! First of all, I am very very happy that I managed to work within a group that I felt comfortable with; as that was a large factor during GCSE - I never managed to express my view or feel confident in my ideas. Initially, I felt very nervous about the fairly big leap from GCSE to A Level, but now I have a greater understanding of how much effort must be put into this course, even in a preliminary task...therefore I definitely look forward to bigger projects!

It's very satisfying (as Jade mentioned) to look at our pre-preliminary task and notice how far we have come when it comes to editing. The continuity is much better than previous projects I have worked on, and although it is not perfect, it gives me a chance to understand better how we can make future projects flow.

What Did I Know Before?
My skills from GCSE media generally revolve around the equipment and technology elements. I always understood the terminology; match on action, 180degree rule etc. and could tell you the definitions easily; however these had never been put ino practice. I knew how to use GarageBand (I have a music GCSE - And used GarageBand for coursework) and although it seemed quite daunting at first; I managed to create a very simple piece by slotting together various different sounds; with the help with the rest of the group!! I knew a lot about the audience we were appealing to and the conventions within the genre from previous in-class discussions and essay writing about 'Skins', as well as being a fan!

What I Know Now...
I have learnt a lot in this short period of time. As I mentioned before, I have learnt what it's like to be part of a group that listens and reflects on ideas, instead of always being too shy to give any input (that sounds very sad i know!) I now understand how to put all the terminology I have learnt into practice, as well as learning new things; which definitely make filming and editing a more enjoyable process!

In relation to feedback we received from our class; I feel we could've improved our preliminary task in many different ways. After watching countless times, it becomes obvious that the cuts and transitions are good in some places, but could be perfected. The insert of me before rachel sits down opposite me seems jumpy and misplaced; however, before we included that insert the shots between did not fit at all, and our main focus at the beginning of the editing process was to make the continuity as perfect as possible. We tried extremely hard to fit our task to the brief set, and I believe we achieved it, with a few minor errors including the sound levels and smooth cuts.

Overall I am very proud of not only our finished work, but also of our group, I definitely think we have bonded well and understood what we wanted/needed to take out of this experience, and by helping each other we have achieved that!

Self-evaluation: Gemma!!!

Before starting our new course at AS level, I thought I knew quite a lot from our 2 year course at GCSE but I found out I didn't know as much as I thought. Also, there are things I knew/heard of but now have learnt in more detail and have now managed to put it to use.

I already knew most of the camera angles as we had to use them in our GCSE film. Also, I knew about editing to, as we, in year 10, had to do a practise film and we learnt all about editing then and found out what type of editing suits which genre best. For example, a horror genre, only straight cuts should be used as it gives it a more realistic feel to it. That is why, apart from the beginning and the end, we only used straight cuts because we wanted our teen drama extra to seem as real as possible. In year 10 and 11 we all learnt how to work in a group as we had to for our GCSE. However, in year 12 we all now had learnt more skills, everyone had more ideas that they wanted to include. Therefore, i feel I have learnt to work better in a group as I have learnt to trust their ideas more and believe in them more. Before starting our preliminary task, I knew about the 180 degree rule, however, now I have learnt about it in more detail and feel comfortable about knowing how to use it. In hear 11 we knew that our film had to flow which is continuity editing, and now know how to sort it out. Also, I can now identify when there is a jump between shots, no matter how small the jump is. This year, garage band was knew to all of us, which meant that we all had trouble with it. However, after looking around on it and fiddling around with it and just putting a few sounds together, you begin to learn how it works. I feel I still have some learning to do on garage band, but feel a lot more comfortable with and feel I could use it for our really coursework. And, also, finish learning the skills I feel I am missing during our real piece of coursework. Before year 12, I didn't know what match on action was but now, after using it in our preliminary tasks a couple of times, I feel I could use it again with no problems attached. Also, before our preliminary task, I had no idea how to set up and use a blog Becca's I have never had the need to use one before.but I got taught how to set one up and how to use it. Now it is just second nature and I feel I have been doing it for ages where in actual fact, I have only been doing it for less than a month. However, for our real course work, I feel I need to blog more often as I haven't been doing so since we began our blog.

To sum up, I believe I knew quite a lot from our GCSE years but have learnt so much more in such a short amount of time. All the skills I have learnt, I will take with me to our coursework later this year.

My favourite part of our film is the shot were the can's roll across the floor. I like this shot because it gives some more variety to the film and not just black/white or boring. I also really like the point of view shot where Rachel is trying to open the door. I like this shot because the adjusted colour makes it different and original from other shots and I feel the music goes well too. The music goes well because the music gives the shot a edgy kind of feel to the scene and that is the feel we went for. However, the part I feel most pleased with, is right at the beginning. The music starts with the shakers and then the music starts. The end of the first few beats tie is nicely with Rachel falling over. The last note ends and then Rachel falls over, then when she is on the fall, the beats start again. In the film, I am not total happy with the dialogue part. I don't no what it is, every other time I watch it, it just doesn't flow as well as I would have hoped but am not quite sure what it is. I am very pleased with what we all have achieved in such a short amount. Everyday, we get stressed at about how big a jump it is between GCSE work and A-level work. This preliminary task was used to make that jump smaller. I hope, by watching this film, it can show how much we have learnt and to help us with our film next year.

Comments!!!

After we finished filming, editing and adding music (and of course when we felt like we had finished), we decided that we needed some audience response. After a debate, we went and found people to watch our film. We decided not to get anyone from our actual media class to watch it because they were all too busy; but we also didn't want anyone who did media to watch it as they would think in media terms, but everyone else would see it for the first time and have never experienced anything like it before.

We found four people to come and watch our film and critic it for us. Two of them actually starred as extras in the film, so it was good that they got to watch the finished product. After we explained what continuity editing was, we asked them to comment on 4 separate areas. These areas were; what do you think about the continuity editing, what did you like about he film, what didn't you like/improve and what did you think of the music? These are the comments we got:
Fiona: "Between each separate shot, it all flows really well. The part I liked most was the part where Rachel is trying to get through the door. Where it is really shaky. Also I really like the effect added of when Rachel is stumbling across the dinning room. The music really go's with ll the actions."
Laura: "The shots really flow in between the different scenes. My favourite part was the shot where the can's roll across the floor. The music is well liked to the production we came up with. The only part I would improve is to make the part where Rachel falls over more realistic."
Gina: "I think that it real flows between each shot. My favourite scene is right at the beginning. I really like the part where Rachel stumbles through the door and then goes to a shot of behind the door, watching it close then from behind. It is also, really original. The music fits it really well. The music shows whats happening. The music sort of moves. It moves along when the character moves."
Aimie: "The whole film really flows. I like the way that that all the different camera angle's differ throughout the film and they aren't all the same. I think that the music go's really well and I like the way that that the music isn't the same throughout and has different sounds on top. The film is really good and if I was you, I wouldn't change a thing."

Overall, we are all very pleased with the comments that we received. While filming the dinning room scene, we showed some of the extras it on the camera. One of the extra, when she saw it, said "that looks really fake." However, when she saw the finished film after it was edited and we had added the effects, she was really pleased with that shot and it was her favourite part.

In conclusion, the audience feedback was really positive and we were really glad we did it. Personal, my favourite comment was off Aimie. She said "I am really surprised a group of 16 year old's could do something like this. It is really, really good."

No matter how good are comments were, we all feel that there are areas in which we would improve or change. But, we were always going to find that we would be our worst critics.

PLANNING PROCESS...the pre-preliminary task...

INITIAL IDEAS
our original group consisted of three members; Rachel, Roisin and me.
After looking at the task sheet for the first time (that outlined what our finished product would have to include), Rachel came up with the initial idea to film our preliminary task in the style of a Teen Drama, as this is a genre we had recently explored in class.
We finalised this idea as a team and found it so appealing because it was a unique and original interpretation of the task, and completely different to what each of us had filmed in GCSE media.

THE BRAINSTORM...building on the foundations
Our group then drew out a large mindmap, on which each member of the group contributed their ideas of shot types, plot line, mise-en-scene (location, costume, props etc), and any editing techniques/video effects we could use in post-production.
Although we wanted to create something 'individual', we had to ensure that our film fitted the brief. To do this we planned a variety of possible situations that demonstrated the techniques of; Match-on-action, shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule.
The brief also instructed the action that our preliminary had to include; the character had to open a door, cross a room and then sit down in a chair opposite another character, with whom they exchange a couple of lines of dialogue.
After taking the task's outlines into consideration, along with the expectations of our target audience (being a teen drama the conventions would be: youthful characters,-often aged 16 to 19- a modern and contemporary feel to the mise-en-scene and soundtrack, unconventional 'wacky' video effects and editing style and including current stereotypical issues- in this case binge drinking) we formulated the plot - consisting of elements from each of our ideas - for our preliminary task, along with suggestions of shot types and camera movement to use.
[our basic plot: a drunken teenager bursts into her school, unsuccessfully trying to act sober, and greets her anxious friend who is fed up of her 'wild child', rebelious antics]

PRE-PRELIMINARY STORY BOARDING
Every group in the class was required to first create a 'pre-preliminary task' (a practise run of the real thing) to give us an insight into how the final product would look like and whether or not the techniques we wanted to include would work.
Unfortunately, I was on an art trip the day my group began story boarding, so the hefty responsibility of drawing the production out shot by shot, following the guide lines of our plot from the mind map, fell to Roisin and Rachel!
Day two of story boarding and I was back! As a group we finished off the drawings and annotated them with notes describing the camera work required, and reminding us to get the eyeline match perfect!!
(as this was only a 'draft' of the 'real thing' we decided to leave out elaborate and unnecessary props and costumes as we just wanted to focus on the basic foundation of the task...ACHIEVING CONTINUITY through camera work and editing)

FILMING AND EDITING OUR PRE-PRILIMINARY TASK
On the day of the filming Roisin was ill and was unable to come to school; but luckily a friend was able to step in for her role in the dialogue.
Rachel was also acting and I was in charge of filming.
We managed to film the whole of our pre-preliminary in one lesson, with most shots captured within just one take! This really shows how coherant we worked as a group and demonstrates our focus on obtaining shots efficiently. (Although there are some continuity issues within the footage...for example the magically appearing tripod in the bottom left of the frame during the hand-held track!)
Because we captured the shots we needed so quickly, we had much more time to focus of the editing of the footage (Roisin was back now!). I was very pleased with our straight cuts as the majority of transitions between shots were fluid and didn't seem to jumpy. Our match-on-actions worked really well and came across as one sweeping movement; probably due to the fact that we filmed the whole movement from each angle so that we could cut away at the shots slowly until the movement of the subject knitted together.
Once the shots were edited together, we added a 'ghosting' video effect on both the point of view shot and the hand-held track. This was to make these particular shots feel more distorted and separate from reality.
We also adjusted the colour/brightness contrast of the footage to make the colours slightly richer. We found, to our surprise, that this effect actually makes the product look more professional as the watery tones given by the cameras make the footage appear 'amateurish'.

One thing we struggled with in our preliminary task was shot/reverse shot editing, as this was something that was new to us all. But identifying it as a weakness in our pre-preliminary caused us to really focus on improving the technique for our final product.
Another thing that the pre-preliminary task taught us was to capture a shot at least three times over, even if it looked perfect in the first take. Although this method of filming is time consuming, it means that there is a greater variety of shots available to select from during the editing process (there were times during the editing of the practise task that we realised that some shots didn't match up-but they were the only ones we had and we didn't have enough time to film anymore)

Self-Evaluation: Jade

I think that our preliminary task fits the brief very well, whilst still being original and unique in its format. I am really glad that we decided to create a production in the style of a Teen Drama, as experimenting with this genre was relatively new to me and completely contrasting to what I have done in GCSE (with my two practicals being Thriller or Horror based).
I am particularly pleased with the three, edited 'match on actions' as I think the shots knit together really closely and produce a seamless-looking, professional outcome. (This is also a skill I have perfected whilst filming this preliminary task, as although I had attempted it in GCSE, I had never been able to pull it off as well as I have done in this task)
But my favourite shot has to be the insert of cans rolling across the floor after they fall from Rachel's bag because it creates an interesting elipsis of time (Rachel scrambling to her feet-which would have been timeconsuming to film and boring/irrelevant to watch) which is fluent with the shots surrounding it and so doesn't look awkwardly placed.
I was surprised after watching our pre-preliminary task back just a few weeks later because I was shocked at how much our execution of continuity, shot/reverse shot and general editing had progressed in such a short space of time. This just proves how vital that practise was to highlight 'areas of concern' as it made us really focus on the things we weren't doing right and make sure that we improved.

However, there are parts of our preliminary task that I would improve on, especially in parts where the continuity doesn't flow as well as I would want it to. The shot/reverse shots during the dialogue are slightly jumpy at times (I think this is mainly to do with the fact that it goes from a very kinetic, hand-held track to a static, fixed shot) and I feel that this is a technique I need to practise further in order to increase the quality and professionalism of the production.

WHAT DID I KNOW BEFORE?
I knew how to use all of the importing and editing devices on the Macs as I learnt this in year 10. I also knew that different camera angles and movements can convey subliminal meanings to the audience and also construct representations of the characters, events and locations on screen.
I also knew of the technique of match-on-action, but had never the understanding and expertise of how to use the camera and editing to pull it off until now (in this task we included THREE!)
This shows how dramatically my skills in using the equipment have improved since the transition from GCSE to A level.

WHAT DO I KNOW NOW?
It seems to be the group's collective decision that the one major thing we learned was how to use GarageBand to create our own score. i am so glad we got to use this programme as it will make our future coursework pieces much easier as we already have a basic understanding.
Other techniques I have learned is the 180 degree-rule and the use of eyeline match. Understanding this made our shot/reverse shots of dialogue look much more naturalist and fluent within the production.

PS. I am also really pleased at how well our group has bonded and worked together. Creating this preliminary task has not only been a steep learning curve, but great fun as well! :)

Self-Evaluation: Rachel

Okay, so we all decided that we would do an individual evaluation of what we feel we have achieved during the production process as well as an overall evaluation of how we feel the task went, and what we have learnt. So this is what I feel like I have gained from doing this preliminary task:

WHAT I KNEW BEFORE:

At the beginning of this task, I was still wearing my GCSE-media brain, and was thinking that everything was easy, and continuity just sort of 'happened'. Well, I now know that it is a LOT harder than that, and even after spending weeks and weeks editing to the n-th. degree, I still feel like it doesn't quite flow (but then, I often find that I am my own worst critic), and also, we have tried our absolute hardest to do it, and hopefully you can see the effort that we have put into everything we have done so far. Also, I think that maybe my acting skills could be improved, but then again, we're not being marked on how well I can fall over, just how well the shots of me falling over match together, which I suppose is more important. However, if the acting was really super-duper good, then it might make the whole thing look more professional. All in all though, I reckon that we've done very well with what I managed to act out.

WHAT I KNOW NOW:

Something else I have learned about that I had no CLUE how to use before is of course, GarageBand. Before we started the preliminary task, I didn't know how to use it at all (but then, in Year 10, I didn't even know how to use a Mac), and now I think that, although my skills on there are far from professional level, they are passable. Actually, I would say that as a team, we are passable, because I have to give Roisin credit for doing most of the work on GarageBand, and the rest of us jumping in wit ideas from time to time. However, I will hopefully be able to practice my skills at making music some time between now and when we do our thriller piece, so I can contribute an equal amount to the rest of the group.

Overall, I feel that doing this task has help me come a long way in both my basic media skills, and more advanced techniques such as GarageBand. To me, this task has helped to bridge the gap between GCSE and AS, and hopefully, out final result will show how far we have come.

Today (26/11/2009), we watched each others videos and commented and generally evaluated them , based on criteria that the class decided as a whole. Seeing other people's comments made me see our film from a different perspective, and I now feel I am able to comment completely objectively on what our film truly is, and what I like about it. I feel that some shots, and transitions in our film look very good, and one part that I particularly like is the shot when I fall over, and then it straight cuts to the cans and bottle rolling across the floor. I feel that we have adjusted the sound to an appropriate level with this shot as well now, as before it was very loud. I think that, overall, I prefer the first half of our film to the second half, as we never really managed to make the continuity in the dialogue look quite as smooth as everything else. However, I feel that with the insert of Roisin holding the book that we filmed and added later, the whole section flows much better than previously. This is something that I feel we would not have done if we had not learned about different, more advanced shot types before we began this task.

I feel that we never really managed to make the Shot Reverse Shot that smooth, and it is definitely the one part of our film that I would change, or at least do again, if I could alter one thing about our film. Something else I feel didn't go quite as well as we thought it would, is the music. Lots of comments that we got back were along the lines of 'Random music', and listening to it being played whilst we were looking at other people's films, I can tell that we should have lowered the volume on certain sections of the music, such as during the hand-held scene, where, although the music fits (or rather doesn't, as the whole point is that it is disjointed, to match the character's sense of disorientation), it is far too loud, and sounds very added-in and false. On the other hand, I think during the tracking shot through the cafeteria, the music, and added in effects, are at the right volume, where they are not overly loud, but still discernible.

On the whole though, we got lots of positive feedback from everyone that matched my own views on how well I felt we did at this task.

Sorry! but they are up now!!!

While filming (which I know was ages ago and and I have kept you waiting all this time, so sorry) we took some still shots of where we were filming are preliminary task, the costumes, props, us filming, and actors. There's a little caption by each photo explaining whats going on. So I hope you enjoy!!!

This is Rachel (the drunken girl). This photo was taken in the classroom before our bad make over. So this is what the 'actor' looks like.

This is Roisin. She is the drunken girl's friend. This is what Roisin looks like when she isn't in her character outfit.

This is Roisin and Rachel in their outfits. As you can see, Roisin is wearing smart but casual clothes. The jeans and top make Roisin look like an average teenager. Rachel isn't wearing nomal clothes. You may not be able to tell from this photo, as it's unclear, but Rachel is wearing a bright yellow shoe, ripped tights, a skirt with mud on, a vest covered in mud, smudged make-up around her eyes and back combed hair. This is a stereotypical view of what a teenager is after a night out; like in 'Skins'

This is a close up photo of Rachel. We took this photo because we couldn't film all of the footage in one day, so the next time we filmed we could get her hair and make-up the same for continuity

This is a photo of Jade and myself. This is just before we started filming and we're looking over the storyboard.

This a picture of our extras. We found these people that were around at the time, because we didn't want to take anyone out of their lessons; we made sure that they weren't too busy.

These are the locations we filmed at. The photo on the left is looking at the door where Rachel stumbles through right at the beginning of the footage. The photo on the right is looking through the door (the second door) to the dining room in which Rachel goes through to have the conversation.

Finally, this is a photo is of all four of us. This was taken after our first day of filming, so we were all happy as it went really well!!

editing and music!!! And a big thank-you!!!

Once we uploaded all our footage, we finally got round to doing some editing. Even though we also knew we had to make our own music on garage band, we decided we would also do each stage together as that way we all get to input our own ideas and its not just one person doing it all and not just all one person's idea. Editing the shots together was the easy part and didn't take up that much time. We then adjusted the colour in each shot and added ghosting.

After editing, we watched it all through and realised it didn't really flow at he end so we then shoot a quick shot of Roisin and her book so the transitions between the shots didn't look jumpy.

Then we finally got round to the difficult part...the music. We needed to use garage band band to create our own music but because none of us have ever used it before, it took us a while to get the hang of it. The first and second time we used it, we didn't really find anything. I think this is because it was new to all us and after a while we just got sick of listening to all the sounds so we weren't really paying much attention. Also, it was very hard to find a piece of music that suited the actions and the genre and, because we all knew what kind of music we wanted, but we couldn't really explain it until we heard it. However, on our third of fourth time of using it, we found some music that we all liked the rhythm of it and went well with the actions. We found this bass just by chance. After filtering around with it more, we added some extra rhythms on top to give more of an affect on our final piece.

Finally!!! Even now all that seems easy but trust me its easier said than done. It was a lot of hard work and during the process there were a lot of ups and downs but we managed to get there in the end and become a stronger group. I think i can say on behalf of the group, that we are all very pleases with our final production. However, we all agree we have now watched it too many times that its now becoming boring to watch and we are starting to find faults where there aren't any faults.

I personal would just like to say a huge thank-you to Rachel, Roisin and Jade for welcoming me into the group and treating me like I have been there the whole time. We make a great team. Do you agree guys?

Planning process and filming!!!

The first thing we did when starting our preliminary task was Rachel, Roisin and Jade walked me through their idea. We drew the storyboard and added in other shots and a few different angles. After arranging the characters, props and locations, we were finally ready for filming.

Shooting, for me anyway is a very nerve racking because it was all the hard work that we have done in the planning to actually being put int practise. Also, the first day of shooting will prove whether or not the idea will actually work. While Rachel and Roisin went to get ready for acting, Jade and I got the camera ready to start. We also gathered 5 people to star as extras in our film as, I believe that it will seem more realistic if there are other people in the shot and not just Rachel. I think the our first day of filming went really well. We got all the shots that we needed in that section and once edited, they will look really god in our final piece. However, we couldn't film the beginning part because we didn't have the cans with us.

But next lesson we had the cans and were ready to film again. The second time round on filming went really well, if not better than the first set of filming. The only was I can really sum up the filming process, s that I have never had so much fun filming before and never laughed so much while filming. After filming, all we had to do was edit the shots together and add some music. Well, when you say it like that is sounds so simple and easy but in reality is will be a lot of hard work and a long process. Let the work begin!

Me joining!!!

Before the preliminary task, we all did a pre-preliminary task for some practise with the cameras and using the computers. During the process of our pre-preliminary task, I realised that the group I was in wasn't working out as we had too many separate ides. So when we finally began our preliminary task I joined a group with Rachel, Roisin and Jade.

At first I was worried how I would fit in, however they were all very welcoming toward me and involved me as if I was always in the group. I got nervous when we decided we would use the same idea that they used for their pre-preliminary task. This got me nervous because I didn't feel I would e able to add anything to their original idea. However, I feel I have joined into the group well and have contributed some ideas to.

Garage Band...completed soundtrack

We chose to leave the titles at the beginning silent and intiate the music when the intoxicated character bursts through the double doors, so that her entrance would have more of an impact on the audience.

THE SCORE:
We decided to use a 'groovy electric bass' for the foundation of the soundtrack, with a loop of 'live edgy drums' layered over the top; as it gave a youthful, 80's retro quality, which ties in with the conventional style of our Teen drama genre as the 80's twist is very much a part of current British popular culture (music, fashion etc) and so is very modern and youthfull.
During the point of view shot of the character fumbling with the door, we added a funky 'cop show clav'; and during the hand held track of the character stumbling across the dining hall we attatched the slightly distorted, high tempo sound of the 'mini mono synth'. These additional clips of sound gives the two particular shots a surreal, disjointed atmosphere, and clearly conveys the segregation between the character's impaired state of mind and reality.

POST PRODUCTION:
After importing the finished score onto imovie we manipulated the volume of some shots (especially the clatter of the cans and stomp of Rachel's shoe) to reduce the interruption of the soundtrack - therefore making it seem less 'tinny ' and more professional.
We also faded the music during the dialogue between Rachel and Roisin so that it could be clearly heard, however, unlike in our practise preliminary task, we did not completely mute the sound as this made the different shots sound jumpy and inconsistant. Instead, we let the music bridge over the dialogue and faded it back in when the conversation stopped therefore making the transition more fluent.

Outtakes!

As I'm sure you can guess, during filming we made a few errors and mistakes, some of which were funnier than others. So, we decided to put all the best ones into a short film so you can see what great efforts we went to to make our film fantastic!

As a tribute to our pre-preliminary task, we decided to use Madness 'Baggy Trousers' as a sort of backing track, and also to highlight our amazing comedic ways! And now, for the first time ever, you can see our entire team on film! You've already met Roisin and me, now meet Gemma and Jade!

So, yeah, these are the bits of film that we decided weren't good enough for the real thing (you'll see why), but were good enough for you to watch!!

Our Pre-Preliminary Task

This is the first draft of our preliminary task, the version we did when Roisin was ill, and so couldn't be in the film. After editing it using simple straight cuts throughout, and trying to get as much continuity as possible, we then showed it to the class and got feedback from them. Overall, there was a very positive response, and this inspired us to do a very similar piece for our actual task. However, they also gave us some feedback about continuity (as you can see in the video, there is a tripod in one shot, and I use the wrong hand to open the door as well). So in our second attempt, we made sure that there was not only editing continuity, but also mise-en-scene continuity.

As you can see - or hear - we used a Madness track over this piece. Originally we had no music, but we felt that it needed something to make it feel more finished, and so we browsed through the macs and jokingly put this song on. However, we all felt that it actually worked really well, and added a sense of comedy to the footage, which is what we wanted, as the genre we are trying to fit our piece into is teen drama, which quite often has elements of comedy in.

Overall, you can see that this is a good starting point for our actual task to improve from, and hopefully we have!

Rachel, Roisin, Jade & Gemma x

Influence

The influence for our Preliminary Task is the teen drama 'Skins'

'Skins' is a British teen drama, which deals with issues surrounding the youth today; as well as challenging or even confirming the general stereotype cast upon young people.

We watched 'Skins' in the first few weeks of year 12; and during this period of time we prepared to write a practice essay: 'How is youth and ethnicity represented in the teen drama Skins?' In this essay we included: Camera shots/angles, Mise-En-Scene, Editing and Sound.

We decided to incorporate all these elements we wrote about in our essay, into our preliminary task: Straight cuts, Bright and contrasting colours, Make-up and Costume, Social Setting: School etc.

Skins Trailer Season 1

Skins Online | MySpace Video

Some Feedback..

So, today we FINALLY managed to do some decent music, and upload it to the footage, and you know what? It is actually really quite good! But we're all sick of the sight of it now, and I can no longer tell if it is any good any more - all the shots have just blurred together into one big film, and I have no idea if there is any proper continuity throughout. So, we decided to ask a selection of random people (aka friends who were passing the Media room) and asked them to comment truthfully on our what they thought of it.
Unfortunately, I don't think they quite got the idea of 'constructive criticism' and gave us comments such as:
"Very good", "Good costumes", "Good acting drunk, Rachel".
So hopefully, tomorrow, we can go and find some people who really speak their mind and are very honest about media films and can tell us what we can do to improve. Honestly, I think we're doing pretty well so far with the film, and we've still got another week or so to finish it in - I think we can do it! Let's hope so!
x

Final Shots

Yesterday we shot the closeup we needed to insert into our preliminary task...which means next lesson will be about editing it in and then creating the music to add into the background (hopefully with more luck this time!)

Garage Band...using it for the first time

Today we practiced using garage band for the first time as the task requires us to construct our own score to accompany our preliminary task. We found it quite hard to use at first as we'd never experienced composing our own music before...and it showed!
But after we got to grips with the technology and the variety of music on there we faced another problem; we found it hard to decide what kind of music was conventional of a Teen Drama (the sub-genre of our preliminary task) whilst still matching the action on screen. After watching a collection of other teen dramas, such as Holly Oaks and Skins, we realised that a modern , 'funky' soundtrack was often used to appeal to the youthful target audience.

Editing and shizzle

It's been a whole day since I last posted anything on here, so I thought 'time to do it again!'. Obsessed or what? But oh well, more marks for us (hopefully?!).

So today we started to edit our film together, and put a few effects on it, like ghost trails on the hand-held track shot that we do through the cantine, and changing the contrast on all of the shots we have, and it's looking really good so far. We still have a lot to do though, especially since we found out today that we have to write our own music for it (!!), and we still have to iron out some wrinkles in the continuity, particularly before and after the point-of-view shot right in the middle of our film.

It's only when I look back at all the footage that we've shot that I realise that I should have done this or that differently when acting, but at the time I was just embarrassed by everyone watching me look like a prat - I always seem to end up acting out the worst parts in all of our media work! But I have never been a particulary good actress, so I'm just glad that we don't actually get marked on that in any way!!

And this music thing is hopefully going to go not too bad as well. I didn't even know we were meant to do our own music until everyone else started up GarageBand and began jamming away on it! So now that's something else to do, and hopefully Roisin will be inspired to create some sort of brilliant masterpiece since she is the only one out of us who even took music for GCSE.

Wish us loooooots of luck!!
xxx

Just a chat...

Hey everyone, just thought I'd drop in and say hi!
Basically, we pretty much finished filming today (hopefully!) as we've now got all the shots that we need with brilliant acting throughout from me! Personally, I think I make a great drunk, however, I am not so great at remembering stuff! Just today I forgot our storyboards and tape - vital for filming, as I'm sure you can guess. Luckily, thanks to some fast thinking from team us, we managed to remember most of the shots we still needed and also cadge a new tape from somewhere, so hopefully, it won't turn out too bad (and if it does, it's really not my fault)!
Tomorrow we begin editing, which is my favourite part, as I don't have to look like an idiot in front of everyone, and all we can do until then is hoooope that we can make a decent preliminary task out of what we've got. But of course, I don't doubt that we can, becuase we all know that frankly, we are brilliant!
Wish us luck!!
xxx

Finished Filming!

Second day of filming, and we got everything done! yay!
Pretty impressed with our continuity so far; make-up and costume for rachel (etc)
Hopefully once edited it will look greeeeat! - the spirit of tony the tiger took over for a sec there...
Should have some pics up soon, documenting our filming process.
Well done gang :P x

Filming!!!

We did some of our filming last Thursday. It went really well actually. We got some really good shots, which when we add some effects to it, its going to look really good. While getting ready to film, we found some people to play some extras in our film. This is going to make the film more realsitic. Hopefully!!! Anyway's we are filming some more on Tuesday because we didn't have the cans to film the begining part. Then we can go ahead and start editing. So fingers cross the rest of the filming goes well
xxx

Our Storyboards.... Again!

Right, OK kids, I know you were worried for a minute there about the second storyboard... but panic over, it's here now! And don't we all agree that Jade truly is a much better artist than most (eg. me!), particularly if you have seen my attempts at storyboarding for our pre-preliminary task. And I've just realised that this post will technically be above the other one, therefore this storyboard sheet will still come before the other one! Ah well, life goes on....

x

Our Storyboards

As Jade is such a talented artist, I thought that I would upload our storyboards so that the whole world can appreciate her skill with a fineliner! This is the first of the two sheets of stills that we drew, as I can't work out how to get the first one coming before the second one (I'll get there in the end!). So basically, yeah... this is what our preliminary task should look like, with a bit of luck! I'll do a second post with the second sheet on it, because I know that everyone reading this is desperate to know the ending to our film, and also because the more posts we do (or look like we've done) the more marks we will get!!
x