- Continuity of the editing could be improved, from shot to shot, the transitions could be smoother creating a more natural effect.
- Hayley's death looked unrealistic and unnatural.
- Variation of sound a bit too much, taking away from the effects natural sound can have.
- Titles over exaggerated especially with the sound of thunder, could be displayed in the actual film.
- Soundtrack cuts in and out, maybe a continuous soundtrack throughout the sequence would be more effective.
Monday 21 March 2011
Thursday 17 March 2011
Art of the Title
Image one: The first image is showing the location in which this opening occurs at. Our film starts with this shot, establishing the surroundings and making the audience aware of where this is happening. We thought having this shot in the dark/at night sets the mood of the movie and fits the genre, thriller.
Image two: The second image is to show props, in the shot we can see Joel's hands reaching for a glass of whiskey. It is to show that he's quite relaxed in this environment which is intended to create a sense of anxiety and worry from the viewers perspective in that he can be so calm, composed and natural after partaking in such an extraordinary event which is murder.
Image three: This image is to show the varying shot types we used, in the screen grab there is a mid-shot of Joel, and you can also see over his shoulder. However in the video the shot starts as a long-shot and ends as a closeup over Joel's shoulder.
Image four: The eye plays a big part in thriller conventions, also linking in with our production logo. The presence of the eye in this scene makes the audience feel as if they are being watched but at the same time making them feel as if they know what is going.
Image five: This image adheres to the conventions of thriller films in that the title of the film appears during the opening sequence. This is key as the film title is indicative of the genre and the content of the film.
Image six: This image shows another camera angle, this time canted. The image on screen in this shot is portrayed to the viewer as a photo taken on a camera in the style of crime scene images. As this is on the side getting the view of her body from a different side, this varies shot types and styles.
Image seven: In this image, we can see one of the different forms of lighting that we used, it is effective in showing what is goiung on without t
Thursday 10 March 2011
Peer Review Feedback
Editing- Good pace, take the edge off production logo. Complete. Dramatic cuts- no rain on the streets, need music over the titles, good long take up the stairs. Longer shot of shadow would have been better if Hayley was moving, photos could look better with a frame and a white flash in between. the zoom onto a photo of Hayley is too quick. The title at the end could be moved to the end of the crime photos, using a camera shutter noise.
Sound (inc. Music)- Good use of diagetic sound i.e. footsteps, Majority of music doesn't correspond (doesn't flow), good link with weather e.g. rain and thunder, TOO MUCH SOUND!!!
Camerawork- Good range of camera shots that kept the audience interested, camera movement was kept at a steady pace, camera angles introduced the characters well, gave the audience an idea of who the protagonist was.Too improve use less shaking when using handheld.
Mise en Scene- The jukebox is really cool, use of costume is good, Protagonist jacket was good and shows that he was well kept, cannot comment on victims clothing.
Titles- striking! good flashing, big and bold, need to keep them there for a longer amount of time.
Thriller conventions- Normally the criminal is unknown and not supposed to be revealed in the opening sequence, women are seen as vulnerable - nice one! Really eye-catching, credits were appropriate, ordinary situation, build up of suspense, viewer placed in position of voyeur, centre's around crime.
Sound (inc. Music)- Good use of diagetic sound i.e. footsteps, Majority of music doesn't correspond (doesn't flow), good link with weather e.g. rain and thunder, TOO MUCH SOUND!!!
Camerawork- Good range of camera shots that kept the audience interested, camera movement was kept at a steady pace, camera angles introduced the characters well, gave the audience an idea of who the protagonist was.Too improve use less shaking when using handheld.
Mise en Scene- The jukebox is really cool, use of costume is good, Protagonist jacket was good and shows that he was well kept, cannot comment on victims clothing.
Titles- striking! good flashing, big and bold, need to keep them there for a longer amount of time.
Thriller conventions- Normally the criminal is unknown and not supposed to be revealed in the opening sequence, women are seen as vulnerable - nice one! Really eye-catching, credits were appropriate, ordinary situation, build up of suspense, viewer placed in position of voyeur, centre's around crime.
Plan Of Action
- The first stage of moderating our opening sequence is too rearrange the titles in the credits sequence to something m,ore continuous and simplistic.
- varying the different types of sound we have as feedback suggested it was over complicated and over drowned the natural sound which itself creates good effect.
- Next using the criticism made that some of the music didn't match the action we will carefully re select the sounds from garage band and the cd's provided to create more appropriate sounds.
- varying the different types of sound we have as feedback suggested it was over complicated and over drowned the natural sound which itself creates good effect.
- Next using the criticism made that some of the music didn't match the action we will carefully re select the sounds from garage band and the cd's provided to create more appropriate sounds.
Wednesday 9 March 2011
Thriller Movie Research
We watched several different thriller openings, such a Momento, Se7en, Taken, Bourne Identity, Donnie Darko, Law Abiding Citizen etc. These all started differently and helped us to create an idea.
We also watched past students work and this helped us to piece together our final clip of the protagonist in his office.
After piecing all of our ideas together and changing a few bits we did not think fitted, we finally completed our piece and moved onto the editing stage.
We also watched past students work and this helped us to piece together our final clip of the protagonist in his office.
After piecing all of our ideas together and changing a few bits we did not think fitted, we finally completed our piece and moved onto the editing stage.
Rough Cut
Learning Points
- We learnt how to make our credits much more interesting and this helped us create more tension and atmosphere in our opening sequence.
- We also learnt various editing techniques that we used to shorten some scenes to make them more effective and pulse-raising.
- The most important thing we learnt was to use the thriller conventions and put them into our sequence.
Criticism
We believe that when other members of the group watch our sequence we think that the main problem they will have is with the music at the beginning and at the end. We felt as though the sound effects used at the end during the opening titles were not effective because they did not totally represent our sub-genre and was used on a loop because there was nothing else that was similar but longer.
Final Deadline
For the final deadline we will definitely be changing the soundtrack at the beginning and at the end, and we will also be changing the opening titles as they were not effective and we used a white background but this is not a major thriller convention.
Colours
There are three main colours that are related to the thriller genre. These tend to be the main focus and are Red, Black and White.
RED is used as a contrasting colour in thrillers compared to many other movies when this colour can relate to love and happiness however in movies with a genre such as ours, this relates to hatred, blood, death and danger.
BLACK is a common colour in many movies however it is emphasised greatly in thrillers. The audience will automatically anticipate something dark, mysterious and negative when this colour is used.
WHITE is another colour with several relations. Being a simple colour, this can be used in many different ways and for different reasons. It also contrasts with black, being the complete opposite, so when this colour is shown this may create a feeling of security within the audience as opposed to black.
RED is used as a contrasting colour in thrillers compared to many other movies when this colour can relate to love and happiness however in movies with a genre such as ours, this relates to hatred, blood, death and danger.
BLACK is a common colour in many movies however it is emphasised greatly in thrillers. The audience will automatically anticipate something dark, mysterious and negative when this colour is used.
WHITE is another colour with several relations. Being a simple colour, this can be used in many different ways and for different reasons. It also contrasts with black, being the complete opposite, so when this colour is shown this may create a feeling of security within the audience as opposed to black.
Sound Review
After devising our initial soundtrack and importing it onto final cut express we realised not only that the timings of the sound with the action did not fit properly but that different effects could be added to enhance our opening sequence. This included adding a variety of non-diagetic sounds to the opening credits for specific affect. Finding these sounds proved difficult but using both garage band and a combination of cd's containing various sounds provided for us we have established the sounds we want in our entire sequence. Now we have the challenge of matching the sound with the action to create an effective soundtrack for our sequence.
Monday 7 March 2011
New Logo
After much thought we decided that we should change our production logo quite sufficiently, the changes involved changing the text that we used and the colours. Also the changes that were made were relevant to the future animation of our logo.
Previous production logo:
Current production logo:
Previous production logo:
Current production logo:
Feedback on draft opening sequence
in order to create the best opening sequence possible we had teachers and peers watch our draft and feedback on possible improvements that could be made or elements that could be changed, the crucial withdrawals from this task included:
- the establishing shot of the house was not long enough, and therefore did not fully portray the mysterious image and immediate setting we intended.
- An increased use of non-diagetic sounds would create a more suspenseful atmosphere like we desired.
These criticisms provide us with the information we wanted o further improve our thriller opening sequence and we will be using them as influence whilst we edit and moderate our sequence.
- the establishing shot of the house was not long enough, and therefore did not fully portray the mysterious image and immediate setting we intended.
- An increased use of non-diagetic sounds would create a more suspenseful atmosphere like we desired.
These criticisms provide us with the information we wanted o further improve our thriller opening sequence and we will be using them as influence whilst we edit and moderate our sequence.
Sunday 6 March 2011
Seven Opening Credits
The opening credits of the film Seven are ones which we can draw creative ideas from as well as admire for number of reasons. Whilst relatively simple working with a simple font and basic white colour, the titles appear flickering onto the screen in time with certain non diagetic pieces of music. The manner in which the titles enter the screen for example the variety of paces, angles and transitions used set the tone for the film and to a certain extent are an indication to the viewer that the film will entale a variety of twists in a mysterious manner similar to that of the credits. the idea of setting the tone and pace of your film in the credits is one that we intend to replicate whilst devising our titles for the opening sequence.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEZK7mJoPLY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEZK7mJoPLY
Thursday 3 March 2011
Music and Sound
At the beginning of the sequence we have our music alongside the production logo, this meets thriller conventions creating a mysterious atmosphere for the upcoming film. This also sets the genre.
Our music starts off calm but eerie, with a string instrument playing. This then starts to create tension when footsteps are heard over this until the music has died out and footsteps have taken over. The stairs then creak creating more tension and the running bath water also contrasts. Once the protagonist approaches the antagonist a heart beat is heard during the scene where the antagonist is killed. As they are being killed and it goes through slow motion there is a clicking sound, also slowed down, as the scene flicks from light to dark. This helps to add to the tension being created by the slow motion and lighting.
At the end of the opening sequence, when the protagonist has completed his killing, he is then filmed in his office and plays music from the jukebox in this room (Sultans of Swing - Dire Straits). The way this has been filmed was to make sure it was made aware to the audience this was diegetic sound because the protagonist is listening.
Another key part of our soundtrack is the production sound, the natural sound that comes with the environment and movements of our characters, this is key as it suggests and entirely normal and usual situation. Then combining this with the unusual action that happens in the normal scenario is key to the opening sequence and the emotive response we intend from our viewers of suspense and tension.
Our music starts off calm but eerie, with a string instrument playing. This then starts to create tension when footsteps are heard over this until the music has died out and footsteps have taken over. The stairs then creak creating more tension and the running bath water also contrasts. Once the protagonist approaches the antagonist a heart beat is heard during the scene where the antagonist is killed. As they are being killed and it goes through slow motion there is a clicking sound, also slowed down, as the scene flicks from light to dark. This helps to add to the tension being created by the slow motion and lighting.
At the end of the opening sequence, when the protagonist has completed his killing, he is then filmed in his office and plays music from the jukebox in this room (Sultans of Swing - Dire Straits). The way this has been filmed was to make sure it was made aware to the audience this was diegetic sound because the protagonist is listening.
Another key part of our soundtrack is the production sound, the natural sound that comes with the environment and movements of our characters, this is key as it suggests and entirely normal and usual situation. Then combining this with the unusual action that happens in the normal scenario is key to the opening sequence and the emotive response we intend from our viewers of suspense and tension.
Editing
After capturing our footage it was important that we moved straight on to the editing process in order to create the impressions and feelings that we wanted from our footage. For example, piecing certain shots and bits of footage together to create a fast past and suspenseful opening was a crucial aim of ours.
Firstly, we moved all of our footage from the camera onto final cut express, after this we chose fro,m the various pieces of footage we had which was over 70 separate pieces and cut it down to 23. In this process it was key that we chose the best and most applicable clips. for example we had various clips of Hayley turning on the tap early in the sequence and had to narrow it down to the one we felt created the most suspenseful atmosphere based on the lighting and character movements in each clip.
We added effects and transitions between clips to create the smooth flow of the piece and make sure there were no major jumps or mishaps. Once we had watched this through after inserting these we noticed parts were footage still jumped or overlapped, we then changed this and added the necessary transitions.
Firstly, we moved all of our footage from the camera onto final cut express, after this we chose fro,m the various pieces of footage we had which was over 70 separate pieces and cut it down to 23. In this process it was key that we chose the best and most applicable clips. for example we had various clips of Hayley turning on the tap early in the sequence and had to narrow it down to the one we felt created the most suspenseful atmosphere based on the lighting and character movements in each clip.
We added effects and transitions between clips to create the smooth flow of the piece and make sure there were no major jumps or mishaps. Once we had watched this through after inserting these we noticed parts were footage still jumped or overlapped, we then changed this and added the necessary transitions.
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