Preliminary Task Evaluation

Preliminary task October 2010
For our Preliminary task evaluation we dicided to film in the film studio as we thought; due to the set, it would benefit our film the most. As a location it fitted the scene well due to its white walls which would allow the actors to show up a lot better, this would be part of the mise-en-scene. We also liked the idea of using a large space as this would prepare us for our thriller in January.

My Roles For The Task
My roles from the task changed throughout the time as we wanted to try out all the roles as this would prepare us well for when making our thriller later on. The roles that I did were "being in charge of actors", so setting up the scenes; being the "Director", this incorporates saying the phrases "standing by", "Roll it", and "Cut" as director for some time I had to oversee the operation and make sure we were on schedule. Another role I had to do was be the "Cameraman" this included making sure that the headroom was right and that there feet were not missing from the wide shots, that the white balance was set up as this disivers all the colours in the universe and that if you get white right the rest of the colours will be. Another job I had to do was to make sure verything was in focus; I did this by zooming up close onto an object, ours was the gun and then once this was focused onto the rest of the shot would be. This was very important for when it comes to over the shoulder shots and close-ups

Lighting
The lighting that we set up for our task was very bright but soft, we did this because we wanted to incorporate the shadows of the characters as we thought this would make the shot look moody and more menacing. It was effective for the scene and helped very much as it was able to put across the feeling of tension and suspense for the audience

Filming
For filming we had to set the camera tripod up right, we did this by untightening the bolts and moving it up then fixing it into place. we did at one point have to adjust this and make it taller for shots such as close ups and over the shoulder shots, to make sure it looked good we had to make sure that the tripod was level in each shot
For the wide shot we had to make sure that there wasnt much head space and that the actors fitted into the scene, this also had to be done for the over the shoulder shots and close-ups. We also had to make sure that no equipment was in the shot as this would ruin the atmosphere completly. An example of equipment would be lighting equipment.
Also when behind the camera I had to make sure that we did not break the 180 degree rule as this would make the characters look like they were standing next to each other not opposite if I had broken it.

To evaluate; I thought that we worked well as a team making sure that the technical componants were all adheared too and that as a group we worked well to create a suspense filled scene.  

Our Preliminary task

Sound

Sound can be found in all different types of forms in the Diegesis. These can be found under:
Diegetic - within the film world
Non- Diegetic - sound which has been put in later (after the shot)
Synchronous  - Sound that goes with the movement
Asynchronous Sound - Sound that juxtaposes what is being shown.

A movie which uses sound very effectively would be that of Kill Bill Vol. 2 in the scene where "The Bride" is being buried her fiance's friend. In this scene they use MAINLY the sound of Non-Diegetic and Synchronous sound.

More Research For The Thriller Genre

Great Elements for a Thriller movie to have would be:

1. Suspense
2. Action
3. Dramactic Music
4. Expecting to see Police and Guns
5. Enigma to be solved
6. A character within the movie to be double crossed
7. Violence
8. Contrapuntal sounds

A great movie for all of the above would be "The Unotouchables" starring Kevin Costner and Robert De-Niro. The movie is about Al Capone and his american gang in the 1920's when alcohol had been banned by the governement, which started off the cycle of "Speakeasies" (clubs) in the back rooms of bars.

Here is a link to the-

The Unotuchables Movie poster

Researching the thriller genre

To learn about the thiller genre we have had to research a few to understand what goes into the making of one. for this we studied the opening sequence of Children of men and the Usual Supects. I particualry enjoyed these two for the story line and the way it was made.

For "The Usual Suspects" the beginning was fast paced, they did this through the use of montage editing which showed all the characters and their backgrounds giving us a lot of information in a very short space of time, This gave the suspense of drama as they were all getting arrested and kept the audience interested as you wanted to know why they were being arrested and what they had done as criminals.

For "Children of Men" which was also had a very powerful beginning, was made in a different way as it gave more of the impression of sorrow. (This is because it is about a dystopic future for all man kind) the editors were able to create this as the beginning had a lot less edits in it, the reason we know it is in the thriller genre is because when the camera breaks the 180 degree rule and pans round to show him as a flawed character, it is also mainly done so that the audience can see the bomb go off from the cafe as this type of action is mainly associated with the action/thriller genre. we also know its a thriller film as it deals with the threat of mankind and the lack of child birth and there are signifiers that tell us that the anti- hero will be able to save man kind.

Here is a link to the trailer of "Children Of Men"

Composition

Photography brings a visual language that is universal in understanding. We must then understand its vocabulary which consists of shapes, textures, patterns, lines, colours, shade of light to dark and sharp to blurry images. Just as we must learn to arrange words in a coherent order in order to make sense when we write or speak, so too must we put visual elements together in an organized manner if our photographs are to convey their meaning clearly and vividly.

Composition means arrangement: the orderly putting together of parts to make a unified whole; composition through a personal, intuitive act. However, there are basic principles that govern the way visual elements behave and interact when you combine them inside the four borders of a photograph. Once we have sharpened our vision and grasped these basic ideas of principles, then we will have the potential for making our photographs more exciting and effective than ever before.

About Myself

Hi i'm Jess,

For A level's i am taking Art, Textiles, As Dance and Media. I chose these subjects as i wish to carry these on for further development at Uni.

I chose Media studies as i have always found it interesting to see what it takes to make an interesting film, behind the action. I am very excited at the prospect of making a horror film as it will be a new and exciting experience. I would like like to further my development to A level to make a music video!

My favourite films are very broad as their is no particular genre i like: to name a few would be Inglorious Bastards, The Last Song, Romeo and Juliet in Love, Transformers; and James Bond.

I will post further comments on here to keep you all uptodate on my progress with my horror clip.


Jess