Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
The preliminary task helped in introducing you to the cameras and to iMoive and gave you a basic understanding of the cameras and software. However since the preliminary task and from working on the production of my final product. I have learnt it is important in having storyboards and being well prepared and organised is a key skill and necessity is producing a product. I have developed my camera skills such as using zooms, pans and more technical shots which we did not attempt during the preliminary. Also my editing skills have very much improved i know how to use imovies in more detail now since working on my final product i did not know how to make transitions or add effects on my preliminary task or how to use sound. Overall i think i have made a lot of progress and have learnt a lot about the development, production and editing of a media piece.
Thursday 30 April 2009
Evaluation
What have you learnt about technologies process of constructing this product?
My knowledge and understanding of cameras and the editing software iMovie has improved. I had no real experience using cameras before so it was a little daunting at first but it soon got easier. Using the cameras I found even shots that I thought were going to be simple were quite difficult depending on lighting conditions and location.
We encountered problems such as filming in the direction of the sun and traffic in the car scenes. Technical difficulties we had were when trying to achieve close-ups of the mobile phone the camera kept going out of focus if we got to close. As well as you could see the reflections of the camera lens in the screen. However we did have many successful shots such as the tracking shot of the Mr Pratt's legs walking to post a letter. We placed the camera along side where he was going to walk and as he walked we moved the camera along side him. This had the effect of allowing the audience to follow him as he walked and created a sense of mystery and suspense as the viewer could not see his face, or identify him.
Another successful shot was of the father receiving the letter in the bungalow. I had to use the zoom setting and pull the camera up at the same time this made it more of an interesting shot and add diversity to our shots. From using the cameras I have learnt by doing different types of shots such as zooms, pans, using tri-pods and trackers shots it makes the product more visually interesting for the viewer. I now also understand why production of a film takes times and money. The editing software iMovie was also new to me, I found editing to be challenging and exciting as using iMovie you could see your production developing and you could modify it into it final product.
I have learnt how to add and remove transitions and effects such as ghost trail which created more tension in the kidnapping scene. I have learnt how to import files from the camera to a Mac computer, save audio files in iTunes then get them from the audio lists in iMovie and change the setting to audio to see the audio timeline. iMovie allowed us to cut out the diegetic sound which we did not need and place the non-diegetic theme tune on top.
Split videos at playhead to cut shots in to two individual shots this was very useful in making shots long shots shorter, editing out mistakes and making our quick cuts scene.
My knowledge and understanding of cameras and the editing software iMovie has improved. I had no real experience using cameras before so it was a little daunting at first but it soon got easier. Using the cameras I found even shots that I thought were going to be simple were quite difficult depending on lighting conditions and location.
We encountered problems such as filming in the direction of the sun and traffic in the car scenes. Technical difficulties we had were when trying to achieve close-ups of the mobile phone the camera kept going out of focus if we got to close. As well as you could see the reflections of the camera lens in the screen. However we did have many successful shots such as the tracking shot of the Mr Pratt's legs walking to post a letter. We placed the camera along side where he was going to walk and as he walked we moved the camera along side him. This had the effect of allowing the audience to follow him as he walked and created a sense of mystery and suspense as the viewer could not see his face, or identify him.
Another successful shot was of the father receiving the letter in the bungalow. I had to use the zoom setting and pull the camera up at the same time this made it more of an interesting shot and add diversity to our shots. From using the cameras I have learnt by doing different types of shots such as zooms, pans, using tri-pods and trackers shots it makes the product more visually interesting for the viewer. I now also understand why production of a film takes times and money. The editing software iMovie was also new to me, I found editing to be challenging and exciting as using iMovie you could see your production developing and you could modify it into it final product.
I have learnt how to add and remove transitions and effects such as ghost trail which created more tension in the kidnapping scene. I have learnt how to import files from the camera to a Mac computer, save audio files in iTunes then get them from the audio lists in iMovie and change the setting to audio to see the audio timeline. iMovie allowed us to cut out the diegetic sound which we did not need and place the non-diegetic theme tune on top.
Split videos at playhead to cut shots in to two individual shots this was very useful in making shots long shots shorter, editing out mistakes and making our quick cuts scene.
Evaluation
How did you attract/address your audience?
We attracted our audience by quickly building up suspense and getting to the climax of the opening to keep the audience engages and interested. We edited the kidnapping scene to have quick, manic shots to represent the unexpected and to create tension as she gets kidnapped. During one of our editing session we decided to do this as just having a normal shot of her getting kidnapping was not very effective in attracting our audience.
We were thinking of have fast rapid shots originally but due to timing and location it was hard to get these shots. It was more practical and easier to cut the shots we had done during editing. This increased our audience appeal as it would appeal to the demographics of some of our target audience who like action trillers, this scene became more exciting and increased the tension and fast paced action of the car scene.
The ending shot was a close up of the daughters mobile phone screen, showing the dad ringing. We used this shot to attract the audience members who like cliffhangers to keep watching as it ending on a cliff hanger, this created suspense and a motive for the audience to continue watching. It also appealed to the age range of our target audience as it used modern technology. As the generation of today is surrounded by new technology they will relate to this and appeal to their interests in technology.
We attracted our audience by quickly building up suspense and getting to the climax of the opening to keep the audience engages and interested. We edited the kidnapping scene to have quick, manic shots to represent the unexpected and to create tension as she gets kidnapped. During one of our editing session we decided to do this as just having a normal shot of her getting kidnapping was not very effective in attracting our audience.
We were thinking of have fast rapid shots originally but due to timing and location it was hard to get these shots. It was more practical and easier to cut the shots we had done during editing. This increased our audience appeal as it would appeal to the demographics of some of our target audience who like action trillers, this scene became more exciting and increased the tension and fast paced action of the car scene.
The ending shot was a close up of the daughters mobile phone screen, showing the dad ringing. We used this shot to attract the audience members who like cliffhangers to keep watching as it ending on a cliff hanger, this created suspense and a motive for the audience to continue watching. It also appealed to the age range of our target audience as it used modern technology. As the generation of today is surrounded by new technology they will relate to this and appeal to their interests in technology.
Evaluation
Who would be the audience for your media product?
During the research stage we did questionnaires targeting an audience between 15 and 24 years of age. Our product would appeal to a mainstream target audience through the use of our representation of characters. We portrayed the main protagonist the father to be relatable and the daughter to be a stereotypical teenager. We achieve this through the use of sartorial codes and relatable mise-en-scene such as the school and the house which reflects normality and daily life. Some difficulties we encountered were establishing the characters persona, personalities and relationships. To improve I think we could have used the mise-en-scene better by placing family portraits of the father and daughter in the home, so the audience could make the link easily between daughter and father. This would help further appeal to a wider audience as parents could relate to the relationships and bonds between the family members. The daughter is around 15 and at school this would appeal to viewers of that age. Although are main target audience is a mainstream one our product could also appeal to a niche, independent audience as it require the audience to engage and question what is going on which is typical of a independent thriller it also has a low budget independent feel to it which would appeal to a more independent audience. As well as the sub-theme which is of a medical nature further on into the film and this increased the audience as it would appeal to an audience that liked the medical genre.
During the research stage we did questionnaires targeting an audience between 15 and 24 years of age. Our product would appeal to a mainstream target audience through the use of our representation of characters. We portrayed the main protagonist the father to be relatable and the daughter to be a stereotypical teenager. We achieve this through the use of sartorial codes and relatable mise-en-scene such as the school and the house which reflects normality and daily life. Some difficulties we encountered were establishing the characters persona, personalities and relationships. To improve I think we could have used the mise-en-scene better by placing family portraits of the father and daughter in the home, so the audience could make the link easily between daughter and father. This would help further appeal to a wider audience as parents could relate to the relationships and bonds between the family members. The daughter is around 15 and at school this would appeal to viewers of that age. Although are main target audience is a mainstream one our product could also appeal to a niche, independent audience as it require the audience to engage and question what is going on which is typical of a independent thriller it also has a low budget independent feel to it which would appeal to a more independent audience. As well as the sub-theme which is of a medical nature further on into the film and this increased the audience as it would appeal to an audience that liked the medical genre.
Evaluation
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
A mainstream media institution such as Sony Pictures Entertainment would be appropriate for distributing our production.
This is because our media product contains many quality and conventions of a mainstream genre thriller. The thematic concerns of characters such as flawed, and distressed Mr Pratt and the stereotypical school girl. As well as the technical codes such as quick cuts to enhances suspense. Mainstream Institutions have more income and therefore can spend more on distribution of the product so can reach a larger audience. Sony also has many sub-institution such as Sony Picture Classics that specializes in acquiring distribution rights to independent films and also producing low-budget productions. Our product has conventions such a non-linear narrative at the beginning at it start mid-action. It would be quite a low- budget production so Sony Pictures Classics could give it the right support in distributing it to its target audience. It also means that there is still a lot of money going into its distribution as it will be distributed by a organisation attached to the large conglomerate Sony
A mainstream media institution such as Sony Pictures Entertainment would be appropriate for distributing our production.
This is because our media product contains many quality and conventions of a mainstream genre thriller. The thematic concerns of characters such as flawed, and distressed Mr Pratt and the stereotypical school girl. As well as the technical codes such as quick cuts to enhances suspense. Mainstream Institutions have more income and therefore can spend more on distribution of the product so can reach a larger audience. Sony also has many sub-institution such as Sony Picture Classics that specializes in acquiring distribution rights to independent films and also producing low-budget productions. Our product has conventions such a non-linear narrative at the beginning at it start mid-action. It would be quite a low- budget production so Sony Pictures Classics could give it the right support in distributing it to its target audience. It also means that there is still a lot of money going into its distribution as it will be distributed by a organisation attached to the large conglomerate Sony
Evaluation
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
Originally the daughter was going to be fifteen years of age however our actress was in fact 17 years old. We were going to use a school girl as the sartorial codes of her uniform would portray her as innocence . However we did not use the uniform in the end, instead we portrayed the school girl in ordinary teenage wear to convey her social group and age. We used a long shot of her walking and standing alone at the school gates to suggest her vulnerability. As the character has blonde/brown hair, this type of characteristic is usually associated with the stereotypical characters of the “blonde women” victims portrayed in thrillers.
The antagonist identity is not revealed until the kidnapping scene in the opening. The ‘villain’ or ‘psycho’ in thrillers often their identity is concealed such as in ‘Urban Legends’ to further enhance suspense and mystery about the character.
We chose to use close up shots of the black gloves, his eyes and mid-shots of his waist down to keep his identity a secret. The sartorial codes of the gloves presents him to be more menacing and his dark casual clothing appeals to the audiences primal fears as his appearance is average which makes the kidnapping seem more distressing and out of the ordinary.
Originally the daughter was going to be fifteen years of age however our actress was in fact 17 years old. We were going to use a school girl as the sartorial codes of her uniform would portray her as innocence . However we did not use the uniform in the end, instead we portrayed the school girl in ordinary teenage wear to convey her social group and age. We used a long shot of her walking and standing alone at the school gates to suggest her vulnerability. As the character has blonde/brown hair, this type of characteristic is usually associated with the stereotypical characters of the “blonde women” victims portrayed in thrillers.
The antagonist identity is not revealed until the kidnapping scene in the opening. The ‘villain’ or ‘psycho’ in thrillers often their identity is concealed such as in ‘Urban Legends’ to further enhance suspense and mystery about the character.
We chose to use close up shots of the black gloves, his eyes and mid-shots of his waist down to keep his identity a secret. The sartorial codes of the gloves presents him to be more menacing and his dark casual clothing appeals to the audiences primal fears as his appearance is average which makes the kidnapping seem more distressing and out of the ordinary.
Evaluation
In what way does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Our media products conveys many conventions typical of an opening to a psychological thrillers. After researching different ways of approaching how to film openings of psychological thrillers, such as creating a sense of the unknown using extreme close ups or mid-action openings. We decided to use the convention of captures the audiences interest by portraying something ordinary and mundane, that is interrupted by danger or drama. One of the films that I researched that uses this method was Blue Velvet. We began our opening with a character making tea which builds a false sense of security as the character is in the safety of his home. This was disturbed by the arrival of a kidnapping note and the actual kidnapping of the daughter. The beginning of our production is meant to create confusion for the viewer using the convention of suspense and tension. The music typically creates a tense atmosphere which adheres to the conventions of a thriller. There is a non-linear narrative which supports the conventions of an independent thriller as creates confusion, which enhances the suspense and tension. Thrillers often contain motifs which when researching auteur, Alfred Hitchcock we saw he used many motifs such as in the Psycho and The Birds. We used close-ups of black biker gloves so the audience can associate them with danger and distress. However we did not use the convention of extreme closes-ups to create suspense as in our audience research we asked “What do you expects to be in an opening of a Thriller” the answers were establishment of characters, dramatic scenes and the ending. To appeal to our audience we conveyed the convention of drama.
Our media products conveys many conventions typical of an opening to a psychological thrillers. After researching different ways of approaching how to film openings of psychological thrillers, such as creating a sense of the unknown using extreme close ups or mid-action openings. We decided to use the convention of captures the audiences interest by portraying something ordinary and mundane, that is interrupted by danger or drama. One of the films that I researched that uses this method was Blue Velvet. We began our opening with a character making tea which builds a false sense of security as the character is in the safety of his home. This was disturbed by the arrival of a kidnapping note and the actual kidnapping of the daughter. The beginning of our production is meant to create confusion for the viewer using the convention of suspense and tension. The music typically creates a tense atmosphere which adheres to the conventions of a thriller. There is a non-linear narrative which supports the conventions of an independent thriller as creates confusion, which enhances the suspense and tension. Thrillers often contain motifs which when researching auteur, Alfred Hitchcock we saw he used many motifs such as in the Psycho and The Birds. We used close-ups of black biker gloves so the audience can associate them with danger and distress. However we did not use the convention of extreme closes-ups to create suspense as in our audience research we asked “What do you expects to be in an opening of a Thriller” the answers were establishment of characters, dramatic scenes and the ending. To appeal to our audience we conveyed the convention of drama.
Sunday 26 April 2009
Anam Nasir's Evaluation
Question One:In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Our media product does go against the conventions of an archetypal thriller film. This is done by not making the daughter character too typical of what she is meant to be like in the title of the film, “Daddy’s Little Girl”. The daughter is dressed like a normal college girl, but not too girly. The reason for this title is to make the film sound like it is a pleasant film, the title conflicts this. We conveyed the rules and conventions of thriller film by making the film confusing and suspenseful throughout so the audience could be surprised later. To create atmosphere we did not show the kidnappers face throughout till the end of the scene. Using edgy music built up tension to make it more appealing to the audience. We tried to use different types of shots like close-ups and long-shots. When filming the kitchen scene we gradually zoomed into the steam of the tea, this was to create the feel of a fresh morning and new beginning, which contrasts with what, happens later, an end of an era, when the surgeon receives the ransom note.
We presented different social groups to appeal to our audience; we have the main character that they could relate to. On of the main characters, the daughter, Heidi, is represented as a typical young student in college, this is represented by her non-uniform clothes and a bag she carries to keep her books in. the reason for this was so our audience could relate with Heidi and her outfit. The use of black intimidating gloves, on Mr Pratt was an idea of hiding true identity. Mr Tamworth, the surgeon, is represented as a loving and caring typical dad, who works as a surgeon and keeps his family happy.
We chose to have a sub genre, medical thriller, as most people from our questionnaire preferred this. The use of a medical thriller genre makes our product appeal to two different audiences which helped make our product more mainstream.
We were inspired by Alfred Hitchcock’s work, which we studied in school. We looked at how the opening scenes were in his films like Vertigo, The Birds and all time legend Psycho. Although we had to look at something more modern so I was motivated by the film ‘Awake’ directed by Joby Harold which helped consider the storyline for our product. ‘Awake’ was also a medical thriller.
Another way to keep our audience engaged we used music that would build up as the film got tense, which made it more appealing to our audience.
Editing:iMovies allowed us to move around separate shots where desired.
Also if we liked a shot but wanted to cut a part of it, we could by clicking on Edit and Split Video at Playhead. We could split the video by using the arrow to split the video at individual shots; this made things much easier to get rid of unwanted scenes.
We decided to keep all the unwanted shots we took just in case we needed them in the future. This was helpful as most shots that we didn’t need at the beginning we needed them later. We were able to keep our shots safe in the clips section of iMovie.
The iMovie software allowed us to add transitions which made our production work look better. We used fades to intercut in between the shots.
iMovie also allowed is to get rid of diegetic sound, as this was unnecessary, this was easily done as we only had to click on one button.
With the help of iMovie our product was coming more to life and looked more professional like an actual film.
Filming: When filming in the kitchen we pulled up the blinds on the window, however this let in too much light. This made the picture quality on the camera less visible, so we adjusted the camera so it was clearer to see.
Question 7:
Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
Filming: After filming and moving on to editing we realise that we needed to leave a few seconds before the actual acting taking place because if we added a transition it would cut the beginning off of the shot. We also understood that using long shots for our production, made things slow-moving and dreary.
Our media product does go against the conventions of an archetypal thriller film. This is done by not making the daughter character too typical of what she is meant to be like in the title of the film, “Daddy’s Little Girl”. The daughter is dressed like a normal college girl, but not too girly. The reason for this title is to make the film sound like it is a pleasant film, the title conflicts this. We conveyed the rules and conventions of thriller film by making the film confusing and suspenseful throughout so the audience could be surprised later. To create atmosphere we did not show the kidnappers face throughout till the end of the scene. Using edgy music built up tension to make it more appealing to the audience. We tried to use different types of shots like close-ups and long-shots. When filming the kitchen scene we gradually zoomed into the steam of the tea, this was to create the feel of a fresh morning and new beginning, which contrasts with what, happens later, an end of an era, when the surgeon receives the ransom note.
Question Two:
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
We presented different social groups to appeal to our audience; we have the main character that they could relate to. On of the main characters, the daughter, Heidi, is represented as a typical young student in college, this is represented by her non-uniform clothes and a bag she carries to keep her books in. the reason for this was so our audience could relate with Heidi and her outfit. The use of black intimidating gloves, on Mr Pratt was an idea of hiding true identity. Mr Tamworth, the surgeon, is represented as a loving and caring typical dad, who works as a surgeon and keeps his family happy.
Question Three:
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
Personally I think that 20th Century Fox would be suitable for distributing our product as it has distributed many successful thriller films like Mirrors, Blindness and Max Payne.
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
Personally I think that 20th Century Fox would be suitable for distributing our product as it has distributed many successful thriller films like Mirrors, Blindness and Max Payne.
This is 20th Century Fox's website where I did my further research. http://www.fox.co.uk/
Question Four:Who would be the audience for your media product?
To find our audience and to fulfil their needs we handed out a questionnaire that would be helpful to us. We handed out 20 questionnaires to teenagers over 15 as our certificate of our product is a 15.
To find our audience and to fulfil their needs we handed out a questionnaire that would be helpful to us. We handed out 20 questionnaires to teenagers over 15 as our certificate of our product is a 15.
We chose to have a sub genre, medical thriller, as most people from our questionnaire preferred this. The use of a medical thriller genre makes our product appeal to two different audiences which helped make our product more mainstream.
We were inspired by Alfred Hitchcock’s work, which we studied in school. We looked at how the opening scenes were in his films like Vertigo, The Birds and all time legend Psycho. Although we had to look at something more modern so I was motivated by the film ‘Awake’ directed by Joby Harold which helped consider the storyline for our product. ‘Awake’ was also a medical thriller.
Question Five:
How did you attract/address your audience?
Too keep our audience engaged with our product we kept continuity editing which made the product look better and professional.
We also kept suspense in the beginning of our product to make sure our audiences attention wasn’t lost and were interested in who the mystery man was in the gloves and what he was trying to do. I think our suspense technique worked very well as we didn’t show the kidnappers full face till end of scene, which kept the film more tense.
How did you attract/address your audience?
Too keep our audience engaged with our product we kept continuity editing which made the product look better and professional.
We also kept suspense in the beginning of our product to make sure our audiences attention wasn’t lost and were interested in who the mystery man was in the gloves and what he was trying to do. I think our suspense technique worked very well as we didn’t show the kidnappers full face till end of scene, which kept the film more tense.
Another way to keep our audience engaged we used music that would build up as the film got tense, which made it more appealing to our audience.
Question 6:
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
Importing: We had to import the recorded video files from our camera, to a MAC computer using a USB that was connected to the camera and the computer. Importing the files to the MAC computer allowed us to use the 'iMovie' software to edit our media product.
We had saved the music files on a USB which had to be imported on to our MAC computer which was then saved on to iTunes. iMovie allowed us to drag the wanted music files from iTunes which was in the audio list to add to our media product.
We had saved the music files on a USB which had to be imported on to our MAC computer which was then saved on to iTunes. iMovie allowed us to drag the wanted music files from iTunes which was in the audio list to add to our media product.
Editing:iMovies allowed us to move around separate shots where desired.
Also if we liked a shot but wanted to cut a part of it, we could by clicking on Edit and Split Video at Playhead. We could split the video by using the arrow to split the video at individual shots; this made things much easier to get rid of unwanted scenes.
We decided to keep all the unwanted shots we took just in case we needed them in the future. This was helpful as most shots that we didn’t need at the beginning we needed them later. We were able to keep our shots safe in the clips section of iMovie.
The iMovie software allowed us to add transitions which made our production work look better. We used fades to intercut in between the shots.
iMovie also allowed is to get rid of diegetic sound, as this was unnecessary, this was easily done as we only had to click on one button.
With the help of iMovie our product was coming more to life and looked more professional like an actual film.
Filming: When filming in the kitchen we pulled up the blinds on the window, however this let in too much light. This made the picture quality on the camera less visible, so we adjusted the camera so it was clearer to see.
Question 7:
Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
Sound: The diegetic sound, when recorded didn’t come out clear. When characters talked it was unclear to understand what they were saying. Also the objects in the background could also be heard, footsteps of camera user walking, sound from classes in other rooms which was quite disturbing. So we decided to use no dialogue in our production piece as this would result in unclear dialogues. However there was another way we could have clear speech, which was to have a voiceover recorded over the video which would have taken up a lot of time. So overall we decide not to do this, and set with not using any diegetic sound except to use non-diegetic.
Characters: As a group we also learnt that not having professional actors would make our production values look low budget and tacky.
Filming: After filming and moving on to editing we realise that we needed to leave a few seconds before the actual acting taking place because if we added a transition it would cut the beginning off of the shot. We also understood that using long shots for our production, made things slow-moving and dreary.
Monday 6 April 2009
Music and Sound
As music is one of the most important conventions of a film, I began looking for non- diegetic sound that would give a suspense or tense feeling and fit perfectly into the opening of our thriller.
To do this I started searching royalty free music on the internet. One of the websites I went to is http://www.freeplaymusic.com/. This site gives you a list of the type of music you would like to use, which you can also preview and download.
Another site I went on to was www.soundsnap.com . Apparently with this site you need to register/sign up, to get free downloads a month.
Instead, to get the sounds I used the sound recorder on my computer and recorded them off, making sure the quality came out good, which it did.
Another piece of non - diegetic sound that we possibly wanted to use was the heart monitor to flatline sound, since one of the main characters in the opening is a surgeon.
To do this I downloaded various heart monitor and flatline sounds from youtube and recorded some from sites like www.freesound.org and edited them so they would be as long.
To do this I started searching royalty free music on the internet. One of the websites I went to is http://www.freeplaymusic.com/. This site gives you a list of the type of music you would like to use, which you can also preview and download.
Another site I went on to was www.soundsnap.com . Apparently with this site you need to register/sign up, to get free downloads a month.
Instead, to get the sounds I used the sound recorder on my computer and recorded them off, making sure the quality came out good, which it did.
Another piece of non - diegetic sound that we possibly wanted to use was the heart monitor to flatline sound, since one of the main characters in the opening is a surgeon.
To do this I downloaded various heart monitor and flatline sounds from youtube and recorded some from sites like www.freesound.org and edited them so they would be as long.
Thursday 2 April 2009
Editing
Today me and Anam did some editing. We worked on where would be best to put the titles and credits, where they would come inbetween the shots. Also we edited the music to fit in time better with the atmosphere and pace of the scenes.
Wednesday 1 April 2009
Final Days
We only have one shot left to shoot which is a shot inside the car with Mr Pratt. We realised during an editing session that we need to add a linking shot between a shot of Mr Pratt adjusting his mirror and another of him kidnapping Heidi create better continuity shots.
Motifs
A motif is a typical conventions of a thriller, auteur such as Alfred Hitchcock is recognised for his detail and symbolisms. Such as he uses round objects in Psycho like the extreme close up of the eye, the toilet, the shower head, the protagonist’s mouth and the drain. These were to represent and reflect the idea of eyes and being watched. In our Thriller we decide to use a motif of Mr Pratt’s gloves. The gloves are large biker gloves and the audience will recognise them as a symbol of threat and danger as they appear menacing and quite distressing. There are close ups of the gloves such as in the car on the steering wheel, also when he posts the letter. The gloves represent something out of the ordinary, they look surreal and odd as he posts the letter or waits in the car, it appeals to the audience primal fears.
Monday 30th March
On Monday we re-shot the scenes when Dr. Tamworth opens the letter. This time we closed the kitchen door so the chairs and the school table where not visible in the mise-en-scene. This re-shoot went really well and the shots we have produced improved.
I think the beginning of Blue Velvet is very effective openning,
it's setting is in a stereotypical America suburbia. This reflects to the audience a certain type of lifestyle, such as white picket fences and neat, tidy lawns. Blue Velvet uses motifs, in the opening shot it uses white picket fence and beautiful roses which symbolises romance, passion and blossoming families. There is a long shot of the street, to show every day daily life. It almost seems fake and surreal the way everyone appears content such as the waving fireman on the fire engine. The music reflects the
atmosphere of the neighbourhood, it is a 50s style song and in the lyrics it uses the phrase ‘blue velvet’ to reflect the title of the film. It has an upbeat tempo which enhances the surreal atmosphere. There is a shot of a man hosing his garden which then cut to a lady watching television. On the screen there is an image of a gun. The gun connote something bad is going to occur as the audience recognise the gun as a symbol of death. Typically of a thriller the peaceful setting is disrupted by a distressing turns of events. The man hosing his garden gets his hose stuck on a bush and then he has some sort of attack and dies. The hose getting trapped represents his veins or arteries becoming tight or blocked to cause his death. Using music is an important convention of the Thriller genre as it is used to increase tense and suspense. The upbeat tempo and the style of music create a tense and surreal atmosphere. The ending shot was a zoom from a long shot of the man lying on the grass to an extreme close of worms and bugs under the surface of the grass. This is very effective as it keeps the viewer engaged. It makes them curious as to what is happen as it is disturbing and makes the audience uneasy. From the opening conventions the viewer realsies this is not a mainstream production but more of an independent film.
Wednesday 25th March
Me and Anam shot the scenes within the bungalow using Mr Gibbs as Dr. Tamworth. Firstly we shot Dr Tamworth making tea in the kitchen. This shot conveys the conventions of a thriller as usually in an opening of a Thriller they portray the mundane, daily lifestyles and then as the opening continues begin to build up tension and suspense through the use of music, mise-en-scene, narrative etc. We also shot him picking up the letter of the floor, opening it and reading it. This was difficult to achieve as we needed to get an over the shoulder shot of him reading the letter so the audience can read what the letter says as well. We also had to shoot him dialling his phone and making a phone call. This would link to the last scene as it is of him ringing Heidi. This is where the audience makes establishes the relationship between Dr. Tamworth and Heidi.
Editing:
When we were editing we realised that in the mise-en-scene there were two chairs that were not meant to be in shot. This is because they are school chairs and do not match the decor of the rest of the kitchen. So we had to re-shoot the Letter opening shots.
Editing:
When we were editing we realised that in the mise-en-scene there were two chairs that were not meant to be in shot. This is because they are school chairs and do not match the decor of the rest of the kitchen. So we had to re-shoot the Letter opening shots.
Ideas for the name of our Thriller
-Daugther for a Daugther (As in an eye for an eye)
-An apple a day keeps the docter away
-Daddy's Little Girl
-The Clinic
-The Surgery
-Emergency
-Operation
-Flatline
-An apple a day keeps the docter away
-Daddy's Little Girl
-The Clinic
-The Surgery
-Emergency
-Operation
-Flatline
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