Sound

sound

as a group we did  research on sound especially on gangster films as that was our genre, we gathered. however seeing as thriller has many sub genres the music differed with each type of lm we research for example

 

The godfather is a gangster film the music was very calm and orchestral started of quietly then the music started to rise and became quite racy and pacy and louder. however even though this is what a gangster movie would have I don't think it will be suitable for our film as I  think our movie needs a bit more of beat to it and jumpy however there are some scenes that will require quite music slow motion part. But because our movie is more modern it won't be using the orchestral

 

we also researched a more modern gangster movie e.g anuva  hood a felt the music used in anuva hood was similar to what we would like to include in our film upbeat racy and fast the lyrics also mean something that applie to our story. compared to the godfather the compleltey different i would classify it as more modern and not as classcial as the god father this would be something i might include in my film for sound, so when making or music on garage band i will be focusing in this type of gangster rather than the other one  

show case

showcase (Thursday)

Today in the lesson as a class we had to show a rough show case of what we had done so far with our opening sequences, then the whole class will gave feedback on what they liked and what they thought needed improvement. We thought having the class feedback on our work was great because there were errors in our sequence that they had seen and we hadn't e.g. in one shot there were people in the class and the next it was empty, we hadn't noticed this until we got told so we need to be careful and concentrate on improving our match on action . After we read the comments the class left we decided to review our own sequence and see if we thought we can make any changes, we saw that we were better off re-filming some parts, for smooth cutaways we also saw that there were some scenes missing that we need to fill in. overall we got some got comments however we have a lot to be doing to improve what we have already and to get the best possible sequence.

storyboard

Storyboard

Having a storyboard is crucial in determining the success and quality of our opening sequence. also by having a storyboard, the production team will be clear of what is expected of them and we all have a clear overall picture of what the whole movie will look like. the storyboard does not mean that that will be our final idea you are able to make changes t is only a rough idea to base it on so it is more organised.

This story board is subject to change as we all had our on individual storyboards we all had a look at each other's we all had some great ideas therefore we decided to put all our ideas together to make a new story board.

Costume

Costume

we chose our costumes very carefully because this place a big part for mise en scene. As a group we had come to an conclusion that we have found our ideas of costumes and props to use in the film opening sequence. The characters will be dressed by stereotypical ideas of how the public see the role and the action the character who plays the role of the character.  

Bullies - hoodless, baggy jeans and Nike shoes 

 

Person being bullied - Glasses, shirt tucked in and clothes worn by this person will generally be out of fashion.

 

Brother - dress smart, suit to show hes a man with class and liked by many.

 

Students- dressed in uniform, look smart

 

These ideas we came up initially as a group and we have agreed to go ahead with these plans, because they suit the role of play in this particular sequence. We had come to the decision because we had done some research and found that audience prefer to see sequence built to the average day of life, and with stereotypes this shows that it fits into that category.

 

characters

Characters

when choosing our characters we made sure that they would be able to meet up with us when we scheduled the days we would like to film we also made sure that the character looked like bullies but the way they dressed their facial expressions and body language this all comes back to mise en scene which place a big part in filming. getting the character right is important because that is what he audience will be looking out for.

Location

Location

our main location was based mostly at school as our idea was on a school boy getting bullied however we also had a second location at new Malden were the victim attempts to commit suicide. in our sequence location is important because it represents everything that is about to happen in the scene, it is a key place where a scene's foundation is built around, the scene is the one thing that our group has considered a main key to this task, the scene initially establishes the role of the character.  Location is the place or point that something is at, so therefore we will have to consider every location put for every scene is correct and fits the role of that scene.

Traget audience

Target audience

I think that for thriller films it can be aimed at any age group depending on the sub-genre however I personally think 15+ is more suitable this is because most of the scenes and storylines used within a thriller can be very dramatic including violence and scary nature therefore it is not suitable for ages under 15.

I also believe the thriller genre is more aimed at male gender this is because stereotypically, males are more interested in frightening and scary elements of films than females although some females enjoy these type of films. however we are hoping that our sequence will be suitable and liked by both genders.

we found more about or target audience after takng on a questionnaire.

Genere research

Genere research

As a group we have done some research into our genre and their codes and conventions for our opening sequence I have learnt that thriller is a very broad genre that many films fit in to sutitles for example crime chase action all will fit into the genre thriller. the three main elements included that help you understand that a film is a thriller are: suspense; tension and excitement. i think by chosing thriller we have a really wide range

together as a group when planning our opening sequence we will need to take into consideration that thrillers re mainly fast-paced and the aim of it is to keep the viewer alert and on the edge of their seat.

some examples of thrillers:

·         suspicion 

·         strangers on a train  

·         psycho

Questionnaire

Questionnaire

How old are you?

-12-15

-16-19     7

- 20+         3

Do you watch thriller movies?

- yes  10

-No

Why do you watch thriller movies/ what attracts you to them?

 

What is your preferred sub genre  for a thriller?

-horror   4

-crime  2

- sci-fi 1

- real life

-action    3

- chase

-other 1

 

who do you prefer to be the victim in a thriller?

 

- innocent person 6

- hero/heroine    2

- someone young 1

- someone old

- other 1

 

Name a word you think when someone says thriller?

 

- death

- crime 1

- suspense/intense 4

- chase 3

- violence  2

 

what do you like to have with a thriller story line?

 

- someone being chased/ watched 3

- mystery/ unseen villain  2

-crime

-death

- chase

- physiological dilemma 5

 

what factors o a thriller have the best effects on your emotions?

 

- music 8

- dialogue 1

- sound effects

- narrative

- setting 1

 

 

 

 

 

 

I made this questionnaire to find out more about my chosen genre and what my target audience was  so I could apply this to my opening sequence. I asked about 10 people to answer this questionnaire

 

1) This shows that the majority of people who watch thriller films are within the age range of 16-19 years. This may be due to us mainly asking our peers in this questionnaire but we feel, on a whole, that this age category is fairly correct. We also feel that our thriller opening fits this audience well. We asked this question because we wanted to see what age group would be the most likely to watch our Thriller opening.

 

2) Everyone that we had asked  ticked the box yes of having watched some sort of thriller movie, this shows that thriller movies are quite popular and likable.

 

3) Our research shows they would like to so some suspense and excitement maybe a bit of  twist to it something that will keep them on the edge of their seats in our opening sequence  We asked this question because we wanted people to write down their honest opinions without having an option as to what personally appeals the most to them when deciding which Thriller to watch.

 

4) This shows us that the most popular sub-genre for a thriller film is horror followed by Crime & Action, this usually involves death and weapons violence  , with some disturbing factors also. We feel our thriller film opening will fit into this sub-genre. We asked this question because we wanted to know if our Thriller would fit the most popular sun-genre.

 

5) Our research shows that the most popular character for a victim is an innocent person. This is most probably because it is a stereotypical victim and will want to make people want to watch and wait to see what happens next  We asked this question because we have a victim in our Thriller opening and wanted to see if we had chosen the most popular victim.

 

6) Our results display that the top 5 most common words thought of when they think of ‘thrillers’ are:  Suspense, Scary, Intense. However everyone had ticked a box from the above showing that all our choices we had given all linked to together  I feel that these five words are all reflected within our thriller opening. We asked this question to see whether our Thriller would meet the expectations of what our audience will be expecting from a Thriller.

 

 

7) This suggests that people like to have a psychological dilemma within the plot of the thriller, such as a mysterious villain or a shocking twist. Films that require some thinking and clever twists to it. however We feel that our thriller opening doesn't  include this but we feel that it includes the other categories: chase and mystery  however this question will help us to put a twist to it for the audience to like. We asked this question to see whether our Thriller opening will fulfil the expectations of our audience.

 

8)  I think this was one of the best questions we had asked because it was the main factor that will attract our audience to our sequence  Setting The factor that people find most effective on their emotions in a thriller film, according to our research, is the music. We have chosen our music very carefully for our thriller and have already edited it to fit with where we want our clips positioned. We asked this question so we can focus our attention on the area our audience will be expecting to effect their emotions the most.

 

I feel after gathering this information and data has helped us a lot to see who we really would like to aim our opening g sequence and even maybe change that the audience had suggested. we will try are best to meet these expectations.

Examples of opening sequences

casino:
In this sequence I noticed everyone dressed in a similar way mostly wearing professional clothing showing a pattern, such as suits and dressed in a respectful manner, giving them the image of being powerful, connoting wealth and having a high status. I also liked the way the portrayed the people they may be powerful people with high statuses but the way the bought them on stage was different we are able to identify the characters by language which they use full of aggression a lot of swearing , usually associates with street life not educated people this would get the audience wanting to watch more and creates that extra tension which makes it more interesting to watch and just desperate to know what's going to happen next. narrative used in the background I believe gives a personal touch to it which again strengthens the importance of the film and the character as gives them identity - wanting to find out more about these people

 

 

 

Donnie Brasco:

After watching this sequence I found it quite different to the rest that I had watched, the opening at the beginning the main character is seen in deep thought while features of a montage of different images showing the passing of time and development of the place with narrative/over voice to direct the audience, character also summarises the characters feelings drawing and image of this character in the audiences minds. Camera movement follows the main character almost to the extent of point-of-view, until the camera performs a backwards-creep, and reveals the main character in front. This was used so that the audience could clearly see how people feared/respected him by the way they looked in the camera's direction with worried expressions. I found that this sequence was mostly detective based involving personal relationships rather than violence and aggressiveness. I've also taken note of the speech used there is a pattern the speech almost all the character speak in a dark unsettled tone and voice usually with an accent being American or British cockney or Italian accents this can be seen as a form of race that separates them from other gangs/groups. The lightening used in this sequence vary because it associates with the mood, a clear separation between daylight and daytime, also inside public places the lighting is different according to how the atmosphere is this could foreshadow what might happen next in the film for example dark- something bad is more likely to happen, also the idea of alcohol being used and people getting drunk goods being sold and stolen openly shows the pattern of mise en scene being used to portray gangster life.

 

 

The departed:

I found that in this sequence was similar to the other sequences I had looked at, narrative/ voiceover speaking in the back ground telling the audience about his side of the story his personal take on things, giving the audience a sense of his identity. This character was the 'bad guy' he was the one who bullied everyone knowing they could not stand up for themselves and fight back.

However in this sequence they have portrayed gangster differently as to what I had seen in other gangster opening sequences through the costumes used, in this sequence I did not see any professional clothing like suits, however this could be used for several reasons. 1) their way of conveying how they think gangsters are 2) seeing as this film was made a while ago in 2006, maybe this was how gangsters used to dress showing how gangster have changed and progressed overtime from before and have become more modern. 3) also another reason could be used to give a false image of the character meaning dressed in casual jeans and shirt portrayed his innocence although after listening to what the character said at the beginning we clearly and instantly know that he is the bad guy.

Overall after the research I have gathered from the above I have found out a range of information about gangster related films and the their codes and conventions that they stick to which has helped me look at what I should include in my final opening sequence:

- I also noticed there was one main thing that was common in the 3 sequences i researched the language used we were able to identify the charcters though the way they sopke. suggesting speaking  this way was familiar in ganagster life.

- Costume plays a great part as it gives the effect for mise en scene which could represent certain things, depending on how the producer would like to portray their idea for e.g. gangster: suits and professional costumes. Costume could also represent the time period as to when the film was set.

- Speech would be aggressive, violence would be used to show the spiteful behaviour.

 

- Most of the sequences I've seen alcohol is used a lot commonly being drunk in bars casinos.

 

- Also most of the locations are set at bars and casinos or private places such as offices.

 

- Weapons are used such as guns and knives etc..

 

- The roles that are shown include power/control leadership high status.

 

- The colours lighting mainly used are dark dull colours connoting this idea of hatred revenge violence.

 

- The camera movements also create tension they apply to the situation such as close ups/ following actor showing the characters emotions getting the audience in a tensed mood.

 

- The narrator speaking in the back ground/ voice over.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Narrative

There are three main narrative theories, these are: Todorov's theory, Levi Straus' Binary Opposition theory and Propp's Narrative theory. I have chosen to focus on the narrative theory of Todorov's theory as it is the most suitable to the film I'm going to apply it to (Shrek). Todorov's narrative theory states that there would be 'equilibrium' until something serious and dangerous may appear which disrupts the narrative and appears as 'disequilibrium', furthermore towards the end of the tale everything is resolved and the equilibrium is restored once more. This theory can be applied to the majority of films, these films may be called 'classic' films or 'Hollywood' films, as this is usually the most popular narrative. This narrative is usually used for films which are targeted at a younger audience such as children. The Walt Disney film companies are an excellent example of an industry who use Todorov's narrative, as it makes the younger audience feel 'safe' in knowing the disequilibrium or disturbance in the film shall be and will always be restored.

Todorov's theory applied to Shrek)

 

Equilibrium: The beginning of the film shows an ogre named Shrek who is perfectly happy and has always enjoyed living in peaceful solitude in his swamps.

                                                                                                                                          

Disruption: Shrek's life is disrupted when fairytale characters appear on his swamps due to being forced by order of Lord Farquad.

 

Recognition: Shrek goes on a search for this 'Lord Farquad in order to demand his land back. Meanwhile Farquad finds out the only way for him to become king is to marry a princess, in which he chooses Princess Fiona. However Farquaad learns he had to rescue Fiona from a castle surrounded by lava and protected by a fire-breathing dragon to marry her.

Repair:  Shrek and Farquad agree that Shrek will save Fiona if Farquad gives him his privacy back. Shrek rescues Fiona and whilst making the journey back to Lord Farquad realises his feelings for Princess Fiona.

 

New Equilibrium: Shrek and Fiona admit their love for each other and share a kiss; Fiona is bathed in light as her curse is broken, but is surprised to find that she has remained an ogre. Shrek calms her by assuring her that she is still beautiful. The two of them get married in the swamp.

 

 

Codes and conventions of a chase sequence

A slow build up in the non diegetic music, rising and rising with the scene until a climax is hit for a bigger impact.

Editing gets faster as the chase or stalk gets more intense, having quick editing during the climax of the scene to create the feeling of a fast and intense chase.

- Quick edits intertwined displaying close ups of both the bully and the victim’s emotions, such as their hands, feet, face and body language to show the bully's scary qualities and angry emotion and the victims vulnerability and scared emotion.

- Most scenes like this are filmed at night, using the lighting to express the mood of the situation. If filmed in the day, the scenes usually kept as dark as possible, using an overcast day for example, to express the same emotion.

- Long establishing shots displaying the width or length of the streets or corridors in which the chase is taking place.

- Tracking shots taken either in front of the victim as they run away from the bully or an over the shoulder shot showing where they are running to.

 - Slow motion used sometimes to increase the tension as the bully either gets closer or the victim makes a lucky getaway.

Breif idea

Today we decided our final storyline which is going to be based on a chase sequence. The storyline would be based on a character getting bullied at high school and attempts to run away from his bullies. However, this doesn't work to his benefit and he gets caught and gets beaten up by the bullies. Consequently the character can't handle this anymore and commits suicide and writes a letter before his death - ensuring that his older brother would find it and take action.