Group meeting/step one analysis

We had our group meeting to bring together and discuss aspects of our 2 minute opening clip, we decided as a group to combine Dees idea of a horror genre with my idea for a thriller, which is a rather easy genre mix considering the similar traits ad staples of both of the genres meeting a similar outcome, we mind mapped different variables we could use consisting of shot types, music cues, light effects and editing tools.

I came up with the idea of having a time lapse of light, showing a day and night scale in real time, just at sped up pace (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofmi03d1U0s this is an example of a time lapse) this can be used for a dramatic effect in the piece especially when combined with a tense, perhaps even emotional music (much like the video linked) will make this scene a very effective one.

A key part of the scene in where horror is considered, is augmenting everyday items and places to feel uncomfortable. We chose a radio due to the static feedback radios can give off, this provides a perfect audio cue as by it's self radio static is rather eerie. We got this idea from the movie 'The Ring' in where a girl would climb out of the TV to claim her victims, putting a twist on everyday items like this causes a slight uncomfortable feeling in terms of the audience. I decided to look around for some old radios (the older the better) and have come up with some positive results.

We as a group now have the foundations for our idea putting them into action is the next step of our plan, just a couple more tweaks to the scenes and shots we have desired plus a script leads us to our main task being started, we hope to start the filming as soon as humanly possible. (below are pictures of our discussion)

Thriller analysis

My chosen genre was a thriller, after watching over various intros and doing further research into the genre I have come up with some analytical facts of the genre.
-Distorted camera angle, this makes the viewer feel uncomfortable and disorientated, this causes the audience to be some what scared or worried, setting up the mood for the following scenes.
-Mise-en-scene it's usually dark or either raining, this provides a rather dim and dismal mood yet again making the audience feel uncomfortable leading them to feel on edge.
-Editing, for editing it's an easy yet effective method, during a scene long and slow cuts are used to build tension as the cut slowly increase in speed and become shorter. This builds tension and creates a sense of drama to the audience.
-Sound, finally sound also plays a major part in this genre with having dark tones and sometimes spiking with sharp notes from a piano during a "scare" to make the audience jump and feel even more on edge.

all these parts as necessary to make a successful thriller, being able to keep an audience on edge for them to feel scared or shocked, which is a goal of a thriller. 

My first vlog

During my research on the horror/thriller genres I chose to ask a few people about what murder weapon is the 'scariest' to them, i decided to film this so I could have prove of the most popular weapon, in conclusion it was shown that the common kitchen knife was the most shock inducing murder weapon.

This possibly could be the fact that it's an easily obtainable 'weapon' as it is simply a basic kitchen utensil, with a killer brandishing this you can use specific lighting to make the knife shimmer, causing a  heightened attention showing the danger of the knife itself.

Conventions from real media texts

I did some research on block buster films (see previous posts to see some) and i stuck closely to the thriller genre as it is the genre that I picked. I picked up some of the conventions from these films such as:
-Obscurity in shots, with shots such as bird seye and tilts, these create a unique atmosphere and cause some tension as the audience is on the edge of their seats.

-The music has a certain feel about it, most of the music used in thrillers is a dark tone and during an action sequence the pace and tone gets faster and higher, to show a time of panic.

-The killer isn't always revealed at the start, this is used to add some tension and also creates a "who done it" atmosphere where the characters and audience are both guessing the identify of the killer together.

-Some thrillers play a clip of the end scene at the start of the film, then use the whole film as a flashback of sorts, this confuses and intrigues the audience causing them to watch on.

with all of these things in mind I hope to implement some if not all of them into my piece, so that we can have our piece look as close to professional as we possibly can.

Genre reseach

To start off with I chose a genre selection from: thriller, horror and action.

First off: a thriller, use unusual shots such as tilt, Birdseye shot. This is to distort the viewer to make them feel somewhat uncomfortable; this is a staple of the genre and also can be found in the horror genre.

A thriller also needs a somewhat darker tone, this is done by lighting and editing by putting lights in specific places to stop them illuminating the entire scene, for instance if a light is shining on one side of a person’s face during a close up shot, with dialogue you could imply to the audience that this character has a split personality, for dramatic effect.

A thriller needs dramatic music, not all throughout, but the music needs an overall dark tone, with a few spikes in pitch and tone to signify an important/shocking event.

These staples are also commonly found in the horror genre as well, as these two genres share specific traits.

My idea for a two minute intro

For my two minute intro I wanted to have a thriller. In this i wanted to have obscure shots and camera positions and movements, The basic skeleton for my plan was to have a killer enter a girls house and the camera highlights the girl showing her to the audience and making them watch her whilst she dies, I wanted to do this to shock my audience and to scare them. I also wanted a shot with a radio and listening to its static, as regular everyday objects that are augmented can be the most obscure and unsettling thing to an audience.

I have decided on some of the shot (not all of them just yet) but I wish to use a birds eye shot for sure, as this alone is a rather obscure shot and obscurity is what I wish to aim for in my piece. The setting will be a area easily accessible to me, somewhere with an alleyway leading to some houses would be preferable.

I don't want to have a whole lot of dialogue if any, as I don't want to break the tension that I wish to create with unnecessary dialogue and ruin the integrity of the piece. With all of this in mind I know that some changes will be made to it as we come together with the groups we are put into, as I will have to compromise with others ideas, not just my own.

Shutter Island Intro

Shutter Island: during the opening credits, the text is grey and grainy, with a
high pitched, yet quiet ringing sound throughout; this may have been used to make
the viewer feel somewhat uncomfortable.
The screen fades to black, then a different font text and colour (white now) shows
up, showing the location and year of where this film is set, this establishes the
viewer, preparing them for what could be a change in clothes, speech and/or other
variables due to the time period.
A grey screen appears, shortly after a boat appears; we can now see this is an
establishing long shot of a boat at sea, letting the viewer know the character is at
sea, also the factor of being at sea synergises well with the fog, creating a somewhat
eerie experience for the viewer.
The camera cuts to a medium shot of a man retching over a toilet, the camera pulls
in closer into the mirror where the man looks into the mirror and speak to himself, he
looks to be agitated, the mise-en-scene provides this by his clothes being scruffy, his
hair wet, tie being crocked and his face red and sweaty, this poses the audience with
the question “who is this man? Why is he in this bad way ?”
The non-diagetic music in conjunction with the sound of the bows of the boat
shrieking added by the Foley artist create a creepy vibe to the entire scene, perhaps
letting the viewers know that something isn’t quite right.
The camera zooms out to a long shot of the bathroom the man was in, revealing
chains and metal buckles hanging from the ceiling could be showing the viewer that
the man is trapped, perhaps not physically, but emotionally.
He walks past the chains putting on his jacket, the pan at this moment is at equal
level, showing the viewer this character is nor high status or low, he is an equal to us
as the viewers.
He walks out onto the deck, showing a man in similar dress, the man stumbles
across as shown in the track of him, he looks out on to the water, as the music quiets
the men begin to converse, the first man known as “teddy” begins to yet again feel
nauseous.
The camera pans out onto an island, acting as an establishing shot showing to the
audience that this is the place in which our characters are approaching, with tense
deep music playing, yet again providing a creepy feel.

Inception intro

Inception: it starts off with black and white renditions of the Warner brothers,
legendary pictures and syncopy logos (in which are usually somewhat coloured)
alongside this the music starts off tense, as the logos are scrolled through the music
picks up in pace and volume, synergising with the grey logos, this could be used as
a tense and effective momentum builder.
We are given a medium-pan shot of the ocean, the waves crashing alongside the
music the mise-en-scene shows the audience that the sun is brightly lit, almost
cancelling out the dark-tense feel we were given previously.
The camera cuts twice quickly building speed and momentum yet again, until it cuts
to a close up of a man face down on the shore; this could intrigue the audience and
pulling them in to ask “who is this man? What importance does he have?”
It cuts quickly between the man and some kids on the beach, perhaps providing the
audience again with a sense of confusion, disorientating them into wanting to know
more.
The camera cuts to a Birdseye shot (perhaps used for is unsuality to once again
disorientate the viewer.) of the shore-bound man, with an another man pointing a
gun into his back, perhaps enlightening the audience to know that the shore-bound
man is in some sort of trouble or entrapment.
Shortly after the camera shows the face of the gun wielder, he shots out to the hills
in which the camera cuts to an establishing shot of an island, setting the scene for
the viewer.
The camera cuts to a long shot of two men standing behind a elderly man in a chair,
addressing him as sir, this show importance to the character, the camera zooms in
slightly giving him a high angled shot, once again providing power.
Thus concludes the two minute intro of inception, which provides a mixture of good
music cues alongside unusual camera work, all combining together for a ‘trip’ into
the distorted for the viewer.

Restart of the blog! + welcome to my blog

Due to technical difficulties I have had to rehash my blog, starting from a later date as oppsed to the blog I had made earlier on in September, this has caused a loss of some posts I have created, but shall reupload to this current blog shortly.

So, now that that's out of the way I can introduce myself. My name is Daniel and I hope to create a good piece of media
(as that is the task at hand) I have a big love for films and tv alike and I wanted to become more involved in this by creating a small media piece. I hope you will keep up to date with all of my posts! farewell untill next time.