Preliminary Task: Editing Process

Matt, Emma and I used iMovie and GarageBand to create the perfectly edited preliminary task together, but I realised very quickly that we were running out of time and that there was not enough motivation, as there were things missing from our preliminary that I would've liked to have been more enhanced. Despite this, we did manage to finish to the standard we were aiming for eventually. We used a few short transitions between the shots to add to the suspense of the film, and also added fades to black, but we did find some problems in that some of the shots were shaky, so we had to refilm a small section to ensure that the preliminary was up to standard. Other than this, there were no issues with the editing process.

Script

Here is a copy of our script, featuring Calum and Felix's brief exchange of dialogue:

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Felix is sat at a table, concentrating on his homework

CALUM: You all right mate? What you doing?

FELIX: Bit of maths...

CALUM: All right cool, you going to come help me with this?

FELIX: Yeah, I'll be 5 minutes.

CALUM: Ok, don't be long.

*Cue Calum leaving the classroom in a hurried manner*

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We thought it was very important to have very little dialogue, incase someone was 'overhearing their conversation'. The hushed tones in Calum's voice will make it clear that they are planning something unpleasant.

http://www.filmscriptwriting.com/

Preliminary Task: Vlog and Written Evaluation of the Filming Process

Here is an evaluation of our filming expedition for our preliminary film. I also made a Vlog to give an extra insight into how our afternoon went and the problems we came across:

Plot and Narrative

The idea for our preliminary was to have Calum introduced as a mysterious character, he crossed the room and sat opposite Felix. We constructed a script which consisted of a few lines of dialogue, and then we moved Calum making his way downstairs to an unknown location, later showing the viewer to be Amy tied up and hidden in a cupboard. We liked this as an idea and agreed immediately as a group, as it meant we had the ability to incorporate a large number of shots. Not only that, the plot allowed suspense to be created and when edited, the sequence of shots would flow excellently.

Mise - en - scene

Make-up was very important in our preliminary task, as we had to ensure that that Amy made a believable victim. I applied white face powder and smudged her black eye-makeup, to make it look as though she had been crying. I then applied fake blood to her forehead and tied her up to she that she was a vunerable character. Calum and Felix had no need for a wardrobe as much, so we just required them to wear suitable attire to add to the 'school environment gone wrong' idea.

Equipment

All Matt and I needed was a fully charged camera and a suitable tripod, and despite the lack of necessity for equipment, we still managed to charge the camera wrongly, which meant we only had 15 minutes of filming time. It took about half an hour for the camera to be fully charged again, so there was not too much time wasted and we still finished on time. Also, another group had accidently borrowed the tripod we had intended to use, but we soon found another one that fitted the base of our video camera just as well so there were no issues in the end.

Script

I briefly drew up a script on the day of our filming, and as it was unrehearsed we were worried that it would sound really disjointed as Felix and Calum hadn't had practise time. However, after 4 or 5 takes, we had take the perfect shot which was a positive sign.

Roles within the group

Matt and I took it in turns to film, and we each came up with great ideas and got to film what we came up with. For example, Matt had the idea of lying on the floor and taking shot of Calum's feet as he walked through the corridor, and I had the idea of leaning over the stairwell and getting a well aimed aerial shot of Calum walking downstairs. Also, I found that if I got into the cupboard where Amy had been hidden, I could get a brilliant point of view shot from Amy's perspective of Calum's face, looking up at him, and giving him a domineering disposition and making him look all the more intimidating.

Representation in our Preliminary Task

It was very important for us to portray our characters in the right way, otherwise we risked depriving the audience of a proper storyline as they would misunderstand the characters. We made sure that Amy had a vunerable appearance, in order to make her come across as a realistic vitcim. We had to ensure that Calum came across as a very dominant male stereotype, as he was the one causing Amy harm. Before we began filming, Calum and I practised his walk to the cupboard a few times, with me giving him directions as to how to act to help him get the gist of what Matt, Emma and I were aiming for in our Preliminary.

http://www.medialit.org/focus/ster_home.html

Preliminary Timeline

Preliminary Filming Timeline on Prezi

Permission and Responsibility

<< We needed permission to film our underage actors, so I constructed a letter for their parents or guardians to sign. Amy, Calum and Felix returned the letter the day before we started filming, so there would be no issue and we could film immediately on the Thursday afternoon.


We also needed to have some sort of proof that we had full responsibility to look after the cameras from our parents, so if anything happened it was our responsibility to cover the cost. I asked my mum to text me permission so that we could use the cameras and Macbooks at any time. >>

Location and Props

The location for our filming was very important, as we needed to insure that we filmed somewhere we knew well and somewhere safe as we were responsible for our actors as well, therefore it was important that we didn't make them act from a place that they could easily slip or fall etc. After deliberation, we decided that the best place for us to film would definitely be our Sixth Form block, as my whole group knew good areas to film. There is a strong barrier on the stairwell where I leant over holding the camera and filmed from that angle, and there is a cupboard downstairs in one of the classrooms where we put Amy as we thought it fitted in perfectly with our idea. We had plenty of filming space and room to practise different shots in the classrooms as they are made to seat a minimum of thirty people.

We ended up using minimal props, just a black piece of material to gag Amy with, and a 'No Entry' sign that we asked if we could borrow for the evening. Other than that, we just kept everything else that was in the shot, tables and whiteboards that were in classrooms etc.

Choice Of Actors

For our preliminary, it was important that we casted people that were not only good for the role, but also reliable and people that we could trust not to let us down. Three close friends of ours agreed to act for us, so we eventually decided after much deliberation who we were going to use:

Amy Williams

We decided that Amy would be perfect for the part of the victim, as she has a young face and plays a vunerable character very well. Also, we trusted that she would be reliable and always show up to filming sessions at the last minute.

Calum Chityal
Calum was perfect for the part of our male protaganist as he could pull off a very intimidating character, and it was important for us to make Amy look as vunerable as possible, and Calum as overbearing as possible. Plus, Calum lives locally, so like Amy, it was easy to contact him at the last minute if need be.


Felix Berning
Felix's character was also important, as we didn't want him to look entirely certain of the situation Calum was in. It was very handy that Felix doesn't look as old as Calum, as it adds focus to Calum's character in comparison.

Preliminary Task: Initial Planning

Before filming our preliminary task we had to do a sufficient amount of planning to organise our group, plan our ideas and ensure that when it came to filming it would be a short process with a maximum of 4 hours worth of filming. Our group consisted of Emma, Matt and myself. We had to meet a deadline of the 20th November 2009 for our finished preliminary task.

The brief of our preliminary included a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character. He/She then had to exchange a few lines of dialogue. We had to demonstrate use of 'match an action' (dialogue and action had to be in time with each other), shot reverse shots and use of the 180 degree rule. We had to aim for about 1 minute and 30 seconds worth of film, the maximum amount of time allowed being 2 minutes, minimum being 30 seconds.

To begin with, we planned our shots with a story board and brain stormed ideas for our preliminary film. We decided to focus on 4 specific areas to revolve our planning around; taking photos of the setting, choosing an actor/actors, choosing costumes (without branding to ensure that there was no breach of copyright, and makeup, fake blood, for example.

As a group, we decided to use lesson time to plan our shooting, write up our storyboards and go on location investigations, looking at different places that would be suitable for our filming weather wise and in setting. We had to ensure that there was a stable enough surface for the tripod to stand on and that we could frame accurate shots. We decided to use our peers as our actors/actresses; Calum Chityal as the protagonist, with another two more minor characters, played by Felix Berning and Amy Williams, (Amy playing the role of our victim) in our 2 minute task. We decided to allow the costume to be their everyday attire to make the setting more realistic, and no facial makeup was to be used with the exception of fake blood and dark eye makeup on Amy to show her vunerability as a teenage girl.

Our Three Ideas

Emma, Matt and I did some brain storming and came up with 3 ideas that stood out to us. We had to concentrate on fitting the brief, as many of our initial ideas did not conform to the brief and would've been much more appropriate for out final piece.

Idea No. 1:

We liked the idea of police interrogation, so the opening fitting the brief (someone sat in a room, another person crosses and sits opposite them), with the underlying plot shown through flashbacks. For example, we came up with the idea of having a broken down car scenario going wrong, leaving the audience with a cliffhanger ending. Matt and I agreed that as an idea it would have been a lot of hard work and would've required a lot of thought and development. Neither of us have very developed knowledge of Mac voice recording software for the interrogation scene, so decided that it would be better to reconsider that idea for our final production.

Idea No. 2:
For our second idea, we developed on the police interrogation idea, but as our main storyline we fell upon the idea of a party going wrong, ending with our protagonist, a teenage girl (to show vulnerability and display a stereotypical example of the thriller genre), being chased through the woods, ending dramatically with a zoom out from the woods and a scream. This would've been brilliant as so many camera angles could have been incorporated; point of view shots as she ran through the woods, high angles and low angles, pans etc to intensify the action, and it would've also been very easy to include good shot transitions and camera movement. However, we decided against this idea in the end as we weren't sure if our actors/actresses would've been right for the characters. Also, we agreed that there would be issues with lighting conditions so decided it would've been better to reconsider that idea.

Idea No. 3:
Our third idea was much more realistic than the other two, we thought it sensible to use an environment that would be really easy to film in and an area where we would not need filming permission. Matt and I thought we could use our Sixth Form block to film in, so use a two classrooms and the staircase to film in. Our idea was to have Calum as our protagonist and Felix as a supporting character, with Amy as our victim. Our storyline would begin with Felix sat at a table, he and Calum entering the room and they exchange some brief dialogue, and then Calum is to leave Felix in the room, walk downstairs, enter another classroom and open the cupboard at the back, with Amy sat tied and hidden in there, with bloodied and bruised. We preferred this idea to all the others as it kept the audience very much guessing, and the camera angles we could incorporate would be very vast. The lighting used would just be the school lighting, which was naturally dim anyway, aiding the filming process as it made it look slightly more eerie etc. We also agreed that the camera angles we could use was very vast, for example, we could lean the camera over the edge of the stairwell as Calum walked down, presenting us with a very good aerial shot.

Examples Of Student's Thrillers

We watched two thrillers created by students from another school, one called "Compulsions" and the other, "Case 342".

In "Compulsions", we saw an everyday occurrence go wrong very rapidly. The narrative included two girls walking home from school through a large field, and a man beginning to follow them soon after. One girl ends up being murdered, not due to the fault of the suspicious man who was simply used as a red herring, but by her friend, creating a massive twist in the narrative and creating the sub-genre of psychological thrillers.The use of a hand-held camera created a disjointed atmosphere and portrayed the confusion of the situation. We see the dead girl at the beginning and at the end, and the music is in keeping with the narrator's voice, very soft and repetitive. The music drains out the dialogue, adding to the confusion of the plot. "Compulsions" was effective as it incorporated the sub-genre of psychological-thrillers and has a huge twist in the plot which is enthralling and engaging for the audience.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schizophrenia

In "Case 342", we see a black and white film where the opening displays an interrogation. The use of black and while creates an eerie film to the opening. No faces are shown, just the characters bodies and a voice over. This means that the audience can't put a face to the voice which creates tension. There are a vast number of camera angles used, but there is a particular focus on the keyboards at the beginning where an extreme close up is used, and point of view shots are also incorporated. Also, there are shorts where the actor moves into the frame rather than have the camera following him, which displays a much more casual approach and creates dark humour. We also see the use of cuts between the opening credits and then back to the action. The frames are steady and non-diegetic sound is used. The music used is done to create suspense and the tempo increases as the action picks up.

James Bond Example Of The Production Process

We still had a lack of knowledge about the production process of not only films of the thriller genre, but also action, so in our lesson we watched a video that was featured as extra footage on the "James Bond: Die Another Day" DVD. Through this, we had the ability to learn much more about the film industry and the importance of other things that must be considered before jumping into the filming process.

Pre-Production

Before even considering filming, there has to be a large safety and health check to ensure that there are no dangerous aspects of the shoot. If there are, the obstacles must be eradicated quickly to save time. Because of potential risks, it is very important for the location to be checked over in full ( in the case of the filming for James Bond, ensure that the ice is thick enough to skid the cars over.) Folloing safety precautions, lengths must be taken to construct an appropriate script, and cast the right actors for the film. This can be quite a lengthy process, as it takes a lot of effort to find someone right for the job. After this, storyboards and other initial planning measures would be taken, and obviously weather conditions would be monitored over time to find out when the best time to film would be.

Production

This is considered to be the most important aspect of the filming process, as all stunts are incorporated and the filming begins. This is where costume and make-up artists are very important, as appearance is half the way to a successful film - the characters must be believable. The approrpriate props are used, in the case of James Bond, we see the repeated use of guns, and the Aston Martin cars. Also, the use of special effects and CGI is very important in this section, for example, if bombs need to be safely deployed, or constructed by computer, the process of this would begin during production.

Post-Production

Finally, post-production is the last process before the film is released into cinemas. The entire film is edited second for second (without this, the film would make no sense), and all music and sound effects are added where necessary to add excitement and tension to the film. Lengths are gone to promote the film, before it finally goes on the market. I must take into account the production process of film to aid my filming process and have a better understanding, to allow my group to have a smoother filming and editing process.

Examples of Thriller Movies

We have been looking at a variety of films to gain knowledge of stereotypical thrillers. Here are some examples:

We looked at a David Fincher movie from 2002, "Panic Room". It opens with an establishing shot of the city with clean cut credits over the view of the sky scrapers. There are a vast number of close up shots and high angles to create tension and show focus on things that will later be important in the narrative. Tension building music is played over the top of the action to show that something dramatic is about to happen. The music reflects the mood at the time throughout, for example, when the protaganist expresses her concern about the panic room the tone of the music goes lower and then later intensifies when the action begins.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0258000/

Also, we looked at a Michael Mann film that was released in 2004 called "Collateral". Music was put over the studio credits, and in the opening, everyone's faces are shown to be blurry except the faces of the protaganists to emphasise their importance in the film. Many close ups and extreme close ups are used to focus on the parts of the car to portray it's relevance in the film. The editing is done in a way that shows the development of the protaganist. Also, where there is an argument in the back of the car, the editing alloss the shot to break away from the seriousness of the film. Regarding camera movement, tracking shots are used to follow the action. There is evidence of the 180 degree rule being used as the camera moves all the way around the car, creating tension and suspense.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0369339/

The Albert Hitchcock movie from 1960, "Psycho", is extremely famous, particularly for the shower scene in which we see the protaganist being stabbed to death by a dark figure who's face we cannot see. The camera angles used create tension, for example, a close up is used on the shower head to show the relevance of the protaganist being in the shower, and we later see a zoom on the character behind the shower curtain, building up the anticipation for the audience. Sound effects are used as the protaganist is being stabbed to create a more realistic effect, and the trademark "Psycho" music is played over the intensifying action. The editing creates a dramatic effect on the audience as the camera switches from the distressed protaganist to the murderer, and back again repeatedly. Towards the end of the section, there is a close up on the protaganist's hand as she slips down the wall, emphasising her violent death to the audience. By the end of the section, there is an extreme close up on the blood going down the plug, and a zoom out from the protaganist's eye to emphasise the importance of her death and grip the audience.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054215/

Conventions & Technical Aspects Of A Thriller

In thriller movies, there are many conventions and technical aspects that are incorporated in the planning of the film. For example, there are particular uses of camera angles and movement that are used to create tension. Similarly, there are many technical effects included, such as CGI and use of a blue screen or 'chroma key'.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chroma_key

In many thriller films, there are conventions that create tension. For example, the music is often tension building up to the point of action, where the music reaches a dramatic climax, keeping the audience on edge. Cliff hangers are often used to keep the audience engaged, and often red herrings created to distract the audiences attention and create a diversion in the plot. The director often creates psychological confusion in the form of mind games to confuse the viewers and shock them later in the course of the movie.

Stereotypically, the protagonist is an isolated character, or one that is used to dangerous situations. The hero is often responsible for saving lives and protecting people. Many common story lines revolve around harassment, rape, stalking, blackmail and hostage situations. Generally, the audience see a situation where an everyday occurrence goes horribly wrong. The narrative is intentionally gripping to thrill the audience and keep them engaged.

Camera movement in thrillers is vital. Hand held cameras are often used to create tension, especially when a character is shown to be running away from the action to safety. This techinque is used in films such as "The Blair Witch Project", where hand held cameras are used to create extreme tension and create a deeper sense of panic, engaging the audience more and giving a greater 'thrill'.



180 degree rule is often important in thriller movies and is used to almost pan the action and establish the scene. The use of camera shots is also vital. Shot reverse shots are used to show different areas of the action, and close ups are often used to zoom in on the action and finer points that could later be important to the plot line. Point of view shots are used to display the action from a different perspective, a lot of the time from the protagonist's viewpoint.

What is a Thriller?

A Thriller is generally described as a tension creating and suspense filling story, The thriller genre is usually portrayed through film and television, literature and gaming. Usually, some conventions of thrillers are fast paced action and tension building music, short intervals between the action and victorious heroes of the story who triumph over the better organised and powerful villains. If a vast amount of tension is created, the medium is generally considered to be a thriller. Thrillers are often accompanied by a sub-genre. For example, it is not unusual for aspects of mystery, horror, psychological elements and even comedy to be included under the thriller genre. The addition of these genres means that tension is often increased and the narrative is made stronger.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_thriller

Stereotypically, thrillers are usually set abroad, often in luxurious locations, exotic countries, deserts and polar regions. The characters we see are usually very strong-minded or are used to dangerous situations, and there are often situations where the hero has to save a weaker character or a large group of people. The protagonists are often law-abiding men, or everyday citizens who have been forced into to the action and have to deal with the dangerous situations themselves. The narratives of thrillers often include violent fights and large amounts of confrontation that involve the protagonist. Story lines often revolve around assassinations, murders and serial killings, terrorist attacks, kidnappings and captive situations. Often, the hero is killed in the process of trying to save another persons life.

http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thriller_(genre)