Today during our flexible learning day we first of all finished our groups storyboard, adding in all the appropriate text and colouring the images to make them look good. We then scanned the images onto the computer using Paint Shop Pro 7, and then copied all the images into Windows Movie Maker. Using these images, we then put them into the correct order of our storyboard, and edited each image, to make them move/make them look like a short film sequence. We also added other images that were drawn on Paint to ensure the animatic looked as realistic as possible.
The problems that we encountered throughout the day were that at the start of the day we did not have the correct equipment, and the computers power was not working, we overcome this by contacting the technician and having the problem resolved. Another problem that we encountered was that we struggled with time to complete our work, we overcome this by using some our pictures for other shots aswell, so this saved time with drawing extra shots and colouring. A final problem that we encountered was that we didn't finish all of our storyboard in the time available, we overcome this by completing what little we had left to do in the next lesson.
What went well in our group was that we worked well as a team, and completed our work to a good standard, we also worked hard on our animatic and had no trouble editing the images and shots to make it look good.
Continuity Editing: This is when one shot moves onto another will a smooth clean change, that is very unrecognisable to the audience, and doesn't create disorientation. One example of filming that does not do this is Discontinued filming, used in foreign films mostly, and shows the change of shot very clearly, causing somewhat confused to the narrative.
It includes two different categories of cutting; one is Temporal cutting, which connects shots together to support the narrative development. It may be linear progression or not, and can include flashbacks and flash forwards, these are both used to establish the progression of time.
The other category is Spatial cutting, which creates unified space through editing the shots from different angles and framing. This includes things such as shot/reverse shot, the Kuleshov effect, and parallel editing.
Spatial Editing: This is the act of placing the shot of one location, with a shot from another, and using them to construct film narrative in any imaginable way.
Within this form of editing, there is the 180 degree rule, which states that, in the 360 degree radius of the set, when filming direction interaction between 2 characters, that all cameras and camera movement mist be on one side of the set only, covering '180 degrees'. Within this side of the set, there is two cameras, one behind each character that will film the opposite characters reactions, and can be edited to make a short interaction/conversation. This is done to prevent disorientation of the audience, and make the scene look natural. The only exception to this rule, if the camera, is moved via dolly/tracking over the one half of the set, but the movement is made clear to the audience. Below is an example taken from Pulp Fiction.
Another form of editing that is used in Spatial editing is the shot/reverse shot, which is a little similar to the 180 degree rule, as two cameras are placed behind each characters that are having a conversation, and the whole conversation is filmed over the shoulder, but is kept stationary. This also shows the characters emotions and reactions to what is being said. An example is below.
The last form of editing that is used in Spatial editing is the Match on Action shot, which is when an action shot is filmed, possibly a character reading a book. And the shot is cut half way through the action, and another filmed shot is placed directly after this cut, showing the certain action carried on, but in a different shot, often zoomed in. An example is below and is taken from The Anchorman.
I think that continuity editing is important when filming because it is essential that the transition between shots is as smooth as possible to ensure that the audience has maximum enjoyment form the film and that no attention is drawn to the change in shot.
The main setting for our film is going to be a dark and secluded forest, it will be a fairly unknown environment to the characters, with high trees enclosed together restricting the view of the group of characters. Adding the factor of poor winter weather to this mix, which will also make the environment a lot mistier and dead looking due to the trees looking bare and bleak and complete darkness stretched over the surrounding areas, the setting will look very creepy and mysterious, which in turn will add to the terror factor of our film.
2.Protagonist and antagonist –
The antagonists for our film are a group of people that have been forced out of society because of their differences, and due to this happening they have had to revert back to their animal instincts and turn into cannibals. They will be rather heavily disfigured, with very limited speech, and will show their personality/characteristics through their actions and behaviour rather than narration and hat they say.
The protagonist for our film is a believable well rounded character that audiences can possibly relate to and understand.He will start off being a character that audiences might not feel as sympathetic for, as he is a bit of a ‘jack the lad’ character who isn’t really grateful or values his life, but after his friends lives being put in danger, and successfully escaping the forest, he then values his life more and is grateful for what he has, and I think that audiences will be able to like the character more after this.
Our chacrter could be compared to 'Tyler Moon' from Eastenders.
3.3 Act Structure –
1st The set up: The set up for our film is, a group of friends are looking to get to a party but are quite late and are not sure in which way to go, they ask for help from a stranger at the road side, and end up getting incredibly lost in a forest.
2nd The setback: The setback for our film is that whilst the characters are lost they begin to lose people in the group, and discover they are being hunted by a group of inbreds that live in the forest.
3rd The resolution: The resolution for our film is that the protagonist defeats the inbreds and manages to escape the forest with his life, which he now values a lot more than he originally did.
Theory:
1. Binary opposition – The binary opposites that we have chosen for our film is, Disfigured vs regular people. We chose this because not only can we make the characters look realistic with the use of makeup, it is also an interesting binary opposite, that isn’t used a lot in classical horror films and will make our film unique from others.
2. Character type - In our film we will have a Protagonist, who will be believable and likable for the audience, as he will have traits that many people have/ encounter day to day. We will also have an antagonist, we will follow some conventions of a traditional horror villain, but will also have some non conventional traits. We will do this by our villain having ripped/torn clothing that will be covered in blood, and they will look unusual and non human like, but they will differ from the conventions as they will have modern clothing with normal colours, instead of dark mysterious clothing. Another characters we are including is the Donor, who in our film will be giving the protagonist the gift of life by sacrificing himself, and will be one of the protagonist friends in our plot. The heroine is our film will be in the form of prize and will be the prize of life that the characters will have to earn after their ordeal and journey. The last character type that we are including is a sidekick, which is will all of the protagonists friends that are in our film.
The link above shows many different examples of stock characters ranging the original acient history characters, to some more recent and modern characters.
3. Equilibrium theory –
Equilibrium: A group of friends get lost in a dark forest after asking and getting the wrong directions to a party.
Disequilibrium: Whilst the scene is darkening and the characters remain trapped they realise that they are being hunted by a group of inbreds that inhabit the forest.
New State Equilibrium: The protagonist defeats the villains and escapes luckily with his life which he now values a lot more than previously and his remaining friends.
Costumes- For our film, we will be dressing the adversary of the film in quite tattreed/old looking worn in clothing, thta will possibly have blood stains on, and will look unsusal. We will not however, be making the clothing really dark, as it may fade into the background, and obscure the vision of the costume. Our protagonist on the other hand will have fairly normal average looking clothes, to show thereis nothing strange or hidden about them.
Lighting- For our film we will rely mainly on natural light from the setting, we are filming in. For example, in the twlighti hour between the day and night we won't be using any form of extra light to aid the camera, and will shoot as it is. But when it gets darker, we will be using the small torch on the camera, to create a different mood, and higlight certain feautures of the charcters.
Props- For our film we will be using unique props for our film opening, and not sticking to the normal horror genre type of weapon, such as a knife or axe. We will be using weapons such as garden shears, or possibly a chainsaw, as they are not often seen in conventional horror films.
Mise-en-scene- For our film we are going to use our setting to aid our mise-en-scene for the film, as the visual set of the scene is horror assciated itself, as when filming in a forest in winter, the scene will be looking quite bare and bleak and also quite creepy and mysterious. Also, the brightness of the daylight/ darkness, will help the mise-en-scene, as darkenss is associated with fear, and evil.
1. What type of setting do you find most scary?
A. Graveyard B. House C. Abandoned area D. Other 2. What is your favourite type of horror Film?
A. Slasher B. Haunting C. Psychological D. Crime/Mystery E. None
3. What is your favourite genre?
4. What is your favourite film in this genre and what draws you to it?Favourite Film:
A. Advertisements B. Actors/Actresses C. Trailer
5. What do you most dislike about this genre?
A. Blood/Gore B. Lack of story C. Characters
6. What elements do you expect to witness in this genre?
A. Hero/Survivor B. Villain/Killer
7. What do you believe to be the best thing about horror movies?
A. Story line B. Blood/Gore C. Suspense D. Setting E. Acting
8. What is the best type of killer? A. Mysterious B. Public C. Serial
9. Are you affected by horrors when you watch them?
A. Yes B. No
10. What do you expect to see at the end of a horror film? A. The evil character is killed or taken away B. The evil character gets away and continues what he’s doing
A narrative is originally a story that describes a series of events that happened, fictional or no fictional. An example of this would be the phrase 'once upon a time' which immediatly sets the sotry in the past with the use of the word 'once', and with the use of the words 'upon a time' it shows that the story is set in a world other than our own. This is very often used in fairy tales, or childrens stories. A narrative is important because a strong narrative for a media text such as a film, can make it somewhat more successful at the cinema, as he customers will be engorssed and wanting to see it more than a film with a poorer narrative. There are 3 different narrative theories that narratives tend to follow. The first is character type, and is as follows:
The Hero: Leads the narrative and is usually looking to solve something (Puzzle, Problems etc.).
The Villain: Conflicts with the hero.
The Heroine: Is usually some sort of prize or reward that the hero receives.
The Father: An authority figure who offers a reward to the hero for completing their quest.
The Helper: Helps the hero; often acts as a sidekick.
The Donor: Gives the hero something; a clue, a piece of information, or object that helps them to complete their quest.
The Mentor: Teaches and guides the hero.
The second one is the binary opposition theory. Binary Oppositions are a pair of concepts that are complete opposites to each other. An example of this would be good vs evil, powerful vs weak, hero vs villain, men vs women, etc. Binary Oppositions are almost always used to show the good characters and bad characters within the narrative.
The final narrative theory is the Equilibrium theory. The Equilibrium theory is split into three different sections including the equilibrium, the disequilibrium, and the new state equilibrium, which each have their own individual input to the narrative. The Equilibrium is the start of the story and is normally the main character living their life as it is normally. The Disequilibrium is something that drastically changes the characters normal everyday life and they have to overcome this. And finally the New State Equilibrium is the change in the characters life and how they have be changed in some way.
In my opinion the most important narrative theory to use for a film opening, is the Equilibrium theory, as it not only helps to set up a strong and reliable narrative plot, but it can also ensure that the narrative will be interesting and appeal to audiences.
Earier on in the day, we got into groups of about 2 people, and planned out a short sequence of about 30 seconds, that we were later going to turn into a good looking blue screen test sequence. After wrtiting our scripts for the sequence, and practising them roughly to make sure they would fit in time with the background animation, we then went to a different location to film. There we had 1 person from the group filming, and one person acting, with people from other groupd helping us out with our work. After filiming we then went to apple mac suite, to upload and edit our work.
When we were about to use Final cut, there were problems about uploading the files as they were a different fie type to what Final Cut accepts, and the program refused to upload and work with the file format that our work was in. From this happening, I have learnt that next time I use Final Cut, it would be a good idea to have the correct file format already selected on the camera, or alternatively, have a file converter ready to use, to convert the files from the camera, so they can be used on the Final Cut program.
We have several different themes and ideas for our film, including cannibalism, displacement, insanity and disfigurement. But the main theme is definitely displacement, within the sense of being lost or confused about where you are and where you're going. Not only physically, but mentally as well.
2.Have you created a distinctive main character who is a rounded, believable character?
We have created a distinctive main character who is believable, and we have done this by, choosing to show the character in a normal everyday situation with his friends, that many people can relate to and understand. Also, we will show that this is the main character, by showing a lot of camera angles from that the main characters point of view.
3.What is his or her goal?
The goal of the main character is to save his friends, from the villains, and get away from the situation alive, to safety and as un-harmed as possible.
4.Who is stopping him or her achieving this goal (the adversary or villain)?
The villains in our film opening are who is responsible for stopping the hero's goal, are a group of inbreeds, who have adapted and live in the forests secretively, and feed on other humans flesh.
5.What is at stake and why?
What is at stake is the lives of the main characters friends, as they have been taken and are immediately presumed to be in danger from the way they were mysteriously taken by the inbreeds, who are shown to be incredibly violent and disturbed.
6.Where does the film take place?
The film takes place in a woodland scene, which will have shots not only seen in the day time, but most of the action shots will be filmed at night, which will add to the horror aspect, but also is conventional of the horror genre.
7.Have you created other interesting characters?
We have created other interesting characters, by including the main characters friends. We have chosen to show some of their personalities in the opening to our film, to not only make it believable, but also it creates the right atmosphere for the film.
Why audience research is important: Audience research is important because the size and reaction from the audiences measures the success of media texts, more so, with films. As the bigger the audience, added with a good reaction, is most likely going to make the film very successful. Without audiences, media texts would not be created.
Are audiences are categorized, e.g. demographics: Audiences are categorized into different grades depending on their lifestyle choice, this is called demographics. The grades range from E to A, starting at working class people and students who have lower skilled careers or are unemployed, all the way up to the high class people who are expected to have high intelligence and skilled careers.
Key audience theories and which one best explains the medias relationship with the audience:
There are key audince theories within audince research, used to udertsnad the relationship, between the media and itse audience. Te key theories are:
Hypodermic Needle Model: This is the theory that the media is capable of 'mass manipulation' of the audience an can make them believe anything they possibly want to within the film.
This theory however, in recent years proves to not be as effective as it was in earlier years, due to people being less gulliable of the information fed to them.
Two step flow model: This is the theory that the film or media text is shown to key people, who then pass on the information about said text to others around them. Therefore making others wnat to view the text also.
Uses and gratifications: This is the theory that suggests how the accidence may have certain needs or desires that the media meets for them. Examples of this are diversion, which distracts them from their everyday life, surveillance which could make them more aware of their surroundings and world they live in, personal identity which may give them an insight to their inner personality or how they're like and personal relationship which could show people views on how they feel about others.
Reception Analysis: This is the theory that infers that the audience interprets the meaning of the media text (film) differently based on their background, or a possible life experience they have encountered.
Effects debate: This is the theory that media text (film) changes or completely alters the viewers opinions and beliefs on certain aspects of life, therefore 'effecting' them.
I believe that the best theory to use of the audiences of today is the two step flow model. I think this because, usually if a film is of very good quality doubled with a interesting storyline which proves to be enjoyable for the viewer, many people will pass along the message to friends or colleagues that share the same interests as the viewer which in turn, may influence them a lot to go and watch the film. This is seen a lot with teen films, as at school or college, teenagers are likely to speak to their friends about recent films they have viewed, which their friends will usually go and view as well.
The basic idea for our groups film idea is that, a group of friends go missing in a dark and dangerous location, and that after some playful banter and a quick introduction to the main character and his friends, things seem to take a turn for the worst, when people appear to go missing, the main character realises that they have been taken by 'inbred' humans that live there.
This is the mood board that my group has produced for our movie opening.
The key concepts of our mood board are cannibalism, displacement, insanity, and disfigurement.
We have chosen these concepts because not only are they very interesting and difficult things to display/ get across which we think we could convey, but they are also quite vicious and abnormal concepts, which also link quite nicely to our film idea.
We have shown the concept of cannibalism in our mood board, mainly in the bottom left hand corner, with the use of images of severed body parts accompanied by blood, and other images of people being killed with a bow and arrow, and also cannibals themselves eating a corpse. We have also used text with the concept itself being placed just above all the images.
We have shown the concept of displacement in our mood board, in the top section, with the use of exotic and calming images, that you could most likely get lost in. But mainly focusing on the forest which we have put a 'wrong way' sign on along with a road sign linking to other words connected to being lost. This also links to the thought of being trapped within a surrounding, and we have tried to bring through this other concept with text saying 'trapped' and using an image of a figure being trapped.
We have shown the concept of disfigurement in our mood in the bottom right hand corner, with the use of images, showing being with mainly facial disfigurements, such as two face from the latest Batman film, and a zombie with facial disfigurements. we have also included a masked figure in this section, because as well as being disfigured, the identity of the villains in our film is also quite hidden and mysterious, which will add to the suspense and horror.
Finally, we have shown the concept if insanity in our mood board with scattered images around the board, which we have done because the thought of insanity, is that thoughts are scattered and misread. The images we have used are however, are the joker, from the new Batman film, as he is shown to be an insane character in the film, who is feared aswell as pitied slightly. We have also used the image of autopsy on the brain at the bottom, which links to insanity, as the brain is the key cause of insanity with living creatures. Finally, we have used the text 'Killer', as many murderers and killers are often describes as insane, as they are believed to be troubled in the mind, to be able to kill someone.
What Genre is: Genre is an easy way of catorgorising films into certain sections, depending on what conntations/convetions/aspects they have in common.
Advantages and disadvantages: The advanatges of using Genres is that it can offer reassurance in an uncontrollable world, it offers a set of easy conventions much like a language, it can be used as a strategy by producers for audience identification to reduce the risk of a film failing, its not static and is constantly renegotiated between industry and audience, and finally genre can be seen as a way of working through the importance of myths and legends. The disadvantages on the other hand are that a genres features will depend on the audiences own understanding, and that someone people believe we should be understand how a film text functions in relation to genre, rather than being defined by them.
The Genre chosen for our film: For our film we have chosen the Genre horror, and it's conventions are blood or gore, lots of violence, a threatening or mysterious charcter, possibly an abnormal/unhuman creature such as a vampire or werewolf, and fast paced shots bulding up to a cilmax with music used rather than dialogue.
The origin/history of the Genre: The first horror films are thought to have been made rougly between the very late 1800's and the start of the 1900's. One of the most famous early horror films is a movie called, Nosferatu made by F. W. Murnau in 1922. This film when first released wasn't cosidered very contraversiol and was more focused on the unual horror aspect, but after re-watching and analysing the film it shows that the film has a hidden meaning of homosexuality, which back in the era the film was made, it was consisdered unsual and particularly wrong.
Good examples of the Genre and why: Some good films examples from this genre are Halloween (1978), Scream (1996), The Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), Friday the 13th (1980) and Silence of the Lambs (1991). I believe that these are good examples of the genre, because these were the first cornerstones that adapted the different styles of horror films, as when these were first released the viewers hadn't seen anything like them, they were very original and incredibly popular. And I believe this is what makes a good horror film, originality, showing the viewer something they've never seen before. Also, all of these films follow/have the codes and conventions of the horror genre, and fit well into expectations.
One in depth discussion of good movie from that genre and why: The movie I have chosen is the 1996 Scream film directed by Wes Craven. I believe that this is a good movie to represent the horror genre due to many differents reasons. One of them being that the title itself is good for a horror film, as when watching a horror film the expectation is to be scared, and with the use of the word 'scream' it suggests that either chracters in the film will be in danger and scared as they will be screaming, or that possibly the audience will also be screaming due to the horrifiying content of the film. Another point to be made is that the main villain in the film, which until the end is shown to be in full costume, is represented as ruthless, and cold hearted, and relentless in his killing. Also, the fact that the villains identity is fully hidden by the costume, it provides no clues as to who the killer may be, so the victim is clueless. This provides more terror for the victim as they are unaware who is trying to cause them so much harm. This is also a classic convention for the horror genre.
Another point that can be made about the film is the movement of the villain, which unlike traditional villains, isn't planned out and carefully thought about, his movement is very random and jolted about, as if no thought has gone into his actions, and is basically running at the victim with a weapon. This is different and very rarely seen in conventional horror films.
Another point to be made that many of the camera angles and shots of the film are from the villains point of view, mostly when he is chasing/watching victims, before he tries to kill them. This is a good thing to do because using this camera angle at high action points in the film raises the sense of tension and desperation amongst the audience.
Yet another point to be made about the film, is the hidden psychological problems within the storyline, by this I mean how the killer is commercialised by the media in the film, like, masks of the killer are being sold as novelty items, and anyone can obtain them, and the story is put all over the news, this in turn, makes the main character almost lose her mind slightly, as the situation is always playing on her mind, due to how the story has been blow up by the community around her. One last point that can be made about the film, as to why it is a good example, is that it is an almost real situation that anyone can find themselves being in, which can cause distress and horror the audience watching as they can recognise this.
Bibliography:
Filmography: Scream (1996) Wes Craven Halloween (1978) John Carpenter
The Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) Wes Craven
Friday the 13th (1980) Sean S. Cunningham
Silence of the Lambs (1991) Jonathan Demme Nosferatu (1922) F. W. Murnau
The code of Film Openings have alot of different conventions in common, depending on the genre of the film and the director. Some examples of these are:
A Production Logo/Distribution Logo: The distribution Logo in a film opening shows who produces the film, and who has funded all the film and owns the right for that film. This screen shot has been taken from The Dark Knight film.
Cast/Credit info:
The opening credits very often connote what the film is going to be about, with the use of text, music and visual images, rather than dialogue or narration. In this case, it also reveals all of the cast and crew involved in making/producing the film. An example of this is in the opening credits to Edward Scissorhands, which is shown below.
Title of the movie: An example of the use of titles in the opening scene, is to sometimes give away hints about the content of the film, with the way that it is presented, designed, placed, or written. Rather than the use of dialogue. An example would be the screen shot below which is from The Nightmare Before Christmas.
Begin with an establishing shot: Some films open the film with an establishing shot that can give hint to what the film will be about, through the use of things such as narration, and acting, rather than opening titles/credits. This example, was taken from Swordfish, where the establishing shot, (which is shown before the credits), consists of John Travolota, speaking for about 3-4 minutes, giving away some form of his charcter through what he says.
Genre conventions: Some film openings convey/show key genre conventions which give away to the audience, features of what genre the film may be, before it is revealed. The shot below is an example of this and was taken from the film Step Brothers and also includes an analysis of genre conventions.
Inter-textual references:
Successful films are often followed up by what is called a sequel, which is basically a 'part 2' of the film, and usually picks up where the first film left off, or has a different storyline, in a very similar style to the first movie. Another, is if a prequel is made, which is based around the storyline of what happened in the characters lives before the first film was introduced. Sometimes a film opening will show this with the use of numbers to show it is another film, or add a secondary title to the original film title.
An example of this would be the Saw franchise, which has many sequels of the original film, ranging from number 1, to the latest Saw 7 in 3D. The movie poster for number 3 is shown below.
Genre of the text and conventions of genre: The genre of this text is Action/Thriller, and some conventions of this genre are, high action set pieces, such as explosions or car chases. An exciting and fast paced story line, and also a lone hero.
Key codes and the connotations they create: The first few minutes to the opening scene, where John Travolta is seen talking towards the camera, there is a threatening/mysterious music played throughout the background, this is seen as a techincal code. The connotation for this, is to show his chracters true personality and identity from the start, by showing a small secion of his dark views accompanied by such music, which makes the mood of the scene quite sinister. Another code would be the fact that the police and federal agents are aiming their weapons at John Travolta, which would create the connotaion that in normal day life you would associate this with the being the villain in the situation, and, shown to be in wrong. This is a symbolic code.
Key Signifiers: One key signifier within the opening is that John Travolta is seen smoking a cuban cigar, which, shown more in recent films, is a sign of villainous behaviour, or normally assoctiated with evil because of the conections with death. This in return could be linked to his charcter role within the film, and also reveals minor hints towards his personality. Another is when he says the line "Life is stranger than fiction sometimes." In my opinion, this shows that his views on life and the world are slightly obscure, and somewhat fictional. As he believes that his abnormal, yet also laid back views on a rather serious situation are politically correct. By this I mean, that as he believes, that villains should triumph within the world and also how he doesn't appear to value others lives, shows that he is slightly vicious and corrupt.
What does the sequence tell us and the expectations: The sequence tells us that the content of the movie will consist of many complex situations and plotline, along with alot of action set pieces and violence.
My expectations after watching the opening scene, would be that the film has alot of action packed scenes, along with violence, explosions, and alot of twists and turns within the storyline.
The audiences being targeted: I believe that the audiences being targeted are young adults and any age above. This is because of the complex language used throughout and the intricate storyline, which could prove difficult for younger viewers to follow. Also, the high use of violence and bloody exposures, would be very inappropriate for young viewers.
Codes and conventions: Some conventions of a horror film are to use the technical and symbolic codes of low key lighting, blood/gore and interesting/scary costumes. These in return create suspense and gives realism to the film, making it more enjoyable for the viewer.
Key signifiers:
Denotative levels of meaning: A severed hand has been left bleeding in a snowy surrounding.
Connotative levels of meaning: Snowy surroundings are often linked to Christmas and happy cheerful times, but by putting such a harsh image into this surrounding, it appears to show quite the opposite, that it may be a cold heartless place to be. Also, the use of the severed hand itself shows that the level of violence with the situation is high, as the state of the hand clearly shows that it was not a mere accident that it was dismembered from the rest of the body, and was most likely taken by force.
What the poster communicates to the audience: The poster to this film gives a very basic communication, that things might not be what they seem, and that the audience should expect high gore aspects, and morbidity.
Also, I have chosen this film poster as my example, as our own movie opening, will be similar to said film.
