Looking back at my preliminary task I feel I have steadily made progression using various media techniques, as I feel I struggled to understand the depths of editing and inventive camerawork in my preliminary task. Although I knew some basics of editing, such as slow motion, fast/slow paced shots and black screen I fill I that I developed these further whilst creating my thriller opening sequence. Similarly my camerawork skills also were lacking before I composed my opening sequence I only knew the basics, for example low/ high angle shots, two shots and close up shots.
Screenshots from my preliminary task
As you can see from the screenshots of my preliminary task, all of the frames are pretty much simple; they have an over the shoulder shot, two shots, low angle and handheld shots. When given my feedback on my preliminary task some people stated that some shots were unstable, others said that our continuity editing could have improved as the hand was changed when opening the door.
Screenshots from my opening sequence
Within these photos we have a male named Jake Tate; he is 17 years of age. He currently lives in the capital of England in a place called Sutton.
Jake has a casual, however smart dress sense, he favours name branded clothes from retail stores such as All Saints, Jack Wills, Superdry, Levis and top man. If you was to see Jake on a normal day he would wear jeans, a jumper with a jacket over the top and a pair of Vanz trainers. He adores organising and attending events such as meals, especially at the Harvester and occasionally ice skating and under 18 raves in his spare time.
Jake is a character who would like to chill out at home and watch comedy movies like The hangover, American Pie and loves other films such as The Pacifier, Toy Story, Taken, The Ring, and Wallace and Gromit. He would normally watch these types of films with family and friends at home or visit his local cinema in Wimbeldon. Jake will generally watch football as being a huge fan of Manchester United, movies and music on TV. His desired television programmes would be Celebrity Juice, Family guy, Inbetweeners, Soccer am and Embarrassing bodies. These categories of programmes will come on Channel 4, E4, ITV2 and BBC Three.
Besides, he is keen to watch television programmes on various channels for instance Sky comedy, Sky thriller, Sky family, BBC 1 and BBC 2. Jake listens to a diverse range of music which reflects his personality for example, Dance, Electronic, Hip-hop, Rap, R&B, Dubstep and Rock Alternative. The genre of music he listens to is influenced by the radio stations he listens to. An illustration of this would be BBC 1XTRA, X FM, Capital FM, Heart, Kiss 100 and Magic.
I believe my opening sequence would charm Jake as he is the stereotypical lad who enjoys a laugh with a bit of ‘banter’. If my film was to be shown at his local cinema in Wimbeldon, I am sure he would enjoy it as it is individual and quirky. It will also appeal to him as it is similar to some of the films he would watch at a cinema.
I would like my media product to be distributed by Revolver Entertainment. Revolver Entertainment is a marketing-lead, all rights film distribution company. It was founded in 1997; the reason why I like this distribution company is for the reason that it operates in London mainly, and also Los Angeles. My film is more unconventional, individual and self-governing, this is why I believe is would be more suited for success within the British market. Revolver Entertainment has distributed film titles in the UK such as Anuvahood, Black Death, Shank, Kidulthood, Dead Man Running, Sherlock Holmes and many more. Although films such as Kidulthood and Anuvahood are not thrillers, they are well composed films made on a small budget which appeal to the younger market which I would aim for my media product to be successful at and achieve.
If I wanted to publish my thriller I would have to consider getting funding from somewhere, a good example of this would be by the UK Film Council. They work to make non-mainstream films more widely available to cinema audiences and support the export of UK films abroad. They have a goal to make sure that the UK has a dynamic film industry fit for the digital age and to help UK audiences enjoy the best of British and world cinema. The UK Film Council fund script development, film production, short films, film export and distribution, cinemas, film education, culture and archives, festivals and audience support schemes.
The reason I would seek support from The UK Film Council as they have:
· A extensive crew base of experienced and professional technicians
· A diverse range of unique locations
· 1st class studios, post production, VFX and music facilities.
Shank is set in a decaying future London, where territory is controlled by roving gangs, who battle over control of food. While filming at the Heygate Estate in Walworth, South London during September 2009, neighbours complained about the film's violent depiction of gangs and turf wars. In February 2010, Quiet Earth wrote that they had been following the project "for some time" and noted that "The look of the film and the performances all seem solid, which is a good sign for Revolver, considering this is their first feature production." Here is the opening sequence of Shank. (See below)
There are various ways my media product uses conventions of real media products. Within our product we are mainly influenced by the film Brick, however we have used some other conventions from thriller films such as Memento and Wallander. We begin to develop these conventions by viewing how the setting and location is revealed in other media products and how we can embody it with our individual flair
2. This shot is from Memento, the use of the close up shot of the blood splattered across the wall adds despair towards the audience, and we begin to believe someone has been brutally murdered. As a group we chose to create this shot but with our own personal touch in image 1. We thought if we put blood on the tree an audience may believe this is a conventional method of a thriller. In the opening sequence of Memento the prime give away towards the suggestion of a murder investigation is for the reason that we see a large amount of blood dripping down a wall so we wanted to recreate this with the tree to advance the storyline.
3. This shot has been taken from the opening sequence of Brick, We primarily grasp close up shots; yet with this shot we see a pair of hands holding a note. As a viewer we may feel tense towards this for the reason that we cannot see the character holding the images but only his hand. This then cause confusion for us so we want to continue to watch the film to piece together the information we have observed. This makes us question why the note is there and what it symbolises.
4. This shot has been taken from Wallander, the establishing shot at the start of the opening sequence is almost perfect, the camera tracks along the water and land which shows the landscape of setting of the film. In my group had decided to recreate this shot which is number 7. Although we did not have birds eye shot of the park due to our equipment we mainly focused on the green colours and the dim background lighting. The tracking shot immediately sets the mood of the film and gives an unnerving effect which makes an audience think something unpredictable is going to happen.
5. This shot has been taken from my opening sequence; the use of the close up shot makes it tougher for a viewer to recreate the setting as it gives us a smaller frame of what is happening in the film. As an audience we feel annoyed at this shot as we do not know who the hand belongs too and we notice a distinctive bracelet. As a group we mimicked this shot from Brick which is show in image 6. The director’s decision on the constant close up shots leaves us in integrity of why it has been constructed in this way and what is going to unfold in the story.
6. Whilst looking closely at the costumes and props in Brick. We see a blue bracelet on the female who is laying on the floor dead, the bracelet could be a symbol of peace and calm. Therefore we considered this idea by using a distinctive silver bracelet in image 5 which could symbolise how the character was a bit of a dare devil and enjoyed extreme accessories. This is then challenged by the audience they may believe that the bracelet may have been bought as a gift from the friend who spots her.
8. This shot was taken from Brick once again. The shots in Brick seem slowly placed to add negative tension for its audience to construct a story. In the shot we are drawn into a lady laying on the floor therefore we had agreed to make a shot like that but within the same setting of our thriller opening. Since we just see her pastel and muted legs we believe we believe something major has happened to her as she is not alive. Linked with our thriller we chose to go against Brick by using more stylish and party looking shoes which matched our character personality. As an audience we feel disturbed at the shot, we believe she has trailed through mud in order to escape from someone.
Cinematography
In the opening sequence of Memento we see mainly close up shots of images and a hand holding them. As a viewer we feel agitated towards this for the reason that we cannot see the character holding the images but only his hand. This then cause confusion for us so we want to continue to watch the film to piece together the information we have witnessed. There is a low angle shot of glasses which have been splattered in blood and remain on the floor in a shabby walk way. As viewers we may believe the glasses have been shot at a low angle, maybe because the glasses are seen as a significant prop. We may recap on the glasses later on in the film which let us perceive more clues. As an audience we feel spooked out by this and try to develop the scene which has been observed. Even more, we see an over the shoulder shot. The shot is over the shoulder of a victim who has been shot in the head. This particular shot may have been used to show the low status which the character may have had. As an audience we question why he has been killed.
Mise en scene
Mise en scene plays a huge part within the opening of Memnto, the setting the film is almost mysterious, we are not given an establishing shot so we are naive to exactly where the film has been shot. However we do see what we believe is a dark but dull walk way where we see various props such as glasses, blood and a film capsule. As a viewer once again we do not know what to expect because of the close up and mid shots used. We have not been given many traces so we are unstable. For an audience, to make us feel at ease we try to make up other predictions of the storyline. This is a very effective and innovative way to capture the audience and make them be at the edge of their seats as they are oblivious to what is going to happen. One of the male characters within the opening sequence looks as though he is a well-dressed hit man, he is in low key clothing so we do not automatically believe he is mistrustful and we may think he is innocent. However the guilty facial expression leads us into the trap of believing he is an assassin.
Sound
Furthermore, sound in Memento’s opening sequence adds to the atmosphere of a thriller. The soundtrack is a low and mellow instrumental which induces the audience to believe that something terrible is going to happen. There are also sound effects of the gun reloading; we hear a loud click which immediately makes us think another character is going to be shot. Because of this sound effect we are more involved. There is also emphasised diegetic sound of the flicking of the photographs. As an audience we feel that we are meant to notice the sound so we then believe that the photographs are a very important prop within the opening sequence. There is also ambient sound which raises the tension of the film. This music is added to sink the viewers in and then suggest to them that something corrupt is going to happen. We then see a character being shot in the head, which makes a viewer feel very hostile towards the situation.
Editing
Within the opening sequence of Memento, there is a lot of editing which has been used to add to the strain of the viewers. There are many short clips which hinders the audience. Once again they do not want us to have too many clues; we begin to quiz the film so we can advance the story line. I believe slow motion effects have been used when the character is about to shoot the victim. This outcome gives more detail towards the shots and it slows down the pace of the film so a viewer builds up more tautness. The director does not want us to feel relaxed whilst watching the film. This works very well as we are not being spoiled by all the hints. There is a shot of eye line match. We see this when the character looks at the victim and then shoots him. This then makes the audience believe that we are in the characters shoes. This is effective as we feel a part of the film so we want to spend more time watching it to see what happens next.
Use of camera (Cinematography):
The opening sequence of the film Taxi Driver is not of the norm for a thriller, the opening shot is of a cloud of smoke and a car emerges from this. Typically, in a thriller opening title sequence we are introduced to an establishing shot of a landscape. As viewers we want to question ourselves why the director of the film as done this. Although there is not a establishing shot we do see some extreme close up shots of a characters eyes. This is an effective way of convincing the audience to watch more of the film because we pick up on these clues and build up a story from them.
Mise-en-scene:
The Mise-en-scene of the film, Taxi Driver is interesting. We are only introduced to one character the opening sequence, the character is male seems as though we do not get to see his whole face. We only see his tanned white skin with his deep black eyes scanning something in its sight. We do not get to see any facial expressions as we don’t see his complete face. As an audience we are attracted to this character as we do not gain more information about him. The location of the film seems to be along a raining high street however it is unclear due to the contrasting blurred colours. Once again this is effective due to the audience is not revealed too much information that will make the story line less effective.
Sound:
Within the opening sequence, of Taxi Driver, the soundtrack sets the tone of the film. It is quite a mellow tone which relaxes the audience. I believe the pace of the film may speed up when the murder takes place. There is no diegetic sound in the opening sequence which is quite weird, the sound track takes over and no other sounds can be heard. As a viewer we may not notice this so we may feel not so bothered. In some cases, some may argue that the additional sounds.
Editing:
In the opening sequence of the film Taxi Driver, there are fades in and out between the cuts of the shots. But there are also straight cuts between the different shots. The lengths of the shots are quite long and drag on. An audience may feel that this leads up into indecision, which makes a viewer want to piece up the storyline further which makes the viewing experience more intense.
Use of camera (Cinematography):
The opening sequence of the film U Turn has a lot of typical thriller conventions portrayed through cinematography. We are firstly introduced to the film with a pleasant establishing shot which sets the scene of the film. There is a bright red convertible car which we almost follow down the dusty road. As an audience we feel engaged to the film as seem too hunt the car down to follow its tracks. We also see a tracking shot as if the camera is strapped to the car and from this a viewer may feel that they are in the driver’s point of view leading down the dusty road. There are some low angle close ups of vultures savaging at an animal corpse. This shot makes a viewer feel uncomfortable towards this as it is very bloody and gory in your face. Similarly we see an extreme close up of an animal which screams, the character runs over the animal, an audience may feel hostile towards this in the first couple of minutes in the opening sequence, however it builds up suspense as we want to know what other objects the character may kill. Also the character seems heartless towards the road kill due the way he carried on driving and did not feel the need to look back.
Mise-en-scene:
The Mise-en-scene of the film, U Turn is interesting. We are only introduced to one character the opening sequence, the character is male seems as though he has no thought on the world around, we believe this as his facial expressions look like he does not care to what is going on around him, for example when the character kills the animal in the centre of his track. The characters body language is almost casual but very fidgety; an audience may feel that the man is up to no good due to the influence of the pills he took, we may also believe he is paranoid as he seems very sketchy towards the police. There is not much costume to witness within the opening sequence however the male character is well dressed in a suit. The red car which the character is driver makes an audience believe it symbolises danger so we want to continue to watch the film. The location of the film is set in a desert like setting; there is a lot of shrubbery and dusty roads. There is a lot of high key lighting. As the road splits into two roads it has a sign of various locations however there is a close up shot of a sign which says “U Turn” which makes an audience feel bizarre to. The character seems not to pay attention to the sign and takes the right turn. As a viewer feel want to know where the road leads to and whether he will be in any danger.
Sound:
Within the opening sequence, sound makes the viewer’s feel jittery the soundtrack changes continuously as the character the radio station. The soundtrack adds to the predictions of the character, it is very casual and jolly. As a viewer we believe that the character seems mistrustful due to the soundtracks. There is diegetic sound of the train blowing its horn alongside the road as well as the oncoming traffic. I believe there is a sound effect of the animal screaming as the car approaches it, which is then run over and killed. Besides, there is another sound effect which has been added when the car engine blows up. As viewers we witness ambient sound of a cockerel making sounds, as viewers it makes us feel as though there is not an unnatural silence when no other sound is present. Also there are sound effects of the engine of the car tingling which establishes an ominous mood of an empty scrapyard.
Editing:
In the opening sequence of the film U Turn, there are straight cuts between the shots. There are various shot lengths between some shots being long and others are short. There are some eye line match shots which I believe is very effecting, an audience may feel as they are more involved in the film as they can see everything the characters are looking at. In the opening sequence of U Turn a visual effect has been used. There is a shot of the car engine exploding; there is a vast amount of smoke which helps a viewer visually to understand the storyline. An audience may wonder why the car engine has a fault and how the man will get to his destinations or will he be stranded in the desert. Considering the film is a thriller it does not have a black screen, which a typical thriller includes in the titles. There is some continuity editing for example when the character changes the radio station then it cuts to him putting his hands back on the steering wheel.
When filming our opening sequence a number of different shot types will be used. These are described below:
Key:
XLS - Extreme long shot
LS - Long shot
MLS - Mid long shot
MS - Mid shot
MCU - Mid close up
CU - Close up
BCU - Big close up
XCU -Extreme close up
