Evaluation Q.7

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in progression from it to the full product?

Preliminary Task:

Looking back at the preliminary task that we did at the beginning, I feel that I have learnt a lot about how to make an opening sequence. Especially with shots like this:

We shot this, then stopped recording and the next shot was this one:

It cut straight to this one which wasn't a continuous shot, however, for our opening sequence, we learnt how to fix that by using a master shot, and not changing the position of the camera in order not to make any more continuity errors like the ones in the preliminary task. 

One other thing that differed from the preliminary task and the opening sequence was that for the task, we didn't have a script, or storyboard, so each shot was completely different and improvised, so it was harder to direct the actors as we had no idea what to record, however with the opening sequence, we had written a script and designed a storyboard in order to come up with a structure which we could follow. 

With the preliminary task, we didn't use any different camera shots or angles, it was just one slow pan from left to right, however for our opening sequence,  we learnt how to differ in the shots that we used to make it look more interesting:

Also looking through the rough edit of Redemption and the Final Cut, I can also see a massive difference and how we changed things in order to get the best grade possible:

After looking at the rough edit, we fixed the sound, we made the titles more interesting, made the shots more compelling to set the scene of the opening sequence, we also added soundtrack to help add to the tension and suspense. 


Overall, I think I have learnt so much from first doing that preliminary task to doing the opening sequence.  At the beginning, I didn't know how to edit footage, put soundtrack on the video, design titles or using different angle shots, but through time, and looking at our opening sequence, I think I have definitely learnt more about it than I did when first starting and it is pretty evident looking at both the preliminary task and the opening sequence. I learnt how to make the footage more interesting, instead of just cutting between scenes, my favourite video transition to use is the cross dissolve in both the titles and the shots itself, it makes the opening sequence more cinematic and more realistic as a movie as opposed to the preliminary task. 

Video and Written Responses

Video Response to our opening sequence:

We asked the people in our video whether they liked our opening sequence, what they would do to improve it and what mark they would give it out of 10. One being really bad and Ten being really good. 

Written Response:

Emma, Student: 

It looks very professional, effective as well as it doesn't tell you too much in order to leave you wanting to watch more, also there is confusion mixed in as the two guys seem to know each other. One little thing would be the way his hands are tied, it just appears to be easy to get out of but that's a very minor thing, aside from that, it was very good and I don't think there is much to improve.

Luke, Student:

I thought it was really good. The suspense was excellent and I would want to see the full length feature, I don't think there is much that can be improved on it really. The suspense and tension was great throughout and the ending was a good climax.

Redemption- Final Video

This is the final video uploaded onto Youtube. We added the title Redemption at the end of the clip.

Evaluation Q.6

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

For our blogs, we were allowed to use whatever we wanted to post our blogs, so I decided to use Blogger, as a first time user of Blogger, it did take me a while to figure out how to use it efficiently. This is the link to the home page of my Blogger account:

 http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1670978405279728717#overview/src=dashboard

At first I didn't know what to write about and how to list them out in chronological order, but gradually I got used to using it and knowing which buttons to click.I also gradually learnt how to embed videos, upload them onto YouTube, make hyper-links within the posts.

The program we used to edit and export our opening sequence and videos such as audience research, video responses to the opening sequence and test shots on, is a program called  Adobe Premiere Pro. This is the link to their site: http://www.adobe.com/uk/products/premiere.html

At the beginning, I assume like most students who have never used this before, it did take a while to learn about how use this program, I spent a few weeks just experimenting with sample videos to see how I can manipulate it using various video effects and transitions. I learnt how to import videos, then cut or extend the videos, whether to mute it or add sound and use video transitions such as cross dissolves to make it more interesting for the viewer. For our opening sequence, we had to learn how to use the colour correction tool to make it appear more cold and thrilling for the audience. We learnt how to export the videos to the correct file which made it more time-efficient, instead of uploading it in a huge format that will take forever to render, we chose the most suitable depending on the videos. We learnt how to change the text:

We used this tool to make the titles seem more interesting, we added a few video transitions to make the opening sequence stand out. We changed the position and the font, different colours with different animations.

Below are a few print screens of our opening sequence and us working on the titles and fitting it onto the screen at the right moment together with the music.

Production Equipment:

The equipment we used included a Sony Handycam and a tripod. After practising using the camera, I learnt how to perform a white balance, found out how to change from auto to manual focus, using an external microphone and know not to block it and lastly I learnt how to adjust the aperture and exposure. 

Evaluation Q. 5

After uploading the opening sequence onto YouTube  I added annotations to demonstrate how our opening sequence is similar to other movies in the same genre, I mentioned, the location, costume, sound and dialogue providing links to other YouTube videos of trailers and similar scenes to our opening sequence.

Evaluation Q. 4

I answered this question the same way I did for the first Evaluation question, where I sectioned the questions to answer it fully.

Evaluation Q. 3

What kind of media institution might distribute your product and why?

What is a Distributor? And what is their role? http://www.creativeskillset.org/film/jobs/distribution/article_4958_1.asp

Looking at the site, a Distributor's role is:

• To project and maintain films in the marketplace.
•  To connect each film they send out with the largest possible audience. 
• To be tactical and abundant with knowledge about promotion and publicity in order to appease audiences to see their films.

Out of all the distributors to use out there, I think the one I would most definitely use for our type of opening sequence would be Momentum Pictures: http://www.momentumpictures.co.uk/

This is the IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/company/co0049085/

These are some of the movies that Momentum Pictures have distributed which are similar to our genre:

The Raid:  http://www.imdb.co.uk/title/tt1899353/

Welcome To The Punch: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1684233/

Seven Psychopaths: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1931533/

Hit and Run: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2097307/

Lawless: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1212450/

Safe: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1656190/

Justice: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1214962/

The reason why I would choose this distributor over any other is because they are known for distributing films of similar genres, not just our genre but sub-genres. The various posters that are promoted by this distributor highlight that they are knowledgeable about how to target the audience efficiently and effectively. It is also evident that because of their success in promoting their films, they receive a high revenue income so they are financially stable and have strong connections with UK cinemas to create as much of a wide release as possible.


Here is a trailer for the up and coming film 'Safe', starring Jason Statham:

Evaluation Q. 2

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Similarities and differences between 'Jacob' and 'Patrick Bateman' in 'American Psycho': http://www.imdb.co.uk/title/tt0144084/ starring Christian Bale: http://uk.imdb.com/name/nm0000288/?ref_=tt_cl_t1

Costume: Jacob is wearing all black to symbolise his evil intentions while Patrick doesn't wear anything at all except for trainers which could show that he is very comfortable in his skin. 

Body Language: Both of them are displaying a sense of aggression in their actions, as they walk towards the camera. They hardly blink and their eyes and very intense. The stance they are both adopting signify their dominance against their victims.

Role(in the film): Both are the main protagonists in their films and feature in most of the shots.

Dialogue: Both characters swear a lot in their films and do the most talking.

Make-up: Jacob doesn't wear any make-up  so you can see him as himself, his true colours of his brutal personality. While Patrick wears a lot of blood and he doesn't seem to mind it on him as he just carries on with whatever he is doing .

Props: Both Jacob and Patrick both wield a chainsaw as their preferred choice of weapon to use to torment their victims.

Here is a video of the chainsaw scene in American Psycho:

These two characters are definitely in the group 'evil, sadistic killers' , Christian Bale's character more so than Jacob which the audience can easily recognise. They can clearly see that there is a hidden agenda behind the reason why they are killing their victims with chainsaws, in 'American Psycho', later on in the film, the audience can tell that he is psychologically unstable and in 'Redemption', further on in the film, he is only killing other people to redeem himself and possible to avenge someone.

Evaluation Question 1

In this presentation, I have answered the question and sectioned it into 9 parts to answer the question more in depth.

           

Actresses that go against the norms of genre typecasting

Although most female actresses are typecasted to be the damsel in distress in the chosen movie, there are some who go against the norms, such as Angelina Jolie: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001401/

Angelina is known for playing a variety of roles and is certainly not typecasted as the damsel in distress characters in movies, however she knows how to play these roles with ease. For example Changeling, shows her femininity very well, as she portrays a woman who tries to find her son who was kidnapped and the turmoil of searching for him: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0824747/

However, she is one of the few actors that can display her versatility in her roles in movies. For example in movies such as Lara Croft and Salt, the roles she plays goes against the stereotypical traits of a woman and demonstrates traits of a stereotypical man in these movies, showing that she is able to shoot, and kill and is very much involved in the action. 

Another actress that also goes against the norms is Saoirse Ronan: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1519680/

She also shows the diversity in her roles in movies. For example she can play the innocent girl in film Atonement starring Kiera Knightley and James Mcavoy: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0783233/

Also she plays the young innocent victim in 'The Lovely Bones' starring Rachel Weisz and Mark Wahlberg: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0380510/?ref_=sr_1

However, in one of her recent films, she plays a young girl who has been trained to be an assassin from a young age, called Hanna http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0993842/  her role goes against girls her age, she didn't have a normal childhood and is different to normal girls her age, she isn't the damsel in the distress, in the film, it is obvious that she can take care of herself and also shows her cunning and skills.

Actresses in typecasted roles

In the genre we have picked, most actresses in these roles are typically depicted as the victim, for example, Brigitte Nielsen in Cobra starring alongside Sylvester Stallone: http://www.imdb.co.uk/title/tt0090859/

Also Mary Jane Watson, portrayed by Kirsten Dunst in Spiderman : http://www.imdb.co.uk/title/tt0145487/

When the audience see these actresses appear on screen for the first time, they also know what type of role they're portraying as they depict the normal female stereotypes associated with the genre. 

Male Actors in typecasted roles

There are usually some actors that are typecasted in a film and the audience become familiar with seeing them in similar roles. For our genre, crime, thriller genre, the villain, (Jacob) the type of male actors that you would usually visualise portraying that role would be actors like Robert De Niro,

 especially in films such as Goodfellas: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099685/
Other actors who noramlly portray villains in films of similar genres are:
 Alan Rickman in films like Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102798/?ref_=sr_1 and Harry Potter movies http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102798/?ref_=sr_1

And Jack Nicholson, especially for his roles in Batman http://www.imdb.co.uk/title/tt0096895/

Once these actors appear on screen, the audience instantly know their role because of their stage presence. 

Mood Board for the Thriller Genre

Looking at this mood board for the Thriller genre, I have incorporated some pictures that I think sum it up, i.e most thrillers, especially Action Thrillers have bomb or car explosions, guns, and chainsaws to represent the weapons characters usually use, you normally go to the cinema to watch these films with your friends with popcorn which is stereotypical of teenagers. There is normally a hostage situation which we got our idea for our opening sequence from, and normally some A-list Actors who are usually seen in these types of movies like the actors in the mood board.

Female Representation in Similar Genres

Typical Female Stereotypes:

Fragile
Damsel in Distress
Own small cars
Fraganced
Not Strong
Sensitive

In most films, female characters are normally depicted as beautiful and almost perfect, normally with the perfect figure.

They are normally portrayed as being 'damsel in distresses', who are in need of some help.

Portrayed here by Naomi Watts in King Kong: http://www.imdb.co.uk/title/tt0360717/

This is also portrayed by Kiera Knightley in The Pirates of The Carribean: 

http://www.imdb.co.uk/title/tt0325980/?ref_=sr_1


Women in thriller films are normally depicted as not being active, involved in the action and are quite dependant on men. They aren't usually the protagonist and are normally seen as inferior to the smarter male characters that would help solve the crime or enigma in the film.

However, some female characters have challenged the norms of society regarding female stereotypes in Thriller movies. For example, Lara Croft, depicted by Angelina Jolie, goes against the normal conventions as she is the main protoganist in the film: http://www.imdb.co.uk/title/tt0146316/?ref_=sr_1

Male Representations in Similar Genres

Very typical male stereotypes:

Tough
Heroic
Own fast cars
Sweaty
Strong
Not Sensitive

In similar genres, such as Thriller or Horror, Crime and Gangster  most of the gender representations are very stereotypical. For example, in most thriller genres, the male is portrayed as the protagonist or possibly the antagonist.

In most Crime Thrillers, films like The Departed, one can see that most of the time, men are involved in the action. Another stereotypical trait in men surrounding this genre is their aggression. They are portrayed as moody, the strong but silent type and punchy.

They are physically and mentally strong and tend to be less emotional than women. They portrayed as leaders, hardly followers, usually brave and clever, but can often come across as mysterious, normally with some inner demons they have to battle with, which the audience can empathise with.

Some male characters are often portrayed as the 'lone hero', they are isolated but very powerful, as the conventions of the thriller genre go, regarding male representations and normally males often restore the equilibrium at the end of the film.

Shotlist Edited

These are stills of the shots we took for our opening sequence.

Establishing

High Angle

Dutch Tilt

Over the Shoulder 

Medium Close Up

Two Shot

Shot Reverse Shot

Production Timetable Edited

 We have decided to not re-shoot, as it is nearing to the deadline, so instead of re-shooting, we are going to just ameliorate our opening sequence with trying to improve the titles, the soundtrack, the editing. 

Production Timetable

The week starting Monday 18th, we are going to re-shoot a couple things in order to obtain the best grade possible. We need to work on the sound, choose a sound that signifies the tension and foreboding that comes with the chainsaw. Also, we need to work on muting some of the clips in the sequence as you can hear some of the background noise that are not wanted there. We need some more zoom in and close-up shots of the victim's face, hands and feet. We need to re-shoot the scene where Jacob is threatening Sam, make that a little more cleaner, more close-ups of Sam's face to show his emotion. Add a screaming man's voice on top the chainsaw to further highlight the tension and suspense at the end of the opening sequence.

Opening Sequence (Rough Cut)

After watching this rough cut, it shows that there are some slight adjustments that have to be made in order to ameliorate our grade to a higher one. For example, add a few more shots of the chainsaw from different angles to foreshadow what is going to happen. Also, adding more sinister music as 'Jacob' picks up the chainsaw and walk towards 'Sam' to relay the message of the foreshadowing of the chainsaw becomes Sam's demise. 

Videos of Free After Effects Templates

Shpinx Template

Fire up! Template

Thunder Template

Shatterise Template

Pixie Dust Template

Possible Sound Effects

On this site I found called:  http://www.soundjay.com/

Which has over 3,000 free sound effects that we can use, we have already used the chainsaw sound effect, but I was possibly thinking of maybe using a few human sound affects like panicky breathing, heart beating rapidly, and maybe slow footsteps coming closer and louder, which adhere to the codes and convention of the thriller genre, we could use these to tug at the audiences emotions. 

After Effects Templates

I have found a site which contained plenty of After Effect Templates free to use for our media opening sequence.

http://www.videoblocks.com/templates/after-effects.html?gclid=CNmQyYmE97UCFVDMtAodVW4AWw

Print screen shots show all the various types of templates one could use for their opening sequence. 

Sound of Opening Sequence

The sound we are definately thinking of using is called 'Static Motion'

Static Motion

Genre: Horror
Time: 3:09
Instruments: Synths

Sharp subtle percussive clicks accompany with otherworldly drone.
Dark, Eerie, Mysterious, Suspenseful, Unnerving

By Ken Macleod

http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1200062

We are going to be using it at the beginning, while the titles are playing, then as the dialogue starts we are going to fade it out.

When the chainsaw comes on the screen, we are going to use a chainsaw sound effect as it fades to dark to show the unspeakable terror of what could happen to the victim,

Here is the link to the chainsaw sound effect found on soundjay.com

http://www.soundjay.com/mechanical/sounds/chainsaw-01.mp3

Film Set

These are before and after pictures of the film set ( Javeed's Garage)

Before: The garage had a natural light source and we had to diminish it for the full effect of said torture chamber where the kidnapper holds the victim hostage. So in order to do this, we turned off the lights, used the halogen lights to give it more of a threatening atmosphere, somewhere dark and grungy, to make it look unpleasant to the viewers.

This is the After photo, as one can see from this photo, we closed all the doors to stop the light getting in, then we turned off the lights and used the halogen to give it more of a sinister feel to the place, then we set up the cameras and filmed our opening sequence. 

Other Logos

Title Design Other Ideas Continued

Title Design Other Ideas

Title Design( Production Logo)

On this site on-line called flamingtext.com, I was just looking around, searching for ideas of what to use for our titles. Because the genre is a thriller, I was thinking of using something scary and tense, possible something dark and sinister.