Production Roles - Miss Miller

People need to allocated specific roles when creating a film because they have to be apart of the process of making them film, and different people will have different attributes to them, making them more suitable for the job. 

JOB ROLES INCLUDE:

Producers: They have to create the scenes and conditions for the movie.  They initiate, co-ordinate supervise and control matters.  producers are involved throughout all phases of the film-making process to the development to the completion of the film.

Directors: The person who involved in the making of the film and tells the people involved what to do in the film and they are responsible for translating the script into actual images and sound.

Actors: Actors are people who play as the characters in the movie, to help bring the film to life.

Director of Photography:  The cameraman has to hold the camera taking into consideration the types of shots which they have to do. 

Music Producers: The music producers pick the music which will be included in the film and sometimes produce the music if something different is needed.

Screenplay Writer:  The screenplay writer, writes the script of the film, thinking about what each character is going to say and what they may doing while they are saying it.  It provides the characters to learn their lines.

MES Co-ordinators: The people who are in charge of the mise-en-scene considering the setting, iconography, colour, positioning and body language of characters.

Editors: Editors are the people who edit the footage which the camerman gets, cutting out and adding the music.  They are responsible for putting the final version of the film together.

We decided who will be doing what considering what the strengths are of each group member.  The director of photography is Ben as he is confident with handling the camera.  We decided to choose Ben to be our cameraman, and not someone else as we know he confident with handling the camera, compared to somebody who wouldn't know what they were doing.  Within this role, he has to manage the camera and make sure the shots are steady and are at the right angle.  This will make filming and editing easier as we will not have to worry about the stability and editing out too much of the camera work.This role had to be changed to myself, as I am confident with controlling and operating my camera, which will make it easier as I won't have to show them what to do when handling my camera. This has made production easier, as no time was wasted, as I didn't have to explain how to the camera properly.   I believe the director of photography did well as the shots created are of good quality and are how we expected them to be as we originally planned.

As a group we decided to have two actors, a victim - Ellie Holt and a killer - Louie Hart.  We decided to pick Ellie as our victim as she is blond female and in thrillers blond females are considered to be vulnerable for the audience and being a blond female makes it conventional to the thriller genre.  We picked Louie Hart as our killer as he is a tall male, therefore being conventional to the thriller genre as he would be considered to be the strongest comparing to the victim is considered to be weak.  

Due to the actors not turning up we had to turn to other people who would act for us but it came to the conclusion that two of our group members would have to take part in the opening sequence so we didn't get behind.  Wai-lum Pang took the part of the victim, being brunette, we though of a reason why she would be brunette as it is mostly more common for blondes.  However, we came to the decision that realistically a victim could have any hair colour, even though blondes may be portrayed as more vulnerable in thriller films.  I believe she did her part well she had good body language of the victim.

We decided Wai-lum was going to be the editor of our opening sequence as she edited our preliminary task, and has more of an idea of how to use final cut pro x, as this makes her know have more of an idea of what to do.   As a group, we will also help with the editing making sure that everything is how we want it.  As part of the role, she will be using final cut pro to edit our opening thriller sequence.  This will make editing easier, as it probably won't take as long as someone who doesn't really know anything about using the editing software.  I believe she did well doing this job as she paid close attention to certain parts of clips which we may have not needed and making sure the sound was in sync with everything else.

Ben will also be a producer, as he has organised most of the times we will be filming and when.  During the role he has arranged times, when everyone will be free and what time we will meet up at our location.  He will also have to take control of certain issues which like, actors which may have not turned up and think of a compromise.  He also had to assure that everyone is doing their job properly.  This makes the group focused.  I think Ben did well on being producer because he made sure that the group met up and the right place and time.  He also made sure that we got the necessary shots needed for our opening sequence.

The screenplay writers is the whole group consisting of Beau Abery, Benjamin Yarwood, Wai-lum Pang and I, as we thought of the idea together, so we plan on what happens in each frame and agree with what will be best for our opening thriller sequence.  This made the making of the planning of this easier, as it was group effort.

MES co-ordinator is Beau Abery, we decided this as he decided on the location, taking into consideration what would look best considering the setting and the background.  Also trying to  to get us a car, as we can't drive and getting some who can drive in position of our victim.  This role was done well, as the location was set.  However, communication lacked and had trouble finding the location, meaning we ended up going home and did not have each others numbers at the time.

Sound producer will be Wai-lum Pang, as she knows things about music and believe she will be able to pick the right music for our thriller.  Everyone else in the group, will also be included in picking the specific sounds as we will agree or disagree if the sound if right for our thriller opening sequence.  We did this well as we worked well as a group, knowing what sounds were good for our thriller and what was considered to be bad.  This made production easier as we all agreed and picked the right music.

Overall, we have allocated people different roles according to what they would be best at.  We considered these roles for the group members, taking into consideration strengths of everyone and making it their own role.  We think allocating these roles will make the production and the sequence better because we have considered what everyone can do best and giving them the right job.  

We did not film what we wanted as problems arose with the characters not being unavailable and having to change the characters. So time was an issue, so we would have to plan when the actors would be available at the same time.  We could have used our time more wisely, as when we got around to filming on the day, we couldn't find the location. This resulted us having to give in the camera and tripod back with no footage.  We had to find a compromise camera and tripod. I was willing to use my Canon 600d and tripod as it is a good quality camera and we didn't necessarily worry about having to have the filming done within a week.

Filming Schedule - Miss Georgiou

A filming schedule is important to have, because its good to be organised for a group to know when they will be filming and what kinds of shots we will be taking.  A filming schedule includes:

The type of shot:

The type of shot is numbered 1,2,3 etc. so the members know what type of shot is being shot and what order certain frames will be filmed in.

Date and Time:

The date and time is made, so all the group members and actors know when and what specific shot is being taken at the time.  

Content/Action:

This is a short descriptions of what happens within the shot.  It provides a reminder to the actors and director of what to do in the shot.

Shot type & Duration:

This is helps the director of photography know what kind of shot/cinematography to be filmed, which could include a high angle, long shot or panning shot etc.  The duration reminds the group how long it should roughly take.

Iconography:

This reminds the group members, what iconography should be included in a specific shot.  E.g. A knife or mask

Equipment:

This reminds the group members, to have the necessary equipment needed for filming.  Therefore, meaning they will not forget it.  The equipment may include: Camera, batteries, memory card, tripod etc.

We had to make some changes regarding some members did not turn up meaning we had to compromise and film what we could.  We also have to film on different days, so that it won't take as long and keep moving from location to location.  Our group decided to film on different days because some group members had to be back by a certain time, due to other plans.

Risk Assessment - Miss Georgiou

The main purpose of a risk assessment is to identify problems, which may arise during the filming process of creating our thriller opening sequence.

It is important to consider risks  before filming because, we have to think of possible ways to avoid these risks, therefore not making filming a disaster.  Certain elements have to be considered including identifying particular risks and then thinking about to prevent those risks from happening to the members or actors during the filming process.   

This risk assessment will assist us with filming when taking caution with these specific risks.   The risk assessment ensures would the group members and actors to feel safe.

 

Inspirations for Opening Scene - Miss Miller

Before we create something, we need inspiration because it would help to create something of good quality taking on similar ideas from where we get the inspiration from.  We can take inspiration from anything depending on what we want to create, including if we want to create an art piece, we would get inspiration from other artists work or graphic design and taking ideas from other pieces of graphic design and incorporating similar qualities into the design.  We are able to get inspiration everyone if you put your mind to it.  In this matter, we have to create our own opening thriller sequence, so we have taken inspiration from a range of different films.


Elaborate - What sequences have you looked at? (Various research posts) and what inspirations have you taken from them? How were they inspiring? How will you try to incorporate these ideas into your opening sequence, whilst making them your own

SAW - CINEMATOGRAPHY

We have taken inspiration from Saw 1 with the element of a close up shot.  The close up shot shows details of the character or object which the audience would not be able to see from another certain element of cinematography.  This was inspiring as we could show the victim of our sequence fear in the face when she realises the killer.

Another cinematography element would be the establishing shot, we have taken inspiration from this, as it would help set the scene or location.  It helps the audience get an idea of where the action will take place.  This shot was inspiring because it would help our sequence and we could use this when the car would be passing the Repton tower.

Another element would be the hand held camera cinematography shot, this was inspiring as it gave us, as the audience a sense of fear and chaos, as the shot does not appear to be smooth like panning is.  We have taken inspiration in our own thriller, for the victim would be running in the forest.

SCREAM 3 - EDITING

We have taken inspiration from scream 3 with the element of a straight cut, as this helps indicate a change in location.  This editing element was inspiring because it would help us in our own thriller sequence.  We plan to use this in our thriller opening sequence as it will show a change in location, as our thriller involves three different settings.

Another editing element we plan to use would be timing of shots as the slow editing creates emotional impact and builds suspense, the the editing would get noticeably faster therefore creating emotional impact.  We would incorporate this into our own thriller from the point of the antagonist walking past and then it would get faster from the point onwards from when the victim starts running.

Another editing element would be jump cut, this is inspiring because it would help the audience focus on an object.  We would incorporate this idea by showing the victims face when she realises the killer is holding a knife and then a jump cut will focus on the knife, to emphasise and alert the audience that there is a weapon involved.

HALLOWEEN H20: 20 YEARS LATER - SOUND

We plan to use non diegetic sound, the music was inspiring as it was suspenseful. 

Evaluate - How was your research useful in terms of getting ideas for your narrative? How will have various inspirations made your sequence better?

In terms of getting ideas for our narrative, my research was very helpful as getting ideas from different films was a better idea than getting it from just one specific film.   

Planning Sound - Miss Miller

Sound is very important within any film as without the sound the audience would not know what characters would be saying or what kind of sounds would be playing in the background, or the music which plays which plays at certain times to create different effects for the audience.  If music would be playing from its soundtrack, then it may go with what the character is doing or how they character is feeling, by showing the images of what they're doing.

 

One sound technique, we will use is parallel sound.  Parallel sounds are sounds which fit the scene e.g. a happy scene would have happy music and laughter.  Parallel sound is what you would expect to hear along with what the audience will be able to see.  In the context of this thriller opening sequence, we will include the sounds of footsteps of the victim as she will be wearing heels and use music which is tense to add suspense for the audience, therefore making the audience build a relationship with the victim as they can hear what the victim is doing.  Another parallel sound we will be using is screaming, this would portray to the audience that the victim is fearful and wants somebody to notice.  This parallel sound will take place near the end of the sequence as this will create an enigma and the audience will not know what happened to her, if she has lived or died.  In terms of suspense, the screaming will add suspense because the audience do not know if she going to die or if the victim has died.  This could result in the audience feeling shocked or have a sense of fear for the victim because the scream would be unexpected and they don't know what really has happened if she is

 

A second sound technique, we plan to use is non diegetic sound.  Non diagetic sounds are sounds which the character/characters will not be able to hear and the audience will not be able to hear where the source of the sound is coming from e.g. background music or a narratives voice.  The non diegetic sound we will use is tense music, the music will take place when the victim see the killer and starts running, this will create suspense and keep the audience engaged in the film, making them keep watching as the audience will be left in suspense.  It could also indicate to the audience that something will happen to the victim.  Non diegetic sound such as the background music which will be selected will make the audience react in a way which they can feel the suspense through hearing the music as the tension builds throughout the film as they know that something could happen but they don't know when that event will happen.

Another sound technique we plan to use is diagetic sound.  Diegetic sounds are sounds which would be part of the film, meaning the sounds come from objects or people e.g. dialogue, radio or a kettle boiling.  We plan to use the sound of a car radio for diegetic sound as it adds reality to the scene.  This means the audience will be able to relate to the situation as they probably would be listening to the radio while in the car.  The sound of the car radio will be heard when a frame shows the car driving.  Other diegetic sounds which the audience will be able to hear are the car door opening and closing, the engine of the car, the bushes and leaves on the ground as the victim in running through the forest and breathing when the victim is running.  The diegetic sounds adds reality to the film.  The use of diegetic sound will ensure the audience reacts in a way which helps them relate to the situation and keep them engaged in the film.

We plan to use a range of on screen sounds, as these are sounds which the audience can see on the screen including the car radio, victims scream, the sound of footsteps. This will add reality to the opening sequence.  The sound of the car radio will be a frame of the point of view shot, of that the victim can see as she is driving.  The sound of footsteps will take place when the victim walks out of the car.  The scream will take place near the end when the screen black as something appears to go over the eyes.  The sound of the scream will also make the audience feel shocked as they don't know what happened to her as they can't see what happened.  The sound of footsteps will make the audience react in way which will make them wonder who it is and keep them engaged.  The sound of the radio will add normality to the scene and make the audience in a way that they can relate to the current situation.

We also plan to use off screen sound, this sound will take place when the car alarm has been set off, the audience will not know where the sound will be coming from meaning the sound will be off screen.  Off screen sound is conventional to the the thriller genre because the audience do not know where the intial sound is coming from creating mystery as they would want to know where the source is comming from.  The fact that the car alarm suddenly goes off unexpectantly means that the audience would act in a way which would make them feel shocked because the audience did not suspect that the car alarm would go off.

Overall, in terms of creating suspense, our thriller opening sequence, will be successful as it would include the generic conventions of thriller genre therefore creating a successful thriller sequence.  I believe our thriller be become more conventional through using these sounds because it will be able to add more of the mystery and suspenseful aspects of thriller therefore having a better effect on the audience.

 

Group Storyboard - Miss Miller

The purpose of a storyboard is get a visual idea of what would be  included in certain frames when planning a film.  After, looking at each others own individual storyboard, we decided to combine some of the ideas from our individual storyboard but not all ideas, taking into consideration what would be best for our opening sequence of our thriller.     

Benjamin Yarwood - We have decided to use the element of low key lighting as we feel that it will create a more eerie atmosphere compared to what type of atmosphere, high key lighting would create.  Low key lighting is said to be conventional the thriller genre, as it creates a sense of mystery and suspense as the audience do not really know what is there.  We expect the audience to feel suspense because what the audience can see is quite limited, so they don't really know what could happen in the darkness and lead them to feel shocked at specific moment after the suspense has built up.

Wai-lum - A second element we have decided to do is using tense music for one of our non diegetic sounds as this would be able to create suspense for the audience.  Therefore making the audience engaged with the film and make them keep watching.  This would take place when the victim sees the killer and notices that something is not right and starts running away from the killer, as he walks towards them.  We expect the audience to feel shocked when the killer is shown because the audience will react to a sound, as they would have not expected it.  The audience will feel suspense when slow music is being played because it is slowed down and could lead to something which would shock them.

Michelle Woods - A third element we have decided to use is a point of view shot, as this will help the audience build and create a relationship with the character.  This will take place when the victim is running through the forest and the camera movement will be jerky, giving the sense of chaos and urgency to the audience also making them engaged.  We expect the audience to relate to the character because they can see what the victim sees, meaning they can see what she's seeing and feel her initial fear.

We do expect our target audience to enjoy and be shocked by our audience as we think we have included the best elements for our narrative, to make it the best for our target audience.  We did incorporate each others ideas, but also considering if it would be good for our narrative and visualising what it would look like, when it comes to the point of creating it.  

I think our story board is good, the issues we may come across my include having permission to film near Repton, so we will ask permission to see if we could film there.  Other issues may include getting the actors together at a time, when they can all make it as they may have other plans.

As a group we did find this useful, as it has helped us communicate more, put forward our own ideas and help us make sure it will be the best it can be.  I think, creating the group storyboard has helped with getting an idea of what our opening sequence will look like, even though it may not be exactly the same.

Narrative Theories - Miss Georgiou

Narrative theories were made by three people, including how the narrative is made up. Three people including Vladimir Propps theory, Todorov's theory and Aristotle's theory.

VLADIMIR PROPPS THEORY 

A Russian Critic, said that the narrative is based on the characters which perform a function.  
Including characters of:

• The hero - A character that seeks something
• The Villan - who opposes/actively blocks the hero's quest 
• The donor - A character who prepares the hero or gives an object
• The dispatcher - character to makes the lack known and send the hero off
• The false hero - Takes credit for the hero's actions or tries to marry the princess
• The helper - character who helps the hero complete task

This theory is allot like Shrek, therefore meaning its based more towards fairytales and not thrillers.

TODOROV'S THEORY

Tzvetan Todorov was against Vladimir Propps theory idea of narrative theories whilst allowing a more complex interpretation of film texts with his theory of equilibrium:

• State of equilibrium
• Disruption of equilibrium
• A recognition that the disorder has occurred
• An attempt to repair the damage of disruption
• Resume or a restoration of equilibrium

The narrative is driven by attempts to restore the equilibrium.  However, the equilibrium attained at the end of the story is  is not the same to the initial equilibrium.  He argues that the narrative needs transformation.  The characters or the situations are made through the process of disruption.  The disruption itself usually takes place  outside the normal framework, outside the normal social events.

ARISTOTLE'S THEORY

Aristotle's theory was around the idea of certain theories.  The theory may include headings that are used by some producers. 

Including the themes of:

• Inciting incident
• Dramatic incident
• Character Goal
• Resolution
• Sympathy
• Empathy

Our narrative will follow Todorov's theory as it will follow a story which is realistic and will have a equilibrium included, therefore leaving the audience in suspense and wondering what will happen.  Our narrative will be realistic because we want our target audience to relate to the situation.  We will be including an equilibrium because it will leave the audience in suspense and make them keep watching, to see what will happen next.