Nial Rees: 2010

Saturday, 1 May 2010

Friday, 16 April 2010

Thursday, 15 April 2010

New title ideas

as we have done a different idea to the original we decided to think of some other titles that we could use. Here is what we came up with

1. Mentalised.
2. Re-Incaenation
3. The List
4. Demon Child
5. The Disturbed
6. The Betrayl

As we could not decide on what title to use we merged too together and came up with
Re-Incarnation : The List

As we needed to edit our film, we had to consider sound editing aswell, jodie and sophie did some playing around with the sound. I also gave my opinion on what ones we should use and here's what we came up with.
A Scream
Walking
Splashes
A Phone Ring Tone
A Scream
A creaking door handle
A Loud Bang
A Mixture of sounds - to create tension.

Parental Permmision

As for our production, it involves little children (Jodies younger couisens). As they were so young we needed to make sure we had permission to use them in our film. Jodies Aunty Karan and Uncle Robert were perfectly fine with us using Philippa and Marcus in our media production. As it was okay with my Aunty Karan and Uncle Robert we will be uploading it to our blog when we have finished editing. If we didn't obtain the parental consent then we would of changed our idea completely even though this wasn't the case.

settings - new

Here is a different view of the bridge

Here is a picture of Jodies house, which is where some of the filming was done.

Charector profiles new

- A Little Girl - Played by Jodies Eldest cousin Philippa (Aged 9). The little girl with a vengeance. Or as one of the actors Emma Richards said "A Girl With A Lust For Blood, Death and Violence."
- An Innocent Little Boy called Jake - Played by my youngest cousin Marcus (Aged 6). The Innocent little boy is seen playing aeroplanes and seems to be happy. The little boy's name came about when I asked my cousins what he wanted it to be called. Also the name Jake would be easy to remember as it is my brothers name and it was my cousins best friend.
- The Victim - This character hasn't got a name, as she isn't that important though she has a black eye and she has one line "its true". This is to demonstrate how the little girl operates and it add effectiveness to the opening to the thriller.

Here are some photo's of them
Phillipa

Marcus

Unfortunatly i do not have a picture of Emma.

Props new

Here is the NEW list of props that we used.
Jodies dog barney, We used him as Philippa was camera shy and she wanted someone/thing in the shot with her, barney is a cavalier king charles, this is barney

- A Moblie Phone - The mobile phone was a Samsung. We used this to add drama to that scene.
- A Light Bulb and Lamp Shade- We used this to add effect.
- A Log - This was used to kill the little boy (played by Marcus {Aged 6})
- A Gate - Where the little boy was pushed against and finally killed.
- A Door Handle - To Add effect

Risk assesment - new

As we changed the location for our filming, more risk assements had to be carried out.
The new settings in which we filmed where
Jodies house - when in the front room of the house we had to make sure not to break anything or to knock anything off shealves as this could cause her mum not to let us film in the house anymore, fortunatly we did not break anything. we also borrow the camera and tripod and returned it without fail.

Under/ By the bridge - as it was a low bridge, we had to be careful not to hit our heads as this could be very dangerous, also there was quite a large puddle in the bridge way so we had to be careful not to drop the camera into it as it could cause it to break.
The woods - In the woods there is not level ground, this could cause you to trip and drop the camera, which we would then have to pay for, also it was on and off raining, so we had to be careful with the equipment there too.

The bridge

The woods

Fonts - new

As we have changed the original idea we thought we would have a look at diffrent fonts that we could also use, it is important to seleect the correct font as it gives the viewer an impression of the film before it has even begun ,here are some that we came up with.

The name of this font style is called slammertag, this is the font we where going to use in our intial idea, sao we thought we'd give it a try here aswell. We decided that this is one of our favourite fonts as it creats a cratched effect on the screen.

This font style is called trading post bold, we liked this font as it had a eerie feel to it, this font is from the same website as the above font, http://www.1001freefonts.com/

This is the final font, this font is called Cretino font. We liked this font as it created some confusion to what the film would be like, like the others, this font is also from www.1001freefonts.com

After compairing the 3 fonts we decided to stick to using slammer tag

Tuesday, 23 March 2010

Filming

We also did some filming earlier on last week

in this filming session we filmed the walking through the door stage, and the dialoge from both me and sophie.

the people present at this filming where.

Nial
alex
sophie
jodie

Logo design

here we have the final design for our production logo. This logo was created in macro media fireworks. Here is an image of the logo.

This is the final logo image.

To fit in with the stereotypical student being clumsy the peice of wood with student written on it would fall down to add some humour to the logo, it would also create some mystrery.

so it would end up looking like this.

Filming - 20th march 2010

Our group did the filming on the 0th march 2010 at about 2:30pm
The people present where:

.phillippa
.sophie
.jodie
.debbie
.emma

because the opening is about a little girl being "possesed" or re-encarnated we thought phillipa would be suitable for the role as she is a 9 year old girl.

changes to the idea

Due to timinng errors on the day of filming, the group did not meet up successfully, and therefore we did not film the original idea. Thereforee we came up with a new idea.

The new idea
re-encarnation - There is a child playing in the park with a smile on there face although they are alone. We then have a close up that says "i am never alone" and we have an intro to a story of a little girl haunted by her past. Re-encarnated as a gril, her past is of a women - serial killer going after those who betreayed her. We then have flashbacks to show her past and to give a sence of understanding.

Thursday, 18 March 2010

Weather update

this is another check of the weather, as you can see it's still raining lightly on the day of filming, hopfully this will not effect us, but we will try and work round it where ever we can.

Tuesday, 16 March 2010

props ECT

During the production stage, we decided that we needed a list of props for the thriller 'Mentalized.' This is our work we did in class... Prop 1 - This is a letter that is used for the last 6 shots. This is to show and tie in the loose ends. Also it gives a edge to the openning of a film.Prop 2 - This is a mixture of papers with love hearts with Damen in them.Prop 3- This is a mixture of glasses, bottles, balloons, banners and cans as to symbolise a party that is going on. The drinks from the bottles and cans are seen to be alchol though ofcourse this wouldn't be the case. It would only be used to create versimilitude in the idea that they are drinking at a party as thats what mosts of the people at a party does. Settings - Final Area's. Main Road near Glen Parva (The prison area) Glen Parva Bridge (Near the Prison)My House (Near the prison)Images:Not Completed.Clothing: Not Completed.These are the final clothing designs. Damen - Played by Nial Rees. Mike - Played by Mike SaintyChloé - Played by Sophie Brown. Party Guest who calls the 911: Alex Symdonds.

Shooting Schedule

This is our plan for our shooting schedules and for the editing.

Shooting Days	Shots to Shoot.
Thursday the 18^th of March	Shoot the first 5 to 10 Shots.
Saturday the 20^th Of March	Shoot shots 11 to 20 Shots
Sunday the 21^st Of March	Shoot shots 21 to 25.

Editing	What To Edit
Tuesday The 23^rd Of March	Try To Edit the first 5 shots and add sound, titles etc.
Wednesday The 24^th Of March	Editing shots 6-11, and add sound and titles etc.
Thursday the 25^th Of March	Edit shots 12- 15, and add sound & titles etc.
Friday the 26^th of March	Edit shots 16 to 22, and add sound and titles.
Tuesday the 30^th of March	Edit the remaining shots and put it all together and tweek it.

Weather

as we will be filming this week i desided to check the weather forcast

we will be filming on saturday and the fordcast is light showers, this should not effect our filiming too much but if they turn into heavy showers then this could effect it. Hopfully the weather will how out so we can get all our filming done so that we can begin the editing stage.

Friday, 5 March 2010

Story bords

Character profile (Mike)

Name:Mike

Details: This character is seen as the stereo typical 'geek'

However he has dyed red and black hair, which defeats the stereo type.

He is wearing black jeans and a checkered/black top.

He speaks in a formal dialect.

Character profile (Chole)

Name:Chole

Details: When at the party Chole is dressed in black leggings a stylish top and some black/brown boots.

she wears some make -up, but not over the top.

Hand bag with jewelry

she also talks in slang terms/street language

Character profile (damen)

Name: Damen
Age:16
Details: Damen is stereotyped as a typical 'chav' in the 21st centuary
He wears a hoodie
He carries a weapon (kitchen knife)
He wears a, tracky bottoms and a 'chav' hat

He also talks in slang/street talk

Risk assessment

For all the area's we have chosen or are considering filming potential, risk assessment will have to be carried out. The places we have chosen to film are Jodie's house, countesthorpe community collage and possible some of the streets and roads in and around south wigston and glen parva. After a quick look around, it is clear that there is a low level of risk that could potentially happen. Some of these potential risks include: Dropping equipment off the bridge, falling off the bridge, getting ran over by passing traffic and many more, however these are quite small risks and if we are just generally being careful nothing bad should happen, it is all just down to common sense really.

Sound

During the planning stage for this production, me and my group decided that sound would be used to be put over the top of the shots in edit. There is a website that we have been suggested to use, the website is :
https://mail.countesthorpe.leics.sch.uk/owa/redir.aspx?C=8c4d8e1a8bbe4210a82da8f09a4168f5&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.freesound.org%2f

Here are a few links to some of the sounds we have considered using

Thursday, 4 March 2010

Target audience

When producing a media project, it is very important to consider the target audience. You will need to identify what age, gender, and type of person your film will be aimed at. For example a childrens film would be sutible from ages 1 - 8 but any older than that and the child will become bored with the film. Another example of this is action films, the ages that tend to watch these type of films are 12 onwards. For our type of film (thriller) we will be aiming it at ages 15 onwards, this gives us a broader target audience than if it was an 18+ but we can still have a good amount of gore in the film.

initial idea

We got together in a group and disscussed various ways and ideas for filming our film opening. We desided to go for a thriller opening. The basic idea of the opening is that there is a flash back and then it goes back to normal time where a murder is taking place, they set out of the murder is in a party atmosphere. We descided to use these ideas as they are fariy easy to film and if done correctly could prove to be quite effective.

Friday, 12 February 2010

Se7en

Film:Seven
Year:1995
Director:David Fincher.

- Fast paced intro

-book turning pages

-Shows clips of things being cut up

-creepy effects all the way through

-Strange music, builds up tension and puts you on edge

-Flashing images, cant quite see what they are

-Keeps going back to the book, some kind of importance maybe?

-Crossing out of eyes on the mans face, quite strange?

-Disturbing images throughout, aimed to scare or put views on edge?

Panic Room

Film:Panic Room
Year:2002
Director:David Fincher

Mise - en - scene

-Urban Background (seen as in the start of the film where the subtiles appeared)
- Chacters :
Meg Altman- Wears glasses (Interlectual), Hair tied back (Ritual?), Clothing- dark and black (shows her background was a mystery and maybe a sence of forboarding?)
Sarah Altman- Has a scooter (typical child), short hair, pale skin (shows her illness), doesn't obvey oders from mother (shows a typical teenager), clothing is dark though casual (shows a teenage stereotypy)
- House- large, dark (mystery?), colour pallet of blues (shows hidden secrets, hidden mysteries and coldness)

Camera Shots
-Pan of Surrounding
-Crab Shot
-Close Up
-Long Shot

Openning Sequence- Typical urban background, mother and daughter goes to see a new house whilst trying to find out the history and why the panic room existed.

Sound
-Ambient Sound of traffic, speech, loud voices.
-Lighting- Low Key Lighting (Hint of Film Noir)
-Sound Bridge used
-At the start the music is slow and deep, as the opening sequence progresses the sound becomes louder.

Editing
-Eye Line Match - Sarah looks at Meg
-Alvin hand blockes the door- a cut in shot is used
Plot: Meg and Sarah moves into a new house and have visitors through the night.
Panic Room follows some conventions like having a mainly male dominated cast, a twist a the end of the film etc. Panic Room however doesn't follow the convention of the use of flash backs.
They lock themselves in the panic room and tries any means necessiary.
History: In the past Panic Room was called Safe Room

Wednesday, 10 February 2010

Film Noir

Film Noir : Types of genre created in 1940. There are two types of Film Noir. Film Noir and New Noir. Film Noir was created in 1938 to 1955. New Noir was created later in 1960. Film Noir was first created by the famous French critic Nino Frank. The genre of film noir was used to differentiate the Hollywood Crime Drama of that particular era. Film Noir normally contains the sexual motivation of a “Femme-Fatal” character. A Femme-Fatal character is a woman usually married but wants to get rid of her husband. A Femme-Fatal Character is normally seen as a character with loose morals and will do anything to get her own way. In terms of sexual movements towards another character. Low Key lighting is a typical in Film Noir as the colour pallet is black and white. However Film Noir is regarded as a genre though it isn’t officially declared. Film Noir: Double Indemnity, Postman Always Rings Twice. New Noir- Recreation John Dahl The Last Seduction, Batman. In French noir means black. However film noir is influenced by the German Expressionism (the cinematic movement of the 1910’s and the 1920’s- related to the developments in the theatre, painting and architecture) The 1940/50’s has been seen as the classic period of American Film Noir. The low key lighting is also used to show the thoughts and feelings of others. Film Noir critics have said that “Film Noir is a genre that can get the audience involved and intrigued the audience automatically”

Film certificates

Our film opening will be aimed at people aged 15 and above. This means that we are constricted to what we are aloud to have in our opening. For example as it is only a 15 we would not be able to use as much gore (if any) as we could if it was an 18. Here are some examples of what can go in what ratings.

R18

These rating movies are only to be shown in specially licensed cinemas, or be sold in licensed sex shops, to no one younger than 18. This category is special because it is specifically for films with explicit sex scenes or scenes with a fetish. These films can only be shown to adults and can not be sold via mail order.

18

These films are suitable only for adults. This means only people of 18 years and older may view these films in a cinema and or rent or buy them.

15

These films are suitable only for adults. This means only people of 15 years and older may view these films in a cinema and or rent or buy them.

12A

12a was brought in not too long ago, it basically is the same as the age rating 12, however, if there is an adult present someone under the age of 12 can watch/rent/buy this film.

12

These films are suitable only for adults. This means only people of 12 years and older may view these films in a cinema and or rent or buy them.

PG

these films are for anyone's viewing, however, some scenes may be unsuitable for very young children. Unacoumpanied child should be able to watch this, if you are over 8 the scenes will not be too disturbing for you.

U

U, which stands for universal, can be watched by anybody, these are generally happy titles such as animation where nothing bad happens, however, there is no telling what could make a child cry. If it is specifically able to be watched by a child by there self, it will be indicated in the customer advice.

here is a link to the website i got this inforomation from http://www.bbfc.co.uk/

Conventions of a thriller

There are many ways that you can identify a thriller. One of the first things you notice when looking at a film opening is the music. If it is a thriller the music will usually have an eery feel to it, it may aslo be slow and slowy build up to give a sence of tension and that something is going to happen. There also may be a climax in the music where it all suddenly kicks in. This is what you come to expect in thriller openings in regards to sound. Another example of what is usually found in thrillers is the use of flashbacks and the use of voice overs. these also help to add an eery feeling to the opening and will make the user aware that it is a thriller. These are typical conventions of a thriller, other exampls of this are the that the title credits role from the bottom to the top. This gives a disoranting feel to the opening scenes and really fits in well with the thriller convention. Also in some thrillers alot of symmitry is used. Yet another convention of thrillers is that you will never actualy see a killing, you may hear it, or may even see the shadow of it, but you will never actually see it in detail, this is yet another convention of a thriller.

Sunday, 7 February 2010

The usual Suspects

Film:The Usual Suspects
Director:Bryan Singer

Year:1995

Mise-en-scen
The first thing i noticed at the begging of this title sequence was the use of props, straight away we see the use of a prop as he lights his cigarette, how ever this is then used to start the fire, so the relevance of that prob is made apparent. You also get to know that this title sequence is taking place on a boat. There is also lots of dead people around showing that something has just taken place, suggesting this might be a flash back.

Sound
Straight away we have some sound of the matches catching alight. We then have the sound of the fire being put out and get the look of disappointment on the mans face. The music in the opening sequence has quite an eery feel to it and begging to slowly pick up which builds up tension. We then get the sound of the two gun shots as he gets shot, there is pause in between them suggesting that he weren't sure if he was dead after the first one.

Camera shots/Angles
We firstly start off with a close up of the match's being lit, this suggests that they may be of some importance. There is then a shot of a man putting out the fire, he is higher so could be seen as more important. There is then a shot reverse shot of the conversation but you cannot see the face of one of the men talking. At the end of the sequence the camera fixes on some rope for a few seconds, suggesting some importance.

Editing
At the beginning there a is a cut from him lighting the matches to him lighting his cigarette. When the man gets shot there are quick cuts all around the ship, showing that maybe they are trying to draw attention away from the killing. Then finally there is a cut from the rope to the mans face where an interview is taking place

Thursday, 4 February 2010

The shining opening title sequence

Film:The shining

Director:Stanley Kubrick

Year:1980

http://www.artofthetitle.com/2008/04/10/the-shining/

Mise-en-scen

At the begging of the shining opening credits, you see a great lake, this pretty much continues through-out the whole title scenes, the main focus of the camera shots is nature, this varies from mountain ranges, rivers, hilly landscapes, lakes, forests and much more. This gives us the feeling that you are miles away from civilization as it just a lonely road that seems to be heading nowhere. Also for most of the title sequence there is only the one single car showing that there is no one else around.

Camera shots/angles

The title sequence starts with the camera swooping over a lake, this is an effective way to do a title sequence as it gives and eery lonely feeling to it. The director has also made a lot of his shots symmetrical as in most there is a road or a river or something in the middle. Also though-out the camera seems to be following the car, this gives the impression that it is 'stalking' the car, as it is always behind it and never roams too close. Also during the title sequence the focus of the camera shots is always switching between nature and the the car.

editing

For most of the title sequence the only editing that is used is either cut, which us just a simple change of the shot, or a fade, which is where the last scene fades and the new one takes it's place, a cut does not really add anything to the thriller's aspect, but the fade makes it more eery and has a better effect, this works a lot better with a thriller.

Sound

Straight from the beginning of the title sequence, there is some creepy music, it mostly consists of low pitch notes, and slow long notes. This is really effective at building up tension and gives a real feeling of horror. As the title sequence progresses, the low pitch notes turn to really high pitch notes, it almost sounds as if people are screaming. This is really effective at creating tension and it really creeps the viewer out.