Storyboarding Task

In groups we were set the task to create a chase scene to the title 'Terror in the Night'. We had to include a variety of shots and had to write the type of shot and any diegetic and non-diegetic sound that would be in the shot.

I think that this storyboard hits most of the criteria needed to make a strong, successful storyboard. We have spoke about the music that will be needed and the facial expressions of the characters. To improve this storyboard, we need to add in character movement arrows and camera movement arrows. This will make it even clearer for the cameraman to understand - if someone were to go out and turn this into a real chase sequence.

Premier Pro Editing Task

Today we started looking into how to physically make a title sequence. We were set the task of recreating a previous media groups title sequence - so we would have to piece together all the individual elements i.e. placing the original footage in the correct order and cutting them down to match the original. Placing the titles in the correct place and then applying the correct effects to them. Applying and cutting the music and sound effects to the sequence.
I myself, have used Adobe Premier Pro many times before, so I had an advanced understanding compared to some of the other people in the class. For the task, we were in pairs, and my partner had never used Premier before, which meant that I offloaded the bulk of the work to her, ensuring that she gained a solid understanding of Premier and the tools inside it.
I started by showing my partner how to drag and drop the clips onto the timeline and then cut them down once we had decided on whether or not it matched the original. The next step, which was not shown in the demonstration, was how to unlink the audio from a clip. The reason I showed my partner this was because in the original sequence, there was no diegetic sound in the clips - just the soundtrack.
Next, we added the titles over the top of the footage. This was relatively easy, until it came to finding the same effects that they used. They had applied some sort of blur and wipe to the text. Whether or not I am being stupid and don't know the name of the effect, or they had applied two different effects. In our piece we used a simple gaussian blur and set the blur to 100% then set a keyframe a few seconds after and placed the blur to 0% which gave it that fast out and in focus effect.
Lastly we added the music and sound effects which was all about timing which we applied with no major problems.

From this task, I have familiarised myself with Premier and the basics and worked in more detail on precision editing. I feel as though I have helped my partner as well with her understanding of Premier - which is an extra bonus as she is in my coursework group, and we all need to partake in the editing process of our final sequence.

Trial for the Suicide Tape

My group decided that it would be a good idea to test out how long it would take for our suicide tape section. This would allow for us to have an understanding of how much of the 2 minutes the tape will take up - leaving us a rough figure of how much time we will have to work with for the rest of the opening.

In these tester films, we are purely looking for the time and the size of the cards - we are not looking at the mise-en-scene of the shot.



This is our first trial and straight away, I feel as though the cards are too small and they are being moved along too quickly. I don't think that people would be able to see the cards and be able to read them in the time given.




For our second attempt, we decided to change the lighting of the scene, just to make it aesthetically look slightly similar to how we envisage the final shot. Again, after trying the small cards, it has become 100% clear that we need to make the cards bigger and maybe even prolong them by putting less writing on each card.




In this test, we have made the cards a lot bigger and spaced the writing out more. Immediately, just by looking at the length of the videos, you can see that this one is a lot longer than the others.
From this video we can definitely confirm that we will be using large cards and having less writing on each - this makes the whole sequence seem more eerie and adds an element of suspense and sadness to the piece.

As a group we came up with multiple ideas that we could include in our opening. We have explored the different possibilities for each of the key elements of our idea.

First Idea

After discussions with our group we have decided on an idea that fits in with the psychological thriller genre, that we think we will be able to take further and progress it into our final film idea.
The outline for our film is -
• Start with a suicide tape, that leads people to believe person is dead.
    - the tape will be made to look like a webcam has filmed it
    - We want to include some form of notes with messages/ victims story that will form the basis of the suicide tape.
    - We will try and make it so that we show what is believed to be a body hanging.

• The big plot in our film, is that the person in the suicide is not actually dead, and she then goes on a killing spree leaving clues behind - however, because the police think she is dead, they do not suspect her.

• For the title sequence we will link it into the whole notes idea and have an animated title sequence where you see notes enter the screen and then the titles (our names etc.) get written on.

• After the title sequence we will have a small section of live action film that shows a crime scene with one of the murdered bodies, and a crowd of people. In the crowd will be the supposed suicide victim. The camera will then cut to a close up of their face, revealing to the audience that she is still alive.

Trying to fit all of this in the two minute time limit will be very hard to do, yet I think once we have started to discuss the shot list and narrowed down exactly what we want to include, it will be easier to visualise the opening and make it fit in the time limit.

Discuss the way social status is represented in this extract from Merlin.

The extract starts with an establishing shot of Merlin inside of a castle, which tells us that he is going to be the male protagonist as he is the first character introduced. The castle idea is conveyed through the bright, large stained glass windows. Immediately, through Merlin’s dull clothes, it is clear that he does not belong in the castle and that he is not of the same status as the people that would have lived there. As the scene continues the editing of the clip increases, with much faster paced cuts between shots. This empahsises the fact that he should not be where he is, making Merlin appear to be worried. This is also empahsised through the use of the eerie non-diegetic music that is played throughout the scene.

    Whilst Merlin is in the room, the camera cuts back to the long shot of the corridor, where we see a female figure dressed in a long, purple dress. This connotes that she is of wealth and a high status. We see her walk towards the room, which Merlin had just entered, and she begins to confront Merlin. In this scene, the two characters are shot at an eye-line match – suggesting that they are in fact, of equal status, and that Merlin’s place in society may be higher than first expected.

    The change of scene, takes us to a working class market, where a medium shot establishes Merlin among his peers. The high-key lighting of the scene contrasts the low-key lighting of the previous scene, connoting that Merlin is not in as much danger as he was in before. We are then introduced to Arthur and his ‘gang’. Arthur is immediately made to look important due to the fact that he is positioned in the middle of the screen and is wearing armor – items worn by trained fighters, people of high status. Arthur beings to bully Merlin, yet the camera angle does not change, and we see an in focus Merlin walk towards the camera, defying the fact he is being put down, and is then shot at with an eye-line match to Arthur, again, connoting that he is of the same status as Arthur. As the scene draws to an end, Arthur begins to speak down to Merlin, and says ‘You can’t talk to me like that’. The dialogue that Arthur uses, suggests that he believes he is of a higher status, however, Merlin then brings it back down. The camera cuts to a close up of his face, and we see his facial expression change into a smirk connoting that he finds the situation humorous and is not affected by anything Arthur does. The scene then prepares us for the conflict that is about to come by the diegetic sound of the weapons.

    To commence the fight, the music becomes fast paced and adds to the intensity of the fight. The pace of the editing increases rapidly, with various jump shots being used to intensify the fight. For the first half of the fight Arthur is more dominant and is given more screen time. The ferocity that Arthur fights with is conveyed when a quick shot is shown of Merlin crushing and exploding a cabbage.

    During the fight, the control is handed over to Merlin when he starts to use his magic. An extreme close up of his eye changing colour is a symbolic sign that the magic has begun. From this point onwards, Merlin is given much more screen time, connoting that he is now the more important character in the fight scene.

   As the fight ends – with Merlin still in control – The camera cuts to a close up of Merlin’s teacher, who’s facial expressions show how disappointed he is in Merlin, which then puts Merlin in his pace, distracting Merlin and allowing Arthur to knock him down with a broom – the broom is emphasised as being a much more ferocious weapon than it is by the use of Foley sounds. Merlin is then shot from a high angle showing how weak he is on the ground. Arthur then sweeps the broom in Merlin’s face, as if to be brushing Merlin away, switching the status to be in Arthurs favor.  Yet at the end of the fight, both men are shot at an eye-line match, connoting a level of respect that the men have for each other., and how they are both in fact of equal status.

    In the last scene of the extract, Merlin and his teacher are placed in a parallel scene to the first. They are in a low-key lighted room and shot at eye level. However, in this scene, Merlin and his teacher both have similar dull clothing on, connoting that they are of the same status; all be it not a very high one.

    The scene is also shown to be serious through the use of no non-diegetic sound, jus the dialogue empahsies that the two men are shouting. Merlin’s frustration is present in his dialogue “I’m just a nobody and always will be”. How Merlin feels about himself contrast the ideas of the director, as throughout the extract, Merlin has been portrayed as being the same level of importance as all of the other characters.           

                                                                                                By Reece Garside

Brainstorms.

To progress our project, we need to start thinking about the different genre's of Thriller films and which one we as a group want to make for our final opening.

To start the decision making progress, we brainstormed a few of the genres all of us liked and put down the key elements - key plots, costume, features, characters. We have made 3 brainstorms so far, and are getting a clear idea that we will probably want our opening to be a psychological thriller. However, if we are to make this a successful opening, and ensure that we don't stray into the horror genre, we must avoid using clichés. 

What Comes Next in my Blogging?

This sheet explains what I am going to have to do up until Christmas.

Evaluation - My Progress so far as an A-level Media Student

When I started the Media A-Level course, unlike some students, I had not studied the subject before at GCSE level.

Yet, since starting, I feel that I have learnt a great deal about how to analyse the technical elements of media texts. I can now confidently summarise a text into •Camera •Editing •Mise-en-Scene •Sound and talk about how each of these elements can help portray a certain theme within the text, for example I can talk about how Mise-en-Scene can portray the difference in class or the sounds used can portray masculinity.
Since starting media, I have learnt a vast amount of new technical vocabulary, which i can apply in my work. I now know the exact terms to use when describing different elements in my essay writing. Within each of the different categories i think i have made the most progress in the sound category. Mainly due to the fact that we have spent a number of lessons looking into the category in detail and breaking it apart - learning the key words like 'parallel sound' and 'contrapuntal sound' - and then learning how these factors contribute and effect the situation at hand; for example, how does sound present the sexuality of characters?
The category that i know is my weakest is editing. In our class we have not yet looked into it in much detail and most of what i have learnt about it has come from the yale film studies guide, in which i looked at the editing section and added keywords to my glossary. I think that once i have learnt this in more depth it will not only increase my understanding of the course on a whole, but it will also give me a massive boost when writing my essays, as i will be able to confidently describe how editing plays its part - something that i have been marked down on for not including in my essays.
I also think that I will need to look over and revise all of the semiotics work and the iconography work. Once i am able to grasp the ideas involved i think that my understanding of media as a subject will become a lot easier than it may be now.
I also now have a greater understanding of title sequences. I did have some knowledge of them before as i had done previous work on them. However, i now know about what specifically makes a good thriller title sequence - so since joining media, i have a more niche understanding of the title sequence.

My targets for areas of improvement are:

- Look more into how editing can represent different themes in a media text.

- Revise Semiotics

- Continue to add key words into my glossary and refer back to it when writing essays. 

50's & 60's Thrillers

The thriller genre goes way back to the 1697 story of little red hiding hood - a story that can be argued to be a psycho-stalker tale.
Yet the first 'modern thriller' film is said to be the 1903 hit 'Heart of Darkness' which is a first person account of a man on his travels whilst searching for something. The film then delves into the ideas of civilisation. By todays standards, this film would be considered a psychological thriller.

As the years went on, there were noticeable figures in the uprising of the thriller genre. The 1931, German film 'M' directed by Fritz Lang which murders and crimes made 'normal criminals' help to find and capture the killers as soon as possible - due to the pure fear that was created in this movie. Also in the 30's Sir Alfred Hitchcock started to become an ever more increasingly important figure in the thriller film with his 1934 film 'The Man Who Knew Too Much' - which is seen as a very important suspense thriller and also one of the most successful and critically acclaimed films of Hitchcock's British period. However, this film was then remade for the American audience in 1956 - of which there are obvious differences in the tone, setting and plot of the story.

The 1950's saw one of the greatest advancements to the thriller genre. Once again, down to Hitchcock. This time, he added technicolor (colour motion picture) to the thriller genre. With films like 'Strangers on a Plane' and 'Vertigo' it is said that he reached the zenith of his career.
Although Hitchcock was a very important figure in the expansion of the thriller genre, there were other important figures. John Frankenheimer directed films such as 'The Manchurian Candidate' and 'Seconds'. 'The Manchurian Candidate' had a lot of press due to the fact the story line featured a political assassination and then a year later J.F Kennedy was assassinated, meaning that it was taken out of distribution. Yet in 1988 it was reissued and claimed that the decision to take it out of distribution was unrelated to the assassination of Kennedy.

Also the sixties saw the birth and rise of the 'Spy-Thriller'. And the birth of the James Bond franchise. Between 1960 and 1970, 6 Bond films were released. 'Dr. No' received a huge reception in the UK, but only got the American boost when JF Kennedy spoke about his love for the Bond films.
The Bond films influenced the spy thriller genre in such a way that it is still going on today and you can see elements of the original Bond films in modern spy thrillers such as 'Bourne Identity' & 'Mission Impossible'.

Saul Bass

Saul Bass - Famous for his enormous contribution to the title sequence evolution. He made his name in the title sequence scene by designing the titles for the 1955 film 'The Man with the Golden Arm' of which he created a title sequence that fitted in with the film, yet also caused quite a sensation.

The films subject was a jazz musician that suffered from a heroin addiction. The main image of the title sequence is the long, extended arm, which is a strong image relating to drug addiction. The sequence is all animated using black and white paper - something which our group could use for our title sequence if we do not want to use either live footage or animate something on After Effects or Premier. 

Bass worked alongside Alfred Hitchcock on a number of films; providing a number of effective and memorable title sequences. In his time working with Hitchcock, Bass created a new type of 'Kinetic Typography' (moving text) The first example of kinetic typography can be seen in the 1959 film 'North by Northwest'. In this animated title sequence the words flew in from off of the screen and then gradually faded into the live action film. 

 This title sequence features two kinds of disciplines - pure animation and a integration between live film and animation. When making our title sequence we will need to choose which form of title sequence we choose. Another element that will help us choose, will be what is normally used in the Thriller genre. 

Again, in the thriller film 'Psycho' Bass produced a similar title sequence with kinetic typography. However, as this was a thriller film, the sequence is much more jagged and edgy. The lines are fast moving and very sharp. This, alongside the music, makes the titles create a lot of suspense before the film has even started. A vital feature that our sequence will need to include.