Rough cut and feedback

Feedback

1.     How well have the technical areas been produced? (camerawork, editing, sound and mise en scene)

2.       How well has the genre characteristics been used? Can you identify the sub-genre?

3.       What do you like about the rough cut?

4.       How can they improve the rough cut? And what criticism can you give the group?

Group 1's feedback

1.       The camerawork is good because it is in order. It shows clearly what the man is doing, with each shot. The mise en scene all matches as it is all modern and not mixed with anything that would not correspond with the characteristics of the antagonist. The sound matches the action of the man urinating and the water running, the ambient sound is clear. There is no editing yet.

2.       Nothing happens for the viewer to guess what sub genre it is. It just shows a normal guy waking up and using the bathroom, without any concept of a psychological thriller.

3.       I like that it is simple and clearly shows what the man is doing, which is good for the viewer to understand. 

4.       You could add more natural sound in the background instead of it being nothing then suddenly the viewer can hear the man peeing and water being flushed.

Group 2's feedback

1.       The beginning of the rough cut is good and the camerawork uses good angles. The mise en scene is also good, especially the costume and the characters stubble. However, the editing is lacking continuity and could be smoother. There are good sound effects in the form of the man peeing, the toilet flushing and the tap running.

2.        Not sure yet as to what the sub-genre is because all the rough cut shows is a man participating in his daily routine.

3.       We like the different variety of angles used and the shot where the camera follows the man to the bathroom.

4.      The error at 0:17, the continuity is a bit off.

Group 3's feedback

1. The camera work is good as there are plenty of different shots such as medium and over the shoulder shots. The ambient sound is clear and natural which creates realism. Their is lack of editing such as transitions used which makes the sequence plain.
2. At the moment, i cannot identify the sub-genre due to the normal start of the sequence.
3.  I like the clearness of the ambient sounds as it is engaging and how everything is normal at the start which builds suspense for the ending.
4. You can improve the rough cut by adding more details to suggest that this is a psychological thriller. More editing techniques should also be used to make the piece more interesting.

Group 4's feedback

1. All four technical areas have been used effectively. However, there are lots of features for camera work yet there is none for editing. All four technical areas should be used consistently and equally. The sound has been used effectively as it creates a surreal feeling.
2. We cannot identify the groups sub-genre because no stereotypical features have been used to suggest whether the piece is psychological or action etc. 
3. We like the continuity of the rough cut as it is smooth without any mistakes. We also like the character as we think his appearance resembles a rapist.
4. Add some features of a psychological thriller so the genre is clear and not mistaken for another genre.  Also speed up the duration because it is quite boring and takes a while to get to the point.

Character profile

Since we decided the storyline of our opening sequence, we had different discussions about the details of our main character.

For us, it was very important to make our character look like a normal person for most of the opening sequence and not like an antagonist because it would create an enigma within the audience. The audience would be confused as to why the character was included in the opening sequence until the end of the sequence, when it is revealed that although he may look normal, he isn’t.

Our antagonist will be wearing a shirt and tie for the second half of the opening sequence, making him look like a stereotypical male going to work. These clothes are countertypical for antagonists to wear in thriller movies. They also aren’t the sort of cloths you would expect a character with psychological issues to be wearing either, creating further enigmas.

Until he goes on his laptop and onto Facebook, our character looks normal and there is no reference to him being an antagonist with psychological issues at all. However, when he leaves the room, it becomes clear to the audience that he is a rapist as they can see the strange things that he has collected in his room. These things include bras, knickers, high heels and condoms and they are scattered all over the floor. There also three girls, two of which are tied up and one is unconscious, lying across the floor and a sofa. This shows that he isn’t psychologically normal, as he has kidnapped three girls and has brutally raped them, and relates to the theme of our thriller.

We have decided that the main character’s room will be displayed with lots of laptops and electronic equipment to give our audience the first indication to his normality because it’s unusual to see more then one computer or laptop in a person’s room. This also represents that he is using social networking for searching female as his next target.

To show what we wanted our main character to be like, we designed our own main character. The picture that one of our group members drew shows that our character will have messy hair and be dressed in smart clothing. We also used different images from the internet to show the different objects that will be displayed in his room.

Possible title effects

Our team wanted our titles and credit of our opening sequence to be exclusive and unique. In order to achieve this, we searched the Internet for possible title effects. Here are a few examples that our team preferred.

This first title effect to the right symbolises the urban feel to our film. Considering phishing is quite a modern feature with the 21st century that occurs in most urban cities, our aim was to built something

current and modernistic. The font is bold and thick which is more appealing for the viewersw. The only negative about this font is the way the title does not represent a psychological thriller as the title is not spooky or scary.

The second title effect, is quite plain but it represents abuse with the slightly worn out and crumpled tones of the letters. The sophistication and boldness is toned down by the use of lower cases, in comparison with the bold one above.

The third title effect is quite similar to the second, but more eye catching with more disstored letters.  The splatter of the letters creates a messy feel which corresponds with the bedroom of the antagonitst.

Practise test shot in bathroom

This is a practice shot in the bathroom of the antagonist casually cleaning his teeth. We used an over the shoulder shot to film this. Firstly, we recorded the sound of a tap running in order to capture the sound with clarity. We then recorded the actual clip of the antagonist cleaning his teeth. On GarageBand, Frankie then deleted the natural sounding of the clip, and replaced it with the sound of the tap running.
The sound is now clear making the audience feel involved and engaged with the clip due to the effect of realism that has been created with GarageBand.

Animatic

Location report

Previously, we had many ideas of location. Initially, we had the aim to film inside school during school hours because the timing meant our group could all participate without practical issues and the school also had the majority of the equipment we needed to film. Because our opening sequence reveals different electronic devices, we thought of filming in the Windsor Girls IT suite as there were plenty of computers, PCs and headphones there that we could borrow for prop. However, due to the issue of the busy environment and the fact that we needed the antagonist to wake up in his house, we decided to ignore that idea as our continuity would have been poor when trying to create the feeling that we have used just one location to film. Our team member, Thuraya, quickly stepped in and nominated her cousins bedroom, considering he was our antagonist. Everybody was comfortable with this decision as the location was relatively near and we had all the facilities from computers to beds in Thurayas cousins bedroom.

When we arrived in the bedroom, the location was perfect. The setting of an ordinary 21year old room related well to our plot of the story. The contrast between normality and insanity was a feature we wanted to achieve as we felt it was unusual and peculiar because the stereotypical antagonist in a psychological thriller is supposed to behave inhuman. Therefore, by making our antagonist act as normal as possible in a normal environment, the plot will be counter typical and different from other thrillers. In the location, there were several posters, of which we wanted to keep, and a messy desk space that contributed well with the average males room. The modernity of the room also worked well with our plot as Facebook is a modernised concept in the 21st century. There were two sofas which was useful as it made the bedroom look like an appartment enviroment, this added realism. The bedroom also had an ensuite, making it perfect for our bathroom scenes. The bathroom had a shower, sink and cabinets.

There were some issues in the location, which were also identified in the risk assessment sheet. Our team had to work well to prevent any lighting errors as the bedroom was located at the highest point of the house where the natural lighting of the sun kept shining in. We returned several times to our location in order to re-film and add in shots that were not initally planned. The nearness of our location made it quick and easy for us to go back and re-film. For example, we filmed several shots of the antagonist communicating over a Facebook message with his protagonist. By sticking to one main location, we were able to repeat our mistakes and keep the continuity of the film.

The location has televisions and space to put all our wanted electronic devices such as three laptops and a telephone. We wanted our antagonist to be stereotypically technical with computers as this is what people associate with phishing.  The messy and unorganized living space is a stereotypical feature associated with young adult males. Our use of props resembled our modern narrative because we used Mac laptops, which are current for today.

Practise of sound on GargageBand

In order to create this sound, I used GarageBand. At first, I was inexperienced with the new software, but from the help of others, I quickly grasped the concept of GarageBand. Taking into account our psychological genre, my intention was to compose a mysterious and creepy sound that was parallel to our opening sequence. I listened to many acoustics and piano sounds because I wanted to achieve quite a suspicious non-diagetic background track for our opening sequence. After deliberating with different instrumentals, I was able to mix three sounds together found in the Mysterious and Intense section. I was taught how to fade in and out the sound to create the gradual flow of the track. I was also taught how to soften sounds so that they were not so loud.

Although this is just a practise copy, I feel that this track could play a major part in our opening sequence. The reason being is that the sound creates the illusion I wanted and it relates well with the antagonists characteristics of secretive and sly. Its suspicious and builds up the pace which goes with the slow duration of our opening sequence. It also creates enigmas for the audience as the public will wonder why the music is intense when the antagonist is just brushing his teeth or getting out of bed. During the later stages of editing, I hope to add a number of diegetic sounds to the background music from girls screaming to the doors locking. We have recorded each diegetic sound we are going to use, in order to achieve clarity and definition. This will be added in our final piece to create suspsense and uncertainity.

Production logo ideas

As a team, we wanted to form a professional and smart logo that related well with our psychological genre. We began by researching other popular production companies to receive aspiration and ideas. To the left is a mood board of pictures that we researched in order to grasp some sort of concept as to what our logo could initialise. All logos use many dark colours which forms the genre of the thriller films. Some use tones of red to associate their films with blood and evil. Others use black to create a suspicious and gloomy emotion for the audience.

After comparing and contrasting lots of different possible logos, we brainstormed all our ideas and decided on possible titles and iconography. Our team used the above logos to influence our ideas. There were several disagreements on using our first name initials for our logo due to the fact that this was done by many other media students and we wanted something unique and different. One possible idea for our production logo was to use the initials of our school WGS (Windsor Girls School) with their logo of Aspire Advance Achieve. Due to the issue that this does not correspond or relate to the plot of the story as planned, we are still not final on this logo idea. However, we have still created a video as to what this idea may look like. The logo is neat and professional which represents who we are and where we come from.

Unfortunately, we were not allowed to use the Windsor Girls logo because this was copyright. Therefore, we adapted our initial ideas to form a logo with just the Windsor Girls School initials.

Production logo analysis

This is the logo of the 20th century fox which is a very popular film company. The logo is bold and 3D which is very eye-capturing and appealing to the audience. The brassy colour of the font gives connotations of high power. However, because of the other iconography in the logo, the font appears not to be the main focus for the audience. There are animations of strobe lights which indicates the feeling of showtime and production. The font looks like its placed upon a story high building which makes the audience think that the company is American. The dark purple clouds and sky contrasts with the yellow font, making the title stand out for the audience.

The structure of the Universal logo is basic yet unique. It does stands out to the audience as its bold. The name of the company relates to the image used as the earth and space are related to the title "Universal". The title is big and bold which stands out from the background. The use of colour is kept to a minimum, making the logo very realistic and plain. The font is all uppercase and bold with a 3D effect. The iconography of the stars gives connotations of the earth and space, making the company seem professional.

The colours in the logo below are quite bright and therefore eyecatching. The sky background isn’t as bright as the actual logo so this makes the logo stand out more in the eyes of the audience.

The logo is a shield with the initials ‘WB’ for warner bros, inside the shield. Around the outside of the shield are the words ‘Warner Bros. Pictures’ and the background is a cloudy sky. This indicates that Warner Bros are a high up production company with power.

This logo is quite detailed as there are the initials ‘WB’ inside the shield and then the actual name of the company overlapping the initials and around the shield. Also, there is a background surrounding the shield.

The font inside the shield is different to the font surrounding the shield and the font below the logo. The font inside the shield is quite bold whereas the other font is quite classy and appealing.

In comparing all three logos, there is a big similarity between all. Each logo portrays the idea that they are high up in the sky to symbolise the world and power. All logos also use contrasting colours of yellow and blue or yellow and purple which automatically makes them brighter and bolder. Another similarity, is the 3D font that all three logos use. This makes the font seem more intresting rather then just plain and dull. The only slight difference is the darkness of both the universal and 20th century fox compared to the warner bros.

Media production schedule

 This is our form of a schedule for our practical production.

Risk Assessment sheet

This is our risk assessment sheet that indicates all the possible potential risks and hazards that could or has occurred during filming.

Shot List

Here is a schedule of our shot list that we will try to follow in ascending order when filming our peice. In the info box, we have tried to include all our props we will be using such an an alarm clock and electronic devices.

Analysis of sound in Vertigo and the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

We analysed the sound in the opening sequence of the 1958 psychological thriller, Vertigo. At the beginning of the opening sequence, we can see close up shots of a character’s facial features such as lips and eyes. The music is quiet at the beginning and gradually gets louder and when the first title ‘James Stewart’ comes up at 0:08, we can hear a loud brass instrument. After this, whenever a title comes up, brass and violin sounds can be heard. A xylophone and harp can also be heard being played in the background lightly, throughout the close ups of the character. The sound in the first part of the opening sequence matches the camerawork as close up shots are used on the persons face. We would think that the close ups were a bit strange if there was no music but with the music included, the close ups make the audience feel as if something isn’t right.

At 0:44, we can see a spiral in the characters eye and as the spiral gets nearer, the non diegetic sound gets louder. In this part of the opening sequence, the sounds are more continuous as instruments such as a violin aren’t just played for a short amount of time, like they were in the first part of the sequence. The diegetic sound in this part of the opening sequence is parallel to what is happening on the screen because there are spirals on the screen which are quite strange and hypnotic and the diegetic music being played sounds strange and weird and not like music that you would usually hear. Throughout the majority of this part of the opening sequence, a violin can be heard but after about 35 seconds, we can hear the xylophone and the brass instrument come back in. Towards the end of this opening sequence, the violin gradually comes back in and all of the instruments used to create these sounds are heard at the end of the sequence, when we can see the characters eye once again. The last sound we hear is a brass instrument, possibly a trombone, as it sounds very low and deep.

 

The instruments used in this opening sequence fitted well with the opening sequence as the sound of the violin and the brass instrument created a dangerous feeling. The xylophone and the harp sounds created a calm feeling so when all of these instruments were used together, the 2 different feelings created an mysterious atmosphere and confused the audience as they were unsure of what was going to happen.

 

 

 

We also analysed the sound during the opening sequence of the 2011 crime thriller, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. The track that can be heard in the opening sequence is a cover of the 1970 hit ‘Immigrant Song’ by Led Zeppelin. Throughout the opening sequence, the main sound we can hear is a drum beat.

When the opening sequence starts, we can hear a build up of music, before hearing drum beats which start at 0:05. The drum beats are very fast and have a repetitive rhythm so they catch the audience’s attention. The drum beats are parallel to the opening sequence because they give the sequence a sense of action and in the opening sequence short shot duration was used. This makes the opening sequence parallel to the sound because usually in action scenes, short shot duration is used to make the scenes snappy.

The drum beats are the only sounds we can hear, until 0:13, when we can hear another sound, possibly an electric guitar. This sound sounds like an alarm which relates to the theme of the film because in crime thrillers, there are usually bad things that happen. At 0:21, we can hear a voice which sounds like a woman’s voice. This suggests that there could be a main female character in the film and this is also suggested in the title.

After 0:21, the person’s voice can be heard regularly, as the song ‘Immigrant Song’ has passed its introduction. This song is a rock song and we can tell this from the instruments that are used such as drums and possibly an electric guitar and also by the way that the singer is singing. The rock song is parallel to the theme as thrillers are meant to be scary and the way that the person is singing sounds like they’re shouting so it fits with the thriller theme. Towards the end of the opening sequence, at around 2:11, the sounds and the singing start to get louder as it reaches its climax. At 2:24 the singing comes to an abrupt end and we can hear the electric guitar playing out quietly as both the song and opening sequence come to an end.

The music in this opening sequence worked well with the sequence itself because during the sequence, the visuals were quite strange and scary such as a person’s face being tied up towards the end of the sequence. Because the song was rock, it has a scary vibe to it so fitted with the sequence whereas if the music was peaceful or was a different genre such as pop, then it wouldn’t have fitted.

Both of these opening sequences have similarities. Both of these openings have a sound that can be heard suddenly. In Vertigo, the sudden sound is the brass sound and in the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, the sudden sound is the singer shouting. Parts of the melody in Vertigo are repetitive as are some parts of the melody in the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. However, these opening sequences have differences as well. The sound in the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is completely different to the sound in Vertigo as the genre of the music is rock whereas the genre of the sound in Vertigo is classical. The music in the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is modern whereas in the opening of Vertigo, the music is quite traditional. Also, there are only instruments being played in Vertigo whereas there’s music and singing can be heard in the opening of the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

Story Board Of Opening Sequence

Creating the mise-en-scene

To begin with, our team members all worked together to make the mise-en-scene as effective as we could. We originally had the idea to hang condoms from the wall of the antagonist with Facebook profile pictures to indicate self content of rape and abuse. Our team spend time to clean the lubricated condoms before blue-taccing them to the wall. To the left is a picture of us cleaning the condoms and arranging them in descending order.

We then stuck each individual condom on the wall and placed a profile picture on top. We used girls facebook profile pictures that we knew and some we didn't to get a variety of different ethnics and ages. We used four lines with roughly 100 girls photos and 100 condoms. This is the final product with all pictures displayed ready for filming.

Costume was very important to us as we wanted to make it clear to the audience that the characters had been abused and raped. Our original plan was to use the professional make-up artist Ellie Nutt. However, due to availability our own team member stepped in (Isabel Shen) to do Frankie and Thuraya's make up.  To the left is a picture of Frankies makeup being done. Although we didnt have a professional make-up artist as desired, we were still able to create an effective and realistic look for our characters. At the left and to the bottom, is the final piece. Black eyeshadow was used underneath the eyes and chin to express a drained look. Red lipstick was used under the nose and on the shoulder to make enigmas for the audience. Smeared red lipstick was used on the left character in order to 

                                                                 illustrate the struggle and force the character was under.

Our initial ideas was to use three or four girls to act. However, this came across too unrealistic, especially because the rapist was supposed to be portrayed as sly and secretive. Therefore, we used three girls tied up instead. Frankie and Thuraya wore minimal clothing with visible bra straps to show signals of rape and sexual activities. Thuraya showed her stomach whilst Frankie showed her chest, this meant the contrast between the clothing created enigmas for the audience, a feature we wanted to achieve. In order to create realism, we scuffed all female characters hair to portray a rough and unmemorable night of the stay with the antagonist. The tights have been ripped to give enigmas of violence and rape. We wanted to achieve three characters that represented rape and looked distressed. As a group, we feel like we achieved this very well considering our limited equipment of make up and costume. We worked well together by listening to our teams ideas and combining them together to create an all in all great mise-en-scene.

Our next task when regarding the mise-en-scene was the lighting. Lighting was a key factor in our opening sequence as it represented the characteristics of the antagonist. In order to achieve this, we shut the curtains and blinds to prevent natural lighting in our camera. This prevented any mise-en-scene errors. We switched all main lights of during the stage where our anagonist is sleeping. We done this to make the start of our opening sequence seem as normal and ordinary as possible. We then used high-key lighting in the bathroom to express the normality of the situation to correspond with the character brushing his teeth.