On Mondays lesson be continued out match cut practical by editing the footage we had captured in the previous lesson. we had to firstly go through the routine procedures including plug in in the video camera and uploading the footage onto the software final cut pro. learning from our last experience on editing we straight away renamed each clip to ensure we are not confused by the scene that we had produced. the editing of this clip went well as our scenes flowed thought pretty well from each scene we had (opening the door to engaging in conversation) further more i belive that our match cutting in out practical was good as we managed to put them together in a way that wen the scene continues into another camera angle the movement of the scenery and characters is almost exact to the clip previous to it.
overall i believe that this practical was a success and that we have met the criteria that the brief has given us.
from this practical i have learnt that producing more footage than is required is essential as when it comes to editing we can sample different camera angles and make a judgement on which one was more effective. also i think that i have a better awareness and understanding of match cut and how to carry it out in a film and the effect it can create to the audience.
Tuesday, 13 January 2009
Thriller Preliminary film number 2
On Wednesday 7th we were put into pairs to do a shot list exercise. I was with Oneme. We were given a synopsis which was:East London. 3pm. A man chain-smokes as he sits at his home PC. He copies confidential computer files and Plans to a CD. He packages them and is seen posting the.
Our task was to create a shot list for the sequence of the events using a grid which was provided. Oneme and I worked well together to do the shot list using a range of different shot types and angles.
After we finished were shown the real film version of it, which was made by the city and Islington media staff.
After this we were put into our thriller groups and then were given a brief for our Thriller Preliminary film number 2. The brief said that we had to create film and in it:
A character opens the door, Walks into the room, Sits down opposite another character and Share a few lines of dialogue.
Also the sequence had to include at least one match cut and an example of reverse shot showing the 180 degree rule, were:
For the rest of the first half of the lesson our group was got on to planning what was going to happen and made shot list. In the second half of the lesson we film. Or film had a old chinese film theme. So the voice wereout of sync. Daniel and Claudio were thetwo charaters., Nimrol were the voices and A filmed it all. Our location was in the teachers kitchen. We took many types of shots ant different angles. We finished all the filming and I think that everything went well
Sunday, 11 January 2009
07/01/2007- match cut practical
In the first half of the lesson we were given an introduction to match cuts. match cuts are shots that are showing the same sequence of events but in different perspectives (angles and shot types)and when they are put together they still show the same sequence in order that flows through properly. We were then split into twos and given a scenario: setting in east London, a man is chain smoking whist on the computer copying some confidential files on to a CD and then posting it in the mail.
In pairs we had to come up with the sequence of events that would occur using a shot list. In the shot list we had to include match shots which we were introduced to. Once we had done this we were show a version of this activity that was made by the city and Islington media staff. From this clip we had to analyse the match cuts for when they were used. We were explained that match cuts are difficult to do and a good match cut is one were the audience do not notice the change in camera angle and shot type instantly.
After this activity was done we were given a brief into a match cut exercise. This brief was to film a sequence which had to include at leapt one match cut, an example of reverse shot showing the 180 degree rule, were:
• A character opens the door.
• Walks into the room.
• Sits down opposite another character.
• Share a few lines of dialogue.
For the remainder of the first half of the lesson we got on to planning our sequence and what was going to happen. As a group we concluded that our clip will be a comic representation of classic martial arts films. We also agreed the roles that were required with Daniel being one character and Claudio being the other with me doing the voice over for both characters to provide a more comic affect. For the second half of the lesson we went about filming our short clip. We first had to find a location for our film which we located as the staff kitchen for the 3rd floor. We then went onto complete the filming trying to fill in the criteria’s that were required in this practical. I found that doing the same shots in different positions was not difficult but a nuisance as we had to keep on changing the position of the camera, the height of the tri-pod and also we had to ensure that the acting was done in a similar way to the ones previous to make the match cuts more professional. We did manage to finish the filming and I feel that it overall went well as we did manage to include many different shot types and angles in each of our scenes. I feel that now our main cause for concern is how effective our editing will be to make this shot clip successful in fulfilling the criteria.
In pairs we had to come up with the sequence of events that would occur using a shot list. In the shot list we had to include match shots which we were introduced to. Once we had done this we were show a version of this activity that was made by the city and Islington media staff. From this clip we had to analyse the match cuts for when they were used. We were explained that match cuts are difficult to do and a good match cut is one were the audience do not notice the change in camera angle and shot type instantly.
After this activity was done we were given a brief into a match cut exercise. This brief was to film a sequence which had to include at leapt one match cut, an example of reverse shot showing the 180 degree rule, were:
• A character opens the door.
• Walks into the room.
• Sits down opposite another character.
• Share a few lines of dialogue.
For the remainder of the first half of the lesson we got on to planning our sequence and what was going to happen. As a group we concluded that our clip will be a comic representation of classic martial arts films. We also agreed the roles that were required with Daniel being one character and Claudio being the other with me doing the voice over for both characters to provide a more comic affect. For the second half of the lesson we went about filming our short clip. We first had to find a location for our film which we located as the staff kitchen for the 3rd floor. We then went onto complete the filming trying to fill in the criteria’s that were required in this practical. I found that doing the same shots in different positions was not difficult but a nuisance as we had to keep on changing the position of the camera, the height of the tri-pod and also we had to ensure that the acting was done in a similar way to the ones previous to make the match cuts more professional. We did manage to finish the filming and I feel that it overall went well as we did manage to include many different shot types and angles in each of our scenes. I feel that now our main cause for concern is how effective our editing will be to make this shot clip successful in fulfilling the criteria.
Tuesday, 6 January 2009
Researching film openings
Hi!
On Monday, in our media lesson some further details of the media coursework that: we had to create a 2 minute thriller title sequence. We watched a documentary called “Watching”, as part of our research on film openings. The documentary was about different film openings.
I found the 30min documentary very useful for our thriller opening because it brought up issues that I did not occur to me before.
I said that there were two ways that I could have a big thing that engages and excited the audience immediately in the opening part r the film or have a long tension building slightly puzzling begging.
The advantages of having a big event happening in the beginning of film is that it makes the audience excited. A director named Jacques Beineix said that the risk of instant big thrilling event in the opening part of the form has risk such as the film not able the big as the rest of the film.
The advantages of having a long tense and uneventful happening in the beginning of film is that the audience becomes tense and anxious of what may happen later on.
The disadvantages of having a long tense and uneventful happening in the beginning of film is that the audience is that audience may want to be thrilled very quickly, and if not they may not want to watch the rest of the movie.
Stanley Kauffmann said that the classic opening as stating of with an establishing shot then slowly zooming in to where the character in question was. He said this was good because it show the tone of the film and also gave way to introduce characters.
Kyle Cooper’s title sequence to the film Seven was very effective because of the discrete title sequence. Another example of a discrete title sequence was one by Soul Bass, who I was already familiar with him because I do graphic design AS level. I then saw how I could incorporate what I am learning in Graphics because at the moment in Graphics lessons we are studying title sequences by different graphic designers.
It showed a film called "A touch of evil" by Oren Welles. This film had a very thrilling opening. Universal studios spoilt the tension and the effect that the opening of the film was trying to create by adding fun credits and jolly music on top.
It also showed a favourite trick of film noir – starting the movie from the end
The documentary showed the opening to “The Shinning”. The camera following the car makes the camera comes across as the predator and the car the prey. As the footage goes on, the lighting of the scenery and the background becomes sinister. Also the car is becoming more isolated.
Overall it was a very good documentary and i learned allot from it. :). We also watch 2 film openings that the students in the year before. The were very good. The first one had a very big beginning and there was a explosion. The only thing that wasn't good was when the bomb actually exploded because it was fake.The second movie, my friend Travis did the story board, it was slow and tense and was in the style of Seven, it was great. Id like to do something similar to Travis'. :)
On Monday, in our media lesson some further details of the media coursework that: we had to create a 2 minute thriller title sequence. We watched a documentary called “Watching”, as part of our research on film openings. The documentary was about different film openings.
I found the 30min documentary very useful for our thriller opening because it brought up issues that I did not occur to me before.
I said that there were two ways that I could have a big thing that engages and excited the audience immediately in the opening part r the film or have a long tension building slightly puzzling begging.
The advantages of having a big event happening in the beginning of film is that it makes the audience excited. A director named Jacques Beineix said that the risk of instant big thrilling event in the opening part of the form has risk such as the film not able the big as the rest of the film.
The advantages of having a long tense and uneventful happening in the beginning of film is that the audience becomes tense and anxious of what may happen later on.
The disadvantages of having a long tense and uneventful happening in the beginning of film is that the audience is that audience may want to be thrilled very quickly, and if not they may not want to watch the rest of the movie.
Stanley Kauffmann said that the classic opening as stating of with an establishing shot then slowly zooming in to where the character in question was. He said this was good because it show the tone of the film and also gave way to introduce characters.
Kyle Cooper’s title sequence to the film Seven was very effective because of the discrete title sequence. Another example of a discrete title sequence was one by Soul Bass, who I was already familiar with him because I do graphic design AS level. I then saw how I could incorporate what I am learning in Graphics because at the moment in Graphics lessons we are studying title sequences by different graphic designers.
It showed a film called "A touch of evil" by Oren Welles. This film had a very thrilling opening. Universal studios spoilt the tension and the effect that the opening of the film was trying to create by adding fun credits and jolly music on top.
It also showed a favourite trick of film noir – starting the movie from the end
The documentary showed the opening to “The Shinning”. The camera following the car makes the camera comes across as the predator and the car the prey. As the footage goes on, the lighting of the scenery and the background becomes sinister. Also the car is becoming more isolated.
Overall it was a very good documentary and i learned allot from it. :). We also watch 2 film openings that the students in the year before. The were very good. The first one had a very big beginning and there was a explosion. The only thing that wasn't good was when the bomb actually exploded because it was fake.The second movie, my friend Travis did the story board, it was slow and tense and was in the style of Seven, it was great. Id like to do something similar to Travis'. :)
Monday, 5 January 2009
I had authorised absence the last week of term hence the lack of a couple blogs. In today's lesson we watched a documentary on the beginnings of films. Its raised the valid argument of whether the audience should be seduced into the action and plot of the film being slowly teased or if it should be a straight up in your face experience instantly grabbing the audience. It was said that 'instant arousal' is advantageous in the sense that it automatically has the audience 'on alert'. However it can be argued that an explosive beginning sets high expectations for the audience after it, and is hard to top later on in the film. The more seductive approach was said to be risky in that the audience may stray when not automatically clinched but that a build up forces the audience to control their thirst for thrill and creates anticipation.
In the documentary it was shown that its is traditional to have an establishing shot that pans the scene then is directed to the character to be introduced as this sets the atmosphere and setting foe the scene.
It also showed how directors did not let credits disturb the mood they where trying to create but rather used it as a part of the opening. An example that stood out to me was the opening to the film 'seven' where they used discreet titles but in a way that added to the pshycotic events we see on scene.
I learnt the technical name for starting the film form its end and working backwards toward the start which is film noir.
The documentary also showed how the camera work in the opening of the shinning helps to create atmosphere. in that it follows the car that's on screen like an eagle in pursuit of its prey suggesting the car is heading to trouble and the fact that what usual is breathtaking scenery is being ignored as we see the the car heading deeper into the dark mountains.
At the end of the lesson we watched the openings of last years as students. The 1st was of a piece called final rush. I liked this one because it relied on a wide range of camera shot to create tension as opposed to fancy editing or dialogue. A camera shot i really thought was unusual and interesting was a pan of the reflection in a building window of the character walking that met up with the actual character. it really stood out to me. The second was of a group who's piece involved some excellent editing. They had an opening like that of seven and doe it justice.An thrilling tense atmosphere was create from the outset wit a slow pan of a graveyard.
In the documentary it was shown that its is traditional to have an establishing shot that pans the scene then is directed to the character to be introduced as this sets the atmosphere and setting foe the scene.
It also showed how directors did not let credits disturb the mood they where trying to create but rather used it as a part of the opening. An example that stood out to me was the opening to the film 'seven' where they used discreet titles but in a way that added to the pshycotic events we see on scene.
I learnt the technical name for starting the film form its end and working backwards toward the start which is film noir.
The documentary also showed how the camera work in the opening of the shinning helps to create atmosphere. in that it follows the car that's on screen like an eagle in pursuit of its prey suggesting the car is heading to trouble and the fact that what usual is breathtaking scenery is being ignored as we see the the car heading deeper into the dark mountains.
At the end of the lesson we watched the openings of last years as students. The 1st was of a piece called final rush. I liked this one because it relied on a wide range of camera shot to create tension as opposed to fancy editing or dialogue. A camera shot i really thought was unusual and interesting was a pan of the reflection in a building window of the character walking that met up with the actual character. it really stood out to me. The second was of a group who's piece involved some excellent editing. They had an opening like that of seven and doe it justice.An thrilling tense atmosphere was create from the outset wit a slow pan of a graveyard.
Today we did some research as part of our thriller project. We watched a documentary on the openings to films. This was to give us an idea of how we wanted the opening of our thriller to be. We can decide whether to have a slow opening which builds up the action gradually or if we would rather go straight into the action being dramatic and action packed. There are arguments for both of these. If you go in slowly it could be suspenseful but it could also be boring. If you have action straight off then it could be exciting but where can you go from there?
the opening sequence needs to raise questions in the mind of the audience. However it needs to be clear as well and not totally confuse them. After watching a good opening the audience should want to see more and know what is coming next. There are different ways to think about opening a film and some films are very well known for their openings. An example of this is se7en which has images of blades straight away which puts the audience in the mood and gives them the mindset that the director wants them to have.
"watching" 05/01/2009
in today's lesson we researched about openings. we did this by watching a documentary about opening of movies, this documentary was called "watching" in his documentary we were shown various openings to movies with different and specific methods of openings. we were shown several opening which ranged from a slow and gradual build up to the excitement, to the opening being very directs and straight to the excitement. we also analysed quotations that were said by leading directors such as Stanley Kauffmann and Orson Welles. when analysing the quotations we interpreted the quotation and also comment on the effect it has to the audience.
i feel that the "slow and seductive " opening would be most effective as it would create the tension and keep the audience wanting to know more and keep them pressed against there seats. i believe this is more effective as i feel the slow build up keeps the scenec more interesting and keeping the audience aware and alert to what is to follow. Although i believe this, i also believe that this method would be the most trickiest to create as there is a high risk that if it is not carried out properly the audience may be left bored and not entertained.
i think that the opening to the film "seven" was the one i found that most stood out amonst the others that we had viewed. i feel that the combination of background music, special effects and mise- en -scene (of razors, needles and photos distorted body features) created a very dramatic and tence atmosphere abound the class (audience). this wass illustrated by the classes scilence and the fact that the majority of us did not break eye contact wit da screen. i feel that the opening to "seven" created the best effect on the audience and i will bare in mind the techniques that were used to create this suspence that i desire in our own practical work.
further more in this documentary there was a part were two different directors were talkin about different effects to beginigs. Jean Jacques Beineix says that with and opening that starts off with excitement there is a risk that the audience are lured into anticipateing even more action, which by having a dramatic opening from the satrt is hard to sustain throughout the film.
also film critic Stanley Kauffmann explains to us the "classic opening" and the affect it has upon the reader. he states that the "classic opening is ideal because from the opening the audience are shown:
i feel that the "slow and seductive " opening would be most effective as it would create the tension and keep the audience wanting to know more and keep them pressed against there seats. i believe this is more effective as i feel the slow build up keeps the scenec more interesting and keeping the audience aware and alert to what is to follow. Although i believe this, i also believe that this method would be the most trickiest to create as there is a high risk that if it is not carried out properly the audience may be left bored and not entertained.
i think that the opening to the film "seven" was the one i found that most stood out amonst the others that we had viewed. i feel that the combination of background music, special effects and mise- en -scene (of razors, needles and photos distorted body features) created a very dramatic and tence atmosphere abound the class (audience). this wass illustrated by the classes scilence and the fact that the majority of us did not break eye contact wit da screen. i feel that the opening to "seven" created the best effect on the audience and i will bare in mind the techniques that were used to create this suspence that i desire in our own practical work.
further more in this documentary there was a part were two different directors were talkin about different effects to beginigs. Jean Jacques Beineix says that with and opening that starts off with excitement there is a risk that the audience are lured into anticipateing even more action, which by having a dramatic opening from the satrt is hard to sustain throughout the film.
also film critic Stanley Kauffmann explains to us the "classic opening" and the affect it has upon the reader. he states that the "classic opening is ideal because from the opening the audience are shown:
- where it is takin place.
- occupation and organisation of the world i.e. if the camera goes higher up the building we assume thay are more improtant and people at the bottom are less.
i found his talk very interesting but feel that the "classic opening" has been used many times befor and feel if the make our own adaptaion it would not be as entertaining to watch as it has been seen many times before.
we next watched the opening sequence to the film "shinning" i found this opening facinating as previously we had watched this wholoe film for research. but this time by watching the documentary i was able to be more analitical about the opening that last time when we just watch it. i found that the use to the camera being above the car and following it created a feeling that the camera was like a prdator and the car was the prey. this was further supporther by the camera not takin notice of the picturesque scenary around.
to finish the lesson we were shown this same media course work done by the year before us. we watched one about a mysterious man with a suitcase walkin into a office building, then leaving the building without the suitcase which blows up the building. i felt that the use a music played the biggest part in creating the tension and suspence and also the use of no dialog and the man not changing his facial expression unnerved me. we also watch one about a phyco inside a church. from this one i could tell that the insparation came from the opening of the fil "seven" as it was layed out and presented in a similar fashion. this opening also created the same effect on the class as "seven did"
this research has broadened my knoledge of how to create suspence and the many techniques that coould be used. also it has giving me more options that can be used in our own opening including shot types, camera angles, camera movment, use of music and use of mise - en - scene.
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