6/12/13 notes

Step 2 - relationship of power (who is subordinate, who is dominant, how does this tie in with gender?)

Doc Martin 

- doc is dominant over the others, shouting can get away with it - shows his higher social class - he has a higher job than them, more qualifications 

- doc is closer to the camera - more power

- doc has more camera time 

- doc has a higher class to others, looks down on them, talks formally and powerfully 

- doesn't have time for the policeman, more power than him 

Stereotypes

- middle class - doctor - uptight, having to do other peoples jobs for them, from London (supports his stereotype), patronising with others getting in their way, dismissive of people, blunt/rude to people,

- working class - plumbers - "go with the flow" (dialog - sound) - represented as lazy, uneducated, unprofessional, incompetent, generous "free of charge" (respects him as he is a higher class)

Younger plumber challenges stereotypes - references literature - positive representation and audience can have more connection with them

Know the community, opposite of middle class

"Bodmin" - local term - doc doesn't understand - find evidence for regional identity 

MES:

Location- 

Costume - suit and overalls

Props - sink, tools, prescription 

SOUND:

Accents - regional 

CAMERA:

Focus of the shot, composition

Low angle shots of the doctor and high angle of plumbers

Sink included in plumbers shot - working

EDIT: 

Motivated cut - doctor 

Prominent/Narrative with the doctor 

Pace 

Woman in street - middle class, florist - owns her own shop, got a car - normal 

Look for significance and talk about the most significant 

Justify the point if view it is coming from

Evaluation of 4 characters from 2 different TV dramas

Holby City:
Chantelle Lane:
- She is always happy showing her to show her positivity and joy in her life
- Some of the other characters over power her making her appear small and inferior
- When you first see her you would assume her to be a stereotypical blonde girl as she pretty and blonde
- Has been involved in a car accident but soon goes back to work - stronger than she first appears
- She and a co-worker were attacked by muggers - shows weak (young girl, less power)
- Often wearing a heavy coat of make-up such as fake eyelashes, showing she wants to impress others and may lack self confidence


Jac Naylor:
- Can be seen as a bully to other workers as she speaks her mind
- Often seen as superior and has control over what others do, including male workers
- She has a strong position in her career also portraying strength
- She is strong-minded and forward
- In order to achieve her goal she is willing to hurt others
- Is the dominant partner in the relationship
- Can sometimes show compassion




Neighbors:
Callum Jones:
- Had a troubled start to life - mother left him at the age of 6, did not know his father and was left in the care of his grandparents
- He would act as a troublemaker due to his poor upbringing - e.g. stealing and bunking school
- Had an adoptive father - finally found stability
- A stereotypical young boy which will create havoc for attention
- Callum's character shows that he is a young boy looking for somebody to love him
- Typical young male teen clothing - people similar to him will be able to relate to him

Amber Turner:
- Seen as a friendly, spirited and naive character - the qualities of a typical teenage girl - relatable
- Typical teenage girl dealing with issues involving love and heart break, teenage girls will be able to relate to her as many will experience the same things
- Has a stable family and has a close relationship with her mother
- Also has a close relationship with brothers - appears as a loving, strong family
- As a 17 year old girl she is experiencing new things which an adult would face
- Kind and Caring - would do anything for friends or family
- Moved from her home town - life is changing

18/10/13

Ellie, Alex and Nicole's year before work: 

Move as part of the scene

Matched to the background

Shadow 3D text

Animatic (edited storyboard) - framing and position of the title 

INTEGRATED TITLES, e.g. Napoleon dynamite (mise-en-scene) 

To make integrated titles use after effects - module

15/10/13

TV dramas are made to represent the life if the audience so that they can feel like they can relate to the characters. 

How is the character portrayed to us as an audience - Lola from eastenders

- straight on camera angle so you can relate to her and to show her emotions

- dressed as a typical teenage girl so can also relate to her

- seen as a strong character and fights for what she thinks is right 

- feel sympathy for her because she nearly lost her child 

- common accent, typical London girl - relatable 

- victim - loosing her child

- could be seen as bully although she is fighting for her rights 

- young when she had the baby 

- only has her grandad as family, no role models

Eastenders clip - 

- medium shots and medium long

- close ups of a serious conversation 

- going from one set of characters to another - help us build a picture of who people are

- never look at the camera so it looks like we are imposing on their lives

- jack and Derek argument - looks as though jack is winning argument as he is higher than Derek (standing against sitting)

- not very realistic, very scripted, life isn't scripted - not that much can happen to a small group of people, feeling as though nobody goes to work - doesn't meet the purpose 

Schwarzfaher -

- Conflict between old and young, black and white - racism 

- close ups

- slow jazz music, calming - opposite of the situation

- man with loud music - distracts others

- extreme close ups - ears and eyes - listening to woman being racist 

- old woman stuck in the olden times - similar to Derek branning (eastenders) 

- music gets faster - more intense

- panning across to the main drama 

- black man eats woman's bus ticket - karma 

- little boy likes black man - not for racism 

Black man: 

- hatred against people because he is isolated 

- he is a victim of racism - feel sympathy 

- wants to be accepted 

- silent hero (mugging off old lady) 

- respectful (isn't rude back) 

Old woman:

- racist 

- opinionated

- selfish - doesn't care what people think of her 

- xenophobic, racist and homophobic

- living in the past and doesn't want to adapt

- dressed as a stereotypical woman

- bully/villain 

Lesson 2

Types of Narrative:

Linear: clear beginning, middle and end giving a clear line of a story. An example of a linear narrative is Taken. This is a linear because the film has a clear story line and starts with the beginning, draws into the middle then closes with an end. 

Nonlinear: flash backs.
This can also tell the same story over and over again but from a different point of view, so each character adds a new part to the film, making it more interesting. Having a non-linear film keeps the audience enticed in the film as they have to watch carefully to understand. An example of a nonlinear film is the Grudge. The film starts with something that happened in that past, then suddenly changes to the present. 

Restricted: audience only know what the character knows. This means that we can see the film though the main characters eyes as we can only see what they see. Some characters within the film may then know more than the audience. A restricted narrative would often be used in a murder film so that the audience is constantly thinking about who the killer may be. An example of a restricted narrative is the usual suspects. This is restricted because the director uses short clips so that the audience is enticed and nothing is given away and whenever the clip changes a new piece is given away, however at the end the truth is unveiled and we understand the whole film within two minutes.

Omniscient: When audience knows everything about the film and character. You know from the start what is happening - see someone else discovering what you already know. An example of an omniscient film is shutter island.

Enigma code: audience asks themselves questions throughout the film, a way of enticing the audience, often in a murder inquiry 

Thriller genre

Conspiracy - either hero or heroine, journalist investigator trapped in a powerful organisation, enemies, secret organisations, lies and propaganda,

Identification of good to over rule the evil of the world, secrecy of governments and secret organisations in history.

Crime thrillers - focus on criminals and their activities, emphasise action over pscychological aspects, serial killers and murders, robberies, chases, shoot outs, heists, double crosses.

Disaster thriller - survival in conflict with natural or artificial disasters, causes of human activity, future going to bring.

Mystery thriller - relates to crime, detective or private investigator, solver mystery, circumstance of the mystery of crime, makes the audience think, dramatic effect.

Political thriller - stability of government, reliance on hero or heroine that is employed to prevent bad things happening, common scenarios eg elections and prevention of world wars.

Psychological thriller - plays with audience mind, produces suspense, shows mentality of the character and the thought processes.

Religious thriller - plots closely religious objects, institutions and questions. Unravel good and bad points of religion.

Supernatural thriller - otherworldly element that shows something, tension and suspense, unsuspected twist, villains have supernatural gift, closely linked to religious thrillers.

Techno thriller - manipulation of sophisticated technology playing a prominent part of taking over the world, mainly based on fictional speculations on life, common themes; world wars, action, and science fictional occurrences such as aliens. 

Animation about sub genres, enigma code and narratives

For this animation we worked in a group of 3. We would each research the four types of narratives, enigma code and the sub genres of thriller films. We then combined the information we collected and put it into an interesting presentation. My main role in this was to edit the final video. As the animation website we used only allowed you to record 30 second videos we had to edit the videos in iMovie then add the sound on top of the screen recording. The main purpose of this task was to learn about narratives, sub genres and enigma codes and be able to put them into an interesting presentation. So overall I think the group and I achieved our goal. 

11/10/13 notes

Matrix - interrogation

Tension

Suspense

Mystery

Props - black suits and sunglasses

Orchestral music 

Low key lighting - twist, spy, detective, police 

Interrogation - twist 

Film:

Where do ideas come from? 

Inspiration from other peoples work

Research

Different films 

Which students produce better ideas?

Look at other peoples for inspiration 

People that work well together

Watched most films

Restricted narrative - audience does not know what's coming as neither does the actors

omniscient narrative -  audience knows what the actors don't

Is it possible to be original?

No - branching off other ideas 

Mind Map: Conventions of the Genre

Dexter Remake

Although this is our final edit of the video it has been uploaded to Youtube and the whole video does not play.

Napoleon Dynamite remake

I made this title sequence as a beginner to learn about creating title sequences and to give me understanding of how difficult it can be. As this was created as a summer assignment I did not know what the full course would be like so to create this gives me an idea of how much harder the course can be compared to what I thought it would be. This task helps me to develop skills in creating title sequences so that throughout the remainder of the course I will improve in creating title sequences.

Collage of iconography

I made this mood board of what makes a thriller and to also give me ideas of what I can include when filming a scene for a thriller. I also have made this to have more understanding of what needs to be included and how they are vital can be to make the film a clear thriller.

I used this mood board to show the props, costumes, locations and lighting which make a thriller. The mood board includes:

Props
- Guns
- Cars
- Explosions
- Fights (including weapons)

Costumes
- Suits often worn by main characters
- Casual/dirty clothes often worn by villains

Locations
- Cities
- Gloomy/abandoned house
- Empty road

Lighting
- Dark lighting to give mystery as you do not know what is in the dark

Se7en title sequence remake

I made this remake of Se7en to understand how to make an opening sequence and what to do to make it effective for a thriller film. To remake the title sequence of Se7en gave me the skills of using final cut to edit photos, add effects, add and format text, etc. I was given multiple images to add to the title sequence and used the most appropriate pictures and also edited appropriate pictures. Doing this task helped me to learn how to use final cut when making a title sequence, how to edit pictures in final cut and how to add and format text. 

27/09/13 notes

Dexter opening sequence

- how does this relate to what we have to do for our coursework?

We are remaking dexter

It is an opening sequence which makes the viewer think - thriller - blood etc

TV drama - exam

- what does this tell you about the character?

Deeper meaning - slowly cut the meat, twisted way of normal routine, looks like different ways of killing someone

Slow movements and show the food after cut up etc

Floss - strangling someone that way

Egg - cut people up

He is a murderer 

- what symbols are there (theme)?

Extreme close ups - mystery

Blood 

Extra notes:

Music didn't change

24/09/13 notes

Lesson 1 

The usual suspects opening sequence:

- the close up of the man (victim) is used to show his expression and emotion to let the viewer know how he is feeling and give them an idea about the situation

- the floor shot when the villain is pouring a liquid on the flame gives the impression that he is superior to the victim, as does the lower shot of the victims face compared to the higher shot of the villains body

- the final dropping of the cigarette is filmed in slow motion and a close up of the villians hand so that the viewer is fully aware of how the final fire starts

- the different shots which follow the fire are used to take the viewer on a journey around the room so that they can focus on the fire and the things (e.g. Dead bodies) and so they can see them clearly

Lesson 2

Establishing shot: sets up the scene,often at beginning of the movie 

Close up: tightly frames a person or object to show detail or emotion

Medium shot: shot to show a whole body and movement

Long shot: entire figure or object 

Tracking shot: follows action at a constant distance

Aerial shot: shows whole image from high position (birds eye view)

Dolly shot: placed on a dolly and moved at a constant rate, doesn't always follow action

Handheld shot: show subjects perspective or feeling

Zoom shot: zooms in to isolate or zooms out 

Swish pan: moves camera from one thing to another very quickly

High angles: above the object to show power

Reverse angle: switches between two things often In conversation 

Low angle shot: shot from knees up

Are shot: moves around object in circular motion to show image from different angles

Match shot: show two different shots as if they are joint together

Point of view: view scene through characters eyes

Head on shot: when action comes straight to the camera

Rule of thirds 

20/09/13 notes

The usual suspects

What makes this a thriller?

Fire and danger

Dark and gloomy

Music - slow, deep, creates suspense, sad - man looked sad

Gun shots - can't see it happen, is someone dead? Non diagetic

Explosions

Music becomes more dramatic

Sirens 

Who are the characters? Roles etc.

Guy in black long coat - portrayed at villain 

Man is dying and surrounded by other dead bodies 

What mood does it create? How?

Tense

Mystery 

Suspense 

Enigma code - to find out the mystery, who is this man in black! Find out

Title sequences

- re-enforce the story

- entice 

- establish the plot, character - stalker, murder, sociopath/ physchopath  (better than set the scene)

- legal rights - production co. 

- 18 to 24 title slates 

B button for blade 

Match on Action Example

13/09/13 Notes

Role and function : set the scene, clues of the film

Saul bass - design titles for thrillers - research

                                                            Inspiration

What does the sound tell us about this character?

Tense, nervous?

Something bad has/will happen

Everything around the main character is agitating him

Everything emphasised

Panic - heavy breathing

Can tell he has done something wrong and doesn't know how to do deal with it

How do we know this is a thriller?

The deep, slow music in background

Heavy breathing, sweaty top lip - nervousness

Arguing and screams in background

He is almost trapped in his car?

Running away from problems 

What is the roll of the opening of a film?

Set the scene

Introduce character 

Give an insight to what the film is about

10/09/13 Notes

10/09/13 lesson 1

Seven trailer - what made it a thriller?

- music, fast and intense, sudden noises which put audience in shock and make them more involved, pace speeds up 

-guns 

- repeat of the seven words, quickly flash on the screen, catch audiences attention

- metronome at start of trailer - intensifies, continue to hear ticking sound without seeing it (non diegetic) from hearing it with seeing it (diegetic)

- sense of something awful has happened, people have died, told about 7 deadly sins and that 2 deaths have taken place and there will be 5 more. 

 Title sequence:

- heart beating sound at start, speeds up

- photographs, attention to detail, slow movements (contrast with music)

- text looks as though scratched rather than type, white (purity - ironic, contrast with 'SEVEN DEADLY SINS') on black background 

- short clips

- colours of red, black and white - darkness, evil, sinister, dark room (reduce likeliness of being caught), red = safe light, irony cause it is opposite of safety

- music doesn't match film clips 

- lots of opening of books - notes?

- flickering of notes on and off screen

- hands of a surgeon?

- scissors - cutting, link to deaths? 

- crossing out of someone's face - they have been killed? Eliminated? 

- long dirty nails - digging?

- crackling, eery noises

- the book - word related to seven sins, scrap book, sews it together (surgical skill), made similarly like the bible - seven sins! See same image of book multiple times

Panning - go from one side of the scene to another

Semiotonics - the science of signs (Barthes 1964)

Denotation - eg: a rose = flower/garden plant

Connotation - what the rose represents e.g love, death, rugby, it is a personal frame of reference 

Different forms of analysis: 

- micro elements: mise en scene - clothes, hair/make-up, location, lighting, props

- sounds - music, dialect, effects

-editing

- camera angles, movement and composition 

Macro elements: the narrative, representation, audience, genre. All of the micro elements work together to impact on these macro elements

Lesson 2

Taxi driver: Immediate intense music

Beat of the music, slow, orchestra music, 

Close up of a face - jazz music came on, perception that he is relaxed and calm

Slow music and rain in window

Music livens up when he is looking at city, city is to be feared/ thats how he feels inside then slows again - two sides to the movie

Dramatic strong music, calm jazz music 

Night time, cold, dark 

Taxi is made to look huge and comes through smoke - intimidating

Bright orange, glowing font - headlights 

His view is distorted

Falling down: heavy breathing at start, close up of a face, sweaty top lip, in a bad situation

Slow, high pitched music, on and off, intensifies with deep bass music

Screams of children - annoying 

Traffic jam - people getting frustrated - presented in deep music

Music changes from high to low 

Something bad will or has happened 

He was trying to calm down, kid staring at him, Garfield grinning, children screaming, couple arguing 

Looking at him then looking through his eyes 

Day starts bad 

He looks tense

Shutter island: dark room, rain

Red font

Loud, intense music, goes from quiet to loud

Snow, cold, 

Prison cell 

Flame and fire, represents emotion

Plush red chair- contrasts with prison cell 

Guns

Island looked bleak

Gates look imposing, intimidating, keeping the madness in 

Imprisonment 

Gives imression you wouldn't want to be there

Image flickers - no clarity in picture 

Spinning staircase - illusion, spiral of the situation 

Vantage point: best line of sight (meaning)

Images overlap each other

Slow music, with banging background

Main font evolves out and becomes clear

Sniper laser sight within the text 

Conflict - protest against USA and then a presidential car 

Sherlock Holmes: fast intense music

Old fashioned paper, writing, drawings, old fashioned music - sets scene 

Drawings of scenes - suspecting a scene? Originally a book

Fight scene - going to be aggressive 

Stained images

Explosions

Pauses an action shot and turns it to drawing - lots of action scenes and fighting

Only speech is at start 'case reopened' - makes audience think about what is happening 

Woman laying on stone table - struggling 

Coffin carried by police men - murder? Link to woman on table?

Close up of a house - significance of this house?

Actors have stern look (e.g mark strong), serious attitude, something serious has happened or is happening 

Music gets faster and tenser towards end of title sequence, explosions are also starting to be shown - more drama and action

Music suddenly stops at the end - suspen se and surprise within the film? 

Colours if drawing are black, brown and red - dark, sinister, no colour 

Casino royale: mentions of the casino, cards etc

Lots of killing

Combines killing and casino

You know my name" - everyone knows bonds name, Daniel Craig close up

Original bond start of film

Enemy in red - can tell difference between good and bad

Queen face changed to female face, romance in film, Bond girl

Card suits used as weapons - game of life and death, links with casino

Cartoon image of bond to fit with picture - big unveiling at end 

Vertigo

Catch me if you can

Fight club

Casino royale 

Summary: meaning of a title, art of the title and how it is broken down, what and how you see it

Title sequences notes

Catch me if you can:
1. What does it tell you about the story

It will be quite funny, dramatic (music),

Detective movie

He's done something wrong - chase 

Pretend -pilot, spies (clothing), doctor, lawyer

Lots of women - player - bond kind of character

SUSPENSE - thriller 

Saul bass was the designer of the title sequence

2. What does it tell you about characters

Clever and know how to lead someone wrong way

3. What mood/atmosphere does it create

Music creates suspense and mystery

Tension

WHY - create a title sequence to thriller

Sound is 50% of the film

Title sequences exist for legal reasons 

Mini movie - movie within a movie:

- involve audience

- set scene

Crank opening sequence mood board

Falling down opening sequence

What does the sound tell us about this character?

Tense, nervous?

Something bad has/will happen

Everything around the main character is agitating him

Everything emphasised

Panic - heavy breathing

Can tell he has done something wrong and doesn't know how to do deal with it

How do we know this is a thriller?

The deep, slow music in background

Heavy breathing, sweaty top lip - nervousness

Arguing and screams in background

He is almost trapped in his car?

Running away from problems 

What is the roll of the opening of a film?

Set the scene

Introduce character 

Give an insight to what the film is about

Engage the audience 

Spoiler review of a thriller X3

Inception

The film Inception starts with Leonardo DiCaprio washed up on a beach, bringing immediate confusion to the film. Most scenes of this film are dark with very faint lighting bringing tension and darkness to the film. It takes away brightness and therefore eliminating joy and happiness from the scenes, which help make it tense and thrilling. Sounds in some scenes are also tense. Having fast and upbeat music creating tension does this, as you fear of something to happen. There are sounds of car crashes and tires screeching which also create the motion of fast moving cars, which are caused by frightful get-away scenes, and these tell the audience that there is drama making them feel enticed into the film and want to see the result of the drama. During dramatic scenes such as a fight or car chase the background music gradually increases and gets louder and faster, conveying that everything is becoming more dramatic and the final striking act is about to happen. There is also the often scream during these scenes which help thrill the audience because it helps them feel either pain or fear which the character is feeling. Characters are also used to create thrill and irony. Characters are dressed in formal attire, mainly suits, to show their class however the characters clothing is also ironic because they are dressed smart but are in fights with others. The characters also often have a stern look as if they are in danger, a serious situation or are prepared for a serious situation. This brings tension as it makes the audience on edge, as they do not know what will happen and they are waiting for a dramatic scene. Some scenes in the film are also shot in slow motion that brings suspense because the audience is wondering what will happen and what the outcome will be at the end of the situation.

Now you see me

Now you see me is a thriller magic film involving fights, explosions and get-away scenes. Due to the film involving magic makes the audience confused and making them think, which also means they become more involved in the film. During some scenes such as a fight scene there is as fast, high-pitched music in the background bringing tension to the film as it draws the audience by making them feel glued to the screen and want to know what is going to happen. As the fight scene comes to a close the music slows because the drama has faded. The lighting in the film also varies due to what scene is being played. Some scenes have dark lighting with bright flashing lights, which help towards thrilling the audience. This is used because the darkness means that not everything is visible and something could suddenly happen which will scare the audience, meaning they are preparing for a shock. There are also bright explosions, which also shock the audience and catch their attention as the light is so sudden. The characters also add to the effect because of their intelligence and clever ways of doing things. This makes the audience wonder what will happen next and also mean that the audience is waiting for something to happen, making the more interested in the film. The characters are also average people that have taught themselves tricks that also make the audience more involved in the film. This makes them more involved because it is as though they can do what the characters are doing and makes the film more believable. This film also has non-stop twists involved that make the audience think about everything again, keeping them involved.

Hot Fuzz:

This film successfully meets the genre of Thriller. This is because it is full of drama, actions and death. The audience also know within the film that there is a murder and are left to think who it could be throughout the film. This makes the audience think, gets them involved in the film and introduces suspense. There are multiple scenes when suspense is involved and also mystery. One of these key frames is at the church fate with the death of Tim messenger. This frame introduces suspense because it makes the audience think about what will happen and whether it will be good or bad. Most of the murder scenes are like this and create suspense and wonder. Another is at the end of the film with the battle of the police against the murders. This thrills the audience making them not want to take their eyes off the screen. The film also gives the audience an idea of who the murderer is throughout the film and when their idea is brought into the film it is then turned and discovered that their idea was not exactly what they thought it was. This twists the plot and makes the audience think even more, making them want to watch it even more and find out what happens. Overall this film was very good and was successfully thrilling and enticing to watch and scenes such as murder scenes and battle scenes helped towards this.

I would rate Hot Fuzz 4 stars out of 5 as it was very good and thrilling but I still think it could have had more drama and action.

Saul Bass

He is the designer of thriller movie title sequences. We are looking at him as research to give us inspiration of movie title sequences. This is because we are creating a thriller title sequence and as he is such a great designer of thriller title sequences it will help us with creating our own title sequence.  His title sequences include aspects which we will need to think about and include within our own title sequence.

Insidious Title Sequence Analysis

The title sets up the genre and story well and also creates meaning for the audience well. This is done through the images, text and music used in the title sequence. The images used are black and white giving an eerie, frightful effect because it is almost as though they are old and not everything is to be seen in one picture. The music used sets the theme of horror from the start because of the use of a high pitched tune. This sets the feeling for fear and anxiety and also puts the viewer on edge because of the screeching sound; this is how it sets up the genre and story as it gives an idea of how the audience will feel throughout the film. The start of the title sequence is very quiet and mysterious which is what makes title 3 so key. Title 3 makes the viewer uneasy and surprised because of the sudden outburst of loud music. This is a key frame because it shows how the viewer will feel tense throughout the film.  Title 8 is also a key frame because of the use of images, text and music. Although the same text is used throughout the title sequence the image in title 8 almost gives the finishing touch to this frame. This is because of the creepiness and fear brought to the viewer by having the shadow of a man. Only some would notice the shadow and when they do it will make the viewer feel on edge as they know this will be included in the film as a mysterious ‘person’ within the house. The title sequence creates meaning for the audience because it gives the idea an understanding of the film and what it will be like from the outset; its uneasiness and freakiness makes the audience want to watch.