Preliminary TaskPlanning- Brainstorm of ideas- Storyboard- Camera Experiments- Health and safety- Location, props, costume- 180⁰ Rule

Filming- Shooting schedule- Podcast- Lighting issues

Evaluation- Videos

Miscellaneous- Bibliography

Anna Molesworth Media AS BlogMain TaskResearch- Analysis of opening sequences- Audience research- Health and safety- Camera experiments

Planning- Brainstorm of ideas- Storyboard- Location, props, costume

Filming- Shooting schedule- Podcast- Lighting and weather issues

Editing- iMovie- Typography

Evaluation- Videos

Miscellaneous- BibliographyPreliminary Video Main Video

Time Management Sheet

Time Management• We used a Gantt Chart to break down the Preliminary and Main tasks to set ourselves specific

targets and exact dates for completing our tasks. I put conditional formatting on the spreadsheet to clearly see what was still outstanding, and what was done. We found it was easier to group the two tasks together as some tasks could overlap – for instance whilst one person is editing another could be doing something else.

• The reason for using a Gantt chart, is because everything is clear and visibly attractive making it more motivating to work from.

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BibliographySource

http://www.theoutsourcingcompany.com/blog/entrepreneurship/5-cool-business-ideas/

Used: On blog

http://italy.worldcupblog.org/group-e/which-coach-doesnt-get-enough-props.html

Used: On blog

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Moleskine_ruled_notebook,_inside_view.jpg

Used: On blog

http://beeillustrated.wordpress.com/2011/07/27/my-sunshine/

Used: On blog

http://www.netrafic.com/blog/your-audience-is-your-priority/

Used: On blog

http://www.filmhousecinema.com/about-us/venue-hire/

Used: On blog

http://fbforbusinessmarketing.com/2011/04/13/facebook-questions/

Used: On questionnaire

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Evaluation Videos for Main• In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and convent

ions of real media products?

• How does your media product represent particular social groups?

• What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

• Who would be the audience for your media product? How did you attract/address your audience?

• What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this prod

uct?

• Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

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Using iMovie to Edit• iMovie is a program on the Apple Macs at college, which is fairly basic therefore easy

to use. As this is a re-take for media AS, I already have experience using the software.• The transitions used were mostly fades which ease the change between the cuts.

This slowed down the pace of the opening sequence to build tension.• As the music we could use for our coursework is limited due to copyright, we used

the sound effects and ambience already on iMovie. These were just noises and notes that gradually built up at different points during the two minutes.

• The logo for our phony production company was easily created on text transition slides, and we were able to edit fonts and the spacing between letters to give a modern effect. This was also the case when we created the title for the film (appearing late on at the end of the opening sequence, after the plot was lightly covered) and we were able to create the Facebook colours and font to show intertextuality.

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Health and Safety whilst Filming

• We had to ensure there were no objects like furniture or cables in the bedroom and areas leading up to the landing so there was no risk of stumbling, or dropping the camera.

• The filming equipment was safe at all times as it was on private property and there were no strangers around to risk theft.

• There were no real dangers of anything happening to us, or the equipment so it meant we were able to concentrate on the work needing to be done.

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Location, Props and Costume

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The location was practical and accessible, as it was at Lydia’s house. She had keys for the front door so we could film opening the door repeatedly. Lydia’s home was chosen out of other locations, as there were conveniently places to be able to film from,

with homely, comfortable decorations.

The main prop we used (aside from the laptop) was the glass in the kitchen. We wanted to establish the

conventions early on in the film, so we used a red drink as it has denotes blood, and has connotations of

passion, anger and negativity.

Using a mini-book rather than a usual sized laptop, we felt demonstrated the age of the character better, as it

showed she was a student.

The costume was a plain maroon coloured dress with a grey cardigan for the indoor costume, whilst outside, the actor was also wearing a green jacket

with a red scarf.

The scarf I feel illustrates vulnerability as it is around her throat, and

foreshadows the future events with the fact that it is red – (soon after the

audience are shown the red drink too , to reinforce the danger).

Lighting and Weather Issues

• Other than the first scene, all of our footage was indoors so we didn’t have to worry about the weather much, although we were lucky as in February, the weather isn’t too bad, however the lighting was the main issue so we had to be sure to film the outdoor scene first.

• We checked on the BBC weather page to ensure we knew outdoor filming would be possible (in case it rained or was going to be to windy).

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Shooting Schedule

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• We filmed later on in the evening, so the viewer would be aware that the character was home (this is why we filmed her taking her shoes off) and possibly coming home from work or college. She is on her own for the same reason.

5th January 201218.30 Test the position of the camera to ensure angles etc are right18.45 Film in chronological order, beginning with outside, going indoors19.30 Close up of key in the door19.40 Close up of pouring a drink19.50 Match on action – walking upstairs20.10 Taking shoes off20.15 Walking to laptop20.20 Watch back footage and check for any additional clips needed because of lighting20.35 Film typing on keyboard and use of the mouse close ups20.45 Film scrolling through Facebook photos and test what shows up on the camera21.00 Shots from the cupboard with a frame (edge of wardrobe doors)21.20 Ending shots: close up of face with no expression21.35 Watch back footage and re-film and extras or anything needed

Storyboard for Main Task

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Back to storyboard

Audience Research

• We conducted a questionnaire and interviews to help us work out what would work best for our main task of creating a teen-thriller.

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Here is a link to the questionnaire page

QuestionnaireHere is a PDF link to the questionnaire and below are the results.

Question 1We created this question to be able to see which ages were filling in our questionnaires so we would have a better understanding of our target audience. The results show the majority of our questionnaires were answered by teenagers, between 12 and 18.

Question 2The answers to this question will greatly shape our plot further to incorporate whichever sub-

genre shows as the most popular. Psychological came out as the most popular which means we

should use more ambiguous and mysterious themes.

Page Two

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12-1516-1819-2122-2526-3030+

Psychological

Action

Religious

Crime

Sci-Fi

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14

Questionnaire Results 2

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Question 4It’s important to understand if the audience enjoy seeing certain genre

conventions repeated in different films. We chose this question as we would be able to see if we needed to be unique and inventive which

creating characters and themes, whether or not to choose the stereotype ‘damsel in distress.’ And the results show us that we should use some

conventions but shouldn’t focus on it too much.

Question 6This question was designed to get an idea as to which media products best promotes a film. The majority of people hadn’t seen Sorority Row which means that our film opening will be seen as more original as it has a similar beginning.

Page 1

YesNo

Question 3The title of the film is important as to

giving an impression of the genre to the audience although our questionnaire

results tell us that it isn’t essential as the name of the film doesn’t really influence

the audience to watch a film.

YesNo

YesNo

Since changing our ideas, Question 6 is no longer relevant.

This is another teen thriller and has almost the same font as Prom Night which shows that it is a common lettering throughout the thriller convention.

Typography• We’re looking at existing fonts as it is a lot easier than creating our own and scanning it for

iMovie.• The existing fonts we are considering for our main task need to be funky and modern yet

sinister and creepy so darker letters would be better. • My favourite fonts are listed below:

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From Microsoft Word:

Blackadder ITC

I like this font as it’s leaning forward which makes it slightly more dramatic. It is a classic, old-fashioned styled so it compliments the sinister theme but not so much the modern side.

The font for this teen-thriller is really effective against the black background and the capitals really make it stand out further. Our font should repeat this in a similar way.

00.38 At this point it shows that we are looking

at curtains and they are dramatically opened

revealing a female with warm lights behind her.

Opening Analysis of I Know Who Killed Me

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Here is a link to the opening of I know who killed me – ignore the subtitles

00.01 The film begins with dark water rippling which has negative connotations creating mystery. There is a reflection of neon lights however it is unclear at first to make out that it’s the shape of a woman.

00.15 The water becomes still and quickly becomes a high angle shot looking directly at the lights.

00.23 There is a close up of the lower legs of the neon woman flashing, then at 00.25 it cuts to

the hand of the woman flashing too.

00.18 The vocals to the music kick in, and it’s a males voice with is deep. It adds a chilling atmosphere as there is a church bell chime marking each second.

00.31 It fades to black and then it displays the lead actors name with

faint, flickering red lights.

00.44 The music gets louder and a guitar plays. We are now able to see the females face as the title of the film appears.

00.51 The camera dips in and out of blurriness and the woman walks up to a platform.

01.00 Exactly one minute into the film, we see the girl now standing, dressed in a red outfit and red lighting with a bright golden pole beside her being illuminated.

01.04 She begins sexily and in slow motion walking her way around

the pole

01.13 She now flicks her hair and it cuts to her from a different angle with bright red and orange lighting with only her silhouette and the pole visible.

Page Two

Opening Analysis of I Know Who Killed Me Page 2

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02.29 Her hand is shown with her red glove on with a dark thick liquid

on – blood presumably. Her hand glides down the pole till it’s out of

shot and we see the liquid continue to drip down.

01.17 A bald, bearded man with tattoo sleeves

on his arms is shown next to the another woman

with her breasts exposed. As he isn’t looking at her,

he is watching the pole-dancer, it shows he is not

with this woman and makes sure the viewer

understands the location..

01.27 For less than a second, an inverted coloured shot of the same shot flashes up

making the audience aware that this isn’t all there is to the plot.

01.24 We see a long shot of Lindsay Lohan slowly dancing

infront of a disco ball on a stage.

01.20 We see a singer which shows that the gentleman’s club isn’t

100% seedy.

01.28 The pole dancer seductively

slide down with her back against the pole. It cuts to a

long shot at 1.34 and flashes to

inverted colours again

01.38 She

begins to undress.

02.09 We now see her in a bright white

light in her new, more revealing outfit, dancing

against another pole.

01.53 We see the dancer away from the pole and dancing independently at the front of the jetty attached to the stage.

01.44 We see a point of view shot looking at her

audience with direct eye contact with another bald

man whilst also receiving a glare from a woman sitting

very unladylike with her leg up on a table.

02.27 She tilts her head back which leaves us watching her throat which makes her appear vulnerable like a victim, foreshadowing the rest of the movie. At the same time as this the music dies down and a new slower brassier sound plays.

Within the first minute of the film, the audience is already aware of the setting, the genre and the title of the film. It is very effective at getting the audience involved in the film already as they have already been broken down into fear, and brought back up with a party environment.

Opening Analysis of Sorority Row

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00.20 Graphic match from Summit Entertainment logo with trees which I think is a great way to

start as it is the first transition for the viewer being drawn from

reality into the movie.

Here is a link to the opening of Sorority Row

00.26 The sounds are quiet and the audience can hear crickets. The

noises get louder as the camera gets nearer to the building. This builds

tension for a climax.

00.34 There is a smashing sound followed by a scream and movement in an upstairs room

which breaks the peaceful quiet. The focus here is entirely on the building as that is

where the light it which entices the viewers into wanting to find out what’s going on.

00.40 The camera continues to move

towards the house and it builds speed which

builds more of a tense atmosphere.

00.42 There is another scream as the doors burst open to reveal a teenage girl running out in a bikini/underwear. Females are the main victims in many genres, so we assume this is a damsel in distress.

00.50 Here it becomes increasingly obvious that this is a party and the sound becomes louder as the camera explores the rooms of the house.

Opening Sequence Analysis

I Know Who Killed Me, 2007

Both of the films I chose to analyse are teen-thrillers, similar to mine and both influenced our plot of having a peaceful yet chilling opening, then the action starts.

Sorority Row, 2009

IMDB describes the plot as: “A young girl who was missing reappears, but she claims to be someone else entirely.”

It has a sub-genres of horror and psychological which fit perfectly.

Link to analysis

IMDB explains the storyline as: “A group of sorority sisters try to cover up the death of

their house-sister after a prank gone wrong, only to be stalked by a serial killer.”

This film is also a psychological horror thriller which has constant tension running

throughout the film.

Link to analysis

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Since researching teen-thrillers, we have changed our ideas from beginning with a lively atmosphere, and having a known being as the villain, to a peaceful yet tense atmosphere, and having the audience fully introduced to the plot line, to show what would follow. It is vaguely similar to Final Destination in that the victims get killed off one by one.

Brainstorm of ideas for Main Task• When thinking of ideas for our main task, we thought of a location and the ideas grew from

there. Here is the visual evidence of that:

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PRELIM

BibliographyImage Sourced From:

http://www.camerareviews2.com/what-is-the-best-and-affordable-film-slr-camera-for-a-beginner.html

http://www.entertainmentwallpaper.com/download/10012824/

http://www.movienewz.com/sorority-row-dvd-and-blu-ray/

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OkVNkcc7_Vw/TTS62K27BqI/AAAAAAAAABQ/D7pVpgGsOcU/s1600/untitled.bmp

http://www.tcf.ua.edu/Classes/Jbutler/T112/classicism/index.php

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Evaluation Videos for Preliminary

• We managed to do the whole preliminary fairly fast, but well. We had the added experience of doing it in March.

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Podcast• Filming our preliminary today was successful although there were parts where we

had to improvise. For instance, Ali had to leave early, so after filming her part, Lydia was talking in her direction so we had to work out where Ali’s eyes would be so we knew where to make her look to show eye contact.

• Here’s our podcast I edited on Windows Movie Maker – click here to view on Youtube.

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Health and Safety• The health and safety issues we had to cover whilst filming for the

preliminary task were minimal as we were shooting in my home with no obvious dangers.

• I had to tape down wires on the floor so they weren’t an obstruction when walking around so people didn’t trip over.

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Location, Props, Costume

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We used a pen rather than a pencil as when we initially tried filming the close up of Lydia writing “Badge” the pencil was far

too faint so we opted for a pen.

We felt it wasn’t necessary to choose costumes for this task as

the actors we meant to appear as if they were living at the location

and dressed for no occasion.

We used a crossword book as our main prop, which I had anyway.

We chose to use a crossword that had half of it filled in anyway to

make it more realistic although the rest of the crossword was filled in

with pencil so the other words didn’t stand out as boldly.

The location was a really good choice as the door was a perfect distance

from the chairs and they were already opposite each other. The only

downside of our location was that it isn’t very spacious so it was difficult to

find a good starting and stopping point for the tracking dolly, and we

had to even move the rug to achieve the final shot.

Camera Experiments• The great thing about using modern digital technology is the footage is disposable

therefore we were able to practise effects and techniques before it became crucial to get it right.

• We found if you move the camera quickly it blurs which meant we had to ask Ali to walk slower as she was speeding off to her chair.

• Using the tracking dolly was exciting and was quite effective as it added a slight bit of drama to a dull plot whilst making a more interesting shot of tracking rather than panning. However it was noisy as it was across wooden flooring.

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Lighting Issues• As we are filming indoors the lighting is

restricted.• On the day, a bulb blew in the ceiling lamp

right above where are characters were seated. We filmed at around 4 o’clock when it begins to get dark so we brought in another lamp to use and even tried using a photographers reflector. It gave the film a homely feel as the gold side complimented the actors skin.

• If you look to the right, you’ll see the test shots we did with the reflector, and you can really tell the difference. Although it looks good, we decided not to use it as it would make it too complicated to set up.

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Gold side

Silver side

Shooting Schedule• We did a run through for the preliminary before filming but watching

through the screen of the camera to make sure everything worked. Below is a typed version of our schedule.

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16.15 Run through without filming16.20 Film walking through door – behind16.22 Film walking through door – infront (sitting down also)16.26 Watch back – film more if needed16.30 Choose 180⁰ position for tripod – make markings on floor16.35 Film all of Lydia’s speech16.40 Film all of Ali’s speech16.45 Watch back and film any more if needed17.00 Finish

Storyboard

• Here is a link to my preliminary storyboard.• Below is the script for the preliminary task:

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AliLydia

AliLydia

AliLydia

“Hi Lydia!”“Oh thank god you’re here, can you help me with my crossword?”“What is it?”“Starts with a ‘B’ 4 letters, the clue’s emblem”“Ooh! It’s badge!”“Thanks!” [Writes it in]

180⁰ Rule• The AS coursework, requires us to explain and demonstrate the 180⁰ rule within our

preliminary task.• Essentially, there is an invisible line between two people facing each other, and the general

rule is that they should have the same left/right as each other. This is done by only filming on one half of the line (as shown below). Filming on the opposite side, distorts the layout, and is called a reverse angle.

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Match on Action & Shot-reverse-shot

• Match on action is when something is filmed from one angle, then cuts to it from another angle or position. In my preliminary task, I’ll film match on action of someone walking through a door, from each side.

• Shot-reverse-shot is literally a clip of one thing, to something else, then back to the first angle and position of camera. This is used for conversations mostly or to show action scenes.

• The image below demonstrates the use of shot-reverse-shot with the 180⁰ rule

Brainstorm of Ideas for Preliminary

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