Tuesday 7 April 2009

Closing post! =)

Fianlly I have now come to the end of this long proccess and have now completed my blog. I would just like to say I have enjoyed producing my opening sequence, creating this blog and also working with my group. I would also like to thank all those who helped out including my group members. =)

Friday 3 April 2009

Evaluation - Question 1 - 7

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

The genre of our title sequence ''Dolls House'' is a thriller, based on a female murderer who kidnaps four young girls, but one escapes. The reason why we chose to produce a thriller opening sequence is because thrillers are very popular and have a larger target of audience. We have left out quite a few scenes, such as when Leah and I are running down a corridor to find a way to escape, however we kept the scene where the female protagonist grabs Leah while she is running. We missed out the running scene. Some films tend to do this because they like their audience to wonder what happened, and they start to question why things start to happen later on. missing the running scene also This makes the audience think about what happened to that girl, this would also make them want to keep watching to find out what will happen next as something mysterious is going on. This is very much like real thrillers as they also show exciting parts of the film and leave you hanging for a while. This is very effective towards the audience.

We have tried to edit and film ''Doll House'' to be just like a real thriller. We have done this by including a film company (Foney Productions), director (Sid Evans), and also the people starring in it (Monica Rabadia, Leah Hunt, Nichola Daley and Emily Gladding.) We have also add effects to these titles and made them look jumpy and flicky, this would be something you see on a thriller film. You would find this effect on the opening sequence I posted earlier of 'the ring'. I am very pleased with the titles as it is my favourite part of the sequence as we have edited them just how i want them to be, they also have a little professional look to them which makes it more exciting to look at. I find that the titles are as important as the actual sequence as the titles need to look good for the audience to be hooked on to it. (The font and text used would need to link in with the genre and atmosphere in the film.)

''Dolls house'' was influenced by a title sequence made for 'the ring'. the title sequence we found isn't the original sequence. We just found it on YouTube. We wanted our audience to feel excited about the film from the start by making the titles jumpy and using freaky music (a slow jewellery box). Also we use no talking, so we didn't mention no names and say who was who. We wanted the audience to try and predict what was happening. However, we made it quite obvious that the protagonist was after these girls, but we didn't mention why. This is very effective toward the audience as it makes them want to watch it more, and it brings suspense into the atmosphere. ''Dolls House'' was also influenced by a episode of CSI. From we CSI we got the idea of using a model as a prop for the protagonist. The model was of the same room the protagonist kept the four girls. We used the model to zoom in and out of every now and then. We also including footage of the protagonist making the model. I also played the part of the protagonist as i wasn't in the opening sequence of being the fourth girl. However, we positions the camera well to not capture my identity. We wanted to keep the protagonist anonymous until later on. This is to create more suspense.

There is one scene where we have zoomed into the model to a close up, and when it reaches up close we have edited the contrast into a slightly negative/bright effect. This brings out the colours more to show the horrific-ness of the film. This would also make it clear to the audience that the contrast change is somehow associated with the protagonist and it will stick in the audience's minds.



Question 2 - How does your media product represent particular social groups?

''Dolls house'' could be aimed at any social group as it isn't very scary. However it could get quite scary for young children. Also there may be scenes which are unpleasant and also foul language. Therefore it is best to aim the film for teenagers, 16 and over.

Also the best gender it would represent in particular would be females, as throughout the opening sequence we only see females. However this doesn't mean the thriller isn't aimed for males. It not 'girly' and it not 'boyish' so therefore it could be aimed for both genders.

In the film 'Jigsaw' we see people who could be compared to our main character. In our title sequence the protagonist teases the victims before killing them.

The main character in our title sequence is a female in her early 20's who is scarred at a young age. This would be the reason why she dislikes those who live a materialistic life style. From the title sequence we see that she becomes obsessive towards her victims.

The victims in the title sequence all connect in similar ways. Their lives are all about looks and beauty. These tend to be mainly teenagers who care most about their looks. Our title sequence represents certain social groups and appeals to the right stereotype of people. We chose to use teenagers as victims as most teens have a stereotype of being obsessed with how they look. Also we thought this may be effective on the viewers, as the title sequence would then start to appeal to teenagers.


Question 3 - What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Our opening sequence is a thriller which many people may enjoy. The cinema distributes many films, and in particular comedy. Although our title sequence isn't comedy it is still a popular genre. Not alot of thrillers are released at the movies, however the typical teenage thriller films sometimes do and as 'Dolls house' is targeted to the audience of young people, there would be a chance of it being distributed.

As my group and I didn't have such a huge budget or real equipment (good quality camera's, high standard of locations/sets) the film wouldn't be advertised as a big film. It would just about get away with being distributed on DVD.

However the film could be distributed over the Internet. This would attract alot of people as it can be accessible to anyone. Also instead of being in cinemas first the film can be sold on to DVD straight away.


Question 4 - Who would be the audience for your media product?

Our title sequence is targeted to people who enjoy watching thriller films. Thriller films mainly screen gruesome shots which can sometimes be unpleasant and unsuitable for youngsters, because of this we would like to set the age certificate for 16- mid 20 year olds.

In the opening sequence to 'Dolls House' the characters shown are all females. Also the story of the film is about female issues and therefore portrays feminism. This could link to the fact that the audience that is going to be targeted most is females, but this doesn't mean it is only targeted for this gender. It can be targeted for the audience who enjoy watching films full of unexpected gruesome shots.


Question 5 - How did you attract/address your audience?


My group and I have addressed our audience by using various ways in which to attract the viewers.

We had many ideas for the location where we could set the title sequence. Our first idea was to use an old room which had been abandoned such as a classroom, but not everyone agreed. Therefore we started to think of other locations. We was offered a location at an old rugby shower room which everyone accepted. We expanded on this and thought about making the room look abandoned, smelly and damp.

Mise-en-scene: We used many props to make the location look like a murder scene. The main prop we used was fake blood as we used it in nearly every scene. We scattered the blood down the walls, curtains and floor. The mise en scene is vital to the visual effects. This is what catches the audiences attention.

The sound/music: We have used the sound of a jewellery box as the main music as it sounds mysterious and aerie. This is to play with the audiences mood and emotions. However, because the jewellery box sound was continuous, it wasn't very effective, so we added another aerie sound in the background. It is vital that not only visual effects can be effective, but also the sound/music.

The camera techniques are also important in attracting the audience as the viewers can only see what the camera shows. We have used our shots very wisely and cut out the parts which are not as important. We have put together the shots that we think are most attractive to the viewers.


Question 6 - What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Throughout constructing my opening sequence i feel that i have learnt quite alot about technology. Although i currently study photography so i kind of know a bit about how to use the camera and the different camera angles i could experiment with. However, editing on iMovie was a little tricky as it was my first time using it. After a while i got the hang of it. Now that i have learnt how to use iMovie alot better, i can use these skills in the future.

Main Points i have learnt during the process:
  • To make sure the lighting is accurate in every scene and not to rely on daylight as it changes. Lamps are also more effective and precise.
  • To make sure the camera is positioned correctly and filming what we intented. (Correct framing)
  • No matter how many times you film a scene it is different everytime. For example, lighting, framing etc.
  • The most important is that i have learnt to be patient with editing on iMovie and start off by completing the simple tasks before attempting the more difficult.


Question 7 - Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Looking back at the preliminary task I think I have learnt alot considering my group and I had a few arguements over which ideas to chose. We all benefited from this as is gave us a chance to express our ideas. We all participated equally, this expressed everyones individual skills.

Although team work is the most important, i feel that my contribution to the progression was quite strong, and i feel very proud of myself as the proccess was very long. Im very suprised i didnt loose my patience, this may be because i enjoyed putting the sequence together as it was quite exciting to see what the outcome would look like. There was a few panicks and stress along with the proccess but this encouraged us to work harder and work for perfection.

TITLE SEQUENCE!!!!!!

Finally we have managed to upload the title sequence on to blogger! =)


Continuity Piece!

Practise shot

Before we filmed the title sequence at the origonal location in greenwich, we decided to do a practise shot so that we could see how long it would take to film. Whilst filming the practise shot it made us think alot about different things we could include, such as mise en scene, the sound and different camera angles we could use.


Target Audience

Our title sequence is targeted to people who enjoy watching horror films. The age certificate we would like to set for the film would be mainly for teens. We would like to certify it as a 16-18 years and older. This is because there are some gruesome shots which are quite unpleasant and unsuitable for youngsters.

Sunday 29 March 2009

Problem solved - Storyboard replacement! :)

As i mentioned earlier on, the storyboard had been misplaced somewhere on the computer system. We looked for it once again and unfortunatly couldn't find it. No suprise! However we quickly drew up another storyboard. It's only a rough idea of what it should look like...


Tuesday 24 February 2009

Why title sequences are so important to the film industry..

Title sequences are produced to promote a film or a television programme. They present their title, main casts, production members and sound. The reason why title sequences are so important to the film industry is because it attracts the audience's attention to the movie and makes them wonder what it is about.
One artist I looked at was Saul Bass, he used illustration within most of his title squences which made him well known within the film industry.
Title sequences are also important to artists such as Saul Bass as they are all competing to be well known.
Title sequences tell a little about the movie, these parts that are shown are quite abrupt, this is because they want to grab the viewers attention.
This is why my group and I are working very hard in making our title sequence look attractive and eye-catching. Hopefully our title sequence will have this effect on the viewers.

Thursday 19 February 2009

The Ring




This title sequence was produced for 'the ring'. However the title sequence wasn't produced by the creators of 'the ring'. My group and I found this video on youtube and liked some of the features from it. For example, the video shows some flicky shots (one scene to another). We liked this idea, so therefore also used it in our title sequence. We didn't exactly know what we was doing but we got there in the end, after askin Gerry for alot of help. We have a few flicky scenes as when we tried it with the whole title sequence being flicky it looked abit too much for our story line.
We also used many other techniques such as a fuzzy television look, the fonts changing size every milisecond, this look was very effective to the title sequence as it made it look more like a thriller opening title, these ideas came from the above video. There are also alot more idea which we got from video shown above.
However, there was an idea which we got from the video above. This was the idea of using blood spreading in water. We experimented quite alot with this idea but we didnt find it very satisfying as it didnt look as freaky as it does in the video. In the video above the blood shot stood out the most, as it is the only shot which shows colour (Red blood). This gave us an idea of making the title sequence black and white. After finding out that the blood spreading in water sccene didn't work out for us, we deciding to keep it all in colour. However, we still tried out the black and white look but we didn't find it very satisfying. When we turned the title sequence back into colour, we found that it was more effective as it was the colour that made the title sequence look more 'thriller like'.

Tuesday 17 February 2009

Images of myself and my group making the model...

These are photographs of my group and I making the model for the murderer. We used this model in our title sequence. We also made little plastacine models to go with it. The model wasn't used alot in the sequence, there were only a few shots of it.




Friday 6 February 2009

Pictures of my group/Cast

These are pictures of the people in my group, Leah, Emily, Nichola and Me. We also played the parts in our title sequence as we didn't want to involve other people, as we didn't want the stress of people not doing as we ask or finding the people to act for us.




Wednesday 4 February 2009

Problems uploading!!

My group and I have completed the continuity piece and the title sequence., however we have had trouble uploading. I am going to find someone to help me upload them all, and hopefully it will be up soon!
We also filmed a storyboard for the title sequence but unfortunatley the it has been misplaced on the computer systems. Therefore we will be re-shooting and uploading it ASAP!

Photographs of the jewellery box


Photographs at Samuel Montagu Centre

Here are shots of some of the scenes. The pictures dont look too good as we used flash on the camera. The room looked much darker than theses images, as we blacked out the windows.





Updating

We had a little situation were we had to find a back up plan for the location (Samuel Montagu centre) as there was a problem. They alerted us that we still had a chance of being able to use the location, but just to be sure my group and I, started looking for back up loactions. We looked at the changing rooms at welling school, this location wasnt entirely what we was looking for, as they didn't look abandoned or dirty. However, there was a room in the school that we could have used. Although it wasnt a chnaging room it was still dirty and abandoned. The group started having a few disscusions and debates about the location. Luckily we got told that we could still use the original location. So we was quite happy about that!

After all the problems with the locations and such, we went to the original location and filmed our title sequence for 'The dolls house'. We had a few problems while we were filming but nothing too bad. So we sorted them out.
One of the problems was the fake blood! In the post below i mentioned that Emily was going to make the fake blood. This didnt turn out to well as it looks too fake and we wanted a more realistic look. Nina Moore had some left over fake blood from another group she helped out, but this also looked quite fake. We resolved this problem by mixing tomato ketchup with the fake blood. This was very fortunate as it happened to look realistic, as the blood thickened up and bit more and the coloured changed into a more blood-like colour.

There was also one shot were Me and Leah had to run down a corridor to try and escape. We was hoping for a long dark corridor to be located somewhere in the rugby changing rooms, but there wasnt one. Although there was one corridor which wasnt what we quite hoped for. We still filmed this shot at Samuel Montagu Centre, just to note it down as development and experimenting. When we came back to school to edit the film, we found that there was too much light and there was no chance of us using that clip. We then found a long dark corridor which matched our description and we filmed that shot again. However, It was a little too dark and we could really see anything on the camera so we used set up lighting, it turned out exactly as we planned because we intended the corridor to have very little light. Thankfully it looked alot better!

We used a dark room with black walls to film the scene with the jewellery box and the scene with the killer making the model of "The dolls house". We used little light because our main aim of that scene was to make the camera focus on either the jewellery box or the killer making the model of the murder victims. We also had a problem finding a dark corner to set this up in at Samuel Montagu Centre, so we found an alternative in a drama room at Welling School.

We are now at the stage of editing the film sequence. We are thinking about experimenting with different effects and audio sounds. Our main idea for the title sequence is to give it an old fashioned look.

Friday 23 January 2009

Drawing out a storyboard





Friday 9 January 2009

Props

To Produce our title sequence, we are going to need many props to make it look realistic and exciting. We will be using the following:

* Fake blood - Emily will be experimenting on how to make fake blood.She is going to use: * Red & Blue food colouring
* Corn oil
* Coco powder
* A jar to store the fake blood in

* Leather gloves for the murderer

* Dark clothings for the murderer

* A chair for Nichola to be tied to during the scene

* Jewellery box

Title sequence update

We have made a few changes in our title sequence. Instead of the murderer/kidnapper being a man, we have decided to use a woman, this way we can link the whole storyline together. We have also got an idea of what the story is going to be about. The reason for the woman kidnapping the four girls is going to be because the four girls are beautiful and obsessed with themselves, and the murderer doesnt like it because she had a bad experience in her childhood, therefore she is left in a terrible state and doesnt look very pleasant.

Saul Bass

Saul Bass was born in 1920 and was famous for graphic designing and film title designs.
As part of my research for my thriller opening sequences my group and i have decided to look into some the work produced by Saul Bass. He is most famous for designing motion picture opening sequences. I will be looking into a few of his opening sequence’s and analysing it as i believe it will help when it comes to filming my own opening sequence. These are some of the title sequences designed by Saul Bass:

* Physco
* Around the world in 80 days
* Oceans eleven
* Goodfellers

These are some of the title sequences designed by Saul Bass which were quite successful.