Camera framing, Composition and movement...
- While filming, we always thought about where abouts the camera was in relation to what we were filming. For instance, at the beginning we always focused the camera on the feet of Ashley so that the audience got a sense of confusion and suspense. We then moved the camera up to the hand to show the parcel which revealed a bit more about the person and then we cut from there to the office where everything was revealed and you could see Ashley's face.
Sound...
- We used a song called New Born by Muse to create a sense of tension. We used this song throughout the whole of the short film so that people could get the sense that something strange was happening. This was non-diegectic sound because we added it in afterwards. We also used a phone ringing as non-diegetic sound and i that was all we did as non-diegetic. All the rest was diegetic such as the dialogue and the door opening.
Mise en scene...
- We made sure that Ashley wore the same clothes for modern day and the same clothes for the flashbacks. This makes the audience understand what is what. We also made sure i wore the same clothes for the receptionist and i wore glasses to make myself look more like a receptionist. We also used the props in the appropriate way and made sure that the parcel was in it at the correct time.
Editing...
- This was the area that we made the audience know it was a psychological thriller. We added in the music at the editing stage which was the most important thing that showed the genre. Also the border around the edge on all the dream shots had a massive effect on what the audience would think.
2 things i think went well on this task and that i would bring forward to my main task would be the flashbacks that we did and how we edited it, this is because it gave a really good effect and makes the genre stand out a lot more. The other thing would be the sound that we incorporated into it at the end, this is because it also created the sense of the genre and without the music it wouldn't have been anywhere near as good.
2 things i think i would avoid doing in my main task is not shooting the shots enough times so that we had backups if some weren't right. We need to shoot enough shots because then we have lots of different shots to choose from if something goes wrong. The other thing would be looking out for mistakes when we shoot the film so that we don't have shadows for example in our film. This is because no matter how many times we shoot the scene, it would still have the shadow in it and so we would have to go back out and shoot the same scene over and over again which wastes time.
Post production (Editing)
Before we did any editing we got to grips with Final Cut Pro and learnt the basics of how to use it. We then imported our footage onto the Mac's and the first thing we did was rename all of our clips so that we knew what was what. This helped a lot, further on in the editing process. This took almost all of the lesson to do because we had about 50 clips to rename. On the second day we started to put our clips together just to work out the order of how it went. As we did this, we did also try out some effects to see how they looked. In our main task we won't do this because we will put it all together before adding in any effects.
After putting it all in order we sorted out the flashbacks and cut the clips up and chopped and changed them so they looked like the feet were going up the stairs at the same time in the modern day and the flashback. As we did this we also put in the effect "Bad Film". This made it look more black and white and also put an edge on it that made it stand out as being a flashback.
After the editing of putting all the clips together we thought that we would need a particular blurriness or a border throughout the dream so that you could tell it was a dream. For this we put a black faded border all around the shots apart from the bed shot which wasn't a dream. We thought it would have been better in white but we couldn't change it to white so we left it as it wasn't that important.
We had to keep the 'match on action' up to scratch the whole way through so we had to check that it was edited very precisely to make sure there were no mistakes in this area. After all of this was done we added in the music to create an atmosphere. For this we chose the song 'New Born' by Muse. It was an edgy song so we thought it went with the genre psychological thriller. Finally, we added in a bit at the end that said 'To be continued...' which made it more of a cliff hanger and more like our genre.
After putting it all in order we sorted out the flashbacks and cut the clips up and chopped and changed them so they looked like the feet were going up the stairs at the same time in the modern day and the flashback. As we did this we also put in the effect "Bad Film". This made it look more black and white and also put an edge on it that made it stand out as being a flashback.
After the editing of putting all the clips together we thought that we would need a particular blurriness or a border throughout the dream so that you could tell it was a dream. For this we put a black faded border all around the shots apart from the bed shot which wasn't a dream. We thought it would have been better in white but we couldn't change it to white so we left it as it wasn't that important.
We had to keep the 'match on action' up to scratch the whole way through so we had to check that it was edited very precisely to make sure there were no mistakes in this area. After all of this was done we added in the music to create an atmosphere. For this we chose the song 'New Born' by Muse. It was an edgy song so we thought it went with the genre psychological thriller. Finally, we added in a bit at the end that said 'To be continued...' which made it more of a cliff hanger and more like our genre.
Using final cut pro
In our lesson on final cut pro, we all researched and worked out how to use different aspects of the editing programme. We went into our groups that we were in for filming and we were all given a specific aspect to look at. We then had to present a 5 minute presentation of how to do that particular thing on final cut pro.
Our group did about editing in the viewer/canvas. We found a tutorial video on how to use the viewer/canvas on youtube so we showed that to the class once and then we showed it again and paused it in specific places and explained further what the person was saying on the tutorial.
I think this helped the class to understand it a bit more because its not just showing a video, but once we had watched it once they could ask questions about it and really get to know how to use the viewer and canvas on final cut pro.
Our group did about editing in the viewer/canvas. We found a tutorial video on how to use the viewer/canvas on youtube so we showed that to the class once and then we showed it again and paused it in specific places and explained further what the person was saying on the tutorial.
I think this helped the class to understand it a bit more because its not just showing a video, but once we had watched it once they could ask questions about it and really get to know how to use the viewer and canvas on final cut pro.
Real time, Shrinking time, Expanding time
Real time - This is what you see in the film that is a sequence that is shot in real time and it actually happens in that amount of time in real life.
Shrinking time - This is a process that you take to make the sequence look a lot faster than it actually is. You would use this to make the shots look hectic, so this could be used in an action film to show the amount that is happening but in a short space of time. You can do this by taking away shots or making the shots shorter in time.
Expanding time - This is a process that makes the sequence look a lot slower and made longer than it actually is. This builds tension for the audience and makes the audience think about why this is happening and it gives them more time to take it all in. It also means that you give more information to the audience. You can make this effect by adding in shots or by using slow motion so add the efects.
Shrinking time - This is a process that you take to make the sequence look a lot faster than it actually is. You would use this to make the shots look hectic, so this could be used in an action film to show the amount that is happening but in a short space of time. You can do this by taking away shots or making the shots shorter in time.
Expanding time - This is a process that makes the sequence look a lot slower and made longer than it actually is. This builds tension for the audience and makes the audience think about why this is happening and it gives them more time to take it all in. It also means that you give more information to the audience. You can make this effect by adding in shots or by using slow motion so add the efects.
Editing of slumdog millionaire
How does the editior create a sense of the chaos that is occuring in the riot?
Flashbacks:
- Between the gameshow and his childhood the transitions are much slower and faded. This shows he is daydreaming.
- He gets his ideas and answers from his past experiences in the riot and looking back on his life.
Choppy and quick transitions:
- Creates a sense of confusion.
- Gives you the full impact of what is going on.
- Making the riot look bad.
- Time is sped up in the riot because it would have been atleast 5 hours of rioting but we only see about 2 minutes. They have edited the main parts of the riot into the sequence so that if feels more chaotic.
Slow motion:
- To show that the people are so shocked that they are not taking in what is going on around them and so they just block things out.
- Sound is edited in to this. The sounds are almost like they are underwater and it's all blurred into one.
Jolty/Shimmery camera movements when focused on the blue God:
- Shaking because they have just stopped running for a minute to take in what they have seen.
- Completely different type of editing and a much slower part in the riot so that you can see that part is the most important bit in the sequence because it contains the answer to the question he is answering in 'Who want's to be a millionaire?'.
Mise en scene
We incorporated lots of the different elements of mise en scene in our film such as settings and props, we thought about this quite a lot, so for the setting of our film we thought about where in the school looks like a waiting room and we chose the geography meeting room because it had a desk and everything we needed for the film. We also thought about the props and we set up the desk with all the things that a receptionist would have.
For costume we thought about what Anna (the receptionist) should wear and decided that she should wear formal work clothes. We also had to keep an eye on the continuity of the film so whenever we had a lesson we had to make sure we wore the same clothes each time. We didn't really think about hair and make up that much apart from when we put water on Baz' hair to make it look like she had just come in from the rain.
We thought about the lighting quite a lot when it came to the waiting area because when we opened the blinds it was too sunny and didn't look like it was raining to we had to close the blinds so make it look like a dull day and so that the sun didn't shine in the cameras direction.
We thought a lot about the objects with the frame when it came to the waiting room. For instance, we set up the receptionists desk so that she had lots of business things on it such as folers and a laptop. we also thought very hard about the box that we got given and we made sure that the box was visible when we were filming the scenes in the office.
For costume we thought about what Anna (the receptionist) should wear and decided that she should wear formal work clothes. We also had to keep an eye on the continuity of the film so whenever we had a lesson we had to make sure we wore the same clothes each time. We didn't really think about hair and make up that much apart from when we put water on Baz' hair to make it look like she had just come in from the rain.
We thought about the lighting quite a lot when it came to the waiting area because when we opened the blinds it was too sunny and didn't look like it was raining to we had to close the blinds so make it look like a dull day and so that the sun didn't shine in the cameras direction.
We thought a lot about the objects with the frame when it came to the waiting room. For instance, we set up the receptionists desk so that she had lots of business things on it such as folers and a laptop. we also thought very hard about the box that we got given and we made sure that the box was visible when we were filming the scenes in the office.
Shooting Journal
Day 1 - On this day, which was at the very end of production day, we started to film the first part of our scene. This was the part where Baz walks up the stairs and opens the door to the hall way. We had to film the flashback and the normal sequence so we did the normal sequence first. This took all our time because we didn't really know how to use the camera very well and we kept on looking over our clips. eventually we filmed the part where she walks up the stairs and opens the door.
Day 2 - This was a whole hour that we had filming and we decided to scrap the last bit of filming that we did because you couldn't really see Baz' feet because she was holding the camera by herself as a point of view shot. Instead of a point of view shot we decided to have the camera behind the feet following her up the stairs. Then, at the top of the stairs, we shot a piece from the side to show her opening the door with her hand and walking out. We then filmed Baz walking down the corridor with a tracking shot from the front and with the camera as a close up on her feet tilting up to a close up of her hand which has the package in it in the flashback. After this we took the camera into the waiting area and shot the part where Baz walks past the door and realises she's gone too far so walks back and walks into the room while saying the first piece of dialogue: "Hey, i'm looking for Mr Ripley". We used the steady cam for the stairs and the corridor and the tripod for walking into the office.
Day 3 - Today, we started to film the dialogue part of the scene. This was Anna in the waiting room as the receptionist and Baz talking to her in the waiting room. We decided to shoot the scene twice from Anna's point of view and from Baz' point of view. We managed to shoot all of the one from Baz' point of view and we found it quite easy once we had set up the room and worked out what to say. We had to shoot it a few times because I (Anna) would say a few things wrong so we had to start again but overall it went quite well and we managed to get the footage that we needed.
Day 4 - We went back a bit in the filming process today and did the flashback of the bit where Baz walks up the stairs and through the corridor but with the object in her hand this time. When it got to the tracking shot from infront we decided to use a wheely chair so the camera man would sit on it and someone would pull her along so that the shot looks smooth and it's not jolty. We got all of this done and it looks pretty good.
Day 5 - Today we filmed the dialogue part of the script but from Anna's perspective and filming Baz. We did this pretty quickly because we knew what we were doing from when we shot it from Baz' point of view. After this we thought that we needed a bit more of a twist because it was a phsycological thriller, so we decided to have Baz lying in bed without the box by her side and the camera zoomed into Baz' eye which would then go into the dream (the things we have filmed already). Then, when the script was finished, we added a bit in where she comes out of her dream and the box is suddenly there beside her and she begins to open it looking confused.
Day 2 - This was a whole hour that we had filming and we decided to scrap the last bit of filming that we did because you couldn't really see Baz' feet because she was holding the camera by herself as a point of view shot. Instead of a point of view shot we decided to have the camera behind the feet following her up the stairs. Then, at the top of the stairs, we shot a piece from the side to show her opening the door with her hand and walking out. We then filmed Baz walking down the corridor with a tracking shot from the front and with the camera as a close up on her feet tilting up to a close up of her hand which has the package in it in the flashback. After this we took the camera into the waiting area and shot the part where Baz walks past the door and realises she's gone too far so walks back and walks into the room while saying the first piece of dialogue: "Hey, i'm looking for Mr Ripley". We used the steady cam for the stairs and the corridor and the tripod for walking into the office.
Day 3 - Today, we started to film the dialogue part of the scene. This was Anna in the waiting room as the receptionist and Baz talking to her in the waiting room. We decided to shoot the scene twice from Anna's point of view and from Baz' point of view. We managed to shoot all of the one from Baz' point of view and we found it quite easy once we had set up the room and worked out what to say. We had to shoot it a few times because I (Anna) would say a few things wrong so we had to start again but overall it went quite well and we managed to get the footage that we needed.
Day 4 - We went back a bit in the filming process today and did the flashback of the bit where Baz walks up the stairs and through the corridor but with the object in her hand this time. When it got to the tracking shot from infront we decided to use a wheely chair so the camera man would sit on it and someone would pull her along so that the shot looks smooth and it's not jolty. We got all of this done and it looks pretty good.
Day 5 - Today we filmed the dialogue part of the script but from Anna's perspective and filming Baz. We did this pretty quickly because we knew what we were doing from when we shot it from Baz' point of view. After this we thought that we needed a bit more of a twist because it was a phsycological thriller, so we decided to have Baz lying in bed without the box by her side and the camera zoomed into Baz' eye which would then go into the dream (the things we have filmed already). Then, when the script was finished, we added a bit in where she comes out of her dream and the box is suddenly there beside her and she begins to open it looking confused.
Production Day and storyboard
In production day on monday we learnt a term called continuity. Continuity in media means to keep everything the same. For example, when you do a reverse over the shoulder shot you would use continuity to keep the characters clothing and hair in the same place each time you shoot the scene.
We got given a script about a man walking into a room, sitting down and exchanging dialogue with a receptionist. We then got given the genre psychological thriller and had to make the short scene in that genre. We then thought about the location of our film which was in the school geography office. We chose this place because it had a corridor and a waiting room area which fitted the script. After that we thought about character and we chose who was going to star in the film. We decided that Ashley would be BAZ and I would be ANNA. After this we got given a prop which was a brown wrapped present with a string bow on it which we had to use some way in our film. We decided that at the beginning of the film when Baz walks along the corridor he would have occasional flashbacks to which he was walking down the exact same corridor but with the present in his had. Then, at the end of the scene, the present would be shown somewhere in the waiting area but not in a flashback. This is what will make our film a psychological thriller.
We got given a script about a man walking into a room, sitting down and exchanging dialogue with a receptionist. We then got given the genre psychological thriller and had to make the short scene in that genre. We then thought about the location of our film which was in the school geography office. We chose this place because it had a corridor and a waiting room area which fitted the script. After that we thought about character and we chose who was going to star in the film. We decided that Ashley would be BAZ and I would be ANNA. After this we got given a prop which was a brown wrapped present with a string bow on it which we had to use some way in our film. We decided that at the beginning of the film when Baz walks along the corridor he would have occasional flashbacks to which he was walking down the exact same corridor but with the present in his had. Then, at the end of the scene, the present would be shown somewhere in the waiting area but not in a flashback. This is what will make our film a psychological thriller.
Convention
My definition of convention...
Convention - A collection of ideas to make up a genre. It is a piece or ingredient of a genre.
Convention - A collection of ideas to make up a genre. It is a piece or ingredient of a genre.
20 second 'Panic' film
Process of creating the film...
Creative Decision Creative Inspiration
- Location (alleyway) - Films (horror/drama)
- Camera (shaking) - Used phone (blackberry) and got shaking idea from films
- Representaion (me) - The colour of my clothing (black)
- Colour of shots (sepia) - Sepia (make it look like a horror not a colourful film)
- Sound (no sound) - Our invironment (what we have experinced through film)
Creativity
In the lesson on creativity we discussed what we thought creativity actually meant. We thought about it a lot and wrote our own definitions for it. My definition was...
Creativity - creativity is the process of which you take to get a final product which is influenced by your upbringing and your surroundings. It is not something that has to be unique or different because nothing can actually be completely unique.
Creativity - creativity is the process of which you take to get a final product which is influenced by your upbringing and your surroundings. It is not something that has to be unique or different because nothing can actually be completely unique.
Why Media Studies?
- I chose to do Media Studies because I am thinking about jobs in this industry. I am very interested in the technology and I love working with camera's. It's a subject that I think I could do quite well in as im not very good at the accademic subjects. I feel that I am quite a creative person so I think this is the subject for me because I think I could come up with some quite interesting concepts. I also take Media Studies because I do Photography and I think the two go quite well together. I would love a job in this industry hence why I took Media Studies.
What is Media Studies?
- Media Studies is all about the different types of media in the world and how up to date we are in the technology side of things. I think that it's mostly about filming things and what the outcome is in films but social networking sites and the different types of technology also play a big part in the media world. Some people would also say that magazines and newspapers are a big part in the media world although I don't think it fits in with it quite so well because it's not about technology it's just about what's going on in the world right now.
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