Music Ideas

1st Scene

The start of the film opens in a garage. There could be a pedal note played here at a very low pitch. This will help to create the eery atmosphere. Although, we could just have silence in this scene. We will decide whilst editing.

2nd Scene

Whilst the girl is walking home we could introduce a steady heartbeat. Whilst she is being chased a short melody could be introduced at a high pitch. The music will increase in tempo (accelerando). The melody will then be repeated continiously (ostinato). This will all help to build up a sense of danger, in turn creating tension. The heart beat will get faster as the girl is running.

Final Scene (back in the garage)

There will be no backing music to this part. The only sound heared will be the dart hitting the board.

Group Production Roles

Group Roles

There are 4 people in our group: Lauren Halse, Natasha John (me), Samantha Coutanche and Cerys Lewis. We have all been assigned different roles. 

Lauren is an actor in our film. She will be the person following the young girl. Lauren has decided we will not have dialogue. She believes having no dialogue will create more tension and suspense as we don't know what the characters are like. She is also in charge of producing the titles.

Cerys is the main camera woman. She has produced the storyboard. She will be editing the film with the help and opinions of the rest of the group. 

I will be an actor in the film. I am the young girl that is chased on the way home. I am also producing the music for the sequence. I will compose the music myself. 

Samantha is the main director for our film. She will produce a list of camera shots. Sam will also add all of the special effects. 

Film Ideas

IDEA 1 (the idea we have chosen as our film).

The main incidents are:

The film starts in a dark, eerie garage, somebody has thrown darts at 5 pictures of girls. There is one picture without a dart in it. The shot now changes to the young girl being followed on her way home. She starts to sense that she is being followed and decides to start running. The person following her gets very close. He reaches out his hand and touches her shoulder. The shot then suddenly changes back to the garage. A dart is thrown at the last picture. It leaves the audience wondering what happened and what the darts mean. The face of the person following is never seen.

The main characters are: the young girl (dressed casually) and the person following (jeans, boots and jumper). 

The mood of the film sequence id dark and eerie. The fact that a young vulnerable girl is being followed created tension. We sense that she could be in danger. This also creates suspense.

IDEA 2

The main incidents are:

A man is stalking his ex lover. He has pictures of her all over his bedroom walls. He follows her everywhere she goes. He follows her to parties, having her hair done and dropping the children off to school. The sequence ends on a police man announcing that a young woman has been murdered. This leaves the audience wondering if the stalker had murdered his ex lover.

The main characters are the ex lover and the stalker. 

IDEA 3 

The main incidents are:

A young girl is walking home from a normal school day. A black fan starts to slowly follow her home. The park up right next to her. Two men dressed all in black grab her and drag her into the back of a van. The film is based on a kidnap and her father trying to find her. 

The main characters are the young girl, her father, and the kidnappers.

________________________

We have chosen IDEA 1 as our film sequence. We think its a simple, yet chilling sequence. The name of the film will be 'Bull's Eye'. This relates to the dart board with the pictures on it. 

After developing this idea we have produced a story board. 

Analysis of The secret window.

The Secret Window Opening Scene Analysis

The Secret Window is a psychological thriller, starring Johnny Depp. It was written and directed by David Koepp, and based on the novel Secret Window, Secret Garden by Stephen King. The opening sequence is used to build up suspense and tension.
Before the film starts windscreen wipers are heared, they sound very simular to a heart beat, which helps to build up this suspense and tension. The film starts with a still close up shot of Johnny Depps face. He is all alone in a car outside a motel. It is night time and its raining, this creates an eery atmosphere and also makes the actor become vulnerable. There is not a lot of colour here apart from a very bright red motel sign. This could be a connatation. The sign could be symbolising blood. This gives us a sense of danger which in turn creates tension. Johnny clenches the steering wheel again symbolising tension. He is also wearing his wedding ring which is strange as he’s about to find his wife with another man.
The titles are basic, they dissolve in and out. We begin to hear non-digestic sounds. Johnny defies his thoughts which gives the idea he will be fighting his conscience throughout the film. This factor supports a deep psychological theme to the film. The opening sequence is giving the audience clues and ideas of what the film will be about. This could, and should make us want to watch more.
His thoughts are whispered making the person watching uneasy and we begin to listen more carefully. As we are listening the car suddenly skids back creating a loud screech which is a big contrast from the whispering. This also makes us feel more tense and vulnerable.
There is then a close up shot of the car as he gets out. The camera follows him as he walks into the motel. The camera is then watching Johnny through a window. He then walks out of this shot as another man walks into it. He walks into a room to find his wife with another man. The shot now dissolves to look as though the camera is flying over water. This is when the music begins. The tune is introduced by a cello playing at a very low pitch, creating a dark, harsh sound. Stringed instruments are often used in thriller films to create a anxious feeling. The title turns to red, this could be symbolising blood, again creating a sense of danger and suspense. Watching this opening sequence has shown me how micro factors are very important in creating a tense atmosphere. The smallest details can have the biggest connotations. Camera shots are also important when creating an effect. The opening sequence can make a person want to either watch the rest of film or not. To conclude, I have learnt the opening is vital to creating an exciting film.

Audience

To find out what audience to target we decided to produce a short survey:

• We asked the class what film they liked.
  
• We asked younger members of the school what film they liked.
  
• We also asked teachers what film they prefered.
  

Younger children seemed to like animated films most, where as the teachers prefered films like musicals and romantic comedy's. We have realised children from the age of 15 to 18 prefered to watch thrillers.

From doing this servey, we have decided the audience we would like to target mostly is young adults from the age of 15. Having interviewed the class most of them liked thriller films. The class seemed to like popular films such as Saw, The Grudge and Silence of the Lambs. Many thriller films are rated 15.

We did consider targeting a younger audience. As our film includes a young girl being followed we thought this would be too frightening/ disturbing for a younger more vulnerable audience.

We also researched and found out that the majority of people who watch films in the cinema are between the age of 13 - 24. There for we would not benefit from targeting an older audience.

I have missed alot of weeks of media as i was very late to start, i have used my class mates work to help me catch up. My friends have given me plenty of information to help me get to where i want to be. I recently was in a school production of the musical Hairspray. I missed alot of media lessons due to rehearsals. I am working hard to fill in every piece of work i've missed and i hope ill be completely up to date soon.

Today's Lesson (17th December 2009)

In today's lesson we worked together to have start planning our 2 minute thriller. I am in a group with Cerys Lewis, Lauren Halse and Samantha Coutanche. We brainstormed a few ideas and came up with a very interesting idea.

We then devised a story board. This is a graphical representation of every camera shot for a film sequence. It tells the story of an animation panell by panell. The storyboard briefly outlined things like the sound, characters, camera shots and time.

We decided that the piece will be called 'Bulls Eye'. We are hoping to start filming this week :)

Storyboards Information

Once an idea for script is written for a film or animation, the next step is to make a storyboard. A storyboard visually tells the story of an animation or film panel by panel, like in a comic book.

A Storyboard convays:
- What characters are in the frame, how are they moving?
- What are they saying/doing?
- How much time has passed from each frame.
- Where the "camera" is in the scene.
- Close or faraway?
- Is the camera moving?

Creating a storyboard helps a filmmaker plan their project out shot by shot. You can make changes to your storyboard before you start animating or filming, instead of changing your mind later. You will also be able to talk about your animation or film with others and gain feedback on your ideas.

Here is some storyboard language I learnt while studying Storyboards:-

Close-up Shot: A close range of distance between the camera and the subject.
Dissolve: A transition between two shots, where one shot fades away and simultaneously another shot fades in.
Fade: A transition from a shot to black where the image gradually becomes darker is a Fade Out; or from black where the image gradually becomes brighter is a Fade In.
High Camera Angle: A camera angle which looks down on its subject making it look small, weak or unimportant.
Jump Cut: A rapid, jerky transition from one frame to the next, either disrupting the flow of time or movement within a scene or making an abrupt transition from one scene to another.
Level Camera Angle: A camera angle which is even with the subject; it may be used as a neutral shot.
Long Shot: A long range of distance between the camera and the subject, often providing a broader range of the setting.
Low Camera Angle: A camera angle which looks up at its subject; it makes the subject seem important and powerful.
PAN: A steady, sweeping movement from on point in a scene to another
POV: A shot which is understood to be seen from the POV of a character within the scene
Reaction Shot: A shot of someone looking off screen
Tilt: Using a camera on a tripod, the camera moves up or down to follow the action.
Zoom: Use of the camera lens to move closely towards the subject.

Saul Bass

Vertigo
Vertigo starts off with a close-up on a woman's face, first at her lips and then the camera travels to her eyes. Her eyes twitch from side to side and seem to be watering, which i believe creates an image of fear from the woman, which gets us thinking immediately why she feels this way.
The Camera seems to loose itself in the woman's eyes, the use of close-ups as well, shows off the woman's beauty immediately. These close-ups remain under a dark light, creating a negative and sinister feeling.
The woman's eyes suddenly strech wider, as the screen turns red, this paints a very negative image as red is the colour of blood and death. The title comes out from the woman's eyes, I believe Saul Bass wanted to exaggerate the inner emotion behind a person's eyes that cannot be expressed into words, as the graphics that follow, also come out of the eye and are kaleidoscopic shapes in many colours, that represent the eye's shape.
The credits also appear slowly beside these kaleidoscopic shapes, i believe to create atmosphere and anticipation. Also the music used in the title sequence is intresting, he has used slow, dramatic music which contains a lot of crecendos and repetative trills, this again helps to portray the sinister mood put across from the graphics and imagery.


Analysis of Psycho
The opening to Psycho contains no imagery or use of camera as Saul Bass has just decided to use horizontal and vertical lines to accompany the title sequence. These horizontal and vertical lines appear in time with the music which is much more disharmonious compared to Vertigos soundtrack, the music also contains an ostinati of staccato notes, to create a tense atmosphere.

The font throughtout the title sequence doesn't change, and there is no colour. The vertical and horizontal lines used join together to create the title "Psycho" and to show the other credits, I believe this is a very good technique because an idea so simple, has made a very clear and negative atmopshere. I felt like I have learnt alot from these title sequences and it has given me a few ideas to discuss with my group about how we will start our own short film opening.

Saul Bass' work again, has made me learn that is not all about the immediate effect of the imagery, and that the most simple ideas can be the most effective.

Camera Techiniques

Here i have made note of some camera techniques and effects.

Match on Action:-
To use this technique in editing, cut from one shot to another view that matches the action and pace of the first shot. This creates an impression of continuity, despite the fact that you may have filmed the shots weeks apart.
Shot-reverse shot:-
This effect is so common it is impossible to imagine film or TV without it. Nevertheless, it takes some practice to master. When two characters are in conversation, film one character looking off screen to where the other character is imagined to be, and vise versa. Ensure that one character faces left and the other faces right, so you can edit between a character talking and a character listening.
180 degree:-
When filming the brief sequence of action in the room, you need to storyboard the scene so that an imaginary line is drawn across the room. cutting it in half.
When using a variety of shots for point of view and switching between the characters it is essential that all shots are filmed from the same side of the line. If you cross the line when filming, the characters will appear to exchange places and continuity will be lost. The character who faces right will appear to face left, and it will seem as if both characters are facing in the same direction when they are supposed to be talking to each other!

By learning these three techniques I can now better my own coursework whilst filming.

my name is natasha :) i am new to media, I wanted to change to media as i did not enjoy my other subject of choice. Although, I have always been interested in what happens behind the scenes of my favourite films. I've also wondered about how magazines are written and published every week with new things to read every time. I would like to have a future ither infront or behind the camera, so i think media would be a stepping stone towards that.
As you can see, I am far behind the other members of the class, but I am keen to catch up and am very excited to see what the media studies course will bring.
I am now studying media studies, english, drama and p.e. :)