Preliminary Evaluation

I believe that our preliminary task has all the aspects that we were asked to include such as the match on action, the 180 degree shot and a shot reverse shot. I believe that our preliminary task is a success as a result of this. 

However I feel that we did not consider any mire-en-scene elements which could have made the prelim a higher quality. Secondly as my group have a limited editing knowledge we were not able to edit our prelim to a very high quality or change the width of certain clips so that they are all the same size. 

In addition ween it came to the cinematographic of our video we only did what we were told to and did not do much research into any other types of shots, a larger variety of shots could have made our prelim a lot more professional and effective. 

I also believe that due to our low editing skill we were not able to add in any sound or music, I believe that this would have made the prelim very successful. 

Finally I believe that although when creating our narrative I believe that we came up with an effective way to each feel happy with the story. 

Overall i feel that although our prelim was successful I also believe that with more research and progressively gaining skill in areas that I feel I lacked in our final product will be a success.

Preliminary Video

Preliminary Script

Preliminary Task-Script

Person 1 walks down the corridor in a troubled manner. She stops at a door, composing herself before slowly opening it. She then carefully walks across the seemingly empty room, slowing every now and then to peer around the corners, checking to see if anyone’s there. On the other side of the room, person 1 sits on a chair looking as though they are expecting someone. Person 2 stops, a safe distance away, as person 1 comes into view.

Person 1:

Have you been followed?

Person 2:

No – I don’t think so…

[Moves closer towards person 1 while looking over shoulder]

Person 1:

Good – Did you do it?

Person 2:

Yes – but I can’t do this anymore…

Person 1:

Tough!
[Slams fist on table aggressively]
– You need me

Person 2:

But you –

Person 1:

Enough! – There’s nothing you can do now – You can run but I’ll always find you.

Person 2 exists hastily

Preliminary Task

Task:

The Preliminary video is a continuity task where the group needs to create a short 45 second video that has a focus' on filming, editing, character and creating a nice flow into the narrative.

The video must consist of certain aspects, such as one of the characters opening the a door, crossing the room, then sitting in a chair and talking to someone and finally it must have a clear story line.

It also must include certain shots; match on action, shot reverse shot and a 180 degree shot. 

What We Did:

We started by choosing the genre we wanted to focus on - Thriller.

For my prelim we started by creating character profiles of the two characters. 

We then created our script - we did this by each coming up with a story line for our two characters that could be plausible for them and then we decided on the best one.

After creating the script and the story we went about finding a place to film in. We decided on filming in the school library as it is quiet and has a lot of space for us to move in.

When it came to the camera shots we decided that we would decided what shots we were going to do by annotating it on the script while filming it. This gave us the ability to see what shots we have and haven't got throughout the process.

Finally when editing we did it on Final Cut Pro, we decided that we would edit as a group and spread the responsibility between us all. 

Uses and Gratifications

9 Key Screenshot Analysis

Research of the BBFC

Director Research - Sir Alfred Hitchcock

Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock was an English film director and producer, at times affectionately referred to as "The Master of Suspense". His career spans over more than half a century.

Hitchcock pioneered many elements of the suspense and psychological thriller genres. He had a hugely successful career in British cinema with both silent films and early talkies and became renowned as England's best director. He then moved to Hollywood in 1939.

Hitchcock created a recognisable directorial style for himself. His stylistic trademarks include the use of camera movement that mimics a person's gaze, forcing viewers to engage in a form of voyeurism. In addition, he framed shots to maximise anxiety, fear, or empathy, and used innovative forms of film editing. His work often features fugitives on the run alongside "icy blonde" female characters.

Hitchcock became a highly visible public figure through interviews, movie trailers and cameo appearances in his own films, and also hosting the television show Alfred Hitchcock Presents.

In 1978, film critic John Russell Taylor described Hitchcock as "the most universally recognisable person in the world", and "a straightforward middle-class Englishman who just happened to be an artistic genius".

Hitchcock directed more than fifty feature films in a career spanning six decades and is often regarded as the greatest British filmmaker.

 He came first in a 2007 poll of film critics in Britain's Daily Telegraph, which said: "Unquestionably the greatest filmmaker to emerge from these islands, Hitchcock did more than any director to shape modern cinema, which would be utterly different without him. His flair was for narrative, cruelly withholding crucial information (from his characters and from viewers) and engaging the emotions of the audience like no one else."

Hitchcock's Filmography is vast and full of truly brilliant and ahead of the time films. He is most know for the 1960's film Psycho which he both directed and produced. The film  is centred on the encounter between a secretary, Marion Crane (Leigh), who ends up at a secluded motel after stealing money from her employer, and the motel's disturbed owner-manager, Norman Bates (Perkins), and its aftermath.

At the time of the release it received a variety of reviews with a whole mixture of opinions. However as time has passed his work in general has become more and more looked on as the best of British and American cinema.

Hitchcock was a multiple nominee and winner of a number of prestigious awards, receiving two Golden Globes, eight Laurel Awards, five lifetime achievement awards (including the first BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award), as well as being nominated five times for an Academy Award for Best Director (however never winning).

After refusing a CBE in 1962, Hitchcock received a knighthood in December 1979 when he was appointed a Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II in the 1980 New Year Honours.

He was asked by a reporter why it had taken the Queen so long, Hitchcock replied, "I suppose it was a matter of carelessness".

An English Heritage blue plaque, unveiled in 1999, marks where Hitchcock lived in London.

In 2012, Hitchcock was among the British cultural icons selected by artist Sir Peter Blake to appear in a new version of his most famous artwork, the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover, in order to celebrate British cultural figures whom he most admires.

In June 2013, nine restored versions of Hitchcock's early silent films, including his directorial debut, The Pleasure Garden (1925), were shown at the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Harvey Theatre. Known as "The Hitchcock 9", the travelling tribute was made possible by a $3 million programme organised by the British Film Institute.

Hitchcock was seen as a revolutionary when it came to the thriller genre and creating suspense with his out of the box thinking and shots.

In a 1963 interview with Italian journalist, Hitchcock was asked how in spite of appearing to be a pleasant, innocuous man, he seemed to enjoy making films involving suspense and terrifying crime. He responded:

"I'm English. The English use a lot of imagination with their crimes. I don't get such a kick out of anything as much as out of imagining a crime. When I'm writing a story and I come to a crime, I think happily: now wouldn't it be nice to have him die like this? And then, even more happily, I think: at this point people will start yelling. It must be because I spent three years studying with the Jesuits. They used to terrify me to death, with everything, and now I'm getting my own back by terrifying other people."

Conglomerates in the Film Industry

Theory of Identity-Gauntlett

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Ideologies Presented in Film

Intertextuality

Reception Theory-Hall

Reception Theory was formulated in the 1970's by Stuart Hall (and David Morlie). The theory states that a text does not have a singular meaning, it potentially has thousands, and each meaning is dependent upon the person who is viewing the text. The meaning is influenced by your culture, gender, social status, life experience, religion, ect... 

You create your own meaning-Audience identification. 

This gives power to both ends of the text-audience and creators

There are two parts to the premises:

• Encoding-The person who creates the text put in what they want it to mean-Has certain signs and signifiers to achieve this (genre/camera angles/location/ect)
• Decoding-The audience interprets these signifiers- The creators want us to decode what they set our, however according to our individual experiences we may interpret it differently.

Three basic readings that we decode

• Dominant Reading-What most people will understand from the text and agree what it's about-Fits in with what the creator wants it to mean.
• Negotiated Reading-We basically see it it the intended way, but because of something about the audience member they may see it in a different way (as a result of individual experiences)
• Oppositional Reading-The audience member takes it in a totally different way to how it was intended (women are portrayed in a certain way /feminists may fine it oppressive and deeply offensive).

Awareness of the Audience

Defining the Film Industry

Representation Theories - Hall, Mulvey and Dyer

Male Gaze Theory - Mulvey

Genre Study of Film - Neale

Symbolic Codes - Bathes

• He was a French Philosopher
• Barthes generally focused on literature however went onto applying his theory to media in his later life.
• The theory is focused on CODES
• Semiotics-A study of cultural signs and symbols (e.g. Red=danger)

CODES THEORY-

-    Roland Barthes describes a text as: "a galaxy of signifiers, not a structure of signifieds; it has no beginning; it is reversible; we gain access to it by several entrances, none of which can be authoritatively declared to be the main one; the codes it mobilizes extend as far as the eye can read, they are indeterminable...the systems of meaning can take over this absolutely plural text, but their number is never closed, based as it is on the infinity of language..."

• -    No right or wrong way to interpret
• -    There is no right entrance
• -    “infinity of language” - It can go on forever
• -    Anything can be a symbol
• -    ANYTHING can signify EVERYTHING
• -    One is no more important that the other
• -    “Plural texts”-Paradoxical-One text had lots of different meanings not one set meaning
• -    “Their number if never closed” People will always be interpreting it.
• -    “We gain access to it by several entrances”- Everyone watches something for completely different reasons and there’s no set way to engage
• -    “A galaxy of signifiers, not a structure of signifieds”- A whole range of things to interpret
• -    The meaning is created by US not the creator

He states there are FIVE CODES:

o   The Enigma/ Proairetic Code (ACT)  – Avoids telling the truth-Creates Mystery

o  The Hermeneutic Code (HER) - Builds tension through little incidents creating short moments of tension

o   The Symbolic Code (SYM) – Meaning of connotation – EVERYTHING (e.g.Red=Danger/Passion/Lust/Blood/Violence/ect…)

o   The Cultural Code (REF) – Themes that go across a whole film (Twelve Years a slave- slavery) – Links to Binary Opposites

o   The Semantic Code (SEM) – Depending on our culture we will interpret the film in different ways (e.g. cowboy films-Native Americans would see these and unfair and full of prejudise)

Narrative Theories Analysis on Coraline

Thriller Sub-Genre Mindmap

Mind Map of Thriller Genre

Discuss the genre conventions in three films and compare how they appear to an audience.

The three thriller films that I have chosen are; Psycho which is a 1960’s psychological horror thriller and is one of the first thrillers ever produced, directed and produced by Alfred Hitchcock and was based on the novel ‘Psycho’ by Robert Bloch; Gone Girl which is a 2014 psychological thriller directed by Davis Fincher and based on the book Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn and finally Coraline which is a fantasy thriller directed written and produced by Henry Selick and based on Neil Gailman’s book also called Coraline.

Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho was the first major thriller film and as a result of that has all of the conventions that are typically associated with that genre of film and although as time had gone by and films have interpreted these conventions in a different manner generally Psycho is the basis on which all thrillers have followed and taken some kind of inspiration from. The convention associated with psycho is that there is a pretty blond female victim really highlighting how vulnerable the character is and also attracting male viewers this is the male gaze theory, a male murder, an isolated house in a rural area so it seems that there is no place that the victim can escape to creating a panicked feeling, bad weather as some kind of foreshadowing for the bad events to come or pathetic fallacy, and a mind twisting storyline that makes the audience question everything that happened during the course of the film. The opening titles for Psycho are presented in a very clever way, only three colours are used in the titles black, white and grey. These colours come together using a jagged effect and jointing together, possibly symbolising the idea of split personality. When the title Psycho appears on the screen it is more prominent and abrupt really drawing attention to the title which creates a atmosphere of tenseness and fear.  In the first scene the victim is presented to us her costume is really important as not only does it further prove the male gaze theory but the colour of her underwear, all white, connotes innocence and a form of purity and vulnerability in her however when we learn more about the character and that she is not so innocent, her underwear changes from white to black making the audience associated her with danger and a sense of mislead.  The non-diegetic music that is played in the opening make the opening more mysterious and tense, also the music is rather distorted which links to the main ideas behind the film.  Overall the film Psycho is constantly making the audience feel uncomfortable and panicked throughout the entirety of the film.

The film Gone girl is a 2014 psychological thriller and as it is rather modern had changed or entirely missed out on some of the conventions that we saw in Psycho.  Before the narrative of the film even starts the audience Is already put into a state of emergency as the titles are only on the screen for around 3 seconds, making the audience feel forced to rush to read the names (in a similar way to Psycho the titles already put us in a state of alarm and may foreshadow to events that may happen in the rest of the film). The, also, non-diegetic music is rather different to psycho as it is more slow paced however just as effectively gives of an eerie atmosphere which also add to the sense of emergency for the audience. Similar to Psycho the first shot of a character that we, the audience, see is of a blond woman head with a man’s hand stroking her hair. Without the need for any dialogue this scene creates tension because of the slowness of the man’s hand on her head and also because it seems to give of some kind of possessive attitude that the man may have over the woman, showing a rather stereotyped relationship between men and women. While this acting of taking place the first piece of dialogue we hear is the words “I picture cracking her lovely scull” this almost immediately adds a psychopathic image for the man in this shot as it is a hugely violent phrase, which  makes the reader feel worried for this ‘poor’ woman. Although we then find out later on that this woman is his wife allowing the audience to realise that he is just referring to the fact that their marriage is breaking down. Then the girl turns around and we see her face properly and it is almost as if she is looking into the camera making the audience feel a connection towards her. The location is in a rather urban area which is quite different to a typical thriller however as it is a modern film set recently it may be vital to the film. What is strange but clever about this film is that we think the woman is the victim and the male is the antagonist however it is the opposite way round, which would probably be a surprise for the audience and make them feel uneasy as they don’t know what the film is going to throw at them, this also is a good way of challenging the stereotypes of gender roles. Generally this film uses the majority of conventions that are typical to a thriller and that’s what makes it a good, tense and exciting film however the way they have change these features as well has made it stand out and not only makes the audience question what is really going on but also how they hold and see thrillers as a genre of film.

The film Coraline is a 2009 stop-motion animated thriller fantasy film. It is a rather peculiar thriller as it although it follows the conventions of a thriller it is also a children film (PG) so it has to stay within the boundary of what that entails. Coraline sets the tone of a thriller in the opening with really sinister music that creates a mood of comfortableness and shows us that this film is not going to be like all the other typical PG rated films. Also the lighting in the opening scene (which is low key lighting) also adds to that tense

uncomfortable atmosphere making the audience feel really intrigued into what type of a film this is generally going to be. The supernatural vibe we get from this film with the monster/needle hands is not typical for a thriller film as thrillers usually are focused on fact and what can be proved and not on things that cannot be proven, however this makes it, in my opinion, a better film for the audience (which is made up of mainly children) as it shows that the antagonist if not a real thing in real life and that these events are not
able to be replicated making it less scary for the young children, but can also be seen as taking away a vital aspect of thriller (the possibility that this could happen to you). This film is the only film out of the three that I have chosen that shows women (in this case a women monster and a young girl) as being bot the antagonist and protagonist. Overall I think Coraline is a really interesting and clever (and personally one of my favourite) films and cunningly navigates the fact that it’s a child’s film but also being careful not to lose what makes it a thrilling and genuinely scary film.

Generally these films are all extremely different yet rather similar but I feel that there is no way of being able to choose which of off these films see more effect as they  are all so different and for different audiences. Personally I feel that my favourite is Coraline as it plays with the typical conventions and make it into its own film, however I do also appreciate Psycho as the first mainstream film that was created that was a thriller. Overall I believe that each of these films hold their own in the thriller genre and all effectively establish what a thriller film is. 

How Does Mise-en-scene Help To Develop The Main Features In Film

How A Film Opening uses Mise-en-scene to Involve The Audience

Analysis of Shutter Island

Shutter Island is a mysterious enigmatic thriller set in the 1950’s based on Dennis Lenane’s novel Shutter Island, which was already a celebrated book, meaning that there was already a fan base and audience appeal for the film before it was even in theatres. It was directed by Martin Scorsese and staring Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley and Michelle Williams. Before we see anything we hear a subtle piece of orchestra music whilst the credits are being displayed. The slow high pitched ominous sounds sets the atmosphere for what we are about to see, creating tension for the audience and a feeling that bad things are to come.  The opening scene has a long shot of the sea along with the dull and gloomy colours of the shot it all sets an atmosphere of uneasiness and mystery and foreshadows to what is to come in the rest film.

The first we see of a character is our main character Teddy, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, who is looking pale and distressed and appears to have sea sickness. When he stands up we see that he is a police officer as a result of his badge and gun on his belt these two simple objects create a sense of power and authority however this is contrasted with the idea that he seems seriously stressed and nervous about something (maybe alluding to a fear of water, making the audience wonder why he’s on a boat if he get sea sick or is scared of water showing that he may have to be on the boat and that he has no choice. We also see that he may be married as he seems to have a wedding ring on his hand. We then see a close up if DiCaprio’s characters face where we really get to see the panic in his eyes as he is looking right into the camera, seeming almost breaking the forth wall, making the audience feel uneasy and wonder why this character looks so troubled and unhappy.

We see DiCaprio on the top deck approach another man, who is similarly dressed to Teddy showing that he is also involved with the police. Then we are introduced to thing character who refers to Teddy as ‘boss’ and we find that he is his partner (however they have only just met) and that Teddy is above him. During this dialogue we the camera angles are on the actor’s eye line which makes the audience connect to the characters and relate to them.

Then when he is asked if he had a wife we are transported into a flashback which we can see from the significant colour change, which is brighter and the lighting is a higher key compared to the original low key lighting in ‘present’ day. Teddy is seen as younger and less stressed while he and his wife playfully put on a tie together outwardly expressing their love for each other. Then there is a quick flash to the water on the boat and the quickly back to his wife which also suggests that she drowned and makes you wonder if that’s why he doesn’t like water. We then are back to present day and they continue their conversation about the island they are going to.

Overall in this opening we see a variety of different techniques used to portray a sence of gloom and confusion brilliantly setting the tone for the rest of the film. 

Character Analysis of a Pre 1980’s Film Character

How Has The Director Tried To Engage The Audience In The Narrative

Analyse the opening sequence of "Bullitt" and of another thriller/action film from the last 5 years.

Analyse the opening sequence of "Bullitt" and of another thriller/action film from the last 5 years.

Bullitt is a 1968 crime thriller, directed by Peter Yates and staring Steve McQueen, Robert Vaughn and Jacqueline Bisset. The opening scene has general low key lighting with gloomy colours creating a dark and tense atmosphere typical to a thriller. Although the scene is generally dark this is contrasted with the white typography that zoom in and out of the frame. This could link to Levi-Strauss’ theory about binary opposites (the light and dark colours) foreshadowing to a battle of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ throughout the rest of the film. Not only is the mood set with the lighting but it is also represents the power and status that some of the characters have as they stand in the dark with light shining from the ground up illuminating them from underneath making them look scary and ominous, this is possibly the first time we see the ‘bad’ characters in the film. This is also strengthened by the upwards shot camera angle making the actors look big and powerful. The titles are unorganised and enter at random places which reflects the fight going on in the opening and possibly the action in the rest of the film. The whole opening creates a feeling of ambiguity and sets that tone for the rest of the film.

The film starts with destruction; this is not what Toderov described films beginning with. He stated that film have five stages; equilibrium, destruction, realisation, attempt to restore order and then new equilibrium. We can see that this film starts on stage two however towards the end of the opening scene the lighting changes to a high key lighting and we see a change of setting as we are introduced to a day time busy street scene hinting to a possible equilibrium after destruction. At the beginning it is not clear who is the ‘hero’ and who is the ‘evil’ are but we do know that there will be a hero as Steve McQueen is the main character and he is known for playing the ‘heroes’ in films similar. We can also see that there is a possible ‘princess’ in the film as Jacqueline Bisset is acting in it and she is also known for playing those kinds of characters. This is what the theory stated by Propp suggests about Recurring character types, which this film seem to follow.

The music in the opening scene starts slow and calm which creates a false sense of equilibrium making the audience feel comfort and well-being, however then it gets louder and faster keeping up with the action of the scene and even being interrupted by the action (like the car screech) this startles the audience as they were seemingly assured but the false “calm” at the beginning but suddenly the serenity is broken and they are dived into action and chaos. Towards the end of the opening scene the music starts to slow down again possibly to signify how we are about to meet out ‘hero’ in the scene coming up. Generally this film seems  to be a tense and nail-biting one leaving the audience anxious but also wanting to watch more.

Mad Max: Fury Road is a 2015 post-apocalyptic dystopian/action film directed by George Miller. The lighting and colour of this opening scene is rather similar to Bullitt and very different and unique at the same time. at first it is a black screen which is effective as it makes the audience have their sole focus on the voice over and news clips that are giving the audience vital information about the back ground to the story and introducing us to the main character, Max. This along with the darker pallet of colours is very similar to the opening of Bullett, however the credits are rather different as they are a sandy colour which links to the dusty desert that the film is set in and sometimes a blood red which makes the characters names stand out and are fixed in the audiences mind.

Mad Max is rather similar to Bullitt as it also contradicts Todorovs five stages because it dives straight into destruction without equilibrium first. We do however see binary opposites in the living and the dead as he is torn between the living people chasing him and the voices of his dead family. There is also no clear character role as we only see one character, our main character Max. The audience are not sure whether Max is our ‘hero’ or not as he is not a stereotypical ‘good’ or ‘bad’. From the way he talks he seems to have a rather bad past, he is also haunted by voices of a child and a woman which connote a sense of innocence but also making him seem mentally unstable as we later find out that these voices are most likely dead making the audience wary of him. His ragged costume and long tangled hair tell the audience that he has been running for a long time without any type a permanent home except his car, which seems to be a main prop as when we first see him he is standing next to it. In this opening we are given a lot more information about the narrative and characters than we are in the opening of Bullitt allowing us to really understand where the characters are.

The news type clips in the very beginning of the scene set this film as a dystopian future and also it sets the narrative up allowing the audience to understand more about the ‘Oil Wars’ and the reason why the world is In this pitiful state. Similar to Bullitt there is a false sense of calm, when Max quickly jumps into the car and drives out of shot, for about five seconds there is silence and we cannot see or hear anything different in the distance creating a more composed atmosphere that the audience latch onto. However this is quickly disrupted when a series of cars and motorbikes drive over the camera frightening and startling the audience as they were not expecting this car chase so quickly into the film (which is also a scene in Bullitt). Foreshadowing is very strong in Mad Max: Fury Road. The blood colour of the credits generates a feeling of violence and chaos which will most likely happen throughout the rest of the film as we have already heard of a lot of violence from the news clips. There is a very effective part of the opening scene where Max catches a lizard, kills it, then eats it, this could be alluding to unnecessary death that may happen a lot later on or more obviously the sudden capture of Max but those that are chasing him. From what we see of the opening scene Mad Max: Fury Road is a very captivating and thrilling film which draws the audience in and make them want to find out more about these characters.

Overall these two films are very similar in that they jump straight into the action and seem to be rather purposefully unorganised, however Mad Max: Fury Road is more focused on the narrative early on and don’t feel the need to create an enigmatic atmosphere that Bullitt does. 

Group Member Profile

I have an eclectic taste in films so I will generally watch anything that I feel looks interesting, however I usually find myself watching more thrillers than any other genre of film.

For my coursework I would like to create a thriller as I prefer to watch them, and I feel as though I would enjoy creating the suspense and uncertainty that comes along with them.

My area of strength when it comes to practical work is that I am really enthusiastic and prepared to learn. If I am put into a group that will help me and teach me more practical elements I will happily learn very quickly.

My area of strength when it comes to theory is that I have also taken English literature so I understand how to write in essay form. Also I am, once again, willing to learn when it comes to learning theories but I could also do extra work so I can catch up with those who already know a lot about media.

The key skills and attributes that I would bring to the group are that I am usually very organised. I am also good at communicating with people as I may be working in a group of people who I do not necessary know very well.

Introduction

Introduction

Hello, my name is Yoli Walbanks.
Welcome to my AS Media blog!

In my blog I am going to be showing you the planning, pre-production and production of my two minute film opening that I am going to be doing in a group.
My group consists of four people; Kirsty Bryan, Lauran Ramsden, Winn Kan and myself.

I have never studied Media before and I am excited to be taking this subject. I do not have much experience with the practical side of media, however in my group we are of mixed ability and I know that they are willing to teach me and I am willing to learn over the course of the year. I do believe that I am quite good at the written side of media as I have also taken English Literature as an A level so I have the ability to write a good structured essay, however I have never before written analytical essays and am still coming to terms with how they are structured and I am excited to learn.