Sunday, 25 March 2012

Character Profile: Harry


Name: Harry
Portrayed By: Timothy John Jumawan
Age: 18
Place of Birth: Manila, Philippines
Occupation: Student
Relationship Status: Unknown

Personal Profile

Harry is a unique and mysterious person. He is highly gifted and smart, which makes him different and could easily play mind tricks with other people. With his high intelligence he is studying Psychology in University which means he could interpret other's people emotions quite easily.

Why I chose this Character

I chose this type of character because from the past few years, the types of thrillers that have been released has gone away from these type of characters who are mysterious and not having any knowledge of them whatsoever.

Texts that has influenced this character

There is only one text that has influenced Harry, which is The Third Man, the scene where his character was introduced because at first it was claimed that he was dead but it turns out he wasn't and within that film his character had enigma because it felt as if they didn't know the whole story about him, which is what I wanted with my opening, leave the audience hanging on and make them watch the Thriller Opening.



Results of Questionnaires










I did a questionnaire for my potential target audience of young adults aged 16-25, to see if I was aiming the Thriller Opening to the correct audience. The screenshots above show that the majority of them liked the Thriller Opening, and that most of them understood the narrative of the film while a small percentage of them didn't understand it.

Friday, 23 March 2012

Opening Credits Research

In Class, we looked at how Thriller Films have laid out their Titles at their Opening Credits. The example we looked at, was the opening credits of Se7en.



Se7en is a feature film and therefore has the time to create a good opening credits. We looked at where in the shot have they put they'te Titles.

We looked at how the mostly put the left or in the right so the titles, don't affect the action of the film.

The titles in this opening sequence, has inspired me with my Titles in my opening sequence, because it doesn't use any graphics or CGI, it only uses basic fonts and size, which makes it unique and different to other thriller films released.

Thursday, 22 March 2012

Target Audience Feedback

This is one of the ways I collected feedback for my film



Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world's leading questionnaire tool.

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world's leading questionnaire tool.

Another way I have collected data is by having the questionnaire on paper while a variety of people watched the film.

Research into Potential Target Audience

Research Into Potential Target Audience

Thursday, 15 March 2012

The Third Man - Opening Sequence

I am going to analyse how the Opening Credits of The Third Man establishes the Thriller genre



The opening credits of the film, uses Non-Diagetic Sound in the beginning, when the Zither was playing when the credits was rolling. Then as the opening scene went on, the film uses Diagetic Sound, by using a voice over with the soundtrack playing along, throughout the opening sequence.

The film uses Non-Ambient lighting throughout the whole scene which of course creates shadows which shows that there is another presence within the scene.

The camera angles used in this opening scene are mostly tilt shots and close up shots, the purpose of the use of these shots is to illustrate disorientation and confusion, making the film look weird and different.

The opening sequence also follows traditional conventions of a Thriller film. It uses big open Train stations and also big isolated buildings, in which Harry Lime's apartment was located.

Another generic convention the film uses is enigma. When it was said in the beginning that Harry Lime is dead, there was a bit of enigma to it, as Martins had suspected, like something wasn't right. Another thing that made the language barrier of Holly Martins and the people of Vienna because he couldn't understand what they're saying, makes it much more difficult for him to know what the people are saying to each other.

Wednesday, 14 March 2012

Come Walk with Me - Final Cut



This is my Final Cut of my Thriller Opening "Come Walk with Me"

Planned Edit

Shot 1 Close Up Shot of Mary's feet as she walks through the pavement, the scene cuts
Shot 2 " " Mary's Phone as she texts, which then Fades to Black into a
Shot 3 Close Up shot of the Perpetrator as he watches by as Mary walks through the pavement which then Fades to Black into an
Shot 4 Over the Shoulder shot of Mary as she walks through the bridge. The scene then cuts to a
Shot 5 Close Up Shot of Mary texting on her phone with graphics coming up on what she's texting to her friend. The scene then dips to black into a
Shot 7 Over The Shoulder Shot of Mary as she walks through the park, in the end the shot begins to slow down, then it dips to black to a
Shot 7 High Angle shot of Jane lying on a park bench, the scene then cross dissolves into a close up shot of Mary looking at Jane, the scene cross dissolves into
Shot 8 Mary stroking her hand on Jane's face in a slow motion, the scene then dips to black to a
Shot 9 Low Angle shot of Mary as she kneels down to Jane. The scene then cross dissolves to a
Shot 10 Close Up shot of Mary's hand checkign Jane for pulses to see if she's still alive, the scene then cuts to a
Shot 11 High Angle shot of Mary as she sees if anyone's around. The scene then dips to black to a
Shot 12 variety of Long Shots with Dip to Blacks in between as Mary looks if anyone is around. The scene then cross dissolves into a
Shot 13 Low Angle, Over The Shoulder shot of Mary seeing the perpetrator right in front of him, the scene then cross dissolves into a
Shot 14 Tilt Shot of the perpetrator standing in front of Mary, the scene then dips to black to a
Shot 15: Another Close Up Shot of the perpetrator looking at Mary. the scene then dips to black to a
Shot 16: High Angle Shot of the perpetrator walking to Mary at a slow motion. The scene then dips to black to a
Shot 17: High Angle shot of Kirsty in slow motion taking the perpetrators hand then the scene dips to black.

Monday, 12 March 2012

Unused Footage - Reasons why the footage wasn't used.



This is the unused footage of my Thriller Opening. Below, I would explain why I didn't use the footage.



The first shot I have used is a Establishing Shot, of the location in which the main character Mary was walking. I got the idea from the beginning of Psycho, where downtown Phoenix was shown. The reason I had to take out this shot is because it isn't significant to the film, whether or not the shot was in tjhe final cut, plus, I asked some of my classmates, and they also agreed that it is just a waste of time, within the opening sequence.




The next two shots are Close Up shots of Mary texting her friend and saying that she is on her way. The reason that I didn't include these shots in the final edit, is because the text isn't readable to the audience and if it had stayed in the final sequence, then it would just confuse the audience, this is why I added in the text sequence in my final edit.



The next shot I didn't use is a Close Up shot of Mary's friend Jane lying on the bench with the phone on her lap, the reason that I took out this shot is because, I converted the film in Black and White and therefore, the flashing light of the phone wouldn't be visible enough in Black and White.



The final shot that I didn't use in my final edit is a Low Angle shot of Mary and the perpetrator, walking away together. The reason I didn't use this shot, is because then it would  conclude the whole sequence altogether, and there wouldn't be that much enigma to the film.

Monday, 5 March 2012

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







Thriller Planning

The video mentioned in the presentation:

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

Sorry for the quality, this is not my fault, it is Issu's


To see every single page, can you please, look at the work in fullscreen.

The clips used for the evaluation:





This clip is shorter than the one on my blog as the original clip has been taken down because of copyright.

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

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

Question 3 - What kind of media institute might distribute your media product and Why?

My Thriller Opening "Come Walk with Me" could be created to a full length film, it would be made and distributed by Independent production companies such as Warp Films and WT2 (defunct) because Warp is known for creating artistic and relatable storyline, with low-budget productions, Warp Films used unknown actors in their films such as Dead Man Shoes, but some actors are willing to have a low pay if the quality of the film is great. An example of this is in Animal Kingdom where Guy Pearce played the role of Sergent Leckie.


Biography of Warp Films









If my Thriller Opening went on to be produced as a feature length film, the storyline would go on to discover Mary's relationship with Jane (are they friends or more than that) and Mary's relationship with Harry (the perpetrator) are they in it together, to kill an innocent so they could be together in the end, or is Harry her minder. There are a lot more scenarios in which the way the film could continue on, if the film was ever to be produced as a feature length film.

Another way my Thriller Opening could be distributed is through an Internet outlet. The film could be distributed through Youtube, the rights of the Thriller Opening could be given to Online Rental platforms such as LoveFilm and Netflix, or it could be sold through digital video outlets such as iTunes or Amazon. But I would prefer distributing my film through Youtube as it is easier to distribute, there is no cost plus nearly everyone in the world has access to Youtube, which could be an advantage because a lot more people will get the chance to see my Thriller Opening.




My Thriller Opening is now live on Youtube







One more way my film could be distributed, is if my Thriller Opening was entered in a Short Film Competition throughout the UK, such as the London Short Film Festival.  I would enter my film in short film festivals, because it will increase the chance of the audience all over the country could have knowledge about my thriller opening. I also want to enter because If I get the chance to even be shortlisted then I could help inspire young people who want to be a filmmaker one day.


The entry requirements to enter The London Short Film Festival.

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


Question 1 - In what ways does your media products use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?


Come Walk with Me - Third Final Edit



This is another edit of my Thriller Opening. On this version I have slowed down some scenes because some scenes cut to the other at a quick pace. In this edit I have used the maximum of two minutes allowed for this project.

Come Walk with Me - Second Final Edit



This is my second final edit for my Thriller Planning. The missing bits of music in this edit has been sorted. The titles are readable and the transitions are better so it doesn't cut to the next scenes really quickly.

Friday, 2 March 2012

Come Walk with Me - First Final Edit



This is the first Final edit of "Come Walk with Me". The transition effects has been fixed. The only thing that would need to be fixed is the sound on 0:24 where it cuts for a second.

Come Walk with Me - Rough Edit



This is the rough edit of my thriller opening. This is not the final cut. There are some problems with this opening such as the timing of the dissolves isn't right and the music cuts in one scene of the opening. These problems would be solved by next week to meet the deadline.

Title Change

Throughout the production of my Thriller Opening, I have been making a lot of changes, this has mostly involved cast changes and now Title changes. My opening to a Thriller film would now be called Come Walk with Me, which is a reference to the ending of the film where Mary runs off with the perpetrator.

Wednesday, 29 February 2012

Character Profile : Jane


Name: Jane
Portrayed By: Billie Kemp
Age: 18
Place of Birth: Norwich
Occupation: Sales Assistant
Relationship Status: Unknown


Personal Profile

Jane is a quirky, loveable and innocent person. Jane and Mary had known each other since Primary School and have been close friends since then. Jane didn't have the same intellectual level as Mary and thefore decided not to go to University and went on to get a Job as a Sales Assistant in a Retail clothing shop.

Why I have chosen this character

I have chosen to create this character because I wanted to show the friendship between two young female adults.

Texts that have influenced this character

Jane's character wasn't inspired by any media text but by History. Her character is inspired by Jane Seymour (third wife of King Henry VIII) she died innocently because of complications of her birth to her only son Edward.

Sunday, 19 February 2012

Character Profile: Mary


Name: Mary
Portrayed By: Kirsty Swift
Age: 18
Place of Birth: Norwich
Occupation: Student
Relationship Status: Unknown

Personal Profile

Mary is a very smart student, excelling on every subject she has studied. She is currently studying her degree in University. Mary isn't a sociable person, she is very different because of her intellectual abilities so she has a very small group of friends who she isn't very close with, except for Jane, who is Mary's 'safety net' they both have known each other since Primary School and has been there for Mary's achievement.

Why have I chosen this character


I have chosen this character because this character shows what every dangerous person is. They might look good or have personality but most people don't see every single aspect of that person you don't know whether or not they are a psychopath.

Media Texts that influenced the Character

One Particular media text that has influenced Mary is a character from a Film called The Roommate called Rebecca Evans. Her roommate thought that she was this innocent person until Rebecca's mother asked if she was taking care of herself and taking her medication, its when she knew that she was a psychopath.

Changes to the Cast - ONE FINAL TIME

There has been another change in my casting. In this final change I would be playing the role of Harry and the role Jane a.k.a. Matthew would be played by another Media student, Billie Kemp.

Wednesday, 8 February 2012

Improved Shot List

Shot 1: Low-Angle Panning shot of the surroundings, which shows the surroundings which then
CUTS TO A
Shot 2: Close Up Shot of Mary as she is walking in the pavement which then
CUTS TO A
Shot 3: High Angle Shot of Mary while she is texting on her phone which then
CUTS TO A
Shot 4: Close Up shot Mary's face, which shows that she is happy because she is talking to her boyfriend. Which then CUTS TO A
Shot 5: Over the Shoulder Shot of Mary when she is walking on the bridge. The bridge represents an inside of a Gun, like in Essex Boys when Billy was driving through the tunnel, it then
CUTS TO A
Shot 6: Worm's Eye View shot of Mary when she was calling her boyfriend on her phone, which then
CUTS TO A
Shot 7: High Angle shot of Mary seeing her boyfriend lying on the floor, the use of the High Angle Shot shows the shift of power, she was dominant at the beginning and now she's not. The scene then
CUTS TO A
Shot 8: Another High Angle shot of Mary seeing whether or not her Boyfriend is still alive. The scene then
CUTS TO A
Shot 9: Tilt Shot of a mysterious figure standing on a doorway, which shows confusion and disorientations.
The scene then CUTS TO A
Shot 10: Shot Reverse Shot between the mysterious character and Mary, revealing whether or not Mary will be killed or spared by the mysterious figure
The scene then CUTS TO A

Cliffhanger

Shot 11: Extreme Close Up Shot of Mary's eyes, showing her vulnerability or a Low Angle Shot of Mary from the mysterious figure's point of view. (The scene CUTS TO A)

Shot 12 (Only if the second option is used from Shot 11): Low Angle shot of Mary and the mysterious figure walking away, showing that there is equal power between the two characters.

Tuesday, 31 January 2012

Photographic Story Board


The film starts off with a Panning shot of the local surroundings. The use of the panning shot establishes location. Where the opening is being set. The scene will use Non-Diagetic sound e.g. Cars honking and passing by and also the use of soundtrack. The scene would also use Natural Ambient Lighting. I got the idea of the use of the panning shot from Psycho, in the beginning where it showed off the tall buildings of Phoenix, Arizona.


The screenshot shows the tall buildings from a Bird's eye point of view

For my second Shot, I have two different options.

My first option is Kirsty walking towards the bridge and with her disappearing into a Vanishing Point.


1st Option - Kirsty starting really close to the screen and as she walks on, she disappears into a Vanishing Point.

Another option would be Kirsty coming in from a distance and getting closer to the screen.


                                        A long shot - Kirsty Getting closer and closer.

I got the idea of this from the ending of The Third Man, where Anna was walking from Harry's funeral




Anna started walking from a great distance and kept getting closer and closer.

For my Third shot I would be using an Over the Shoulder shot as Kirsty starts walking to the bridge.


There are two options for my fourth shot.

One of the options is having a  Tracking shot of Kirsty as she is walking across the bridge.




Another option would be Close-Up shots of Kirsty, while she is texting and walking on the bridge.


The shot uses a close-up shot of Kirsty with a phone on her hand and a watch on her wrist. I got  the idea from the beginning of The Third Man where it shows the people in the black market selling watches.


It would be something similar to this.

There is also another close-up shot of her face, which allows the audience to identify with her emotion.


The scene then cuts to another Over The Shoulder Shot of Mary walking through the park.


The film then cuts to a High Angle shot of Jane lying on a park bench, showing her being weak and vulnerable because her character is already dead.

The scene then cuts to Close Up Shots of Mary looking at Jane and stroking her face. The use of the close up shots shows her emotion, showing she's scared and seeing if she's still alive.






The scene then cuts into a Long Shot of Mary looking around to see if anyone is within the area. The use of the Long Shot shows isolation because no one is there to help her.



The scene then cuts into a Low Angle Shot of Harry (the perpetrator) looking at Mary. The Low Angle shows the shift of power between Mary and Harry.

 

The scene then cuts to a Tilt Shot of Harry standing and looking at Mary. The use of the Tilt Shot shows disorientation and kind of like a nightmare. I got this idea from The Third Man , when Harry Lime's character was first introduced.

My Tilt Shot


 


Harry Lime's Titlt Shot in his introduction


The scene then cuts into a Close Up Shot of Harry looking at Mary with a sinister look.


The scene then cuts into a Close Up Shot of Harry getting to Mary. I got the idea of this at the beginning of Kill Bill Vol.1 when Bill was walking to the Bride.

 
My Close Up shot of the feet walking to Mary.










The shot of Bill walking to the Bride



 

 
The scene then cuts into a High Angle shot of Mary with the perpetrator right int front of her, revealing her fate.