Tuesday, 30 April 2013
Sunday, 21 April 2013
Tuesday, 16 April 2013
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 your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
I think The Captive uses props appropriate to its genre, so that we can add realism. We have used realistic props, like the guns and blood, which are typical for gangsters as in every gangster film you always see them carry their guns on their body, so in this aspect the fim looked professional to the audience due to our props aswell as our creation of location. We wanted to go for the whole warehouse type look for our location, so it would have a feel of isolation from the outside world. So the characters would here no sounds indicating where they were, no light to tell them what time of day it is, nothing. We went for a more compact warehouse look, so its claustrophobic and very intense, giving the feeling of imminent death. In our location in the beginning of our film you see a woman tied up, as a hostage, this is generic for gangster films, as they kidnap people to get information out of them that will benefit them.
The hostage situation can be seen in a Tv show called Chuck, however chuck is a Tv show, its also a Spy show, though i think they are very similar, you can also see another hostage situation in Burn Notice, being a Gangster/Spy Tv show.
In The Captive our 2 male characters are in smart suits, we know this is a convention of gangster films, from the films we analysed, and all maled are always in suits, whether they are having a shoot off, running away, in a buisness meeting or off killing rival gangs. Alexis in our film is dressed up in a dress, and we know in other films the women are normally in dress to how off the wealth and to distingush between the masculinity of the males and her obvious femininity, to show shes from an upper class background not meant for the gangster world. This can also be seen in Gangster Squad, as it exhibits the same type of Mise-en -Scene as us. It can also be seen in Public Enemies.
Through lighting you create the sense of danger, in our opening we filmed in a dark container, which we hoped added to the mystery of our film, by adding snipits of light in the flashbacks, so it maked the audience question lots of things like, what's going on, who are those people, etc. This type of lights can be seen in the Godfather several times.
The same type of light can again be seen in Gangster Squad
Our music also builds tension, as it has a hertbeat in the background, we decided it symbolised the woman's life thread, so when the gun gets shown her heart rate speeds up and when the film goes black at the end the beating continues for about 4 seconds before it stops, leaving the audience wondering is she's dead or its just the end of that scene. We also have one main piece of music which has a fast beat rythm to it so it can cause suspension and momentum, so it links with the building up of fear.
Overall our final piece used the stereotypical conventions of Gangster films in terms of the costume, props, though we did slightly change the gun type, as instead of using tommy guns, we used hand guns.
Shot Types used in Opening Films
CAMERA SHOTS, ANGLES, MOVEMENTS AND POSITIONS
Establishing Shot (Could also be a Crane shot) generally tells the audience where the film is going to be set, Establishing Shots are usually Crane Shots which are dolly-shots-in-the-air.
Extreme Long Shot tells the audience where the next scene will take place, normally showing the exterior of a building or landscape.
Long Shot is used to show the images at "life size" and put real distance between the audience and cinema screen
Birds-eye View/Ariel Shot is usually taken from a helicopter in order to establish movement and setting. It shows the scene from directly overhead.
Over-the-shoulder Shot is where the camera is positioned behind one figure, revealing another figure, and part of the first figures back, head and shoulder.
Overhead/High angle Shot is where the camera is elevated above the gerenal action to give a general overview. The object or charcter becomes part of a wider picture.
Low angle Shot increases height to inspire fear or insecurity in the viewers. It also helps give a sense of confusion to a viewer.
Full Shot shows the whole shot of a character, we see the figure from head to toe. Full shots are used so we, as viewers, can establish relationships between characters.
Eye level Shot (also a Wide shot) is positioned as though a human is actually observing a scene, like the actors heads being on a level with the focus.
Mid shot contains the figure from waist up, normally used for diaglogue scenes.
Two shot contains two figures from the waist up (same with a Three shot, but any more than 3 figures, usually becomes a long shot)
Point of View Shot made from a camera position close to the eye of the performer, made as if the audience are experiencing everything the character does.
Close up shows very little background an dusually concentrates on a face or a detail of mise-en-scene. A close up takes us into the mind of the charcter, so is an intimate shot.
Extreme Close up usually magnifies beyond what the eye would experience, so an extreme close up of a face, would show only the eyes or mouth.
Canted Angle (This can also be an example of a hand-held shot) is where the camera is tilted to become the eyes of the character (a POV shot) hand hled shots are usually used for this.
Pan movement which scans a scene horizontally, to follow a moving objects which is kept in the middle of the frame.
Tilt a movement which scans a scene vertically (but basically similar to a pan)
Zoom lense doesnt move the camera, its where the camera zooms in and out of a scene very quickly.
This video show a pan, tilt and zoom:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9JWgU9YVcU
Dolly Shot is where the camera is placed on a moving vehicle and moves alongside the action, following the moving figure or object. Its a goof way of portraying movement or the journey of a character.
An example of a Dolly shot:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbhBJBM-E2Q
EDITING TECHNIQUES
Cross Cut is a cut from one line of action to another
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-A69UHFk4s
Matched Cut (Match on Action) is usually made on action, is used to make a scene look smooth, for example, we see a person turn towards the door, then their hand on the handle, then we see then walking through the door, from the other side of the door than the scene started.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rI82hsBrq8w
Jump Cut is an abrupt switch from one scene to another which may be used to make a dramatic point.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_S5pTUaOwI0
Cutaway is a bridging, intercut shot between two shots of the same subject, showing secondary activitly happening at the same time as the main action
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoFto-Zhy8s
Cutting Rate is where frequent cuts are used as deliberate interruptions to shock or surprise the audience.
Cutting Rhythm can be progressivly shortened to increase tension. It may also create exciting, lyrical or staccato effect in the viewer.
Fade is a gradual transition between shots. The picture gradually appears from or dissapears to a blank screen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bup_zehvBo
Split Screen is the division of the screen into parts which can show the viewer a few images at the same time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHvD9mVDxfY
SOUND
Diegetic - When the actors can hear the music, as well as the audience (e.g a radio)
Non-Diegetic - when only the viewers can hear the music, not the characters. The music is from a different place than the on screen action.(e.g. when theres actiony music in a car chase)
Synchronous - sound that is caused by an event on screen, the sound matches the action
Asynchronous - is where the music is separate from the visuals, like a voiceover or dialogue from another scene
Sound Bridges - music that carries over to the next scene, to help the transitions be more fluid
Sound Effects - used to create a sence of realism or create some psychological impact
Ambience - id the background sounds, to create atmosphere
Selective sound - is used to emphasise key sound elements within a sequence
Sunday, 7 April 2013
Target Audience
Target Audience
Target audience is extremely important because it means you can tailor your film to a certain age range or gender, so that it gets the audiences taste.
Out target audience is probably predominatly males, as males take the prominant role, it also includes lots of action, and women are sometimes degraded, by playing damsels in distress. I believe the age should be about 16 - 30's. The main audience would be teenagers/younger adults, as they are the ones who statistically go to the cinema more, so would be more likely to come and see our film.
As i couldn't find any statistics on gangster films, I looked up action films, becuase our film could also fall into that catagory because we have lots of action going on in our film.And looking at the following results from the Bourne film, we can see it is most popular with males and over half of the audience is between the ages of 18 - 29, my statement earlier about our target audience being teenagers and younger adults is correct.
Opening Credits Order
Opening Credits Order for our Film:
Time Credits
0.00 - Studio Name: Universal
0.22 - Production Company: Out Of Sight Pictures
0.32 - Producer or Directors Name: A CDS Film
(Actors)
0.34 - Aidan Kendler-Rhodes
0.37 - Scarlett Rowley
0.40 - Chris Sharp-Paul
0.51 - Film Title 'THE CAPTIVE'
1. 01 - Casting by Erica Husain
1. 04 - Costumes Designed by Pedro Sanchez
1.08 - Music Composed by Zach Winterford
1.12 - Edited by Harvey Sayer
1.18 - Production Design by Sammy Hades
1.23 - Director of Photography Kristen Levin
1.31 - Written by Out Of Sight Pictures
1.34 - Produced by Caitlin Dear - Fitzpatrick
1.37 - Directed by Jack Casey
2.06 Opening Ends
Friday, 22 March 2013
Survey Results
We decided to leave out question 10 about the flashback, as we hadn't yet added it in before the viewing, and also lots of people didn;t answer question 12, as they probably didn't know what cinamatograpgy was. In looking at the results of our survey I chose to layout the questions then the answer to the questions so we, and other people, can see what the results for each question were, I also put questions 4 and 10 together and 7 and 8, as the answers people gave linked those questions together.Overall the feedback we got from the survey the audience, of our first viewing did, was reasonably positive.
1. Do you like our film? (circle) YES NO They all said they enjoyed our film
2. How old are you? Most of our audience were teenages, so obviouly have different views than other age ranges.
3. What age do you think our film is aimed at? The rating they gave our film was 15 or 18.
4. What do you like about our plot?
10. Did you like the music in our film? Do you think it suited the film? A number of our audience said we had an iteresting polt and it was intense, it created suspense and tension which was helped by our choice in music, Another person said they liked all the points of view from the camera of the characters.
5. What genre do you think our film is? A crime/gangster genre.
6. Does our title suit the type of film? And why? They all said that they liked our film title - 'The Captive', as it suited our film because in the beginning the people are being held captive/hostage, they also said it made it mysterious and it complemented the setting.
7. Is there anything you think we should change? Ideas of how we could improve our film?
8. Do you think the camera is steady? And could you see our film clearly? They did have ideas of how we could improve it, with the stablity of the camera, as in some parts it was jerky, others thought that we should have had blood when one of our characters (Nico) got shot.
9. Did you follow the plot of our film? Do you think it's realistic? All of our audience said that our plot was realistic and believeable.
11. Did you think our location went with our film? Our audience liked the location as it was isolated, though slightly dark
12. Did you think our use of costumes were appropriate? They liked our use of costume as it was appropriate for our plot and genre.
1. Do you like our film? (circle) YES NO They all said they enjoyed our film
2. How old are you? Most of our audience were teenages, so obviouly have different views than other age ranges.
3. What age do you think our film is aimed at? The rating they gave our film was 15 or 18.
4. What do you like about our plot?
10. Did you like the music in our film? Do you think it suited the film? A number of our audience said we had an iteresting polt and it was intense, it created suspense and tension which was helped by our choice in music, Another person said they liked all the points of view from the camera of the characters.
5. What genre do you think our film is? A crime/gangster genre.
6. Does our title suit the type of film? And why? They all said that they liked our film title - 'The Captive', as it suited our film because in the beginning the people are being held captive/hostage, they also said it made it mysterious and it complemented the setting.
7. Is there anything you think we should change? Ideas of how we could improve our film?
8. Do you think the camera is steady? And could you see our film clearly? They did have ideas of how we could improve it, with the stablity of the camera, as in some parts it was jerky, others thought that we should have had blood when one of our characters (Nico) got shot.
9. Did you follow the plot of our film? Do you think it's realistic? All of our audience said that our plot was realistic and believeable.
11. Did you think our location went with our film? Our audience liked the location as it was isolated, though slightly dark
12. Did you think our use of costumes were appropriate? They liked our use of costume as it was appropriate for our plot and genre.
Fonts - Title/Credits Analysis
After reviewing our film one of the thing's we thought we should change was our title colour and font, as we felt it didn't match our film, so i've looked at other font of the gangster genre to draw inspiration, and see similarities. First off they mostly all have black backgrounds, with bright or writing that stands out, like white, red or yellow, they then each have their own personal touch:
The 'American' has a city silhouette and Gangster in
red, which could represent blood that has been spilt
Has a city on the gun - could show they control the city
the 'The' is is white, which matches the background and
'Departed' in blue, contrasting with the black of the gun
The 'American' has a city silhouette and Gangster in
red, which could represent blood that has been spilt
it too also had a city in the background
It has elegant looking old style writing it also has hands playing with puppet strings - implying manipulation
Has an explosion of a lighter background on top of the dark main
backgroud and has a kind of cartoony style, also
the only other one that has a person properly in the background.
Has a city on the gun - could show they control the city
the 'The' is is white, which matches the background and
'Departed' in blue, contrasting with the black of the gun
Shows jagged typewriter font with white writing,
contrasting with the black background, so making it stand out.
Has animated writing which stands out against
the black background
It had blood spatters in the background, with silhouettes
of the gangster
It has made it the logo look like a signpost, it then has
a picture of a diamond being stolen, roughly telling us
what the film is about.
It had shadows of the letters extending out, it has
a gloomy background, the dark at the top and the bottom
of the screen make it look mysterious.
Thursday, 21 March 2013
First Draft Results
Results:
After viewing our first draft we have decided there are things we need to change like:
- Make our film longer
- Change "The Captive" colour to a colour that matches and stands out in our film, like the glow sticks, so bright yellow and green
- Change our titles font, to one that matches our genre, rather than our generic font
- Have more shot types in our film
We have already included:
- A Pan from ceiling to floor showing glow sticks
- A Close-up of some glow sticks
- A Pan across and up the wall with a glowy texture dripping from walls.
- A Pan of medium shot eye level from Nico to Alexis slow (music begins and builds up tension.)
- A Close up of Alexis with a steady shot, shows her struggling
- A Birds eye shot of floor and glow sticks (door banging sound as it opens you see light and can see Scarlett for the first time.)
- Blurred focus as X walks into room from Alexis' perspective ( as she's dazzled by light, hear heartbeat pick up.)
- Blurred focus as X walks into room from Alexis' perspective ( as she's dazzled by light, hear heartbeat pick up.)
- Watching from view of Alexis (this is an undershot as Alexis is looking up at X)
- An Over the shoulder shot of X as he kills Nico,
- An Over the shoulder shot of X as he kills Nico,
- Camera pans still a high shot now onto Alexis as she cries and screams.
- Camera again at view of Alexis (hear a really loud heartbeat)
- Camera again at view of Alexis (hear a really loud heartbeat)
- Gun is pointed at camera to symbolise it being in Alexis' face (so from point of view of Alexis, heartbeat continues for 4 seconds, signalls she is killed.)
We plan to add more footage to expand our storyline more, also to make it more tense and have a better build up. Within the footage we are goin to have different types of shot aswell. We have decided to add in flashback, but only in small snipits, as if people are remembering the past, so for example, people running through a forest, the shot of just the peoples feet. Also shots of just close up faces, with expressions to show what they were feeling at that time, it should hopefully also make the audience want to know whats going on at that moment, therefore having a build up, like why that character looks scared or shocked, etc.
We have added:
- A Pan of the location (woods)
- A medium point of view shot of X stalking Alexis (see X through trees)
- A close up point of view shot Alexis running away from X (see ground moving)
We have added:
- A Pan of the location (woods)
- A medium point of view shot of X stalking Alexis (see X through trees)
- A close up point of view shot Alexis running away from X (see ground moving)
Thursday, 14 March 2013
Tuesday, 12 March 2013
Filming
FILMING
This is a Facebook entry of when our filming will be, to let all our cast know where and when it is, we decided to do it via Facebook, as people would probably be more likely to forget if we jsut told them all the details, and most people check their Facebook all the time, so they will definatly see this.
After filming today we have had to make a few changes as our extras didn't turn up and one of our character 'The Muscle' was unable to make the date and out 2 extras didn't come. We had to cut the script off before the flashback, as we didn't have enough people to make the film worthwhile, so we just added in more footage of the location and characters, and we basically stuck to the first half of the script.
Thursday, 7 March 2013
Sunday, 24 February 2013
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