Planning: Cinematography Planning (Ms Begum)

Planning: Cinematography Planning (Ms Begum)

Cinematography is important in films because it looks at all the different ways a shot can be framed, the angles they can be taken in and also the movement of the camera. 
I believe it is important to think about the cinematography, especially in thriller films because this allows the audience to build up a better opinion of a character by the way the camera presents them.

Some of the conventional uses of cinematography in thrillers are:

A Low Angle shot is a conventional use of cinematography in thrillers as low angle shots add a disorientated effect amongst the audience as the background of most low angle shots tend to be looking up at the sky or ceiling.

Close up is also Another conventional use of Cinematography used in thriller films. A close up is when it zooms in on a persons face or a object, cutting out every bit of background as it aims to have the audience concentrating on the main object in the frame. Close ups are effective as they allow the audience to go into the mind of the character and get a sense of how they are feeling.

Lastly, Panning Shot is when the camera moves across the screen showing everything in its view, this is another convention of a thriller film. This shot is important as it allows the audience to see what kind of environment the character is in.

The cinematography I plan to use in my thriller consists of the following:

Close-up will be used in the low lighting kitchen scene when you see a butchers knife with stains of blood on it being scraped across the kitchen counter. I have chosen to use this because it will then allow the audience to make all sorts of guessing of what has or is going to happen in that particular scene.This is conventional to the thriller genre because a lot of thriller films use close ups on a object or a person to make them or it the main focus of the shot.

High angle shot will be used in my thriller in a point of view scene when the mystery character is seen standing on the stairs recording the new family as they walk into there new home. This is conventional as in thrillers high angle shots are used to make someone or an object seem insignificant or less scary.

Long Shot will be used in my thriller in scene where the father takes a look outside and see's the mystery shadow standing in the pitch black darkness next to the shed before he disappears into the darkness. I have chosen to use this as i have also added a blur effect to it which doesn't reveal to much about the mystery character. This is so that it can allow my audience to straight asking questions while being in a state of shock as they finally see the mystery character.
This is conventional as it allows the audience to see the characters full body, from heads to toe.

Over the shoulder shot will be used in my thriller when the husband walks downstairs and picks up a letter then suddenly he notices the flickering of the lights in the living room. I thought this shot was very effective as it would allow the audience to put themselves into the husbands perspectives.

Lastly, Reaction shots will be used in my thriller during the fast editing scenes which it when you will see the father on the ground in the passage way looking at the camera and shouting whilst moving backgrounds. This is conventional as it allows the audience to feel the characters emotions and put themselves in the characters situation.

Conclusion
Recapping on the cinematography we plan to use in my thriller has allowed myself and my group to add, remove and even change some of our idea's. Initially we planned to use low angle shots but as we finished our narrative we then found out that a low angle shot would not fit in with the flow of the scenes which is why we have used a High angle shot in the thriller.
myself and my group are now also able to identify and say which cinematography will be used in which specific moment with a reason why we have chosen it and what affect it will have on our target audience.

Research: What is a Storyboard (Ms Begum)

LO: To be able to demonstrate what a storyboard is and identify the key features.

Story board is a graphical representation of how the your video will look like, scene by scene. Storyboards are made using square boxes which illustrates pictures representing each shot in the sequence.

Storyboards need to contain information about: cinematography, iconography, lighting, actors, sound, narrative, location, duration and Number of shots. 
Including all of these in a storyboard will make producing the scene a lot easier as the producer can just work with and around the information. Storyboard also ensures that you don't forget any shots and can piece together all your shots according to your storyboard.

Stages of Storyboarding

Script > Storyboard > Filming

Advantages of Storyboarding

• Helps clear up narrative, make it easier to understand.
• organises all your shots.
• The producing crew are able to visualize the scene before they have even shot it.
• Clear list of what micro-elements will be used for the shot.
• Cheap and easy to produce.

Disadvantages of Storyboard

• Time consuming
• Could think of better ideas while storyboarding leads to starting over.
• Your storyboard idea could get damaged/Go Missing.

This music video was effective as it was very odd yet creative as you wouldn't normally see a animated storyboard music video. This music video is different to the ones you'd see on TV due to the fact that sketch art is used to build draw up each shot. We can still see and identify micro-elements even though this is an animated music video such as low key lighting, fast editing and non-Diegetic sound.

Conclusion

The storyboarding task has given me a much better understanding of what storyboarding actually is and how it helps you produce your film. From this i will now be able to develop my ideas into a sequence which will give me a better idea of how my thriller will look.

Planning: Production Roles (Ms Heath)

During the process of creating a film there are seven production roles which are essential. Each person in a group has at least 1 role which they are assigned. 
Just because a person is assigned to a role doesn't necessarily that they will do that hole role by themselves as even if one person is assigned to a role such as editor that role would still get a group contribution.

The seven main productions roles consist of:

Camera Operator
The camera operator is basically a camera man who operates a movie camera and films the scene that take place. The camera operator must work with the storyboard organiser and create shots which are at most effective to the thriller genre.

Sound technician
This person operates and is in charge of handling all the sound aspects of the film. A sound technician would normally work with the storyboard organiser to come up with the sound that best suits that type of scene and can cause effect amongst the audience.

Editor
A editor are the people who edit scenes. most editors work closely with the camera operator and storyboard organiser to come up with the best type of montage to use in the film and how there shot sequels can cause effect.

Film Director
The film director is the person who is in charge of everything that goes on in and around the film. A directors job will consist of organising the production crew and making sure everything is effective and can relate back to the production ideas.

Location Manager
The location manager chooses the locations for different scenes that will be shot for the film. Location manager has to choose the best place to film a scene as he must make it effective to place in a film and also engaged the audience into the scene.

Actors
Actors are the people in a film who act as a convincing character. An Actor works closely with the film director as they must have the correct movements and facial expressions for example to fit the scene.

Storyboard organiser
This is a person who creates the film on a storyboard as this shows everyone a rough idea on how the scenes are going to look like. Cinematography, narrative, editing, and soundtrack will all be used in a storyboard as it gets the production crew a detailed example of what they are expected to produce. The more detailed a storyboard is the less work the production crew will have to do on the day of filming.

All The Roles within my Group:

Camera Operator; Me
I am the groups camera operator simple due to the fact that i have the most steady hands and i feel i could position the camera in an effective way to reflect the genre of the film.

Sound Technicians; Relande
The sound technician will be Relande as he has a good understanding of what sound fits which scene and how it could make our thriller trailer effective. However, the group will also have a part so say about what sounds are used.

The Editor; Relande
The editor will be Relande as we chose his narrative over the over the others as we felt we could create a stunning trailer out of it. As it was Relande's narrative, he understands it more than anyone else however, there will be a group contribution towards editing as we want to ensure everyone gets the ideas across.

The Film Director; Relande
We've put Relande down as the film director as we feel he has the correct leadership characteristics to ensure the group will produce an effective thriller.

The Location Manager; Arif
We chose Arif to be the group location manager as he loves travelling to new areas and also he has good ideas on what locations we can use to create an effective thriller.

Storyboard organiser; Yasmin
We have chosen Yasmin to do the storyboard as out of everyone in the group she is the most artistic and we feel she could create a really detailed storyboard which will make filming a lot easier when we come to do it.

Conclusion
Production roles has helped us identify every group members strength and weaknesses which is how we were able to apply a certain role to that person as we feel he/she will be most effective doing that role.
As everyone in the group has a individual role, it will make the process of filming more organised and easier to film.

Research: Opening Credits & Typography (Miss Heath)

Research: Opening Credits & Typography(Miss Heath)

What are Opening Credits
Opening credits are written information presented at the beginning of a film which informs the audience on who is starring in the film as well as the production roles such as directors and actors. Opening credits are used before a film as it helps the audience familiarize themselves with the characters before the film starts, It and also influences the audience into continue watching the film as they may see a famous actor or director in the opening credits.


Purpose of film credits

• Advertising
• Giving credit to those who took part
• Influence Audience to watch it by placing their most popular actors/directors in the credits.
• Shows different shots of the film setting
• Helps sets the tone.

What information opening credits provide?
The audience expect to see at least two main actors which are used to grab their attention then a list of the different producers that were involved in making the film from the order of important to least important.


How they make the audience feel?
Opening credits are effective in thriller films when when the films use sound in the opening as this is done to create tension. Images are often used in opening credits to confuse the audience and have them asking questions. In addition, Most images have to story to tell later on in the film.

What you expect to see in opening credits?

In a film opening credit the audience will be sitting in their seats expecting to see the names of the important actors that featured in the film, this also includes the direction. 
This is done as it influences the audience to watch the film, e.g. A group of girls will most likely watch a film knowing Johnny Depp is in it.

Se7en Analysis

In the 'Se7en' opening credits some information is presented to the audience is designed to confuse them. For example 'Rape', 'God' these keywords are presented with a focus of confusing the audience and also allowing them to relate it back to the narrative of a film. The opening credits also included the name of the film and the characters and directors that we're involved in the making of the  film. This is done so that the audience can know the names of the people playing the important parts of the film. In addition, If you've noticed the sequence in which the characters were revealed went from the most popular actors to the amateur names, Then job roles such as director, sound manager etc... was presented.

All the information in the opening credits we're in a sequence of one after the other, which meant it was all messed up and solely produced like that with the intention confusing the audience while allowing them to relate this back to the film narrative which gives them a idea of what to expect from the film.

Lighting
Low key lighting
Flashing lights
Protagonist Colours (such as red)
Montage
Information Presented
Actors
Serial Killer
Victims
Organised crime
Successful (can tell by all the victims presented)
Changes from Extreme to less extreme (Needle through finger)
Generic Conventions
Sound
Close up
Montage

Typography

Typography is a term for the font that is used in the media world. Font can be used in anything, for e.g. film credits. Typography also includes the size of the font that is used and the colour of the font.








The typography used in the opening credits of the film 'Se7en' emphasizes the thriller genre of the film. Two different types of font styles are used in the opening credits as the font style changes between the list of production role and the person who is doing the actual role.

Newspaper letter cut outs we're also used in the opening credits of the film 'Se7en' as it is what you would associate with a stalker or a serial killer, sending there victims messages using cut outs. This allowed the audience to get a sense of the kind of film they are about to watch as in the opening credits they also seen red crosses amongst peoples faces which suggest that this mystery character is probably a serial killer. I believe the typography used in the film 'Se7en' is in fact conventional to a thriller film as it the style of the fonts and the colours used along with the soundtrack help create suspense and also confuses the audience.

In My Thriller...
From looking at different film openings, I've decided that I will use medium size text with a sort of blurred font style to try and disorientate the audience, the font colours for my thriller opening will be in red or black as they both symbolize  death.
The thriller will also include different montages of flashing scenes and a text that has a secret meaning which is often revealed later on in the film. I will use low key lighting and close ups on a mystery character to not reveal the face of this hidden anti/Protagonist.