B- Ideas For Our Stabbing Shot

Nightmare of Elm street(Wes Craven,1984)

In this film the stabbing scene is different to what we would like to create but the ideas are similar. The girl being stabbed is shown through the use of quick cuts to show the wound and the attacker but doesn't actually show the two together. I think that we need to do something similar to make our shot effective.

Group - Audience Research + Evaluation

To conduct our audience research we have used Surveymonkey.com

Here is the link to our survey...

Click here to take survey


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Here are the results from our survey:

This shows that our audience want exactly what we want to give to them with our concept which bases itself upon a 'mystery'.

Unfortunately this showed that our idea was the least popular out of the options but our treatment results (shown below) have an average of 8/10 which shows that our concept was popular. As a result of this we believe that we can communicate this through our opening sequence effectively even if the idea proved unpopular.

This question highlighted the fact that our chosen murder scene location would be most popular with our audience. This helps to support us and show that we made the right decision when choosing our locations.

Finally, we assessed possible titles with our chosen title, Afflicted, fortunately being the most popular. Again, this highlights that we have made good decisions and that our title will be popular with our audience.

Group - Wilderness Woods Footage

Group - Treatment

A psychological thriller creating a sense of isolation and conflict of the mind. Ada, the main character sees herself murdering a young girl in a vicious attack where she stabs her several times. We then see Ada waking up in a panic and it turns out that it was just a dream. Or was it? After calming herself down she carries on her every day life and sets of to work as a police woman. To her surprise she finds the case file of the girl who had been murdered the night before on her desk, the case had been assigned to her. This triggers a downward spiral of confusion, guilt and isolation. She becomes afflicted by the memory of her dream.

After a battle between reality and illusion she becomes increasingly distressed as she struggles to differentiate between them, whilst still trying to solve the murder she thinks she committed. This results in a complete loss of sanity and the line completely fades, she commits suicide. As she does we see a man sitting in a dark room surround by pictures of the murder, he is then arrested.

AP Location Recce - Day Progression

• I have found an ideal location for our day progression shot or time lapse that we plan to incorporate into our film opening.

• We aim to have a shot of the main character standing in the middle of a shot, with a background of a country landscape. Although this may not fit the generic conventions of a thriller, the montaged sequence of our opening requires several varying shots and compositions and by including this type of shot into our montage it will create the mood that Becki and I aspire for in our opening.

To show a panoramic view of this landscape we could incorporate a panning into our time lapse.

• The shot will show the main character on the top of a hill and by filming or taking pictures at various times of the day we hope to show through the day going by, sunrise to sunset, that our main character is troubled. The world retains it's normality whilst an individual suffers with the conflict in her head. I also hope that this shot will give a sense of isolation which is a key theme to our concept.

• I hope for our shot to be similar to this:

CF feedback - product research/ideas dvpt

Abbi/Becki
Outstanding work from both of you - focused, thorough analysis, clearly using the blog collaboratively and linking your research directly to the concept development. Excellent use of ICT in presenting the work. Becki, particularly thorough work from you - going beyond the expected posts and documenting your ideas development in detail.

You are both working at a high Level 4. Keep up the good work.

B- Recce Of House, High Brooms Walk Through And Crowded Area

Here are some still shots from my recce of locations which we could use in our concept:

• The first is for the bath shot which we are planning to use to end our montage, we were thinking of the idea that the woman falls asleep in the bath and then we are shown the dream. To end the montage therefore she needs to wake up in the bath in a state of panic. The inspiration of how to do this shot after researching has come from 'The Black Swan'. Here are some stills of shots which we could use to do this shot.
• This is a shot inspired by Black Swan from the side of the bath in order to not show that the actor is actually wearing clothes.

• This is a Birdseye shot of the bath which we would use to do a CU of 'Abbi's' face underwater in our opening.

• Another idea is of isolation within a group of people, to do this we needed a busy place in which 'Abbi' could stand still in for a long period of time in order for us to speed up the footage and make her look consumed by the crowds. A location which i conducted a recce on for this is London, here are my still shots.
  
• This is a low angle shot from the London eye showing the bridge, a crowded place which i think would work well for the shot we a looking for. Also as it is near a road people are all walking in a compacted space which would work really effectively in our concept.

• Here is a shot the same we would use in our filming to show the crowds, again i think that this would be a perfect location for our filing as it it constantly crowded.

• Here is another still shot of a location in which we could use for the 'stabbing' this is High Brooms station walk through, i think this would be a good location as it follows the conventions of a thriller in that it is urban as well as being dark, dirty and secluded therefore a perfect place for a murder.

B- Audience Research Ideas

Audience Research Ideas


I think that for us the most effective type of audience research would be to create questionnaires to send via email to a selection of students, the questionnaires would consist of the treatment for which we could ask for a rating. Also a list of titles for which we would like the person to decide which they think best suits the treatment. We could also ask for a rating on the concept overall and which target audience they feel best suits our concept. In addition to this we would ask for their gender and age in order to gain a wider understanding on the audience.
Another type of research that would work is to pitch our concept to a group of people and then get written feedback as to what they think about each section for example fonts, concept, colours etc...

What target audience should we aim our concept at?


I think that our target audience would be quite wide, the concept would appeal to both males and females as most psychological thrillers do. The age group for our concept would a 15 rated certificate due to the explicit stabbing scenes. This would give potential for a wide audience so we need to make sure that we are appealing to all ages over 15 within our concepts and ideas.

Group - Reflection On Wilderness Wood's Footage.

Recce evaluation

What is the point of a recce?

The point of a recce is to explore a location, gain inspiration and ideas and to check suitability for filming. This is including access to necessary facilities and assessment of any potential lighting or sound issues.



What did you learn about the process of filmmaking on the recce?
After conducting a recce of Wilderness woods we learnt that it takes alot of time and effort in order to shoot footage. We also learnt that you need to do more than one take of a shot in some instances as the first shot is not always successful. Another thing we learnt is to try and keep the camera and smooth as possible by keeping it on the tripod, this gives a more aesthetically pleasing outcome.


Did you try out any shots that didn't work?

• We tried to create a sense of isolation and confusion by Abbi appearing from the trees, unfortunately this shot did not work as we anticipated as it does not flow properly and does not create the feeling we anticipated.
• The only other problem we faced was with the steadiness of the camera, some of the shots are really jolted as we didn't use the tripod most of the filming. Therefore we are going to pay extra attention to this when filming in the future.

What ideas were the most successful?

• One idea that was really successful is the shot through the wooden fence, the auto focus on the camera really makes this shot and the feel of looking through the wood creates the feelings that we are aiming for in our film opening.
• Another shot which worked really well was one in the stream, the reflection of the trees looks really good along with the lighting. This creates a sense of isolation as the surrounds are opening again something which would work well in our opening.

How did this exercise generate ideas for your opening?

• This exercises gave us lots of inspiration and ideas for our film opening, the shot of Abbi surrounded by tree stubs works really well and we are going to consider this in our opening.
• The idea of shooting in the stream also worked really well, the reflection of water is something which we could use in order to show isolation.
• We also like the idea of using nature in our shots as again it can give the impression of loneliness.

What will you do next in terms of your own locations?

• Next we are going to conduct another recce at Bodiam using the castle and grounds especially.
• Another recce of a house will be done in order to set up shots for the bath scene.

Group - Framing of shots

The frame size of a shot is vital when trying to shoot and edit footage. If the sizes do not match it may cause major problems when trying to edit footage.

The general frame sizes are...

576, 720

And 1080, 1900

Frames per second is another factor which needs to be considered. Frames per second is how many still images make up an shot.

We are shooting using 25 frames per second. and using the frame size 1440, 1080 to shoot and edit our footage.

There are also dictated settings for filming in different areas these are...

PAL- UK and Europe

NTSC- US

AP Technical Analysis - The Butterfly Effect (Eric Bress and J. Mackye Gruber, 2004)

• After technically deconstructing the opening sequence of The Butterfly Effect I found that it was nothing like what Becki and I have discussed. In the opening 2 minutes it had 10 shots and was continuity edited whereas what we have planned for our opening is a dream using montage editing.

• Most of the shots were MS or MLS however, in the first 2 minutes nearing the end of the sequence an ECU is shown highlighting the words 'save her'. This ECU is commonly used in thrillers as it emphasises and dramatises particular points of interest to the audience. By highlighting the words 'save her', it connotes a sense of foreboding.

• As a result of this, I am currently still researching psychological thrillers and I will repeat this process with a film that has a similar opening to that of our idea.

Group - Ideas For Our Opening From Research

Here are some ideas we have for our film opening after conducting research...

• Blurred shots in order to create a sense of confusion which is a main part of our concept so would work well.
• Bourne Supremacy- The idea of the dream being in a montage which would be an effective way to form and structure our opening.
• The use of handicam in order to connote the idea of disorientation of the main character.
• Black swan- The sound used in the black swan trailer is really effective and is something we would like to use in our opening. Gradual build up of tension until a scream sound.
• Colour wash from looking at vantage point, we would like to use a darker colour wash to create a sense of the UN known.
• We have decide to challenge gender stereotypes and use only female characters
• Vantage point- Montage of shapes to create a sense of confusion and fitting pieces of a puzzle together.
• A shot in the bath from the black swan opening, we found this shot really effective and are going to try and create a similar shot within our opening.
• Film noir ideas- we like the idea of the Venetian blinds and are considering using this in our concept, we also like the idea of low key lighting as a means of creating a sense of tension.
• We would also like to use quick cuts in the transitions of our shots in order to create a sense of action and tension as well as the unknown.

AP Institutional Context

I think that our concept and ideas that we have developed throughout the week lean towards an independent production rather than something industrial and commercial. Particularly with the recent release and popularity of Black Swan and the similarity with our idea, we could create something dark and mysterious and appeal to this new found audience looking for a more intellectual experience. 

Independent distributors I have found include:

•  Fox Searchlight Pictures which is owned by the conglomerate News Corporation but specialises in British, Independent Films and also distributed Black Swan. 
• Similarly, Paramount Classics also specialises in independent, European films. This is what I have found so far and I am still continuing my research. 

What are your thoughts?

B- Font ideas for film opening

Font ideas for our film opening- 'Dafont.com'

1. The font 'Carmen' could work well with our concept as the slashes over the letters could be representative of the murder in our concept which is a knife attack. The font is also quite bold and messy which could be reflective of the mindset of the murderer.

2. The font 'Broken ghost' is another font which i feel could be effective in our film opening this is because the curls in the font could represent the main character being 'messed up' and confused. The boldness and straightness of the font could also be representative of this as it reflects on official documents which are also part of the opening as she will be a police woman.

3. The font 'quidproquo' is another font in which would work well with our opening concept, the curliness of the font could again represent the mind frame of the main character as well as following the main theme of our film opening which is confusion.

4. The font 'Uper dagger' would also work well within our film concept. The use of random shapes as a background for the font would work well in anchoring the montage opening form of our opening. The font style would also anchor the use of newspaper cutting notes in which we were planning to use in our film opening.

5. The font '...fight' would also work well in our opening as it would again represent the theme of the murder being a knife attack. This font looks as if it has been scratched by a knife. This could also reflect the main characters mind set as it is curly connoting the idea of confusion.

6. The font 'networkD' would also fit with our concept as again it could represent the use of newspaper notes which would feature in the opening. This would create a sense of hidden identity and engage the audience.

Overall i think that all of these fonts would work well within our concept and we could use any of them but my favourites are 'NetworkD' and 'Quidquopro' to represent confusion and the mind set of the characters. Although i do want to keep researching and looking for more inspiration.

AP Analysis of The Machinist (Brad Anderson, 2004)

Genre

• The Machinist is a psychological thriller about a man who after not having slept for a year starts to question his sanity. However, there are several film noir elements to the opening sequence.

• The audience's generic expectations of a film of this genre are definitely fulfilled in this opening. It portrays the main character Trevor rolling up a body in a carpet. The audience is positioned as a witness to this crime and we see this action unfold through a window which gives the opening an element of film noir.
• As the typical audience of a psychological thriller we are allowed to let our minds run wild to imagine how the dishevelled character we are introduced to, and his story, will develop. 

Media Audiences

• The likely target audience of The Machinist is that of the Curzon Crowd (24-35), the more intellectul 'art-house' audience who want to be active in their viewing and The Machinist definitely keeps you on the edge of your seat wondering how further Trevor's sanity will be questioned.

• The possible audience reading of this opening could be that it follows the typical gender stereotypes of men being strong and in control however, the probable audience reading of this text would challenge the stereotype because Trevor appears emaciated and unstable which mirrors how the audience could perceive this film.

• As a British teenager I find this opening typical of the psychological thrillers I have researched. They all successfully use the idea of conflict of the mind to connote a sense of disorientation, insecurity and uncertainty. 

• As a female I have noticed that most psychological thrillers use men as the main character while women are used as the sympathetic stock characters. The only exception I have found in my research is that of Mulholland Drive where the main character is female.

Institutional Context 

• Christian Bale has been selected for the main character in this film. He is a bankable star and is an acclaimed actor when it comes to the thriller genre. He has starred in several other psychological thriller films such as American Psycho (Mary Harron, 2000) and  The Prestige (Nolan, 2006).

• The Machinist was produced by the Fantastic Factory label of Filmax Entertainment and Casteleao Productions which is an independent Spanish company that has a focus on international productions. It was distributed, however, by Paramount Classics or Paramount Vantage which specialises in distributing more 'art-house' type films. 

• Nonetheless, it only grossed $1,082,715 worldwide after starting out with a $5,000,000 budget. Even though The Machinist was distributed by Paramount Classics it was only released on 3 screen in the USA. The largest amount of screens it was released on was 116 screens in Italy. 

• Overall I don't believe that this film was marketed properly when it was in it's infancy. I think that it had a lot of potential to be a box-office hit even if it is more of an independent film. It could have been the next Donnie Darko.



Group - Concept idea for our opening

Film concepts and ideas on Prezi

B-More inspiration for our film opening, sound and shots- Black Swan

Black Swan (Aronofsky, 2010)

Trailer-

Film overview
A ballet dancer wins the lead in "Swan Lake" and is perfect for the role of the delicate White Swan - Princess Odette - but slowly loses her mind as she becomes more and more like Odile the Black Swan, daughter of an evil magician. A ballet dancer wins the lead in "Swan Lake" and is perfect for the role of the delicate White Swan - Princess Odette - but slowly loses her mind as she becomes more and more like Odile the Black Swan, daughter of an evil magician.

Inspiration from shots

• I really like the quick cutting rate between shots, i think that this is a good way to grab the audiences attention and create a sense of tension.
• I also really like the shot in the bath, we were thinking of using a shot like this within our opening but this has given me some ideas as to how we would be able to do a shot like that. (Here is a still of the shot i like)

• The idea of bruises gradually appearing is a really nice effect, we could use this in our opening to represent the break down of the main character, possibly using cracks.
• The shot of the girl in the mirror moving but in reality she is standing still is another shot which i think is really effective and would like to look further into doing.

Sound

• The sound in this trailer is mainly voice over, i do not think that this would work for our concept.
• I do like the soundtrack which is used with the voice over , it starts of very slow to create a sense of tension.
• The music then increases with a constant beat to give intensify the feeling of tension, the loudness of the music also increases in order to intensify the tension even more until eventually it reaches a screaming sound then slows down again.
• I think that this is a really effective use of sound and is similar to the soundtrack that i image for our film opening.

Overall

I think that this trailer has some really nice shots which i would like to look further into using in our film opening. I definitely think that the soundtrack would work well with our film opening as well and is a definite consideration.

B- Technical analysis- The Eye

The Eye (2008, Moreau)- Psychological Thriller


Over view of film-

Sydney Wells is a successful classical violinist who has been blind since the age of five. Fifteen years later, Sydney undergoes a cornea transplant, which causes her eyesight to return, a bit blurry at first. As time goes on, Sydney's vision begins to clear; however, she also begins experiencing terrifying visions, mostly of fire and of people dying. She knows that she is not going insane. She finds herself in Mexico, where the donated corneas were originally from. The fire and people dying are the result of an industrial accident that the former donor foretold and shortly after that hanged herself because she could not stop the accident from occurring. Her job is to stop it.

After conducting a technical analysis on this film i have found...

Type of shots

• The use of close ups in this film opening create a sense of tension and makes the audience feel closer to the action an example of a close up is 'Shot 31- CU of the woman's face following a tear rolling down her cheek' this adds emphasis to the fact that she is crying making the action seem more realistic and engaging the audience.


• The use of MLS to show the scene is also used within this film opening for example 'Shot 11- MLS of the house with door open' this helps to position the audience within the action as they are close enough to feel part but also get to see the scene. This therefore makes the audience feel on edge creating a thrill. (Here is a shot of the house)




• High angle shots are also used in the opening in order to position the audience with the woman and create a sense of vulnerability in order to make the audience feel even more scared for her.

Transitions

• The transitions in this film opening are mainly create through the use of a blank screen for example, 'Shot 9- is simply a black screen' as well as 'Shot 7- also being a black screen yet anchored with the music to create a sense of tension'


• The use of the black screen creates a sense of tension and a feeling of unknown in order to make the audience want to keep watching but be afraid to know what is coming next. This engages the audience and creates an enigmatic feel following conventions of the thriller genre.


• One transition i liked imparticular was 'Shot 14- the light bulb seems to go out creating a sense of the unknown and an enigmatic effect' this is then followed by another shot making the audience feel more involved in the action. (Here is a still to show this shot)




• Quick cuts are also used to add tension and create a dramatic effect within this opening this then creates an enigmatic effect and grabs the audiences attention.
  

Mise en scene

• The lighting in this clip is very dark and seems to create shadows, this follows the generic conventions of a thriller as it creates a sense of the unknown an example of when this is used successfully in this film opening is at 'Shot 6- where the camera fades to a grassy area' (Here is an example of the grassy area showing the dark lighting)

• The props used in this clip iconic of thriller conventions for example the rope and the pipe in which it is tied around this follows the audiences expectations of the film as well as making it more enigmatic and effective.


• The set design also follows the generic conventions of a thriller, the room is dirty and UN decorated therefore giving the impression of the dark side and UN caring an example of a shot which shows this is 'Shot 21- which is a cut into the house showing a shadow on the undecorated wall'


• The non verbal language shown by the main character portrays the idea of being unstable through the fact that she is jumpy and crying this creates tension in the narrative and keeps the audience interested.
  

Sound

• The sound of cogs to show the lions gate title creates an instant feel of anticipation and puts the audience on edge as well as creating a sense of tension grabbing the audiences attention.


• The sound in the opening of this film is used to anchor the action, for example we can hear a faint sound of feet running through grass creating the impression that someone is getting closer. This is used to make the audience feel surrounded therefore creating a thrill.


• The main soundtrack is dull and slow creating the sense of eeriness and building tension for the opening of the film. This follows the conventions of a thriller.


• Other sound effects are also used in the opening of this film such as screaming, slamming doors and the shaking of the light bulb, this creates a sense of realism for the audience and bring the narrative to life. Therefore creating an enigmatic feel and fulfilling the conventions of a thriller.

Link to the video- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wVU8CRESp4

AP Analysis of Mullholland Dr. (David Lynch, 2001)

Mulholland Drive

Genre

• This film belongs to the genre of thriller and the sub-genre of psychological thriller. 
• The film as a whole follows the generic conventions of a psychological thriller film, for example, Mulholland Dr. is focused more on conflict of the mind rather than physical conflict which is more prevalent in other sub-genres of thriller. 

• The opening sequence of Mulholland Dr. is the 'psychedelic' dancing of a Jitterbug contest that the main character Diane supposedly won. However,  the audience's minds then start to wonder if there is something more sinister behind this apparently cheery opening with the juxtaposition of the dancing with the disorientation in the bedroom. 

• I think that this opening fulfils the audience's generic expectations of a psychological thriller opening sequence because it connotes a feeling of confusion and seeing as this open gets the audience thinking it is playing with their minds. 

Film Language

• Examples of mise-en-scene are the bed and dark red sheets at the end of the sequence which has negative connotations. The colour red links to blood and the crumpled and creased sheets shown when panning across them after Diane's dream suggests signs of restlessness and unease.
• In addition to this, the blurred POV shot after the dance sequence connotes a sense of confusion, as does the diegetic heavy breathing heard at the same time. This makes the dance sequence appear as if it were a dream.
• The main part of the sequence (the dancers) is shot in MLS with no camera movement, which allows the audience to focus on the strange dancers that appear to 'flow' through each other like ghosts.
  
• Another image then gradually fades in to reveal a picture of three people smiling and looking happy. This image is whitewashed and contrasts against the bold blue original background.
• Diane (the main character) is shown in the image above over the contest, smiling as if she has won it and therefore establishes our main character even if to the audience it does not appear to be obvious.
  
• The music played over this sequence reflects the mood of the dance sequence. It is upbeat and fast-paced. However, this is then juxtaposed with silence and heavy breathing when the scene changes.

Narrative

• The audience are positioned with whoever is witnessing or dreaming the dancing. This is particularly evident after the sequence when we appear to wake-up disorientated. The heavy breathing and handicam are used to position us with this character and make us active in our viewing of the film because we start to develop our own ideas about what is going on.
• Major themes of this narrative include happiness which is then contrasted with disorientation.