Me and my fantastic group members Sinead and Naadhirah worked on a storyboard too conduct a continuity scene that was 45 seconds long, based on our understanding of the 180 degree rule.
We had to show the exchange of an item between the characters and a reaction shot.
We (Me, Naadhirah and Sinead)has created a 12 boxed story board on what our continuity scene was going to be about. We then had the pleasure of using a ten pence piece to choose who was going to become the camera woman and shoot the scenes, the other two unfortunates had to take part in the film and become the actors.
The story was based on two people walking towards each other, meeting then exchanging a few words ("over the shoulder shots" here) and then exchanging money for a "Dip Dab". This was meant to add a slight amount of humour, as we tried to sequence the film so that it looked as if what was going to be exchanged would be something more dangerous, such as alcohol or a different kind of powder rather than sherbet.
After the exchange has taken place the Characters acknowledge each other and then walk their separate ways.
I underestimated the amount of time that it would take to film this scene, as it looks eaier than it actually is for the shots to come together and look perfectly fine as we were not using editing for these scenes. Especially as the location of our scene was in the college corridors so it was quite difficult to shoot as everyone was walking up and down the corridors and wants to be caught on the camera (which happenes to be very annoying)even more annoying that we had to wait for someone who was not even staring in the shots to move.
As this was our first time that we were shooting something that had complete relevance to our lives, i think that my group did very well.
Sunday 29 November 2009
Friday 23 October 2009
Task 2: Research into Existing Products
Textual Analysis
When doing a textual analysis the key things to look for are;
Editing which include visible and invisible editing.
Sound Non diagetic sound which is sound that you don't expect to hear and Diagetic sound is the sounds that you do expect to hear.
Mise en Scene is the expected world in which the programme revolves around and without it the programme would not make any sense.
Camera Angles
Genre
Genre separates the films into different categories.
The 3 genres that we have been looking at are;
Romantic Comedies,
The basic plot of a romantic comedy is that two protagonists, usually a man and a woman, meet, part ways due to an argument or other obstacle, then ultimately reunite. Sometimes the two protagonists meet and become involved initially, then must confront challenges to their union. Sometimes the two protagonists are hesitant to become romantically involved because they believe that they do not like each other, because one of them already has a partner, or because of social pressures. However, the screenwriters leave clues that suggest that the characters are, in fact, attracted to each other and that they would be a good love match. The protagonists often separate or seek time apart to sort out their feelings or deal with the external obstacles to their being together.
While the two protagonists are separated, one or both of them usually realizes that they are ideal for each other, or that they are in love with each other. Then, after one of the two makes some spectacular effort to find the other person and declare their love, (this is sometimes called the grand gesture), or due to an astonishing coincidental encounter, the two meet again. Then, perhaps with some comic friction or awkwardness, they declare their love for each other and the film ends happily. The couple does not, however, have to marry, or live together "happily ever after". The ending of a romantic comedy is meant to affirm the primary importance of the love relationship in its protagonists' lives, even if they physically separate in the end
Thrillers
The thriller genre can include the following sub-genres, which may include elements of other genres:
Action thriller: In which the work often features a race against the clock, contains lots of violence, and an obvious antagonist. These films usually contain large amounts of guns, explosions, and large elaborate set pieces for the action to take place. These films often have elements of mystery films and crime films but these elements take a backseat to action. Notable examples are the James Bond films, The Transporter, and the Jason Bourne novels and films.
Conspiracy thriller: In which the hero/heroine confronts a large, powerful group of enemies whose true extent only he/she recognizes. The Chancellor Manuscript and The Aquitane Progression by Robert Ludlum fall into this category, as do films such as Three Days of the Condor, Capricorn One, and JFK.
Crime thriller: This particular genre is a hybrid type of both crime films and thrillers that offers a suspenseful account of a successful or failed crime or crimes. These films often focus on the criminal(s) rather than a policeman. Crime thrillers usually emphasize action over psychological aspects. Central topics of these films include murders, robberies, chases, shootouts, and double-crosses are central ingredients. Some examples include The Killing, Seven, Reservoir Dogs, Inside Man, and The Asphalt Jungle.
Disaster thriller: In which the main conflict is due to some sort of natural or artificial disaster, such as floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, volcanoes, etc., or nuclear disasters as an artificial disaster. Examples include Stormy Weather by Carl Hiaasen, Tremor by Winston Graham, and the 1974 film Earthquake.
Drama thriller: In which the story consists of the elements of a thriller and drama film. These films are usually slower paced and involves a great deal of character development along with plot twists. Examples include The Illusionist, The Interpreter and The Prestige.
Science-fiction thriller: Alien and Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars Trilogy and Ian Irvine's Human Rites Trilogy and Dasavathaaram are examples of science-fiction thrillers.
Horror thriller: In which the main character is put in danger and their main enemies are unrealistic creatures in which they must destroy to achieve their goal. Films such as Evil Dead 2 and Zombie 2 fit into this genre of thriller.
Erotic thriller: In which it consists of erotica and thriller. It has become popular since the 1980s and the rise of VCR market penetration. The genre includes such films as Basic Instinct, Dressed to Kill, Color of Night, Eyes Wide Shut, Fatal Attraction, Looking for Mr. Good bar, Obsessed, and In the Cut.
Legal thriller: In which the lawyer-heroes/heroines confront enemies outside, as well as inside, the courtroom and are in danger of losing not only their cases but their lives. The Innocent Man by John Grisham is a well known example of the type.
Medical thriller: In which the hero/heroine are medical doctors/personnel working to solve an expanding medical problem. Robin Cook, Tess Gerritsen, Michael Crichton, and Gary Braver are well-known authors of this sub genre. Nonfiction medical thrillers are also a subcategory, comprising works like The Hot Zone by Richard Preston. Films such as Awake are other examples of medical thrillers.
Political thriller: In which the hero/heroine must ensure the stability of the government that employs him. The success of Seven Days in May (1962) by Fletcher Knebel, The Day of the Jackal (1971) by Frederick Forsyth, and The Manchurian Candidate (1959) by Richard Condon established this sub genre. A more recent example is the 1980 film Agency.
Psychological thriller: In which (until the often violent resolution) the conflict between the main characters is mental and emotional, rather than physical. The Alfred Hitchcock films Suspicion, Shadow of a Doubt, and Strangers on a Train and David Lynch's bizarre and influential Blue Velvet are notable examples of the type, as is The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith (who also wrote Strangers) and The Good Son starring Elijah Wood and Macaulay Culkin.
Spy thriller (also a sub genre of spy fiction): In which the hero is generally a government agent who must take violent action against agents of a rival government or (in recent years) terrorists. Examples include From Russia, with Love by Ian Fleming, The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum, and television series such as Mission: Impossible and 24 (the latter demonstrating a break from the norm by Robert Ludlum, as it is as much a psychological thriller as a spy thriller).
Techno-thriller: In which (typically military) technology is described in detail and made essential to the reader's/viewer's understanding of the plot. Tom Clancy defined and popularized the genre with his The Hunt for Red October, and is considered to be the "Father of the Techno thriller".
Religious thriller: In which the plot is closely connected to religious objects, institutions and questions. While suspense stories have always shown a significant affinity for religion and philosophical issues (G.K. Chesterton's novel The Man Who Was Thursday has been called a "metaphysical thriller"; and Umberto Eco's novels The Name of the Rose and Foucault's Pendulum both display thriller characteristics), Dan Brown's 2003 best-seller The Da Vinci Code has led to a current boom in religiously oriented thrillers.
Most thrillers are formed in some combination of the above, with horror, conspiracy, and psychological tricks used most commonly to heighten tension.
Horrors.
Horrors need to be scary and have to be scary enough to have the audience jumping out at the most unexpected sounds. The characters in a thrillers tend to be quite young and based on people from the the ages of 16 - 32. The stories are usually based around 'High school'. 'Colleges' or 'Schools'.
The weathers is usually normal weather according to where the film is set, but when something is about to take place you notice that the sky tends to go really dark and cloudy, its starts to heavily rain, thunders sounds and the occasional lightening strikes.
We usually know what to expect from the title of the film.
Film: Misery
Genre: Thriller
In the thriller 'Misery' the title of the film appears on a black backdrop with big red wobbly writing, which shows that there may be some gruesome or graphic scenes in the film which may contain blood as the writing is Bold and quite wonky and has been formed from blood puddles. As the writing fades out into a black screen, in which a chilling piece of music starts playing.
The black screen then fades into an establishing shot of a man in a room typing on his type writer, the camera then does a close up shot of the phrase 'Without it what was there?' We then see another close up of the character taking the paper from the type writer and then writing The end himself, at the end of his novel even though he could have type it via the type writer, which was as if the character had written out his own fate when writing 'the end'.
When the character gets in the car there is a long shot of him throwing the snow of his car, when he gets into his car cheery music starts to play, road trip music as the characters driving through the snowy roads, the cheery road trip diagetic music, suddenly stops, once the car crashes there is no music and the sound of only wind from the snow storm.
The diagetic sounds such as the typewriter adds effect as the sound of the typewriter with the music playing in the back, makes a kind of earry sound.
Film:The Number 23
Genre: Physcological Thriller
In The number 23 starts off as a black sheet of white paper, rather old paper at that. The pages then start to flicker as if someone was flicking through a book, and then the number 23 itself is repeatedly written a numerous amount of times in red ink, which then starts to spread as if the ink was bleeding across the page.
There is also mysterious music playing whilst facts about the number 23 appear on these sheets on of paper.
The facts that appear on the paper are quite shocking facts that actually make you think about the number 23 and whether it is a cursed number or not. i.e William Shakespeare was born and died on the 23rd, Julius Cesar was stabbed 23 times...
The music playing in the background is quite a mysterious piece of music as if it would be used for a scene of someone that's just done something graphic along the lines of slitting their wrists or attempting suicide. However the music makes the writing alot more effective as it helps you to take in the facts appearing on the screen. The combinations of blood writing and thrilling music works greatly as it set you in the mood for that element of horrifying surprise.
Film: Skeleton Key
Genre: Thriller
The film starts with a black out which then fades into a rain storm, but it is focused on a tree that is dripping with rain water. It then cuts to a nurse reading to a dying man, However there is a voiceover of the story whilst the scenery is changing between the hospital and the rainstorm outside. There is a mellow guitar sound as the old man lays in the hospital bed dying. This then jump cuts from the nurse dealing with a patient of hers dying to the nurse in a night bar with her friends. The sounds such as the rain during the rain storm, and the thunder indicate to us that somethingbad is going to happen in the movie. When the man actually dies it changes from a mellow guitar sound to a violin playing sad music, which suited the scene very well.
When doing a textual analysis the key things to look for are;
Editing which include visible and invisible editing.
Sound Non diagetic sound which is sound that you don't expect to hear and Diagetic sound is the sounds that you do expect to hear.
Mise en Scene is the expected world in which the programme revolves around and without it the programme would not make any sense.
Camera Angles
Genre
Genre separates the films into different categories.
The 3 genres that we have been looking at are;
Romantic Comedies,
The basic plot of a romantic comedy is that two protagonists, usually a man and a woman, meet, part ways due to an argument or other obstacle, then ultimately reunite. Sometimes the two protagonists meet and become involved initially, then must confront challenges to their union. Sometimes the two protagonists are hesitant to become romantically involved because they believe that they do not like each other, because one of them already has a partner, or because of social pressures. However, the screenwriters leave clues that suggest that the characters are, in fact, attracted to each other and that they would be a good love match. The protagonists often separate or seek time apart to sort out their feelings or deal with the external obstacles to their being together.
While the two protagonists are separated, one or both of them usually realizes that they are ideal for each other, or that they are in love with each other. Then, after one of the two makes some spectacular effort to find the other person and declare their love, (this is sometimes called the grand gesture), or due to an astonishing coincidental encounter, the two meet again. Then, perhaps with some comic friction or awkwardness, they declare their love for each other and the film ends happily. The couple does not, however, have to marry, or live together "happily ever after". The ending of a romantic comedy is meant to affirm the primary importance of the love relationship in its protagonists' lives, even if they physically separate in the end
Thrillers
The thriller genre can include the following sub-genres, which may include elements of other genres:
Action thriller: In which the work often features a race against the clock, contains lots of violence, and an obvious antagonist. These films usually contain large amounts of guns, explosions, and large elaborate set pieces for the action to take place. These films often have elements of mystery films and crime films but these elements take a backseat to action. Notable examples are the James Bond films, The Transporter, and the Jason Bourne novels and films.
Conspiracy thriller: In which the hero/heroine confronts a large, powerful group of enemies whose true extent only he/she recognizes. The Chancellor Manuscript and The Aquitane Progression by Robert Ludlum fall into this category, as do films such as Three Days of the Condor, Capricorn One, and JFK.
Crime thriller: This particular genre is a hybrid type of both crime films and thrillers that offers a suspenseful account of a successful or failed crime or crimes. These films often focus on the criminal(s) rather than a policeman. Crime thrillers usually emphasize action over psychological aspects. Central topics of these films include murders, robberies, chases, shootouts, and double-crosses are central ingredients. Some examples include The Killing, Seven, Reservoir Dogs, Inside Man, and The Asphalt Jungle.
Disaster thriller: In which the main conflict is due to some sort of natural or artificial disaster, such as floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, volcanoes, etc., or nuclear disasters as an artificial disaster. Examples include Stormy Weather by Carl Hiaasen, Tremor by Winston Graham, and the 1974 film Earthquake.
Drama thriller: In which the story consists of the elements of a thriller and drama film. These films are usually slower paced and involves a great deal of character development along with plot twists. Examples include The Illusionist, The Interpreter and The Prestige.
Science-fiction thriller: Alien and Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars Trilogy and Ian Irvine's Human Rites Trilogy and Dasavathaaram are examples of science-fiction thrillers.
Horror thriller: In which the main character is put in danger and their main enemies are unrealistic creatures in which they must destroy to achieve their goal. Films such as Evil Dead 2 and Zombie 2 fit into this genre of thriller.
Erotic thriller: In which it consists of erotica and thriller. It has become popular since the 1980s and the rise of VCR market penetration. The genre includes such films as Basic Instinct, Dressed to Kill, Color of Night, Eyes Wide Shut, Fatal Attraction, Looking for Mr. Good bar, Obsessed, and In the Cut.
Legal thriller: In which the lawyer-heroes/heroines confront enemies outside, as well as inside, the courtroom and are in danger of losing not only their cases but their lives. The Innocent Man by John Grisham is a well known example of the type.
Medical thriller: In which the hero/heroine are medical doctors/personnel working to solve an expanding medical problem. Robin Cook, Tess Gerritsen, Michael Crichton, and Gary Braver are well-known authors of this sub genre. Nonfiction medical thrillers are also a subcategory, comprising works like The Hot Zone by Richard Preston. Films such as Awake are other examples of medical thrillers.
Political thriller: In which the hero/heroine must ensure the stability of the government that employs him. The success of Seven Days in May (1962) by Fletcher Knebel, The Day of the Jackal (1971) by Frederick Forsyth, and The Manchurian Candidate (1959) by Richard Condon established this sub genre. A more recent example is the 1980 film Agency.
Psychological thriller: In which (until the often violent resolution) the conflict between the main characters is mental and emotional, rather than physical. The Alfred Hitchcock films Suspicion, Shadow of a Doubt, and Strangers on a Train and David Lynch's bizarre and influential Blue Velvet are notable examples of the type, as is The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith (who also wrote Strangers) and The Good Son starring Elijah Wood and Macaulay Culkin.
Spy thriller (also a sub genre of spy fiction): In which the hero is generally a government agent who must take violent action against agents of a rival government or (in recent years) terrorists. Examples include From Russia, with Love by Ian Fleming, The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum, and television series such as Mission: Impossible and 24 (the latter demonstrating a break from the norm by Robert Ludlum, as it is as much a psychological thriller as a spy thriller).
Techno-thriller: In which (typically military) technology is described in detail and made essential to the reader's/viewer's understanding of the plot. Tom Clancy defined and popularized the genre with his The Hunt for Red October, and is considered to be the "Father of the Techno thriller".
Religious thriller: In which the plot is closely connected to religious objects, institutions and questions. While suspense stories have always shown a significant affinity for religion and philosophical issues (G.K. Chesterton's novel The Man Who Was Thursday has been called a "metaphysical thriller"; and Umberto Eco's novels The Name of the Rose and Foucault's Pendulum both display thriller characteristics), Dan Brown's 2003 best-seller The Da Vinci Code has led to a current boom in religiously oriented thrillers.
Most thrillers are formed in some combination of the above, with horror, conspiracy, and psychological tricks used most commonly to heighten tension.
Horrors.
Horrors need to be scary and have to be scary enough to have the audience jumping out at the most unexpected sounds. The characters in a thrillers tend to be quite young and based on people from the the ages of 16 - 32. The stories are usually based around 'High school'. 'Colleges' or 'Schools'.
The weathers is usually normal weather according to where the film is set, but when something is about to take place you notice that the sky tends to go really dark and cloudy, its starts to heavily rain, thunders sounds and the occasional lightening strikes.
We usually know what to expect from the title of the film.
Film: Misery
Genre: Thriller
In the thriller 'Misery' the title of the film appears on a black backdrop with big red wobbly writing, which shows that there may be some gruesome or graphic scenes in the film which may contain blood as the writing is Bold and quite wonky and has been formed from blood puddles. As the writing fades out into a black screen, in which a chilling piece of music starts playing.
The black screen then fades into an establishing shot of a man in a room typing on his type writer, the camera then does a close up shot of the phrase 'Without it what was there?' We then see another close up of the character taking the paper from the type writer and then writing The end himself, at the end of his novel even though he could have type it via the type writer, which was as if the character had written out his own fate when writing 'the end'.
When the character gets in the car there is a long shot of him throwing the snow of his car, when he gets into his car cheery music starts to play, road trip music as the characters driving through the snowy roads, the cheery road trip diagetic music, suddenly stops, once the car crashes there is no music and the sound of only wind from the snow storm.
The diagetic sounds such as the typewriter adds effect as the sound of the typewriter with the music playing in the back, makes a kind of earry sound.
Film:The Number 23
Genre: Physcological Thriller
In The number 23 starts off as a black sheet of white paper, rather old paper at that. The pages then start to flicker as if someone was flicking through a book, and then the number 23 itself is repeatedly written a numerous amount of times in red ink, which then starts to spread as if the ink was bleeding across the page.
There is also mysterious music playing whilst facts about the number 23 appear on these sheets on of paper.
The facts that appear on the paper are quite shocking facts that actually make you think about the number 23 and whether it is a cursed number or not. i.e William Shakespeare was born and died on the 23rd, Julius Cesar was stabbed 23 times...
The music playing in the background is quite a mysterious piece of music as if it would be used for a scene of someone that's just done something graphic along the lines of slitting their wrists or attempting suicide. However the music makes the writing alot more effective as it helps you to take in the facts appearing on the screen. The combinations of blood writing and thrilling music works greatly as it set you in the mood for that element of horrifying surprise.
Film: Skeleton Key
Genre: Thriller
The film starts with a black out which then fades into a rain storm, but it is focused on a tree that is dripping with rain water. It then cuts to a nurse reading to a dying man, However there is a voiceover of the story whilst the scenery is changing between the hospital and the rainstorm outside. There is a mellow guitar sound as the old man lays in the hospital bed dying. This then jump cuts from the nurse dealing with a patient of hers dying to the nurse in a night bar with her friends. The sounds such as the rain during the rain storm, and the thunder indicate to us that somethingbad is going to happen in the movie. When the man actually dies it changes from a mellow guitar sound to a violin playing sad music, which suited the scene very well.
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