Coursework idea/group contribution

All of us in our groups shared our ideas that we came up with for our coursework piece, The genre had to be a psychological thriller. We used Todorov's Theory to layout our piece.

My idea:

Equilibrium: Daniel wakes up in his apartment, alone with no one there he gets ready for work and leaves. Driving to work and spending the whole day working in the bank.

Disruption: Daniel on his way home stops at a cafe to get something to eat and drink. Although he goes to the toilets, and whilst in there, something possesses him to kill a man that's in the toilets as well. With no memory of what happened, he has control of his body once again, standing over sme mans body. He panics and runs out the cafe. A police inspector comes to the scene of the crime after the body has been found, and quickly tracks down the killer (Daniel).

Recognition of disruption: Now on the run from the police, Daniel manages to buy a little bit of time and sneak around to find out what happened to him that night. After finding clues leading him to the truth, he soon realises that it's not just the police that are after him, he is now being hunted by the people that possessed  him. In an attempt to hide the truth from anyone. As the Police investigator tracks down Daniel, finding the same clues that Daniel has found along the way, the inspector soon realises that something strange is happening. After then going through a strange experience of finding Daniel and nearly being killed by an entity trying to kill Daniel, the inspector is fully convinced that Daniel is innocent, and offers help.

Attempt to repair disruption: In an attempt to repair what has happened, Daniel finds the truth lies in the heart of the base of the organisation that are hunting him. With no hesitation, he devises a plan with the inspector to get inside, as he does he is captured and the leader of the organisation reveals what it all is, and why he was possessed. Daniel recognises his face, who he turned out to be someone in the cafe that night. At that point he is about to kill Daniel using a different entity (used to possess people), when the inspector intervenes, there is a fight between the inspector and the leader, when Daniel breaks free and kills the leader.

Reinstatement of the equilibrium: Daniel is cleared of all charges, the inspector shakes his hand and they both go back to their normal lives.   

Having said my Idea with the group, we decided to choose another group members, but I have contributed well to that, and chosen the font for the title and helped in deciding the different camera shots, and editing affects to use in our storyboard. We are all making our fair share of contributions and ideas.

Todorov's Theory

Today we learnt about Todorov's Theory.
Todorov's Theory is a set of five stages that most films follow to set out the story. These five stages are:

1.Equilibrium- The setting is established and characters are introduced to the story. The story is also set up.

2.Disruption- The oppositional characters appear, the story takes a different direction.

3.Recognition of disruption- Lives of characters and events interact. Tension is built throughout and is often the longest sequence.

4.Attempt to repair disruption- The highest point of tension and a change in the dynamic follows.

5.Reinstatement of equilibrium- Everything is sorted out, all problems are solved and questions are answered.

Analysis of 'The Sixth Sense'

Opening sequence Analysis

 

 

Before the beginning of the opening credits in the short sequence of the film “The Sixth Sense,” while it is showing the company logo, tension is being built. They do this by not playing any music; it is in complete silence as the opening credits begin. Already at this point the viewer is feeling insecure and a sense of fear around them, due to the silence. This also gives a supernatural atmosphere to the viewer, foreshadowing what the film is about to the viewer.

 

It begins with the opening credits, fading in and out. The opening credits are white and the background is dark as the opening credits go on. These binary oppositions contrast and set the scene for the events ahead (woman in purple gown and gloomy set), this gives the effect that they are being taken in by the darkness, and this creates a dark atmosphere for the viewer, as darkness also relates to danger, and by this they now know that this film is not a happy film. The audience are gripped by the darkness and drawn into it immediately, as the credits seem to spread out before they fade into the darkness. This catches the attention of the viewers and keeps their eyes fixed on the screen; it also makes the viewer feel uncomfortable as the credits are uncontrollably zooming towards them, surrounding them in tension. The contrasting colours of black and white also do this well by using editing effects. The non-diegetic sound of the music also adds to the effect, as it is very dark and eerie, creating an uncomfortable atmosphere for the audience, as they also become more aware of their own surrounding, also changing their mood from when there was no non diegetic sound, as they feel more paranoid and on edge.

 

As soon as the title “The sixth sense” fades in, it is blurry and shaded before it fades out. The dark and sinister music also increases in tempo and becomes more dramatic. These relates to what the film is about, stereotypically a ghost would appear in the same way, as did the title and disappear. The viewers, at this point, are scared, as the sudden change in music and its volume shocks the audience as they may not expect it to happen. After the title has appeared, the music changes in pitch and tempo, this puts the audiences mind at ease, and lets them think about what it going to happen in the film, and what might be encountered during it.  

 

 The non diegetic sound of music fades out as soon as the opening scene begins with a close up shot of a light blub slowly fading in. This shows the light bulb in more detail, and this also makes the audience think about what will happen in this scene, and creates an uncertain mood among them. It will also make the audience question the scene, as they can only see the light bulb in great detail and not the rest of the set; it also has nothing covering it, which gives the impression that this is an uncomfortable scene. By the camera filming a long shot behind the wine rack as the character enters, and using a tracking dolly it follows the character. This gives an impression to the viewer that the character that has entered the scene is being watched and is not alone in the room. It also makes the audience feel very uneasy, as the character feels she is not alone in the room, and quite vulnerable, especially when she then turns her back on the wine rack.  

Using a dark and gloomy setting around with no colour, this short sequence uses ‘Mise en scene’. This is because the characters costume is a purple dress, this colour contrasts with the dark setting, and draws the attention from the audience onto her, and also tells them that she should not be there as she does not “fit in” to her surroundings. The lighting in this scene is dark and makes the setting look abandoned, and her bright purple dress standing out shows that she is dressed for a special occasion elsewhere.

 

 

Before the character walks up to the wine rack she hesitates, which tells the viewer that she is uncomfortable being down in the basement, and that she senses that something is behind the wine rack, the fact that she is filmed using a close up shot allows the viewer to see the character’s emotions very clearly, meaning that the audience mirrors her fear and, therefore, starts to worry themselves. It also gives the effect that something is watching her when the character is looking at the wine bottles on the rack. The camera follows her as she moves up and down to find the bottle she wants. This makes the audience feel uneasy, and also keeps the effect that she is being watched. The character then hears a non-diegetic sound effect of something falling on the floor, and something dragging across the floor, the sound is non-diegetic because the audience can’t actually see what has fallen, making the viewer feel confused and scared about what has and what might happen. The camera then zooms in to a close up, at this point the audience know that she has been alerted, and can see her facial expressions, telling the audience that she is scared, and frightened.

 

After the character turns her back on the wine rack, the camera cuts to a mid-shot, to see the front of the character, her shadow is in the background, where it is mostly darkness. The lighting is in bars, giving the effect that whatever is in the room with her has already caught her. Her shadow gives quite a sinister effect to the audience, relating to one of the main aspects of the film, again relating to the thriller genre of the film and what the film is about. Her being confined by the darkness builds tension and makes the audience feel paranoid, expecting something to jump out at her from the darkness.

 

 The camera then cuts to a long shot. There is an open space in the set around the character; this shows that the she is even more helpless and vulnerable in the open space, as she also looks around the set. This tells the viewer that she is worried and has no idea if anything is there. This also makes the viewers feel insecure and worried for the character. Also by using a long shot of the camera, it shows the dark side of the stairs and the set, this may also shows that it is hiding in the darkness; this makes the viewer feel nervous and suspicious of the surrounding area including the dark spots around them. This is also shown from the other side of the wooden staircase, giving the effect again that someone is now watching her from there. This is also shown by a complete change in her characteristics. Before she looked more at ease, but now she seems cold and shivering, as she senses that something is not right. Telling the audience that maybe she is not alone in the basement. The diegetic sound effect of heavy breathing also tells the audience that she as a character is frightened and feels vulnerable in her position. The character then holds the bottle close to her chest; this could be her comforting herself because at this moment she is fearful. The character then quickly walks out and up the stairs. This makes the audience feel very uneasy as she is unknowingly walking towards what ever is by the stairs. This also shows that she is still frightened and wants to leave quickly, as she is unaware if anything is by the stairs. On the wall behind the character there is a light shining. With the viewer already nervous and on the edge of their seats, this bright part of the wall draws their attention as they will be focused on the character, it seems to look like a face or some sort of ghostly mist  to the viewer until they see it. This relates again to what the film is based on, and to what’s happened in this opening sequence, it plays with the viewer’s mind.

All these things are typical of a thriller genre because it is dark, this makes the viewer feel vulnerable and scared, and this is done by various things such as the eerie music and dark and gloomy set. It also makes them paranoid of their surroundings using different camera positioning, making it look as if the character is being watched. This may make the viewer feel like they are being watched.

 

Editing Techniques

Long takes:
Takes of an unusually long length, i.e. more than a few seconds. Very common due to the use of digital cameras.

Short takes:
Takes that only last for a few seconds.

Cut:
An abrupt transition from one shot to another, the simplest and most frequent editing technique in which one shot is immediately replaced by another.

Cross cutting:
Cutting back and forth between two or more scenes, events or actions that are taking place simultaneously. Used to build suspense or to show how two scenarios are related.

Cutaways:
A cut away from the primary subject to something of equal or greater relevance to the scene. Often consist of shots showing the character reactions from one person to another. This compresses time.

Dissolve:
An overlapping transition between scenes where one images fades out as another fades in, usually used to indicate a change in time and/or location.

Fade in:
A shot that starts in darkness and gradually lightens to full exposure

Fade out:
A shot that starts at full exposure and fades to darkness.

Wipe: 
One picture chases another off the screen.

Freeze frame:
When a particular frame is repeatedly printed, which halts or "freezes" the action.

Jumps cut: 
A cut where two spliced shots do not match in time or place. A jump cut gives the effect that the camera is jumping around.

Reverse cutting:
A technique that alternates over-the-shoulder shots showing different characters speaking. Used in conversational scenes.

Sequence shot: 
An entire scene or sequence that is one continuous camera shot, there is not editing.

Preliminary task- The Quest

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8Ju_dNPQHk

Preliminary task report

In this report, I am going to be talking about the short film that we recently produced to show off our media skills. For this preliminary task, our brief was to make a short film, at least 30 seconds long, in which a person must walk through a door, cross a room and exchange a few lines of dialogue with another character, but the rest was up to us. 

In our group of 4, which included myself, Sophie C, Shannon H and Lester L, we quickly decided that we were going to create a film that was both adventurous and comical that would show off the range of camera skills that we have recently learnt. Our final plan for our film came in the form of a storyboard which we all contributed to. The idea was that we create a film about a boy who gets summoned by a Guru thousands of miles away. The boy then runs all the way to the Guru to carry out his wishes, only to be told that all the Guru wants is a pizza. We all really liked this idea because of the way it covered both the adventure and comedy genres, we also believed that we could show a lot of technical skills with the camera while creating this film.

During our film, we were also instructed to include the following 3 shots:

Eyeline Match - When the character looks at something that is out of view from the camera, and then the camera shows what it is that the character is looking at.

Shot/Reverse Shot - Usually used during a conversation, the camera switches from one character to the next and back again.

Match on Action - When the action from one clip is carried through to the next so that it looks as though it was shot in one continuous clip.

During this film process, I developed the dialogue, and acted in the clip. I really enjoyed this because I was able to use my acting skill, and be a part of the short clip. I also enjoyed developing the dialogue between the two characters in the clip; this allowed me to get a view of what each character was saying before it was acted out. Actually being a part of it and doing the dialogue allowed me to think of what stuff could have been improved during the clips before we filmed it. And by doing the dialogue also allowed me to suggest some camera angles that we could have used during the clip, and think more about the 180 degree rule, which was used during the dialogue scene.

After we had finished filming, it was time to edit the individual clips together. We did this by uploading the clips onto iMovie in the Apple Mac suite. Once uploaded, we were able to put the clips into the right order so that they made sense. We were also able to trim the clips so that they ran fluidly from one to the other without jumping - this is where we were able to make the edits necessary to complete the "Match on Action" shot listed in our criteria. 

Once all of the clips were trimmed and in chronological order, we muted the sound on all of the clips that did not include dialogue. This was so that there was no unnecessary background noise in our final film, e.g., wind, footsteps and camera noises.

We then decided that we were going to add some sound effects and music to our film, to make it more dramatic. We did this using the sounds and music available in the iMovies library so that we were not subject to any copyright laws. 

We decided to use dramatic music because it built up the idea of the film being an adventure film, which also made it very funny once you realise that the main character had run all that way for nothing. This also makes the viewer feel sympathy for the main character, as they watch him run for so long only for him to be let down at the end.

Once we had finished editing the main film, we decided to add a small funny clip of a boy dancing to the end. This was because we wanted to include a clip that we could scroll credits over, which was also funny (to keep with the comedy theme). We then uploaded our finished film onto YouTube. I think we all made equal contributions to the editing, we all listened to what the other fellow group members had to say, and we were all involved in the final decision making, when we had to finish the editing.

For this preliminary task, I have learnt the importance of having a clear plan, so you know what you are doing before the filming starts. One good thing was we prepared well with already having already agreed on a rough idea before we began planning the storyboard. As planning went on we made other adjustments to ensure that everyone was happy with their role, and so it made more sense to the viewers. I think one thing to improve on would be time management. We planned well in the time given, but when it came to filming we lost track of time, and took longer than the given time. As well as the editing, it took longer than expected. One thing to improve on for future filming would be to prepare before we film to ensure we use the given time wisely, and the same with the editing.

Finished Storyboards

Preliminary task storyboard

Today in our groups we added to our storyboards for our preliminary task. We did this by adding different camera angles to the storyboard, and added more information about it, and the different sounds that will be used during the short film. We also have added in the camera angles we have just learnt, these were match-on-action, eyeline shot, and shot reverse shot.

Planning the Preliminary

Today we began to plan our preliminary projects. In our groups, we came up with an idea for a short film, and planned it out on a storyboard.

Today I contributed by sorting out the dialogue and apporpriate costumes for the subjects involved in the performance. The dialogue will improve the film because it will show the subjects interacting during the performance, and changes the viewers opinion of the short film.
The costume also makes the subjects stand out, and shows their different statuses. This contributes to the status because the costume for one subject will show that he has a higher status to the other subject.

Welcome

Hello and welcome to my blog!
This is where I will be posting my media coursework.