Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product ?
Shaky shots were used when filming shots of photographs of the young victim on the wall. The shaky shots were used in order to make it seem as if the pictures were being observed by the stalker.
This shows you that when filming our preliminary task not all shots were done that well as you can see the actor's head has been cut off in the shot.
From this print screen you can see that a lot of the mise-en-scene used was not appropriate for the scene we were filming (a job interview). The clothes being worn are too casual and the setting does not look like it would in an actual interview.
However, the mise-en-scene used in our final film was well thought about beforehand. We wanted to make the audiences aware that they were watching a young group of people socialising at a party. We did this by making sure the clothing they wore was trendy and casual looking, and also by shooting the scene in a house, in order to make it seem like they were at a house party.
In our preliminary task we did not use any effects, however, we did use many effects such as 'Old World' for our final piece in order to make it look a lot more professional and effective.
Question 1-
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products ?
Film Techniques:
Titling-colour, font, style, over image or black, timing, credits presentation etc.
You can see here that for our titling we wanted to make it as simplistic as possible and use a dark black background with white writing in order to keep will the genre and use these colours to represent darkness and death. We also thought that the white and black work well together as they are contrasting colours, we saw the black and white being used in The Chainsaw Massacre The Beginning and liked the effect it gave. In this film they did not use it for their titling but used the black and white effect at different parts in the opening of the film, we therefore came up with the idea of using this for our own titling. The writing that appeared was quick and only stayed on the screen for a few seconds. We thought that the use of using the titles quickly would increase the suspense of the opening of our film.
We didn't use many titles in our opening. We decided to use the following titles: 'New Line Cinema Presents', 'A Harkin Film', 'Caitlin Boyle', 'Charlie Watts', 'Edited by...', 'Music by..'. We didn't want to use lots of titles as we preferred to use images from our filming instead, therefore we only used the main characters names in the titling. We used the main most conventional titles first first, like 'New Line Cinema Presents' and 'A Harkin Film'. Finally we decided to use a few extra titles including the titles 'Edited by...' and 'Music by...'. The first few titles of our film are very similar to that of the titling in the film Nightmare On Elm Street.
Camera Movement- (panning, tracking, crane shot and crabbing etc)
Most camera movements used in the opening of our film are panning shots. These shots are used when filming the pictures of the young girl on the wall, they are also used when filming things such as the candles at the very start of the opening. We used these panning shots in order to allow the audience to concentrate on these pictures one by one. They are also used to give the effect that the so called stalker is watching the young girls pictures and constantly has his eye fixed on her. Tilting is also used when filming the victim, this is used to give the effect that someone is observing the girl, as the camera slowly moves up her body. We found that the panning shots are used quite a lot in the opening of some films. For example he films Valentine and The Chainsaw Massacre The Beginning both use panning of different objects and pictures.
Framing of Shot (CU, MLS, ELS etc)
The main type of framing shot used in our opening is a close up shot. These close up shots are use mainly when showing the photographs of the young girl on the wall, they are also used when showing various objects such as the match and flame, showing a picture being burnt, showing a hand tapping on a surface, characters faces and newspaper cuttings. Close ups were used when shooting these things as they allow the audience to concentrate on them and have a better understanding of what is being shown in the opening. For example the use of close up when showing characters faces allow the audience to see their emotion. The close up of things like the burning of the picture and the match and flame allow the audience to ask questions and get an idea of what the scenario might be. When studying other openings we found that many close ups were used when showing characters facial expressions and like ours objects and pictures.
Various Medium Long Shots were also used in our opening. For example when panning through the photographs on the wall we used this type of shot as well as close ups so that the audience can see a number of photographs instead of just a few when using a close up shot. We planned to use a medium long shot to show these pictures as by showing the audience a lots of pictures together, shows just how obsessive this stalker is.
Camera Angles (high and low angles etc)
There are only a few different camera angles used in our opening of our film. We used some eye level angles, for example when shooting the photograph of the girl on the wall, and when the victims hand is being pulled towards the young boy. Along with this we also used some high angle shots, for example, when filming the stalker spelling out the name 'Annabelle Richmond'. We used a high angle shot in order to allow audiences to feel that they were looking at the image through the stalkers eyes.
Selection of mise-en-scene including colour, figure, props, lighting, objects, location and setting
We decided to use various mise-en-scene in our film opening. We decided to use candles which is shown in the first few seconds of our opening. By using the candles we agreed that they would create an eerie effect and follow the candle shot by a shot of the photographs of the girl to show that the stalker has his own sort of 'shrine' which highlights his obsessive behaviour. When researching horror films, the film The Chainsaw Massacre The Beginning also uses candles in order to create a creepy effect. We choose to film a lot of our film in a dark basement, especially when filming things like the photographs of the girl, and the different objects such as the newspaper cuttings and someone lighting a match. Yet again photographs and other things such as the newspaper cuttings are also used in the film The Chainsaw Massacre The Beginning. We believed that using a dark setting like the basement would add to the creepy effect of the film and add to the horror effect. From research we found that a dark setting is a typical convention of a horror film, an example of this is the dark setting (underground) in the opening of the film Creep. Objects such as photographs of the victim were used, which again highlights the extent of the stalkers obsession. Torn pictures and shots of the stalker burning some of these pictures, highlight how dangerous and violent this stalker can be, and contrasts with the pictures on the wall. The audience will question whether the stalker is infactuate with the victim or has strongly detests the young girl. Along with this the characters in the opening are seen to be wearing trendy and casual looking clothing to show that they are young adults. Gloves are shown to be worn by the so called stalker. The glove acts like a mask, hiding the stalkers identity. Masks are also quite common when looking into different horror films. Throughout the opening of the film Valentine we see someone in the background wearing a mask to cover their identity. In the film Nightmare on Elm Street we see towards the end of the opening that the villain is wearing a mask aswell. Finally in the film Halloween we see someone wearing a clown mask to cover their identity. Lipstick is also worn by one of the female characters in the opening. The dark, red lipstick represents death and blood, again keeping in which the horror conventions. Most of the lighting in our opening is dark, however spotlights are used as we wanted the audience to concentrate on a particular object. We found that most horror films used the same conventions related to the dark lighting. In four out of the six films I analysed they used dark lighting and even used lighting when showing objects or characters. This can be seen in the opening of The Chainsaw Massacre The Beginning as most of the opening is filmed in dark lighting but extra lighting is used when showing photographs or a shot of someone's face. Dark lighting is also used in the opening of the film Creep, however yet again extra light is used when showing the victim trying to escape from the villain.
Candles used to create the effect that the stalker has his own 'shrine'.
Torn pictures-contrasts with the photographs on the wall, allows audiences to ask whether it is infatuation or pure hatred for the young female.
Red lipstick shown to be worn by one of the girls to represent death/blood.
Things such as newspaper cuttings used in both our opening and the opening of The Chainsaw Massacre The Beginning.
Photographs of victim shows the extent of the stalkers obsession.
Casual, trendy clothes worn by the characters show their age.
Gloves used to act as a 'mask' which hides the stalkers identity.
A mask is also used in the film Nightmare On Elm Street to cover the villains identity.
Another film where a mask is used to cover someone's identity. However in this film (Valentine) we only see this person in the background when watching the opening two minutes.
Third film analysed where a mask is used to cover an identity, by using a clown mask in the film Halloween.
Editing Directions
In our film opening we used many effects to achieve our desired look. For some clips such as the clips of the candles at the start of the opening, clips of the photographs on the wall, clips of the newspaper cuttings and many other clips we used an effect called 'Old World'. This effect made the film look even creepier as it look outdated. When researching different editing techniques in other horror films I found that 'Chainsaw Massacre The Beginning' also uses an old looking effect and a quick cutting rhythm at some points throughout its opening. We also used a lot of black and white fades in between many clips in order to build up the tension within the opening. These fades would slow down and increase in speed at different points throughout the opening. These fades were used with a quick cutting rhythm. Quick black fades were used a lot in the opening of 'Valentine' as well. We also decided to use slow motion for some clips. For example, when the girl is being pulled towards the boy and when one of the male characters is watching the main female character whilst she is dancing. By doing this it confuses the audience and makes them feel uncomfortable therefore also increases the tension within the opening two minutes.
Sound Techniques (diegetic, non-diegetic, silence, dialogue and music etc)
Most of the opening of our film uses non-diegetic sound, which is sinister and creepy which has the ability to make audiences feel uneasy when listening to it. However, there are some diegetic sounds in some parts of our film opening. For example, the scene where the young boy and girl are arguing, the scene where we hear the sound of the match being lit and the scene where the two girls to each other in the bathroom. In the opening of the film 'Valentine' they also use eerie music in order to build up tension and like our opening they use some dialogue at different points throughout their opening as well. However, 'Valentine' uses sound effects such as the sound of a heartbeat. 'Chainsaw Massacre The Beginning' is very similar to our film as it uses powerful, sinister music. It is also similar in the way that not only dialogue is used for diegetic sound. In our film you can hear a match being lit, in 'Chainsaw Massacre The Beginning' you also hear diegetic sounds such as papers being thrown to the floor, and the sound of fire when we are being shown a match burning an object. 'Nightmare on Elm Street' also uses sinister music throughout its opening.
Music used for 'Nightmare on Elm Street'.
Music used for our film opening.
Question 3-
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
At first we believed that Fox Searchlight Pictures would be the best institution to distribute our film. The reason for this was that our film is a British film and Fox Searchlight Pictures specializes in British films as well as horror films, which was our genre. Fox Searchlight Pictures is well known and is distributes extremely successful films such as ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ which won an academy for Best Picture as well as 7 other awards. An example of a successful horror film distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures was ’28 days later’.
Even though we believed Fox Searchlight Pictures would be a good company to distribute our film we ended up choosing New Line Cinema instead. We choose New Line Cinema as we agreed that we should use a company that had distributed a lot more horror films. We believed that Fox Searchlight Pictures wasn’t at all known for distributing horror films except for ’28 days later’ and therefore decided to use a company known for distributing horror films like ours. New Line Cinema has distributed well known horrors such as ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’, ‘Friday the 13th’, and the most popular being ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’. ‘The Butterfly Effect’, which was also distributed by New Line Cinema focuses on similar themes to our film which is teenage love obsession.
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
Representation of Gender
Women are usually portrayed as weak and emotionally unstable in comparison to male characters. However, I believe that in the opening of our film even though the main female character is being shown to be the victim she doesn't come across as weak compared to other men in the first 2 minutes of our film opening. Another typical representation of women is that they can be dominated by men. Yet again I do not think this is apparhent in our opening as I believe the main female character is shown to be quite confident and independant. The stereotypical idea that women are preoccupied with their appearance is definately shown throughout this opening. For example, when she is looking in the mirror, and when another female character is applying make-up on her face. The girl can also be seen as a 'sex object' at some points throughout the opening. For example, when the audience is being shown the girls body.
There are very few male characters present in the opening of our film. Most of the time men are portrayed as dominant and controlling. One of the male characters in our opening uses the words 'he is no good for you' when talking to the main female character. These words allow the male character to seem powerful and in control of the female. There is another shot in our opening which shows the female character being pulled by her arm. Yet again this shows male dominance and even violent behaviour towards this girl. In our opening we see two main male characters who seem to be quite fond of the main female character. This highlights competitiveness amongst these characters, another common representation of males.
Representation of Age
All the characters portrayed in our opening are teenagers. I believe the characters in our opening show some common representations of age. For example, a lot of the time the media portrays young people as rebellious, law breaking citizens. This can be shown in our film by the young people consuming alcohol and smoking cigarettes. Young people are also seen as violent and aggressive. This can be seen in our opening when a male and female character are arguing and the male character pulls the female towards him in a very aggressive manner. Along with this, scenes such as the couple arguing and the girls talking about their friend negatively highlights the reality of what it is like to be young. Other scenes such as female characters applying make-up and looking in the mirror shows a common representation of young females who feel pressurised to look good. Also the language used in the opening also highlights the fact that they are young people. For example, when one of the characters says 'I hate Annabelle, shes a total bitch'.
Question 6-
What we have learnt about different technologies while constructing the product
Throughout the process of planning filming and editing our film opening I have learnt how to use many things such as different computer programmes when editing, how to use equipment when filming and how to use sites such as blogger when planning and researching.
The first thing we had to do when starting our coursework was to learn how to use blogger in order to publish our planning and researching pages. At first I found it quite difficult to use this website as I had never used it before. However, I picked up on it quickly and found it extremely useful as I could do my work fast and efficiently and knew that it would be easy for my teachers to receive my work in order to mark it. It also allowed the group to stay organised and to keep track of what was happening, for example, what days we were planning to film. Along with this, in order to retrieve feedback for our work we needed somewhere where information could be easily accessed by others and blogger was perfect for this. I also enjoyed being creative on blogger as it was easy enough to use once I became familiar with it. I was able to set my work our neatly and make my work look as professional as possible by adding extra things such as videos from YouTube and slideshows on Slide share.
The next part of our task was to film our footage for our film opening. We used camcorders to record all of our footage. Using these camcorders was easy enough as we had practise when carrying out our preliminary task. However, in our preliminary task we didn’t used equipment such as a tripod. I had never used a tripod before and therefore had to learn how it worked in order to produce steady successful shots. Other equipment was used such as digital cameras in order to take pictures of props, characters and locations. Altogether when filming our actual footage we were fairly confident about using the equipment we were given and didn’t encounter any major problems.
The final task was to edit our footage, one of the most important parts as it would give us our final product and allow us to create our desired look. The editing programme we used was iMovie. iMovie was extremely useful in order to complete our film, we were able to cut out any footage we didn’t want, and the clips that we did want we were able to edit and add effects. We also learnt how to record sound clips straight to our film and how to add music. When adding music we found out how to cut the music, make the music louder or quieter and even decide if when exactly we wanted the music to fade into the clip. When adding titles into our film we discovered that we could use transitions in order to make our film look even more effective. We learnt that by using black and white fade in’s it built up the tension in our film and made it look a lot more free flowing and professional.
Question 4-
Who would be the audience for your media product ?
