On Monday's lesson with Tony, we were watching 2 thriller clips out of five as we didn’t have any spare time left during the lesson. The first clip we analysed was a film called 'Arlington Road'. At first I thought by just reading the title, that the clip wouldn't be that scary since I haven't seen it before, but it turned out that I was wrong. I was so scared, I practically screamed when I saw bits of it but it was even scarier without even having to watch it. It was very disturbing too. Well as a group we were given a task, we each had a to choose what part of the film we wanted to analyse which included the lighting, use of camera, music, editing, setting and location then we had to note it down on the worksheet that was given to us. In my opinion, I think that what made the clip so disturbing were the abnormal noises, the solarized pictures along with the flashing lights and not only the fact that it was set in the suburbs, but the shivering movements of the camera too.
The second clip we analysed was a film called 'Collateral' starring Tom Cruise and Jason Statham. I've seen bits of this film before so thankfully it wasn’t that scary. Surprisingly, the clip wasn’t as long as the first one. What happened was that two men in the airport picked up the wrong suitcases as they bumped into each other. The problem was that because they both have the exact same looking suitcases as each other, they didn’t know that they picked up the wrong one. Here it reveals a dramatic irony, implying that the characters do not know what is happening while the audience do. Just from looking at that clip it gives me the impression that Tom Cruise is one of the bad guys and maybe Jason Statham is an undercover cop or a secret agent who bumped into the man on purpose to collect the other suitcase before he does something dangerous from what’s mysteriously inside of it. I think this because whilst watching it, before Jason Statham dropped his suitcase, he looked at where he placed his first, then after apologizing, he looked to his right and Tom Cruise's one, looking at it as if that was his target, and then took it.
The other clips that we were going to look at were '28 Days Later','The Shining', and 'What Lies Beneath' however, like I had said, we sadly didnt have enough time to.
Thursday 18 December 2008
Monday 15 December 2008
What I’ve learnt from the practise filming session
We were given a sheet, which had our task on it, which was to make a short film around 2mins long. The short film had to have these four things in them a table, two chairs, two characters and a pack of playing cards. At first I thought that the task we had been set was a bit too simple and that if we had to make a film out of this for real it wouldn’t be enough to work with, to make the short film interesting at all. But I let my imagination go and decided that, the sheet didn’t exactly state how we should use the cards. So I thought our groups short film did not have to be about two characters playing a typical card game.
Instead we decided to make a short film about a character who is getting told about her future, the cards will be used as tarot cards and the other character will be turing the cards over.
Thriller Evaluation
For the practice filming session, we were we given a task on making a thriller movie through playing a card game, any card game and we chose to play the game of tarot that can tell the future of the player. This film lasted for 2 minutes. The costumes we wore were casual clothes and the props that we used were, two chairs and a table for the clairvoyant and player of tarot.
Before we began to produce our film for the thriller, we were presented with tripods and camcorders, so the camerawork during the filming was successful. Most of the shots were good quality. There were even times where we had to film the same footage more than once, but with slight little changes to it, so that we as a group can decide on which shot will be suitable to fit in with the rest of the shots smoothly.
The editing went well. After uploading our video to the computer we separated it, renamed it and then put the clips in the order in which we wanted it whilst cutting out unwanted pieces. We had also added some dissolving and sound effects as well as slow motions to it. I think that the film did make sense as it showed flashbacks on what will happen to the person, whilst turning over the cards.
We managed to create suspense throughout making our thriller by the use of slow motion and sound effects plus by starting the event half way through the film, from the moment when the clairvoyant turned over the cards (revealing what was going to happen whilst turning it over). These are in my opinion, one of the conventions in the direction of real thriller movies.
We had positive feedback from not only our teacher Andrew, but our class. I remember that Andrew said he liked one of the shots where the camera angle revealed player (me) and clairvoyant (Dominique) facing towards each other, whilst our bodies look dark, displaying more of the buildings from outside of the window. This was presented from the audiences point of view. The first thing that the class had said was that is was good, then they established that they liked the use of effects such as slow motions and sound effects.
In my opinion I’m happy with the results. I especially like the storyline and the way I dropped down the stairs without having to really drop. I thought that I was going to act that role terribly but I managed to perform it well. I also liked it when there were slow motions of the clairvoyant turning over the cards, which created suspense for me as being part of an audience. I believe that we done well as a group because we had a lot of enthusiasm towards this task and worked well as a team, listening to others opinions and ideas. I think that we could have improved by adding more sound effects for example a chilling noise or music starting off low then gradually getting louder and louder to lead it to the dramatic scene of me falling down the stairs or a loud noise of and instrument that will fright the audience with.
Before we began to produce our film for the thriller, we were presented with tripods and camcorders, so the camerawork during the filming was successful. Most of the shots were good quality. There were even times where we had to film the same footage more than once, but with slight little changes to it, so that we as a group can decide on which shot will be suitable to fit in with the rest of the shots smoothly.
The editing went well. After uploading our video to the computer we separated it, renamed it and then put the clips in the order in which we wanted it whilst cutting out unwanted pieces. We had also added some dissolving and sound effects as well as slow motions to it. I think that the film did make sense as it showed flashbacks on what will happen to the person, whilst turning over the cards.
We managed to create suspense throughout making our thriller by the use of slow motion and sound effects plus by starting the event half way through the film, from the moment when the clairvoyant turned over the cards (revealing what was going to happen whilst turning it over). These are in my opinion, one of the conventions in the direction of real thriller movies.
We had positive feedback from not only our teacher Andrew, but our class. I remember that Andrew said he liked one of the shots where the camera angle revealed player (me) and clairvoyant (Dominique) facing towards each other, whilst our bodies look dark, displaying more of the buildings from outside of the window. This was presented from the audiences point of view. The first thing that the class had said was that is was good, then they established that they liked the use of effects such as slow motions and sound effects.
In my opinion I’m happy with the results. I especially like the storyline and the way I dropped down the stairs without having to really drop. I thought that I was going to act that role terribly but I managed to perform it well. I also liked it when there were slow motions of the clairvoyant turning over the cards, which created suspense for me as being part of an audience. I believe that we done well as a group because we had a lot of enthusiasm towards this task and worked well as a team, listening to others opinions and ideas. I think that we could have improved by adding more sound effects for example a chilling noise or music starting off low then gradually getting louder and louder to lead it to the dramatic scene of me falling down the stairs or a loud noise of and instrument that will fright the audience with.
Evaluation of filming session!!!
For this unit of work we were given a task to create an opening scene for a card games thriller. This tasked involved 5 members of my group, who brought creativity and initiative to the work. Working as a group allowed us to produce a 2 minute opening thriller. In this task we had the opportunity to use our creative ideas, so as a group we decided to based our games thriller on a private betting between two guys and a mysterious character with a briefcase, which at the end turns ugly, as the two men who were betting came across a complication with who had won the money, so the ending showed a violent scene between the two characters.
In this task it allowed us as a group to use our imagination and knowledge, we had been taught by Tony and Andrew during the media lessons we had. Like the different types of shots and angles, also knowing the health and safety procedures when filming. So having the knowledge of shots allowed my group to make a successful games thriller. For example at the beginning of the scene of the film, we had a long shot of a blurred out character holding a suitcase in the hall way, then gradually zooming into the brief case as the character became more focused. I think the shots and steady filming we had done helped create suspense. However during this task we had scenes where the shots didn’t work, like the ending scene, where one of the men runs out with money. In this shot we decided to hand hold the camera to create movement, but it made the shot look really messy. But overall I think the usage of the camera was successful also using the types of shot like the panning and tracking was used very well.
During the editing process I did not work with my filming group because Tony had decided that there were too many people in that group I worked with, so I joined Aiko groups which has Dominique, Shanice and Pete. So when editing with my new group I found their shots of their games thriller interesting because they had a different prospective in the filming than the group I was with. They used shots we didn’t use as much as they did like the low angle shots. Furthermore the editing process was interesting as we all got too take turns in editing the shots, like match cutting scenes to make it flow. My group also used affects like slow motion, to create thriller. In the editing we showed flash backs and future happening in which made the film more appealing. In general I think the editing went well because the film made sense also it created suspense, which a thriller film needs.
I think mise en scene was one of the important elements in making a film thriller, because knowing the right location, prompts, customs’ and sound makes a film successful in whatever genre. In the case of the games thriller I think my group used the mise en scene very well, because the used of props like the brief case created suspense. Also choosing the location and scenery was really important, I think the mise en scene challenged me and my group because placing and setting a scene to create atmospheric scenery was hard because we had to think carefully. So I personally think this task helped me learn things I didn’t know about mise en scene I did not know before.
I believe my group managed to create suspense and humour into this film, for example the scene where the two guys were fighting over the briefcase brought humour to the audience because it was unexpected. We also had scene like the shot the brief case which was mysterious and brought in suspense.
When film making me and my group ,forgot several rules like the five second rule before and after shots, also to stop talking in between shots, so you cannot hear anyone’s voices when playing the shot back. But I personally think this is a learning process/experience were we can learn from, so I truly enjoyed this task, working with two different groups, in editing and filming which made it extra helpful and fun because you had a different view in filming and editing. Also I enjoyed hearing the feedbacks from the class about the work both groups I had worked with produced. So this task is a thumb up!!!
In this task it allowed us as a group to use our imagination and knowledge, we had been taught by Tony and Andrew during the media lessons we had. Like the different types of shots and angles, also knowing the health and safety procedures when filming. So having the knowledge of shots allowed my group to make a successful games thriller. For example at the beginning of the scene of the film, we had a long shot of a blurred out character holding a suitcase in the hall way, then gradually zooming into the brief case as the character became more focused. I think the shots and steady filming we had done helped create suspense. However during this task we had scenes where the shots didn’t work, like the ending scene, where one of the men runs out with money. In this shot we decided to hand hold the camera to create movement, but it made the shot look really messy. But overall I think the usage of the camera was successful also using the types of shot like the panning and tracking was used very well.
During the editing process I did not work with my filming group because Tony had decided that there were too many people in that group I worked with, so I joined Aiko groups which has Dominique, Shanice and Pete. So when editing with my new group I found their shots of their games thriller interesting because they had a different prospective in the filming than the group I was with. They used shots we didn’t use as much as they did like the low angle shots. Furthermore the editing process was interesting as we all got too take turns in editing the shots, like match cutting scenes to make it flow. My group also used affects like slow motion, to create thriller. In the editing we showed flash backs and future happening in which made the film more appealing. In general I think the editing went well because the film made sense also it created suspense, which a thriller film needs.
I think mise en scene was one of the important elements in making a film thriller, because knowing the right location, prompts, customs’ and sound makes a film successful in whatever genre. In the case of the games thriller I think my group used the mise en scene very well, because the used of props like the brief case created suspense. Also choosing the location and scenery was really important, I think the mise en scene challenged me and my group because placing and setting a scene to create atmospheric scenery was hard because we had to think carefully. So I personally think this task helped me learn things I didn’t know about mise en scene I did not know before.
I believe my group managed to create suspense and humour into this film, for example the scene where the two guys were fighting over the briefcase brought humour to the audience because it was unexpected. We also had scene like the shot the brief case which was mysterious and brought in suspense.
When film making me and my group ,forgot several rules like the five second rule before and after shots, also to stop talking in between shots, so you cannot hear anyone’s voices when playing the shot back. But I personally think this is a learning process/experience were we can learn from, so I truly enjoyed this task, working with two different groups, in editing and filming which made it extra helpful and fun because you had a different view in filming and editing. Also I enjoyed hearing the feedbacks from the class about the work both groups I had worked with produced. So this task is a thumb up!!!
Evaluation
For the practice filming session, we had to design a storyboard and begin filming the opening for the thriller.
We were introduced to camcorders and tripods before, so the camerawork during the filming went really well, even though I was doing it for the first time. Most of the shots were successful however some of the scenes were filmed more than once. None of the shot were bad.
After filming, we had to edit the shots in order to make a good opening. We went to editing room, we connected the cameras to hard drives and began to edit the clips. We had to cut some of the bits and connect them together and as the effect of that, the clip was really great. We also added some special effects and few seconds of soundtrack.
I learned quite a few things about mise en scene as a practice such as how to set the scene.
We did managed to create an element of suspense when the cards were turning upwards and the character was falling down the stairs. This is where special effects were used and these effects actually helped to create the suspense.
The only thing that we forget, was to film the extra 5 seconds before and after the shot and especially after the shot, however this happened for just a few shots. There rest of them were fine.
We have tried to use some of the conventions from real thriller films such as the suspense. We didn't actually had a chance to get some serious feedback from the teacher or the class.
We were introduced to camcorders and tripods before, so the camerawork during the filming went really well, even though I was doing it for the first time. Most of the shots were successful however some of the scenes were filmed more than once. None of the shot were bad.
After filming, we had to edit the shots in order to make a good opening. We went to editing room, we connected the cameras to hard drives and began to edit the clips. We had to cut some of the bits and connect them together and as the effect of that, the clip was really great. We also added some special effects and few seconds of soundtrack.
I learned quite a few things about mise en scene as a practice such as how to set the scene.
We did managed to create an element of suspense when the cards were turning upwards and the character was falling down the stairs. This is where special effects were used and these effects actually helped to create the suspense.
The only thing that we forget, was to film the extra 5 seconds before and after the shot and especially after the shot, however this happened for just a few shots. There rest of them were fine.
We have tried to use some of the conventions from real thriller films such as the suspense. We didn't actually had a chance to get some serious feedback from the teacher or the class.
Andrews lesson.
Last lesson we watched our finished films and watched all the other groups too. It was good for all of us to see what we all had done and to see all thee different shots, edits etc this way we could use the skills shown by each of us in our next practical.
As we watched the films the rest of the class gave their feedback and told us what they liked and what they thought should be noticed for next time.
Then we had to compose a brainstorm on what we thought was a thriller and what they consisted of to make them successful like including dramatic tension etc.
we watched the Thriller 'The shining' we had to pick out the three scene's that included dramatic tension. It was good for us to watch a Thriller was a good thing for us to do because we we're able to see first hand what creates a good thriller and what things make the film scary, like having dramatic tension behind scary scenes help scare the audience.
I thought the film was a good example of a successful thriller, specially because it was about how fragile the human mind is and most this gives the film a sense of realism and i think that most audiences get scared by things that could be true or that could happen to someone they know rather then something that is impossible to happen even though its still scary the film played on human sanity.
As we watched the films the rest of the class gave their feedback and told us what they liked and what they thought should be noticed for next time.
Then we had to compose a brainstorm on what we thought was a thriller and what they consisted of to make them successful like including dramatic tension etc.
we watched the Thriller 'The shining' we had to pick out the three scene's that included dramatic tension. It was good for us to watch a Thriller was a good thing for us to do because we we're able to see first hand what creates a good thriller and what things make the film scary, like having dramatic tension behind scary scenes help scare the audience.
I thought the film was a good example of a successful thriller, specially because it was about how fragile the human mind is and most this gives the film a sense of realism and i think that most audiences get scared by things that could be true or that could happen to someone they know rather then something that is impossible to happen even though its still scary the film played on human sanity.
Wednesday 10 December 2008
Thrillers!
Today’s lesson I was late for the very begging of the lesson, so I came in just after our groups short film had finished. I was slightly disappointed at first, because I didn’t get to see the classes’ reactions to our short thriller film. But I was glad that I was going to get to see every one else’s short films. Whilst watching them, our teacher Andrew was pointing out what was good about people’s films and what they could have improved on. I thought it was really helpful for me that, he was explaining what he liked and what he thought people could improve on, because this advice that he was giving to us is going to be useful later on and it also made me think about how our group could have done things better.
After we had watched every ones films we went back to our class room and got told that we was going to be watching a thriller film. We watched The Shinning which was a very good thriller to watch I enjoyed watching this film and I really liked the way the film was edited. What I liked most in the film was that the music was used to make people jump even though they weren’t seeing anything scary at all. I think that this film was a very good example of a thriller film. Because in thriller films the way tension is created is very important. So here in this film we have different ways that tension is created but most of it is created by the music. I think that this is a great way of creating tension and giving the audience jumps from time to time.
In conclusion I think that the film that we had watched today was a very good film to show how music can be used to create tension.
After we had watched every ones films we went back to our class room and got told that we was going to be watching a thriller film. We watched The Shinning which was a very good thriller to watch I enjoyed watching this film and I really liked the way the film was edited. What I liked most in the film was that the music was used to make people jump even though they weren’t seeing anything scary at all. I think that this film was a very good example of a thriller film. Because in thriller films the way tension is created is very important. So here in this film we have different ways that tension is created but most of it is created by the music. I think that this is a great way of creating tension and giving the audience jumps from time to time.
In conclusion I think that the film that we had watched today was a very good film to show how music can be used to create tension.
Thriller Day!!!
Today was such a great lesson. We went to the computer room and watched the rest of the groups video which they produced, as a class. After that we had to evaluate everyone’s video, mentioning what we liked/disliked about it and what they could do to improve it to boost up their marks. I thought that everyone's films were really good, I really enjoyed watching it. It was very amusing too, I also liked the fact that everyone had came up with these different ideas which allowed us to see it from another person’s point of view. In my opinion some of the groups video’s could have been better if they added more effects to it and got rid of when the director mentions ‘action’ or ‘cut’.
Straight after that, we had to go back to our class and do a brainstorm on the title of today’s lesson, ‘What is a Thriller?’ and asked each and every one of us, what we thought the definition of a thriller was and what relates to thriller, as well as examples of this genre. Shortly afterwards, we were told that we were going to watch ‘The Shining’, a thriller movie starring Jack Nicholson. I think three people in the class were scared of the movie hahaha that was so funny. While the film was going, we were given a worksheet in which we had to give three examples on when we as an audience, feel suspense about the film and what part of the film that makes us suspense.
Throughout watching the film, I only thought that one clip was scary which I had actually screamed when watching, but I new it was going to happen anyway, I just didn’t expect it to happen so soon. It was the part where Jack Nicholson killed the guy who had showed the family around the kitchen (near the beginning). In my opinion, I actually liked watching this film with the class, as there were so many funny parts to it which we enjoyed. On the other hand, I think if I was watching it by myself I wouldn’t like it as much, so I would recommend it for a group of people to watch, rather than just one person.
Straight after that, we had to go back to our class and do a brainstorm on the title of today’s lesson, ‘What is a Thriller?’ and asked each and every one of us, what we thought the definition of a thriller was and what relates to thriller, as well as examples of this genre. Shortly afterwards, we were told that we were going to watch ‘The Shining’, a thriller movie starring Jack Nicholson. I think three people in the class were scared of the movie hahaha that was so funny. While the film was going, we were given a worksheet in which we had to give three examples on when we as an audience, feel suspense about the film and what part of the film that makes us suspense.
Throughout watching the film, I only thought that one clip was scary which I had actually screamed when watching, but I new it was going to happen anyway, I just didn’t expect it to happen so soon. It was the part where Jack Nicholson killed the guy who had showed the family around the kitchen (near the beginning). In my opinion, I actually liked watching this film with the class, as there were so many funny parts to it which we enjoyed. On the other hand, I think if I was watching it by myself I wouldn’t like it as much, so I would recommend it for a group of people to watch, rather than just one person.
Watching films
Arriving 10mins late to Andrews’s lesson, I noticed the class weren’t in the room, so I went and checked the editing room to see if they were there, and they were. Gladly I didn’t miss anything, so I sat down and joined the class. The motive for the day was to watch the film each group produced. The first film we saw was my group’s film, I was impressed by the way the film came out because of the editing we done to the film, it made it flow which made it look professional. After watching each group’s film, we had to evaluate each other’s work, by commenting on how well the groups did and what they can improve on next time. I enjoyed watching all the groups film because each group came up with different ideas which allowed us to see different types of filming by another person’s point of view.
After watching the films Andrew told the class to go back to the class room. Andrew then wrote the question 'what is a thriller?' on the board, he asked everyone to brainstorm what we thought was a thriller. after brainstorming our own ideas, Andrew then asked for feedbacks on what the class thought was a thriller, they came up with several things such as a thriller creates tension, a thriller is often mysterious and has narrow escapes. Also coming up with examples of a thriller like no country for old me, alien, the hills have eyes and many more. We also came up with different thriller genre like a supernatural thriller, Sci-Fi thriller, and physiological thriller. Furthermore after the class discussion, Andrew told the class we would be watching the shinning which is a thriller movie. I wasn’t to sure about the film because I’ve not heard of it. Andrew handed out a worksheet and asked the class to fill in the boxes, by writing 3 different examples, in the film which brought suspense to the audience.
Watching the film until the end of the lesson, I found the film scary because it made me jump; I believe the use of sound created tension and suspense. however I found the film, frustrating at times because the characters were often making the wrong decision, for example after the man decided to stop axing the bathroom door which the woman was in and the man decided to chase the little boy instead, the woman decided to stay in the room and not help her son. At this point I was shouting at the woman to run and find her son.
The film finished just on time for lunch, Andrew gave the class another sheet to read for homework.
After watching the films Andrew told the class to go back to the class room. Andrew then wrote the question 'what is a thriller?' on the board, he asked everyone to brainstorm what we thought was a thriller. after brainstorming our own ideas, Andrew then asked for feedbacks on what the class thought was a thriller, they came up with several things such as a thriller creates tension, a thriller is often mysterious and has narrow escapes. Also coming up with examples of a thriller like no country for old me, alien, the hills have eyes and many more. We also came up with different thriller genre like a supernatural thriller, Sci-Fi thriller, and physiological thriller. Furthermore after the class discussion, Andrew told the class we would be watching the shinning which is a thriller movie. I wasn’t to sure about the film because I’ve not heard of it. Andrew handed out a worksheet and asked the class to fill in the boxes, by writing 3 different examples, in the film which brought suspense to the audience.
Watching the film until the end of the lesson, I found the film scary because it made me jump; I believe the use of sound created tension and suspense. however I found the film, frustrating at times because the characters were often making the wrong decision, for example after the man decided to stop axing the bathroom door which the woman was in and the man decided to chase the little boy instead, the woman decided to stay in the room and not help her son. At this point I was shouting at the woman to run and find her son.
The film finished just on time for lunch, Andrew gave the class another sheet to read for homework.
Filming and Editing
On Wednesday, at the beginning of the lesson (Micky-media technician) demonstrated the camcorders and tripods. He told us the different fuctions of the camera and how to use it safely with or without a tripod. After this useful tutorial, we had to design a storyboard which would help us, during filming the thriller and then decide who is who. I was chosen to be the camera operator. We (my group) came up with about, eight scenes.
After break, we took the camera,tripod and our storyboard and went outside the classroom to begin. Filming the thriller, took us about one and a half hours long, however the whole clip was less than four minutes. We managed to film all the scenes we have planned.
After break, we took the camera,tripod and our storyboard and went outside the classroom to begin. Filming the thriller, took us about one and a half hours long, however the whole clip was less than four minutes. We managed to film all the scenes we have planned.
Tuesday 9 December 2008
Editing!!!
Monday’s lesson with Tony,started off by him announcing that one of our class members had dropped out, so he had changed the groups, well my group. Unfortunately Dionne who was in my group dropped out of the course, so Tony decided to put Rashpal and Vicky who was originally in my group, with Bein’s group to form a 5. I was then put into groups with Akko, Shanice , Peter and Dominque. After hearing the changes I became frustrated because I have changed groups 3 times, also tony did not allow me to work with the previous group I worked with in Andrews lesson.
Tony then told the class to relocate themselves in to the computer room where we would be editing the clips we took in Andrews’s lesson. Feeling down and no bothered to work, I sat in the corner and watched my new group edit the clips they took when filming last lesson. I decided not to take part in the activity because I felt that it weren’t right for me to get involved in the editing process because I was not there from the beginning. So sitting down uninterested in the activity Tony took me out to speak to me to explain the situation, when this was happening I felt so frustrated that I just wanted to go home. I decided to go back in the class and watch my group do the work, tony then suggested I should have a go in editing the clips, I decided to edit one bit of it and sat back down. Watching Aiko edit the clips made the clips come alive; she added effects like dissolve, which made the clips flow.
Coming to the end of the lesson my group had finished the editing and had time to add sounds and music to the background. After that we watched our clips several times to see if we could change anything,as a group we decided that it was good so no further changes has to be made.
Tony then told the class to relocate themselves in to the computer room where we would be editing the clips we took in Andrews’s lesson. Feeling down and no bothered to work, I sat in the corner and watched my new group edit the clips they took when filming last lesson. I decided not to take part in the activity because I felt that it weren’t right for me to get involved in the editing process because I was not there from the beginning. So sitting down uninterested in the activity Tony took me out to speak to me to explain the situation, when this was happening I felt so frustrated that I just wanted to go home. I decided to go back in the class and watch my group do the work, tony then suggested I should have a go in editing the clips, I decided to edit one bit of it and sat back down. Watching Aiko edit the clips made the clips come alive; she added effects like dissolve, which made the clips flow.
Coming to the end of the lesson my group had finished the editing and had time to add sounds and music to the background. After that we watched our clips several times to see if we could change anything,as a group we decided that it was good so no further changes has to be made.
Editing Day!!!
On Monday's lesson we had to go to the computer room to re-watch our film that we shot from the last lesson, then we had to separate the film into clips and rename them, describing what each character was doing, to remind us what clips were what, so that we could put them back in the order we had it in whilst recording it.
After that we collected all the clips that we wanted, and edited it. This included cutting out unwanted bits from the shots using input and output (for example when the director said ‘action’) and fitting it in to another shot to make it flow nicely (some included added effects ). We basically had done what we did from the last lesson when we were editing the shots from the sample movie, and brought some of our own skills to our film. Because our group were so ahead from other groups and there was a bit more time left, we decided to add some sound effects to our film to create a dramatic and chilling effect to our thriller, to leave our audience wondering what will happen next.
In my opinion, I am really happy with the results. At first, I thought that our group were going to be lost on what storyline to create, but then not only whilst we were planning, but whilst we were videoing too, more and more great ideas were coming to mind which we expressed throughout the video.
After that we collected all the clips that we wanted, and edited it. This included cutting out unwanted bits from the shots using input and output (for example when the director said ‘action’) and fitting it in to another shot to make it flow nicely (some included added effects ). We basically had done what we did from the last lesson when we were editing the shots from the sample movie, and brought some of our own skills to our film. Because our group were so ahead from other groups and there was a bit more time left, we decided to add some sound effects to our film to create a dramatic and chilling effect to our thriller, to leave our audience wondering what will happen next.
In my opinion, I am really happy with the results. At first, I thought that our group were going to be lost on what storyline to create, but then not only whilst we were planning, but whilst we were videoing too, more and more great ideas were coming to mind which we expressed throughout the video.
Editing our film.
In our last lesson we got to see our film that we shot the lesson before, we had to separate the whole film in the clips we wanted and name them to make sure we knew what clips were what and it helped us know the order in which we wanted them in because we shot them in the right order, we then got to find the clips we wanted to use and the clips we wanted to lose.
After doing this we got to edit the clips, making sure we didn't have the directors voice at the beginning and making sure the clips linked together in a professional way because we shot the same scene from many different angles and because we used different techniques like tracking and we wanted to include them in a professional way.
We used the skills we had learnt from Andrews lesson like being able to cut in and out of the scene when we wanted to and lay them all in place so the film made scene We then had just enough time to use some transitions like cross disolve etc to make the clips link in with each other better.
Because our group were so ahead of the other groups we we're able to change the sound levels on the film and add different audio sounds to create dramatic tension to our thriller.
After doing this we got to edit the clips, making sure we didn't have the directors voice at the beginning and making sure the clips linked together in a professional way because we shot the same scene from many different angles and because we used different techniques like tracking and we wanted to include them in a professional way.
We used the skills we had learnt from Andrews lesson like being able to cut in and out of the scene when we wanted to and lay them all in place so the film made scene We then had just enough time to use some transitions like cross disolve etc to make the clips link in with each other better.
Because our group were so ahead of the other groups we we're able to change the sound levels on the film and add different audio sounds to create dramatic tension to our thriller.
Filming the game thriller!!
Wednesday 3rd of December, arriving late to Andrew’s lesson I noticed none of my group members were in except Vicky, who was sitting with another group.
So I decided to sit down and listen to Micky who was the technicians. Micky went through the safety procedures; we needed to know in order to use the cameras.
Micky demonstrated several things like how to use the tri pod and the camera safely. For example he showed the class how to connect the camera and tri pod together, so the camera wouldn’t fall. Instructing the class that the camera should be at an angle where the front of the camera is facing downwards, so the bottom bit would clip to the tripod when connecting. Also showed us the zoom and focus button in the camera.After demonstrating what he had taught he gave the class time to practice what we had learnt.
Andrew then told me to join Gennette's group for this activity, because my group wasn’t there. I felt disappointed because the planning me and my group made in Tony's lesson went to waste. However I felt happy that I got the chance to work with another group.
Gennette's group told me about their plans for this activity so I listened. Getting on with the work my group decided to take different camera shot of different locations, in the college like the hallway. In the hall way my group took a long shot of a person holding a brief case, using the zoom and focus button. We then decided to relocate ourselves in an office where there were a round table and chairs, where we could take shots of the two guys in our group playing cards. In these shots we used several types of shots like a close up, over the shoulder shot, low angle shots. We took close of shot of one of the guys faces, to show intensity. Also using a panning shot, when the mystery person with the brief case entered the room.
After taking several shots we decided to go to another location, so we took more shots outside a class room door. We hand held the camera when of the characters was running to show movement and the characters point of view. My group then decided we had enough shots for editing next lesson, so we went back upstairs to inform Andrew we had finished.
I really enjoyed this activity because the Andrew allowed us to be creative. Also working in a group was really fun.
So I decided to sit down and listen to Micky who was the technicians. Micky went through the safety procedures; we needed to know in order to use the cameras.
Micky demonstrated several things like how to use the tri pod and the camera safely. For example he showed the class how to connect the camera and tri pod together, so the camera wouldn’t fall. Instructing the class that the camera should be at an angle where the front of the camera is facing downwards, so the bottom bit would clip to the tripod when connecting. Also showed us the zoom and focus button in the camera.After demonstrating what he had taught he gave the class time to practice what we had learnt.
Andrew then told me to join Gennette's group for this activity, because my group wasn’t there. I felt disappointed because the planning me and my group made in Tony's lesson went to waste. However I felt happy that I got the chance to work with another group.
Gennette's group told me about their plans for this activity so I listened. Getting on with the work my group decided to take different camera shot of different locations, in the college like the hallway. In the hall way my group took a long shot of a person holding a brief case, using the zoom and focus button. We then decided to relocate ourselves in an office where there were a round table and chairs, where we could take shots of the two guys in our group playing cards. In these shots we used several types of shots like a close up, over the shoulder shot, low angle shots. We took close of shot of one of the guys faces, to show intensity. Also using a panning shot, when the mystery person with the brief case entered the room.
After taking several shots we decided to go to another location, so we took more shots outside a class room door. We hand held the camera when of the characters was running to show movement and the characters point of view. My group then decided we had enough shots for editing next lesson, so we went back upstairs to inform Andrew we had finished.
I really enjoyed this activity because the Andrew allowed us to be creative. Also working in a group was really fun.
Monday 8 December 2008
Introduction to the new course
Monday 1st of December, tony started his lesson by introducing the new course which is the opening of a thriller. He then told us to go to the computer room where we learnt several things in Photoshop with Malissa.
First we were taught how to connect the hard drive into the computer, by plugging in two plugs. Malissa, who was instructing us, stated that we should remember our hard drive number at all times. After we connected our hard drives we was then instructed to open a file called pro cuts, this is a program, where me and my group would be using all through this course.
Once everyone had learnt how to open this program, Malissa then taught us the ways in which we would edit a clip, by using the I and O button. I and O button was used for selecting a part of a clip we wanted, so we would press the I button on the keyboard, for the beginning of the clip we wanted and O for the end. Also teaching us how to drag our clips, into the story line at the bottom of the screen.
After teaching us how to edit a clip, Melissa and tony gave us time to test what we have learnt by allowing us to edit a clips of a boy in a cafe. During this time I picked clips which I edited by using the I and o bottom and then dragging it in the story line were it formed a short clip. I found this activity difficult because when playing my clip back it did not make sense because the scenes weren't flowing, this is when Malissa taught us how to use the different types of effects we could use, in between our scenes to make it flow. She demonstrated different effects like dissolve. After teaching us how to edit clips, they gave us more time to play around with the clips using the different effects and rearranging the clips so it flowed.
The last thing they showed us was how to unplug the hard drive, first instructing us stop the pro cut programme then to drag the icon on the screen into the eject bottom at the bottom of the screen. Then unplugging the hard drive.
Tony then instructed the class to go back in the media class where we was in early, so he could tell us our new groups for this course. My new group members were Dione, Rashpal and Vicky. However Dione was not in. tony then gave us our first task for this course, which was to plan an opening thriller game of cards. My group came up with ideas like the different characters we should play also the settings.
First we were taught how to connect the hard drive into the computer, by plugging in two plugs. Malissa, who was instructing us, stated that we should remember our hard drive number at all times. After we connected our hard drives we was then instructed to open a file called pro cuts, this is a program, where me and my group would be using all through this course.
Once everyone had learnt how to open this program, Malissa then taught us the ways in which we would edit a clip, by using the I and O button. I and O button was used for selecting a part of a clip we wanted, so we would press the I button on the keyboard, for the beginning of the clip we wanted and O for the end. Also teaching us how to drag our clips, into the story line at the bottom of the screen.
After teaching us how to edit a clip, Melissa and tony gave us time to test what we have learnt by allowing us to edit a clips of a boy in a cafe. During this time I picked clips which I edited by using the I and o bottom and then dragging it in the story line were it formed a short clip. I found this activity difficult because when playing my clip back it did not make sense because the scenes weren't flowing, this is when Malissa taught us how to use the different types of effects we could use, in between our scenes to make it flow. She demonstrated different effects like dissolve. After teaching us how to edit clips, they gave us more time to play around with the clips using the different effects and rearranging the clips so it flowed.
The last thing they showed us was how to unplug the hard drive, first instructing us stop the pro cut programme then to drag the icon on the screen into the eject bottom at the bottom of the screen. Then unplugging the hard drive.
Tony then instructed the class to go back in the media class where we was in early, so he could tell us our new groups for this course. My new group members were Dione, Rashpal and Vicky. However Dione was not in. tony then gave us our first task for this course, which was to plan an opening thriller game of cards. My group came up with ideas like the different characters we should play also the settings.
Putting the film together
The lesson started off with a short introduction and announcement that our groups had changed from the last time we had worked as a group. I wasn’t exactly happy with this change but neither were my other class mates. But we eventually accepted it and got on to listening to what our teacher tony had to tell us about what we was going to be doing today. After this we moved striate onto the editing suite and got started with downloading our footage onto the Macs using a program called pro cut. I had already used this program in film. So again I had no problem of using this program so I volunteered to do all of the downloading and editing for the group and in return the group will give me there suggestions and opinions about how I was editing things.
Downloading the footage didn’t take me long to do, I had to capture all the footage that I had wanted to use to edit. I got this done quickly. To capture I had to use the mouse to click the capture now button in the pro cut program, and then with the escape button stop capturing. I done this process for each part of each sequence that we had shot.
Moving onto the editing: The editing part, I think was the best part; this was because I got to see all of the shots that we had shot and then gradually edit them together, which made our story start to take shape in visual form. Which was exciting for me to be able to do, I tried to make the film more interesting by not having one scene being dragged on. So instead I combined two sequences that we had shot together. This would also create some tension because the frame would be switching to one sequence to another but it will still make scene because of what is going on in the main sequence. The sequence where the card where getting flipped over one by one and the sequence where one of the characters was getting pushed down the stairs, I choose to put them into a slow motion so that it emphases the movement in each shot . It also gave a good effect, I decided that some effects where needed in the film to make it run smoother, so it would make more sense.
Once I had edited all of the sequences together, I then went onto a sound editing program to add some music to the film. By the time I had got to putting in some sound for the first 4 to 5 sequences the lesson was about to finish so I shorted the music up a bit so that it was less noticeable that there was no music in the rest of the film. I think that my group had given a lot of point about how and why the editing that I was doing could improve. And that the finished film was very good and I am happy with the end result.
Downloading the footage didn’t take me long to do, I had to capture all the footage that I had wanted to use to edit. I got this done quickly. To capture I had to use the mouse to click the capture now button in the pro cut program, and then with the escape button stop capturing. I done this process for each part of each sequence that we had shot.
Moving onto the editing: The editing part, I think was the best part; this was because I got to see all of the shots that we had shot and then gradually edit them together, which made our story start to take shape in visual form. Which was exciting for me to be able to do, I tried to make the film more interesting by not having one scene being dragged on. So instead I combined two sequences that we had shot together. This would also create some tension because the frame would be switching to one sequence to another but it will still make scene because of what is going on in the main sequence. The sequence where the card where getting flipped over one by one and the sequence where one of the characters was getting pushed down the stairs, I choose to put them into a slow motion so that it emphases the movement in each shot . It also gave a good effect, I decided that some effects where needed in the film to make it run smoother, so it would make more sense.
Once I had edited all of the sequences together, I then went onto a sound editing program to add some music to the film. By the time I had got to putting in some sound for the first 4 to 5 sequences the lesson was about to finish so I shorted the music up a bit so that it was less noticeable that there was no music in the rest of the film. I think that my group had given a lot of point about how and why the editing that I was doing could improve. And that the finished film was very good and I am happy with the end result.
Shooting the short film
First thing that I had to do in the morning was, to learn how to use the cameras. I had done this before in my film studies class, so I was just going through it again, but I was making sure I hadn’t forgot about anything and saw this as a recap to what I had been told before. After Mickey (media technician) had done all of the explaining about everything; I watched my group put the camera battery in and out of the camera. Next part of the lesson; the class was getting showed how to use the tri pod and how to put the camera onto the tri pod. Because I had already learnt how to do this in my film studies class, instead of just sitting down I got up to help my other class mates.
After all of the explaining about the cameras and tri pods where over and done with we were all told to get back to our groups. Once we was in our groups we all got handed out our storyboards to get started with planning how we was going to shoot the short film. I did all of the story boarding. I kept all of the drawings simple but put in arrows and camera movements in the correct boxes to give me basic guide lines to direct the short film and each sequence in it.
When we got to our setting for our short film, the first thing I did as the director was made sure that all of the mise en scene was done. I put the cards out on to the table, I tried to make it look like there was actually going to be a tarot reading here. While I was doing this the rest of the group was setting up the tri pod and turning on the camera. Once I had laid out the cards I went to look at the story board I had done and got my group members to their positions that they was supposed to be in to start.
When we finally got into filming and acting the storyboarded scenes out, I started to make the group take more than one shot of one sequence. As a director I thought that by doing this it will give us more material to work with when we got to edit the film together. And also we would have more choice to pick from. I think that whilst we were filming as a group we worked well, but I think that I was a bit of hard work for me because I had to tell everyone what to do and how to do it. At one time when we were doing the over the shoulder scene and a point of view scene I had to do the camera work for it. Because I thought that these two parts of camera work would be the most important parts in the short film. So I decided to shoot these parts myself. I kept the camera rolling until I got the exact focus that I had wanted to get. Although I had chosen to do this role I felt a bit uncomfortable doing this, this was mainly because I am not used to telling people what to do and how to do things. But I feel that if I hadn’t pushed my group to do as much as they did whilst shooting the sequences, there wouldn’t be much to work with when we was editing and the end result wouldn’t be as good as it could be.
I was happy with the overall footage that we had shot and even though it was a hard task for me to direct everything, I can say that I had a fun time filming with my group over all. I also got a taste of what it is like to direct and do some camera work also which I both enjoyed doing.
After all of the explaining about the cameras and tri pods where over and done with we were all told to get back to our groups. Once we was in our groups we all got handed out our storyboards to get started with planning how we was going to shoot the short film. I did all of the story boarding. I kept all of the drawings simple but put in arrows and camera movements in the correct boxes to give me basic guide lines to direct the short film and each sequence in it.
When we got to our setting for our short film, the first thing I did as the director was made sure that all of the mise en scene was done. I put the cards out on to the table, I tried to make it look like there was actually going to be a tarot reading here. While I was doing this the rest of the group was setting up the tri pod and turning on the camera. Once I had laid out the cards I went to look at the story board I had done and got my group members to their positions that they was supposed to be in to start.
When we finally got into filming and acting the storyboarded scenes out, I started to make the group take more than one shot of one sequence. As a director I thought that by doing this it will give us more material to work with when we got to edit the film together. And also we would have more choice to pick from. I think that whilst we were filming as a group we worked well, but I think that I was a bit of hard work for me because I had to tell everyone what to do and how to do it. At one time when we were doing the over the shoulder scene and a point of view scene I had to do the camera work for it. Because I thought that these two parts of camera work would be the most important parts in the short film. So I decided to shoot these parts myself. I kept the camera rolling until I got the exact focus that I had wanted to get. Although I had chosen to do this role I felt a bit uncomfortable doing this, this was mainly because I am not used to telling people what to do and how to do things. But I feel that if I hadn’t pushed my group to do as much as they did whilst shooting the sequences, there wouldn’t be much to work with when we was editing and the end result wouldn’t be as good as it could be.
I was happy with the overall footage that we had shot and even though it was a hard task for me to direct everything, I can say that I had a fun time filming with my group over all. I also got a taste of what it is like to direct and do some camera work also which I both enjoyed doing.
Thursday 4 December 2008
Planning for our first thriller film
First thing that we got to do in the morning was to; learn how the pro cut program on the Macs worked. We were given a practice to do, which involved us using a short sequence clip from a film. The short sequence was about a boy who looked like he was waiting for someone at a café but then when he tried to leave him nearly bumps into a scary looking homeless man who has come into the café looking for food. The little boy is holding a lunch box with him, and the homeless man recognizes this and decides to get the little boy to give it to him. There is not much dialogue in this sequence but it was fairly easy for me to work with. Plus I had worked with this same clip in film studies and I had a general idea of how the clips should go together. After we had put the clips together, we were then told about the different types of effects that we could put into the film sequence. There were a lot of effects, which varied from a number of different dissolves and fades (in and out).
After we had general idea of how to use pro cut (program), we had time to mess around with the program and experiment with everything that was on there. to see what would be good to use and what would look a bit too obvious to use for our actual short film that we was going to be shooting next lesson. When this tutorial was over we went back to our class room to find out what groups we had been put into. I was grouped with Shaince and Dominique.
Now that we had been put into our groups; we was given a basic narrative to follow which was that it had to be a thriller but it had to include two characters, a table, two chairs and a pack of playing cards. At first I wasn’t to happy with what we was given to work with but I started to let my imagination flow. Eventually after a short discussion with our group we came up with the idea, of having a pack of cards but they would be in the form of tarot cards instead of playing cards. We figured that this would still be following the “rules” because it was still cards but a different type of cards. The story that we came up with was that there would be a young lady (played by shaince) who would come to a fortune teller (played by Dominique) to get her fortune told. But to make it seem more thrilling, we decided that we didn’t need to have any sort of dialogue involved in our short film. This was because we figured that if this was done, there would be more for the audience to think about. Also because there would be more room for the audiences imagination to decide on what was actually going on.
After we had general idea of how to use pro cut (program), we had time to mess around with the program and experiment with everything that was on there. to see what would be good to use and what would look a bit too obvious to use for our actual short film that we was going to be shooting next lesson. When this tutorial was over we went back to our class room to find out what groups we had been put into. I was grouped with Shaince and Dominique.
Now that we had been put into our groups; we was given a basic narrative to follow which was that it had to be a thriller but it had to include two characters, a table, two chairs and a pack of playing cards. At first I wasn’t to happy with what we was given to work with but I started to let my imagination flow. Eventually after a short discussion with our group we came up with the idea, of having a pack of cards but they would be in the form of tarot cards instead of playing cards. We figured that this would still be following the “rules” because it was still cards but a different type of cards. The story that we came up with was that there would be a young lady (played by shaince) who would come to a fortune teller (played by Dominique) to get her fortune told. But to make it seem more thrilling, we decided that we didn’t need to have any sort of dialogue involved in our short film. This was because we figured that if this was done, there would be more for the audience to think about. Also because there would be more room for the audiences imagination to decide on what was actually going on.
Wednesday 3 December 2008
Filming our thriller.
In Tony's lesson we learnt how to use the apple computers for when we have our finished shots we want to use for our thriller.
Today we finally filmed our thriller but first we had to learn how to use the equipment etc. After we all had a plan of what shots we wanted to use and what our thriller was roughly about we could go away with out groups that tony put us in.
Our thriller was based around the brief of two characters playing cards but insted of doing the obvious we used tarrot cards in the thriller, this was different and easier to base a story around that was scary. The basic story was that my character was the tarrot reader and i had to show a young woman (Shanice) her unfaithfull future, she doesnt care to much about the warnings i giver her and walks away with no worries in her mind that the reading was all rubbish. Until a man pushes her down the stairs and she comes to a painful end.
The whole story has no dialouge in it, this is because we wanted our audience to feel the tension and suspence and have to figure out the plot on their own. That way we give no secrets away to early and the audience HAVE to figure it out themselves.
We used many different shots to give out thriller variety, because we had to dialouge in our film we needed to make sure everything else was intresting and done as Professionally as we could. We used tracking in some scene's and different camera angles, we even had a very close point of view shot to emphasise the 'Victims' reactions to help the audience understand what was goin on.
I think todays shooting went very well and i cant wait to start editing our footage.
Today we finally filmed our thriller but first we had to learn how to use the equipment etc. After we all had a plan of what shots we wanted to use and what our thriller was roughly about we could go away with out groups that tony put us in.
Our thriller was based around the brief of two characters playing cards but insted of doing the obvious we used tarrot cards in the thriller, this was different and easier to base a story around that was scary. The basic story was that my character was the tarrot reader and i had to show a young woman (Shanice) her unfaithfull future, she doesnt care to much about the warnings i giver her and walks away with no worries in her mind that the reading was all rubbish. Until a man pushes her down the stairs and she comes to a painful end.
The whole story has no dialouge in it, this is because we wanted our audience to feel the tension and suspence and have to figure out the plot on their own. That way we give no secrets away to early and the audience HAVE to figure it out themselves.
We used many different shots to give out thriller variety, because we had to dialouge in our film we needed to make sure everything else was intresting and done as Professionally as we could. We used tracking in some scene's and different camera angles, we even had a very close point of view shot to emphasise the 'Victims' reactions to help the audience understand what was goin on.
I think todays shooting went very well and i cant wait to start editing our footage.
Video Time!!!!
Well today was our recording day to make our own 'Thriller' video about playing poker, seeing the future about the bad things that will happen to the player,oooo creepy. Before we had done that, we were taught on how to control and work the camera so that we dont struggle when we are actually trying to produce our piece. I now know how to control the camera...YAAYY!!
After that, we had to plan on how to produce a scene to our film including what camera shots to take e.t.c.
It was time for recording, and I was the main character in the film OH MY GOLLY GOSH.
At first I was like AHHH (because I dont think that I look very nice on camera) but then I got use to it plus, I wanted to be the main character anyway, because I like acting and I was like the only one in the group who has enthusiam when it comes to making REALLY dramatic scenes and I was pleased with my results shockingly. I thought I was going to flop all the performances and that it was going to look horrible but it didn't. WHOOHOOO!! and looking back at it, it actually looks good and quite funny too.
After that, we had to plan on how to produce a scene to our film including what camera shots to take e.t.c.
It was time for recording, and I was the main character in the film OH MY GOLLY GOSH.
At first I was like AHHH (because I dont think that I look very nice on camera) but then I got use to it plus, I wanted to be the main character anyway, because I like acting and I was like the only one in the group who has enthusiam when it comes to making REALLY dramatic scenes and I was pleased with my results shockingly. I thought I was going to flop all the performances and that it was going to look horrible but it didn't. WHOOHOOO!! and looking back at it, it actually looks good and quite funny too.
Film shotz
On Monday's lesson a we were taught on how to cut bits out from a shot of a movie and how to fit it in to another shot like adding effects to it to lead it smoothly to another scene.It was quite interesting actually. I've learnt how to do input and output, to get rid of unwanted shots and I've learnt how to do a dissloving effect when changing from one scene to another. I've also learnt how to remove the wires off of the cable box without have to loose all the data whether its saved or not.
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