Friday, 30 April 2010
Evaluation
Evaluation
Thursday, 29 April 2010
Evaluation
Our film was produced under low budget and will be distributed by a low budgeted method. I will release my film on video hosting sites such as Youtube, vimeo etc. This method is a method which almost guarantee's success in attracting audience as video hosting sites such as Youtube has Millions of visitors a day. We will also have our movie screened at 'Screen on the green' and will get feedback from our peers.
Evaluation
Evaluation
When we were going through stages of planning our film, we came across a film which influenced our group’s ideas and technical skills. Arlington Road is the film which has influenced our ideas of creating an opening sequence. The film Arlington Road is created with short clips merged, creating a tense opening sequence. The mise-en-scene has dark lighting which adds tension to the scene. In our opening title sequence a sans serif font was used throughout to make the film look more contemporary.


Our opening sequence is structured in a discrete format. Our title sequence is similar to the title sequence of the film ‘The Thing’ as both title sequences have a range of shots merged together which has been merged together using transition effects.
Tuesday, 27 April 2010
Evaluation - Task 6 - What have you learned about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
Monday, 26 April 2010
Evaluation - Task 7 - Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learned in the progression from it to the full product?
Throughout this project our group have learnt many new skills, which are demonstrated in the develpment from when we started (Preliminary Task) to our ending product (Final Film). At the start of the project none of us knew how to use any of the editing software; Final Cut Pro, Soundtrack Pro and Livetype, and were first introduced to them by the teachers and technicians who guided us in a step by step tutorial. After learning the basic skills needed to edit footage we were then shown how to use the cameras and tripods.
The basic skills we learnt were then put into practice by us producing a Match Cut for our Preliminary Task.
Evaluation - Task 3/4 - What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why? How will you attract/address you audience?
This Thriller Opening Sequence by AS Media students from Liverpool was uploaded onto Youtube in April 2009. The video has had nearly 2000 views and has recieved good feedback through its comments. The choice to upload the video onto Youtube has helped to atrract a wider audience and has been successful in doing so. Online video hosting sites such as Youtube and Vimeo are great for sharing/promoting/releasing amatuer and low budget movies because anyone in the world with internet access will be able to view it. Amatuer low budget films are also not very likely to be commercial or profitable so there wouldnt be much dedication to promote/advertise through TV ads, posters, flyers etc, and these type of websites can help by showing your video as related videos to ones already on the internet.
Our film was produced under a low budget and we will take the same route as the AS Media students who have chosen to use Video Hosting Sites to release their film because it has been successful in attracting audiences. We will also have a cinematic screening amongst our peers at the 'Screen on the Green' where we will be able to recieve feedback as well.
Saturday, 24 April 2010
Evaluation - Task 5 - Who would be the audience for your media product?
Wednesday, 21 April 2010
Evaluation - Bektas OZER

'The Thing' remake opening Task two - How does your media product represent particular social group?
Our movie does not represent any social groups as no characters are included in the opening sequence we created. We wanted to portray a rugged and urban area. This type of opening is similar to ‘
Our movie'Arlington Road'
Task three & four - What kind of media institution might distribute your media product an why? How will you attract/address your audience?
I found this interesting video post on a very popular video sharing website. It is a thriller intro project from other students and another sixth form/college. In this case YouTube has been used to release it to a much wider potential audience. The video has had over 11,000 hits, so the decision to release the video on to YouTube can be considered a success. In relation to our media product it is very similar because of the fact that 16-19 year old students made it and also the movie budget would have been low. Low budget projects such as our thriller intro is most likely to gain as much views as possible if the media product is released online. Video sharing websites such as YouTube and Vimeo can be very useful for amateur film makers. Unlike YouTube, Vimeo is a website which specialises for film makers. Video quality and resolutions are much better than on YouTube and most amateur film makers post on Vimeo to get noticed. Our own media product will get a screening cinematic screening at 'The Screen on the Green' and shared screening with other peers and the potential audience for our product, if released online is huge.




Task six - What have you learned about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
However as we progressed through the making of our media product we learnt how to effectively use a variety of shots in different angles. My editing skills with FinalCut Pro drastically improved throughout making the final product. In the preliminary task we barely used any video effects or clip transitions. However after naturally getting better because of good practice tasks such as the preliminary activity, we managed to use many video effects and transitions in our final product. The video effects and transitions we used worked well in aiding our product look and feel like a real thriller opening to a movie.
Evaluation - Task 1 - In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products


Monday, 19 April 2010
Evalutaion - Task 8 - Audience Feedback and Comments

Sunday, 18 April 2010
Changes in light of feedback from roughcut
Wednesday, 14 April 2010
Skills Audit - Titles

Titles were added to our opening sequence using Livetype. We chose to use a bold and simple sans serif font for our titles because we wanted it to stand out from the background and to look modern. The titles were also done in white to help it contrast from the dark background and we used a couple of effects to make the titles suit the shaky handheld footage. The effects we used were transitions to fade in/out the titles and other effects which made the titles move about randomly on the screen.
Tuesday, 13 April 2010
Skills Audit - Title Soundtrack

The soundtrack to our title sequence was created in Soundtrack Pro. We chose not to use music for our title sequence because it wouldnt suit the way our film had been edited together, so we chose to use sound effects and long drones instead. We searched through the sound library looking for a long sound which could play through our entire title sequence, and a few shorter sounds which could be used to for the titles. The sounds we used were a long dark drone and dark hits found in the sound effects.
To get the soundtrack to play in time with our title sequence we dragged the sounds along the timeline and shortened/extended them to get them in the right places for when the titles came on.
Skills Audit - Editing

Wednesday, 24 March 2010
Friday, 5 March 2010
Monday, 1 March 2010
Location Shots
Our thriller opening sequence was going to be made up of shots edited together to created a flash back of the journey the mother took before abandoning her son. We filmed everyday things such as fences, locks, doors, signs, trees etc along a short route we took around Islington.
Tuesday, 23 February 2010
Sunday, 21 February 2010
Card Game
Camera shots, sound and editing:
- Medium close up (MCU)
- Close up (CU)
- Long shot (LS)
- Wide shot (WS)
- Shot reverse shot
- Over the shoulder shot
- Sound effects
- Match cut
Saturday, 20 February 2010
Match Cut Exercise
Camera Shots/Movements Used:
- over the shoulder shot
- Medium shots
- Panning
- Long shots
Wednesday, 10 February 2010
Preliminary Match Cut - Planning & Skills Audit (Filming/Editing)

In the match cut exercise we used a range of different camera shots/movements and editing skills to create a match cut and a series of shot reverse shots to show a conversation between two people. To create the match cut and shot reverse shots we had to film the scene twice from different positions to later on edit in Final Cut.
Camera Shots/Movements used:
- Long shot
- Medium shot
- Panning
- Over the shoulder
After filming our footage we imported our clips into Final Cut Pro and cut the clips in the right places to make the next clip follow on smoothly.
Card Game
Camera Shots/Editing/Sound:
- Long shot
- Medium close up
- Over the shoulder
- Close Up
- Wide Shot
- Shot reverse shot
- Match Cut
- Sound Effects
Sunday, 7 February 2010
The Art of the Title - Sherlock Holmes

The font and style of the titles themselves seems like a handwritten type of text, this adds to the mystery and tells us the movie will have a crime element in one shape or form. The titles are of actors names, the director, the producers and the title of the movie itself (Sherlock Holmes).
The images behind the text is of the characters of the movie who are important to the plot and story of the movie. The shot types are of variety, with mid-shots, long shots, close-ups and extreme close-ups.
The title sequence appeals to me because it has mysterious factors to it. It makes me want to watch the movie and find out what happens. The actors starring in the movie also appeals to me because there are big Hollywood stars such as Robert Downie JR and Jude Law. This will most likely guarentee very good acting and a very good movie overall.
Thursday, 4 February 2010
Skills Audit - Livetype & Soundtrack Pro
Wednesday, 3 February 2010
News and current affairs
- 'Mother accused and arrested of murdering daughter'
- 'Wife poisons and murders husband'
- 'A group of Militia arrested as they tried to take 33 children out of quake-hit Haiti are questioned by a judge'
- 'Troops are deployed in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi after weeks of ethnic clashes in which dozens have been killed'
- 'The children of a Moroccan Olympic champion fled from his house and were smuggled out with Norway's help, they say'
Camera & Health and Safety Introduction
- Turning on/off camera
- Opening and closing Camera Lens
- Adjusting the camera for automatic or manual focusing
- Reducing brightness of light
- Zooming in/out
- Viewing recorded footage
Tripod:
- Adjusting tripod height
- Locking camera onto the tripod
- Removing camera from tripod
- Tightening/Loosening up tripod for fast/slow panning/tilting
- Close the lens of the camera if it is not being used
- Put the camera back in its bag for tranporting long distances
- Do not touch the lens
- Keep the camera out of bad weather
Tripod:
- Make sure all legs are securely locked when using
- Put tripod back in carrier bag if it is not being used
- Keep tripod out of bad weather
Art of Title Sequence

Designer: Daniel Kleinman
The style of the Casino Royale title sequence was influenced by the graphic designer/filmaker Saul Bass, who was well known for producing animated title sequences which told stories through simple images. The Casino Royale title sequence was done using a lot of computer effects and animation to re-create scenes from the actual film. The fonts used in the title sequence are sans serif but they look very formal and strong, which suits the genre of the film very well. The title sequence has a lot of action and movement, which is emphasized on by using contrasting colours to bring out detail, and solid block colours to make the human figures look stronger and bolder.
I found the Casino Royale title sequence appealing because it was different from other title sequences, and it sets the theme of the film very well by using simple animation.
Skills audit - Soundtrack Pro & Livetype
Photo words activity 4
Tuesday, 2 February 2010
Where is your homework?
just wondering where is your homework - the diary of events you were supposed to be keeping this week? I've also noticed that you are getting a little behind in your blogging - you should have 7 seperate posts each by now! It's important to keep up to date! Look forward to you next blogs soon!
Editing Skills Audit - Final Cut Pro - BAIT Tutorial

- Changing clip lengths by dragging double headed arrows
- Marking In and Out points in the viewer window
- Dragging clips onto the timeline
- Inserting clips into a sequence
- Layering clips
Monday, 1 February 2010
News and Current Affairs events
Sunday, 31 January 2010
'The Pelican Brief'- Opening Sequence Analysis
During the opening sequence we see names of the director, actors, producers, personnel and a couple special mentions. The title of the the movie 'The Pelican Brief' also comes up. The font of the text used was a traditional serif font, which suggests it is a serious drama type movie.
Saturday, 30 January 2010
Photo Activity
Wednesday, 27 January 2010
Thriller Sub Genres
- Action
- Crime
- Disaster
- Supernatural
- Spy
- Sci-Fi
My favourite thriller sub genre is Supernatural because they tend to be less predictable and have more interesting storylines.
Skills Audit - Editing
Skills audit - Editing

- Learned how to use the razor blade tool.
- Drag clips with double headed arrow to extend or shorten the length of the clip.
- Mark In and out points in the viewing window to extract the sequence that you need.
- Drag clips onto the timeline.
- Insert clips into a sequence
- Layer clips.
- We learned what audio and video tracks are.
- We learned how to import files to Final cut pro.
Tuesday, 26 January 2010
Suspense in 'What Lies Beneath'
The scene where Claire dashes for the door in search of escape from Norman, the camera is from a low angle as Norman's point of view which is telling viewers that he is'nt dead.
Thriller Opening Analysis
Whats Happens?
The film starts with a title sequence showing a car travelling along a long road on some mountains with titles/names scrolling up the middle of the screen. The film then carries on from the tittle sequence when the car stops outside a hotel and a man enters the hotel.
Camerawork:
The opening title sequence of the car on the road uses tracking from a high angle to give an impression of the person in the car as a target. The high angle makes the car look vunerable and the tracking camera shows that someone may be following it. The title sequence was also filmed using wide and long shots to establish the setting of the film which was in a hotel in the middle of some mountains. This also made the person in the car seem even more vunverable because it showed the audience that it was in the middle of no where and if they did get in trouble no one would probably be around to help.
Sound:
Throughout the title sequence there was a repetitive low pitched trumpet sound being played with a spooky windy sound in the background which made it clear that the film was a thriller.
Mise En Scene:
The title sequence showed a yellow car along a long road surrounded by mountains on a coast. The simple scenery of the mountains and trees made the car stand out and the main focus.
Editing:
The opening scene only had a few match cuts of the car travelling along the road because it wanted to create the impression of eyes being locked onto the car.
Titles:
The titles used a very plain and simple serif font which scrolled up the screen while the car was shown travelling behind it.
Monday, 25 January 2010
Suspense in 'What Lies Beneath'
Sound was used to add tension and exaggeration to scenes in the film. For example; when Norman was crawling up the side of the bath tub, the audience would of thought that he was going to kill Calire but then he falls back down when the sound was cut off.
Camerawork was used to show the audience things that the characters didn't know. For example; when Claire was running out the door to the car, she thought that she got away but the camera showed her running away from Norman's point of view which told the audience that he was still alive.
Wednesday, 20 January 2010
Suspense in 'What Lies Beneath'
Suspense is constantly created throughout What lies Beneath. In my opinion Hitchcock's bomb theory is used in the movie. The husband Harrison Ford (Norman) is the ticking bomb in the plot waiting to explode and the audience knows this. He has an evil and dark side which his wife does not know about but the audience does. Norman's true colours come to light when he actually tries to murder his wife, in order to keep her quiet about the murder of the young lady he had an affair with.
Suspense is created in many different ways in What Lies Beneath.
Sound effects and music are both used extensively throughout the movie. For example when Claire is going down the stairs backwards, towards the end of the movie, then she suddenly steps in a small puddle of blood a quick screech sort of sound is used (non-diegetic). This would make the audience jump, and give a little thrill to the audience, it also personally made me jump a little. No sound or music really drags on through any scene, we hear a freaky sound, then it softens away, then it suddenly comes back unexpected to suprise the audience and make us jump.
While Claire is in the bath helpless, with the water level steadily rising, there are contstant shot reverse shots from Claire's Point of view to the water tap she is desperetly trying to turn. This constantly goes on, whilst the water level is still rising. This gives the audience suspense and keeps us on the edge of our seats. The "Is she? or "Isn't she" kind of moment is portayed here. During the sequence Claire's emotions seem distressed and In pain, which also adds to the tension and suspense.
What is Suspense?

Suspense creates tension and anxiety for the audience
- It keeps us on our toes as we usually do not know what will happen next in the film.
- It keeps us wondering what will happen next.
- Hitchcock's bomb theory is a tool used by directors to create suspense. The bomb theory is when the audience knows or finds out something which the characters do not.
- Suspense can be created in many ways. Through camera shots or movements and with theuse of effective sound/music.