Introduction to Cameras + Health and Safety Tutorial

Before we were set our practice filming task, we were given a tutorial which explained how to use the cameras and how to handle equipment the right way. This tutorial was given to us by our teacher bernard and he showed us a presentation showing us a step by step and also by demonstrating with the camera itself. The tutorial really helped us understand how to use JVC Digital Camera we were provided with..
He showed us how to:
- connect camera on a tripod
- insert the memory cards and battery
- turn on/off the camera
- The basic functions; ie. zooming, change in focus

Thriller Sub-Genres

Thriller has many sub-genres. these sub genres are:

• Action thriller
• Conspiracy thriller
• Crime thriller
• Disaster thriller
• Drama thriller
• Horror thriller
• Legal thriller
• Medical thriller
• Political thriller
• Psychological thriller
• Religious thriller
• Spy thriller
• Supernatural thriller

At the moment the kind of thrillers that inspires me are drama thrillers and horror thrillers. i think it'd be good to make our title sequence for a drama thriller because the storyline for it would be very interesting. i also think a horror thriller would be ideal for our title sequence because it means our group can experiment with different kinds of lighting and various kinds of camera work but then again, because we lack skills to make horror thriller sequence, it would be best to do a drama thriller as it can be related to real-life events.

How is suspense created in the film 'United 93' ?

'United 93', directed by Paul Greengrass, is a film that illustrates the tragic events which took place on flight United 93 on the 11th September 2001. the film shows what took place on the plane that didn't reach its target; what may have happened on the plane that prevented the plane to hit the white house.

the film creates suspense in various ways. the film created suspense with the choice of music and sound that was used. at the beginning of the film, the drone resembled the sound of a heartbeat, which makes the audience aware that something bad is about to happen. the music then becomes emotional to show the audience how tragic this event is going to be.

the camera work also plays a role in creating suspense in the film. most of the film is filmed using a hand-held camera to show the chaos and mysteriousness of the event. this also emphasises the reality of the situation

in my opinion, this film succeeded in creating suspense as i was kept at the edge of my seat for most of the film. i think the fact that it is based on a true story and that the audience already knows the ending of the film also plays a part in creating suspense as it leaves you thinking about the emotions that the passengers felt and the thoughts that were running through their minds during their last moments of being alive.

ps. sorry these are late by the way. i'll try my hardest to be punctual.

Definition of Suspense

Suspense is an excited anticipation of an approaching climax and an apprehension of what is about to happen. Suspense is used in thrillers to keep the audience gripped and engaged in the film. there are many ways of creating suspense in films. this could be done by using music and eerie sounds, lighting and camera work. Alfred Hitchcock, a film maker and a producer is best known for his suspenseful films whish is why he is referred to by many as 'The Master of Suspense'. Alfred Hitchcock is responsible for the film 'Psycho' which some people believe to be the scariest film of all time

Analysis of 9 shots from Art of the Title Sequence

The title sequence I chose from the list of options Art of the Title Sequence was The Number 23, bellow are the 9 shots of its title sequence:

The style of the The Number 23 title sequence is been presented in a style similar to a old fashioned typewriter. And having seen the film previously, it's mainly based on a certain book which unseemingly the life of one individual, so this explains the whole typewriter effect.

The first shot says, "Joel Shumacher film" who is probably the brains behind this whole film, the second shot contines with the title "The Number 23" surrounded by the number 23 numours of times. The following two shots are brief descriptions of the world history eg."hitler." The 5th shot is a description of the Mayans Prophercy who believe the word ends in 2012 and 20+1+2=23 which fits in the mystery and horror in this film. The 6th slide states the excuative presenter "Mike Drake" and the script writer in slide 7, "Persley Phillips." The next two pages are mainly covered in blood with the 9th shot completely covered in blood signalling death, or a slow struggle as the amount of blood increases on every shot. Bellow is the full opening credits of 'The Number 23;

The shots used are all extreme close ups, of a piece of paper, with the imprints changing. There is a lack in images in this title sequence however the intellectual facts and how they relate to the idea of the mysteriousness of the number 23 makes up for it.
This title sequnce appeals to me, because appears to me to be very interesting and mysterious which are aspects that always appeal to me in any film. Also the simplicity of just a typewriter is something.

Preliminary match Cut film

I stayed a long time posting this - it really didn't want to upload!! well done! MB

Hello group!

some nice entries here. Well done Kozan for embedding the United 93 clip. Irene - you know you are behind. Remember - you need to remedy the situation before Friday 19th Feb as we agreed! Worried that The Art of the Title sequence is missing - click the link on the homepage and analyse a sequence that you admire.

cheers, m

News and Current Affairs

I read in the paper today "Landowner given life sentence for murdering wife whose body has never been foundabout" The story of the man who killed his wife in 2007 and still to this day the body had never been found. He was only recently jailed for it.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23803458-landowner-jailed-for-life-for-murdering-wife-whose-body-has-never-been-found.do

I think this could make a good thriller as you could turn it into an action thriller in the search for the body or a psychological thriller about why he did it. I think a story like this would keep an audience in suspense as theres so much you could do to the story.

Introduction to Cameras & Health and Safety Tutorial

Before starting our practice filming task, we had to know the basic controls of the camera and a health and safety tutorial. Bernard; with the help of a powerpoint presentation, help us understand key concept of how to use JVC Digital Camera we were provided with.
He explained:
- How to connect camera on a tripod
- How to insert the memory cards and battery
- How to turn on/off the camera
- The basic functions; ie. zooming, change in focus etc..
He also gave us tips on camera shots and angles followed how to manipulate the focus with using the automatic setting.

News and Current Affairs

Looking at the London Metro today theres was a little article called "RIOT OFFICERS WIN BATTLE OF 'SANGATTLE II'" The story follows after french riot police forcibly evictied 100 Britain migrants in a building dubbed 'Stargatte II.'

http://www.metro.co.uk/news/812136-riot-officers-win-battle-of-sangatte-ii

This could be used as the basis of a Action/Crime Thriller as the article continues, "Windows were smashed and furnitures turned upside down" these thrilling words can climax the suspence when these British Migrants were caught and arressted in public.

List of Thriller sub-genres

Thriller sub-genres:

Action Thriller: James Bond Films, The Transporter

Crime Thrillers: Reservoir Dogs, Inside Man

Political Thrillers: Seven Days In May, Agency

Psychological Thrillers: Memento, Strangers on a Train

Spy Thrillers: Bourne Films, Mission Impossible The thriller sub-genre that inspires me the most at the moment is Psychological thrillers, after reading about the film Memento and watching its title sequence I find very intelligent and interesting, some of the techniques they used (i.e. the spacing of the word MEMENTO to show gaps in memory) are the type of ideas I hope to include when making my own title sequence and opening.

Skills Audit: Livetype and Sound

During our media lesson, mary gave us a tutorial on two programs that we will be using for our thriller title sequence. the two programs which we used are: Livetype and Soundtrack Pro.

Livetype is a software that enables you to create title sequences. It has various features such as textures which allows you to put up a background, effects and different kinds of fonts to design the title sequence.

apart from this software, we also used a software called soundtrack pro which has a database of sample tracks that you can put together. we experimented with this software putting tracks together to help us with creating our title sequence for our thriller. all in all, i found these softwares easy to use and really useful.

this is a screenshot of soundtrack pro

Skills Audit: Livetype and Sound

In our media lesson with Mary, we learnt about how to use LiveType and were asked to create a practice Title Sequence page. As well as text we learnt to use textures, backgrounds and edit animations. With a few minutes to create one, I tried to base my title sequence on our practice filming exercises we completed earlier in the week, called 'THE THRILLING READ'




We also used a program called SoundTrack pro, which

Skills Audit: LiveType And Soundtrack Pro

In our Media lesson we learnt how to use two programs. Mary taught us to use the programs Soundtrack Pro and LiveType. We were taught to use these programs as we hoped to use them for our Thriller Sequence.

Soundtrack Pro allowed us to put musical instruments and different sounds to give background music for our thriller title sequence. We experimented with different with different musical instruments and put our own sample together.

LiveType allowed us to create a title sequence. It has many different features such as inserting credits, backgrounds, textures, fonts.

Both programs were incredibly useful and quite basic to use.

Message to Irene

Irene I want you to get into the habit of regular blogging. I'm worried that you are falling behind with this exercise.

Teacher comment

Great group photos, and interesting blogs. Irene - you have a few missing.