Changes in Light of Feedback from Rough Cut

By looking at the rough cut of our project, there are many things that need improving and changing.

Firstly, the shots of Megan standing in Angel Square, need to be cut down, as is shows for far two long, and loose the attention of the audience.

Also, sound effects need to be added, such as the police phone conversation we have planned as well as the police report on the murder scene.

Sound during other parts of the film, such as when Megan is being strangled; groaning, heavy breathing and bangs need to be added for impact on the audience.

Finally, the shot were Megan picks up an iron need to be cut slightly, as it shows her releasing the iron briefly near the end.

Rough Cut

Analysis of 9 shots from Art Of The title Sequence

The thriller title i chose to do from the options from the art of the title sequence is The Shinning,

Below are 9 shots from the opening title sequence of The shinning.

The font used in this title sequence is Arial font. The titles show up in three different places on the screen, the top middle and bottom. The titles are a plain light blue colour.

The images shown in the title sequence that the titles are placed over are of a car and a long deserted road. we can see mountains, a lake and woods. this tells us that the film is going to be set in quite a isolated place out of the city.

The first three shot we see have no titles over them but they set the setting for the audience as we see clearly what is on the screen.

The first title we see says, "A Stanley Kubrick Film" who is probably the main person behind the film. The second title says "Jack Nicholson" who is the main character of the film. The third title we see says "The Shining" which is the name of the film, the fourth title we see says "Barry Nelson" who more than likely starred in the film as well as Jack Nicholson. The fifth shot we see says, " based upon the novel By Stephen king" this tells us where the idea of the story came from. The final shot says, "Produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick" this tells us who the main person behind the scenes of the film is.

The types of shots used are,

- Birds eye view shots

- establishing shots

This title sequence appeals to me as i think it shows the setting and mood of the film very well as it shows a big open space which is deserted and as we see in the film that is what its like for the characters.

Art Of A Title Sequence

The thriller title sequence I chose from the options of Art Of The Sequence was Panic Room. I chose this film as I like this film very much.

Below are 9 shots taken from the opening of Panic Room:

The opening trailer instantly tells us that the film is going to be mainly set in the city as we can see many sky scrapers and cars and traffic. The font used is big and in capital letters, and the colour used is silver/grey.

The first shot says "Columbia Pictures Presents" which obviously means that they are probably the main people behind the idea of the film. The first shit is an establishing shot of the city and the river.

The second shot then says "A Hofflund Polone Production". This shot is between much lower down.

The third shot then says "An Indelible Production". They are responsible for the production of the film. This shot shows the sky scrapers touching the sky.

The fourth shot then says "Jodie Foster" who is the main character of the film. The next few shots say "Forest Whitaker", "Dwight Yoakam" and "Jared Leto" who are also characters in the film. The seventh shot then says "Panic Room" which is the film name. The shot after that says "Kristen Stewart" who is also a character in the film. The ninth shot says "Ann Magnuson, Ian Buchanan" who also star in the film.

Skills Audit: Livetype and Sound Track Pro

In our media lesson Mary taught us how to use two programs, Live type and Soundtrack pro. We were taught these programs in hope we use them for our Thriller Sequence.

Live type allows you to make title sequence. it has various features that include, inserting credits, backgrounds, textures, fonts.

Soundtrack pro allows you to put musical instruments and different sounds together to create backing music to put together for our thriller title sequence.

I found both programs very useful and easy to use to help make our thriller title sequence.

Introduction to cameras and health and safety tutorial

We gad to learn the basic controls of the camera and health and safety tutorial. With the help of a powerpoint presentation to help us learn the key concepts of how to use the JVC digital camera we were given. We were taught how to connect the camera to the tripod and how to insert the memory cards and battery. We were taught the basic functions including turning it on and off, zooming, change in focus etc.

Bernard also gave us tips on angles and camera shots and how to manipulate the focus using automatic settings.

Introduction to Cameras & Health and Safety Tutorial

Before we were able to use the Media equipment we had to be taught the basic controls of a camera and were given a health and safety tutorial,

Bernard showed us on a powerpoint the key concepts of how to use a JVC digital camera. He also gave us some ideas on how to from an angle and a few other tricks.

We were also taught how to taught how to turn the camera on and off, how to insert the memory card into the camera, how to put the Camera on the tripod and also the basic functions (focus, zoom, sound etc.)

The Shining is on of the most memorable films of its decade. The opening consits of a derlict, wooded area, and it slowly follows a yellow car through an intrigute mountain. It starts and finishes with a droning and orchestral piece of music, emphasising it suspence and mystery of the film.

The helicopter, birds eye view shots follows the vehicle through a wooded area, highlighting it wilderness and secludness. One by one the titles begin to scroll up the page in a Sans Serif font, in bright blue, which according to my teacher, is bewildered why the directer chose this coloured font. The names of the Stars, Producers, Director and Scriptwriter in turn scroll up the page.

The ending of the opening sequence is of the car pulling up to a hotel, properly indicating the main setting of the film.

Match Cut Storyboard

Here is our rough storyboard for our match cut exercise which is also posted on the blog.

Animatic for final movie

Pitch

This was our pitch that we presented on Tuesday 2nd March 2010, in front of media teachers.

*DUE TO UNFORTUNATE EVENT WE WERE NOT ABLE TO CARRY OUT THIS STORYBOARD, PLEASE LOOK AT OUR NEW STORYBOARD ABOVE***

News and Current Affairs Events

I was looking at the metro website today and came across an article about a british born boy who was captured in Punjab at his Grand-parents house. He doesn't speak any other language but English and the kidnappers have asked for £100,000.

This could be a good example of a crime thriller. I thought this because the police are appealing to everyone globally and because his parents have said that they are not able to reach the £100k deadline. This can also be seen as an action thriller as the article says "They were fully loaded with guns and hand grenades."
This would make a great suspensful film.



Link: http://www.metro.co.uk/news/815941-100k-ransom-deadline-passes-for-british-boy

Thriller Sub-Genres

There are many different types of thrillers. These are:
- Supernatural thrille
- Conspiracy thriller
- Psychological thriller
- Legal thriller
- Medical thriller
- Political thriller
- Crime thriller
- Disaster thriller
- Drama thriller
- Religious thriller
- Spy thriller
- Horror thriller
- Action thriller

I think it would be best if we based our Title Sequence on a horror thriller. The main type of thriller that interests me the most currently is horror thrillers. I enjoy watching them and I also know that it is a very popular genre. Doing a horror thriller allows us to try different things and play around with the storyline. It also gives us and opportunity to take advantage of the camera and use different angles and use hand held camera's at some point. It could also allow us to use the lighting kit in various ways. I have previously used a vdieo camera before to make a music video in school but I do lack experience in using the camera for a horror thriller so this is a disadvantage for me and the group because none of us have much experience in this area.