Research into Movie Making

180 Degree Rule:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdyyuqmCW14

This video helped to show me the 180 degree rule in action and displays the difference between using it and not. Not using this rule could confuse the audience if we were to involve any dialect in our main task, and therefore it is important that we understand and implement this rule when filming our main task.

Camera Shots:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VS2iNhz180&feature=related

This video showed me some camera shots and the effect of using different shots at different times, for example an establishing shot used at the beginning of a sequence helps set the scene, and extreme close ups enable the audience to see the reactions of actors. This video will help us make a sequence that flows and engages the audience effectively without confusing them.

Editing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPK65xG3jFA

This video shows the importance of editing and how it can make a significant difference to the end product; poorly edited movies are not effective even if the shots, mise-en-scene and camera angles are brilliant. It shows how different speeds of editing have a 'profound effect on the viewer' as do a variety of camera shots edited together. The video displays how this needs to be done carefully as the editing helps to set the scene of a movie. The examples given also show the importance of music and sound effects in a scene to engage the audience which we will consider whilst filming and editing our main task.

Making a good movie: (including lighting)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mK4kAnPcLSU

This video has given me some helpful tips on making a good movie. These tips include tips on lighting which are important in making the movie look more realistic and therefore be more engaging for the audience. The video also discusses the placings of the camera within a scene to get the most effective result, the rule of thirds is also useful in this and will help us to make a reader that engages the audience; the artistic direction will also do this as the audience will be given an insight into our characters' lives through the mise-en-scene. Finally the video has helped me to think about how we can make the actors understand what we want out of the scene, improving their performance and therefore our main task.

Script

Actor’s Script

A woman is lying dead in the middle of a bedroom surrounded by crime scene tape. There has been a murder. Police and forensics are gathering evidence. A man, Man 1, is crouched next to the dead body inspecting the scene. He is approached by Man 2.

MAN 1 is smartly dressed in a long, dull coat. He is wearing a hat and looks to be in his mid thirties, he is very serious and solemn.

MAN 2 is slightly less professional than MAN 1 and it is clear that he is of a lower status within his profession. He is wearing a white shirt with a tie and smart, black trousers. He is holding a notebook containing notes on the crime scene and victim.

Man 2 approaches Man 1 who is crouched next to the victim, looking on and around her body for evidence. He is very solemn at this time. As man 2 approaches, Man 1 stands, taking the notebook from Man 2 as he does so.

Man 1: (Looking through the notebook and nodding) so, what do we have here?

Man 2: Female, 19, injuries to the head and neck. Bruises indicate self-inflicted wounds.

Man 1: Do we have a time of death yet?

Man 2: Judging by the body temperature, she’s been dead no more than 3 hours.

Man 1: What was she doing at time of death?

Man 2: She was on the computer doing work (camera will leave the conversation, both men continue talking as normal) her roommates were out, said she was fine when they left, they just came up stairs and found her… like this.

Man 1: Why would a perfectly happy 19 year old girl kill herself?

Evaluation

We showed our films to other members of our media class and were given feedback on what they liked about our preliminary task and what could have been improved upon.


The things that they liked were;

• The CU's of the mouths as this added to the mystery behind the characters.
• The variety of camera shots and camera angles used.
• The establishment of the scene in which our Thriller had been set, particularly the opening shot which sets the scene of the Thriller.
• The costumes and props that established the importance of the characters helping them fit the typical conventions of the Thriller genre.
• The way in which the package was followed as it was passed from one character to the next enhancing the importance of the package and it's passing from one character to the next.
• The smooth flowing edits.
• The generic conventions that were followed such as the setting, actors and dialogue.
• The setting of the sequence as it had been filmed outside of school and research had gone into finding the appropriate location.
• The narrative that fitted the Thriller genre and engaged the audience.

The audience did not like:

• The varying subtitle sizes
• The sound and lack of tones and music to enhance the drama of the scene.

To rectify this, I changed the subtitles and made sure that they were of constant size and font. We could not however change the sound as we had found no tones and had too little time to reshoot our film.

If I were to do this task again, I would check the equipment thoroughly before starting the filming; I would definitely make a thorough storyboard and script as this made the filming much easier on the day; I would check the sound of the location making sure that it's volume did not exceed that of our actors; I would make sure that we had plenty of time to film without the daylight hours affecting our continuity; and finally I would make sure that what we wanted to be the final outcome was achievable with the sounds and equipment that we had.

In general, I think that the outcome of our preliminary has proved to be effective in conforming to the typical conventions of a Thriller genre and to the task given to us.

Evidence

1. Visiting our location at the Swan Pub and taking pictures:

We chose these seats as they were in a quiet place away from a bar and had leather chairs and a large fire place to help make the meeting between Alex and Lucy more professional and sophisticated.

In the right had side of this picture you can see the door to the room and the door to the Swan Pub itself. This meant that we could get nice flowing shots of Alex walking into the pub and the room where Lucy would be seated. The space around the table also meant that we could film easily without moving any of the other tables and chairs.

Again, this picture gives an idea of the space around the table to film and also the sophisticated lighting and atmosphere of the pub. Furthermore, the table (seen at the right hand side) where we wanted to film our sequence was slightly secluded from the other tables increasing the characters' seclusion from the events of an average person.

This picture taken outside the Swan Pub would have been where Alex walked up from. As you can see it is a secluded location which meant that we would have been able to film Alex without any interruptions. The river also added to the eerie and mysterious atmosphere which we hoped to achieve in our film.

2. The emails sent to and from the Swan Pub:

This was the first email sent by Calum and Me. The manager who we spoke to then replied on my email account:

When we could not make these dates or times, I replied. The conversation can be seen between the Managers of the Swan Pub and me can be seen below:

3. The video of us filming our first try at the preliminary task can be seen below: