Shot list for our opening sequence

Shot list for our opening sequence

 We also completed shot list for our opening sequence in order to make the process of shooting is more clear for us and for everyone who are going to take part in shooting session. I think it is really good idea because it illustrates what should be done in order to achieve good results and brilliant opening sequence.

creation of a shot list

creation of a shot list

One of the most significant point of each shooting session is creation of a shot list. By creating a shot list, your entire production runs more efficiently because everything gets shot based on the location and setup, as opposed to the order scenes appear in the script. A shot list is similar to a storyboard because it identifies what's being shot. A shot list can be easily distributed to cast and crew and gets the director, cinematographer and the rest of the crew on the same page, especially when shooting the scenes that haven't been storyboarded. This is the example of the shot list.

Addressing the audience.

We have addressed our audience through mise en scene and music. We used earphones, to attract teenage audience and we've used a brutal version of the main character to attract males and females. 

Our audience can appreciate the brutality and the setting of our opening sequence, 

Evaluation Task 7

Looking back at my preliminary task, I have learnt that I managed to develop a full product. Looking back on my preliminary task, I feel that I have learnt a lot in the progression from it to become an accomplished product. First of all, I have studied a lot more about continuity editing for the main production, because continuity task required us just to film and edit a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom he then exchanges a couple o lines of a dialogue. All had to be done with out breaking continuity, and, in my opinion, it was successful. Moreover, this task should demonstrate match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule. As far as I am concerned, preliminary task was very useful as it enabled me to understand more thoroughly the filming and editing process in order to put into practice regained skills and information during our opening sequence. Furthermore, I have learnt a lot about demonstration continuity through practice and practical examples, shown to us by media staff. Match on action (or cutting on action) is an editing technique for continuity editing in which one shot cuts to another shot portraying the action of the subject in the first shot. This creates the impression of a sense of continuity – the action carrying through creates a “visual bridge” which draws the viewer’s attention away from slight cutting or continuity issues. This is not a graphic match or match cut, it portrays a continuous sense of the same action rather than matching two separate things.  The example  from our opening sequence: We have used match on action to edit the phase where the main character moves towards the bike, in order to keep continuity. Shot reverse shot is a continuity editing technique used in conversations or simply characters looking at each other or objects. A shot showing what the character is supposedly looking at (either a point of view or over the shoulder shot) is followed by a reverse angle shot of the character themselves looking at it, or of the other character looking back at them, for example. Shot reverse shot often ties in with the 180° rule to retain continuity by not distorting the audience’s sense of location of the characters in the shots.    The 180° rule is a filming guideline that participants in a scene should have the same left-right relationship to each other, with filming only taking place within the 180° angle in which this is maintained in a conversation, for example. For example in King Vidor’s The Big Parade (1925), the audience’s viewpoint is constantly southward of the action – the American soldiers walk from left to right to the frontlines, and right to left when they return home, creating a continuous sense of direction . This allows the audience to have a greater sense of location in the scene in terms of what may be off-screen in some shots, for example in shot reverse shots.  Overall, I do not think I have become an accomplished film maker as a result of editing our preliminary task. Moreover, I have definitely learnt a lot of constructive information and this, therefore, allows me to put into practice all required knowledge and skills when we have filmed our product.

Evaluation Task 6. 

1. Logging

The dailies or rushes are sorted and labelled in ‘bins’. Each take can contain extra notes from the director or the cinematographer. This is the first time the editor sees the film, and since it is shot out of sequence, it is out of context of the story. A good editor views the rushes and looks for fluidity of movement and nuances that will later be incorporated into the film.

2. First Assembly

The editor considers all the visual and audio material collected on the shoot for each scene and then re-orders it in the way to tell the story best.

In the scene above, the editor may decide to open with an aerial shot of Central London and then track in to Buckingham Palace. The next shot might be a closeup of the hands followed by a dissolve shot to the hands of the hobo playing the banjo. There are dozens of possible combinations the editor can chose for this one simple sequence, each of which create a different mood and tell a different story.

Editing on a large budget feature usually commences as soon as the film starts shooting. An editor will work on the rushes and assemble scenes for the director and producer to view. Often at this point the editor and director will decide that additional footage of key moments is necessary in order to make more editing choices available during the edit.

Hint: First assembly is like a sketch of the finished scene.
It is a good idea to save these sketches for reference later,
should the editor get stuck.

                                      

3. Rough Cut and Variations 

The rough cut can take up to three months to complete. Each editor works differently. Sometimes the editor works alone and shows the day or weeks work to the director and producer, Sometimes the editor and director work together, discussing every nuance.

In the rough cut, the scenes are placed in order and checked for continuity. This all-important step in the editing process allows for revisions and new ideas to be tried and tested.

Hint: Make the edit points between the scenes very obvious in order to e mphasise the ‘roughness’. Failure to do so may result in the editor committing to an edit before it is ready.

4. First Cut

The first cut is the rough cut that is accepted by the editor, the director and the producer. Selection and sequence are basically fixed, although changes can still be made. The later film is visible. Detailed fine cut starts out from its proportions, structures, rhythms and emphasises them.
Hint: Never be afraid to let the first cut ‘rest’ for a few days so everyone involved can see it with fresh eyes.

5. Fine Cut

The fine cut no longer focuses on the entire film, but on the details of each and every cut. The fine cut emphasises and strengthens the rhythms and structures identified in the first cut.

6. Final Cut

When a fine cut has been agreed with the editor, director and producer, the sound designer, music composer and title designer join the editor. Sound effects and music are created and added to the final cut. When everyone has agreed with the final cut, the Edit Decision List is sent to the lab where a negative cutter ‘conforms’ the negative to the EDL in order to create a negative that is an exact copy of the final cut. The video is uploaded on YouTube, as the editing process was complete.

Adobe Premiere. 

Editing of our opening sequence was part of the creative post-production tasks. Nowadays, film editing increasingly involves the use of digital technology. We have used Adobe Premiere Pro during the editing process of constructing our opening sequence. At the beginning, I was confused about exactly what After Effects does, and what makes it different to another video editing application such as Premier Pro. At first glance Adobe Premiere Pro seemed to be quite difficult software which require high level of knowledge and skills. However, afterwards Matt explained every single detail which seemed difficult at the beginning of the editing process, for example I completely did not know how to make creative and beautiful titles.

Moreover, the editing process involved lots of creative decisions using tolls within Adobe premiere pro. as a wide variety of shot could allow our team to make experiments in order to achieve the best result in the end. We experimented with wide range of tools such as brush, clone stamp and eraser. I uploaded some pictures of the editing process of our group.Overall, the most significant point that I have learnt from the editing process is to be creative in every situation because it can really help you when you have difficulties with organizing shots.

Evaluation Task 5.

Know the Culture

You need to match your advertising to the personal culture of the teens in your company's area. You can use social media outlets for your research on area teens. Study local trends by reading personal teenage blogs found through the online services in your community. Also, examine Twitter postings. According to DKD New Media, kids are particularly enamored of this way of posting their thoughts to multiple people at a time. Think about how your products or services relate or can be made to relate to this particular community of kids with their particular interests. For example, if you live in a coastal community, you might find that the local teens are interested in skim-boarding and this might be a product you need to promote through your social media contacts.

Personal Appeal

Mass media will not allow you to personally appeal to teenagers the way social media enable you to. Create a MySpace or Facebook page for your business. This is your area on the web to attract teens. Do this by using clear, direct language to introduce your company, what it is has to offer and, most importantly, what your specific business can offer them. Don't fall into the trap of trying to mimic teen jargon, because teenagers typically find this behavior by adults to be demeaning and annoying. Highlight your company's items or services that have a natural appeal for your teen audience with the use of graphics. Teens are generally very visual and will be drawn to attractive presentations. Update your pages frequently -- teens change within short time periods, and your advertising should as well.

First of all, we reflected back on our product and highlighted our target audience (young people from 13-25 years old)We insured that our chosen audience will be absorbed by our opening sequence and remain satisfied through out the clip. For instance, we were provided with professional filming equipment which enabled us to film in high definition. School gave us a chance to use Sony NXR-NX5. Finally, I could see were our annual 40k charge went :)
Below you can observe the photo of the camera, which we used to film our opening sequence. 
The photo was taken during the editing process. 

Moreover, we as a group made sure to deliver a high quality sound effects and soundtrack. Our goal was to maintain the continuity through out the opening sequence, so I had to edit the songs tones as the distance from the sound device was constantly changing and shifting away or towards the camera. We tried to do our best in order to influence positive emotions among our audience, not only when they watch our coursework, but also when they listen to it as well. Our opening sequence for "Detrimental" used a wide range of different sounds which contributed to creating a realistic atmosphere. As a consequence, obviously audience prefer to watch films that do not look falsely and artificially, but have a sense of professionalism in it.

"Additionally, we attract the audience through the use of the handsome main character" quoting my college here :)  This was planned to attract the female sector of the audience. This can be supported by the fact that, nowadays, a lot of girls all over the world prefer to watch films with handsome male actors in the main role (e.g. "The Great Gatsby" starring Leonard Di Caprio or The Dark Knight Rises with Christian Bale). The photo below illustrates myself playing the role of the detective in our opening sequence(the shot was taken from the opening sequence).

As a reference we used the main character of the famous TV series 'Supernatural', James Ackles.

We also considered to engage the male sector of the audience as well as the female sector. In order to make our opening sequence appealing to male teenagers, we used high technology and brutality of the main character. The fact that the main character is a teenager as well also plays a significant role in attracting the audience. People would always compare themselves to the main.
We also promoted a healthy lifestyle, by making our main character very physically fit, and to reflect it in the clip, I did some pull ups. Therefore, the male part of our target audience will definitely be intimidated and will pay attention to our thriller, and potentially be influenced to do more sports.

Overall, we are appealing to young people from 13 to 25 years old, by using different ways of attracting the target audience. We are appealing the female part of our audience by using handsome male actor and the male part of our target audience by using high quality picture and sound as well as an example from our main character.

Evaluation Task 4. Facebook Page.

https://www.facebook.com/Detrimental2015

Evaluation Task 3 TARGET AUDIENCES






Me and my group partners, Liza and Etienne had created a presentation, using Prezi software, to present our Target audience.

Evaluation Task 2.





What is a thriller? A thriller usually consists of a battle between the protagonist character and the antagonist, when there is a disruption in the equilibrium. Then the story shows a chain of bad events building tension and suspense for the climax. The aim of the protagonist is to restore justice, while the antagonist seeks to destroy it.
Conventions of a Thriller • Low key lighting • Quick cuts • Shadows • Tension music • Changes in the angle of shots • Diegetic sound of breathing • Black and white shots • Montage of shots • Protagonist is in the mercy of the Antagonist

Characters • The protagonist is often a brave male who seeks to restore the equilibrium • The antagonist will have a hidden identity that the audience will uncover as the film progresses. Often the antagonist goes out for revenge from a past event. Themes of Thriller • The storyline will be designed so the audience will think that it can happen to them, which will make them feel scared.

   Cinematography of a thriller • There will be a lot of close ups and extreme close ups of the protagonist character, this is often to show their emotions, also it can be used to focus on props to aid the narrative. • The shots of the antagonistic character will be cut quickly and will aim to hide their identity, e.g. A shot of the back of them, a low key shot, the silhouette, or shadow of the character

Editing of a Thriller The director will include lots of jump cuts because there will be things happening that the audience is unaware of but is essential for the film to make sense. Cross cutting is a key point in editing as it is used to build suspense which is essential for a thriller. Continues editing is used to help the audience understand the film betterSound in a Thriller • Music is essential in any film to understand the mood of the characters and hint at a significant part in the film. In a thriller it adds suspense and tension. It will often start at a slow paves and the then build up to make the shots more dramatic for the audience.

 The positioning of our characters was like that of any film keeping our main and most important character in the middle of the frame so the would not be cutt off from the audience. The movement of our characters suggested very formal and authoritative giving the audience look at our main character . Therefore, we followed the basic conventions of thriller films when dealing with actor's positioning and movement.

Mise en scene • The location is important for the film because it help the audience establish the theme. • Lighting is often low key • Costumes- antagonist will be in dark clothes if you see them. Protagonist will be in ordinary everyday clothes • Composition • Make up and hair styles • Acting • Filmstoke (Black & White, or colour, Fine-grain or grainy

 Overall, the conventions we have used will appeal to the audience and engage them as in terms of thriller films our target audience look for. However, we did it a bit unconventional at times in order to maake it more our opening sequence more unique and new for watching it.

Evaluation Task 1 Part 2

We were also inspired by the "Fuck" scene from the Wire. Where to detectives investigate a murder in a single room, with out speaking any other words apart from the word "Fuck".
This was very effective, because the director had managed to reveal the details of the investigation, avoiding any sufficient dialog or verbal communications.
The acting and the emotions, as well as the setting were the key in this scene.

Evaluation Task 1
When creating our opening sequence, we found inspiration in this character, as we wanted to make a detective, who would be very determined and acted with out compromise.

Det. Elliot Stabler

"You know that year you're currently serving?  Add twenty-five, and choke on it."

Detective Elliot Stabler of Manhattan’s Special Victims Unit is the kind of guy you love to have on your side.  The badass ex-Marine could just have easily been a hardcore insane sociopath as a police officer, but luckily he decided to harness his powers for good.  Now his idea of a perfect afternoon revolves around tackling wife abusers, swearing at child pornographers, and smashing Bill Goldberg in the back of the head with a fire extinguisher.

The thing about Elliot is that he spends all day dealing with the worst kind of bastard criminals – pedophiles, rapists, murders, child molesters – and he seems to take everything personally.  He’s super intense, and doesn’t mess around for a second when it comes to taking some jackass  kidnapper, shooting him in the shoulder, face-planting him into the asphalt and shipping him off to Federal pound prison.  His anger management issues make him that much more dangerous, because you just never know when he’s going to flip out, bar the doors of the interrogation room and go all CIA on a suspect to get a confession.  And when it comes to the good cop, bad cop stuff, he’s ALWAYS the bad cop.  He just leans up against the wall, only speaks to insult the suspects, and shows them nothing but the contempt that they deserve at all times.  Usually those criminals sing like birds to Detective Benson simply because they’re terrified of being left alone in a room with this dude.  And it’s not just idle talk either - he just completely flips his lid like a ninja sometimes and beat the ever-loving crap out of these shameful criminals, because nobody comes between Elliot Stabler and his righteous quest to put dirtball molesters behind bars.  He’s good at it too – that one time that he was being sued for some “excessive force” nonsense, the assistant district attorney mentioned that he has something like a 97 percent closure rate on all of his cases.  As a reference point, most people don’t have a ninety-seven percent closure rate when it comes to tying their shoes.  Also, if I had to guess, the three percent failure rate probably all stems from confessions that Elliot beat out of suspects and which were thrown out in court.

Now the ultimate duality of Elliot Stabler is that he’s also great at dealing with the victims of these horrible crimes.  You’d think that he was all about shooting perverts in the balls and bodyslamming perps through coffee tables, and that he couldn’t possibly be a warm and understanding individual, but when it’s time to get the victim’s side of the story Elliot shows compassion for their plight and always makes them feel comfortable enough to open up and give him some clues and stuff.  You see him deal with these people and you’re all thinking to yourself, “wow, Elliot is really just a nice guy,” and then two minutes later he’s clubbing a rapist over the head with a fireplace poker and throwing him off a fire escape into a dumpster.
You can’t stop this guy either.  He’s been shot, stabbed, poisoned, blown up, thrown through plate glass windows and punched in the face countless times, but his reaction is always the same – he shows no pain, dusts himself off, refuses medical treatment, and gets right back to work.  He’ll be bleeding out of ten places on his body, sitting at his desk filling out paperwork while everyone looks at him like he’s crazy.  One time some jackass teenager stabbed him in the chest with a pen, and his first response was to get annoyed and jack the kid right in the mouth.  The same can be said for his work ethic… once Elliot’s on the case, he refuses to back down for any reason, even when his own Captain is like, “goddamn it Elliot I’m ordering you to back down!”.  If he has to “bend the rules” or “violate your human rights” a little bit to get some vital evidence to solve a rape or find a missing kid, he won’t even hesitate to go that extra mile.  When he’s interrogating someone and they try to mess with him, he smolders with rage and intimidates the hell out of them until they crack like a dry egg.  Stonewalling him only makes him even more furious. Now a good detective is only as good the men and women who are watching his back, and it doesn’t get much better than SVU.  He’s got a hot wife, a creepy conspiracy theorist, and Ice T.  I mean for real, I think I’d have a good chance of taking down Godzilla in an illegal Russian underground slap-fight if I knew Ice-T was backing my shit up. Speaking of his squad, Elliot fills another interesting role in that he provides help to the younger officer when they need it, and is always willing to help out with other detectives’ investigations when they run out of leads and shit.  It’s not too often that you see the “loose cannon” also function as the “wise veteran”, but Elliot Stabler apparently doesn’t subscribe to your nonsense archetypes.  He does whatever he wants, whenever he wants, to whomever he wants, at all times.  He’s a badass, tough cop who takes no nonsense, confronts the worst criminal elements our society has to offer, and pummels the living hell out of them.