I decided to work in a group and so our project was a two minute opening to a film. The person whom I worked with was Leam Burfield. I made several contributions to the project by directing half of the film also I starred in it (the scenes in black and white). I have also edited parts of the film using the technology of the program imovie. I also made contributions to blogger.com.
We decided to use the genre of horror since it had a wide audience, plus it makes the narrative much simpler to create. The conventions we have used are elements like black and white shots mixed with coloured shots to show the past and the present. We have also added little shots of slow motion which helps raise suspense for the audience. We made the horror film a little different from all the others by showing two points of time repeatedly switching to show the past and the presence it also helps to tell the story quicker. I believe that it is vital to change elements and conventions in genre’s, especially horror because although the audience enjoy seeing repeating conventions they do get bored and demand something new or changing and want to see the films that are different from all others but with the same genre. I believe that the innovations were likely to prove successful they are idea’s that have been tweaked to a point were they are old ideas but they are shown in a new way which makes the film look good. The choices here did work effectively for the audience because as the video feedback shows, they could definitely tell it was of a horror/thriller narrative. I also believe that it has the requirements of an opening sequence, especially a horror sequence with the use of a running girl. The actor’s names staring in the film are shown plus there is a narration which is quite common in film openings. The narration sets the seen and explains what is going on in the shots.
The shot below is the best shot to show and prove it is a horror/thriller film (by using a stereotypical weapon, an axe).
Below is the first shot as an example. A running shot to set the pace of the scene and open the film filling it with enigmas.
We used black and white to show it was in the past as you can see below.
The media product represents particularly young people. The actors are in their teens and are wearing everyday clothes that teens wear. Also we have used the stereotypical idea of a teenage girl being hunted down by a killer which helps emphasize the genre of the film. The main activities and actions in the film show that the first killer is a fast paced and on the spot killer. However the second killer who is killing for revenge is slow and more planned, which was the effect we were looking for. The function of the narrative is to show revenge and why a revenge murder is taking place. The function of the narrative shows that sometimes in life there is not always a happy ending and the young society of the time are always affected by that, like the violence among youths in this present time of society.
Below is a shot that shows the victims costume. She is wearing everyday teenagers clothing and so it helps the audience relate to the character.
We used a narration to explain what was going on it also gave a good insight into the character who was narrating state of mind. Also to show that the running female character was obviously scared we used screaming to show her fear.
We have also picked a stereotypical setting for our film. We used a wood and a broken down hut in an open barren plain. This demonstrates the idea and sense of no chance of escape. It also leaves an enigma ‘why are they in a forest’?
We have also picked a stereotypical setting for our film. We used a wood and a broken down hut in an open barren plain. This demonstrates the idea and sense of no chance of escape. It also leaves an enigma ‘why are they in a forest’?
Below you can clearly see it is a woods plus it shows that the victim has no chance of escape, which is why we chose this location.
The shot below is a shot of the open plane with the broken down hut. This is a good location because it shows that even if the victim escapes, the killer will still be able to easily find them because of the lack of cover.
We used different shots, from high to low shots and point of view shots we also have some canted angle shots to add distortion and confusion, which clearly shows the victim’s state of mind. We also wanted the shots to look like they are set in the past and so we added the black and white effects to the shots that show the first victim being killed. Then for the shots set in the present, we left in colour to make them more atmospheric and relate to the mood and theme of the film. This also represents social ideas that being young is not all fun and colourful.
We used different shots, from high to low shots and point of view shots we also have some canted angle shots to add distortion and confusion, which clearly shows the victim’s state of mind. We also wanted the shots to look like they are set in the past and so we added the black and white effects to the shots that show the first victim being killed. Then for the shots set in the present, we left in colour to make them more atmospheric and relate to the mood and theme of the film. This also represents social ideas that being young is not all fun and colourful.
Both of these shots below show the variety of different shots we have used from canted low shots (on the top), to a twisted point of view shots (on the bottom). The twist affect on the shot on the right was done by swaying the camera from left to right multiple times while running after the character in a point of view shot.
The shot below is another good low shot that helps carry on the story when the narrator says ‘the weapon with which she was struck was never found, nor was the killer’.
I believe that the characters in the film are adhering to stereotypes that we commonly see in the media. The killer is wearing mostly black with his hood up which is stereotypical to society’s youth of today. Plus he first victim’s clothing is stereotypically seen everyday. It might not be a well known brand of clothing like ‘Nike’ but is still common for teenagers to wear. We have represented the victim and the other characters in this way because the audience can relate to the victim and then they will fear the killer because they might dress or act like the victim. I believe the audience has responded to the representation since some of the audience dress like the victim.
I believe that this film could have a realistic chance of being made and it could be funded by the film council, however I only think it could make it as a British film. I believe the film ‘Dead man’s shoes’ directed by ‘Shane Meadows’ (2004) is a good example of similarity of our film. It is about a revenge attack, the main character who is a soldier comes home and finds that a group of thugs have brutalised his mentally challenged brother and so he goes to kill each and every member, resulting in making the final member of the group kill him. The production companies that helped the film to be made were ‘Warped films’, ‘Film4’ also ‘Big arty productions’ and finally ‘EM Media’ who were the executive producers. Hopefully one of these production companies would help get our film ‘An Eye for an Eye’ underway. The production companies would consider backing up our film because of the hybridity used in the film which films like ‘Dead man’s shoes’ have used. Genres like thriller, horror and revenge. Also the film would be a class A film and so it is a more of a reason for all four British production companies to get involved.
I believe that the characters in the film are adhering to stereotypes that we commonly see in the media. The killer is wearing mostly black with his hood up which is stereotypical to society’s youth of today. Plus he first victim’s clothing is stereotypically seen everyday. It might not be a well known brand of clothing like ‘Nike’ but is still common for teenagers to wear. We have represented the victim and the other characters in this way because the audience can relate to the victim and then they will fear the killer because they might dress or act like the victim. I believe the audience has responded to the representation since some of the audience dress like the victim.
I believe that this film could have a realistic chance of being made and it could be funded by the film council, however I only think it could make it as a British film. I believe the film ‘Dead man’s shoes’ directed by ‘Shane Meadows’ (2004) is a good example of similarity of our film. It is about a revenge attack, the main character who is a soldier comes home and finds that a group of thugs have brutalised his mentally challenged brother and so he goes to kill each and every member, resulting in making the final member of the group kill him. The production companies that helped the film to be made were ‘Warped films’, ‘Film4’ also ‘Big arty productions’ and finally ‘EM Media’ who were the executive producers. Hopefully one of these production companies would help get our film ‘An Eye for an Eye’ underway. The production companies would consider backing up our film because of the hybridity used in the film which films like ‘Dead man’s shoes’ have used. Genres like thriller, horror and revenge. Also the film would be a class A film and so it is a more of a reason for all four British production companies to get involved.
Below is a shot from ‘Dead man’s shoes’ (to the left). If it is compared to our film, (on the right) the shots and ideas are pretty similar.
The main target audience for this film would probably be 16-25 year old males. Since this would be a category A film then it would most likely relate to the nation of Britain. This film would also try to get across to all social economic statuses but mostly the common man since the characters are neither rich nor poor. This film would obviously appeal to the fans of horrors and thrillers also action since the film is a hybrid. The audience is a good target because it is a large audience and it is that audience that mainly watch films, especially at the cinema. They are right for the product financially because they are loyal fans who would pay to watch the film and even buy the DVD. The film would have a secondary target audience because as said before the film has a variety of genres creating a bigger audience. We asked an audience of ten for feedback on our film. Our first question was; What genre does the sequence belong to and how can you tell this? We got a positive response because immediately one of the audience members said horror and thriller due to the non-diegetic sound track and the use of narration. We also asked the question; Does it feel visually interesting? Are the shots interesting of fairly typical and OK? Our response was that it is a typical horror with isolated settings and close ups of the character’s faces. We got the expected and positive response we wanted.
The picture below is a good example of a medium close up the audience mentioned.
Below I have created a graph to demonstrate and show how much of the two main genres are in the film, (horror, thriller). This can also relate to the first question that was asked in the audience feedback (What genre does the sequence belong to and how could you tell this?). Although the audience member mainly specified thriller this film was designed to be a horror and this chart is from my opinion.
Because two minutes is such a small amount of time we did not set an equilibrium to the opening to the film. We wanted to show the audience a proper horror sequence and we do not give away how the narrator or brother finds the killer’s sister. We used the narration to tell the story and introduce the characters. Also the narration helped with the chronology part of the film because we used the narration to create a sense of time, i.e. the the narrator says ‘on the 23rd of August 2003 around 7:30’. The narrator also sets the location for the film as he says ‘in the woods surrounding Highgrate Cemetery’. We use the pictures and the narration to create enigmas, because as the narrator speaks of the shots in the past (the ones in black and white), both them and the shots showing the present are merged together and the story flips between them. Then the narrator starts to talk about finding the killer’s sister and that is when the coloured or present shots are clear. We created binary opposition with the characters because the killer is obviously the bad guy in the film and the victim’s brother or the narrator is a good guy but this is twisted and turned when the brother or narrator goes off and does the same thing to the killer’s sister for revenge. So using binary opposition we also created similarities with the characters. We used the idea of becoming what you were fighting and against. We used the narration to create atmosphere and tension and to also tell the story to the audience as simply as possible. We used the soundtrack or score to build up suspense and tension the best part is when the score kicks in at the end just before the brother kills the killer’s sister. As shown below.
The shot below is where the effective score kicks in, parallel to the shot.
The ideologies or message that is in this film is really in the title ‘An Eye for an Eye’. We are not spreading the message that this is a good way to deal with life’s problems and situations and that if everybody believed in this message the world would be in a much worse state there would be no forgiveness or happy endings.
We did not use stars to appeal to the audience because it seems less realistic we wanted and we did use average teenagers as our actors because then the audience can relate to them and then feel fear, thus the film is fulfilling its duty and expectancy of its genre.
The pace of the editing is quite quick in our film this is to create tension and show how quickly the victim was murdered. Also the transitions between the past and the present shots are quick; this shows that the narrator or brother wanted to kill his victim quickly.
We did not use stars to appeal to the audience because it seems less realistic we wanted and we did use average teenagers as our actors because then the audience can relate to them and then feel fear, thus the film is fulfilling its duty and expectancy of its genre.
The pace of the editing is quite quick in our film this is to create tension and show how quickly the victim was murdered. Also the transitions between the past and the present shots are quick; this shows that the narrator or brother wanted to kill his victim quickly.
Below you can see how we used various different kinds of shots to attract the audience.
From the process of constructing this product I have learnt to use various technologies. I also used the internet with websites like youtube.com to find information about similar types of films and to also give me ideas on how to shoot ours. I have also used blooger.com to process and note down my work and progress we had made throughout the weeks. I have also been able to upload clips onto blogger.com to show my ideas. I have also used pen drives and disks to save my work and also store photos and clips so then I could upload them on the film or on blogger.com. I also used a pen drive to save the voice over for the film.
I have learnt how to use the ‘Mac’ program ‘imovie’, I learnt how to import files, edit, add effects and also add sound. We used a program called ‘cool edit pro’ which records sounds from speech to songs, to create our narration. We did have limitations like the fact that we did not have as much shots or clips that we wanted; the film was shorter than expected. The Mac’s programs allowed us to slow down the pace of the picture and put the shots in black and white which was key to our film. We had to re-shoot a shot of the killer running so that the film starts with a less confusing plot. As shown below.
I have learnt how to use the ‘Mac’ program ‘imovie’, I learnt how to import files, edit, add effects and also add sound. We used a program called ‘cool edit pro’ which records sounds from speech to songs, to create our narration. We did have limitations like the fact that we did not have as much shots or clips that we wanted; the film was shorter than expected. The Mac’s programs allowed us to slow down the pace of the picture and put the shots in black and white which was key to our film. We had to re-shoot a shot of the killer running so that the film starts with a less confusing plot. As shown below.
Below, the top picture was the original starting shot but it looked a little too false and it made less sense we thought it would look better with a high medium shot of the killer’s legs running and it does, this shot is the bottom shot.
Below you can see we used the technology of video cameras to film the audience feedback, this way we cannot miss anything said.
Below is a shot from the video response and the feedback audience.
From my preliminary task to my full product, I have learnt to use technology from cameras to Mac computers and I have also learnt about how different types of shots and angles can give different effects. Our final product is better because of the more appropriate location plus the more use of adventurous shots. I have asked a second audience of three to examine the preliminary task; I then asked them to watch the main film. I then asked the question; ‘What has improved and in what ways? One of them said that the shots were much smoother and they looked more continuous. Another member said that the characters were much more established and the story was clearer. Another character said the setting and location was much more interesting and the use of the black and white added effect, also the narration merged with the images is a good effect to tell a story.
In conclusion I believe that the final product is a success, it’s key strengths are the use of narration and the use of black and white shots to show the past. However when the film switches between past and present it can be a little confusing, if the narration was not in the film it would probably have no sense at all, for an audience member. However I do think it is as close to the real article as it comes and we have used all of our film knowledge to portray this.
In conclusion I believe that the final product is a success, it’s key strengths are the use of narration and the use of black and white shots to show the past. However when the film switches between past and present it can be a little confusing, if the narration was not in the film it would probably have no sense at all, for an audience member. However I do think it is as close to the real article as it comes and we have used all of our film knowledge to portray this.
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