Thursday 18 December 2014

Filming schedule

We aim to film everything on one night after school before it gets dark. I believe we can everything filmed in around 2 hours, and when near to the end of the 2 hours it will be pitch black, so we can film the darker scenes. I think 2 hours is enough to film everything to a high standard, and filming on other days as well will just make filming more difficult due to the layout of the house.
In this filming session, for the equipment we will need a camera and a tripod. The props that we need will be: a car, a note saying 'Oink', a laptop, bread, a toaster, and a Peppa pig DVD that will be played on the laptop. Jake and I will both be needed to be there at this filming session, and Elly Ongoma will be coming to help us out in some scenes. We will also need my dog to be in the house during a couple of scenes as well. For the costumes, Jake will need all black clothing and the pig mask, and I will need tracksuit bottoms and a hoodie.   

Friday 12 December 2014

Locations




We chose that we should film in my house because it fits our criteria of a basic house. This shot is from the house, facing the car that I get out of this scene. I believe that this is a good setting because it creates the atmosphere of a thriller with the dark scenery and shadows. Furthermore, combined with eerie ambient music, I believe this scene will create an atmospheric feel that will unnerve the audience.





This is a shot from inside the kitchen of my house, where most of the scenes will be shot. The lighting here is especially good as it focuses on the main character showing the audience clearly who to focus on. In addition, the lighting contrasts with the outside where Piggy will be, showing clearly that the character of Piggy is a much darker and dangerous character than Fred. It also creates suspense because Piggy is never clearly shown; the audience just get glimpses of Piggy.



Wednesday 10 December 2014

Risk Assessment

While we were filming, there were accidents that could have happened, I am now going to analyse the risks.

Risk - Trip over a tripod          Seriousness of risk out of 10 - 7


While we were filming, we made sure that we would not trip over the tripod by moving it out of the way or avoiding walking too close to it. If we had of tripped over it, any of us could have suffered a broken arm from the fall or a broken wrist, where we would of had to be taken to the hospital.

Risk - Burning hand on toaster           Seriousness of risk out of 10 - 5

During the scene with the toaster, I could have burnt my hand on the toaster while getting the toast, plus there could have been an electric shock which could have injured me. This was very unlikely to happenand only a minor injury would be caused, but if it did happen I would just run my hand under a tap.

Risk - Jakes knife scene          Seriousness of risk out of 10 -10

In the scene where Jake is holding the knives, Jake had to be very careful during this scene because if he fell with the knives, it could have had serious consequences, maybe even death.

Risk - Dropping the camera         Seriousness of risk out of 10 - 8

If we had dropped the camera during filming, it could have caused a bruised foot, which isn't very serious, but if it had broken, the cost would be over £600.

Tuesday 9 December 2014

Planning of coursework/Brainstorming


The plot of our main idea 'Oink'
For my coursework, I decided to go in a group with Christopher Monk and Jake Afford, because I worked with them on the preliminary task and we worked well together as a team. While brainstorming, we struggled to come up with ideas, because we had watched previous coursework projects, and we couldn't think of an idea that could compete with them. I thought about using the local park and abandoned train station as a setting to set a psychological or horror thriller, but we couldn't come up with a plot. I then came up with the idea of a 'home invasion' and the rest of the group and I expanded on that idea, and in the end, I believe we came up with a good plot that will spook the audience and engage them in 'Oink,' a horror thriller. We then came up with suitable camera shots that will slowly introduce the villain 'Jake as the pig' and scare the audience. In addition, we decided that the opening credits would come on top of the screen as I am doing my everyday activities at home, so the audience won't be expecting the home invasion.

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Actors

Jake - I thought Jake would be the best character to suit the role of 'piggy' as in the film, piggy won't be showing any emotions, and I thought Jake could do a good job of this. Through Jake using few emotions, it could unnerve the audience and help create the horror-thriller feel. In addition, Jake is quite a large and stocky person, therefore making the character of piggy look more intimidating.

Freddie -  The group and I thought that I could play the role of the character that is getting robbed by piggy. This is because I can just do the normal routine I do when I come in from school, but it's being filmed, so I had to not become tense during filming. Furthermore, the group thought that I did a good job on the preliminary task, so they thought that I could do well on the real thing.

Sunday 7 December 2014

Jurassic Park opening scene and titles analysis



 Titles - Universal Picture Presents
            An Amblin Entertainment Production
            Jurassic Park





Camera - Jurassic Park uses a wide range of shots in the opening scene to create suspense and fear for what is in the crate. The first shot immediately creates tension, by showing the rustling leaves, making the audience wonder what is coming. The next camera angle is a central close-up of a blank mans face, and it works well because it draws the attention to the man, which enhances the anticipation, and adds to the build up. This specific event arises questions from the audience such as, 'What is he looking at?' 'Why is he looking so anxious?' When questions are asked by the audience it shows that particular image was effective. Throughout the first minute of the scene, the cameras alternate between the trees rustling and the crew, adding tension, then the camera zooms in on the main character with a shotgun, and the audience can identify him as the main character because he is wearing different clothes and looks more powerful. The shots used from within the cage are good as they make the audience wonder what is in the cage, and makes them realise that what is in there is dangerous. Furthermore, the slightly zoomed out shots of the crew and the cage depict that with the power and the force of the crew, they still struggle to contain the dinosaur in the cage, showing how dangerous it is. In addition, when the gatekeeper is knocked off the crate by the dinosaur, the pace of the shots quicken, adding to the suspense in this scene. More faraway shots are used, showing the chaos that the dinosaur has caused, and the crew trying to save the man that is being attacked by the dinosaur.
Mise en Scene - This scene is set in Costa Rica at night, and this is done to create more anticipation because their vision is limited. Moreover, it is it is gloomy with low fog, which also creates tension, as their vision would again be impaired. All the characters in the scene are carrying guns, which shows that what they are facing is dangerous, and adds to the audiences anticipation. The crew are all dressed in the same overalls, which shows that they are unimportant characters, however the main character (Muldoon) is dressed differently, indicating that he is a more important character.
Editing - This film is quite action packed and the editor does a good job of increasing the pace and tension through editing. In this first scene, when the man is attacked by the raptor, the editing quickens, adding to the tension and gets the audience off their seats. Furthermore, an eye line match is used at the end of the clip between Muldoon and the raptor, and it shows the fear in Muldoon's eyes at seeing the intelligence and strength of the raptor.
Sound - The sound and music in this scene is used to build up the tension throughout the scene, until the raptor escapes. At the start, everything is silent apart from the rustling of the leaves, which is eerie and it makes the audience anticipate what is going to emerge out of the trees. Raptor sound effects are added which are to unnerve to audience and make them wonder what is in the crate. The music that can be heard is brass instruments, and they are calm and quiet until the man is attacked, where the pitch, tempo, and volume increases, adding to the chaos in the scene.

Wednesday 3 December 2014

Bourne Ultimatum opening scene analysis


Camera - The Bourne Ultimatum  has a big range of both camera movements and angles. A lot of the shooting involved camera men holding the camera freehand and almost shaking the camera as they follow a character in a chase. The idea of this was to make the chases more intense and make the audience feel as if they were almost following the chase themselves. There is a mix of high angle close up shots looking down and tracking the footsteps of Bourne, long shots of Bourne as he goes past a particular area as if somebody is looking onto the chase. This enables the audience to clearly see he is injured as he has a limp. There are alot of close up shots as he goes through the chase sequence showing that he has no particular emotion about what he is doing. Also the camera is constantly cutting from shots of Bourne to shots of the police following him. this keeps the audience updated with the chase and lets them see if the police are getting any closer to tracking him down.
Mise en Scene - In this film actor Matt Damon wears a very simple set of clothes. He wears black jeans, a dark blue t-shirt and a black jacket. The dark colours help to add to the dark effect they are trying to achieve with the character and as the clothes are very normal and everyday, it gives the audience a chance to associate with him. It shows that when Bourne woke up for the first time after suffering from amnesia, he thought he was just a normal person and represents this through the clothes that he wears. Another good part of the mise en scene in this film are the props. In the chase sequence Bourne is holding a pistol representing him as the villain and there are all sorts of police vehicles including cars and helicopter after him. This helps show the severity of the trouble he is in and makes the audience wonder how he is going to get away.

Editing - The film is a complete action packed chase from start to finish and the editing helps accompany this very well. Editor Christopher Rouse used a series of quick cuts from start to finish keeping the action quick and exiting. The concept is that anything could happen in the blink of an eye so keeps the audience very exited to see what is going to happen next. The way Bourne's mind works is that he is constantly on the move and constantly thinking different things. In order for the audience to be able to relate to this Rouse used this method of quick editing so that the audience almost feels what he is feeling.
Sound -  The sound in The Bourne Ultimatum linked in with the picture extremely well. There is a good mixture of diegetic and non-diegetic sound that makes the film a lot more exiting than it would be without it. Throughout the chase seen you can hear very fast paced and high energy music that keeps helps to keep the audience relate to the constantly moving character. Throughout the chase scene you can constantly hear diegetic sound such as police sirens and police talking and shouting, making the audience constantly aware that he is still being chased.

Tuesday 2 December 2014

Analysis of Preliminary Task

I believe that our preliminary task came out quite well as managed our time correctly and got into roles quickly. I believe we used creative shots and camera angles that added suspense. Also, the room we chose to film the scene was a good choice as it provided us enough space to film and the lighting was darker which created a dark and tense atmosphere. Furthermore, the editing we applied including the security camera scene added to the unnerving feel that the character is being watched. However, it would have been better if the background noise had been removed and tense music was applied, but we ran out of time. Another downside could have been the choice of actor, me. I don't believe I was a good enough actor to create a good thriller that engages the audience and creates suspense. If we did it again, I would choose a better actor. When we edited we chose a noir background to the security camera scene. This added to the dark feel of the scene, and I believe it was our best scene. In addition, when I was shot and fell, I believe I showed commitment to fall down realistically, not really caring if I got hurt. However, the coats that I fell on can be seen in this shot. I believe the two-shot we used during the Fred and Bossman scene was clever, as it showed the audience what Fred couldn't see: the gun.