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BLOG CLOSED.

Main task

This is our final, finished product.

Evaluation

1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

A title sequence and the opening few minutes of a film is imperitive- this is the part of the film that needs to capture the audience. If they are bored by the opening, it is likely that they will not care about watching the rest of the film. The opening of a film establishes character, location, and era and lays the foundations for the plot of the rest of the film.

In our opening few minutes, we utilise several conventions of the thriller genre. For instance, commonly in thrillers, the narrative is split between the hero and the villain. Although the majority of the opening is told from Matthew's perspective, the very first shot is shown from the unnamed villain's point of view.

The character of Rachel also fits the damsel-in-distress stereotype, which is central to almost every thriller, although we also break this convention by having her die early on in the film- usually the damsels are rescued at the last minute by the hero. We wanted to do this so that the film was harsher and grittier, and we also wanted to reveal her sordid past.

Traditionally, thrillers include dark lighting and a muted colour palette. We wanted to go against this convention to add a sense of the surreal to the opening- so instead of having Rachel's body be discovered at night, we opted to film on a sunny morning.

2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Our product depicts a seemingly average working-class couple being followed by a sinister-looking man, although you cannot gather what class this man is from his brief appearance. Had we filmed the entire plot we constructed, it would have depicted men in the field of organized crime, as the woman who dies in our opening sequence is revealed to have been entangled with a drug running operation.

Our protagonist, Matthew, is presented throughout as an everyman. We tried to make him seem as ordinary as possible, particularly through choice of conventional clothing- a black and white, if unironed, suit for the scenes in which he has returned from work, and a T-shirt and jeans combination for when he is relaxing at home. We thought it was of utmost importance that he wasn't seen wearing anything that would stand out too much. Other examples of the everyman archetype can be found in the characters of Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey) from American Beauty and The Narrator (Edward Norton) from Fight Club.

We wanted the female character, Rachel, to seem innocent in the beginning, so that the twist at the end would be a surprise, but we wanted to include very subtle hints that she was not as innocent and wholesome as she seemed to be. We did this by showing her smoking a cigarette (an indication of her weakness for drugs, albeit legal ones) and wearing a Bruce Springsteen t-shirt, indicatnig a slightly harder, rockier edge than the colourful bracelets and purple butterfly-print top we have seen her wearing previously. Another example of a female character who is thought to be good throughout the film and then proves to be a villain is Ruth Lang (Olivia Williams) in The Ghost. However, these characters are more commonly male characters- portrayed as everymen to begin with until a sordid past is revealed, for example, Walter Sparrow (Jim Carrey) in The Number 23, or David Calloway (Robert De Niro) in Hide and Seek.

For the sinister character who is following the couple (played by Leo Smith), we decided to very traditional and adhere to conventions when establishing his role as a villain. We had him wearing a heavy, dark coloured coat, because this reminded us of villains in old 1940's detective movies. We also backcombed Leo's hair so that is covered his face to make him seem more mysterious. We chose Leo to play the part partially because he is reasonably thin in build, and we wanted someone who could look emaciated and appear as though they were on drugs and were not eating properly.

3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

After some research, my group came across the New Line Cinema studios. We found them because they distributed The Butterfly Effect, a film with a similar premise to our own that we researched during pre production, and found that they have distributed numerous thriller and horror movies, including the A Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th franchises, Se7en (on which we also did an evaluation during pre-production), and The Number 23. For this reason, we decided that this would be the perfect studio to distribute Blackout. However, this is a ideal situation; realistically, a film like ours would be distributed by a much smaller, British production company, as it is low budget and filmed with basic equipment, and would likely not fare well in the Hollywood industry.

4. Who would be the audience for your media product?

Our audience would ideally be in the 16-24 bracket. We selected this age group because they are the most lucrative market, and based on the results of our questionnaire, we gathered that this age group was the most interested in thriller/horror films. As the plot involves violence and no romantic side plot, I think the film would appeal to males slightly more than females- however, it would still appeal to women who were fans of the thriller genre. This age group are also more likely to enjoy socialising, and visiting a cinema has a very social aspect to it. I feel that were our film to be rated according to the currest MPAA system, it would gain a 15-18 certificate, because of the level of violence and drug themes. Ideally, we would like it to be a 15 so as to attract the widest variety of our target audience.

5. How did you attract/address your audience?

We tried to draw our audience in immediately by using asynchronous sound- the first image on the screen is a happy couple walking in the sunshine, yet the music in the background is an ominous jarring chord. Disregarding the convention of having sound that fits the clip was intended to make the audience question this decision, and therefore becmoe personally inovlved in the film. The image of a young couple is something that our audience would be able to relate to, being either the same age or slightly older than our ideally aged viewer, immediately giving the audience a sense of understanding regarding the characters. Also, the setting- a park or field- is familiar and easily relatable as a place where a young couple might take a walk in the sunshine, increasing the relatability factor.

6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Throughout the construction of our product, I have learned a huge amount about technologies involved in film making. The most prominent of these is how to use an editing programme- prior to this course, I only had minimal experience of using Windows Movie Maker. For this project, the editing software we used was Adobe Premiere Pro. We struggled throughout production with technical errors- things like files going missing and sound disappearing. The programme was also very temperamental and crashed frequently when we were editing, and we found that simple processes were relatively complicated. As our group have been the first to take Media Studies as our school, we are the guinea pigs for the software, and have been learning to use it as we went along. We also had some problems with the school cameras- the microphone did not pick up any sound, so we had to use the one on the camera, resulting in poor sound quality, and we had difficulties in converting the files to the correct format. We also had to use YouTube in order to be able to display the videos on this blog- none of us had uploaded videos onto the site before, so we all had to work out how to do this.

7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

In our preliminary task, we did not consider what meaning we wanted to convey. At that point, we were simply focusing on learning and corectly using shots- while shooting our main product, we gained knowledge about how to use them in context with the action on screen. The point of the preliminary task is to get acquainted with the camera, and we found ourselves experimenting with different shots, angles and movements as well as framing and positioning. We learned how to correctly use the 180 degree rule- making certain that the characters were looking in the right direction at all times- as well as match on action. We later utilised both of these techniques in our main production, as well as the technique of shot/reverse shot, which involves shooting one character from the front while there is a part of the character they are speaking to in the shot.

Mise en Scene

Our film revolves around an everyman character named Matthew, a name chosen for it's Biblical connotations, pointing to his innocence of the crime he is accused of. We wanted to do everything to make the character seem as average as possible- we chose plain and generally dark coloured clothing and a dark coloured coat so that there was nothing too distinguishing about his costume.

Rachel's character is supposed to seem innocent at the beginning of the film, but the audience would later find out about her involvement in a seedy drug world, so we wanted there to be hints of edginess about her. Instances of this include when we see her smoking a cigarette in the living room and the costume of a Bruce Springsteen T-shirt. We chose the name Rachel because it means 'innocent lamb'- this conveys her status as a victim of the murder, but is also ironic when it is revelaed that she leads a double life.

The focal point of our opening is Werrington Rec and the bushes in and around it. The opening shows the supposedly happy couple taking a romantic stroll across a field and then a bridge in the sunshine- the crossing of the bridge is supposed to represent them crossing over into a different phase in their lives. The next time we see it is when Matthew is talking to Rachel on the phone while sitting on a bench- we can see the trees in the background, which is supposed to indicate that the situation is right behind him, and there is nothing he can do to stop it. Also, we see Matthew walking towards a playground- this is to represent him walking past innocence.

Audience Research

Before we began filming, my group put together a questionnaire about what attracts our target audience- people aged between 16-24- to watch a film. We asked thirty people within the age group to complete the questionnaire.This comprised of seven questions. Here, I have posted the most common three answers to each question.

1. What type of Genre are you interested in?
1. Comedy
2. Romance
3. Violence (Horror/Action movies)

2. What interests you in this type of Genre?
1. It makes you laugh
2. Interesting and edgy
3. Escapism- fantasy and romance

3. What interests you in going to the cinema?
1. Socialising- spending time with friends.
2. Wanting to see the film
3. The experience- quality of the picture, food and drink, etc.

4. How do you usually watch films?
1. On the TV
2. On DVD
3. On the Internet

5. Do you watch certain films because of a certain actor/actress? (If yes please state who?)
1. No
2. Yes, Jim Carey (Yes Man, Liar Liar, The Truman Show)
3. Yes, Johnny Depp (Pirates of the Carribean, Sweeney Todd, Edawrd Scissorhands)

6. Do you watch certain films because of certain Directors? (If yes please state who?)
1. No
2. Yes, Stephen Spielberg (Jaws, E.T., Jurassic Park)
3. Yes, James Cameron (Avatar, Titanic, Terminator 2)

7. Name 3 films you have recently seen at the cinema?
1. Avatar (3D)
2. Alice in Wonderland (3D)
3. Twilight Saga: New Moon

From this information, we worked out that our target audience were interested in technology, based on the preference for 3D films at the cinema and the fact that several people answered that they watched films on the internet. In order to attract this audience with our film, we could consider integrating technology somehow into the plot of the film or using viral marketing.

Also, we found the things that most attracted our audience were violence and comedy. Based on this, we put a brutal murder in the first few minutes of our film in order to grab that audience's attention. However, we were unsure of how to work in comedy into our script.

Shooting: reshooting the death scene and opening.

We decided that we were unsatisfied with the footage we had shot of the character Rachel's death scene. The lighting in the shot was too orange and dark, and as we were inside, we were unable to make a lot of mess, which is difficult when attempting to shoot a bloody death scene. To remedy this, we decided to shoot the scene outside and in daylight. Although the ominosity of night is lost, we felt that having the character Matthew wake up in the morning added to the mystery and made the audience wonder what had gone on throughout the night. The outdoor location also allowed for us to make more mess, and the location we selected- an area surrounded by gnarled old trees, but close to a picturesque field with a bridge going over a brook- added more atmosphere to the scenes. We had also used Werrington Rec in an earlier scene, therefore establishing it's connection with the character.

Day #4

Date: 17th April

Location: Woodland at Werrington Rec

- As we were shooting in a public place, we had to be careful not to include any pedestrians in the shot, as this would cause continuity errors.

- We had to carefully examine earlier footage to ensure that the actors were wearing the correct costume- for instance, Rachel is wearing several bracelets in the scene, and we had to ensure that they were each on the same wrist.

- We also decided to change an element of the screenplay- before, we wanted the audience to question whether Matthew had commited the murder or not. In this version, we made it clear that something was wrong from the beginning- a man is lurking in the background of several shots. We did this because we decided it made for a more exciting opening two minutes.

Preliminary Task

This is the video of our preliminary task. Due to a technical error in converting the files, the size of the picture is quite small- if we can rectify this, we intend to.

Shooting the film

We shot our movie over a period of three seperate filming days. I made notes over the course of those days about what we planned to do that day, what we achieved, what errors occurred and so on.

Day #1:
Date: 12th March 2010
Location: A ground floor flat in Walton Park, Werrington.

- Today we filmed a significant amount of the indoor scenes. As the majority of our film takes place inside the couple's flat, we managed to film the establishing shot (of the protagonist and his girlfriend cuddling on the sofa), several different angles of a shot involving the protagonist cooking dinner, and a shot consisting of a brief conversation between the two demonstrating the 180 degree rule.

- We wanted to show a very brief clip of the romantic comedy film Pretty Woman at the beginning of the scene, to show a paralell between the loving relationships of the couple on screen and the couple our film is about. However, filming a television screen resulted in a seriously distorted picture- we discovered from this that, should we include this clip, we would need to find another way to get the images.

- Due to a mistake involving costumes, we had to refilm the scene in the kitchen- the character was not supposed to be wearing a particular item of jewellery in the scene. Had we included this, it would have resulted in a continuity error.

- We selected the flats because the interior was small and cosy- we wanted it to seem as though the couple had bought their first home together. Also, the exterior of the buildings are covered in dark wood, which we felt represented the sinister events to take place there, and the closeness of them had a claustrophobic feel.

Day #2:
Date: 16th March 2010
Locations: Werrington Rec, My back garden

- As the weather was reasonable, we decided to shoot the outdoor scenes today. This consisted of a scene with Matthew on the phone to his girlfriend whilst sitting on a bench, presumably on his lunch break from work.

- We chose the location of Werrington Rec for this scene because one side of the place has a clump of trees- at the time of filming, bare of leaves- which we felt represented the sinister aspects of the film, and on the other side is a playground, which we see Matthew walking towards- this is intended to represent his eventual innocence.

- The footage filmed in my back garden was not part of the main project- we filmed ourselves talking about the film and our characters as part of the extra feature we have been asked to do. Our feature is going to be something like a featurette, including footage of us filming scenes, us being 'interviewed' and us discussing the costumes, music, etc.

Day #3:
Date: 19th March 2010
Location: A ground floor flat at Walton Park, Werrington

- This time, we chose to film in the evening, because we were filming the death scene of the protagonist's girlfriend, and wanted it to be dark to increase the feeling of fear.

- An error in our filming occured- in some of the scenes showing the body of the protagonist's girlfriend, a ketchup bottle, used as part of a solution we tried to concoct to look like blood, is clearly visible.

Sound in film

Sound is a pivotal element of a film- it is important in creating mood, enhancing a particular scene or establishing significance. There are two main types of sound; diegetic and non diegetic.

Diegetic Sound

Diegetic sound is when the sound the audience hears is also heard by the characters, An example of this could be birdsong, background chatter or a song on a radio the character has switched on. These are the kinds of sounds heard in everyday life.

Non Diegetic Sound

Non Diegetic sound is a kind of sound that the characters in a piece of film would not be able to hear- i.e. it has been added in post-production. Often non diegetic sound is heard in the background of a scene or played over a montage of clips. Commonly, non diegetic sounds are songs or pieces of music.

In our film, we make use of both diegetic and non diegetic sounds. Most noticeably, we use the song 'Represent' by The Kitchen Club throughout our film- we chose this song because it enhanced the sinister mood of our piece, as well as being easy to use as it is a song by a local band, and therefore copyright-free. We also use certain diegetic sounds for effect, for example, the sound of a knife clattering on a wooden floor to emphasise shock, and the sound of a romantic film playing in the background as we establish our protagonist as being in a loving relationship with his girlfriend.

Conventions of a Thriller

A thriller is usually a film about justice vs. injustice involving a price to be paid near the end of the story. The structure of a thirller usually involves an everyman character being drawn into a dangerous situation- the movie builds and builds with tension until a dramatic climax occurs.

Our film adheres to this structure- Matthew is a normal man at first, but with the murder of his girlfriend, he is drawn into a world of drug warfare and the movie would end with a climatic battle between he and these men.

Technical conventions

- Often, thrillers are told from two points of view- the protagonist's, and the villain's. This is to allow insight for the audience, for instance, to know whether the main character is about to walk into a trap. It can also be to gain empathy for the villain.

- The dialogue is often cryptic so as not to give away critical plot points too easily. This is done to build tension and suspense.

- The damsel-in-distress stock character is a regular feature in thrillers- there is frequently a woman that the male hero is required to rescue.

- Dim lighting, dark colours and shots obscuring something are also common- this is to add to the mystery of the film, and also the danger that the protagonist is in.

- Fast cuts are the most regular editing feature- this is to keep up the fast pace of the film and show the audience the contrast between characters.

- Colour is used to signify emotion- for instance, red means danger, blue means mystery.

Character stereotypes

Matthew fits in very well in the role of everyman protagonist drawn into an extraordinary situation. He responds with shock at first, but then faces up to his task with resolve and is unwilling to let go until he has unravelled the mystery. Often, this kind of character has a weakness that will affect him during the plot in some way. (For example, Scotty in Vertigo is afraid of heights and is unable to save a woman from suicide because he cannot climb some steps.)

Rachel is also an example of the damsel-in-distress stereotype- however, the plot does not revolve around rescuing her, as she is already dead, but rather avenging her murder, which makes for the same conclusion.

How well our film fits in with the conventions of the genre

As our movie is only the opening two minutes, we were unable to include cryptic dialogue, as we wanted to focus on establishing complete normality before the brutal murder of Rachel to create a contrast. For this reason, we also used reasonably bright shots throughout the two minutes- except the opening shot, indicating a darkness surrounding the couple's loving relationship, and the last, where Matthew discovers Rachel's corpse and it has become night time. We did, however, think about use of colour- we based out costumes around this.

Music from the motion picture: my ideal soundtrack for Blackout

To get into the mindset of the characters, and the vibes of the movie, I decided to compile my ideal 'soundtrack album' for the movie, using songs I think fit the film well.

A quick recap of the plot points that would occur should we film the entire movie:

- After Matthew's girlfriend's murder, he runs away in fear and lives rough for a while.

- After encountering a girl who looks like her on the streets, he vows to discover her murderer.

- Goes back to the flat and finds some clues.

- Follows where they lead him- into a seedy drug world that Rachel had become tangled in and discovers her murderer, who has set up a cast iron alibi and framed Matthew.

- His tie had been planted at the murder scene, so he is forced to live life as a fugitive because he cannot prove that who the murderer is.

1. David Bowie- Rock & Roll Suicide



I think this song would be ideal for the point where Matthew is still numb after finding Rachel- the line 'time takes a cigarette and puts it in your mouth' is particularly fitting, as I imagine him sitting in a doorway smoking, looking dishevelled.

2. Marina & the Diamonds- The Outsider



I thought this song would be perfect for Matthew revisiting the flat and resolving to avenge Rachel- the lyrics "Sitting on the outside observing the fun, don't get on my bad side, I can work a gun" perfectly sums up his state of mind in that moment.

3. Amos Lee- Colours



This is a very sad, heatrbreaking song, which I think would be a perfect accompaniment to a montage of Matthew's memories of Rachel, showing the audience that he did truly love her.

4. Boston- More Than A Feeling



I imagine this song playing a few times throughout the movie- perhaps it was Matthew & Rachel's 'song' and the fact he keeps hearing it spurs him on further to avenge her.

5. Brokencyde- Blue Steel




I have an image of Matthew entering a grimy club to locate the drug barons Rachel became entangled with, and this song playing in the background- the background music is ominous, the lyrics reflect the uncaring and misogynistic mindset of those he has come to find, and the screaming in it could represent Rachel's demise.

6. Crystal Castles- Alice Practice

The distorted vocals and screechy nature of this song would make it perfect for a face off between Matthew and the drug barons. It is a little surreal in feeling, which reflects the situation Matthew has found himself in. Also, the line 'Drop it- it's dead' reflects how the drug dealers think Matthew should let Rachel's death slide.

7. D-Mindz- Monster



I can imagine this song being used during a dramatic police chase scene- the lyrics 'I've turned into something I don't wanna, but you've made me so cold' sum up Matthew's changes since losing Rachel, and the repetition of the word 'Monster' shows how the authorities regard him. The beat is also dramatic and the female voice adds melodrama.

Storyboard for our main project

This is the storyboard for our main project. The quality of the photographs is slightly poor, but they convey the images we wanted to get across. In every frame, we have thought our certain elements- for instance, the colours visible, the props in sight, the clothes of the actors and so on.

We wanted the audience to be unsure of what to make of the character Matthew. Sometimes his behaviour appears cold and he does not seem to care much for his girlfriend- for example, his distateful expression when he is on the phone to her. However, on other occassions, such as the opening shot of them watching the film, we wanted them cuddling and looking like an extremely happy couple. Another way we mixed the signals was via his clothing- he wears dark coloured clothes throughout the clip, but a silver chain, indicating he holds something in sentimental value. A lot of low angle shots are used, intended to make Matthew seem physically dominant, for instance, the shot in which he is preparing dinner.

For the character of Rachel, we tried to effectively convey innocence and vulnerability- for instance, the most prominent colours she wears are white, which symbolises purity, and red, which foreshadows the impending danger. However, as later on in the movie we find she was not as wholesome as first thought, we had her wearing black jeans (black being a colour of the ominous) and smoking a cigarette so as not to seem entirely perfect. To convey her vulnerability, we had a shot of her sitting in a large chair- it makes her look small against the size of the chair, and therefore vulnerable.

Script: Draft 2

Scene opens with couple cuddled on sofa and audio of a romantic film.

Music begins to play- Represent by The Kitchen Club.

A montage of events plays on the screen- Matthew making breakfast, getting ready for work, etc.

Cut to Matthew on a park bench.

Matthew: (as though in mid-flow) ...yeah, yeah, I'll cook dinner tonight. (pause). Alright. See you later, Rach. Yeah... I love you too.

Shot of Matthew walking away towards a park. Next we see him making tea and discovering he is out of cigarettes.

Matthew: I'm just popping to the shop. Do you want anything?

Rachel: Erm... I think we're out of milk if you wanna be helpful.

Matthew: Right.

Rachel: Cheers.

Matthew walks outside and the shot fades to black.

The blackness lifts and all we hear is Matthew's heavy breathing as he sees Rachel's nody. He runs out of the room- we see him pick up the bloody knife in the hallway and drop it with a clatter.


This version of the script cuts out the voiceovers and the scene with the police interview. This is because we could not think of a suitable location for filming this scene to make it look realistic. We have also included less dialogue and focused more on the movements of Matthew- we wanted to establish normality and focus on his daily routine before seeing him wrenched out of it by the violent murder of his girlfriend. We felt that hearing the characters talk very little would add the to the mystery of the ending of the scene.

Camera angles/shots

Shots, framing and camera movement.

Before we started filming, we had to carefully consider what kind of shots we wanted to use in our film to convey particular messages and meanings.

Shots

Long shot/ Establishing shot

A long shot is often used to show the surroundings of a character- usually to set the scene or establish a character. An establishing shot is a variation on this- it is used to set up a scene, often a far away long shot of a neighbourhood or a building, to help the audience understand the location of the character and setting.

Mid shot

A mid shot shows a character from the waist upwards. This is used when a director wants to create more intimacy with the character than a long shot, but still include aspects of costume and background in the shot.

Close up

A close up generally shows only a characters face. This is used to establish intimacy with the character, so the audience can easily see the expression of the character.

Extreme close up

An extreme close up is similar to a close up- a person or object is placed directly in front of the camera and fills the screen. This is used to emphasise the importance of something or show in more detail a character's reaction.

High/low angle shot

A high or low angle shot is used to indicate the power of something or someone. A high angle shot involved the camera pointing upwards towards the object- this indicates that the object is powerful, and the viewer is intended to feel less powerful. A low angle shot is intended to have the opposite effect- the object is meant to seem vulnerable and hold less power than the viewer.

Point of view shot

This kind of shot is used when a director wants the audience to feel that they are viewing events through the eyes of a character. This helps the audience relate to the character and gain understanding of them.

Movements

Pan

A pan shot is when a camera slowly moves horizontally to one side. This is often used to follow a conversation or establish a scene.

Track

A tracknikg shot is similar to a pan shot in that the camera can move horizontally. However, it can also move backwards or forwards, similar to a zoom- the tracking shot can follow a character.

Tilt

Tracking is when a camera pans up or down. Downward tilting is often used at the beginning of a scene, to indicate the beginning of an event. Upward tilting tends to be used when a scene is finished, as though the camera is floating out of the scene.

Main project: costume analysis

Costume is important in film- it subtly tells the audience a lot of information about a particular character and their status in the film. We have thought carefully about what our characters ought to be wearing in each scene to convey the messages we want the audience to get.

Matthew

Matthew is the protagonist of the film, so it is pivotally important that we give out the right message about him. Here is a scene-by-scene run through of the costumes we want him to wear:

Scene #1: Establishing shot of Matthew & his girlfriend
Matthew is wearing a black polo shirt, blue jeans and black socks. The use of blue jeans emphasise his position as a normal man, but the black items foreshadow the sinister events to come.

Scene #2: Matthew getting ready
In this scene, he is wearing a white shirt and black trousers. It is obvious he is getting ready to go to work, but he still manages to show his preference for darkness in choosing a black tie.

Scene #3: On the phone to Rachel in the park
Matthew is wearing the same clothes as above, but we can now see slightly scuffed black shoes in the frame, and peeking out from the top of his shoes we can see he is wearing odd socks. He wears a black coat, and breaks up the monochrome with a blue striped scarf. The purpose of the costume in this scene is to show that the charachter is not entirely dark, as has been demonstrated by his preference for black- the use of colour indicates that there is a different side to him.

Scene #4: Matthew at home, and discovery of Rachel's body
The character's idea of casual constitutes a dark coloured Back To The Future T-Shirt and the same blue jeans as in the first shot. The dark colour reinforces the previous themes, but the quirky logo on the shirt shows a lighter side to his personality.

Scene #5: Interview room
Matthew is wearing the same clothes he was wearing in the previous scene.

Overall, we want Matthew to be wearing lots of dark colours, because the audience are not sure until the end of the film whether or not he did kill his girlfriend, but we want to include a few little quirks and splashes of colour to give them hope that he could be innocent.

Rachel

Rachel is Matthew's girlfriend, and the unfortunate murder victim. She only appears briefly, so we have to show her innocence and vulnerability within her costumes. However, due to the ending of the film we concocted, we wanted there to be subtle signs of an edginess to the character.

Scene #1: Establishing shot of Rachel & Matthew
Rachel is wearing a red and white striped T-Shirt and leggings. This is quite a feminine outfit, and the colours represent both her innocence and the danger it has put her in. However, the stripes could also represent a convict- which, as we later find out, could have been Rachel as she is involved in illegal drugs.

Scene #2: On the phone to Matthew
Rachel is wearing a white Bruce Springsteen T-Shirt and jeans. She is wearing several brightly coloured bracelets. This colourful costume is a huge contrast to Matthew's dark clothes. She is wearing these clothes when she dies. The Bruce Springsteen T-shirt is a nod to her love for classic rock- this is intended to indicate something slightly 'heavy' about her.

Preliminary task- brief

We were asked to produce a two minute film as a preliminary exercise. The clip had to involve a person walking down a corridor, opening a door and crossing a room. We also had to utilise the techniques or Match-on action, Shot/reverse shot and the 180 degree rule.

Match-on action

Match-on action is a technique used to show a connection between two seperate shots, and make the audience understand that they are in sequence. For example, if one shot showed someone reaching out to open a door, and the next shot showed them entering the room and closing the door, the viewer would understand that this was all meant to be part of the same action.

180 degree rule

This is a basic rule that implies that two characters in the same scene should always have the same left/right relationship to eachother. This enables the film to seem more realistic.

Shot/reverse shot

This is a film technique that has a view of the back of one character as the other character is talking to them and vice versa. The characters are shown facing in opposite directions, so the audience assume they are talking to eachother.

The idea we have devised involves a brief conversation between two friends. One enters a room and asks the other to borrow a book. The other obliges and says they think he will enjoy it.

Nikkie : Hello.

Anthony : Hi.

Anthony: I was just wondering if you had that book you said I could borrow?

Nikkie: Oh, yeah.(she gets up and gets it)

Nikkie: Ah! (when she finds it)

Nikkie: There you go.(hands over the book)

Anthony: Cheers.

Nikkie: Think you're going to enjoy it.

Script: first draft

This is the first draft of our project's script. We have settled on using the idea of a psychological thriller for our film. This script will definately be edited as we go along, but we wanted to write a draft so that we had some idea of how our scenes were going to go and what we were going to convey.

Calm, relaxing music plays as the shot pans around photographs of the happy couple.

When the title comes up, disturbing, jarring chords begin to play.

Anonymous man in V/O: So... tell me exactly what you did that day.

Matthew (in V/O): (eerily calm) (Pause) I got up...

[shot of him getting up and going to make breakfast]

had a shower...

[shot of him in the shower]

And went to work.

[Cuts to his lunch break, in coffee bar]

Matthew: ...right. Yeah, I might be a little late tonight, though.

[sound of girl talking back on the phone]

Matthew: Not that late, no. About 6ish. Yeah, I’ll cook.

[sound of girl talking back on the phone]

Matthew: OK. See you later, Rach. Love you too.

Matthew (in V/O again): She was there when I got home. She seemed fine... it was all normal. I started making the tea and then I realised we were out of milk.

[cuts to scene in kitchen]

Matthew: [holding empty milk bottle] I’m just going to the shops. D’ya need anything?

Rach: [shouting from other room] Oooh, I’ll have some Maltesers if you’re pushing the boat out! [laughs]

[As Matthew gets to the door he blacks out. The next shot is the blackness lifting with a sharp gasp and a shot of him lying on the living room floor. He surveys the room, breathing heavily. There is tension music playing and it builds up until he sees the bloodied body of his girlfriend. He recoilsand we hear a clattering sound. To his horror, he realises it’s the sound of him dropping a bloodied knife. ]

[Cut to an interview room. It is now obvious that the man in the V/O is a police officer.]

Police officer: And then?

Matthew: [looking bedraggled and bloodshot, whispering] I don’t know. I went to the door and... everything just went black.

Main project- synopsis

Plot synopsis

Our idea for a movie is a psychological thriller, similar in nature to The Buttefly Effect. It would be aimed at a general audience with an interest in horror.
The plot is based around a young man with a very normal life- a job, a flat and a girlfriend- until one fateful day, all that changes. The man suffers with blackouts, and this gets him into real trouble when on a normal workday, he blacks out and regains conciousness next to the bloodied body of his girlfriend- and holding a knife. He is adamant that he would never harm her, and spends the rest of the film trying to work out what really happened to her, with interesting results...

The opening sequence would consist of either a slow pan shot around the living room of the couple, focusing particularly on snapshots of the couple to establish that they are happy, and to show the normality of their lives, or a shot of the couple cuddled together on the sofa watching a romantic film. A black screen will the display the title. We cut to the man in the kitchen, making breakfast and singing along to the radio. This again establishes the normality of the day, although we do not see his face yet. The man then goes in the fridge and finds the bottle of milk empty, and so leaves the house, seemingly to go to the shops. As he leaves the door, the screen fades to black. Next, the black screen shudders away as the man gasps and wakes up next to the body of his girlfriend, and finds himself holding a bloodstained knife. During this sequence we have been hearing a V/O of two men talking about the day- now we cut to a police interview room and see that the man, now bedraggled looking, is being interviewed in connection with the murder.

Character synposis

Matthew

The protagonist of the film. He has been in a relationship with Rachel for three years, living together for a year. He works at an office in a job that he hates but tolerates for the security it brings. At the beginning of the film, he finds his girlfriend dead beside him, but can only sporadically remember the events of the day preceeding this because he has been suffering from blackouts. It transpires that he didn't do it and was framed, but the police do not believe him and he is forced to take on a life as a fugitive, hunting down the real killer. We chose the name Matthew because of it's biblical connotations, implying his eventual innocence, and also because it sounded like an everyman name.

Rachel

The protagonists girlfriend. She works part time in a corner shop and lives with Matthew. He finds her dead near the beginning of the movie and the rest of the film is based on him trying to find out who killed her. We chose her name partially because it sounded very average, and partially because of it's meaning- Rachel means 'innocent lamb', which we felt fit in with her innocence and status as a victim (the phrase 'lamb to the slaughter').

Analysis: Seven opening sequence

Seven (1995)

Opening credits analysis

The film Seven is a police drama about a retiring detective (Freeman) and the young, short-fused detective replacing him (Pitt). Together, they investigate a series of gruesome murders relating to the seven deadly sins- gluttony, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy and wrath.

The opening credits subtly foreshadow the later events of the movie. We are shown an unknown set of hands with bandages on the fingers writing prolifically in a series of journals. There are shots of other things, such as drawings of hands, blades, someone slicing off fingertips with a razorblade, someone cutting up negatives of photographs and pictures of murder victims spattered with blood. These images give us an idea of what the movie will contain and sets the tone as being dark- you wouldn’t expect a romcom to have credits like these, for instance.

The music is used to unnerve the audience. The piece of music is punctuated by scratchy sounds reminiscent of a saw- this is intended to make viewers uncomfortable and hint at the murders in the movie. The song itself has an eerie feel to it; this echoes the harshness and scariness of the film’s content. Also, there is something similar to a heartbeat track in the music, which is used in this genre to indicate fear. In my opinion, the music used is extremely effective; it effectively conveys the themes and tone of the movie and it engages the audience, showing them that the character in the opening credits is sinister and giving them ideas of what to look out for during viewing. It is worth noting that the only lyrics that can be heard are “You’ve got me closer to God”- this would seem to be deliberate, given the antagonist’s obsession with sin.

The shots have been carefully constructed to convey a particular message to the audience. Extreme close ups are the only type used in the sequence- this both conceals the identity of the character and immediately arouses the suspicions of the audience, the latter being a vital component of any thriller film.

It is obvious that the colours used have been carefully selected. The only bright colour used in the entire 2:08 opening sequence is the spatter of blood on a photograph of a victim, and a few single shots are tinted red. The audience can tell, however, that this does not signify anything good- red is being used in the context of danger and death. The rest of the colours are dark, mainly browns, blacks and greys, perhaps to convey the darkness of the killer’s mindset, or even the town the movie is set in as a whole- during the film, the audience can see that the unnamed city is in a state of disrepair, falling apart with urban decay.

The editing in the sequence is interesting. In several parts simple straight cuts are used- however, at around 0:45, the fade effect is used, perhaps to show the audience that the tasks are all linked together somehow. The formula seems to be a shot- for example, the character’s hand writing in his journal- with a straight cut to a black screen with one of the credits on it. The edits here are used quite deliberately- the sharp cuts combined with the fades and the shaky cuts give us the message that the killer is perhaps methodical (straight cut) but the shakiness could imply a shaky mentality.

The font used to display the credits was also not chosen by mistake. The writing is small, handwriting-style, never put in the centre of the screen. It is almost childlike- this could contrast with the lack of innocence in the movie. The fact that the writing flickers is also interesting- again, it could be to reinforce the shaky mentalities featured in the film, or even reflect the decay of the city by seeming ‘defective’.

Personally, I found the credits to be very effective; I was immediately interested in what was going on, and the music instantly told me that something wasn’t right. The flickering effects indicated something bad was going to happen and I, as a viewer, was intriegued to know what.

The film itself opens with a shot of a seemingly normal morning, with Freeman’s character ambling into the kitchen, washing up and getting dressed. The sense of normality contrasts deeply with the opening credits, so the audience are intriegued to see the connection. The lighting is natural and the colour white is predominant, the suggest cleanliness and a kind of purity- in this case, maybe representing the untainted mind of Freeman’s character. Extreme close ups are used to create familiarity as we watch the as yet unnamed character getting ready.

Suddenly, it cuts to a shot of a body in a pool of blood- contrasting with the scene just before, but similar in tone to the credits. The scene is dark and the shot is a mid-shot from a high angle, showing that the corpse no longer has any kind of power. We hear another officer’s voice explaining what he thinks happened to the man- a domestic row turned nasty. Freeman’s character squints at a child’s painting on the fridge, which would again seem to be there to contrast the innocence of childhood with the darkness and corruption of the scene. He asks if the child witnessed the murder, to which his colleague aggressively replies that it doesn’t matter and it’s none of their business- this shows that Freeman’s character is concerned about the children, and is therefore more caring about such things than his colleagues, which makes him seem more sympathetic to us.

After this exchange, Pitt’s character bounds up the stairs of the gruesome scene. The way he is dressed contrasts entirely with Freeman’s- Pitt is wearing a black and white suit with a leather jacket. This shows that he’s traditional- but the leather jacket adds an edge which could imply something of a harder side. Freeman, however, is in a dowdy beige mac and a black hat- this echoes the classic police uniform of years gone by, indicating his position as ‘old fashioned’ and showing the difference in police morals between the two, which becomes more evident as the film progresses.

Analysis: Fight Club opening sequence

Fight Club (1999)

Synopsis

The film centres on a nameless insomniac. (Edward Norton). His doctor refuses to prescribe him medication for this and instead tells him to visit a support group for testicular cancer to witness more severe suffering. The narrator finds that pretending to be a fellow victim gives him an emotional release that relieves his insomnia. He becomes addicted to this release, until his sanctuary is invaded by fellow imposter, Marla Singer (Helena Bonham Carter). They become attracted to each other.


On a flight home from a business trip, the narrator meets Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt), a soap salesman. Upon returning home, he finds his condo has been destroyed in an explosion. Having nowhere to go, he finds himself calling Tyler; they meet in a bar downtown. The two discuss existentialist philosophy and the audience can see Tyler’s contempt for consumerism. It is agreed that the narrator can stay with Tyler; but only if he will hit him. The two get into a fight, and the narrator finds the same emotional release as he did in his support groups. Eventually, the two form a group that meets in the basement of the bar- ‘Fight Club’, where any man can feel that release.


Marla takes an overdose one night, and Tyler rescues her. The two become sexually involved, much to the distaste of the narrator, and Tyler warns him never to talk to Marla about him. Meanwhile, Fight Clubs are springing up all over America, and Tyler’s plan moves up a step: ‘Project Mayhem.’ The narrator begins to feel left out, as Tyler is keeping him in the dark about the majority of his plans. Suddenly, after a confrontation, Tyler disappears. The narrator follows him from city to city, until information from a barman and a phone call to Marla reveals the shock twist- he is Tyler.


Tyler appears to him in his hotel room and confirms this; they are dissociated personalities within the same body. Tyler controls the body when the narrator is ‘asleep’. The narrator has a blackout, and when he wakes up he discovers that Tyler’s plan is to blow up the headquarters of credit card companies to erase debt. He attempts to stop the plan, but is captured by Tyler, who holds him at gunpoint in the building opposite. However, the narrator soon realises that, as he and Tyler are sharing a body, it is actually he himself holding the gun. Her shoots himself in the cheek, effectively killing Tyler, and watches the destruction whilst holding Marla’s hand.

Target audience/genre

The studio executives were attempting to market the movie towards men of a similar age to the narrator, twenties or thirties. The genre is difficult to place, but black comedy and social commentary are prominent features, as is violence. There are certain aspects of the film that could qualify it as action, but others would contradict this label.



Opening sequence



The title sequence is 90 seconds long; it is a visual effects composition that depicts the inside of the narrator’s brain. The camera pulls backwards; the sequence begins at the fear centre and follows through the thought processes induced by the fear impulse. The sequence foreshadows the psychological themes in the latter part of the movie, and also highlights the role of fear in the movie as a motivator and catalyst for the actions of the characters.


First scene of the movie


The opening scene employs a technique known as in media res (meaning to start the film at the end.) This is used to capture the audience’s attention, and keep them focused during parts of the film at which the significance of events is not yet clear. It was also used in this instance to distract them from the twist ending, as were the homoerotic undertones inserted.
The scene is dark, with minimal lighting; this conveys the darkness of both the scenario and the relationship between the characters in the frame (one of whom is being held at gunpoint). It appears that the lighting is coming from the lights in the windows of the buildings opposite. A muted colour palette is also employed, with the exception of a brightly coloured vest worn by Tyler (perhaps emphasising his surreal position in the film).


The shots used are tight and mainly close ups. This reinforces the tension and also supports the narrator’s being tied up. ECU’s of the narrator’s eyes are also employed effectively in the first few minutes to demonstrate his fear; the audience can also see beads of sweat on his forehead. There is, however, a speeded up pan shot down from the window of the floor the characters are on, scaling down the building and going down into the basement before focusing on the explosives.


There are very subtle clips of tension music played for occasional few seconds at a time. However, these are usually teamed with the diegetic sounds of a car alarm blaring or the gun being loaded, so the clips are barely noticeable- they are simply there to suggest a mood without being obvious. The action is narrated in a voiceover by the nameless main character- this is notably laced with black comedy and wry observations.

Introduction

Hello.

My name is Nichola Thorpe. I'm in year 12 at Ken Stimpson, and this is my AS level Media Studies blog. Here, I will post research, evaluation and comment on the progress of my group.

I'm working with Daniel Twinn-Waters and Joe Errington. Anthony Race was previously a member of our group, but has since left school.