Research and Planning

Film opening Analysis-

"Children of Men" (2006)

Representation

The opening scene is being represented in 2027, in the capital city of London. Characters are gathered in a café, gazing at the television as news have informed viewers that the youngest boy in the planet have been assassinated; it is then followed by the main caption which is taking place outside. The following scene shows a negative representation of London due, to the explosion of the bomb coming from the café. This shows that during this period of time that even public places are; dangerous, violent and unpleasant to live in. A grime atmosphere is also being portrayed through the pollution in the air, the dirt surrounding the and most of all the unexpected bomb.

Who is being represented?

The audience is clearly aware of the fact that there is a main character, as the main who have walking into the café is the main focus. This highlights that the main character is ambiguous. Due to the fact, that the track followers the character we are aware that he is of important and plays a significant role. The audience are also not aware if the character is a protagonist or hero. The character does not fit conventions of a hero because, he fears the explosion and does not fight against it also he is not fully aware his surroundings which can be seen in the cafe

. 

How are women represented?

Women are of very little importance as they can no longer produce babies, however in the café they are portrayed as being vulnerable which can be seen in the café. Due to the fact, as some women were listening to the dreadful news of the assassination, they were crying arm-linked with their husbands. At the end of the opening scene just as they bomb exploded a particular women captures the audience immediately, due to the actions she is carrying out. She screams frantically, as she walks out from the cafe surrounded by smoke; the camera then focus on the mysterious character as it zooms in. This enables the audience to think what the importance of the woman by be in the movie, as have character may foreshadow an event.

Can you notice any other social groups or places which are represented?

Illegal immigrants are being represented as a burden to society, dangerous and unworthy of any freedom. In addition, they are treated unequally within the film. In the opening of the scene a voice what appears to be a spokes women, informs the audience that mosques are being occupied in by the army. In addition, that the British borders will remain closed and will be deporting illegal immigrants. In addition, further on in the clip they are also seen caged in a metal cage like animals, it reflects the disregard people during this time period had towards the

How is the future represented?

The future is represented in a naturalistic way so the audience is aware of the genre of the film which could possibly be Sci-Fi and adventure. The audience is given the impression that there is a great use of technology during this time, which can be seen by the big screens of the high rise buildings which is broadcasting the assassination also by the main character’s workplace. The future is also highlighted as a hostile environment due to the insensitive assassination as people take the law in their hands.

Media Language

Lighting

In the opening of the film dole lighting is used to create the effect of a grime environment, it is also making the characters seem untrustworthy. This gives the audience the message that negativity id going to consist throughout the film. There is also an element of florescent lighting used, which is meant to be optimistic as the light therefore the lighting is very neutral to portray this picture.

Camera work

Throughout the two scenes inside the cafe and outside a variety of camera techniques have been used such as, track, transition, crane, dolly, handheld etc. It does not conform to my expectations of a major feature because; the events taking place appear to be realistic which is not usually seen in a Sci-Fi movie. For example, the use of the hand-held camera demonstrates movement. However, this enable to audience to engage with the text making the experience interesting to watch.

Editing

Once shot is mostly used throughout the scene to show the main character, walking in and out of the cafe, as well as ordering a coffee. A text also appears on the scene to create a dramatic effect; with a pitch black background and a white bold text which immediately stands out. The colors used may be of significances different things such as, the white may represent hope and optimism; whilst the black may represent negativity and dangerous events ahead. This will make the audience curious as they will have an interest on what the title means.

Sound

Diegetic and non-diegetic music have been used throughout the scene the mix of the two have been used to create an effect of the audience immediately. Whilst the characters are watching the news, an emotive music playing in the background which is done to evoke the audience’s emotions.

“Panic Room” and “SE7EN” Comparisons

Panic Room uses a variety of long shots to show how captivating the buildings are within the American City, an establishing long shot can have been used to show what appears to be an American City of New York the audience can establish this by the buildings as well as the river that runs through the city. The surroundings of the busy pedestrian street can be seen in the distance by the long shot, making the audience aware that people that live within the city live a hectic lifestyle. In contrast, “SE7EN” uses a range of close-ups and extreme close ups showing what the character is doing, and what their personality may be about also different shots have been cut quickly which represent disorientation and confusion.

Each film uses non-diegetic sound to captivate the audience’s attention, in the film “SE7EN” sounds of machinery or warehouse sounds can be heard in the background; this gives the audience the impression that the character is carrying out a task in result making them increasingly curious. In addition, the sound used in the scene is screechy and eerie this creates the sense of someone suffering; causing an element of horror. Similarly, in Panic room the tone of the music changes continuously creates an unsettling tone, as the speed and the tempo changes; unlike, film “SE7EN” Panic is more symphonic and conventional. 

The director David Fincher employees a series of long sustained shots which adds emphasis to the location and the expansion and power of the buildings; this is achieved throughout the minimal amount of cuts in the scene.  This makes the buildings the main focus of the film, also highlighting their significance in the film and makes the audience have a greater association with buildings; this could also symbolising something later on in the movie. On the other hand, many different shots have been combined together and cut at a rapid speed to cause disorientation and confusion with the viewer’s mind. Furthermore, fade have been used to create a mysterious tone and the yellow glow give a spooky effect and a vibe of danger and terror. In addition, the camera appears to show double, this could that indication that the character is not in the right state of mind and may be under the influence of drugs; this could represent how the character is feeling as they may not have any control of what they are doing. 

In the film “SE7EN” the character plays more of a significant role compared to the opening of Panic Room as the use of the props gives the image of death and danger also associated with a serial killer; this highlights the fact that this character is an antagonist representing negativity in the film. Also by the character cutting his skin with a razor shows that he wants to remain anonymous and doesn't want to be tracked; this makes the audience extremely curious of the purpose of his attentions. In the opening of Panic room people can be seen casually sitting on the grass, but towards the ending of the opening scene people can be seen walking on the street two women in particular can be heard having a conversation; they could simply represent ordinary people that are later associated within the film.

The location of “SE7EN” appears to be in a basement or warehouse as there is no source of natural light this reinforces the fact that the character does not want to be seen or discovered carrying out his bizarre tasks. Whilst, Panic Room is set in New York as due to the reference of the big large, glamorous building; this also related to the adventurous lifestyle people in Los Angles may live. 

Each film, have similar visual style as in Panic Room eerie sounds have been used and putting of the credits in a special bold which causes the viewer to drift away with the text, the fonts also create a gloomy atmosphere. In film “SE7EN” it is dark, gloomy and with a slight glow in the background also the titles are displayed in a unique way which can cause disorientation.

"SE7EN"

Camera Shot/Angle/Movement

In the extract “seven” it starts very different most of the shots are credits instead of action taking place of people having a conversation. The camera shot is very still and doesn’t seem to move. Theirs various shots taken from different angles. The high angle is not as extreme as a bird's eye view. The camera is elevated above the action using a crane to give a general overview. High angles make the object photographed seem smaller, and less significant (or scary). We see this when the marker pen is moving from left to right as we are looking down at what is being marked inside the book. There are also close ups this shows very little background and concentrates on either the face or a specific detail of mise en scene. In this case the camera close up is of the book that the pages are being flicked through one by one. The close up takes us into the scene and make the audience try figure out what’s exactly is happening and why the camera is so focused on this particular object but in this extract its a tease because all these shots are of different parts taken from the film put together to make an opening scene.

Sound

The diegetic sound is quite fast. Its sound like garage music a type of genre that punks would listen to. The tempo its quite high and it has a very fast up beat to it. There is no dialogue as we can clearly see no conversation is taking place during the opening scene. The music starts of really slow , as the same speed as the pages in the book flipping. Halfway through the scene that’s when the sound changes tempo to bring tension to say something important is happening at this time and the audience should pay attention. The diegetic sound sounds of racing cars on a track and it’s like someone is being chased or some sort of information needs to be found.

Editing

The most common editing technique that has been used is cut and this is sudden change of shots from one viewpoint or location to another. We see this all throughout in different parts of the extract. Jump cut is also used deliberately to make a dramatic point and we see this when the shot jumps from one scene to another scene even though they are all still linking through each other. Shot reverse shot is also used to link the different scenes together.Also the colouring has been changed is been either discolored to make it look like it’s been taken back to time or it’s something old.

Characters

The use of theses props gives the image of death and danger also associated with a serial killer. 

By the character cutting their skin with a razor shows that he wants to remain anonymous and doesn't want to be tracked.

Locations

Basement or warehouse as there is no source of natural light gives the impression that the antagonist does not want to be seen or discovered. 

Themes

Death and murder

Visual Style

It is dark, gloomy and with a slight glow in the background also the titles are displayed in a unique way which can cause disorientation. 

Genre

Thriller 

Mise-en-Scene

Overall looking at mise-en-scene from the opening scene we get quite a lot out of it. No location has been revealed but you would assume it’s an office because of all the things that are happening within the scene. Loads of cutting and sticking and highlight maybe an office someone trying to find out information. We clearly see that the person is a male but yet we could be uncertain but the way the figure nails are portrayed.

Analysis of opening sequence

"Jaws"

“Music begins very quiet and slow”

The music at the beginning of the scene starts of slow to build up tension from the audience as it the slowly gets a bit more louder and faster as the scene progresses.

“The camera shows the point of view of the shark moving through the weeds”

The camera is showing the audience what the audience sees when its swimming through the ocean this is so that the audience is slowly getting forced to go where the shark wants them to go.

“The music builds up and gets louder and faster”

The music gets louder and faster to build up the fear that the shark creates. This is to show the audience that the shark is in control

“There is the sound of a mouth organ being played at the beach party”

The sound of a mouth organ is used to make the audience understand that the sound is similar to a shark.

“There is a large bonfire on the beach”

The large bonfire in the opening scene has been used to show the audience the relaxed atmosphere that everyone was in but this could also show the audience that the fire is a sign of danger and that danger is coming towards them. The fire can also represent safety as the further away the character is away from the bonfire the closer they are to danger so the bonfire represents safety and unity.

“The camera pulls back to show a wide shot of the sea. We can hear the noise of the sea in the background”

The camera pulls a wide shot of the sea to show the audience that the sea look normal so the characters wouldn’t suspect anything wrong with going in there as it even sounded normal,  but the sounds an the view of the sea produces a lot of tension for the audience.

Analysis of opening sequence (2)

“Whilst the girl is swimming there is no music”

No music is being played in this part of the scene so that the audience are in the same fear as the girl and so that the audience can feel as if the was in her position

“The camera shows the shark’s point of view and the music starts”

The music starts playing when the shark is coming towards the girl to show the excitement that it was in. This is to build up tension from the audience.

“The camera switches between the top and bottom of the water”

The camera switches between both views from the girls and the sharks point of view. This is to show the emotion of each character. When the camera is underneath the sea the camera is showing the audience what it as seeing and whilst this is happening music then starts playing again.

“There is a shot of her legs kicking and the camera slowly zooms in”

The camera is slowly zooming into the girls legs because sharks respond to movement or vibration which mans that she is slowly giving herself to the shark and the cameras zooms into her legs to show the audience that the shark is coming closer to her.

“We do not see the shark”

We do not see the shark at this point of the scene as the camera is showing what we are seeing is through the sharks eyes. It is also not shown to let the audience use there imagination of how scary and big the shark is.

“There are pauses in the attack, and the camera shows the boy slumped on the beach”

The camera shows the boy lying down on he side having no attention to what is happening to the girl this is because he is unaware with what is going onto the girl. This is so the audience can catch there breath from the terrifying part before this as this would prolong the scene.

“After the attack there is a sudden silence”

The sudden silence after the attack is so that the audience can understand what had just happened so they can catch there breath. The silence is also used after the attack to show that no one was aware of the attack that had just happened apart from the audience.

“At the end of the scene all we can hear is the sound of the sea”

The sound of the sea shows the audience that these attacks will be continuous as the sound of the sea is something that would frighten all the characters in the film because of the attack that are going to happen. The sound of the sea gives the audience the sense of normality.

Opening Sequence Analysis

"Panic Room"

Camera Shot/Angle/Movement

The “Panic Room” goes straight into an establishing shot and this gives the information where the scene is set. There is also various close ups and this brings out the object that the audience are to focus on. There are also various wide shots that bring out the whole setting and you are able to see it from left to right. Low angle and high angle are also used and we see this from the high angle shot. Looking down and you see the traffic moving in the road. Its purpose is to enhance the tall building and how dangerous it can be. Pan shot seems to have been used so the viewer can get a panoramic view which is used to establish the scene. We see this as we are able to see the buildings from left to right and up and down. The camera zooms in and out in certain parts of the film depending on what part of the film is being shot and what affect it brings to the whole opening scene. At the very end of the scene we see a wide shot of an open park and we are able to view the things surrounding it which seem to be the tall buildings that we saw at the very start of the scene. We manage to see mid shots of the characters walking past each other and the camera seems to be mainly focused on two women walking towards the camera even though the camera seems to be moving back.

Sound

The non-diegetic sound used is very soft and calm but seems to be a bit up tempo. This is sound that can be heard by the characters within a scene. In this case it sounds like an organ that is playing with many other instruments that have been complied together to make it sound like one track. The music sounds very mysterious and builds up tension. Their seems to be something ticking in the background as if to show the time is ticking and something drastic will happen very soon. There is also diegetic sound this is when the scene changes to the characters walking down and there is sound of the trees and peoples foots steps. There is also a mini conversation going on between the two characters at the very end of the scene. 

Editing

The most common editing technique that has been used is cut and this is sudden change of shot from one viewpoint or location to another. We see this all throughout in different parts. Jump cut is also used to deliberately to make a dramatic point and we see this when the shot jump from one scene to another scene even though they are all still linking through each other. This is used at the very end that gives it a big impact by changing the whole scene to the two women walking down having having a conversation.

Mise en Scene

The whole place looks very posh like it’s in America or London. It looks very busy and all that is shown are tall buildings and bill boards and cars moving. It gives the audience a picture in there head of various genres the clip could be about. The different camera shots and angles used bring it out and make the whole thing stand out. The characters al walking down seems to be dressed almost the same. Long coats as the weather seem to be very chilly leaves falling of the tress and looking very golden brown.

Themes

Characters

People can be seen casually sitting on the park grass. 

Towards the ending of the opening scene people can be seen walking on the street, two women in particular can be heard having a conversation.

Locations

New York  

Narrative/Plot

A divorced woman and her son moves into a new house in America which they have a panic room. On their first arrival to the house burglars unexpectedly arrive and they   escape to the panic room where the film unfolds.

Trapped or confined 

Visual Style

Eerie sounds and putting of the credits in a special bold font

Genre

Thriller 

Title Analysis

The main reason for opening credits is to tell the audience who is involved in the film’s production. The title sequences follow a standard pattern which is

Producers Name

The Actor

Title of the film

Supporting Cast

Crew

The directors name.

It should all be in this order. In the following title analysis we are going to look weather these movies opening credits are in the correct order.

"SE7EN"

“SE7EN” starts off by telling us the production company that made the film. In this case it’s “New Line Cinema”

It goes on to telling us who the producer of the film is which is supposed to be shown right at the end of it.

It then goes on to revealing the characters of the film which is supposed to be 2^nd to last.

Then you have the title of the film which is suppose to appear third.

Then you have the rest of the casting crew at the very end.

“Children of Men”

Unlike the rest of them “Children of Men” is very different when comparing the title analysis. It only has the production company and the title of the film. This means it doesn’t full fill the title sequence standard pattern which includes all 6 credits in the correct order.

“Panic Room”

“Panic Room” starts off with the production company that produce the film in this case its “Columbia Pictures”

It then goes on to telling us who maybe the main character in the film. (Jodie Foster)

Then it finally reveals the title of the movie and in this case it’s in the correct order as the title of the film is suppose to appear third in the credits.

It then goes onto revealing the casting crew and the rest of the other people that played a role into the making of the film.

Research and Planning Video

Transcript- Research and planning

Textual Analysis

·        First steps was to establish what genre we wanted to film in, to enable us to establish what genre would be best for our filming, we analysed four film opening’s which were, ‘Children of Men’, ‘Panic Room’, ‘Se7en’ and ‘Jaws’.

·        Through our analysis we established that working with the thriller genre would be best as it allowed us to show conventions such as, tension and suspense, pace, quick cute and music.

Audience Research

·        As we had chosen the ‘thriller’ genre we had to be aware of who our target audience would be for our film, by using the website ‘Pearl and Dean’ and ‘IMDB’ we carried out research into the thriller films such as ‘One Missed Call’ and the ‘The Ring 2’.

·        Through our analysis of these films and looking at statics provided on the website, we decided that ‘15’ will be the best certification for our film.

·        We also created a questionnaire and distributed it to our classmates, this gave us a deep understanding into what age certification would be best for the rating of our film. Through the results of our questionnaire we established that ‘15’ would be the best rating for our horror film.

·        Also, by using the ‘BBFC’ website, this gave us an understanding into the different rating of films, by looking into films of the thriller genre this also gave us similar ratings as shown on the other website.

Institutional Research

·        Through our analyse of opening sequences we observed that institutional information is significant, as it is represented to the audience in the beginning of the opening.

·        For example, the film ‘Panic Room’ immediately shows the logo of the company responsible for distributing the film which is ‘Columbia’ this is then followed by other institutional information such as, the main character of the film.

·        Also, long shots and high angles can be seen showing high block buildings, this is significant in making the audience aware of the setting.

·        Through our title analysis we also established that openings usually consist off the following information which are; producer’s name, the actor, film title, supporting casting crew.

Summary

By carrying out our research and planning we established that our film will be of the ‘thriller’ genre as this will be effective in grabbing the audience’s attention, we will ensure that we included ‘thriller conventions’ in our film such as; dark lighting, quick cuts, deadly props and creepy music. In addition, institutional information will also be included such as, the name of our distributors, main actors and producers.

Prelim Task

We had a small task we had to do before the final construction of our final film. This was the preliminary task which we had to film a dialogue between two people. The main reason for this was to get used to the camera and also to be able to show three different types of filming techniques. These were Match on action, 180 Degree rule and Shot reverse Shot. These three were also suppose to be used in our final thriller opening that we were in the process if making.

Match on Action:

This is a cut in film editing either between two different objects , two spaces , or two different compositions in which an object in the two shots graphically match, this shot is often used to help establish a strong continuity of action and liking two shots metaphorically.

Shot reverse Shot:

This is a film technique where one character is showing looking at another character (often of screen) and then the character is show looking back at the first character. Since the characters are showing facing opposite directions, the viewers assume they are looking at each other.

180 Degree Rule:

This is when two characters in the same scene should always have the same left/right relationships to each other. In the example of a dialogue between two actors if own is on the left and Bob is on the right then Owen should be facing right at all times even when bob is off the edge of the frame and Bob should always be facing left. This is shown in the diagram below.

Match on Action

Shot-Reverse-Shot

180 Degree Rule

Prelim Story Board

Script For Story Board

“Evening”

Sharmain walks down the corridor towards the appointment room. As she walks up to the door she opens it and walks straight to the table where the doctor is sited. She then goes and sits on an empty chair opposite the doctor.

Doctor (Calesha)

Hello and how may I help you today?

(She looks at Sharmain intensively)

Patient (Sharmain)

I think I am coming down with the flu

(Worried facial expression)

Doctor (Calesha) 

What are the symptoms do you seem to be having?

Patient (Sharmain) 

Ummmmmmm...sore throat and chesty cough.

Doctor (Calesha)

Alright then I know what to prescribe to you...

(Smiling)

(Camera stays on her for five seconds for a good smooth fade)

Final Prelim Video

Final Task

This is the final part after all our research we did, and filming our preliminary task this is our construction of our opening to a thriller movie.

Story Board

We also made a story board for our thriller opening just like we did for our preliminary task. The story board is a step by step guide that tells us what shot will be in each scene and and what will be happening during that scene:

Screen Play

1. EXT. Long Shot

Calesha talking to Sandra on the bench in the park.

2. EXT Mid Shot

The two still talking catching up on their friend ship.

3. EXT Close Up

Close up of the two.

(Having a normal conversation that friends have)

4. EXT Over the Shoulder

We see the anonymous character sending a text message. She is covered up and all we manage to see are her hands.

(We see a close up of the text as each letter appears on the screen)

5. EXT Close Up

Close up of the mobile phone that the text message is being sent from. We see the close up of the threatening message being sent to Calesha.

6. EXT Mid Shot

Whilst the two are in the middle of their conversation Calesha receives a text message.

( Calesha’s phone rings)

7. EXT Close up

This shot captures Calesha’s reaction after getting the phone call and the text. She is in shook and looks very scared.

(We can see fear in Calesha’s eyes. Although she tries to stay calm and hide the fact that she is in shock and scared)

8. EXT Mid Shot

(Phone rings again)

Calesha gets up and starts running away from her friend down the long path.

(Her friend calls after her “ Calesha ! Calesha ! Calehsha” ! )

9. EXT DOLLY

The camera tracks Calesha whilst she is running down the pathways.

10. EXT DOLLY

Mean while in the bushes there is noise of someone running through the bushes that lead to the pathway.

11. EXT Close Up

Calesha drops her phone onto the grass and we get a close up of the phone. On the screan of the phone we see the messages that have been sent to her.

(Another messages appears)

12. EXT Dolly

The previous noise seems to be getting closer and we can hear foot steps

(Footsteps in the back ground)

13. EXT Close Up/ 360 turn

We see a close up of Calesha’s face to see the fear that she has although she is trying to stay calm. We then get a 360 degree turn back to her face.

14. EXT Close Up

We see Calesha in shock as arms appear on her shoulders. We get a close up of her face and the hands. This could also be seen as a mid shot/close up.

Calesha Screams

15. We see the title of the moving.

(“The Calling” – Coming Soon)

Mise-en-Scene

Location

Our filming location was Greenwich Park. We picked this specific park due to the fact it had of the space and we were able to film different parts of our thriller opening in different locations in the park which where suitable for that specific scene.

Bench

This is where the two character’s conversation takes place.

Bushes

Bushes leading to the pathway.

Pathway

This is where the running occurs and the pathway where the two main characters meet.

Patch of grass

This is in the bushes near the pathway where the girl’s phone is thrown whilst she is in shock of the messages.

Costumes

In our film we have two characters. The protagonist and the antagonist. The protagonist is the main character of our story (Calesha).Usually in a story the protagonist wants to reach a goal but many obstacles are in the way. In this case this is where the Antagonist (Sharmain) steps in. She is the bad character.

Protagonist - (Calesha)

Black Jacket – the colour black is associated with power, elegance and formality. Black is a mysterious colour associated with fear and the unknown. It usually has a negative connotation.

White Top – White is the colour that represents many things, goodness, innocence, purity. It’s considered to be the colour of perfection. 

Blue Jeans – Blue is the colour that is often associated with depth and stability. It symbolizes trust, loyalty, wisdom, confidence and intelligence. It’s strongly associated with tranquillity and calmness.

Overall all these different colours make the protagonist stand out in many different ways. The different colours with the different meanings bring it all together and conform into one character. The audience will be able to define her as the good character from the very beginning.

Antagonist (Sharmain)

We don’t see this character at all. She is covered up. She stays anonymous all the way through the filming, which draws the audience into the film as they will be curious and anxious to see if the character is revealed at the end.

Target Audience

We browsed through a website called “Pearl and Dean” in order to help us establish what our target audience for our thriller opening was going to be. We choose 2 previous films of the same genre and same conventions as our thriller opening. The main purpose was to analyse the target audience so that we would be able to come up with our target audience for our film.

The first film we choose was “The Ring 2”. This is because both movies have similar conventions. The girls being imperil its similar to our thriller opening. Looking at the statistics  the film was mainly viewed by mainly female those aged between 15-24 which made “Pearl and Dean” make “The Ring 2” age certificate 15+ which meant only those of that age upwards will be attracted to this film.

“The Ring 2”

Genre: Horror / Mystery

Age Certificate 15+

Released: 1^st April 2005

The second film we choose was “One Missed Call”. It’s the remake of a Japanese horror film. It’s about several people start receiving phone calls with messages which include the date, time and some of details about their death. This film has a similar story line to our thriller opening as it’s about a young girl receiving phone calls & texts demanding her to do things or she will have to face very serious consequences. “Pearl and Dean” statistics show that the most attracted audience to this movie was those aged 15-24 as it had over 50% of the audience go and view the film which most of those where females.

“One Missed Call”

Genre: Horror / Mystery / Thriller

Age Certificate: 15+

Release date: 4^th April 2008

Age:                     %            Gender:              %        Class:        %

4-6                     0 %            Male :              46%       AB         22%

7-11                   0%             Female:           54%       C1          45%   

12-14                 0%                                                   C2          17%

15-24               54%                                                   DE          16%

25-34               38%        

35-44               12%

45+                   6%

“Pearl & Dean Analysis”

Overall from looking at both “The Ring 2” and “One Missed Call” we all decided as a group we were going to make our thriller opening a 15+. This is because looking at the provided statistics and the movies having similar conventions it would attract to that specific audience.  

Ø  15-24years

Ø  Female.

First Film Take

Our first film take we booked in the camera for the dates of 29^th March 2011 hopefully to have it finished before we broke up for half term on the 8^th April 2011.

29.03.2011

We started filming this day and managed to finish it all in one day. We started from 4pn until 8pm. Sharmain and Sandra did the filming and Kiran and Monica (someone we got to act for us) did the whole acting of the scene. Whilst Calesha did the photography.

30.03.2011

This was the day we got together as a group to watch the filming we had done and to see if it was up to standard and we didn’t have to re-film it again.

First Location & Characters In Action

Problems we faced

Location – The location we had chosen was not suitable for our opening. The times we went planning to do our filming it was packed full of the general public walking up and little children in the surroundingg area. 

Weather – It was very windy that day, so it was very to do the filming with all the noise occurring from the background. This was something we picked up when we played the filming and whilst trying to edit it. It was very difficult to cut out the background noise as the winds were very strong.

Actors/Props – One big problem we faced was the actors we had. They weren’t getting into the role of the specific characters they were playing which made it very difficult because if an audience was to sit down and watch the movie which is supposed to be a thriller and suppose to scare them it wouldn’t fit into that genre.

With all these different problem that we faced, we decided as a group we had to retake the moving the following weekend of the 1^st April 2011. We decided to change location to a much convenient place. We choose Greenwich Park. So with a new location and different people to act hopefully we wouldn’t face the same problems from previously filming.

Final Film Take

1.04.2011

We booked out the camera that day and as a group we sat down and discussed all the previous problems we had experienced and how we were going to change them including the changing of the location and deciding to film on the 2^nd April.(The following day)

2.04.2011

Due to weather problems and some members of the group not being able to make it we decided to cancel the filming onto the next day.

3.04.2011

We made our way to the park with all our equipment hoping to complete the filming in one day and get on with the editing in order to meet the deadlines that we were required to meet.

We set up and we started filming from round 6pm and we finished at 9pm. Which was very late but we were satisfied with what we had done.

Problems we faced

Lighting

We had a lighting problem as some scenes in our film were very dark as they were shot in the dark. This was due to the fact that we didn’t turn the “Night Mode” on so that when we watch it over again it would be clear and it wouldn’t be dark. The option that we were left with was to balance the brightness and contrast whilst the editing of putting the whole film together as it was too late to try and re-film the film again.

Weather

The weather was perfect, just that the winds were very strong again, so the only thing we could do was try to balance the background noise and the conversation happening between the characters. This was done during the editing of putting the whole film together.

One problem we faced was getting locked inside the park. So after finishing all this hard work of filming with the limited time we had to get outside the park we had no choice but to jump outside of the the park. We were so busy filming that we didn't realise  what the time was.

Getting stuck inside the park

 Filming

Setting up the tripod

Filming in action

Characters in action

(These pictures are of our final filming for our thriller openeing)

"The Call"