Friday, 24 April 2009
No Country For Old Men
Before the film No Country For Old Men a few of the actors names are shown over a panning shot showing deselate land and a black screen, there are vew more shot similar to this of the surrounding fields with barb wire and mountins. The light of the opening is very dim due to the sun still rising. The first shot of people is a police man aresting a person in the middle of a empty highway also carrying a weird contratption the shots used in this sequence ranges from long to medium to a close up of the contraption on the passengers seat in the frount of the police mens car. The next shot used is a crane shot of the car driving into the distance, we are left to wonder what the contration is and what it has been used for.
Props and Costumes
The main characters in our thriller opening are teenagers therefore they should be wearing clothes similar to the ones they normally wear. Things like jeans t-shirt and hoodie are common items for teenagers to wear. This will help keep it as realistic as we can. As it is winter whilst we are filming coats are likely to be worn over the top but again these should be similar to the ones worn everyday by pour teenagers.
We need to make Dan look like a game keeper obviously because this is his part and the main point of the thriller. To do this he will be wearing an Barbour coat and old jeans which we feel will fit in well with the clothing a game keeper would wear as when we googled it this is what we found in pictures. As well as this he will be wearing a hat to make him seem more mysterious.
We used different props for our thriller, but we used 4 main props which we kept simple and easily accessible. The four main props we used were a farmer's coat, a pillow, a picnic basket and a plastic gun.
We used the farmer's wax coat as Dan was a Grounds Keeper and needed to look like one. We didn't think that Dan looked old enough to be a keeper and therefore we put him into this coat to give him an 'aged' look. The pillow we used was to make Dan look larger around the stomach! We felt this was a stereotypical keeper and so we made sure the character was a 'stock' character.
The plastic gun was used to simulate a real gun as obviously it would be inappropriate and illegal to use a real one! The picnic basket is an idea that came about after we changed our mind about the rave. Therefore, it is what teenagers could do in a forest therefore making the film more realistic.We lastly used the most influential prop: the pheasants. They are usually associated with a farmer or a farming family. This gave is the inspiration for the rest of the props.
We need to make Dan look like a game keeper obviously because this is his part and the main point of the thriller. To do this he will be wearing an Barbour coat and old jeans which we feel will fit in well with the clothing a game keeper would wear as when we googled it this is what we found in pictures. As well as this he will be wearing a hat to make him seem more mysterious.
We used different props for our thriller, but we used 4 main props which we kept simple and easily accessible. The four main props we used were a farmer's coat, a pillow, a picnic basket and a plastic gun.
We used the farmer's wax coat as Dan was a Grounds Keeper and needed to look like one. We didn't think that Dan looked old enough to be a keeper and therefore we put him into this coat to give him an 'aged' look. The pillow we used was to make Dan look larger around the stomach! We felt this was a stereotypical keeper and so we made sure the character was a 'stock' character.
The plastic gun was used to simulate a real gun as obviously it would be inappropriate and illegal to use a real one! The picnic basket is an idea that came about after we changed our mind about the rave. Therefore, it is what teenagers could do in a forest therefore making the film more realistic.We lastly used the most influential prop: the pheasants. They are usually associated with a farmer or a farming family. This gave is the inspiration for the rest of the props.
Wednesday, 22 April 2009
Thriller Film Location
We only used one main loacation for the filming of our thriller but due to the weather we had a covering of frost on the ground.We used the main field for the running scenes. And the shots were the girls are having there picnic it is shot in a enclosed part of the woods.We used the loacation to a huge exstent from the panning shots at the begining to the close up of the girls having there picnic. We used Poringland Woods because we thought it was a conventional keeper's land and land much like the land featured in thrillers such as Don't Look Now and Blair Witch Project.
Tuesday, 7 April 2009
Thriller Evaluation
Thriller Evaluation
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
I felt that our media product challenged forms and conventions of real media products by being influenced by unconventional thrillers such as No Country for Old Men and The Blair Witch Project.
We set our piece in one location, which offered a wide range of different types of shots such as a wide panning shots and use of close ups through trees. Wide panning shots are very generic to films such as No Country for Old Men and Psycho. The panning shot gives a sense of freedom compared with the next shot which is in a wooded area that gives the feeling of entrapment. The Blair Witch Project influenced our film by using the wooded scenes throughout our media project to increase the feel of entrapment and suspense. During one of our scenes ‘The Keeper’ is looking out at two teenagers. To increase the suspense we added an effect called ghosting which lays over the same images but moves them slightly to give the effect of a ghost image. This gives the character the effect of mystery and suspicion. Panning shots and long shots were inspired by the film No Country for Old Men.
The utilisation of low contrast shots and quick editing increase the tensions and suspense throughout the media product. Mise-en-scene in our media production was inspired by the country around the wooded area. Because we filmed in Norfolk we decided that the main character ‘The Keeper’ should dress like a farmer to keep with the opening panning shots and the closing panning shots across fields.
The two girls at the start of the film were to represent the voice over when it says “I don’t like outsiders leaving the rubbish” because they are sitting there eating a picnic and when they hear the gun shot they get up and run, leaving all their stuff. When ‘The Keeper’ turns up you see him running as if he is going after the two girls. He goes up to their picnic basket and looks in and steals something. You see him pick something up it is not clear exactly what it is. This is done to increase the suspense in the film.
We increase the suspense in the last scene by having ‘The Keeper’ running into the field after the two girls, then cutting to a panning shot showing an empty field, leaving the audience uncertain what has happened, a cliff hanger if you like.
Another factor linking our film to the thriller genre is by employing tension building music. At the same time we break the convention by having erratic tension building music. By having a mixture because at times, the music will be going at a high tempo and at other times it will be going slow. Also, towards the end of the last scene we added another audio effect called low past, which gave the effect of being played through an old type radio.
Our media production doesn’t break any codes or conventions but stretches the boundaries somewhat.
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
Our thriller may represent the social groups of teenage girls and farmers. This is emphasised by having two teenage girls enjoying a picnic, chatting, laughing and giggling to themselves. The girls are dressed in modern clothing. The male character is not featured much which is designed to create an air of mystery surrounding him. When he is in shot he is wearing a green jacket which connotes typical farmer attire, but you don’t know if he is a villain or a victim, until the shot of him pulling a gun out. The film could also represent two different social classes. The farmer, being a possessive upper class land owner, possibly afraid of change. Whereas the girls could come from working or middle class backgrounds, with little or no respect for the countryside. Alternatively our media product could just portray a generation gap between the main characters. The girls are portrayed as teenagers where as the farmers is portrayed as much older. It is possible that the two girls are from the city, unused to the country code, the farmer a typical country man, fed up with people trespassing. This would introduce another two social groups into the mix.
Different people may see different social groups in our media product, because people will view it from an alternative prospective.
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
Our media production is an alternative thriller, as the narrative has elements of originality. It is very hard to get funding for films of independent British origin. However companies such as Warp films are renowned for working with pioneering film makers and distributing alternative films. If our film gets recognised by Warp Film we may get noticed by companies such as Film Four to offer funding.
However, due to the economic situation at the present time it may be hard to get financing because companies may be more reluctant to offer funding. If funded by Film Four or such other organisations I think that our film may be shown at exhibitions in Europe and at art house cinemas. Although funded by Film Four or other similar bodies, I don’t think that it would get recognised by the big American distributors. The American market also likes to attach well known names to their output in order to increase the commercial appeal. I therefore, don’t think that it would get distributed across America.
Social networking sites such as Myspace.com and Facebook.com can be used as a distribution method. An example of this method is the company ‘Hammer.’ Hammer released their new film, Beyond the Rave, on myspace.com as a series which subsequently got released on DVD as a film. The producers generated a lot of hype, exploiting the popularity of social networking sites like myspace.com. With new technology evolving all the time, this creates a potential audience who could watch clips of our film on portable media such as laptops and iPods.
Who would be the audience of your media product?
Ideally, the film would target a wide demographic i.e. appeals to a wide age range and social groupings. Being a thriller, featuring young protagonists, our film tends to attract a younger age group. I think that the type of audience which will be attracted to our film will be art house goers and people who are attracted to see new film makers. The demographic age is 15 to 25. Our film could appeal to both men and women because of the use of both sexes as strong character positions.
Other thrillers our target audience may enjoy would be ‘No Country for Old Men,’ and ‘The Blair Witch Project’. I think that the audience who went to see ‘No Country for Old Men’ would have been impressed by the cinematography used in the opening scenes. The scene employed use of opening panning shots. I have tried to get the same effect by emulating the opening scene from ‘No Country for Old Men.’ My film opens in a wood, thereby drawing comparisons with the Blair Witch Project.
To summarise, I would like to think that the media product has appeal to a wider demographic than the one I have indicated above. Most film makers, for commercial reasons, seek to achieve this.
How did you attract/address your audience?
As stated above, our film would appeal primarily to an audience with a demographic between 15 to 25 years. We addressed our audience through the soundtrack and mise-en-scene. The music is generated from one of our close friends which is designed to build tension and suspense.
Narrative is a good tool for attracting, addressing and informing an audience. I employed the use of narrative in my film.
I did not send out a questionnaire but I did have a viewing of my film with a group of friends. After the viewing of the film I asked them for their comments and observations and these are as follows:
“I liked the use of panning shots and the quick cutting from scene to scene and the tension building music kept me wanting to know more.”
“I liked the way that the editing is used to keep you watching, hoping to find out what is going to happen next. Also, the way that the panning shot at the end is used to show the disappearance of the girls and the villain at the end.”
“I felt the film created an atmosphere of menace and foreboding.”
“There is a voiceover but no dialogue (non diegetic). It would have been nice to learn a bit more about the characters by hearing their voices.”
The above were just a selection of the comments I got back.
What have you learnt about technology from the process of constructing this product?
Due to a lack of input from the other members of my team, I was forced to learn a lot about the technical side of producing a film. This included production and editing, learning how to use a video camera and the equipment which goes along with the camera such as tripods. I also learned how to set up the tripod so we can get correct angles for the different shots e.g. tilt shots.
On the Digital cameras, I learnt how to shoot and how to import footage on to Adobe Premiere from the camera. I learnt how to zoom smoothly and employ a variety of camera angles to create tilt shots, close ups and smooth panning shots and editing, sequencing shots so they run smoothly. I also added effects so that the music would run smoothly, making sure there were no jumps from one note to another. By adding effects on the film line you can change from different shots to another shot without difference in the scenery. The techniques used in editing included the ghost effect, cross fades and dips to black.
We learnt that it is important to shoot more footage than you need in each of the same shots. This allows you to pick the best quality shot without any unnecessary objects and accidental shakes or camera jolts. Editing was where I felt I had personally learnt the most as the input from the rest of the group was minimal. I used the programme, 'Adobe Premier Elements 1.0'. This was a completely new program to me and I found it was necessary to use cross fades and dips to black to make our work flowing and smooth. Also, using the audio affects became totally necessary due to the length of out track and having the voice over running above the music. I had to use low and high pass and fade out to make sure that the audio ran perfectly along the video and voice over.
Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
Looking back at the preliminary task I found it very useful to show how we had to keep to certain camera techniques such as match on action, 180 degree rule and over shoulder shot. Also, the amount of planning which is necessary became very apparent. It also introduced us to story boarding, the plot of the story, and how to actually story board i.e. the type of shot you are using and what is happening in the shot.
The planning and construction of the thriller involved far more preparation such as casting the characters, planning all aspects of mise-en-scene, planning a narrative, choosing an appropriate soundtrack and adding titles. Using the blog for the preliminary task helped me prepare us for our thriller work. Although I used a blog, I would have preferred to use the traditional method of handing in coursework as hard copies. The media production has taught me how important it is to engage with the members in the group and to talk through any problems that may exist. The title of our media production was a last minute thing because we had problems with editing and our computer’s tendency to freeze. In the end it was the filming that I enjoyed the most. The filming was where we all worked together as a team and it was enjoyable gathering the raw footage and scouting out and working on the location.
Daniel Howard
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
I felt that our media product challenged forms and conventions of real media products by being influenced by unconventional thrillers such as No Country for Old Men and The Blair Witch Project.
We set our piece in one location, which offered a wide range of different types of shots such as a wide panning shots and use of close ups through trees. Wide panning shots are very generic to films such as No Country for Old Men and Psycho. The panning shot gives a sense of freedom compared with the next shot which is in a wooded area that gives the feeling of entrapment. The Blair Witch Project influenced our film by using the wooded scenes throughout our media project to increase the feel of entrapment and suspense. During one of our scenes ‘The Keeper’ is looking out at two teenagers. To increase the suspense we added an effect called ghosting which lays over the same images but moves them slightly to give the effect of a ghost image. This gives the character the effect of mystery and suspicion. Panning shots and long shots were inspired by the film No Country for Old Men.
The utilisation of low contrast shots and quick editing increase the tensions and suspense throughout the media product. Mise-en-scene in our media production was inspired by the country around the wooded area. Because we filmed in Norfolk we decided that the main character ‘The Keeper’ should dress like a farmer to keep with the opening panning shots and the closing panning shots across fields.
The two girls at the start of the film were to represent the voice over when it says “I don’t like outsiders leaving the rubbish” because they are sitting there eating a picnic and when they hear the gun shot they get up and run, leaving all their stuff. When ‘The Keeper’ turns up you see him running as if he is going after the two girls. He goes up to their picnic basket and looks in and steals something. You see him pick something up it is not clear exactly what it is. This is done to increase the suspense in the film.
We increase the suspense in the last scene by having ‘The Keeper’ running into the field after the two girls, then cutting to a panning shot showing an empty field, leaving the audience uncertain what has happened, a cliff hanger if you like.
Another factor linking our film to the thriller genre is by employing tension building music. At the same time we break the convention by having erratic tension building music. By having a mixture because at times, the music will be going at a high tempo and at other times it will be going slow. Also, towards the end of the last scene we added another audio effect called low past, which gave the effect of being played through an old type radio.
Our media production doesn’t break any codes or conventions but stretches the boundaries somewhat.
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
Our thriller may represent the social groups of teenage girls and farmers. This is emphasised by having two teenage girls enjoying a picnic, chatting, laughing and giggling to themselves. The girls are dressed in modern clothing. The male character is not featured much which is designed to create an air of mystery surrounding him. When he is in shot he is wearing a green jacket which connotes typical farmer attire, but you don’t know if he is a villain or a victim, until the shot of him pulling a gun out. The film could also represent two different social classes. The farmer, being a possessive upper class land owner, possibly afraid of change. Whereas the girls could come from working or middle class backgrounds, with little or no respect for the countryside. Alternatively our media product could just portray a generation gap between the main characters. The girls are portrayed as teenagers where as the farmers is portrayed as much older. It is possible that the two girls are from the city, unused to the country code, the farmer a typical country man, fed up with people trespassing. This would introduce another two social groups into the mix.
Different people may see different social groups in our media product, because people will view it from an alternative prospective.
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
Our media production is an alternative thriller, as the narrative has elements of originality. It is very hard to get funding for films of independent British origin. However companies such as Warp films are renowned for working with pioneering film makers and distributing alternative films. If our film gets recognised by Warp Film we may get noticed by companies such as Film Four to offer funding.
However, due to the economic situation at the present time it may be hard to get financing because companies may be more reluctant to offer funding. If funded by Film Four or such other organisations I think that our film may be shown at exhibitions in Europe and at art house cinemas. Although funded by Film Four or other similar bodies, I don’t think that it would get recognised by the big American distributors. The American market also likes to attach well known names to their output in order to increase the commercial appeal. I therefore, don’t think that it would get distributed across America.
Social networking sites such as Myspace.com and Facebook.com can be used as a distribution method. An example of this method is the company ‘Hammer.’ Hammer released their new film, Beyond the Rave, on myspace.com as a series which subsequently got released on DVD as a film. The producers generated a lot of hype, exploiting the popularity of social networking sites like myspace.com. With new technology evolving all the time, this creates a potential audience who could watch clips of our film on portable media such as laptops and iPods.
Who would be the audience of your media product?
Ideally, the film would target a wide demographic i.e. appeals to a wide age range and social groupings. Being a thriller, featuring young protagonists, our film tends to attract a younger age group. I think that the type of audience which will be attracted to our film will be art house goers and people who are attracted to see new film makers. The demographic age is 15 to 25. Our film could appeal to both men and women because of the use of both sexes as strong character positions.
Other thrillers our target audience may enjoy would be ‘No Country for Old Men,’ and ‘The Blair Witch Project’. I think that the audience who went to see ‘No Country for Old Men’ would have been impressed by the cinematography used in the opening scenes. The scene employed use of opening panning shots. I have tried to get the same effect by emulating the opening scene from ‘No Country for Old Men.’ My film opens in a wood, thereby drawing comparisons with the Blair Witch Project.
To summarise, I would like to think that the media product has appeal to a wider demographic than the one I have indicated above. Most film makers, for commercial reasons, seek to achieve this.
How did you attract/address your audience?
As stated above, our film would appeal primarily to an audience with a demographic between 15 to 25 years. We addressed our audience through the soundtrack and mise-en-scene. The music is generated from one of our close friends which is designed to build tension and suspense.
Narrative is a good tool for attracting, addressing and informing an audience. I employed the use of narrative in my film.
I did not send out a questionnaire but I did have a viewing of my film with a group of friends. After the viewing of the film I asked them for their comments and observations and these are as follows:
“I liked the use of panning shots and the quick cutting from scene to scene and the tension building music kept me wanting to know more.”
“I liked the way that the editing is used to keep you watching, hoping to find out what is going to happen next. Also, the way that the panning shot at the end is used to show the disappearance of the girls and the villain at the end.”
“I felt the film created an atmosphere of menace and foreboding.”
“There is a voiceover but no dialogue (non diegetic). It would have been nice to learn a bit more about the characters by hearing their voices.”
The above were just a selection of the comments I got back.
What have you learnt about technology from the process of constructing this product?
Due to a lack of input from the other members of my team, I was forced to learn a lot about the technical side of producing a film. This included production and editing, learning how to use a video camera and the equipment which goes along with the camera such as tripods. I also learned how to set up the tripod so we can get correct angles for the different shots e.g. tilt shots.
On the Digital cameras, I learnt how to shoot and how to import footage on to Adobe Premiere from the camera. I learnt how to zoom smoothly and employ a variety of camera angles to create tilt shots, close ups and smooth panning shots and editing, sequencing shots so they run smoothly. I also added effects so that the music would run smoothly, making sure there were no jumps from one note to another. By adding effects on the film line you can change from different shots to another shot without difference in the scenery. The techniques used in editing included the ghost effect, cross fades and dips to black.
We learnt that it is important to shoot more footage than you need in each of the same shots. This allows you to pick the best quality shot without any unnecessary objects and accidental shakes or camera jolts. Editing was where I felt I had personally learnt the most as the input from the rest of the group was minimal. I used the programme, 'Adobe Premier Elements 1.0'. This was a completely new program to me and I found it was necessary to use cross fades and dips to black to make our work flowing and smooth. Also, using the audio affects became totally necessary due to the length of out track and having the voice over running above the music. I had to use low and high pass and fade out to make sure that the audio ran perfectly along the video and voice over.
Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
Looking back at the preliminary task I found it very useful to show how we had to keep to certain camera techniques such as match on action, 180 degree rule and over shoulder shot. Also, the amount of planning which is necessary became very apparent. It also introduced us to story boarding, the plot of the story, and how to actually story board i.e. the type of shot you are using and what is happening in the shot.
The planning and construction of the thriller involved far more preparation such as casting the characters, planning all aspects of mise-en-scene, planning a narrative, choosing an appropriate soundtrack and adding titles. Using the blog for the preliminary task helped me prepare us for our thriller work. Although I used a blog, I would have preferred to use the traditional method of handing in coursework as hard copies. The media production has taught me how important it is to engage with the members in the group and to talk through any problems that may exist. The title of our media production was a last minute thing because we had problems with editing and our computer’s tendency to freeze. In the end it was the filming that I enjoyed the most. The filming was where we all worked together as a team and it was enjoyable gathering the raw footage and scouting out and working on the location.
Daniel Howard
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