Tuesday, 29 November 2011
Focus Groups
After we had created our questionnaire, we had to think about our target audience. We had to do this through a focus group. As a group, we feel that our target audience will be aimed at 20-30 year olds, so in our focus group, we have decided to get together various teachers within our school as it would be most convenient.
Audience Profile Research
As a group, we all came with 5 individual questions that we would then feed back to the others, to determine which questions we would put into our questionnaire.
My questions were as follows:
1 - Where do you mostly watch films? (examples provided)
2 - From the list below, specify which types of media you tend to use (examples provided)
3 - Out of 10, (0=the lowest, 10= the highest), how often do you watch films? (with scale)
4 - Below, please state the main genre of film you prefer.
5 - Do you consider yourself to like films of the 'Thriller' genre?
[ ] Yes [ ] No
Why? Why not?
Here is a link to our actual questionnaire, once we had chosen the questions that we were going to include:
Click here to take survey
My questions were as follows:
1 - Where do you mostly watch films? (examples provided)
2 - From the list below, specify which types of media you tend to use (examples provided)
3 - Out of 10, (0=the lowest, 10= the highest), how often do you watch films? (with scale)
4 - Below, please state the main genre of film you prefer.
5 - Do you consider yourself to like films of the 'Thriller' genre?
[ ] Yes [ ] No
Why? Why not?
Here is a link to our actual questionnaire, once we had chosen the questions that we were going to include:
Click here to take survey
Thursday, 24 November 2011
Opening Sequence Analysis - Thriller Genre
As research, we have been given the task of watching 5 opening sequences in order to help us gain a better idea as to how we can develop our opening sequence when we begin to film.
This opening sequence does use some of the typical conventions of the Thriller Genre. For example, in the dialogue used at the beginning of the scene, the main character, who we assume is speaking, says "..in less than a year...I'll be dead..". This, from the very beginning leaves us on sort of a cliffhanger as it does not give any specific reasoning as to why he will be dead in a year, enticing the audience of this film to watch on and find this information out. Another convention used is the way in which the mood of the audience is played with straight away, by using death as an immediate topic within the monologue, which is very typical of this genre.
The dialogue used in the opening sequence is spoken in a fairly one-dimensional voice, giving a dull mood to the film from the very beginning. This use of dullness is reflected in the character, played by Kevin Spacey, as he is shown, through the camera angles/shots, Mise-en-Scene, Editing and SFX, which in this case is the soundtrack. The camera seems to mainly focus around the main characters and their actions, rather than the setting around them, which hints at the psychological side of the thriller genre, however, we are automatically shown the key setting of this opening from the very start with an establishing shot of the city in which Lester, the main character, lives. The first shot we see of Lester is when he's in bed. There is a use of a high angled shot looking down on him. This can already connote that he has no power within his life.
A key area that needs to be highlighted is the soundtrack that is played over the top of the whole opening sequence. It is a score created by Thomas Newman, which creates a really specific atmosphere, which is a simple, repetitive theme, picked up through the continuous xylophone chords, this possibly connoting the daily lifestyle of Lester's character.
American Beauty (1999)
Director: Sam Mendes
Writer: Alan Ball
Starring: Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch
This opening sequence does use some of the typical conventions of the Thriller Genre. For example, in the dialogue used at the beginning of the scene, the main character, who we assume is speaking, says "..in less than a year...I'll be dead..". This, from the very beginning leaves us on sort of a cliffhanger as it does not give any specific reasoning as to why he will be dead in a year, enticing the audience of this film to watch on and find this information out. Another convention used is the way in which the mood of the audience is played with straight away, by using death as an immediate topic within the monologue, which is very typical of this genre.
The dialogue used in the opening sequence is spoken in a fairly one-dimensional voice, giving a dull mood to the film from the very beginning. This use of dullness is reflected in the character, played by Kevin Spacey, as he is shown, through the camera angles/shots, Mise-en-Scene, Editing and SFX, which in this case is the soundtrack. The camera seems to mainly focus around the main characters and their actions, rather than the setting around them, which hints at the psychological side of the thriller genre, however, we are automatically shown the key setting of this opening from the very start with an establishing shot of the city in which Lester, the main character, lives. The first shot we see of Lester is when he's in bed. There is a use of a high angled shot looking down on him. This can already connote that he has no power within his life.
A key area that needs to be highlighted is the soundtrack that is played over the top of the whole opening sequence. It is a score created by Thomas Newman, which creates a really specific atmosphere, which is a simple, repetitive theme, picked up through the continuous xylophone chords, this possibly connoting the daily lifestyle of Lester's character.
SWOT Analysis of our Pitch/Treatment
After receiving constructive feedback from the rest of our peers, we needed to analyse our pitch using SWOT, which identifies our Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.
Strengths
The initial plot idea matched the conventions of the Thriller genre. Our idea is basic, not requiring any form of SFX e.g. explosions, making it much easier to edit later on after the filming stage. We were told that the plot will work due to the fact that it is character driven.
Weaknesses
The way in which our opening scene was planned to be filmed was 'too bland' and there was a big gap between the plot and how the opening scene would be filmed. We almost made the task too difficult to do, so we were suggested to slow the pace of the opening right down instead of having it fast paced.
Opportunities
We have the opportunity to film our opening scene in different areas local to us, which means that we all don't have to travel too far to film. We will be able to edit the planned use of various shot types after the filming stage.
Threats
We may not be able to find a suitable actor to play the character we wish to include within our opening scene. Filming in public may present itself to be quite a problem with other people that are in the area at that specific time.
Tuesday, 22 November 2011
Treatment Feedback
We pitched our initial opening scene idea to the other groups and teachers within our class. From this, we were given constructive feedback on how we can improve our idea.
We were told that the plot of our thriller was good and that it matched the conventions of our genre. However, the way in which we decided to film our opening to the film needed to be thought about again. This is because the idea seemed to be 'too bland' and needed to be a little more interesting to match our genre. Also, because the actual plot of the film was good, we chose to include a fast chase opening, however within the feedback, we were given the idea that maybe we need to make it a little more simple and slower, which we have now decided to take into consideration when we re-think our opening scene.
So, now, we are re-thinking and re-writing our opening scene, making it much slower and simple than our previous idea, trying to use inspiration from other thriller films to spark more ideas for us, such as 'Lost In Translation' and 'American Beauty'.
We were told that the plot of our thriller was good and that it matched the conventions of our genre. However, the way in which we decided to film our opening to the film needed to be thought about again. This is because the idea seemed to be 'too bland' and needed to be a little more interesting to match our genre. Also, because the actual plot of the film was good, we chose to include a fast chase opening, however within the feedback, we were given the idea that maybe we need to make it a little more simple and slower, which we have now decided to take into consideration when we re-think our opening scene.
So, now, we are re-thinking and re-writing our opening scene, making it much slower and simple than our previous idea, trying to use inspiration from other thriller films to spark more ideas for us, such as 'Lost In Translation' and 'American Beauty'.
Monday, 14 November 2011
Genre Convention Research: Peer Assessment Feedback
For our homework, we were given the task of writing 3 opening scenes for our own concept of a Gangster Movie. In this, we had to keep 5 of the original concepts of a Gangster movie as well as changing 1 thing to show that we've changed the normal style of the genre.
The 5 key features that I plan to keep are:
- Characters wear suits
- Keep in the theme of violence
- Main Characters are male
- Include dialogue that starts to set the main theme of the film
- Keep the main used colours black and white.
To make it my own, I would change the following:
- Instead of settling gang wars over gunfights, each individual gang take part in a football tournament.
To expand on this idea, the teams would still try to stick the the original colour schemes, however his would be hard to do due to the fact that there will not be a clear distinction between different teams. To keep this idea within the Gangster genre, there would be a crowd around the pitch, set somewhere dark and secluded from the real world, that had drug dealing, illegal betting and V.I.P seating for the owners of the team.
I made up 3 different opening scenes to go along with this genre:
Opening Scene 1
At the very start, there is a black background with white writing, showing the name of the state/city that the film is mainly based within and during what time period. Then, the voice of the main character will provide dialogue on top of footage showing the city from above. The dialogue will be setting the scene and giving a brief history on the warfare corrupting the city.
Opening Scene 2
The second opening starts as a flashback. There is a Birds-Eye-View of the city before zooming into a back alley. From there, the main character, who at this stage is a young boy, is introduced hiding behind some boxes. He witnesses a gang interrogate and kill a traitor to the 'family'. Just as they are about to leave, the gang leader spots the young boy and says that he'll be back for him when he is older. We are then brought back into the present time period, where the main character, now much older, is part of the gang that he witnessed kill that traitor.
Opening Scene 3
Scene 3 starts in a dark room, with only a desk, forearms and hands, of the gang leader, lit by light. There are also other characters in the room with him, however thay are not shown, there voices are the only giveaway. The gang leader then moves forward into the light, so his face is revealed, delivering a key one-liner before the screen fades into black. Throughout this scene, there is a slow zoom towards the desk and the gang leader.
In my feedback, I was told that Opening Scene 2 was the better idea of the trhee. This is because it was an original and unique idea that none of those in my group had seen in any film previous. Also, I was told that there was an imaginative use of various camera shots and angles, meaning that the audience would find my opening sequence a little more intriguing to watch. The other two scenes seemed to include too much simular features that were seen in films such as The Godfather, that being the reason as to why Opening Scene 2 was chosen as my better scene.
The 5 key features that I plan to keep are:
- Characters wear suits
- Keep in the theme of violence
- Main Characters are male
- Include dialogue that starts to set the main theme of the film
- Keep the main used colours black and white.
To make it my own, I would change the following:
- Instead of settling gang wars over gunfights, each individual gang take part in a football tournament.
To expand on this idea, the teams would still try to stick the the original colour schemes, however his would be hard to do due to the fact that there will not be a clear distinction between different teams. To keep this idea within the Gangster genre, there would be a crowd around the pitch, set somewhere dark and secluded from the real world, that had drug dealing, illegal betting and V.I.P seating for the owners of the team.
I made up 3 different opening scenes to go along with this genre:
Opening Scene 1
At the very start, there is a black background with white writing, showing the name of the state/city that the film is mainly based within and during what time period. Then, the voice of the main character will provide dialogue on top of footage showing the city from above. The dialogue will be setting the scene and giving a brief history on the warfare corrupting the city.
Opening Scene 2
The second opening starts as a flashback. There is a Birds-Eye-View of the city before zooming into a back alley. From there, the main character, who at this stage is a young boy, is introduced hiding behind some boxes. He witnesses a gang interrogate and kill a traitor to the 'family'. Just as they are about to leave, the gang leader spots the young boy and says that he'll be back for him when he is older. We are then brought back into the present time period, where the main character, now much older, is part of the gang that he witnessed kill that traitor.
Opening Scene 3
Scene 3 starts in a dark room, with only a desk, forearms and hands, of the gang leader, lit by light. There are also other characters in the room with him, however thay are not shown, there voices are the only giveaway. The gang leader then moves forward into the light, so his face is revealed, delivering a key one-liner before the screen fades into black. Throughout this scene, there is a slow zoom towards the desk and the gang leader.
In my feedback, I was told that Opening Scene 2 was the better idea of the trhee. This is because it was an original and unique idea that none of those in my group had seen in any film previous. Also, I was told that there was an imaginative use of various camera shots and angles, meaning that the audience would find my opening sequence a little more intriguing to watch. The other two scenes seemed to include too much simular features that were seen in films such as The Godfather, that being the reason as to why Opening Scene 2 was chosen as my better scene.
Thursday, 10 November 2011
Evaluation Of Prelim
Due to absence, I did not have a specific role within the filming and editing stages of the prelim task, however, I was able to give constructive feedback to my group during the final stages of the editing phase, suggesting possible improvements to what they had already created in my absence. When I come onto completing the main task, I will make sure that I get involved much more and take up a specific role in both the filming and editing stages. I feel confident that the brief was met by my group during this prelim task and I understand that the tasks outlined within the brief were met also.
Below, you can clearly see the use of a 180 degree rule within the footage:
Over the shoulder of one character...
...And then over the shoulder of the other character!
Here, you can also see the use of Match-On-Action within the footage:
Walks through the door...
..And enters the room on the other side!
The Match-On-Action could have been made a little more clearer however. This could have been shown by filming her closing the door on the other side, which shows a clearer sense of this feature as well as helping the audience to fully identify that she has entered a new section of setting within the footage. The group decided to plan before going out to film. This was done in a storyboard form. Each individual shot is put together very well and blends in nicely, however there were some shots that the ASD could have been shortened slightly, highlighting the part where she walks into the room and towards the other character. Overall, I feel that the group has worked well on the prelim task and have stuck to the brief successfully.
Below, you can clearly see the use of a 180 degree rule within the footage:
Over the shoulder of one character...
...And then over the shoulder of the other character!
Here, you can also see the use of Match-On-Action within the footage:
Walks through the door...
..And enters the room on the other side!
The Match-On-Action could have been made a little more clearer however. This could have been shown by filming her closing the door on the other side, which shows a clearer sense of this feature as well as helping the audience to fully identify that she has entered a new section of setting within the footage. The group decided to plan before going out to film. This was done in a storyboard form. Each individual shot is put together very well and blends in nicely, however there were some shots that the ASD could have been shortened slightly, highlighting the part where she walks into the room and towards the other character. Overall, I feel that the group has worked well on the prelim task and have stuck to the brief successfully.
Monday, 7 November 2011
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