New Cinematography

For our opening two minutes, we have a rough idea of the sort of shots and editing techniques we will be using to make the two minutes of footage as successful and effective as possible.

In the scenes of our protagonist running, we plan to use:

· Tracking shot
· Medium shot
· Long shot
· Close up
· Eye-line Match
· Pull Focus
· Point of View shot
· High Angle

These are our plans for the types of shot we wish to use, however when filming this may not materialise due to practicality and the image of the shots. We believe using a tracking shot while the protagonist is running is an ideal shot for when someone is mobile. It allows the audience to follow the route and direction, and understand where the runner is aiming to end up at. This may prove difficult thought because due to previous experiences, we do find that proceeding with a tracking shot is hard to make it successful due to our low skill level, plus the speed of which the runner is running out makes it hard to smoothly follow her. A long shot is evidently easy to use, and we are planning to use it regularly, this is because it is a simple procedure, but works effectively, producing a dynamic image, including the understanding which we aim to portray for the audience. A medium shot and close up shot are both challenging shots to carry out, however we have used these shots for a snippet of the first scene, and despite them being slightly shaky, they work effectively, meeting our aims. An eye-line match may be an unusual choice of technique to use, especially when someone is on the move, however we are planning to use it when our protagonist comes to a halt and starts measuring her pulse, we believe this will add to the tension because it gives the audience a false scare that someone may be in the woods. Pull focus is tricky to use when our camera is not a specialised hi-tech piece of equipment. However we are willing to attempt to follow through with it successfully from behind a few branches, originally concentrating on the branches and then pulling the focus to a shallow focus.

The shots we aren’t planning on using:

· Extreme close up
· Low angle
· Birds – eye view shot
· Two shot

The reasoning for not using these shots is apparent, especially for the type of action which is going to be taken place. For a girl running in the woods, a two-shot is not applicable due to their only being one character present. A birds-eye view shot is not available for our whole opening two minutes due to the cost and the availability. The low angle shot will hopefully be used later on in the film, however for our runner we want to portray her vulnerability through a high-angle shot, not a low-angle shot which would make her look powerful. An extreme-close up is an incredibly challenging shot to convey because the steadiness of the camera will not be of a decent level, and the constant movement of our protagonist would mean that the framing of the shot would not work.

Research and Planning Provisional Mark

You need to revisit research posts and explore further target audience, editing, mise en scene, locations, camera compostition, sound, light, use of titles, genre indicators, key moments. Create an animatic using your storyboard materials and comments on its strengths - this is key. You need to evidence your music research and choices. Post on the history of your genre. Make sure you haven't posted something without commenting on it fully. Evidence your timetabling. 17/20

Font ideas analysis

 

Titles and font types are incredibly important for an opening two minutes of a film, they help convey the correct image for the genre and they should fit in with the codes and conventions of the genre. Having 3 sub-genres for our opening two minutes, it has been difficult to decide on a suitable font which will express the accurate emotions which we believe the audience should be feeling. Having observed and analysed titles and fonts of other films similar to our genres, it has become clear that having white font on a black background will be appropriate for our opening two minutes. However that it is only for the title, we also need to take into consideration about the text which will appear over the picture when playing, such as, the producers and the actors, which should smoothly enter and exit.

The three images of fonts above are just trial fonts which we have put together so we can try and visualise what it will look like. The font at the top is called VTK DESGASTE, we were attracted to this font because it is incredibly bold and eye capturing, it is also a fairly simplistic font which is useful because it wouldn’t be too overbearing for the audience while viewing. However, even though we agreed it is a simplistic font, it is not too boring or subdued because of the destructive pattern at the bottom of each letter. This helps add the mystical yet adventurous edge to it, without being a plain bold font. However we need to take into consideration whether this font will be suitable to use for the minor information as well as the title because we need to keep the continuity going. We believe that despite this font being suitable for the title, we do not think it will be appropriate for the other information being portrayed because the lettering will be too thick and bold which may mean that it will not be readable for the audience. However the VTK DESGASTE font is definitely an option for our title.

The second font below is called Google Spies, which is very similar to the VTK DESGASTE font because it follows the same ideology of the boldness and thickness of the lettering. We prefer this lettering much more due to the distressed slash marks across the different letters, produced in a disorderly way which is synchronised with our antagonist behaviour. Even though this may not be an obvious interpretation for the audience, we still believe it is an important yet clever pattern to take into consideration. The shaping of the letters are far more curved which could be seen as more feminine, however this is only compared to the first font. The spikes poking our of the letters contrast with the curviness of the lettering and it fits in well with the crime feature of pain and death through the rough edges. The font looks far more rough and messy compared to a neat, thoughtful font, this sort of pattern and shape is what we are looking for and would be ideal for our title font. However, the same sort of problem with this font as with the VTK DESGASTE is that it will not look right with the other information we aim to produce over the top of the film.

The final font is called Piston Pressure which is simply just plain and bold, this could be seen as an advantage because it would be noticeable wherever used, however there are not interesting components which will make it an attractive font to look at. We decided not to use this font however it is useful to observe and analyse the pros and cons about it so it helps us outweigh any decisions. Due to the font being incredibly crude, it makes it difficult for the audience to guess at what genre our film would be without viewing the opening two minutes.

Having looked at these three different fonts, it has helped us become aware of the importance of continuity for our film, the first two fonts are ideal and would help capture the criminalist theme we aim to portray, however the negatives are that we can not use it for the other information which comes at a downfall.

 

Prop Research

We have decided to feature a newspaper in our opening scene, and we are aiming to include a picture of our protagonist is we can successfully make it look realistic. We are doing this in order to follow the stereotypes of our chosen genres and make the crime look premeditated. We want to do this as we hope it will add to the tension of the film, and make it more exciting for the audience to watch as it will suggest that the antagonist is experiences and so creates enigmas and builds tension within the audience. We plan to feature the newspaper before the abduction takes place, to give a bit of background knowledge and help to unravel the plot to aid the audience with their understanding.

We have also chosen to feature a black brief case as part of the costume for our main investigator. We chose this because we want to make the investigator look sophisticated and make it clear to the audience that he is an authoritative figure that is respected and in control of the situation. It conforms to the stereotypes of the types of genres we are focusing on, especially crime as it sets the investigators apart from the general public/rest of the public, almost making the investigating team look a different class or above the rest, making them look superior. From our research, we have found this helps the audience trust the investigators, which makes the film more interesting as it evokes emotion from the audience.

To add to the premeditated, planned theme we are hoping to present in the opening scene, we are going to feature a read pen in which the antagonist will circle around a girl's face in a newspaper. We wanted to include this as it will catch the audience's attention, and produce enigmas as the plot unravels. It will add to the negative theme that surrounds the antagonist as it will make the audience feel slightly unnerved and uncomfortable, suggesting he is up to something suspicious. We think this follows the conventions of abduction films as it implies the antagonist is well practised and has taken part in unlawful activities before, causing the audience to form a disliking to him.

Our protagonist will be listening to an iPod through classic white apple headphones. We have chosen to feature these as it introduces the audience to the characters background, suggesting she is of the middle/upper class. It is also a common appliance making it easier for the audience to relate to the character, which would then contribute to making the film more interesting and helping to gage the audience's attention. We also aim to make the protagonist look like a stereotypical teenager, and so we think featuring the music and headphones will aid this as it is very typical for teenagers to be engaged in their own world and oblivious to their surroundings. We think this will help to make the film more dramatic and build tension as the protagonist will appear more vulnerable and at risk.

We hope to feature a car parked on gravel in our opening scene. We will portray the car through a low angle shot, meaning only the bottom and wheels will be seen. We have chosen to feature the car in this way as it adds to the tension and themes of our opening scene, keeping identities hidden. We also want to focus the audience's attention more on the sound of the antagonist walking over the gravel and his footsteps. Again, the antagonist will be featured through a low angle shot in order to create enigmas and keep his identity hidden, with the car being secondary in the shot.

We have chosen to use a pin board in our opening scene, which we aim to feature in the detective scenes. We have chosen to use this type of board as it conforms to the stereotypes of crime/detective genres and so we hope it will make our film seen more realistic and professional. Using this board will introduce the detective characters and their surroundings to the audience, and we hope it will emphasise the importance of the case. On this board will be pictures of other teenage girls which will have also been involved in cases of abductions, adding to the tension and suspense of the film as it will highlight the seriousness of the situation.

Equipment

Fujifilm FinePix HS10

10 Megapixel BS1 CMOS sensor with 3 inch tilting LCD and 30 x optical zoom 28mm - 720 wide angle lens

Triple Image Stabilisation with up to ISO 6400

High Definition Image capture at 16:9 and Video capture with stereo sound at 1080p with HDMI output

Multi modes including high speed continuous shooting, Pro low light, Motion Panorama Mode and Motion Remover Mode.

 Manual photographic controlsThis is the camera which we will be using to film our opening two minutes with. It is my personal camera which I use a lot of the time to capture different events and it has never disappointed me. I thought this camera will work well for our opening two minutes because I know roughly all of the settings available and how to monitor it. It films in full HD, which should make the image quality look decent. The zoom is very good, meaning we would be able to shoot from a distance and still have the picture at a good quality. Despite the camera being rather heavy, it is still manageable.
Adobe Premiere Elements
Adobe Premiere Elements is a video editing software application for nonlinear video editing, published by Adobe Systems. It is a scaled-down version of the professional-level Adobe Premiere Pro, and is tailored to new editors. The entry screen offers clip organization, editing and auto-movie generation options. Premiere Pro project files are not compatible with Premiere Pro projects.
The main use of it for our group is the cutting and the split clip devices however we haven’t
 ventured through the other facilities because of the genre we have chosen, thriller doesn’t use many effect because their normally supposed to be realistic and the use of effects normally make a film less realistic. Many of the transitions available aren’t suitable for movies because they are too extravagant this also takes the realism away from the film. The cutting tool is used to crop clips to the length you desire , the split clip tool basically does what it says on the tin , it splits your clips so you can use parts of one video at different parts throughout the film ,these tools have been used at all times throughout the editing stage.

Tri-pod
A tri-pod is used to hold a camera in place, the camera is fastened on to the top and able to move using a lever. The tri-pod can stand up to about 1.5 meters high which is brilliant because it means it works at the perfect height. The lever is used to move the camera from side to side and up and down, this enables us to do all the different shot types we desire from high angle to low angle. The different heights means we are able to different shot types too. However the lever has been quite stiff which means we haven’t been able to move the camera very swiftly causing the camera to jolt and get stuck. This has meant we have had to do the same shot more often than we expected because it didn’t look how we wanted it.

Soundtrack/Effects Research

A sound track is a piece of music used in films and television to tell a story or to add emphasis, this leads to it being repeated throughout the film. A sound track can also include songs for musicals such as Mamma Mia. On many occasions the soundtrack becomes very popular and end up selling millions of records all over the world, this is great advertisement from the film and a brilliant way of people remembering a film. An example of this is “My heart will go on” which is in the 2^nd most grossing film of all time, Titanic. This gives us a lot of pressure because this means our soundtrack has to be good enough to be memorable.
We have decided to find some non-copy right music off YouTube as there is such a variety of choices online. This means we have less control of the music however we can edit it on the software we have been given so it fits in with each scene.

One of our main inspirations for our whole opening two minutes is Luther the TV series; it’s in the same genre as ours and has a similar storyline too. The soundtrack they use is called “Paradise Circus” which stars throughout the series while the credits are up. We decided earlier on in our research stages that we didn’t want lyrics however this soundtrack does, apart from this we enjoyed how it worked with the show. There is a lot going on through the track including what sounds like clapping, a piano, bass and maybe a xylophone. Overall it’s quite soft and seductive but also dark at the same time with the high notes. The bass in the background adds to the city feel as it’s based in London but the soft seductive side is similar to his personality.

The Taken 2 soundtrack called “Tick of the Clock “is very effective due to its simplicity, the sound of a clock adds enigma’s and gives the idea that time matters. The sound fades in and out and gets faster which gives the audience the impression something is going to happen. After over 1 minute the music change and goes very low pitched then fades into a high pitched tune which becomes deafening gives the effect of danger. It then replays the beginning of the soundtrack, the contrast in music means it works well in a variety of scenes.

After deliberation we decided to go for an orchestral  based music as we thought it was a brilliant choice of music to add suspense and mystery, it been used regularly in TV thriller series such as Luther which has a very similar feel to ours. The benefit of using orchestral music is that the tone and pace changes throughout the music this means it can fit into different scenes and still works well, it also adds more dimension to the clip. We also liked the effect a ticking clock had and may add it behind the orchestral based music; we thought it was a great way of making the soundtrack more trendy and up-to-date.

We have also been thinking about using the sound of a heart beat at some point throughout our opening two minutes, we think this is a good way of the audience being able to interact with the character as it comes across as very personal and helps put the audience into their perspective.

We looked at other types of music that were a bit more upbeat however they didn’t fit into the feel of the story it may of confused the audience, , we also wanted it to be realistic to the genre.

Mood Board

 

This is our mood board which gives everyone a vague idea about what our film connotes, displaying the different aspects of each scene, character and location. The pictures aren't precise with our ideas for the opening two minutes; however we will be using similar characters and props. I have numbered the different pictures to help signify what photos I will be discussing and my reasoning for choosing them.

 

The first image has been placed on my mood board because it fits in with the horror/thriller theme, which is what our film is hopefully going to be portraying. The house looks damaged and old, despite the size, its not something you can picture a traditional family living in, which is why I have chosen it. It is mangled and falling down, but the size is perfect for what we want the antagonist to represent. It fits in with the stereotypes of a typical location for a thriller film with the enormous acres of land, but little decency within the building. It represents a male who has his minds on other things, which in our case, would be the girl he is looking to take, the distractions the male is going to represent is shown through the lack of care and delicacy taken on the house. The house doesn't feature any contemporary structures which fit in with the thriller codes and conventions because the history of the building is important to the basic ideology.

 

Image 2 represents the crime features of our film. This is a stereotypical image which is featured in a lot of crime related programmes and films. It enables the audience to view the complexity and the detail within the crime which is being presented with all the images. In our film we will use an over the shoulder shot, like what is displayed in the image. The pictures on the board will represent the girls the antagonist has taken, subtly hinting to the audience that the antagonist is not taking our protagonist spontaneously.

 

Image 3 represents the main action which takes place throughout the opening two minutes; we will have numerous shots, varying from tracking shot to long shots, of our protagonist running cutting between the different scenes. The continuity of the constant cuts will help increase the tension. Image 4 is a similar image to image 3 which helps highlight the importance of the running shots because it is what keeps the opening scene together, separating it from the fantasy aspect of a crime film, linking to reality.

 

Image 5 helps codify our genre of a crime film because it displays the policing side of an investigation, which recognises the obvious, which is that the antagonist commits the crime. The office sets aside a separate location which helps devise the opening two minutes in to separate places which initiates the different scenes.

 

Image 6 indicates the style of house we are using to locate an establishing shot in. It is a large, American-style house which represents wealth and purity with the cream painting. Having such a big house helps fit in with the stereotypes of a criminal’s behaviour.

 

Image 7 gives the viewers a brief idea of what sort of costumes will be involved, it is aimed at the antagonist as the large black boots represents the stereotypical idea of a disturbed farmer seeking for popularity and appearance. The low angle shot is a good indication in to what sort of shot we will be using in our opening scene, keeping the identity liminal.

 

Image 8 is a pivotal image which sums up the whole film, instantly, by taking a glance at the males face you can tell this sort of man is likely to be mentally challenged and very stereotypically paedophile, this is due to the stereotypes of which the society creates through their everyday life. The smirk distracts the audience from his criminal side and the clothing subverts to the stereotypes, side-tracking the audience in to thinking he is not the antagonist of the movie.

 

Image 9 displays another location of which the majority of the film will be shot in, the green area with the large trees drooping over a single pathway fits in with our creepy manor of our film. The same with image 10, which only slightly differs from image 9 because it is an open planned area, they are both locations which would be used when our protagonist is running. However the reasoning for how the differs is due to the open and closed planned areas and how they portray different emotions. The open planned area suggests freedom and how the protagonist is most likely to be safer because it has a larger surface area for more people to commute to. The closed area makes the protagonist more vulnerable because it is so secretive and discrete.

Video Diary Day One