Finished Intrusion with annotations

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

Adobe premier elements is the editing software we used.It has a lot of 'elements' to it such as effects , crop , cut , transitions. which makes it seem like an amazing software however we as a group didn't really get a long very well with it , because it created a lot of problems for us. Although we may of done something wrong at the beginning of the editing which we were unaware of.






YouTube is the worlds largest video sharing website. we used it to upload our opening two minutes , preliminary tasks , video diaries etc onto, its an easy and quick way to share your video globally,although we weren't aiming that far.

Blogger is a place which allows people all over the world to discuss anything. We used it to discuss our media project , publishing our research and the process of our filming. This was a nicer way of showing our work  rather than writing everything down on a pad.It was also  very easy  to use and you were able to make it your own by choosing your own background , fonts and colours.Making it a fun thing to use.

We used Laura's camera to film our opening two minutes , the fujifilm hs10. Its a very good quality camera that we thought was better than the one given at school. It gave us more options for the quality of the film.








The tripod we used was very useful , we were able to extend it to an efficient and useful height.We were able to twist and move the camera around enabling us to create smooth camera angles and shots.

Finished directors commentary

Audience Feedback

The audience feedback was very important to us and let us know what we need to improve on , our main concern is that people thought it was a horror although we planned it to be thriller. This has meant that if we continued to make the film we would have to tweak a few things to make it more obvious of the choice of genre. Although this may of become more apparent the further in the film they went if we had done a whole film.

What targets will you set yourself for G324 next year-When you will make a trailer?

Our main problem when creating our opening two minutes what the lack of preparation we did. This meant that quite a lot of the time were making up things as we go. This lead to us becoming very stressed because we didn't have enough time to choose what we wanted to do and film. The quality of our finished product would of also been a lot better because we would of been able to add things which we couldn't due to time restrictions. If we had planned we would of finished our filming a lot quicker which would mean we would have lot more time to edit and evaluate; this would of made our lives a lot easier.

At the end of editing we had to add the titles, however when we got to it we hadn't done much research on types of fonts used in thriller movies which meant we didn't know what type of font to use. This meant we had to re-research ideas for titles and watch more opening two minutes to get some idea, this was quite time consuming. From the mistakes we made in this project I would have learnt that I need to do more research whilst I had the time.

We found whilst using adobe that a lot of things went wrong, were not entirely sure why, but we came to the conclusion that at the beginning of using it we set it to the wrong setting. Next time we use this we will have to make sure that we use the programme correctly and in a responsible manner. Again this would have significantly decreased our stress and time wasting.

Although it sound extremely cringe worthy, I think that if we enjoyed the experience a lot more the quality would have been better. Whilst filming we seemed to get bored incredibly easily which meant we gave up a lot easier and not aiming for excellence. I think this was also due to the choices of locations. The weather when filming was extremely cold which meant we wanted to get the filming over and done with as soon as possible also affecting the quality of work. Quite a few times we had to suddenly re-organise our plans for filming due to the weather, if we checked the weather before maybe this would have helped.

Overall, there is a recurring factor which keeps coming up which is the lack of preparation and organisation we had , this is for definite mine and the rest our groups main aim for next year because I truly believe that if we did this that our movie would of been better and we would of finished all our work probably a month in advanced, helping us to revise earlier for our media exam.

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

On average our media product conforms to the genre of our choice , however there are a few things that are very conventional of the thriller genre.

Our protagonist lived in a big detached house set in Surrey , although the location isn't stated.This is quite conventional of a protagonist to be reasonably wealthy , and the choice of house shows this.The two cars  in the drive way also show of their wealth.These things tells us quite a lot about the character introduced in this shot.This shot is the first one in the opening two minutes, which gives the audience the idea that this character will be the protagonist.The character introduced has blonde hair which is very stereo typical for the protagonist ,however through the choice of clothes  you can clearly see she isn't very girl because of the choice of colour black- this subverts from the stereo-typical character.We chose to go with quite a traditional choice of font for our titles , this was because we felt they best fitted the genre and any other style would of looked tacky.We used a sophisticated font which we felt conformed to the genre.Thriller movies are aimed at the older audience so something tacky and young looking wouldn't of been attractive to the target audience.Fonts which are round or abstract are normally aimed at the younger audience as they come across as more attractive and interesting. we chose to use a high angle shot to make our character seem vulnerable but it also gave a really good long shot of the location , giving our audience a lot of information about the character introduced.

First of all , the choice of locations we used were pretty conventional choices as we used the stereo typical location of the woods. Conventionally in thriller films they are used to scare the audience and is normally the location at which the drama happens, however in our opening two minutes we used this to add tension and keep the audience on their toes. Conventionally the woods is a good location because they are known for being a dark , gloomy and normally an isolated area , which would make sense to use for an abduction scene. Although we just used this location for the running scene. The type of shot we used was a long shot, this was done so the audience was fully able to see where it was set. It also made it look more creepy with the twigs right in-front of the camera ,however this was mainly done to make it look as if someone was watching her from a distance.In this shot she is shown on her own, this is stereo typically done to show the  vulnerability the character is in.

Our new character  appears from the trees of the protagonists driveway , giving the audience the idea that  he is our antagonist as he seem to be intruding. with our antagonist we dressed him mainly in black conforming to the dark , scary character. However his clothing was pretty casual witch doesn't conform to the genre , however we didn't want it to be really obvious he was the antagonist , because if someone saw him , he would be very suspicious and obviously he doesn't want to be caught.A long shot is used to show the whole character and were he came out from making it easier for the audience to follow. at this point in the opening two minutes , it gets darker making it seem creepier.  Later on in this shot he walks towards the camera , which shows a close up of his face , making him  seem dominant and in control.

we used two close-up shots of the antagonist and protagonist to show the juxtaposition between the two characters.the antagonist with big hands and short stubby nails conforming to the stereo types and petite vulnerable looking hands. Hands are a very personal thing and the use of showing someone's hands is very effective with the audience.

When filming in the our protagonist  room , we tried to make it look like a teenagers room by making it un-tidy , having pictures on the walls and reasonably girly , we did this to make it seem realistic.We only really used one prop , which was the protagonists soft toy , this was used for the antagonist to smell trying to get an essence of his victim. This has been done before because its very scary looking however its not necessarily conventional.The light in the background highlights the pictures on the wall showing his victim.

This shot is made to look likes its from the perspective of the antagonist , hiding under the bed.This will draw the audience as it gives a sense of interaction with them as they are seeing the view form the antagonist. The darkness also makes the scene seem scarier.The titles fits very well on the background as it makes it stand out because its on a dark background, this title also shows the most important part of the crew.

The close up here is used to show the confusion of the character , it also makes the audience feel for her, which is the aim.The way she holds the stuffed toy also shows the innocence of the character-this conforms to the stereo types of this type of character.

I chose to use the last shot as it tells the audience the name of the film, Intrusion. we chose to use the same font as the titles to show a clear flow. Although we made it significantly larger so we were able to differentiate and to add a emphasis on the word. we used the  low shot again to give the idea of the him watching her. Her bare feet shows vulnerability, pureness and creates enigmas.





The first character we introduced was the protagonist , we then introduced the antagonist. We introduced the protagonist first so the audience could get to know her and empathise with her.This meant that when the protagonist was introduced the audience what knew he was going to do or be. Quiet a lot of the time this way is used but the order changes depending on the storyline.

Who would be the audeince for your media project?

Generally I think our target audience is teenage girls , women . I think this is obvious with our opening two minutes as you can tell that our influence and inspiration is the TV success Luther. Luther has a very large audience however I think we have narrowed it down to a smaller audience of teenage girls and women. The choice of a teenage girl being our protagonist has meant that a younger audience may enjoy it more than Luther because it makes it more relatable. Although thriller is normally a genre enjoyed by teenage boys and men due to the violence, I think we have managed to widen the audience by changing some conventions to suit a female audience.

Our target audience won’t be stereo-typically girly however they will be reasonably intelligent as quite a lot of the time in thriller films the story line can sometimes be hard to follow meaning the audience will have to understand the plot well and know what to expect. I think with this genre of film there isn't an exact type of person who would watch it. With a chick flick it is easier to work out what type of girl will watch the film because quite a lot of the time you are able to relate to the character and plot. Whereas with a thriller story line, most people haven’t gone through an experience like it, making it harder to relate to. I think with any other thriller movie their audience would be mainly male with a few Females , however because the protagonist is a teenage girl.

 I think our audience will enjoy music which is currently in the charts which is a variety of pop , Electric and Pop-Rock ; the audience we are trying reach will be very typical. With an audience like ours I think their chosen choice of TV programmes will be shows such as Pretty little liers,Luther,Criminal minds and Hannibal. These are some very popular TV programmes known worldwide.These TV programmes are in the same genre as our but also have a very similar audience

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

As you can notice Taken and Luther are two of our main inflluences.One of our inspirations is the character Kim from Taken. She is very similar to our main character played by Christie Bagley. In Taken, Kim is the teenaged daughter of the main character played by Liam Neeson.The story is based round Liam Neeson looking for his daughter who was abducted in France. Her character is known to be attractive and young which is stereo typical portrayal of her type of character. Although she is hardly the protagonists, unlike Christie’s character, because the story isn’t based round her, she’s just adding to the storyline.

A way of letting an audience know what type of character someone is portraying is through costume. In taken the use of clothing lets the audience know that she is innocent, young and vulnerable. They have done this by putting her in clothes witch are flowery, pink and stereo-typical young and girly looking. This is also similar in our movie where Christie is wearing a black and pink running outfit with purple shoes this suggests that she is reasonably young and innocent. This is very conventional for a character like hers were they are the victim because normally their vulnerability makes them an easy target.

The main difference between Kim and Christie in our film is actually the colour of her hair; this may not seem like a big deal however conventionally victims and damsels normally have blonde hair. This colour hair connotes vanity, unintelligence and arrogance. This normally leads to them being a victim; however in taken Kim had dark hair which connotes intelligence, this means she doesn’t seem like a likely victim whereas Christie does. Something else which seems to be different between our two character is that Kim comes across as surprisingly calm compared to what you would expect if you were in this situations. Although we haven’t filmed a whole film I think we would have chosen for Christie’s character to be incredibly nervous and panicky in her induction.

The only character in the first couples of minutes we get to know know in our film is the protagonists however we are introduced to the antagonists. This means we dont find out very much about him although,you can tell thats he's not a visble antagonist to the public in the film.This is simnilar to the antagonsts in taken , they act and look normal in the film until you notice what they are up to.This is very different to the antagonists in films such as The Dark Knight Rises were you can tell they are a baddy straight away from their dark, scary costume.

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

In our preliminary task we didn't have any time at all to plan what we were going to do, which meant we had to think on the spot meaning our choices were not very precise and clean cut. Our main problem with our preliminary task was that we didn’t control our lighting, we also didn’t handle the camera very well meaning it was unsteady. We hadn’t really done much research at this point which also meant we didn’t know what type of camera angles and shots would work best. Since then we have had done a lot more research on other opening two minutes to get some good ideas and knowledge. With our new knowledge we have been able to create an opening two minutes with a variety of new techniques we have learnt throughout, meaning we have been able to create a more professional opening two minutes.

Due to having no time to plan our task our plot was a bit silly which is shown in our non-existent acting skills. This meant we didn't take the filming very seriously which was reflected in the quality of  the preliminary video.However because we planned what we wanted to do in our proper video , we felt a lot more confident in what we  were doing which lead  to  a better quality video. At the point of editing our preliminary task we were unaware of the effect we could add to the videos. Whereas when we were editing our opening two minutes we discovered the effect for the lighting of the video , which was very useful to create a better and more realistic video, where we were unable to control the lighting. Although we didn't have this problem in our preliminary task , in our real video we were able to speed up the video. We did this in places where we thought needed it.For example when Christie was on a run , we had to speed her up because she was running at different paces from angle to angle.I'm noting this because if we needed to do this in our preliminary task I think it was very unlikely we knew this tool had existed.This was mainly because we hadn't explored what was available on the programme at that point in time.We also learn through experience that we needed to do the same shot more than once, however in the preliminary we did not do this , leaving us with little footage to choose from.

In our preliminary task , which was given to us on the day we had to film, we didn't really focus on Mise-en-scene.Which meant that our costumes didn't reflect the character we were playing. but in our defence we didn't have time to think about this. However throughout the course we did research into costumes and outfits that would suit our character which meant the end result looked more realistic. In our preliminary I acted as someone superior and Eve acted some inferior to me, however I looked no more powerful than Eve because we were both in casual clothes, which could of lead to confusion. Another thing in Mise-en-scene that we didn't control very well was the sound. throughout the video the volume of sound changes or you can hear stuff in the background and some points then it suddenly disappears , this disrupt our continuity.However in our real video, we tried to control the sound as much as possible , if it didn't work very well we managed to edit it using the tools on the programme. The location we used didn't really suit the story , but with our real video we tried to use location which seemed realistic using knowledge we got from research.

 For our task we were asked to use the 180 degree rule , shot-reverse-shot and match on action.We tried to do all 3 of these things , however the quality of our filming meant they didnt work so well. However through out creating our media product we made sure we used these 3 techniques to make our video as good as possible.

Evalution Targets

You've done so well this year Charlotte - so let's push ourself in the final stretch to really show our ability to reflect on our progress. Comment in detail on your findings from audience feedback. Revisit your recent posts and see if there are any more opportunities to use specialist terminolgy to explore mise-en-scene, ediiting and camera composition and comment on the way you intended to appeal to your target audience even more - there's so much to comment on to show how reflective you can be. Get working with your group tro complete director's commentaries and comment more on what you have learnt from others.

Opening titles of World War Z

I have chosen to analyse the opening titles for World War Z and it had a large influence on our work and it is very inspiring. From the beginning of the development of our opening 2 minutes we knew we wanted to use a very simple font, this is also exactly what World War Z did.However to make it more interesting they put the titles in an abstract order making it seem modern and more appealing .The titles come up ever so often making the audience have to think, to make it less boring they used clips in the background and in-between each title.The first few titles are to do with the productions , then they revealed who was part of the film for example Brad Pitt who is the most famous actor in the film and the protagonist.After that they continued with the rest of the cast.When the titles came up the name came up on a black screen next to a random clip meaning you were able to focus on the titles.The font was in white and on a black background making it traditional and bold.They didn't use fancy transitions making it more stylish and simplistic , I think this was done because they had clips in the background and didn't want it to be too busy and distracting.The use of clips gave the audience an idea of what the film was about but didn't give the plot away.When production details came up they used a bolder and bigger font on the names and smaller writing for the part of the film they contributed to, for example "Costumes designed by".Meaning you were able to focus on the most important thing. We,as a group, really like that choice and have chosen to do this with our opening 2 minuets as well.

Unfinished Film - Intrusion

We need to finish the titles , music and sound

Storyboard



Our choice of film institution

Many people when choosing their film institution for their opening two minutes will choose a very well-known company known worldwide just because they have heard of it, however we have chosen to research institution that produces films similar to ours, to make our film more realistic.
 
Prisoners which is an American thriller film is based on an abduction of two children and the quest to find them, this makes it very similar to our film. The film institution they used was Warner Bros. which we found surprising because they are well known for their big budget films such as the Harry Potter franchise. Nevertheless after research we found out that they actually do a wide variety of films. Not only does it produce great thriller movies they also have a lot of experience and money to produce brilliant films. This makes it a suitable and a reliable institution choice if we actually to make a film. The downside of using such a big blockbuster film institution is that they are used to having big budget films, with action and effects which could end up changing the plot and deducting the realism.

Taken 1 and 2 is one of the biggest influences on our production and plot as they have a similar theme, an abduction of a teenaged girl who is sold to become a prostitute. The film institution they used is a French company called Europacorp, they have come to fame from there success of English spoken films which delivered a 61% increase year on year revenue. There not a very well-known company however the success of the Taken movies has made it a very good candidate. The main problem is that it’s a French company which may make it hard to translate our ideas; another problem is that our ideas may not seem suitable for a French audience.

Gone Which again has the same theme is a brilliant film with a great cast for example Amanda Seyfried.There institution choice is Summit Entertainment which is quite new into the industry however their parents are Lion Gate Entertainment which is very respected institution. There not known for a certain genre of film however they have some really good names under their belt such as the Twilight Saga and the Step Up movies. Some may say this is a negative however we think it shows their versatility in the film industry. In 1997, 6 years after they began, they started to fully finance their films, this means we would have something to lie back on but not receive such a profit.

The last film institution we researched was Phase 4 Films, they produced a film called Eden which is based on a true story of a teenaged girl who is abducted and sold for prostitution. This company would be a good choice for us as they produce low budget films which mean our film will be more realistic than if we choose a larger company.

Animatic Storyboard

The animated story boards gives us an idea of what we are expecting to do through out our filming.The story board tells us the type of shots we are expecting to use and the different scenes.Although we changed our plot quite often , the story board did guide us through out.We know next time that we need to go into more detail and be more pacific with our ideas.

The opening shot of the film is a low angle shot of the victims driveway.This sets the scene , the low angle makes the protagonist seem vulnerable.The third shot of the house and protagonist tells us who the protagonist is and some background knowledge about her, the large house connotes that she is wealthy and this could the reason behind the abduction.The fifth shot introduces us to the antagonist and his where abouts. By showing him from the back adds a sense of mystery and will create enigmas.The sixth and seventh shot tells us about the protagonist and shows that he has done it before and planning to do more abductions , this will intrigue the audience and frighten them.The ninth shot lets the audience know that the person we saw at the beginning is his first victim.The close-up shot makes the audience emphasise with her.The tenth shot will intrigue the audience as it seems like he is watching her , the long- shot also sets the scene , by being in the woods it may frighten the audience.The twelfth shot will work the work well as it will give the audience idea of the plot.The last shot I feel is the most significant as you are left at a cliff hanger and made to think.This enables the audience to participate from antagonists perspective and see where he is coming from.

Final Video Diary

Final Filming Update

We have finally finished! Only two and a half weeks late, we have finished (at last) our ending scenes, leaving us with a lot of footage to choose from for the long editing process that awaits us. As time passed and we got more of our filming done, I think we can all agree that each time the process was less stressful and more enjoyable as we knew what to expect. Now it is done, we are all very pleased because, looking back, we let filming become a slight burden due to the lack of motivation we suffered from which meant we were slow to organise things, unfortunately taking away from the overall enjoyment.

As time went on, and as you can hopefully see from our previous filming updates, each time went better and better for us, which took away from the pressure the time limit put us under. Luckily, we were very fortunate to have our time extended over the Christmas holidays which helped us massively as it gave us more time to film in the daylight without rushing. I think as a group, we were more hesitant than we should have been and worried about minor details which other groups did not; however now it is done we are mostly pleased with how it went, and hope to get the best possible grade we can.

Despite everything we had said before in our previous filming updates about needing to do more planning, we went into our final scenes with a considerable lack of planning. Usually, this would mean that filming would be a nightmare and there would be a lot of time wasted which added to our lack of excitement; however this time wasn’t too bad. We started by attempting to make Christie’s supposed bedroom more ‘girly’ in order to follow the stereotypes of teenage girls in the hope to make the plot easier to follow for the audience. We had talked about this before but not in much detail and so we ended up using anything remotely feminine we could find, such as clothes, make-up and pictures. After we had done this, we decided it would be best to start filming chronologically to make sure we didn’t miss anything out (a mistake we may have made whilst filming scene 2). In spite of this, we didn’t particularly want to go outside so we began to film chronologically, missing out Adam's entrance into the house.

Due to the many times we have had to re-film, we found that we now feel more experienced, and know what will work and what won’t without having to watch it over in the editing process only to find it is not good enough. Despite not really knowing what we were going to do, we filmed Adam walking up the stairs and down to Christie’s room relatively quickly in a few different ways so we would have alternatives to choose from. After this, even though we had decided to do it chronologically, we were forced to film Adam’s entrance as it was getting very dark, however it had begun to rain and we hadn’t realised. Unfortunately for Adam, we had to film during the rain, which wasn’t close to ideal as it hadn’t been raining in any of the previous scenes however it was only light and so hopefully when it comes to editing, we won’t be able to see it. We will only know how well it went/find out if we have to re-film when it comes to editing, which won't be for a while as we have decided to do it chronologically, however we are hopeful it all fits together suitably and look forward to finalising our film.

Filming Update 3

We started off with some ideas to what we were going to do for our third day of filming however when we got to the location , my cabin , we came up with some new ideas which may work a lot better and may add more quality to our opening two minutes. It took a lot longer than usual to set up because we had to move a lot of stuff around to get the correct lighting and needed to make sure that everything was out of the way. However this wasn't such a problem as we weren't filming in the freezing cold and didn't have to worry about the light changing as we were inside and could control it more than usual. Initially we weren't going to show our antagonists face or head in this scene however due to some changes with shot types we did, regrettably this created our first problem because Adam, our antagonist, had a spray on white beard for Christmas but luckily with some alterations we worked round it. As we were all inside we were in a much better mood than usual which meant we were more motivated to get the right shots which lead to us filming the same shot more than usual and being able to rehearse more.Unfortunately when  we went to edit the footage we discovered that we were unable to use any of it because it was so dark.At the time we didn't know of this because it was perfectly light on the camera screen and on our Video Diary camera. This means we are going to have to re-film the scene again soon, next time we will make the room lighter and even take a laptop with us to check on the lighting problem. It’s a real shame because we took a real deal of time and effort to film this scene and especially put a lot of time in making the room look as dark and gloomy as possible to add to the effect of the character.  

Video Diary Day 3

Change of plot

Due to different reasons we have collectively decided that our original plan is to be changed, hopefully this will make our opening two minutes more successful and slightly easier to construct. Our original plan was that our protagonist was taken while on her run by the antagonist, however we believe this would prove difficult because it would give away too much information in the opening two minutes, which disrupts the generic stereotypes of the film world. Our original plan also included longer shots and more mainstream shot types, we felt this was not pushing ourselves as far as we would have liked to, so instead we have changed to shorter and quicker shots, involving a lot of cuts from one location of the antagonist to the other location of our protagonist running. We felt that having match on action displayed a lot and lots of small cuts from each scene meant that the tension would increase rapidly because limited information would be displayed. We believe this is key to creating a successful opening two minutes because generally in the first two minutes, little information is revealed. Another part of our original plot which we changed is the aspect of having an investigating team, we felt having more characters would make the opening two minutes too cramped and rushed, it was also proving difficult to film all the separate scenes at the different locations, one being an office which is a private location and it would disrupt the workers. Another change which we felt was necessary was the ideology of the antagonist being presented as a creepy, paedophillic male, we are planning on doing this through him breaking in to a house where the protagonist lives, and snooping round the home, picking up personal objects of the victim and pursuing a creepy manor with these objects. We will then shoot them both in the same room and our opening scene will hopefully end on the girl in a dangerous position with the male in a closed area, leaving the audience thinking what is going to happen to this girl and what the male wants.

Influence on production

So far, our planning has not been as accurate as it should have been and so when we came to start our filming, we discovered our plot would not work as successfully or effectively as we’d hoped. At the moment we are currently discussing different ideas for the ending, however the general outline of the plot still remains the same, it is just a few details we cannot decide on. The genre will continue to be based around ideas from action, thriller and crime films, and so we have been looking into both films and TV series, such as Taken and Luther in the hope to gain ideas and be influenced in our own production.

We gained the initial ideas for our plot using the film Taken by Pierre Morel as we liked the young vulnerable teenage girl gone missing aspect to the film, and we thought it would be something we would be able to reproduce ourselves. Using the film Taken, we learnt that to successfully build tension and make the film enjoyable for the audience, action was needed, especially violent fight scenes. We decided this would not be one of our strong points which is why we decided to add the crime thriller aspect to our opening two minutes as well, enabling us to avoid any fight scenes but also keep it realistic as it is only the first two minutes and so realistically, not too much should be given away. 

Looking and observing the trailers from Taken, it is clear that due to the increase in action, it results in the increase of pace within the editing, in order to confuse the audience and make it unclear as to what’s happening. Different focuses are also used, such as a deep focus and shallow focus, to draw the audience’s attention to one particular thing, or the whole frame, depending on the effect the director wishes to produce. The opening two minutes of Taken is quite slow and hesitant without presenting any sort of action. This is because, generically, in an action film, there has to be a sense of reality portrayed in order to allow the audience to relate or understand the film with more enjoyment. Due to the lack of action and thrill inthe opening few minutes, despite the genre, the pacing of the shots are very slow and transform into one another smoothly, instead of sharp cut transitions. The non-diegetic soundtrack doesn't get used until the action begins, which is another hint as to when the action will begin and the build-up. At the beginning of the film it is all based upon diegetic sound, once again, adding to the realism.

From briefly looking at Taken the film, it has helped us become aware of what we will have to include in our film to make it as successful as possible. Highlighting the importance of the realistic features has become one of our key priorities to partake in, in order to be able to link it to reality. The most important techniques we have decided to focus on are the different shots and the pace of editing, especially as if we are making an action/crime/thriller film. Although we haven't been able to display the opening two minutes of Taken, from our previous experience of watching it plenty of times, we have come to the conclusion that it is a good film to base ours around. This is because it has a sudden effect on the audience through establishing the genre, targeting the audience and setting the tone and theme of the film.

Luther is a successful televised drama that has been running for a few years. Luther was one of the main influences on our production once we had decided on the basic outline for the plot, which as mentioned before, was gained with the help of the film Taken. Using Luther, we were able to grasp ideas, mainly for the antagonist, such as the location he should be introduced in, the use of camera angles and movement used around him and some ideas of the props we would need. Although Luther contains a higher horror content than we wanted for our particular genre, we found that the villainous characters contained aspects which we thought were very effective and so wanted to use them ourselves. 

From one particular episode, we learnt that an effective way to portray the antagonist to the audience as a creepy, unhinged person, through the use of camera movement and angles was to use painfully slow movements. This makes it clear the antagonist doesn't belong there, but also makes them look abnormal, which aids the audience and their discomfort. We also found that using slow movements when focusing on the antagonist, mixed with a lack of blinking, highlights the unlawful activities which are about to take place, which is something we found effective and would like to use in our production. By using painfully slow camera movements, we also discovered that a slow editing technique would also be needed, and we thought it may be effective in increasing tension as it would act as a contrast between the cuts from different scenes. We already had prior ideas for the location in which our antagonist should be introduced to the audience in before watching Luther, and to our surprise they were very similar. We were reassured that an antagonist such as ours, is often introduced in dark, gloomy surroundings. We had already planned to use pictures of young girls from newspapers in order to enforce the antagonist's dark intentions, however we learnt that by covering a large area with many pictures and cuttings from newspaper articles etc, instead of a few which is what we had initially planned,  really emphasised the premeditated, creepy nature of the film, helping to set an uneasy tone.

Script

Scene 1 – Christie leaving house

[Christie leaves the house and begins to run, sound of her running on the stone driveway, music will be played quietly over the top which will signify the action of her putting headphones in]

 [As Christie runs away the pop/fun music will fade away and scary music will begin as a sound bridge]

Scene 2 – introduction to antagonist

[The music gets louder as the scene changes to the cabin with the antagonist, louder and faster]

 Adam: (when circling a photo of Christie) It’s her.

Scene 3 – Christie Running

[The music will get slower and quieter as the scene cuts back to Christie running in the woods; it will be quiet so you can hear the diegetic sound of the wind and footsteps – rustling of leaves]

[Another sound bridge will occur with the scary loud music, cuts to the next scene]

Scene 4 – girl in the cabin + antagonist leaving

[The music will increase in pace and get louder]

 Girl on chair: (screaming while struggling) mmmm.

 [As Adam gets up and leave, you would hear his footsteps walking outside with the music increasing]

Scene 5 – Christie running

[Cuts back to Christie running, sound dims out and you can hear the diegetic sound of panting from Christie, use match on action]

 Scene 6 – antagonist at Eve’s house

[Adam walking down the pathway towards the back door, which is already open.]

(Squeaking of the door opening)

[Adam leaves the door open]

Scene 7 – Christie checking pulse

[Christie running and the non-diegetic music quietens and you can hear the diegetic music of Christie breathing and panting as she comes to a halt]

Christie: (slows down and stops) SIGHS WHILE BREATHING

(measures her pulse, counts in her head, but clearly for the audience)

Scene 8 – Adam in house

 [Non-diegetic music gets softer and calmer as it cuts back to the house with the antagonist]

 Adam: (runs his hands along the banister as going upstairs, sniffs pictures of her)

 Scene 9 – Christie returning

[Christie entering driveway, can hear footsteps = sound bridge from previous scene]

 (Christie slows down and starts to walk when entering driveway, stops and leans against post to get her breathe back)

 Scene 10 – Adam in house

[Picks up a photo of Christie and smells it]

 SOUND BRIDGE – (Christie opening the door and shutting it)

 Scene 11 – Christie entering house

[Just shut the door and walks through to the lounge]

 Christie: (Slumps on the sofa, feet up) Ahhh

 [Hears the wind blowing through the door and notices it’s open]

 Christie:  (Walks over to the door and sticks her head out the door to have a look,

then shuts it)

Scene 12 – Adam downstairs

[Adam stands in the doorway and slams the door behind him]

[Cuts too close up of Christie turning around]

Video Diary Day 2

Filming update 2

The second time round of filming was much more successful and we felt more confident with our result. We spent less time in the freezing cold weather because we had pre-planned and knew what we were expecting to accomplish. Having an organised and logical structure, it made the filming a much more enjoyable process which has intrinsically motivated each and every one of us. We also filmed every movement at least twice which helped choose the shot which best fit when it came to editing. The only difficulty we found was the amount of time as due to other commitments, very little filming time has been found! We found that towards the end of our filming afternoon we had to rush things because it was getting increasingly dark. Although we just managed it, we noticed it was slightly lighter at the beginning of certain scenes compared to other scenes; however this isn’t to be helped as we have no control over the lighting, it just proved difficult when it came to matching the scenes up. Luckily, the lighting isn’t a huge issue as we are able to incorporate the antagonist scenes in between, so the change of lighting will not be noticeable and it will add to the realism. The plot has all been changed to be set at dusk time so the dark lighting suits the shots well! Having decided this, it means we will have only a small time period we can film so we need to make sure we keep this in mind prior to our allotted filming time so we can proceed straight away. Despite the disappointment at first, the second take of filming has made us become more hopeful that our opening two minutes could possibly be a success and we look forward to filming the remaining. 

Adam

Adam

Due to our change in plot, we decided we needed to find an actor for our antagonist. This was a difficult task as ideally, we always wanted our antagonist to be seen, however we had to adapt our plot in order to keep their identity hidden because we couldn’t find a suitable actor. Initially, we were reluctant to use one of our friends as an actor because we thought it would take away from the realism of our opening as they are so young looking, but decided we would have to as we didn't really have any other option. As a group, we decided our friend Adam would be the most convincing as he looks quite mature do to his facial hair. We found that facial hair tends to be a stereotypical convention of an antagonist in our chosen genres - crime, thriller and action, helping us to stick to the stereotypical theme we are following in the hope of success. He also has quite a sturdy build, meaning he doesn’t look 16 which is beneficial for us as it will help to make it not look like an amateur film, and make the plot more believable for the audience. Due to Adam being a friend, it allows us to make our film to the best possible standard we can, as like our protagonist Christie, will we be able to ask him to re-do/re-film scenes if needed. Throughout Adam's role, he will convincingly need to act as an unhinged, creepy man, making it clear to the audience there is something not quite right about him. Although this is a rather large role, in which we are relying on his ability to create tension, we believe Adam will successfully fill it, helping to make our opening two minutes a success.

Consideration Of Representation And Stereotypes

We have chosen the target audience for our film to be aimed predominantly at males, with females as our secondary concern. We believe our film would be most appropriate for an age group between 15 -24 due to the genre types – crime thriller and action, which are stereotypically more male orientated. From our research and general knowledge, we have learnt that films such as romances and rom-coms have a large female target audience, and the crime and thriller genres have a larger male target audience, however surprisingly the horror and action genres were more equal than we expected. We believe that our film would be better suited for the male audience because they would be more attracted to the stereotypical attractive female protagonist, as well as the action and crime aspects which help to create suspense. Similarly, we think a female audience would be attracted the crime and action as well as thriller aspects, but less so to the female protagonist.

We have tried to base our opening around the stereotypical conventions of our chosen genres rather than reality as much as we can as we know that these have worked previously and have high success rates. For this reason, the plot we have decided to use is very stereotypical to the crime thriller and action genres – for example the vulnerable, stereotypical attractive blonde female protagonist and an older, preying male antagonist. The locations in which we have chosen to use are also very stereotypical as they are isolated but picturesque, helping to build suspense within the audience as well as giving them an insight into what may happen, without giving too much away. The location in which we have chosen also allows us to use a wide variety of camera shots and angles which again, are stereotypical conventions of the genre. For example, we plan to use high angle shots in order to make the protagonist seem vulnerable, but also to use tracking shots from slightly obscured points, such as through the trees in order to suggest that she is being watched.

We chose our protagonist on the basis that we thought she would be easy to work with and fill the role successfully; however we were lucky that she also fitted the stereotypical appearance. We thought that using a young, attractive and blonde female would be beneficial as it would attract a wider audience (male) as well as making the film more realistic, providing reasoning behind the antagonist’s choice in abductee. We have decided to dress her again in stereotypical running clothes, again helping to enforce realism, as well as making it more relatable and more easily understood for the audience. For our use of editing, we have decided to cut between different scenes, which is something we found occurred often in our chosen genres. This is because it aids the audience with their understanding, allowing them to realise what is happening in different places which helps the plot to unravel. It is also effective in building tension and suspense as although different scenes are shown often, little is given away about the characters, helping to create enigmas and evoke emotion from the audience.

Filming Update

Throughout this film production process, we have found that we have underestimated the difficulties of filming as we haven't done nearly enough planning! We spent around 3 hours outside in the freezing cold filming our opening scene, however to our dismay we discovered it all needed to be redone due to the amateur feel we presented through the camera. Although it was disappointing and a huge waste of time, not to mention the significant drop in morale, we were able to benefit and learn from our mistakes. The number one rule we learnt is, do not zoom. We found that in nearly every take we had incorporated some form of zooming technique rather than moving around and filming from different angles. We also found that we hadn't really used many different types of shot, so for next time we set out with the aim to use as many different filming techniques and camera angles as we could.

The second time round we were much more pleased with our result. We spent less time outside as we had planned it more and knew what we were doing which made it a slightly more enjoyable process. We also filmed everything at least twice which gave us options, and filmed from many more different angles. When editing this, we found that it was very helpful to have more than one take on the same shot as in enabled us to use the best option possible, rather than using something because we had to. The only difficulty that we found we had was the amount of time. Due to our other commitments, we have found we have very little free time to film, which is not helped by the lack of light hours in the day. We found towards the end of our filming we had to speed things up as it was getting dark very quickly. Although we just about managed it, we noticed it is slightly lighter at the beginning of the scene than the end. Luckily, we have been able to incorporate this into our plot, as we have decided that we will set the time our protagonist goes on her run at dusk, allowing it to become dark without looking strange. Having decided this, it means we will have only a small time period in which we can film in so we need to make sure we keep this in mind and plan prior to our allotted filming time so we can get going straight away without wasting any time. Despite the disappointed at first, we are more hopeful that our opening two minutes will be successful and look forward to the rest of our filming