Soundtrack research Taken #3

Even though Taken differs from our storyline, the use of music has become useful for us when deciding what to use, this is because the music adds to the tension which is constantly increasing. Most crime and action films use soundtracks which involve a type of piano; this is because you can get access to loads of different type of pianos which can create such exasperating sounds which fit within their criteria. An example of this in Taken is the movie credits song The Dragster Wave by Ghinzu, the composition of the wind fits perfectly with the mood the producers of Taken want to portray. This is what we need to take into consideration, because our main aim is to increase the tension, and by using realistic sounds from a piano, can easily make the tension escalate. However, finding a pianist who is willing to give up their time and compose a successful piece of dramatic music is proving difficult for us. Another problem we are facing when it comes down to decision making, is that we do not think having a piano-style soundtrack would be suitable just for an opening scene, especially with a minimal duration time of 2 minutes. Taken 2 uses an interesting sound clip called Tick of the Clock which presents an apprehensive vibe through the beats. This sort of sound would generally be used when someone in the film is running out of time or against time, in our opening two minutes we could use something similar for our antagonist because it promotes the creepy and nostalgic feeling, however we do not reveal too much action which results in whether using a soundtrack similar to this track would be relevant or not. The sound is very effective due to the simplicity of the composition, the sound doesn’t keep the same tempo, it fades in and out through different speeds which would help create enigmas and psych the audience up. This sort of music sways towards the orchestral category which is something we are taking a favour too. The benefit of using an orchestral sort of music is that the tone and pace changes throughout the music, meaning it would be able to fit into different scenes and still work as well as what we would want it too, not only does it do that but it also adds more dimension to the clip. We have been thinking about adding the sound of a heartbeat over the top of one of our soundtracks when suitable, this is because it adds additional tension, still making the film seem very contemporary and realistic. The heartbeat allows the audience to empathise with the characters because it gives them the opportunity to look at situations from the characters perspective. However, our main concern is the positioning of the music, because we would like to use different soundtracks suited to different scenes, this results into more research and deliberation.

soundtrack research #2

This song by Robokids called Kids is another catchy tune which we could intertwine with the running scenes,it has a larger probability of the audience recognising the tune. Not only does it start upbeat it also 

eventually decreases, which could be a good indicator and transition in to the next scene. The idea of the

 fun, upbeat music are still in the air because we are undecided whether it would work successfully or look 

as though we are trying to incorporate music which is not needed. We have got some ideas from these

 two compositions and will definitely consider them if we decided to include that sort of music. 

Soundtrack research #1

Not only do we wish to use an orchestral, deep and meaningful piece of music, we would also like to

 integrate a fun and upbeat music for when our protagonist is running and the prevalence is focused on her. 

This is because we would like to side-track the audience’s thoughts away from the expectations of

 a scary scene, and make the mood more content and at ease. Although, this idea will prove difficult

 because we need to take into consideration about the copyright rules, meaning we will need to try

 and search for some decent music.

We have looked at a few non-copyright music and there is not a great deal available which we feel will be 

suitable. However, Carousel - Lets go Home could be a possibility due to its upbeat nature and high pitched

 feel about it. It combines an electronic vibe which would help attract a larger audience and intertwines it 

with contemporary music. It would definitely help enlighten the mood when watching the film, however

 our main problem is that usually high profited films include music which people would be aware of so 

they can relate, with this sort of music is highly unlikely that anyone would have heard of the song, 

making it seem more random. Even though the name of the song does not have a large relevance, it is still

 ironic how it is name Lets go Home, which would be catchy with our film because the plot is about our

 protagonist on her way home. 

Raccoon Productions

Raccoon Productions is primarily the production company owned by myself, Eve Patterson and Charlotte Welch. It contains only one division and that is Raccoon Cinema productions. Raccoon Productions specialise in low-budget films, accompanied by Preliminary Tasks. Raccoon Productions tackle subjects which gravitate towards a mixture of fast-paced and slow-paced action, mostly with the crime feature involved. They also produce such films with a mixture of genres involved within the film, which is why Raccoon Productions is a suitable production company for our film. Raccoon Productions is best known for taking its taboos to another level. In the upcoming Raccoon Cinema feature film, the audience will experience a new height of tension and a higher class of filming. Despite the low-budget, the film remains of a high rank and production value due to the realism portrayed through the classy locations and world-class acting.

We felt that our design of the Raccoon Productions logo is contemporary and ideal for our film, it is not too overbearing for the audience to view and it would be memorable due to the simplistic design. We will feature this before or after our film to display our creation and add realism on to the film.

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.