Friday, 19 December 2008
Monday, 15 December 2008
The Shining
Today in our media lesson our we watched a film on DVD called 'The Shining'. This film had a very interesting story line because it included a great deal of suspense that would have you on the end of your chair from begining to end. It was about a man who decided to take a job as a care taker for a cursed hotel, were a long time before the original caretaker had got 'cabin feever' and turned mad and then killed his wife and his two young daughters.
However the new care taker took the job knowing the cursed story of the hotel but didnt seem to mind. He slowly started turning mad from the isolation of the outside world and began to turn on his wife and young son(who had a special gift called the shining were he was able to see things from the past and present).At the starting of the film the whole plot is given away to the audience before it has even begun.
I personally liked and enjoyed this film because the suspense build up i thought was very interesting and when you thought something was going to happen it didn't but when you didnt expect it, it happened. the soundtrack also made the film more exciting from low tracking tones as it followed through the scenes to high piercing screeches which only grew louder through time. the camera angles also helped to build the suspense by showing close ups, birds eye view and first person view which would always keep you wondering and curious.
There was a particular scene in the film where the young boy is in the mirror and the music is low but gets faster as the camera slowly zooms into the boy, this creates alot of suspense for the audience but the build up is only pretend as the young boy is just shown talking to himself in the mirror. At first you think that maybe he has some kind of problem but throughout the scene you see he is able to see things that he shouldn't. Alot of suspense was created at that point but still the audience is left wondering what is going to happen next.
However the new care taker took the job knowing the cursed story of the hotel but didnt seem to mind. He slowly started turning mad from the isolation of the outside world and began to turn on his wife and young son(who had a special gift called the shining were he was able to see things from the past and present).At the starting of the film the whole plot is given away to the audience before it has even begun.
I personally liked and enjoyed this film because the suspense build up i thought was very interesting and when you thought something was going to happen it didn't but when you didnt expect it, it happened. the soundtrack also made the film more exciting from low tracking tones as it followed through the scenes to high piercing screeches which only grew louder through time. the camera angles also helped to build the suspense by showing close ups, birds eye view and first person view which would always keep you wondering and curious.
There was a particular scene in the film where the young boy is in the mirror and the music is low but gets faster as the camera slowly zooms into the boy, this creates alot of suspense for the audience but the build up is only pretend as the young boy is just shown talking to himself in the mirror. At first you think that maybe he has some kind of problem but throughout the scene you see he is able to see things that he shouldn't. Alot of suspense was created at that point but still the audience is left wondering what is going to happen next.
Thriller movie
In our previous classes i was unable to attend but was told that i was put into a group of four where they had to take pictures and place them on a storyboard making a short thriller opening. During the next lesson i was filled in with what was happening. We were then supplied with a camera and different equitment to help us get more used to working with film. We watched a simple instructional tape that was made by the technician, were we where guided on how to use the camera, switching it on, putting in the tape, turning it off etc. We were also shown how to use a camera tripod which would also be needed. After we were able to get to work an make a practice thriller opening using a newspaper as our main prop following the storyboard my group had previously made. Using the camera to practice, i think was a very good experience for me because i underestimated how hard it actually was and how much time it took to get the shot that actually complimented your idea. Myselfself and Tony mainly operated the camera as Rebecca and Nichole were our leading actresses, we used the main hall as our set. We all had very good contribution to our group, by suggesting different ideas such as different angle shots, close ups, tracking and shooting from a distance. Our main aim was to create suspense and thrill our audience and i think we acccomplished that by using off the shoulder shots and cutting. After we were satisfied and happy with our shots we packed up the equitment and headed back to the classroom to find out what our next task would be. We were instructed to upload our video clips onto the Mac, and get ready to start editing. In our next and final lesson we had to finish all of our editing that had not been done yet, this included adding a soundtrack. Unfortunately i was not able to stay for the lesson due to a hospital appointment,but before i went Nichole and Rebecca showed me how everything worked and myself and Tony helped with the special effects, such as fading the different scenes and suggesting what should go were. Overall i think we worked very well together as a team considering we all had different ideas but valued eachothers oppinion and input. There were no arguements and everyone respected eachother.
Sunday, 14 December 2008
Opening Thriller - The Newspaper
Over the last previous lessons, we had been split up into groups of 4, which would be the people we would be working with when it comes to making our thriller opening. In result of this, throughout the past few media lessons we have been getting ready to make our final thriller openings. This includes learning how to use the cameras, how to use and handle the equipment, in addition we were given a chance to actually practice making an thriller opening, using a newspaper. I am glad that we were given this chance to practice making a thriller opening as it has helped me and am sure others become more confident in how to use the camera and the equipment, and it also helped me personally to be more open minded and into thinking like a director, as a thriller is expected to be full of suspense, action, excitement etc, and what I have now learnt is that by using different camera shots, from different angles, when coming to filming the actual scene, in addition with the soundtrack, can create this type of theme.
Before we filmed, we started to plan what the storyline would be about, and how the newspaper would be involved and related to it. After this stage, we were then set a task which was to create a story bored, by either sketching, or using a digital camera, explaining the ideas we had come up with. I and my group decided to use the digital camera, as we thought it would be much easier, as sketching would have been time consuming, unclear and less accurate. We then began to take pictures according to what camera shots we wanted to include, and from different angles such as medium close up, low angle shot, extreme close up, high angle shot, or other the shoulder, showing the scene from different perspectives allowing us to have a vision, and to start thing of how the scene is going to be. After we had finished this task, we were then ready to start filming in the oncoming lesson.
In the following lesson, we did not just jump right into filming. We were given a tutorial based on how to use the camera, and how to use the equipment. I found this tutorial very helpful, as the DVD went into fine detail on how to use the camera and the equipment e.g. how to insert the tape, what button to press when you want to record, how to set up the tripod, how to place the camera on the tripod etc. Also, the fact that the DVD was stopped at each stage, we were then given a chance to practice what we had just been showed, which was checked by the technician mike. These made me feel extremely confident in how to handle and use the camera, as he showed us everything we needed to know in order to start filming.
After the tutorial had been demonstrated, we then went off in our groups to start filming. Our group decided that we would have the main hall as our main setting, where all the action would be taking place. Our group decided that I would take on the role to be the main actress in addition to Rebecca, while Zeneath and Tony were filming. Overall, we all contributed towards making the thriller opening, as we all combined our ideas together on what shots we thought would be best to use, e.g. other the shoulder shot, low angle, medium close up etc and what improvements we could make into making it more thrilling.
As soon as we finished filming, getting as many shots as we needed, we then took the camera and equipment upstairs, where we uploaded all our video clips onto the Mac, ready for editing.
In our final lesson, we were given a chance to finish editing and also adding on the soundtrack to make the overall video more thrilling. When it came to editing, I had felt very confident and comfortable, as in the first practice thrilling lesson we had, we were shown how to edit clips using Final Cut Pro on the Mac, so that when it came to us editing our clip, we knew what exactly to do. In this lesson, we had to work on a fast pace in order to finish our video, as we also had to add on a sound track to give it the overall thrilling effect. This is where the stress begun, and the hard work came in as it couldn’t be done half heartedly if not the work not be to a high standards. Our group worked exceptionally well, as we all took turns in editing, and we all respected each others ideas and input, which is why there were no arguments, as everyone listened to each other. As myself and Rebecca were mostly doing the editing, Tony and Zeneath added most of the special effect, such as fading. After finishing editing, we then had to add a soundtrack to it. I must say this was the point where I felt less confident, as I had never done this before, I was amazed at how much technology can do. Luckily, Rebecca had done this in her secondary school, so she was well familiar with the software and confident with what to do. In result of this, she did most of the sound tracking along with us other members who were watching, and sharing our view of what we think mostly suited the clip. However after watching Rebecca, I learnt how to do it and then had a go listening to the different type of genres, sound, tone, and tempo, and placing which one myself and my group felt was most suitable for our clip. Our soundtrack was very mellow, depressing, something that keeps you in suspense and sad. This was done to fit the exact mood of what (the acting) was going in the clip. As a result this created a thrilling effect keeping the audience in suspense of what is going to happen with the newspaper, and guessing, as the audience would be interested and wondering what was actually said in the newspaper and what is going to happen next. After completing the soundtrack, we had to save it and put it together with our video clip. Once we had finished compiling the soundtrack and video together we had to covert the video to MP4 format and upload our video onto blogger.com. As a group, we are very pleased with our outcome, and as it was our first time at doing this, we feel very proud, making us more confident and eager into making our next one.
Before we filmed, we started to plan what the storyline would be about, and how the newspaper would be involved and related to it. After this stage, we were then set a task which was to create a story bored, by either sketching, or using a digital camera, explaining the ideas we had come up with. I and my group decided to use the digital camera, as we thought it would be much easier, as sketching would have been time consuming, unclear and less accurate. We then began to take pictures according to what camera shots we wanted to include, and from different angles such as medium close up, low angle shot, extreme close up, high angle shot, or other the shoulder, showing the scene from different perspectives allowing us to have a vision, and to start thing of how the scene is going to be. After we had finished this task, we were then ready to start filming in the oncoming lesson.
In the following lesson, we did not just jump right into filming. We were given a tutorial based on how to use the camera, and how to use the equipment. I found this tutorial very helpful, as the DVD went into fine detail on how to use the camera and the equipment e.g. how to insert the tape, what button to press when you want to record, how to set up the tripod, how to place the camera on the tripod etc. Also, the fact that the DVD was stopped at each stage, we were then given a chance to practice what we had just been showed, which was checked by the technician mike. These made me feel extremely confident in how to handle and use the camera, as he showed us everything we needed to know in order to start filming.
After the tutorial had been demonstrated, we then went off in our groups to start filming. Our group decided that we would have the main hall as our main setting, where all the action would be taking place. Our group decided that I would take on the role to be the main actress in addition to Rebecca, while Zeneath and Tony were filming. Overall, we all contributed towards making the thriller opening, as we all combined our ideas together on what shots we thought would be best to use, e.g. other the shoulder shot, low angle, medium close up etc and what improvements we could make into making it more thrilling.
As soon as we finished filming, getting as many shots as we needed, we then took the camera and equipment upstairs, where we uploaded all our video clips onto the Mac, ready for editing.
In our final lesson, we were given a chance to finish editing and also adding on the soundtrack to make the overall video more thrilling. When it came to editing, I had felt very confident and comfortable, as in the first practice thrilling lesson we had, we were shown how to edit clips using Final Cut Pro on the Mac, so that when it came to us editing our clip, we knew what exactly to do. In this lesson, we had to work on a fast pace in order to finish our video, as we also had to add on a sound track to give it the overall thrilling effect. This is where the stress begun, and the hard work came in as it couldn’t be done half heartedly if not the work not be to a high standards. Our group worked exceptionally well, as we all took turns in editing, and we all respected each others ideas and input, which is why there were no arguments, as everyone listened to each other. As myself and Rebecca were mostly doing the editing, Tony and Zeneath added most of the special effect, such as fading. After finishing editing, we then had to add a soundtrack to it. I must say this was the point where I felt less confident, as I had never done this before, I was amazed at how much technology can do. Luckily, Rebecca had done this in her secondary school, so she was well familiar with the software and confident with what to do. In result of this, she did most of the sound tracking along with us other members who were watching, and sharing our view of what we think mostly suited the clip. However after watching Rebecca, I learnt how to do it and then had a go listening to the different type of genres, sound, tone, and tempo, and placing which one myself and my group felt was most suitable for our clip. Our soundtrack was very mellow, depressing, something that keeps you in suspense and sad. This was done to fit the exact mood of what (the acting) was going in the clip. As a result this created a thrilling effect keeping the audience in suspense of what is going to happen with the newspaper, and guessing, as the audience would be interested and wondering what was actually said in the newspaper and what is going to happen next. After completing the soundtrack, we had to save it and put it together with our video clip. Once we had finished compiling the soundtrack and video together we had to covert the video to MP4 format and upload our video onto blogger.com. As a group, we are very pleased with our outcome, and as it was our first time at doing this, we feel very proud, making us more confident and eager into making our next one.
Preparing for Thriller Movie (Practice)
For the past few days we have been preparing for our Thriller movie. In our 1st lesson of our practice thriller, we was show how to edit clips using Final Cut Pro on the Mac. The lesson after we had to plan our thriller scene by taking pictures and placing them onto a storyboard. In our double lesson we was then shown by the technician how to us the camera and tripod, such things as how to turn on the camera, recording, inputting the battery and so forth. One we had learned the basics of how to use the equipment we were set of in our groups to film. Our group decided to use the hall on the ground floor of the college to film our thriller. Nicole was used as our main actress in the scene and our other actress in our scene was Rebecca. While me and Zeneath were doing the filming. We all contributed greatly to the video, by combining our ideas together to come up with the angle shots and the different shot distances from close ups to over the shoulder shots. The different shot angles and distances contributes to the video in making it more thrilling to the viewer. Once we had finished filming it was time go back to the computer room and upload our video clips for editing next lesson. In our single lesson we was given the whole time to finish of our editing, we all took turns in editing our clips and piecing them together, while other members of our group helped with ideas how to put it together to make it look good with special effects and fades. After we had finished all the editing we was given the chance to put a soundtrack on our video. We were given a selection of different instruments and sounds and had to listen to them and arrange them to our preference then save it and put it together with our video clip. Once we had finished compiling the soundtrack and video together we had to covert the video to MP4 format and upload our video onto blogger.com.
Friday, 12 December 2008
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