Preliminary Film

Preliminary

Preliminary Behind the Scenes

Preliminary Planning and Storyboard

Initial Planning

Final Preliminary Storyboards

The Shining Analysis

Practice Filming and Editing

Practice Filming and Editing

Due to our own footage not being compatible with the macs, our own film was not possible to edit. Unfortunately this meant we had to edit our classmates Connie and Kiara's footage. I found this a really enjoyable experience seeing as I like to edit films and make them look as professional as possible. I think that we edited the film well seeing as we concentrated on the small details and made the shots flow together as much as we possibly could. There are a variety of match on action shots and shot reverse shots within the short video. Some examples include the first MOA at 0:12 seconds and example of a shot reverse shot sequence would be between 1:09 and 1:14. We added sound effects and music that we thought were applicable to the context and made the film have a slight comedic undertone. 

Preliminary Analysis

Continuity Editing

Continuity Editing

180 Degree Rule

The 180 degree rule is used constantly within the film and television industry. It is a filming guideline that, participants in a scene should have the same left-right relationship to each other in order to allow the audience to have a greater sense of location in the scene in terms of what may be off-screen in some shots, for example in shot reverse shots. This rule is also used because it is believed to disorientate viewers if the 180 degree rule is broken. On the other hand it is also broken purposefully at times to confuse the audience.

Shot Reverse Shot 

Shot reverse shot is a staple of editing in dialogue sequences. It utilizes the 180 degree rule, the eye line match and the rule of change among others. It is a film technique wherein one character is shown looking 'back' at the first character (usually within a conversation context). Since the characters are shown facing in opposite directions we as the audience are unconciously lead to believe that the characters are looking at each other. Obviously this is a very useful technique as we get to hear the dialogue whilst at the same time seeing the other persons reaction. This technique would be used frequently in soap dramas and perhaps powerful, emotional scenes in which the audience need to see how a certain characters react to different things.

Match On Action 

A match on action or 'cutting on action' shot is an editing technique in which one shot cuts to another shot portraying the action of the subject in the first shot. This is used to create a sense of continuity so that the action carrying through creates a visual bridge which draws the viewers attention away from slight cutting and continuity issues. It portrays a continuous sense of the same action.

The Birds Analysis

Bridget Jones' Diary Title Sequence Timeline

Bridget Jones' Title Sequence

I chose to do the Bridget Jones' Diary opening credits as my title sequence timeline, because I think that the films are very funny and have a really strong input of British comedy. I have learnt after reviewing lots of different opening sequences that the pace of them is usually in direct relation to the genre that the particular film is in. For example an action thriller such as 'Sky Fall' has a very busy title sequence with a lot going on, there is a lot of reference as to what is going to proceed the title sequence i.e guns and other iconography. Whereas within the title sequence I have chosen which would belong to the 'rom-com' genre, I think that it just introduces you to the character of the woman in shot. It is a classic rom-com and I do think that this predictable particularly from the song used within the opening credits 'All By Myself'. Stereotypical romantic comedies feature an individual who is lonely at the start of the film then finds love eventually and as predicted this film follows the pattern. 

Opening Titles Deconstruction - American Horror Story - Asylum

American Horror Story - Asylum

American Horror Story is a horror drama produced by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk. It has four series all set in different time periods. I have chosen it because it is one of my favorite programmes and I think the opening credits are very interesting and reflect the programme itself very well. Asylum is the second and my favorite series so far.

The minute the opening credits start we are made aware of the type of TV drama this is. The extremely disturbing images and use of unnatural sounds in the music express the eeriness of this very cleverly made horror. As we can see to the right of this text there is a girl walking up the stairs in the crab position in a nightgown. This is an iconic horror image stemming from the famous film 'The Exorcist'. As well as it being made obvious to the audience that is is a horror series we can see that what we are about to watch will be set in a time in the past due to the
old fashioned night gown and staircase.

The music in my opinion is what makes this opening sequence so interesting, it is very scratchy and has sudden outbursts of random noises over a constant almost leering base tone. These random outbursts are similar to some of the noises that the patients make throughout the programme such as screaming etc. The music itself is enough to make you scared seeing as it fits the images of people rocking in their beds and close ups of people screaming and doing other things associated with mental health (seeing as this is set in a 1960's asylum).

The placement of the actors names is central and as i mentioned before flares onto the screen in capital letters when the outbursts of noise happen, this is very direct and shows that in the series there will be a lot of enigma codes and surprises that we weren't expecting to happen. This could also suggest that there is a lot of focus on the characters and that they are all individually important. The typography is quite a weird font and as we can see in the whole shot there is some flickering and special effect to make the shot look like old film - again referring back to the fact that the series is set in the 1960's. Throughout this opening sequence the colors are very dark due to the nature of the programme and there is strobe lighting that adds to the scary effect. The costume is very typical for this era with the main costume being hospital gowns and 1960's attire. The use of cut editing is very appropriate seeing as it adds to the discontinuity making us feel very jumpy with disorientated shots.

Thriller Conventions

Thriller Conventions

Thriller films and TV dramas are very popular because they use a lot of techniques to keep their audience captivated so that they will want to watch the next episode/ sequel. Within a stereotypical thriller there will be a lot of anticipation, suspense, tension and uncertainty. There are usually a lot of enigma codes within a thriller film/TV programme which are used to throw the audience when they think they are in the know about who has committed the murder for instance. These films etc are usually filled with fast paced, adrenaline- rushing scenes that the audience love because it provides them with a sense of excitement when the film reaches its climax. 

Narrative Conventions

Usually thrillers have a strong focus on the two leading characters the protagonist and the antagonist. As the plot progressses the villain usually presents problems for the protagonist that they will have to overcome in order to get justice. Above we can see the notorious Hannibal Lecter who is the antagonist in the well known film Silence of the Lambs. This is the perfect archetype for a psychological thriller as a detective tries to find out where the kidnapped daughter of a U.S senator is being hidden by a serial killer who skins women alive to create himself a 'woman suit'. In order to capture him the detective asks for the help of renowned cannibalistic serial killer Lecter to give her an insight into 'Buffalo Bill's' mind.
   

Sub-Genres

• Psychological Thriller        
• Crime Thriller
• Mystery Thriller
• Supernatural Thriller
• Comedy Thriller

Above i have embedded the trailer for the crime thriller 'Taken' This is a really iconic modern crime thriller and it has all the stereotypical qualities of this sub-genre. It features a highly intellectual former CIA operative (Liam Neeson) who is looking for his daughter who has been kidnapped within the trafficking sexual slavery ring in France. Neeson plays the iconic crime thriller protagonist with his flaw being his loneliness, after separating from his wife. The colours in this film are very dark and shadowy reflecting the serious nature of the film. Examples of other crime thrillers would be Inception, Pulp Fiction and The Bourne Supremacy, these types of films all are very fast and intense with a lot of chase scenes etc. 

Media

Media Studies

What is media studies for?

In my opinion media studies is a very valuable subject that I chose for A level because I would like to get into a career that heavily involves media/ film and television production. I think that media is really interesting and could help me to further my knowledge into how films are planned out and produced seeing as I have never studied media before.

Why i took media studies

My passion for films and television wasn't actually clear to me until I started this subject last week when the class was discussing films and genres and I realized I like basically everything and have watched more media than I thought I had previously. I enjoy watching horror, crime, comedy, musicals, period dramas, rom-coms, thrillers (in particular psychological), action, fantasy and sometimes but not often sci-fi films. My favorite directors would be Gurinder Chadha and Judd Apatow. Chadha has produced many films orientated around Indians living in the UK, she weaves comedy into her plots very cleverly and I feel like her films have introduced me to different cultures. I also like how she focuses on the strengths of women and breaks traditions. Some examples of her work include 'Angus Thongs and Perfect Snogging' 'Bend it Like Beckham' and 'Bride and Prejudice'. My other favorite director would be Judd Apatow. He has produced a large chunk of my favorite films and his sense of humor through his directing really relates to my own. His most notable works and some of my favorites include 'Superbad' 'Knocked Up' 'This is 40' 'Pineapple Express' 'Bridesmaids' and 'The 40 Year Old Virgin'. I also am really interested in the practical side of media and want to possibly look into a television/film editing career, I have embedded below a short film I made for my family to watch in years to come, I really enjoy editing and producing things like this as shown and have lots more footage from my previous holiday that I hope to edit in summer in order to create a series of 'vlogs' to remember the holiday by.