Evaluation.

After being places into a group of three people including myself at the start of the course, i was slightly taken by suprise.

I was under the impression that we would be working individually which i am used to, and generally motivated at. Seeing as i was placed in a group consisting of myself, Luciana and Gamze i had no idea what to expect.

Once planning the film, i was placed planning the storyboards, which i didn't mind as i have done work such as this before. Throughout the planning process our group were not very organized, but we were managing to get by.

Once we decided on our genre (thriller) and what our aims were, we were allowed to start filming. We wanted to film a sequence of flashbacks including a chase scene.

As we were filming on school premises we needed the halls empty before we could do so.

So we had to first of all film the chase during lesson time.

When then moved onto filming the dark interview in the media filming room.

Our filming was falling behind as we repeatedly retried the same scenes. Being that we were using a character that was part of another group also limited our filming time quite a lot, as he had his own work to be getting on with.

We managed to get enough filming done, but we were still behind. This made us also fall seriously behind in terms of editing. I managed to cut the film up, but then when attempting to edit on another day, the footage was lost.

By this point we are on the edge of failing, as i would have to log and capture and edit everything again.

This eventually, seriously affected the editing and outcome of our final film.

Due to the circumstances i think we came out the end of the course able to display our work and get our point across. Although in terms of the effect we wanted we failed.

Diary

Monday 16th March

Problems

We did not film on this date due to the reason that we actually wernt ready, we didnt have all the pre production materials to be able to move onto filming.

Successes

On this day we stayed in class and got ready the work needed to be able to then go and move onto the final film. This gave us more thinking time and made us able to plan it out correctly without any rush.

Tuesday 17th March

Problems

We were unsuccessful to film on this day also. This was Due to the fact that there was a member of the group missing which made it difficult for us to move on with our task.

Successes

Instead of filming on this particular day, i borrowed a camera from the media department. i then went around and took photos of the places i thought would be suitable to film in.

I then went back to class and uploaded them onto my computer.

Thursday 19th March

Problems

There were not many problems on this day, the only problem may have been that we needed more time.

Successes

We were able to film for the first time on this day. We got many shots done. including a great opening shot, with good use of lighting.

Monday 23rd March

Problems

One of our group members was absent today so we couldn't get all the shots done as needed.

Successes

Myself and Luciana managed to do all the shots possible without the third member of our group.

3.3 Synopsis of Complete Film

Our Opening sequence will be under the Thriller genre. Our aim will be to scare the audience whilst not being too over the top, there would be disappointment if this turned to a comedy, rather than a thriller.

Our Sequence will be about a woman sitting down with another character, frightened, and explaining what has happened to her. Whilst she explains a high paced use of flashbacks will be used to re-enforce what the character is saying while also creating fear among the audience. The flashbacks itself will be re-enforced with use of sharp sound effects.

The flashbacks will contain a view of the woman being chased by something which the camera only gets the occasional glimpse at. 

This sequence hopefully will generate fear or at least a chill among the audience. With a woman giving an insight of her mind which holds memory's of a psycho, a chase, and a near death experience.

The Sixth Sense

Sound


While the opening sequence to the sixth sense starts, a deep based, spine tingling piece of music is played. When the title 'sixth sense' fades in and out of the black screen a body jolting high note is played on the violin (something like what is used in 'jaws' or 'psycho'). The sound introduces the film as being scary, and this is what the audience automatically expects from the sound used in the opening sequence.


Lighting


When the title sequence ends we are presented with a totally dark shot. The shot is of a lightbulb which very slowly lights up.
The shot is then cut to what seems like a point of view shot from behind a wine rack which gives us a view of a character coming down the stairs on the left.
The use of darkness could connote maybe the presence of an evil of some sort. It also creates fear amongst the audience, this use of mature techniques shows us that this film is aimed for young adults and adults.
The room in which both characters are in is also dimly lit, this could be to create a romantic feel, as it is obvious that these two characters are a couple.




Camera


The first shot used in the sequence is the close up of the light bulb. I don't think this bulb connotes anything, just denotes that someone may be entering the room where the bulb is.
There is then quite an extraordinary shot from behind the wine rack. With this shot we see the woman entering the basement by walking down the stairs. This shot gives the audience the feel as though they are placed in the position of someone lying in wait for the woman, which brings a sense of fear from the very start.
When the woman leaves the basement it cuts to a close up of some candles on a sideboard (probably used to establish another room). There s then a panning shot from a mans legs which pans up until its more of a medium shot of him and the woman standing together.
There shots used are quite relaxed and slow, which aids the romantic relaxed film the director may be trying to create with these two characters.


Studio and Marketing


Characters


>Bruce Willis
>Haley Joel Osment
>Toni Collette
>Olivia Williams
>Donnie Wahlberg


Director


>M.Night Shyamalan


Producers


>Kathleen Kennedy
>Frank Marshall
>Barry Mendell
>Sam Mercer


Music by


>James Newton Howard


Budget & Takings


The sixth sense had a budget of $40 million. it took in $26.6 million in its opening weekend and overall, took a worldwide gross of $672,806,292.

V for Vendetta

During lesson we discussed the opening sequence of the Action Thriller 'V For Vendetta'. We were first asked what audience would the film attract. 

One of the first things that came to mind was:

>People who enjoyed watching Natalie Portman in films like 'Star Wars' are more likely to watch this film, due to her taking a main role.

>Audiences that may be interested in action or violence will watch V for Vendetta as it has both of these things.

>A younger audience under the 15 certificate will be drawn by temptation to the film but may not be able to watch it.

We were then asked, judging on the opening sequence what things connote the audience it is aimed towards.

>The music played in the opening sequence was a war type themed music, this appeals to the young male audience.

>The music played also anchors what is going on in the footage.

Preliminary exercise

My group was set a task to complete a preliminary exercise, which would test our ability in using media equipment. The task was to make a short clip of someone opening a door, walking in a room, sitting down and exchanging words with another character.  We were in a group of three which consisted of me Luciana and Gamze. We went through a process of making mistakes, Leaving the camera on record etc. But we got some reasonable footage in the end.

We used a long shot of Luciana walking through the door which continues onto the other shot where we use a panning shot to follow her across the class to where she was going to sit. Once she was sat down we used Shot reverse shot to bring the conversation and reactions between her and Gamze together.

Once we had all our footage we edited it on final cut pro. We cut all the separate shots and picked the best ones to tightly fit together so the cutting between shots runs smoothly.