My Media Opening Sequence- "Immersed"

The Shoot Day

-When we arrived at the location, on time, after creating a “shot list” (which helped us to organise ourselves for the day ahead of us) and gathering together all the equipment we needed for the day.

-For the "shot list" we went through our story board writing down the number of the shots which had the camera in the same position as another shot so that we wouldn't have to repeat the same shot several times. 

The Shot List looked something along the lines of this;

1 (shot of water)

2 (above shot of girl diving)

6, 12 (swimming along pool from side)

4, 17, 18, 24 (underwater shots)

3, 9 (Close-up of girl’s face while swimming)

10 (close up of feet kicking)

13 (wide shot of girl swimming towards stop watch)

14, 16 (of girl looking at stop watch from side of pool)

15 (POV from girl of stop watch)

19 (close up of bottom of opening door)

20, 22, 23 (following shots of Father’s feet and of father standing)

21 (wide shot of girl swimming)

25 (head on shot of girl coming to end of pool)

26, 28 (POV from father)

27 (POV from girl)

29 (girl getting out of pool)

31 (girl putting on towel- medium shot)

The photo above is of us using our shot-list which is in the folder we created. The folder consisted of the story-board, the cast-list, location photos, letters of permition, the plot etc. 

-We began as soon as we had set up the equipment and had the team and actors were “standing by”. 

The above photo is of the tracks which we layed down for our tracking shot.

The above photo is of me setting up the tri-pod onto the track for the tracking shot.

When we did a practice shot we realised that the camera was much too high for our ideal shot.

 We then decided to tape the camera to the bottom of the tri-pod in order to get the shot we'd hoped for. However, we found this shot diffiuclt as we wanted to assure that there was balanced camera movement and wanted tothat the actors feet were in frame the whole time. Finally, after several takes we finally got the right shot.

-I enjoyed filming as I could remeber everything we were initially taught about camer-work. It was also very exciting as I learnt how to create a slow-motion shot.

The photo to the right is of a wide-shot through the camera.

The photo to the left is of me filming the wide-shot of Bethany swimming in the pool.

-We were happy with our choice in actors as Bethany, in particular, was very easy to work with. Even though she had to do a lot of continuous swimming she worked her hardest in order to not waste shooting time. 

The photo above is of me talking to bethany whilst the group is preparing for the next shot. I realised the importance of assuring that the actor knows what the crew's intentions are, before the shot, in order for them to give it their best effort. I learnt that communication between the actor and the crew is very important.

 Above is a photo of bethany. We assured that she was comfortable/ ready to begin the next shot as it can be very tiring swimming length after length without a proper break. By giving Bethany this time for a "breather" it allowed her to perform her best leaving Bethany and crew very happy with her work at then end of the day.

-On the day, as we were seeing the location first-hand for the first time, we came up with lot of new ideas for shots which we were very happy with.

e.g an ECU underwater shot of Bethany's hands (as shown below) and body as she is swimming which was very disorientating to the audience and added to the unnerving aspect of the sequence.

-We worked very well together as a group and found that our planning helped us hugely in terms of organisation as we finished with time to spare.

The photo above is of us planning which shots to do at what time and when would be an appropriate time for breaks. 

Problems which we experienced on the day were;
- Some shots which we had originally planned to do wouldn't be possible as we were seeing the location, first hand, for the first time.

e.g an underwater shot of the girl diving into the pool as the length and width of the pool wasn't large enough to create the sought after shot.

- The lighting in the room constantly changed as we were using natural lighting (the sun).

e.g we had difficulties with the exposure setting on the camera as the lighting could change mid-shot and then the exposure would be too high. We also noticed that this would create problems for us later in editing as the lighting would change throughout the sequence.

This is a picture of a friend who we asked to hold a towl up to the window in order to block the sunlight so that the exposure didn't change during a shot. This was a done as a last resort because we hadn't thought about problems with natural lighting in our preperation.

In Conclusion, I learnt many things, some of which to do again and others never to do again. It was a great exeperience and I am looking forward to editing the shots to creat my thriller sequence.

Some Examples of our Storyboards- Immersed

 

 

The Cast List for the updated media thriller

We came to a final decision of name the thriller, "Immersed", while  changing the plot; a teenage girl fighting for her chance in the olympics however she caught and is kept hostage by one of her competators and two crime scene investigators must do their best to find her before time runs out.

Name: Adam Grant

Age: Early 30’s

Sex: Male

Role: Kidnapper/ Male Olympic Swimmer

Reasons for Casting: Adam has the appearance of someone sporty. He is also willing to act and has been in previous media videos and therefore has had experience acting.

Contact info;

E-mail:Adam.grant@hurtwood.net

Name: Bethany Quinn

Age: 16

Sex: Female

Role: Female Olympic swimmer

Reasons for casting: She has a swimmers physique as she was on the swimming team of her old school. She has experience in swimming and acting (AS Theatre Studies). She is fit enough to do continuous swimming as she does dance AS. She is comfortable with being filmed in a swim suit. She fits the age we are looking for. 

Contact info;

E-mail: Bethany.quinn@hurtwood.net

Who is the target audience for my media project?

              

-Our thriller would be targeted at a mature teenage audience as the characters are mostly teenagers.

- It wouldn’t be suitable for people under the age of sixteen as it would involve a lot of psychological trauma.

- I would say that most common type of people that would watch this would be rather generic as the idea itself isn’t particularly original therefore it could be viewed by many teenagers as it is has a “safe” plot (it’s been done before therefore we know that people will like it) quite like in most Hollywood blockbusters where the film is rarely original.

-People who watch such films as “When a Stranger Calls”, “Rear Window” and “Strangers” are likely to enjoy “The Deep End” film because it uses the same ideas of the intruder/stalker, being watched, ignorance and isolation etc.





People would want to continue to watch our film after the opening sequence as it;

-Sets the scene; we are introduced to Bethany and are shown the most important thing in her life is swimming for her county.

-Has an element of danger; after we become acquainted with Bethany and her lifestyle and then we are shown that she is in danger (she is being watched by a dangerous man)

-Has an aspect of excitement; we are shown from shots such as the slow motion shot of Bethany coming up for a breath that her life is intense and exciting which makes the film interesting.

ESSAY- Analysing the Opening Sequence of Don't Look Now

   

- The opening shot is of a murky river in a field while it is raining. The rain is breaking the waters surface which makes the viewer imagine what is underneath the surface.

 

-The shot then zooms in closer to the water as if to imply that there is something inside it.

 

- The sound of rain hitting the water (diagetic) is very loud, drawing your attention to the water and then to what is in it. This is very effective as the audiences imagination takes over and begins to wonder through the subconscious, slowly building the suspense throughout the scene.

 

- There is a shot of light shining in through window-shutters. The viewer suspects the window to be a window of a church. This then adds a religious element to the scene.

- The diegetic sound of a man humming adds to the eerie effect as it seems quite creepy and out of place, quite childlike.

 

- In a shot of the girl walking with a wheel barrow a white horse runs across the field which seems quite out of place. The horse seems quite magical, adding a sense of innocence, as if it where a unicorn in a fairy-tale.

-The music in the scene (girl walking with wheel-barrow) adds to the idea of innocence as we are reminded of the girls youth as it is quite a childlike piece. The music also adds an uneasiness as the piano playing is quite disjointed.

-Overall it is very eerie as it has a constant sense of danger which is suspended until the very end of the scene.

-The early morning mist adds to the Mise-en-Scene as it adds a slightly spiritual haze to the scene.

 

-The lighting in most of the sequence is natural as it is from the rising sun.

- Low angled shot of the girls silhouette, this is very effective as it adds a religious, angelic view-point of the girl as she is standing in the bright morning light creating a presence of death/angels which seems to be a representation of heaven/the after-life.

 

-In order to show the isolation of the little girl there are shots of the girl in the foreground and the house in the background showing her distance from everyone else.

-There is a shot where her brother turns to look at her in the foreground and then turn his back on her. This forces us to notice that no-one is watching her which gives the sense that anything could happen.

 

-There is a long, wide shot of the young girl’s reflection in the water as she is running along the bank. This then makes the viewer uneasy as you cannot see the angle of the ground she is standing on which makes us believe she could fall into the water at any moment.

- The long-shot gives the viewer a subtle foresight to the tragic event which occurs later in the sequence, which adds to the suspense.

 

-The shot of the boy is uncomfortable as he continuously moves from right to left making it hard for the viewer to keep their eyes on him, it’s quite an uncomfortable image.

-When the boy rides over the broken glass was elevated to make us jump as we have been concentrating on the boy. This adds to the viewer's discomfort.

-Overall the sound in the scene makes the audience feel uncomfortable by the volume of noises made varying constantly. (E.g  the doll is so loud that the viewer feels rather disturbed and there is a loud sound of sticks cracking when the girl is walking.)

-There are scenes, between the girl and the boy playing, which are inside with what we assume are their parents. These shots give us a break from the suspense and allow us to look over the situation.

-The shot zooms into the figure in the red coat and then match cuts to the young girl in the same red coat outside therefore she is the same figure in the image.

- In the photo the girls back is to her father as if they are separated from each-other, the harsh red colour seems out of place in the church therefore our attention is drawn to the child.

-The angle of the photo is low, this makes the figure seem quite powerful, spiritual.


-There is a sense of mystery and the unknown as the girl is hooded therefore her coat is covering all her features, including her body, as if the figure is in the afterlife; reminding us that the girl will soon be dead.

 

- Looking for her cigarettes, the mother, puts her hand to her mouth, the scene then match cuts to the girl with her hand to her mouth; showing us that there is a connection between the two characters giving us the sense of a hidden identity within both people.

 

- The father knocks over his glass it cuts to a shot of the ball falling into the water. The water spilling seems to represent the end of his daughter’s life as it is quick and swift and the girl has been related to water since the beginning of the scene.

- The idea of the water spilling and then the girl dying is quite superstitious which then adds to the overall ambience of spiritual presence.

-When the glass drops the noise is again uncomfortably loud, making the viewer alert.

-When the red-ink of the girl’s coat, on the photo, begins to run through the rest of the image it greatly implies spiritual presence. As if the daughter’s soul is leaving her body, It also seems to represent blood and death; red tends to be a typical representation of this.

-The short-shot of the little girl falling into the water, in slow motion is very effective as we have been waiting a long time for the girl to fall into the water. 

-We do not associate emotionally with the child as our expectation of her death has been building. This then leads the viewer to believe that there was an alternative reason for the girl falling into the water.

- There is a long-shot of the father trying to find his daughter in the water. This puts the viewer on edge as we want him to find his daughter quickly incase he can save her, although we know that it isn’t likely to happen.

In evaluation of the opening scene to "Don’t Look Now" is very effective as it builds suspense and the finally has a climax while adding a spiritual factor to the film and making the audience feel uneasy and confused

Pitching our ideas

Today we tried to think of ideas for our "thriller" opening sequence. First we individually came up with three ideas. Below is one of mine.
House on a Hill;

-An establishing shot of a large, holiday house on a hill.

The shot is held and then a male figure walks into the frame, walking toward the house, slowly.

-There is then a jump shot of a family inside the house. There are three children; two young children aged 5-10 and a teenage girl. The parents are trying to get everyone to sit at the table for dinner; there is an innocent yet chaotic atmosphere.

-There is then another jump shot to the man walking up the hill but he is closer to the house this time. It then cuts to the shot of his hand which has blood dripping off the fingertips.

-There is then another cut to the inside of the house showing, again the family sitting down for dinner, giving us the idea that something is about to disrupt it.

-When the family are finally at the table and are about to eat there is a nock at the door. The farther rises from the chair to answer, there is then a reaction shot of the father when he has opened the door, he is speechless and there is a fearful/shocked look on his face. 

-We then hear the sound of his throat being slit and there is a blackout. During the blackout, we hear the farther breathing heavily, trying to speak, as he is lying on the floor as the title fades in.

(The transitions in this sequence would have been mainly fade in and fade out)

We decided not to go with this idea as it was too clichè. It was also rather un-interesting. The only part which grabs our attention would be the build up in pace/tension.

We each shared our ideas and found one which we were happy to do;

The Deep End

-It woul begin with a shot of a girl diving into a pool and then beginning to swim- training for a county swimming competition.

-The girl would continue to swim back and forth with under water shots/ slow motion shots of coming up for breath.

-Tension would build as she is timing herself.

-The would be POV shots from outside the pool room looking in making us realise that she is being watched.

-We would see the door open and feet walking into the room (track shot).

-We would think the stalker is in the room but it is the father.

-Father leaves an she follows after but we see this through POV so we know that someone is still watching and that she is in danger.

This was interesting as there were many good ideas and it was difficult for us to choose which was best/ appropriate for our thriller sequence.

Editing- preliminary task

We were introduced to editing our today in order to edit our preliminary task.

To begin with it we were shown;

-The Rush Bin

 We were told to keep all our original files in the “rush bin” in the event that files were accidentally deleted or if we needed to retrieve old files.

We labelled each clip in order to organise the files and we deleted the shots which went wrong.

-The Log Bin

Once we have chosen which shots we want for our scene in editing we put them into the “log bin”.

We did all of the editing on apple mac. Software.

There were two different screens; one for viewing the original clip and the other for the shots edited together to make a scene.

When editing you must be aware of what you want to portray during the scene such as;

Who do you want the audience to feel sympathetic for?

 Usually this would mean that you would want this person to have the most camera time.

Once we finished editing different sequences we started to use sound effects. We were taught vaguely how to put pre-recorded sounds and put them over are visual recordings and how to fit them in as if they were natural diagetic sounds.

In order to use sound you are creating a new “bin” called the “sound bin”.

You can add different sounds to this bin from “final sound editing” where there are various sound effects which you can add to your sequence.

The biggest difficulty I faced while editing was motion. You have to be sure to avoid inconsistency between clips e.g if you have two different shots of a door closing you have to be sure, when putting them together that the door is at the same place when transferring to the next shot.

Mood Board

Today in the lesson we used microsoft word and microsoft power point to create a "mood board". A "mood board" is a collage or collation of images and text. As mine was on "thrillers" and "horrors" it expressed what I find scary. This was helpful as it helped me to generate ideas for my Media Thriller sequence. Below is the Mood Board which I created.

(If you would like to view the mood board in a larger font please click on the size percentage in the corner and icrease it to 200%)

Mood Boards

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In addition to generating ideas we took a close look at an opening sequence of a thriller of our choice. I chose to do Vertigo directed Alfred Hitchcock.

Vertigo

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Preliminary Task

• We filmed a scene based on a storyboard which was made by the teachers.
• A story board is a panel or panels on which a sequence of sketches depict the significant changes of action and scene in a planned film, as for a movie, television show, or advertisement.
• A sotryboard is important for preperation and to assure that actors and crew undertsand what needs to be done on the day. It is also to improve the accury of the film.

Below is the storyboard which we used.

• We filmed in the Media classroom where we had a desk, a chair and the view of a door. This location worked for the task as we had a lot of space to use once we had moved the desks to one side of the room.

• We used the desks to film from higher levels so it helped us to vary our camera shots.

• I directed this preliminary task and kept an eye on where the actors stood etc. to make sure that the continuity was correct. 

Lighting

• I wasn’t happy with our lighting as it came off too strong and created shadows which seemed unnatural.

• Natural lighting would have looked more appropriate.

•  However in certain scenes the shadows emphasized the higher status of one of the characters when one shadow was looming over another.

Filming

• When setting up the camera we; put up the tripod, put the camera on the tripod and used the tripod’s built in spirit level to assure that the camera was level.

• After the camera was correctly placed on the stand we faced the camera toward the white board and adjusted the white balance.

• We then adjusted the exposure which looked appropriate with the lighting

• Before starting the scene we zoomed in on our actress (Tess) and adjusted the focus so that the scene was in focus.

Before we began the recording;

• We would move the camera to the correct position in order to get the correct shot of the actors and to assure that the lighting equipment was not in the shot.

• We framed the shot (assuring there was no head space and plenty of looking space) in order to get the best shots.

What terminology did I learn?

• As the director I learnt many terminologies which are useful to know if I would like to work professionally on set in making a film.

I learnt such terminology as;

- “Stand by”

The director says this to tell everyone to get their equipment ready e.g lighting, cameras.

- “Camera ready” (reply to “standby”)

The camera-man/woman says this to show the director that you are ready to filming .

-“Roll camera”

This is said when actors are in position and everyone is ready to begin filming.

-“Rolling”

This is said by the camera-man/woman when everyone is ready to film.

-“Cut”

The director says this anytime they think is appropriate, usually after the film has ended.

-“That’s a wrap”

The director says this to let the actors know they can go home and to tell everyone with equipment to pack it away.

Using this terminology for every time we started and stopped recording was very useful as this routine became natural to me.

In Conclusion

From my preliminary task I have learnt;

• To look ahead to the shots that you will be making in order to assure that you can make all your shots without moving your lighting equipment.

• To adjust the lighting until you feel that the level is appropriate for the scene.

• To become accustomed to filming but it also helped me to learn what you must do to prepare yourself before filming.

Final Result
Below is the final result of our Media preliminary task.