THRILLER TITLE SEQUENCE FINAL EDIT

Feedback: 4 main questions to ask about our film

'Prowler'

1) Did you like our film? If so then why?

2) Once the title sequence had ended were you gripped enough to see more?

3) Do you think the music suited our film?

4) Do you think our film would be successful on a larger scale?

Location Shots

The location of our film was around the upper street area. Our thriller title sequence was recorded just outside the house on two roads where the target was getting followed and also the main scenes were recorded in the house: kitchen, living room and stairs. The area was quiet, on of the side roads which was ideal for a stalker to follow their target, this is what our thriller was based on.

Final edit of livetype and sound filming practice

In our lesson we were able to edit our practice footage which was based on someone reading a newspaper. This exercise allowed us to experiment with the two programs to add titles and sound to our practive video and see what may go wrong. It also gave us an insight on how the editing of our thriller will look like one we have started.

Skills Audit: Soundtrack and Livetype

In our lesson we were introduced to two programs called - Soundtrack Pro and Livetype. These programs were vital for the editing of our thrillers.



Soundtrack Pro was the program that we used to compose and edit our music for our thrillers as shown above. The program featured in many music clips that varied from suspenseful to orchestra music, we eventually found tracks that suited our thriller which we later associated with our film. Soundtrack enabled us to create our own unique piece of music from scratch. The tutorial taught us how to:

- stretch sound of the timeline
- mix sounds
- listen to a variety of sounds
- explore sound genres
- make a sound loud/quiet as moods change



Livetype was a program allowing us to produce titles for our thrillers as you can see above. This program has many features which allow you to add various effects to your titles such a making them shine, blur etc. Livetype also allows us to change fonts, sizes, colour. The program also has a preview feature which enables to see what the title will look like. In the tutorial we learnt how to:

- change font
- change size/colour
- effects such as blurring or fading etc.
- mix effects
- making each title a certain length

Intro to Camera & Health & Safety Tutorial

In our lesson, we were introduced to the JVC ProHD GY-HM700 camera that we were going to use to record our thrillers. We were shown a presentation of main factors such as:

- how to turn the camera on/off
- inserting of the memory cards
- applying zoom/focus
- inserting and removing the battery
- opening/closing lens
- how to record

Each group was then provided with a camera, every person in the group had a go on the camera eg. turning it on/off etc. We were also provided with a tripod and taught how to apply the camera on the tripod, then lock it and finally how to remove it from the tripod. We were also informed on how inportant it is to be cautious with the camera's. This tutorial helped us boost our confidence with the camera's also the knowledge that we had on how to use one, learning how the camera functions was a good introduction before we went of to record our thrillers.

Analysis of 9 shots from Art of the Title Sequence

Panic Room

The first image of the title sequence gives the audience a clear idea that the main production company is Columbia pictures in bold writing with a city long-shot view. On the next image the layout of the city and the angle from where the image is taken changes slightly.

The images that follow start to introduce the films main actors – bold, large font and size titles are used. Panic room starring the likes of Jodie Foster, Forest Whitaker, Jared Leto. Once the main characters that feature in the film are introduced, the sixth image has another long-shot possibly taken of a roof top. The image includes the films title: Panic Room – once again in bold writing, large size and font. Music by Howard Shore and directed by David Fincher are image related to the others, sticking to the same size and font throughout.

All of the images are city based with similar sizes of writing and identical fonts throughout the title sequence. The fact that the title sequence is based on images from the city indicates that the film will be based in this city.

Evaluation Question 7) Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learned in the progression from it yo the full product?

In our media project we started looking at professional thriller title sequences, then we had preliminary tasks to carry out and after that we finally did our final task (the thriller). In comparison to our preliminary exercise our final title sequence was much better by the shots used, planning, sound, mis en scene and editing.

Our preliminary and final videos are her below:

Techinal audit of bait tutorial

In our lesson we were taught how to use Final Cut Pro, this program enabled us to edit. We learned the basics of how to input and output for example. We were provided with a short film footage that we had to try to match and edit. The matching allowed us to arrange clips of the footage on the timeline. This tutorial was useful because it gave everyone a clear image of what editing our thriller will be like.

News and current affairs event

Leaders clash in final TV debate



The leaders of Britain's three biggest parties are going head-to-head over the economy in the final TV debate before next week's general election. The clear winner of the last debate was Nick Clegg as he showed his calm figure and spoke well during the TV debate. This will be the third and final, most important debate just before the election.

Gordon Brown branded Conservative plans to axe child tax credits for better off families "unfair and immoral".

Tory leader David Cameron said Mr Brown had got his facts wrong and "should be ashamed of what he is doing".

Nick Clegg said the way the tax credit system operated was "so unfair" and said the Lib Dems would fix it.

Evaluation Question 6) What have you learned about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/8237/picture1wd.png

This is the link for an image of using LiveType in my media project, I could not upload the image straight to blogger.com because all of the image uploading capacity has been taken up and it will not let me upload any other images to the website.

In the process of making the title sequence to our thriller I have use new forms of different technologies.

First, I learnt the precautions & safety of using the a JVC video camera and it's tripod, this was beneficial knowledge to us when we were making our film.

Second, we had the use LiveType so that we were able to give our work titles which is the main goal of this project (entering text into our title sequence for our thriller).

Next, Final Cut Pro was used for the main editing aspects of our film because we were able to cut in and between clips and edit clips in general also I have learnt a great deal in this project.

The internet and it's software e.g. google, The art of the title sequence and blogger were needed when making our thriller. Google is the main source for where we found out information and blogger is where we uploaded our own information about our thrillers title sequence.

For the sound effects created and used were used by a software package called Soundtrack Pro, this was used very well I feel when we were trying to create suspense and atmosphere in the thriller.

List of thriller sub-genres

Thrillers consist of many sub-genres. These include:

Action thriller - in which the work often features a race against the clock, contains lots of violence, and usually guns.

Psychological thriller - the conflict between the main characters is mental and emotional, rather than physical.

Crime thriller - both crime films and thrillers consist of a suspenseful account of a successful or failed crime or crimes. Crime thrillers usually emphasise action over psychological aspects.

Horror thriller - where main character is put in danger and their main enemies are unrealistic creatures in which they must destroy to achieve their goal.

Action thrillers seem to be the ones that inspire me because they develop a wide spread to tension and keep the viewer gripped. Therefore, this makes me want to watch on to find out what the outcome of the film will be.

Example of action thriller is Transporter 3:

Detailed analysis of thriller clip analysed

Pulse

The sequence begins with a large amount of graphics and cuts which is used to set the scene. There are a variety of cuts which include: a snap shot of someone typing on a computer, clouds going past to show time increase. These cuts are used to show the viewer a foreshadowing image of what may happen later in the film, they also allow the audience to see what the film is about, which in this case is technology. The opening then follows on with a man walking, there are POV shots of the main character looking at people on computers, iPods and phones.

The location that the character is in seems bright, which doesn’t seem conventional for thrillers. The man then enters the university library, in the far background a car is visible. Looking closer, the car mirror seems to have a dark blurry figure, once again this foreshadows later events. The lighting within the location seems to have changed, the university is darker than the outside, meeting the convention of a thriller. The man is now on his own, the character matches the damsel in distress. As he enters the university library the man see flashbacks of the same dark figure he earlier saw in the car mirror. His dark surrounding causes tension in relation with music. The music in the background and the sound produced whilst the titles appear indicate that the film seems to be a psychological thriller, during later parts of the sequence the music keeps the audience gripped but a the same time cautious. The man later gets caught by a scary dark looking character, which leads to him screaming, from this moment the film begins.

How is suspense created in the film you watched in class?

The Shining

Suspense is a key feature within a film which grips the viewer making them speculate about what may happen next. ‘The Shining’ does this through many different psychological ways.

The film hints events that have occurred in the past which will later relate to the film, this type of element keeps the audience constantly curious. The flashbacks that Danny sees as he cycles emphasises the mystery story that occurred in the hotel previously. Another key scene is when Jack enters room 237 and notices a beautiful women, this creates suspense as earlier the audience was sure that something horrific will happen as soon as Jack enters. As the scene develops Jack begins to kiss the women when suddenly she turns into a repulsive creature which consumes the viewers with suspense.

Shining hides other various types of suspense e.g. Danny who shares psychic abilities with the hotel's chef who calls it shining also develops tension within the audience. The camera work also has an effect as the frequent use of long shots throughout both the ‘Overlook hotel’ and its garden maze have a disorientating effect on the viewer. The scene where Jack is axing down the bathroom door and Wendy who’s constant screaming builds tension, shows Jacks head poke through the shattered door shouting ‘here’s Jonny’. This scene is arguably the best within the film as the viewer is held within suspense to see what happens next, surprisingly Wendy leaves within any injury.

Suspense

The definition of suspence is:

- tension
- mental uncertanty or anxiety
- excited anticipation of an approaching climax

Evaluation Question 5) Who would be the audience for your media product?

The target audience for my thriller are both males and females between 15-22. The thriller was targeted at a 15 certificate. The images above represent a typical teenagers items that would feature in their bag. People of such ages have a wide interest in thrillers, this is why our main target are people between such ages. This Adidas bag belongs David aged 17, he has a wide interest in new technology: blackberry, i-touch and a digital camera feature in his bag.

Evaluation Question 2) How does your media product represent particular social groups?

There was not many characters to choose from in our films title sequence. I could only find one shot of a character that could be kind of related to our film as part of a particular social group, which is a young black girl being followed by a young black boy who is in this case is the bad guy.

Evaluation Question 1) In what way does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

In our media project we were asked to compare 9 still images from a film that was similar to our film but I would only find 4 images from the film that looked similar to our film so I have only chosen 4 images from the film and 4 images from our film. I have chosen to make a comparison to the film "Halloween" as the film and the titles kind of matched our thriller.

Evaluation Question 3&4) What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why? How will you attract/address your audience?

I have made a decision to show my film in low profile cinemas such as (The screen on the green), because it was made on a low budget also it is an independent film. Candi studios will produce my film as they are the colleges main film production company. My film will be advertised similar to (Kidulthood and Adulthood) which were made on a low budget. I will promote our film by the use of the internet on many websites including "Facebook and Youtube", because these websites mostly appeal to the main target audience (15+).

I will also advertise our film by using billboards, mobile phone apps, magazines and many other forms of advertising. I think that the best way of getting my film advertised would be word of mouth and for people to write reviews on the film.

Evaluation Question 8) Audience feedback and comment