Sixth Sense Analysis

Scene;
In this scene, a frightened Cole is about to reveal his secret that he can in fact see dead people. The shot use of a close up from a slight of centre angle creates the illusion he is even more afraid as the camera appears to get closer and closer. Additionally by making the camera get closer and closer it starts to show  the horror stereotypes.Another reason why this particular scene is affective is the mise en scene shown. The use of dark lighting around him suggest that his secret is dark and must be hidden from others out of fear from being judged by people he knows.                                                                                                 The use of the cover being pulled over him more as he speaks suggests that he is covering himself.

9th December 2016

Today we recorded a voice over for our better preliminary task. We casted Lucas to be the male in our preliminary task as we thought he fit the role the best. The voiceover was recorded on Lucy's phone multiple times to ensure that it was the best quality available, Lucas recorded it whilst listening to ominous horror film music in order to match the speed of the music so that whilst speaking, the flow would be better. The idea to do a voiceover was inspired by the opening scene of Gone Girl where she is lying on her husbands chest, the voiceover is overlaid (asynchronous) as otherwise without the sound the opening scene would be awkward. As a group we liked the idea of this as it matched the overall way we wanted our opening to look and feel like; the opening with the voiceover shows a juxtaposition of what the two characters relationship was like before to how it is currently.

For research we looked at a lot of physiological thriller openings as this was the genre we wanted to base our opening around. An example of one of the openings we looked at was Gone Girl, Ellie had expressed that she liked Gone Girl so we then began looking more into it. We later all watched Gone Girl and said that this was the film we would use as research as not only are the actors portrayal of the characters good but also the cinematography has a large variety of shots.

6th November 2016

6th November 2016: Uploading day.

Today we uploaded our final production up onto YouTube. We decided to upload our short opening now as we thought there was nothing left to add onto it and instead start thinking about what we can later develop for our A Level lip sync video. Additionally we want to show improvement in our next video we make as by doing this it shows how we have bettered our skills.

Preliminary Task Overview.

Editing;
Within our editing we have added in sound effects such as a heartbeat and the sound of a demon to emphasis the dramatic effect which is being conveyed. The Sounds we have used are also copyright free which means we are able to use them without contacting the owner. We have added in these types of effects as in various examples such as in The Sixth Sense, the use of suspensful diegetic music helps to tie the shot together.

Camera;
We first started of with only filming the shots that were needed as a base for our thriller opening as we were unsure on what to put together. Gradually we have also filmed some opening shots of the scenery to set the scene of what 'horror' is about to occur as this is the genre we have picked, as a group deciding on what would be filmed we found easy but the filming itself we found difficult as we wanted our work to look smooth. The use of filming shots such as pans, tracking and mid shots establishes a setting so we tried to incorporate as many as we could but as this was a very simple set-up in which two people were having a convocation we didn't want to overdo it. We  also filmed the shot of the building in which the conversation takes place so we can use this for our Establishing Shot therefore creating an illusion of an opening. An establishing shot tends to be a long shot of the scenery to establish where something takes place at the start of a film.

Mise en Scene;
As a group we have decided to use a classroom as our starting point for our conversation to emulate just a normal day at school. To the audience it portrays an everyday setting which can be seen as horror like due to the lack of suspense people may feel from a classroom. The two 'students' then can be seen entering a hallway, using the match-on-match, where they come face to face with the 'demon' that has making the noises and making the lights flicker on. The light flickers can now tell the audience that the two characters are in danger. We have kept both June and Lucy in everyday clothing for school to show that this was also just an average day.

The Vampire Diaries Shots Analysis

I have chosen The Vampire Diaries to compare our shot uses to show similarities between our horror opening to a horror genre show. In order to make our horror opening as best as possible we took inspiration from shows and films of that genre in order to make this as horror-like as possible.

The Vampire Diaries consists of a variety of shots which could be considered of 'horror' genre. E.G over the shoulder shots. Whilst filming our shots we made sure that not only was the shot right for the scene we were to trying to display but also if it made sense to the audience. For example whilst Lucy and June are conversing about how 'scary' things have been happening to them, it was only right to use shot reverse shot and side shots to show the audience were having a conversation.                                                                                        

In addition by having a conversation we have also used a two person shot which also emphasises to the audience that two people are having a conversation.





Storyboard.

Thursday 15th November 2016

Today we began editing all our clips together in order to create a smooth short horror opening.We made sure the match on match was constant as otherwise it wouldn't look as professional as we had envisioned. For example we managed to successfully do a transition from an over the shoulder shot into an side - 2 person shot, whilst Lucy was talking.

Additionally we have added in some background music such as a heartbeat to emphasis the fact one of the characters are afraid and a demon sound of when the shot of the possessed girl appears to make it more effective.
 
June has also digitally created our storyboard so we are able follow our plot better.

Members of my group.

My Preliminary Task Group.

In my group:

Lucy Czaplinski

June King

Ellie Spencer-Webb

I have chosen to work with these people as they all bring a range of skills to the group.Additionally three members including myself took GCSE Media therefore already have some background knowledge.We also are able to convey our ideas to one another with us agreeing because we all have a similar view of the final product. Although this is Lucy's first time being a media student, she is a creative individual who now has a passion for filming.

Conventions of a Thriller Opening

Conventions of a Thriller Opening.

Horror openings usually consist of a title, a storyline, camera angles and music. The us of a good storyline is the most important of part of a thriller as many people except to see something new that will scare them like never before. Its important the director meets the wants of the audience which are excitement,suspense and action. However the director must make sure to not give away too much and reveal the whole plot as by doing this its disengages the audience as they feel they've already seen the final product.By doing small snippets this urges the audience to see more therefore creating the suspense they want. I have researched directors such as Tobe Hooper director of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and Alfred Hitchcock director of Psycho and The Birds.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

(1974)

Psycho

(1960)

Alfred Hitchcock is famous for creating for some of the best horror films as his technique to keep the audience in suspense and build tension are impeccable. One of his most iconic scenes, which has now been done many times, is from Psycho when Marion is in the shower oblivious to the murderer who is about to stab her.

      

Lesson Blog.

Lesson Blog

In todays lesson I have expressed a wide variety of shots and camera angles, I have displayed this within my pulmonary task with my group. Within todays lesson, we focused mainly on the shot reverse shot and 2 person shot angle as this was a key focus within the lesson - this can be seen with pictures below.

 Here is a clear example of the over the shoulder angles within our groups work. Our group will also be editing the shot taken to create a shot reverse shot to simulate a conversation between the two people, We will also be editing these shots together on IMovie to ensure a smooth transition between two separate shots and a successful use of match on match to ensure the cuts look in sync. Shot reverse shot is used widely within media, to portray different perspectives, for example; A conversation, this allows audiences to gain an insight to emotions and close up facial expressions of the actors. These cuts, if used successfully can be unnoticeable within long extracts, providing they flow. 

Why I chose media?

Jobyna Oukhouya

I chose media because later down the line, I want to have a career in media. Not only have I taken GCSE but also A level media as I think this will help me appeal to employers because of my knowledge of the subject. Additionally I enjoyed GCSE media therefore have decided to continue because I find it interesting learning about the subject because I find the music and film industry. My favourite areas of media are to do with the music industry as I enjoy listening to music but i also enjoy learning about the behind the scenes. Also media covers TV shows which I watch a lot of therefore learning about not only the filming experience but the shows themselves.