All my research work is on this blog post it goes through September to march at the bottom you get the most recent posts and at the top the oldest ones.
Basic planning skills
We are starting the basic skills in media studies in this lesson we learnt 3 rules that are shown in all films and that we must show in our opening sequence.
We learnt the 180 degree rule you can explain this by, say you imagine a line between the two characters. This is called the axis of action. Then we need to keep the camera on one side of that line. If you break the rule you have ‘crossed the line‘. the camera needs to stay in the blue shaded area. (The rule also applies if the character is looking at a thing rather than another person.) This is called the 180 degree rule because the camera can’t move more than 180 degrees (half a circle) around the characters. This short clip explains the 180 degree for how it looks on camera.
The last technique we learnt was match on action this refers to film editing and video editing techniques, this is where the editor shoots one scene then cuts then shoots another scene matching the first shot, a common example of this is a man walking to a door then reaching to the door nob. This clip shows match on action and explains it in a series of friends clips.
The shot reverse shot, this involves when one character is shown looking at another character (often off-screen), and then the other character is shown looking back at the first character. this video clip shows the shot reverse shot in the Spiderman movie.
Pictures of the 3 techniques
Our try
Our first filming and edited video showing the basic film techniques we learnt. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdxpbN1h01w
Script:
Jacob: walks trough door into the hall
Aisha:Standing in the halls smiles and says 'hi'
Jacob: 'how are you'
Aisha: ' I'm fine'
Jacob: 'gotta go now see ya'
Jacob: turn and shot fades to black end of scene
We also filmed another video showing the kuleshouv effect which involves filming someone doing a single facial expression and place different types of film next to them it looks like that person is reacting to that particular piece of film. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMPha6AwjmY
Narrative theory
In this lesson we were discussing narrative theory. This is something else that we need for our opening sequence to gain higher marks and put across to the examiner the in depth performance and the range of techniques.
The definition of narrative is the way those events are put together to be presented to the audience.
Todorov came up with his idea for narrative theory he was an author and a literary theorist
The definition of narrative is the way those events are put together to be presented to the audience.
Todorov came up with his idea for narrative theory he was an author and a literary theorist
His idea of narrative theory and how the story of the film should go, this was that there was an equilibrium ( a situation that's stable and there is no reason for people to change) then there is a disruption in the equilibrium e.g. in the cartoon movie Cinderella the equilibrium is disrupted by the invite to the ball this changes because Cinderella isn't allowed to go out. then there is a recognition of the disruption again for example Cinderella goes to the ball and losses her slipper, which shows the audience the disruption, the 4th in todorov's sequence is an attempt to repair the damage, example the prince goes round getting women to try the slipper on, this shows an attempt to repair the damage as the prince is trying to find Cinderella to repair the equilibrium. finally the 5th in the sequence is the new equilibrium in this case it would be the prince and Cinderella get married and the sisters continue to be ugly.
The genre I'm doing in my opening sequence is fantasy fiction, so I will be designing todorov narrative theory in the movie harry potter and the philosophers stone, to portray how my movie genre effects the narrative theory. The equilibrium at the beginning of the film is setting up the scene showing newly born harry being dropped of to his aunts and uncle and him living under a cupboard, that is the beginning equilibrium that harry is living this dull life doing everything is aunt an uncle says. Next you've got the disruption of the equilibrium which is when harry starts getting mysterious letters through the door everyday from Hogwarts school, the aunt an uncle are very put off by this and harry is intrigued but also confused. This gets too much for the family and this leads to the recognition of the disruption as the family move away to get away from the letters bombarding there life, but a friendly wizards called hagrid finds them and tells harry he is a wizard and to come to Hogwarts to train and learn to be a great wizard.
Further along in the film there is another disruption to the equilibrium as harry find a mirror that allows him to see his biggest wish, but Harry Ron and Hermione find some suspicious behaviour from the teachers and think there hiding something so they try to find it out. this leads to the recognition of the equilibrium when the group of three try to find out what's going on they go on a series of quest to find the philosophers stone, they have a final quest to do and harry does this alone to try to attempt of repair the equilibrium, he meets his teacher who reviles himself as the mysterious voldamort, and he wants the stone to make him immortal, harry and voldamort have an emotional and worldwind fight to obtain the stone, after this fight there is a new equilibrium where harry is a hero and voldamort is suspected to be destroyed.
Most mainstream films return to equilibrium however there are certain films that appear to return to equilibrium but then surprise us with a new disruption or an unsettling feeling that our return to disruption was not all it seemed. Some examples of these are mainly horror films to the producer has the opportunity to make a sequel. 5 top films that have displayed a cliff-hanger are 28 weeks later, back to the future, batman begins, blade runner and captain America: the first avenger.
Other narrative theorists
In films there are a range of narrative theory's/themes to embellish the story further. other main narrative theorists are Vladimir propp and Claude Levi-Strauss.
Claude levi-strauss - Claude Lévi-Strauss introduced the theory of binary oppositions. Binary oppositions is a pair of related terms that are opposite in meaning. He suggested that narratives (the way events are put together to be shown to an audience) had to be driven by conflict from contrasting forces and that they’re theoretical opposites and set off against one another. Examples are: Good vs Evil, Male vs Female, Dark vs Light. You cant understand the word ‘coward’ unless you know the meaning of the opposite, ‘hero’. This theory is an important concept of structuralism. Claude Lévi-Strauss’ theory can be used to assess groups of texts and genres.The theory makes films successful as throughout them conflict happens creating climax, strength and tension until some sort of balance is achieved at the end. This theory can also be explained by juxtaposition. By putting the words ‘Good and Evil’ next to each other, the opposition expresses the struggle between the two.
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Vladimir propp - Was a literary critic and a scholar who founded the idea that a certain type of character was to be used in every narrative structure. His theory has influenced many filmmakers to writing and producing successful narratives. Propp also suggested that all fairy tales follow a specific narrative structure. His character theory was that there was always eight different characters types in a film to establish who was who, the characters went as followed
The villain — fights the hero in some way. For example the joker in batman. The dispatcher — character who makes the villain’s evil known and sends the hero off. For example nick furry in avengers assemble. The (magical) helper — helps the hero in the quest. Robin in batman The princess or prize — the hero deserves her throughout the story but is unable to marry her because of an unfair evil, usually because of the villain. The heros journey is often ended when he marries the princess, thereby beating the villain and resulting in a “happily ever after” moment. For example qwen Stacey in the amazing Spiderman. Her father — gives the task to the hero, identifies the false hero, and marries the hero, often sought for during the narrative. Propp noted that functionally, the princess and the father cannot be clearly distinguished. The donor — prepares the hero or gives the hero some magical object. For example Lucius fox in batman begins The hero or victim/seeker hero — reacts to the donor, weds the princess. For example Spiderman in the film Spiderman. False hero — takes credit for the hero’s actions or tries to marry the princess. For example Buddy in the start of the film incredibles. |
Mediation theory
Mediation theory is how the director wants us to interpret the media production be it film, television or music. The real life production is very different than through the median of television, as when your watching something live for example football when your at the game you see it first hand with all the atmosphere of the game, whereas on the television you can only look at where the camera is pointing at that time, and the commentators are making you think a certain way, this is mediation through television.
Camera techniques
In this post I'll be talking about the different camera techniques that directors use to put the production in more detail and make it more exciting for the viewer. There are many different camera techniques including aerial shot, arc shot, bridging shot, close up, medium shot, long shot, establishing shot, low/high angle shot. There are still many more, in our group of 4 we made a short clip explaining some key camera angles and linking them to a film.
In our clip we explained establishing shot, long shot, mid shot, close up, over the shoulder, medium close up, extreme close up, high angle shot and low angle shot.
In our clip we explained establishing shot, long shot, mid shot, close up, over the shoulder, medium close up, extreme close up, high angle shot and low angle shot.
Shooting to edit
I have created a prezzi presentation to portray hugh morris shooting to edit.
Further research
I decided to look into some further research to broaden my understanding of our genre to make our opening sequence better, I have looked into our Mystery/thriller genre itself, I have looked into the production company we will be using (new line cinema), I have watched a film from our genre and the production company and have written about the opening sequence, effects and narrative throughout (Se7en). I am also writing about the background information on the main
Genre
Thriller Film is a genre that revolves around anticipation and suspense. The aim for Thrillers is to keep the audience alert and on the edge of their seats. The protagonist in these films is set against a problem – an escape, a mission, or a mystery. Thriller is a genre of literature, film, video game stories and television programming that uses suspense, tension, and excitement as its main elements. Thrillers heavily stimulate the viewer's moods, giving them a high level of anticipation, ultra-heightened expectation, uncertainty, surprise, anxiety and terror.
Production Company
The production company we chose was new line cinema. is an American film studio founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye as a film distribution company, later becoming an independent film studio. this is a very popular and wealthy company. We chose this studio because it specifies in our movie genre of mystery tiller. This company has produced movies like: the hobbit movie series, nightmare on elm street, the conjuring, Friday the 13th and the final destination movie series. As this fits in with our opening sequence we thought it would go very well as a production company.
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Se7en
Is a 1995 American neo-noir psychological thriller film directed by David Fincher, and stars Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow, John C. McGinley, R. Lee Ermey and Kevin Spacey. The film was based on a screenplay by Andrew Kevin Walker.
A part of the plot for this movie is: In an unnamed American city, soon-to-be-retiring detective William Somerset (Freeman) is partnered with short-tempered but idealistic David Mills (Pitt), who recently transferred to the department, moving to the city with his wife Tracy (Paltrow). Mills introduces Somerset to Tracy, after which Somerset becomes her confidant. Tracy is unhappy with the city and feels it is no place to raise a child. She discloses to Somerset that she is pregnant and has yet to inform her husband. Somerset sympathizes with her, having a similar situation with his ex-girlfriend many years earlier, and advises her to only tell Mills if she plans on keeping the child. |
we based some of our opening sequence points of the opening sequence of se7en. The sequence for Se7en did very important non-narrative things; in the original script there was a title sequence that had Morgan Freeman buying a house out in the middle of nowhere and then travelling back on a train. He was making his way back to the unnamed city from the unnamed suburban sprawl, and that's where the title was supposed to be—"insert title sequence here"—but we didn't have the money to do that. We also lacked the feeling of John Doe, the villain, who just appeared 90 minutes into the movie. It was oddly problematic, you just needed a sense of what these guys were up against. Kyle Cooper, the designer of the title sequence, came to me and said, "You know, you have these amazing books that you spent tens of thousands of dollars to make for the John Doe interior props. I'd like to see them featured." And I said, "Well, that would be neat, but that's kind of a 2D glimpse. Figure out a way for it to involve John Doe, to show that somewhere across town somebody is working on some really evil shit. I don't want it to be just flipping through pages, as beautiful as they are." So Kyle came up with a great storyboard, and then we got Angus Wall and Harris Savides—Harris to shoot it and Angus to cut it—and the rest, as they say, is internet history.
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