Wednesday 20 October 2010

Preliminary Research Task

Editing :
  • Changing
  • Adding special effects
  • slow down + speed up
  • films made up of 100's of cuts
Shouldn't be able to notice when clips change. - contunuity editing

All shots follow each other in the following order :
  • Establish
  • Set scene
  • Over shoulder
  • Close up
Shot transitions that omit parts of and event causing an ellipses in plot and story duration
Jump out/dissolve - 2 images/clips overlap
Overlapping editing is a common charecteristics of the frenzied king kong addition films in the 80's + 90's
Temporal editing - Plays with time
Spatial editing - 180 degree rule.

Our Film Cover Concept

Monday 11 October 2010

Final Decisions

Soundtrack
We were thinking of having a mix of both fast-paced music and standard atmospheric music. For instance, fast-paced Drum and Bass would make a chase scene seem faster, and it would make the scene seem tense and it get your heart beating fast.
Sound effects
For sound effects we would need things like , blood splatters, screams, sliceing sounds, footsteps and heavey footsteps. As we are doing a horror, this would seem rather appropriate. these are all sound you expect from a horror film.
Costumes
For costumes, the character being chased would need normal clothing, as he is just a normal person. The killer would possibly need a mask and a hood. This makes the killer seem like he is isolated, like you know nothing about him, and not seeing his face makes it more of a mystery. You feel like you don't know the killer, so you can't feel sorry for him because of his background. This forces you to empathis with the victim. Below is a image of a mask we may use:


Props
We would need a mask and an object to be used as a weapon. This is fairly simple as we only need two minutes of footage, so props aren't a major issue. But we were looking at using a weapon that hasn't been seem in a horror movie. This could give a feeling of authenticity.
Lighting
For lighting, we will proably use night vision and spotlights, this is because we are going to be filming in the dark.

Thursday 7 October 2010

Narrative Theories Research Task

What Is Narrative?

Narrative is simply the story in a format including various types of media such as images, videos and texts etc. It can describe fictional or non-fictional events.

Why Narrative Is Important?

Narrative is said to be important as it creates a structure to a story and makes it more easier for us as a audience to understand a plot/story.

Narrative Theories

1. Equilibrium Theory - Consists of three structures, the equilibrium, the disequilibrium and the new state of    equilibrium. For Example the film spiderman has the equilibrium that spiderman is a normal student studying at college before he is bit by a radioactive spider which then becomes the disequilibrium. The new state of equilibrium is obviously the result of the spiders bite which turns 'Peter Parker' into 'Spiderman'.

2. Characters Type Theory -  Founded by Vladimir Propp came up with the theory that there are only a certain number of characters who crop up in most narratives. It is easy to spot the hero and the villain in most cases, but here are some others:

Hero - Leads the narrative, usually looking for something e.g. a quest or trying to solve something.

Villain - Conflicts with hero

Heroine - Its usually some sort of prize or reward for thew hero.

Father - An authority figure, could offer a reward for the hero for completing something.

Helper - Helps the hero

Donor - Gives the hero something

Mentor - Teaches and guides the hero

3. Binary Opposition Theory - Created by a french anthropologist called Claude Levi-Strauss, it looks at a  pair of concepts which are complete opposites. The theory is seen fundamental when looking at philosophy, culture and language in humans. Examples of the theory include: Good vs Bad, Old vs Young, Male vs Female and White vs Black etc.

Most Effective In My Production

Due to the fact the genre me and my group have chosen is horror, i think that personally, the characters type theory will be the most effective to use as it will differentiate the good and the bad meaning the characters will not be hard to label as a audience. The bad, which will be some sort of psychotic killer will be easier to label as the villain due to the fact he will be dressed differently and will have props like a knife or a blade of some sought, any ordinary person will not carry such items. The hero and his helper will also differentiate from the villain as they will look ordinary and also have the type of character which tells audiences they are innocently being attacked by a crazed lunatic.

This will be effective in our opening as it will let the audiences easily decide personalities for each character and hook them into wanting to discover more about them and what happens to them, meaning they will more likely want to watch the whole film.

Friday 1 October 2010

Genre Reasearch Task

What is Genre?

genres are formed by conventions which change over time, this happens when new genres are created and old ones are dropped. Genres can be created by certain conventions which are used in a film, e.g. the setting, props, stars and atmosphere etc.

Advantages And Disadvantages

Genres are useful as they categorize certain films making them easier to find in some cases and also help when describing/recommending films to others.

The fact films are becoming hybrids in terms of genre makes genre a disadvantage as people become uncertain about what genre a film is to be if it is a hybrid, for example a sci fi/horror cannot be categorized as a definite horror or a definite sci fi. Some argue that a major disadvantage about having a genre means  a movie has to be categorized meaning its never a unique individual as there have been made like it before.

Personal Genre/Conventions 


The genre which has been chosen by me and my production group is horror which seemed most interesting and challenging to us. The conventions of my genre would consist of many various factors, for example the settings and props will be specific to horror, the setting will either be in a graveyard or a forest/woods depending on the feedback we receive from our questionnaire. We will use many conventions which are relevant to horror for maximum atmosphere.

History Of Horror

Horror films where first starting to appear in the late 1800's with notable films such as 'The House Of The Devil' which is said to be the first horror film made and 'The Cave Of The Unholy One' both films are silent without audio and were created by George Melies. Japan also started producing horror films, most notably in 1898 with films like 'Bake Jizo' and 'Shinin No Sosei'.

The Germans were also responsible for the evolution of horror films, during the era of German expressionist films, making titles such as 'The Golem'. Many of these films would contribute to the film making of horror films in the future.

Horror films started becoming more and more of a popular genre, in the early 1930's film producers, most notably Universal Pictures Co, produced films such as 'Frankenstein' and 'Dracula'. From here the horror genre started to expand massively.

Horror Examples (Actors/Films)

Examples of of actors who have acted in a horror movie include the very famous Boris Karloff who played frankensteins monster in the movie, 'Frankenstein'. Another notable actor of the horror genre would be Lon Chaney a actor who starred in 'The Phantom Of The Opera' and also 'The Hunchback Of Notre Dame'. Examples of horror films are 'The Shining', 'The Strangers', 'The House Of Wax' and 'Halloween'.

The Hills Have Eyes



In my opinion, 'The Hills Have Eyes' is a perfect example of today's movies within the horror genre due its intense atmosphere and freaky music. The film was made in 2006 and is seen as a modern title of the horror genre, the story involves a family who are basically lured into a trap without them knowing, eventually they end up lost and deserted. It turns out to be a holiday which turned wrong as they later discover they are being watched by mutants. The film contains many graphic scenes and also scenes which make the viewer jump, and the music also contributes to these scenes as it adds to the excitement and fear of the viewer, putting them in a vulnerable position. The props and costume of certain characters really create the personality's of the individuals, for example, the mutants look very ugly and are usually shown dressed in filthy, ripped clothing were as the family is shown as a everyday family, clean and cheerful.

Mostly high key lighting is used int he film, making it quite unusual for a horror film as they are most often set in a dark and gloomy setting, however the natural lighting does seem to make the film feel more realistic and make the viewer think that the story is real due to the natural lighting used.

Due to the popularity of the film a sequel was made in 2007 called 'The Hills Have Eyes 2'. Films only generally have a sequel made if the first part is successful.