we have been thinking about different fonts we could use for our opening credits. obviously we have our production logo -------->
We want to use fonts that are simple but effective. We obviously want to use a font that will go well with our logo font but we want them to stand out from each other so they catch the audiences eye and they can separately recognize our logo.
here are some of our ideas:
"butterfly" from DaFont.com
These are only a few and we got the from DaFont.com
I like these because they link in the theme of thriller and mystery. They also link well with our production logo without taking the attention away. I think there fonts compliment the logo fonts.
.Home video
.Fuzzing on screen- Interference
.*scene being set in* (grave yard, deserted school etc..)
.Screwed up paper - photo?
.Note ( possibly screwed up, possibly stuck on the wall or painted on wall)
.Edited (cuts and cutting rate) -- Photo-- Black screen- Photo- Black screen etc ... each time getting close on photo.
.Heart beat with every cut change
.Starts slow cutting rate then increases with each flash/change
.Camera turning round frantically .Interference
.Camera dropped on side so all we can see is feet running away
We created a youtube account too, so we can upload any videos we make, and get feedback.
User name: Artemis1132. (Couldnt get a better username).
For our preliminary task we are going to have an interrogation scene. We will have a match cut of a door, as the interrogater walks in and then we will have the 180 degree rule (over the shoulder) when he has sat down.
We will flick from each character, using the 180 degree rule, with everyline of dialogue. Dialogue:
'I know you did it'
'You Cant Prove anything'
'You know you did it, why are you lying to yourself?'
'You dont know me'
'Just own up, admit it'
'I dont know what you're talking about.'
We will probably just film this in a classroom, but we could do something with lighting to make it more scary, and more sincere.
In todays lesson we learnt how to add links on to our blog.
I created a Facebook account for our Media group. Seeing as our company name is Satellite Productions i called our selves "Satel lite"
This means we can add people and get them to do things like questionnaires that we will post on using Survey monkey.
1. Props are also a very important part of Thrillers. For example in the opening of the film The Usual Suspects, there are a lot of dead bodies lying on the floor.
[ insert screen shot of dead bodies lying on the floor ]
The minute we see dead bodies we are able to connect that there is some sort of crime scene, or some way that people have been killed, or died, and therefore we can automatically tell that the film is a thriller film. Having such important props in the opening of the films is important because it immediately sets the scene.
2. Motivated cuts can be very effective in Thriller films. A good example of a motivated cut is in the film The Usual Suspects again. We can see a dark figure, but we can’t see the figures face. However the other man in the scene can see his face, and his reaction shot and recognition makes us want to see who the dark figure is. We do not get to see who the man is.
[ insert screen shot of mans reaction shot/ motivated cut ]
The use of motivation cuts keeps us interested, and also helps to ad to a sense of mystery in thriller films.
1. Reaction shots are another important feature in Thriller films. For example in the opening of The Silence of the Lambs, we see the main girl’s reaction when she sees the Billboard of photos. [ Insert screen shot of girls reaction when she sees Billboard ] This helps us to see through her character that the pictures are a negative thing, and it shows us how we should also react to what we are seeing. It also shows us a taster of what might be coming up in the Thriller.
2. Setting and lighting is very important in thriller films. It doesn’t really matter where you set a Thriller, but the other aspects you add to it, like lighting, make it more thriller like. For example in the opening of The Silence of the Lambs, the girl is running in a forest. The forest is full of gloomy, dark colours, and is sort of scary. [ enter screen shot of girl running in dark Forest ] Using darker, greyer lighting adds to the effect of feeing something negative about to happen. It also sets the scene well, because thrillers aren’t happy, joyful films, they usually have a scary storyline.
1. I have noticed that close ups and extreme close-ups are very important in thrillers. A good example of this is in the opening of Deathnote, where there is an extremeclose-up on the notebook.We can see a hand writing on it, and from this we can tell that the notebook is going to be a key prop in the Thriller.
[ Insert screen shot of an extreme close-up of the hand writing on the Notebook ]
From this particular extreme close-up, there is a lot of added mystery in the thriller. We want to see who the hand belongs to, and we want to know why there is the use of a notebook, and what purpose it serves in the film.
2. Getting the cutting rate right in a thriller is very important, to keep the audience interested. This is done well in Deathnote. We have short takes at first then we have a long take of 7 seconds focusing on the notebook, when it is shown for the first time. This shows us that the Notebook is a book of high importance in the Thriller. The cutting rate on the death scenes is very quick. It shows us how quickly they happened, and it keeps audience members on edge, and it also builds tension.
3. Cross-cutting is another important feature of Thriller films. An example of this is in Deathnote. We see somebody, (a hand) writing on the notebook, and then the camera cross-cuts to another place where a victim falls down dead.
[ insert small clip of person writing in the Notebook, and then cross cutting to death ]
Using cross-cutting in a thriller helps us to see how two objects/scenes/people are related, and can show us two or more simultaneously occurring events. It keeps us on edge too.
We designed a Facebook group too, so that we can get any extra feedback or information. It is also easy to add people to a group and ask them questions. This is in addition to our Facebook account for our Group.
For our Preliminary task we watched several previous clips of Preliminary tasks on Youtube. We decided that doing this would help us learn how to embed Youtube links onto our blog, and would give us good practice, as we need to produce a preliminary.
I did another survey on a previous post which is basically the same but less professional and this can be accesed by people on Facebook.
Created Facebook account for our media group called "Satel lite." Our Logo is our profile picture. Add what you want and link it up with the survey monkey account i created.
All detailes have been messaged to you. Makes it easier to create online questionairres etc.
SHOT COMPOSITION AND FRAMING
1) I have noticed the shot composition and framing are very important in this opening scene of The Usual Suspects. A good example showing this is when we see the 'kaiser' as we are only shown his figure and not facial features. This adds to the mystery and grips the audience making them want to carry on watching.
CLOSE UP
2) In The Usual Suspects again a close up is used. This is on the victuims face so the audience can easily concentrate on vital areas, normally depicting important pieces of information needed to observe.
CAMERA TECHNIQUE
3) Again in the usual suspects we are introduced to the technique of hand held cameras. This makes whats going on seem more realistic to an audience thus getting them involved in the film. This is a really successful camera technique to have especially in the first few minutes as it has already gripped the audience, making them want to continue to watch on. It makes the audience feel like they are in the interrogation room with the police.
EDITING
1)In a section of the opening in the Da Vinci Code we are shown a shot where the camera is looking over the shoulder of a man. This has been edited to be out of focus, making the audience focus even more on the film and get involved i unraveling the mystery. This type of shot is very effective in making the audience concentrate closely on the film, therefore making it esier to understand. This also gives the audience something to subconciously focus on throughout the film.
Z O O M
2) The opening of the Da Vinci Code is set in an art gallery. A very succesful camera skill used in this scene is focusing on the eyes. The camera z o o m s in on different portraits eyes as this adds to the effect of the character focused on in this scene being watched. Again this makes the audience immediatly more interested in watching the film.
CUTTING RATE
1) As the movie "phone booth" we are shown how the action and interest grows by different aspects of camera and editing and sound. We notice that the more intense it gets, the more the cutting rate increases. This is important as there is always something happening and keeps the audience interested. A main area where this is show in when the camera jumps from the guy in the phone booth to the police officer numerous amounts of times, keeping a high level of intensity.
Once the cutting rate increase has reached its climax it then shows a two shot showing the overall scene.
Toal Reviews: 364 Loved it: 179 Reviews from users who voted this title more than 7.2
"Excellent, historic thriller"
"Most entertaining" "Cruise Delivers in Thrilling 'Valkyrie'" "Thrilling" all collected from IMBD
This was useful to us in terms of what we have to think about when doing our opening. We know that they liked the history of it and we could possibly link our thriller to some historical event. We would also consider using a male main part instead of a female as it turned out that a strong male actor proved to be very sucessful, totally fitting in with the theme.
Hated it:167 Reviews from users who voted this title less than 7.2. "Oh dear..."
"2 hours lost" "Cruise does not convince as a German aristocrat or officer" "Based on real events and people. Really? Who, exactly? Any reference to a conspiracy of Hitler's inside circle to assassinate him is purely accidental. This was an event that could have had immense repercussions on the course of human history in the decades that followed. This movie treats the whole thing like some high school teen angst dramedy."
From looking at these reviews we will not attempt to get a brittish or american actor to impersonate a person from another country with such a different accent as the likleyness us that it will not sound authentic or convincing. We also know that if we decided to include an historical event we would have to make everything relevant to create a great understandingfor the audience.
Based on actual events, a plot to assassinate Hitler is unfurled during the height of WWII.
Director:Bryan Singer
Writers:Christopher McQuarrie, Nathan Alexander
Stars: Tom Cruise, Bill Nighy and Carice van Houten
Details
Official Sites: United Artists ( United States) | TFM Distribution (France)
Country: USA | Germany
Language: English | German
Release Date: 23 January 2009 (UK)
Box Office
Budget: $75,000,000 (estimated)
Opening Weekend: $21,027,007 (USA) (28 December 2008) (2711 Screens)
For my Thriller film i chose: 'The Lives of others.'
The films genre was Arthouse and International, Drama. It has a running time of 2 hours 17 minutes. It raised $11.2 Million at the US box office. The film was written and directed by Florian Henckle von Donnersmarck, and distributred by Sony Pictures Classics
It is not clear from IMDB who the film was aimed at, but after reading reviews it is clear that you need some political interest and understanding of what went on in Germany when the film was set. The film paints a picture of the way peoples lives were lived in terror, because of the government regime they lived under. It is unusual but distinctive what makes it a thriller.
1) In silence of the lambs the opening scene is very important to set the mood. A main area where this can be portrayed is through the music. The musical score is set high with squeeking violins adding to the creepy ambiance of the scene being watched. the musical piece was made up to match the beat of a heart, relating to the audiences heartbeat whilst watching this.
This is the first part of the film where the high musical score occurs. It goes on to pan down to the woodlandwhere we begin to see starling r u n n i n g , not yet sure whether she is being chased.
2) In silence of the lambs opening another area i am going to mention is the Mis-en-Scene linking with the camera shots. When agent starling is doing her r u n s in the forrest we are drawn to her being called by someone. we are not sure who this is so it keeps us h
a
n
g
i
n
g.
with the musical score still going we are not sure whether he is good or bad. It isnt until he turns round tht the camera zooms in on his cap which reads FBI and we becoms aware of his occupation. This also gives us his staus opening a door in to us knowing that she is involved with thepolicein some kind of way.
For our filming task, we have decided that we will have a scene which is supposed to be a meeting scene.
3 or so people will already be in the room, standing and trying to make conversation..
Our main character has just received some terrible news about one of the characters already in the 'meeting'. this character has cheated her out of her right to an inheritance.
We take a shot of Briony outside the door, and we see her trying to control herself before she steps onto the room.
But then she steps in the room, and she cannot control her anger any longer.. she starts screaming at everybody to get out of the room.
her sister, Anastasia is in the room, and the camera turns to her. Her sister tries to calm her down.
The camera turns back to Briony, who isn't having any of it. she runs up to her sister and starts to fight with her..
The sisters Husband, frank, tries to break them up, and he manages to get them to sit down.
they have a heated discussion. and eventually Briony gets up again, and leaves the room. the scene finishes with frank and Anastasia giving each other an awkward glance.
Tuesday, 23 November 2010
Homework for Miss Mapp:
My 2 chosen Thrillers are Eclipse (from the Twilight series) and The Dark Knight. Eclipse' was aimed at the target audience of teenagers and young adults. Eclipse recieved the rating of 5/10 on a feedback site. Quite a lot of the reviews said that it was too boring and predictable but an improvement on New Moon.
The Dark Knight was aimed at the target audience of adults, appealing to them by starring Heath Ledger (famous with the older generation). The rating of this film was 9/10 on the feedback site. Barely any negative reviews, and if any were recieved it was only because thrillers weren't thier cup of tea.
Homework for Mr Norman:
I have researched Paranormal Activity.
It was made in 2007 and is an American film written and directed by a man named Oren Peli. It received a limited U.S. release on September 25, 2009 and nationwide release on October 16, 2009. The film earned nearly $108 million box office worldwide. It was one of the most profitable films ever made. it is presented in the style of "found footage" from a camera set up by the couple in an attempt to photograph what is haunting them.
Are you male of female (please circle appropriate)
F M
How manyhours a daywould you spend watching ,reading or listening to the following a day (combined): TV Radio Internet Print (magazines/newspapers/books)
Please tick:
Between 0 and 3
Between 4 and 7
Between 8 and 11 12 plus
How old are you? Please give appropriate age
What are the three most common topics of conversation between you and your friends? 1)
Our production company name is called "Satellite Productions" and our film theme we are concentrating on is Thriller.
Although we are a small production company we have created a hit British thriller by working with New Line Cinemas through synergyto produce our latest release, a film that will leave the nation in a blanket of suspense.
Our film will be shown in Britain to please our niche market and we have distributed some of our primary films to small cinemas like the Arts Picture house group or independent cinemas. With our new release we are going national and branching out with this thrilling masterpiece to distribute to larger cinemas like Cineworld and Empire.
Zoolander -
Paramount, Village Roadshows Pictures, in association with 1VH Films and NPV entertainment
Hot Fuzz -
Universal working title, In assiociation with Studiocanal, A working title production, in association with Big Talk Productions Atonement -
Universal Working Title in association with Studio canal and relativity media , a Working title production.
Pride and Prejudice -
Colin Firth, Jenifer Ehle, Crispin Bonham Carter, Anna Chancellor, Susannah Harker, Julia Sawalna, Alison Sawalha, Alison Steadman, Benjamin Whitrow, in Jane Austens Pride and Prejudice, screenplay by Andrew Davies, Music by Carl Davis, directed by Simon Langton. The opening of the credits was 'Colin Firth' I thought this represented Star power well. Colin Firth is a very well known, popular Bristish actor. He has feautered in other classics of similar genre. Crispin Bonhan Carter is a relative of Helena Bonham Carter, so it should arouse curiousity as to his abilities. Lord Of the Rings - The TwoTowers -
Newline Cinema, An AOL Time WarnerCompany, Newline Cinema presents: A Wingnut Films production, The Lord Of The Rings.
we have been thinking about different fonts we could use for our opening credits. obviously we have our production logo -------->
"butterfly" from DaFont.com
