Responsibilities Carried Out

Components

The Effects/Hypodermic Model [Hayley Male]

This theory is the most simple to understand. It has grown very popular over the years as people fear the effects the media will have on them. The theory suggest that the media acts like a 'syringe' that injects ideas and beliefs aswell as attitudes in to the minds of the audience who basically have no choice but to be influenced by what the media says. For example, if you see a group of teenagers being violent on TV the audience are to assume that this is how all teenagers lead their lives. It has commonly been used to explain why some films have been banned as they have been thought to encourage people to copy what is shown in the film. Although is have never really been claimed that all viewers will be effected in the same way. This is simply because is does not include individual differences. However it is still popular as an excuse, especially among politicians as a reason for society being at a downfall. Everytime a young person does something violent, all forms of mass media and MP's will try to link the crime to video violence. [Taken from, Media Studies Key Concepts - Audience Booklet]

Graphs for Poll Results [Hayley Male]

Graphs for Blog.

The Cultivation/Culmination theory (Thibaut Nyemba)

This theory is about media texts such as films having effects on the audience. Also this theory explores whether media texts can change a person's way of thinking and desensitize someone towards certain things such as violence. This theory asks if years and years of watching something like a a woman being mistreated in soaps would we be more excepted to it happening in real life?

There is not yet concrete proof that media texts can change ones behavior. Advertisers may use this to attract their target audience to buy their products. They spend a lot of money trying to do so and researchers try to prove the cultivation theory. This theory can also be split ion to two parts. The first part is violence in the media desensitizes children to violence, thus they are more tolerant towards it. The more they see the more it entices them for more. The second part suggests sexual and violent behavior is broken down and is seen as normal, especially when it is going unpunished in the media text.

W.Belson conducted research with males between the age of 12 and 17 to see how violent they are. He discovered that:"Children who tend to watch violent TV programs do become more violent themselves to some extent, largely because violence comes to be seen as a legitimate problem solving device for them." A lot of the times surveys show that violent people enjoy violent programmes.

Week 11 Update (Thibaut Nyemba)

In this final week we are carrying out the evaluation.

Letters Sent Out - Permission to film on the College Site [Mysara Saeed]

Havering College of FE,
As part of our media coursework, we will be creating a 2 minute opening sequence of a Thriller and have decided that we would like our set location to be within Havering College premises. Therefore this letter acts as our notification to the authorities and security members of the college that we will be filming within the College. Our Media Teacher, Pianki Passegae is completely aware of our decision and knows that we will be filming on the college’s site. We have chosen A Block as our setting, and we will be filming during accessible and convenient times whereby we wouldn’t be interrupting the academy around us. We will be filming mostly during lesson times and out of college times. Therefore we have informed you and would like your approval so that we can film within the college without hassle.
Thank you very much
Regards Mysara Saeed (Camera Woman)

Prop Notes (Thibaut Nyemba)

In our opening sequence feature film we did not have many props to work with but one. This was a small briefcase as you can see in the picture. The reason why we used the prop is because it looks small and compact, something that our protagonist can hold tightly and run at the same time. The look of the breifcase does not look like your ordinary bag, the breifcase creates enigma as the audience would like to know whats in the bag.

The Package Shot List (Thibaut Nyemba)

The Package Shot List

The Package Final Product (Thibaut Nyemba)

Score Music (Thibaut Nyemba)

The website I used to upload the soundtrack onto the blog was Sound Cloud which allows you to embed a little audio player.

This was the track that I used in the beginning of the film. It creates tension and suspense which accompanies my genre. Compared to other         

Uninvited

Chase

This is the track "Chase" which I used in the chase scene when my antagonist is being chased. The reason why I choose this piece of music is because it gives a sense of adrenaline to what is going on. The soundtrack that I used comes from video co-pilot. Some of the soundtrack used came from soondtrack pro.

Week 10 Update (Thibaut Nyemba)

In this final upcoming week we started to carry out evaluation activities. One of these included the directors commentary over the film. Completing the film we uploaded the film at least three times as there must be three versions to be evaluated. I have started to annotate the my video version for the evaluation which would be on my personal blog when finished. Finally we are going to publish the results from the poll on a chart.

Editors Journal (Thibaut Nyemba)

E J

Evaluation to Start [Mysara Saeed]

We have been presented with the following questions of which we will be answering as part of the Evaluation.

• In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real

media products?
• How does your media product represent particular social groups?
• What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
• Who would be the audience for your media product?
• How did you attract/address your audience?
• What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
• Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Film Journal - Director [Hayley Male]

The process of filming went a lot better than when we was first given our preliminary task to do. The majority of filming was done in a day which the whole group was proud of. Our actors and crew worked well together and there was no disruption between them. Everyone was happy to do what they was told. Once we had captured the footage, so it can be edited, we realised that were bits that needed to be re-filmed to just to make it more effective. Our group dedicated another night lesson for extra filming to make the ending look more professional and more intriguing to watch. If I could make any improvements I would have made sure we planned all our sessions thoroughly to make sure that everyone knows what they were doing as a lot of it was spontaneous. It may also have helped to make sure that we could get everything done in the time we had planned.

Week 9 Update (Thibaut Nyemba)

In this week we decided to film more footage for the sequence. I needed shots of a hooded man patrolling up and down the corridor and close ups of me opening my eyes. When finished I added them on my already mostly finished sequence. I had practically nearly finished editing but was adding finishing effects such as transitions and title sequences. I also looked for score music which I added. 

Target Audience [Mysara Saeed]

It’s highly based on the clash of class and British street life nowadays, which has increased in crimes associated with drugs, which acts as the cause for plenty other crimes, such as deaths, robberies etc. The majority of our target audience is aimed at teenagers and adults. The reason for this decision is that the story is based on the ups and downs of drug related scenarios carried out by teenagers working for adults. This enables our target audience to relate to our film as the ages are compatible with the viewers as well as the lifestyle presented within the film is also associated with the ages of nowadays. Its almost a cross between ‘Bullet boy’ and ‘Skins’ with the use of upper class characters. The specific age group is 15+ whereby the socio-economic group is targeted at A – E as it evolves characters from all classes, all of which will relate well to the film resulting in them enjoying it. As for gender the role of a drugs lifestyle is usually adapted by males and therefore this is our dominant gender for our film. However there are female characters who play important roles within our film which can also be related to by the viewers. Some of the female characters are also associated with drugs and crime and therefore balances the differences of gender within our film.
All of which we have considered and apply to our thriller.

Week 8 Update (Thibaut Nyemba)

In this week we began to film the opening sequence. We succeeded in getting supporting actors to act as criminal henchmen. The college corridors was used to film the chase scene and the set of stairs which leaded up to them. Filming in college was much more easier to work in as we did not have to fill out a call sheet which you needed if you were using the camera off premises. We took the whole day filming and at the end we began to upload the footage on Final Cut Pro.

I began to place the footage in order on the timeline, but we realized that we needed more footage so we planned to film more on another day.

Filming Journal [Mysara Saeed]

The process of the filming took place mostly during Media lesson (Monday Night Classes) with the college being the main location area. We have been filming over the course of 2 weeks within the college, usually during Media lessons and if not, in our spare time whenever all members can meet up. The filming begun during the holidays of which the college was open and therefore a good opportunity to film. The location was always available and access to it wasn’t a hassle either as the times we usually filmed there was hardly anyone about. 

Sub Genre of our Thriller [Mysara Saeed]

The sub genre of our thriller is a cross between crime, action and gangster crime.

Crime & Gangster Crime:
This genre is a cross between both crime films and thrillers type that provide a suspense for the viewers. The Sub Genre ‘Crime’ focuses mainly on the character(s) playing the criminal(s) as well as those stopping them, having a clear antagonist and protagonist. Crime thrillers tend to emphasize action over psychological aspects. The main events of these films include murders, robberies, chases, shootouts, and double-crosses are central ingredients.

Gangster crime is also the same however using the stereotypes of certain cultures, including known characteristics and behaviours.

Action:
Action thrillers usually base their features on racing against time. Elements of violence are used, and there is always an obvious antagonist. They contain large amounts of weapons such as guns, with explosions, and large elaborate set pieces for the action to take place. Elements of mystery films and crime films associate with Action Thrillers.

Facebook Group [Thibaut Nyemba]

We have designed a Facebook group for our Film Production. This allows us to have followers/supporters. Its also an effective way of Advertisement and would be part of spreading the word of our Opening Sequence of a Thriller. Facebook is also one of the worlds most used and popular social networking sites and therefore the circulation of this group will increase as well as reach the places we need them to do.

Production Schedule (Thibaut Nyemba)

Production Schedule

Call Sheet (Thibaut Nyemba)

This is the call sheet which we have to fill if you intend to take camera equipment off campus. The person filling it out must include contact details such as phone number and address.  Also emergency contacts and nearest hospital or police station in case if an incident.  Fortunately my group does not have to fill one out as we intend to film on campus. 

Week 7 Update (Thibaut Nyemba)

In this week we began to look for potential actors to feature in our opening sequence. We did not have a particular type of actor but just a teenage boy that would be credible to the audience. We also needed supporting actors which would play a major part in the opening as they would be chasing our main character. In the end we decided that it would be more convenient for myself (Thibaut) to feature in the film. All we needed now was to recruit supporting actors which looked the part, which was tough.

Alterations Made to Film[Hayley Male]

Although we liked our idea, we did find a few difficulties especially when in came to the planning of filming, and pictures for the storyboard. Our original film “Rich Bait” was set mostly in a park, the park is a very public place filled with young children especially. When it came to pictures we found that many mothers were worried about their children being caught on camera, as we did not have the right documents it would have been difficult for legal reasons. We felt that if it was difficult for pictures alone, then we may have a few problems when it came to filming, as most parents were abrupt about leaving the area for a short amount of time. It came to our attention that we would have to change our idea to make it a lot easier for us. The group had decided that the park would be too awkward to get to with all the equipment as it was not close to the college and required a lot of use of public transport. The idea changed to a “chase” of a young boy mixed in with the wrong crowd. We managed to find places in the college grounds that were suitable and could create a realistic setting for our story.

Week 6 Update (Thibaut Nyemba)

After coming up with our new opening sequence idea we began to prepare to film. I conducted some opening sequnce research and also Mysara started to design the production logo.

Treatment [Mysara Saeed]

Treatment

Our opening sequence of a thriller ‘NAME’ is our product, which is Thriller based with the sub genre of crime. The crimes are drug and youth related giving an insight to the reality of certain life styles within the urban streets of London. It’s full of violence, action and has an upbeat pace hence it being a thriller.
The way in which we will market our campaign would work in several ways. We would need to promote the release of our film by advertising it on all platforms such as TV, Radio, Newspapers and the Internet. A poster and trailer will be designed in order to distribute them to all mediums. Trailers would be played on various appropriate channels appealing to our film specific audience 15+ as well as popular Radio stations which ensure high circulation of our new film. Newspapers will also be targeted, popular and frequent ones such as the Metro which is free and people are more likely to view which boosts the advertisement of our film. Therefore distribution is vital in marketing our campaign to all mediums for sufficient circulation of the promotion of our film.

The majority of our target audience is aimed at teenagers and adults. The reason for this decision is that the story is based on the ups and downs of drug related scenarios carried out by teenagers working for adults. This enables our target audience to relate to our film as the ages are compatible with the viewers as well as the lifestyle presented within the film is also associated with the ages of nowadays. The specific age group is 15+ whereby the socio-economic group is targeted at A – E as it evolves characters from all classes, all of which will relate well to the film resulting in them enjoying it. As for gender the role of a drugs lifestyle is usually adapted by males and therefore this is our dominant gender for our film. However there are female characters who play important roles within our film which can also be related to by the viewers. Some of the female characters are also associated with drugs and crime and therefore balances the differences of gender within our film.

The lifestyle of our film is based on those who live for money and need money to live and the clash between the upper and lower class and the fight for survival on the streets. How youths in the lower class are getting involved in drug and crimes associated with the upper class that provide the expenses and usually the lower class youths work for or try earn from. Also the extent people under pressure of proving to others around them that their superior and have money.

The interests of the characters within our thriller are as follows:

Lower Class Youths	Upper Class Youths/Adults
Survival	Status
Money	Money & Business
Pride and Acknowledgment on the streets by peers and elders	Being at the top of the hierarchy and being in control of those below their class
Being able to afford the riches of entertainment to fulfill the likes of a good life and affording materials (Clothes etc)	Living a carefree life and the indulgent of drugs, expensive materials (cars, clothes etc) Sexual Affairs.
Gaining Respect, Popularity and Reputation	Gaining respect as well as abusing the respect of others.

Attitudes of the characters within our film usually are negative or innocent and desperate.
Language is vulgar and some actions made by certain characteristics shows how people can abuse power and become aggressive and cold hearted. There is a big separation between class which affects the way in which they communicate with one another which can be rude or caring. However the majority of the attitudes based in this film is positive as everyone’s aim is to make many and enjoy life with the use of money.
The beliefs that circulate this film are the gaining of respect from superiors and the respect and control of the inferiors. As well as gaining money fast and easy (illegally /legally) to be able to enjoy what life offers.
We would like the audience to see our film and understand it’s moral on the view of reality nowadays for them to be aware of the lives surrounding them. We would like them to also relate to the film and be able to learn right from wrong watching it. It may also act as a warning for them as the story line serves many situations currently occurring in London these days. We would also of liked them to have enjoyed the film and find it entertaining enough to recommend it to their friends and families as our Film isn’t just a film with a moral however a thriller providing a source of entertainment for the viewers.
The way in which we will make the film appeal to the viewers is by keeping it realistic and modern so that everyone can associate with the film as they would be able to make links to reality.

Our product will be viewed on all popular platforms of all Medias.
This includes TV channels that are highly viewed such as: Sky Movies, BBC 1/2/3, Channel 4/E4, Film4, ITV1/1, etc. These ensure there is a wide range of viewers all ages, genders and class, which allows our product to spread creating higher circulation. Radio stations such as Kiss 100, Capital FM, Choice, Kerrang etc will also be promoting an audio trailer, same goes for the newspapers. The most viewed will be the ones in which we advertise in to ensure even circulation. The design must then be suitable as well as appealing to for the majority of the population except for minors. Therefore the design will associate with class, race as well as drugs and sources of violence so that the viewers can understand what to expect.

The style of our product will be based on a thriller in the city where we strive to have a captivating story line to boost the effect of our moral, as well as arouse the viewers as it is a thriller and must have the right elements to cause this particular effect. To establish the vital features of which will be needed we have followed certain aspects of codes and conventions associating with thrillers. Also the style of filming and shots will also vary to establish high cover of a thriller as well as the lighting which is important as it creates a high effect to the aura the film gives off. Minimal lighting will have a dark effect on the film as well as mysterious. However this can be edited as everything must be captured in light for it to be visible as the camera cannot capture dark images well. All aspects will be used in a way to keep the audience captivated by feeding them with gradual excitement of a thriller. Various medium close ups and a fast pace on the juxtaposition of shots will be used to create suspense. The use of establishing shots to show the environment this is important so that the viewers will be able to understand the characters more by their surroundings as location plays an important part as do the conventions within them. Low angles will be used to show direction of characters movement as well as the state there’re in for e.g. if they’re in trouble a low angel will show that they are helpless. Conventions will be made by costumes and locations as well as props. Props will play a vital part within our film because they will become objects of subject within our thriller. Connotations of the stereotyped version of reality will be evolving crime and drugs. As for the sound we will use silence every now and again which will be disrupted by action with score music in the background. The sudden use of music will also have a sudden effect on the viewers bringing random and instant excitement. The majority of the sound will be digetic.

As mentioned further above the characters will be based on reality and therefore will represent various stereotypes known these days. Our decision was never based on stereotypes but on the reality however stereotypes are based from reality and therefore some characters will be perceived in different ways. In a way our film is like the British version of ‘Alpha Dog however with a twist of thriller.

We will remain with the genre Thriller as this was our joint decision as well as everything we have done is based on this genre. We will be using typical conventions as these are the ones noticed and understood by the viewers, where all elements used within the frame (Mise en scene) will surely contain the right connotations known within the media.

Production Brief (Thibaut Nyemba)

Production Brief

Opening Title Sequence Research [Thibaut Nyemba]

I have researched the prologue of ‘Transporter 1’, as action thrillers are my favourite genres. The idea of an opening title sequence is to present to the audience the:
Details of cast and crew, The film's title, An introduction to character or character type, Indication of place, Indication of historical period, Information regarding mood and tone, Introduction to signature theme tune, Information about genre, Questions that the viewer finds intriguing (sets up enigmas), Patterns and types of editing that will be echoed in the remainder of the film, Mise en scene and cinematography that will be echoed or elaborated upon later in the film.

The scene begins within an isolated car park of which there is only one car. The empty car park signifies that there is secrecy regarding the car being in an empty place as well as it having a dark and expensive appearance. There is a lot of the camera’s attention is based on this car in the opening sequence, the fact that it is the only car within the car park shows that there is an importance regarding this car or its driver. The character is then introduced through a medium close up of him within the car, showing the significance of his role as he is the first character previewed and therefore shows the audience an idea that the film will revolve around him, making him the main character. The way in which he is dressed shows that he has some sort of power and status which is symbolised with the suit as well as the car being advanced in technology. This gives an idea of his character type which is conveyed as superior, guarded, cautious, and strong in some sense allowing the viewer to have an idea of the type of character he will have within the film.
His alarm on his watch goes off and he drives out of the car park showing the audience that there is something to be done at that certain time. The film’s title is previewed during this opening as well as the subtitles in a printing style font in aluminous green, the type you get on action/government style films. The historical period is very clear within this prologue as the Mise-en- scene such as costume and props (car) are all very modern and are seen with lots of closes ups of things such as the characters, watch, gloves, face and aspects of the car. The mood is mixed as it seems content yet the one man and one car in an empty car park show that there is much to come and therefore create many enigmas to who is this man, why does he have such an advanced car, why is he dressed the way he is? , all of which is answered further into the film. This means that the opening sequence is effective in captivating the audience by providing enigmas. However the mood is also toned by the score music within the background which has a very mysterious vibe to it. The background music becomes slightly more upbeat as it jump cuts to him leaving the car park and on to the motorway showing that he is in an urban hot area by the beach. This is seen clearly with a following master shot of the area allowing the audience to see the location of which the film is starting at. His car then halts at the traffic lights right beside a police car of which he turns to look at very slowly and lets his glance linger a bit, creating another enigma to why is he so comfortable at starring at the police? This shows that there will be a sense of crime within the film to come. Patterns of editing that would be echoed throughout the film will be close ups one after the other to show emphasise of something as well as the mid tone of lighting on mysterious / secretive scenes as well as tracking movements, low and high angels seen when showing the car too show the importance of it. The prologue is vital as it presents the main ideas of the film and therefore the opening sequence of Transporter is effective in presenting the above factors. It had introduced the title, the main character as well as an indication of location and historical period an all the vital element needed to provide the concept of the film within the prologue.

Production Logo [Mysara Saeed]

This is the logo of which I have designed for our coursework group.
As we have chosen the genre thriller, the characters are usually making the decision of fight or flight when trouble arises which then stimulates the hormone ‘adrenaline’ which acts as a saviour. Thrillers also have a great effect on the audience whereby the arousal of excitement or fear releases adrenaline and so we thought that it would be appropriate to have the word ‘Adrenaline’ as the main face of our logo.

I created the logo with the programme ‘Adobe Photoshop CS3’ where i was able to create a mask with the writing and image. By combining the image and word together I have saved unnecessary use of extra images and text. Having both together is a much effective and creative idea. The used Photoshop as it allows me to use certain features that enable me to incorporate my ideas too and be able to actually create them.

The word adrenaline is simply in the font ‘impact’ and its fill is an image of frightened eyes of which I obtained from 'google images'. The image associates well with the genre thriller and the reactions that can be caused from watching such genres. The logo is creative in its self yet simple which preserves the professional idea of what a logo should be. In our case promoting the group as well as an image association to what the fundamental bases is which is the making of ‘Thriller Films’.

Week Update 5 (Thibaut Nyemba)

After careful consideration we thought it best to change the the story all together. We would've of found it difficult to transport the equipment from the college to Canning Town as it would've been time consuming and the equipment might get damaged transporting it all that distance. Thus we decided to change the story. Changing the story meant changing the location of the film, as a group we thought about a new location. We decided to shoot it in college.

A 2 Minute Synopsis of Our Film (Thibaut Nyemba)

John is getting chased by a hooded man. He quickly goes in a nearby business building and hides from his pursuer. The hooded man follows him looking through every room while John is crouching down to minimize his presence behind a door. He makes a run for it as soon as the man's back is turned. He runs down a set a set of stairs but once again he is chased. As he gets to the bottom he thinks that he is safe but is attacked by one of hooded man's associates. He is left knocked out on the floor.
He wakes up in an a dark room tied up.

Synopsis for Feature Film (Thibaut Nyemba)

John is your average college student who against his will gets involved in a matter of national security. It was an normal day for John coming back from a long day at college. On his way home he hears a sound in the nearby bushes. His curiosity gets the better of him as he goes to investigate. He stumbles upon a man in a fatal state as he is coughing up blood and surrounded by his own puddle of blood. John rushes over to help, the man is clutching a small brown bag and tells him the importance of the contents inside and is crucial that he must protect the bag from anyone who tries to apprehend it. John is left confused but is interrupted by a loud bang. His instinct tell him the person who killed this man is not far and may want the brown bag he just received.

Storyboad The Package (Thibaut Nyemba)

Test

The Package Script [Thibaut Nyemba]

The Package Script

Location Notes (Thibaut Nyemba)

The location where we filmed our film was A Block in Havering College.
The location provides suitable credibility to our story, with obstacles, long corridor and stairs which makes it more exciting. The protagonist will be running getting chased by a hooded pursuer. These scenes will be filmed during the day as it is more convenient as the lighting would benefit our film.

Even though it was shot inside a college it is not really obvious to the audience as we made sure not to give it away. The colour scheme of the location is a neutral which gives a gritty feel. In post production we will be darkening the scenes.

Brainstorm for Opening Sequence [Hayley Male]

Todorov's Narative Structure (Thibaut Nyemba)

For a successful narrative Bulgarian philosopher came out with a theory which can be applied to our story line and all others. He set out these five easy steps which he studied and which can be followed if someone wishes to create one. These steps are:

• A state of equilibrium
• A disruption of that order by an event
• A recognition that the disorder has occurred
• An attempt to repair the damage of the disruption
• Reinstatement of equilibrium (not necessarily back to the original equilibrium)
Notice that it has a clear begginning, middle and an ending.

Character Profiles (Thibaut Nyemba/Hayley Male)

Antagonist; John Campbell

Gender; Male

Age: Late teens (roughly 17/18)

Character Info:  John is a normal teenager but involuntary gets involved in the criminal underworld. His duty is to protect a package at all costs.   

Mise-en-scene; John is a tall boy wearing casual clothing ie. jeans, trainers, top with jacket on top. He will be carrying a small package

Week 4 Update ( Thibaut Nyemba)

In this week we went to take location pictures of the park. We took pictures of the swings where the scene would take place. The pictures that we took was for the storyboard and Location pictures. The pictures that we took we was going to use for our storyboard as it would be easier than drawing it out. We acted out what would happened amongst ourselves as we didn't have our actors there at that time.

180 Degree Rule [Hayley Male]

The 180 degree rule is a simple rule, but can be easily broken. It's a technique used in filming that states that the camera must stay on one side of an 'invisible' line which should be perpendicular to the camera.




This picture helps you to understand as you can see that the camera must stay on one side of the line to prevent confusion for the audience otherwise both characters would appear to be on the same side of the screen.

Week Update 3 (Thibaut Nyemba)

In this week we came up with an idea of a film of a child getting kidnapped while being looked after in the park. This was good idea as it would look good as thriller. Next we had to find a suitable location to shoot the film. We came up with a park in Canning Town, Thames Barrier Park which had an exciting look because it had a maze of tree hedges. We thought that this would be a good place for a child to get lost.

We also shot our preliminary task which is a test run for our actual opening sequence.

Preliminary Task - Learning to use the Equipment [Thibaut Nyemba]

In today’s lesson we learned how to use the equipment we will be using to create our short opening sequence of a thriller. This included the camera (turning it on and setting it up to record with sound), the stand (of which the camera will be placed on) and various other parts such as the ‘shot Gun’ (used for capturing sound). This lesson was effective in showing us what to expect. We also did practice filming and rehearsing in setting it up and putting it away.

The Making of The Preliminary Task [Hayley Male]

Our preliminary task. We made a short video in order to prove our skill and knowledge in using the camera and editing program. We had to include match on action, shot reverse shot and the 180 degree rule. At first grasping the use of the camera and having it stable was a struggle. This became easy with practice and soon became fluent. However thinking ahead of the juxta position of shots had to be done carefully as to make a story we had to make sure the shots filmed would make sense by the others. We filmed about 3 times to get all the material we needed at the best quality we could. Editing was the easiest part of the preliminary task but required an equal amount of creative skill as once again it is vital for the juxta position to establish a clear story line.

Preliminary task: Shot List (Thibaut Nyemba)

Preliminary Shot List

Preliminary Task (Thibaut Nyemba)

This is our short preliminary task which we showed we understood the basics of film making. In this short sequence we made sure to include shot reverse shot, match on action and not to break the 180 degree rule. This was done during the night class over a period of a day.

After filming I logged and captured the footage on the computer and used Final Cut Pro program to edit it.

Whilst filming the preliminary task we found out that we had broken the 180 degree thus we had to refilm the part when Mysara opens the door. What we would of improve in this short sequence we would not use props as it was a problem keeping in continuity. Over all I am satisfied with the result.

Weekly Updates; Week 2 [Hayley Male]

After finally deciding on the genre of our film, it was time to think of a story and write a synopsis of our film. The group had several meetings to discuss ideas we liked and also ideas that wouldn't be ridiculous to film in the time that we have. Also having no budget made some implications on our choice. We finally decided on our story line and wrote a two minute synopsis giving full details on what was going to happen in the film. To conclude our two minute synopsis, a full 90 minute feature film synopsis was also created so our viewers could find out the whole story line. Once this was completed a script was written were the name of the film was also decided. We wanted something short and catchy but also pictured the whole film. It took a few attempts to actually get a decent script and to make it the right length but we got there in the end.

The BBFC [Thibaut Nyemba]

The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) acts as an independent, non-governmental body, which have been classifying cinema films since it was set up in 1912. Videos have also been classified by the BBFC since passing the Video Recordings Act in 1984.
Within the cinema area the BBFC was set up in 1912 by the film industry as an independent body to bring a degree of uniformity to the classification of film nationally.
Within the video area in 1984 the Parliament passed the video recordings act, this act was made to states that, subject to certain exemptions, video recordings offered for sale or designated by the secretary of state.

The BBFC take many thing in account which overall can determine the age classification outcome. Example, the more blood and gore the more likely the film would be of an eighteen classification. Other media such as video games can also be classified by the BBFC due to content.

The age rating can range from the classification U, which stands for universal anyone is able to watch it. In a U rated film there are many restriction as its normally made for young children from the age of four and always has a happy ending. There must be very mild language, no references and misuse of illegal drugs, mild violence etc. If there are any references to drugs there must be an anti drug message that follows suit.

The next level of classification in the BBFC is the PG rating which rules closely relate U certification, except they are more lenient and other aspects. Example is whereas some U's may have very mild language a PG would have just mild.

The classification 12 and 12 A comes under the same category. Except that when it is classified by 12 A it means no one under twelve is allowed to watch it without the presence of an adult refering to watching it in a cinema. This classification begins have more freedom, as in language which is more moderately allowed such as the word "fuck" can be used but infrequently. Sexual activity maybe breifly portrayed not going beyond what is suitable for young teens.

This certification 15 begins to have more of everything. It may have stong violence, some strong languge, drug taking can be shown but not promoted and many more. My overall film would contain some strong violence and some strong language.

The eighteen classifiation is contains a lot more than the the 15 as it's more explicit, it may contain violence, illegal drug use, dangerous acts. These can be shown without any justification.

Weekly Updates; Week One [Hayley Male]

By the end of the first week my group, after creating the group and our individual blogs, had two group discussion which all members attended about our first assignment; to choose between two genres, which were horror and thriller, and then do research on the chosen genre. After weighing up the pros and cons of each genre the group finally decided on the genre thriller as we all found it relatively interesting and had much experience watching thriller films. The second group meeting was about the roles we assigned ourselves for the duration of the coursework. We based our decision on the things we enjoyed and what we have had experience with to make sure we can complete our tasks to the best of our abilities and to make sure that we can make our opening sequence the best it can possibly be.

Genre Decision [Thibaut Nyemba]

We have decided on the the genre 'Thriller'.

The reason for our decision is that a Thriller provides a thrill for the audience it also captivates them much more sooner that most genres. Its the certain elements within a Thriller that have the power to have such an effect such as the codes and conducts of a Thriller.
Aspects of violence, weapons, crimes etc entertain the viewers in a manor of thrilling them. Thrillers must be effective in a way to cause suspense which is the key feature of a thriller ..... tbc

Genre Research [Mysara Saeed & Hayley Male]

Mysara Updating ...
Our group will be deciding on either 2 genre's (Horror or Thriller) to base our 2 minute sequence on.

Horror Vs Thriller .... The differences

A Horror is usually associated with, exploitations, graphic scenes, violence, torture and death, sometimes the supernatural and fantasy is used as an element for horror. A horror strives to elicit terror, fear and fright from the viewers. It usually circulates around a main villain and the story line will contain various plots to distract the audience from upcoming effective scenes.

The Genre we are basing our coursework on is 'Thriller'

A Thriller is a genre which is seen in films and television. A thriller would have sub genre's such as The sub genres in thrillers include, action thriller, psychological thriller, crime thriller, horror thriller and supernatural horror.
They are usually based on a victims point of view , the main qualities of a thriller would be fast pace with frequent action the features of which create suspense and tension. A protagonist and antagonist are also a main feature within a thriller which are always shown obvious for the audiences understanding. Heroes within are usually 'tough characters' who are exposed to spies, law enforcement officers, aviators and soldiers on the other hand they may just be ordinary citizens who have been drawn into danger by accident. A thriller often associates with the characteristics of a mystery story, which are easily distinguished by the audience from the structure of their plot. A Thriller is also designed to have influence on the audience, creating a sense of fright, fear, terror or disgust, these features are applied through various plots used to diverse the viewers from the truth so that it has the right affect when they discover the story line. Devices such as suspense, red herrings and cliffhangers are used frequently within Thrillers as they are a vital element in keeping the audience engaged.

Codes&Conventions
The conventions of a thriller are mostly to do with editing; quick cuts, camera angle changes, background music that causes suspense and stresses the situation, lighting which is usually dim and dark to help create mystery and finally props such as mirrors and stairs are conventions of a thriller. The codes and conventions are usually what the audience expect to see within a thriller movie so the producer and director must make sure these are in the film for them to attract their target audience. For example a thriller movie allows for a small female protagonist to be victimised and dominiated by a male antagonist. This allows the audience to be able to identify themselves with the characters as they follow typical stereotypes. Women are always portrayed as vunerable and dependent on the male characters whilst the men are stereotyped as dominant and strong. Thrillers usually take place in an exotic place like foreign cities, polar regions, high seas and deserts. The hero in most thrillers are predominately "hard men" who are often accustom to danger and violence such as ex-spies, soldiers, ex-convicts etc, although they can also be ordinary people who are drawn into danger by accident. The story line within a thriller usually consists of the hero hindering the plan of the enemy rather than uncovering and solving a crime that has already happened. Thrillers also appear on a much larger scale than solving a crime, they mainly have a story line of terrorism or preventing a serial mass murder or assissination. Jeopardy and and violent confrontations are a standard element in a thriller. A thriller climaxes when the hero finally defeats the villan rather when the mystery is solved, saving his life and the life of others. However the life of a compromising hero is usually lost in the process.

Introduction to Coursework [Mysara]

Mysara here to give the first update. (:
We have just been introduced to the coursework we will be beginning, and as a part of the preliminary basis we had to create
1) A Personal Blog
2) A Group Blog
3) Hyper links within the 'Group Blog' to give access to the 'Individual Blogs'.

Completed.