Storyboarding
In resent lesson and homeworks, the groups main interest has been storyboarding. Our resent progress has seen us complete a detailed plot, detailed character information and detailed location information.
Our fast but neverthless effective progress through the task's has allowed use to begin and complete our final storyboaring. My role in the process was to draw up the shots, but also to feed shot ideas into the group. Geoge and Adam were also very important bringing up new ideas for me to draw up on the storyboard. We all worked together, sharing ideas to create the final storyboard.
Characters
To give the film a greater sence of depth, we spent alot of time giving the characters personalitys that would interest the audience.
We opted to include a group of 4 friends who all share a passion for exploration. However, they are all very different.
Character names are currently unclear
Biker 1: A couragous character driven by ambition and always the first to cross the finish line. Has little care for thous around him when comleting his own goals.
Biker 2: A funny kind off guy. Always looks on the bright side of life. doesnt take himself or anyone around him seriously.
Biker 3: A quiet but important character. Holds the foundations of the group together with his relaxed view of life and his ability to judge a situation without being bias.
Biker 4: A intelligent individual who lacks any ambition other than the ambition read a book from cover to cover. Always looks at the logical side of things. To him, everything has a mathematical answer.
Deranged Man: Once a man of the army, but banished for his passion for killing the weak and innocent. Banished to Pitch hill he has been given the simple task of keeping electricity flowing over the desolate area. Having lived up the hill for some 22 years, his knowledge of the outback stretches far beyond the knowledge of anyone else. He consider the vast hill his home, and he doesn't like trespasers.
Locations:
We have chosen two locations for our shotting. First and formost, the hill on which we shall be shotting is Pitch hill in the Surrey hills. I chose this location as I have visited the hill many times and am aware of its potential for shotting a horror film. The scenes leading up to the arrival at Pitch hill will be shot at a pub, just before pitch hill. I also chose this as I have knowledge of the area.
Pitch Hill: The towering trees and thin winding paths seen the pefect place to shot our idea. The darkness of the woods even in daylight over a opportunity to keep suspence and suspicion throughout the opening sequence.
The Pub: The pub is the location at which our characters shall be introduced. The location seems suitable for this introduction as less concentration will be on surroundings and more on the characters themselves. A pub is a sterotypical location for friendship gatherings and therefore we opted to include this in our locations for the opening sequence.
Themes and Values
friendship is a theme/ value that is important in our filming. However, we intend to explore both the positives and negatives of friendships. (Negatives being tension within the group, and the positives being the groups determination to find their kidnapped friend).
Experience is also a key element of the piece. In this case, it is the lack of experience that sees the group fall into trouble. We opted to include this as In many cases it is experience/ inexperience that holds a event together or turns it into a nightmare.
The theme of being followed/ stalked will also become clear in the opening sequence. The theme shall be introduced suddenly when one memeber of the group begins to fall behind and the villan begins to home in on his weak and vunerable prey. We opted to include this theme as the result of our questionaire proofed that people found the feeling of being stalked to be most frightening.
The theme of despair will also be used in the opening sequence. As the 1 member of the group begins to fall behind, he becomes worried and begins to pedal harder. The shot used will portray to the audience a sence of vunerability and desperation.
The value of tradition shall be shown when the group gather at the pub. It is common to see friends meeting at the pub before/ for a event.
The theme of missing/ lost shall be explored. The sequence of shots that show the missing posters on the back of the entrance sign shall portray a pending sence of danger with this common theme.
Wednesday 22 October 2008
Tuesday 21 October 2008
The Dark Night
Brief Explanation of Warnerbros.com homepage
The homepage offers links to a variety of different areas on the WarnerBros website. The titles include:
The homepage offers links to a variety of different areas on the WarnerBros website. The titles include:
- Home- Offers links to company info, Dowloads and job info etc.
- On demand- Offers links to info about the new releases that are becoming increasingly popular.
- Movies- Offers links to all the movies that the Warner Bros company have been involved in
- Television- Offers links to info about any T.V series that Warner Bros are involved in
- Videogames- Offers links to info about any Videogames that Warner Bros have been involved in the making of.
- DVD shop- Offers links to a shopping area where any DVD's that Warner Bros are involved are available to buy.
- Actors- Offers links to info about characters that Warner Bros have worked with/ have on a contract.
5 facts about Warner Bros
- Founded in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA (1918)
- Headquarters are based in Burbank, California and New York City, in the United States.
- Revenue at 11.7 billion american dollars
- Operating income at 845 million american dollars
- Involved in the making of many big name films including the batman film.
Warner Bros other companies
- Warner Bros entertainment inc.
- Warner Bros Television Production inc.
- Warner Bros records inc.
- Warner Bros interactive entertainment
Thursday 16 October 2008
Planning for Filming Project
So far, we as a group have had 2 lessons to begin sharing our ideas and developing them. Our progess has be fast paced and our ideas have come thick and fast.
We began sharing our ideas by spending 5 minutes induvidualy, simply writing down the basic plot for a horror film we would each like to make/ like to see. After the 5 minutes, we came together to share our ideas with the intention of picking one as the base plot and then adding ideas in that the other group memebers came up with. The ideas were all very different. Redmirs idea was... sci- fi orientated. Adams and geoges was zoombie orientated and mine was more centred around a plot that could be developed into the horror genre.
We, as a group opted to use my idea as the basic plot. We then used good ideas from Geoges and Adams plots that developed the base story into a potential masterpiece.
The basic story is:
4 foriegn friends decide to take some time out together. They a very tight group however all of them are very different. One thing they all share though is there passion for biking. As a break, they organise a trip to The Britain were they intent to bike up some of the highest hills/ mountains in the contry.
Their journey starts at pitch hill, one of the tallest hills in the world covering a total area of 150 square metres. However, the group of foriegn friend are unaware of the shere scale of the hill and are considerably under experienced for what they are about to attempt. They have no local knowledge and rely on only a map as guidance. It is this lack of local knowledge that marks the start of the groups horrors.
Not long into the ride (about 60 miles) The weaker member of the group begins to fall back, as the ride becomes tougher and tougher. Before long the rest of the group have diserpeared round a cornor leaving the individual allown and vunerable. As he is allown he becomes more and more aware of his surroundings. The sheer size of the forest around him begins to get the better of his mind. The biker begins to pedal harder, his breaths become more eratic, but not once does he suspect that he is being stalked from the depths of the woods.... Not to his knowledge a deranged man, banished to the hill has slowly being moving in on him as he falls further and further behind weakening with every pedal. Suddenly a line of spikes shoot up through the ground pierceing the tiers of his bike. A trap? The rider and his bike are sent him flying. When the rest of the group return to the yells of their fallen friend, they return only to see the bike, mangled on the floor, the wheel still spining; the friend knowhere to be seen.
So far we have:
We began sharing our ideas by spending 5 minutes induvidualy, simply writing down the basic plot for a horror film we would each like to make/ like to see. After the 5 minutes, we came together to share our ideas with the intention of picking one as the base plot and then adding ideas in that the other group memebers came up with. The ideas were all very different. Redmirs idea was... sci- fi orientated. Adams and geoges was zoombie orientated and mine was more centred around a plot that could be developed into the horror genre.
We, as a group opted to use my idea as the basic plot. We then used good ideas from Geoges and Adams plots that developed the base story into a potential masterpiece.
The basic story is:
4 foriegn friends decide to take some time out together. They a very tight group however all of them are very different. One thing they all share though is there passion for biking. As a break, they organise a trip to The Britain were they intent to bike up some of the highest hills/ mountains in the contry.
Their journey starts at pitch hill, one of the tallest hills in the world covering a total area of 150 square metres. However, the group of foriegn friend are unaware of the shere scale of the hill and are considerably under experienced for what they are about to attempt. They have no local knowledge and rely on only a map as guidance. It is this lack of local knowledge that marks the start of the groups horrors.
Not long into the ride (about 60 miles) The weaker member of the group begins to fall back, as the ride becomes tougher and tougher. Before long the rest of the group have diserpeared round a cornor leaving the individual allown and vunerable. As he is allown he becomes more and more aware of his surroundings. The sheer size of the forest around him begins to get the better of his mind. The biker begins to pedal harder, his breaths become more eratic, but not once does he suspect that he is being stalked from the depths of the woods.... Not to his knowledge a deranged man, banished to the hill has slowly being moving in on him as he falls further and further behind weakening with every pedal. Suddenly a line of spikes shoot up through the ground pierceing the tiers of his bike. A trap? The rider and his bike are sent him flying. When the rest of the group return to the yells of their fallen friend, they return only to see the bike, mangled on the floor, the wheel still spining; the friend knowhere to be seen.
So far we have:
- Writen up characters in detail.
- Writen up information about location.
- Writen up a basic idea for the shot we will use.
- Writen up the storyline asif we would be shooting the whole film.
- Writen up our ideas that will give the opening sequence the genetric signifiers nessesary for the horror genre.
Monday 13 October 2008
The Hills Have Eyes trailor -micro anaylasis
Cinematography
Trailor opens with Real footage (in Black and White) of Nuclear explosions and mutations the fallout can cause. This footage is edited quickly and splits between different shots to give a sence of the strange unknown.
Then, A collaboration of close- ups introduce the characters as they journey in thier car. All the characters are slightly left of the screen as this is how a audience preffers to read a shot (from right to left). The close up shots allow greater concentration on the story and plot. This is important for setting the scene and giving a idea of what the film is about.
After the crash, The shots have more variation from extreme close-ups to long shots. Many of these shots are angled over the travelling family to make them seem more vunerable and weak in comparison to the villans.
Sound
Opens with the sound of sirens to give the idea of potential danger.
The sound of sirens is then replaced by more common music accosiated with a laid back culture. This gives a sence of safty to a viewer when combined with the slower editing.
The music then stops after the car crash incident and is replaced by the sound of a owl shreaking. This sudden change shocks a viewer and changes the mood dramatically.
The eay music is combined with silence to give a sence of unease and potential danger.
Mise- en- scene
The costumes of the travelling family are that of a well- off american family. This makes a appealing and obvious contrast between the ragged and ripped costumes of the villans.
Early in the trailor we see a long shot of a car toeing a caravan. This use of props lead the audience to asume a group of people are travelling. This helps the audience gain a idea of story and plot.
Later in the traior we see the use of binoculors and tourches. This leads to the ussumation that they are lost and trying to find a way out or perhaps help. The theme of being lost leads a audience to suspect danger. This helps increase strength.
The trailor opens with sufficient lighting to make the audience feel safe. However, the lighting dims as the trailor progresses. Some shots are even taken in darkness to give a stark contrast with earlier points in the trailor.
Editing
Opening shot of real fotage is edited to be fast paced to confuse a viewer. However, shots of importance in the sequence are slowed down to allow the audience to get a idea of the story and plot.
Words are edited in inbetween the shots to set the scene and explain the footage that is being shown.
Editing slows down after the real footage sequence to allow a viewer to concentrate more on the introduction of main characters and less on sespence and tension.
As the laid back music stops after the car accident, the editing begins to speed up to slowly to increase the tension as the villans are introduced.
This use of editing creates contrast in the trailor. In the earlier shots when the characters are introduced and dialogue is exchanged, the editing is slow. This relaxes the audience and they suspect nothing perhaps being decieved. Later in the trailor when the editing begins to speed up the mood changes significantly. The audience is taken from a relaxed mood to a fast paced, thrilling and horrifying mood in a very short space of time. This has greater effect than simply starting in the action.
Trailor opens with Real footage (in Black and White) of Nuclear explosions and mutations the fallout can cause. This footage is edited quickly and splits between different shots to give a sence of the strange unknown.
Then, A collaboration of close- ups introduce the characters as they journey in thier car. All the characters are slightly left of the screen as this is how a audience preffers to read a shot (from right to left). The close up shots allow greater concentration on the story and plot. This is important for setting the scene and giving a idea of what the film is about.
After the crash, The shots have more variation from extreme close-ups to long shots. Many of these shots are angled over the travelling family to make them seem more vunerable and weak in comparison to the villans.
Sound
Opens with the sound of sirens to give the idea of potential danger.
The sound of sirens is then replaced by more common music accosiated with a laid back culture. This gives a sence of safty to a viewer when combined with the slower editing.
The music then stops after the car crash incident and is replaced by the sound of a owl shreaking. This sudden change shocks a viewer and changes the mood dramatically.
The eay music is combined with silence to give a sence of unease and potential danger.
Mise- en- scene
The costumes of the travelling family are that of a well- off american family. This makes a appealing and obvious contrast between the ragged and ripped costumes of the villans.
Early in the trailor we see a long shot of a car toeing a caravan. This use of props lead the audience to asume a group of people are travelling. This helps the audience gain a idea of story and plot.
Later in the traior we see the use of binoculors and tourches. This leads to the ussumation that they are lost and trying to find a way out or perhaps help. The theme of being lost leads a audience to suspect danger. This helps increase strength.
The trailor opens with sufficient lighting to make the audience feel safe. However, the lighting dims as the trailor progresses. Some shots are even taken in darkness to give a stark contrast with earlier points in the trailor.
Editing
Opening shot of real fotage is edited to be fast paced to confuse a viewer. However, shots of importance in the sequence are slowed down to allow the audience to get a idea of the story and plot.
Words are edited in inbetween the shots to set the scene and explain the footage that is being shown.
Editing slows down after the real footage sequence to allow a viewer to concentrate more on the introduction of main characters and less on sespence and tension.
As the laid back music stops after the car accident, the editing begins to speed up to slowly to increase the tension as the villans are introduced.
This use of editing creates contrast in the trailor. In the earlier shots when the characters are introduced and dialogue is exchanged, the editing is slow. This relaxes the audience and they suspect nothing perhaps being decieved. Later in the trailor when the editing begins to speed up the mood changes significantly. The audience is taken from a relaxed mood to a fast paced, thrilling and horrifying mood in a very short space of time. This has greater effect than simply starting in the action.
Editing the piliminary task
Once filming was complete, we began the process of editing the shot we had gathered. We did this on the programme i- movie on a I- mac. We used the programme to correctly order our shots and remove any unwanted footage that was accidentally captured.
Once we had ordered our shots to create a scene viable for the assianment of the piliminary task we began adding effects. We changed lighting and contrast from shot to shot as this ironed out any change in light that happend due to a change in conditions day by day. Editing also gave use the oportunity to add sounds and music. This was very effective for our group as our peliminary task was shot in the horror style. Sound prooved essential in creating suspence and tension.
Once we had ordered our shots to create a scene viable for the assianment of the piliminary task we began adding effects. We changed lighting and contrast from shot to shot as this ironed out any change in light that happend due to a change in conditions day by day. Editing also gave use the oportunity to add sounds and music. This was very effective for our group as our peliminary task was shot in the horror style. Sound prooved essential in creating suspence and tension.
Monday 6 October 2008
Wolf Creek
Director: Greg Mclean
Writer: Greg Mclean
Release Date: 16 September 2005
BASED ON TRUE EVENTS
Three friends embark on an adventure in the rugged Australian outback, having set out to see a famous crater made by a meteor thousands of years ago named Wolf Creek. They spend time together partying and bonding during their long and lonely road trip to the landmark. When they arrive they leave their car at the bottom to make the 3 hour hike to the top of the crater. Upon their return to the car, they find that it will not start, and must enlist the help of a seemingly charitable fellow, who happens to "coincidentally" be meandering around one of the most remote areas of the world. They decide after much debate to allow him to tow them and their car back to his dwelling, where he has promised to quickly fix the car. The three friend’s suspicions slowly fade away as the charitable fellow seems more and more... charitable. However, the three soon realize he has other plans in store, when, after being drugged, awake to scenes of terror, grisly dismemberment, and even death. We get to know the three on a personal level, so that what happens to them is more than mere gore and torture; we actually feel for these characters as we become slightly attached to them and want them to succeed. A surprisingly well-done, yet very difficult film to watch.
Writer: Greg Mclean
Release Date: 16 September 2005
BASED ON TRUE EVENTS
Three friends embark on an adventure in the rugged Australian outback, having set out to see a famous crater made by a meteor thousands of years ago named Wolf Creek. They spend time together partying and bonding during their long and lonely road trip to the landmark. When they arrive they leave their car at the bottom to make the 3 hour hike to the top of the crater. Upon their return to the car, they find that it will not start, and must enlist the help of a seemingly charitable fellow, who happens to "coincidentally" be meandering around one of the most remote areas of the world. They decide after much debate to allow him to tow them and their car back to his dwelling, where he has promised to quickly fix the car. The three friend’s suspicions slowly fade away as the charitable fellow seems more and more... charitable. However, the three soon realize he has other plans in store, when, after being drugged, awake to scenes of terror, grisly dismemberment, and even death. We get to know the three on a personal level, so that what happens to them is more than mere gore and torture; we actually feel for these characters as we become slightly attached to them and want them to succeed. A surprisingly well-done, yet very difficult film to watch.
MAIN CHARACTERS
Mick Taylor: played by John Jarratt
The charitable fellow who came to the trio of friend’s aid when the car would not start. However, not as charitable as it first seems. He is the notorious serial killer.
The charitable fellow who came to the trio of friend’s aid when the car would not start. However, not as charitable as it first seems. He is the notorious serial killer.
Liz Hunter: played by Cassandra Magrath
One of the two British females in the trio. She is seen to have a certain liking for Ben Mitchell which becomes apparent in the long journey to Wolf Creek.
One of the two British females in the trio. She is seen to have a certain liking for Ben Mitchell which becomes apparent in the long journey to Wolf Creek.
Kristy Earl: played by Kestie Morassi
The second female of the group of three who is also British. A good friend of Ben Mitchell
The second female of the group of three who is also British. A good friend of Ben Mitchell
Ben Mitchell: played by Nathan Phillips
The Australian who brought his two English girl friends over for a memorable journey.
John Jarratt has a huge experience in films and has appeared in over 50 movies. However, only a handful has been in the horror genre.
Cassandra Magrath has very limited experience in movies and has spent most of her acting career acting in T.V series including Ocean Girl, Sea change and Crash Zone.
Kestie Morassi also has limited experience in movies particularly in the Horror/ Thriller genre. She too has spent the majority of her acting career in T.V series including Satisfaction and Underbelly.
Nathan Phillips has a greater experience of acting in films and has appeared in some 15 movies. However he too has spent acting time in T.V series and even appeared in the Australian Soap Neighbours in 1985.
One thing that Cassandra Magrath, Kestie Morassi and Nathan Phillips have in common is that very few if none of the films they have taken part in (excluding Wolf Creek) have been real Blockbusters making them cheap to enrol for a acting contract for Wolf Creek.
From watching this film some themes and values are very evident throughout the movie. The most obvious value is “never trust strangers”. This is clear in Wolf Creek as the three friends do trust a stranger and it ultimately results in two of their deaths. The theme of fear and despair is also clear. This is obvious in the scene where Kristy Earl is seen running down a long empty road (The box cover seen on p.1). Other themes including terror are also seen when Kristy Earl is seen to be tied up like an animal whilst Mick Taylor abuses her sexually and physically. She is terrified and desperate.
From reading about the film as well as watching it for myself I would expect the film to be set in a deserted part of the world. Sure enough the film is based in Australia in the Great Victoria Desert. One of the most sparsely populated areas in the world. The reason for this location is much to do with the events that actually took place. The film is based on true events therefore for greater effect the film was shot on location. Though the film is individual in the fact that the events are based to true events, the location is relatively typical of this genre. A vast empty area where help is miles away.
The Australian who brought his two English girl friends over for a memorable journey.
John Jarratt has a huge experience in films and has appeared in over 50 movies. However, only a handful has been in the horror genre.
Cassandra Magrath has very limited experience in movies and has spent most of her acting career acting in T.V series including Ocean Girl, Sea change and Crash Zone.
Kestie Morassi also has limited experience in movies particularly in the Horror/ Thriller genre. She too has spent the majority of her acting career in T.V series including Satisfaction and Underbelly.
Nathan Phillips has a greater experience of acting in films and has appeared in some 15 movies. However he too has spent acting time in T.V series and even appeared in the Australian Soap Neighbours in 1985.
One thing that Cassandra Magrath, Kestie Morassi and Nathan Phillips have in common is that very few if none of the films they have taken part in (excluding Wolf Creek) have been real Blockbusters making them cheap to enrol for a acting contract for Wolf Creek.
From watching this film some themes and values are very evident throughout the movie. The most obvious value is “never trust strangers”. This is clear in Wolf Creek as the three friends do trust a stranger and it ultimately results in two of their deaths. The theme of fear and despair is also clear. This is obvious in the scene where Kristy Earl is seen running down a long empty road (The box cover seen on p.1). Other themes including terror are also seen when Kristy Earl is seen to be tied up like an animal whilst Mick Taylor abuses her sexually and physically. She is terrified and desperate.
From reading about the film as well as watching it for myself I would expect the film to be set in a deserted part of the world. Sure enough the film is based in Australia in the Great Victoria Desert. One of the most sparsely populated areas in the world. The reason for this location is much to do with the events that actually took place. The film is based on true events therefore for greater effect the film was shot on location. Though the film is individual in the fact that the events are based to true events, the location is relatively typical of this genre. A vast empty area where help is miles away.
Filming
Filming
My role was to draw up the storyboard and film the shots as required.
The film contained mostly medium close up's, close up's and extreme close ups. These shots where used to keep the identity of the villan a mystery until a later point and keep constant ambigoity.
The framing varied throughout the film. At some points we would keep a character central in the shot to gain more attention from a viewer. At other points we would have parts of a character e.g his arm angled in the shot or off centre to keep a constant sence of ambigoity.
The actors where positioned in a variety of different ways on the screen. The villan (Adam) was mostly positioned on the edge of the shot to give a sense of movement; movement toward a potential event. Most of the hostage's shots (Redmir) Where kept central and and close up to force attention from a viewer.
lots of love
Josh xxx
My role was to draw up the storyboard and film the shots as required.
The film contained mostly medium close up's, close up's and extreme close ups. These shots where used to keep the identity of the villan a mystery until a later point and keep constant ambigoity.
The framing varied throughout the film. At some points we would keep a character central in the shot to gain more attention from a viewer. At other points we would have parts of a character e.g his arm angled in the shot or off centre to keep a constant sence of ambigoity.
The actors where positioned in a variety of different ways on the screen. The villan (Adam) was mostly positioned on the edge of the shot to give a sense of movement; movement toward a potential event. Most of the hostage's shots (Redmir) Where kept central and and close up to force attention from a viewer.
lots of love
Josh xxx
Preliminary Task
Film and edit a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom she/ he then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue.
This task should demonstrate match on action, shot/ reverse shot and the 180- degree rule.
This task should demonstrate match on action, shot/ reverse shot and the 180- degree rule.
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