Below are two videos simply showcasing some of the conversations that we had on set in order to get the shots we wanted, particularly in terms of lighting and camera angles. Ignore the horrible sound and listen to the sensible conversation :)
In that video, we were discussing the composition and intention of the shot. Gavin also mentions the order in which we filmed the shots, showcasing our attention to detail and planning. Gavin also goes over some notes with the actor to ensure the narrative of the opening was not misconstrued or confusing.
The second conversation shows me with another one of my group members discussing the bat scenes. We wanted to ensure the atmosphere for the scene was set to be dangerous, yet show the professionalism of Joan.
Getting the best setting for a film is important. Just like all the other things I said were important, yes. Ensuring the location matches the style of scene that is being filmed creates a more professional looking production and simply adds to the atmosphere of the film.
FIRST LOCATION: Drama Studio
For one of our planned shots we plan to have a dark room with excellent
lighting and very few objects. Our drama room has that. It has a lights
that we can artificially control, it has black curtains, very few
objects to ruin the mise-en-scene and a prop closet where we can borrow
some times for our props. The lights in the studio are also perfect or the scenes we want to shoot. It has spotlights which allows us to use lighting creatively, maybe lighting up one particular and spot ans also helping with making the background dark enough.
This a shot we took while messing around in the drama room. As you can
see it has excellent lighting and quite good mise-en-scene due to the
props available in this location.
SECOND LOCATION: Kelsey Park
For our second location we wanted somewhere open and not populated with
too many people, we started looking at parks that didn't have too many
people and decided that Kelsey park was the best for it's ease of access
and for it's relative emptiness. The secluded nature of the park gave it the feel of a meet-up spot for something secretive.
We thought this spot in particular would be a good spot to film a scene in, we thought it just looked... spyie.
Music. Very important. Couldn't stress it enough. Good music can be the difference between a movie and a very good movie. This post goes through our music making and reasons why we made certain choices.
This was our first attempt to create the music which had taken quite a
while to create. However when reviewing the song we realized it had a
Sci-fi sound to it. This had limited the sound that we had created so we
decided to change it. Despite this it did start off with a spy theme
sound which created the right atmosphere for our thriller opening and
allowed us match our footage. However it was very upbeat and this did
not match the slow tempo of our thriller opening which also meant we had
to change the speed and the sound of the song as well.
The instruments that we had used was: House Amp Plucks, Silver Synth Saw
and Strum Patterns, which is indicated in this picture down below.
These instruments had created the sound that we wanted by making the
music fast pace and attention seeking. However we wanted music that was
more sinister and suited out opening.We then changed the theme of song
and came up with an piece of music that had included: French Horns,
String Ensemble and Orchestral Kit which allowed us to create a piece
that had a classic sound however still produced the sinister effect that
we wanted.
This images show the music in progress. However we thought that it also needed a
bass to add more of a dramatic effect to the piece as well as a
sinister effect so that it draws the audience in.
The font of titles in a thriller can be instrumental in setting the tone of a film. Yes, simply the shape, style, weight and size of text in a film can tell a story or set an atmosphere, possibly even help distinguish a horror, from a thriller. In this post I will go through the fonts we had a look at and the subtext(yes, that was a pun) they may carry.
CONSIDERED FONTS
This font, alarming similar to the great 'SE7EN's title font, is not the type of font we are interested. Although it, uses a very worn, ruggish and urban style, that is not the type of font we are looking for when producing a stylish, sophisticated spy thriller.
This font, though closer to the style we are looking for, does not entirely capture the theme of our film. The font is a little too curly and styled. While it captures the professionalism of Joanna Reed it does not symbolise her straight-forwardness and clinical nature in her work.
This font is most likely the style of font we'll use as it both encases Joanna Reed's professional, sophisticated nature, yet her decisiveness and precision. It is particularly similar to the '007' style of font, especially since the film genre and main character are so alike.
OUR FONT The font we eventually decided on was a a mix of the two right aboveand the first one we reviewed. An exceedingly simple yet professional font, representative of Joan's character and job description without the flair of Skyfall's font, to issue the idea that it is a more solemn film.
Our main location for filming so far is the drama studio. We made use of the on site, spotlights for our lighting and also some of the props such as the chairs and table are also school property that we made use of. We decided to opt out of using multiple spotlights.The single spotlight here is particularly important as it creates the lighting effect we are aiming for, as it blocks out the background entirely by making use of only a keylight. This lighting creates a mysterious atmosphere as the viewers are unaware of the whereabouts of the characters, making them look suspicious, or at least making their activities seem shady. In terms of 'mise en scene', we used different kinds of glasses to differentiate between characters: a short glass for the more straight man, but rather a wine glass for the sophisticated and expereinced spy sitting in the middle. We also intended to use colour of ties to further contrast characteristics of the protagonist from her enemies, giving her a red tie while giving the other two black ties, to emphasise her ability to stand out of the crowd due to her high level skill. We chose however not to, because the nature of the camera angles rendered the colours unnoticeable at times and so did not feel very effective.
I wonder who threw those cards oh so nonchalantly... It was me, I threw them.
DRAMA STUDIO (ROUND 2)
The second time round we once again went for similar lighting, however this time opting for three lights to better create a more intimidating scene, yet maintain that sense of mystery. This time, we utilised less 'mise en scene' purposely rather than using it for effect, using the lack of it to emphasise the loneliness and desolateness of the hostage's location. Also the placement of the hostage right in the centre of the room with the spotlight placed on him also emphasises his importance and possibly the importance of the information he is holding.
(Revel in the awesomeness of that shot)
KELSEY PARK (COMING SOON)
The park was the perfect location to film the suspicious meeting of the Russian spy. We decided to film in the late afternoon and use natural lighting to ensure that it wasn't too dark but also looked low-key enough to seem sinister. The seemingly secluded location made it the Russian spy appear very mysterious rather than just a by-passer in a park. It also allowed us to make him look very isolated to the point where it suggests he maybe is even hiding. We did this by positioning him in the centre of the shot from a wide high angle. This ensured he was the focal point of the shot but seemed insignificant compared to the rest of the park. The lack of ambient sound in the park scenes also emphasise the lack of life in the environment and his loneliness.
In order to gain more information on our target audience we had a couple interviews with some students who fit our target audience criteria. The first interview was with a 16 year old school student named Lorraine who likes thriller movies. This interview unfortunately had to be split into two parts due to audio issues.
Transcript:
Interviewer: Do you think thrillers should be funnier?
Lorraine: I don't think they should be funny; because some thrillers are based on real-life stories and sometimes that can affect and individual's life. Like just knowing that someone else has lived through all that suffering and pain, you just sitting there watching that, do you not feel some form of emotion, rather than just sitting there, laughing?
Transcript Interviewer: What are you thoughts on spy thrillers?
Lorraine: I like spy thrillers because I like to see the new techniques they use in every type of film, because every spy thriller is different to the last one so I want to see what they use to bring up their game, in comparison to other competitors. I like to see spy thrillers because I like to see the action. I like to see the like effects they have on people and... yeah.
The second interview we had was with a 17 year old media student named Samuel who said he enjoys sitting down and seeing a good film in front of him.
Transcript
Interviewer: What kind of films do you like and why?
Samuel: Um, I like to see comedy films however my favourite are thriller films because I'm intrigued in the mystery that happen throughout them.
Interviewer: Okay, okay, what's your favourite thriller film?
Samuel: Um, my favourite thriller film is Transporter, and the reason why I like Transporter is because I'm intrigued, I like how the mystery is almost unclear so and I also like the characters and the action througout the movie as well
Interviewer: When do you think that thriller films are most effective?
Samuel: I think thriller films are most effective when most of the conventions such as low key lighting, mystery and all those other conventions are all used throughout the movie in order to get the best project out of it.
Interviewer: Thank you very much.
FEEDBACK RESULTS The target audience interviews were a good way to get inside the mind of the audience to try and produce a film they would want to watch. With the help of the information they gave us, we were able to make certain decisions in our film making to increase the enjoyabilityfor the viewers. For example, we made sure to steer clear of comic relief giving our film a slightly darker tone, separating it from an action film. We also made sure to create amystery to keep the audience interested and included action with guns to excite the viewers too.
More filming should be done to lengthen opening: Kerry, Charlie and Davidare set to act and Gavin to direct, scheduled for the January 25 at 11:50am. David is also required to bring a baseball bat and tie as props for the filming.
More narrative should be added to make understanding the opening more: David and Gavin are required to have finished the new script by January 246:00pm so that all is ready to film for the next day and Kerry and Charlie have sufficient time to learn their lines for the next day of filming.
Voice overs should be done if audio isn't of good enough quality: Microphone to be secured by Kerry on January 27 by 2:00pm to be ready for recording. Gavin should also be there and ready to record the audio and should have set up the computer by 2:00pm also.
MOTIONS TAKEN OR REJECTED
We decided more filming needed to be done if we were to reach the required opening length: More filming was scheduled for January 25 at 11:50pm with Kerry, Charlie, David and Gavin all ready and available to act and direct in their respective roles.
We also agreed that the narrative from the footage so far once edited down felt very rushed and may need more imagery, or dialogue: The additional filming was agreed to be able to improve this in addition to the abstract imagery to be added after filming on January 26 has concluded.
NEXT STEP PLANNED
Filming in Harris Bromley and on Beckenham High Street will be planned with the shoot schedule: We all agreed that maybe filming at a different location other than the drama studio would help increase variety in the opening and would make it more realistic. Further discussion was to be done at the next full group meeting.
The script will be amended and added to lengthen opening and add narrative: David and Gavin to work on script further to secure a longer, coherent narrative by January 24 at 6:00pm.
ITEMS TO BE HELD OVER
Abstract imagery should be added to the opening to make it slightly longer: We agreed that this should be discussed at the next meeting as then we would have finished the filming from January 25 and we could determine whether more filming was required or not.
Voice overs should be done if audio isn't of good enough quality: We agreed to also talk about at the next meeting when all the filiming from January 25 was finished and we would assess the audio from there.
