11 • Conventions Of Thrillers

10 • Prelim Task Part 2

                   

9 • Prelim Task Part One

Today we embarked on the Prelim task, in which we were tasked with creating a short film from an existing story board. My group and I used the 180 degree rule to respect screen direction and assigned each member of the group with specific roles and jobs. Two would be actors, and one would be in control of camera and the other would be director. We looked at the story board and decided that there we three essential shots we would require in order to obtain the Prelim directly to thte to story board.

When setting up the camera we decided that we would manually set the white balance and exposure in order to get a true image. Then set the marks for each actor then started rolling the camera. We took 3 takes for every angle that included a wide and two over the shoulder shots one from each subjects side. For every shot we ran through the entire story board in order to make sure we had safety shots for every part of the story board, and did not miss anything out.

We ran into several continuity issues, with scripts and actors not being able to learn lines, to combat this next time I would assure that the actors have the script before the day of the shoot, so the actors can get a better idea of the script and actually feel comfortable in performing their lines.
Each of these 12 box's also caused some serious problems. As they felt very structured and caused us to conform. When using the cameras we used tripods to lock down the image and create steady shots, although we did find that use of a steady cam might have been useful or something that would allow us to get smooth and constant shots without the structure of a tripod.

  Things I have decided to do differently for the thriller task. Is decide location and sort out production lighting before the day of the shoot. I found that having to film in a very stark and messy classroom was very un cinematic and caused some problems. But these are all issues I should be able to fix in after effects with some colour grading but for the actual thriller I will try and get most of the practical lighting done in pre-production instead of post.
All in all though I feel that this was a great experience to prep us for the real thing.

Created By Henry Russell

Edited By Henry Russell

~ Sources ~

*Henry Russell

23rd September 2015

Hurtwood House

8 • Editing ( studio workshop )

In todays lesson, we were shown the basics of Adobe's Premiere Pro. A piece of software that allows you to cut and edit clips. The software allows for clips from different footage bins to be cut, retimed and much more. Premiere Pro consists mainly of four windows.

 This is the time line and it allows you to layer footage and is where most of the editing happens in Pr (Premier Pro). You can layer multiple shots and scenes on top of each other and Pr will always show the clip that is on the top. Bellow the video tracks are the audio tracks, this is where you can add music and sound effects (SFX) to your piece. This is useful when you need to sync audio to film, because there are several auto locking features that allow for easy editing.
   

This is the Composting window, and it allows you to see your footage in real time. This is Great because is allows you to really see what each shot looks like and fine tune the smaller things lie colour etc, The Compositing window always shows whatever footage the view pin in hovering over. The great benefit to the Composting window being real time is that there is no lag so when you make each cut you can see exactly where in the footage you are. 

This is the Effect Panel, and it allows the user to really start to edit the footage that he has. You can adjust, position and scale. Rotation, Anchor points, opacity and timing. It is here where the real post production occurs and you can start to really fine tune the footage, you can do minor colour correction and also add filters and other cool stuff. Also this panel is where you will find the basic audio tools etc.

This is the Media Browser is where you will find all of the footage and files that you should have stored on your computer. It is great because if you have all of your footage stored in one folder you can see all of your footage ready for editing. Even pictures and audio files show up in the Media Browser. Also in the media browser you can search for clips and images for your production. It is here also that you create bins for your footage.

All the Panels come together to make this...

Which can seem pretty daunting, But it really is quite simple once you break it all down. And this format and setting out of panels is really the industry standard. If you look at a competitors software, Final Cut Pro ( by Apple ) It looks very similar...

This shows us that this set up is very well used and is designed for great workflow. Which brings me on to the basics of editing. The best editors in the industry are invisible. The art of editing is to try and present the story to the audience without seeing any cuts. This is a true are form, and arguably more important than any other position in the film industry .

Because when it comes down to it directors usually shoot hours of footage for one second of screen time, and it is up to the editor to decide along with the director which 24 frames they are going to use for that one second of screen time. Is the editor more important than the director in this scenario? Food for thought.

Created By Henry Russell

Edited By Henry Russell

~ Sources ~

IMBD

YouTube

Wikipedia

Google Images

23rd September 2015

Hurtwood House

7 • Sound Essay

In this scene from 2014's 'It Follows' we can see great use of diegetic and non-diagetic sound, this uses of sound in this case help generally build tension and drive in the scene.

Firstly I will be looking at how diegetic sound is used in the scene, in the beginning of the scene we hear birds birds in the back ground and the subtle noise of cars driving around, this puts the viewer in a state of tranquility. It is peaceful the connotations of these sounds is calm, peaceful and relaxed. This is great uses of diegetic sound because it both affects the viewer and the people in the scene. The people in the scene can also hear the Birds etc, and this also adds to the general tranquil tones to the scene. Then we see the door open and the non-diegetic sound kicks in Synchronous, we hear a thud almost like a amplified heart beat as the girl exits the house, this quickly takes us out of the relaxed and tranquil state of mind from before. It jumps us and creates scare factor. This beat is repetitive and keeps going beat after beat which builds up this repetitive norm and tension, we wait for each beat and so when the beat does not come we feel like something is going to happen, but it leaves us in this state of mind expecting something to jump out. Of course this only effects the audience but is syncs in nicely with what is happening on the screen. This coupled with the constant deep humming noise that seems to amplify when action is happening in the scene. Now moving back to diegetic sound, we hear the door open and close but this happens off screen, leaving us to wounder who opened it. The director has used this to really drive forward this who is following her or what is trying to get her. But his sudden build up is extinguished by the voice of people, The other people in the scene speek very softly and calm they try to help and are witnessing this crazy event while going about there daily routine. So there voices are calm and complacent, which is great juxtaposition to the non-diegetic sound that we hear. Which is very harsh and jarring. But this contrast builds tension and suspense into the scene. The non-diegetic sound in this scene is used also to carry forward the narrative, As we feel although the subject in the scene can't hear the sound that it is following her actions it is not Asynchronous, But on the contrary it moves and changes as she does. It reacts to her and this furthermore engrosses us into what we are watching. 

Coming back to voices briefly the small passages of dialogue we hear throughout the scene contrast greatly to what we see the girl going through. We hear "Hey are you okay" and to which the subject reply's "yeah" which conveys a sense of confusion for the audience. It puts us out of our comfort zones but also conveying that what ever it is that is chasing her is something only she is reacting to. And the diegetic and non-diegetic sound both play towards this idea. The constant pulsing sound mimics a heart beat which is used by the director to drive forward this sense of someone not something is chasing her.

Another thing linked with the diegetic sound is that when we hear some people dialogue it is from off screen. Which creates this amazing tension throughout the piece as we can't see who is trying to talk to the subject. This voice we hear from off screen could be the voice of the ever advancing following.

Moving on through the scene, in the car sequence the thumping stops and we feel as if her pursuer has stopped. But with amazing use of a sound bridge that is both jarring and suspenseful we are brought to the beach. Where as the camera tracks left the pulsing thump continues the pursuer is back. The thumping increases pace and subtly increasing in volume. It is also matched with the calming sound of the waves in the background the also have a repeating pattern to them, that matches the thumping. Again creating amazing contrast between serenity and death. Which really puts the audience on edge. Then we get great visual contrast between the dark of knight and the light of day. And another sound bridge but now only the sound of the calming waves remains and the thumping has gone. And we are left with this poor girl ripped apart lying on a beach in the middle of no where, making us think one thing... Why?

If you play this scene without visual guide, people can pick up the narrative almost perfectly. The director has used the right balance of non-diegetic and diegetic sound to create a perfect equilibrium. Where denotation  and connotation are both used in this blend of amazing sound design. This is why I believe that 'It Follows' is one of the best modern horror films brought to life on the screen. The director does not just build up tension then spoil his hard work with a cliche jump scare. No he lets the tension gradually build up to where the audience puts them self into such a panic. That they fell horrified, not scared. 

Created By Henry Russell
Edited By Henry Russell
~ Sources ~
IMBD
YouTube
Wikipedia
Google Images




23rd September 2015
Hurtwood House