Evaluation

Evaluation

Forms and conventions
Our thriller film intro is similar in many respects to a real crime thriller film and recognises the film noir genre, it creates suspense by imitating many of the sorts of shots used for example we used a shot where it is high angled facing the barrel of the gun and its user. this type of shot is very common to use in a genuine thriller because directors want to emphasise tension and fear , briefly getting the audience to look into the eyes of the victim. the rapid cutting from one character to the other captures the subtle reactions and the audience is involved in evry emotion. the recognised designated mafia like were created by the use of costume and props such as the cigar and the obligatory gun.

 We also used black and white to set an old fashioned scenario , much like an old fashioned or noir film. this taps into the audiences expectations and experiences of black and white sepia films we then used strong contrasting levels with stark black and white produced by the use of spotlighting. this gave our film a dark grim vibe much like the contemporary movies of Sin city (2005) directed by Frank Miller or the begining of Casino Royale (2006) Directed by Martin Campbell.

 Casino Royale
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bE2tTsltS1k

Sin City
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bm4YTs_Mr5M

The way in which I feel we devoloped the black and white genre was by introducing changing light levels. I wanted to create a more surreal, abstract element to my film. the motivation came from the recent  movie cover for Scarface which uses only black and white with blood red lettering and has a black and white pop-art look to it.

Social Groups
The social groups represented in this film  is very minamal as there are only two characters shown in the opening sequence. The character Pelican played by Rupert Vann Alexander (left of picture) , is a leader of a gang. his superior and sinister personallity is portrayed with high angle shots, and extreme close up shots of certain features i.e the facial expression, his getures and items he use like the cigar and gun. the cigar and black suit suggests a suave personality and the gun suggesting he is dangerous and in power over the other character.  The other character Ryan is played by Christopher Hudson (right of picture). his clothing is in plain bright white , the colour suggesting good/naive/innocent, he has fake blood on his nose, make up on his left eye to look bruised and his hair is scruffy suggesting he has been beaten up by someone or possibly pelican.  there are various Close ups of his facial expressions to show that he is in a vulnerable state.

Distribution/Audience
People who may choose to distribute our film , would most likely be an independent film company as many 'indie' film producers take an interest in films that are dark and dramatic. one such company is called INDEPENDENT. Quentin Tarantino may be interested as he likes movies that are stark and sinister and also due to the fact he was once an independent film maker himself.

In terms of who might enjoy this movie I think that many teenagers would find this movie appealing because of its retrospective vibe and sinister edge. I also think that many adult viewers would find this film enjoyable
as it is a genre that they will recognise and appreciate the cultural context and the familiar signatures of the crime/noir genre. Both audiences would be attracted to the underlying dark humour and subtle tongue and cheek references this pastiche produces.

Construction and Technologies learnt

The equipment used for filming was an Sony DCR-HC62E camcorder and a Velbon DV-7000 tripod. The camera was straight forward to use and provided us with very little problems. The use of the tripod was indispensable for reliable camera control. The stability it gave was really helpfull in creating the mood of menacing silence and conflict.

For cutting and editing the film we used the editing software Final Cut Pro. I was fairly familiar with the effects and filters that the program had to offer as this film making software had been a childhood hobbie of mine. We were able to produce the pace and concise cutting that we had hoped to achieve. It was vital that the shots gave an immediate impression that spoke to the audience. There wa alot to say in a very short time.

Conclusion

In this assignment I have learnt a great deal about the writing process, the organisation of a project, the cutting and camera work and most importantly , the benefits and pleasures of good team work. I learnt there was a significant amount of organisation before hand. the writing require certain times for me and Ade to get together, the actors needed to be engaged and involved , props and venues had to be organised in good time for the shooting deadline.

The writing process has really helped by discussing this with people in my house (Mc Gills) and creating enthusiasm for the task. By knowing Rupert was to be my main character, I could keep him in my minds eye, whilst developing the storyline. The ideas for direction and shots were already beggining to formulate. The process of team work between us four resulted in a product that we were all proud of.

Finished Editing :D

over the past week ade and I have been focusing hard on the editing. our intention was to intensify the drama , without giving too much away. we focused heavily on the two characters and also aim to give the audience the experience of been at the end of a gun. we hope that the cutting allows the audience to see the emotions of both characters from close up expressions,  and we also wanted to make the gun like a third character, we achieved this by isolating it with one shot from the side with the hand shaking and the second shot emphasising the agression of the gun with the camera looking up the barrell of the gun allowing the audience to see the victims point of view. it is now complete and ready to be put on dvd. the evaluation now has to take place.

Editing

yesterday we have started editing our as thriller on final cut pro. the specific effects we have used to set a dark , bleak yet old fashioned environment. we have used a sepia with the colour to make the film appear in  black and white. we have used brightness ( low) to set the darkness of the scene. we have used levels to improve the quality of the film and to set a dramatic bleakness to the scene.

Filming Complete :D

We have finally finished the filming of our sequence. This second session of filming was a lot quicker as there were no outside shots; we had previously filmed all the smoking shots, outside. we had estimated that this would take about an hour and a half and this was more than adequate. Both Ade and I  feel very satisfied with the shots filmed and  very excited to start editing the project. At times it was a bit difficult to motivate and control the actors as enthusiasm sometimes got the better of them :D , However they were very co-operative and respectful and they did exactly what Ade and I wanted them to do within each shot. the chemistry between the two actors was outstanding, and the casting was perfect. We plan to make the start of this film in black and white to emphasis a bleak and grim atmosphere. we achieved the lighting effect with just the one lamp , giving us great dramatic shadows. Everything including costumes fitted well within  the desired retrospective time period of the 1960s. We tried to use a variety of shots including shoulder shots, high/low and angle shots and very mild panning.

filming ( part 2)

during activities, we started to film our thriller. we have done all of the smoking shots, so now we only have to film the rest of the inside shots, which hopefully won't take as long. we only had a few minor difficulties. a student who wanted to help us claimed that we didn't have to follow the story board and tried to change the lighting and feel . for this reason we may have to let him go, as we feel it is very important that we FOLLOW THE STORYBOARD. we were also short on a few props , so i will need to go aquire them, before they are required for the shot. other than that we are on track and we are on our way to finishing the filming. we plan to finish at the end of thursdays activities. as we need to finish by half term as ade leaves for nigeria on friday.

Filming Day ( pre filimg)

today is the day when we start to film our thriller. we have the props all together. we've created the signed warning people that filming is in progress. we have printed permission slips and scripts for each cast member. the smoking problem has been resolved by filming the smoking shots outside and non smoking filiming and action inside. we shall commence filing during school acftivities at around 4 oclock . day lighting will not be a problem  as some of the windows will be covered to set the darkness. it won't be a problem as there will be sufficient natural light.

Locations

Today I went and had a look around school campas, to find the place that Ade and I are going to film the thriller. The sort of place that we desire to film is a place that is isolated, creepy and dark and can be visually interpreted as a hide out. I have found several decent places that are sheds, buildings and even a garage. It may seem like alot of choices but we have to consider the availability of the areas within our set filming time on tuesday. these are the areas below....