Continuity Evaulation - not finished

Continuity Editing Evaulation

The story which we were trying to tell in the video was that a exchange was taking place between two people. After the exchange is complete one of the people has to then give the object to their lover.

The object of the video was to show the conventions of continuity editing which are - shot reverse shot, eye - line match, match on action and the 180 degree rule. In my opinion I feel that we did a good job of including all convntions in to the preliminary exercise.

Costume and props

Costumes and Props

Character Name: Corey Maxwell
Costume: Ordinary clothing. Checked Shirt, Jeans and coat.	Props: The Macguffin – Disk.
Character Name: Charlie Budge
Costume: Casual shirt and jeans with coat.	Props:
Character Names: Jake Browning and Matt Clarke.
Costume: Trousers and hooded jacket with a mask.	Props: Masks and the masking tape.

Risk Assessment

Risk Assessment

Group Members: Chloe King, Leigha Betts, Corey Maxwell and Maddison Nightingale.                                                                                               
 Location: Valence Park

Hazard	Person(s) at Risk	Likelihood of Hazard 1 – Extremely Unlikely 5 – Extremely Likely	Severity of Hazard Outcomes 1 – Very Low Risk 5 – Very High Risk	Risk Level (Likelihood + Severity) 2	Measures to Take to Manage Risk	Risk Managed? Y/N
Other people whilst filming.	General public.	2	2	2	Make sure we are aware of the people around us and our surroundings.
The equipment getting damaged or stolen.	The school and ourselves.	3/4	3/4	3	Make sure the equipment isn't left unattended and all precautions are taken to protect it.
Tripping over leads.	General public and ourselves.	2	2	2	Make sure all leads are securely taped to the floor to make sure no one will trip over them.

Contacts

Emergency Service: 999
Robert Clack School: 020882704200
Other Contacts:           

Production Schedule Location Visit Sheet

Production Schedule Location Visit Sheet Writer: Leigha Betts, Chloe King, Corey Maxwell and Maddison Nightingale. Producer: Leigha Betts, Chloe King, Corey Maxwell and Maddison Nightingale. Director:  Corey Maxwell and Chloe King. Date: Monday 9th December 2013

Rough Sketch/Explanation of location and key points to note Set in Valence Park. Access to location via: Possible to walk. Name and number of location contact: N/A

Health and Safety Issues to note: When filming we will have to keep in mind that there will be other people around us at the time.

Potential Filming Problems : The potential filming problems would also be the fact that other people will be around also we will have to make sure that we can get permission. To make sure that we are ok to film we will make sure that we have our id passes on us at all times.

Additional Notes:  (map of area/weather forecast etc) Valence Park - The Lake   Weather forecast for this week.

Treatment

Treatment

Group Roles Cinematography: Chloe King and Leigha Betts Mise-en-scene: Maddison Nightingale. Sound: Corey Maxwell  Editing: Chloe King.

Title: File 45.6 Tag Line: ...

Synopsis: Two friends find a disk (the macguffin) with stuff which shouldn't be seen on the disk.They talk about getting rid of the disk but one friend stupidly took it out with them. The two friends argue and then go in different directions when one friend gets taken by the owners of the disk. After that the other friend goes home t find out what has happened.

Key Genre Conventions: Macguffin – An object, which the characters desire which really has no real value to the audience.

Mise - en - scene

Mise - en - scene

Mise - en - scene is a french term which means 'what is put into the scene or frame'

There are five elements of mise - en - scene which are:

1. Settings and props
2. Costumes, hair and make-up
3. Facial expressions and body language
4. Lighting and colour
5. Positioning of characters and objects in the frame.

In mise - en - scene the setting is where a media text takes place. Props are the objects which we see in the setting. Costumes, hair and make-up is what the character is wearing and looks like.
An example of how costumes and props are used in mise - en - scene would be the conventions of a western and what you would usually expect:

Another example of this would be what you would expect a villian to look like; which would be scary and unkept .

Make-up and genre is also a key part of mise-en-scene as it helps to the effect which the character would have on the audience and the sort of genre which they would then fit in to.

Facial expressions and body language- everyone communicates through facial expressions and body language which is particularly important in media when using close ups and extreme close ups. An example of the use of facial expressions would be:

This would be an example of an angry person, 

you can tell this thorough the facial expressions made.

Whereas...

This would be an example of a happy person which you,

can tell once again through the facial expressions.

Positioning of characters and objects within a frame - this is to do with the positioning of characters and objects. The characters and objects can be either in the foreground, middle-ground  or background. This can then emphasise the relative importance of the object or character.

If the characters or objects are positioned evenly within the frame which will then give a balanced feeling to the shot.

Although if the characters are positioned at the outside edges of the frame then this indicates a distance between the characters.

Overall, mise - en - scene is a very important of part of media and filming and it's always best to keep the conventions of mise - en - scene in your head when filming.



The Final Deed - Sound Exercise Evaluation

The Final Deed

The sequence which I filmed in my group is a crime/thriller, which is about a hit-man who gets set his final deed which is to murder an innocent girl. Once he has committed this murder he is then spotted my the police who then chase him in to a dead end where he knows he will not be able to go anywhere else. The hit-man is then arrested, which makes his last deed his final deed for good.

The task which we were set was to focus on the sounds within our film and include all different components of sound (contrapuntal, parallel, a sound bridge, on screen, off screen, diegetic and non-diegetic sound). Within our film we include almost included all of the components of sound. However we didn't include contrapuntal sound or a sound bridge. The reason for this is because at first we though we had included the contrapuntal sound when the hit-man is laughing whilst killing the women, however we then found out that it wasn't correct. We also never included a sound bridge as we found this one a little tricky when trying to think about when to include it. 

At the beginning of the film we did a flashback of what happens later on in the film, when editing we thought carefully about what sound we could include over this scene. In the end we decided to use a heartbeat to create tension. The sound of the heartbeat is non-diegetic sound. 
In the next scene no other sound was added except the on screen sound which you could hear and the dialogue which is then diegetic sound. We chose not to add any other sound as we thought it would be good to let the tension build up as it is quite a quiet scene.
The next scene is when the hit-man is about the come up behind his victim and grab her. The sounds heard in this scene are the blowing of the wind which is very faint and then the victims scream when she is grabbed. The scream is then diegetic sound and on screen sound as you're able to see the source of sound. 
Within the next scene this is when you hear the hit-man do a very over dramatic laugh which we thought would have been contrapuntal sound, but it wasn't.
The next sound which is heard is police sirens which is parallel sound and off screen sound as it fits the action which is going on and you're also not able to see the police car only hear the sirens.
The rest of the film doesn't include any edited sound. The rest of the sound is heavy breathing from the police officer and the dialogue which is all diegetic sound. 

I think the sound which we decided to include within the film were all very successful as they all worked well in the way which we chose to include them. However i'd say the scream which we edited in didn't work as well as it didn't sound very realistic which is something which we will work on next time to make sure all sounds used fit in very well.

The sound equipment which we used was a microphone which we tried to use as much as possible. I think we used the mic very well as we checked it before we used it to make sure that it worked otherwise we could have finished filming and the mic might not have worked. we also tried very hard to hard it when attaching it to the cast members. Overall I feel like we did use the sound equipment effectively. I also feel like we used the component of sounds effectively as well.

Overall, the most positive elements of the film in my opinion would be the sound of the beating heart at the beginning as it creates tension right from the start which then gives a sense of tension throughout the rest of the film. I also think the sound of the police sirens gave a good effect within the film as it makes it all seem a lot more realistic and shows that a lot of thought had been given. 
However if I was to improve the film I would make the sound of the scream a lot more realistic so it isn't as comical. I would also try and include contrapuntal sound and a sound bridge to show that i am capable enough to include them.

Sound

Sound

Within sound their are many different components which make up sound and make it work very well when put into a film or something else. All of the different components are very different but work very well when used correctly. 

 One of these being diegetic sound and non-diegetic sound. 

• Diegetic sound refers to the world of text. an example of this would be dialogue, sound effects and music with a source within the text like the radio. 
• Non-diegetic sound refers to everything outside the world of the text. an example of this would be the voice over, sound track, captions and titles.

Another component of sound would be on and off screen sound.

•  On screen sound is when the audience are able to see the source of sound which is heard. An example of this would be a radio or television. The effect which this would have is that it makes the audience feel like they're a part of what is going on as they are able to see where the sound is coming from. 
• Off screen sound is when the audience isn't able to to the see the source of the sound which enable the extension of the diegetic world. The effect of this is that it helps create suspense as the audience as well as the actors are unaware of where the sound is coming from which keeps them in suspense.

Parallel and contrapuntal sound is also another component in sound.

• Parallel sound is sound that matches the action which is going on around it, an example of this would be if it was a lovely sunny day and their was very upbeat cheery music. The effect of this is that it adds to the happiness shown to make it more obvious that it's a happy scene. 
• Contrapuntal sound is the opposite of this and is when the sound doesn't match the action, an example of this would be if it was a sunny day and laughing children but very tense spooky music, which would mean it would match. The effect of this would be that it would make the audience think about what is going to happen next as they would be unaware due to the different in the sound and the action.

A sound bridge is the final component in sound. A sound bridge helps create a smooth transition from one scene to another scene, in other words the sound bridges the two scenes together. 

Evaluation of Safe Place - Camera Exercise

AS Media Studies - Camera Evaluation

With our film the story which we were trying to tell was that their was a killer around school and two boys think it would be a good idea if they tried to get a photograph of the killer in a way to make money. However once the boys get the picture of the killer it takes a turn for the worse as they get spotted by the killer but as they try and get away they unfortunately get caught and ended up being murdered by the killer.

Within our film we tried our hardest to try and include as many shots as we could however we did miss out a few shots like the rolling shot and the crane shot amongst others. we didn't include these as we weren't very sure of where to include them as we found it a little tricky .

However we did include most of the other shot and movement types and thought about it all very carefully with where to include them to make sure that they fitted in well with the film. The very first shot which we decided to use was a long shot, as shown below.

North By Northwest (1959)

North By Northwest - Alfred Hitchcock

Is North by Northwest the perfect thriller?

Cary Grant in Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest.

North by northwest is a thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock in 1959 entirely based on a mistaken identity which is then turned into a game of chase, which Roger Thornhill (Cary Grant) was then trying to come out of alive. This tells us that throughout the film you are kept on the edge of your seat with the thrills and adrenaline rush which North by Northwest gives people. 

Shown below is the trailer for North by Northwest.

The trailer for North by Northwest has been made very well to appeal to the audience in a very good way. The way in which this will appeal to the audience is the mystery behind the trailer into whats actually happening and why its happening. this would mean that people would want to watch North by Northwest as they can see from the trailer that it is full of thrills. The way in which they would know this is because the trailer does a run through of the film giving little teasers of basically each scene making sure that people will be interested in the trailer which would then make the audience even more interested in watching the film.

North by Northwest has the main things which then makes this a perfect thriller. Thrillers are usually characterized by fast pacing frequent action and North by Northwest definitely includes this. An example of this in North by Northwest is the crop duster scene which is shown below:

This scene is a very iconic action sequence, this is because as Mr Thornhill waits in anticipation for his "double" he is left in a very open area and is vulnerable and exposed to many different dangers which could occur to him especially in th situation which he is in. The suspence then drastically builds as cars pass by and Mr Thornhill gets his hopes up just for them to be crushed as he gets sprayed by a truck and then someone gets dropped off,  could this be Kaplan? However you then see the crop duster plane, the funny thing about this is that the crop duster happens to be dusting an area where there no crops. As a bus then drives away Thornhill is left defenseless while the crop duster plane starts chasing him. Thornhill ducks to avoid getting hitting and is trying to flag down all passing vehciles. Eventually he takes cover in the cornfield where he then gets flushed out by a white powder being realesed. He then see's a oil truck so runs for it and stands in front of it forcing it to stop, its at this moment that the plane flies straight in to the truck causing an explosion. 

Thrillers are also characterised by the heroes who out smart the plans of powerful and better equipped villains, this is definitely shown in North by Northwest on numerous occasions throughout the film.

In North by Northwest suspense, redherrings and cliffhangers were all used at some point during the film. One scene where you see these being used is the Auction Scene:

I feel that this scene has all the conventions which a good thriller needs and I'd definitely say that it creates a lot of suspence throughout the whole scene.

Another characteristic of a thriler is that its usually a villian driven plot, whereby he presents obstacles the hero must overcome. This is definitely true of North by Northwest, with the use of the macguffin. A macguffin in something that the villians care about but the audience take no notice of.
Overall the specific reason for the macguffin may be undefined, left to interpretation, ambiguous or just not important. A example of this would be, money, victory, glory, power or just something that hasn't been explained. Macguffin's are highly popular in thrillers and usually becomes the main focus point of the film in the first part of the film and then it declines in importance. Sometimes the importance reclines or by the end of the film it could just be forgotten.

Below is a interview where Hitchcock discusses North by Northwest:

Overall I think that Hitchcock did a very good job with North by Northwest as it's got all the conventions which a good thriller needs and it definitely keeps you on the edge of your seat. I would definitely recommend this film to anyone.

Genre & Narrative

What is a genre?

A genre is a way people classify different types of films, for example, horror, comedy. romcom, musical etc. For a film to be categorised it has to have specific characteristics which would relate to the type of genre, an example of this would be the characteristics of a horror. These characteristics may include elements like, a scary house, blood, ghosts, weapons and the woods. All of these would give people the idea that the film being described would be a horror. The picture below would show the pictures that people may link to the genre horror.

This picture would relate to the genre horror, as it displays
the elements which would be shown in a horror.

What is a narrative?

A narrative is split into two sections, story and narrative structure. A story is a sequence of events often referred to as the plot of the film and this is what the people viewing the film follow. on the other hand, narrative structure is also split into two different types, these being linear and non-linear. Linear is when the sequence of events are shown in the order in which they took place in - beginning, middle, end. this is usually the most popular form of narrative structure. Non-linear is basically the opposite, where the sequence of events are revealed out of thee expected order e.g. pulp fiction or memento, which both show the order in an unusual and quite confusing way which is good as it keeps the audience guessing and working it out through out the film.

Welcome Post!

Hello, Welcome to my media blog!

 

I'm currently studying media A level at Robert Clack Sixth form, which I really enjoy. This blog will be solely focused on media studies. This will mean I will be posting videos which I would have helped to create in groups during lessons which will be focused on conventions in media.

I will also be posting about films which i have learned about and just generally what i have learnt during lessons.

 

At Sixth form I am also studying Film studies which is very similar to Media which I also enjoy and Animal Care.

 

I hope you enjoy reading my blog!