We got straight to action during the shoot, and got the subject to sit in the position, and we got her to remain there during the duration of the filming. To get the creepy apearance to the scene we tried experimenting with many extreme closeups, the problem which we encounted when shooting, was that when we got close into the subjects face we started to loose focus, for the actual shoot we will try and use a macro lens to allow us to get the camera right into the face of the subject, whilst still manitain clarity. We used a Sony 4K handycam camera, we used this camera, becuase it has a good definiton of colours, and has a very high pixel density, allowing it would be played on a high quality monitor, allowing the subject to appear life like. We wanted to idealy shoot inside of a bedroom, with a mirror in it, but because the lack of a bedroom within campus we will have to use the school common room as a substitute. This will work well because the room was adequately lit, allowing the camera to lower the iso, giving for a grain free footage.
Ideally we would want a girl aged 16 to 18, and a man aged 45 to 60. Unfortunately actors matching the descriptions will not be available, so we will use Naomi as the girl, because she is 17, and suits the description for our character. With the male character we will have to substitute with Amr, he is also 17, which does not match our characters description, but as a substitute we can make it work well.
Looking at the location beforehand we noticed that there was a lack of a few props that we needed, including a record player, but we agreed that we could just use a closeup of the buttons on the vcr.
In the shoot we will need the following items; hair brush, tooth brush, mascara, eyeliner, toothpaste, and lipstick. We have agreed that Naomi will bring in the items, as she owns all of them.
Often ideas that are thought of do not translate well into a film scenario, but our idea conveyed all of its messages successfully, whilst also still giving the really creepy feeling. In all honesty we felt slightly creepd out behind the camera, and looking over the footage, we noticed that the extreme closeups used creates tension, because of the lack of information given.
Setting Up The Camera
We felt that after the edit that the shot duration was slightly longer than we expected, and that we did not have enough of a variety of camera angles. To rectify the issues we thought that we could of used shown more intracly pieced together shots, so that we could edit it together using invisible editing techniques.
Getting The Subject ready For The Shot
Tension was something that we wanted to lay the foundations of our thriller upon, and I think that the sequence created tension, because of the long shot durations combined with the extreme close ups. From looking at a audiences reaction, we could tell that they wanted to know what was next, and why this girl is giving such a straight face whilst doing her makeup.
Using A Smart Focus Feature Which Keeps One Part Constantly In Focus
When shooting we struggled to get close up to the subject, due to the camera built in lens, we would loose focus if we went so close in, so we had to compromise and go a as close as possible without loosing focus. One person recommended just cropping the footage, but when it comes to footage I always believe that it is best to get the best possible quality as possible, especially with the shot were the lipstick is being painted on, because it gives this grain free view of the lips, with the beautiful, and unnerving shine.We came to the decision that we should use a macro lens so that we can get close to the subject without loosing focus, or clarity.
Preparing For The Extreme Closeup Of The Tooth Brush
After editing the clip we noticed that we had 15 seconds short off of the given time, to add to the time we should use more shots that allow the audience to see for definite that she is at the location against her will.
Sometimes The Best Angle Is Not The Most Comfortable
We all agreed that we shot of used a wider variety of angles, so that the sequence will be more fluid in viewing, and to allow for invisible editing. Overall we felt as if we made the sequence seem very creepy, and also creating a huge amount of tension from hiding a large amount of information until the end.
On Thursday we had our initial meeting, were we discussed what our opening sequence could contain, and the general feeling of the clip. We decided to also create a FaceBook group, so that we could discuss new ideas, share work, and distribute the minute meetings that we had made. On the second day of meeting we discussed the name of the thriller, we decided to go with the name 'Dammia', because it had a nice sound to it, and the word originates from arabic, and has dark meanings, that we felt would suit our style. We found it hard to all agree on a idea, but eventually we came up with the idea of a teenager with a complete emotionless look on her face getting ready, with her make up done really badly, but it just seems wrong, and at the end you see a man whispering into the girls ear.
We were Instructed to come up with 4 initial ideas for our upcoming thriller, so that we could show them in class, and develop them so that we could collect feedback, and alter the ideas to the received feedback.
Initial Ideas
I created my ideas mainly around the theme of kidnapping, I did not do this intentionally do this, but this is how my ideas developed, and progressed.
1st Idea
My first idea revolves around a group of vigilantes who take criminals children and threaten to kill them, unless the criminal commits suicide, and leaves a suicide note admitting there wrongdoings, and leave half of the money for there children, and half for charity.
The opening sequence will begin with men in suits, and anonymous style masks on, breaking into a large manor, and spreading out and looking around for someone, or something. The men group back together and devise a plan to check every room. After a while they find a boy hidden inside a cupboard. They then drag him out and put him in the back seat of a a van.
Mood Board For 1st Idea
2nd Idea
The whole piece would be About a terrorist group who kill innocent people if the government does not change laws. In the end all of the odd requests add up and legally allow a organisation to be able to do something very wrong legally.
The opening sequence would go as the following; A man driving in the dark, but his engine suddenly cuts out, and after several attempts the car still won't start. 2 suited gentlemen appear out of the dark, and as the man in the car asks for help they taser the man, and they then take him to a van. The man then wakes up with a hood on, but feels around, and feels a dead person, as he shouts the men come in and drag the body out.
Mood Board For 2nd Idea
3rd Idea
The whole film would be about a group of young adults who target minorities. And anytime anyone who is not British joins the council estate they will get murdered, and then the body will be left somewhere far away.
The opening sequence will begin with a family from a other country walking along the street having fun, and enjoying themselves, until out of the dark a group of hooded individuals circles them and throws them in the back of a van, and then transports them to a shipping container. After a day they hear police sirens, and the container is opened, with ambulance staff awaiting with food and blankets.
4th Idea
The whole film would be about a secret underground group who owns a illegal private detective/spy group. They only captured the woman because they wanted to see if she could take the stress of a kidnap without breaking.
The sequence would begin by introducing a woman cycling though a town, portrayed as being happy, and joyful. She cycles off into a side street were a van with a open side drives alongside, and pulls her off of the bike. She gets told shut up and her hands and feet are bound. The van is then parked up and she gets carried into a sci-fi looking room.
Presentation, and collection of feedback on 2 ideas.
We were instructed to prepare to present our 2 best ideas to our class, and collect the feedback so that we can alter the idea, and refine the idea.
Here is the video for my first presented thriller idea's feedback, I apologise for the bad audio, and shaky camera, I was trying to not shove the camera in there faces, as to allow there feedback, without feeling intimidated by the camera.
Below is something I created to see the good, and bad about my idea.
Below is my second idea's feedback.
And here is another thing that I used to record the information in the video.
Response, And Adapted Idea.
1st Idea
I have taken account of the feedback, and adapted my original idea. The adapted idea would follow closely to the original, with the men in suits and masks getting out of a van, and one man telling the other that it is the only way that they could right there wrongs. They would then walk towards the house, then sign messaging each other, then two men run around the back whist more pick the door, and quietly storm the house, each person splits off and can't find anything, until one man searches a cupboard, and finds a child under a pile of clothes. The child is then in a non forceful way taken to a mini van, where he is given a teddy bear.
2nd Idea
The newly adapted idea would go a s following, the men are getting ready, and one gets out his phone and presses a button, then a car engine appears to stop. All of the men get ready, and slowly walk towards the car, they see the man getting scared, they then see him looking at them, and drag them out of his car, and another stars the engine and drives off. The man is hooded, and put in the back of a van, he can feel a dead body, and screams, at that moment the body is dragged out.
In this blog post I will be going over; the differences of genre, sub-genre, and hybrid genre. I will also be outlining the main sub genres, what makes it one, and films within it.
A genre is a way of categorizing media based on the conventions and themes. However a sub genre is when you join two main genes together to make a genre inside a genre, one could call it a subdivision of a genre. Lastly a hybrid genre blends together themes and elements from two or more different genres, the media following the hybrid genre will always be fiction. All of the above are different, because a genre is a piece of media which adheres to only one genres ideology, whilst a hybrid genre is two or more genres combined.
Below is something I made up outlining a few sub genres, what defines it, and some the films which lie within the sub genre.
