My name is Sailesh (9329) and this my AS media blog. I worked in a group with Aisha (9129), and Laith (9274) and together we were Group 2. To see my portfolio evidence, please click on the 3 labels on the right named AS Research and Planning, AS Construction, and AS Evaluation.
Beginning: The beginning of our opening sequence sees the male antagonist walking up the stairs and going into his room, sitting down and opening his laptop before cutting to a news report. This sequence will be edited for continuity.
Middle: The middle is where we see the entire news report in which it is reported that two teenagers have gone missing. Following a question and answer session between the news anchor and news reporter the reporter sees something behind the camera, alerts the cameraman to it who then pans around and when the camera pans back the reporter is nowhere to be seen, The camera is then dropped at which point we see two feet walk past before the camera cuts out. We then see a panicked news anchor saying there are technical difficulties before the news report cuts out.
End: To close the film opening we cut back to the antagonist who closes his laptop, picks up a phone and simply says "it's done." Then the screen cuts to black from which the film title "Disturbances" will come on screen.
This is a picture of the script for our film opening
There were two key inspirations with regards to the news report. The first one being that Quarantine inspired the idea to have a news report, and the second being that Blair Witch inspired the key event of the camera falling and breaking.
The Blair Witch scene which inspired our key event in which the camera falls and breaks
Binary Opposites:
Safety of the indoors vs the danger of the outdoors
Unknown (hidden face of the antagonist and unknown attacker in the forest) vs vulnerable victim
Enigma Codes:
Low-key lighting when we see the antagonist. Raises questions of who the antagonist is.
Phone ringing. Builds suspense the antagonists response raises questions of who the caller was and what they were saying.
Themes: Suspense, mystery, psychological issues, final girl
The Joker from The Dark Knight has extreme psychological issues and this is used to create suspense and mystery, therefore it was a key inspiration to us
Plot Outline: Two
teenagers go missing, and the next day there is a news report regarding the
incident. The news reporter at the
scene of the event is about to explain what happens and in the middle of the account the unknown force/criminal
makes his second attack by capturing the reporter and then the cameraman. The
protagonist of the story is a university student who studies criminology. Her
and her classmates try to face the force themselves using their newfound skills
from the course. Meanwhile the antagonist is making his next moves for his
third attack and the likely victims are the protagonist and her friends. Ultimately, only the main protaganist escapes alive thus falling in line with the 'final girl' theme.
Erin Hardesty from Texas Chainsaw Massacre was a similar 'final girl'
For our production company we chose the already existing "Hammer Productions." We felt this was the most ideal institution we could use as it had all the traits we were looking for. Hammer Productions is well known for action thrillers e.g. Woman in Black, Frankenstein, Dracula and therefore it would make sense for our movie to be produced by this company. Furthermore, Hammer Productions is iconic for their visual style, this is a style similar to what we want to capture in order to convey suspense and mystery and therefore it makes sense for this institution to produce our film. Finally, this is also a British institution which gives our a British cultural aspect and allows us to appeal to to the British demographic.
We have chosen Warner Bros as our distributor because they have worked with Hammer Productions in the past on very successful films and therefore that gives us synergy and a good reputation which we can exploit for the gain of our film. Furthermore, this institution is fully integrated and has a global presence and is also known for thrillers e.g. The Shining, The Conjuring and therefore allows us to reach as wide an audience as possible and be as commercially successful as possible. To evidence the success that this institution recieves 2015 was the ninth consecutive year that Warner Bros Pictures crossed the $3 billion mark at the global box office with $3.71 billion in worldwide receipts.
Our core audience is action fans and thriller fans. Our secondary audience are teenagers and young adults of the 15-24 age range.
We will appeal to the action fans in the opening sequence through the climactic disappearance of the news reporter in the woods that will follow an intense fast paced montage. The climax will be further emphasised by a crescendo in the eerie soundtrack and a cut to black. The teenagers are conventionally appealed to by not only the action genre, but also through themes such as suspense and mystery, Both themes will be clearly present in our film opening through an eerie, tense soundtrack, a quick introduction of the antagonist whose face we don't see and low lighting. Mystery will also be built through the deserted woods which makes our main setting as the audience will question what is in there, Young adults will be appealed to in a similar way through mystery and suspense.
A visual representation of the age group we are targeting
Similar action thrillers e.g. Resident Evil, Blair Witch and The Shining all have a 15 certificate and therefore we have followed convention and given our film a 15 certificate.
In order to appeal to this audience we will have a cast of relatable characters. They will all be young adults and live typical lives of contemporary young adults and some will have aspirational qualities about them such as courage. An example of one such character is our main character, a 19 year old university student who is studying criminology. This is relatable through a university lifestyle but also aspirational as criminology has strong associations with aspirational traits such an ability to deduce and analyse to a good level.
Conventionally speaking, an action thriller will usually be skewed to the male audience with no real appeal to the female audience, To counter this and appeal to both genders our main protaganist is going to be a female and she will also be the only one who survives. This not only serves to empower and provide an aspiration to the female audience but it also falls in line with the 'last girl' theme - a common theme amongst thrillers.
For this project I will be working with Aisha and Laith.
Aisha (left), Laith (middle), and Me (right)
In order to be time-efficient we will often delegate roles in which different members of the group can work to their strengths on a certain aspect. However, we will always then discuss that aspect as a group and reach a group decision concerning said aspect. This is ideal as it means we are all as comfortable in our work as possible, we all get a chance to input our own opinions and ideas and we get as much work done as possible within the time constraint. This happens in our group meetings which are an hour long and take place twice a week. If we are doing individual work we also have a Facebook Messenger Group Chat in place to discuss any issues or ideas for our project.
The above clip is taken from Jurassic Park 3, it is a fight scene between a T-Rex and Spinosaurus and I believe the continuity editing to be very good in this scene.
The continuity editing is very good in this clip and makes the viewer think they are seeing continuous action. This is done partly through having consistent lighting, set and character appearances throughout. However, as it is a very fast paced scene these factors aren't as noticeable, and the good continuity editing can be attributed more so to the camera and editing skills as analysed below:
Shot Order: The camera is the bystander and audience in this scene and therefore changes views just how you would expect to if you were in that scene, which is via a progression of shots. For example, not once do you see a long shot cut to a close up as that doesn't make logical sense to the audience and will only disorientate them. Instead you see a long shot progress to a mid shot as can be seen when the characters are running away.
180 Degree Rule: This clip never breaks the 180 degree rule as the camera is always on one side of the action, and never crosses the line of vision between the two dinosaurs. This can be seen very clearly by how the T-Rex is always the one on the left - the only time this changes is at 0:37 but the camera still stays on one side of the direction of motion therefore avoiding disorientating the audience and keeping them immersed in the film.
30 Degree Rule: With every shot the camera changes angle by more than 30 degrees, this gives the audience a different perspective whilst also ensuring there are no jump cuts that could ruin the illusion of continuous action which would in turn ruin the immersion for the audience.
Eyeline Match: Eyeline match is done very well in this clip, not just for continuity but to add realism and danger to the scene. This can be seen in the third shot where everyone is staring up in fear at the T-Rex. This makes logical sense to the audience as the smaller character looking up at the big character is to be expected. This therefore gratifies the audience's needs and lets them view the scene as continuous action.
Match on Action: Match on action is arguably the most important continuity rule as nothing will ruin the illusion of continuous action more than if an action is repeated or if part of an action is simply missing. However, my chosen clip is a perfect example of match on action. There's no repeated actions or missing actions, instead everything can be seen even through the cuts which makes the audience they're actually there seeing everything. An example of a good match on action can be seen at 0:38-0:39 where the T-Rex is dragging the Spinosaurus around.
Shot/Reverse/Shot: This technique is used in the first 13 seconds of the clip when the group of people see the T-Rex and realise the danger for the first time. Doing this makes the audience a bystander and allows them to see the reactions of the two subjects, because the reactions make logical sense this then immerses the bystander and makes it a more enjoyable viewing experience.
Seamless editing is achieved in this clip as all the rules are followed very well giving the illusion of continuous action. The biggest contributor to seamless editing is the match on action as it doesn't make the cuts too obvious . Finally, the progression of shots logically and gradually takes you closer/further which makes the editing seem seamless.
