Reservoir Dogs

This is our reservoir dogs remake by me and Alice. I was Mr White and we kept it as close to the original version as possible, but made a few changes such as modernising what the characters wore.

Prelim Evaluation

Tom Trouble

Who did you work with and how did you manage the task between you?

I worked with Rakhi, Ella and Alice. We worked together to brainstorm and discuss ideas, create the shoot schedule, script and finally to storyboard our specific shots. Alice and Ella were acting, I was working the camera, with help from Rakhi who was also the producer. Everyone got a chance to be behind the camera as when it was Alice’s scenes, Ella shot them and when it was Ella’s scenes, Alice shot them. The shots of them together were filmed by me and Rakhi. We also brought lots of props to use in the sequence.

 

How did you plan your sequence? What processes did you use? What theories did you try to take into account?

The Storyboard

We planned our sequence in our initial meeting when we decided on a chick flick as our genre in the process of brainstorming. We had other ideas but this seemed the most suiting to the area we were using, what characters we could play and what props we could provide. Next, we created the script that we made sure conveyed the genre through characterising our characters. We specifically decided on what each shot would contain and what type of shot it was in our shotlist and transferred this visually to a storyboard. At this point, we took into account continuity principles and rules we had to abide by. We agreed not to include too many close ups in a row and to not jump across too much space between shots, as this could disorientate the audience. We decided to include a total of 15 shots as this was enough so the audience could understand what was happening and we could include those shots mentioned in the brief, yet it was a manageable amount that wasn’t too much to handle. While choosing the actors, we thought Alice would fit the role as the cool blonde and Ella would suit the innocent girl crushing on Alice’s boyfriend. Lastly, we made a schedule to ensure that everything was planned and in order on the day of shooting.

What technology did you use to complete the task, and how did you use it?

To complete the task, we used a camera and a tripod to film the actual sequence. We used this in a way that made the most of the space and also gave convincing angles that fit continuity principles. We also used adobe premiere pro to edit the sequence after shooting.

What factors did you have to take into account when planning, shooting and editing?

Me editing

As we weren’t filming outside, unreliable weather wasn’t a problem – yet it didn’t come without its difficulties. We had to alternate between the groups who would film in the hallway at each time and assigned ourselves particular rooms to try and film in. While planning, we chose the media block to film in because disruptions such as other students were kept to a minimum and were much more controllable. However, at one point the bell rung when we were filming in the hallway which was unexpected, so many students walked past the door. This was easily edited out though. While editing, we had to make sure there was no background noise and could only use the shots in which it was completely audible what the characters were saying. We also had to make sure everything flowed convincingly.

 

How successful was your sequence? Please identify what worked well and with hindsight what would you improve/do differently?

Our sequence was successful as it conveyed the genre and overall followed the continuety principles such as the 180 degree rule. We also included everything that was in the brief: shot reverse shot, match on action and a character coming into a room followed by an exchange of dialogue. I would say that all of these worked well although there was one crucial mistake that we notcied towards the end of the editing process that disrupted the continuity flow. When Ella was hiding the diary, in the corner of the shot you could see a door opening when Alice had already come in. Therefore, this didn't all fit together. To tackle this we just edited out the entire shot, as it wasn't of great importance to the storyline as a whole - and the audience would still be able to understand what was going on.

 

What have you learnt from completing this task? Looking ahead, how will this learning be significant when completing the rest of your foundation coursework, do you think?

I have learnt a lot from this task such as how to work a camera and a tripod and how to apply the techniques that we have learnt in the lessons. I also used Adobe Premiere Pro for the second time and learnt how to use it to edit and add titles. This will be significant because now, in the foundation coursework I will take notice of minor details that could disrupt continuity. Also, because I know how to use Adobe Premiere Pro, this will save time that I would've spent learning it later so we can make the most of our future time. Doing the preliminary exercise also made it more clear why there was a rule against 180 degree filming as I could see for myself how it doesn't work. Overall, it was a good learning process and was very beneficial.

DYM Dexter Re-Edit Evaluation

The conventions of title sequences that were most important to this task were:

·         Conveying details of the cast and crew and in what order

·         Introducing the main character and the title

·         The film title

·         Indication of mood, tone and genre

We planned to edit the title sequence by bearing in mind what conventions we needed to include. We initially decided on what font, colour and effects to use, deciding to make this constant throughout. We then added the cast and crew names in the places we thought they could possibly go and flow smoothly.

We decided to use red text with a quite plain font to make sure it looked professional and real, yet also conveyed the genre. When deciding on the effect, we wanted something that looked good yet wasn’t too distracting so fit with the rest of the title sequence. When deciding on names, we featured members of the class as the cast to make it more efficient.

In comparison to the original, our re-edit was similar in some ways but different in others. For example, we used dark red writing so it showed against the background and matched the blood that we thought might be significant to the genre. This proved to be the exact choice of the editors who did the original. Had we had more time, we could’ve inserted more titles to make it even more realistic, but generally the titles we did put in were in the correct places. We could’ve used a bolder font to exactly match the original, but ours was clear anyway and not distracting to the eye.

DYM: Opening Sequence Sound Analysis

http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/dawn-of-the-dead/

I chose the opening sequence sound in Dawn of the Dead to analyse. One of the things that is interesting about this opening sequence is that it is very choppy in its approach to both sound and visuals. This automatically establishes it as a horror film, particularly as it firstly surprises and then secondly unnerves the audience, which therefore evokes fear of the unknown. The opening sequence begins with silence shortly followed by an obscure sound that is unfamiliar and not immediately recognizable. Blood red writing against a black background can also be seen and is drawn to by the silence.

Throughout the sequence, diagetic and non-diagetic sounds can be heard but in a muted form or merged one after the other to create unfamiliarity. This creates distance from the action and in turn leads to a feeling of helplessness for this ‘virus’ and the victims. The sounds tend to correspond to the clip being shown, in particular a repeated clip of the monster itself and the strange noise it is making.

For the first 40 seconds we also hear a snippet of a press conference in which someone is being questioned about this virus and the danger associated with it. The audience gets a sense of this danger through the repeated answer of ‘I don’t know’ which again creates a fear of the unknown. A straight answer is never given, to create unease. This is a voice over and is both non-diagetic and diagetic because the sounds we hear don’t always match the clip we see on the screen. This opening sequence is almost like a montage.

40 seconds in, ‘The Man Comes Around’ by Johnny Cash is added to the sequence as background music. This juxtaposes the visuals in many ways. What we see is clips from a panic-stricken city, frantic news reports and bloody monsters interrupted by static television. However, the song plays constant and is not frequently chopped or changed. The song is primarily about Jesus, which seems unfitting to what we see. This draws attention to the contrast and makes the shots seem even more disturbing. Despite not being a particularly happy song, it doesn’t strike the listener as particularly sad or creepy sounding, which also makes it an unlikely choice for a horror film. This means that the opening sequence doesn’t flow very smoothly and gives a sense of confusion to the audience, all of which clarifies it as a horror.

BLK Homework: Film Continuity Sequence Analysis

The sequence I chose is from Home Alone 2. In this clip, Kevin tricks the antagonists into believing that there are armed adults in the hotel room.

In order to create continuity, the effect largely used is the method of cross cutting. This allows the audience to believe that two different situations are happening at the same time, when in reality one is filmed, and then the other. It creates the effect that everything happens continuously. In this case, whilst Kevin is playing the video the adults are also reacting to it straight after.We also see the camera switch from shots of Kevin pressing the play button to the black and white video on the screen.

Right at the beginning, from 0:02 to 0:04, there is also use of match on action shots. We see a close up of Kevin picking up the remote, which flows straight into a medium close up of Kevin pointing it at the TV and pressing play. This lets the audience follow the entirety of the action as to not to interrupt the continuity. This maximizes their viewing experience.

Homework BLK: Continuity Sequence Analysis

We started our film with an establishing shot. We attempted to set the scene by filming the stairs at which the accident happened, with the victim walking up them. In this instance, it wasn't successful as the shot was cut massively at the beginning due to technical difficulties. This meant the audience couldn't get a basic idea of the surroundings, and affected how continuous the story line appeared to be.

Next we tried to film the action - the girl walking up the stairs. This was successful in regard to continuity as the audience could understand what was about to happen and where it fits in to the accident. However, had we had more shots we could have made it even more effective by filming this from different perspectives, for example from the top of the stairs.

The close up of the foot was showing the accident as it happened, the victim falling as their foot slipped. This was successful in the sense that the audience could see clearly what was going on, but one thing we could've considered was the amount of space we jumped across. We went straight from a medium/long shot to a close up, which could've confused the audience and was therefore not meeting continuity principles.

At this point, we attempted to include a perspective shot - filming the action from the girl's eyes as she falls. Problems with timing made this puzzling to the audience, but made it clear what was happening. Had this been filmed effectively, it could've served continuity purposes. However, shot variety may have suffered as we including a couple of close-ups in a row, especially as this shot was followed by the girls face as she lies in pain. This emphasizes the severity of the fall, but could bore the audience with a lack of perspective.

Lastly, we included a long shot of the victim recovering and carrying on rather dazed. This gave the story line a conclusion, which was effective in regard to continuity and was a nice change from the previous close ups.

Film Opening Analysis (DYM)

This is the opening to Casino Royale.

Enigma Codes

- Who is the man with James?

- Who did James Bond kill and why? (1:17)

- How does the old man know James killed him?

- Is James Bond a good or bad character?

- Why did James kill the old man?

Action Codes

- When James Bond pulls out a gun, we know the other man will either die or be threatened. (2:53)

- We see the gun and some sort of electronic object in a drawer, which gives them significance to what could happen next. (0:50)

- As he takes off his gloves, we assume that he is planning to be there for a while and is quite relaxed and confident in his safety (0:59)

Semiotic Codes

- When we see that the meeting takes place in Prague, it gives us the impression that it is a strictly business meeting of high importance.

- We see the gun and another object in the drawer

- Suit symbols of cards are shown, which connotate a theme of gambling and therefore risk and danger.

Cultural Codes

- James Bond has a gun which suggests a spy film

- Talk of money suggests a spy film.

- ‘007’ is mentioned

-  Both men wear black suit

- There is violence and blood spilled, typical to action movies.

Symbolic Codes

-  James Bond’s face has a traumatized expression when he kills the man, as if he can’t believe what he’s done. (2.39)

-  The old man looks perceptive and wary of his surroundings, generating suspicion. (0.10)

BLK Film Making Conventions and Cultural Codes HW

The scene I chose to analyse is from a horror movie called 'Insidious'.

Film Making Conventions:

- In this film clip, the camera uses low key lighting in order to draw the audience's attention to one thing. The way this is done is by focusing the lantern on one element of the scene at a time, for example just one face as shown at 0:43.
- Lighting is also used to show the entire room in a dim light to add mystery and evoke a fear of the unknown from the audience. Candles are used for this purpose, and it also shows the scary family in relation to each other in the way they are positioned around the room.
- The scene opens with a cheerful yet slightly unnerving whistling sound that disturbs the viewer. This is because there is something menacing about the location and that sound merged together - something doesn't seem quite right. In this way, the audience feels like they expect something to happen and anticipate it. This whistling carries on right up until the shooting which gradually builds suspense.
- Two different time periods are incorporated as one which disorientates the audience. It seems like the man from our time is intruding on a normal family from the 1930s, watching TV, ironing and reading the newspaper. What makes this even more unnerving is the fact that a sense of normality surrounds the family, yet the overly cheerful sound effects over absolute silence tend to connotate danger. This sense of normality is disrupted when the gun shots are fired and the gruesome smiles displayed on the faces of these people establish are freaky and agitating.

Cultural Codes:

- The man is alone and isolation is a typical feature of a victim in horror films.
- The action seems to take place in a dark room/cellar, typically related to horror films. We are unsure of the dimensions of this room as we only have the dim light of the few candles and the lantern to go by.
- Long shots are used to convey that we don't know how big the room is or what could be lurking in the shadows.
- The family start off as unresponsive but are established as threatening when they show signs of life, for example the woman blinking at 0:46. To accompany and emphasize this even further, scary and unorganized music sounds at this point.
- At 1:41, the camera does a close up on the shooters face. It is a young innocent girl with a psycho smile on her face which flips the identity of what is conventionally the victim, to be in this case the villain.

Film Still Homework

We decided to depict a horror movie in our shots and used the school cellar as our setting. We chose to take the pictures here because it was eerie and mysterious - very fitting to a typical horror film. The girl in this medium shot is the conventional victim, a young woman desperately trying to escape from a dark room through an old and run-down looking door. From what you can see of her expression, their is a sense of panic and urgency to get out of the door, increasing the audiences fear of the unknown and what could be lurking in the shadows. As the girl is a teenager, the film would most likely be aimed at teenagers or young adults.

We deliberately succumbed the inside of the cellar into darkness by turning off all the lights. This meant we could keep the location under wraps and draw the focus more onto the girl, who is looking down and fumbling with the door handle in a hurried attempt to get out. The shot was taken from a slight high angle, to give the impression that the girl is smaller than she actually is and therefore in a state of vulnerability. The light generally points towards the girl who is in the centre of the shot and thus the object of attention. We also included a frame inside a frame to emphasise her entrapment and to express this more vividly to the viewer.

If I were to reshoot, I would suggest even darker lighting, as although this is quite low-key, it isn't dark enough to instantly convey the horror genre. We could've also done the shot from further away and at a higher angle, to make her look even more innocent and in danger.

Film Still Analysis

This shot shows an older girl, dressed in an old fashioned nightgown standing over a little girl. This little girl seems to resemble a classic horror film victim - young pretty and blonde. She is lying in a pink bed, suggesting innocence. She is in the foreground whereas the menacing looking girl is in the background, giving the audience the full picture on whats going on. This creates dramatic irony, as the audience can sense that something bad is about to happen whereas the little girl lies there obliviously and peacefully, engulfed in her sleep. It evokes a desire to protect her from the bad thing that's inevitably about to happen. Despite the older girl being slightly out of the center of the frame, the light has been focused on her and the white nightgown emphasizes the light even further. This suggests she is very significant to what is about to happen and gives a sense of danger and suspense. This is a low angle shot, taken from the level of the little girl sleeping, making the older girl look bigger than she actually is. We also relate to the victim in this way, as we are looking up at the older girl while she looks down on the girl sleeping.