I-Web Reflection

1. Who was the intended audience for your website?
The intended audience for my website was the general population, all genders, races, religions etc. I didn't set it to appease a certain criteria of people, more to appeal to people interested in action films, for example the interesting and action associated and genre appropriate photos meet the standards of what this kind of audience would like.

2. What was the purpose of the website (e.g. entertainment, educational, commercial)?
The purpose of my website is to be educational as well as commercial, it is intended to inform and appeal to the audience who view it. The images and bloopers as well as character profile and poster are created to appeal to the viewer and make them want to see more and actually make them want to see the film. The pieces included are some of the most interesting shots and stills from the film and therefore increase the sense of action and interest in relation to the film, without showing too much.

3. Did your site cover its topic/intended purpose? Why or why not?
Yes my site did complete its purpose, as i believe it entices the audience. As discussed previously the images and synopsis leave the viewer wanting more. This was my aim, to hook the audience and i believe that through the material provided i did so.

4. How have the audience and intended purpose influenced the content of your site (e.g. in terms of language, vocabulary, graphics, media, layout of pages and overall structure of the site)?
The intended audience influenced the stills that i used on my website, i tried to make them as interesting as possible, such as images from the lab, the shot of jackson through the door, a dragging still and so on. By making these shots as actiony' and interesting as possible i conveyed my genre as well as appealing to my audience. The language and vocabulary that i used was very formal, just as the film is. The film involves science and research and is very mysterious in a way and the language conveys this.

5. Are headings and keywords consistent in terms of font type, colour, style and emphasis?
Yes all of my headings and keywords are consistent. The font is all Blair and white, i chose the font as it suits an action/thriller film. My headings are all mysterious such as for character bio's i have the heading 'Investigate', i did this to try and add to the theme of the website.

6. Are links logical and well-planned? How many clicks is one too many?
The only links that i have are from my 'Character Bio's' page. It links to Sarah and Jacksons bio's, i don't feel that there are too many links as there are only 2 and they are a necessity, without them the character bio page would be cramped and messy.

7. When you “go” somewhere, can you get back again…or are you lost in cyber-space?
The bar menu at the top of the website allows you to get back to all of the pages, with the exception of the character bio's to get to jackson and sarah's bios you need to go to the character bio page itself as the links to their pages are hidden from the bar menu. The menu at the top is an effective way of navigating around the website.

8. Is the colour scheme appropriate and aesthetically pleasing?
The colour theme is white and grey, it is very simple with the odd splash of red such as the headings in the character bio's as well as the names linking to the bio's on the character bio page. The colour of the drug '327x' is red, and in most of the pages this colour is a prominent stand out from the white background. The plain background draws the attention to the photos and focuses the viewer on the drug, this was my aim.

9. Have you considered an appropriate name for your film?
The title for my film is 'Amnesia'. The nickname for drug 327x is Amnesia and therefore an appropriate title as it links to the themes and plot of the film very well. With the numerous occurrences of memory loss and the file name being Amnesia the title seems to tie in well with the film.

10. Do the elements of design evident in the site (e.g. balance, space, contrast etc) reflect the purpose or nature of the site? Are there visual clues to the intended purpose of the site? How would different colour schemes/textures/font styles change the message of the site?
The images i used were used to interest the viewer, and i layered some of the images to give texture to the space. The contrast in colours focuses the viewer on the important aspects of the page such as different sections of information and images. If i could change something about my website i may have made my colour scheme darker, for instance black as i feel it may have created a more evil feeling. Although one prominent reason that i used white as a main colour is that it ties in with the clinical and science-fiction aspect of the film, as clinic's and science labs are generally white, clean, modern and crisp. The grey borders of the images and some writing focused the viewers attention on what i wanted them to see.

11. How have the audience and purpose of the website affected decisions made in relation to:
a. Font/graphics ? The colour and style of font was aimed to look clinical and action like. The colours were used to draw attention to different focal points eg. pictures and information.
b. Page layout ? The images add texture to the page layout and also interest to the page. With plain, non-layered, symmetrical images the viewer may lose interest in a generic website.
c. Structure of the online resource?

Film Poster + trailer update

Okay so the film poster is done below...or above depending on how this post decides to format, because it's weird, it's pretty simple but i like it :) it was issy's doing, she was in charge of the poster, ruby the trailer and me the information and photos :)
And an update on the trailer situation, Ruby said she hasn't gotten it done because her computer isn't working so tomorrow at morning tea we are going to try and throw something together hopefully it turns out okay!!

I-Web Reflection

So far i've done most of my website, i've filled in information and images but i still don't have a trailer nor a film poster. Issie and i are talking now and she said she has just finished the poster which means i can upload it in a minute and also i am talking to Ruby trying to figure out if she has completed the trailer i will write back with information about whether or not it's done, but i've only got a little bit of work left yay! :)

I-Web/Reflection

Today i had to re-do my iweb design as i couldn't find my domain on my student document. I remembered that i have i-web on my computer and now i am doing it on my computer :) I actually got quite a lot done, i've made all my pages and added all the information that i can, now i just have to put in photos into the appropriate places and import my trailer and poster which i should be able to get done on the weekend. A thing that held me back this week is that i was away for the first two days of the week and therefore missed a few lessons and another thing that hindered the process was ruby accidentally forgot the hard drive which meant that we couldn't get alot of work done.

Planning for el websito

So today i had to edit my planning for my website as I did it before but here is my new one :)

Planning Promotional Material

Synopsis - Two scientists, Jackson Long and Sarah Miller have created a miracle drug known as drug 327x or more commonly known as Amnesia, allowing a trauma patient to be relieved of their memory for a certain time period. While conducting research Sarah discovers a file containing plans for the illegal release of the drug. She plans to warn the government but an intervention by evil forces causes these plans to deteriorate, along with Sarah's mind. It's a story of good versus evil, but which will prevail?

Character Bio's

Jackson Long - Jackson is an evil scientist that concocts plans for world domination. He is lab partners with Sarah and keeps her in the dark in regards to his devious plans. With an evil and dangerous personality Jackson is a malignant person, and he needs to be stopped.

Sarah Miller - A quiet scientist, with a good heart. She is put into a situation where she must throw away her prospects of fame and fortune for the sake of preserving mankind.

Film Poster

Post Production Evaluation/Reflection

• Justify whether your film clearly depicts the intended genre and describe some specific editing techniques you have used to achieve this;
I believe that my film does clearly depict it's intended genre of thriller. A scene that i believe displays the films genre well is the scene in which Sarah walks downstairs to Jackson who is waiting with a needle behind his back. This emotes a sense of suspense therefore applying to the thriller genre.
• Explain whether you used Final Cut Pro effectively to organise your project (through the use of appropriate clip names, bins, sequences) and what you could improve for future projects;
Yes i used Final Cut Pro well in order to organise my project, i created bins to keep appropriate scenes 1 to 11 in order. And i dragged all the clips into the appropriate scenes, this effectively kept my project organised. For future projects I would use the same techniques as they worked well in the way of organisation.
• Describe any problems or difficulties you encountered during post-production and editing. These may include; technical difficulties, corrupt or missing files, difficulty using the editing software etc;
I often had missing files as initially our group worked between 2 usb's and a hard-drive. The usb's quickly ran out of room and could not hold all the needed files therefore we decided to use the hard-drive. Using the hard-drive proved effective, another problem we encountered was towards the later period of the editing process, i would edit a scene and it would not carry through to the whole film sequence. Another difficulty was that on 3 occasions the edits we made did not save. This was frustrating but we re-edited and resolved the issue.
• Explain whether you made use of devices such as storyboards, shot-lists and the rough edit to streamline the editing process;
My group used our film synopsis and rough edit as guidelines and aid for our final editing. Although this was an area that our group could have improved on as we did not develop storyboards. This would be an area to improve on in future or for my next project.
• Discuss whether you made effective use of the EDL and Sound Design templates to support the editing and decision making process;
• Clarify any time-management issues you encountered during the editing process and describe the steps you implemented to improve in this area;
• Discuss whether you undertook adequate and detailed reflection to throughout your project. Have you provided enough evidence to support your work? (Look back at your blogs/journals and think about whether it looks like a whole terms worth of work);
• List any software skills, techniques, tricks or shortcuts you have learned during the project.

Creative Media Reflection

1. Describe any problems or difficulties your group encountered during the planning. These may include; organizational problems, group related issues, etc.
A prominent difficulty my group encountered was developing the ending to my script. We found that we wanted to have a non cliche ending, something that would remain with the viewer after they walked out of the room. Further development to the storyline was also needed and that took a few weeks to construct.
2. Clarify any time-management issues your group encountered during the planning. These may include; organisational problems, group related issues, etc.
My group was relatively organised with the exception of Ruby being away and myself and Issie being un-able to get access to footage that we needed, but we soon figured this out and got 8gb usb's as well as Issie taking the hard drive and putting it in her locker so that if anyone was away there was easy access to it. Ruby was also away quite often so this affected the input she had with parts of the project. I think that this was a small issue as it reduced the amount of ideas regarding editing.
3. Discuss whether your group made effective use of the provided templates to assist the film-making process.
Our group definitely used the pre-production templates to their full advantage, and often referred to the to develop our ideas. We seldom used the post-production templates, which we, upon reflection should have used more often.
4. Explain whether the planning process helped your group during filming. In particular, discuss whether the use of devices such as storyboards, shot-lists, and rough edits assisted throughout the filming process.
When we first created our storyboard (final) we wrote out the scenes and what we needed to film within them and this helped so much. We didn't exactly refer to our full storyboards throughout the filming process, considering we knew our synopsis back to front and had a shot list we knew we could film successfully :) The rough edit we put together also helped us get an idea for our final editing where everything needed to go. It formed the base and skeleton of our final film.
5. Describe any problems or difficulties your group encountered during the filming process. These may include; organisation problems, unreliable cast members, group related issues, equipment problems, etc.
When we were filming my brother got a bit frustrated and tired because he is a teenage boy, which is understandable but um that affected the scene when jackson explains the lie as he didn't look convincing. An equipment problem we had was that we didn't realise that the tripod had a lever which you could wind and un-wind to make this pole go up and give you extra height. This was quite annoying as we had to get tables and chairs to get a higher angle, good thing we realised this sooner than later in the filming process.
6. After reviewing your footage and completing the rough cut of your film, describe any aspects of your film, which need to be addressed. ie. does your group need to reshoot any scenes; are any additional shots required; are there any scenes which worked better than expected.
Yes, after we constructed our rough edit we realised that we needed to film an extra scene and that required myself and Issie to on separate occasions take home a camera and film these scenes. This was the scene before the park scene, when Jackson and Sarah wake up. A scene that worked better than expected is the second lab scene, where Sarah finds the file, there are some edits that Ruby made with the draw opening and I think that it works quite well :)
7. List any skills, techniques or tricks you have discovered during the project.
I gained a lot of filming technique skills such as angles, types of shots etc. I also gained a lot of knowledge with Final Cut Pro, i now know how to use a majority of features on Final Cut and I am really happy that if I wished to make a film myself that i have the skills and tools to do so.
8. Discuss whether you undertook adequate and detailed reflection to throughout your project. Have you provided enough evidence to support your work?
I feel like i could have reflected more on my blog, i did update my pre-production materials but i didn't really update during the editing process, i feel i was too consumed with working on my film to update and when i was working on it after school i didn't update either. I don't think I have provided enough evidence to support my work but I don't really know how i could prove i was editing?
9. Are you satisfied with your groups final result?
I am very satisfied with my groups final result, i feel like we all worked together, we did the best we could and worked really hard on our film. We spent hours outside of school filming and editing and i couldn't be happier with the final product.
10. Would you like to change any aspects of your film?
I think over the holidays we will be doing so but i really want to re-film the stair scene and incorporate the lightbulb scene. So that the scene is more effective.
11. If you could start the project again what would you do differently?
I probably would have thought about the injection scene in more depth, we didn't want it to be visible but not leave the audience wondering what has happened.

Shot List

Scene 1 - sarah in lab doing research
Scene 2 - sarah in lab doing research again..pen runs out, find folder, exits scene
Scene 3 - sarah walking to apartment, unlocks door, enters apartment
Scene 4 - sarah calling Australian Federal Government to report file, Jackson walking towards Sarah's apartment, overhears conversation - 48 minutes later - sarah receives call from Jackson telling her to come over
Scene 5 - sarah walking up stairs of Jacksons house, enters house, drugs cranberry juice in fridge with syringe, jackson calls her downstairs
Scene 6 - jackson holding syringe, sarah's feet and hands as going down stairs, light bulb flickering
Scene 7 - sarah waking up in her bed, receives call from Jackson, looks for file, finds file
Scene 8 - sarah at jacksons house, comes in, sits down and jackson pours cranberry juice into glasses, explains lie to sarah, sarah goes home
Scene 9 - sarah and jackson waking up in beds, brush teeth (all split screen)
Scene 10 - jackson and sarah walk past each other in park, jackson bumps sarah she drops her wallet, the exchange few words, walk away

Locations List

The following is the locations list for the filming of Amnesia:

Locations

- science lab
- sarah’s bedroom
- jackson’s kitchen
- jackson’s bedroom (maybe)
- park (extras walking around casually)
- stairs down to the science lab(basement)

Props List

Here is the prop list our group has created, although it does not include things like house furnitings which are part of the locations list.

Prop List

- syringe
- manila folder (with ‘CLASSIFIED’ written on front) x 2
- files (for inside of folder)
- lab coats (lab scene)
- plastic gloves (lab scene)
- test tube rack
- test tubes in test tube rack
- clothing (Jackson and Sarah)
- books (school/university) for end scene
- water (to pour into glasses and pour syrum into for 2nd drugging)
- 2 cups
- coloured water for test tubes

Final Film Synopsis

Our group has finally decided on a film synopsis that works, and we have sorted out all of the kinks and issues with the initial plot. Here is the synopsis.

Creative Media Plot - Amnesia

1. Two scientists, Jackson and Sarah create serum which gives people amnesia, so they forget their pasts. Its purpose was designed to make people who had experienced trauma etc forget (people who had been raped, assaulted..) however after awhile, Sarah discovers that Jackson plans to use it for wrong reasons: to leak it into the city's waterways and make them all forget, so he has ultimate power. Plan also involves getting rid of S because she is a liability.
2. Sarah discovers what he plans to do, finds his plans for it and becomes extremely distressed. She swaps the file which describes the ingredients and how to make the serum with a blank file in place the next day when J is busy. She also takes one of the vials full of it to show to the government as well. After hiding the file and writing herself notes that J cannot be trusted (think Momento) she goes on to make a phone call to the FBI/Government and plans to hand in the file, as she is worried what J will do with serum. J overhears S when he is right outside her door, about to ask if she wants to go to dinner tonight. He hears her talk about giving in the file the next day at 12pm and the location.
3. J leaves and goes back down to the lab and prepares a syringe with the serum in it. He then calls S on phone and asks her to come down to the lab to show her new developments on the serum. She agrees to come and says she will be down there in half an hour. Right before she is getting ready to leave, she remembers the file and sees the words in her mind "must get rid of Sarah." out of anger, she takes the vial with the serum in it from where she stashed the file with her and she goes over to J's house with the vial. Walking through his house, before going to lab, she goes over to his fridge, pulls out a big soft drink bottle she is sure he will drink and pours the liquid from vial into it.
4. She then proceeds to walk downstairs to lab. Sees J, walks over and he shows her something, she leans in, he injects syringe quickly into her arm. She immediately slumps and falls asleep. He drags her away, up the stairs. Then see him placing her in her bed. He looks around the room, ransacks it and can't find the file anywhere. He knows she will be waking up soon and leaves the room.
5. After he has left the room, later on, he calls her and says, don't forget you need to come over to mine and give me back that file. S still cant remember anything and decides to go to him, see if she can get answers about what has happened, why she can't remember anything (Bourne Identity). She asks for address and says she will be over there tonight, if she can find the file. We see her go through all her drawers, finally finds file underneath her mattress. picks it up and decides to go over to J's house, she has to be over there very soon and does not take anytime to read over it.
6. Over at J's house, hands him file. Asks him what it is all about, he explains.
7. He offers her the drink that she drugged but she can't remember that she did drug it and she accepts. They both drink the drink, after a little while of more talking, they start to feel drowsy and S goes home, J goes to bed.
8. Both wake up, same time on the screen. Look around, clearly they don't remember anything, look around room, extremely confused. Both have lost their memory due to the heavy dosage S put into drink.
9. Last scene, pass each other in public, out in a park. Bump into each other, S drops what she is holding and J picks up for each other, quite clear when they look at each other that they do not remember ever meeting each other. (Donnie Darko) play Mad World.

Editing Montage Task - 1979 Smashing Pumpkins

This music video is an example of how editing shots to a rhythm can create a more interesting video. The editing rhythm is somewhat random at most points but when the song returns to its chorus the shots seem to change every 4 counts. This technique is effective in blending both the video and song together to create an engaging experience for the viewer.

The mood the video creates is a care-free, relaxed feeling. This is achieved through the various shots of the band members playing around and looking relaxed. The numerous shots of the group in the car, partying etc.

The types of edits used are almost all cuts, excluding the final shot which is a fade. These edits are effective and are finished well, therefore are un-noticeable by the viewer.

Major Plot Elements

Act One:
Main protagonist escapes capturer.

Act Two:
A chase occurs, between the protagonist and antagonist.

Act Three:
The main protagonist is re-captured and the twist is revealed.

Treatment and Storyboarding Task: Reflection

Treatment and storyboarding task: reflection/evaluation:
• Describe any problems or difficulties you encountered in this unit or during the planning process;
• Discuss how your plot development, character planning and research helped you to write your treatment;
• Discuss whether the activities and examples provide on BlackBoard helped you to develop an effective treatment;
• Discuss whether  you have made clear use of the appropriate genre conventions and film language throughout your storyboards;
• Describe any problems or difficulties you encountered when drawing/creating your storyboards;
• Describe any skills or techniques you have discovered during the project;
 
A difficulty that I encountered during the development of my film synopsis, was writing the end of my film. I had trouble figuring out the twist/ending and it took me a while to figure it out. But eventually I figured it out, but I feel I could've done better. I found it fairly easy to develop my character profile's. Although I thought it was difficult to develop the character's names so I just replaced the surnames with an 'X'. I thought this applied because the characters are 'mysterious agents'. The Film Treatment aid on blackboard was a massive guide/help for the writing of my film treatment and the formulation of my storyboards. Without the film treatment guide I would have had no clue how to format and write most aspects of my film treatment. I believe that I have conveyed the appropriate genre conventions and film language throughout my storyboards. I used detailed descriptions to accompany my storyboard images. In the details I included lighting, camera movement, sound effects and transitions into some of the following shots. I'm not a talented artist so I feel I could've improved my drawing quality by possibly taking more time to draw them or possibly take photos, but I think taking photos would have been too time consuming. I discovered the techniques used to format and write a film treatment as well as format and create storyboards. I also acquired a more extensive film vocabulary.

Discuss your feelings about the pre-production task:
• Does your project clearly depict a genre film?
• Are you satisfied with the final result?
• Are there things you would like to change?
• Did you manage your time effectively? If not, how can you work to improve this?
• If you could start again what would you do differently?

I believe that my film does clearly Depict a genre film. The genre I chose for my film is action, I tried to depict this through the use of action shots like extreme close ups of arms, legs and face while tracking. These techniques are used in genre appropriate high speed chases or escapes. The use of a gun is also relevant to the action genre, as well as inclusion of characters which are secret agents. I am pretty happy with my final result but I would've like to have had more time to think and develop my ending and incorporate it into the rest of the film. Yes, if I could change anything I would change the ending. I would have made it more effective and have more of a twist. I think i managed my time averagely, I could have spent more time developing the conclusion. And I also could've completed my treatment quicker and therefore have a draft. If I could start again, I would have weaved a better background story throughout the film, and established eventually the plot at the conclusion. I would have also created a better plot twist and figured out a better way to reveal to the audience the stories behind the characters.

Film Synopsis

The screen fades in from black. From Sarahs’s perspective we see that she is in a dark room with a single light source. A mysterious figure appears from the darkness, and she looks at her hands and feet, which are bound with rope. Through Sarah’s eyes the figure emerges from the darkness and walks towards her, placing his face close to hers. His arm raises and he rips a strip of tape off her mouth. He points a gun towards her and says ‘Where is the case?’ She remains silent. He repeats and adds ‘If you don’t tell me, I will…’Finally Sarah’s face is revealed as suspenseful music begins to crescendo and the camera swoops in from behind the mysterious figure to a medium close-up of her face as she begins to smile. The screen goes black instantly. Two gunshots are fired, as the word Amnesia abruptly appears in white military style writing.

An extreme close up of Sarah’s face comes into view as she is running through trees. In time with her rapid breathing, the camera cuts between long shots of her running through the forest and extreme close ups of her face and feet. She soon tires and rests. After she reviews her surroundings she figures the ‘coast is clear’ and soon realises she is near a street with two rows of houses that she dimly recognises.

Suddenly a ‘merky lit’ shot takes over the screen and Sarah is seen running from one of the houses, and places a note in a letter box and then runs away again. After the shot she is standing in front of the same house from her flashback, this is the first flashback that Sarah has and to establish that it is a flashback the lighting in the scene previously mentioned will be merky and in a warmer light/shade.

Sarah is standing in front of the house, and walks cautiously towards the letter box, she reaches in an pulls out a key. There is no address, note or explanation attached to the letter. Suddenly a loud crashing noise is heard from the house, Sarah approaches the house cautiously. She walks up the driveway, and walks up the stairs to the front door of the house. The door is half open, she cautiously proceeds to open the door and walk through the living area. She again experiences a flashback, but this time it is of her placing a folded note behind an object (could be a vase or photo frame). There is a clock/calendar next to the object masking the note and the date reads 4 June 2011. After returning to reality Sarah looks to her right side and sees the object from her flashback, although this time the date reads 5 June 2011. Sarah reaches behind the object and pulls out the note. It is a crumpled piece of white paper, she goes to read it when, a white cloth is held over her mouth by Jackson, her eyes close sleepily.

She wakes up again, in the same location as the first scene, but this time Jackson X has a leather case, he opens it and retrieves a manila folder with the words ‘CLASSIFIED’ written in red on the front of it. He approaches Sarah, this time her mouth is not taped, he holds in front of her the key she had retrieved from the letter box in the house she had been at. “I have to thank you Agent Sarah X, the agency has been searching for this key, for a very long time. When I retrieved you from Dr. Schinkes house I knew you would do my job for me, one by collecting the key to Dr. Schinkes lab and two by finding the letter you left for yourself yesterday. You see, we were partners before...well before an incident we encountered at the lab we were working undercover in. Listen, I didn’t want things to end this way, how was I supposed to know the agency would send out a warrant against you.” Sarah remains silent. Jackson hands her the letter and says “It’s blank, I checked before, obviously you’re not as smart as the agency or I had presumed.” The camera swoops to reveal Sarah’s face, she’s smiling. Jackson starts screaming, his hands are a fiery red. He drops to his knees. The screen goes black. Two gun shots are heard. The words ‘The End’ appear on the screen. Screen fades out.

Key Locations

Dark Room - The dark room is crucial to the effectiveness of the opening scene of the film. It will be predominantly black, there is to be no background objects at all. There is a single light hanging from the roof, it is turned on and dimly lights the room.

Park - After the dark room scene, Sarah flees Jackson who was interrogating her before she escaped the room. Jackson cannot see Sarah and does not pursue her, shots cut to Sarah sprinting through the forest/park. There are extreme close ups and

House/Streets – After Sarah feels she’s safe from Jackson she returns to walking stray on the streets, searching for an object, place or person that will trigger a flashback similar to one that she had when she escaped the dark room. As she’s walking she sees a house that triggers a flashback of her walking out of it and looking around and also an image of her placing a key in the mailbox.

Character Analysis

KEY CHARACTERS

Sarah X is an intelligent, undercover spy who has lost her short-term memory and finds herself in a difficult situation. She endeavours on a journey to re-gain her memory, experiencing random momentary flashbacks of memory throughout the film, she soon unravels the mystery that is her life.

Jackson X is a determined young agent who finds himself targeting his previous work partner Sarah X. Jackson is asked by his agency, who remains unknown to the audience to seek out and terminate his old partner because of a previous top secret case they had worked together which failed. He is a serious man, with brown hair and blue eyes.

Creative Media Homework - Create a story for the storyboard

A vengeful vampire seeks redemption from a priest who sparked a cull of vampires around England.

Using the storyboards write a prose style treatment which explains what is taking pace in the storyboards. Remember to include dialogue + sound which are relevant. Your writing should convey the tension in the scene.

Fast paced suspenseful music is accompanying the priest being chased by the villainous man. As he runs, sound effects such as puffing of the priest and his footsteps (fast paced as he’s running) are accompanying the shot(s). It is an over the shoulder shot, on a slight low angle to establish the roles of the two characters. The priest is clenching the railing behind him as if to catch himself from running. The character in the background has the power and the priest appears to be at his mercy.

A medium close up shot, on a low angle of the villainous character, the angle suggests his power. He is abiding by the rule of thirds as he is in the centre-left of the shot, this increases the interest of the shot. The first shot, similar to the second has surroundings / settings that suggest the scene is set in a church or cathedral.

The priest is clinging to the rails of the altar, he has his arms and legs wide apart and appears to be on high alert and ready to run. The priest in the point of focus, being in the foreground of the shot in the right of the shot again applying to the rule of thirds. There is light shining through the windows onto the pews as well as onto the pillars.

The vampire uses his super-human speed to throw the priest across the room, he smashes into a glass table and falls to the ground, moaning. Barely able to open his eyes the priest looks around, searching for the vampire. He stumbles onto his feet and sighs in relief, he believes the vampire has thought he died. He hears a deep laugh coming from behind him. Suddenly he is thrown onto the church alter. A shadow is cast over the priest, the vampire is looking down at the priest, impaled on a silver cross.

Film Terminology and Definitions

Shot
A Shot is any continuous piece of uninterrupted filming. In general most shots last for no more than about 10 seconds. The camera or subjects may move during a shot, however the filming is uninterrupted

Edit
An Edit is classified as any break in the film where one shot ends and the next shot begins.
The four most common types of edit are:
Cuts
Dissolves
Fades
Wipes (occasionally)

Scene
A Scene is a collection of shots, arranged through editing, into a specific order.
Scenes are commonly used to create a narrative

Frame
The Frame is literally the border or edge of the screen in the cinema – it is the physical boundary containing what the audience sees

Mis En Scene - The Aviator

The Aviator is a film directed by Martin Scorsese, it's a face paced action film and a prime example of how exemplary mis en-scene can produce a captivating, good quality film.

The scene shows an adventurous pilot (De Caprio) test flying a new model of plane, in a desolate desert. Leonardo De Caprio's style of acting throughout the scene is exciting and fast paced which really conveys the films genre, being action. He achieves this through his personality, coming off as a bit of a dare devil as well as somewhat reckless with his immense speed of the planes crash landing and then casually standing on the side of the plane may also suggest a care-free attitude. The setting that the scene is taking place in is a desert surrounding with a testing ground for airplanes as well as a tarmac and a sandy cliff used for taking off. The deserty, sandy cliff and surroundings may be natural, but the tarmac and testing ground/sheds and planes would all be props and would have been built to match with the time and place of the clip. The lighting throughout the scene is particularly bright suggesting mid day to late afternoon. The harsh lighting gives off a yellowy, orangy tinge and really sets well with the surroundings that are mostly dirt and warm colours for example the sand. The colour of the plane is silver, with the bland surrounding colours this allows your eye to be more easily drawnt to the plane and therefore the centre of the action.

In conclusion the well formulated mis en scene combination results in a truly amazing film (clip) that captivates the audience, and takes them on a journey they will never forget.

Sleepy Hollow - Mise En Scene

Style of Acting - The style of acting is quite playful but also serious, with Johnny Depp bringing some comical aspects to his reactions when he is splattered with blood but the boy and girl reacting in horror. The acting style then transitions to playful and relaxed in the house scene.

Lighting - Throughout the entirety of the clip the lighting stays quite dark and when the scene changes to the house there is alot of contrast between lighting. Especially when the child is playing with his light and the shadows are on the wall, the spooky shapes really set an intense mood.

Setting - The setting initially is in a forest at a large, twisted tree, that then moves onto a high speed chase scene in the woods, which then moves onto a house when the scene changes entirely.

Props - The forest would have been made on a set, the tree was most definetley a prop as well as the sword, the heads that came out of the tree would've been made of rubber or silicon. The house also would've been made on a set and all of the props inside it would've been made as well. All props are extremley convincing and definetly realistic and well made.

Sleepy Hollow - Cinematography

Camera Movement - The movement of the camera is fluent and it gives the feeling that a person is watching it and moving (hard to explain?) but the movement is less stiff and therefore is more effective.

Camera Position - The position of the camera is often from a high angle suggesting that the main characters in the shot have less power. When the sword is first shown in a close-up the sword is taller and at a higher angle and position than Johnny Depp.

Speed - The Speed in the beginning of the scene is quite constant and normal, but then when the headless character emerges the pace begins to pick up and becomes quite fast, when the scene changes to the house with the younger child the pace has slowed down immensely.

Exposure - The exposure is fairly dark and remains so with mist hovering to a dark house. This is not only due to the fact that the time period of the day is probably afternoon/night but that the feeling of the movie is quite dark.

Focus - The focus of the scene initially begins with Johnny Depp and then transitions on to the child in the conclusion of the clip and the beginning of the new scene. The focus of the film constantly transitions from golden spiral to using the rule of thirds. This effectively helps to move the focus from the sword in the tree, to the different characters.

Perspective - The perspective of the clip is from a third person. The viewer is on the outside looking in.

Jeep Commercial Analysis

What comments can you make about the Rythm of this commercial?
The rythm of the commercial is fast and upbeat, it is also in sync with the music 'Don't Hold Back'. There are moments of slow motion but the clip is very short.

How does the editing manipulate the passage of time?
The ad's passage of time is edited to vary between day and night. As well as the speed of the shots, for example the sun setting is fast forwarded to make the sun set and represent the transition from day to night. The differences in time and scenarios represents the various uses of the car.

Are there any graphic matches and how are they used to enhance the commercial?
There is a scene where a person is driving and the side of their head is shown in a medium-close up, the head then transitions to a new person and this continues with different people for a short period of time. This technique suggests that anybody can own and drive the car.

Homework 8.2.11 - Genre Recipe

A group of 5 teenagers stay at a forest for a weekend camping trip. On the first night, a mysterious figure emerges from the forest and brutally murders one of the female teenagers, taking the body with him. The next day everone wonders what happened and go looking for the girl, they split up into groups of 2. One of the groups finds a warehouse full which looks like a mechanic's shed. Eventually when they're walking in the warehouse one of the males dies when an automatic nail gun randomly starts shooting and hits him in the head with numerous nails. The girl notices he's gone missing and becomes freaked out, she runs out of the warehouse, only to find the man she was with, hanging from the warehouse entrancem dead with nails sticking out of his head. She is then distraught screaming when a figure again emerges in the distance and throws a knife at her, she falls foward, dead. Later on the last two teenagers are almost killed by the mysterious figure but then hide together and when they decide to try and find a way out of the forest they discover a road which they walk down for hours, they then find a deserted motel which they stay in for the night [love sesh takes place], the next day they awake to noises of something rummaging, they then find that someone was trying to break into the bathroom window. The door handle starts turning violently, the male then opens the door with a knife in one hand only to find a police officer that says he got reports of a disturbance and asks to come inside, he comes inside and begins questioning the two. At the end of the story he picks up his radio and calls in that he couldn't find anyone at the motel. He then proceeds to take out his gun and shoot the girl in the leg, a fight breaks out between the male and police officer which eventually results in the the male grabbing the knife and stabbing the police officer [killer] in the neck.

Elements that make up a horror film

1. Antagonist or the 'bad guy' there needs to be a character that is evil
2. Protagonist or the 'good guy' this person should prevail in the end
3. Big twist or plot generally revealed at the end of the storyline or even in the last few seconds of the film or last sentence of the book etc.
4. A suspencful scene, there should be atleast one moment where you're on the edge of your seat in anticipation
5. The ending of the film should either result in the death of the antagonist and then a suggestion that they are still alive or a massive twist that suggests a sequel
6. Violence or physical or mental trauma should somehow be involved in the storyline, alongside (7.) some horrific scenes involving blood and gore
8. A supernatural aspect, this may depend on the type of horror film

Individual list of elements in a horror film

Creative media homework

List five characteristics of a genre of your choice

Genre - crime/gangster

Money (whether it be a dispute about money, making money, or theft)
Police officers ( maybe some are corrupt)
A woman or love interest
Drugs - pharmaceutical or illicit
Guns sometimes resulting in a shoot off between police and outlaw(s)