Thursday, 27 March 2014

AS Media Studies Coursework Evaluation Question 6

AS Media Studies Coursework Evaluation Question 5


How did we attract our intended audience to our Thriller, "Difference"?

AS Media Studies Coursework Evaluation Question 4

Who would be the audience for your media product?

The intended audience for our Thriller, "Difference", is young teens and adults. I know this because it is mostly this kind of audience that likes and watches Thrillers at all for whatever reason, e.g. Thriller conventions. This is further proven in my Audience Research questionnaire:


Do you like Thriller movies?

Yes: 14 young teens (8 male, 6 female), 10 adults (7 male, 3 female)
No: 6 young teens (2 male, 4 female), 3 adults (1 male, 2 female)
I don't know/Haven't watched any: 2 young teens (0 male, 2 female), 1 adult (0 male, 1 female)


Our intended audience would want to watch our Thriller because of the inclusion and clever use of the Thriller genre's conventions, e.g. we used a cliffhanger, suspense, intense music, dark locations, etc; which young teens and adults (mostly males) appreciate. The audience will also be able to relate with and appreciate the main character, due to him being an ordinary and generic person, just like them. Also, while our Thriller is aimed both genders, my survey shows that males like and watch Thrillers more than females.

Friday, 28 February 2014

Audience Feedback/Focus Group

Our audience really enjoyed our Thriller. They praised the unsettling music, the acting and they thought the argument at the beginning makes you empathise with the main character, so that by the time he gets kidnapped, you already care for this character.


Rough Cut of AS Coursework Thriller

Friday, 14 February 2014

Our AS Coursework Thriller Title Sequence

Finding Music

We found most of our music on Youtube and used a Youtube Converter to download it and import it into our film. (You can find several on the Internet.)

However, you can find other music on websites like www.mobygratis.com and www.freeplaymusic.com.

Choosing Your Font

The font used in our Ident and our Movie Title sequence came already programmed into LiveType, which is where you can create Title sequences.

However, you can find and download other fonts on websites like www.dafont.com.

Thursday, 13 February 2014

Audience Research

Our Thriller is aimed at young teens and adults. I created a questionnaire where I surveyed how many young teens and adults like and watch Thriller movies and which gender like and watch Thrillers the most.

Do you like Thriller movies?

Yes: 14 young teens (8 male, 6 female), 10 adults (7 male, 3 female)
No: 6 young teens (2 male, 4 female), 3 adults (1 male, 2 female)
I don't know/Haven't watched any: 2 young teens (0 male, 2 female), 1 adult (0 male, 1 female)

This survey shows that young teens and adults commonly do like and watch Thriller movies, with young teens liking these movies slightly more than adults, and that males like and watch Thrillers more than females.

Monday, 10 February 2014

Existing Production Company Idents Analysis

Existing Production Company Idents Analysis

Miramax Films/Home Entertainment:- Known for distributing and producing independent and foreign films. It was a leading distribution/production before being bought by The Walt Disney Company for 17 years.

Their logo consists of the company name within a giant "M" for Miramax.













Its Ident Sequence in their movies consists of the logo emerging from brightly-lit city buildings (it has no signature theme tune like 20th Century Fox).


However, in one of the movies they co-distributed with Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Bionicle 2: Legends of Metru Nui, the logo, after its respective Ident Sequence, then melts into an ocean where a bright beacon of light can be seen off in the distance (which is where the opening to the movie starts) while music from the movie's soundtrack plays in the background.



The Walt Disney Company/Walt Disney Pictures:- One of the "Big Six" film distribution/production companies.

The logo either consists of the company's nickname, which is simply "Disney", or it's full name at the foot of a castle.








The most recent Company Ident sequence consists of the night sky with a single bright star and then an overview of a city that zooms out and circles a giant castle with fireworks in the background until it finishes with a Long Shot of the castle, a tiny light (presumably Tinker Bell from Disney's Peter Pan) creating an an semi-circle of pixie dust over the castle and the Disney logo emerging at the foot of it. The theme tune that plays in the background is an instrumental of "When You Wish Upon A Star" from Disney's Pinocchio.


There are also several other versions of this Ident depending on the Disney movie, for example:





















Pixar Animation Studios:- A CGI animation company owned by The Walt Disney Company.

The logo consists simply of the name of the company. Sometimes, it is shown next to the Disney logo, with characters from Pixar's films or the signature lamp (sometimes two lamps).













The Company Ident sequence consists of the mascot (the jumping lamp) hopping over to the "I" of the logo and jumping on it until it is squashed underfoot and the lamp looks directly at the camera.


Existing Movie Opening Titles Analysis

Existing Movie Opening Titles Analysis

Coraline:-













The Title in the movie consists of the film's name spelt out and sewn onto a red fabric using white sewing thread with a loose black button as the "O" in the name. It is set out like this in the film because the film has a recurring theme of dolls and buttons to make the atmosphere creepy, despite this film being a children's movie (that seems to be the style of Tim Burton).

Bionicle 2: Legends of Metru Nui:-














The Title in the movie consists of the film's name, over a black background, spelt out in a metallic-looking and ancient-looking font with the top two lines looking like gold and the last line looking like silver. It is set out like this to portray a sense of fantasy, mystery and eventual discovery within the film's plot.

Spirited Away:-


































The Title in the movie consists of the film's name in a simple but ancient-looking font over a hill in a neighbourhood in Japan that the main character (Chihiro Ogino) and her parents are driving up. In the Japanese version of the film, the Title is in Japanese but in the same kind of font. It is set up like this to create an ambient and realistic but, at the same time, fantasy-like atmosphere as the main character has yet to be thrust into the film's plot.

Wednesday, 5 February 2014

Shifty by Evan Creevy

Shifty
File:Shifty poster.jpg
Shifty is a 2008 British independent urban thriller about a drug-dealer and his old friend re-kindling their friendship after an incident that separated them 4 years earlier.

Based on the director's experiences from his teenage years, this film had a total film schedule of 18 days.

Cast and Crew

Evan Creevy:- The director of Shifty. He is known for his work in Shifty, Welcome to the Punch, Wimbledon, Autobahn (upcoming in 2014), etc.

Riz Ahmed:- A famous actor known for his work in Shifty, Four Lions, Road to Guantanamo, Ill Manors, The Reluctant Fundamentalist, etc. In Shifty, he plays the titular character, a drug-dealer called "Shifty".

Daniel Mays:- A famous actor known his roles in Shifty, The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn, The Bank Job, Atonement, Vera Drake, etc. In Shifty, he plays Shifty's old and best friend who decides to pay him a visit after he left his hometown 4 years earlier.

Jason Flemyng:- A famous actor known for his work in Shifty, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Snatch., X-Men: First Class, Primeval (TV series), etc. In Shifty, he plays the middleman for the local drug-dealers and Shifty's supplier, Glen.

Production

At this point in the Film Industry and to this day, production budgets for British films had been falling. It was formerly £2-3 million. Now, it is £1-2 million. Therefore, there was a large boom in films produced with "micro-budgets" (films with a very low budget).

Shifty was made in 2008 under the Microwave scheme. The Microwave scheme was set up by the UK Film Council to make participation and access to making films more available to young London-based filmmakers. The scheme offers to help make films in 18 days and with a budget of under £100,000.

Shifty was the 2nd film to be made under the Microwave scheme. The film was released on 24th April 2009 to the public in the UK but a preview showing was released on 24th October 2008 at the London Film Festival. 51 prints of the film were distributed through the independent distributor, Metrodome.


Tuesday, 4 February 2014

Source Code by Duncan Jones

Source Code

Source Code is a 2011 action-thriller about a soldier who wakes up in someone else's body on a train in Chicago with a bomb on board and founds out he is part of a mission to travel to alternate timelines and find the bomber before another bomb is set off in downtown Chicago in the current timeline as an aftermath of the bomb exploding on the train.

Cast and Crew

Duncan Jones:- The director of Source Code. He is famous for Source Code, Moon, Whistle, Mute, etc.

Ben Ripley:- The writer of Source Code. He is famous for his writing in Source Code, Species III, Species: The Awakening, The Watch and Boychoir (not released).

Jake Gyllenhall:- A world-famous actor known for starring in Source Code, Donnie Darko, Brokeback Mountain, Zodiac, etc. In Source Code, he plays the protagonist, a soldier called Colter Stevens, who is trying to prevent an exploding bomb on a Chicago commuter train.

Michelle Monaghan:- A famous actress known for starring in Source Code, Gone Baby Gone, Due Date, Eagle Eye, etc. In Source Code, she plays Colter's alter ego, Sean Fentress', traveling partner on the commuter train, Christina Warren.

Vera Farmiga:- A famous actress known for starring in Source Code, Up in the Air, The Departed, The Conjuring, etc. In Source Code, she plays Captain Colleen Goodwin, Colter's adviser who tells him information through a computer screen.


Wednesday, 22 January 2014

Dreams of a Life by Carol Morley

Dreams of a Life

Dreams of a Life is a 2011 documentary-style film based on a real-life tragic incident in which a woman's corpse is found in her apartment in January 2006, however she had been dead since December 2003. Joyce Carol Vincent's death went unnoticed for three years, her TV was still on at the time of her body's discovery, she was surrounded by wrapped Christmas presents and the cause of her death is unknown due to her body being completely decomposed to a skeleton. She was only discovered because she was badly behind on her rent and the landlords went to repossess her apartment.

The plot is about the director of this film, Carol Morley, interviewing Joyce's close friends about their relationships with her to try and discover how and why she died and went undiscovered for so long.

Cast and Crew

Carol Morley:- The director of "Dreams of a Life". The younger sister of film composer, Paul Morley, she is best known for her work in Dreams of a Life, Edge, The Alcohol Years, etc. In the film, she stars as herself, behind the camera, interviewing Joyce's friends.

Zawe Ashton:- A famous actress known for starring in Dreams of a Life, Blitz, Fresh Meat, St. Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritten's Gold, etc. In the film, she stars as Joyce Carol Vincent in reconstructions of Joyce's life.

Alix Luka-Cain:- A child actress known for starring in Dreams of a Life. In the film, she stars as Joyce Carol Vincent as a young girl in flashback reconstructions of Joyce's childhood.

Joyce's friends all star as themselves in this movie.

Newspaper Article of Joyce' death


  Woman Dead in Flat For 3 Years. By Jerome Starkey. A Woman of 40 lay dead in her flat for almost THREE YEARS without anyone missing her. Joyce Vincent's Skeleton was surrounded by unopened Christmas presents, an inquest heard. The TV and heating were on, ashing-up lay in a kitchen bowl and a mountain of post was stacked behind the front door. Police believe Joyce probably died of natural causes in 2003. But her body, which was lying on a sofa














Carol Morley

By around the time 'Dreams of a Life' was being developed, Morley already had several Arts Council Awards, making her quite a famous artist filmmaker. She tended to make films that challenge how stories are told, often crossing the boundary between fact and fiction. Her films have been featured in several film festivals, galleries, cinemas, on Channel 4 and Film 4 and international channels like the Sundance Channel. She also recieved the Arts Foundation Fellowship for the documentary film genre.

Morley's first narrative feature film was 'Edge', which was produced with a micro-budget and premiered at The London Film Festival in 2010 and was later released in 2012. 'Dreams of a Life' was her first documentary feature film.

Here, producer-and-director team, Carol Morley and Cairo Cannon, discuss the film.

On the official website for 'Dreams of a Life', Morley put up her Video Diaries, which are set over the production of the movie.

Cross-Media Convergeance

'Dreams of a Life' spawned an official website and two companion games called 'Would Anyone Miss You?' and 'Dreams of your Life', all created by the company, Hide & Seek.

Interview with "Dreams of a Life" director about the British Council

Interviewer: "What's your connection to the British Council?"

Carol Morley: "Over the years the British Council have done a great site dedicated to international film festivals and I've always used that to find out about festivals and when to apply."


Thriller Coursework Construction

Thriller Coursework Construction

22/01/14 - We haven't filmed anything yet. We are planning on filming this weekend (Sat 25 Jan 2014). We are currently edit our Movie Title on LiveType.

25/01/14 - We filmed the first few scenes of our Thriller at Joe Howlett's house at around 6 o'clock. We are planning to film the other scenes on Wednesday at Jamie's house at around 4 o'clock.

31/01/14 - We filmed the rest of our Thriller at Jamie's house.

05/02/14 - Joe and I have pieced together some of the Thriller, but we are planning to re-film some of the scenes at a later date.

07/02/14 - We decided that we don't need to re-film our Thriller and we just need to finish piecing it together.

14/02/14 - We have finally finished our Thriller and have posted it onto Youtube and embedded it into our blogs.

Wednesday, 15 January 2014

Thriller Coursework Planning Documents: Production Schedule


Production Schedule
Location Visit Sheet

Programme Title: Difference.
Writer: Joe Howlett, Marianne Webb
Producer: Joe Howlett, Marianne Web
Director: Joe Howlett, Marianne Webb
Date: 15/01/14


Rough Sketch/Explanation of location and key points to note
We will be filming in two three different locations, starting off with the drama studio in All Saints School, then we will be using one of our houses and then finally we will be going out into the streets to film the final scenes.

Access to location via:  
Drama Studio All Saints School.

Name and number of location contact:
Drama Teacher.

 Health and Safety Issues to note:
There is the problem of filming out in the streets and the obstacles of cars coming down the street when we will be trying to film the Thriller.

Potential Filming Problems:

If we have the problem of not being able to gain access of the All Saints drama studio but however if this is the case we do have the backup of filming in a shed at the back of one of our houses.
Another problem to us could be the weather, we would have to keep the camera dry so therefore if it was to rain, and then we would have to use something to keep the Camera Dry. We could possibly do something like just put an umbrella over the Camera.

Additional Notes:  (map of area/weather forecast etc)
Here is a map of the Area that we will be filming at, on the A is where we will be filming most of the Thriller and then also on this map you can see All Saints School where we will hopefully be able to film the other part of the Thriller.


Thriller Coursework Planning Documents: Shot List


Shot List

Scene
Shot Number
Description
1
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
The main character (Jamie Martin) comes home from working late but gets in an argument with his wife (Amelia Braz) and storms out.
2
12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19
The main character walks out of his house and walks down the road, not knowing that he is being followed by a hooded figure (Amelia Braz). The hooded figure then knocks him out and the screen goes black.
3
20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28
The main character wakes up in a small, dimly lit room, tied up to a chair. He tries to get free and screams. Cue Movie Title.

Thriller Coursework Planning Documents: Risk Assessment


Group Members: Marianne Webb, Joe Howlett           Location: Joe Howlett’ House, Jamie Martin’s House



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
Filming on the road
Joe Howlett, Marianne Webb, Jamie Martin, Amelia Braz
3
3
6
Move out of the way if a car came by.
Y
Slipping on the road and pavement (it was raining)
Joe Howlett, Marianne Webb, Jamie Martin, Amelia Braz
1
2
3
Keep your footing on the ground.
Y
Breaking the equipment
Joe Howlett, Marianne Webb
1
4
5
Hold equipment carefully and securely.
Y

Thriller Coursework Planning Documents: Shooting Schedule


Day
Scene
Location
Equipment
Costumes
Props
Cast +Crew
1
(Sat 25th Jan 2014)
1-17
Joe Howlett’s House
Camera, Tripod, Boom Microphone and Pole
Jamie Martin: White Shirt,
Black coat,
Brown Shoes,
Black Trousers

Cables, Chair, Duct Tape
Marianne Webb, Joe Howlett, Amelia Braz, Jamie Martin
2
(Fri 31st Jan 2014)
18-33 (possibly 1-17)
Jamie Martin’s House
Camera, Tripod, Boom Microphone and Pole
Jamie Martin: White Shirt,
Black coat,
Brown Shoes,
Black Trousers
Amelia Braz:
White top,
Small Black coat,
Jeans,
Trainers,
Black hoodie,
Black Tracksuit bottoms,
Boots,
Black gloves (maybe)
Magazine, Mobile phone
Marianne Webb, Joe Howlett, Amelia Braz, Jamie Martin