Precautions to take while filming~

When filming we are going to be handling electrical and heavy equipment. It is neccesary that we take precations to ensure that there are no injuries and the equipment is handled with care. In a case that we are filming outdoors we must ensre that the weather will not affect the electrical equipment. We must also make sure we handle cameras and tripods with care to avoid injury and damaging of expensive equipment.

Electrical equipment must be handled with care~

Sound in my clip~

Our group are intending to use diegetic at the beginning of the scene with the sound of a woman’s clicking high heels in the background of a scene of the doors to the school. This will be edited in along with other sound effects. This will immediately indicate to the audience the gender of the character and signify the contrasting view of the woman being the killer. The woman will also be seen whistling a nursery rhyme and this will gradually increase as the scene gets closer and closer to the woman, the whistling will get louder and will fade into a non-diegetic sound of a nursery rhyme which will be edited in over the moving image. The sound of a innocent nursery rhyme over a scene which is clearly not portrayed to be innocent will add effect into the audiences first impression of the woman. There will noise from when the cleaner gets knocked over e.g. if he knocks over a bucket or other equipment present in the scene. I hope that this will ignite curiosity from the audience to what actually is going to come from this. It will be later revealed that the woman is powerful however equally manipulative by the man whom she is working for.

Propp's Character Theory~

Vladimir Propp created a character theory for analysing media texts and productions, which proposed that there were 7 clear character types in the 100 tales he researched, which could be applied to other media such as our film

1. The villain (struggles against the hero)
2. The donor (prepares the hero or gives the hero some magical object)
3. The (magical) helper (helps the hero in the quest)
4. The princess (person the hero marries, often sought for during the narrative)
5. Her father (usually dies during or before the film/book)
6. The dispatcher (character who makes the lack known and sends the hero off)
7. The hero or victim/seeker hero, reacts to the donor, weds the princess

Characters~

Dead man- The dead man will be seen wearing smart clothes. He will need to be wearing a tie and smart shoes. In addition, a badge should be worn around his neck to furthermore show that he is a proffesor in the school. Later we will see his face on the teachers board in the last scene. This teacher could be described be described as the “damsel in distress”. This is an atypical representation of a man as it is normally the man that is stronger than the woman and is the more dominant character however their status of power is flipped in this scene and the man is seen defeated by this mysterious woman.

Woman- wearing school uniform and preferably high heels. This will indicate that she is not actually the age that she is being perceived to be however she has the ability to look and play a character as young as a secondary school student. It will be unclear at the beginning of the scene however this character will in fact be the helper as opposed to the direct villain. This links in with the idea of Propp's character theory.

The cleaner- the cleaner will only be in the scene for a brief moment just to depict to the audience the severity of the woman’s anger and what she is capable of. He will be wearing overalls (if possible) to show his purpose in the clip. He will not speak make any action other than clean and stare at the woman as she walks past. This is shown to represent his innocence within the scene and that he has nothing to do with the action going on in the clip but is just an extra character to fit into the scene. He therefore does not fit into Propp’s character theory.

There will be no other characters in the film in the hope that the audience will buy into the purpose of each character and understand what motivates the charecter to within the clip. This will also allow them to question their previous perception of who the villain is when at the end, it is revealed that the woman isn’t in fact the villain but the helper to the villain.

Cerificate Of Our Film

We have decided that our film will be a 12. We have chosen this as since it it a thriller it would be expected to contain moderate violence but it shall not be focused on. Being a 12 sexual content will not be involved and language used will be fairly clean but may contain the rare reference. Being a 12 it will attract a wider target audience as it will be viewable for a younger audience unlike other more "explicit" thrillers 

Name of our film~

The name of our film has been chosen to be called MI-6thForm. This title is very fitting as it linkes to the ideology that our film is based around a school which is also a spy institution. This also links to out target audience whom is expected to be around 12 and over. Other names we have contemplated on are MI-6teen but we have come to then conclusion that the Sixthform concept links more to the the plot and theme of the film.

Storyboard~

Part 2

Part 1

Todorov's Theory~

                    This theory can be broken down into 5 simple steps.

 

1.  A state of equilibrium (just as everything should be).

 

1.  A disruption of this order, by an event.

 

1.  A recognition that the disorder has occurred.

 

1.  An attempt to repair the damage of the disruption.

 

1.  Restoration of a new equilibrium.

This idea states that everything would end in an equilibrium however this would be unconventional of a thriller movie in that not everything is as it should be in the order that things happen. This presents itself in films such as The Dark Knight as the ‘hero’ at the end of the film states, “You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain”. This shows us that it is not typical for the hero to always complete his task in being the invincible saviour.

Camera Shots~

Camera shots

There are 6 main types of camera shot.

These are:

-Extreme long shot; this is a shot which allows you to establish the place that the scene is set. It is more commonly known as an ‘establishing shot’.

-Long shot; this is a shot that allows you to see one full body length. It is usually used when you are being introduced to a new character and need to find out the ideology of the character.

-Mid shot; this is a shot which allows you to only see the portrait of the character. It is usually used in scenes where there is an interview or conversation

-Two shot; a shot simply involving two people. Commonly used when there is a conversation or a two part argument and it is important that you see the facial expressions of both characters.

-Close up; this is the head and shoulders of a person or the main features of an object. This shot is generally used to show the facial expressions of a person after something has happened and you would need to see their reaction.

-Point of view shot; this shot is where the audience (or camera) is viewing a situation as the characters eyes. This allows the audience to engage with what is going on and fully appreciate their perspective of the situation they are in. It is usually used when a character is running away from something.

-Extreme close up; focuses on just one part of the person allowing the audience to feel the tone that the scene has been set in. It would normally be a facial feature such as the eye if a character is crying it would be an attempt to make the audience to feel the emotion that the character is also feeling.

Thriller Conventions~

      Thriller conventions - Callum Morrissey

1. Music build up in scenes that aspire to add tension and build up. Consisitantly using music to accompany the mood which you are attempting to portray. 

2. Conventions of a Thriller Mirrors, low key lighting, shadows, obtrusive editing, quick cuts, changes in camera angle, tension music, stairs, flashbacks, use of photographs, black and white, disorientation of time and space, montage editing Specific to psychological thrillers: two or more characters preying upon one another’s minds, deceptive mind games, trying to demolish each other’s mental state

3. Mirrors Mirrors are used as a convention of a thriller film through the use of reflection of one’s soul and inner self Mirrors represent the darkness within some characters An example is ‘Mirrors’ directed by Alexandré Aja

4. Shadows Shadows are closely related with low key lighting and are used as a convention of a thriller film They are used to represent the inner darkness within beings, and can also add to tension and eeriness that is created

5. Obtrusive Editing Quick shots and obtrusive editing are used frequently in thriller films to accentuate the feelings of suspense and tension They are often used during an important or particularly ‘thrilling’ scene – sometimes creating a disorientation of time and space, by using montage editing

6. Flashbacks Flashbacks contribute to a sense of time and space disorientation in a thriller and this confuses the audience It is also a convention of a thriller film because it can display what has happened in the past to give the audience an insight into characters’ pasts An example is in ‘Momento’ by Christopher Nolan - We have studied this in English as it is a good example of anelepsis. 

7. Black and White Black and white is another of the conventions of a thriller, because it accentuates the use of shadows, and can often appear quite eerie and ‘dark’. An example is ‘Psycho’ by Alfred Hitchcock

Wanted Final Scene~

Thriller Backbone~

Thriller Backbone ~
My Media piece will have to follow the bases of a thriller and thus has to include specific devices used to create certain effects. Thriller is a broad genre of literature, film and television programming that uses suspense tension and excitement as the main elements. Thrillers heavily stimulate the viewer's moods giving them a high level of anticipation, ultra-heightened expectation, uncertainty, surprise, anxiety and/or terror. Thriller films tend to be adrenaline-rushing, gritty, rousing and fast-paced. Literary devices such as red herrings, plot twists and cliffhangers are used extensively. A thriller is a villain-driven plot, whereby he or she presents obstacles that the protagonist must overcome.

Starting discussion~

We are currently deciding our location as the school camera is not allowed after school. The plot and methods have been decided and we are currently explanding on more detail. External charecters are also being used and have agreed to play a role in our film. We will record more than 10 minutes worth of footage and then I will edit it and fit it into 2.