Learning Aim:B/C
Claude- Levi Strauss
Claude Levi Strauss is a French anthropologist, who has come up with a theory known as "binary opposites", which entails that the majority of the films we watch contain "binary oppositions" to help audiences understand the narrative and to create more conflict/excitement, it also helps to thicken the plot and introduce contrast. For example, Claude was trying to portray the fact how in a horror film it could potentially be humans against the supernatural, in a superhero film, that there could be good against the evil. Although this is what Claude has told, sometimes the image of the binary opposite may not be as clear to some people, for example, people may have a different opinion on a superhero, in which they believe to be a bad character, while others may see it as a good character, and since everyone has there own perspective, it changes the way in which the characters are actually meant to be.
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conventions
We have decided to go with a mystery thriller. When learning about genres I have learnt about all the different types of sub-genre being just as important as the genre as they give us more detail to what the film will be about and what scenes will become more tense. When a thriller film begins it majority of the time it brings out the creation of a protagonist and what the key features are. When it comes to conventions there are a lot of things in the image in which makes it stand to other conventions such as costume/makeup and props. For our choice we have decided to a do a mystery thriller, and when it comes to the films within the mystery thriller, it focuses on the suit used for the costume as it can tell an audience a lot about a character before anything starts. In mystery thriller the props for example a knife, blood, where everything is placed in the set, can create a really clear and interesting image for the audience in which will look at everything placed within the scene as it can come back later on and be the biggest prop within the whole of the film. From this task I have learnt just how important and fascinating the different types of costume/makeup as well as the props which are used within each scene.
Media Swot analysis
From the pitch we have learnt the areas of improvement on what we can do better in order to make our overall film better and ensure that we can meet the overall requirements needed for the film and if we want to add more emphasis when recording.
T9: Main filming locations:
St Katherine's School, inside a classroom and also parking lot.
We would need to film in St Katherine's as we need shots of the main characters and their normal lives before they find the first note. Filming in the car park is important as the first note would be found on/in the main characters car. We would then need to film them getting in the car, reading the note and eventually leaving the car park.
National Trust Leigh Woods
This would be the location where we film the most as it would be where most of the main scenes are filmed, as well as the beginning few shots for the film which help to set up the plot. The plot revolves a lot around the main character being given a location to go to (Leigh woods) and finding different notes so it means that this location is the main one we would film in.
Overall, I have learnt how it is important within the media industry to have a variety of different filming places and ensure that we are well planned as well as ensure that we see the location before filming and ensure that where we will film is in a good place and not disturbing the public.
T15 Music and Sound Effects
For our thriller opening, as it is a mystery thriller we would need the music to be extremely suspenseful to obviously help to build up excitement and suspense for the audience but to also keep the thriller feeling like a mystery thriller and keeping the audience guessing at what’s going to happen. The first usage of music will be right at the beginning of the opening to help emphasise what is happening on screen, however it is unlikely we will have music playing throughout the entire film as by only using at the most exciting and suspenseful scenes it will further help to accentuate the significance of the scene. If we were to constantly play the music throughout the entire film it would likely make the most important scenes have less impact, but by mainly using the music at the most important scenes they would have more impact. Some examples of the type of music we would use would be It Hears You from A Quiet Place as we think it does a good job of building up and keeping suspense.
As for the sound effects they are incredibly important to any film, especially thriller movies. This is because, like the choice of music, they can help to bring emphasis to characters actions and important events in the story. They can also be used to help set the mood and atmosphere. The main type of sound effects we would use would be diegetic, as we would want them to actually be happening in the world of the opening so that the characters can react to them. The only type of non diegetic sound we would use would be for the music as the characters in the film wouldn’t be able to hear it. The sound effects for our thriller opening would, just like the soundtrack, need to be there to mostly build suspense. An example of this would be twigs snapping behind a character as they walk through the woods or the slam of a door closing behind them after they enter an abandoned house. The very beginning scene of our opening is set in the woods, with a character running away from the killer. This would mean that we need to use diegetic sound effects such as the sounds of both characters running across leaves and possibly some wildlife in the background. However we would most likely have it centred around the sounds of both the characters running. This is because it might make the scene feel more claustrophobic, which would be further emphasised by the otherwise quietness of the scene as there would be no cars or other people talking. This would help to show that both of the characters are completely isolated and alone, meaning that there is no one nearby to help the victim making the audience feel worried and further build up suspense. At the end of the beginning scene the victim would die however it would not be shown. The killers weapon would be a bat so for this sound effect we would need something similar to this :
From this I have learnt about just how important sound effects and music are for movies of any kind. Without them it will be much more difficult to build mood and atmosphere which would result in the audience possibly feeling uninterested in the movie. I have also learnt about how important the different types of sounds are depending on the type of scene and about diegetic and non diegetic types, and when to use them.
T 17 Storyboard
From this task, we have learnt just how important it is to do a storyboard because it clearly conveys how the story will flow, as you can see how our shots work together. It also allows us to see potential problems that would not go unnoticed, ultimately saving us time and money.
From this, I have learnt about the importance of production schedules, as they contain important information such as what days you will be filming, who is filming on that day, what props and equipment are involved, the location you are filming at and an estimate for how long each scene will take to shoot. This is important as it means that once you are filming you have a schedule to try and stick to, making it easier to film. The production schedule allows you to be fully prepared for filming before the day arrives, leading to fewer mistakes made once you actually film. It also means that if you were to fully plan out how long it will take you to finish filming, if you try to stick to the production schedule it is more likely that you will finish the filming by the time you need to.