M.E.S - Lighting - Miss H

Lighting

 Filmmaking is all about capturing light. A bright light draws the viewer’s eye. A scene can be lit by available light (the sun, moon or existing light sources) or using powerful and expensive artificial light. The way a scene is lit influences how the audience will react emotionally to your movie.

The angle and direction of light gives your audience clues about where and what time of day the scene is taking place. Painters have long understood that the quality of light in a scene can hide or reveal things and influences the viewer's reaction.

In feature films the lighting is a high priority because how well the movie is lit influences how the audience perceives the production values of the movie and therefore the quality of the movie.

 

Under lighting:  this lighting is usually used in horror films where the lighting is a shown from the bottom to give a terrifying effect.

 

Top lighting:  this lighting angel comes from above to give the character of the film a glamorous look.

Back lighting: If little or no light is used, silhouettes are created. Light source is behind the person.

 

 

Low-key lighting is a style of lighting for photography, film or television. It is a necessary element in creating a chiaroscuro effect. Traditional photographic lighting, three-point lighting uses a key light, a fill light, and a back light for illumination. Low-key lighting often uses only one key light, optionally controlled with a fill light or a simple reflector.

High-key lighting is a style of lighting for film, television, or photography that aims to reduce the lighting ratio present in the scene. This was originally done partly for technological reasons, since early film and television did not deal well with high contrast ratios, but now is used to suggest an upbeat mood. It is often used in sitcoms and comedies. High-key lighting is usually quite homogeneous and free from dark shadows.

Natural key lighting: when no lighting has been added, it is what you expect to see

 

High key lighting?

1) Romance films

2) Comedy films

3) Fantasy films

Low key lighting?

1) Horror

2) Thriller

3) Action

 

Low key lighting examples

 

 

 

 

 

Low-key lighting and audience response

Low key lighting will create suspense amongst the audience, because it’s a unusual fact that the audience can’t see every detail that is going on and that you could only see the character as the only focus point, which will make the audience wonder what will happen. Also the location that the character is in will look weird which will create a question mark in the audience head aswell as a shiver in what will happen.

Low-key lighting and atmosphere created

Our first scene that we will take will bat at the train station, where the antagonist will be watching the protagonist, then the same sort of scene will be going on towards the protagonists house, then the final scene will be at the protagonists house

We have two characters the antagonist which is Bryan, and the protagonist which is Tanya. Low – key lighting will indicate that something bad will happen.

The moon and the gutter

In this trailer/film very low-key lighting was used, which created tension as for you could not see everywhere of the scene, which indicated that something bad could happen any moment, which created a thriller in the atmosphere. But the key lighting for me was the red used in the sky which linked into the guys red shoes and at the end which reflected the blood to see the moon in the same form, which shows that the guy in the red shoes was the killer.

planning - What is storyboarding? - Miss B

What is storyboarding?

Storyboarding is the pre-production process of literally drawing shots on paper that will become the template for your intended film or animation production before you begin production.

Why use storyboarding?

It is both an artistic and logistic process allowing the film crew to have a visual idea of what the director wants in the scene before the actors, actresses, props and set get involved.  The role of a good storyboard artist is to prevent a lot of wasted time in filming aspects of the scene that are not what the director is looking for, as well as streamlining or eliminating unnecessary scenes and filming requirements from the production.

Why is it important to use tory boarding?,  what makes a thriller specific?

Film making is hugely collaborative and a good storyboard represents a road map that can keep everyone on track during production.  It lets you see the plan ahead of time and allows the various departments involved to prepare in advance of the cameras rolling.

You can use storyboards in all types of motion projects to help you organise your work and give your clients an idea of what your final project will look like.

Trying to remember everything you want to do even in a short animation piece will be impossible, as a project grows in length, storyboarding becomes more and more useful.  The storyboard also helps you think visually.

I would not use storyboards on simple productions such as talking head shots, this would be a waste of time and money; nor on unpredictable situations such as random pick up shots at a shoot or sports event such as a football match.  In these circumstances you would be better off creating a shot list for the types of shots you want to capture.

What elements should go into a story board?

A good storyboard artist will understand about cinematography and editing which will allow them to create a realistic storyboard.  Considerations include aspect ratio, lenses, composition, perspective, as well as how things will cut together.  It should also be clear and concise so that anyone, at a glance, can understand it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-y8bSJxRyZo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BknHApJ6e0

Here are two different versions of batman created by using storyboard. There are advantages and disadvantages to this, an advantage is for the creator of the film they roughly will know what will have to be done in the actual animated film. But also there is disadvantages to this, the actual watcher of the video (audience) does not pin point know what is going on and if there is any noises made in the background which they don’t see a picture too, they will be confused.

By looking in to storyboarding I could see that I have learnt a various amount of stuff. Things I will need to look upon while animating my own thriller, such as making things clear with the sound I use in the background and making things clear visually.

Planning: Cinematography Planning (Miss Begum)

Planning: Cinematography Planning (Miss Begum)

Cinematography is one of the most import factors of films because it portraits what type of character plays what role, especially in thriller films because the camera angles expresses the characters, as in what type of role they play, if they are protagonist or antagonist. For example if a character is shown from the floor (from the toe looking at the head) he will be revealed with wealth and power, but if the camera angle was shown from the head to toe they will be presented as if they are vulnerable. By using cinematography techniques we will keep the audience in the edge of their seats and make them feel awkward because of the tension.

Some of the conventional uses of cinematography in thrillers are Establishing shot, extreme close up, point of view. Establishing shot establishes the context for a scene by showing the relationship between its important figures and objects. Extreme close up, Close-ups display the most detail, but they do not include the broader scene. Point of view is usually established by being positioned between a shot of a character looking at something, and a shot showing the character's reaction.

The cinematography I plan to use in my thriller consists of the following:

1. Close-up will be used when I want to show the expressions of the character but not the whole portrait, I have chosen to use this because by showing only the emotions of the character the audience will be wondering about the full portrait. This is conventional to the thriller genre because it creates suspense and leaves the audience at the edge of their seats.

2. Establishing shot – the establishing shot will enable the audience to know/ get an idea of where the scene will be taking and to cause mystery in what is going to happen.

3. Over shoulder shot -   when the girl walks through the alleyway and she looks ever her shoulder and no one’s there which will cause confusion amongst the audience.

4. Long shot – long shot will be used when the antagonist is stalking the protagonist from far, who creates the long shot.

5. Close up shot – we will use the close up shot of the knife, which will cause suspense.

6. extreme long shot -  extreme long shot will be used when the character is getting stalked as soon as she comes out the train station, the camera angle will be at the top of the hill to the end on the road.

 

Planning: Editing Planning (Miss Begum)

Editing is an important part in creating our trailer; it will allow us to show images in weird ways. I believe it is important to use editing in a thriller trailer because if we use it in a correct way we could make the audience feel awkward to what is happening with the edited colour and texture around that will be shown in the camera.

Some of the conventional uses of editing are

1.       Slow paced editing will get the audience ready for what is going to happen, I have chosen this because it will express every little thing that happens in a slow way, this is conventional to a thriller because it creates tension to the audience.

2.       Fast pace editing will allow me to show a lot of things in a matter of seconds, this will allow me to make the audience feel mysterious in what is happening.

 

Planning: Sound in my thriller (Miss Begum)

Planning: Sound in my thriller (Miss Begum)

Sound is important in films because it is a micro element that provides atmosphere within a scene, and can cause a desired audience response. I think if sound is used in an effective way it could bring tension amongst the audience no matter how bad the video/film is, especially in thriller films, because no matter what scene if a sound track like ‘jaws’ start to play you will automatically expect some type of action or something jumpy.

Some of the conventional uses of sound in thrillers are:

·         Non-diegetic soundtracks are used to build tension amongst the audience and to keep them at the edge of their seats by making them think that anything could happen any second.

·         Diegetic sound is also a very effective sound, because people talking for example could create all sorts of tension because the audience could think that they know about what they are expecting but it could turn out to be the opposite.

·         Off-screen sound could also be an important factor to use after a silence, because it is very short low key sound but every second of it and making it go louder could really put the audience at the edge of their seats.

The sound I plan to use in my thriller consists of the following

1)      On screen is a very important factor, I will use this feature in a point of view shot where the protagonist is on the train. The reason why I have chosen this feature is to let the audience know that the person that is in the point of view shot is the antagonist, and his prospective, and to show tension that the antagonist safety is under danger because she is being stalked. This is conventional to the thriller genre because it creates anticipation for the audience.

2)      Non-diegetic – soundtrack will be used while there is action in the protagonist’s house. This is conventional to a thriller genre because it creates mystery to what will happen.

3)      On screen – this will be used while the stalker is taking pictures of the protagonist on the train. By using this I show the audience once again that she is under danger. This is conventional to a thriller genre because it builds tension amongst the audience and keeps them interested in what will happen.

4)      On screen – this will be used as the protagonist enters her house and the gate will creak. I have chosen this because it creates a haunted or unsafe atmosphere of the house. This is shot is conventional to a thriller because it creates tension and a sign of awkwardness. Also it creates loneliness, which will create question marks is the audiences head.

5)      Off screen – will be used when the protagonist is in her bedroom and something drops to the fall in the kitchen

6)      Non-diegetic – I will use a soundtrack when something unusual happens for example our character getting stabbed

 



Age Certificate - Miss B

Age Certificate

The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) is an independent body which was originally established by the film industry in 1912. Local Authorities were made responsible for what was shown in cinemas and from early on accepted the decisions of the BBFC. There are obvious benefits to both Local Authorities and the film industry in having a central but independent body bring consistency to the classification process and accept responsibility for decisions.

Local Authorities remain legally responsible for what is shown in cinemas under the Licensing Act 2003 and can still overrule the decisions of the BBFC. This does not happen very often.

Examples where it has happened include the film Spider-man which some Local Authorities rated ‘PG’ or ‘PG12’ instead of the ‘12’ awarded by the BBFC. Westminster Council banned Crash and Camden Council gave ‘18’ certificates to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and The Story Of O before the films were submitted to the BBFC for classification. Both were subsequently classified ‘18’ uncut.

In 1985 the BBFC became the statutory authority for classifying videos/DVDs under the Video Recordings Act 1984.

The first ‘12A’ was introduced in Spiderman, it was a argument against the BBFC amongst the parents and careers. The argument was that Spiderman was there child’s childhood super hero, and the children in this case should be allowed to watch Spiderman.  Which originally the BBFC gave a rating as ‘12’. So the BBFC introduced `12A’ which basically means that a child is allowed to go in the film if they’re supervised with an adult.

The BBFC tend to give thrillers a 15 because it usually includes strong language, and scenes of violence, which are only suitable for mature adults which is classified as 15+

In my personal opinion I will give a thriller film a classification of 15+ as well, because it may contain strong use of language which only young teenagers are the smallest possible age can visualise (15+).

 

As an overall I have learnt that a thriller films age certificate is one of the main and key things of creating g a film, it clarifies what age should be eligible to watch a film according to what sorts of scenes it has in place. So in our thriller case it taught us what age group will be most appropriate to watch our thriller.

Film censorship - Miss B

Film censorship

 

The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), originally British Board of Film Censors, is a non-governmental organisation, funded by the film industry and responsible for the national classification of films within the United Kingdom. It has a statutory requirement to classify videos, DVDs and some video games under the Video Recordings Act 2010.

 

The BBFC rates theatrically released films, and rated videos and video games that forfeited exemption from the Video Recordings Act 1984, which was discovered in August 2009 to be unenforceable until the act was re-enacted by the Video Recordings Act 2010. Legally, local authorities have the power to decide under what circumstances films are shown in cinemas, but they nearly always choose to follow the advice of the BBFC.

 

The Video Recordings Act requires that video releases not exempt (music, documentary, non-fiction, video games, etc.) under the Act had to be classified, making it illegal to supply any recording that had not been certified. Certificates could restrict release to any age of 18 or under, or to only licensed sex-shops. The government currently designate the BBFC as the authority for certifying video releases. As the law requires the certificate to be displayed on the packaging and media labels of the video recording, in practice only UK releases can be legally sold or hired in the UK, even if a foreign release had identical content.

By being able to censor films they give an age rating in which only that age rating classification and above could be able to watch the film.

 

As an overall I have learnt that it is very important to censor films in every prospective, because children should not be able to see such scenes as sexual and violent scenes. So it has taught me that we have to censor our film properly.