What we have been studying

Yesterday we futhered our knowledge of representaion i have now wrote and essay which i have handed in to be marked. We also did a poster on a specific group of people so we could understand how the media portrays different segments of society. Our segment was Women, we talked about stereotypes, archeotypes and countertypes.

Second Shot List (Group)

Shot numbers will be the same as story board which will be added at a furthur date.

Shot Number 1 (Approx time- 20 seconds)
Establishing shot (ELS)
Description;
Father figure sitting on a bench in the distance (Across the lake). Sky at the top of the shot and clear view of the environment to set the scene.
Analysis;
Obviously, every first shot should set the scene and introduce at least one of the main actors to the audience. The choice of environment is very important as it is symbolic in our films direction as the final scene will end up with the father and daughter re-united on that same bench across a calm lake. The fathers facial expression will be out of sight to cause enigma and confusion to what this mans motives and emotions are.

Shot Number 2 (Approx time- 40-50 seconds (To be confirmed)
Long shot (LS)
Description;
Shot behind male figure with full body and bench showing and a lot of sky in view. This shot will be approximately 2 hours long with the natural flow of people and dogs passing by the man. He will be stationary the whole time. The shot will be sped up to show people passing by the man at great speed. The sky will also be changing from vibrant blue to an orangy hazy sunset.
Analysis;
Very influencial scene as it is symbolising that time is passing by the man very quickly, could either portray the idea of his life nearly being up and everything is at an advanced rate, or could possibly have a more subliminal sinister meaning? This is left to the audience to make them think and get mentally involved into the opening of the scene.

Shot Number 3 (Approx time- 5-8 seconds)
Close up
Description;
First insight on the male figures face and also shows his emotions. Balled up red eyes and deep sigh resulting in him looking from the sky down into his lap.
Analysis;
Shows the characters emotions which is obviously sadness. Creates enigma as viewer does not know why he is sad or why he is not moving from this bench. Maybe has a emotional connection with this location? Left to viewers imagination.

Shot Number 4 (Approx time- 5-8 seconds)
Extreme close up (ECU)
Description;
Extreme close up of man's eyes. Red tear filled eyes which consequently leads to a singly tear running down the males face.
Analysis;
Eyes are the key to emotion so we are using this as a very strong shot as it will show his true feelings. The use of the tear also continues onto the next scene which creates continuity.

Shot Number 5 (Approx time- 15-20 seconds)
Close up
Description;
Shot of picture of young girl crinkled at sides and worn. Single tear will run onto the photo which follows on from the previous scene. When tear hits the photo a slight shaking will begin in the males hand.
Analysis;
Worn photo symbolises he has had this photo for a long time and may be treasured as a favourite as it has obviously been handled numerous times. Gives you a small insight into the males personality, maybe OCD? Again, enigma is created. Hand shaking also gives the impression of fear as people shake when they are scared. Scared of loss? Scared of death? Unknown.

Shot Number 6 (Approx time- 40-60 seconds dependant on many variables)
Medium long shot- Close up
Description;
Dark room shrouded by shadows and darkness. Back lighting showing the outline of a figure in the corner. As music intensifies the zoom gets increasingly closer to the figure until, (keeping with the horror/thriller codes and conventions), a bang occurs while a girls face appears with makeup down her face. This contrasts with the previous picture of her smiling with high key lighting showing her innocence. Wide eyes open and crooked forced smile directly into the camera. Key lighting from the left illuminating approximately three quarters of her face.
Analysis;
Very much symbolic and subliminal leaving the equations to the audience. Make up running down her face, why has she been crying? What are her motives in this scenario? Wide eyes opened and false smile, maybe drug abuse? Many questions left unanswered and left to the imagination. This idea of leaving many end loose and unanswered, is relevant to our previous audience research which told us that a successful horror movie should leave many aspects of the film to their imaginations. Also creates a sort of crime feel as the audience are already trying to piece things together like a detective and work out the twisting plot.

Codes and Conventions (group)

Media students identify three categories of codes that may be used to
convey meanings in media messages: technical codes, which include
camera techniques, framing, depth of field, lighting and exposure and
juxtaposition; symbolic codes, which refer to objects, setting, body
language, clothing and colour; and written codes in the form of
headlines, captions, speech bubbles and language style.

By the term 'code' we mean a communication system which contains
elements which have an agreed meaning and which can be combined
according to agreed rules. This could be the English language, Morse Code, a
traffic policeman's hand signals, film etc.

A code must consist of:
• a set of signs which carry meaning
• a set of agreed rules for combining those signs together

The main conventions of a thriller/horror opening sequence is enigma to keep the viewer interested, set the scene (where and when the events in the film are happening), Identify the main characters and a brief view of there personality the final main convention of a horror/thriller opening sequence is the narrative.

The codes of a thriller/horror are extensive there are a huge amount to choose from. The main ones i believe to have an impact on the opening sequence are the lighting (low key and mysterious), the music (tense and unsettling) and quick cut transitions between shots to portray subconsiously the intensity of the film to come.

Dialogue

At the beginning of our opening sequence we are trying to create a sympathetic feel for the father so no dialogue will be used and non diagetic background music will set the tone and induce sympathy from our audience. The unsettling non-digetic backgroung music will be also used instead of digetic sound until the young girl begins to sing, we are doing this to make the viewer begin to be tense, unsettled and be drawn into the film.

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Draft Shot list

Shot No.	Shot type	Description and analysis
1	Establishing shot (ELS)-	Father figure from the back sitting on a bench looking out over the lake with the sky at the top of the shot. We are using this shot to show the viewer the surrounding and to set the scene of where the character is sitting in contrast to the open surroundings present. The characters facial features will be hidden from view and out of focus to create some enigma and uncertainty for the viewer.
2	Extreme long shot-	This shot is still of the man but more of the sky in sight. This shot will be filmed for approximately 2 hours sitting stationary around the time in which the sky changes from vibrant blue into orangey sunset. People will be walking past the man which will be sped up to show that time is passing him by quickly. We are using this shot to portray to the viewer that the characters lifetime is nearly up and everything seems to being going quickly for him. It also symbolises him missing the girl in the scene later on in the opening sequence by showing him not doing anything to help as he can't (he feels helpless)
3	Close up-	We are using a close up of the man to show who he is to the viewer the close up will show his face in focus and detail. You can also see the characters emotions. We have included this scene to show the lost and unknowing upset feeling he has.
4	Extreme Close Up	This shot is put in place to show the characters deep emotion in his eyes and a tear rolling out of his eye and dripping down his face. This shot will show the severe feelings and emotion he is feeling without letting him seem weak. Enigma is created in this shot to make you want to understand the reasons for him crying.
5	Close up	This Close up shot is a picture of the characters daughter. A drop of water (a tear) then drops onto the picture creating continuity and helping the shots to flow better. This shot then gives reason the characters strong emotion. the viewer will then have some theory of the reason he is crying over his daughter.
6	Extreme close up	Back to shot (4 )
7	Long shot	Girl figure shrouded by darkness. Shot will be zooming in onto her face which will become more clear as half her face will by lit up with the low key lighting coming from either left or right (Not decided). We have used low key lighting to make the viewer feel uncomfortable and tense this is one of the main codes of horror. Not being able to see the girls facial features fully will create strong enigma (key convention) this will keep the viewer on edge and interested. The female character will be matched by the viewer to the previous scene of the pictures of the mans daughter.

Hiring a Camera

We have been thinking of hiring out a camera instead of using the schools basic ones that they supply free of charge. We wanted a second opinion so we asked Scott who studies media studies at university. He opted for a reasonably priced camera with advanced zoom which we have looked furthur into and after desginating dates and times we will hire the camera out.

Here is the chosen camera specified by Scott;

Actors

We have been told by Scott that hiring actors from an agency would significantly boost our overall mark. Due to insufficient ammount of time, we tried getting one of our fellow younger students from drama to hopefully participate in our production in hope it will aid their portfolio.

Continuing from this we went to see Mrs Micilock who is head of drama at this specific time. She said she will look furthur into this matter and get back to us.