A third option would be to not use a film distributor at all, but instead release it over the internet on a video-sharing site such as Youtube or Dailymotion. A recent example of this happening was Girl Walks Into a Bar (Sebastian Gutierrez, 2011), a feature film made exclusively for Youtube. This approach would certainly be the easiest and whilst not guaranteeing any income, money could be earned from adverts on the video page.
GS24 Foundation Portfolio 2011
4 April 2011
Evaluation
28 March 2011
Re-Editing
1 - I slowed down the speed of music by 50%. This makes it sound more moody and suspenseful and stops it sounding too fast-paced when it does not need to be.
2 - This is a small transition to switch between the two audio clips smoothly.
3 - This is the doorbell sound effect. As there are multiple audio tracks, it allows me to have both the sound effect and the music playing at the same time.
Re-Filming
- The doorbell scene - using a tripod so that the camera stayed steady
- The kitchen scene - shooting it from different angles so that there was greater shot variety
- The landing scene - clearing boxes out of the way so that the framing of the shot looked better
Unfortunately, Chris brought slightly different pyjamas so I also had to shoot the first scene and teeth-brushing scene again. This was not really a problem, as it allowed me to improve the lighting for these scenes.
25 March 2011
Re-Editing - Doorbell Sound Effect
21 March 2011
Feedback on Draft Edit
18 March 2011
Editing
14 March 2011
Acquiring Music
11 March 2011
Filming
18 February 2011
Planning - Props
Knife - This is probably the most important prop, as it is the murder weapon. It will only be revealed at the end, when Guy/Martin opens the door. This means that John/Chris does not have to carry the knife whilst walking down the street as this could cause problems. I will use one of my kitchen knives for the knife. Of course, we will all need to be extremely careful when handling it to avoid injuries.
Toothbrush - The toothbrush is only shown briefly, in the shot when John/Chris brushes his teeth. For this, hopefully Chris will be able to bring his own toothbrush. Therefore it will be more hygienic. If this is not possible, I will purchase a cheap disposable toothbrush.
Glass of orange juice/water - This is needed when John has a drink before leaving the house. For this, I will use one of the glasses in my house and orange juice/water from my house.
Planning - Location
Planning - Costume
16 February 2011
Planning - Risk Assessment
Risk Rating: Medium-High
Measures to be undertaken: I will make sure that no-one handles the knife that doesn't need to as the only people who need to handle it are Chris and myself, to show him what I want him to do. I will also make sure that it is only used for the shots that it is required for and then put it away.
Risk: Camera gets damaged
Risk Rating: Medium
Measures to be undertaken: The camera will not be used in rainy weather. I will make sure that I am the only one using the camera and I will be as careful as possible with it by not running or doing anything stupid whilst I am holding the camera or the camera is nearby.
Planning - Filming Schedule
Filming Date: 23rd February 1.00 - 4.00
Actors Required: Chris Gray, Martin Smith
Amount to be filmed: All
Equipment Needed: Knife, Toothbrush, Toothpaste, Glass, Orange juice
I am planning to shoot the film in the chronological order of the storyboard. However, I will adapt this to the weather, as if it is not raining initially, I will shoot the exterior shots in order to get them done in non-rainy weather.
Planning - Actors
15 February 2011
Planning - Brainstorming
13 February 2011
Research - History of Thriller
Research - Thriller Genre
Thriller is possibly the most encompassing of all film genres, as there are many different variants and hybrids. These include: sci-fi thrillers, action thrillers, crime thrillers, mystery thrillers, film-noir and occasionally comedy thrillers. Horror also sometimes overlaps and is closely linked to the thriller genre as they both share the same purpose of creating tension.
Characters in thrillers can also be widely varied. The main character(s) is usually someone the audience is encouraged to empathise with. Many thrillers contain some version of a 'love interest', a member of the opposite sex who accompanies the main character throughout the film. Romance may or may not occur between them. Many thrillers also contain criminals, who are generally the villain of the film.
Note: I used filmsite.org/thrillerfilms.html for the majority of my information
11 February 2011
Thriller Analysis 2
GoodFellas Opening - YouTube
GoodFellas varies from Hitchcock slightly in that although the titles are still shown, the film also jumps straight into the action. The titles are the first thing to be shown, white font on a black background, accompanied by the ambient sounds of cars driving at high speed. The titles themselves whoosh onto screen as if they are cars, almost passing out of shot again before snapping back to the centre of the screen. The first shot proper is, as the small title sequence suggested, the back of a car travelling rapidly down a road. It is visibly night-time, as the surroundings are cast in darkness. This fulfils the convention of a thriller and also creates tension as the audience It then cuts to inside the car and three men are shown; the driver, the front-seat passenger who is asleep, and the back-seat passenger. All three men appear to be smartly dressed. This is intercut with more title screens including one saying 'New York, 1970' which makes the setting and time period clear to the audience. The sequence also fits into other thriller conventions as it has violence later on in the sequence. It is also heavily suggested throughout the opening 2 minutes that the characters are gangsters of some sort, as they use profanities and violence.
4 February 2011
Thriller Analysis 1
Rear Window's opening is similar to many other Hitchcock films in that it immediately starts with the titles. The tone is set up as deceptively cheerful, as light-hearted music is used throughout. The titles are in a white font with an orange outline, which has quite a positive connotation. Simple fades are used to transition between the different titles. The location behind the titles remains the same throughout and is that of a window with the camera on the inside. Initially, the blinds are closed, but as the titles progress, each blind raises, revealing an alleyway/courtyard. This image of the window links directly to the plot of the film and also piques the audience's interest into what is happening in the room the camera is in. As the weather is sunny outside and there is no immediate threat, it is a classic example of showing ordinary life that will later be disrupted. After the titles finish, the camera zooms into one of the windowpanes and the shot changes, through a simple cut, to what is happening outside. A high angle shot is used as a cat walks up some steps. The camera pans to follow the cat walking before tilting upwards. A man and woman are seen briefly on a balcony (the first people shown so far in the extract) as the camera pans across, showing the apartment windows. At the moment, the setting still seems innocent and there is no sign of any threat. The camera then pans back to the apartment it started in. However, this time, a sleeping man's face is shown, who is visibly sweating. This is the first element that hints at a thriller, as it adds a hint of mystery and the audience is likely to be interested about who this man is and why he is sweating. This is the start of the narrative, and thus the ending of the opening sequence.
Rear Window's opening, as with many other Hitchcock films and thriller films of the time, is innocuous and not easily categorised as being a thriller opening. The high-key naturalistic lighting, ordinary setting and jaunty music all help to provide a (false) sense of security for the audience. The ideas that I can take from this is that an innocent opening could be a good one to choose as it makes the thriller elements more dramatic when they are introduced.
31 January 2011
Preliminary Task - Editing and Finished Task
Below is the final edit of the Preliminary Task:
28 January 2011
Preliminary Task - Filming
Preliminary Task - Planning
The next step was storyboarding. Vicente volunteered for this role as he is a skilled artist and felt confident doing it. Whilst he was working on that, I created the dialogue for the scene. I kept it fairly simple, opting for a serious tone to match the theme. My main concern is that the dialogue is slightly cliched, but this is not a major concern for the preliminary task.