More Iconography

The use of blemished tones and unfocused, dirty techniques on this image could be re-created in our main project. The physical denotation of the demonic face being the females reflection is a good expression of her inhuman lack of emotion, or could be interpreted as her biased pessimistic, gothic view.

Imagery

I found an image on the internet which is related to our premise. It is an optical illusion which can be interpreted as a skull or, a woman in a mirror. The iconography of death (the skull) and the periodic feel of the woman create a foreboding which we will want to re-create in our opening sequence.

Then I edited the image to create a more contrasting and sombering image with the connotation of blood in the use of red and the shadow created in the black

Initial Quote

'An orphan's curse would drag to hell, a spirit from on high; but oh! more horrible than that, is a curse in a dead man's eye!'

We have decided to create a opening frame which depicts this famous quote from Samuel Taylor Coleridge as it establishes our premise and is refelctive on the device used by films of the past.

For example:-



This example shows the match between the premise (of a woman seeking revenge) and the tension created by the lack of detail.

Analysis of 'The Innocents'

'The Innocents' provided inspiration for our opening titles:



The opening titles are filmed in black and white, the technology was avaliable to produce the film in colour but the director 'John Clayton' chose to use the juxtaposition of black and white and light and dark, to suggest a contrasting and deluded premise throughout the film. The other reasoning is that to produce the film in black and white would be a cheaper form of production and lower the value increassing the overall profit, but I choose to believe the former that the actual cinematic experience in enriched by the visual tone of the film.

The composition of the opening shot divides the opening sequence evenly disttributing a proportion of the screen for the 'prayer' shapped hands and for the title layer. When the hands are introduced there is a myriad of interpretations of their purpose. The could be connoted as 'praying' but the alternation in movement could suggest begging, form the performance there is a nervous attitude and the lights movement off the skin is irratic, forceful and piercing the subjective view is that the expression of a female's pain and struggling. Furthering the plot pitch, there is a link between the iconography virginal begging and male domination (also dictating a religious preference).

The title itself has a direct denotation of a state of innocence. The birdsong which is played is 'innocent' in its playfulness and indirect contradiction to the fearful nature of the image. The cliche music is a periodic piece, the minilmalitic ideas combined with an orchestral element in the string department are tensious and atonal deriving a suspect composition.

STORYBOARD LAST SHOT

SHOT ELEVEN OF ELEVEN

VISUAL:

Over the shoulder of female as she stands and leaves shot towards camera. Fade to black

AUDIO:

DIEGETIC: None

NON-DIEGETIC: Trumpets toot as woman stands. Fades out.

Storyboard PT 4

SHOT NINE OF ELEVEN

VISUAL:

Continuation of action. Reverse Shot, Close up, Movement of hand and package female goes to take it.

AUDIO:

DIEGETIC: NONE

NON-DIEGETIC: Music introduces trumpet

SHOT TEN OF ELEVEN

VISUAL:

Reverse to female taking package and placing on lap. Action is matched.

AUDIO:

DIEGETIC: None.

NON-DIEGETIC: Music swells.

Storyboard PT 3

SHOT SEVEN OF ELEVEN

VISUAL:

Reverse shot over the shoulder of female. This sequence creates a shot reverse shot pattern. Man reaches for package (initial shot in match on action)

AUDIO:

DIEGETIC: General chatter.

NON-DIEGETIC: Bolero volume increases.

SHOT EIGHT OF ELEVEN

VISUAL:

Close up of man placing package on table. Match on action. He moves it to the far side of the shot.

AUDIO:

DIEGETIC: NONE

NON-DIEGETIC: Music takes providence. A guitar trills a motif.

Storyboard PT 2

SHOT FOUR OF ELEVEN

VISUAL:

Over the shoulder shot. Interior again. Door closes and woman sits down. The space in the frame creates tension due to the space between characters in an otherwise intimate space.

AUDIO:DIEGETIC: Door Slamming, Woman asks 'Have you got the package?' (soundb

ridged onto next shot)

NON-DIEGETIC: Music decreases gain to allow speech.

SHOT FIVE OF ELEVEN

VISUAL:

Reverse over the shoulder shot establishes male character for first time.

AUDIO:

DIEGETIC: The man says 'Yeah, it's in my pocket, do you want it now?'

NON-DIEGETIC: Music continues.

SHOT SIX OF ELEVEN

VISUAL:

Reverse shot over the shoulder of male. Woman is speaking

AUDIO:

DIEGETIC: Woman says 'Yeah, I'll have your package anyday.' General Chatter of other people.

NON-DIEGETIC: Music still continues

Storyboard PT 1

This is our preliminary storyboard, we staged it and produced photographic images as our drawing skills were unable to illustrate what we wished to show.

SHOT ONE OF ELEVEN

VISUAL:

Establishing medium shot of interior cafeteria. Hi-key lighting, daytime, title overlay of text 'Package Lovers' Cool blue font. Figure at table, framed left.

AUDIO:

DIEGETIC: None

NON-DIEGETIC: Spanish Bolero starts for comedic value.

SHOT TWO OF ELEVEN

VISUAL:

Exterior of the previous scene, medium shot of female opening door. Hi-key lighting. Door opens, and female proceeds tot he interior.

AUDIO:

DIEGETIC: NONE

NON-DIEGETIC: Music continues.

SHOT THREE OF ELEVEN:

VISUAL:

Reverse medium shot of female entering, establishing figure due to facial presence. The door opening is a continuation of the previous action. She moves toward frame left.

SOUND:

DIEGETIC: NONE

NON-DIEGETIC: Music continues.

More on our Premise

We have contemplated our intial sequence in gretaer depth and considered:

• Menacing tones(music)
• Dramatic Pauses (create tension)
• A Blue Saturation (creating mystery)

'Our idea for the main task is: A woman is looking in the mirror and putting on make up. She is in half light so only half of her face is visible. She will be framed to the left so the credits can be shown on the right side of the screen in the dark area.
During this sequence graphic and disturbing images like dead flowers and creepy dark places will flash up subliminally which should create an uncomfortable feeling in the viewer. When all the credits have been shown the camera will move to the right side of the mirror, which was previously in darkness, to show a noose hanging from the ceiling. The camera will linger here for a few seconds before a quick cut to a chair falling over. Thrn there will be a sound of a baby crying.
Throughout the clip there will be incessant menacing tones which will rise and fall in volume, which should create a feeling of suspense in the viewer. When the camera lingers on the noose the volume should fade to silence. This will be followed by the loud bang of the chair falling over which should shock the viewer and make them jump.'

Main Task

Main task:

The titles and opening of a new fiction film, to last a maximum of two minutes.

The group has now decided on producing a horror film opening sequence for our main project.

Our inital idea was absed around a stalker-horror in which a man is stalking a woman around a bush.

We changed our idea due to lack of originality, and have decided to produce a retrospective stylistic film in which a demon posses a specific chil'd carer so they commit suicide.

The intial sequence will be a woman putting make-up on in a mirror, framed to the left and therefore allowing us to layer images and the titles over the right of the frame, the light shifts and the female writes a note, posting it on the mirror she moves to the background to a noose and she hangs herself, a baby cries.

Tracking/Push Shot

This short clip from the Evil Dead trailer contains several examples of a pushed tracking shot which we would like to use in our short sequence the example is most appropriate when the girl is chased through the woods.

It would be highly effective for setting the timbre of a melodramatic thriller adn creating the idea of paranoia

We may have decided?!?

We may have deliberated in our group and have possibly decided on using my idea on do-ability in the time frame and the accessibility of the set, props and actual physicality of the location. Based on a short storyboard we produced in half an hour we have a rough estimate of a time frame of about 68 seconds which should be long enough and we've checked to make sure we've added everything we need like shot reverse shot and displaying the 180 degree rule.

Other Proposals

Stacy- Romantic resturant low key, sun shining through the near table, almost blinding the man - Man proposes, but woman declines, as she was on her way to tell him that she was cheating on him with his best friends and that they were getting married instead, then man drops to the ground suffering a heart attack!

Me - A man is sat at a table in a seedy pub, low key lighting, chiascuro, smokefrom cigarettes.The door opens and another beardy man enters and sits opposite the first man.He hands him a package.The first asks : 'Is this the stuff'?'The second says : 'Yeah, handsome'The first says: 'I'll take your package anyday!'Match on action-Passing the drugs package

Jonnny - A man is sat in a bar, struggling to open a bag of crips. A woman walks in and sits oposite him, she says 'would you like a hand with that?'He replies 'No im ok' At which points the women grabs the crisps from him and opens them with ease. Handing them back he looks deep into her eyes, and says 'I think i love you' THE END!

Sophie- A woman is sat on a table by herself; waiting for someone she seems agitated and nervous. A man enters sits infront of her, he never looks directly at her. She says; " I want it done.... as soon as possible" he replies " No more time will be wasted... the deed will be done." The woman is organising for her Husband's lover to be killed.

Match on Action- The woman places a wad of money on the table and quickly leaves.

Filming And Editing

My Proposal (DRUGGIES)

My proposal -A man is sat at a table in a seedy pub, low key lighting, chiascuro, smoke from cigarettes.
The door opens and another beardy man enters and sits opposite the first man.
He hands him a package.
The first asks : 'Is this the stuff'?'
The second says : 'Yeah, handsome'
The first says: 'I'll take your package anyday!'

Match on action-Passing the drugs package

Post 4 - Another Shot Reverse Shot Example

This is another example of a shot reverse shot:

The use of shot reverse shot is changed during this short clip and is therefore a good example. The shot starts over a man's shoulder but is then reversed over the shoulder of the opposing female to reveal two characters in their two shot. The uniqueness of this is the distribution of space this creates and also balancing the perspective of the man's view of the vicar character and the female, creating a greater sense of composition and the illusion of equality. One thing slightly negative about this shot is the uneven eyeline match of the initial shot, in which a significant character is placed lower in height due to physicality and the initial aspect of her disillusionment. If I were to re-compose the shot I would create the initial shot over the shoulder of the shorter female to establish the man's height over her and that would allow the audience to acknowledge his height and the eyeline match would be unimportant as her height is almost a humorous device in the scene's context.

Post 3 - 180 degree rule

This is an explicit use and breakdown of the 180 degree rule:



And is therefore a good example for the basis of my preliminary task

Post 2 - The Group

Today we decided on a final group that will continue throughout the preliminary project to the main project. My group is as follows:

• Me (John Vallis) ( I am a well rounded worker who applies himself to all tasks but is easily angered at computers and technology, I also study music and I have a background in sound production and sountrack composition, my following gcse in media creates a fruition of production and theory .)
• Jonathon Prince (he is a good planner of production [music production] but is less efficent in his use of technology and in segregation has a theoretical midset which is also transferable to the practical elements he is also good at executing, his quiet persona is a good balance to our overwhelming personlaities)
• Stacy Williams (she is a confident deligator but is prone to dissulionment, incredibley she also studies A2 film studies and has a comprehensive view of ideaologies.)
• Sophie Thomas (is a positively charged worker and aims high although sometimes overshoots her possibilites as in her photography project and the experience she has in photography will aid the group on composition and shot type.)

We will now work together to research, plan and create a final media project hopefulyl within a group which appears to be refined and balanced towards deligators and workers and internally the equilibrium should be maintained well.

Post 1-Intro To Brief

This is the first post in my 'AS Media Production Blog', and will consist of research and planning that i have produced towards both my preliminary and main tasks.

Today I was introduced to the preliminary task in which I must produce a short piece of visual stimulus that includes the following:

• A character entering a room who proceeds to sit opposite another and engage in a short dialogue.

It Must include these cinematographic devices:

• Shot Reverse Shot,
• The 180 degree rule and
• Match on action

Which should maintain a feeling of verisimilitude through continuity editing.

An example of shot reverse shot is:

Within the first 3 minutes of this clip we had a combined use of and interior establishing shot and a continued use of shot reverse shot. The combination of shot reverse shot over Harry's shoulder and over Sally's then combines to a close up point of view shot form Harry's perspective, framing Sally's face, this highlights the comedic elements by placing us as an on-looker in the crowded room from Harry's point of view, we are also invited to participate in the voyeuristic nature of the scene by the dissonant use of a medium length shot entwined within the conversation backthrow of shot reverse shots. The intention to remove the closeness created by the over the shoulder aspect and allow us to experience this as an onlooker and find hilarity in the performance, in combination with the sudden loss of diegetic sound this is a good example of shot reverse shot in action.