Research and Planning: The Chase

In class we was given a task to create a a video that is a chase sequence called 'The Chase', we was given a limited amount of time to create this and also limited Mise en scene. My groups chase footage got deleted and we have had technical trouble uploading a new one but we did get to try out the four different aspects of film making and these are my comments.

Sound
It was decided to stick with the diegetic sounds of the scene as it created a realistic effect. We wanted the chase to be quite a scary chase and went for quite a classic chase of a bully chasing a victim.

Cinematography
It was decided to use a range of shots but perhaps used too many different shots in such a short time period which made it look jumpy and not flow properly, I will bare this in mind for my trailer. The cinematography could be improved vastly as a lot of the shots were taken on bad angles and the camera was often turned around from vertical to horizontal shots so the scene doesn't make as much sense however in some respects it worked in our favour as the choppiness and weirdness suits the chase. We used a mixture of close up shots and long shots as it helps to show the facial expressions and in turn their reaction e.g. fear and the long shot distances the characters from each other to show that a chase is taking place. Both low angle and high angle shots were used e.g a low angle shot of the scared girl running down the stairs but we also used a high angle shot to show the bully chasing them. The high angle shot of the bully shows their power as she is chasing the girl and he appears round the corner just after showing hes is right behind her.

Editing
The main transitions that I used were straight cuts as it helps to keep up the speed of the film and fits with trailers which are usually are fast pace to cover a lot of footage in a short amount of time which interests the audience. I think one of the most effective transition was of feet in an action match shot this really helped us cover a larger distance in a shorter time frame. we used  jump cuts on the certain scenes as it quickens up the pace and gets rid of parts that aren't needed to be shown as it still presents the change over time.

Mise En Scene
We were limited in terms of Mise en scene as we had to film the chase in college however this didn't look very professional. so we decided to find areas of college that looked like a derelict building. We found a older looking fire escape near the psychology department  and used a long shot to start the video, thus creating the impression that the bully was just waiting for the victim. We found a few locked doors we used to show them trying to escape and having to take another route to show how there are problems encountered and narrowing the escape.

Research and Planning:- Pitch

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8y263xJ6Js&feature=youtu.be

Just above is a youtube link to my groups pitch.

Research and Planning:- Qustionaire

How old are you?


10 - 20


20 - 30



30 - 40



40 - 50



50+


What gender are you?



Male



Female



What Perspective would you prefer the trailer to filmed in?



Criminals view



Police view



Outsider



Journalist



Victim/ Victim's family



Other Please Specify



What Theme would you like to see? (Murder mystery, Drug film etc)



Murder Mystery (Sherlock Holmes)



Drug Raid (shifty)



Robbery (Ocean Eleven)



Kidnapping (Taken)



What would you expect the certificate to be?



12a



15



18



What age do you think the actor/actresses to be?



Young



Middle age



Elderly



Other Please Specify



How do you believe they would dress?



Casual



Smart



Smart/ Casual



What setting would you think they would be in?



City



Woods



Park



Countryside



Other Please specify

Research and Planning:- Results of Questionnaire

We distributed our questionnaires to 17 people with a range of different results here is what we found

Research and Planning:- List Of Audience Interview Questions

How old are you?


10 - 20



20 - 30



30 - 40



40 - 50



50+



What gender are you? 





Male



Female





What Perspective would you prefer the trailer to film

in? 





Criminals view



Police view



Outsider



Journalist



Victim/ Victim's family



Other Please Specify





What Theme would you like to see? (Murder

mystery, Drug film etc)





Murder Mystery (Sherlock Holmes)



Drug Raid (shifty)



Robbery (Ocean Eleven)



Kidnapping (Taken)





What would you expect the certificate to be?





12a



15



18


What age do you think the actor/actresses to be?





Young



Middle age



Elderly



Other Please Specify





How do you believe they would dress?





Casual



Smart



Smart/ Casual



What setting would you think they would be in?





City



Woods



Park



Countryside



Other Please specify

Research and Planning:- Production meeting one

(This is a what we decided in our first meeting after long discussion)

• Discussion on roles we will take on.
• options are, sound, cinematography, mise en scene and editing.
• Kristian will take on the role of mise en scene this will include all props, make up and costume.
• Adam will take on cinematography this will include shot types angles and scene set ups.
• Bethany will take on editing this will include the transitions between scenes, fluidity and range of editing techniques.
• We decided that we would do sound together as this is what we consider to be the hardest area.  

These decisions came very easily with very little arguments, it took about 10-15 minutes before we came to the decision and im very happy about my role in charge of mise en scene.

Research and Planning- Teaser Trailer Analysis

Seven

At the start of the trailer there is a close up of one of the main characters this is dramatic effect on the audience as the main face is stitched up. This suggests that the genre is either horror, thriller or crime. There is then a loud droning all the way through but when an image flicks you hear a sharp sudden noise, you see lots of things that relate to a crime scene, bodies red lighting ect. then you see a big red luminous cross and you realise from the colour and symbolism that its probably religion related. You then see a metronome and the noise makes the scene eerie.
After that theres a short cut to to Morgan Freeman and it gives the characters name William Somerset and it tells you he is also a detective.
so within the first thirty seconds you can tell its a film about a religious murder and two detectives one coming up to retirement the other one just starting after a transfer.

Genre: The film is of a Crime/Mystery/thriller. Which is set in an American city, which if i where to guess it would be New York or Seattle, which gives it a dark feeling from the start.

Mise on scene: Low key lighting looks like new york, red lighting (red in uk and usa means love or death) This could be a way to convey a feeling of order fear yet order as the pattern work is very simple and aligned perfectly from side to side; also from what I gather in the scene in an interrogation room. The character played by Brad Pitt is beaten up and has a cut on his forehead and a bruise on his nose. The impression this kind of gives is that his character is one he generally is quite a violent person, he would be quite violent with the people that he is arresting if they were to attempt to resist. His shirt is white and he is wearing black suspenders however the majority of his clothing is off the shot and therefore unimportant. The shot used was a close up, this would probably be to give the impression of a conversation, (Or that is what is going on) Since it seems like an police interview. However in this scene his posture from what I think seems to be quite laid back, so I don't believe he is personally involved in the case in anyway.

Sound: As i have said the trailer starts with a droning tone, this sets the mood for of the film at the start of the trailer as a quite mysterious and dark. the trailer also uses excessively sound effects. it exaggerates the sound (such as the banging an the metronome) this also sets a quiet mood to the trailer and allows all vocals from characters ti be heard clearly, the voice over is used in the absence of music.

Cinematography: Fast paced editing, lots of close ups were used to show expressions of the actors, this gives the trailer a dramatic view. Another close up used was of the metronome, this gives it an important feel that it will be quite relevant to the plot in some form or another. Back to the editing, The editing is quite slow at the start as the music starts everything seems quiet as the main characters and there agendas are revealed, however this slow pace picks up very quickly after the 1st plot point has been revealed and the camera doesn't linger on a shot for very long, unless there is dialogue involved in the scene.

Audience: It would appeal to the more mature audience, Probably of a 21- 50 odd audience, Since it starts by showing the main actors pretty much immediately, i would say it is also targeted at fans of Morgan freeman and Brad Pitt. It doesn't seem to be specifically aimed at a class but would probably be consumed more by middle/upper class, as they have money and time usually. Probably less likely to be aimed at parents especially of young children.

The Call

The trailer starts with the sound of an office phones ringing people in suites. Then it pans to Halle Berry answering a phone call and saying 911 what is your emergency, Then to give the film a narrative writing them comes onto the screen with dramatic lines like "what if you heard the cries.

This suggest the film is a crime thriller then you hear smashing of windows which suggests which type of crime it is, in this case a murder this gives it a horror element to the film instantly grabbing yet another audience.

Genre: the film is a crime/ mystery horror. Which is set in an American city like miami or somewhere sunny with a freeway.

Mise on scene: Low key lighting at the start to make the film look dark and eerie, this could be done so people feel it could happen to them someone could break in and it invade your personal space. The look on the character played by Halle Berry is one of fear and shock and from this you can gauge a lot about her characters profile such as who she is and how bizzare the situation is.

sound: most sound in this trailer is diegetic and we can see just from the image how it links in to the trailer as most other crime films there isn't really background music unlike in romance or action films.

Cinematography: Fast paced editing, lots of close ups were used to show expressions of the actors, this gives the trailer a dramatic view. but also a fair amount of birds eye shots to show how the person who is committing crime is getting away and escaping but as in seven the camera doesn't linger unless there is dialogue involved.

Audience: most likely a similar age to the audience of seven middle 20s to 50s since it shows Hallie Berry first id also say its targeted at her fans, and the highest consumer would be working to middle class familys and less likely families with younger children.

 

Research and Planning- Audience Theories

The effects model:

- The consumptions of media has an effect or influence.
- This is a negative effect.
- The audience is passive and cannot prevent the influence.
- Power lies with the message of the text. (Disney Films- Shrek)


Hypodermic Model:

- The messages in media are injected into the media, by a syringe like media.
- The audience us powerless to resist.
- The media works like a drug and the audience is drugged, addicted.
- The Bobo doll experiment, Childs Play- Jamie Buldger.

Uses and Gratifications Model:

- The audience is active they use the text for there own gratification and pleasure.
- Audience is free to reject, use or play with media meanings as they see fit.

Research and Planning- Poll Junkie

Research and Planning:- Chase Sequence

This is our chase sequence which involved me and Beth as the actors, me chasing Beth and on camera we had Hannah. Once we had filmed many separate video we used IMovie and  edited all our videos together.
There where good and bad things in our chase sequence, I believe what we did well would have been the camera work as it did well at following the chase, the variety of shots we managed to use in our sequence, the time in which we did it in as it was very limited and the amount of editing transitions we managed to use such as cuts fades ect.
What i believe we could have done better is the speed of the shots how many shots we could have got in and more advanced editing transitions we managed to do.