Week 14 Homework Task 1,2,3

My mood board

My initial idea is based off a linear narrative, as it will build up to a climax at the end of the short film. This is to create suspense and mystery to the audience. 

With the research I have collected, I have identified that The Black Hole | Future Shorts is the most popular existing horror/thriller short film as it has an outstanding 19,601,317 views, and 110,919 likes. From looking at the comments section, with my own knowledge, I have estimated the age range of people that have watched this short film. The age range is from around 16-25 as most of the comments are either jokes or reviews; and the gender is mainly males, I know this because I have looked at the names and profile pictures.  

This screenshot shows how many views and likes this video has as it is the most popular short film on the playlist. 

These two screenshots shows some of the comments left by YouTube users. As you can see, most of them are joke-related and the others are reviews or 'plot twists'.

In conclusion, I have found out that women are more into thrillers because they enjoy the thrill and have more of an adrenaline rush than men. Men tend to enjoy action films as it excites them. Men also like horror due to it being gory (blood, killing, gbh, etc)

With this research, it has helped me because I have chosen to make a thriller short film, as it has given me a range of ideas of what to do for my one minute short film. It also gave me an insight of what narrative to use (as thrillers and horrors have both linear and non-linear narrative). But I will be using a linear narrative, so it can build up and tell a story. 

Pitch: The Box

One 17 year old girl called Lamara finds an weird looking box, takes it home and looks inside. Whilst eating a sweet from the box, she reads a note saying 'DO NOT EAT THE SWEETS'. By the time she could spit it out, she had already swallowed it. 5 minutes later, whilst trying to vomit it out, her eyes roll back and froth forms out of her mouth. She gets a flash forward of everyone being possessed, like her*. She regains consciousness and is no longer the same. When it becomes dark outside, she becomes possessed. The next day, she invites her friends over, and whilst sitting in a circle in her bedroom, she brings out the haunted box and gives each and every one of her friends 'the sweet'. In the end, they all become possessed. Just like her flash forward. 

Production Requirements

Finance

For my one minute short film, I will be able to borrow a camera from the media department or I could use a mobile phone with great camera quality because it will not cost for it to be rented or borrowed. If I was to buy a good quality camera, the price of cameras varies so it will most likely be from over £90.00 to at least £40,000. 

Time

I will use the equipment given from the college to shoot the short film and use a booking system to keep track of what pieces of equipment has been borrowed, and not to make any mistakes of equipment being misplaced or stolen.

Personnel

I will use call sheets to determine and decide which actors deserve what role in the pilot. The call sheets have the number of scenes there will be and what the scene names are. It also shows the location of where each scene will be filmed.

Facilities

To hire an editing suite it will be: for a dry hire, from £150 for half a day or £250 for a full day of editing. So the budget for this will range from £450 to £600. I will be using the Mac Suite in college because it is free for me to use, also, it has Final Cut X and it is accessible from 8am-5pm on Monday-Friday.

Materials
Copyright free music, also known as Royalty Free Music, allows the purchaser (us) to pay for the music license only once and to use the music for as long as we want to.
Paying for clearances is a good thing because it allows us to use and pay for footage, actors, radio stations (that are heard in backgrounds). It ranges from £50 upwards, so it will not cost much to use in the pilot.

Locations

The main location for my one minute short film will be shot and based in my house. This is because it will be easily accessible for my crew, as we all do not live far from each other. Another location will be at a bus stop, as this is where one of my characters will find the box. I may need a permit from Lewisham Council to shoot the bus stop as it is government property. 

link to video guide

Section 3 - Video Guide Conclusion

Video Guide Conclusion



Explain how early cinema editing developed and influenced the modern so that continuity becoming the dominant principle of editing.
Early cinema influenced the modern period of editing to develop Continuity and Montage. however, continuity stands out more because it is a mainstream technique whereas montage is an alternative technique. In the early years of cinema, films were made for a political reason, where as in this day and age, continuity absorbed the technique of montage for the purpose of entertainment. Continuity is mainly focused on drama, and has invisible and seamless editing, which combines shots into a sequence.


Continuity techniques such as invisible cuts, motivated cuts, cross cutting, 180 degree rule, cut away, point of view shot and shot reverse shot are still used in films today.m This clip shows that continuity editing is still being used in the present period. invisible editing has been used in this clip as it follows the action and keeps viewers engaged.





Discontinuity techniques were first used in the early period by pioneers such as The Lumiere Brothers, Porter, Melies and Griffith. However, Melies broke continuity when filming, he devised some complex special effects, where transitions were used. In 1986, when filming a shot of a bus, jump cuts were used to show disappearing and re-appearing objects. He was the first person to invent transitions because due to him never moving the camera while filming, the camera glitched to create the jump cut. Everything was controllable as sets were used, and the fact that he also used stories. The reason for jump cuts are to create meaning for characters and objects. Melies and the Lumiere Brothers are both contemporary as they have the same principals cinema have today.
Porter also broke continuity when filming. He spliced stock footage, staged scenes, used narrative, and broke continuity. By achieving this, he used temporal overlaps which occurs when cutting out the shot before the scene reaches its logical end.



Contemporary editing uses alternative techniques for many purposes. Christopher Nolan breaks continuity by using discontinuous editing, which is a fundamental element of telling a story, He used non-linear narrative through discontinuous editing and uses these editing to display what is happening from the perspective of the character. Editing helps create a stylised hyper-realistic world for the story. In the film, The Prestige, Nolan presents audiences with challenging and intelligent narratives. Scenes are often interrupted by the unconventional editing style of cutaways. Cross cutting is also used in several scenes of parallel action to build to a climax. The purpose of this is to suggest an interpretation of two actions which are rhythm and length of time.




Quentin Tarantino also breaks continuity while using style and also breaking the 180 degree rule. In Kill Bill, he uses pace and rhythm and combines shots into a sequence, which is used for stylistic purposes - style and entertainment. It is portrayed that Kill Bill is fantasised as it breaks the illusion of realism because it lets us know that it is staged. (when the man jumps on the sword). It punctuates the edit.

Unit 16 Outcome 2 Preparing to Edit

Home



Train station













Street

The screenshots shown are the three bins i put my rushes into. One bin is train station, the second is street and the last is home. These bins are the locations that were shot for the short film. In order to pick what rushes to use, we had to log them by writing the shot type underneath each clips and also writing wether if they are good or bad. If the shots are labelled as 'good', we would use them in our rough copy. One of the main reasons why most of the shots were bad was due to bad camera angles and the tripod being shown in the background.

This screenshot shows my EDL. Edit Decision Lists are used to tell editors wether to use a shot or not; it helps keep shots in order, as it shows the name of each clip on my project, before I labelled them 'good' or 'bad' with the shot type. Another reason for EDL's is that it helps keep all shots together. In order for me to view the EDL, I had to select all of my footage, then click file, and then 'Export XML'. This then gave me a XML file and I had to drag it onto 'Microsoft Excel' in order to view the coded (or embedded) text. 

Timeline

http://timeglider.com/timeline/0638cf1e8119a705

Techniques of Editing - Cross cutting and the rest

Write a description of this technique - is this alternative or mainstream?

Cross Cutting - This is where two or more scenes occur at the same time but are in different locations. Parallel editing is used to create mystery and suspense, narrative and pace. This was developed by Edwin S. Porter; he first used cross cutting in The Great Train Robbery in 1903. This technique is mainstream. The purpose of this is storytelling, as it develops drama, combines shots into sequences and manipulates time and space due to the baptism and the murders.



Jump cuts were created in  1896 by Melies  he was filming a bus coming out of a tunnel and his camera film jammed when it started filming again it filmed a horse cart going by and when he watched the film a jump cut was created making the bus look like it transformed into the horse cart, he used this in is magical shows to show people disappearing.   Jump cuts were usually used to create magically effects durine the 1800s but now in the present days jump cuts are been used to break contuinty and therefore can fall under montage techniques.

Shots changes based on the tempo of music been played so therefore the shots changes according to the tempo of the music. This technique is used to pass time. It was invented by esiestein. 


Cross- Cutting 
Cross cutting also known as parallel editing, is cutting between two different scenes that are happening at the same time.This technique was created and developed by D.W. Griffith. Cross-Cutting was first used in D.W Griffith's film "After many years" in 1908. The clip below shows an example of cross-cutting being used. The clip is from the film Quantum of Solace. In the scene, A man is being interrogated, the camera then cuts to another scene to show that somebody is approaching in a car. The purpose of Cross-Cutting is to show two important/relevant events in the story that are happening at the same time. Using Cross-Cutting makes the story of a film more interesting for audience. It also allows the audience to be introduced to new characters of the story.  


Shot Reverse shot is, involves two characters having a conversation. You would have one character looking at the other, then we would have a reverse shot from that characters point of view. This is also known as continuity editing.The purpose of using short reverse shot to see character face whilst talking  instead focusing on one character when talking, by this you can see their emotions whentalking and makes more interesting. 




Match on Action is form of continuity editing, it is cutting to shot then cutting to another shot to build up the action. Match on Action is used to get the audience attentions and it also creates drama and excitement. D.W. Griffiths stared to investigate the  match on action 180 degree rule  and found out some interesting fact on where to place the camera so it does not break the 180 degree rule. it develop by directors trying and finally go it right. Till this day on wards directors have been using match on action and the 180 degree rules sign of continuity editing.   

Seamless editing or also known as invisible editing is when the cuts matches with the action. This means that there is no editing involved at all just cuts in between shots so it matches the action of what is happening in the film in a certain scene and continues to have the flow without breaking or ruining it but this certain technique was used by D.W Griffith.



Eye-Line match:
This is when two shots are lined up from a eye line match. This works when you put two cameras in a similar position around the same axis, You would put this in the same position. An eye line shot is also when the camera shows someone looking at something and then then the camera switches to the object or thing the person was looking at. The purpose of this is so that the audience want t know what the character is looking at.
Lev Kuleshov uses an example of an eye-line shot in his Kuleshov effect video. However, the person that was known for discovering this or using this the most was Alfred Hitchcock who used this most frequently in his film.


Motivated:
A motivated edit or motivated cut as it is also known, is when the scene cuts to another scene or object that was not in the previous frame. This is done in a discreet manner so it does not seem confusing  to the audience or break the illusion of continuity. i.e. 180 degree rule. The purpose of a motivated edit is usually to build suspense, show a conversation between characters, or flashbacks. This is effective because it lets the audience know what had happened in the past.
Modern Example: The Usual Suspects
In the opening scene to this movie, a motivated edit is used to create a flashback. This means that the camera would cut back to a previous scene or edit that has been showed vaguely or not at all. 

The kuleshov effect is when there would a close up but then the second shot can change the meaning completely, the meaning is constructed in our minds.


Point of View shot - This is a technique where it will show the scene from the characters point of view, so you can see the events from their perspective, allowing the audience to feel involved in the film because they can see it as if they are there.

The Point Of View shot is used here, it is done to show the current events taking place from one characters perspective. It is done to see the events from the eyes of the character.





Continuity - A sequence of shots done to entertain the audience, to create a story in a linear sequence. It was invented by D.W Griffiths, through trial as error, as he would try something out and see if it worked. Continuity came from the US, fighting between them and Soviet Russia, who created montage, continuity proved more popular with audiences as it was just done to entertain the audience, unlike montage, which is designed to make the audience think.

Parrell Editing and Point of view

Portfolio of Editing Techniques - with annotations on how, why it is used and when it was developed/by whom. 

Parallel editing - Parallel editing is also known as cross cutting. This is where two or more scenes occur at the same time but are in different locations. Parallel editing is used to create mystery and suspense, narrative and pace. This was developed by Edwin S. Porter; he first used parallel editing in The Great Train Robbery in 1903.




POV -
It is usually established by being positioned between a shot of a character looking at something, and a shot showing the character's reaction. It is used to show what a character is seeing. Alfred Hitchcock used most of the POV shot in his 1954 film, Rear Window. In Rear Window, it is shown that POV Shot is used to show what the character is looking at, (as you can see the character is looking outside and the houses opposite them.)

Technical Analysis 3 - The Rattler

The Rattler is a short horror film that has a number of events that occur during the 5 minute clip.

Narrative & Format
This short film is edited in a linear way to show the events that happen in this short film to


Genre Conventions are key in this short film as the costumes in this film are the main focus. Also, props are important because

As you can see in this screenshot, there are a range of props such as, the wine glass, art pad, and computer. These are all important in the film because they all have key roles. The computer is the most important prop of them all because the majority of the action takes place on it.

In this screenshot it shows that there is an incoming video call from a unknown caller. This gives suspense to the audience and character as we do not know who is calling at that moment of time.




Lighting

Naturalistic lighting is the only lighting that is used in this short film because this is filmed in a house where there are different types of lighting due to which room the character is in. In this screenshot it shows that there is a bright light that is from her computer screen. Naturalistic lighting makes it more realistic.This is clearly low-key lighting by the computer and the lighting changes.

Editing

This screenshot is a close up as it shows a handle. This handle is important because the 'Rattler' is trying to get into the house. This creates fear as the character is scared for her life.

 This is also a close up as it shows the broken door knob and the character's feet. This also creates fear because the Rattler is behind the door she is trapped behind.

Finally, this is also a close-up as we get to see the Rattler's face through a small hole. This creates terror and fright because the camera switches from the lady to the hole quickly which makes people jump.




Sound

There are mainly diegetic sounds as the majority of the sounds both audience and characters can hear.

Technical Analysis 2 - 2AM: The Smiling Man

2AM: The Smiling Man is a short thriller/horror film which is about an feared character and a extraordinary individual. This short film is shot on the street at late hours of the night.

Narrative & Format
The Smiling Man is linear as it shows all of the events in order, it has beginning, middle and end.


Genre conventions are very important in this short film as location is the most important as this is shot outside rather than inside. Costume and props is not as important due to the main focus of the film is on the location and characters.

Locations - 

In this screenshot, it shows that this short film is based on a empty, quiet street. This is the main focus as this is where all of the activities that took place were shot.





Lighting -
Naturalistic lighting is the most common lighting that is used in this short film because as there are a high street lights on a wide stretch of the road, there is no need for extra lighting to be used to reveal character's faces. High Key and Low Key lighting was not used as naturalistic lighting is used to make it more realistic.

In this screenshot, this shows that the lighting from the street lamps give the street a natural light as high key lighting is not needed for this time of day.







Coverage Shots -

Depth of Field was commonly used in this short film as the main focuses of the film was on both characters and not the street.

This screenshot shes the character and creepy individual in one shot but one character is blurred out so the main focus can be on the creepy individual.

This shot shows the emotion in the character's face while the depth of field shot is being used. This implicates that the background is not important as the audience is only focusing on the character's face.




Framing and Composition -


Depth adds interest into the shot. In this case, it shows the characters face and in the background is the blurred street lights and objects. This is not important because this frame is used to show the character's facial expression.




Editing -
Jump cuts are the most common shots to be used in this short film as when the character starts to run away there are three different shots that shows him running away from the creepy character.

This screenshot shows the character running away as the camera is set up from the back to show that the creepy character is running behind him.






This shot was filmed in the front of the character. As he ran, the camera followed him. This is to put the audience in the character's perspective of fear.







This shot was filmed from the other side of the road as it shows that the character is still running away. This is also a wide shot as it shows parts of the background of where he is running to alert viewers.

This is a over the shoulder shot because it shows the creepy individual watching the loner as he crosses the road because he is in fear of it trying to attack him.

The camera switches from an over the shoulder shot of the character to the creepy individual staring back at him. This makes the time frame in the film quicker as we do not see the character looking up to see the individual.

This short film uses continuity techniques such as 180 degree rule and shot reverse shot to show relationship between characters
The editing of this short film also uses pace to keep the audience engaged as if it was a slow paced clip, it wouldn't have much viewers as horror films consist of fast pace and movements.

Sound -
There are limited sounds in this short film. Diegetic sounds such as the character's voice, footsteps, wind and sound of distant cars are heard by both the characters and audience. Non-Diegetic sounds such as the creepy music is not heard by the characters and only the audience to bring secrecy.

Technical Analysis - 1 Porcelain Rising

Porcelain Rising is a Horror Short film that is set in a family home with a father and daughter. The action of the film is mainly shot in the daughter's bedroom.

Narrative & Format
The narrative of Porcelain Rising is linear because all of the events that are happening in this short film, they are in order which shoes that it is linear. This is a realist narrative as it shows that dolls come to life. It shows that the 'doll' is the same height as the character but in reality dolls are not human. This shows that porcelain rising is realist due to the fact that the events that occur in this short film makes it realistic so the audience can feel emotion as they think it may happen in real life.
The format of this short film is a single drama as there won't be a second part to this because it ends with a cliff hanger. ("what are you doing with that knife?")


The effects of Genre conventions is that costumes location and props are very important when it comes to filming as they are one of the few main objects that catch the audience's eye.

Costume -
Costume is important in this short film because there are a number of scenes where characters outfits stand out and have a certain meaning.

For example, this screenshot shows that the character has been stabbed (because she is being sacrificed). This is important because there are a number of blood stains on her clothing. The blood represents danger because it is red and is always shown in thriller and horrors.

Another example is this screenshot, as it shows that this character is dangerous because of the mask that they are wearing represents that they are the murderer.





Locations - 
Locations is also an important factor in this short film because there are two main areas in the family house that were filmed. The areas were: bedroom and kitchen; the bedroom was the main focus in the short film because the majority of what was filmed was shot in the bedroom.

This is one of the locations, which was the kitchen.

And the last location is the bedroom, where all of the action took place.









Props - 
Lastly, props were important because they had significant meanings in the short film. I will now explain four examples and why they are significant.

These props are significant in this short film because it hides a certain identity and character which is the doll with the mask on. This character may be portrayed as a doll to confuse viewers to think further on during the film the character is a doll, when it is actually a human.



A second example is of the father dialing a number on his phone. This is important because he is away from the action in the bedroom and has no clue on what is going on.






This is one of the most important props in the short film because it has a big role and is portrayed as a doll when it is actually a human.

As you can see, this character is holding a knife in her hand which symbolizes that she is about to murder someone (which is the father). This gives a mystery because this is how the film ends, with a cliff hanger.





Lighting and Colours
High key and Low Key lighting are the main types of lighting that is used in this short film. I have collected a range of screenshots to show and explain why they have been used.

Low Key Lighting - 
Low key lighting gives a dramatic and mysterious mood when it comes to horror and thrillers. This is to create suspense and mystery as it creates a dull and emotional atmosphere.
This screenshot shows that low key lighting has been used to represent that she has just been awoken as there may be something lurking in the dark. This creates mystery because we are unaware of what is happening.





This screenshot also shows low key lighting as this character is hiding under her bed. Chiaroscuro has been used in this screenshot because it creates the volume and depth between the character's face.

High Key Lighting - 
High Key Lighting gives a optimistic and positive mood as it is the opposite to Low Key Lighting; as the contrast has been compressed. But in this case, the high key lighting gives shock and creates more contrasting shots when it comes to making horrors.

In this screenshot it shows that lighting is key in this part of the film because as the lighting strikes, the face of the doll appears. This creates fear and shock because the doll was placed in the closed cupboard but it escaped some how. It also shows that in this case, high key lighting does not create a upbeat mood because this is a horror.


Naturalistic Lighting -
Naturalistic lighting was not used in this short film as it was filmed at night. However there are a number of shots that have natural lighting that beams inside from the night sky.


In this screenshot it shows how the street lights from outside shone its way into the kitchen. This implicates that as natural lighting has been used, it makes it realistic. Also, the use of jump cuts are used to break continuity to show insecurity and to show that something supernatural is going on. (2:48)

Coverage Shots

Angles -
Angles are very critical in films because they indicate mood and tension.

A low angle shot has been used in this screenshot to represent that there may be something below the camera and to also show the character is pure. I know this because of what her room looks like.







Editing
Editing is very important when it comes to films because this is the final step to completion. Shots such as , match on action and jump cuts were used in this short film; and the most common shot which was used was match on action.

Match on action and close ups have been used a number of times in this short film because it reveals the character's facial expressions and as it switches camera angles at a fast pace, it then shows what the doll has done to the character.




















This over the shoulder shot has been used to show one character's facial expression by only showing one face, as the camera is placed at the side of the character and sets the position of two characters.






This wide shot has been used in this short film to show exactly what is happening between these two characters. What is being shown is that the girl is being attacked by the live doll. This is to create shock and fear because now the audience know that the doll is real.





Sounds
Sounds are very important in films because there are four main areas such as Diegetic, Non Diegetic, Soundtrack and Effects.
The first area I will discuss is Diegetic sounds. Sounds such as the voices of the characters, rain, thunder, screams, children's laughs. Diegetic sounds are used to tell a visual story; these are the sounds that the characters and audience can hear.
Secondly, is Non-Diegetic sounds. Sounds such as the scary music and sound effects can only be heard by the audience to create mystery and fear.

Creeper Webisode - Why/Purpose

Why is this episode episodic? 
This is episodic because it tells the story over different episode the story doesn't end on one episode but picks up from the next it also uses single stranded narrative as its based on one character.




What makes this webisode multi-stranded?
My webisode is multi-stranded in other episodes to come in the future, because it will show what will happen to one of the main characters after she leaves the friend's house, when she falls and is kidnapped. In the other episodes it will show flashbacks of what she did in her past, as she does not know what happened (memory loss).



Why is this episode open-ended?
This episode is open ended because a range of different characters will be introduced in future episodes to come. The reason for this is to keep the audience tuned in to what they are watching, as they see future episodes.



Why is this episode non-linear?
This episode is not non-linear as it is linear. This is because it starts off with the two characters having a conversation, answering a phone call and ends with one characters leaving the house. The reason for this is to make the audience understand what is going on, as if it was non-linear it would be hard to follow.

Formats & Narrative Structure

Series
Series (also known as television programme). A series is always aired on TV online and consists of up to 13 episodes per season. For example, Pretty Little Liars has 6 seasons (and counting) with 20-25 episodes in each season and new episodes are aired once every week.


Serial
Serials is a television programme such as a soap opera. Serials have very few episodes and a storyline that starts and ends within the episodes which includes continuity and a single camera. They are usually advertised during programme breaks. An example of a serial is Breaking Bad, The Flash.


Single Drama
Single Dramas is a one off story for TV. The stories are usually based on topical or real issues. Due to different types of camera productions being out, single dramas are rare as they are hardly shown on TV anymore. An example of a Single Drama is BBC Three's 'Murdered by My Boyfriend'.



Narrative Structure

What is a Linear Narrative?

A linear narrative, which is also known as a 3 act structure, is when event are portrayed in chronological order, the film Up uses 3 act structure as it builds up emotion and shows the main characters’ past all the way to his present. The purpose for a Linear Narrative is to create sympathy from the audience and to also show the character’s life.

What is an Episodic Narrative?

An episodic narrative is used by having a cliff hanger at the end of each episode. This gives the show a new story or problem to deal with in the next episode. The purpose is to create a wider audience with the use of cliff hangers as it gives the viewer something to look forward to in the next episode.

What are Open and Closed Narrative?

An open narrative usually have many characters and no foreseeable ending. Soap operas such as EastEnders and Holy City are multi-stranded and are in chronological order or real time. The purpose of this is to show the audience it in real time.

Closed narrative films usually have a ‘tight’ reading as they’re usually 2 hours and has an end to the story. The film, About Time compresses around 20 years into just over 2 hours and has an end. The purpose of this is to let the movie have an ending and a finish.

What are Realist and Anti-Realist Narrative?

A realist narrative is a believable story that might be based on a true story. Realist narratives are used by displaying believable scenarios for example, a middle season or a man living in the city. The purpose for this is that it can cause the audience to feel emotions towards the film as they feel as if it could happen in real life.

An anti-realist narrative is an advert that is not real so it can have anything in the advert such as cartoon characters and other thigs that are not real. For example, two M&M’s talking, in reality, which would never happen so it’s not real. The purpose of this is to make the audience laugh so more people will remember the advert and talk about it to others.

What is a Multi-Stranded Narrative?

A multi-stranded narrative is when there are several narratives running at the same time. For example, in many soap operas. It focuses on one family and so does everyone in the series on each scene and documentaries. A popular narrative device is the enigma. The plot constructs a puzzle that the audience is asked to solve while the characters act out the story.