Evaluation - Other films and progression since preliminary

Untitled from Joe White on Vimeo.


This video discusses:
-How our media product uses, develops and challenges forms and conventions of real media products
-How our media product represents particular social groups
-What we feel we have learnt in progression from our preliminary task to the full product.

Evaluation - Peer assessment and response from Joe White on Vimeo.

Evaluation - Use of Technology

Untitled from Joe White on Vimeo.


This video covers our use of technology to create our film opening, including final cut and livetype.

The style of our credits.


We chose to put the credits over the top of our shots and because of this, we felt that this type of credit would suit best. We chose the colour white because we felt that it would show up best over the shots (if we had chose black then because most of our shots are dark, you would not be able to see the names). We also went for a flickering effect as it went with our quick fast paced editing and furthered the sense of panic that we wanted to create. Also, we felt that it went with the genre of Horror as the fact the credits are flickering could symbolise a TV losing signal which tends to happen in zombie films.

Photos: Props and actors used in the main task.

This post contains screenshots from various recordings showing the actors and props that are used in our main task, the 2 minute opening to our zombie film.

Actors
Our protagonist for the film, played by a student from our school. She is a scientist who previously worked at the anonymous institute where the zombie virus was created, now fighting for her life.

The government minister in the opening of our film is present to explain the story to the viewer, in a rather disjointed narrative as her speech is interrupted by the opening chase scene in our clip.

This screenshot shows actors playing zombies of a less significant role. Used in an establishing shot to show the "masses" of zombies, we chose not to use make up on them and instead opted for a long shot in which their acting results in them playing a convincing role of zombies.

 These two screenshots show the main zombies used in our task, who feature in the montage shots and play the role of antagonising the trapped protagonist. As their role was more significant with various close-ups and tableaux shots, we used make up shown in the props section to achieve a convincingly scary zombie effect.

Props
The lights in the corridor we chose for the chase scene play a key role in the atmosphere and plot of our film opening, used flickering on and off to good effect.

In this relatively dark shot is the torch used by the protagonist in the latter half of our film opening, when the above lights fail and leave her in darkness. This also enhanced the atmosphere of our film in shots of the protagonist running down the dark corridor, with her torch being the primary source of light.

Shown in this shot from the chase scene is the protagonist's lab coat, taken from the science labs in our school.  This was significant to the mise en scene of our film, and to create the atmosphere of the "anonymous scientific institute" that the protagonist is trapped in (after previously working there).

Shown here are the cooked sausages we used for our gore shots, as they can be used as convincing intestines for the zombies to rip / eat in violent shots key to the zombie horror genre.

To achieve the above zombie look, we used a mixture of make-up, tomato ketchup and some of the sausage used as intestines. This resulted in a pale, bloodied look for the characters who could therefore be featured in close-up gore and screaming shots to enhance the horror portrayed in our film opening.

Photos: Locations for the main task

This is the stage previously shown and used in our preliminary task - for our main task we have used it for filming of our montage shots of zombies due to the  controllable lighting, dark background and space for prop usage. Additionally we use the stage with the blue curtains drawn as an area for a government speaker to talk about the outbreak of the infection in a sequence that takes place before and after the chase, using a nearby pedestal to speak in the style of an official government announcement.

This is the corridor within our school that will be used in our opening chase sequence. An interior setting gives us control over the lighting and fits with the theme of confinement as stated above. The lights shown in this corridor can be made to seem to flicker through use of light switches at either end of the corridor and through appropriate editing the shots can appear dark and oppressing.

This set of double doors is near the corridor shown above, and due to the lighting (a window is on the other side providing outside light) it is an excellent location which we will use to show the protagonist's confinement as they try to escape the darkness of the institute into the normal world again.

This outdoor location in our school is used in one of our establishing shots featuring stumbling zombies in a dark, dreary environment achieved through editing (unlike shown here). The straight cut between the exterior, dominated by the undead, and the interior with our fleeing protagonist also helps to enhance the idea of isolation and confinement.

The preliminary task - Continuity


Preliminary task from Joe White on Vimeo.

For our preliminary task we were required to film and edit a character opening a door, crossing a room, sitting in a chair opposite another character and exchanging several lines of dialogue with them. In this clip we were required to utilise the 180 degree rule, match on action and shot reverse shot as elements of continuity editing (all described previously in the continuity editing slide show posted earlier on this blog) which this clip utilises in the conversation. This preliminary task is also partially related to our main task, in context it is a scene in which a scientist who is developing the zombie virus goes to speak to his mysterious, sinister boss regarding it, and could be included in a DVD extra or as a deleted scene on our film's release.

Storyboard for prelim

These are locations and actors involved in our preliminary task, in which a scientist (the lead male for our main piece) will have a conversation with his boss regarding the unknown virus he is developing (setting the scene for our main piece and the film).

The set-up of the "office" in which the scene takes place.

The stage used for the "office" scene prior to setting up props and lighting.

The "boss" of the anonymous institute who plays a role in the preliminary task.
Zombies in the main task may also wear suits or formal clothing (but ruined/ripped)
to create a verismillitude of the institute and its business-focused nature.

The male scientist who is the lead character for the preliminary clip and our main task.
The lab coat and ID tag are key to our mise en scene and verismillitude as a key theme
of the zombie film would be isolation and being "trapped" in the institute - as shown by the
ID the characters are kept under close watch due to their work.

The labcoat and ID tag may be used on other scientist characters or zombies in the main piece to again convey the theme of being trapped in the clip.

This door is used as the entrance to the office in our preliminary task. A different sign was used rather than the hand-drawn one for a convincing mise en scene to set the professional tone of the institute.

The Codes and Conventions.



Some research into the codes and conventions of our selected genre: Horror (specifically Zombie Horror)




As a clip of this scene from 28 days later is not available on youtube or other streaming websites two screenshots have been attached to support the analysis of this scene, focused on mise en scene.


 I was unable to supply a clip due to embedding being disabled upon request. This is the marketing poster for the movie instead.


The youtube clip that I used was unable to be embedded onto the blog so I have done some screenshots of the shots that I talked about within the textual analysis.




As the clip I analysed is not available for streaming on youtube or other websites I have attached some screenshots from the chase scene analysed above.

Creation of suspense - "Killer"


Killer - Creation of suspense from Joe White on Vimeo.

In this video we have attempted techniques to create suspense for the viewer. Ambiguous camera angles keeping the killer's identity unknown to the viewer help to create a sense of helplessness for the viewer and cutting between the two subjects of the clip allows the viewer to make the connection that the killer is after the victim shown using the computer unaware of the threat. Additionally cutting between shots of the characters checking their watches suggests the two are pressed for time, creating tension as the viewer is unsure if she will leave in time or not. Additionally the heartbeat sound present throughout the shots featuring the killer increases tension by helping the viewer note his sinister motives.

Sad Water (Framing) from Joe White on Vimeo.

In this video we experimented with use of framing in a suggestive manner, such as positioning the subject off-center (notably in the first and last shots) and isolating him against the crowds in long shots such as the first. This technique could be used to represent the isolation of a character in our film, and is commonly used in film noir to represent the isolation of characters such as criminals from society, as the genre is largely focused on the underbelly of society. In the zombie genre this could be used to show the isolation and loneliness of a protagonist(s) in a post-apocalyptic world (such as the opening of 28 days later).