Foley sounds are the sounds which need to be made through the vocal and body. Foley sounds can be words, claps, clocks, door slams and so on. Foley sounds are used to build a certain mood whilst watching something. We have chosen to use foley sounds to help the audience understand what is happening in the opening sequence.
Our group have decided to record a range of foley sounds to put over/in the soundtrack to create tension between the audience and the thriller they are watching. Our foley sounds consist of words which portray the themes of the thriller. We have also recorded sounds such as banging the table, scratching, screaming and footsteps. We did not make an order of our foley sounds since we could cut and arrange the sounds when editing the sequence.
We used words which made the themes of the thriller clear. "Revenge, hatred, loneliness, redemption, dear, regret, anger, remorse, payback, trapped, hurt, death, darkness, guilt" these are some of the words which we have chosen to be in our foley sounds to go with the soundtrack. We also decided to make the foley sounds louder towards the end of the title sequence so it has a big impact on the audience and so that the genre is clear. We all took turns to say the words which we have chosen and will choose them when we put them in the sequence together. We had to put the camera mic close to us so that no other sounds got in the way of our filming. We soon finished making our foley sounds.
Overall the foley sounds did not take long to make as the idea came to us quickly and we were able to record it as soon as we got the idea's. We kept the foley sounds in a separate folder in our video drive so we could come back to it when we edit our sequence.
Saturday, 2 March 2013
Filming - What have i learnt about filming?
In the process of filming I have learnt a lot of things. Two days of filming a opening sequence as well as filming a prelim has helped me develop my knowledge about the filming industry even though it wasn't in a filming environment however is media coursework.
Firsty I learnt that camera work is harder than it may seem, this is because of the locations, space, and time given. On a hill or an uneven surface it is very difficult to keep the camera looking straight as the shot looks weird if the tripod is not in a certain way. The space is also important because when there is a small space it is hard to stick with the camera angles that were planned to be filmed as the space may be too small. Timing also is a problem as I have learnt that it takes a long time to film and is not as straight forward as it may seem.
Secondly I have learnt that organisation and punctuality are very important skills when making a film. If one person from the group is late or un organised it could effect a whole day of filming and we could have less time for filming. I have learnt that without being organised it is hard to film a good thriller; get lodes of footage; or have fun.
I have also learnt how difficult it may be to use a camera. Sometimes the filter needs to be switched on because of the sunlight and this sometimes ruins the footage as sometimes it comes out too dark. Also the camera is not focused which effects the filming as the footage comes out blury which is unprofessional as it should always be focused.
Lastly I have learnt that team work is essential when making a film. Without teamwork not much work would be done and there would be more conflict than consensus. There are more things I have learn; some of which are listed above.
Overall I have enjoyed filming the opening sequence of the thriller 'Karma' although the weather could have been better as it was very cold. We also could have had more time to perfect our filming skills in order to have a professional looking opening.
Firsty I learnt that camera work is harder than it may seem, this is because of the locations, space, and time given. On a hill or an uneven surface it is very difficult to keep the camera looking straight as the shot looks weird if the tripod is not in a certain way. The space is also important because when there is a small space it is hard to stick with the camera angles that were planned to be filmed as the space may be too small. Timing also is a problem as I have learnt that it takes a long time to film and is not as straight forward as it may seem.
Secondly I have learnt that organisation and punctuality are very important skills when making a film. If one person from the group is late or un organised it could effect a whole day of filming and we could have less time for filming. I have learnt that without being organised it is hard to film a good thriller; get lodes of footage; or have fun.
I have also learnt how difficult it may be to use a camera. Sometimes the filter needs to be switched on because of the sunlight and this sometimes ruins the footage as sometimes it comes out too dark. Also the camera is not focused which effects the filming as the footage comes out blury which is unprofessional as it should always be focused.
Lastly I have learnt that team work is essential when making a film. Without teamwork not much work would be done and there would be more conflict than consensus. There are more things I have learn; some of which are listed above.
Overall I have enjoyed filming the opening sequence of the thriller 'Karma' although the weather could have been better as it was very cold. We also could have had more time to perfect our filming skills in order to have a professional looking opening.
Filming (18/02/2013)
Today was the last day of shooting our thriller. We went out to film the part scene and photograph scene. We asked children to act for us as we needed two main children two be Ivory and Mercy when they were young. The children are in the sequence because in Mercy's dream she has flashbacks of Ivory being bullied as a child. Andreia had gathered some children including her cousin to act in this scene and I had gotten my two siblings to also be actors. We had a range of 9-13 year olds in their school uniforms to make it clear that they are school children. Ivory was dressed in a black coat; hair left out and dark eyeshodow around her eyes to give her a scary look.
We used many camera shots in this park scene to have a choice to pick from when editing our thriller opening. We had mid shots of Mercy and her friends bullying Ivory when they were younger. We also had a close up of the facial expression on Ivory's face when she was left alone; segregated from the rest of the children playing and having fun. After this shot there was a close up of Ivory when she is big to show that she is the same Ivory as the girl who was bullied before. We had a shot where there is a close up of Ivory however a long shot of Mercy and her friends playing; this was used to show the binary opposition of their emotions and actions. We had a pan of all the children bullying Ivory in a circle; the camera shot was from Ivory's point of view as we decided to place the camera in the middle allowing the camera to move in a circle. This scene took the longest to film as we thought we should retake it many times as we were aware that it would be hard to take out the equipment again or gather up all the children again.
After shooting the park scene we took photographs of Ivory and Mercy when they were young and when they were friends so that it could be used in the next scene. After taking these photographs we all went to tesco to choose and print of three of the best photographs which were taken. Throughout this scene an Alevel photography student (Andreia's friend) had taken pictured of the shooting so therefore we were able to have quality pictures of what we were doing.
We then went to Alisha's house (located in Holloway) to film the photograph scene. We took medium shots of Ivory sitting on the floor near a coffee table doing weird things such as clawing the table to make it clear that something is not normal about this character. We had to have close ups and long shots of Ivory crossing; writing and ripping the photograph to foreshadow what Ivory wants which is to destroy/kill Mercy. Esme had a good idea to have a pan going up of the camera filming the photograph up to my face to show my facial expression. I then had an idea to unfocus the camera on purpose while its on record then focus it to show the word 'KILL' on the photograph to make it clear what Ivory's agenda is once again.
We soon finished the filming sequence and then headed back to college to return the equipment on time. All the filming has been finished and the next step was the editing.
We used many camera shots in this park scene to have a choice to pick from when editing our thriller opening. We had mid shots of Mercy and her friends bullying Ivory when they were younger. We also had a close up of the facial expression on Ivory's face when she was left alone; segregated from the rest of the children playing and having fun. After this shot there was a close up of Ivory when she is big to show that she is the same Ivory as the girl who was bullied before. We had a shot where there is a close up of Ivory however a long shot of Mercy and her friends playing; this was used to show the binary opposition of their emotions and actions. We had a pan of all the children bullying Ivory in a circle; the camera shot was from Ivory's point of view as we decided to place the camera in the middle allowing the camera to move in a circle. This scene took the longest to film as we thought we should retake it many times as we were aware that it would be hard to take out the equipment again or gather up all the children again.
After shooting the park scene we took photographs of Ivory and Mercy when they were young and when they were friends so that it could be used in the next scene. After taking these photographs we all went to tesco to choose and print of three of the best photographs which were taken. Throughout this scene an Alevel photography student (Andreia's friend) had taken pictured of the shooting so therefore we were able to have quality pictures of what we were doing.
We then went to Alisha's house (located in Holloway) to film the photograph scene. We took medium shots of Ivory sitting on the floor near a coffee table doing weird things such as clawing the table to make it clear that something is not normal about this character. We had to have close ups and long shots of Ivory crossing; writing and ripping the photograph to foreshadow what Ivory wants which is to destroy/kill Mercy. Esme had a good idea to have a pan going up of the camera filming the photograph up to my face to show my facial expression. I then had an idea to unfocus the camera on purpose while its on record then focus it to show the word 'KILL' on the photograph to make it clear what Ivory's agenda is once again.
We soon finished the filming sequence and then headed back to college to return the equipment on time. All the filming has been finished and the next step was the editing.
Filming (15/02/2013)
Today the group met up to start filming the thriller opening sequence. We decided to split up the scenes. Today we thought we should film the scene where Mercy is asleep; wakes up; walks to the windoe; and then see's Karma outside the window.
We used a variety of camera angles so when we came to the editing we would have a variety of shots to choose from. In this scene we used mainly mid-shots; close ups and long shots - we thought that is would be a good idea to show Mercy's gestures and facial expressions while and after she has the nightmare/bad dream. We then has close ups on her nails when removing the curtain to look out the window to show the red nail varnish which has been used purposely to cenote danger and death. We used long shots and over the shoulder shots to show Mercy's point of view when looking at Karma out the window to have an insight of what Mercy may be feeling and the audience may be as confused as Mercy as they both do not know who she is. We also thought we should have a long shot looking up at Mercy looking through the window through Karma's point of view to show the setting (Andreia's house) aswell as show the confusion and fear on her face. This scene took us a few hours to film as we filmed from many different angles lodes of times for back-up footage in case there was a problem with any other footage.
After filming this scene we went out to Friern park to shoot the zebra crossing scene. We only spent approximately 45 minutes to an hour on this scene as we could not have much time to film as the equipment had to be back in college by 4pm.
We used a tracking shot to show two characters (Mercy and Ivory) walking past each other looking each other. We also took close ups of their facial expressions to make it clear what the characters emotions were. We had a long shot of Ivory crossing the road and standing on the other side of the zebra crossing staring at Mercy. We thought in this shot we could use intextuality as we could have a car drive past Ivory allowing her to disappear as the car disappears. This idea did not come out as well as we wanted it to because the cars came to slow and most of the cars were small therefore Ivory's head was seen by the camera preventing her from disappearing in a scary/mysterious way.
This was the end of the first day of filming. We have filmed half od our thriller sequence as two scenes have been done and two scenes were left. Esme and myself then took the equipment back to college. We then agreed to meet up the following Monday to finish the rest of the thriller.
We used a variety of camera angles so when we came to the editing we would have a variety of shots to choose from. In this scene we used mainly mid-shots; close ups and long shots - we thought that is would be a good idea to show Mercy's gestures and facial expressions while and after she has the nightmare/bad dream. We then has close ups on her nails when removing the curtain to look out the window to show the red nail varnish which has been used purposely to cenote danger and death. We used long shots and over the shoulder shots to show Mercy's point of view when looking at Karma out the window to have an insight of what Mercy may be feeling and the audience may be as confused as Mercy as they both do not know who she is. We also thought we should have a long shot looking up at Mercy looking through the window through Karma's point of view to show the setting (Andreia's house) aswell as show the confusion and fear on her face. This scene took us a few hours to film as we filmed from many different angles lodes of times for back-up footage in case there was a problem with any other footage.
After filming this scene we went out to Friern park to shoot the zebra crossing scene. We only spent approximately 45 minutes to an hour on this scene as we could not have much time to film as the equipment had to be back in college by 4pm.
We used a tracking shot to show two characters (Mercy and Ivory) walking past each other looking each other. We also took close ups of their facial expressions to make it clear what the characters emotions were. We had a long shot of Ivory crossing the road and standing on the other side of the zebra crossing staring at Mercy. We thought in this shot we could use intextuality as we could have a car drive past Ivory allowing her to disappear as the car disappears. This idea did not come out as well as we wanted it to because the cars came to slow and most of the cars were small therefore Ivory's head was seen by the camera preventing her from disappearing in a scary/mysterious way.
This was the end of the first day of filming. We have filmed half od our thriller sequence as two scenes have been done and two scenes were left. Esme and myself then took the equipment back to college. We then agreed to meet up the following Monday to finish the rest of the thriller.
Planning - Target audience
Every film has a target audience which helps plan a film and make the film. Without a target audience it would be hard to plan a film as no there would be no one the film is aimed at. The target audience helps the production; distribution; marketing and exhibition. The target audience helps influence the: mise en scene; sound; editing and even camera angles. An example of this would be a crime thriller; the writer may want the crime to be a gun crime instead of a poisoning murder if the age group is around 18-21 and so on as they are more likely to watch the film and be interested.
We decided our thriller target audience should be 15-20 years as the marketing of the thriller would be easier and cheaper as our target audience could be easily accessed and informed throught social networking sites such as facebook and twitter. We also thought this age group would be a good choice as we live in urban area (north and south London) and therefore we can get easy access to and would know places which would be eye catching to the audience.
Our target audience would also be for both males and females as we want as much audience as possible. There is no specific religion or ethnicity as our main audience would be in Britain where there is a mix and is a multi cultural society. We have thought that the working class youths would be more interested in our film as they are the ones who have the time to come out with their friends and watch this thriller; they are also the ones who would relate to our characters as our characters would mostly be from a working class background.
By having a rough idea of our target audience we would understand what sort of language and vocabulary we would use. We are more likely to use high frequency lexis if our target audience are from working class backgrounds as they need to understand the words that are used. Additionally we would use some low frequency lexis due to the age group as many 15-20 year olds do have an education therefore are capable of understanding these words. We would also add slang so that the thriller is not too formal or boring for the audience.
Overall our target audience is:
- 15-20years
- Male&Female
- British citizens
- Working class
From other research:
I found that the target of many psychological thrillers are 18+ because it includes a lot of violence and issues which may be disturbing for younger viewers. There are however usually warnings written at the start of the film on the cover. There is a target audience which aims to attract 15+ males and females (similarly like our thriller) who like psychological thrillers. The reason why the film may have the rating of 15+ may be because the movie will contain only aspects of violence; death and issues however it will not be extremely disturbing.
We decided our thriller target audience should be 15-20 years as the marketing of the thriller would be easier and cheaper as our target audience could be easily accessed and informed throught social networking sites such as facebook and twitter. We also thought this age group would be a good choice as we live in urban area (north and south London) and therefore we can get easy access to and would know places which would be eye catching to the audience.
Our target audience would also be for both males and females as we want as much audience as possible. There is no specific religion or ethnicity as our main audience would be in Britain where there is a mix and is a multi cultural society. We have thought that the working class youths would be more interested in our film as they are the ones who have the time to come out with their friends and watch this thriller; they are also the ones who would relate to our characters as our characters would mostly be from a working class background.
By having a rough idea of our target audience we would understand what sort of language and vocabulary we would use. We are more likely to use high frequency lexis if our target audience are from working class backgrounds as they need to understand the words that are used. Additionally we would use some low frequency lexis due to the age group as many 15-20 year olds do have an education therefore are capable of understanding these words. We would also add slang so that the thriller is not too formal or boring for the audience.
Overall our target audience is:
- 15-20years
- Male&Female
- British citizens
- Working class
From other research:
I found that the target of many psychological thrillers are 18+ because it includes a lot of violence and issues which may be disturbing for younger viewers. There are however usually warnings written at the start of the film on the cover. There is a target audience which aims to attract 15+ males and females (similarly like our thriller) who like psychological thrillers. The reason why the film may have the rating of 15+ may be because the movie will contain only aspects of violence; death and issues however it will not be extremely disturbing.
Planning - Health and Safety
Before we started to film we needed to be aware of all the hazards which may occur in the process of filming. By discovering these hazards it would be easier and safer for us to film as we would be aware of the things around us especially when we have the camera on our possession.
Firstly we signed a letter to confirm that we would not travel on our own with the camera; this is so that wed be safe from criminals who may try to steal the camera. The whole group had to sign this contract before we could start to take out equipment from the college. By signing this we agreed that we would not travel with the equipment on our own.
Secondly another safety awareness was to cross the road ONLY when where was a green man signal at the traffic lights. Also for the zebra crossing it would be important to start crossing only when the cars stopped and gave way for us to cross. Whilst crossing a hazard would be to run as there's always a risk of tripping and putting ourselves as well as the camera at risk.
Additionally when filming and acting we agreed that someone is always with the camera, tripod and the bags they were in so nobody could run off with anything as previously a camera bag had been stolen. We all also said we should all help put away the equipment in the bags as sometimes it is difficult to put away the tripod in the bag. If we all help put away the equipment it would also mean we save time and everyone is less likely to get hurt.
In addition to this we all agreed to carry one thing each as it would be hard and unfair to hold all the equipment. We made sure this was enforced by allocating each member of the group an equipment each time we filmed. The stairs was the main reason why this rule needed to be enforced as in two of the locations (Andreia and Alisha's house) there were stairs which may be seen as a hazard.
Scissors was our only prop however we were unsure if we would use it or not. However we though that it would be safe that when using them wed handle them carefully avoiding any possible injuries. We also made sure we wouldn't carry the scissors on our possession as it would be dangerous to have them so therefore we made sure this prop was already in the location where it would be filmed in which would be Alisha's house.
Firstly we signed a letter to confirm that we would not travel on our own with the camera; this is so that wed be safe from criminals who may try to steal the camera. The whole group had to sign this contract before we could start to take out equipment from the college. By signing this we agreed that we would not travel with the equipment on our own.
Secondly another safety awareness was to cross the road ONLY when where was a green man signal at the traffic lights. Also for the zebra crossing it would be important to start crossing only when the cars stopped and gave way for us to cross. Whilst crossing a hazard would be to run as there's always a risk of tripping and putting ourselves as well as the camera at risk.
Additionally when filming and acting we agreed that someone is always with the camera, tripod and the bags they were in so nobody could run off with anything as previously a camera bag had been stolen. We all also said we should all help put away the equipment in the bags as sometimes it is difficult to put away the tripod in the bag. If we all help put away the equipment it would also mean we save time and everyone is less likely to get hurt.
In addition to this we all agreed to carry one thing each as it would be hard and unfair to hold all the equipment. We made sure this was enforced by allocating each member of the group an equipment each time we filmed. The stairs was the main reason why this rule needed to be enforced as in two of the locations (Andreia and Alisha's house) there were stairs which may be seen as a hazard.
Scissors was our only prop however we were unsure if we would use it or not. However we though that it would be safe that when using them wed handle them carefully avoiding any possible injuries. We also made sure we wouldn't carry the scissors on our possession as it would be dangerous to have them so therefore we made sure this prop was already in the location where it would be filmed in which would be Alisha's house.
Planning - Costume and Props
Costume and props are very important when filming a thriller' this is because it tells a lot about the character and foreshadows what may happen later on in the thriller. Costumes is provided by the actor who is going wear it as the thriller Is low budget as it is Alevel coursework. The only prop in this thriller will be scissors which is used to cut the photograph of the two girls (ivory and mercy) in the past when they were friends. This prop would be kept int Alisha's house where it would already be as it is a part of household equipment.
Karma(played by Alisha)
- We thought it would be a good idea to wear black as she is supposed to be seen a mystery character as she is only Mercy's conscience.
- We thought black cenotes danger and death; it could be argued that so does red however we thought red is an ambiguous colour since red could also cenote love and romance aswell.
- Another reason why we thought this colour would be good as it is a colour that is easily accessible and would not cost much as our thriller is low-budget.
- Lastly this colour helps give her a scary mysterious look.
Ivory (played by Abida)
- We thought it would be a good idea if this character wore casual clothing however it should be dark; the reason for this choice is because this character is already dead.
- We would show this though the makeup that she would wear as she would have dark eyeshadow around her eyes to make her look scary and dead like. Her foundation would also be pale as dead people are paler than they are.
- Ivory's hair also would help to portray her phsycho like image as it would be messy and in her face.
- Ivory's shoe wear would be something in the branded market; this is shoes such as air forces; vans; high tops; doctor martins and so on. These brands have been chosen to show the characters age/age group as most youths these days are likely to be wearing these brands when going out on a normal day.
Mercy (played by Andreia)
- We thought this character should wear casual clothing as she is the only normal main character in this thriller.
- We though that she should paint her nails red to make it clear she is not as innocent as she is or she wasn't as innocent in the past.
- In the beginning and end of the thriller we thought it would be a good idea for Mercy to be wearing her pyjama's so show that she is normal and to also set the time which she is having this dream ( which is at night time ).
Mercy&Ivory in the past
- These characters were told to wear their school cloths to show that they are school children and are young.
- Effects would make it clear that this is a dream from the past.
Karma(played by Alisha)
- We thought it would be a good idea to wear black as she is supposed to be seen a mystery character as she is only Mercy's conscience.
- We thought black cenotes danger and death; it could be argued that so does red however we thought red is an ambiguous colour since red could also cenote love and romance aswell.
- Another reason why we thought this colour would be good as it is a colour that is easily accessible and would not cost much as our thriller is low-budget.
- Lastly this colour helps give her a scary mysterious look.
Ivory (played by Abida)
- We thought it would be a good idea if this character wore casual clothing however it should be dark; the reason for this choice is because this character is already dead.
- We would show this though the makeup that she would wear as she would have dark eyeshadow around her eyes to make her look scary and dead like. Her foundation would also be pale as dead people are paler than they are.
- Ivory's hair also would help to portray her phsycho like image as it would be messy and in her face.
- Ivory's shoe wear would be something in the branded market; this is shoes such as air forces; vans; high tops; doctor martins and so on. These brands have been chosen to show the characters age/age group as most youths these days are likely to be wearing these brands when going out on a normal day.
Mercy (played by Andreia)
- We thought this character should wear casual clothing as she is the only normal main character in this thriller.
- We though that she should paint her nails red to make it clear she is not as innocent as she is or she wasn't as innocent in the past.
- In the beginning and end of the thriller we thought it would be a good idea for Mercy to be wearing her pyjama's so show that she is normal and to also set the time which she is having this dream ( which is at night time ).
Mercy&Ivory in the past
- These characters were told to wear their school cloths to show that they are school children and are young.
- Effects would make it clear that this is a dream from the past.
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