Evaluation Activity 2

Our characters in The Alliance were inspired by the protagonists and antagonists in popular action/thriller movies. Examples of the types of movies our characters were inspired by were - The Expendables, Rambo and The Transporter. Because our target audience was around 15-30 year olds and primarily male, these films were very convenient when it came to ideas of what our characters were going to be like to catch the target audiences attention.

We aimed for our main protagonist to have similarities with actors like Jason Statham and Sylvester Stallone and the roles they play in movies. These actors are very well known in the Action/Thriller category of film, and they are well known to be tough, skilled and play the role of a spy/soldier/mercenary in the majority of the films they star in. With the comparison pictures of our protagonist and 'Barney Ross' (Sylvester Stallone in The Expendables), we can tell from the Mise-En-Scene that these both have the same props - the prop shown in both of these pictures is a prop gun which is a big convention in any action/thriller film as they connote violence and in some cases power. Again through Mise-En-Scene we can tell that the costumes are different but both link to the setting/location of where the scene is set - the top picture shows our protagonist in camo and the colours are primarily green, this is because in the opening he is trying to stay out of site and by using the primary colour in the background he is able to hide within the trees etc. However with Barney Ross, he is seen wearing a military/mercenary uniform however he is in what looks like an urban building where he is in a gun fight with the antagonists, this costume immediately tells the audience of his role in the force.

Evaluation 5 - Annotations

Evaluation 3 - Directors Commentary

Evaluation 4 - Target Audience

Target Audience 

Our films target audience is the age range between 15-35 years old.

We have given our film a 15 rating certificate as our film contains more graphical content than what would be expected in a 12 rated film or lower, meaning that if we were to give this film a 12, we would not be able to have some of the features that we has included.




The film also contains frequent use of strong language and due to the genre of the film, there is a lot of violence within it - this material requires are more mature audience because it would appeal an older audience. The target audience is very male heavy as, in our opening, the characters are all male which will make the film more appealing to a male audience as  females stereo-typically will watch action/thriller films for the love interest or if there is a female character within the film that is of some importance.

Evaluation Activity 1

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

This is the production title for the film, to design this, we used Adobe Photoshop and Adobe After Effects. When designing this, we wanted to use large, bold letter to make it look like a professional production company logo.

This is a high angle shot of our protagonists sprinting through a puddle - we used this shot as our first shot of the opening because it sets the pace for the scene and with the pace being set as fast, it was our first genre indicator in the opening.

This is a tracking shot of our two protagonists sprinting, this is done to carry on from the first shot of them running through the puddle - the tracking shot also keeps the pace up which tells the audience that this will be a very fast paced opening and this will also stay true to the conventions of the Action film genre.

In this shot we see a close up of our first antagonist, we can instantly tell that this is one of the antagonists due to the costume and the balaclava. We can tell this because balaclavas are commonly associated with criminals/antagonists and shady characters. We can also tell this from the facial expression, we can see that he is concentrated on the two antagonists and is giving a very sinister stare.

In this shot, we see a medium close up of one of our two main protagonists - this is the only section where there is dialogue, this gives the impression that they have no time to speak as they are in danger.

In this scene, we see a medium shot of another antagonist, we can tell this from the costume and the props (MES) that are in their possession. We used a black style colour scheme for our antagonists because it connotes evil, death and mystery - the mystery aspect comes from the fact the audience do not know who these people are or why they are hunting down the protagonists.

This shot is a medium shot with one of our protagonists on the floor firing in a final stand against the antagonists, this scene in particular stays true to the conventions and clichés of the Action film genre - this is done as the protagonist has been shot many times by the antagonists but yet is still able to fire in defence.

This medium - long shot gives the perspective showing how our protagonists were outnumbered and that the antagonists where the superior faction in this opening of the film. We can see that the antagonists are all wearing black/shady clothing which suggests they are perhaps mercenaries of in a criminal group.

This final scene is a high angle shot of our protagonist on the floor in pain from being shot multiple times, the use of a high angle shot was to make our protagonist look vulnerable and weak in contrast to the antagonists. This final scene leaves a cliff hanger as to what will happen to this character.

Evaluation - Feedback for Opening Scene

Evaluation - Presentation for Opening Scene

Final

Editing Diary #2 - Finishing off the sound

Editing Diary #1 - The sniper scene

The Ring opening scene

In the beginning of The Ring, the first shot is a medium shot tracking the character across a room, the next shot we see is a close up shot, we can immediately tell that this girl will be the victim due to the cliches of horror films where a young teenage girl will usually be the victim at the start of the films. The audience can tell that this woman will not be around for long as they tend to die in the first few minutes of the film. As she takes a few steps, we hear a diegetic sound of a TV in the background.The girl is seen looking to her right which creates a slight bit of tension as the audience in their mind think that someone will be there in the room next to her for her to meet her death. The camera then slowly pans through past the door into the living room through the use of a POV shot, where we see a shot of a TV fuzzing, the fact there is no non diegetic sound makes the scene very real to the audience and makes us feel like we are there, this also means that the audience will not know when the suspense will climax leaving the audience on the edge of their seat not knowing when something will happen. We see our character turn the TV off and walk off, the audience will still have a feeling that something bad is going to happen. By the time the audience have thought about this, the TV has on its own, turned back on with the same screen as last time.

We then see her run back to the TV and unplug the switch which will make her think that the trouble is over - however due to the conventions of horror films, the audience know that this isn't the end as they know more will happen. We see her stare up close at the TV screen when there is a black screen leaving the audience thinking that something will jump out and scare them, however the director has teased the audience by not having anything there but a movement in the reflection of the screen that came from her kitchen, this creates a lot of tension and the audience will be holding on to their seats knowing that she does not have long left as they know something is in her house.

We see a medium-close up shot of our victim walking slowly into the kitchen, the camera then cuts to a medium shot of a fridge opening on it's own. By now the audience will be able to tell that this film will be based on the supernatural due to the mysterious and unknown happenings in our victims house. We then see a shot of her slamming the fridge shut and holding it shut, by now the audience will expect something to appear in the corridor behind her or something to jump out and kill her, however the audience have again been teased but this leads to the thrill and tension keeping the audience on the edge. We then see a high angle shot of the victim from the bottom of the stairs, the use of a high angle shot implies that she is weak and vulnerable.

The last scene shows her at the top of the stairs and water flowing from out of a room in the house, at this point the audience are certain that she is about to meet he demise however the audience do not know exactly what will happen which leads to the chilling feel. The use of a low key blue tinted lighting creates a cold effect leaving a chilling and unnerving feeling in the audience.

The Dark Knight Analysis

                                                                         (Up to 2:50)

In the beginning of The Dark Knight, we see a medium-close up shot of a man in a clown styled mask smashing a window with a certain object. The camera then proceeds to track around the small room to a high angle shot of the man shooting a wire across to another building below. The camera then cuts to a low angle shot outside the building of a man on the road with a mask in one hand and a large bag in the other, the use of a low angle shot identifies this man as important and powerful, this will also leave the audience questioning what is happening and who this man is, we don't however see this mans face as the shot is from behind him. A car soon pulls up next to him and he immediately puts the mask on and gets in the car. As we know that the clowns are likely to be the antagonists for this part of the film and the audience will think that they are planning to pull off some kind of dangerous act like a bank robbery. As the man gets inside the car, a non diegetic sound of tense fast paced music is played, this will give the sense that something big is about to happen along with the audience thinking that this man may be the leader or have a more important role in this scene.

The music continues as the camera cuts to a birds eye view tracking the two people from the earlier scene zip line across onto the other building - this indicates that they are in 2 groups. The camera then cuts to a shot from the backseat of the car which makes the audience feel like they are there with them. There are a total of 3 people wearing clown masks in the car and at no point during this part do we see any of their faces. The two people in the front of the car are talking about a certain character known as "The Joker", the two people who were originally in the car (the two in the front) are the only people speaking in this scene whereas the man in the back remains silent but is still in shot reminding the audience that is he also in the car with them. This adds to the mystery of the character as his voice is still unheard.

The group on the roof pick up where the last scene left off with the conversation about "The Joker" and this helps us learn a bit more about him. The camera then cuts back to the group in the car and they are seen exiting the car and running up the stairs to the bank. No music plays in the background for this scene which makes the audience focus more on the characters than the scene, this also helps create tension and mystery due to the diegetic sounds being heard only - the camera then proceeds to follow the group inside the bank.

Once inside the bank the camera shows the bank manager to signal that he is going to be of some importance during this scene and may have an effect on how the heist plays out. The camera tracks around the bank and rarely stays still to keep up the speed of what is happening this use of fast camera shots creates a lot of speed and suspense giving the audience a hint of excitement. The music begins to pick back up as it again cross-cuts back to the group on the roof who are checking the alarm system and then the camera cuts back to the clowns who have seized control of the bank - we then see the mysterious character going around unpinning grenades and making the hostages hold them in their hands so they don't explode, this character is still yet to speak. We then go back to the roof and after one clown deals with the alarm system, the other clown shoots him. This comes as a surprise to the audience and tell the audience that these clowns are not to be trusted and are slowly killing each other to get a bigger payday. The man then runs down the stair and enter a room to which the camera pans round to reveal a large vault, as this is a bank robbery, we know that this vault will be very important in the heist.

After this we see a medium shot of one of the clowns who is shouting telling everyone to "stay down", we then almost immediately see the clown get shot in the back and we see the banks manager sat there with a shotgun. This links back to the first shot we see of him when the clowns enter the bank, this will leave the audience will a feeling like they knew he would have some sort of importance and would cause a halt to the heist. We then see the other clowns run in panic and are seen hiding behind a desk, to which one of the two asks "He's out right?" and in response the other clown nods, still not using any dialogue. The clown who asked the question then proceeds to stand up and fire, only to be shot by the bank manager - the other clown rises up and shoots the bank manager. The camera then slowly tracks in to the clown to then possibly suggest that he is in fact the leader of the group. The music becomes gradually silent and then kicks in with the tone used previously to suggest that there is no more danger for the robbers.

Harry Potter Opening Scene

In the beginning of The Deathly Hallows Part 2, we see a long shot and the camera running above water while tracking up which then fades back into a black screen, the camera then fades into another shot which this time is a medium long shot of a mysterious moving white structure, by the time the audience are trying to work out what this is, the camera cuts to a close up of the films antagonist, Voldemort. This antagonist would likely be recognised by everyone in the audience as he is the iconic villain in every Harry Potter film. The camera then cuts to another close up but of Voldemort's hand which is seen holding a wand. We then see a high angle shot of him holding up the wand aiming at the sky and using it which creates a lightning effect which goes up into the sky. The camera then cleverly uses the light from the clouds to fade into the production company logo (Warner Brothers).

The camera then continues to zoom through the company logo leading to another location, we then see an establishing shot of Hogwarts which with the use of a misty effect makes the audience question what has happened. The camera soon cuts to a medium shot of the back of a man in all black to which the camera cuts to a low angle shot from the front revealing the identity of this man. The use of a low angle shot resembles power and authority. This shot also reveals that this character is another iconic figure in the Harry Potter franchise (Professor Snape). This will leave the audience questioning why he is standing out on the edge of Hogwarts on his own and why the place looks abandoned.

The camera then cuts to the title of the film "Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2". After this title sequence, we see a close up of a gravestone with the writing "Here lies Dobby a free elf", this links back to the previous film in the franchise where a very well known and loved character had died. This will take the audience back to the last film leaving them grieving his death - this creates an emotional impact on the big fans of this franchise.

The camera next cuts to a high angle long shot showing where Harry Potter is sat. As we can see it is not located in Hogwarts this time which indicated that something bad has happened forcing him to leave - the camera also cuts to a medium shot from inside the house on the bottom of the hill showing the other two main protagonists in the film. By their facial expressions the audience can tell that an unfortunate event has occurred leaving the audience questioning what has happened.

Godfather Opening Scene Analysis

(Up to 3:55)

At the beginning of 'The Godfather' the pace is very slow and the movie stays on a black screen whilst music is playing in the background, the title of the film then slowly fades in with puppet strings above the 'father', this gives the impression of someone pulling strings and being very deceiving, which may give the audience an idea already of what events may occur. The colours used in this section are only black and white which goes well with the slow pace of the opening unlike a brighter more lively colour would.

As the title fades away gradually, the music stops and we hear a voice saying the words "I believe in America", this gives an idea of where the film is set in and what the plot of the movie may have something to do with, the black screen slowly fades into a close up shot of a man in formal wear, the use of low key lighting at this point helps create mystery and tension in the scene. For the next few minutes, the camera stays at a relatively close up shot of the man who is talking, however the camera is very slowly zooming out from a close up shot to an over the shoulder shot of the man he is talking to. The mans identity is not yet revealed but subliminally tells the audience that he is of importance and may be of high authority.

The man is heard telling a story about his daughter being mistreated which indicated that he requires help from this mysterious man - this gives the audience the idea that this mysterious man is in fact 'The Godfather', he also stays in the shadows for this part which adds to the mystery of his identity. The audience can tell that he is of high power as people seem to be begging for his help. No music is heard in this entire scene either which creates a mysterious and unnerving feel to the scene.

The man then walks out of shot and back into shot next to the godfather and whispers in his ear. A close up shot of the godfather reveals his face for the first time, the dialogue also shifts to him and the scene then is focussed primarily on him. The camera then cuts to a long shot of the room with a man seen standing with his hands down on the desk opposite the godfather saying "i'll give you anything you ask" this indicates that the godfather has a lot of power and people will do anything for his help.

I Am Legend Opening Scene Analysis

At the beginning of I Am Legend, we see an establishing shot of what appears to be a broken and abandoned city. The camera then cuts to another high angle shot of inside the deserted city immediately telling the audience that something had happened here. With the use of a fish eye camera lens, another high angle shot is taking tracking down a large building, this gives the effect of showing how big the area is leaving the audience questioning how the city became abandoned. The camera carries on taking different angled shots from around the city to draw us into the world that the film is set in. After consecutive shots around the city the camera cuts to an eagle eye view tracking over the city showing off the sheer size of the location - this creates an impact on the audience telling them that something catastrophic had happened. Throughout this particular shot, on the road you can see a red car driving up one of the roads - the camera then cuts to a close up of the driver inside the car.

The driver inside the car is sat next to a dog, these are the same two characters that appear on the films poster - this indicates that these two are the main protagonists of the film/have a lot of importance within the film. The camera then cuts to a medium long shot from outside the car and following it as it speeds down the road. It then cuts to the backseat point of view which leaves the audience feeling like they are there in the back of the car with them. In this shot we can see in the distance three tanks, this will leave the audience wondering if there was a war of some sort happening which led to the abandoning of the city. Again, the camera cuts to a medium shot from a low position of the car drifting around the corner, and after the car disappears the camera moves up zooming into a poster on the back of one of the tanks say "God still loves us". This hints at what may have happened to the city and will leave the audience with an idea of the events that occurred.

The camera then continues to follow the car from different angles at a fast pace which will create excitement in the audience but will also expect something to happen to cause a halt to the excitement or to create some sort of tension due to the setting and what has happened to the city. As the camera cuts back to a view from the backseat, immediately we see a number of deer sprinting across the road taking the car off balance and leaving it skidding across the road - this causes panic in the driver which causes suspense in the audience. The car then continues to follow the deer through off road surfaces, with the use of tracking shots,this scene causes a lot of tension within the audience. 

As the driver continues to chase the deer, he pulls out a gun and aims it out the car window at the deer running alongside him - this indicates that he is attempting to kill one of the deer perhaps for food for himself and his dog, this is the idea that the audience may have due to where the film is set and how the deer may be the only food opportunity available.

Character Costumes

Character Costumes

Our Antagonists and Protagonists go by a different colour scheme and clothing style. The Antagonists wear black/dark clothing which resembles/links to the sense of evil and relate to darkness. Dark colours are also commonly used in representing the antagonist in action/thriller/horror films. As it is a very commonly used thing, the audience will immediately be able to tell the difference between the antagonists and the protagonists. Our Protagonists however are wearing more lightly coloured but still stay true to the genre with what they are wearing (e.g. military camo style). 

 

                                      (Protagonist)                                            (Antagonist)

The Phantom Menace Analysis

(Start 1:50)

At the start of the film, we see a long shot tracking the movement of a spaceship - the audience will immediately know that this film is from the Sci-Fi genre. The majority of the audience will however already know this due to this being another installment of the very popular Star Wars franchise. We then cut to a medium two shot of what looks to be the pilots of the ship, we also see an over the shoulder shot of two mysterious people in cloaks with hoods up - this will leave the audience curious as to who these two figures are. The camera then briefly cuts to an over the shoulder shot of one of the figures to which we hear them talking, this indicates that they are most likely human and may be of some sort of importance in the film.

The camera then tracks across the a close up of what seems to be an alien who appears to be speaking English, this also heavily links to the Sci-Fi genre by using a very popular cliche used in this genre in particular. We then see a long shot of the ship flying into what seems to be a space station orbiting the Earth.
When the ship is seen landing inside the ship, the camera cuts to a medium shot of a large group of droids who are surrounding the ship as it lands which may create a small bit of tension in the audience - however, this tension is almost immediately erased as we see the two mysterious figures from the ship walk through the room to be greeted and taken down a corridor by a silver robot.
After being left by the robot the two figures turn around to the camera and slowly take down their hoods revealing their identities. They reveal that they are human and are most likely going to be the main protagonists for the film. The camera uses a two shot and tracks them as they walk across the room, due to their convocation and how the scene is focused primarily on the two protagonists which show that they are of importance and high authority.

Anamatic

Filming Equipment

The equipment we used for our film were:
Canon EOS 70D with a Canon EF-S Zoom - 18-135mm lens
K&F Concept Cardioid Microphone
FOTOWELT Glide-Cam Stabilizer
Tripod

We chose the Canon 70D because it is a powerful camera, it is capable of shooting in Full HD (1920x1080) at 30 frames per second (FPS). The camera has a lot of features which were very useful when filming, an example of this is the auto focus tracking, a high ISO range which allowed us to record in better quality and made it easier for us to shoot.

The K&F Concept Cardioid Microphone was attached to the top of the Canon, and connected to the mic input on the side of the camera. Using an external mic was better than using the cameras built in mic as the external mics quality was a lot better than the built in one. When we were choosing which microphone to buy, we had to choose between a cardioid and omnidirectional microphone. Cardioid microphones only pick up sound from directly in front and will reject any sounds that are coming from behind. An omnidirectional mic however will pick up sound from all around in every direction and this is more efficient for capturing more ambient sounds.

When filming we swapped around the camera from the stabilizer and the tripod. The reason for this was the stabilizer was used for running scenes so that the camera was not shaking significantly and the tripod was used for still shots and where less movement was required for the shot.

Mad Max: Fury Road Opening Scene Analysis

(Up to 3:04)

In the beginning of Mad Max: Fury Road, there is a black screen with a non-diegetic sound of an unknown man narrating in the background to which the audience will question who this is, we hear him say "My world is fire and blood", this alone indicates that this film may be an action/thriller due to these both being conventions of an action/thriller type film. The black screen then fades into the opening title sequence, this part shows the production company and the opening credits, however in the background we can hear shouting and gun shots, this is another indication of the genre however this also makes the audience question what is happening, perhaps a war of some sort or a battle. The camera soon cuts to a long shot of what the audience will assume to be our main protagonist/character, this shot is also an establishing shot showing an isolated empty location, this may indicate that there was a mass war which eradicated the landscape. The camera then continues to pan downwards, during this, we hear an non-diegetic sound of what sounds to be a young girl saying "Where are you", this may suggest that he has abandoned his daughter or maybe she had died before he could save her. After this we soon hear another voice talking about how Max had "promised to help them". This gives us the idea that Max was either on a mission to save these people or had abandoned them when they were in need, this may have been to save himself instead of the others. The camera then cuts to an over the shoulder shot of Max who is seen turning his head whilst eating a two-headed lizard. The two headed lizard tells the audience that this is a very different world that he lives in compared to us.

We soon see fast paced shots as we see Max enter his vehicle which is seen to have a gun on the bonnet of it, this suggests to the audience that he is in constant danger and has to protect himself. We soon see his car drive off into the distance leaving an empty shot of the location, this shot is held for a few seconds before we see another selection of vehicle on the same route as him which suggests that he is being chased. We can tell that these are the antagonists due to the Mise-en-scene showing that they are barbaric and aggressive and are shown to 'hunt' in groups. We then see an extreme long shot showing the group of barbarians chasing our protagonists car to which we see one of the people in the other vehicle throw a spear at the car causing an explosion and the car to flip. The smoke made from this makes it hard for the audience to see what is happening but can make out that the car is coming towards the camera, this will leave the audience on the edge of their seat to see what happens next. When the smoke clears we see a close up of our protagonist struggling to make it out of the car, at this point we think that Max has cheated death and escaped danger. During this part, we hear a non-diegetic sound of his voice narrating who he is, he says "I am the one who runs from the living and the dead, hunted by scavengers, haunted by those who i could not protect". This tells the audience immediately that this man is on his own and is in constant danger and that he was unable to save his people who stood beside him. We soon see the antagonists stop next to him and hold him down with a gun to his head, this indicates that these people are scavengers and are hunting him down for a reason as yet unknown to the audience. The camera then cuts to a long shot in the distance to which we see the scavengers drive off with Max chained to the back running to keep up with the vehicles or he would die.

Final Story Board

This is our final story board for our film. This will help us when it comes to filming and editing and is the base for our film - however when it comes to editing and filming, everything may not be the exact as shown here (only minor changes) only to help improve and become more appealing to our target audience.

Software Package

Sony Vegas Pro

The package that our group is using for editing our film is Sony Vegas Pro, we decided to use this because it was easier to get used to than Adobe Premiere Elements and other editing packages, also some of us already had some knowledge on how to use the software, whereas Premiere Elements was new to all of us meaning we would all have to learn how to use a new editing software when not necessary.

What we prefer about this package is that it is more simplistic and very easy to get used to, it does not require very much time to learn the basics and is a lot less tedious when playing with the sound and getting the right timing on each shot/scene. We also found that when inputting titles and credits in certain places of the screen that it was a lot easier than we thought and we could easily just drag the text into the exact place without any problems.

One of the things that we want to do in order to make our film opening look really professional is use an interesting and conventional title sequence with a dynamic production credit.  We've come up with the name Whitehorn Productions and this package has some really good options for title use, which make it ideal for our production task.

Font Titles

Research and Planning - Film Titles

When analyzing film title fonts for our film, we noticed that the majority of film titles for films of our genre were capitalised and in bold white font. For our film we decided to create a brand identity using this style,which is fitting tothe conventions of our genre.  Having titles in font colours using blue or silver hues looked too much like the sort of titles you'd expect to find in a science fiction film.

The stencil approach, we think, looks a bit dated in the internet age. Nobody uses stencils anymore!

The TW Cen MT font is contemporary and understated, which tends to be the sort of approach to text that resonates with a laregly professional older audience. We did like the look of the 'TW Cen MT' however we changed to worn out look to look more scratched and we ended up using the 'Poplar Std', we chose this because it compliments our film genre as it is bulky and stands out a lot more than the other fonts.

Gungsuh

Gill Sans MT Ext Condensed Bold

Stencil

Poplar Std 

TW Cen MT

The Script

Opening Scene Script

Scene opens with characters running across woodlands. Then the two protagonists come across, one of the antagonists appears out of the bushes to the right of the screen, this results in a shooting to which the antagonist dies. They continue running and start walking out of the woods. Then a sniper is taking aim at the two protagonists who have come to a halt, thinking that they have escaped from the danger.

Shonam: "Keep your eyes open"
(Turns head to Cameron)

Cameron: "It's okay, I've got this.."
(Looks back at Shonam)

Shonam: "SNIPER GET DOWN!"
(pointing in the direction of the sniper)

(Cameron gets shot and falls to the floor to his death)

Shonam looks around and starts firing at the other antagonists, he then gets shot once in the shoulder which causes him to fall to the floor. He then carrieson firing which leads to him getting shot again, this then cuts to a POV shot of Shonam getting hit by one of the antagonists. This causes him to be knocked out leading the shot to the title of the film - 'THE ALLIANCE'

Film Treatment

Our Film Treatment

Plot
In the near future, a large group of antagonists have been successful in bringing war, crime and drugs into much of UK. They’ve seized control of the government and much of the countries resources. Thousand of military personal and fighters have been sent in order to stop them but everyday, they gain more and more power and become increasing harder to defeat. As the country gone into turmoil, a small, highly skilled, group of individuals have been formed by what’s left of the government. A secret alliance has been created to remove the illegitimate government from power.


Opening
The opening starts off with two protagonists running towards a small base camp in the woods. They are being chased by a group of the antagonists. The Alliance believes that there is a high-value target situated there and capturing him will give them the information they need in their mission. However, on their way there, discovered by guards that are patrolling around the compound. As the protagonists are discovered a small fire fight initiates, which results in the death of one of the two protagonists. After and while, the still alive protagonist gets shot and injured, and then gets captured by the antagonists.


Middle
A bit later, after the protagonist gets captured, he then gets rescued by several other members of the Alliance. After his rescue, they find valuable information in the camp.
During the film, there are a lot of action and fire fights that occur. As the film moves forward, the Alliance find more and more  information and they are able to work out the reason behind why the antagonists are doing this.


End
The end scene set at a funeral, where several Alliance members are carrying the coffin of the protagonist that died in the beginning. We then see several shots of the country rebuilding its self and becoming a better place.

Film Location

For our film, we had to choose a suitable location for our film - we used a questionnaire to get the target audience to choose their preferences for our genre. The results showed that the majority of people in our survey chose the woods, so our group decided we will stick to that location. We chose Ashtead Common for our location as it was local, fairly isolated and had a lot of space. I took images of the space we were using to give the audience a clue on where exactly the film is set.

This setting was ideal for our film opening as when using certain shot types we were able to make running scenes and others look professional. Another reason as to why this was an ideal location was because of the amount of space we had to choose the exact spot for certain parts of the opening.

However the location was not a conventional location to use as it is not normally used in Thriller/Action films, but more in Horror. But to make the film more original, we have used conventional props and characters, but stuck them into a conventional horror location.

San Andreas Opening Scene Analysis

San Andreas Opening Scene Analysis

The first scene we see in San Andreas is a close up of a woman's drivers license which identifies one of our characters in the film, We can vaguely see her name in this shot - "Natalie Dawyer". The camera then cuts to a medium-close up of Natalie and we can see that she is driving calmly and has no worries. We then see an over the shoulder shot of her which makes the audience feel like we are in the car with her, we also however see a car approaching towards her, however she turns round and takes her eyes completely off of the road making us think that there will be a crash. When she turns back around we see the car extremely close but nothing happens, this leave the audience tricked but also knowing that something will definitely happen very soon. We then see a close up of her phone going off and we see she has received a message from most likely a friend of hers, she picks up the phone being completely oblivious to the fact she is driving, the text is about her relationship with a boy which is a typical teenage worry that the audience do not really care about at all - this scene also conforms to the stereotype of blonde teenage girls as being stupid, dumb and careless. This leaves the audience against her and wanting something bad to happen to her because of her stupidity and how she has managed to not be caught in a crash with oncoming vehicles. However once she looks away from the phone she notices stones and small rocks hitting the road, we see this through a POV shot and the editing technique used here was eye line match, from which we cut from her phone to the road. This starts to create a lot of suspense and gives the audience the impression that something bad will soon happen which will leave the audience hope for this.

We then see a medium shot of a stone hitting her cars windshield and cracking it. The use of fairly fast pace camera shots suggests to the audience that something bad if building up to happen. Before the audience have a chance to notice this clearly the camera quickly cuts to a close up of her in the car looking to her left and seeing a rock slide coming down the cliff and taking her car off the edge - due to the audience wanting something bad to happen to her, the director has gone in favor of the audience. In this scene, they have used many different editing techniques to make the fall more intense and dramatic - an example of this is when the car flies of the cliff while upside down and the camera cuts to a medium-close up of her in the car screaming, the camera has used Bullet Time to add effect to the crash and also to show the emotion on Natalie's face. The camera also pans round to the back seat just before the car hits the floor to create an effect which makes the audience feel like they are in the back seat and in the same situation as her.

Youtube Tutorials

Due to the fact we are creating an action/thriller film, we will most likely be using prop guns for our film - therefor when editing, we will require a muzzle flash for when the gun is fired - this will make the film more immersive and realistic, this will also mean that it is staying true to the genre.  

This tutorial will help in our editing for when the guns are being fired and is very helpful as it is a tutorial using the same software as us (Adobe After Effects).

Rush Analysis

Rush Opening Scene

In the first scene of Rush, we see a low angle shot of dark clouds, this connotes mystery and tension which may leave the audience wondering why this may be, the scene then cuts to an extreme close up of someones eye looking up into the sky which shows that we are looking through his eyes of the sky, the shot used in this would be known as a POV shot.

The scene then cuts to a close up shot of a race car with the name 'Niki Lauda', and we see some text on the right hand side saying "German Grand Prix August 1976" which tells us that this is a very big race and that there is a lot of tension building. Niki Lauda is a famous Austrian Formula One race car driver, and we are shown a close up of his face in which we can see he looks focused and confident, this suggests a long with the race car that a race is about to start, but with the continuous camera cuts to the shots of the sky, this may suggest that this is more than a race as the shots are creating a lot of tension.

In the next scene we are shown a long shot of Niki and another racer who is with two women, this shows that maybe he is very confident and somewhat cocky. This racer is James Hunt, who was known as a real womanizer and heavy drinker. we are then cut to a medium-long shot from the front of the two cars, this scene especially shows a clear contrast between to two racers, one looks prepared and focused whereas the other looks a bit too confident and is not as professional, we can also show from this scene that these two may be rivals. Fast pace shots build tension which show that this is a very important race.

We are then cut to a medium-close up of James Hunt with his ladies looking very confident, then the camera cuts to a close up of Niki Lauda who looks very focused and calm, this also makes him look very professional compared to his rival. We then see a medium shot of Hunt who we see kissing one of the women that we was with, we then see the two make eye contact and we are shown the expression on James Hunts face change from smiling to a dead serious and focused face, this tells the audience that maybe Lauda is a threat to him and there is a lot of tension between the two.

I really like this opening because I think it establishes relationships with both of the characters and the acrtion takes placein the useof camera and the editing and mise en scene - so much is communicated to the audience about the characters and their relationship without dialogue and this itself creates suspense.

Shot Reverse Shot

Shot Reverse Shot

Shot reverse shot is commonly used in convocations between two people. This shot is a filming technique where one of the two characters is shown (through and over the shoulder shot mainly) looking off screen at the character opposite them, then the camera switches to the other side (but will still abide to the 180 degree rule) and show the same shot but you will most likely see the other person now talking or making facial expressions showing their emotions towards what the other person is saying.

Example of Shot Reverse Shot

Questionnaire and Feedback

Questionnaire and Feedback

Our group carried out a questionnaire as part of our Research and Planning to see who our target audience is and what their personal preferences are towards different film. We surveyed 20 people which gave us a good starting point as to what our film will be like.

We asked each individual 10 questions.

1. How old are you?

2. Are you Male or Female?

3. What is your favourite genre of film?

4. What would you expect from a Thriller film?

5. What would you expect in an Action film?

6. What would you expect in a horror film?

7.  What location will suit a Thriller film best?

8. What location will suit an Action film best?

9. What location will suit a Horror film best?

10. Which of these film titles is most appealing?

From our Questionnaire and Feedback, we have learnt that the majority of our target audience are around 15-17 with a small number being over and under this age range. This suggests that our film should have a age rating certificate of 15. We have also learned that the majority of the people that we surveyed prefer Action and Thriller films to Horror and other genres. This told us that creating a film of one of these two genres will appeal to the target audience the most.

We also asked where the ideal location is for one of these films to take place in and what they would expect from these genres, these were asked so that we could get a good idea of where we need to go for this film and what will be expected of us.

Our last question was a selection of four different film titles and we asked our participants which title sounds the best, we learnt that 'The Alliance' was the most popular and won by a long shot. The film title it self would also be expected primarily in a Thriller or an Action film.