Preliminary Task - Evidence To My Contribution

My contribution towards the group preliminary task was that I completed the majority of the editing in Final Cut. I also has equal input regarding the filming of the interrogation scene. I also was the one to take the photos used in the storyboard.

Myself & Emma Nye setting up a shot during filming

Myself & Emma Nye setting up a shot during filming

Myself editing the sequence in Final Cut

Myself filming a shot of the 'convict'

Group Preliminary Task With Directors Commentary

Final Edit with directors commentary

Group Preliminary Task

Camera How To: White Balance & Exposure

How To: Adjust White Balance

• Ensure that your camera is on the 'rec' setting before attempting to adjust the white balance
• Press the menu button and select Function >White Balance
• Hold a white sheet of paper infront of the camera
• Zoom in on the piece of paper using the zoom function on top of the camera
• Press and hold the Menu button until the icon flashes, this will mean that the camera has automatically set the white balance for you

How To: Adjust Exposure

• Press the Menu button > Exposure > Manual
• Scroll up and down with the top and bottom button on the wheel and adjust the exposure depending on the setting and desired effect of the shot.

How To: Adjust Focus

• Press the focus button above the menu pad.
• Use the left and right buttons to adjust the focus of the camera

Working With Sound & Foley Edit

This mind map is of the many terminologies used when discussing 'sound' within a film. The definitions of each word were found by myself and 2 partners. The reason behind the mind map is so that we can familiarise ourselves with the language used, so we can use them later on in our coursework and understand these words when used by others.

For this group task, there were 3 participants. My role within the group was to watch a clip of a film that was 2 minutes 20 seconds and create a timeline and noting down the times at which I heard a sound effect. The result is shown below. 

The reason behind the timeline was that  we were to be given a task where we were given just the footage without the sounds, our job was to re-insert the sound effects in the right places in 'Garage Band' which the timeline above enabled us to do. This gave us experience using GarageBand in order to have the knowledge to use it when it comes to making our group thriller title sequences. Below is the final product.

The heavy breathing sound effect is added on the video to create suspense. Heavy breathing would suggest fear or that the person is out of breath and has been running from something, it brings enigma codes where the audience could ask - why is he breathing heavily? The music was chosen as it is tense and has a suitable vibe for a thriller film. It is not too cheery like a soundtrack from a comedy but not too miserable like a soundtrack from a tragedy drama.

Camera Shots

Group presentation by Rosie Rattray, Emma Nye & Martin Stewart, a group task designed to ensure we understand the three types of camera shots and how to film them. This will be a huge help when creating our thriller titles sequence. I was given 'Shot Reverse Shot' as my area of study.

Copy of Camera Shots on Prezi

Limitless (Spoiler 2)

What if a pill could make you rich and powerful? Limitless is an exciting action-thriller about an extraordinary miracle the enhances the lives of many people. The main character is a writer Eddie Moora, who is struggling to write a novel; he looks a lot like a homeless person and is severely depressed after being rejected by his girlfriend, that brings him to become adamant that he doesn't have a positive future. Struggling to write his book, he is forced to stay inside his home for weeks and months trying to generate new idea, yet finding no solution.

Eddie takes a miraculous turn when he is re-introduced to his ex-brother in law Vernon who at their last meetup was a drug dealer. Learning that his old friend is still a dealer, and explaining to him about his depression and struggle in current times in his life, he is offered a potentially life changing drug NZT which enables the recipient to use 100% of their brain capacity.

The drug has many positive effects on Eddie, when he later returns to his apartment block, he bumps into the landlord's wife who he seduces with talk about legal studies in confidence, he later has sex with her. Back in his apartment Eddie quickly cleans up the mess made over the period of time spent moping around, he then begins to starts writing again, this time he is able to produce amazing quality work and words flew at him. The next morning the effects of the drug have worn off but he has printed the pages of the book he completed the night before, he brings them to his editor who is suspicious of how it came about so quickly, she is impressed by his work and leave many voicemails telling him.

Eddie goes to meet Vernon a second time, this time he is bruised and covered in blood; Vernon asks Eddie to run some errands for him, on his return, he discovers Vernon has been murdered and the apartment is completely trashed, he calls 999 in a blind panic. Realising that Vernon is dead, he looks for his stash of NZT which he finds along with a wad of money and an address book. Audiences then see Eddie live a life of luxuries and wealth for a short period of time, he jets off to beaches and pulls many women. He learns to play the piano, speak new languages, he improves his appearance and fitness and life seems as if it couldn't be better. When he jumps off a cliff in a cocky manner, he realises he needs money.

This is the stage where Eddie begins to start trading but he lends money from a loanshark and is threatened if he fails to repay the money. He becomes superior in his job and the miracle drugs lead him to become extremely successful and wealthy. His hunger for money is slowly becoming filled. Many people become aware of his success and wish to know his secret, he suspects that someone is spying on him, the man wears a cream coloured jacket.

Whilst walking down the street, Eddie is having distorted vision and jumps forward in time with no explanation or recollection of the events in-between  In these events he refers back to films he has seen in his head to fight off a gang of muggers, time then jumps forward and Eddie is seen in a bar where he meets new friends and has sex with a blonde woman in a hotel room. When he becomes aware of his surrounding and events, the drug once again has worn off and his stash of NZT has run out. He begs to call off the meeting yet he is forced to attend. On the news the following day, there is a report of a blonde girls murder in a hotel in the background of the metting, Eddie realises that the murder was of the girl he had previously had sex with and could have been committed by him, he excuses himself and is sick outside on the pavement.

Eddie becomes more and more worried about the effects of the miraculous drug. He decides to use Vernon's address book to ring previous recipients of the drug prior to him. He finds that all of the people that he called were either dead of very sick. The last call he makes is to the man in the cream jacket, which he quickly realises and flees from the scene.

Eddie arranges to meet his ex-girlfriend Melissa at which he discovers she has taken the same drug. She has been off the drug for two years yet her life is a mess and it has played with her mind, making a harsh impact on her life. She tells him to be careful and to ease himself out of taking them, or else he will die. he is later confronted by the loanshark who demands his money from Eddie, which he doesn't have to give to him, the man outs up a fight and manages to steal Eddie's NZT which satisfies his needs. Left without a stash, Eddie finds himself becoming more and more ill; he staggers into Lindy's office where he is forced to tell her what the matter is, he tells her he needs his stash which is hidden in her apartment. She gets them for him, yet on the way back she is followed by the suspicious man in the cream jacket. She is advised to take one of the NZT to gain the knowledge on how to free herself from the danger. She successfully escapes.

After the realization that he no longer has a stash and that people have come looking for him, he goes to kill himself by walking on the edge of the balcony, in a last attempt to survive, he remembers that there is a last remaining pill in one of the boxes, he goes to locate it but is quick to lose the pill during the attack. Fighting continues and Eddie manages to kill the attacker after he had administered a dose of NZT into his bloodstream. Eddie knows that the only way he can have some NZT for himself is to drink the dead man's blood, which he does in a desperate attempt. Eddie meets the thug in the waiting room of the hospital after visiting the manager of the company, who, now that his boss was dead, allows Eddie to search the safe safe where he finds his pills. 
12 months later Eddie's book is published. He is running for office and meets the corporate raider Carl in his office. He hints that he knows how Eddie has done it and has shut down his lab. Carl promises a limitless supply in return for information. Eddie aggressively comes back, showing off his abilities he says he is off NZT and doesn't need it as he pushes Carl away. At a Chinese restaurant Eddie and Lindy are together again after her leaving him after finding out about his drug usage.

This thriller is successful in the way that it creates mystery and suspense, the audience are held back from knowing whether the drug is going to conclusively be a good or bad thing for Eddie's life. There is a typical use of drugs, like many other thrillers, the mood and atmosphere is negative and shocking. The setting is in an adult world and there are high end business companies involved, the majority of characters are in business attire, suggesting they have important careers. There are many enigma codes within the film such as Who is the man in the cream jacket? Is the drug a benefit or a loss? Will the company discover the truth? Overall i would give this film a rating of 4/5 ****

Module 1 Self Assessment - Where I Am At

The level I would give myself currently is a  High Level 3, I would give myself 14/20 - Grade B

Targets:

• To complete tasks 8,9 & 11
• Become more creative with the presentation of my posts. Embedding videos and 9 stills
• Ensure planning and research is detailed in order to keep my Level 4 intact.

Group Thriller Synopsis - Narratives, Enigma Code, Subgenres

This video is a group presentation 'Thriller Synopsis' created by Rosie Rattray, Danny Whitebread, Grace Cuthbertson & Rosie Harvey. It outlines thriller narratives, enigma codes and thriller subgenres. We created this video on 'xtranormal'

Match On Action

The two videos in this post were an experimental 'match on action' on final cut to see if we were able to connect two clips (one of an actor closing a shutter, and the second an actor opening a door) into one with a seamless finish. The two clips in each video were filmed with separate type of shots, close-ups and medium long shots) I worked on this with Jake Lee, the one above completed by myself and the one below created by Jake. Overall for a first attempt I don't think we did too badly, though to improve we would need to be more precise on the place chosen to cut at.

Dexter Filming Proof Photos

Group Task - Rosie Rattray, Hannah Costen, Emma Nye & Rosie Harvey

For this group task we were told to recreate the 'Dexter' opening title sequence. The photos above is proof that all of the participants took part and played different roles withing the filming. As you can see, everyone had a turn at operating the camera and filming shots, we also all took turns in being filmed in specific shots. (From left to right) 

1. Emma setting up the camera to film the 'mosquito shot' 

2. Myself (Rosie Rattray) filming the 'mosquito shot'

3. Hannah setting up the camera for the shot in the mirror

4. Myself filming & Emma acting

5. Rosie Harvey setting up the camera

6. Emma and myself preparing props for the 'blood shots'

7. Rosie Harvey setting up the camera, Emma acting and myself helping to direct the actress and set up of the camera

Se7en Re-Edit

This is my first attempt at using FinalCutPro software to edit stills, video clips and sound clips into a sequence that mocks a title sequence of a film. This activity was a partner activity which I completed with Jake Lee in which we took turns to gain experience using the software. We learnt such things as cutting out parts of unwanted footage, adding sound and placing both image and videos together. This experience ensured we all gained the knowledge on how to use FinalCutPro which would be a benefit later on in the course when it is required during the making of our own Thriller Clip.