Narrative Codes

Media Narrative Codes from abbiehallam

How to add text on Adobe Premier Pro

When editing our final product, we all wanted to add text to some scenes for our opening credits. We had recently done some practice with titling after our preliminary task but we wanted to get a little more advanced to try and make it the best it could possibly be. We wasn't really sure how to do this so we had a look on youtube and found a really good video explaining how you can do this. I think this was very beneficial in our final product as it helped us out a lot.

Binary Opposites

Binary Oppositions from abbiehallam

Our Production Logo

This is our production logo that we created for opening of our thriller opening! Not much but I think it works well with our thriller. :)

Famous Thriller Directors

Steven Allan Spielberg (born December 18,1946) -

Spielberg is an American director, producer and screenwriter. He is considered one of the founding pioneers of the New Hollywood era, as well as being viewed as one of the most popular directors and producers in film history. He is also very well known for being one of the co-founders of DreamWorks Studios.

He has covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as archetypes of modern Hollywood blockbuster film making. In later years, his films began addressing humanistic issues such as the Holocaust (in Schindler's List), the transatlantic slave trade (in Amistad), war (in Empire of the Sun, Saving Private Ryan, War Horse and Bridge of Spies) and terrorism (in Munich). He is also well known for his many thriller productions, including Jaws which he won the Academy Award for Best Director. 




James Francis Cameron  (born August 16, 1954) -

He is one of the worlds well known Canadian filmmaker, director, producer, screenwriter, inventor, engineer, philanthropist, and deep-sea explorer. He first found major success with the science fiction action film The Terminator (1984). He then became a popular Hollywood director and was hired to write and direct Aliens (1986).

After his film True Lies (1994) Cameron took on his biggest film at the time, Titanic (1997), which earned him Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director and Film Editing. After Titanic, Cameron began a project that took almost 10 years to make: his science-fiction epic Avatar (2009), which was in particular a landmark for 3D technology, and for which he received nominations for the same three Academy Awards. In the time between making Titanic and Avatar. 

Cameron's directorial efforts have grossed approximately US$2 billion in North America and US$6 billion worldwide. Not adjusted for inflation, Cameron's Titanic and Avatar are the two highest-grossing films of all time at $2.19 billion and $2.78 billion respectively.

Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) - 

He was an English film director and producer, at times referred to as "The Master of Suspense". He pioneered many elements of the suspense and psychological thriller genres. He had a successful career in British cinema with both silent films and early talkies and became renowned as England's best director. 

His stylistic trademarks include the use of camera movement that mimics a person's gaze. He framed shots to maximise anxiety, fear, or empathy, and used innovative forms of film editing. His work often features fugitives on the run alongside "icy blonde" female characters. Many of Hitchcock's films have twist endings and thrilling plots featuring depictions of murder and other violence. Some examples of films he has produced and directed would be Rear Window (1954) and an all time classic thriller, Psycho (1960) .

Shooting Schedule 2

Hello again!

Just wanted to update you guys on our shooting schedule for our recent day out filming, Enjoy! :)

Possible Location

As our first locations didn't work out for us, as it was too much of a busy road and too windy for us to film anything without it being too loud, we thought of a better place that we could maybe shoot. This is the possible location for our thriller opening. 

The Dark Knight Rises Textual Analysis

The opening title sequence for ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ establishes an eery and mysterious atmosphere. This is due to the pace of the non-diegetic soundtrack being played. Also, the colours in the opening only consist of black, white and grey, this again reinforces the intended atmosphere. During this sequence we are introduced to some of the characters within the film indirectly, as we only see pictures of them. titles are included within the image and alter positions simultaneously with the camera movement. We are only able to guess what will happen in the film as we are not shown any of the plot.

Editing 

Editing has been used to build genre and also representation as lots of the time within the opening sequence was focused on the character ‘Bane’ and this imposes his importance to the audience. Continuity has been clearly used. 

Camera Angles/Shots

The audience of the film is the followers of the batman trilogy and this is shown by the use of camera shots showing a character from one of the previous films. The audience may also range to people who enjoy films under the thriller genre and hence, may entice them to view the film. 

During the conversation between ‘Bane’ and the CIA agent shot reverse shot is used and high angle shot is used when the CIA agent is in shot and a low angle shot is used when ‘Bane’ is in shot.The character Bane is represented as powerful and despite his physical appearance he is shown to be powerful from the camera angles used on his whilst in shot, as in every shot he is shown in he is either being shown through a low angle shot or a high angle over the shoulder shot of him, both of which show power of the character and impose the idea of his importance.

Mise-en scene

Mise on scene is also vital to the representation of the character bane as we are shown his mask, which is also key to the representation of this particular character as it has great importance within the narrative. The mask is also very important as it is used as an enigma code to engage the viewer and question who the character is and why he wears it.

Sound

Non-Diegetic sound and diegetic sound have been clearly used to emphasise certain parts of the opening sequence, as they are key to the narrative. Non-diegetic sound has been used throughout the opening sequence to show importance of the actions taking place by the use of powerful orchestral music being played during the events taking place in shot.

Audience Research

Possible Locations

We have visited some possible locations of where we could film our thriller opening and these include the five pits trail, North Wingfield and the hill running down towards Clay Cross. These photos were taken around a time we are possibly going to be filming at (4/5pm) to get a good idea of how it will look. 

Personally, i think that the best time for us to go film our thriller opening will be around 2/3 pm as it the lighting will be at its best so we can avoid having to cut scenes because of the lack of lighting etc. 

Here are some photos taken at the possible locations, 

Five Pits Trail, North Wingfield:

 

 The hill running down towards Clay Cross: 

What is a screenplay?

A screenplay can be an original piece, or based on a true story or previously written piece, like a novel, stage play or newspaper article. At its heart, a screenplay is a blueprint for the film it will one day become. Professionals on the set including the producer, director, set designer and actors all translate the screenwriter's vision using their individual talents. Since the creation of a film is ultimately a collaborative art, the screenwriter must be aware of each person's role and as such, the script should reflect the writer's knowledge.

For example, it's crucial to remember that film is primarily a visual medium. As a screenwriter, you must show what's happening in a story, rather than tell. 

Why do screenplays use Courier font?

It's a timing issue. One formatted script page in Courier font equals roughly one minute of screen time. That's why the average page count of a screenplay should come in between 90 and 120 pages. Comedies tend to be on the shorter side (90 pages, or 1 ½ hours) while Dramas run longer (120 pages, or 2 hours).

Jaws

During one of my media lessons at school, we all looked at a screenplay of a section of the Jaws and and then watched part of the movie with this screenplay to see how much they are the same. We also looked into all the different things that were included on the script, like how the movements and editing was written on the screenplay, which gives us a better idea of how to write ours and what we will need to include on our screenplay.

After doing my own research on screenplays, and focusing on a specific one, which is Jaws and identifying what was wrote in that screenplay, I think that when it comes to me doing my final production, I have a good understanding of what I need to include and how to write one myself without struggling on what we need to include. 

Being the Examiner

Hey Guys! 

 Today, within my lesson, our class were given different other media students thriller videos to watch and then given a mark scheme with a clear set aim to mark the different thrillers based on what we had seen. We all watched the videos then made our own individual verdicts on what we thought they should get marked. However, we found out after we had done speaking to the teacher that we had all marked the videos pretty harshly. We all awarded the thriller openings a much lower grade then they were actually given. This was then a big surprise for us and gave us a little confident boost for when we produce our thriller opening.

When given a level 4 mark (the highest grade) these are some of the aims that the examiners are expected to see within the production: 

• material appropriate for the target audience task
• using titles appropriately according to institutional conventions
• using sound with images and editing appropriately for the tasks set
• shooting material appropaite to the task set, including controlled use of the camera, attention to framing, vartiety of shot distance and close attention to mise-en-scene

Here are some of the examples of the ones we watched:

'PEEK-A-BOO'

 

For this thriller opening, I marked it as a 2/3 mark band as I didn't think it met the mark band 4 criteria, But still wasn't ready to be in a mark band 3. I was particularly shocked when our teacher told us that they had gotten 46/50 as I thought it didn't really make much sense as at first it was filmed at night time and was dark and then when she went out at the same time it was light and I thought that there could of been more camera angles.


'HIDDEN'

 

Here is another thriller opening we watched which I personally feel like was the best out of all of them. This was marked 48/60 and I marked it as a level 4 mark band, as I think it met all the criteria. I can see why the examiner marked it at this level because you can see there was a lot of effort put into the production and editing as well as all the camera shots. I also thought this was good because it isn't like any I've seen before and is very original compared to most of the others. I'm glad this got the mark that it did because it is a really good foundation media product and if this was a thriller opening for real, I would definitely be engaged as it grabbed my attention throughout.

Storyboard

Hey guys! 

Here is our storyboard for what we are planning to do for our thriller opening. Hope you enjoy!

Risk Assessment

Our Risk Assessment.

Back of Risk Assessment for final production.

Missing Screenplay

Recently me and my group have been working on our screenplay so that when it comes to filming our thriller opening we have a good idea of what camera shots we are going to use as well as what dialogue is going to be involved. We will also be including what it happening in the scene e.g when it says a muffled scream from Charlotte etc. Below is what idea we came up with initially for our thriller opening, however some changes may still be made e.g. more dialogue may be added, or different camera angles because we may get different ideas and decide different things will work better in order for our thriller opening to be the best of our abilities. But this is all part of the process!

Missing 

Friends, Lucy and Charlotte are walking down a street lit road, casually talking. 

Charlotte 

Where’s that concert you’re going to? 

Lucy 

O2 Academy 

      

Charlotte 

I was thinking about coming, what date is it? 

Lucy 

6th February, on Saturday. You coming? 

Charlotte 

Ohh no, is that this Saturday? 

Lucy 

Yeah, why? 

Charlotte 

I’ve got work. 

Lucy 

Oh for god’s sake. Anyway, see you later! Facetime me when you’re home. 

Charlotte

See you. 

Charlotte walks towards the entrance of the woods. She opens the gate, and heads through the dark woods alone. She gets out her phone from her pocket, scrolling social media.  

As she walks along the path she hears a crunch of leaves being stood on behind her. She suddenly turns around to see who’s there. No one is to be seen. She begins to pick up the pace, and keeps looking behind her to check if anyone’s there. 

Antagonist POV: 

He spies on the girl through the bushes, following her tracks. He is quiet and calm, as represented in his slow breathing/heart rate in contrast to Charlotte’s. 

She sees a black silhouette in the distance, stumbling on her feet she runs faster only to turn back around and the figure has disappeared. Her breathing rate picks up and she panics. She runs to the gate, her shaking hands struggle to grasp the latch in time. She hears the breathing behind her, it’s too late. A hand grabs her mouth.  

*Muffled scream from Charlotte*

 She is suddenly plunged into darkness and a black bag is carelessly shoved over her head. 

BBFC Age Ratings

One Page Pitch

Hey Guys! 

A few days ago we had to write our one page pitch and then explain what my thriller opening is going to be based on and what me and my group's main ideas were and here is the the one page pitch being presented to our teachers to further explain the thriller opening. 

BBFC- Rules and Regulations

In my thriller opening, me and my group have decided to make it as a 15+. We made it this because we want it to be a sort of horror as well as a thriller and we didn't think this would apply for people under the age of 15. This also still applies for a wide range of people.
I believe that the opening would have this rating due to the violence at the end of the opening. According the British Board of Film at a rating of 15, violence may be strong.
This is some of information I found on the BBFC website that tells you about what makes it a 15+ movie:

What might I see in a 15 rated film or video?
Any of the following: strong violence frequent strong language (e.g. 'f***'). portrayals of sexual activity strong verbal references to sex sexual nudity brief scenes of sexual violence or verbal references to sexual violence discriminatory language or behaviour drug taking.
   - Our opening scene isn't going to involve any of the following but later on in the movie there will be violence and strong language used throughout.

What about horror works?
At 15 there can be strong threat and horror as long as there is no sustained focus on sadistic or sexualised threat.
   - This will go for my production as it is going to have quite a lot of horror in as well as being a thriller. I think it is a good idea to incorporate the two because then it could provide for a wider range and get more people watching the thriller.

Can you see drugs in a 15 rated film or video?
At 15 drug taking may be shown but the work as a whole must not promote or encourage drug misuse (for example, through instructional detail). The misuse of easily accessible and highly dangerous substances like aerosols or solvents is unlikely to be acceptable at 15.
   - Later on in the film it might have some drug taking, but we haven't got to think about that because we are only doing the opening.

What about dangerous behaviour or things teens might copy?
We consider the risk of potential harm to impressionable teenagers. For example, dangerous behaviour such as hanging, suicide and self-harming should not dwell on detail which could be copied. Whether the depiction of easily accessible weapons is acceptable will depend on factors such as realism, context and setting.
   - We are trying to make our opening scene as realistic as possible and believe they are in the characters shoes with POV shots, however the teen will not copy our film as it is about getting kidnapped and im sure no one would like that.

How much strong language is allowed in a 15?
There could potentially be a great deal. At 15 there is no upper limit on the number of uses of strong language (e.g. ‘f***’). Occasionally there may be uses of the strongest terms (e.g. 'c***'), depending on the manner in which they are used, who is using the language, its frequency and any special contextual justification. However, continued or aggressive use will not normally be passed 15.

What about discriminatory or offensive terms?
There may be racist, homophobic or other discriminatory language, and the work could explore themes relating to this. However, at 15 the work as a whole must not endorse discriminatory language or behaviour.

How much sex and nudity is allowed at 15?
At 15 sexual activity can be portrayed, but usually without strong detail. Some sex scenes can be quite long at this category. Though nudity may be allowed in a sexual context there will usually be no strong detail. There are no constraints on nudity in a non-sexual or educational context. There can be strong references to sex and sexual behaviour, but especially strong or crude references are unlikely to be acceptable unless justified by context. Sex and sex references are treated the same irrespective of sexuality

Can there be strong violence?
Yes, at 15 violence may be strong. It should not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury, however, and the strongest gory images are unlikely to be acceptable. Strong sadistic violence is also unlikely to be acceptable.
   - In our thriller, we didn't plan to have it very gory with that much strong language, so I think ours fits in to the 15+ age range.

Role of a Screenwriter

1. Screenwriters develop scripts derived from their own ideas or other existing ideas or work. When writing scripts, screenwriters are responsible for describing the stories in detail, including physical environments and the moods of the characters. Films and televisions shows require the use of these scripts. Prior to production of a film or show, screenwriters might produce a synopsis and several scenes of a story. A shooting script is then prepared. The shooting script entails camera, lighting and shot instructions. Once the screenplay is ready, it is the single most important document that forms the basis on which everyone else (the Director, Actors etc.) builds the Film. Most off pro screen writing is often done in teams where the screenwriter does a little part off the finished script, like taking the story and write lines, or doing a scene by scene story from an outline. 

During the preproduction process, screenwriters must take into account the ideas of directors and producers they are working with. They should possess the ability to work and collaborate with others. Screenwriters may be asked to rewrite or make various versions of the scripts they are working on.

Se7en Textual Analysis