Live type and Sound

Livetype is a software that allows you to create titles, headlines, sub headlines and credits for a film.  This is useful for my group and I when creating our film because it will make our film more authentic.


the screenshot below is an example of using livetype.

This shows me using livetype. I have inserted my name into livetype as an example. When doing my thriller, I will put the chosen name of the thriller and edit it to my liking.

after doing this I can then add effects, objects and a background towards the title and make it look like a presentable title sequence for a film.

Livetype and sound Skills

We were then introduced to 'Livetype' which is a programme used to create animated title sequence and credits. It can be used to show the title, the casts, producers, the directors, designers and etc. It can also be used to tell the story of a clip, for example, you could write over a clip saying "4 years later".

Above is a screen shot of the programme "Livetype".

This is where I created the text. I could type in any text I want on the left hand side screen shot, then edit it using the screen shot on the right. There are hundreds of different types of fonts and backgrounds which could be used.

In this screen shot, I could place and position where I want the text to be, I could also tilt the text to make it fit in with the theme of a clip.

After i was then introduced to a programme called 'Sound pro' which is used to edit sounds and also create sounds.

Above is a screen shot of the sound sequence used for our 'Bag Swap'. Little sequences of sounds are put together to create a sound track. 

The sounds we used are:

'Orchestral String Section 03'

'Delay Beat 02'

'Delay Beat 03'

'Delay Beat 01'

This is what i used to find the sounds i want to use, there are categories of sounds which makes it easier to find which sort of sound i wanted to use. For instance, if i wanted to use string sounds i would click on 'Strings', 'Violins', 'Guitars' and 'Organ'.

With the screen shot above i could match the sound track with the 'Bag Swap' which would make it easier to change the tone of the soundtrack to make it match with the clip.

Intro to Editing.

We were introduced to editing using a programme called 'Final Cut Pro.'

Using 'Final Cut Pro' i had to upload all the clips i recorded and to make a video. I learnt how to cut out clips and put it together to make a short sequence of clips. I found it quiet easy to use 'Final Cut Pro' because i had used a similar programme before to make a video, therefore i didn't have any trouble editing and making the videos.

This is where i collected the clips that i needed to make a video.

I used this section of the 'Final Cut Pro' to crop and cut out the clips that we didn't need.

This is where i put all the clips together to make a video. It also helps me to edit the unwanted sounds from the clips.

Intro to Editing

Editing Bag swap

We had to use the macs to edit the bag swap, we added sound and text, we used final cut, sound pro and live type to edit the clip.

Here is a screen shot of final cut:

Live type is a programme where you could add text to the video here is a screen shot:


Sound pro allows users to mak and edit their whatever sounds they feel are relevant to the movie below is a screen shot from the bag swap where the sounds have been put together to create a soundtrack:

These are all the sounds we decided to use on the clip:

Here are images of the available instruments and the video being played on soundtrack pro:

Editing Bag swap

To edit the bag swap i and my group were required to use the help of certain apple mac applications such as,

Final cut: Which is an apple application which allows you to crop, cut and glue together images and short filmings to create an overall footage.

Below are some screen shots of editing the bag swap in Final cut pro;

Live type: Which is a program which allows you to create animated title sequences/ credits to add to your own prefered footage.( such as adding producers,actors,and directors name at the begining or end of a specific film.) Below is a short clip showing the basic overview on how to use live type.

Below are screen shots of me using Live type

Sound pro: which is a program which allows you to compose and edit your own personal choice of  audio to accompany your footage. You may also add special sound effects using this particular application to your preferred footage.

Below are some screen shot images of editing sound for the actual bag swap.

The above screen shot is an screen shot of the sound track sequence where different sound elements have been put together to produce one final sound track for the Bag swap movie (The note)

Above is an screen shot image of all the different types of sound included in the final sound track.

Above on the far left hand side of the page is an screen shot image of the actual bag swap movie being played on Sound track pro, on the far right hand side of the page is an screen shot of the different categories of instrument that are available to use to produce a final sound track.

Bag Swap Clip.

We as a group had a task to make a short thriller movie about two people swapping bags. we came up with numerous number of ideas but in the end chose to go with an idea that was'nt to time consuming or complicted.

We required the use of borrowing an jvc camera, tripod and and an umbrella in case of rain from our college media technicans.

Setting: We decided as an group that initally we would film our bag swap footage at a park around the corner of the college however in the end the idea backfired and we decided to shoot the footage in side the college and its grounds. Our movie begins from the inside of the college and ends up ending outside on the grounds of the college.

Camera:  In our bag swap footage we've included shots such as over shoulder shots, close ups and extreme close ups, point of view shots, tracking and the use of birds eye view shot.

We then required to combine all the shot filming clips into one production which to create we needed to edit the movie, by using 'Final cut pro' by using 'Final cut pro' we was able to cut and crop any unnecessary footage.

Below is the final footage of our Bag swap movie 

Introduction to camera

In order to start using the cameras needed for our media coursework [Thrillers], we had to be taught how to use a professional video camera.  Key points of the Introduction were:

• Learning where to insert the battery and memory cards.
• Making sure the lens is in focus before filming.
• When to record and when not to. e.g. not to film outside if it is raining without the camera being protected.

As well as learning to use the camera we also learned how to use the tri-pod. we learnt that:

• the tripod legs must be evenly set so that it isn't wobbly
• make sure the camera is safely secure on the tripod so that it doesn't fall off.

Introduction to camera.

We were introduced to cameras in our previous lesson. We were told to take care of the cameras like it was our own as it is expensive. 

Here is the camera that we were introduced to and were going to use for our project. We learnt where and how to put the battery and memory card in. We were introduced to the function of the camera, for example, what the basic buttons were for, e.g. the recording button, the pause and play button, the zoom button and etc.

We were also taught how to get a clear focus on manual, as there is a rotating switch just behind the lens of the camera.

After that, we had to put all the knowledge we learnt to record a quick 10 second clip. I did a little interview with Ryan. I found that it was very easy to record and knowing how to function the camera on manual it wasn't difficult for me.

Then we were introduced to the Tripod, which is a piece of equipment used to hold the camera still but allows you to rotate and move the camera easily. The lever on the side allows us to move the camera allowing it to rotate, swivel, swerve, pan and track. The camera sits on top of the Tripod with a lock which locks it so it wouldn't fall off.

Types of shot learnt about

After being introduced to how the camera works and its functions with the help of our college media specialist Marisa, the following lesson after we learnt the types of shots mostly used in thriller movies, to help create a closer understanding about the types of shot i and my group should/could include in my/our thriller opening.

Below are are the list of some of the shots we learnt about as a class:

CU (Close Up): Close shot of the full face.

MCU (Midium Close Up): A close up shot from the shoulders upwards, e.g capturing mainly the face face.

ECU (Extreme Close Up): A shot capturing onlt one particular object or person, a kind of a zoomed shot.

WS (Wide Shot): A Wide Shot, is a shot usually used to show a vast majority of scenery.

MS (Mid Shot): A shot from the waist upwards, capturing the body and face.

Two-Shot: When 2 people are in the same shot from the waist upwards.

OSS (Over-the-Shoulder-Shot): is a shot of someone or something taken over the shoulder of another person.

POV (Point of View Shot): A shot that shows what a character or a subject is looking at

Here are some different camera angles we learnt:

High Angle

Low Angle

Bird's-Eye View

Below are some of the camera movement we learnt in class:

Panning - the panning features involves the camera moving from side to side, this is used to show scenery. 

Tilting - titling is done by the camera man and its when they give a human effect and the camera is a person, thats what it can be used for. 

Tracking - when a track is used its placed down and the camera follows the the track and moves in a certain way the track is set. This is used to follow characters 

Below are some of the above camera shot (images).

CLOSE UP SHOT                                      

MID SHOT

WIDE SHOT

suspense in momento

Suspense is constantly used throughout momento and is used to keep us the audience on the edge of our seats which is accomplished very well by Christopher Nolan. The movie starts with a strange but somehow engaging scene where the protaganist is shaking a photo and it is returning to a blank state, the orchestra music used here helps the suspense to build at a slow steady pace. The use of this creates a huge amount of suspense, aswell as the concious talking and black and white effect used.

The use of the bomb theory later in the film also creates huge suspense as we waait for the characters to realise what we know. Once the audience recognise something the character doesn't it leads to a constant build in suspense. There is alot of sounds used to build suspense in the scene, heavy breathing and a heart beat sound are the main suspense building sounds.

Also the audience are lured into a false plateau and this is a huge reason for the rise in suspense. The audience believe something is going to happen but as the film comes to a twist of an end we realise the truth about the characters. This is a good tool as the audience are constantly waiting for something to happen but it never does this is very suspense building as every close encounter will up the suspense a bit more.

Memento title sequence. [Analysis]

Memento is a very thrilling and psychological movie. It uses it's title sequence to help attract the viewer into wanting to watch the rest of the film. Once viewing the title sequence I was hooked and wanted to watch the rest of the film as I found it rather interesting.

                 

  The title sequence of Memento went in the order below;

• 0:01- The Production Company name : Newmarket
• 0:08- Production company's name appears again.(Newmarket presents)
• 0:12- Summit Entertainmet
• 0:16- Team Todd Production
• 0:21- Mention of director (a film by Christopher Nolan)
• 0:25- Actors names appear
• 0:38-The main title of the film (Memento) appears
• 0:41 - A man appears holding a photograph
• 0:45-0:58 - Co-stars are shown as part of the opening credits.
• 1:00 - Cast
• 1:04 - 1:32 - Other people involved in the film such as: Music Producer, Costume designer, editor, production designer, Co-producers & executive producers.
• 1:36 - Produced by Suzanne Todd and Jennifer Todd
• 1:42 - Screen play by Christopher Nolan, based on the short story by Jonathan Nolan
• 1:47 - Name of Director [Christopher Nolan]
• 1:53- The title sequence ends.

Introduction to cameras:

Introduction to cameras:

Safety rules and regulations:

• Never expose the camera in the rain or to water. If required to film in the rain ask the technician for an umbrella which can be used to protect the camera. 
• Never do illegal actions or anything against the law when filming.
• Never film in dangerous places such as railways or anywhere prohibited this could result in disqualification 
• Close the camera lens after use as, it is the most important an expensive part of the camera, and can damage the quality of the footage produced.
• In the case of an emergency always call the media department and go straight home with the camera if necessary,or if close to college return to the college as soon as possible.
• Always hand in the camera on time as there are only a limited number of cameras within the department which many other groups will need to use for filming.

In class we were fortunate enough after completing the rules and regulations of using the cameras to be able to have a tour around how to actually use the cameras to produce our short thriller opening in the near future.
below are the list of what we learnt about the camera and its functions from our media specialist Marisa.

• We were told how to always keep the focus on mannual focus as it is recommended to be better than auto focus.
• We were asked to always make sure that when inserting the camera onto the tripod always slide the camera on from the back.
• Always extend the legs of the tripod to its fullest, which can prevent the camera from titling
• Never place smudges or finger prints on the lens of the camera as it can affect the quality of the footage produced
• Always make sure you insert the memory card correctly.
• Never force anything in.

Analysis of Memento title sequence

I personally have found that Memento is a very thrilling and moving movie, which is one that i believe a majority of people will enjoy. Once viewing the title sequence i was much more eager to watch the actual movie as it appeared to be a psychological thriller one of my most inspired movie genre.once watching half of the movie i realised that I have watched an Bollywood movie called Gajini, which pretty much shares the same concept as Memento.

 

                

 Below is the the list and order of what appears in the title sequence of Memento;

• 0:01- The Production Company name : Newmarket
• 0:08- Production company's name appears again.(Newmarket presents)
• 0:12- Summit Entertainmet
• 0:16- Team Todd Production
• 0:21- Mention of director (a film by Christopher Nolan)
• 0:25- Actors names appear
• 0:38-The main title (Memento) appears
• 0:41 - A man appears holding a photograph
• 0:45-0:58 - Co-starring actors names
• 1:00 - Casting
• 1:04 - Music Producer
• 1:08 - Costume designer
• 1:12 - Editor
• 1:15 - Production designer
• 1:19 - Director of photography
• 1:24 - Co-producer
• 1:27 - Co-executive producers
• 1:32 - Executive producer
• 1:36 - Produced by suzanne Todd and Jennifer Todd
• 1:42 - Screen play by Christoper Nolan, based on the short story by Jonathan Nolan
• 1:47 - Directed by Christoper Nolan
• 1:53- The actual title sequence comes to an end 

Intertextuality

Intertextuality in media terms can be either: borrowing ideas or phrases from one piece of media and using it in another piece of media. many tv shows & films use intertextuality as either a parody/spoof or to commemorate an idea.

Memento: How Suspense Is Created.

Memento is about a man who suffers from short-term memory loss and uses notes and tattoos to hunt for the man he thinks killed his wife. This is classified as a psychological thriller. In a psychological thriller, The suspense is often created by two or more characters preying upon one another's minds, either by playing mind games with each other or by merely trying to demolish the other's mental state.


There are numerous scenes that show suspense in memento. One scene that shows suspense is when he questions who he is talking to on the phone. the use of sound helps to build the suspense. the music stops just before he asks who he is talking to. the music stopping grabs the attention of the audience and makes them think that something is happening or is going to happen in the plot.


another scene is at the beginning when the main character murders one of the other characters. having this happen at the beginning of the film builds suspense as it wouldn't really be suspected and it makes the audience want to watch on and question why the person was killed.


another way the film builds suspense is the way it is presented/shown. the film goes backwards in the events leading up to the killing we see at the beginning of the film. this builds suspense as it makes the audience eager to know more and makes them want to watch on.

suspense

suspense in thrillers is built through many different ways.

the music is a main contribute. it can suddenly change from a normal soundtrack to a more alarming frightening soundtrack that indicates to the audience that something is going to happen. 

another way suspense is built is through cliff hangers. cliff hangers make the audience go on the edge of their seats, movies often use cliffhangers at the opening of the movie to make the audience want to continue watching. they can also use them at the end of a film if they are planning on making a sequel of it. this gives the audience the idea that the film will be full of suspense.

This is the famous suspense shower death scene from the film "psycho". after watching this in class we discussed the technical aspects that make this such a inspirational and motivating scene.
a great technical aspect is the sound.
the sound, both non-digetic & digetic, indicates to the audience that something is going to happen, whether it is bad or good, in this case bad.
another key technical element is the camera shots. the camera shots show us what is happeneing and show the facial expression on the womans face as she is killed. the editing also relates to the camera shots as the shots are cut very fast to show the speed of what is happening and at the end when the woman is dead. edit is used to zoom from her eye to show her face and her facial expression to show her pale dead face.
Psycho has influenced many horror films made in the twentieth century. It influenced the creation of slasher films, including Halloween. also it influenced the film step brothers. and many key elements are mimicked by twentieth century films as a sign of respect to commemorate psycho's success in showing suspense.

Thriller Sub-Genres

There are many movies that can be classed as thrillers and for this they have been put in sub-genres. these are:

·         Crime Thrillers – an example of this is Sin City

·         Action Thrillers – am example of this is Resident Evil

·         Sci-fi Thrillers – an example of this is Alien

·         Political Thrillers – an example of this is Enemy Of the State

·         Psychological Thrillers – an example of this is Phonebooth

each of these sub-genres are unique in there own way. take political thrillers for example. A political thriller is a thriller that is set against the backdrop of political power struggle. They usually involve various plots, rarely legal, designed to give political power to someone, while his opponents try to stop him from getting it. They can involve national or international political scenarios. World War II is a favorite scenario, as are US presidential elections.

Title Sequence Analysis of 'Taken Of Pelham 123'

1. State the Production & Distribution companies.

Colombia Pictures - is revealed with a black line which also reveals the credits which comes in fast then slows down and then exits fast, which is kind of like a train.

2. List the info that is included in the title sequence.

• Director
• Actor
• Title of movie
• Other actors
• Casting
• Pro executive producer
• Editor
• Productive assistant
• Director of photography
• Producer

3. Title sequence timeline.

00:19 - Colombia IDENT

00:23 - Colombia MGM

00:30 - Relitively media

00:33 - Scott Free/Escape Artist

00:40 - Film by Tony Scott

00:46 - Denzel Washington

00:50 - John Travolta

01:15 - Film title

01:22 - Location

01:43 - Showing names off other actors every two seconds until 02:32

02:32 - Casting

02:34 -Costume Designer

4. Film title

Placed in the Centre of the screen and in-between the start and middle of the title sequence. 01:15 - 01:20

How Suspense is created in 'Momento'

In the beginning of 'Momento' suspense is created by a photograph being flicked and every time it is flicked it gets blurry. From this I could tell that the film was going to go in reverse. In the beginning the music seems tensed as it is at a low pitch and is a very slow orchestral instrument which is also used to create suspense. The music gradually gets louder and we see blood going up the walls then in slow motion the clip is reversed and we see the bullet shell going back into the gun, then a sudden bang of the gunshot is heard but the bullet is shot back into the gun and the man who got shot is alive. This whole scene was supposed to be an ending of the film but as it is reversed it becomes the start of the film and we get to find out why he shot that man.

Analysis of Pelham 123

The taking of Pelham 123 starts with an indent, we then see the production companies columbia and Metro goldwyn mayer and then relatively media and scott free escape artists. We then see the director Tony Scott then the two main actors Denzel Washington and John travolta. At around 1:17 we see the film title. At 1:22 we see the location of the movie then we see two actors talking in what would be thought of as the start of the film but credits continue. There is a black line that constantly passes through the credit which seems very similar to a train which could have been a very astute use of foreshadowing.

List of sub-genres

Crime thriller: This is a mixture of thriller movie elements and crime movie elements. Usually the criminals are the main character not the police, in crime thrillers there is alot more building of suspense. There is less psychological battles and alot of action in this sub-genre. eg. Oceans 11

Conspiracy thriller: This is where the whole plot of the movie is based around someones affliction with a large group of enemies usually the government.eg. Marathon man

Psychologocal thriller: This is where there is very little action but alot of suspense building scenes due to a mental battle rather than a physical one, although there would sometimes be a very violent ending to the movie. This sub-genre usually contains elements of drama and mystery and due to the build up in tension it can sometimes seem to be a horror movie. eg. Phonebooth

Political thriller: This is a thriller where there is a large power struggle between the politicans and an enemy. Or can involve someone trying to obtain power, these films usually show alot of iklleagal government dealings. eg. JFK

Techno thriller: This is where up to date and futuristic technology is used to build the suspense. eg.  The hunt for red october

Intertextuality in Films

"Intertextuality is a term to describe the visual referencing between films. Quite literally, films 'borrow' from each other, and you may recognise certain camera angles, aspects of mise en scene, snippets of sound or methods of editing in some films that you have seen in others."

'Psycho' is a classic film and many other films has borrowed the famous 'Shower Scene' to include to their film. The films below are examples of intertextuality which has 'borrowed' from 'Psycho'

What Lies Beneath - used the whole idea of a bathroom as the main scene with the girl in the bath tub laid still with her eyes starring into space as she gasps for air just like in 'Psycho' when the victim gets stabbed.

Fatal Attraction - used the whole idea of the victim being a woman and the villain being a man. it also uses aspects of a bathroom. However, the woman in this clip ends up holding the knife instead of the man.

The Stepfather - also uses the thought of having a bathroom and also the woman being a victim with the man holding a knife. it also borrows the idea of having the shower curtains being pulled down by the victim. But in this scene the woman ends up stabbing the man with the same pose from 'Psycho' as the hand with the knife is over her shoulder.

Succubus - is a student film which is made to portray 'Psycho'. it almost has everything borrowed from the 'Shower scene' with features of the shower, knife, stabbing pose, blood draining down the shower and the helpless victim. But, however, in this clip the victim is a boy and the villain is a girl.

Analysis of Thriller Clip

Deja Vu 

(2006)

'Deja Vu' is an Action Thriller movie which was released in 2006 and directed by Tony Scott. 

The clip starts off with slow piano and orchestral music being played, this is used to create tension as the music is slow but we see people looking running around looking happy. it also gives us a sense that something bad may happen. Sailors are running out of buses towards a ship with joy to be with their families. During this scene, there is a long shot of the bus, a medium shot of sailors running out of a bus,  and an extreme long shot of the ship. By just showing these three clips we know that the sailors are running out of the bus to go to the ship without actually making it long.  

A shot of a little girl dropping her doll is shown to build up tension to the big disaster. The shot is in slow motion and her cry "mama" is also in slow which makes the audience feel sad for her. Then we hear trumpets and drums being played and it creates a party mode which gives feelings of contentment. Everyone on the ship seems to be enjoying themselves with entertainment and laughter. This is to put the viewers mind off all the tension that they thought was going to happen. Subsequently there is a shot of the man who is on the lower decks smoking and all we hear is the radio along with fainted music from a car. He turns around with a puzzled face and throws his cigarette away. This brings back and also adds to all the tension and suspense that was created. Then there is a shot of young kids having fun on the ship, this shot creates a sense of sorrow as the audience could tell that something terrible is going to happen to all these innocent young kids.

The music from the car becomes the dominant sound as the camera shows the shot of the ship and also people on it. This lets us know that something was going to be caused by the car as it becomes the most dominant shot near the end of the scene. Just before the ship blows up it shows us a little shot of a toddler and then it goes back to the man in the lower deck who looks into the car, to see that it was filled with explosions and before he could even run the is a massive explosion on the ship.

The clip was all about the build up of tension and suspense to the outcome of it. I personally think that the build up worked well with the use of the kids, the party music and people enjoying themselves as it makes us feel that these people are all innocent people who doesn't deserve to die.