Preliminary Research

Continuity editing is a style of film editing and video editing. The sole purpose of continuity editing is for it to smooth over the transition on a video recording so that the change in scenes is natural and unnoticeable. There are two different types of continuity editing Temporal and spatial. When watching a film the viewer must know the story and the sequence taking place.

Temporal Continuity
Temporal continuity is where the directors make sure what is happening in the video clip people or things are moving over time. An example of this could be two characters conversing whilst drinking a glass of water, whenever they show that actor they have to make sure the glass is the same amount full or a little less in it. If they do not do this and the glass becomes more full than before this is called discontinuity

Spatial Continuity
This version of continuity editing is when the directors make sure nothing is moved or changed within the narration. An example of this could be two people eating dinner because of the cuts you can clearly see the plates and food moving.

The 180 degree rule is a guideline that is set for when two characters in a scene should have the same left/right relationship to each other. If you break over the line this disorientates the audience and makes it feel unnatural. This means that someone who was sitting on the left will suddenly move to the right.



The shot or reverse shot is when a character is shown looking at another character and then reverses showing the other character facing the one before. They are shown facing opposite directions other so we automatically assume they are facing each other.

A film technique wherein one character is shown looking (often off-screen) at another character, and then the other character is shown looking "back" at the first character. Since the characters are shown facing in opposite directions, the viewer unconsciously assumes that they are looking at each other.

-Bordwell, David; Thompson, Kristin (2006). Film Art: An Introduction. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Match on action shot is a form of continuity editing for when one shot cuts to another shot giving the feeling of the action in the first shot. This creates a visual bridge that distracts the viewer away from the continuity or cutting issues. It is not a match cut as it shows a continuous of the same thing rather than matching two different things.

I think that continuity editing is important to the film industry as it allows them to cut and edit there film but still keeping it continuous and flowing,

Bibliography
 http://www.slideshare.net/joe940/match-on-action-180-rule-shot-reverse-shot
http://www.artoftheguillotine.com/index.php?page=shotreverseshot
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shot_reverse_shot

Final Decisions

I have now made the final decisions for the costumes,lighting,props and mis-en-scene. The costumes we have chosen are to be sunglasses as this hides a persons identity because the first thing a person looks at upon meeting someone is there eyes. The idea of him being a MI5 agent means that he should not be recognisable as it would blow his cover. The next part of the agents costume is a suit this makes him look proffesional and smart. It is also a code and convention of most spy thriller movies. The one part of costume that defines the protagonist is the red hankercheif that he always carrys in his blazer pocket.


The decisions we have made for lighting are a dull but contrasting light set to allow for a tense atmosphere. The action scenes however mean that the light would become a blur due to the fast pace of what is going on there will also be an intense brightness constantly lighting it up to show good overcoming evil.The dark rooms will create tension not knowing who is inside there and what they are planning to do.

The mis-en-scene decisons are to use an abandoned building as the location of the murder as it symbolises that he is deserted and now noone is by his side. The other locations we have decided on are a a city centre as it has slick modern and newly developed buildings giving a sleek and modern feel. The bullring is an ideal for us to film as it is a modern public place inside the city centre where MI5 agents usually operate.

The props we have decided on are the weapon being a Gun as this is seen as a tidy and effective way to kill someone rather than a knife or any other weapon that will leave a mess as this is not very covert as an agent would be. We will have to get a replica as this is the only version of a weapon we can get. The hanckercheif also as he leaves this on the enemy he kills with the catchphrase " clean yourself up".

Updated Treatment

 The setting is an abandoned building inside the suburbs in the city this symbolises that his life is empty and that everyone has deserted him. There is also the modern sleek setting where the action takes place in a realistic setting. The protagonist is an MI5 agent who is ordered to execute his colleague when he rejects to do so the government then kill his colleague anyway. He is then ordered to take responsibility for the murder he doesn't and he is then accused of the murder then he must do everything to out the truth and clear his name. The adversary is the government as they executed the Agents friend and are now trying to tie up loose ends to stop the truth from revealing itself. They must try and find Agent and detain him and maybe silence him forever.

The three act structure for our film begins with the setup Agent raiden is told to execute target in a known location this is a normal life for a MI5 agent. The confrontation begins when he meets the target to find out it is his very close friend and colleague agent grey fox. He is then ordered by the government to kill his colleague and when he declines he is murdered anyway and the blame is pinned on him. The resolution is when agent raiden finally proves his innocence and the guilty party is sentenced to jail he is then reunited with his family and immigrates to starts a new life.

The theory of our treatment is the equilibrium theory it will begin with the protagonist talking to his friend about what they will do at the end of their Career. The disequilibrium will then be the government asking the agent to kill his friend about Intel he has that will cause harm to society. He then must escape the grip of the government and prove the truth. The new equilibrium will be when he succeeds and returns to his family and normal life.

The character types:
Protagonist-Agent Raiden
Adversary-Government
Heroine-Wife and Kids
Helper-Computer specialist
Authority figure-Older Brother

The character types for our film include Protagonist agent raiden the main agent who is framed for the murder of agent grey fox. The adversary is the government conspiring against agent raiden and pinning the murder on him. The heroine is in effect his wife and a kid as they are the reward if he succeeds the helper is the computer specialist who helps out with the technical aspect of the quest. The authority figure is his older brother who mentors and guides him through the difficult times.


The binary oppositions in the film consist of good and evil, which the audience can relate to. In today’s world everyone dislikes the cuts they are making tax so with the government being part of the bad side they automatically side with agent raiden. The costumes are black and white which refer to good and evil so you know who the enemy is and who is an ally. The binary oppositions help the audience distinguish difference in characters from good to evil and other oppositions that may occur.

Audience Research

The audience is important, without the audience no media text would be created as they wouldn't have anyone to watch there productions. Audiences provide income for the production companies as they pay to view and enjoy the films they create.

It is important for films to be advertised to get the audience to watch their film but they have to be aimed at the target audience of the film. This is called film categorising for example a young child would watch an animation or a film rated for the younger audience. This allows film producers to make sure that the film they are advertising is being viewed by the correct audience in order for it to be a success.

Media theories are used in order to manipulate the audience into believing what they are viewing.

Hypodermic needle effect

 The hypodermic needle effect allows the media to mass manipulate there audience it was believed to have a massive effect on behaviour change. The media will manipulate the behaviour your thinking intelligent has no relevance as what the media tells you do not challenge it. The example for this theory would be that of a young child watching a violent movie this could change the kids behaviour into a violent one.


Uses and Gratifications theory

This theory suggests that the media satisfies the needs of the audience this puts the audience before the actual message itself. the media believes that the audience watches to get away from their own lives thus putting there selves in the film this helps forget about the problems of their own. They form a personal relationship with the characters, and do not distinguish between the actor and characters in real life.


Reception Analyse 

This another theory where what they are watching is not passively accepted they instead base their own life on the media text which can cause problems in their own lives. Women can turn into anorexics in order for there bodies to look like the movie stars they inspire to be. The men also relate the movie stars bodies to there own although they are topped with airbrush and photo shop.

Narrative Theories research

Narrative has Long existed as long as human beings from the cave paintings in the 18th century France. The definition of narrative is the theory of storytelling this could be from being passed on through the generations of a family. It can be used to describe events Fictional or non-fictional this can be from songs television magazines etc. The story telling tradition of Once Upon a Time has a much deeper meaning with once inviting the subject into the narrative world where it is in the past tense. Then upon a time situates us in a world we know is different to our own and a time along ago.

Three Narrative theories

Vladimir Propp :

Vladamir Propp was a Russian critic who analysed over 100 Russian fairy tales he began classifying the characters into their actions and roles. A film that fits to Propps theory is star wars all of his character classifications tie in to the roles of the star wars characters. The new films released now however have become less easier to classify with some not fitting at all as times have changed.

The Hero: He leads the narrative usually seeking to find or solve something E.G A quest, crime.
The Villain: Conflicts with the Hero
The Heroine: Usually a reward or a prize for the hero
The Father: An authority figure offers a reward to hero completing his quest
The Helper: Helps the hero (sidekick)
The Donor: Gives something to help complete the quest
The Mentor: Teaches or guides the hero

Tzvetan Todorov:

Tzvetan Todorov was a Bulgarian literary theorist he came up with the theory that most narratives started with a state of Equilibrium. This starts of with the normal day to day routine where the character is happy and enjoying his life. Then this state is tipped upside down in order for the normal state tot return they must find a way to return to the equilibrium. This is a more used theory as it fits in with a wide range of films even to now unlike Vladamir Propp's

Example of Todorov's theory

The Happening

Starts of as an average day for the protagonist

The Virus cloud Arrives and tips the main characters life over it causes people to commit mass suicide

They then try to escape from the cloud fighting back trying to return to the state of normality.

Claude Levi-Strauss:

Claude Levi-Strauss was a social Anthropologist who studied the myths of tribal cultures. In his work he began to look at how Narrative/Stories Unconsciously reflect the beliefs and values of a culture. These are called Binary Oppositions his research is still used by media theorists to reveal underlying themes and oppositions in a text. It can allows an audience to see who is the good and bad characters in a film

An Example of Binary oppositions

Good vs Bad
Strong vs Weak
Black vs White
Hard vs Soft

The most useful theory to use to create an effective opening for our film would be Tzvetan Todorov's. This will allow us to show how our characters life has changed from what he claims to be normality as we can choose what part of equilibrium the opening will consist of. If we chose to have disequilibrium we can have the fight to return back to normality opening the start of the film with lots of action and mystery making the audience want to carry on watching.

Bibliography
http://www.class.uidaho.edu/narrative/theory/what_narrative.htm
 http://www.slideshare.net/guest9e3b3b/narrative-theory-2104298

Alien Movie

Final Cut Production

The idea for our role play was a sky sports news report outside the white house. It was a spoof with a goal report coming midway through a serious news report about aliens destroying the white house. It was a 29 second production where the timing had to be spot on in order for it to match the background. It was done using a blue curtain as a blue screen having one person standing in front of it covering the news report and two off set inside the studio talking over the camera. we came across a problem with final cut as the file type used by the camera was not compatible with Final cut express so we have now going to convert the files so that they are compatible. We had 30 minutes prep time to make sure the script was written and we could rehearse our production.

Primary research-Questionaire

What age group are you ?

Under 16   16-24   25-34   35-44   45+

What gender are you ?

Male   Female 

What is your favourite genre ?

Thriller   Comedy   Action    Romantic    Sci-Fi   War 

What makes you want to watch a film of the thriller genre ?

Cast    Director   Genre    Trailer   Storyline 

What makes a good villain in a thriller ?

Serial   Psycho   Terrorist   Convict

What is your favourite setting for a thriller?

City Centre  Abandoned Building  Workplace Other

What is your favourite character in a thriller ?

Hero  Villain  Heroine Other

What kind of weapon do you prefer ?

Gun  Knife  Bombs  Psycohological (Derren Brown)

What is your favourite sub genre ?

Physcological-Thriller  Horror-thriller  Action-thriller other

What is your prefered ending to a thriller ?

 Evil character surviving (Cliff hanger)  Good Guy provailing  Innocents Killed Unexpected

Genre research

A genre is how a film is categorising , this allows the audience to know what to expect in the film they have gone to see. If they go to see Happy feet it should be a family viewing and in the adventure genre.

The advantages of genre are it can reassure the audience in a unreasonable world. In the real world the Evil sometimes prevail over the Good. In the movies however this is not the case and almost all the time the good beats the evil and has a happy ending.

Genre offers a set of recognisable conventions such as a language. This is needed so that the audience know what to expect from the genre of film they are watching. This means if they go to watch a horror film they expect to see the conventions of this genre. For example fear,gore, and characters these help us to identify the genre.

An advantage for film producers is genre allows them to know if the film will fail or be a big success. They know certain people like certain genres so they know they can make the film a massive success. it is a strategy so that the audience can see if the film interests them enough to watch it.

Genre constantly changes , this is an advantage because it always allows the audience to watch the style of film they like but still experience a different format and style of acting and still be entertained.

The disadvantages of genre are we should be understanding how a film text functions in relation to genre, rather then being defined by them

We should acknowledge that a genre features will depend on the audiences own  understanding. It relys on the audience understanding the genre and its conventions.

My chosen genre is action thriller as this is also the genre our film opening is.



During the 1920s and 1930s, action-based films were often "swashbuckling" adventure films in which Douglas Fairbanks wielded swords in period pieces or westerns.
The 1940s and 1950s saw "action" in the form of war and cowboy movies. Alfred Hitchcock almost single-handedly ushered in the spy-adventure genre, also firmly establishing the use of action-oriented "set pieces" like the famous crop-duster scene and the Mount Rushmore finale in "North by Northwest". That film, along with a war-adventure called "The Guns of Navaronne" directly inspired producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman to invest in their own spy-adventure based on the novels of Ian Fleming.

The long-running success of the James Bond series (which easily dominated the 1960s) essentially introduced all the staples of the modern-day action film. The "Bond movies" were characterized by larger-than-life characters, such as the resourceful hero: a veritable "one-man army" who was able to dispatch villainous masterminds (and their disposable "henchmen") in ever-more creative ways, often followed by a ready one-liner. The Bond films also utilized quick cutting, car chases, fist fights, a variety of weapons and "gadgets", and ever more elaborate action sequences.

 Quentin tarantino is a top action director his major titles are Pulp fiction, Inglorious Basterds, Kill bill and death proof. Born March 27, 1963 (1963-03-27) (age 48)

Michael Bay is known for his over the top Massive budget film. His honours include Transformers, the Texas chainsaw massacre,pearl harbour and Armageddon. Born February 17 1965 in Los Angeles California

The Negotiator

The negotiator is a similar film to our own the genre is an action thriller. The camera angles vary throughout the film and a fast pace to make the audience feel on edge. This film perfectly demonstrated the thriller genre with its complicated plot full of twists to continually leave the audience guessing. The Character Samuel Jackson plays frames the main character by lying that he killed a police officer in cold blood. This makes the audience feel that he is a murderer and no remorse should be shown. The director used all of his  production skills in order for the film to work and continually confuse the audience and separate whether to believe he is innocent or not. He used the main conventions of action and thriller with the explosions shootouts and the violence. Then the thrillers theme of twists in the plot and constant suspense throughout the film.

Our Film Treatment

The main theme is a man going to the extremes to clear his name and prove his innocence. He  must make his family ,the government and everyone around him believe he is not responsible for the murder of the government official.

The distinctive main character is an average going guy with a normal day job as a car factory worker. He has a loving family with a wife and two kids. His life then turns upside down when he loses everything in his life that was important to him ,he then has nothing to lose.

The main characters goal is to make everyone believe he is innocent of everything pinned on him and gain the trust and love of his family back.

The ones that stand in his way however are the police the government and the the special agents .They are intent in pinning everything on top of him and driving him to extreme lengths.

The stake on him is his life,dignity and family without these three he has nothing to lose in order to keep driving him on to make sure he proves the corruption put upon him.

The location of this film opening is the suburbs of the city also he is being held and detained for a while inside an abandoned flat

The other main and distinctive character is the special agent who wants to make sure the real truth does not get out.  That the innocent man will face the consequences and feel the wrath of the governments corruption enslaving the country.

Opening scene 3

Inception
The genre of the movie is action adventure-sci-fi

The conventions of this genre are usually a Good guy versus a villain which they continue to battle throughout the movie. There is usually a female character that works alongside the male character. There is almost always a chase scene this can be a foot chase , car , air or even sea. The main convention of this genre is that the good shall always prevail over the evil.

The key codes of the opening sequence are the the camera angles there are varied amounts of each sort from a close up on Leonardo Di Caprio when he is lying down on the beach then to the children playing on the beach time is slowed down. also the the facial expressions and costumes on the soldiers that find this man lying on the beach show these men are not friendly and the weapons also show that they will take the man by force if he does not cooperate.

The key signifiers in the opening sequence are the waves crashing at the very beginning this usually means that there is a storm driving these waves so this could relate to maybe something bad is about to happen.The armed men signify the bad side of this film but also the man lying on the beach has a weapon so we question who he is and what hes doing there.

The sequence tells us about the movie that its a mysterious and also a thriller it makes you wonder who these armed men are and how this man has ended up washed onto the beach also the deep powerful music makes you know that something big is about to happen

The audience targerted by this film are people who love puzzling fils and mysterious dramas also teenagers would like this paticular film thanks to the well known actor leonardo di caprio also there is alot of action to stimulate the younger genrations minds Guns, fights, explosions and chases are all in this film.

Opening Scene 2

Saving Private Ryan

The genre of the movie is an action war movie.

The conventions of this genre usually show people put in front of incredible feats to survive life threatening situations. The story involved in the movie can be fictional or true story based these movies usually focus on the battle itself with all of the action incorporated into a feature length film the action can be from a naval battle , air battle or land battle or all of these three could be put together. These films usually try to make the audience feel the real horror and heartbreak of war making them think what these brave men and women put them self through to protect the freedom of the country and its people.

 The key codes in the opening sequence the civilians we can tell they are civilians by the costumes they are wearing normal day to day clothes this shows that these people have no part in the story of the war that is about to be shown. However the one man a frail weary looking man with a limp shows another side a war veteran his face looks ghostly and eyes small and tear filled these facial expressions give us the feeling that he is in constant pain from what he suffered in the war.

The key signifiers of the opening sequence are the American flag fluttering in the wind this tells us that the film is going to be about the American soldiers that served in WW2 also the flag seems to look worn and tired like the soldiers them selves. The music is slow and low but also calm and smooth and setting the scene. The group of people following behind this frail old man are all looking over at him concerned and empathising with him how he must feel as he enters the graveyard where his comrades lay in peace, The gravestones signify the sacrifice these men paid so a world could live in freedom and the veteran signify the pain and horror it leaves behind in these frail men that have to live with all of this pain for the rest of their lives.


The sequence of this movie gives me the expectations of a harrowing story of comradeship and the horror of war. You also expect it to be action packed as this genre usually entitles a lot of Gunfire explosions and death which you can tell by the large amount of gravestones into the opening scene and you expect a lot of sacrifice to save the friends and comrades this is what I got from the opening scene as the veteran  has tear filled eyes looking for a paticular gravestone.


The target audience of this movie is adults maybe teenagers and also older generation this is because this war happened over 70 years ago so the older generation were young and remembered this horrible war very well also adults may have had fathers that fought in this war and this may give them satisfaction showing what there fathers did so they could have a life today and teenagers may find this appealing with all of the action and weapons and explosions.

The opening sequence of three films

Outpost
The genre is Action horror

The conventions of this genre are a dark eerie setting that creates a mood of tension and fear into the audience. the characters are usually weary faced and tired after being hunted by the evil characters. the sound is also vital for a horror movie its usually a slow paced eerie feel and when the action steps up the music also become faster and more high pitched giving the mood a now on edge and intense creating fear and making the audience jump at the slightest thing.

The key codes in this opening sequence are the soldiers there facial expressions they look war torn and have stressed out faces and look worried about what they are about to do. The clothing of the soldiers uniforms mean that these are military personal who aren't going to be treated lightly and carry weapons for firepower. the truck that the soldiers are huddled into is bouncing around as they try to rest proving that the area they are entering is run down and ravaged by war or some other activity.

The key signifiers are the word outpost which signifies a small military compound out of sight abandoned in a remote area this makes it an eerie and dangerous place to be. Also the title is colour red and appears out of nowhere like the living dead in the movie. The dogs in the background barking can signify that they sense danger or some unnatural activity in the area leaving the audience unsettled. The language in the opening sequence is not English which shows that they are in a foreign country which they are not familiar with.

The opening sequence tells us that the movie is going to be mysterious and dangerous as the mist rolling over the terrain gives it a eerie mysterious place and the soldier telling the other soldier that he recommends not going there this gives the audience tension figuring out what is so dangerous in this outpost. You expect to be frightened
with the title sequence the red outpost appears with a red glow usually a colour referred to by death and blood also the music with a slow pace but deep notes to give the bass more depth like a Thumping sound keep you on the edge of your seat.

The audiences being targeted are the younger generation and horror movie fans we can tell this because it has all the codes and conventions of horror and the younger generation love the gore the constant fright in horror movies whereas the older generation this would not be there thing and they would not view this movie.

The genre of the movie is action horror

Three codes of this genre are camera angles these are used to create suspense and fear using closeups and goundlevel angles. Clothing ,hair and makeup are an example of symbolic code this is used to create a horror look to the cast of the film also setting and location another example of symbolic code this helps set the mood and create the fear within the scary backdrop.

Three conventions of this genre are a villain  who is usually psychopathic and has his own way of killing his victims there is also a good character who conflicts with the villain and usually overcomes the killer at the end of the film fear is a main convention of horror. Each person has there own version of fear and can be scared by different things but the main aspect to horror is to put fear in to the audience.

The key signifiers in the poster are the red colouring of the word outpost this is the colour of blood and signifies violence also the smear marks beneath the outpost.The word outpost is also a signifier an outpost is a small military compound usually in a remote area hidden from sight setting the scene for a horror movie. The dark black surrounding around the soldiers on the poster signifies that these are not the good guys but the villains the back lighting gives them a demonic evil look and mood.

The denotative levels of meaning in the poster are a group of German soldiers with far from natural faces staring right at the one who is viewing the poster also the eagle with the skull is showing that these are far from average Nazi soldiers from ww2.

The connotative meanings in the poster are Hatred the Nazi soldiers of ww2 Germany were taught to hate everything non German by the dictator Adolf Hitler and these being the living dead there hatred is more intense. another meaning is death these being the living dead means that they were dead soldiers brought to life and are now hunting down there victims.

They are communicating to the audience in a subliminal way the hatred and the madness of the Nazi German regime and the experiments and evilness they exploited.

Idea for our movie introduction

This is the  group for our movie introduction

-Jake Tolliday
-Ryan Mills
-Jack Denning

The idea of our introduction of a film is similar to the film the negotiator the story is about a man who is wrongly excused and goes to the extreme to prove his innocence the genre is a psychological thriller.

The genre of the movie is an action war movie
The technical codes of this genre are camera angles waist level as if the audience is running along with the troops birds eye view are used on top of the helicopters to give you a vantage point on the action also sound as gunfire , explosions and soldiers screaming to give it a war like feel. The symbolic codes are facial expressions and body language to give fear and strength of the soldiers and the clothing and make up is military and makeup such as wounded soldiers in battle.

The key signifiers of this poster are the gun and helmet in the ground this signifies death sadness and emotion as when soldiers are killed there guns are pushed into the ground with there helmet on top and there dog tags draped over the weapon. also the feinted American flag signifies what nation are involved in the conflict and the fire inside the words give the war torn effect.

the denotative level in the poster shows a helicopter flying over the words Black hawk down which is the main purpose of the film as it is the story of two military helicopters that were shot down in Mogadishu

The connotative level, i associate freedom and liberty with this poster as the American flag is fainted in the background America is called Land of the free home of the brave which fits in with the us army rangers fighting for freedom. The rifle indicates the sacrifice made by the us army for the freedom of the Somalian people.

They are trying to communicate to the audience the goings on in the battle of mogadishu through one small image and entise the reader to go and watch the film.

Hello my name is Jake Tolliday

Hello

My name is Jake Tolliday i am currently a student at King edwards sheldon heath sixthform.

This is my blog for media studies where i will share my work to keep you up to date and view.

I am 16 years old.

I love many sports but my hobby is football which i thoroughly enjoy playing. I am studying media ,business and Ict as i feel these are the right choices for me to head into a enjoyable career.

Thanks for reading i hope you enjoy my blog.