NATHAN'S BLOG
TUESDAY 16TH SEPTEMBER - The 7 Key Concepts.
Over the past couple of lessons, I have learnt several aspects of theory in media. These include the 7 key concepts which make up the acronym IRACING. These concepts are Institution, Representation, Audience, Construction, Ideology, Narrative and Genre. We also started making our website and learnt how to do so by adding pictures, a navigation bar, YouTube videos and personal blogs for each of the group's members. Furthermore, I learnt about the several camera shots we can use in our horror opening sequence, like shots, angles and movements. For our horror movie to be successful, we need to use a variety of different types of angles, varied shots and movements to keep the audience entertained. I would suggest several handheld shots so the audience believes that they are in the action too.
THURSDAY 25TH SEPTEMBER - The Exchange.
I have learnt a lot of new things since my last blog post. For example, we have created a short sequence titled 'The Exchange' which gave us an insight on what to do and not to do in filming. Also, we have learnt how to improve our website by adding a GoAnimate video of what makes the audience scared in a horror film; darkness, paranormal activity, zombies etc. We have also done a preliminary task which was to film one of us going through a door and talking to another person using the 180 degree rule, which is to have over the shoulder shots when a discussion is taking place otherwise it doesn't look like a discussion is even taking place.
FRIDAY 26TH SEPTEMBER - Website fixes and theory techniques.
I've added a basic navigation thingy to the home page and fixed up some stuff here. I had 2 free lessons back to back so yeah. I may add some more content next week. In terms of theory, I have learnt about camera shots and that there are several types you would need to use in order to make a successful piece of media. Some of these include long shot, mid shot, close up and extreme close up. Also, I have learnt about camera angles conjoined with shots, like low angle and high angle. This can be used to convey a lot of meaning in media. For example, you would use a high angle shot if a person was looking up to another obviously taller than them which could imply that they have some sort of power over them and the angle shows this strongly.
MONDAY 6TH OCTOBER - More filmings and first ideas.
Over the last couple of lessons we have started filming a short sequence consisting of 10 different shots like 360 shots, low angle and high angle shots and the like. This again helps us to improve our filming skills ready for our final opening sequence. We have also started to draft several first ideas of what our final OTS can be like. One of these include the main killer being an orphan from birth and being abused in the orphanage he stays in. But a couple years later he returns to that same orphanage to vow revenge on those who abused him.
WEDNESDAY 11TH FEBRUARY - Recap
Over the past 4 months, I have learnt and developed a variety of skills and techniques in terms of both theory and filming. First of all, there are a variety of colour connotations that can be used in our opening sequence. For example, red can symbolise murder, blood, love or danger whereas black could symbolise darkness, mourning and mystery. We could use this to help convey a message in our OTS and make it more appealing and perhaps scary.
Over the past couple of lessons, I have learnt several aspects of theory in media. These include the 7 key concepts which make up the acronym IRACING. These concepts are Institution, Representation, Audience, Construction, Ideology, Narrative and Genre. We also started making our website and learnt how to do so by adding pictures, a navigation bar, YouTube videos and personal blogs for each of the group's members. Furthermore, I learnt about the several camera shots we can use in our horror opening sequence, like shots, angles and movements. For our horror movie to be successful, we need to use a variety of different types of angles, varied shots and movements to keep the audience entertained. I would suggest several handheld shots so the audience believes that they are in the action too.
THURSDAY 25TH SEPTEMBER - The Exchange.
I have learnt a lot of new things since my last blog post. For example, we have created a short sequence titled 'The Exchange' which gave us an insight on what to do and not to do in filming. Also, we have learnt how to improve our website by adding a GoAnimate video of what makes the audience scared in a horror film; darkness, paranormal activity, zombies etc. We have also done a preliminary task which was to film one of us going through a door and talking to another person using the 180 degree rule, which is to have over the shoulder shots when a discussion is taking place otherwise it doesn't look like a discussion is even taking place.
FRIDAY 26TH SEPTEMBER - Website fixes and theory techniques.
I've added a basic navigation thingy to the home page and fixed up some stuff here. I had 2 free lessons back to back so yeah. I may add some more content next week. In terms of theory, I have learnt about camera shots and that there are several types you would need to use in order to make a successful piece of media. Some of these include long shot, mid shot, close up and extreme close up. Also, I have learnt about camera angles conjoined with shots, like low angle and high angle. This can be used to convey a lot of meaning in media. For example, you would use a high angle shot if a person was looking up to another obviously taller than them which could imply that they have some sort of power over them and the angle shows this strongly.
MONDAY 6TH OCTOBER - More filmings and first ideas.
Over the last couple of lessons we have started filming a short sequence consisting of 10 different shots like 360 shots, low angle and high angle shots and the like. This again helps us to improve our filming skills ready for our final opening sequence. We have also started to draft several first ideas of what our final OTS can be like. One of these include the main killer being an orphan from birth and being abused in the orphanage he stays in. But a couple years later he returns to that same orphanage to vow revenge on those who abused him.
WEDNESDAY 11TH FEBRUARY - Recap
Over the past 4 months, I have learnt and developed a variety of skills and techniques in terms of both theory and filming. First of all, there are a variety of colour connotations that can be used in our opening sequence. For example, red can symbolise murder, blood, love or danger whereas black could symbolise darkness, mourning and mystery. We could use this to help convey a message in our OTS and make it more appealing and perhaps scary.
Also, I learnt about the idea of gender stereotypes in media. In most cases the male is seen as the dominant gender and they have the power and no fear whereas the female is seen as the weaker gender, helpless and always caring about their physical appearance. For our OTS, we're going to divert away from the idea of stereotypes to make our final product more interesting.
In terms of practical work, we have fully decided on our plot for our OTS and have started filming. We decided to call our film 'Gynophobia' and we took inspiration from the opening sequence of the film Se7en, which you can see for yourself down below. We thought that the idea of drawings in books and several close ups would help us in our own OTS.
In terms of practical work, we have fully decided on our plot for our OTS and have started filming. We decided to call our film 'Gynophobia' and we took inspiration from the opening sequence of the film Se7en, which you can see for yourself down below. We thought that the idea of drawings in books and several close ups would help us in our own OTS.
THURSDAY 12TH FEBRUARY - Recap the second
Carrying on from yesterday's blog post, I have learnt another important concept in media which is in the form of representation. In simplistic terms, representation is how a certain something, inanimate or not, is represented in a piece of media. There are four classes this can be sorted into: Age, Gender, Ethnicity and Social Class. In our opening sequence, we need to consider these types of classes so we can appeal to the right audience and not fall into controversy.
We have also completed a lot of filming in terms of final production views and are close to finishing our sequence. An interesting idea we have had is that throughout the OTS, several pictures of victorian women and women getting tortured can be flashed on screen for a split second and we put them all together like a flipbook and a sort of montage which diverts our OTS from being a carbon copy of se7en. Our use of special effects like old film and flashing transitions also contribute to making our OTS top notch and aesthetically pleasing to the audience. I have also drawn up a simple storyboard detailing what happens when and the lighting, sound and action behind each scene, which helps with our initial planning of Gynophobia and gives us a better insight on what we want the final product to look like.
Carrying on from yesterday's blog post, I have learnt another important concept in media which is in the form of representation. In simplistic terms, representation is how a certain something, inanimate or not, is represented in a piece of media. There are four classes this can be sorted into: Age, Gender, Ethnicity and Social Class. In our opening sequence, we need to consider these types of classes so we can appeal to the right audience and not fall into controversy.
We have also completed a lot of filming in terms of final production views and are close to finishing our sequence. An interesting idea we have had is that throughout the OTS, several pictures of victorian women and women getting tortured can be flashed on screen for a split second and we put them all together like a flipbook and a sort of montage which diverts our OTS from being a carbon copy of se7en. Our use of special effects like old film and flashing transitions also contribute to making our OTS top notch and aesthetically pleasing to the audience. I have also drawn up a simple storyboard detailing what happens when and the lighting, sound and action behind each scene, which helps with our initial planning of Gynophobia and gives us a better insight on what we want the final product to look like.