Wednesday, 24 February 2010
Preliminary Match Cut- Nahuel
Wednesday, 10 February 2010
Skills Audit: Livetype and Sound- Nahuel
Soundtrack pro
It was a simple process which required for us to listen to the variety of sounds from the choice menu, and then drag them. Once we all individually created our own compositions, we chose which one we thought was most cohesive with our thriller opening. It is a software that allows one to edit music and use a wide range of sound effects and musical instruments to create a composition. The layout of Soundtrack pro is fairly simple; on the left hand side is a section for adding the video so that it can be previewed with sound, and centre of the screen, is the timeline where one drags there desired sound to and can edit the length, time etc. There is a toolbar on the right hand side which has a number of features including the razor tool, which we used often to remove a particular part of the sound, simply by clicking at the start and end of the desired section. There are three different ways to find a sound; search-which has different categories to accurately find the right sound, browser- which allows one to open up a sound found from another programme or software and favourites- which is any sounds saved to favourites.
Livetype pro
Livetype pro is a software created by Apple in which one can create animated title sequences for video projects. The software offers a range of fonts, objects, textures, effects and templates. All attributes of the titles can manipulated and changed such as the size, shadow, glow, outlin, opacity and tracking of the text. Any media file can be imported onto the canvas for the titles to run over. There are many effects to chose from which can be customized or new effects can be created aswell using keyframing. LiveFont is one of the program's key features. It has a range of fonts with animated characters, for example, smoke writing.
Using Livetype was a fairly simple process. To the left is the canvas where you preview your titles and below is the timeline which displays the text and the effects and the length etc. To the right is the editing bars which is where adjustments such as colour, font, size, shape etc are made, and above the editing bars is the section where you enter your text and it will appear on the canvas. Next to the editing bars is the media browser where one searches for all the effects and templates from the different tabs available i.e. 'Livefont'. The tabs in the media browser have sub-catergories to make searching more specific; the tabs available are font, textures, objects and effects, which has sub-categories such as grunge, zooms and caricature. Clicking apply below, will add the effect to the title and appear in the timeline. To export the titles so they are in front of a media file, simply go to 'file', then 'export', then 'for livetype' and save it as a new clip before going back to Livetype pro and going to file and 'placing background move' and then opening the titles which are saved as a file.
I followed this process to create our titles for our completed thriller. After typing what I wanted to be there, using effects and timing, titles were completed. I kept the background of the titles as a blank canvas in order to import the completed thriller opening behind it.
Monday, 8 February 2010
Intro to Cameras & Health and Saftey tutorial
Wednesday, 3 February 2010
News and current affairs events- Nahuel
Who needs help?

A devastating earthquake hit Haiti on Tuesday, 12 January, including the densely populated capital Port-Au-Prince and the surrounding area. Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere, greatly increasing the risk that people will suffer or die in the aftermath of a natural disaster. Since the earthquake, many humanitarian organisations have galvanised aid, and assistance to ensure survivors get food, clean water, emergency shelter, medical care and other support.
Who is considered to be the most at risk in an emergency; children, women, the elderly, the sick, everyone?
While there is no doubt that all of the above are vulnerable as in the case of the recent disaster in Haiti, statistics clearly show that women are disproportionately affected in emergencies.
Around 37,000 pregnant women are living in the earthquake-hit region. At least 10,000 of them will need delivery services in the coming months
The lives of thousands of expectant mothers in Haiti and the lives of their unborn babies are at risk after the earthquake left the healthcare system in tatters, leaving the women with no choice but to deliver their babies in emergency camps.
Even before the earthquake, Haitian women faced the highest risk of dying in childbirth in the region with one in 44 women dying in childbirth compared to one in 8,200 in the UK. In normal circumstances 15 per cent of all pregnant women experience a complication requiring medical interventions but in a disaster situation that percentage is much higher.
Many newborn babies will also be in danger as the first 24 hours of a child’s life are the most vulnerable period for a baby.
Women and girls face other specific risks in disaster zones. Women and girls are more likely to be raped or sexually abused in camps, partly because they often have to wash or go to the toilet in exposed, insecure areas. Specific female needs for items like sanitary towels are often overlooked in an emergency and women often miss out in aid distributions to men who are considered stronger.
Children are the next group who are vulnerable as they are ill prepared to fend for themselves, let alone in the confusion and fear in the aftermath of the earth quake.
Thousands of families have been separated in the chaos of the earthquake, but the vast majority of the children currently on their own still have family members alive who will be desperate to be reunited with them and will be able to care for them with the right support. Taking children out of the country would permanently separate thousands of children from their families - a separation that would compound the trauma they are already suffering and inflict long-term damage on their chances of regaining a ‘normal life’.
“The extreme poverty in Haiti already makes children extremely vulnerable to exploitation and abuse, and new unregulated adoptions could open the door to child traffickers” -Justin Byworth, World Vision’s Chief Executive.
The earthquake has affected many elderly centres and residences and hospices; this has left many of the dozens of elderly Haitians still begging for food and medicine in a downtown Port-au-Prince slum, barely a mile from the international airport where tons of aid are pouring in.
"It's as if everybody has forgotten us, nobody cares," said Phileas Julien, 78, a blind man in a wheelchair who has appointed himself spokesman for the 84 surviving residents of one of the above mentioned centres. "Or maybe they really do just want us to starve to death."
Thriller sub-genres- Nahuel

A conspiracy thriller (also known as paranoid thriller) have dramatic potential. There is usually some sort of a heroic figure who challenges a theory or confronts a powerful group whose true extent only they recognise. It is likely to have a plot that weaves complexities that only the participants operating in it will understand to the exclusion and implication of everyone else.
Horror Thriller

Disaster thriller's plots often focus on a natural or artificial disaster of some sort such as flood, hurricane, earthquake for natural and a nuclear disaster for artificial.

Drama thrillers are usually slower paced and more suspensful. They focus on character development as well as psychological factors. The plots usually have a twist on the main conflict.



Suspense- Nahuel
The Oxford Dictionary defines suspense as 'a state or feeling of excited or anxious uncertainty about what might happen'. Suspense is often an emotion supported by the mount of tension or worry. Many factors can affect the building of suspense, and it isnt only subjected to to the negative connotations i.e. the build up to a killing, it also can work in a situation where there is a lead up to a big event i.e. a surprise birthday party. In a fictional sense, suspense is integral for the escalation of drama or thrillers. Many films use technical aspects such as camera, sound, mise en scene and editing to increase suspense i.e. a scene may use an epic non-diegetic low key piano sound contrasted with dark unsympathetic lighting, stedi-cam to create a dysfunctional vibe and make the viewer feel uneasy, and the use of a match cut to dramatically build up tension between the two scenes and establishes something the audience might know but the character does not. Many thriller films which feature suspense i.e. 'Psycho' or 'The Birds' by Alfred Hitchcock only use a few shocking moments to create more of an impact with tension and suspense. The effect of using limited amounts of actual shocking scenes is to prevent the story from becoming too predictable and less entertaining as the film progresses. No director managed to equal Alfred Hitchcock's fame that earned him the title 'Master of Suspense' with his thriller masterpieces such as 'Vertigo' and 'North by West' in 1959. So to conclude, suspense is an emotional response of anticipation, which can result from any aspect i.e. film, book or reality of life.
Monday, 1 February 2010
AS Media Skills audit bait tutorial

Firstly we learned how to set the in and out points on any of the clips. First double clicked the clip I wanted to use in the left hand side window which has the inventory of clips that have been imported into the project. It then appears in one of the two screens, it appears in the left screen. Here you will be able to set the in and out points. To do this, you play the the clip and when you want it to come in you use the keyboard shortcut "i" then to set the out point you press the keyboard shortcut "o" .
We also learned how to edit the videos by cutting them withe the razor tool. First you have to select the razor tool from the right hand side toolbar and then cut the clip on the timeline on the point that you want to cut the clip. These were the basics we learnt to get us to become more familiar with Final cut pro.
News and current affairs and events
Fiona Donnison walked into a police station on Wednesday and told shocked officers she had killed her son Harry, three, and daughter Elise, two.
An initial post-mortem carried out yesterday on the bodies of Harry and Elise revealed that they had been asphyxiated less than 24 hours before they were found.
The bodies of Elise, 2, and Harry, 3, Donnison were found in the boot of a car in Heathfield on Wednesday. A post mortem revealed they had been asphyxiated
Officers are investigating whether Mrs Donnison gave the children the sleeping drug Nytol before suffocating them a few hours before they were found, the Sun newspaper reported.
However the results of toxicology tests won't be known for several weeks.
A Sussex Police spokesman yesterday confirmed that officers had had 'previous contact' with the Donnison family 'within the last few months'.
It also emerged last night that Mrs Donnison, 43, suffered the agonising cot death of a baby daughter six years ago.
Mrs Donnison and her husband Paul found their world falling apart after their first child - Mia Florence - died at just ten months.
Although they had two more children, the rows and spells of depression grew more frequent until Mrs Donnison took Harry and Elise and moved into a rented home several months ago.
Friends spoke of a 'history of allegations and counter allegations' between the couple, who had both been married previously.
Last weekend Mr Donnison, 46, an accounts manager, was arrested over claims that he assaulted his estranged wife during a bitter argument.

The extent of the devastation is still unclear but there are fears thousands of people may have died.
Haiti's worst quake in two centuries hit south of the capital Port-au-Prince on Tuesday, wrecking the presidential palace, UN HQ and other buildings.
A "large number" of UN personnel were reported missing by the organisation. Many people have spent the night outside amid fears of more aftershocks.
The Red Cross says up to three million people have been affected.
Describing the earthquake as a "catastrophe", Haiti's envoy to the US said the cost of the damage could run into billions.
A number of nations, including the US, UK and Venezuela, are gearing up to send aid.
The quake, which struck about 15km (10 miles) south-west of Port-au-Prince, was quickly followed by two strong aftershocks of 5.9 and 5.5 magnitude.
The tremor hit at 1653 (2153 GMT) on Tuesday, the US Geological Survey said. Phone lines to the country failed shortly afterwards.
There is still no official word on casualties and the extent of the devastation is only now becoming clearer with dawn breaking.
China has already indicated in reports in state media that eight of its peacekeepers are buried and feared dead, with another 10 unaccounted for.
I think hundreds of casualties would be a serious understatement
Rachmani Domersant, operations manager, Food for the Poor
The AFP news agency quoted the Jordanian army as saying three of its peacekeepers had been killed and 21 wounded.
The Brazilian army said four of its peacekeepers were killed and a large number were missing.
A French official told AFP about 200 people were missing in the collapsed Hotel Montana, which is popular with tourists.
There have also been some reports of looting overnight.
Rachmani Domersant, an operations manager with the Food for the Poor charity, told Reuters that overnight the capital was in total darkness.
"You have thousands of people sitting in the streets with nowhere to go. There are people running, crying, screaming.
"People are trying to dig victims out with flashlights. I think hundreds of casualties would be a serious understatement."
Earlier, bodies white with dust could be seen piled on the back of a pick-up truck as vehicles tried to ferry the injured to hospital.
Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere and has suffered a number of recent disasters, including four hurricanes and storms in 2008 that killed hundreds.
Thursday, 28 January 2010
Halloween Title sequence
We looked at the opening sequence from the film Halloween directed by John Carpenter. I looked at 9 of the scenes and analysed each one.
It starts with the directors name aswell as the title of the film underneath. The font is in orange as it refelcts the whole theme of halloween as pumkins are orange aswell. The lit up pumpkin on a black background makes it seem more scary.
The next title sequence is another actors name in the same font but you start to realise that the pumpkin is getting closer to the screen.
The pumpkin now becomes the same length as the font, the audience are now focused on the font aswell as the pumpkin.

The pumpkin becomes much more bigger as the 'less important' titles come up. The creates anticipation of watching the actuall film.

The zooming of the pumpkin brings a sinister feel tot he title sequence especially the fact it's zoomed in slowly which has a creepiness to it. Also the titles are glowing such as the pumpkin which also gives the whole Halloween themed sequence.

The lighting changes as you can no longer see the colour of the pumpkin but just its 'eyes, nose and mouth' aswell as creating a sinister atmosphere, the audience is nowjust focused on the title as it's an important title.

Such as the first title in the opening sequence, we end with the directors name. But instead of the title of the film appearing underneath it, it just his name. Also you can no longer see the pumpkin as it has been unlit which shows some sort of diguise.
Halloween Title Sequence- Nahuel
Halloween is a 1978 American independent slasher film by director John Carpenters. The title sequence is fairly simple as all it features is a pumpkin on the right and titles on the left. The titles are basic and cohesive with the pumpkin as it changes colour like the glow in the pumpkin. Throughout the sequence the camera is slowly zooming into the pumpkin. There is non-diegetic music in the background building up suspense; what starts as consistent piano mood music, eventually gets more dramatic and the piano keys get lower as the pumpkin appears.The start of the sequence informs the audience of key information i.e. compass international pictures, the producer Moustapha Akkad. The large scale of Akkad's name highlights significance and indicates a high status. His name also appears before the pumpkin- the centre focus of the title sequence which essentially suppports the suspense, which again suggests his importance.
Donald Pleasence's name is the first title to appear next to the pumpkin, which highlights his status to the film and also the change in the piano keys not only dramatizes the clip but also adds more of an impact to his title. His name is also the first to appear before the title of the fim. The fact that that it appears even before the director, heightens his importance further suggesting he is a heavy-weight actor.

The title and the director (John Carpenter) appear on the screen at the same time. This emphasizes Carpenter's credit to the film. Shortly after Carpenter's name and the films title flickers out, the pumpkin slowly zooms in. This pre-transition of the pumpkin reinforces Carpenter's importance because it is neither eclipsed by the title or the moving pumpkin.

The title sequence also introduces aspects based on importance. This is evident in the que of actors. For example, before the directors name or the name of the film it says 'Donald Pleasence in' highlighting his public status or significance to this film, whereas other actors are introduced with their characters name- an indication they aren't as recognizable i.e. 'introducing Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie' and 'Nancy Loomis as Annie'. The use of the word 'introducing' suggests Curtis isn't a recognizable actress.
Just before John Carpenter's name appears again, the glow from within the pumpkin dies out suggesting it has been blown out. Carpenter's name then fades in with nothing else on screen, therefore his title and essentially status, isnt eclipsed by anything i.e. the pumpkin. The is also the fourth time Carpenter is mentioned in the title sequence which highlights his importance as a director.
As the sequence comes to an end, it fades from the name of the directer to a black screen with plain white font establishing the location. The sinister piano music eventually transitions to a diegetic sound of children singing a Halloween song. This indicates the end of the title sequence and supports the expected theme of the film.

The last title is one which establishes the event and the year. It provides basic information before the film has even begun which indicates that there must be some significance to the location, year and most likely the event (halloween night).
Analysis Of 9 Shots from Halloween Sequences
In my media group, we watched the title sequence of the the 1978 phsycological/horror film Halloween. As well as directing and writing the film, John Carpenter also did the opening title sequence so he can build up the atmoshpere.
In addition, the opening sequence was very effective even though it didn't need any use of intricate programmes in order to make it. The opening credit of Halloween looked very easy to do as my media group can be able to make our opening sequence as effective as this. It built up suspense as well as awareness of the film before it even started. Which is why the opening sequence was so successful.
Tuesday, 26 January 2010
News and current affairs events
I read an artical in The Guardian about a man named Mohammed Ali
Harrath who may be deported to Tunisa after allegely being linked to a terror organisation. As ironic as it may sound, Mohammed is the head of the Islam Channel and advised Scotland Yard on Islamic extremismt. The article also read that 'The Islam Channel said Harrath's arrest was a "direct result of the unlawful use" by the Tunisian government of the Interpol red notice system, the international police organisation's highest form of alert, and described it as part of an "established process of harassment and intimidation" '. I thought that is artical could be made into a conspiracy/political thriller as the film could be set in the UK, Tunia and South Africa which is where he got arrested. However, maybe instead of being arrested in the film it could be about what could have happened if he didnt get arrested.
Moreover, another article i read that could be turned into a film is an article from The Independent. The article is about a care home manager named Rachel Baker was taken to court after being strongly accused of murdering two elderly women. Ms. Baker was on a number of prescribed drugs which is said to be one of the causes to why she chose to end their death. It was said she had a weird desire to control her patients death. I think this could be made into a crime and drama thriller. The film could be from a detectives point of view of looking into this case or it could be a psycological thriller from Ms.Bakers point of view as it could be that she wanted thought she could be ending elderly people suffering or her desire to kill them could be from the massive effects her prescribed drugs has as some of them were similar to heroine.
Furthermore, i found an article thats currently in every single Newpaper as it's one the headline right now- the Haiti earthquake. The article i read was in the Metro, which was about shots fired by guards because of the fights that have been caused from the lack of aid being given. Lots of chaos is being caused by this which is why US and Brazilian troops were helping out by giving out aid. The Haiti earthquake and the effect of it could be made into a Disaster thriller with elements of crime and politics. Since the disaster was caused my a natural effect, a disaster film would be a good way of evolving a film round this. However such as the film The Day After Tommorow which i wrote about in the other blog, there could be romantic elements as the film could involve a couple that is torn about by this earthquake, not knowing if their partner is dead or alive.
There many different articles that can be used to make a film. I was able to find articles that could be make into a distaster thriller, a crime thriller and a conspiracy thriller.

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