Aidan Standish new blog address

http://aidanstandisha2.blogspot.co.uk/

Frankie Goes To Hollywood-Relax, music video analysis

Iconic as it was banned by BBC due to sexual references

Uses laser lights and smoke perhaps to show how it is edgy and give a 'live' feeling, and reference to laser beam line

Many mid shots of singer-he is the most important

Very little fixed camera shots to keep it moving

Fast editing and often to the beat

Lots of instrument shots to show importance

Question 5

We used a variety of methods to attract our target audience, such as the choice of characters, plot and sound track.

Characters
All of our characters were young and appeared to be relatively smart. This was helpful in reaching our young, art house audience as we feel that they will identify with the characters. In particular, we think that our audience will find the mentality of the female killer quite interesting.

Lighting
We chose a film noir lighting style which we believe will appeal to our higher educated art house audience through the fact that it is unique and gives an insight in to the types of characters. It adds a sense of mystery which our target audience will like. As well as this, it makes the film much more interesting for the audience as a pose to being simple, high key, ambient lighting.

Sound
The sound track we used was quite urban and enigmatic. This should appeal to our young audience as they like to listen to that sort of music. The sound track should make them want to watch the film as it is quite 'inviting' but is slightly discordant at the same time. This means our seems interesting to the audience.

Plot
The whole plot was designed with our target audience in mind. It is enigmatic and requires the audience to do a lot of thinking. We expect that a young, media savvy audience should be able to do this. They will also enjoy the challenge of trying to figure out if the killing really happened and if so, why it happened. This is enhanced by the 'bedroom' scene at the beginning. The audience will want to find out  why she in particular pulled the trigger.

Distribution
We suggested that distributing our film via social networking sites and Youtube would be a good idea. This is because the audience we aim at will be quite proficient in the use of this technology and so the film would be easily accessible to them. Pull marketing could also be used in the sense that people could share a link to the film.

To conclude
Overall, our film aims to reach the target audience of somebody who is young, achieving and media savvy by being creative in the sense of the plot and technical elements such as lighting. As well as this, the distribution method should appeal to the target audience.

Evaluation-Question 7

Update 23/01/12

Today we worked some more on our evaluations. I have finished question 6, Hazel finished number 2, me and Hazel did question 3 whilst Nicole worked on question 4. We now have 3 more questions to do as a group and Nicole needs to finish question 4. All in all, a good lesson.

Evaluation Question 3

Update-17/01/13

Today was quite productive. We are still preparing our conclusions. It has been agreed that I will record a podcast for question 6, Nicole will take charge of question 4 and Hazel will work on number 7. The rest will probably be worked on as a group.

I did however begin to look at various distributors today. I took some screenshots of various websites, including social networking sites. These are of course an option for distribution.

Evaluation of Evaluation 3

http://lukevangelderrc.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/thriller-evaluation-part-1.html

Good Points:
This evaluation clearly used lots of technology and a lot of effort was put into making it. I particularly liked the use of a Prezi for the first post. It makes people want to read on. The fact that the evaluation is spread across different blog posts makes it easier to digest as you don't end up reading everything at once. It seems that clear knowledge has been demonstrated and that the evaluation goes into some depth.

Bad points:
Whilst the use of the Prezi was great, I did find it to be a little cluttered. As well as this, some of the text analysis was badly written and sometimes difficult to understand. That didn't really affect the overall quality however.

Conclusion:
From this evaluation, the fact that lot's of technology needs to be used has been reinforced. It also shows me that it should not be cluttered. As well as this, I think that spreading the evaluation across separate blog posts may be a good idea. Overall, this is a very good evaluation.

Evaluation of Evaluation 2

Evaluation of a Past Evaluation

Good Points:
This evaluation is presented in a clear and easy to understand way. It is very in depth and interesting to read. The use of pictures and screen shots helps to explain the text and so is definitely a useful feature. It is also evident that the questions have been answered and that the writer hasn't gone astray from them.

Bad points:
I found it a little bit boring due to the fact that there is little use of technology. Everything is in one Powerpoint   presentation. There is lot's of text which makes it seem long and almost a chore to read. As well as this, the Powerpoint background is awful and looks unprofessional.

Conclusion:
On the whole, this is an extremely good evaluation! Clearly, a lot of hard work went into making it. I have learn't that the answers for our evaluation will need to be in depth and critical of our work. It will also be good to use images and screen grabs. The most important thing that this shows is that without use of different technology, even the best evaluations can be a little bit boring.

Audience feedback

Here is the audience feedback that helped make our thriller film. Please note: he first 7 minutes is footage of our respondents watching the opening. They're opinions are not shown until 7:14.

First draft

Project Update

Title sequence

Here is a sample of a title that we may use. Unfortunately Nicole does not like this, and Hazel is sitting on the fence. Therefore, we probably won't use it!

Unattended lesson summary

Just a brief summary of what we did during our unattended lesson on Thursday, 29th November

Cape Fear sound scape analysis

This clip is very minimalist in terms of sound in the sense that there is next to no non-diegetic sound.

The main sound is the dialogue, which communicates the narrative of the film. A noticeable and important part of the sound scape is the sonically exaggerated kicking of the man on the floor's head. The sound clearly wouldn't be that loud in real life. Sonically exaggerated sound is where the sound is made to sound louder. The main purpose of it is to add effect and possibly shock the audience. It is most commonly found in action/adventure films but of course is clearly used here.

The background atmosphere noise (wind and rain) is also sonically exaggerated. This sound is of course to add realism to the clip, if it was raining on screen but not in your ears, something would seem wrong and the film would be unrealistic. The howling sound of the wind is discordant and makes the viewer feel uneasy. This is backed up by the rain and the rain hitting the window. It also creates a sense of being exposed in a large, open space. Most of the people there are vulnerable. This is re-enforced by the fact that Leigh is out of breath. This makes her seem desperate and incapable.

When the handcuffs are removed from Leigh, there is another sound added to the soundscape, the sound of the handcuffs being removed. You can't really see them being removed so it is important that we hear is. Perhaps it shows that the handcuffs are still on, metaphorically.

The main non-diegetic sound happens when the girl squirts lighter fluid on the antagonist. A low pitched dramatic sound used to emphasize his screaming. Clearly, tables have turned here and the sound aims to shock the viewer. It helps them to digest the fact that the antagonist is no more. Or is he?

Overall, the sound from this clip is quite impressive. This is partly due to it's simplicity. It might be a good idea to apply the 'Keep It Simple Stupid' approach to our project.

Psycho sound scape analysis

The audio in this clip is very effective. It is also very simple. From the moment she walks into the bathroom, the music becomes very mellow but still high pitched. This leaves us thinking that everything is OK, but we know something is about to happen as the soundtrack is slightly discordant. Of course, as she takes her shoes off, the diegetic sound of the shoes hitting the ground is clearly heard, this adds realism to the clip. Notice the layering of sounds at this point. The next sound we hear is the shower curtain closing. This isn't a very nice sound as it is so high pitched, it adds to the realism whilst creating a horrible discordant sound that fits perfectly with the sound scape. Once the shower is turned on, the obvious diegetic sound of the water is heard. This does provide a link to rain. Rain is always seen as a bad thing in thrillers and represents a dark/corrupt society. *Spoiler alert!* It also has significance as she is about to die in that very shower! The music now stops meaning no non diegetic sounds. This makes for an eerie non diegetic silence. We now know that something is definitely about to happen.

The important thing is that we don't actually see the knife entering her body, that's a a horror convention, not a thriller convention! Of course, the sound has to make up for this.We hear the blade entering alongside the piercing screaming sound. Again, notice the layering. The famous 'Psycho' soundtrack can also be heard at this point. It builds up suspense and releases the tension once it has finished. It really is horrible, but very effective for a thriller.

As soon as she dies, the music stops completely, leaving just the sound of the shower. This perhaps acts like a 'before and after sound'. It was like this when she was alive, and the same now she is dead. She is alone and nobody cares, nobody knows, nothing will change. Or will it?

I really like the sound scape here. It really helps to illustrate the story and helps build tension. From this, I have gathered that it would be a good idea to layer our sound.

Sepia tone edit

Here is the first draft of our project in sepia tone. Enjoy and please feel free to leave a comment! :D

Shutter Island soundscape

As Hazel previously mentioned, we have decided to look at soundtracks as part of the editing process. This particular post analyses part of Shutter Island in terms of it's soundtrack.


This is relatively simple in terms of sound. at the start of the clip, all we can hear is talking and rain. This makes the dialogue stand out and means that more attention will be payed to it. Obviously the dialogue is important. It would be unrealistic to use a condenser mic mounted on a boom pole to record this audio due to the special effects at the end, so I would guess that the dialogue was recorded in a studio post filming. This will stop any noise from wind and the water etc. Of course, the main difficulty with this is lip syncing, certainly not an easy thing to do.

As the clip progresses, the audio starts to build up with more and more layers. The rain can be heard from the beginning however it would seem that it gets louder as the clip progresses. This is more of an illusion than anything else however it adds to the tension of the clip. The tension is clearly building up with the dialogue and so the other sounds must complement this. I would say that the rain is actually Foley sound. It has been recorded post filming and is not necessarily actually rain!

Up to now, we have only heard sounds that the characters can hear; these are called diegetic sounds. Non-diegetic sounds cannot be heard by the characters. They are used to help tell the story to us. The non diegetic sound is the ever so slight build up of a repetitive low pitched sound. Lower pitched sound can often be found in Thrillers. as it builds up suspense. This sound of course slowly gets louder and louder until the door opens and there is a crescendo. This is where the sound suddenly stops, helping to build tension. When the door does open, there is a horrible screech; this is the hinges and is a diegetic sound. The rain is then evermore louder. This illustrates the fact that the two characters are now in the open and are in perhaps in danger. Rain is a predictor of bad things.

The final layer of sound is the deputy speaking. This would have most certainly have been done in a studio and has been edited to sound like it is coming from loud speakers. The editing of course makes it sound much more realistic.

The sound builds up to make a soundscape and all adds to the tension. Diegetic sounds make it seem very realistic whilst non diegetic sounds help to build up the tension.

Today was rather interesting

Editing did not go as smoothly as we would have liked it to today. We spent most of the lesson attempting to add a 'Sin City' effect to our project. 

This ended in our female character having blue lips... not quite what we wanted! 

We also added a few sound effects such as the gun shot. This sounded absolutely awesome! 

In the next few weeks, we will be exploring thriller sound scapes, stay tuned for more.