Last week I began researching narrative theory and narrative theory of horror films as that is my chosen genre.
Narrative theory looks at the conventions governing the development of a story.
Tzvetan Todorov suggested that the stories begin with an equilibrium where any potential opposing forces are in balance. This is then disrupted by an event which sets in motion a series of further events. Problems are eventually resolved so that order is restored along with the original equilibrium.
Vladimir Propp looked at folk tales and suggested that each story had 8 similar character roles:
1. The Hero (The Protagonist)
2. The Villain (The Antaganoist)
3. The Princess (Who is the victim of the villains schemes and the reward for the hero)
4. Her Father (Who rewards the Hero)
5. The Dispatcher (Who sends the Hero on their way)
6. The False Hero (Who is mistaken for the Hero)
7. The Donor (Who provides some object to aid the Hero, usually with some sort of magic property)
8. The Helper (Who Helps the Hero on their quest)
I also did research into the dualistic nature of the narrative which includes:
Story - what narrative is: its content, consisting of events, actions, time and location.
Discourse - How the narrative is told: arrangement, emphasis/de-emphasis, magnification/diminution, of any of the elements of the content.
This week I will begin working on the plot of my film and develop the stock characters that Todorov suggests are in all stories.
Tuesday, 23 February 2010
Saturday, 6 February 2010
Week 3
This week I finished editing my preliminary exercise. I then showed the continuity scene to my peers in my class to get feedback from them, overall everyone thought it was a well thought out scene with a wide array of interesting camera angles and shots. The main criticism I received was that some of the shots were quite dark and the sound quality wasn’t great.
To improve this when I film the opening to my movie I will use a boom microphone to improve sound quality and better lighting to improve the light levels.
I also wrote up my preliminary exercise and evaluated everything I have done, which can be found below.
Preliminary exercise
I began my preliminary exercise by planning the continuity scene, which can be seen in my original storyboard. However upon shooting the scene I realised the impossibility of some of the shots I have planned, these would be awkward shots due to the lighting levels and angles that were available at the time.
The next step was to obtain a video recorder; I chose to use a HD camcorder because it would mean increased quality of the video. The downside to this was decreased sound quality due to the sound being recorded from the camera itself. I also suffered decreased lighting levels because I used indoor lighting; I thought this would create a more realistic light level however I later realised that more light would increase the quality of the video, I will bear this in mind when I shoot the opening to my film.
I chose to use people studying performing arts to be the actors in my video to increase the quality of the video, people who are used to being filmed while acting made more sense to me than using whoever was available at the time.
Here is a description of the editing process:
After I filmed the shots I began piecing them together and editing them. First I had to decide which shots to use, because I had filmed so many it gave me a wider choice which also made choosing which ones to use harder. After I chose the shots I put them all in the logically correct order. I used “Final cut” to edit my video because it is the best video editing software available to me and does everything I require.
I had to continuously render the video files so that I could edit the shot length. I did this by clicking Sequence>Render All> Both. This then rendered the video files and the sound so that they could be edited.
I then started to cut down the video files to the size I wanted. Because I filmed each shot to the required end, e.g. the female character walking all the way to the door in each shot and the whole dialogue in the room, it was easier to use match-on-action. I had the whole sequence of movements to cut to and from so the scene flowed easier.
Finally, once all the shots were cut, in sequence and rendered I had to save the file and export it as a QuickTime movie so that it was viewable. I did this by clicking File>Export>QuickTime Movie.
Here is a shot-to-shot run-down of my video:
My opening shot involved the female character walking down the hallway. I chose a high angle shot for the opening because high angle shots make the character seem smaller and less significant, this also distances the audience from the action as they feel they are above it all.
The next shot contrasts the opening, as it is a low angle shot, this creates disorientation for the audience as it moves from high to low angle. Low angles make the character seem taller, which causes the audience to feel fear towards the character as they psychologically dominate them. The audience goes from feeling superior to inferior in one shot.
The third shot is an eye level shot of the female character walking up to the door. This shot counter acts the previous two shots, as it is a neutral shot. An eye-level shot is positioned as though it was a human eye observing the scene. This shot could also add confusion as the previous shots are designed to alienate the audience and then the third shot is neutral.
Next is a close up of the door handle with the female characters hand coming towards it, this magnifies the door handle being opened so that the audience knows that this is important.
After this I used another high angle shot, this is also known as an over-the-shoulder shot. This again alienates the viewers from the action. As the door is opening we would see what is behind the door before the female character does, however the shot changes before we see what is behind the door.
Next I used a mid shot; this was done to frame the overall action in the scene. It frames the shot so that we know where the characters are, we can see that they are in a darkly lit room which also adds atmosphere to the scene.
I then used a low angle close up shot of the female character when she says the first line “The eagle has landed.” The low angle shot shows the power of the female character, even though she is informing the male character of what has previously happened, this adds more confusion to the viewer. The shot is also quite dark on the female characters face which adds more atmosphere and mysteriousness.
Next I used a slight high angled close up on the male character as he says, “So soon?” The high angle suggests that he is inferior to the female character even though the dialogue suggests that he is superior as she is reporting back to him.
After this the shot goes back to the female character with an extreme close up on the mouth as she says, “He dropped this.” This was used for dramatic effect; all that can be seen is her mouth, bottom of the nose and slight background detail which adds more mystery for the viewer.
The final shot is a close up of the item being passed between the two characters; it is a dark shot to add more mystery and confusion for the viewer. The audience will wonder why the item is so important and what it is.
After I finished editing the scene I showed it to my peers to get feedback, generally everyone thought it was a well thought out scene with a wide array of interesting camera angles and shots. The main criticism I received was that some of the shots were quite dark and the sound quality wasn’t great. To improve this next time I will use a boom microphone to improve sound quality and better lighting to improve the light levels
This week I will start researching my chosen genre of film and find out about codes and conventions of the genre.
To improve this when I film the opening to my movie I will use a boom microphone to improve sound quality and better lighting to improve the light levels.
I also wrote up my preliminary exercise and evaluated everything I have done, which can be found below.
Preliminary exercise
I began my preliminary exercise by planning the continuity scene, which can be seen in my original storyboard. However upon shooting the scene I realised the impossibility of some of the shots I have planned, these would be awkward shots due to the lighting levels and angles that were available at the time.
The next step was to obtain a video recorder; I chose to use a HD camcorder because it would mean increased quality of the video. The downside to this was decreased sound quality due to the sound being recorded from the camera itself. I also suffered decreased lighting levels because I used indoor lighting; I thought this would create a more realistic light level however I later realised that more light would increase the quality of the video, I will bear this in mind when I shoot the opening to my film.
I chose to use people studying performing arts to be the actors in my video to increase the quality of the video, people who are used to being filmed while acting made more sense to me than using whoever was available at the time.
Here is a description of the editing process:
After I filmed the shots I began piecing them together and editing them. First I had to decide which shots to use, because I had filmed so many it gave me a wider choice which also made choosing which ones to use harder. After I chose the shots I put them all in the logically correct order. I used “Final cut” to edit my video because it is the best video editing software available to me and does everything I require.
I had to continuously render the video files so that I could edit the shot length. I did this by clicking Sequence>Render All> Both. This then rendered the video files and the sound so that they could be edited.
I then started to cut down the video files to the size I wanted. Because I filmed each shot to the required end, e.g. the female character walking all the way to the door in each shot and the whole dialogue in the room, it was easier to use match-on-action. I had the whole sequence of movements to cut to and from so the scene flowed easier.
Finally, once all the shots were cut, in sequence and rendered I had to save the file and export it as a QuickTime movie so that it was viewable. I did this by clicking File>Export>QuickTime Movie.
Here is a shot-to-shot run-down of my video:
My opening shot involved the female character walking down the hallway. I chose a high angle shot for the opening because high angle shots make the character seem smaller and less significant, this also distances the audience from the action as they feel they are above it all.
The next shot contrasts the opening, as it is a low angle shot, this creates disorientation for the audience as it moves from high to low angle. Low angles make the character seem taller, which causes the audience to feel fear towards the character as they psychologically dominate them. The audience goes from feeling superior to inferior in one shot.
The third shot is an eye level shot of the female character walking up to the door. This shot counter acts the previous two shots, as it is a neutral shot. An eye-level shot is positioned as though it was a human eye observing the scene. This shot could also add confusion as the previous shots are designed to alienate the audience and then the third shot is neutral.
Next is a close up of the door handle with the female characters hand coming towards it, this magnifies the door handle being opened so that the audience knows that this is important.
After this I used another high angle shot, this is also known as an over-the-shoulder shot. This again alienates the viewers from the action. As the door is opening we would see what is behind the door before the female character does, however the shot changes before we see what is behind the door.
Next I used a mid shot; this was done to frame the overall action in the scene. It frames the shot so that we know where the characters are, we can see that they are in a darkly lit room which also adds atmosphere to the scene.
I then used a low angle close up shot of the female character when she says the first line “The eagle has landed.” The low angle shot shows the power of the female character, even though she is informing the male character of what has previously happened, this adds more confusion to the viewer. The shot is also quite dark on the female characters face which adds more atmosphere and mysteriousness.
Next I used a slight high angled close up on the male character as he says, “So soon?” The high angle suggests that he is inferior to the female character even though the dialogue suggests that he is superior as she is reporting back to him.
After this the shot goes back to the female character with an extreme close up on the mouth as she says, “He dropped this.” This was used for dramatic effect; all that can be seen is her mouth, bottom of the nose and slight background detail which adds more mystery for the viewer.
The final shot is a close up of the item being passed between the two characters; it is a dark shot to add more mystery and confusion for the viewer. The audience will wonder why the item is so important and what it is.
After I finished editing the scene I showed it to my peers to get feedback, generally everyone thought it was a well thought out scene with a wide array of interesting camera angles and shots. The main criticism I received was that some of the shots were quite dark and the sound quality wasn’t great. To improve this next time I will use a boom microphone to improve sound quality and better lighting to improve the light levels
This week I will start researching my chosen genre of film and find out about codes and conventions of the genre.
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