Why have we chosen to do a psychological thriller?

As a group we discussed and thought it would be a good idea to choose the psychological thriller genre for our opening sequence coursework because visually, it can be manipulated to create more complex sequences. It is a very common genre due to the fact that these films are so clever and don't rely on gore to scare the audience like horror movies do as well as captivating the viewer with their mind boggling stories and images. They are also more interesting and more creative as a genre, so we can use this to our advantage to put in our best abilities in creating this sequence.

My group

The group that I am working with to produce my opening sequence coursework consists of two other people:
- Sophie Benson (www.sophieebenson96.blogspot.com). She has a love for drama and could bring her artistic skills into our opening sequence so that we can create a realistic piece.
-Charlotte Boosey (http://charlotteboosey.blogspot.co.uk/). Has already taken this year of Media a-level and has more experience than us, so she could help us with skills that we are not so good with like camera work.

Evaluating the Preliminary task

The task we were given, was to create a short scene in which we used match on action and reverse shot while still maintaining the 180-degree rule. In this task, we were told that Character 1 would walk through a door and have a conversation with Character 2. Before we filmed this scene, we had to prepare our storyline by storyboarding the events.

During the filming, I was an actor and played character 2, my role was to be consistant throughout my scene so that we made no continuity errors. Charlotte, as the camera person, used a panning shot at the beginning when Sophie walked towards the door as this would show the process of her getting to the determined spot. She also used a medium shot as this was appropriate considering what the viewer needed to see.




To show match on action, Charlotte only filmed Sophie walking past the door but did not show the process of her opening the door. The audience is expected to understand the fact that she has walked through the door. We made sure to maintain the 180 degree rule as the frame was shot from the same side. A medium long shot was used here so that we could see the character clearer from a further perspective.

When character 1 spoke to character 2 we used shot reverse shot to follow the conversation between the two from each character's point of view. Again, Charlotte only filmed from one side and conserved the 180 degree rule. We also made sure during the acting, that we made no continuity errors with the phone, for example, in this frame so that it didn't change position suddenly.

A medium long shot as well as over the shoulder shot was used in the shot reverse shot frames so that there was a clear exchange of speech between the two characters. The characters were positioned in the centre of the frame so that they are the main subject of the scene. This also helps to draw the attention to them instead of the action in the background.

I was happy with final results because I think that as a group we created and developed a realistic scene with exchange of dialogue in which we had a smooth use of match on action and shot reverse shot. However, we had a slight continuity error with the phone as we forgot to shoot Sophie putting it back into her pocket, which made the editing process more difficult. I think the camera was the perfect distance from the subject as it was close enough for the audience to see the expressions on the characters' faces, but not too close so that it was overly dramatic. Overall, I think we worked well as a group because we all put ideas forward and we all helped to contribute with the making of this scene. We also took on each other's criticisms and listened to different opinions to create our finished product as such.
I now feel confident with the use of the camera as well as Imovie on the Mac computers. Throughout the filming of this scene and previous works, I have learnt to create different shots and use different angles with the camera, as well as how to set it up on the tripod. Also, I learnt how to use Imovie and edit films by cutting, adding transitions, music, titles etc.

An interview with Christopher Nolan

Interviewing Christopher Nolan by Stephanie Ocampo on GoAnimate

Video Maker - Powered by GoAnimate.

The death scene in the film Psycho

Analysing the semiotics in the film 'Psycho'

In the famous shower death scene of this film, the person holding the knife is shown as a black silhouette, connoting mystery and creating an eerie feel as we don't know who the person is or if it is a woman or man. The use of the colour black has bad connotation as it could represent darkness and evil. Also, the silhouette holds the knife in a ruthless way that suggests that he or she is going to stab the woman in the shower instead of slice and makes the whole situation more brutal . The knife itself represents danger and brutality while also showing the audience a primitive side to this character, linking to animalistic and savage behaviour.

The fact that the woman is naked could represent vulnerability or innocence and also links to the the sin of lust and therefore evil in general. The shower connotes tranquility and is seen as a safe environment, while the water connotes purity and cleanliness. This tranquility and purity is challenged with the brutal stabbing and the dark blood that pours from the body. The image shows that the woman is holding her hand out signifying a cry for help; this is a natural human instinct showing she is reaching out for hope.

The shower head point of view shows the woman's point of view and could connote the fact that she is being watched by someone.  As it is a point of view shot it could suggest that all her attention is on the shower head and is unaware of her surroundings, making her more vulnerable and makes the audience anticipate that there might be something or someone in the room. The water trickling down could mirror the blood that later trickles down her body when she lies dead.