Audience Feedback

We asked a group of 6 students what they thought about our opening sequence for 'The Contract'. They made the following judgements:

Camera Work

Most people thought that our production had some great camera work, particularly saying they liked the reflection in the sunshades at the graveyard scene, the reflection in the Hilton Hotel window of one of the assasins and the reflection of the other assassin in the red bus.

Editing

There were mixed views regarding the editing. Generally everyone could follow the plot, but didn't know if the protagonists were assassins, terrorists or spies. This was an attempt for us to create a sense of intrigue for them. A couple of people thought that the pace could have been faster.

Soundtrack

Again there were mixed views about this with some people saying that they really liked it and that it worked well following the assassins until they were caught in the trap. Others thought that it too needed to be upbeat.

Locations

Everyone liked the locations, particularly the Hilton Hotel and using local locations such as Westbourne Grove tube station.

Mis-en-scene

The use of iconic London images such as the red phone box, the red buses, the tube symbols and so on worked really well. They though that the costumes were appropriate for two hit men, as we were both wearing suits and sunglasses.

FILMING- DAY 1

The first day of filming was about familiarising with the capabilities of our equipment and the settings we were going to use. We went to hilton as soon as we could and set up our tripod ready to film Ali's (the first hit man's) bathroom part. Before the words "ACTION" were uttered security were onto us and immediatly haulted the filming. One started explaining why we could not film on premises without permission and the other asked us what we were filming for .Because we complied kindly and spoke respectfully they said we could book an appointment which we did not expect and we were pleased with. The next day at 10pm he was free, this was a difficult time for us as everyday we had school but we knew we had to put in a few late nights to achieve the grades we wanted and so we did. The rest of that day we filmed my (hit man 2's) part exiting the london landmark located on the harrow road near Marleybone. After much debate on how to film this we agreed that we would begin with a low angle shot of the top of the building which looked iconic and consisted of a affluent looking clock . The camera would then descend until I came out the door. This was very  challenging as Ali was filiming from across a busy main road which made it difficult to get me in the shot without a few traffic in the way, in addition I was inside the building and the only signal I had was Ali's thumbs up from 100 metres away. We attempted this many times and ultimatly completed it to a good standard. Next Ali filmed a close up of me putting my glasses on (which he had to cross the road for), this came our very well. We know this because the great Canon XM2 DV allowed us to play back and view our recordings on its little screen which was very neat and convenient. One minute later my light bulb lighted and I had an idea. This was to film me in the circular traffic mirror which would conform with the urban setting . Next We did another angle of me walking down a road, we continued to do many other shots we knew would be vital when it came to editing and this would give us more liberty in changing the storyline or improving it.

Shooting schedule

Tuesday March 15th

11pm -  Hilton booking -  We have got permission to film within Hilton at this time period.

STBF - Shoot 1a and b mirror shot
             Shot 2a and 2b: toothbrush shot
             Shot 3a and 3b: hand flushing toilet
             Shot 5a and shot 5b: Tie close ups
             Shot 6a and 6b: Sleeve shot
             Shot 7a and 7b: Texts being received on two differing handsets

Props needed: 2 toothbrushes , one glass ,

(P) Costume 1:
Dark trousers , dark tie , white shirt ,

(A) Costume 2:
Grey suit , dark shirt , grey tie.

Wednesday  March 16th

Westbourne Park Station Shots:

1. m/s of Cosmo asking Petrit the time
2. c/u of Petyrit face looking threatening
3. l/s of Cosmo backing off saying "sorry man"
4. Long shot of Petrit reaching Westbourne Park Station entering.  Long shot of Ali entering station and going in.
5. c/u of Ali's face on platform seeing assassin on other platform. 
6. c/u of Petrit's face on platform seeing assassin on other platform
7. l/s of train coming in one side
8. l/s of empty platform
9. els of only one assassin left on both platforms

Saturday
Car shots:

1. l/s car drawing up. 
2. l/s of other car drawing up
3. c/u of hand opening car door
4. c/u of other hand opening car door
5. Inside Car: over the shoulder shot of assassin saying to driver "westbourne Park.  Fast"
6. Inside Car: over the shoulder shot of other assassin saying to driver "westbourne Park.  Make it fast.
7. Inside Car: c/u of hand in leather glove opening inside door to get out
8. Inside Car: c/u of Ali's hand in leather glove opening other car door to get out

Sunday

Breakfast shots

1. c/u of glass of milk full leaving the frame
2. c/u of glass of milk empty entering the frame
3. c/u of glass of orange full leaving the frame
4. c/u of glass of orange empty entering the frame
5. c/u of knife spreading red jam on toast
6. c/u of knife spreading purple jam/marmite on toast

Leaving Hilton Shots

1. els of hit man leaving Hilton hotel
2. c/u of sunglasses being put on
3. els of hit man exiting Dorchester hotel
4. c/u of sunglasses being put on.

Film Script

Shooting Script: slayers

The screen is split and the two events happen consecutively

INT Bathroom Morning time CU of mirror steamed up (Sinematic solace is written).  A hand wipes the mirror to reveal e/c/u of eye of protagonist (Petrit)	INT another bathroom morning time CU of mirror steamed up (a Kasabaqi Korkomaz film is written)  A hand wipes the mirror to reveal e/c/u of other protagonist’s eyes(Ali)
Bold titles – A Petrit Kasabaqi Film and Ali Korkomaz film.
INT Fast montage of different daily activities i.e. toothbrush being inserted in glass, flushing of toilet (diegetic sound), toaster (lifting noise). A knife spreading red jam on buttered toast (foreshadows death and blood) next there will be extreme close ups of the protagonists tie, cufflinks and watch. CU of a milk glass leaving the frame full and re-entering empty is showed.	INT Fast montage of different daily activities i.e. toothbrush being inserted in glass, flushing of toilet, toaster (lifting noise). A knife spreading red jam on buttered toast (foreshadows death and blood) next their will be extreme close ups of the protagonists tie, cufflinks and watch (differing to the first protagonist’s). CU of a milk glass leaving the frame full and re-entering empty is showed.
TITLE SCREEN: STARRING: P KASABAQI AND A KORKOMAZ
c/u of Blackberry with text and image of hit: 4pm Royal Oak	c/u of phone with text and image of hit: 4pm Royal Oak
TITLE SCREEN: SLAYERS
Hit man exits Hilton hotel. c/u of sunglasses being put on	2nd hit man exits the Dorchester hotel. C/u of sunglasses being put on.
TITLE SCREEN: Casting by: A Korkomaz
l/s Car draws up cut to c/u hand opening car door. Over the shoulder shot of assassin asking the driver where to go “Westbourne Park.  Fast”	l/s car draws up.  Cut to c/u hand opening car door. Over the shoulder shot of other assassin asking the driver where to go “Westbourne Park. Make it fast.”
TITLE SCREEN: MUSIC BY: P Kasabaqi
c/u of Petrit’s hand in a leather glove opening the car door to get out.	M/s of someone asking Petrit the time.  Cut to c/u of Petrit’s face looking threatening.  Cut to l/s of person backing off saying “Sorry Man”.
TITLE SCREEN: EDITING BY P KASABAQI AND A KORKOMAZ
l/s of Petrit reaching Westbourne Park station, going into the station.  After he’s entered Ali enters
TITLE SCREEN: PRODUCED BY: A KORKOMAZ
C/U OF face seeing each assassin.  Cut to c/u of hand reaching for gun.  Cut to reaction shot.  Cut to shot of train coming in.		c/u of other face seeing him. Cut to c/u of hand reaching for gun. Cut to reaction shot.  Cut to shot of train coming in.
ELS: to only on assassin on the platform.
DIRECTED BY PETRIT KASABAQI AND ALI KORKOMAZ
360 degree pan of both characters with guns at temples saying “Who Sent you?”
TITLE SCREEN: SLAYERS

THE PITCH

Preliminary Task

                                                               

Prior to this task, both me and Ali had no filming experience and were newborns in this important branch of media . With a short time left after a few technical problems we were forced to familiarise with our equipment , and we did so with passion. I took up the camera man role and Ali acted. At first mistakes were frequent but these helped us improve , both individually and as a group. After being briefed with a preliminary success criteria containing an over the shoulder shot , a match on action which consisted of a person (Ali) exiting/entering through a door and coming out the other side escalating the films continuity and realism ,an exchange of dialogue and character movement we began rapidly. Some barriers had fallen into our path i.e. me being both camera man and actor almost simultaneously was impossible and for this reason we gave the call of duty to Soukina (a female friend) who took the role of canteen staff. She served Ali with food and a beverage , both actors were recorded  by me with the 180degree commandment fully reinforced. A close-up was also used to emphasise the money exchange and further reinforce realism. All in all we were pleased with our hard work and had absorbed a lot of cinematic/filming knowledge. We never knew it took so much time to produce the films we effortlessly watch in cinema's , this was only our preliminary and we were our gasping for breath. For this reason our respect for producers, film companies and actors has escalated hugely and we no more take the fantastic films of today's industry for granted.

Preliminary Task

In order to complete our preliminary task, we needed to show continuity sequence which demonstrated mach on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule.

Match on Action is a technique used in film editing. it is a cut that connects two different views of the same action at the same moment in the movement. By carefully matching the movement across the two shots, film makers make it seem that the motion continues uninterrupted. For a real match on action, the action should begin in the first shot and end in the second shot.

The 180 degree rule is a basic guideline in film making that states that two characters (or other elements) in the samescene should always have the same left/right relationship to each other. If the camera passes over the imaginary axis connecting the two subjects, it is called crossing the line. The new shot, from the opposite side, is known as a reverse angle.

Shot/reverse shot is a film technique where one character is shown looking at another character (often off-screen), and then the other character is shown looking and the first character. Since the characters are shown facing in opposite directions, the viewer assumes that they are looking at each other.

Wh chose to show all of these techniques by creating a short sequence where a character walks down a corridor, opens a door, walks up to a counter, orders some food and drink, parks for his things and takes them.

In addition, the hardware we used was the "Canon XMW DV camera" and the "Libec TH650-DV Tripod". also the software used was the "Final Cut Express 4".

This short sequence will be effective in using the above techniques.
We attempted to film on Friday 28th January, however we first of all needed to learn how to use the new equipment and there were a number of malfunctions in out camera. We overcame these and filmed the beginning of the sequence. We will finish the sequence by the end of Fridat 4th Februaury and iclude the post and the finished product on our blog.

Ali Korkomaz

Creation of logo and process

The human eye helps the audience relate to our production company, this creates an immediate sense of intimacy between our production company and the consumer yet also reinforces our genre of super natural thriller which is additionally portrayed through the colour coordination.

The process we had to undertake in order to create our logo was complex and challenging. We had never done this before yet we rapidly adapted and put in the right amount of work to pull it off. This process began by finding a suitable image. I came up with the idea of an eye , thinking because every person has eyes they can relate and immediatly feel intimate with our company. We found one online , one which did not breach copyright infringment laws and suited the genre. Next we had to carefully crop it into our desired shape on photoshop and colour it red. Futhermore we also had to look for a font , then shape and crop this aswell. This is alot easier said then done and a decent amount of time to complete.


This was the final outcome :

                                                            

Title Sequence of "The Usual Suspects"

To begin with, we see a black out screen with a non-diegetic sound of a low deep violin.  We then see a wavy type or writing coming down from the end the title sequence comes up. The screen is still black and we see the following titles:

1.       Polygram filmed entertainment and spelling film international

2.       A Blue Parrot/ Bad Hat Harry production

3.       Brian singers film

4.       “the usual suspects”

5.       Starring Chazz Palminteri, Stephen Baldwin, Gabriel Byrne, Kevin Pollak and Pete Postlethwaite

6.       Also starring: Suzy Amis, Giancarlo Esposito, Benicio del toro.

7.       Casting By Francine Maisler, C.S.A

8.       Music by John Ottman

9.       Costume designer: Louise Mingenbach

10.   Production design by: Howard Cummings

11.   Edited by John Ottman

12.   Director of photography: Newton Thomas Sigel, John Ottman

13.   Co producer: Kenneth Kokin

14.   Executive producers: Francis Duplat, Art Horan, Hans Brockman, Robert Jones.

15.   Written by: Christopher McQuarrie

16.   Produced by: Brian Singer, Michael McDonnell

17.   Directed by Brian Singer

"The Ring" opening analysis

First of all we see an image of a young girl walking up stairs and walking into some water.  We see a close up of her face looking frightened and then a close up of her hand on a door handle.  We then see her enter a room and this shot is juxtaposed with a shot of a blank tv screen and then we fast zoom in on her screaming.  The Screen then is black and we see the following titles:

1.       Studio name (production)

2.       A directors name

3.       Lead actors name

4.       Other actors name

5.       Film title flashing unleges of blood

6.       The actors name

7.       Black and white image of tree

8.       Casting by....

9.       Music by....

10.   Black and white image of glass water with red blood

11.   Edited by

12.   Black and white image of chair

13.   Produced by

14.   Fast montage

15.   Slow images

16.   Written by

17.   Black and white images

18.   Directed by

Camera shots/angles/movement and composition

In my opinion, the most interesting camera shot was the shallow focus of the door handle. We see this in the beginning of the title sequence. I believe this is to show that something scary or exciting is inside the house. In addition, the shallow focus is used to show the audience what to “keep their eyes on”.

The second most interesting camera shot in my opinion was the close up of the woman’s face. The close up is used to show us her facial expressions, forcing the audience to think what she is is thinking. It also makes the audience feel shocked as her facial expression was asif something frightening was on the other side of the camera.

The most interesting camera movement was the fast zoom in to a close up of the girls face as it made the audience feel uncomfortable and shocked. 

Sound

The diegetic sound that was most important is that of the girl screaming because it gives us a sense that the rest of the movie was shocking and frightening.

The non diegetic music was odd and eerie and played only when the titles were playing.  It was a composed soundtrack which included many stringed instruments to add to the eerie sound.

Editing

The most interesting edit was before and during the title sequences.  There was a fast montage of shots used of random black and white eerie objects and those were coloured with blood. 

In between each of the titles was edited an image of one of these objects the effect was to shock the audience and makes the audience feel that they will see something scary relating to the images later in the film.

Conventions used:

Screaming
Blue filter
Close up shots of faces and important icons
non diegetic eerie music
silence to create tension
fast editing to raise tension

titles in a font which suits the genre

i will use the title sequences used in "The Ring" to structure my own created one. i will also have close up's of mainly faces, non-diegetic and diegetic sounds, fast editing and lastly silence somwhere within the extract.

Created and edited by Ali Korkomaz

'Shrooms' Introductory film analysis.

The film 'shrooms' begins with the companies name in white font, enlightened by a dark conflicting background. This reminds the audience who the credit should be given to. After this there is an immediate built of dietetic sound, one of a discomforting gasping voice and a blonde female appears in a cold (green lens may have been used) forest like setting moving rapidly and running away from something the audience is not yet aware of . This is intellectually used to hook the audience in. After this there is an establishing shot of an abandoned building followed by a metallic object of cookery from which blood is pouring out of.

'Leon' Film Introductory Analysis

The Introductory sequence of screenplay in Leon is intellectually ordered; the production companies name for instance is primarily portrayed with an astrological background, connoting their films are out of this world. Next there is an establishing aerial shot of New York City and its skyscrapers which symbolize wealth and success, this also sets the film location and encourages audience ideas of what the film could be about i.e. New York, a place renowned for its crime rates, mafia and given the name the city which never sleeps suggest it could be linked to any of these topics. At the specific time of the shot and afterwards a large white colored font is used simultaneously to name Actors and important figures who helped produce the overall outcome.

Following this is a tracking shot of movement which further reinforces the setting of the film where a communal banner saying “Welcome to little Italy” can be seen. Suspenseful music is sustained throughout to raise excitement in the audience and ready them for what is to come in the remainder of the film.  A macaroni restaurant (macaroni being a dish traditionally and stereotypically known to originate from Italy) is then zoomed into and entered using another tracking shot. .  Next are numerous extreme close ups of props such as a glass of milk, circular sunglasses, a cigarette and the protagonist’s face and hands. This raises mystery as we are only shown parts i.e. a characters eye and another hands. The glass of milk is used methodically, At first it is full then seconds after emptied. This may have been used to foreshadow what will occur later on to ‘Leon’s’ enemies or so called ‘targets’ , they will similarly disappear.

Subsequently a high angle shot is used on the mob leader, this puts him in a position of venerability which abides to his role in the film. The dietetic words of kindness made by the elderly man are not responded to by the ‘mafia males’ this exalts their seriousness and makes the audience think they are men of actions and not speech/words. A medium close up is then used on the mob leader (who is clothed in a grey suit (costume) and red lens sun glasses (very expensive at the time) , this lets us acknowledge his position and who he is.