a storyboard is a sequence of drawings to map out the events of a script.it helps to plan out how the director would like in there screen play. a storyboard is important in producing a screen play because it allows the director to easily construct a story to map out an interesting screen play. its also very useful to use a storyboard because images can explain whats going on better than thousands of words. the board mainly gives an outline of the end product after filming and is a guide line on how the plot and narrative unfold.
when planning an effective storyboard important key elements from paticular micro-elments need to be considered. these micro-elements like cinematography sound going on in the scene and elements of mise en scene. for example in this storyboard the use of close-ups are frequently used from this we know that a lot of the story will involve emotion and facial expressions. also the storyboard acts as a guideline to represent the unfolding plot.
Age certificates are given to movies by the bbfc as they see what age category suits best. the role of the bbfc is to protect the public from any content that may be harmful to the viewers. There are 6 age classifications given by the bbfc to help regulate suitable content for viewers this is also a way society can gauge what is appropriate for a young child to watch.
those classifications are
U - universal. [Dr. Seuss The Lorax]- This age rating should be suitable to people of all ages, however it is impossible to determine what may offend people but should be acceptable to view by all. films that are Universal rated usually are a good counter balance to thrillers and horrors.
PG - Parent guidance. [Brave]- Material likely wont harm children aged 8 or over however children of any age may watch, parents should look into the film and decide weather the content is suitable for their child to watch.
12 - 12 or over. [King Kong]- Only people age 12 or over can view the film. the material can only be bought by someone over 12 and the content will not be suitable for anyone else under the age of 12
12A - 12 or with an adult. [Spider-man]- suitable for children and adults aged 12 and over however children under the age of 12 can view the film if accompanied by adult and the parent sees the content suitable for the child.
15 - 15 or over. [Scream 4]- The material that can be used in a "15" can contain controversial topics. a moderated amount of bad language and some nudity can be shown but only where appropriate. violent scenes can be implemented but must not be dwell on..
18 - 18 or over. [Scream]- Content may involve criminal law violent acts illegal drugs but this must not demoralise or ham as that content may face a cut censoring the content. explicit shots of sexual acts can be shown as well as bad language
Spider man introduces new age certificate
The 12A rating is the latest rating released by the bbfc after a debate about whether children under 12 should be aloud to watch the film. Originally the film was a 12 meaning yu must be 12 or over to watch the film. due to the violent nature of the film. the debate started as kids under the age of 12 waned to watch
the film as Spider-man was an iconic figure hero for the younger public so a way younger children could view the film was devised. they created 12A so children could watch Spider-man as long as they where accompanied by an adult.
conclusion for my thriller
Thrillers tend to get an age rating of "15" as thriller films usually contain an acceptable amount of explicit content
According to my external research 10 out of 10 thrillers where age rated a "15" this gives me an idea for the target audience my thriller will need to cater to as well as what i can include in the making of the thriller i would be able to show violence but not dwell on the topic.
the British Board of Film Censorship (bbfc) is the board that approve weather a film is suitable to be viewed in the country. anything that may harm or prove offensive can be censored cut or even banned all together.
"Saw" had been cut several times before allowed to be shown in cinemas due to harmful content there may have been in the uncut original film.
the role of the bbfc is important to the film industry as if it was not a system to regulate what is shown on screen, film will get a bad name as extremely offensive material could get through and offend the public, also film can be very influential and pointless acts of violence in films that is not censored can be seen as acceptable actions in real life. So the bbfc protects the audience.
Violence
graphic representation and realism
Corrupt the young
Controversy and the Press
Sex and Nudity
Sexual violence
Religion
Class
Language
Shock
Drug abuse
The list above are all topics in a film that can have the film cut/censored
or even banned. Although these themes are apparent in films no it is
only when these topic are exploited to an extreme extent that it becomes
harmful to viewing public.
films that are banned by the bbfc does not mean they can never be shown in the world it means it cannot be shown in Britain unless the content can be justified.
The film Grotesque was banned from the U.K for the disturbing torture scenes this was the main reasons for the ban
A clockwork orange was a film that was banned for 26 years before it was shown in the U.K due to the controversial and explicit scenes.and extreme graphic rape and violent scenes.
the information gathered from this lesson will teach me the boundaries of how graphic the content of my thriller can be
In the
opening scene of scream who have the begging of one of the arguably greatest
slashers of all time. In the opening we have our innocent victim Casey played
by drew Barrymore is home alone and about to watch a scary movie. She’s about
to make some popcorn when she is deterred with a phone call from a mysterious character
that names himself peewee who has mistakenly called her. She hangs up, and
after he calls back and they get into a conversation and after some time she
becomes more and more afraid. she then panics and locks the doors by then its
too late and is on her way to a bloody and gory death.
Sound
The use
of sound in the opening scene is used extremely effectively this is done
through techniques like diegetic sound. The use of diegetic sound is used in
the scene where the phone is ringing. this is diegetic sound because the sound
comes from the film world and not edited in. the sound of the phone ringing is
a sound that is heard in the audiences day to day lives, allowing the viewer to
relax and feel comfortable leaving the viewer in a state where they are
susceptible to terror lurking later on in the scene.
Parallel sound is also used to
make the scene as effective as it is. This technique is used when we have our
antagonist on the phone to Casey. The parallel sound was used to hide the
identity of the killer creating suspense and mystery behind the character. The
response this gets from the audience is that which the feel on edge due to the
mystery to the character. this makes the scene extra thrilling as mystery is a common convention of a thriller.
We have on screen sound used in this scene to make the scene interesting. This happens when we visibly see the popcorn burning and the sound of this happening. this is done so we see that Casey is showing signs of neglect meaning her mind is somewhere else. This heightens the concern the audience has for Casey as she is afraid.
non-diegetic sound is also used where heavy drumming kicks in to build tension. This happens after Casey grabs a knife to protect herself. The drumming signifies a heart beat and how Casey is scared and fearing for her lif. The drumming makes us fear for her safety.
Cinematography
Cinematography is how the frame is shot it is used to capture the detail of a shot so we can gather more information about the scene. different aspects of the scene mean the audience can respond in a variety of ways.
Cinematography is effectively used in this scene at the beginning where we have Casey answering the telephone. the mid close-up we have in this scene displays a clear view of emotion of our victim, Casey. She appears to be cheerful, we know this because the mid close-up captures her full facial expressions.This allows the audience a better understanding of how the victim is feeling. the audience respond to this with a warm feeling as here happiness makes the viewer welcomed.
Cinematography Is important in the opening clip as it demonstrates effective movie shots and give the audience a better understanding of the message being represented. The scene is understood easier for the use of a point of view. This is because the shot gives us a good view of the situation through Caseys' eyes. we have the point of view shot when Casey looks out her garden glass doors to briefly search for the antagonist, the fact that we see one section of the outdoor slowly then it sped up to check the next shows how scared she is and would like to get her ordeal over and done this. As the shot that is used is a point of view shot the viewer is mad to feel involved with the scene and feel the emotion the victim is feeling.
Aspects of cinematography is especially needed to capture key moments of the scene. a good example of this is the zoom shot. the zoom shot is used outstandingly when she turns the t.v of and in the corner in tears. the zoom shot is used to capture her emotion in high quality detail. the camera also makes it seem like she has been cornered and captured. this makes the audiences response stronger to her sadness.
Editing
Editing is used in a film for the construction of the film. Editing weaves scenes and shots together to create an amazing film. the speed and style can be manipulated through Editing to make the scene shot or entire movie excellent.
in this clip the style of editing is very conventional because of the scene starting slow paced and builds up .the length of each shot in the beginning is quite long and slow to show the calm in the scene. this puts the audience in a state where they feel comfortable from the audience of balance for what is about to come. the calm before the storm.
Editing is used in particularly well with the use of straight cuts. the straight cuts allow the audience to follow the narrative of the story clearly making the details of the story extra punctuated, allowing the viewer to keep up with the narrative makes the story effective and scares the audience more psychologically as the cut gives time to think about the going on of the situation.
manipulation of editing makes the effectiveness of the scene all the better as fast editing is used when Casey is being attacked. the speed of the editing is sped up to illustrate an empathise the magnitude of the danger and struggle. the speed creates a sense of adrenaline for the audience and thrill.
Mise en scene
Mise en scene contains 5 elements. These elements are costume setting iconography lighting and colour and finally body language and facial expression. these elements are everything that is put on stage to create a genre making a believable world.
the use of mise en scene is the step to constructing a realistic film world. Costume is important in identifying the antagonist from protagonist In this scene we have our victim the protagonist Casey in a white sweater representing purity and innocence, the audience reaction to this would be positive and be forced to care about her due to the white costume being conventional in a thriller to be the protagonist Our antagonist ghost face killer is dressed in the conventional black colours signifying evil. The fact that our villain wears a mask is important to the narrative as the hidden identity creates mystery and a sense of uncertainty of who could be the killer and the true main motive(s).
the use of lighting in the scene is effectively done through natural and low-key lighting. throughout the first half of the scene we have a lot of natural lighting this makes the shot look very natural and becomes what we expect to see outside of the film world. this is used so we see the scene to be realistic, amplifying the real danger in her life. the audience respond to the lighting positively as it makes the scene easier to follow the narrative structure. for the second half of the scene as the pace of the story speeds up we see the use of low key lighting this is used to add mystery to the scene through the use of multiple shadows. low key lighting is conventional to a thriller so its no surprise that the technique is used here. as this is conventional to a thriller the audience automatically respond to this with excitement and adrenaline.
Mise en scene is everything on set/stage and the location is just as important as what is inside the scene. the setting in the scene is set in 2 locations these are inside a house and outside the house. the location being a house shows normality which then scares the audience due to the fact that of the home being unpredictable. the setting of the outside of the house is very natural an become a scene the audience sees of an every day life and gives them understanding and relate to what is occurring.
editing techniques are used in films to make the film fit together and more interesting. techniques like cuts can be used to make transitions more fluid and appealing to the eye. the pace of the editing can be modified to create suspense and adrenaline.
Speed of editing
the speed of editing has the power to determine the mood of the scene whether it is a high octane high action scene or a dramatic love scene. the speed can build suspense in a scene in the length of a certain shot.
This scene involves a fight between bea and vernita from the film kill bill. in this scene the pace of the shots are exceedingly fast due to the amount of action in the shot. generally in a fight scene there is a lot of shots to highlight the action and high tempo.
in the end scene of the butterfly effect the audience see the main character in there happy ending. the pace of the shots was very slow and considerably less than the kill bill scene in comparison, as the butterfly effect scene has 12 slow cuts whereas the kill bill fight scene has 20+ within the 1st minute.
Film trailer
A film trailer is a magnificent way to allow the audience to connect to the movie. the wide variety of techniques used in the trailer enables the audience to get a sample of how the experience of watching the the film would be and appears appealing.this is in fact a good way of advertisement.
The trailer Lockout captures many of the techniques used in editing to make the trailer as effective as it is such as fade to black. evidence of this is when we get to an outer space shot and is used continuously after that. As this is a trailer the use of fading in and out is used well as this effect is used usually to introduce something and since the trailer is used to advertise it can be said the fade to blacks introduce the film to the audience. the audience respond to the edits as if they where introductions and makes the viewers intrigued
Psycho uses basic camera shots and the dissolve effect this may be because of the lack of technology back in the day. the use of straight cuts may amplify the simplicity of the attack. and make the scene more realistic as there are no big cuts to make edits noticeable.
the jump cut in this scene is used for the fact that the editing represents his emotion. it shows how his mind is all over the place and does not have a calmhead. A jump cut is also used to save time
the editing in this clip from the film V for Vendetta is a final fight scene and uses multiple editing techniques gradually building tension until it peaks and creates an exciting scene. straight cuts and slow editing are used at the start as they talk so that the audience understands the context of what is happening this allows the viewer to follow the scene easily intensifying the scene
when editing my thriller it will be important to remember this when constructing clips as each cut transition or effect will have an impact on how the viewer percieves whats going on
