In my Group there is myself, Bettie Cooper and Kane Faulkner-Wild. Group meetings are essential to have because all the members in our group think of different idea's in which can be contributed towards our opening sequence so these meetings give us the opportunity to sit down as a group together and discuss all of our ideas so by this our sequence could potentially be improve as they ideas may be more creative. Furthermore, group planning is essential to carry out as it helps us to develop our individual ideas into our final ideas and also helps us to discuss and elaborate our points. Also, it gives us a rough idea of the general guidelines that we need to follow in order to make our sequence flow. In addition, it helps us to create the key conventions (suspense, shock, surprise and tension) in certain parts of the sequence so that we know at what points the audience are going to be impacted and where they have the ability to build relationships. It also helps us to keep all of our planning within our sequence more organised and helps us to come to a final agreement. It also help us to build relationships and impact on our target audience and build a stronger relationship with the audience. It also helps keep the sequence idea's more organised and well structured.
In our first meeting we created a basic analysis of each element and wrote down a rough idea of how we are going to incorporate each of them into our sequence. Within each meeting we are going to analyse each one into more depth so that we can create the best idea's for each one. This was just creating the basic base of our sequence, then in each meeting we would develop these further to make them more impacting. Furthermore, it would give us more focus within each one so that we don't miss anything that could impact our sequence in a bad way. In the first meeting we decided to focus on the narrative only and we discussed the final group narrative for the opening sequence. We done this first so that it would make it easier for us to add in elements such as sound and editing now that we have a story line otherwise it would be more difficult for us. In this first meeting, we sat down as a group and brought all of our individual narrative and we discussed all the pros and cons of each idea. After we went through everyone's idea's we had to come to a conclusion to choose one final narrative. Within this meeting, we all came to a conclusion to include the idea of a cannibal as the antagonist as we believed that this was an unusual characteristic of an antagonist. Furthermore, as we developed this narrative we also came to a conclusion to make the antagonist a female by making Bettie the cannibal as we believed this was more of a unique narrative in contrast to a typical thriller narrative so this would be a bigger shock towards the audience and help to engage the audience more by them the ability to create more relationships with the character. We identified the strength's within each of our narratives and developed them along with the slightly weaker ones but still had potential. After this, we combined each of these together and discussed as a group when and where each point would be effect and impact the audience and give them the ability to create a relationship with the audience.
We will follow the code and conventions of a thriller genre by using sequences from previous research to contribute towards our inspirations and use technique's from them to make our thriller more conventional as these sequence have been successfully conventional and we could apply the knowledge from them into our own sequence. Furthermore, we will also follow the codes and conventions of a thriller by deeply analysing each elements that builds up a sequence and elaborate on the conventions and techniques that could be used that would make our sequence more effective therefore making our sequence more successful. We would discuss where to insert the key elements such as shock, surprise, suspense and tension as these are vital elements that would make our thriller genre more effective and impact the audience as it would give them the ability to create better relationships with the characters.
Moving forward to the next meeting we are going to analyse and plan the target audience. We have decided to do this next as if we do this next then afterwards it would help us include the conventions and elements as we would now have the knowledge to identify what is and what isn't appropriate for our sequence. Also, it would have a better impact on the audience as after this meeting we would be able to insert elements that would be more effective on the target audience as we would include elements that are suited to the specific set of audience so that the audience can build appropriate relationships with the characters. This meeting would help give us a better understanding of what to include within our sequence and what would help engage the audience more and impact them.
Within the 2nd meeting, we decided to focus on the target audience. We discussed a range of possible target audience. We went through and analysed a range of different age ratings, and compromised with each age, selecting the one that would be suitable and would give the ability to include more conventions as that would make our sequence more effective and engage the audience more. Furthermore, we discussed what would and wouldn't be suitable for each age and discussed realistically which one would make our sequence more successful as the sequence has to be as conventional to a thriller genre as possible. We analysed what particular conventions we could include within each age group and we came to the conclusion to make our sequence a 15+ as this would give the ability to include a range of conventions and make our sequence effective and also be appropriate for our sequence.
Moving forward to the next meeting, we plan to focus and plan the mise-en-scene. We have decided to do this, as now we have decided on our target audience, we will now know roughly what elements would be suitable and appropriate for the audience. Furthermore, we can analyse the general representation of our sequence as this is important for our audience. We can start to elaborate on our base narrative by including elements such as setting and iconography and develop this. After this meeting, we will have the ability to start building on our sequence as we would have included more elements to make it more effective and impact the audience more as it will help to engage more within the sequence.
In the 3rd meeting, we planned the different mise-en-scene elements that we would of liked to used within our sequences. Individually we all had different idea's of what we would like to use throughout the sequence so we discussed the strengths and weaknesses within each of our ideas and picked the best ones that were the most effective and the ones that we felt would help impact the audience more to engage them. Furthermore, we had to discuss which ones would be suitable for our narrative as it wouldn't be as impacting if the elements of the film didn't match the narrative so it's extremely vital that we focused on these elements and chose wisely the correct one. We discussed the different elements such as setting in which we all agreed on the idea of the forest as the use of isolation would be conventional towards a thriller genre as the setting would be more haunted and raise the tension and suspense within the atmosphere. We chose to use only the dog and sticks for the dog as the iconography as we have included a cannibal within our narrative so any weaponry is irrelevant towards the narrative. We decided on a low key lightening as we felt that would be the most effective for our audience as this would build up more suspense and tension towards them. We decided on a basic appearance on the characters as we have only had a small discussion only the actual characters so we decided to come back to this but we chose that all characters including the antagonist was to look realistic and casual so that the audience have the ability to relate to the characters which would help them engage more. This would include the character's been represented in casual clothes so that they have the ability to relate towards our target audience and would engage them more and give them the chance to build a better relationship with the character as they can relate to them more.
In the 4th meeting, we planned and focused on the different cinematography techniques we could include. Focusing on this was important as different camera techniques have the ability to create different key elements (tension, surprise, suspense) so it was important that we made a wise chose of when and where we were to include these camera techniques as the techniques had to be inserted at the right times in order for the moment to be effective and also impact the audience. We discussed a range of potential idea's that we could include and we chose different ones to include at different times so that it would help create the key elements e.g zooming in would help create a higher level of tension.
In the 5th meeting, we discussed the different sounds that we could include. We discussed and analysed a range of different types of potential sounds that we could include within our sequence. We decided that we needed a range of different types of sounds (diegetic, non diegetic, on screen, off screen) so we analysed different ones from each category. As the non diegetic sound we came up with a conclusion to include a type of music that would gradually build up and increase the intensity. We're also intending to include a music of a nature sound to make the sequence realistic so the audience can become more engaged. We also compromised to use an on screen sound such as the characters walking on the leaves which would build up the tension and make the sequence more realistic. Once we chose the best sounds from each category we had to analyse where within our sequence we would include these as it is vital where they are included so that they can create the elements and atmospheres that we need in order to engage the audience and make our sequence more conventional towards the thriller genre e.g the high level tension music when characters are walking behind Bettie to increase an immediate level of tension.
In the 6th meeting, we discussed the different editing styles that we could include within our sequence. This was an important discussion as we could combine all of our different ideas and develop them into well effective ideas. Editing was important as these would help contribute to our key elements and atmospheres. Furthermore, editing techniques can also build up to the key elements such as tension, shock, suspense and surprise. We had to be precise when selecting the ones that we intended to use as a slight error within our editing could ruin our sequence all together. It was important that the editing made the sequence more effective so we had to chose an editing technique that would impact the audience e.g slow editing would build the level of suspense.
In the 7th meeting, we discussed a variety of potential opening credits. This was important as it would be the first thing that the audience would acknowledge and so would give off our first impressions. Furthermore, it would also give the audience first impressions of our sequence therefore we need to create a set of opening credits that would make the audience interested and engage them more into our sequence. Also, it was important that we chose an opening credit style that would also match the style of our sequence as they both would have to look incorporate in order to be effective. We decided to use a forest colored text for each piece of writing since the setting we intended to use was a forest. Also, we agreed to use a blurred, terror-ed style of text so that it would link to a thriller genre and make our sequence more conventional therefore making it more successful. We created the title so that it was a black background and the title was in the centre and was red so that it was seeking more attention and would engage the audience more and it is more bold and eye-catching.
The 8th meeting was about planning the characters. Within this meeting, we discussed the different types of characters that we wanted to include within our sequence. Once we had chosen a set, we analysed them into more detail by developing features such as appearance and age. This was important as we needed the characters to appear in relation to their personality as the appearance of each character would give the audience their first impressions. We agreed to make the characters all similar looking as then it wouldn't give off any hints and so when the antagonist is revealed it would be a bigger shock to the audience which is conventional towards a thriller. Furthermore, we also discussed what each characters role was and we analysed that it would be more intriguing if the antagonist was to be the one female character (Bettie) as the would create more of a shock and surprise towards the audience an would engage them more as it's unexpected. We also decided the antagonist should have a hidden identity so that the surprise is bigger and would create a bigger shock which would then help to create a better relationship with the audience. Also, we analysed each characters background as this would be important towards the audience, and we came to the conclusion to make the characters school-kids as this would be more appropriate for the target audience as they will have the ability to relate to the characters and will also help them engage more and also build better relationships with them as the sequence would be more realistic.
In the 9th meeting, we decided that we need to plan and create a group storyboard. This meeting was all about collaborating all of our previous meeting idea's into one big idea of the sequence. We discussed a potential order for the sequence in which we thought the narrative would fit in. We used our plans from previous planning (narrative, sound, editing etc) to help us within creating a group storyboard as it was important that the sequence flowed as it would impact on our audience determining how engaged they would be within our sequence. Furthermore, planning the group storyboard had to be as accurate as possible, as this would give us roughly a clear structure of how each frame within the sequence is going to be layed out and also would determine the length of our sequence roughly. At the end of the meeting all group members agreed that the sequence would be more effective if the narrative was to build up throughout the given time, and then towards the end release the elements that have been built up so that the sequence is more conventional towards a thriller, and would also help the audience to engage more as each scene would make them more eager and on the edge of their seats. The timing would help as it would give us an idea of whether we need to include more frames but adding more details to our sequence so that the frame can be extended in order to fill the 2 minutes.
In the 10th meeting, we discussed the filming schedule. We analysed and elaborated on the different days that all members of the group were available. This was important as we had to choose specific days and times in which all group members could attend as it would be inconvenient and would cause problems if we selected days that members couldn't attend. Once we had chosen the filming days, we then discussed what specifically was to be filmed on each day. This was an important discussion as it gave ideas of what we had to bring to the scene and also suggested whether we needed anything e.g later time would require a torch. This also gave us a plan of what specific equipment and iconography we had to bring on each day depending on what scenes we were filming. We chose the same location for every day as that would make it easier for us to film however we just use different areas of the same location each time. We also discussed that it would be easier for all group member's if we were to film weekdays after school as that would be more convenient for everyone. We also discussed on the different camera shots and techniques we would be using on each day as they would determine whether we need to bring equipment such as tripods. Also we analysed the appearance of each character on each day to also contribute to our knowledge of knowing what we need to bring on each day and whether any other equipment such as make-up is needed.
In the 11th meeting, we discussed the risk assessment. This was an important discussion as we had to discuss the possible risk and how they could be prevented and solved to keep our members saved. Also, this was important as the safety of our characters were vital as that is the main priority, keeping our characters safe. Furthermore, not only did we discuss the risks that could happen to us, but we planned a table to write down all of our solutions of how they could be prevented and what we would do if one of them was to happen. We created a table which listed a range of different risks and the solutions and we learned these so that we know what to do if one of them was to happen to any of our members. For example, we found that falling out of a tree could be a dangerous risk/hazard so in order to prevent this from happening one of the group members could bring a ladder so that anyone that is required to be in a tree they shall just use the ladder to get on and off the tree.
In the 12th meeting, we planned a summary of the whole thriller. We planned and discussed on how we was going to film and had a brief summary of every other meeting that contributed towards this sequence. Furthermore, we recapped on all of our previous meetings and we developed on any weak points that we noticed. For example we changed where the tension music was to be used as we found that inserting it at another point within the sequence would be more effective. We summarized all our previous meetings, and we discussed the filming schedule once again and then went and filmed our sequence.
In the 13th meeting, we discussed on how we could develop on our rough cut by making it more effective in different ways. This could be done buy adding more thriller conventions or using a wider range of editing styles which would help engage the audience more and make our sequence more successful. For instance, we found inserting the slow/fast editing at various places would build up more tension therefore would be more effective and help to engage the audience more. Also, if the sequence is more effective, then it's more likely to draw the viewers attention and also engage them more. Furthermore, the use of more conventions and editing styles could also create a high level of the key elements (surprise, tension,suspense, shock) which would impact the audience more.
Meetings and discussions are important to carry out as it helps our group to be more organised and also helps us create an easier structure for the group in the filming process. This would then make the filming process more easier as we would know what we're doing. Furthermore, it is vital that as a group we sit down together and discuss our different idea as each group member will have different opinions. Also, these group meetings will give the opportunity for the group as a whole to develop any weak points within the sequence so that the sequence would be more effective and impact the audience more as this is important as it would make our sequence more successful. Group meetings are also important because as it gives the opportunity for all group members to give their opinions and make sure that everyone within the group is satisfied.
We will follow the code and conventions of a thriller genre by using sequences from previous research to contribute towards our inspirations and use technique's from them to make our thriller more conventional as these sequence have been successfully conventional and we could apply the knowledge from them into our own sequence. Furthermore, we will also follow the codes and conventions of a thriller by deeply analysing each elements that builds up a sequence and elaborate on the conventions and techniques that could be used that would make our sequence more effective therefore making our sequence more successful. We would discuss where to insert the key elements such as shock, surprise, suspense and tension as these are vital elements that would make our thriller genre more effective and impact the audience as it would give them the ability to create better relationships with the characters.
Moving forward to the next meeting we are going to analyse and plan the target audience. We have decided to do this next as if we do this next then afterwards it would help us include the conventions and elements as we would now have the knowledge to identify what is and what isn't appropriate for our sequence. Also, it would have a better impact on the audience as after this meeting we would be able to insert elements that would be more effective on the target audience as we would include elements that are suited to the specific set of audience so that the audience can build appropriate relationships with the characters. This meeting would help give us a better understanding of what to include within our sequence and what would help engage the audience more and impact them.
Within the 2nd meeting, we decided to focus on the target audience. We discussed a range of possible target audience. We went through and analysed a range of different age ratings, and compromised with each age, selecting the one that would be suitable and would give the ability to include more conventions as that would make our sequence more effective and engage the audience more. Furthermore, we discussed what would and wouldn't be suitable for each age and discussed realistically which one would make our sequence more successful as the sequence has to be as conventional to a thriller genre as possible. We analysed what particular conventions we could include within each age group and we came to the conclusion to make our sequence a 15+ as this would give the ability to include a range of conventions and make our sequence effective and also be appropriate for our sequence.
Moving forward to the next meeting, we plan to focus and plan the mise-en-scene. We have decided to do this, as now we have decided on our target audience, we will now know roughly what elements would be suitable and appropriate for the audience. Furthermore, we can analyse the general representation of our sequence as this is important for our audience. We can start to elaborate on our base narrative by including elements such as setting and iconography and develop this. After this meeting, we will have the ability to start building on our sequence as we would have included more elements to make it more effective and impact the audience more as it will help to engage more within the sequence.
In the 3rd meeting, we planned the different mise-en-scene elements that we would of liked to used within our sequences. Individually we all had different idea's of what we would like to use throughout the sequence so we discussed the strengths and weaknesses within each of our ideas and picked the best ones that were the most effective and the ones that we felt would help impact the audience more to engage them. Furthermore, we had to discuss which ones would be suitable for our narrative as it wouldn't be as impacting if the elements of the film didn't match the narrative so it's extremely vital that we focused on these elements and chose wisely the correct one. We discussed the different elements such as setting in which we all agreed on the idea of the forest as the use of isolation would be conventional towards a thriller genre as the setting would be more haunted and raise the tension and suspense within the atmosphere. We chose to use only the dog and sticks for the dog as the iconography as we have included a cannibal within our narrative so any weaponry is irrelevant towards the narrative. We decided on a low key lightening as we felt that would be the most effective for our audience as this would build up more suspense and tension towards them. We decided on a basic appearance on the characters as we have only had a small discussion only the actual characters so we decided to come back to this but we chose that all characters including the antagonist was to look realistic and casual so that the audience have the ability to relate to the characters which would help them engage more. This would include the character's been represented in casual clothes so that they have the ability to relate towards our target audience and would engage them more and give them the chance to build a better relationship with the character as they can relate to them more.
In the 4th meeting, we planned and focused on the different cinematography techniques we could include. Focusing on this was important as different camera techniques have the ability to create different key elements (tension, surprise, suspense) so it was important that we made a wise chose of when and where we were to include these camera techniques as the techniques had to be inserted at the right times in order for the moment to be effective and also impact the audience. We discussed a range of potential idea's that we could include and we chose different ones to include at different times so that it would help create the key elements e.g zooming in would help create a higher level of tension.
In the 5th meeting, we discussed the different sounds that we could include. We discussed and analysed a range of different types of potential sounds that we could include within our sequence. We decided that we needed a range of different types of sounds (diegetic, non diegetic, on screen, off screen) so we analysed different ones from each category. As the non diegetic sound we came up with a conclusion to include a type of music that would gradually build up and increase the intensity. We're also intending to include a music of a nature sound to make the sequence realistic so the audience can become more engaged. We also compromised to use an on screen sound such as the characters walking on the leaves which would build up the tension and make the sequence more realistic. Once we chose the best sounds from each category we had to analyse where within our sequence we would include these as it is vital where they are included so that they can create the elements and atmospheres that we need in order to engage the audience and make our sequence more conventional towards the thriller genre e.g the high level tension music when characters are walking behind Bettie to increase an immediate level of tension.
In the 6th meeting, we discussed the different editing styles that we could include within our sequence. This was an important discussion as we could combine all of our different ideas and develop them into well effective ideas. Editing was important as these would help contribute to our key elements and atmospheres. Furthermore, editing techniques can also build up to the key elements such as tension, shock, suspense and surprise. We had to be precise when selecting the ones that we intended to use as a slight error within our editing could ruin our sequence all together. It was important that the editing made the sequence more effective so we had to chose an editing technique that would impact the audience e.g slow editing would build the level of suspense.
In the 7th meeting, we discussed a variety of potential opening credits. This was important as it would be the first thing that the audience would acknowledge and so would give off our first impressions. Furthermore, it would also give the audience first impressions of our sequence therefore we need to create a set of opening credits that would make the audience interested and engage them more into our sequence. Also, it was important that we chose an opening credit style that would also match the style of our sequence as they both would have to look incorporate in order to be effective. We decided to use a forest colored text for each piece of writing since the setting we intended to use was a forest. Also, we agreed to use a blurred, terror-ed style of text so that it would link to a thriller genre and make our sequence more conventional therefore making it more successful. We created the title so that it was a black background and the title was in the centre and was red so that it was seeking more attention and would engage the audience more and it is more bold and eye-catching.
The 8th meeting was about planning the characters. Within this meeting, we discussed the different types of characters that we wanted to include within our sequence. Once we had chosen a set, we analysed them into more detail by developing features such as appearance and age. This was important as we needed the characters to appear in relation to their personality as the appearance of each character would give the audience their first impressions. We agreed to make the characters all similar looking as then it wouldn't give off any hints and so when the antagonist is revealed it would be a bigger shock to the audience which is conventional towards a thriller. Furthermore, we also discussed what each characters role was and we analysed that it would be more intriguing if the antagonist was to be the one female character (Bettie) as the would create more of a shock and surprise towards the audience an would engage them more as it's unexpected. We also decided the antagonist should have a hidden identity so that the surprise is bigger and would create a bigger shock which would then help to create a better relationship with the audience. Also, we analysed each characters background as this would be important towards the audience, and we came to the conclusion to make the characters school-kids as this would be more appropriate for the target audience as they will have the ability to relate to the characters and will also help them engage more and also build better relationships with them as the sequence would be more realistic.
In the 9th meeting, we decided that we need to plan and create a group storyboard. This meeting was all about collaborating all of our previous meeting idea's into one big idea of the sequence. We discussed a potential order for the sequence in which we thought the narrative would fit in. We used our plans from previous planning (narrative, sound, editing etc) to help us within creating a group storyboard as it was important that the sequence flowed as it would impact on our audience determining how engaged they would be within our sequence. Furthermore, planning the group storyboard had to be as accurate as possible, as this would give us roughly a clear structure of how each frame within the sequence is going to be layed out and also would determine the length of our sequence roughly. At the end of the meeting all group members agreed that the sequence would be more effective if the narrative was to build up throughout the given time, and then towards the end release the elements that have been built up so that the sequence is more conventional towards a thriller, and would also help the audience to engage more as each scene would make them more eager and on the edge of their seats. The timing would help as it would give us an idea of whether we need to include more frames but adding more details to our sequence so that the frame can be extended in order to fill the 2 minutes.
In the 10th meeting, we discussed the filming schedule. We analysed and elaborated on the different days that all members of the group were available. This was important as we had to choose specific days and times in which all group members could attend as it would be inconvenient and would cause problems if we selected days that members couldn't attend. Once we had chosen the filming days, we then discussed what specifically was to be filmed on each day. This was an important discussion as it gave ideas of what we had to bring to the scene and also suggested whether we needed anything e.g later time would require a torch. This also gave us a plan of what specific equipment and iconography we had to bring on each day depending on what scenes we were filming. We chose the same location for every day as that would make it easier for us to film however we just use different areas of the same location each time. We also discussed that it would be easier for all group member's if we were to film weekdays after school as that would be more convenient for everyone. We also discussed on the different camera shots and techniques we would be using on each day as they would determine whether we need to bring equipment such as tripods. Also we analysed the appearance of each character on each day to also contribute to our knowledge of knowing what we need to bring on each day and whether any other equipment such as make-up is needed.
In the 11th meeting, we discussed the risk assessment. This was an important discussion as we had to discuss the possible risk and how they could be prevented and solved to keep our members saved. Also, this was important as the safety of our characters were vital as that is the main priority, keeping our characters safe. Furthermore, not only did we discuss the risks that could happen to us, but we planned a table to write down all of our solutions of how they could be prevented and what we would do if one of them was to happen. We created a table which listed a range of different risks and the solutions and we learned these so that we know what to do if one of them was to happen to any of our members. For example, we found that falling out of a tree could be a dangerous risk/hazard so in order to prevent this from happening one of the group members could bring a ladder so that anyone that is required to be in a tree they shall just use the ladder to get on and off the tree.
In the 12th meeting, we planned a summary of the whole thriller. We planned and discussed on how we was going to film and had a brief summary of every other meeting that contributed towards this sequence. Furthermore, we recapped on all of our previous meetings and we developed on any weak points that we noticed. For example we changed where the tension music was to be used as we found that inserting it at another point within the sequence would be more effective. We summarized all our previous meetings, and we discussed the filming schedule once again and then went and filmed our sequence.
In the 13th meeting, we discussed on how we could develop on our rough cut by making it more effective in different ways. This could be done buy adding more thriller conventions or using a wider range of editing styles which would help engage the audience more and make our sequence more successful. For instance, we found inserting the slow/fast editing at various places would build up more tension therefore would be more effective and help to engage the audience more. Also, if the sequence is more effective, then it's more likely to draw the viewers attention and also engage them more. Furthermore, the use of more conventions and editing styles could also create a high level of the key elements (surprise, tension,suspense, shock) which would impact the audience more.
Meetings and discussions are important to carry out as it helps our group to be more organised and also helps us create an easier structure for the group in the filming process. This would then make the filming process more easier as we would know what we're doing. Furthermore, it is vital that as a group we sit down together and discuss our different idea as each group member will have different opinions. Also, these group meetings will give the opportunity for the group as a whole to develop any weak points within the sequence so that the sequence would be more effective and impact the audience more as this is important as it would make our sequence more successful. Group meetings are also important because as it gives the opportunity for all group members to give their opinions and make sure that everyone within the group is satisfied.
Our group worked extremely well together, as we developed each individual as a group so that they would become more effective. In each meeting we managed to analyse each different element very well by discussing in great details what the weak and strong points where. Furthermore, if there were any weaker points, as a group we developed these so that they were more effective. We worked well on combining and collaborating all of our different ideas and creating a very effective sequence plan in which we hope will be successful.
This post demonstrates a proficient understanding of why group meetings are essential to carry out. It is clear to see that you and your group have considered the style of a production that you would like to create, which id evident through the meetings and discussions and planning sheets above.
ReplyDeleteAim to be more specific when discussing certain meetings as you need to be more specific as to what you planned. For example, you could elaborate the type of sounds that you are considering of including, rather than just focusing on the terminology words.