22nd March 2017

THRILLER COURSEWORK: EVALUATION QUESTION 3

How did your production skills develop throughout this project?

CODES AND CONVENTIONS
At the start of the course, I barely had any idea of what codes and conventions meant and how they are identified and applied. Through my careful study of thriller films like The Silence of the Lambs, Luther and The Fugitive, I had learnt and adapted their conventions to my film opening. Through my thorough analysis consisting of Hannibal Lecter's representation as an antagonist in The Silence of the Lambs (1991), I studied and applied his cold and calculative character to my antagonist. Many aspects of thriller conventions in building tension like the avoidance of the killer's identity in Scream (1991) is similarly used in my film, where the killer's face is not revealed until the last shot of the film. This focuses the tension only on the victim and intensifies the mood of the unknowing killer.

PLANNING AND ORGANISATION

Before the course, I was initially a moderately organized person with seldom schedules, which accommodates the cast's memory of the time and location to meet for filming past films. With this project, the pressure is added with it being coursework, so I had to make sure that everything was set and prepared before, during, and after the filming sessions.

 In the planning stages, Ryu and I split up to complete more tasks in little time. With the detailed health and safety forms, the emails and permits to negotiate in filming at locations, the precise schedules to the actors and crew of where and when to meet, plus visually stimulating story-boards for each scenes were accumulated in piles of categorized paperwork.


To make sure that everything is recorded and prevented from losing, I made a "Thought Book" where I title the page of the date and what Ryu and I completed in the lesson at that session, along with sliding in any paperwork that concerns the session. This thought book has helped me to carry all of the massive information easily in a book when filming to either: remind actors and crew of what to produce and how, any guards of our approved presence to film, and of course, ensuring that all of the health and safety risks are met.

The Media "Thought Book" and its creator.

A thankful Richy of the creation of the book, saving
Ryu and himself time from retrieving masses of paperwork
while filming and planning.

Therefore, I would argue that my organisation skills have significantly doubled my previous abilities.

CAMERA WORK

Throughout the course, my knowledge and application of cinematography has majorly increased. My studies collectively inspired my choices of conventional and unconventional camera angles in their ability to portray the most accurate meaning that I am intending to use. This lead to a significant increase in my understanding of each shot's potential for meaning, reflecting to the film opening's shots and its conveyed meaning.



  Take for example, the conventional canted angle from Scream (1991), is used in my film opening to portray the meaning of a confused and distressed situation the victim is in. I took a step further to create extended meaning by clearly stating the victim's presence in the positioning of the center to focus onto him. This is different to Scream's version where the victim's presence is engulfed in the night and environment. I decided to break this convention to associate the canted shot onto the character, suggesting the instability of his physical and mental state. This accentuates the tension created for the uncertain fate and now, the weak and unstable energy of the victim to survive during and after the chase.
 


Furthermore, I did not only used my understanding of meaning in cinematography for my presence on screen, but also my manipulation of the vision I have, onto the camera to create meaning behind the camera as the cameraman. The two shot used of the supposed protagonist and the antagonist is taken from The Walking Dead (2010 - present) where the Governor, the main antagonist, meets Rick, the protagonist.

Rick meets the Governor from
The Walking Dead (2010 - )

I decided to position the two shot upwards from the eye shot used in The Walking Dead

EDITING 

Initially, my editing skills consisted of producing films that were only footage based and weren't dependent on creating meaning, such as the Car Commercial Blooper Reel where I learnt through trimming and placing footage together to create reaction shots of clapping in the beat of the music of the video.

Compared to my film opening, I helped Ryu piece together the footage of the antagonist's movement of folding his arms to convey his calculative mannerism in the murdering, as well as showing his dominance over the plot in changing time from past to present without any effort. This is an increase in my realization of editing to create meaning, from the basic piecing of footage earlier in past films, into creating a pivotal transition in a meaningful plot.




CREATIVE CONFIDENCE

Rick meets the Governor from
The Walking Dead (2010 - )

Other than the significant increase in my knowledge and understanding of media and construction of meaning, I had taken that creativity and became confident in taking risks to break conventions and create deeper and insightful connotations to the film overall.

Seen above, the conventions I used was the mise en scene of the long table. This was aimed to show the distinct separation of the two sides. My creative idea in creating this shot aimed to suggest how the long length of the table may also convey tension, as two of the sides are interacting on the same material and level, yet are opposed in ideas and personalities. This serves as a mood builder of tension in the direction of the plot and the convicted killer's fate. Without confidence in using this creative idea, the boring scene of two opposing people sitting on two chairs in a room would become ordinary and free from any cinematographic interpretation.

Furthermore, I decided to take a risk and challenge this convention, using my creative confidence, where the storage items are placed onto the side of the antagonist in my film, instead of Rick's side in The Walking Dead. I did this to create the meaning of the characters' superiority and conflict of power. In my film, the boxes and items are aimed to represent the knowledge that the antagonist has, and by placing them behind the character, this creates a visual "wall", where it hints information being hidden behind the antagonist. Whereas the detective's side is seen to be clearly blank in showing her lack of knowledge, and the white background may emphasize her innocence and position of a vulnerable protagonist, ultimately giving more power to the antagonist.

One of my proudest creative confidence in creating meaning using the micro-elements involve the shot of the two cups between the antagonist and protagonist. This creative shot was constructed by my own ideas, to emphasize the antagonist's dominance over the detective (other than the two shot and the storage position), where the cups symbolize their knowledge or power in the situation. I then used my confidence in my attempt of portraying the power symbolism through instructing the cameraman to position the "half-empty" cup in a low angle shot with the detective to suggest her lack of power and knowledge; and likewise to the antagonist suggesting his superiority- slightly looking up to him. Without my confidence in ensuring that my creative ideas play out on the film, the scene and ultimately the film, would lack any meaning or cinematographic interpretation.

The half-empty cup of water, symbolizing the detective's lack
of power and knowledge in the plot

The half-full cup of water, symbolizing the antagonist's superiority
in knowledge and power over all characters

Overall, I can confirm that my confidence in taking risks and breaking (adapting) conventions, to manipulate them into my own interpretation of creating meaning, proves to be successful and effective. Therefore, it has increased majorly and will hopefully continue to increase for future projects.