Currently I have been studying locations and have found perfect locations for most of my shots the first outside shots will feature the narrow walkway between the union society and the arts block building perfect for the dark confined feel of the location, next I will use part of the jesus green bridge to chesterton road as a contrast, though it is also dark the space is very open and the river gives a good sound as it flows quite rapidly in this place. the scenes inside will be shot at masters house perfect for its long, monotonous corridors. i still need to find a good bedroom with a window that lets in just enough light. I have also chosen my cast i will soon include photos. I have the feeling i might have to many shots still i will film them all and in cutting I will decide which to use. I have also experimented with the camera and i think the zoom function might be a little to fast for some of my shots i am not sure how to handle this problem but i might have to compromise.

       My cast I chose partly by looks partly by casting. Ranjit (below) i chose for his walk which is not that of a victim his walk projects confidence not necessarily characteristic of the victim, and so adds to the mystery of the story. Amin (above) i chose merely because of his looks his dark eyes and eyebrows, since this is all you get to see of him.

Since my main idea for a film, the disaster film relies on the setting which can only be found in my home town and since i will not be returning there for a while i have developed a new concept for a film. it will parrallel edit between an anonymous figure waiting in a room and a man walking home the shots of the anonymous person will be short and dark to cause a feeling of confusion and mystery in the beginning the shots will be fairly long with quiet music yet the parrallel cutting will cause an uneasiness, as the victim approaches home the music will gradually get louder and the cutting faster to increase anticipation. the end leaves you with the same shot as in the beginning of a partly opened door and slow zoom.

I got many of my ideas from kurbricks film the shining he also uses many shots of doors and corridors. The use of doors as symbols for something mysterious and forbidding is used in many films, in mine it will tie the two strands of the story together. the use of the heartbeat and ticking clocks is frequent in many movies to create suspense i will use it to increase anticipation in the last part of the film.

Script:

My film will open with a zoom shot of the door and foreboding music. Next shot will be a long shot of a figure leaving his office or school. In the next shot also a long shot the character will walk down a narrow alley with quiet music as he dissapears into the dark then the credits when the music gets darker it cuts to a close up of a hand with a knife then more credits followed by another close up of the knife. The next shot will be a pan from a shot of the river to the figure crossing the bridge. Then another pan shot as the figure opens the door to his building followed by a midshot and a fast exreme close up of the killers eye then a long shot of the figure coming down the corridor followed by a fast close up of a hand turning the doorknob and another fast close up of the number 60 on the door then the title of the film and lastly a shot of the door partly open.

The mystery of the story provides suspense we dont know the killer or the motive, we dont even know if a crime has taken place yet the beginning creates anxiety the question:"whats behind that door?" we connect the door with the character we see next as this is his home, walking down the alley he descends into the dark with nowhere to escape, the use of straight narrow spaces (the alley, the bridge, the corridor) is very important to the story the character has nowhere to escape to, literally and figuratively, he heads straight for his own demise. His disappearing into the dark is foreboding and the true danger is manifested when we see the knife this is also where the music (Bruno Nicolai) changes suggesting a change in mood. At the sound of the door to the victims house closing we immediately get a shot of the killer standing in the door half concealed a progression from only seeing his hand and the knife this heightens the anxiety of the audience as well as the next shot, the extreme close-up of the eye. Next we see as the victim walks towards us we get a close up of the doorknob beeing turned and a close up of the room number which confirms our suspicions. The last shot again creates mystery, we know something has happened since the door is in a different position than it is in the first shot yet we cannot say for certain what has happened. Here I was inspired by Ange Heart and Rosemarys baby which also leave you anticipating the outcome of the story.

Currently i have two concepts for the opening of a movie:

1.Thriller-a dream sequence starting quite real (perhaps a walk through the park at night) very slow, hardly editing no music only amplified natural sound, suddenly an eerie feel faster editing (close ups) quiet music gets louder editing gets faster character starts running at climax sound bridge alarm clock and the shot from rosemarys baby that i tried to explain bringing us back to the real world.

2.Catastrophe film-starts with credits slow music , music stops cuts suddenly to eyes opening fast, person lying on ground. next shot person gets up dazed, looks around while we get a panning shot 360 degrees of a huge deserted destroyed area,(i know the perfect place)with character in the middle, sound of wind otherwise silence. charcter looks down close up of ripped flyer with word warning picks it up we see the confused expression as he reads puts paper in pocket now we get a few still shots without character of the area amplified natural sound especially wind. last shot a still long shot with character way in the back walking around, the shot stays for fairly long until sudden cut to black ,sound ceases.

3.A Thriller in which an unknown killer waits in a dark room for his victim returning from work, there will be parrallel editing between the killer in the room, and the victim walking home. This idea is not fully developed though I have a vague idea as to the locations.

A week ago I watched the film Rosemarys Baby, I enjoyed the film and I believe it is the best horror film ever made. The film creates suspense by leaving the audience guessing, it is way into the film when we get an idea of what is going on, the unknown creates much more suspense and anxiety in the viewer, the secret is not revealed until the end just like in Angel Heart. I enjoyed both films very much and wish to take up this idea and leave the audience guessing as to how the story goes on.

Introduction

My name is Lucas Engel I am currently attending CATS college Cambridge and this is my blog keeping track of my progress on my media studies coursework.

I am not yet certain what genre of film I will attempt for my coursework. Though I enjoy comedy I believe the possibilities would be quite limited as opposed to a thriller or horror film where the opening is more significant, not only in terms of establishing setting but also in creating mystery and anticipation. In Angel Heart for example so many hints are dropped as to the plot, the names of the characters for example (louis Cyphre=Lucifer as opposed to Angel) or Cyphres ring bearing the pentagram and hisquestion posed to Angel if they had met before. My opening like in Angel Heart should create suspense but not give away too much, leaving the viewer in anticipation.

media studies

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