The Kuleshov Effect

The Kuleshov Effect is the idea that the cut away in a scene can change the meaning of a simple emotion. This helps viewers to derive a deeper meaning from a sequence of shots rather than just watching it and experiencing the expected emotion.

 Me, Oliver and Jake attempted to create our own version of the Kuleshov Effect, using simple scenes that ultimately displayed different emotions. We did this as we thought it was important to understand the use of cutaways and how they can shape a scene before filming our thriller opening for our AS Coursework.





 ''The Kuleshov Effect is a film editing (montage) effect demonstrated by Russian filmmaker Lev Kuleshov in the 1910s and 1920s.It is a mental phenomenon by which viewers derive more meaning from the interaction of two sequential shots than from a single shot in isolation.'' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuleshov_Effect

I feel we successfully managed to create a Kuleshov experiment that changed the meaning of the smile with the use of 3 independent cutaways that all held different meanings. Another famous example of the Kuleshov Experiment is Alfred Hitchcock's video...

Thriller Opening: Storyboard

 We decided to storyboard our favourite idea for our thriller opening in order of planning ahead our shots and timings. I personally like our, ''Under The Bed'' idea as it plays on peoples security and comforts and regresses back to the childhood fear of a ''monster'' being under the bed. Our rough ideas show the story of an ordinary girl who goes home on a typical night and is met by a sudden and unexpected fear coming from underneath the bed.

 

Steven Spielberg: Thriller Director

Steven Spielberg is considered to be one of the most influential film personalities and one of Hollywood's best known directors. One of the wealthiest film makers, Spielberg has countless big-grossing, critically acclaimed credits to his name, as both producer, director and writer. Directing films such as Jurassic Park, Jaws and Munich, Spielberg has worked up a reputation of being credited and diverse within the three strong areas of filmmaking.

Spielberg was massively credited for his efforts in both Jaws and Jurassic Park, two of the biggest blockbusters to date. In a career spanning more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. In later years, his films began addressing humanistic issues such as the Holocaust, the transatlantic slave trade, war, and terrorism. For example, Spielberg's efforts in his creation of Schindler's List explores the historic past of Nazi Germany and the persecution inflicted on the Jewish population. This film won Spielberg the Academy Award for Best Director along with 126 awards from 231 nominations, including 3 Oscars, (two times for Best Director), 7 Golden Globes (two times for Best Director, three times as producer) and 11 Emmys.

Audience Theories

The Hypodermic Needle Theory


The Hypodermic Needle Theory or Hypodermic Syringe Model implies that mass media has a direct, immediate and powerful impact on the audience. This theory also implies that the viewer absorbs the information without any attempt to process or give the information context. The Hypodermic Needle Theory suggests that the media massively influences its audience without their direct consent or conscious knowledge of it doing so. For example, editing can be used to make audiences interpret things in certain ways without them applying a direct opinion to the matter.

Culmination/Cultivation Theory

The Cultivation Theory divides an audience into ''Heavy Viewers'' and ''Light Viewers''. ''Light Viewers'' are those who watch television for less than 4 hours a day, and ''Heavy Viewers'' are those who watch television for 4 hours or more. Heavy Viewers are affected by the Mean World Syndrome, where they believe the world is nastier than it actually is. This led Chandler to suggest that ''The more we live with TV, the more invisible it becomes'' believing that our exposure to television actively changes our view on things. For example, if an audience regularly indulges in violent programmes, they will begin to believe that it is socially acceptable to be more violent.  

Uses And Gratifications Theory

This theory suggests that an audience will use media texts for several different reasons. An audience may use one of these texts for one or several of the following:

• Diversion - This is the idea that a person will use a media text to escape everyday life and reality. For example, an person may regularly watch a soap opera to escape from their own problems/stresses and temporarily lose themselves in the light-hearted on-goings of a fictional character.

• Personal Identity - A person may also use media texts to identify with themselves and to find themselves in a character they can relate to.

• Personal Relationships - This is the idea of using media texts for social interaction and to enjoy a specific area of the media with others. For example, many may watch a programme for the interactions with friends or family purely for the conversation or unity that comes with giving time to watch the programme itself.

• Surveillance - Documentaries and News programmes supply this type of connection with media texts. Surveillance relates to the idea of using the media to receive information.

• Entertainment - This is the most widely used connection with media. Many people will use media texts after a long day as a way of entertaining themselves after the usual daily routine. This is the reason behind many game shows and talent shows such as: The X Factor, I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here and The Chase.

Researching The Film Industry

By researching the industry, I have allowed myself to understand the process of which a film must go through in order of becoming open to the public. This will help me to understand how I must structure my thriller opening and how I must use editing and post-production effectively to create an opening that captures the audience. 

Textual Analysis: Se7en

This textual analysis focuses on the opening, and first few scenes of the thriller film, 'Se7en' by David Fincher. This textual analysis will help me to understand what makes a good thriller and how I can add these effects and ideas into my own thriller opening for my coursework.

Conventions Of A Thriller Film

A thriller usually consists of a battle between an antagonist and a protagonist that creates a deliberate disruption in the equilibrium. A chain of events creates tension and suspense leading up to the climax. (1)

Thrillers also consist of multiple subgenres. These are used within the plot of he film without the audience consciously thinking about their presence. These subgenres include:

Action Thriller: This uses physical action to uphold tension throughout the plot. This subgenre will often have continuous motion and physical stunts/chase scenes that contribute to the whole idea of the danger the protagonist faces.

Crime Thriller: A crime thriller usually relies on the plot of a serial killer, murderer, robbery or manhunt in order of creating suspense. Often the storyline will focus around both the antagonist and protagonist.

Film-Noir: Film-Noir is based around the popularity of a stylistic type of crime-drama or thriller in the 1940's and 1950's. As stated in the title, the film is edited into black and white.

Psychological Thriller: In this subgenre the threat comes from the mind, not the constant use of physical violence.The protagonists in psychological thrillers must rely on their mental resources to solve the situation

Science Fiction Thriller: These are based on the use of hypothetical sciece-based films. Often, this sub-genre will explore the “future-gone-bad” theme, including plots that revolve around alien invasions, dystopian scenarios, and super-diseases
 
Religious Thriller: This subgenre includes religious questions, ceremonies, and objects to revolve around a specific religion or religious view. Exorcisms, demon possession, and church cover-ups are typical themes of Religious Thrillers. (2)

Credits

  (1) http://www.slideshare.net/JasonsA2Media/codes-and-conventions-of-the-thriller-genre
  (2) http://thescriptlab.com/screenplay/genre/thriller

Thriller Opening: Initial Ideas

Me, Jake and Oliver had a discussion about what direction we wanted to go in for our thriller. We came up with several different ideas and different concepts for the opening scene. We noted down these ideas in a spider diagram and wrote a brief synopsis for each idea. We came up with both stereotypical ideas and ones that were less used. Out of all our ideas, our favourite concept was the 'Under The Bed'' idea where we would be able to use different camera shots to be able to create tensions, fear and suspense.

 



Barthes' Narrative Codes

Barthes came up with the theory that there are 5 narrative codes that explain all narrative texts. These codes are: Action Code, Mystery/Enigma Code, Semic Code, Cultural Code, and Code of Oppositions (Binary Code). Each code gives a different theory as to how a narrative hints different things towards the audience.

In our preliminary we subconsciously used several of these codes just from our knowledge of the genre of our piece. Without knowing it we had included examples of each code.

Action Code (Proairetic Code)

The Action Code is the idea that the audience will recognise an action and immediately associate it with the next logical step. This advances the narrative by leading the audience into the next piece of action. For example, a film may show the action of someone packing a suitcase. At this point the audience will automatically make the connection to the character leaving/going on a trip, just from the first initial action.

We used this code in our preliminary piece when we showed the assassin walking in through the door. We immediately led our audience into following the idea that the assassin would then enter another room in which more action would take place. As this was our only example of action code, we could have added extra actions that would automatically lead you to the next logical action. For example, as originally planned, we could have placed the contract, from the interviewer, in front of the assassin who has a pen in their hand. This would have led the audience to automatically assume that the assassin was going to sign the contract and commit himself to the job in hand.

Enigma Code (Hermeneutic Code)

The Mystery Code, or Enigma Code, is used to explain the narrative by controlling what information and how much information is supplied to the audience. This grabs the audience's attention and keeps them interested by setting up a mystery or problem they believed will be solved during the course of the narrative. Unanswered examples of enigma code also seem to frustrate audiences and create a talking point.

In our preliminary piece, we also used examples of mystery code throughout our use of dialogue. We never actually stated that our characters were assassins or that they were meeting about a potential job. We also purposely didn't mention what the job would be, to keep the audience interested and in anticipation throughout the narrative. I feel like we used this code rather well as we managed to create a sense of tension and anticipation in the final edit of the piece.

Semic Code

The Semic Code is all about signs and symbols that tells us/ give us hints about the characters or story line. For example, if an anarchy sign is purposely featured in a scene, it suggests that the next scene will include chaos and destruction.

We didn't use many examples of Semic Code in our preliminary piece of film. We could consider the fact that the antagonist was wearing dark clothes as an example of semic code. I feel like this was the weakest point for our preliminary. If I did it again, I would try to add an example that showed the assassin firm/ interviewer as a higher authority than the assassin/anatagonist themselves.

Cultural Code (Referential Code)
The cultural code is exactly as it says. This is the idea that the narrative can clearly display ideas such as time period and location, without specifically stating this. In our preliminary we unintentioanlly displayed codes of Britain due to our ethnicity, accents and language. These three principles suggest to the audience that we are British. I dont think there is any other way that we could have added extra signs of the location and time period.

Code Of Oppositions (Binary Opposites)
This code refers to the idea of binary opposites, such as black vs white, day vs night and ying vs yang. The only example we used of this in our preliminary task was that the two characters were opposite genders. Oliver, playing the interviewer, clearly contrasted with myself, although our characters seemed equal in strength. We could have added more examples of opposites in our piece.







http://www.learn.columbia.edu/saussure/

Lighting Practice

 In order to create the perfect theme and tension for our thriller we decided to do some practicing with lighting and discover how it can change moods/scenes instantaneously. We borrowed a small LED camera light from the media department to take our shots. We decided to take our photos in the English store room as it was the darkest place we could find that would allow us to manipulate the light. 

 

 

 

 

 

Firstly, we held the camera at a high angle to create a rather angelic/ protagonist feel to the photo. This allowed us to experiment with how we could enhance a characters persona just by changing the lighting of a shot.

 

 

Then we tried to create a softer look, by moving the light above and behind the persons head to eradicate any harsh shadows that would make the person look menacing or fierce.

We then decided to experiment with reflecting the light off of different surfaces. We found a series of different coloured folders and decided to bounce the light off of these in order to create a coloured light.  

We held the light at different distances from the folder to create more intense and more relaxed colourings in the light. Below are the photos we took using the folders...

 

We also experimented with video and how lighting could move over a person. We decided to post the footage on our blogs.

 

Preliminary Task: Video Review

I asked a member of another group to review our preliminary task. I felt it was important to ask others to give us feedback as they would be none biased and honest. I asked Tasmine to give us three points to improve our preliminary piece and three points that went well. 

As a group we took these criticisms into account and made a point of noting them down so that we could improve them when it came to our coursework thriller task. We also agreed with what Tasmine had said in the video as we had noticed these points when evaluating ourselves after the preliminary had been filmed, and put online.

Preliminary Task: Evaluation

I decided to do my evaluation as a powerpoint presentation as another way of exploring different types of skills and media. I also have a video of a review of my video, however, I felt like this should be put up as a separate post. 


                     

Preliminary Task: The Final Piece

Here's our final piece for the preliminary task. We managed to include each aspect from our brief, such as: 180 degree rule, match on action, continuity and shot-reverse shot. I am happy with how this piece has developed and become a short clip of film that manages to keep to the brief, whilst also exploring a short storyline.

Our clip follows an assassin into an ''interview'' with an assassination company. The assassin is played by myself and the interviewer by Oliver. Due to the changes to our original plan, we stepped in to play the characters and move the piece onto post production. 

We had a few errors in post production however, after finishing the final edit, our computer experienced some problems which meant our whole piece was deleted. We fixed this by exporting all our clips onto a new computer and starting again. This ultimately meant we did not have time to put the music on our piece and therefore felt it was not as good as it could have been.

Despite this, we submitted our final piece, and we are relatively happy with the outcome. 

TV Drama Case Study: Skins

Although, this was a task for the exam part of the course I think there are many aspects that I researched that are useful for the coursework task. For example, some of the filming techniques; how different groups are represented; how film-makers create meaning and the challenges presented by the changing media climate and increasing convergence. All of this will be useful when planning and preparing our thriller opening.


I decided to do my case study on the British TV Drama, Skins...

Preliminary Task: Location Scouting

For the short piece of film we have been asked to make, we need a specific type of location that can be seen as both professional and eery at the same time. Me, Jake and Oliver took some time to photograph various different rooms that we thought may be suitable for the interview of the assassin. 

Our immediate thoughts were that we needed a room that looked like and office, or that could be transferred into one. Finding the right type of room for this was rather difficult as we had to consider lighting issues, availability of the room, and if we could get access to different parts of the room to gather the relevant camera shots. We photographed various different options as seen below.

This space has the ideal kind of professional look that we would require for our interview. The desk space would allow us the get the sort of shots that we have planned (for example: shot/reverse shot). However, the background did not look suitable for an assassin to conduct an interview in.

We initially like the darkness of this room and how sinister it could look under the correct light. The light creeping in through the window makes the whole room look more intense. The only problem of this room as that it would be hard to find an angle that would not involve the English displays on the wall.

The files on the shelves and paperwork scattered around the room gives the impression that the assassin has a lot of contacts and paperwork for the acts he has carried out. This is ideal for the type of shot we want to create. The only downside to this room is that the desk does not has access from both sides, therefore we would have to change the shots that we plan to use.

The slightly messy look of this room is ideal for the overall look and atmosphere we want to create. The room, however, is slightly small and would be difficult to get both the actors and cameras in without creating too many continuity errors. We would also have to move the room around to fit in a desk which would be time consuming.



The sixth form office was a room we had considered. We were slightly worried of the availability of this room, and whether it would be free for a period of time long enough to film. Although the room could work well for the assassins interview, the availability would be an issue.

The computers around this room suggest that there is a whole network of people working for the assassin. However, putting a desk in the middle of the room might look rather awkward and out of place. For this room we would also have to consider angles and whether the window would create potential light issues.

The dance studio is, personally, my favourite room to film in. I like the background with the punching bags as I feel this would make the assassin look stronger and more superior within the scene. I also like the idea that the room is slightly oversized to be an office. It makes it look as if the assassin works from another secret location that is not stereotypical of an interview.

Preliminary Task: A Change Of Plan

Our initial planning for filming required two members of teaching staff within the sixth form. As we came to plan and organise our time we came across some issues with this. The members of staff who had originally agreed to be in our piece of film both realised they were not as available as they originally thought and were usually both free at different times.

 Instead of seeing this as a drastic issue, our group decided we would take over the acting ourselves. Although this would mean sharing the jobs and filming of editing while also managing our time to actually act in our film, it meant the process of creating the preliminary task would be more efficient and easier to organise our filming time around us rather than two individuals with a lot of responsibility in other areas.

It was decided that me and Oliver would become the two characters. Oliver would take over the role of the Interviewer and myself as the Assassin who was being interviewed for the job. With both mine and Oliver's schedule being similar, and having the same non-contact periods within school time, it made meeting up a lot easier. One issue we did discover was that Jake had other commitments and was not as available. Despite this, me and Oliver continued to film. It also became apparent that we may have to change a few shots that we had planned on our storyboards as they no longer fit or looked natural.

Overall, I feel that our decision to change the actors within the film will be more beneficial and easier to manage.

Preliminary Task: Script Writing

In the pre-production stage for our preliminary task, Oliver, Jake and I decided to create a script that would be used within our clip as the lines of dialogue for the actors. We felt that creating a script would enhance the realism of the film, and make the dialogue flow better and more naturally. We all felt a script was essential in order to keep things organised and well planned, and also it served as good practice for us in our scriptwriting skills.

Each character will receive a copy of the script to ensure effectiveness in filming and time management.

Case Study (Utopia): Stylistic Influences And Post-Production

Utopia is infamous for its comic-book style and bright colours. Most of these effects are added and finalised in post-production which is rather unusual for a sci-fi TV series. 

Marc Munden, director of the Utopia series, used a technicolour process to give the series its iconic look. It is usually expected that cinematography is constructed with reds, greens and blues, however Utopia is constructed of the complete opposite, yellows, magenta and cyan. 

Munden and the series colourist Aidan Farrell colour-corrected each shot in post-production by using Nucoda Film Master, a grading software, which replaced the use of a brush or pen. Munden said, " It's the equivalent of when they used to hand-paint photos in the Edwardian times", suggesting the look of the series was a lot more authentic and original than using the typical software.

Many of the original scenes were shot in autumnal Britain, where the skies were usually grey and bleak. This is where the work in post-production changes a dull scene into a comic style shot. Munden and Farrell successfully managed to create the desired look by making grass greener and eyes brighter and the shots over all more vivid.

Because of the time spent in post-production, the series successfully pulled off the comic-book style scenes they anticipated which mirrored the conspiracies of the comic book the series is based on.

Case Study (Utopia): Analysing The Opening To Series 2, Episode 6

What is effective about the opening to Utopia, series 2, episode 6?

One of the things Utopia use well is sound. The first sounds heard in the opening sequence are the diegetic noises of the coach station. The use of the tannoy announcements and people going about their own business suggests quite a natural environment where initially the audience would not expect any unusual behaviour or on-goings. By creating a natural and expected environment that opens with a child walking through the station, the creators are giving a sense of innocence and normality to the scene.

This quickly changes when the non-diegetic music is introduced which instantly creates tension and suggests to the audience that everything is not as it seems. The build up of different pitched sounds creates tension by slowly becoming more intense and focused as the assassin appears in shot. The music is used to oppose the innocent image of the child and is used to shock the audience as it makes them realise the situation could potentially be dangerous. The music/soundtrack keeps the audience in suspense throughout the scene.

As the assassin begins his speech into how "selfish" the act of having children is, the shot changes from a long shot to a tracking shot that begins to focus in on the assassin's face. The tracking shot is used for dramatic effect to highlight how shocking and disturbing the facts and ideas of the assassin are and how weak and vulnerable it makes the other characters in the scene. 

The male dominance in the scene is also effective as it makes the woman and the child look vulnerable and shocked by the assassin and his ideology. The dominance of the assassin is also effective as it suggests he is rather powerful and ruthless, considering the nature of the scene, and that this is quite expected and quite typical of his personality and nature. The assassin is also seen as intimidating and quite scary which is effective as it relates back to the idea of the movement for sterilisation. This links together as it shows how both those involved and the act of making the population infertile is intimidating and uncomfortable to a lot off people. 

The content of the introduction reflects the "Zeitgeist" as it links to the modern day concerns of the environment and atmosphere. This engages the audience as it something that is easy to relate to and mildly popular within society. This is also relevant as audiences are less shocked by these ideas and are more comfortable to engage in programmes that involve this. 

Here is a link to the clip analysed above: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEeh-Hse38A

Preliminary Task: Planning

As part of our preliminary task, we were asked to storyboard the sequence of shots we were going to use to create our 2 minute clip. Our group came up with the idea of creating a situation that involved a job interview. However, as a practice for our coursework we decided to create an interview that was quite tense and based on a "thriller" type story. The storyboard below shows how we intend to create a short piece of film that follows an interview for an assassin...

 Even though our 

storyboards are not brilliantly drawn, we are able to capture each shot that we will need to create the type of genre and tension that we expect from our clip. The storyboard is also useful as it gives brief description of how to shots may pan or track and what sort of frame we will use.

The storyboards mean that we will not miss shots accidentally as we have a detailed plan of what shots are needed and in what sequence. The storyboard is also helpful to understand how much of the shot we need to cover the background and where the camera should be to ensure the character is in the centre of the frame.

The storyboards we have created will make filming and keeping on track a lot easier than if we just worked from memory. The storyboard also helps us to track our progress and discover which shots work and which don't without having to remember which shots we have tried. 

Preliminary Brief: Continuity Task

We have been set a preliminary task in which we must film a short clip using continuity techniques. The clip of film must show a character opening the door, crossing the room and sitting down opposite another character where a few lines of dialogue will be exchanged. The task must involve: match on action, 180 degree rule, and examples of shot/reverse shot. 

Match On Action: This refers to an editing technique where the editor cuts from one shot to another whilst still matching the action of the previous shot. Despite the fact that these shots will have been filmed separately, match on action gives the impression of continuous time when the film is put together. This type of editing has to look seamless to be successful.

180 Degree Rule: The 180 Degree Rule is a simple guideline that means that 2 characters or objects in a scene should have the same left/right relationship to each other. This rule refers to the spatial awareness of those in the scene. The camera must stay on the same side of the imaginary line, known as the axis, in order for these shots to work. 

Shot Reverse Shot: This is also a continuity editing technique that is usually used in conversations between characters. This shot cuts from one person to another as the conversation progresses. This helps the viewer to see the characters as facing each other and helps the scene look more natural.

For this task I have teamed up with Oliver and Jake, we have all agreed to make our clip quite tense and serious as a practice for the thriller opening sequence that will be graded for our coursework. 

Framing A Shot: Practice With Stills

Myself, Max and Max were set the task of taking a series of stills that used different shot types, angles, and effects to clearly create a narrative that included an antagonist and a protagonist. The photos had to clearly indicate a plot involving the two characters, whilst also displaying different shot types.

Our story shows Max and Max B playing the role of the antagonist, and myself playing the part of the protagonist. We aimed to make our photos reflect the chase of the antagonists, and the capturing of the protagonist.

We started out by taking an establishing shot to show the location of the chase. This particular establishing shot is appropriate for our narrative as it shows a wide area in which the chase could happen and is an appropriate for the antagonist to "hunt down" the protagonist.

 The initial shot we decided to use to show the story was an ECU (Extreme Close Up) of the protagonists face. This shot helps to show the fear and worry that the protagonist feels in relation to the situation they are in. 
The blurred background in this shot also helps create empathy with the protagonist as it gives a sense that the only issue on her mind is the chase that is about the begin.

Following with a midshot that allows a lot of the background to be seen means that the protagonist can be seen as vulnerable, as the area is so large in comparison to the protagonist themself. The use of the filter on this creates a sense of isolation for the protagonist.

We felt a low angle shot would be perfect for showing how intimidating the antagonists are. The lower angle shows power and dominance of the antagonists and the lack of light in the background coincides with the darkness of their plan to capture the protagonist.

 We also used a total of 3 shots to focus in on one of the antagonists. The use of the 3 shots together gives the impression of Max having eyes everywhere and always watching and waiting for the next move.

The shot from behind gives a point of view of the protagonist. The shot makes it seem as if the antagonist is hiding or plotting the next move in the chase.

 The higher angle hints at the ideas going through the antagonists head, and completes the plan of the chase.

The leading lines of the fence in this shot shows that the chase has begun and that the antagonist is quickly closing in on the gap to capturing the protagonist.

I think the final shot is my favourite because of the way the ''rule of thirds'' means that the railings act as a frame for the capture of the protagonist. This final shot shows the victory of the antagonists and the perspective of the protagonist brings back the empathy and vulnerability of the situation. 

Overall, I am very happy with the way our first attempt at getting to try out new equipment and shots turned out. Both myself, Max and Max found the task enjoyable and an experience that allowed us all to take parts in both photographing a scene and being in a scene. 

Our main ambition was to become more comfortable with the equipment but also with being in shot and acting out roles. Although we had fun, not all our shots went to plan, as you can see in the GIF below...

An Introduction...

Hi my name’s Emma and I’m an AS Media Student. I have never studied Media before but I have always had an interest in TV/film and how the Internet attracts and appeals to other people. I am interested in how sites, such as YouTube, are becoming more popular and a main source of information and advertising for a range of different people.  I am very interested in how the “vlogging” side of YouTube is rapidly expanding and how this is becoming a wide community. 

Social Media also plays a large part of my life, Twitter being my main “go-to” app when boredom strikes and usually my main form of procrastination when something more important calls…

Films, FilmMaking and Photography has always attracted me, and has become a rather large part of my life. Both my favourite photographer, Tom Leishman, and favourite filmmaker, David Spearing, have inspired me to try new things and and experiment with cameras, although I have no real experiences.

Although these areas of media interest me, as of yet I am not entirely sure how they are produced or how they manage to capture a wide audience through use of the Internet. I aim to be able to understand the ins and outs of these forms of Media and use them in a way that will entice others and that gives me an insight into how beneficial the media itself is. 

I am looking forward to experimenting with different equipment and giving myself an opportunity to be creative. I'm also looking forward to turning my thoughts and ideas into a physical piece of film or photography that not only makes me proud, but also entertains others. 

I think the "behind the scenes" work will be a learning curve for me, in which I will be able to perfect editing and capture certain moods by doing so. The thought of being able to edit efficiently and professionally makes me rather nervous as these are areas I hope to thrive in and become comfortable with. And the idea of not achieving that is quite daunting.

For my AS year, I will be expected to create a title sequence/opening to a thriller film. The clip has to create tension and suspense, whilst being able to capture an audience. The opening sequence will be expected to set the scene and hint at a possible storyline as if it was a full length feature film. I am looking forward to this task as it allows me to have a go at something I have never done before. Overall, I am looking forward to the AS course and getting to know the equipment that I will be using throughout my Media course.