Proposal Feedback:

Our proposal went well, and we passed with an A grade for the presentation and an A grade for the planning and idea.


The main area of focuses for thought and change were as follows:


- Will we be able to sustain the action-thriller style throughout?


- Change narrative slightly so that 'Matt' does not just trap himself in his own house, but rather runs upstairs whilst the armed man in making his own way upstairs.

My Influences:

-US Drama 24

-US Drama House

-Thriller: Disturbia

-The title effects use in Hereos

-Running sequences from films such as the new James Bond films and the Bourne films.

Initial Idea's:

We were very quick to decide on the narrative for our opening sequence as a group. However, for the record, I will post an idea I had in my head before we decided...


IDEA 1:
- Starts with man running down the street.
- He is being chased by another man. 
- Both are running very fast and jumping over objects - like free-running.
- The first man runs inside a darkened house and hides.
- The pace of the film slows dramatically.
- The second man enters the house where he is hiding.
- All very tense as each guy doesn't know where the other is.
- Ending: first man gets grabbed unexpectedly from behind.


IDEA 2: (Idea formulated by myself and Tom P)
- Man wakes up in a strange house.
- He has been shot, but not seriously.
- He does not know where he is.
- Is on the top floor of a house.
- Slowly makes his way downstairs.
- He is hearing noises but continues downstairs.
- Ending: He gets to the front door, but at that moment is grabbed from behind and recaptured by the villain.

Action/Thriller Music Research

Below I have embeded two different videos:

-The first is by composer Sean Callery, whom I admire for his work on the US drama 24. This track, from the 24 soundtrack, is a briliant and inspiring example of a suspense filled idea.

-The second is a track from the hit video game COD Modern Warfare 2. Hans Zimmer, the composer of this particular work, is one of my favourite composers/sound designers, having produced the music for films ranging from Madagascar to The Dark Night. This extract (skip to 2:20-2:45) is a great example of fast paced action music. I really like its focus on percussive timbres and the electronic/techno-style soundscape created.   



(Skip to 2:20-2:45)

Music/Soundtrack:

As I'm looking at music production as my future career, I felt that it would be rewarding to attempt as far as possible to produce an orginal soundtrack for our opening sequence.

I have already begun to record ideas and possible soundscapes for our film, but it is a challenge to compose for film when your only reference is a picture in your head.

I am currently working on two different styles of music which will be evident in our action-thriller:

- A fairly fast paced but suspensful motif for when our main character is running in attempt to find an escape.
- A slower, more ambient and atmospheric soundscape for when our main character is hiding from the hitman who is moving through the house.

Shot Reference:

Having watched this episode of HOUSE earlier this year, this running sequence was fresh in my mind as it is very well shot and edited. On deciding on our main idea and seeing the shots of the location, I knew immediately that we could use the first 3 shots from this sequence.

Obviously, our film would not include the police car and policemen!

Production Team:

I am working on this project with Tom P, and Hugh.

You will find the links to both their blogs and the group's blog on the sidebar.

Initial Ideas:

My first reaction to the brief was that I wanted to make this film look good and to do so, reference successful shots from other films and TV.

From the go I had in my mind to do something which had a face-paced section in it. I was fortunate enough to be put in a group where we were all very excited about the challenge of doing something fast-paced.

Coursework Project:

It is finally time for the coursework project. The brief is to produce the first 2 minutes of a film, complete with music and soundscape from a copyright-free source. These two minutes include the opening titles and credits.