Media Studies 2009-2011

The Ring is a psychological horror film, made in 2002. It was directed by Gore Verbinski. This is an analysis of the first few minutes.

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The following is an assessment of the first ten minutes of The Grudge (2004), directed by Takashi Shimizu.

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The above nine frames are the starting frames/credits from ‘The Shining’ (1980: Stanley Kubrick).

The film starts with a very long build up of establishing shots These are helicopter/ariel shots, confirmed by the shadow of the helicopter seen on the side of the mountain while the credits are rolling. Each of the shots are long-lasting, and rely on the tension creating music to indicate to the audience what kind of film it will be. The camera follows the car as it moves through the remote countryside of a yet unconfirmed location. The titles roll up over the shots in a simple font and contrasting colour to the tones of the location. So far, the music is the only indication that it is a thriller film and not any other genre.

Once the credits are over, there is a cut to the rest of the film. The credits and the action are seperated by a fade to black. On the black there is a title telling the audience the date of what will follow. This then fades out to the second location and the film properly begins.

The location used in the credits is mirrored later when we learn of where they are travelling, and that it is Jack (and his family) inside the car that is going to the hotel. In the second instance where the audience see the car and the same location as in the credits, the camera focuses more on the diaglogue and character action taking place inside the car rather than the location on the outside, as that has already been established in the starting nine frames.

Throughout the rest of the film tension is built using a series of long shots and contrasting short shots as the action goes. There is little camera movement until something happens in the film, and non-diagetic music is a key element of building this tension. There is use of flashbacks to aid the build up of tension. The fade to black and date continues throughout the film, used to seperate dates and to show Jack slowly growing madder until he finally cracks, and the real action of the film unfolds.

A video shot log is a record of the shots on a tape/disk. It can be made while shooting, or after you have finished filming. It’s better to make the shot log while shooting, as it is easier and saves time later. There are many versions of a shot log, there are no real formal rules to creating one.

The sequence included a good variation of shots, with good lighting and constant continuity throughout. The general sequence of shots is quite well done, and the white balance is correct. However, the audio quality is poor, it is not long enough, and there is too much headroom in some of the shots (eg. wide shot at the end as the camera pans across the room).

The exam board require a short preliminary exercise which is not marked but is used to evaluate the progress made between that and the final piece of film.

There are marks for planning gained in:
- Storyboarding
- Recce report
- Shooting scripts
- Dialogue scripts
- Health and safety reports
- Etc

You also have to complete research for the final piece of film on:
- Opening sequences of films in the genre you are doing
- Generic conventions of both the film genre you are doing and general films (eg titles, credits etc)

The main part of the coursework is the final film, using:
- Generic conventions already researched
- Editing and other construction
- A sequence that would work as the actual beginning of a film

You are assessed on the technical side instead of scripts/acting:
- Quality of camera work
- Composition
- Audio/Lighting

Once the film has been completed you need to create a multimedia evaluation including audio clips, screenshots etc.

Selection tool - used to select clips in the timeline
Track select tool - select multiple tracks or clips on a track
Ripple edit tool - adjust an edit point and move clips to compensate for your change
Rolling edit - adjust an edit point between two clips without affecting the other clips
Rate stretch tool - change duration of clip and speed to compensate
Razor clip - cut a clip into two clips
Slip tool - move the in and out points of a clip at the same time
Side tool - move a clip backwards and forwards in a timeline
Pen tool - create control points
Hand tool - drag timeline view
Zoom tool - click or drag to magnify the view

Project Panel
This is where you store all the elements you need to create a video. It could contain:
- Individual video clips
- Audio clips
- Titles
- Photos
- Graphical images
When new items are imported they are put here. It also contains sequences, which includes all the data in a timeline.

Moniter Panel
This is where you view video clips and edited sequences. On the left is the source moniter, which lets you preview clips and adjust them before adding them to a sequence. On the right is the program moniter which lets you see the current timeline/sequence. There are contols under each moniter which let you look through the video and set edit points. There are other viewing optios available in the menu in the top corner of the moniter panel.

Timeline Panel
This is where you create your video, dragging items from the project or monitor panel, and putting them in the order you want. This creates a sequence of clips/events. When items are put in the timeline you can:
- Adjust editing points
- Make clips longer or shorter
- Stretch clips
- Create layers of video
- Create layers of audio
- Add transitions/filters/effects
- Create nested sequences within the timeline to keep it all managable

There is also:

- info panel
provides information about the selected object
- history panel
displays recently performed actions, allowing you to backtrack to edit etc.
- audio mixer
gives control over the levels for individual audio tracks
- effects panel
you can drag effects from this panel to the timeline
- effect control
you can control the effects you have added
- reference monitor
this is for more advanced users and gives more information about video clips

Adobe Premiere Pro is a popular video editing software suitable for pretty much everyone, no matter how much experience they have with editing. It can be used along with other Adobe programs or on it’s own. To use Adobe Premiere you import a video, edit the shots, then export the video back to the medium. You can edit, manipulate and arrange various shots in a timeline, adding effects/filters/titles etc wherever you want. However, the title maker, audio mixing and effects, and range of transitions/effects are not very advanced, so if you are a serious editor other applications would be needed/desirable. It is said to be a ‘good, cost effective option’ as it is worth the money you pay for it. It is not the cheapest editing suite available but it is not the most expensive either.