What Have You Learnt About Technologies From The Process Of Constructing Products?

Above are still images from various thriller films produced by Alfred Hitchcock. When researching ideas for our thriller, we discovered how Hitchcock extended his work into the 1940's in a number of brilliant black and white films which resulted in great recognition and success in his name. In admiration, we decided to film our thriller in aim of using a black and white effect on Final Cut Pro.

List of Black & White films:

	The Lady Vanishes (1938)- with Margaret Lockwood, Michael Redgrave, May Whitty
	Rebecca (1940)- with Joan Fontaine & Lawrence Olivier
	Foreign Correspondent (1940)- with Joel McCrea & Laraine Day
	Suspicion (1941)- with Joan Fontaine & Cary Grant
	Shadow of a Doubt (1943)- with Teresa Wright & Joseph Cotton
	Saboteur (1942)- with Robert Cummings & Priscilla Lane
	Spellbound (1945)- with Ingrid Bergman & Gregory Peck
	Notorious (1946)- with Ingrid Bergman & Cary Grant
	Stagefright (1950)- with Jane Wyman & Marlene Deitrich
	Strangers on a Train (1951)- with Farley Granger, Robert Walker, Ruth Roman
	Psycho (1960)- with Anthony Perkins, Vera Miles, Janet Leigh

Editing Software helped us to create this black and white ef

fect. Using Final Cut Pro, we went to 'Filters' and then 'Effects' and finally applied the 'Desaturate' to the whole selection of the film.

 

Then we applied an overlapping effect by lowering the transparency level on the selected clip which is circled in the screenshot below. This was done in order to emphasise that it is a dream as she is tossing and turning whilst the images overla

p.  

We then used a camera flash effect in her dream of the fire and newspaper article to give the impression of memory re

lapse and an uncomfortable nightmare. We selected 'dip to colour dissolve' effect and selected the appropriate timing. 

Another effect used was the 'blur' effect for when the young woman wakes up from her bad dream and looks around in disbelief. The blur was used to show her vision as unsteady and her mind being all over the place. The type of blur we used was 'radial blur' because in comparison to the other blurs it made it

 seem more realistically chaotic. 

The most complex effect used which we feel gave our thriller the most edge was the cloning effect because it really showed the female's psychological state of mind. When filming, we filmed the actress with continuity in mind as if we had placed her on a different background then it wouldn't have worked because we needed to put the hallucination in the mirror. 

We cropped the selection needed and then placed it into the mirror clip and positioned it so viewers could see the hallucination clearly. For the transition to have been smooth, we used the 'fade in/fade out dissolve' effect. 

Ratings

The BBFC defines the age certificate of 15 as :

Passed only for persons of fifteen years and over. No person apparently under the age of 15 years shall be admitted to any exhibition at which there is to be shown any film which has received a '15' certificate from the British Board of Film Classification.

The BBFC has strict guidelines on what should be in a film which has a certificate of 15:

Theme: No theme is prohibited, provided the treatment is appropriate to 15 year olds.
Language: There may be frequent use of strong language; the strongest terms are only rarely acceptable. Continued aggressive use of strong language and sexual abuse is unacceptable.
Nudity: There are no constraints on nudity in a non-sexual or educational context.
Sex: Sexual activity and nudity may be portrayed but without strong detail. The depiction of casual sex should be handled responsibly. There may be occasional strong verbal references to sexual behaviour.
Violence: Violence may be strong but may not dwell on the infliction of pain, and of injuries. Scenes of sexual violence must be discreet and brief.

Imitable techniques: Dangerous combat techniques such as ear claps, head-butts and blows to the neck are unlikely to be acceptable. There may be no emphasis on the use of easily accessible lethal weapons (in particular, knives).

"There are scenes of knife use in our film but the scenes........"

Horror: Sustained or detailed infliction of pain or injury is unacceptable.
Drugs: Drug taking may be shown but clear instructive detail is unacceptable. The film as a whole must not promote or encourage drug use.

15 means that the film, video or DVD is really only suitable for those aged 15 or above. Only people aged 15 or older are allowed to view a 15 rated film at the cinema or buy or rent a 15 rated DVD, video or game.

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