preliminary task

Here is the priliminary task we created to get comfatable with the equipment we would use when filming our thriller opening sequence. The task was to film the event of borrowing a DVD between friends. I think the task was sucessful and was a good way of working together in the team we were asigned to. It also helped us understand each others weak points and strong points such as acting, filming, or creating new ideas for camera shots.

Problems encountered when filming our thriller opening sequence.

Problems encountered when filming our thriller opening sequence. For more information Please Click Here

Filming difficulites

We experience a few problems when it came to shooting our thriller opening. Unfortunately, due to the unexpected snow across the UK, we could not shoot on the day scheduled so we decided to postpone it. We decided to do this because firstly, if we were to film over a number of days, and it had snow during the shooting of one day, but the next scene did not have snow then it would not be consistent and would lack continuity, which would look very unprofessional and confuse the audience.
Another problem we came across was finding a car that we could use as a prop as none of us had easy access to one, but my parents allowed us use their car.
On our first day of recording, our male actor, will was not able to record due to a doctor appointment, however we managed to face this problem by Richard stepping in to act.
Overall I think the recording was a success under the circumstances that faced us and I am pleased with the footage we captured.

Story Board

Story Board

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Animation Story Board

Here is my groups animation story board that Richard has created to give a wider picture of our thriller opener.

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Conclusion of questionnaire

From the completed questionnaires we can now look at what people like, dislike and expect to feature in thriller films. The majority of people that completed our questionnaire said that they would expect to hear ambient/spooky music in a thriller. Using this information from our target audience we have decided to find some tracks off http://www.freeplaymusic.com/search/category_search.php?t=v&i=1353 and have chosen to use Dramatic Soundscape vol 1 as this fits the criteria that are target audience specified.
We also asked are target audience what sub-genres they would like to see if thriller films. There majority of the votes stated that they would wish to see aspects of Horror, Gangster and Action/Adventure in our film. Taking this into account we have used a mysterious murderer as this is a typical convention of thriller films. We have also decided to include a murder to take place as this links aspects of gangster, and action and adventure into our film.
The majority of people that answered our questionnaire stated that they tend to watch thriller films in cinema, so if we were to release our film in the cinema we would create action packed trailers and advertise a lot to grab peoples attention and raise awareness for our film so it did well in the box office.
Another question we asked was "What attracts you to watch a film/tv". Many people answered that the a popular Director would appeal to them and encourage them to watch a film. Other stated that famous actors and actresses would appeal to them, so if we were to really produce a thriller film we would use famous actors/actresses to appeal to our target audience.

Shooting Schedule

Here is my group's shooting schedule for our Thriller opening sequence. We have handed these out to all of the actors/actresses involved and kept a copy ourselves to remind ourselves of the dates/times and props and equipment needed.

Questionnaire Evaluation

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Characters/Actors/Actresses

Untitled

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Here are some photos to show the actor and actress we have decided to use that Richard made.

Possible Locations

Possible Locations

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Script

Script


Opening Scene – Isolation of Norfolk


Sound of car starting and die


Scott: AHHH! …………………… give it another go….
Hope: What?
Scott: Give it another go!!


Car starts and dies

Scott: I don’t think that it’s going to work
Hope: Really!?
Scott: What’s with the attitude?
Hope: Well, for one were lost! Second were broken down. And Thirdly if you had just listened to me when I told you to get the car serviced before we left, we wouldn’t even be in this situation!


Hope starts to get out of the car


Scott: We are only lost because of you and your damn map reading!
Hope: I wanted to ask for directions but no you said that you knew the way.

Hope is out of the car


Scott: and why do your friends even live out here?....Its the middle of nowhere!
Hope: so it’s my fault now, is it? Do you no what at least I still talk to my friends, where are your friends?
Scott: Well I lost my friends when I met YOU!


Hope scowls at Scott and walks off


Scott: where are you going?
Hope: away from you!
Scott: Oh don’t give me that!


Scott is trying to phone the recovery company


Scott: Are this stupid phone! Why can’t it make a simple phone call!

Thriller Music

When looking for thriller music, for the opening to our thriller film, i went to the website freeplaymusic.com which is legal and free.
When I was searching for horror themed music I found this useful page
http://www.freeplaymusic.com/search/category_search.php?t=v&i=1353
To get to this page i clicked on Dramatic Soundscape vol 1
This music is what i was thinking to use in the opening.

Character Background Information

HOPE: Hope is fun, charismatic, and loving towards her boyfriend, Scott. The couple live in London, however they are in Norfolk staying with some olds friends when their car breaks down. Hope can sometimes a bit unintelligent and naïve which later becomes revealed in the film. I would compare her to Paige Edwards, the character that Paris Hilton plays in the Horror/Thriller film, House Of Wax. Her character is similar to that of Paige Edwards because they are both quite unintelligent and also both quite glamorous.

SCOTT: Scott is a football fanatic man who is in a relationship with Hope. Scott is having a hard time at work so him and Hope have decided to have a mini break to stay with some old friends in Norfolk. His stressful life has caused his and Hope's relationship to become a bit of a low and they find themselves arguing more than usual. Scott can develop a bit of a temper, which is unravelled later on in the film.

KILLER: The killer does not have a name as this emphasises his mysteriousness. Not having a name also suggests that he does not have any friends/family as no one knows his name. The killer is a big build and very strong. His personal character is not very easy to understand, but throughout the film, parts of his character become unravelled. I would compare him to the Jason in the film Friday the 13th as they are both mysterious characters and their character and personality is revealed through their behaviour throughout the film.

Quesitonnaire

Media Questionnaire

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Meeting 2

Meeting 2


For the second meeting we discussed the storyline and the people to the play the characters.


Plot: Sun almost setting over the isolated scene - another isolated scene in Norfolk in the distance you can see a car with the bonnet open and a man standing over it, the sound of the engine starts and then dies. The camera moves closer to the car so that you can see the female in the car. The shot changes to a mid shot of the back of the man looking at the engine he then closes the bonnet and sighs. The couple than start to have an argument about how they are lost and the car is broken down, throughout this there will be a switching of over the shoulder shots, and also some shot that show they are in a fight i.e only showing one of them, I got this idea from the film Vacancy. After the fight the girl walks of saying “I’m going to try and get signal” in a bad attitude. There will be some selection of shots showing her walking and getting signal. While she is doing that the boyfriend gets out the car and moves around, their will a shot of the field and a shape move in front of the camera, giving the sense of someone being there. It will then show a shot of the reflection in the window of the car, showing the boyfriend being stabbed. The women walks back looking at her phone saying I cant get signal “anywhere.” After realising that her boyfriend isn’t at the car she looks about and shouts a his name, she starts to looking in the car and sees a note, it reads I have found a town down the road meet me their. As she is walking down to the town there is a shot where the camera is in a hedge you see a hand with blood dripping down it and in the background the women walks past it not seeing it. It will then end with the sun setting fully.


Though the opening there will be parts that have mysterious and spooky music to go with the conventions of a thriller
For the blood we are going to use watered down ketchup, with a little HP source to make it less red. If this turns out a bit too tacky and looks unprofessional we will use fake blood instead.


Characters:
Killer - Jack Rolph
Women (yet to be named) - Harriet Millsopp
Man (yet to be named) - Will Durham

Meeting 1

Meeting 1


For our first preproduction meeting, on making an opening to a thriller, we decided to talk about any ideas that we had, and this is what we came up with:


Richard put forward an idea that he had been thinking about it was to film a sunset over a flat rural area, this would be to show the isolation of the area.
Another idea that we had was maybe filming some people moving in a city and then to speed it up. Also to have a person moving though the people, very slowly though so that he can stand out, this would be to show the persons abandonment from the world. I came up with the idea of having the sound of a heart beat matching his footsteps as this would help build up tension.


After a few ideas we decided to make the genre thriller and horror, we believed that this would be the most suitable genre for our film as most of the ideas that we came up with where for the conventions of a horror and thriller. We then came up with more ideas for this:


We had an idea that maybe a character had visions of an arm with blood dripping down.
For the plot of the film we thought maybe of a modern jack the ripper story.
For the location we thought maybe isolated area in Norfolk or maybe in a multi story car park.
We thought that the maybe the first person that the killer kills might be a hitchhiker.
We then thought of a person who has a broken down car in the middle on nowhere.
We also thought of putting in a twist at the beginning. We thought of a person that we would make out to be the main character in the beginning and then later would turn out to be the victim of the killer.
The killer may have a signature to his crime i.e symbol, weapon of choice.

Production Tips

Diegesis.

Sound in movies play an important role in creating meaning and understanding for the audience. Sound comes across in two forms; diegetic sound, and non-diegetic sound.
Diegetic sound is sound that is present in the scene and where characters are aware of it. Diegetic sound is any sound presented from a source within the film's world. Examples of non- diegetic sound include dialogue, sound effects which are heard by characters, (for example gun shots, thunder, or explosions) background music which is heard by characters (for example the radio or CD players).
Non- diegetic sound is sound that is only there for the audiences viewing experience. It is added in after the shooting and can come in forms or soundtracks, atmospheric music, voice-overs or narration. Non-diegetic sound is sound that source
Is neither visible on the screen nor has been implied to be present in the action.
Some types of sound are both diegetic and non-diegetic. An example of that is a characters voice-over. It is diegetic because the character is aware of the sound, as he/she are saying creating it. It is non-diegetic because other characters will not hear it.

Micro and macro origination

When aiming a film at a target audience, you need to take into account the micro-macro strategy. This will enable you to include conventions of a particular genre or style of film. The microelements would include types of camera angles, music, style of titles, dialogue, setting and pace of the film. All of these elements will add up to a macro theme and set of representations that will help you accomplish a particular genre of your film. For this reason, pre-production tasks are very important so you can develop your ideas and make sure that your approach to filming is not out of step with the conventions of the type of film you are making.

Camera work and framing

In order to obtain a steady shot whilst shooting a film, it is best to use a tripod to maintain a smooth shot. If you are aiming to create an effect of a realist/documentary shot then a handheld camera would work well. Most shots are still shots. This allows the audience to pick up any movement that happens in the scene, whether it being by characters or objects. This allows movement to become an effective exception to the norm. Zooming is rarely used in films as it can come across quite amateur, so unless you are trying to capture the amateur effect, it is best to avoid zooms.
Film uses fewer close ups than TV. This is mainly because the viewing screen in film is a lot bigger. When you are filming, you should make sure to select a wide screen framing. With film, it is recommended to use mainly mid-shots and long shots, with close ups used sparingly.
The rule of thirds is a concept in video and film production in which the frame is divided into nine imaginary sections. It is best to avoid the central square when it comes to positioning objects, as the eye is drawn to off-centre areas. Putting people and objects off-centre will focus the audience’s concentration on the image.
Using a range of shots is essential to the film. Combining a range of shots enable you to capture action, emphasise location and put you in the characters perspective. These shots will allow the audience to get a better understanding of the film and the range of shots will make it a more interesting viewing experience.
Camera angles can give off impressions and connotations of characters. For example a low angle shot would connote that the particular character is big and powerful. A high angle shot would make a character seem small and defenceless. Simple techniques like these give the audience an understanding of the character.
Other tips that will help make your film seem more professional include: make sure that you practice the type of shot you about to take a few times before actually recording. This will make the shot seem of better quality, as you will have learnt how to capture the shot effectively and professionally. Test microphones are working correctly before you start recording so you don’t end up with a silent movie by mistake. Be a perfectionist and re-film a shot if the camera accidentally shakes, or if you are not pleased with the shot you have taken. Try out different camera shots so that you can include a range of different camera shots in your film.

Mise en scéne

Mise en scéne is an expression used in theatre and film to describe the design aspects of a production. It is all about the atmosphere and continuity of the film and essentially is all about detail. Try and choose the correct props, costumes, lighting and locations to create the right kind of vibe you are trying to create in your film. Try to make your mise en scéne consistent. This will make your film flow more and seem more professional. Try to avoid silly mistakes such as costume changes mid sequence as this will make the film seem very unprofessional. Poorly chosen props, along with bad acting will make your film seem very unprofessional and you should try and choose actors and actresses that also take drama so that they are more comfortable.


Lighting

Here are five tips copied from Michael Massey article for Media Magazine about how students can make use of lighting without the use of expensive and professional lights.

1) Use natural light- sunlight, in shadow, in mist, through rain- depending on the effect you need, and bearing in mind that you will have to be flexible about time if you need to wait for the right conditions.
2) Use cheap and cheerful artificial light- as long as you have carried out the risk assessments, you can make use of candles, firelight, torches, car headlights, security lights, neon signs and street lighting.
3) Create colour filters- you can easily shine light through coloured liquids, vases, ornaments.
4) Position the light source for effect- lighting a scene from above, below or in an obscured way will create different kinds of atmosphere (mise en scene), so experiment with this using the kinds of light source listed above.

The grammar of non-linear editing

You will need to observe the rules of grammar that apply when it comes to editing and creating continuity in your film. You also need to choose the right rhythm and pace of the editing. Using effective transitions between clips will make your film seem proffesional and help make your film slow. You should try to use hard cuts for 90 per cent of your editing, this is a simple, but effective editing technique.


Combining sound, image and titles.

When it comes to putting together footage with suitable sounds and titles you need to make very careful decisions. You need to choose items that are suitable for you films genre. Try and choose fonts that are appropriate for you films genre, such as gothic, scary font for a horror film. You should use trial and error when it comes to choosing the best font. Choose a reasonable time for the titles to appear on screen, you don’t want it to be on there for too long, but also you don’t want it to whiz past not allowing the audience enough time to read it. You also need to take into account what effect the titles have on the audience’s understanding of the narrative, genre and representational aspects that you need them to grasp quickly since this is an opening sequence.
You should choose music to add ambience to the start of your film that helps build a lot of tension. You should think about the semiotic function of the music and make sure the music is the same pace and tone of the sequence.

Final Cut Pro/Express

Final Cut Pro is a film editing software created by Apple. The software has a simple, yet affective layout that allows navigating around the software to be a easy hassle free process. The software enables you to edit video footage that you have taken on DV tapes. The software features a well-structured browser, where you can create bins to help you organise your project, a viewer which shows you what your are currently editing/viewing, a timeline which shows the time of each clip and allows you to layer clips on top of each other, and finally a canvas which shows contents of the timeline. Apple have also created and released In 2003 a less expensive version of Final Cut Pro, entitled Final Cut Express. It uses the same layout as Final Cut Pro, but it features less of the “film specific” tools, as it is an less advanced form. Final Cut Express retails around £100 and Final Cut Pro retails around £400 so there is quite a significant price different between the two versions. The software is currently only available on Apple Macs.