Screen Grabs

Final Cut Feedback

The overall feedback we recieved from our final cut of our Thriller opening was:

Positive

• Good camera angles
• Good suspense built in the first bit of dialogue
• Music helped create tension
• Good opening credits

Bad

• Acting wasn't paricually amazing
• Could of had more fades/transitions
• More sound effects would of benefited the film

Final Cut

Plan For The Next Two Lessons

In the next two lesson we will aim to improve on some of the issues raised that we had from the feedback from other groups. Further editing will take place as we need to change the opening credits to some that would suit the mood of our opening. We will also look into how to make an audio effect for the final shot of the camera zooming in on the headphones to finish the opening off. We also need to make amendments to the music as the ending comes to a very abrupt ending and the transitions within it are not as smooth as we would like. We also plan to add a few more sound effects where sugested.

Feedback Response

The feedback we reiceved was overall alot better than our previous Childrens film opening. Most groups managed to pick up on the fact that it was a thriller opening. To improve on our rough cut of the thriller opening we need to add a few audio effects for the last shot of the headphones. Looking at our feedback we also need to change our opening credits as they did not suit the genre

comments-s1-61

Good use of music, builds up tension well.
good use of cinematography aswell, showing the vast woodland are they are in.
The lighting at the very start is extremely well used especially the redness blocking off some of Matt's face. Gives a very spooky effect, which complies with  typical thriller conventions.
good camera shots to produce sespense and tension while matt is being followed

Feedback on Rough Cut

Group 62
story line could be made clearer, we thought it was good that you based it on a real phobia, however we didnt understand why he was walking alone in an isolated area when he had this fear. the music could be toned down, reminded us more of an action film soundtrack. good use of credits. good costume for antagonist- makes him look freaky and mysterious as he has his hood up. good camera angles- sometimes a bit shaky, seems like it should either be handheld or not...

GROUUUPPP 63

Group 63:

We think that this film is made very well and has good continuity throughout it. The film includes the convention of a thriller, there is a crime or death involved. We thought that a sound effect needed to be added when the protagonist is struck by a stick. We didnt understand why the camera zoomed into some headphones at the end and also the credits need to be a different colour and perhaps a more interesting font. Also the title of the film relates to a weakness of the protagonist - he has isolophobia.

Rough Cut evaluation

• Good cinematography
• Good Editing
• Lighting was good at the beginning
• Music fitted the conventions
• Titles were quite basic and hard to read against the backdrop & foliage, could be improved.
• Character conventions were good (Protagonist had a problem) 
• you could use a sound effect when the protagonist gets hit with the stick.
• Had an antagonist (follows the conventions)
• Costumes were good but antagonist could have looked more threatening.
• Good Location

Isolophobia Rough Cut

Our Work So Far

So far in this project, we have filmed and edited the clips so that the general story of our sequence is understandable.  We have also added music into the clip, and faded it in and out depending on how close the character is to the camera.

Test Filming

After the test filming we have had a few more ideas on how to go about filming the opening to our thriller and have also learnt how to create some effects through the editing on Final Cut.

We have also realized some problems we  may face when we are filming in the forrest/field area, as some shots which require the dolly to film a well framed shot may become shakey if we film the shot hand held becuase of the uneven surface. We have also noticed that we need to make a few shots longer due to some of the dialogue in our shot list

Font Ideas For Credits

This is the poster for Shutter island,  the font is all in red, bold and in capitals to make it stand out to the audience.

 This is the poster for SE7EN, the font is all in capitals and quite plain in itself, however, it repeats the same font in the background, however slightly darker and faded.

 

This is a poster for the film 'Gothika',  it uses rain to create a dark and sad atmosphere, and has been made to look like the girl is trapped behind glass. The text saying 'Because someone is dead, doesn't mean they're gone' is small and hard to read from a distance, this may be to tell people that the ideas explored in the movie are subtle yet important.  Also, the hair on the girl is blended into the streaks on the window which is used to emphasise that the girl is dead and is not really there.

Target Audience

For our thriller opening we are looking to attract a teenage / young adult audience as this age group are most likely to be interested in the genre and are who watch more television compared to other audiences.

Se7en (1995)

The genre will attract our target audience due to other similar television programmes such as Midsomer Murders and CSI that are currently popular in they're genre. Films such as Se7en and Law Abiding Citizen are films i believe attract this current audience due to the violence in both films so we should look to learn something from both films and take features from the films aswell as similar films and corperate elements into the opening of our thriller.

Law Abiding Citizen (2009)

We will look to enage our audience by making the opening mysterious as possible by not giving any clues as to who the murderer is or why he is killing. The film will be shot near nightfall to help create an atmosphere and help to build the tension leading up to the murder. The shot types we use will also not reveal much of the murders identity, so shots will consist of close ups of things such as the murder weapon and silowette effect of the murderer. The opening will feature and character at walking alone at night time on a walkpath near a line off trees so this will enage the audience by putting them in the victims shoes and if done correctly scare the audience.

Convections for Thriller - Sub Genres

Crime Thriller

Murder By Numbers (2002)

In a crime thriller such as 'Murder By Numbers' the introduction introduces the protangonists of the film which generally are an Investigator and their partners through a scene of a crime.
Questions are usually raised straight away in the viewers mind such as 'Who is the criminal?' and 'What motive does the criminal have?'
Use of flashbacks in common in crime thrillers as they are usually used to unfold the story as to how things hav happened and why. In the case of 'Murder By Numbers', the flashbacks are used to show something in the past that is effecting the investigator personaly.

 Action Thriller

Action thrillers are introduced at a fast pace by going straight into an action sequence and are sometimes more violent compared to the typical thriller.

Bangkok Dangerous (2008)

The main characters in action thrillers are generally difficult to understand at the start of the film and are usually skilled in fighting / combat.
Action thrillers generally have a high budget to work with, and many films take place in a foreign country. These convections are shown in the film 'Bangkok Dangerous' where main character Joe is a hitman on a month long job to kill four people.


Political Thriller

Valkyrie (2008)

Political thrillers usually feature a main character who tries to ensure the stability of a country or government. An example of this is 'Valkyrie' which follows the main character Stauffenberg and his followers plot to kill and overthrow the government in order to stop the war.
Political thrillers are generally slow paced and do not feature as many action sequences as other thrilelrs  due to the plots are more focused around the ruling of a country or organisesation.


Psychological Thriller

Shutter Island (2010)

Psychological thrillers vary with different themes such as: Reality - Existence - Death - Mind - Perception - Identity

Psychological thrillers like to play with the viewers mind throughout the film and builds up the question that are being asked by the viewers. In 'Shutter Island' the film all unfolds at the end of the film and features alot of twists in the story which is very typical of the sub genre.

Shot List

What is a Call Sheet?

A call sheet is a schedule of what will take place during the filming of the sequences.  Call sheets usually include contact information and scheduling information.

Reflection of childrens film

3 things we did well:
 good use of music and sound affect.
 the camera work was sturdy
 shos were well framed

3 things we need to improve on:
the film needs to be longer
the editing needs to be more fluid
the script needs to be better written 

Script for our piece

first scene; monologue:

Victim: Wh...wh...where am I? How did i get here? What's going on? The last thing I remember was walking through the woods...... then i felt an immense pain on the back of my head, like something.... or someone hit me there...... I remember a feeling of fear as I was struck... and now i'm alone... No.. I.. I can't be alone, no one to talk to, no one to listen to.... I CAN'T BE ALONE!!!!

White flash  
Diagetic music plays 
 

Storyboard

 

 Complete darkness.

 

 

Shot one fades into shot two, which is a man standing in bad light.

 

Flash to white to represent a flashback

 

Person walking along listening to up-beat music in his headphones, which the audience can hear clearly.

 

 Shot of person walking in the distance, while seeing the murderer walk out of his house, hidden in the shadows.

 

 Person walking along while murderer is hiding in the shadows watching him.

 

 Murderer hiding behind a bush

 

 The bush rustles so the person takes out one earphone and looks behind him.

 

 The murderer hits the person with a walking stick, still hidden by the shadows.

 

 Slow-motion shot of the victim falling over, both his earphones fall out and the audience can only hear the tinny music through the headphones, as they would if they were really there.

 

 Quick fade to black for half a second.

Shot 11 quickly goes into shot 12, for dramatic effect.  A title montage will take place.

health and safety concerns when filming

Area; fields, lots of rocks and trees. We would need to take care of where we step or if we decide to film from up a tree we would have to take lots of care not to fall from the tree.

Filming: we have to make sure that if we film outside, the camera does not get wet as we could get an electric shock from it.

 

Preparing for a film shoot

• Preparation is key
• No guessing or luck involved.  Be organised

5 Main Process'

1. Script Writing
2. Storyboarding
3. Test Shooting
4. Shooting
5. Editing

Script

• Write down your ideas, don't rely on memory.
• Write your script down in a simple way - actions and emotions
• INT - Internal (indoors)
• EXT - External (outdoors)
• INT - Bedroom - Day  (INT/EXT - Location - Time of day)
• Walk through your script like a play.
• Learn about your scripts flaws early, so you can improve on them.

Location Recce

• Scout your location - take pictures and make notes about possible problems when filming.
• Digital storyboard.

Shot list

• Create a shot list
• Annotate your script

Test Shots

• Get used to the location, equipment, props, costume etc.
• Do before the real shoot.

Shooting Schedule

• Organise whether you're going to record at day/night.
• Note shooting restrictions (weather, transport etc.)

Questions Raised in Presentation

What type of music are we going to use?
Our music will have two main parts, the first will be the music that is playing through the headphones of the victim near the beginning of the sequence.  This shall be made in GarageBand, and will have a generally happy feel to it to create a contrast between the pictures and the sound.  The second piece of music we shall be using will be an original song composed by Odin Long to go with the montage title sequence near the end of the sequence.


What time are we going to film at?
We will be filming when it gets dark, to create a moody atmosphere to the sequence.  We were thinking of 4:00-5:00pm, as that is the time that it starts to get dark around this time of the year.

What are we going to do if one of our group members doesn't turn up?
This is what we shall do if each member doesn't turn up:
Odin: Matt will replace Odin as the victim, and the camera will be operated by Matt still, however he will record and then get into position and then we will cut it out when we edit the sequence.
Matt: Odin and Ali's roles will stay the same, however one of them will have to press record, get into position, then cut the excess filming from the sequence when we edit it.
Ali: Odin shall play the role of the murderer, and Matt will play the role of the victim.  Matt will still record the sequence, however we will have to cut out the part where Matt and Odin are getting into position.

10 Second Breakdown

0:00/0:09 - Complete darkness, the audience can hear a monologue of a person talking.
0:10/0:19 - The darkness slowly fades to reveal a person in a poorly lit room still talking.
0:20/0:29 - The shot flashes to white to show a flashback, and the victim walking along listening to his music through earphones, which the audience can hear clearly.
0:30/0:39 - The shot changes to show the victim still walking, however you can see the murderer slowly walking out of his house, hidden in the shadows.
0:40/0:49 - The murderer follows the victim hiding in the shadows.
0:50/0:59 - The murderer hides behind a hedge
1:00/1:09 - The hedge rustles and the victim takes out one earphone and turns around.
1:10/1:19 - A shot of the murderer hitting the victim.
1:20/1:29 - Slow-motion shot of the victim falling to the ground. The victims earphones fall out, and the audience can still hear the tinny up-beat music playing through the earphones.
1:30/2:00 - Title montage sequence.

Mise - En - Scene Research

Props - The props involved with our filming will include the murderer's weapon, which shall be a cane. This is supposed to be a strange weapon for a murderer to carry, and will raise suspicions in the audience.  Also, we are going to be using earphones for the victim, this will make the victim seem more vulnerable as he will not know what is going on around him; the audience will clearly hear the music that the victim is listening to, to put more emphasis on this.

Lighting - We will film the opening around sun down, to create a dark and gloomy effect and also to hide the murderers identity.  We aim to create some silhouette effects by taking advantage of the lighting of the location.

Costume - The murder shall be wearing all black clothing to hide his/her's identity and also help to create some of the silhouette effects. The victim will be wearing everyday clothing but a lighter colour to portray him as more vulnerable to the murderer.

Setting - The opening will be set at Odin's house which is located in a isolated rural area which will add to the dark and gloomy effect which will be created by the low key lighting created by the time of day.

Colours - Trying to keep to the dark and gloomy effect we are looking for, we will try to avoid using bright colours which would ruin the mood of the opening, apart from the victim, who will have delibarately bright clothing on.

Cast & Crew

Matt - Camera
Odin - Sound/Victim
Ali - Editing/Murderer

Everyone will make their own way down to Odin's house, where we shall shoot our opening sequence.  The props will be simple household objects that will be in the house anyway, and the costumes will be provided by whoever is playing that particular character.

Initial Ideas For Classification

 15 - We chose this film classification because it will give us more freedom to explore the areas we want to, and it will not restrict our audience as much as an '18' rating would.

Initial Ideas For Filming

Location
Arrington (near Royston)
Record when it is dark.

 The house that we will record in.

The woods that we shall record in.

Initial Ideas

Thriller opening based on a phobia.

Atelophobia - Fear of imperfection 
A murderer that wants to rid the world of imperfect people


Isolophobia - Fear of being alone
Someone in a coma, but still acknowledges that they are alone.  They can only see black but can still think and hear things around them.  The story could slowly progress backwards to reveal how the person was put into a coma.

Warner Bros Production Logo - Sherlock Holmes

(Logo shown at 0:37)

The Warner Bros logo varies through the different films its involved in. In Sherlock Holmes the logo of Warner Bros is made to fit the mood of the film. Set in the 1800's the Warner Bro's logo is coloured in dull colours such as grey suggesting a dark and dull time. The logo also has a metallic look to it to represent the up coming industrial revolution which started in the UK in the period of the 18th and 19th Century. Overall the Warner Bro's logo for this film matches the mood captured in the film and the history at the current time.

U1-32 Thriller Opening Evaluation

Level 3
- A few hand-held shots were used, and steady shots were used when appropriate.
- A variety of shot types are used.
- Shots were framed well, but could be improved
- The shooting material was appropriate to the task mostly, but towards the end it seemed more like a trailer of a thriller movie.
- Mise en Scene was used subtlety and to the groups advantage.
- The editing was clear, and there were no continuety errors.

Past Group Evaluation

http://64thriller10.blogspot.com/

From first viewing, this groups thriller opening seems to contain the typical conventions of the thriller genre. The opening starts with a murder and raises questions in the viewers mind as to whhy the girl was murdered. Flashbacks are used in the view of who seems to be the murderer as he's washing blood away from his hands. The music used in the opening matches the type of feel i think they were trying to achieve due to the woodland setting. The music however does stop very quickly and start again which loses the tension that was building. The point of view shot was very well used to stop the viewer from seeing the murderer. I think the film would of benefited if it were filme when the sun was going down jut to help create the mood and atsmosphere that the music suggests.

Marking Criteria

-    Level 1 up to 23
-    Level 2 24-35
-    Level 3 36-47
-    Level 4 48-60
Holding a steady shot where appropriate.
Framing a shot – including or excluding elements.
Using a variety of shot distances.
Shooting material appropriate to the task.
Selecting mise en scene.
Editing so that the meaning is clear to the viewer.
Using varied shot transitions and effects.
Using sound with images.
Using titles appropriately.

Thriller Opening Credits - 'The Number 23'

In the opening credits to film 'The Number 23' the camera focuses on paper with the credits written in a typewriters font. The camera scrolls up and down the page very slowly making it seem very mysterious. The camera also cut very jaggeredly to close up of names making it uncomfortable for the audience. The number 23 is also shown next to each name suggesting along with the title of the film that the number will have a lot to play in the course of the film. On a very blank page the scene slowly introduces the viewer to blotches of blood slowly flowing onto the page, which suggests murder and the possiblity of the blood being related to the number. The sound of the opening credits builds tension with the bassline of the soundtrack getting slowly faster to the point where the blood is introduced and again slows down. This is then repeated again but with the music temp this time getting faster and louder, bringing the audience up in tension until it slows down suddenly to start the begining of the film.

Preliminary task story board and shot list

Preliminary task

Description/Evaluation of Task
  This is our preliminary task for the thriller opening that we shall be creating.  We used simple yet effective shots and transitions.