Sunday, 22 December 2013

Rough cut. Miss Miller


Above is the link to our thriller film.
A rough cut is important to consider as it gives you an overview of the plot and the narrative of our Thriller film. The rough cut is an idea of the plot and gives you a clear visual view of everything that  will happen or everything that was filmed in context. The rough cut can or cannot be changed in terms of the film itself however sounds, transitions and credits can be modified.

We are able to collect positive and constructive feedback from showing our thriller film to a small audience. Feedback is important as it allows us to see or pick up on things our group didn't notice and feedback can help us improve problems with editing or narrative. The audience can also see our techniques used in filming and our inspirations used via our presentation we showed before the film. By doing this they may be able to tell us how to elaborate on our points to allow us to really connect with the audience at a greater depth or entice the audience to greater suspense or shock.

We presented the film through you tube and our audience wrote our feedback on forms which included the columns: 'what went well', 'improvements' and 'questions'. We then received these sheets back from our peers and we were able to see what they thought. The feedback mainly contained these constructive points:

.A bit to much dialogue
.Camera is shaky at some points
.Editing at final piece needs to be smother
.Credits could be improved
.Use a knife not scissors
.Not sure on the black and white effect

These also came with good points however here I am only looking to improve my thriller to make it even better. Our group can now take these points and try to build on them or change them to the best of our ability. Improvements we are making straight away will be the editing at the end as we may add a transition in and the font styles and credits were rushed so this extra time before our final piece will be used finalising our credits and font styles to how we like it.














Thursday, 12 December 2013

Scenaration. Miss Miller

The scenes I am describing here are from our rough cut and not the story board. This is because some scenes used in the story board were not easy to do or better narrative ideas were found in the editing or filming stage. However the plot remains the same.

The scene starts with me and Lucy walking through the woods chatting about random things. I indicate that I need to talk to Lucy about something important so we find an old building to go sit in. As we walk a number of high angles and straight cuts are used. There is a dark gradient placed over the scene as we walk through the woods. Throughout the first shots a light piano music is played to hopefully build suspense. As we continue to walk, the camera switches to a handheld shot used in the sense of a point of view angle and is shows the camera moving down from a tree to the floor and the stalked hides in the leaves. At this point I turn around to see if anything is there. The audience can really feel that they are in the stalkers shoes at this point.

The music is still playing and the next scene and it is a mid shot of me and Lucy walking into a room. The music lowers and the room is covered in candles. I say "so we can finally have that chat now" and there is a bang on the window. I go outside to check while the camera follows me. A good use of low key light is used here and blurs and fades are used to try and keep continuity as I leave.

I walk into an open forest and say "is anyone there?" The camera angle then cleverly changes to a point of view shot of the stalker who we see hiding as I walk. The stalker follows me walking behind me using a point of view shot and not changing the angles to keep it current and real. We can see a blade of screen as the stalker walks and we do this for quite a while to build up tension among the audience. He then runs up to me and just as he strikes a flash comes across the screen and the camera cuts back to Lucy.

She then continues to follow the same path I did and we keep the light, noise, angles and shots the same as when I walked out to show the similarity of movement to keep the audience engaged. She is now in the forest and a canted angle is used while she shouts "Noah" continuously. She stops suddenly and a panning shot is used as the camera moves around her so the audience can see what she sees. Hopefully at this point the audience are shocked to see me dead over a tree with blood dripping off me.

There is then a jump cut to the front of Lucy and the music suddenly builds and becomes a lot more sharper.  The stalker is seen rushing up behind her and just as he strikes once again the music and film cuts suddenly. Hopefully this cliff hanger will leave the audience in a great deal of suspense.

Thursday, 5 December 2013

Fliming schedule. Miss Georgiou

A film schedule is important as it is very important to lay out exactly when and where we are filming. This allows our group to make time for the actual film making. This makes our group efficient and punctual as we always know where we should be at certain times. Without a film schedule, are shooting may be slow and could lead to being rushed.



These is the schedule we will be using for each frame.

Wednesday, 4 December 2013

Production roles. Miss Miller



The production roles are important as it allows people to know what exactly they are doing. The production roles are shown in the opening credits and also allows the audience to see and acknowledge the people that made the film actually happen. Everyone needs to know what they are doing to we can film and edit our thriller efficently. The roles include:

Actors: The people who you see in the film, also known as the cast
Camera man: The person who films the cast
Sound tecnhinition: This person records the sounds and inputs them in the editing phase
Editor: The people who put all the film scenes and shots together to make sense
Producer: Makes sure the idea has come across and everything is appoaved and ticked off
Writer: This person thinks up of the script and comes up with the idea of the story
Director: This person overviews the film and is in charge of all of the above

These are the roles that we have selected for each other. These are subject to change however because we dont know what will happen in the near future.

Actors: Noah Lown and Lucy Mumford and Micheal John
Camera: Alex
sound: Heather
Editor: Noah, Lucy and Alex
Producer: Noah
Writer: Lucy
Director: Alex

We decided these roles through what we believe are peoples strenghts. If we pick what people are good at then the production should run alot smoother and have a better outcome. Choosing the actors and camera man was quite easy. We needed a girl so lucy would qualify striaght away while me and Alex came to an agreement on the actor and camera man. Micheal is a perfect for his role as he matches the character of the stalker we want and is very good in that area of acting. We brought in Heather as she has had years of expirence in sound and will allow us to really entice the audience in this technique. We have all decied to be editors because as long as we all have a clear outline in our head then we should all be able to work on different stages of our thriller allowing less time spent editing. I have decided to be producer as I feel I know the different criteria needed to present a succesful thriller film. By this I mean that I make sure things like mise-en-scene and different cinematography is ticked off. Lucy is the person who came up with the idea of the woods so she is taken credit for the writing of this good idea. Finally, Alex is the director and can overview the whole scene









Tuesday, 26 November 2013

inspirations post. Miss Miller

The definition of inspiration is "the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially to do something creative." My idea of inspiration is to gain ideas and this is exactly what our group has done. We have all taken inspirations from many films. Mine include jaws, saw, the shinning, Texas chainsaw massacre and v for vendetta. The inspirations I have taken for our film is sound, conventions, cinematography, mise-en-scene and editing.

The first inspiration I got was from the film jaws. This is where i have taken the idea of an off screen sound from. In the clip I looked at, non-diagetic sound was the key to building tension and excitement amongst the audience. This is when the shark was approaching and the backing track was placed over the top. In our scene we are going to be using this sound technique however we will add a breathing effect. This is conventional as this is an easy way of creating tension in the audience as heavy breathing can cause panic or unease.

My second inspiration came from the film saw. This was their use of low key light under the frame of conventions. Most of the film was low key light and it kept the audience in suspense or it kept them guessing. We are going to use low key light in our scene when me and Lucy are in the building. This creates a sense of enigma and holds the audience suspense.

Another inspiration is cinematography and looking even deeper into that, the handheld shot. This was used in the film the shinning,. Where the camera is jerky and made to look like you are there to entice you further. We hope to use this handheld technique when the killer is behind me in our scene. The unbalanced and jumpy camera angle can send the audience into panic created through confusion. This can lead them into a bigger shock When they actually realise the danger on the screen.

The next inspiration is taken from Texas chainsaw massacre. I am looking at the costume and makeup used which comes under mise-en-scene. The makeup used for gore in this film was realistic. We hope to reenact this for our thriller film. This is when i am found dead hung over a tree. The more realistic it is, the better it is for the audience as this connotes the fact that this could actually be real provoking further emotions.

The final inspiration is taken from the film v for vendetta. I have looked at the editing styles in this film and particularly the jump cut. This is where the scene quickly changes angles or shots to create urgency or danger. In our thriller, the moment I leave Lucy will have this. This connotes tension amongst the audience and can really show both mine and Lucy's prospectives.

I feel without these inspirations our group wouldn't of got far. I think everyone needs a starting point taking ideas from award winning thrillers isn't a bad place to start. We will now take all these ideas and incorporate them all into our own thriller. Hopefully these points will really give our film an edge and will help portray stereotypical audience characteristics and emotions while watching the film.

























Friday, 22 November 2013

Planning opening credits. Miss Georgiou

The start of our thriller will have an opening credits scene. Credits are important as they set the audience up for the film. Sometimes it can even set the scene in a location. It is also in the name 'credits' it is when a group of people are taking 'credit' for what they have produced or been apart of. In an opening credits sequence, I will be looking at the colours, styles, conventions and appearance.

The scene the class analysed was se7en. The colours are inconsistent as they change in fade and add an element of confusion amongst the audience. There is also the colour red which connotes blood, murder and death. The style is Jumpy and has a flicker effect. This could entice the audience and scare them as they are curious about the unknown or mysteriousness. A main convention is the unnatural noise. This is something out of place or something that doesn't belong. This can unease the audience which can keep them on the edge of their seat. The order of appearance is also important. The order was production company, director, actors, title of the film, actors, costumes, cameras, producer, writer and then director again. This is a very common order and will take inspirations from this for my thriller.



 The opening sequence I personally analysed is from the omen. The colours in this clip are very basic and clear to understand. The black and the red with cross on the floor could connote unholiness as we usually associate lighter colours with God. The style is very consistent and gives the audience a good insight to the films main plot with is a unholy boy. This keeps the audiences ready for when we see him but until then the director can use suspense. The conventions are simple but are very stereotypical of a thriller film. Everything is spaced out allowing the audience to survey the screen. The black and red along with the sound almost set up the audience for what they are in for. The titles itself are very clearly laid out and are bold which allows you to really acknowledge them. The order goes production company, actors, title, actors, camera, music, editor, producer, writer, director. This is very similar to se7en and are group will take a similar approach.

After talking in our group and taking ideas from are individual clips and a joint clip. We have decided to follow the same basis of the se7en clip where the images on screen are moving. However we may use the bold and clear lettering used from the omen clip. These ideas may change in the editing stage depending on what we have filmed. This is because our group has not fully looked into depth of what we actually want the audience to see in terms of the start of the film. I personally feel it should be like the omen as it really connotes a thriller film however a moving image will properly have to be used in our thriller. We will stick with the theme of darkness and curiosity as these can provoke the audience and can create tension.

In our thriller, the order of the title sequence will be:

Production company: LAN production
Actors: Noah Lown and Lucy Mumford
Camera: Alex
Music: Heather
Editor: Noah, Lucy and Alex
Producer: Noah
Writer: Lucy
Director: Alex
The film title: The woods

The style of the writing will be a dull font witch looks rushed. The colours will be dark and red. The colour red can connote blood and will entice the audience. The whole credit sequence will be dark slow and obscure.





These are just two quick ideas that I will present to the group.














Wednesday, 20 November 2013

Planning cinematography. Miss Miller

Cinematography is important in thriller films as camera angles and movements allow you to control what the audience see and how they feel. Planning is required so we can test and see the best angles for the narrative. The main shots we are using are mid-shot, low angle, handheld, high angle and canted angle. Hopefully these techniques will entice and scare the audience.

The first technique is the high angle shot. This is when the camera is pointing down at me and Lucy as we are walking in the forest. The camera would be placed in the trees. This shot is used to portray a sense of insecurity and apprehension. This is from the start of the scene, so this shot is almost letting the audience know that these characters are in danger or they are unimportant, it is a set up for the next scene. This angle can give the audience a sense of foreboding that they are being watched, in a similar scenario, from above.

The second angle I am analysing is the low angle. This is used when Lucy is looking up at the building.  The camera will be placed on the floor facing the building. The purpose of this technique is to show intimidation, making the viewer feel as through the building is looming over them, adding to the sense of fear and anticipation felt. This connection means that a tension will build when Lucy and I walk up to the building. This is a conventional angle in a thriller, as the tension creates a greater shock.


The next angle that our group are using is the canted angle. This angle uses a tilted camera. We are using this angle when Lucy discovers me dead. The camera will be canted, looking at Lucy from behind. This angle is used to show imbalance. Imbalance can cause confusion and panic within the audience. This can hopefully create a greater reaction to what’s going on, on the screen. This is conventional of a thriller film as most directors don’t want to let the audience know what is going on. They want to keep the sense of anticipation.

Our group also used a handheld point of view shot. This is used when the killer is behind Lucy and me, before hiding behind a tree. A handheld shot is when the camera gives a jerky and gives the viewer a personal feeling of being in the scene. It is shot in the first person. This makes the shot realistic and could make the audience feel that they are there. This is another conventional technique to bring the audience closer to the film and allow them to immerse themselves.

The last camera technique used by us is the mid shot. This is when I and Lucy are walking down to the path. The mid shot technique is when you can see half of the person’s body and the location behind. This allows the audience to get a wider perspective of the whole scene, whilst feeling a connection to the characters. The audience can also understand emotions through facial expressions. This is another traditional angle in a thriller film as a better connected audience will gain more from the viewing experience and leave feeling more shocked.
I feel that by using these shots, our thriller will be very successful in capturing our viewer’s fears and heighten their emotions. These techniques are all regularly used in thriller films are they make the viewer feel involved in the film and build and relationship with the characters. The viewers have an emotional investment and care about what happens to the characters in the film and are therefore left feeling more shocked when the unexpected happens. The planning is very helpful as it ensures that everyone knows what they are doing and achieves the overall end result that everyone was aiming for.

Monday, 18 November 2013

Planning sound. Miss miller

Sound is important within a thriller film as it is one of the key aspects of mise-en-scene. Sound can really engage the audience with what is on the screen and connects all your senses together so you can immerse yourself within the film. Planning sound is important as we always want to know what each frame is going to contain. Even if it is a silent moment, it needs to be documented so we can edit it in. I will be going over four sounds which we will be using in our thriller.

The first is a digetic sound. A diegetic sound is a sound that belongs within a frame and can be considered to be a natural part of the narrative. This is not always visible on screen. In our seen, we are using the sound of birds. We are doing this to pull the audience into a false sense of security. We are making the audience hear a sound which they can relate to making them feel slightly more relaxed. This allows them to be more venerable when it comes to a scene with tension or suspense.
 

The second sound technique is a parallel sound. This is when the sound and the images on the screen complement each other.  The sound used here is Lucy’s scream when she finds me dead over a tree.  The scream connotes the scene well as she has just realised this dead body. The audience can see this and would not only be in fear after seeing what has happened but they would also sympathise with Lucy as they can see and hear her screaming.

Another sound technique is an off screen sound. This is when you can hear the sound but cannot see the source, yet it still makes sense with the film dynamic. For example in our film he is using heavy breathing. We will not be able to see the breathing itself but we can hear it. This makes the audience feel tense as in thrillers heavy breathing connotes the fact that something bad is going to happen. The audience have a foreboding feeling that when the breathing stops, death is round the corner. All this builds up a great deal of suspense amongst all the audience.
The final sound technique is a non diagetic sound. This is a sound or music that is added after, such as in the editing stage. The diagetic sound we are using is a hum. The reason we are doing this is because is conventional thriller films, we always hear unnatural sounds. Something that will take us out of our comfort zone. This is exactly what we are doing here.  A hum will once again leave the audience in suspense as an unnatural noise normally leads to an unnatural event. Nothing is normal or as it seems anymore, the situation has changed and the non diagetic sound will connote that.

I feel that with these four features and others, our group will really effectively be able to capture the key things needed in order for this to be an effective thriller. We can now incorporate each one of these features thanks to the planning stage and we can determine how effective each technique is to make sure we enhance the audiences fear to their full potential.

 The following sounds are ideas we have taken from freesound.com, a non copyrighted sound site. These are all non-diagetic sounds. we will implement these into our editing program and overlay the sounds with the picture on the screen. This first sound is a piano which draws suspense.

http://www.freesound.org/people/Erokia/sounds/209552/

These two sounds next are breathing. We will decide what breathing we want for our killer.

http://www.freesound.org/people/zogmachine/sounds/202606/

http://www.freesound.org/people/Erdie/sounds/48512/  

The final two are just further suspense clips. One is with a heartbeat and by using the heartbeat, it can create a closer personal and emotional connection between the character in the scene and the audience.

http://www.freesound.org/people/Setuniman/sounds/170207/

http://www.freesound.org/people/Batsumaru/sounds/203249/

































Planning editing styles. Miss Georgiou

This post will be looking the different editing styles my group has used in order to create our thriller film. Editing styles are important as the editing allows you to create how the audience feels. If you want to give them a sense of panic then the editing will be fast and jumpy. However if you were creating something clear and continuous you would us continuity editing.

The first editing style is the fast fade away to blackout which we use at the end of the scene. This is when the frame just fades into nothing. We are using this technique as a cliff hanger as a sudden end always keeps the audience guessing. This also adds to the overall suspense that the audience are feeling. If your thriller gets people talking after it has ended, its means people are thinking about it and you want that long lasting effect that a cliff hanger created by fade gives you. Films like saw tend to do this often.

The next technique I would like to talk about is shallow focus. This is when the camera focuses from one single point in a frame to another. This is used to show importance. For the audience, this allows them to only focus on one object or character without actually being able to see what is going on in the background. This can provoke fear within the audience as they could anticipate something is going to happen. This is used in many thriller films.

Another technique is shot reverse shot. This is when the camera switches from one person to another. This shows the audience that people could be talking to each other but are in different places. In our film, this will be the switching back and forth between me and Lucy. This technique is used to somewhat immerse the audience with the characters. Making them have feelings for the characters leading to a greater shock when something bad happens. A good film this was used in was house on haunted hill. All the characters were in different places however you became to be aware of where each one is thanks to shot reverse shot.

The final technique i would like to talk about is a jump cut. This is where the camera immediately cuts to another frame. This could be used to show panic or importance of the situation that is occurring. This can add a lot of suspense to the audience as constant jump cuts can create panic and tension.  This type of editing can leave people on the edge of their seats. A film this is used a lot in is insidious.
These four editing techniques and more have been incorporated together to make our thriller film. I feel with these now in places we can really lead the audience into thinking they are somewhat part of the whole scene to really give them a fright.

This is a screen shot we have taken from our editing phase:






Thursday, 14 November 2013

Risk assessment post. Miss georgiou

This post will be looking at the risk assessment I have created for my group. I have found 5 risks involved with the filming and how we can take measures to avoid potential injury as shown here.

 
 
 
It is important to consider all the risks as we as individuals and a group can educate ourselves and become aware of the potential dangers. Not following our procedure can lead to minor or serious injury which can also hinder the film making process.
 
 It will assist us in the way that when we arrive at our filming location we check around the area to make sure there are no holes, lose leads or water. We can also check our equipment to see if we all have charged mobile phones. We can also ass to the risk assessment if we see further dangers upon arrival.
 
 
 

 

Group storyboard. Miss Miller

The purpose of a group storyboard is the concept of our three combined ideas pieced into one final narrative. Another purpose is that when filming our final piece, we can use the storyboard to portray what we want to see in each frame. There will be a narrative, sounds, shots, locations, lighting, editing, characters and iconography. The story board also makes it a lot easier for us as we don't have to think on the spot as it is all planned out.

We have taken every ones storyboard as we managed to gain a whole range of ideas using this technique and we can take ideas from each other which we as individuals didn't think of.

The rest of my groups ideas however were limited as they didn't bother to make an Individual storyboard at the time. Never the less they still had some ideas to input.

One that popped up straight away was the idea of the jump cut at the end of the film. The idea being that as soon as the audience see the killer behind the girl the film ends. This adds a great deal of suspense and shock to our narrative allowing the the audience to not only be left on the edge of their seats but to draw their own conclusions.

Another key idea we wanted to portray was the low key lighting and background noise. Starting on low key lighting, I feel this is used to keep the audience guessing to what is going on in the scene. The less they see the better as it helps keep up that element of surprise. This is  why many thrillers are set at night as visibility is reduced. Secondly, we found background noise key. Natural noises such as leaves or birds can easily send people into a false sense of security as the audience can relate to those noises and almost feel at home with them. This means when something tense happens, the shock would be enhanced.

To conclude, I feel we all icorparated our ideas well into one storyboard and we are now all clear on what our narritive is and how we will conduct each frame. However one thing we would of liked to include is more iconograohy somehow.











Thursday, 7 November 2013

Planning character representation. Miss Georgiou

This post is looking at how the audience portrays certain characters by determining there clothes, mentality, grooming, facial appearance and background. Using these, the audience will take a stereotypical representation of the characters.

Characters

Name: Lucy
Age: 17
Gender: Female
Race: White British
Personality: Vulnerable
role: Naive scared young woman

Name: Noah
Age: 16
Gender: Male
Race: White British
Personality: Brave
Role: The fearless who ends up being the victim.

The purpose of the narrative is that me and Lucy are on a geography field trip to Scotland. We walk in the forest and find a old building. Lucy wanted to walk in the forest to have a talk with me about her parents breaking up with each other. Once inside we hear a noise and I decide to check it out as i come across as the brave character. Lucy stands there alone and afraid. By doing this the audience sympathises with her  as they want to help her. The audience will look at me and will want to be behind me as i am protective and fearless. This means the audience will be shocked to find me dead as i came across as a hero. The killer is seen at the end but all the audience see is a a darkened figure.

Wednesday, 6 November 2013

Planning mise-en-scene. Miss Georigou

Mise-en-scene is important within a thriller film because it brings 5 key aspects together to entice the audience and engage them with the film. The 5 aspects are lighting, body language, costumes, props and setting.


Lighting is mainly low key, creating harsh shadows on faces, bodies and props. It sets the scene for thrillers being dark, mysterious and sinister. Low key lighting is usually used during the mysterious and sinister scenes, emphasising the suspense and tension. As well as creating an unsettling atmosphere.

The use of costumes within Thrillers are very important, they must be life like to the audience, as how the characters are presented is how the audience perceive them. Therefore the more life like and believable the characters are the better the storyline for the audience. Typically in Thrillers the murderer, villain etc will wear dark clothes to enhance the mystery and evilness of them, as well creating tension. However the victims usually wear ripped, dirty, blood stained clothes, reinforcing their weakness and vulnerability, as well as connoting that they have been chased, are unable to fight back etc.

The setting is the location, where the scene is taken place or where it is set. Examples of typical Thriller settings would be dark alleys, haunted houses, mental wards, urban city etc. Usually only a small range of colours will be used in the setting, being blacks and greys. This can be used to show how normal and plain life is, contrasting with the villains in the film as they create a dramatic and fearful atmosphere.


Iconography is any movable articles or objects used on the set of a film. In Thriller films props often determine the narrative, identity of the characters and genre. A range of props can be used such as police, mobile phones etc. However typically weapons are used by the villains to knifes, guns etc.reinforce the violence and fear overall, being 


Body language is important as the audience can tell a lot from homebody's posture or facial positions. For example if somebody is in a stance and on edge, you can see that that would fit into the action genre. The same as if you were to see a nervous young woman playing with her hair with a man you would be able to see that it is a romantic film. Same goes for thriller films. The fear on someones face can grip the audience and keeps them on the edge of their seats.


By using these 5 aspects, the audience can start to build a relationship with the characters in the film. By building this relationship, The audience feels more scared when something foreboding is about to happen, this then creates more suspense and tension. 













Tuesday, 5 November 2013

Individual story board. Miss Miller




The purpose of a story board is to depict and show what is in every frame. I am using 10 frames ranging from 4 to 30 seconds long. The story helps lay out the scene and shows you exactly what you should see and hear. The story board includes elements like camera shot, location, iconography, lighting, actors, sound, editing and a narrative description. The story board explains how Lucy is lost in a forest and runs into a house before discovering me dead. The killer then appears behind her.

We have created individual story boards as we can write and show what we as individuals want to see from are thriller and I think 3 minds coming together to make one really broadens our knowledge and allows us to see aspects we maybe didn't think of before.

In my personal story board i have used quite a lot of hand held and point of view shots. This is done to make the audience feel like they are in her shoes and connotes the idea of fear and maybe loneliness. I have taken inspiration from the thriller 'cloverfield' as the whole film was shot in a hand held point of view angle some elements of that really gripped me personally.

Another style I have used is the lack of sound. The only sound used in the film is natural which could be picked up on by my group as chilling sound effects do help. However here i have not used them. I have used silence twice, rustling leaves, heavy breathing, wind and a water drop sound. I have taken the idea of this from the film 'the happinging' This film used a various array of wind and natural noises to create suspense

Another point I could take to my group to improve is the involvement of iconography. The only prop i have included is a tree. A good thriller normally involves items like knifes or weapons. Films like chainsaw massacre are based on props so I fell I need to bring this up with my group.

A key element I have used is the positioning of the camera, I feel this is very important. In frame 4 I say the camera is at a canted angle as it shows imbalance and could create panic amongst the audience. Another camera position is the low angle in frame 5. This position makes Lucy feel small in comparison to what she is looking at.

Overall I feel my group can  use this effectively and be able to make improvements like filling out the frames.










































Thursday, 31 October 2013

Target audience results. Miss Miller

 
Research was carried out in our group about what people want to see and like about thriller films to put into our own clip. We questioned 40 people and asked them a number of open and closed questioned. We hope these results will take us further into our understand of this genre.
 


The first question and pie chart i want to bring to attention is the question  'what interests you in watching a thriller?'. No one said anything other than the 3 answers provided which were scary, suspense and tension. This is an indication that these are going to be the foundation of a good thriller.




This next question shows us that a lot of people opted to another option other than the the noises listed. When asked what other, people said footsteps or no noise at all. This is something we can take into consideration.




This next question is about where the audience would like the thriller to be set. Once again the other category dominates this question. People said that a normal house or area would be an ideal location which we do not have on the list. Examples of this ideal location includes Halloween and jaws. These take place in everyday locations.




The next question I would like to show you is on what sub genres people would like to see in a thriller film and most of them went for other. When asked what, many people said that they would like to see no sub genre. This indicates to me that we should not try to mix our genre with other things.

We also used a number of open questions. These were used so we can get an overall idea of what people see a thriller to be like with no prompts. One of these questions were 'what type of character would you like to see in a thriller film?' Answers that came back were mysterious and violent. Going back to mysterious, this links in with enigma and we can now make the connection in the sense that an element of mysteriousness keeps the audience on the edge of their seat. Another open question used is 'what would you like the purpose to be?' The main answer that came back to use is revenge. People very much took the approach of bad things come to people who are bad themselves. Now our group can take this purpose and mold it into our own narrative. Who and why would someone take revenge? This opens up new ideas to us.

I feel the research gathered will help us now develop a bigger picture and show us an insight into what people want to get from a thriller film. Hopefully we can take points like little sub genres and location ideas and create a thriller that people will enjoy. We have also discovered are key factors which are sacra, suspense and tension. I feel these things will be the core of our groups success.








































































Sunday, 20 October 2013

Preliminary task. Miss Georgiou

My preliminary task involved me, Alex and Lucy. The purpose of our preliminary task was to really find our feet and get a feel for what we are in for. We had a first look at the camera we would be using and we discovered how best to film shots and our strengths and weaknesses. In our task, Alex filmed me walking down the stars and followed me down without moving the camera position which was continuity editing. I then met Lucy and we had a chat about school work in the common room. In doing this, we established which shots would be right for us. We used the reverse shot while talking. The 180 degree rule was used and was edited in a way that it will flowed fluently and lasted under 1 minute. In this task we really learnt to embrace the narrative style and learnt to be patient with our filming. If something isn't right first time, it needs to be repeated until it is what the group wants and I think that is the main thing i have picked up from doing this task. From this task, I feel my group has a more clearer insight into what we need to do to  create a chilling thriller that connotes our ideas and beliefs through a select number of techniques and camera uses we have picked up from the preliminary task.

Group narrative. Miss Georgiou

The purpose of a narrative is to enhance the audiences viewing pleasure.  A story is a number of events that take place in an order we deem understandable. Narrative is the ideas that go into a story that make it more understandable for the audience and incorporate how and why is that being portrayed to us in this way. Narrative includes cinematography, sound, location, camera angles, iconography etc.

Our group came together and discussed the ideas we each had in our own head. After discussing the advantages and disadvantages of each point and we finally came to a decision on what narrative we actually want for our thriller.

My idea

i have created a small plot. A couple go to a closed hotel. They didn't know this and they start to argue. The woman leaves the man stranded there over the winter and begins to lose his mind in the cold attic of the hotel. He then murders new guests in the summer with blunt objects while wearing a phantom of the opera mask that he had found. I got the location from the shining, the suspense of him killing from pet semetary, the mysteriousness from v for vendetta, the isolation plot from misery and the iconography from Texas chainsaw. Hopefully these ideas create an element of shock, suspense and surprise amongst the audience.
Advantages: . Easy to acquire iconography
                     . small group
                     . Detailed story line
Disadvantages: . Hard to find location
                          . Hard to portray weather
                          . It is not simple
Alex's idea
Their are a group of people who are dared to spend the night in and old abandoned house, however there is actually a maniac who lives in the house who lock the group in and slowly hunts them down one by one. Using all the techniques that I have mentioned, about the group of people who are trapped in an abandoned building in the middle of nowhere at night. This all creates the conventions typical in a thriller genre, in my film I would also like to attempt to break the 180 rule which has been done in "Psycho" which I would like to replicate, this would give a 360 view of the setting which will draw the audience in and help them empathise with the characters.
Advantages: . It is very conventional
                     . Taken ideas from classic thriller films
                     . Very simple
Disadvantages: . Hard to find location
                          . Might be slightly repetitive
                          . You would need a large group of people
Lucy's idea

When trying to imagine my own thriller, I had to think of films that made me feel the suspense and tension. Therefore I chose to look at what would become my 'Inspirations'The 'Saw' films were just one inspiration of mine. So was human centipede, insidious and harpers island.These are just a few inspirations of mine, this is as they all use conventions of a thriller. Such as low key lighting, realisticness and mysteriousness, these together build a strong thriller, which grip the audience from the outset.

To reach a first idea and plot for my opening sequence, I took my inspirations and thought about the main features, Characters and Location. Therefore these are my first ideas...
  • Characters - 3 girls,Amy, Stacy, Hannah - 3 Boys Sam, Jack, Mark - 2 killers
  • Location - Woods
  • Time - Halloween night

Target Audience - Certificate 15 aimed at teenagers

A group of girls go camping on Halloween night. They start to hear strange sounds from outside, coming out of their tent the sounds start getting louder. The girls are scared and have no idea what to do. A group of boys jump out on them.Once the boys go home, the girls plan to go to bed, however the sounds start again, they think its the boys, although this time it isn't...
Advantages: . Easy location
                     . Can be filmed at any time
                     . Simple plot
Disadvantages: . Large group
                          . Too much dialogue
Our groups final idea is a mix between a forest and an abandoned building. We will be focusing on the element of surprise and will work on building a tension to hopefully keep the audience on the edge of their seats.       

Our group can consider 3 different narritive theories. 

The first is Vladimir Propp, a Russian critic in the 1920s. He liked folk tales and came up with the theory that every narrative comes with a group of stock characters in which it will always follow. Some of these characters include a hero, villains, helper, princess, father , dispatcher and donor. The film shrek is based on this theory as it is like a fairy tale.

The second theory is from Tzveten Todorov. He simplified narrative into different parts. A equilibrium at the start which means everything happy as it should be. Then there is an disequilibrium which means this peace is disrupted however at the end a new equilibrium is created.

The third is from Aristotle. His theory involves many key words such as exciting incident, Dramatic questions, character goal, antagonist/protagonist, stakes, sympathy/empathy and resolution. I personally feel that we should use this last theory as it creates many emotions amongst the audience such as sympathy and enticing story lines.



Saturday, 19 October 2013

Opening scene analysis. Miss Georgiou

In this blog, i am looking into what makes a good opening to a thriller opening. The purpose of an opening is to set the scene and time frame. It also sets the mood and engages the audience in what the genre of the film is. In thrillers especially, the opening scene creates an enigma amongst the audience. I will be looking at the opening scene of Halloween and how the editing, cinematography, sound, characters, narrative and conventions make this a perfect opening scene.

The first analysis point is editing. The editing types used in the scene are fading, continuity and a straight cut. The one particular style that was effective in this scene is the continuity editing. This is were the shot is the same throughout and really links the audience with the scene. Also used in this scene was a montage of pumpkins. This connotes the fact that it is Halloween and just helps the whole audience really engage with the film.

This clip also contains cinematography. Two main features of cinematography are used in this clip. Point of view shot and a hand held shot.
These two points hold hand in hand as we step inside the killers’ shoes as he brutally kills his sister. The point of view is used in a hand held manner to give the audience a feel for what it is like and we can only see what he sees, enhancing the overall experience by allowing you to focus on events, solely from his perspective.

Another point i am analysing is sound. Once again i picked up two key points from the clip. These being parallel sound and off screen sound. The parallel effect is the sound of footsteps on the stairs in synchronised time with a piano sound. This gives the scene a weird eerie feel that makes you aware that something is going to happen, you are anticipating an event. The off screen sound is the ticking clock effect, not seen at all in the scene. This could portray the feeling that all time has slowed down, adding a feeling of suspense to the audience.

Character analysis my next focus.  The killer is kept very mysterious throughout the whole clip; the audience is given very little information about the killers’ physical appearance. This creates an enigmatic feeling about the character. The girl is another character seen. She is in her room at night. This immediately gives the audience a feeling of foreboding, this happens because it is a characteristic scene set up of a conventional thriller.

The narrative used is another point of notice. The location is in an ordinary suburban area that puts you at ease and feels very homely. It could almost be your town. The area is very stereotypical and in doing this makes you on edge and fearful even after the end of the film.

Using the clip the following points all link together.  Shock, surprise, and leave the audience in suspense, hidden identity, enigma, open door, quiet house, iconography, low key lighting, and a female victim.

I hope to take all of these convention and use my own analysis to create a chilling thriller which keeps the audience on the edge of their seats and keeps them looking over their shoulder in the dark when they hear a noise.


Tuesday, 15 October 2013

Research into sound. Miss Miller

This post is about sound and how it is used in the film 'Jaws' directed by Stephen Spielberg and released in 1995. Sound is used in all films as a way of enticing the audience. In thrillers, sound is used to create an intense atmosphere and plays a critical role in how the audience feel. Sound creates another element of real life into films as well so the audience feel more captivated.


The first sound technique used in this clip is the sound of the sea. The sound of the sea is continuous throughout this clip and connotes the fact this film is based at sea. Giving the audience a clue that the film is based a around a shark, This gives the audience a clue that a shark is bound to show up and leaves the audience 'on the edge of their seat'. The name giving to a sound that matches the image on screen is called a parallel sound.

The next sound technique is a non-diegetic sound at 60 seconds. A non-diegetic sound is a sound that is added in the editing stage. This is usually a backing track or a piece of music made to complement what is going on in the shot and makes the film feel a lot more real. In jaws I believe the sound makes the shark seem more scary. In this clip, we hear the famous orchestra piece played over the top of the scene to put the audience in suspense. As the shark grows closer, the sound becomes more intense and fast paced. This makes the audience shocked, surprised and in suspense. The tension of waiting for when the shark attacks creates enigma.

Another technique used is on screen sound at 0.28 seconds. This is when you can see and hear where the sound is coming from. The on screen sound is the swinging lantern in the boat, we can not only see it, but also hear it. The fact that we can only hear that shows that there is a element of silence and the sound is like an old creaky noise. Silence and old noises are conventional of a thriller film as it adds suspense to the audience. The audience will also wonder, once the noise stops, is something going to happen? Adding to the tension.

The final sound technique is a diegetic sound at 0.11 seconds. This is when we see the main character using dialogue to communicate with his shipmates. The purpose of using this dialogue is to pull the audience into a false sense of security. The characters talking normally connotes the fact that this could be an everyday situation. The audience can relate to this as it looks like a normal fishing trip. This can also bring the characters and the audience closer together. This technique used is conventional of a thriller as leading people into a false sense of security can create more of a fright and leaves the audience more in suspense.

This clip shows Parallel, non-diegetic, diegetic and on screen sounds to build an idea of a killer shark into one of the best thrillers of all time. I believe that without the sound in this film, it would not be were it is today as the sounds made in this film create unbelievable suspense. Jaws has showed me that you can create a really intense thriller film just through the sounds that you hear.
































Tuesday, 8 October 2013

Research into the history of thriller films. Mrs Georgiou

Thriller is a broad genre of literature, film, and television programming that uses suspense, tension and excitement as the main elements.Thrillers heavily stimulate the viewer's moods giving them a high level of anticipation, ultra-heightened expectation, uncertainty, surprise, anxiety and/or terror. Thriller films tend to be adrenaline-rushing, gritty, rousing and fast-paced.
A thriller provides the sudden rush of emotions and excitement that drive the narrative, sometimes subtly with peaks and lulls, sometimes at a constant, breakneck pace thrills. It keeps the audience cliff-hanging at the "edge of their seats" as the plot builds towards a climax. Literary devices such as plot twists and cliffhangers are used extensively. A thriller is usually a villain-driven plot, whereby he or she presents obstacles that the protagonist must overcome. (wikipedia)
There has been a large number of famous thrillers throughout the years and this blog will describe how they have changed and what has been produced over the past 50 years.




The first main thriller film which was controversial at the time was Alfred Hitchcocks 1960 film 'psycho'  It was the first thriller film that really showed a murder scene in as much detail as possible for the time. Hitchcock used a number of techniques such as breaking the 180 degree rule, diagetic sound and iconography to create the thrilling murder scene. He managed to shock and surprise the audience leaving them in suspense. This was groundbreaking and really opened the floodgates to murder in thriller films.











In the next decade, directors started to realise that the audience liked to be scared. They wanted to be on the edge of their seat. This lead to more makeup being used to make something scary rather than the horror of killing someone. Williams Freikins 1973 hit 'The Exorcist' used two things to really entice the audience. He used award winning makeup and played on what people think are most scary. In this case the devil and how a child is possessed by the devil.










A short time afterwards, more groundbreaking movies were made such as the 1975 film 'jaws' by Stephen Spielberg. I feel he used 3 things to really push this film to the limit. The use of sound and blood like in psycho really put the audience on edge. Spielberg did not hold back with adding as much dramatic effects as possible. Another convention he used was using an idea that the audience can relate too. It was a fact that after the film came out, people were afraid to enter the ocean. It made people panic enough to think this actually could happen and he also used cutting edge technology for the time with a nine million dollar budget.









In 1980, Stanley Kubrick brought out 'The shining' This was a new direction for thriller films. This film proves that you don't need a real life situation or a lot of gore to keep the audience in suspense. This film was psychological and the director made the audience afraid of the character. The use on camera angles, iconography and mysteriousness created enigma among the audience and really opened up the playing field to future physiological thrillers.











The final film is Danny Boyle's 2002 film '28 days later' This film really represents modern day thrillers. Even though it is ten years old, thriller films have consisted of this material ever since because it works on the audience. It contains all the characteristics that stun the audience and scares them which leads them to wanting the small thrill over and over again. Some of the features you see in this film are the gore and urgency. It is based on a disease that makes people into zombies.








I will take all these films into consideration when making my own thriller film so i can have a greater understanding in how to really keep the audience on the edge of their seats. I will take the psycho's idea of murder, exorcist's idea of character, jaw's idea of real life situation, shining's idea of isolation and mentality and 28 days later's idea of urgency in a life or death situation. I have taken great inspiration from these films and they have really broadened my view of ideas I can use for my thriller. Looking at these I can also also estimate what people people want to see from a thriller. This leads me on to this table taken from wikipedia.

The first film on the list is Hannibal which was produced in 2001. This is part four in the Hannibal Lecter quadiology. Having escaped the asylum in "Silence of the Lambs," Dr Lecter goes into hiding in Florence, Italy. Back in America, Mason Verger, an old victim of the doctor's, seeks revenge. Disfigured and confined to a life-support system, he plans to draw Lecter out of his hiding place, using the one thing he truly cares for: Clarice Starling. (IMDB) This was the top grossing film because it was the sequel to the last top grossing film, silence of lambs 10 years earier if the audience loved the first movie then they would want to see a sequel.

Halfway down the list is the film seven which made 13,000,000 dollars in the first weekend. This is about two detectives, a rookie and a veteran, hunt a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as his modus operandi. (IMDB) The reason for this films success could be the star studded line up which includes Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman. Sometimes people are more likely to see a film depending on its cast.

Towards the bottom I see saw 3D. This film comes after a number of saw films and some say it is unsurprising to see it down there. The story line is As a deadly battle rages over Jigsaw's brutal legacy, a group of Jigsaw survivors gathers to seek the support of self-help guru and fellow survivor Bobby Dagen, a man whose own dark secrets unleash a new wave of terror. (IMDB) Looking at this, the plot looks old and shallow. This could be because they are running out of ideas. However earlier saws are ranked higher up the list because when it was fresh, it was an amazing idea for a thriller movie.