Our Shooting Schedule

This schedule will help us get us organised, in terms of meeting in the right places, at the right time, knowing exactly what shots need to be filmed on that particular day.

Teacher Assessment of Research Draft

Peer Assessment of Planning

character description

Alice:

She's a young girl in her early 20's, she has a good social life and goes out with friends often. Unfortunately she doesn't have a very good family life as when she moved out to find her own place she never made an effort to see them, eventually they got further and further apart until finally she stopped seeing them completely. She tends to make the wrong decisions and gets herself into trouble a lot of the time.

'Dead man':

A young business man in his late 20's who's proud of what he's achieved in life. He has a good career and is very focussed on his goals. He has a great family life but not such a good social life. This is because he lacked confidence in speaking to people throughout his childhood, making it extremely hard for him to make any friends.

props, costumes and locations

Props:


Here are a few ideas of some of the props we could use in our opening sequence. They include an old beaten up mobile phone, an old Bible and fake blood. These props would be suitable to use for a thriller as they could all relate to our story and emphasise an atmosphere of mystery to the audience.


Costume:
The dead man on the floor is wearing a black suit with blood on his shirt. This will help convey mystery to the sequence as the audience will question why the man's wearing a suit.

The girl will be wearing ripped blue jeans with blood smeared on them. She will also be wearing a white shirt with small tears in them. The audience will now think why the girls clothes are ripped and have blood on them.

Locations:
We are going to film in the St Nicholas car park in Sutton. We think this will be a good location to film in as it would be effective at creating a mysterious atmosphere for the audience. The audience will then question the significance of this setting.

These are the locations we will be using in our opening sequence. The first scene is the ST Nicholas car park in Sutton. We have chosen this location as not only does it fit in with the theme of our sequence but also because of the lighting and atmosphere it give the audience. The next location is my house. The front door will be shown in one of the shots with Alice trying to open it. The next shots re of my bathroom. Once Alice goes into the house she then goes into the bathroom to try and wash the blood off her hands.

Possible Title Fonts

Using Dafont, i began searching for title fonts that would look suitable for our opening sequence.
The majority of fonts i collected look quite distorted, which relates to the idea of the main characters
memory failing. I decided while looking through that i would collect a numeber of fonts from the typewriter
section in Dafont, i did this because i wanted the fonts to have a professional look, and some of the fonts
under other sections look somewhat unprofessional, with the titles matching each genre in the typical fashion, which i thought was too much of a cliche, e.g. a blood dripping font used for a horror film.





As a group we have decided that we will show our titles over actual footage rather than
showing them over a black background, as the sequence is only two minutes long, meaning
the sequence would be incredibly dull using this method. Although this method is interesting
as it creates the atmosphere for a film, through the use of the soundtrack, and the colour anf font
of the titles. However we will extract certain crew member responsibilities and mention them in
our sequence.




We feel as if this method is more appropriate, as it is alot more interesting for the audience
and gives the audience an idea and a feel for the film. This will allow us to create a sense of mystery
while introducing certain characters from our film. Some of the titles previously selected could be used here
while the titles showing the cast and crew and appearing in different shots. The positioning if the titles are also something to be considered. Personally i think we should have the cast and crew members appearing in the
corner of the screen in a simple typewriter font.

Animatic - Storyboard

list of props, costumes and locations

Props:


Here are a few ideas of some of the props we could use in our opening sequence. They include an old beaten up mobile phone, an old Bible and fake blood. These props would be suitable to use for a thriller as they could all relate to our story and emphasise an atmosphere of mystery to the audience.


Costume:
The dead man on the floor is wearing a black suit with blood on his shirt. This will help convey mystery to the sequence as the audience will question why the man's wearing a suit.

The girl will be wearing ripped blue jeans with blood smeared on them. She will also be wearing a white shirt with small tears in them. The audience will now think why the girls clothes are ripped and have blood on them.

Locations:
We are going to film in the St Nicholas car park in Sutton. We think this will be a good location to film in as it would be effective at creating a mysterious atmosphere for the audience. The audience will then question the significance of this setting.

The lighting in this shot makes this an effective location for our opening sequence as it's dark and would be a typical setting for a thriller.

The Cast!

How to make an avatar

I am the group director of camera shots, as-well as being the sound guy. I will be that main person behind the camera making sure everything is framed well and looks right for our genre. I am also working on the sounds and music to our film, researching and creating the music which will ultimately set the mood for our film.



How to make an avatar

Chris Pattwell is one of our actors and also behind the choices for our costumes and any props we may use. Costumes are very important as they need to link in with our genre and work well with what is happening in the opening sequence.



How do you make gifs

Grace Potton will be an actor in our film and also the overall editor. The editor is important for creating the final film and by making all the shots link and work together, she will have to make all the transitions work well in between our film so that they all flow continuously.

As a group we have all decided on the set of our film because we all have to be completely comfortable with where we are filming and the overall look to our opening sequence. Also we have all decided on the titles of our opening sequence and we still have to decided on the name of our film which will be a group decision.

Initial Planning

These videos show me drawing the illustrations in the story-board, matching the setting and the shot types shown in the shot list being created by chris.



This is a slideshow showing all the shots from our storyboard. This will help us know exactly what shots are needed for each scene, and how we should frame them.

Peer Asessment

shot list

These are the shots we will use. they include mid shots, close ups and over the shoulder shots. We have also included tracking and other camera movements.

Initital ideas for shots. Have now been altered

Sounds/Sound Effects

We are planning to use this sound effect when an extreme closeup is shown of the killers hand, as he underlines a passage in the bible, in his dark laire. I will eventually import this to Cubase and take a short segment of the audio, changing the tempo to sync with the footage we have collected.



This sound is perfect for the religious thriller genre we are using. These chants sound quite ominous and dark, while also sounding ancient, which is relevant to our bibliographical element. I will later import this into Cubase overlaying it over the other sounds, at points where it seems relevant.



I discovered this music while looking for a heavy panting sound and although it wasn't what I looking for I instantly made a note of the link, as i feel this sound is perfect for creating an eerie, unsettled atmosphere, and it fits the setting of a dark car park really well. This will later be incorporated over the other sounds to create a ominous soundtrack.



This is another example of a long, droning sound that could be used to create a tense, sinister atmosphere. This could be used during a scene, where the killer is looking at his victim, praying over her body. This sound will fit with the chanting really well, and will create a great scene.



I have decided to use this sound as i can manipulate it in Cubase, and take certain clashing notes of the piano, and increase their attack and volume making them catch the audience off guard at tense moments throughout the opening sequence

I am also planning to incorporate my own guitar tracks in which i will play sinister guitar chords and melodies to add some sounds in the higher register to my track, making the soundtrack nicely layered with different textures.

Audience Research 2

Film Synopsis

Stages of film synopsis on Prezi

Initial Ideas

We decided to film a thriller opening sequence, we discussed initial ideas that we had for a story-line, and we came up with the idea of a stalking scene, in which a character would be followed by an anonymous person through isolated, shadowed settings to create an eerie, uneasy atmosphere. as the stalker is hidden in the darkness. The girl is aware that she's being watched but she doesn't know where from. The stalker will never actually touch the girl, because the fear of the unknown makes the audience feel anxious, and also adds a sense of mystery. We are planning to use the car park in Sutton, during an evening so the setting is dark and cold, in which we will have a series of shots showing the anonymous stalker (Chris) following a girl (Grace), after this the story moves to the stalkers house where the sequence concludes.

The locations we are likely to use ...

Audience Research 1

This is the questionnaire i have created, in order to gain information about what people look for in an opening sequence of a thriller, so when the planning stages begin we can attempt to cater to everyone's expectations

Locations For Filming

When pondering locations, i had in mind a typical idea of what a dark thriller is supposed to offer, i walked into Gibson car park in Sutton as it was getting dark, the atmosphere was still and sinister making the audience uneasy and tense, which is the usual feeling created during a thriller. This was the first time i have ever gone through the car-park feeling uneasy, leading me to believe the time of day was the main factor in creating the eerie atmosphere, as the car-park was extremely low key in terms of lighting, and the little lighting there was, was very dim, creating deep shadowed areas. The time of day also meant everyone was leaving the car park, making the location look isolated. The shot of the stairs is also perfect, as it has the same lighting as the main car park. The position of the stairs also allows us to see behind whoever passes by them, allowing for some interesting shots of a character being followed perhaps.
I was leaving Sutton when i passed by this bridge. The bridge is another interesting location, as it looks dated and fractured, and is covered in graffiti, at a similar angle it also captures the old church in the background, perhaps an interesting shot could be filmed here opening the sequence.

Conventions of a thriller

Thriller Analysis 2

Thriller Analysis 2 on Prezi

Thriller Analysis 1

What Titles

What Does a Title Sequence Look Like

An opening/title sequence needs to grab the initial attention of the audience and keep their interest. During this time, the titles need to be displayed in an appropriate manner (font, font size, colour according to the genre). The conventions of an opening sequence are:

Frequent use of close-up shots as to not give too much away - used typically in thrillers - keeps the audience's interest/curiosity. Has the audience asking questions and wanting to watch on.

Titles show - Distributor logo - Production Company - Main Actors - Title of the film - Producer/Executive Producer - Important Production Roles (Costume designer/ cinematographer) - The Director.

Leave subtle clues for the audience. This allows them to try and figure out what the situation is for themselves, and to see whether they were right. In thrillers there is usually a twist that suprises the audience.

The title sequence is known to 'lead the audience by the hand into the rest of the film'. The main situation is set up and it grabs interest.

... a great example containing all these elements is shown below

Bridget Jones Diary Analysis

This film opens with  a mid shot Introducing our main character. We are able to connect with this character immediately as there has been no attempt to create mystery about her identity. There is no need in romantic comedies.


We are introduced to her through the use of a voice over, which gives us insight into the characters thoughts. There is then a use of still frame on our characters face suggesting she is obviously very important in the story

The shot then fades into an establishing shot showing Bridgets apartment, allowing the audience to create context. 

These titles begin appearing and we notice the font is a very feminine colour suggesting that this film will explore feminine issues. It is also a form of promotion for the distribution company.

We then see a series of shots presented using montage editing to present a passage of time over the course of a couple of shots, this is also a master-shot showing Bridget's apartment. It looks as if she is pointing at the title presenting her life, as that is the general idea of the film plot.

The Spiderwick Chronicles Analysis

GIFSoup

GIFSoup

GIFSoup

GIFSoup

GIFSoup

Wallander Opening Sequence

The first image is a typical shot of the genre. A close up shot used in a title sequence is used to create suspense and curiosity by limiting the amount the audience can see. This is shown whilst we hear unnerving music playing ominous notes on each scene change. This is also used to create a build tension and make the audience feel unsettled.

The second image reveals the setting. The mise-en-scene presents a vast rural location. There is a car in the middle of the shot, which grabs the audience's attention as it is unusual for a car to be parked in such a remote location. This makes the audience question why this car is placed here, and we start to assume something sinister has happened due to the music.

After the second ominous note is played, we are thrown from a great distance to ground level, where we are presented with two new characters. We can assume that these two females are teenagers from their costume and hairstyles. The girl on the right conforms to our typical ideas that we would associate with rebellious  punky teenagers. This contrasts the other girls costume suggesting that this other girl could have a negative influence on her actions. We also notice that the identity of this girls remains a mystery.

The third image is an extreme closeup of a man looking battered face down on a steering wheel, this confirms that these girls are responsible. The main focus of the image is the mans taxi licence and the blood spatter suggesting that these girls have attacked this man, but the audience doesn't know why.

The next shot reveals the girls identities. The punky girl is shown closest to the frame, while her accomplish is slightly out of focus, further away, this maybe a reflection of the girls position, and this suggests that this girl may of been led astray, and may not be doing this completely of her own free will. This is also reinforced by the punky girls cold expression and the other girls more concerned expression.

We are then shown another extreme close-up of this man, the camera focuses on his bruising and facial scarring which is very severe suggesting there was real intent behind this attack. It also focuses on the flicker of this mans eye, showing that he isn't dead but may be dying.

The next shot is a mid shot showing both the girls in clear focus. They are both breathing heavily suggesting that either there was a struggle or just that they are hyped up on adrenaline. We can also see that both girls have blood spatter on their faces, maybe they both attacked him.

We are then shown another closeup of the taxi drivers id, in which he doesn't look menacing or sadistic in any way, and this ID shows could represent the fact that this man didn't deserve what has happened to him, shows he is a person, and doesn't portray him as a criminal in any way.

We then see an extreme close-up of a knife being wielded by the punky girl, covered in the blood of this man, which leads us to the conclusion and confirmation that she has single-handedly attacked this man, and the audience just wants to know why.

Sixth Sense Opening Analysis

 The film opens with titles.
The titles are blue, contrasting the dark background. This eerie shade of blue has connotations of coldness and death. This matches the sinister music, and makes us as an audience feel unsettled, and worried for things to come.

The film fades in from black gradually and we are eventually left with this image. At first we as an audience struggle to see what we are faced with, until we begin to see the coil heating up. A closeup has been used allowing the audience to see that the bulb looks old and dim. Will this be reflected in this room?

 We are then presented with this shot, when we see the room for the first time, and we can distinguish this room as being the basement. The basement looks dirty and dark, this makes the audience feel nervous for this character. We can also see that this woman's dress contrasts the rest of the room which shows that she is out of her element, and shouldn't be there. This shot also suggests she is being watched from behind this shelf making us think this character isn't alone.

 The camera then cranes down to show this character searching for a specific bottle of wine, she is searching quickly suggesting that she is feeling on edge in her current predicament, this is then reinforced when we see her sigh after finding the right bottle. She feels hurried and wants to leave as quick as possible.

 The camera then slowly tracks into the characters face creating tension. We also see her facial expression change completely, we are certain that this character feels uncomfortable, and this suggests that something maybe behind this character.

 This then links seamlessly into this shot, this long-shot shows our character feeling cagey and uncomfortable, we see this in her body language. The framing of this shot is incredibly well constructed, as the shadow looks as if it is a separate entity, the shadows of the window also form a bar like structure around the silhouette suggesting she has no escape.

 This is another long-shot framed behind a set of stairs, suggesting she is still being watched ans stalked. This shot also allows us to see more of her environment. This use of long-shot also makes our character look venerable and isolated.

Our character shivers and heads towards the stairs, we see that our character is wearing heels, this makes us feel anxious, as our character is unable to get out of the basement quickly, leaving her vulnerable to whatever is down there with her.