Rough Cut - Miss Georgiou

Chloe Eustace

Rough Cut

'The Hunted' - Original Rough Cut

Below is the Rough cut that we created as part of our group, we uploaded this opening sequence to YouTube in order to get some comments from people so that we can decided what we should make better.

Introduction

Audience feedback is important to a production that is created because it is important for a production creator to have listened to their audience and what it is that they want out of film or scene, and the best way to do this is to show people the rough cut of your film or scene and then get honest feedback from people in a variety of differently ways. This allows time for the production company to take other peoples view into consideration and re develop certain points of the film or re edit where their audience thinks is necessary, in turn creating the best film or scene for a variety of different audiences

I received feedback from my rough cut by uploading the video to YouTube in order to get some honest feedback and comments from people I don't know so that I can take their ideas and thoughts in order to make my thriller production better. I also received feedback from other people in the class by showing it to a group of 20 people and had them give some feedback and their thoughts. The feedback from them was good and useful because I took there feedback and made sure that I made them improvements to my rough cut as long as it fitted because I have a key interest in the audience thoughts and opinions. I could have provided questionnaires to people because this would have been another way to get some honest feedback, and ideas from other people to make my production better that I may not have originally thought about.

Positive Comments

Storyline: Most people said that the storyline was easy to follow and that it was obvious from our thriller opening sequence that the main script was that the girl was being hunted and that something bad was going to happen.

Setting: There was a comment to us on the setting and how it was a good place to choose in order to create and opening sequence. It was a good setting because it is creepy, dark and in a forest, this is conventional to a thriller film and creates tension and enigma for the audience keeping them hooked to the opening sequence and want to watch the rest of the film.

Camera Angles: There was a comment that noted that the variety of Camera angles that we used were good. We didn’t just use the simple zoom in and zoom out, because we used panning of the character and a variety of point of view shots as well as the use within most of the thriller opening sequence was handheld. Handheld is the most difficult camera angle to use because it can be hard to keep it steady and difficult to get the whole shot. We used a variety of two shots and different actual angles to include all the characters and get a good look at setting in the scene.

Negative Comments

Sound: When we created our rough cut ready for the general public to see we had a lack of sound within our production, and we knew that we needed to add it in for our final sequence. The comment included that it might not be tense enough music to create the enigma that is needed for a conventional thriller sequence, and there was a lack of sound in general. To improve from this comment we will try to find some better music that will get the best sound and tension hooking the audience making it conventional enough for a thriller film. Then we will add some more effective sounds to the back ground such as small 10 second sounds to get the attention of the audience but at the same time keeping it conventional. There was also a lot of issues with the background sound, as the day we filmed was very windy it made it difficult to hear what the characters are saying and made it a lot harder to edit sound into it, this is why when we come to finishing off our final production and seeing as we were to re film some shots we will make sure that there is less background noise so that it makes it conventional for the audience later on. The sound of the wind makes it difficult for the audience to want to watch the opening sequnce as it is hard to understand and for the audience to build a relationship with a character on the screen if they can t understand and engage with what they are saying.  

Brightness: There was a number of comments judging the way that the shots were too dark, the lighting was too natural as a lot of the shots near to the end of the thriller sequence were so dark that the characters could only barely be seen. From this comment our group discussed it and decided that it would be best to re film some shots because they were just too dark for an audience to see and made it difficult to get the end of the storyline before it jumps into the main film. We also found that some of our shots we could edit so that there was some more natural lighting. I found it useful to change some of the contrast, brightness and colour in order to get the best result. From starting to re edit based on these comments I have found that I could change the contrast to make the shot brighter and add a little bit more coloir to the scene, but even when I did this it was still difficult to see everything that is going on in the scene because the shot is too dark. This was when we decided that we needed to re film the shot in order to get the best outcome and an opening sequence that would be easy for an audience to undertand.

Editing: When we edited our thriller originally we didn’t use any other visual effect other than a jump cut, and this was something that was touched upon from our audience because there wasn’t enough tension created for the audience to want to continue watching and it didn’t really draw an audience in. From this comment we will take it forward to our final production and try to add more creative and not just that but make the jumps from shot to shot realistic and fit in with the film. In our rough cut there is some shots where at the end of it the screen just goes black and doesnt have anything to do with the storyline. This makes it boring for an audience and it also makes it hard for it to make sense thus not getting accross to the auidnece the enigma and tension that a thriller opening sequence should.

Conclusion

This feedback will benefit my production because all of the constructive criticism that I have received will help me to edit what needs to be changed or what hasn’t quite gone to plan. A rough cut of a film is important because listening to other people’s opinions is the best way to make our production better. We discussed as a group some of the comments that we recieved on our thriller sequnce but we had already discussed with other people about how it wasnt conventional enough and how some of the shots werent working. Going back to some of the comments that we recieved on how dark the shots are we decided to chnage a lot of the scenes but still trying to keep the same stroyline. We will change the location but it will be the same setting, we have changed the loacation to a more conventional darker but lighter forest with more trees to make it look different but still try to keep some the same. The rough cut we found wasn't very good, looking back from filming and editing there was a lot that we could have done better so we will change quite a lot from our rough cut now to our final production.



Production - Miss Miller

Chloe Eustace

Production

Introduction

People as apart of the production team need specific roles as other wise if all the roles were left to the Director then there would be too much of them to do and it would effect the way the film comes out. The roles that are assigned need to be specific for that person because its no use having the Director of Cinematography being someone who can't use a camera. It is best that there is on person for each specific role because then they can produce what they need to to there best ability for instance being just the Hair and make up designer and co coordinator then they will have there full focus on the design of that and it will look good within our opening sequence. 

Producer: Miranda Simpson

Miranda decided that she wanted to be the producer and she did a good job at being the producer as we were editing and helped to make important decisions such as editing, music and what we want the final product to look like.

Director: Elizabeth Lawrie

We also decided as a group that it would be best for Lizzie to be the Director as she enjoys the role of organising everyone and telling them how to do it. She was good at this role when we were filming because she arranged all the actors into the scenes and made sure that they were in the right place for the frames so that we could get on with them quickly instead of wasting time arguing. 

Actors: Molly Johnson, Amy Durrance and James Myers

Our actresses were friends of ours that had a key interest in Drama themselves which is why the volunteered to by in our thriller sequence to get a bit of practise in. Amy played our main victim (Gemma) who was murdered first in the forest by our antagonist who was played by James and then our second victim who was present in the car with Gemmas was played by Molly (Holly) when we were filming our thriller opening sequence they were good as they listened and played the frames as best they could to make the thriller more tense.

Director of Photography: Chloe Eustace

I volunteered myself for the role of Director of Photography because I have experience in using cameras and getting a good shot, as does Lizzie but we decided it would be best if I was in charge of the cinematography. We decided as a group that it would be best for someone who knows how to use the camera to be in charge of filming as then it will be easier whilst filming because I would know what to do. This will be good when filming as it will cause less arguments if the person who is charge of the Camera and knows how to use it. I did well at organising the shots whole were filming as I managed to get all the shots that I need for the opening sequence and got a variety of different angles ready for editing. 

Music Producer: Miranda Simpson

Miranda volunteered to be the Music producer as she said that she has a keen interest in music and wanted to find the best music for the thriller so that it would be as conventional as possible. She was in charge of downloading the music and making sure that it fit in well to the scene whist Lizzie and I made sure as well that it would still make the thriller opening sequence conventional.

Screen Play Writer: Chloe Eustace

We decided that I would would be the screen play writer as I enjoy writing for key roles and enjoy the writing side to things in general. I managed to write a script that would be a thriller with the help from Lizzie and Miranda, I just had to produce the final product.

MES Co coordinator: Elizabeth Lawrie

We decided as a group that it would be best for Lizzie to be in charge of Mise - En - Scene as she found the location for us to film and has a keen interest for organising and making sure that costumes and hair are in order. It was best for her to be in charge of this as I nor Miranda have any interest in arranging people and getting things for each shot organised. 

Editor: Elizabeth Lawrie

We decided on Lizzie for the Directing Editor as when we researched opening credits and created our own she was good at creating them and then volunteered herself to be the Editor.  We will all have a role in editing the shots as we all need to include our opinion so that we can get the best opening sequence that is conventional, but we decided on Lizzie as the main editor so that we have someone to make the final decision on the editing and hoe the opening sequence is finished. 

Conclusion

In conclusion we decided on these roles in peoples best interest and roles that would be good for the film, we didn't want to ruin filming so we needed to make sure that each person who had a role could follow through with it other wise it might effect the outcome of our final opening sequence. During filming we took to these roles well and it made it easy then to get the shots that we need because everyone stuck to what they can do well and this caused less arguments or tension whilst filming and editing to produce our final product. We could have changed some roles around because although some people had experience with different roles we found that other people could do that role better anyway. This would have been something that we could have practised a few more times while filming practise so that we could see how people reacted within there roles before we filmed completely. 

Opening Scene Narration - Miss Miller

Chloe Eustace

Opening Scene Narration

Introduction

Group Narrative Overview 'The Hunted":  "The narrative would include two girls on the way to a party, who had been being followed by someone, and they didn't really notice, so when they break down on the way to the party the stalker is behind them, which creates tension for the audience and dramatic irony because the audience know that they are being followed but the characters (girls themselves: Holly is the driver and the story bases around her. Gemma dies in the car from the stalker) are unaware of this. One of the girls gets out of the car and wanders off away from the forest to get signal, and the other girl stays behind which is when she gets murdered by the unknown stalker who has a hidden identity. The setting is in an abandoned street where there is no one around in the middle of the forest." 

We have decided as a group on our final opening scene and below is the full story narration done described frame by frame with the Micro Elements discussed in detail and how our thriller film opening sequence will come together. 

Frame 1: The Opening sequence begins when the girls are in the car and they are on there way to a party, all seems well while the sound being used in this scene is them singing and having upbeat music playing as they are excited which is on - screen sound. The camera angle that will be used is a long shot to see them in the car and see them singing. Editing that we will use for most frames at the moment to make them most effective is a jump cut. The iconography that will be used in this scene is a simply just the car.

Frame 2: The car breaks down on the road as the girls are in the car and they are driving to a party and the car comes to a halt in the road. The camera angle will be panning as the camera follows the car as we see it come to a halt. The sound that we decided that would be useful in this frame is the sound of the car engine breaking down. 

Frame 3: Zooming in to the car as they are sitting on the two front seats now moaning that the engine has broken down, they are annoyed about this now. The setting is in an abandoned forest and they are in the middle of an abandoned road where there is no signal so they can't call for help. The lighting that will be used in most of the frames of this narrative is Low Key Lighting. The sound in this frame again is on screen sound because the music plays briefly and the it stops executing silence. 

Frame 4: The antagonist is watching the car stop from the forest and is watching the girls in general from the forest as they get out of the car and start complaining. There is no iconography used particularly within this opening sequence until the end other than that it is just a car. This shot will be taken from the antagonists point of view meaning that it will be a Point Of View shot from his perspective as he is watching the girls. Sound that will be used in this frame is the sound of heavy breathing over the camera as the antagonist stands there watching trying to plot what he is going to do next. 

Frame 5&6: This is another frame that will be a pom but its a zooming out of the Gemma as she leaves the car and tells Holly that she's going to go and see whats around and see if she can get some phone signal, she actually walks into the forest behind her. Props and iconography in this frame will include her phone and the fact that the setting is in the forest. The whole opening sequence the two main victims Gemma and Holly will be wearing party clothes as they were supposed to be going to a party. The lighting that will be used is Low key and again there will be a jump cut from Gemma in frame 5 to Holly who is waiting by the car in Frame 6.Frame 6 is much the same however there will be a mid shot of Holly standing by the car which is why there will be a jump cut because it shows a completely different side of Holly to how Gemma is. Holly is left by herself at the car while she waits for Gemma to come back at to the car. Most of the sound in these two scenes are silence as this creates tension and it represents the scene. 

Frame 7: Again in this Frame the camera will be a Point of View shot again from the antagonist. Most of the shots that are Point of view from the antagonist will be followed by a jump cut to the victims themselves. This is where Gemma walks towards a house hat she can see as she is desperate to get some help for them. The antagonist follows her but she is unaware of this at this point. The lighting is Low Key and there is again no iconography. The sounds that can be heard is off screen sound as the audience can hear the sound of walking and crunching leaves as can Gemma but it can't be seen on camera. 

Frame 8: Gemma knocks on the door but there is no response which freaks her out as she is scared and vulnerable in the forest on her own and essentially realises that she has got herself lost in the forest. The sound in this frame is on screen sound as you can hear her knocking on the door of the house and then there is silence as nobody answers the door to her. The camera angle here is a close up of the door and Gemma knocking. The location is obviously in the forest  and the lighting again is just Dark and Low Key Lighting. 

Frame 9:  This scene is a Point of View shot in the forest where Gemma is walking through the forest looking for somewhere to get help and actually she is being watched by the antagonist whichis why it is a Point of View shot. The lighting in the frame is Dark and low key lighting. The charcters in the frame is is just Gemma but also there is the fact that the antagaionist is in contol of the camera as he is watching her. There is diegetic sound that is Gemma walking through the forest but also the antagonists loud breatheing and the cruching of leaves. This is also parrallel sound because it is sound that you expect to hear within a thriller opening sequnce.

Frame 10&11&12: Within this frame the camera angle that is being used is again a Point of View shot that is the antagonist and he is filming his feet through the forest to show the audience and I guess to make them aware that it is from his Point of View. The setting again is the forest, and there is the crunching sound of leaves again for diegetic. Editing we decided on for this frame is a jump cut to frame 11 and a jump cut from frame 10 to 11. Again frame 11 and 12 is a point of view shot as well as this is just the antagonist watching Gemma as she goes through the forest and is looking for somewhere to get phone signal and get help, the antagonist is followibng her secretwely because he can see that she is vulnerable on her own. The costume through this frame is her in her party clothes, and they start to look a bit scruffy as they stay in the forest for a while panicing, there us use of natural lighting and the antagonist chases Gemma through the scene.

Frame 13: This frame establishes a shallow focus on holly while she is back at the car meaning that the rest of the scene and background behind her is blurred out, because this gives the scene mor affect and allows the audience to be focusing on just her emotions and what she is doing within the frame. The sound is parrallel as it is silent and there maybe some use of non-diegetic sound as we may add in some music that will make the scene more tense and attract the audiences attention.

Frame 14: This frame is much like frame 10 as the antagonist is again following Gemma through the forest as she goes to knok on the door of an abandoned house she has found, and hopes that there may be people in there that can help her. The lighting is loq key again and the setting is now in the forest where there is an abandoned house. The camera shot again is a Point of View shot from the perspective of the unknown anatagonist, and there is the sound of the4 antagonists breathing and cruching of the leaves. Editing that we will use again is probably a jump cut because the next frame the scene jumps back to the car where Holly is standing and Waiting for Gemma to come back.

Frame 15: Within this frame there is a midhsot back to where holly is at the car and she screams Gemmas name hoping that she is okay and is coming back. The light here is very dark to create tension and the location being the abandoned roasd as she wanders up it. The Mise-en-scene included within this frame is the setting which is in the forest and the lighting as is most of the sequcne is low key lighting and the costume and hair and make up again is the same as the rest of the frames where the two girls are dressed in appopriate clothes to go to a party.

Frame 16: In this frame the camera is focused on Gemma and and blurs the background showing the house behind her and this gives the audience a clue that something bad is probably going to happen. The setting again is in the forest as with the whole sequence and the lighting is natural and making the sound diegetic sound as there is dead silence to build the tension for the audience to build a relationship with the character as the charcater Gemma is vulnerable and scared at this point.

Frame 17&18: This camera shot for this frame is a longshot as the whole forest is being shown and there is cruching of the leaves and the sound of the antagoist walking away however he cant tbe seen at this point. There is iconography of a knife within this scene because the antagonist has already murdered her and he is walking away, the audience can see the knife on the ground. The antagonist walks out of the settuibng of the froest leavibng Gemma dead on the floor however the only thing that the audience can see is Gemma on the floor. Frame 18 is much tthe same however all we can see is the antagonist walking off and away from the scene this being the first time that the audience has seen him because he has an hidden identity within the sequince until the end. The iconography again is a knife and the costume that the antagonist is wearing is dark clothes that mkakes the character look suspicious to the audience.

Frame 19&21: These two frames consist of the camera zooming out from the scene still leaving the antagonist walking away and Gemma still dead on the floor. Frame 21 includes a shot of Holly wandering into the forest shouting out Gemmas name and freaking out herself after she heard Gemmas screams, and now the audience will know from the zooming out that something bad will happen to her too even though it doesnt happen during the opening sequnce.

Risk Assessment - Miss Georgiou

Chloe Eustace

Risk Assessment

Introduction

It is important to include and consider risks before filming that might be a problem whilst we are filming so that we can pin point any hazard that may be a problem, it will be able to assist us while we are filming so that we will be able to prevent this hazard before it becomes a problem whilst we are trying to film. This makes it easier for us when we are filming so that there are little problems and that we can film uninterrupted by issues or problems that we hadnt considered before hand. A risk assessment also indicates and helps us to keep everyone while we are filming safe. 

We decided on some examples of risks that may become a problem while filming such as the fact that we are filming at night in the dark in the forest so we quickly realised that it will be dark so we are going to need extra sources of light in order to make the thriller work as we know that we need to film in the dark to make it conventional. So from this we spoke about it and realised that we need to bring extra torches and lights. We also considered the weather as it may likely rain, and so it could be a problem but we decided to obviously make sure that we have umbrellas and stuff with us and if it gets to rainy then we may have to come back the following day. We are using a knife when we are filming so we decided that we need to take extra care and make sure that nothing happens. 

Conclusion

In conclusion this risk assessment was very important so that we could discuss what would be useful to prepare for and any envent that may happen that could be dangerous or interrupt filming. 

 

Filming Schedule - Miss Georgiou

Chloe Eustace

Filming Schedule

Introduction

We created a filming schedule as a group because it is a good time to get to discuss together who we are going to make the scenes, when and where we are going to get the scenes. The purpose in a filming schedule is so that you know exactly what you are going to do when you go to the location that you are going to we will know exactly what to do and there won't be any messing around, it means that everything will be organised for us and we will be able to capture the frames that we need. 

The filming schedule was very useful for us while we were filming our thriller opening sequence because it was easy to follow and helped us see what would be needed for each scene or frame as it was very similar to our storyboard except the fact that we included the date we were filming each scene. It helped us a lot because we included the characters, equipment and costumes that were needed and this helped us to easily get everyone that we needed in each scene be organised quickly and allowed us to get the shots easily that we needed to films 


Conclusion

In conclusion we have created a filming schedule as a group and this has helped because we have included information on this schedule such as the camera angles, location, date of filming, actors that will be required and anyone else who will be required, iconography that will be required for the shots and equipment that we will need in the scenes. 

Group Storyboards - Miss Miller

Chloe Eustace

Group Storyboards

Introduction

Group story boards are needed when creating any kind or type of film sequence because the purpose of them is to have a story line to follow. These story lines are important because if there isn't a story line to follow then when it comes to filming then it makes it extremely difficult and hard to know what you are trying to shoot and who will be in which shot at what time. We created our own individual storyboards and then as a group we collaborated on all of our ideas and frames and took the best ones to include into our opening sequence. Within our group storyboard we added all the relevant information such as the camera angles and shots that we are going to use for each frame, the characters that are going to be in the frame and a brief description of what these characters are going to do and a brief overview and summery of how it will be done. We collaborated our ideas and we found that by reading and looking at each others individual storyboards that we needed to change and tweak the ideas that we had come up with in order to fit into the frames and make sense to our opening sequence. 

Example: Frame 1

We decided for the first frame that we would have a Panning shot of the car as it comes to a stop however we decided that we may need to change this frame to later on in the opening sequence. We decided that the location needs to be in the forest because this is the main setting for the opening sequence. We discussed the different lightings that we can use for filming and realised that we need to make sure that we have enough light to be able to get the most accurate shot, which is why we went for low key lighting so that we can still get the effect of the dark in order to make the sequence conventional but also so that it is light enough that we can actually see the characters in the dark. The sound that we decided that will be used for this frame was the sound of the car coming to a halt and then it stops and there is silence to create tension so that this music is conventional. This sound is parallel sound as there is sound about to be used that is something that you would expect, in a tense moment you would expect there to be silence and little sound. The narrative that we decide on that would be good for this frame is the car breaking down and coming to a stop. 


Frame 8


Frame: 10

Frame:16

You have provided a minimal analysis of your group’s storyboard, explaining some of what your sequence will consist of and how you hope the audience will react to it.

You need to:
1) Pick three specific examples of micro-elements used from each group member’s individual storyboard in the sequence that you feel are the most significant - do a detailed PEER analysis of these
2) Say what thrillers you, as a group, have taken inspirations from and why - where is this evident in your storyboard?
3) Elaborate on everything









Example: Frame 20


This is the final frame that we decided on so that the opening thriller sequence finishes and fades out leaving the enigma that is destined for the thriller genre. The camera shot that I decided to use was zooming out because this shows the audience the whole scene at the end as it is fading out and shows the antagoist walking away from behind and showing the body that is dead on the ground.
















Conclusion 

In conclusion there is a need for a storyboard within the group because it allows the group to know whats going to happen and who and what needs to be in the frame or the scene. Creating this has helped us come together collectively as a group and has allowed us to easily put the frames together to make sure that we are all in agreement of what we are going to do when we film. 

Individual Storyboards - Miss Miller

Chloe Eustace

Individual Storyboards

Introduction

Storyboards are important for the creation of any film. If there's no storyboard then it makes filming and capturing shots on set or at a location extremely difficult. The creation of a storyboard normally includes the camera angles that are to be used for each shot and how many seconds long roughly they should be. On the storyboards that I have created I have included the camera angles of the scenes, the characters that will need to be in the scene, the sounds that may be used in the scene in order to create effect, any possible editing techniques that I may decided to use or may fit best when the scene is filmed and a brief overview of the story line and what the next scene will lead into. These are all important things to include in a storyboard so that those filming, meaning the actors, cameras, directors etc... know exactly where there going and can have a rough idea of what may happen next.

I decided on the frames to the right and left, there are 5 pages and each page contains 4 completed frames that could be used for filming our thriller opening sequence.

As a group we have created individual storyboards consisting of 20 individual different frames which include 20 individual and different shots, but later on we will come together as a group collectively in order to create a group storyboard and be able to know as a group what will happen in each scene. It is important for us to create our own individual storyboards first because it gives us a chance individually to decide how we may want the film to go or how we may want the scenes to look like. This is something that I have done and have linked back and realised the inspirations from previous research that I have done before the planning and these inspirations have helped me to understand how I want to or am going to create my own thriller film opening sequence.

Example 1: Frame 1

One of the first scenes that I drew into my storyboard, was the scene where the two girls are in the car, and they are driving to the party. This already gives the audience a false sense of what the films going to be like, as these two girls are singing to an upbeat tune and are excited to be going to this party. The camera shot that I decided would best display this for our thriller opening sequence is a midshot from the view of the front or the car. The main location of this scene is an abandoned road near the forest and this shot should last about 5 seconds. The whole opening sequence together will last 2-3 minutes and so the first shot could be slightly longer to create tension to the audience. For this I took my inspirations from my research into sound where I researched a scene from scream and there was all parallel sound in it which is where there is sound that is conventional of that genre and of what is happening on screen and then I decided that to create tension with sound it would be best for us to start with a sound that may be considered unconventional to a thriller genre which is why I decided to go with upbeat music for this frame as it gives the audience a false sense of security and builds tension already and makes them wonder what might happen next.

Example 2: Frame 7

This example is from frame 7 which I decided would be the introduction of the antagonist even though this specific antagonist in our thriller opening sequence isn't actually seen, but the audience do see the what the antagonist sees so they can build a relationship with him from that. This is conventional to the thriller genre because an unknown identity can create mystery for the audience and make them want to know who he is and what his intentions are. Other things that I included in this frame again was the location being set in the forest as this is where our scenes are mainly set, as well as the lighting be natural and low key so that it creates tension to the opening sequence. My importations for this scene was when I researched opening sequences and took this idea from 'Halloween's as they had a hidden identity of the antagonist in the opening sequence. I found that this created tension and left the audience with lots of questions and wondering what his motives were which is conventional and why I wanted and decided it would be a good idea to use this idea.

Example 3: Frame 11

Frame 11 uses the camera angle of a long shot, I decided on this because it crease a sense of tension how in this instance the camera is looking at Holly one of the victims who has been abandoned by her friend and she is now inevitably vulnerable and the audience know and can sense this by a long shot as it shows all her body movements, such as how she is standing and how she is looking. Other things that are conventional to the thriller genre I have decided to include into this frame which will probably last about 5 seconds as it is just supposed to be a glance at her. The inspiration for this frame was when I did my research into editing styles as at this point I want there to be a jump cut from her friend in the woods scared and then jump to her where she is scared. The inspirations from this was a scene from 'Saw' where there was a variety of jump cuts throughout the scene for emphasis that it was a thriller scene.

Example 4: Frame 20

 This is the final frame that I decided on so that the opening thriller sequence finishes and fades out leaving the enigma that is destined for the thriller genre. The camera shot that I decided to use was zooming out because this shows the audience the whole scene at the end as it is fading out and shows the antagoist walking away from behind and showing the body that is dead on the ground. Inspirations that I took to come up with this idea was from when I did my research into Mise -en - scene which I analysed a clip from American Psycho and he used a conventional weapon but one of which may not be simple as he used a chainsaw. I decided then that I wanted to use s weapon that was conventional and got across to the audience that this is a from the thriller genre but I also wanted to make it simple to the audience thinking about our target audience.


PEER: INCLUDE HOW THE AUDIENCE CAN/WILL/WILL NOT BUILD A RELATIONSHIP WITH THE FILM/ CHARACTERS.

Conclusion

In conclusion I think that my storyboard is good and that it is detailed, I am confident enough that I could use this storyboard now and create a thriller film opening sequence. I think that I have included all the elements that I need too in order to finish my thriller daily. I have made sure that in my storyboards I included the things that were necessary such as the sound that I would use, the characters that I will need to include for each frame and each shot and how long averagely each frame will last. I could improve on my storyboard by including more specific sounds and creations as well as making the pictures on my storyboard more creative. I also believe that I could do with including and thinking more deeply about editing styles so that when it does come to editing I would know exactly what I would do. I could also improve on my storyboard by having made more specific timings for the frames so I know when it comes to filming exactly how long it will last. I will consider all these things a lot when we come to creating our storyboard as a group and make sure that these things are more specific overall. 

Planning Opening Credits - Miss Georgiou

Planning Credits

Introduction

The purpose of having opening credits in an opening sequence to a thriller film is because it tells the audience who the main cast is and how important they are to the film in order of appearance. They also allow you to see the director, editors, costume and set designers in the credits as well as the production company and most importantly the title of the film. The purpose of credits within a thriller opening sequence can also be to introduce the mood/style of the film. The credits are also there to give you a sense of the film because the fonts and colours that are used for opening credits may tell you that you are watching a thriller film. For example if there is a creepy text/font used and the colour of it is red and was the name of the staring actor then it gives you a feel for the fact that this is a thriller film because creepy text says thriller and the colour red represents blood and death. 

Opening Credits Analysis

There was a number of colours used within the credits of the opening sequence to Se7ven not just the fonts and credits styles but within the back grounds to give the audience an overall view and sense of the film and helps them to understand what genre the film is. Colours for the font of the credits were white, and the colour white is conventional to a thriller film because it can represent death but also mystery. Within the opening credits there was only one character and only what he was doing was seen and so the colour white really helped within this to create the mystery to the audience as to who this charter is and what their motives are, this helps to draw the audiences attention and keep them hooked to the rest of the film from the enigma that the font in the opening credits has helped to displace. The font itself looks to the audience like it was written by someone and so that makes the audience why it was written by someone. The someone was probably the character that was shown in the scene as he was reading and flicking through a book. This shows again that there is some mystery to this character and has some intentions that he audience isn't sure about. There is through the opening credits flashes of red which can represent and signify blood, danger or death to the audience and they are already concerned about the fate of any character that he goes near. This is conventional to the thriller genre because there is typically representations of death within most thriller films, and this representation helps to draw the audiences attention to the thriller sequence. The style of the credits were created so that they were creepy. The credits role off of each other and fade into the next credit. This may represent the fact that the antagonist that we see in this opening sequence is unstable, or has some sort of mental health issue. This is conventional to the thriller genre because there is usually a character who is unstable or who has motives that the audience wouldn't expect from them. As a part of the opening credits we can see that that the main antagonist is a bit twisted or possibly unstable, this is conventional to the thriller genre because threre is normally ot tends to be an antagonist who is a bit twisted or had some sort of psycological.

There is a use of a number of conventions in this opening sequence. There is Low key lighting and shadows used within this opening sequnce. As the scene starts there is low key lighting surrounding the book that he is looking through, this shows straight away the genre of this film to the audience of which is the thriller genre. There is also to do with the low ke lighting a lot of dark shadows, the shadows are used in this opening sequence because it creates a scary and reery tone, to he rest of the sequnce and helps to draw the audiene in. By there being shadows, it creates nystery for the audience and creates questions an enigma to the audience as to why there is shadows, maybe there is more than one person, or antaginist that isnt known about. This helps the audience to build a relationship with the antagonist is he is mysterious and the audience want to find our more about him and his possible intentions. Other conventions that were used within this opening thriller sequense was a small glimpse of blood, this obviously is conventional to the thriller genre because there is always blood, and blood signifies death within thriller films. This helps the audience to build a relationship with this person of whom we assume is the antagonist because blood means represents death and that makes the auidnce wonder then who he wil murder or who will or might possibly die and so this creates enigma for the audience and keeps them hooked to the rest of the film. Another convention used in this opening thriller sequnce was iconography, there was a sense that weapons are relevent or will be relevent in this film because there is a number of potential weapons seen throughout the sequense such as a needle and knives. This is conventional to the thriller genre because there is always a weapon used to attract the audiences attention. The use of weapons helps the audience to build a relationship with the character in this case most likely to be the antagonist, we can build a relationship with them because weaopns make the audience realise that he is porbably going to kill someone in the rest of the film and so alreadyt the audience are feeling sorry for the victims even though we havnt met them yet.

The credits appear in this thriller opening sequnce in a specific order as do the open sequense to all films. There is a specifc order tends to be chronological order because it tells the audience who is relevent within the film such as the main actors and to give credit to the director and other people who helped to make the film. In this specific thriller opening sequence the order includes the Director who is considered the most important in the making of the film and then shows the main actors in order of importance and apperance, and then the title. The title is one of the most important things to do with a opening sequense because when you see it and how it is presented and it represents the genre of the film, in this instance the title is written in cript like it had been written by a pencil and this makes the audience know and understand straight away that it is a thriller film. Then there is the rest of the credits, again in chronological order of appearance and then there is the casting, music and costume editors. This normally would be the end of the credits towards the end of the sequense but the Director puts his own name in to the credits again at the end.

Credits for our Opening Sequence

My group members and I, we separately created our own credits with the fonts, texts and colours that we think would be good and then we have looked at then we will look at them together in order to see who's is the best and if it will fit into our thriller opening sequence.

My Credits idea

When I created my opening credits I made sure that they were reflective of the thriller genre and that they would be as conventional as possible to the thriller genre and that they would fit in well to our thriller opening sequence.  Some strengths of my design is that it has the bold letters in capitals of the title and so this is important because it is conventuals and reflects the thriller genre. Another strength is that it is the colour white the text which represents to the audience mystery and wonder and leaves a lot of questions open to the rest of the film. A weakness and something to improve on is the way that these credits of mine fade into the screen as they are boring and would be to the audience and doesn't reflect very much the thriller genre. 

Lizzie's Credits Idea

Again with Lizzie's credits they are conventional because the font is creepy looking which also reflects the thriller genre and helps the audience to get an understanding of the type of film that we are trying to portray to them. The text colour that she has used was a good idea because it is the colour white and this reflects the thriller genre because there is mystery created to the audience and a large sense of enigma which is conventional to the thriller films and the thriller genre. The credits are also written in a creepy font which makes the audience want to know why this film is or why it may be creepy, it also helps to make the audience aware of what type of film it is as in this case it is the thriller genre. To improve I think that another colour needs to be added to make it more conventional and more interesting to the audience to help them get hooked. Some weaknesses of this credit idea again much like mine is that the way that the roll and fade into the screen need to be more conventional and attractive to the audience, in order to want to keep them hooked to the thriller sequence. 

Mirandas Credits Idea

Positives about Miranda's credits is again that the font is written in the colour white. The colour white is a good colour to use for the opening credits because it shows mystery and makes the audience wonder why it is mysterious. This is good because it makes the audience want to continue watching and makes them want to know whats going to happen so conventionally it will provide the audience with a sense of enigma and leave them with a load of questions about the film as they start watching the film. Things that we could improve on for these ideas of opening credits is that she could add some colour to the credits, not in order to make it look pretty but in order for there to be something else for the audience to cling onto and make them wonder whats going to happen. Black would not be a good idea even though it signifies death but however the opening sequence will be dark any way. Colours that i would suggest using so that it is still conventional is red as this represent blood and seeing as someone in our opening sequence does die and that there will be blood it will make the audience wonder and it will give a clue to the audience as to what may happen. 

Conclusion 

In conclusion we have decided as a group to work on Lizzie's credits because they were the most conventional and we decided that they would fit well into our opening sequence and be conventional. We have considered what our opening credits will include and they include the directors name, which inevitably is the most important to a thriller opening sequence and also then there would be the main cast and characters in order of appearance in our opening sequence. We will then include other credits such as hair and make up as well as music and other key people who deserve credit within our thriller film opening sequence. The most important thing for us to work on as a group is the title credit because it is important for the audience to see this as they need to know what the film is called. The title most importantly needs to reflect the genre of the film to the audience so that it is made clear what they are looking and watching, in this case the thriller genre. 

Planning Characters - Miss Miller

Chloe Eustace

Planning Characters

Introduction:

Characters are important within an opening sequence because without characters then there would be no story, because there would be no dialogue or plot that the story would follow. Without characters there would just be sets and settings and not much else to look at. Some films can benefit from a lack of characters however without their being characters then there wouldn't really be any dialogue, and the dialogue in films is what the audience follow because within dialogue there is a story line that is unravelled.

 

Victim 1: Gemma (The Driver)

We decided that the Gemma is our main victim and is in her teens, aged probably 17 or 18 and she is going to a party with her friend who is our 2nd victim. Gemma is a female victim which is conventional to the thriller genre because it is typical for the victim to be a female as they are perceived and seen as vulnerable by the audience so they are normally the target victim. She is blonde which again is conventional and typical to the thriller genre as a blonde female is again seen as vulnerable and stupid which is why she would be and is the main target of our antagonist. She is a student and students may be seen as stupid, still experimenting with life which is why she might be a target of the antagonist, presuming that she doesn't have anything really to loose. She is wearing throughout the opening sequence casual party clothes as she is going to a party which shows the audience that she is just a normal person who is going out, so when the she is targeted by the antagonist the audience will wonder why, she has been chosen and what is so special about her. Being dressed in party clothes tricks the audience into thinking that everything is okay for these two girls so when they are captured it creates more of a shock. Also the costume of the party clothes shows that she is a target for the antagonist as she looks normal and vulnerable, this is conventional to the thriller genre because the victims always are produced as the vulnerable target especially female victims which is again typical to the thriller genre.

Our Actress for the Role of Gemma was Amy Durrance 

Victim 2: Holly (Passenger)

Another character that we decided on as a group was Holly and she is Gemmas best friend and the passenger in the car that breaks down. She also is a young female who is in her teens, she is about 17 or 18 and she is going to the party in the car with Gemma. She is a conventional character of the thriller genre because she also is a vulnerable female victim that tends to be the target within thriller films. Although she is not going to be killed in the opening sequence she is still one of the main victims because she also is being followed by the antagonist like Gemma. Again she is wearing casual party clothes as she is going to the party with Gemma and again this portrays her as vulnerable. The fact that she is a female victim is typical of the thriller genre however she is a different type of character to throw the audience off as she can hold her own and she doesn't go off into the forest. Shes a smarter charcatetr than Gemma who is blonde and a bit dim whereas Holly is Brunette and doesn't fall for stupid ideas, which is why she waits by the car.

Our Actress for the Role of Holly was Molly Johnson

Antagonist: Unknown Identity

We decided that the antagonist in our opening thriller sequence is going to be hidden and have a hidden identity until the end. The audience don't know who the antagonist is throughout the opening sequence and don't know what his intentions are but they build a relationship with him because they see some things with in the sequence through his eyes as he is hidden behind the camera and some of it is shown from his PoV. He is a male antagonist which is typical of the thriller genre however the audience doesnt know that he is a male which throws them off as to what might happen in the rest of the sequence. The audience do however at the end of the scene see the back of the antagonist who is wearing a black hoodie and dark clothing. This is conventional to a thriller sequence because he is wearing a black hoodie and dark clothes which represent and signify to the audience death. The fact that he is hidden from the audience and from the characters is typical of a thriller film as this creates suspense for the audience and for the characters as they don't know that they are being followed.

Our Actor for the Role of The unknown antagoniost was

Conclusion

The characters that we have decided on for our opening thriller sequecne are conventional to the thriller genre because we have an antagonist that has a hidden identity and we have two female victims who are vulnerable and typical of the thriller genre, which I think makes the genre of our opening sequence obvious to the audience. Getting the opportunity to plan the characters has helped us as a group to know what the characters are going to be like and how we are going to present them on screen.

Planning Sound - Miss Miller

Chloe Eustace

Planning Sound

Introduction: 

Sound is highly important within films not just within the thriller genre because if there is no sound then the film would be very boring and wouldn't get the audiences attention. Sound is important within thriller films because if there is no sound then it doesn't really create the tension for the audience or keep there attention. For example if there was a scene in a thriller film where someone gets stabbed and there was no sound of the stabbing, the audience wouldn't find this tense or shocking because they are just watching whats happening, however if there is the sound of the stabbing then it emphasises the moment to the audience and makes them more shocked. 

Non Diegetic Sound 

We have decided as an a group to include Non Diegetic sound into our thriller sequence. Non diegetic sound is sound which is not part of the film or in the film, it is the sound that is added later on in the editing stage. We decided to use Diegetic sound of Eerie music in the background as the main antagonist is walking away from the scene where he has just murdered the victim. We decided that the eerie music would be good because it creates more tension for the audience as he is walking away from this moment. The audience have just seen the murder of the victim from the antagonists point of view and the sound of the eerie music in the background makes the audience feel tense because it is the first time for the whole of the scene that they see what the antagonist looks like and the eerie music helps this to be a suspicious moment for the audience. The audience can build a relationship with the character through this eerie music in the background because they are wondering now what the reason behind this murder is and the audience have developed a relationship already with the victim as the stalker/antagonist has been watching her so they may feel sorry for her that this has even happened. This is conventional of the thriller genre because the use of diegetic sound in thriller films to create tension for the audience by adding in a back track is done in a lot of thriller films to make the audience feel shocked or tense within the scene and keep the audiences attention.

Diegetic Sound

We also decided as a group that another sound that we will use in our opening thriller sequence to create effect to the audience is Diegetic sound. Diegetic sound is sound which is part of the film, for instance dialogue or sound from the radio. We have decided that in our thriller opening sequence Diegetic sound will be used when there is upbeat music playing from the radio while the two victims are in the car on the way to a party. The music that is on the radio is an upbeat track because the two victims are singing along. This tricks the audience into almost thinking that everything is fine and that nothing bad is going to happen, so she the car does break down and the music stops the audience are surprised that the tension and the scene has changed dramatically. This helps the audience to develop a relationship with the two characters who are there two victims however the audience are not aware of this yet. The audience can build a relationship with them because they can see that they are excited and all upbeat to go to a party and the upbeat music tricks the audience into thinking that they are okay so when the car breaks down and they are then portrayed as more vulnerable the audience can feel more sorry for them and when something bad happens they can feel more sorry for them and what has happened. This is conventional to the thriller genre because there is typically in all thriller films some kind of Diegetic sound like the radio and makes the audience feel more tense and shocked at whats happening.

Parallel Sound:

We decided as a group that we would use Parallel sound (on screen sound also) of the antagonist walking through the forest stalking the girls prior to the murder. Parallel sound is sound that the audience would expect to hear in the scene, and knowing that the antagonist is hiding and stalking the girls the audience would expect the noise of crunching leaves to create tension. There will be a view of the antagonists feet as he is walking because he is following the girls, we only see and hear his feet because it is from the antagonists point of view. This is conventional to a thriller sequence because the audience feel tense for the two victims. The sound of leaves crunching in the dark will make the audience nervous for the two victims and this helps them to build a relationship with the characters because the audience feel sorry for them as they know they are being stalked but the girls don't realise this. The effect that the use of parallel sound creates in our opening sequence generates tension for the audience as they question his purpose for being in the forest and why he isn't walking slowly, because if you were out to kill someone and were stalking someone then you wouldn't want to be caught doing it and so it makes the audience wonder why the antagonist isn't being discreet when he walks through the forest which is why the audience hear the crunching of the leaves and know where he is and how close to the two girls he is. It makes the audience wonder and question if these characters will encounter each other and if the antagonist is out to get them.

On Screen Sound:

We chose to also use On screen sound in our thriller opening sequence. On screen sound that is seen on screen and where this sound is coming from in the scene. We will use on screen sound in our thriller opening sequence when the engine noises are made and the audience can see the car come to a halt, so there is the chinking of the radio sound when the car breaks down. This is conventional of the thriller genre because the sound that is on screen and that the audience can see is the car and as soon as it breaks down they then know that something bad is going to happen. The effect that this creates for the audience includes making the audience themselves nervous for the victims. This then evokes the questions to the audience as why this has happened and makes them wonder whats going to happen next as the girls are now portrayed as vulnerable,. This helps the audience to build a relationship with the charcaters because the noise of the car breaking down into silence strongly evokes that something bad is going to happen to these two girls and makes the audience worried or scared for them.

Conclusion:

Overall I believe that our thriller opening sequence will be more effective from the use of some of our chosen sounds because sound is important in a thriller film in order for there to be somewhere for the storyline to go and makes it easier for the audience to understand and want to keep there attention. The sounds that we have chosen to use are effective and conventional of the thriller genre because effects such as tension and surprise are created for the audience. The planning of these sounds will make things easier prior to our filming because it means that we had the chance to gain an overall idea of the sounds that will be on screen that we need to find, and any sounds that might be parallel (sounds that are expected in the film.) so that we can find these sounds where we decide to film. Also the planning of sound has allowed us to combine this to cinematography and how we are going to link these together to create the best effect and leave the audience with the enigma that is conventional of the thriller genre.