Rough Cut - Miss Miller

A rough cut is the first draft of what our final opening scene, it roughly resembles the final product but still is not properly edited meaning that it doesnt flow as well as the final product. Our rough cut included all the appropriate scenes which we plan to use in our final product but the editing of the sequence is not at the standard which we aim for in our final opening sequence. Our rough copy should that we need to improve the sound of our sequence to make it build suspense then emphasise shock, we also plan to add fast music during the chase scene to increase the audience's excitement. I also think we need to improve the editing between each frame to make it more conventional to the thriller genre.

I believe our rough cut was extremely important in creating a successful opening sequence as it gave us a clear idea of what specific elements we needed to improve about our opening thriller sequence, it also allowed us to understand if our thriller was successful in evoking emotions and if not how we could improve it to build relationships between the characters and audience.

After producing our rough cut we showed it to many people who are within our target audience category and they gave us feedback on how we could improve it to make a complete opening sequence. I believe this feedback was extremely beneficial towards making our final sequence as within our thriller we aimed to use many elements such as relatable characters and settings to help form a relationship between the characters and audience hoping that this would cause them to emphasise with the protagonists emotions and therefore be more engrossed within the narrative, and our feedback gave us a understanding of whether or not the audience formed this relationship with the characters.

To receive this feedback we presented our rough copy to 20 people of our target audience of 15-25 year olds. Within this presentation we created a powerpoint this powerpoint consisted of a brief outline of our narrative, a slide on how our opening sequence fits codes and conventions of the thriller genre and a couple of slides on how we created our thriller. We then played our thriller opening sequence and asked the audience to fill out a form which stated what they think went well within our thriller, what we could improve and the mark they believe we got out of 60.

The feedback we received from showing our target audience our opening sequence was consistent in the fact that they believed that the overall narrative of our opening sequence was successful and the specific cinematography we used was appropriate and affective but the editing of our clip could be improved to enhance the emotions evoked by characters and narrative. Our feedback gave us a clear understanding that we had to improve the sound within our opening sequence to make our clip more conventional to the thriller genre.

Opening Sceneration - Miss Miller

The first scene within our opening thriller sequence sets the scene with a long shot of the tower and the surrounding forests and roads, during this scene no sound was used as we was only trying to set the scene and not evoke any specific emotions. This scene will then be followed by a young lady getting out of her car in a dark isolated car park after driving down the road seen in the first scene. Once again only the diagetic sound of the car door opening and closing was used as we want to make this first part realistic so the character becomes more relatable and no sound needs to be used to evoke emotions as it is a not relevant part of the narrative. The young lady then walks away from the car and leaves the car park with yet again no sound, as she does so, she is then followed by a masked antagonist who's is carrying a knife. As he closely follows her through the car park and out the exit the non-diegetic sound of suspense music is used to create enigma as the hidden identity of the antagonist leaves the audience wondering who he is and what his intentions are. We use a tracking shot to track both of them walking through the car park as it unsuccessfully shows how quick he was walking and suggested he was chasing her with intent yet she didn't know. Following this we use a long shot which shows the victim walking down a dark isolated path and then with no editing or cut scenes she is followed by the antagonist. We used a long shot as it successfully shows both characters and can successfully show the narrative. The non-diegetic suspense music continues over this frame as it creates suspense and makes the character appear more vulnerable as it suggests that he is going to do something bad to her. We then used a similar long shot to show the victim go through a gate

Filming Schedule - Miss Georgiou

As a group we created a schedule which would guide us on what time we would film each scene. This helped the group remain organised and film the opening sequence as efficiently as possible. The time we film each scene is significant as we had to coonsider numerous factors such as the natural lighting. We decided that we would begin filming at 4:00 as the natural lighting would be dark enough to create a eery atmosphere and enigma within the audience but light enough for the characters, setting and iconography to be seen. We also used the same location which we had planned as we was extremely confident  and in the locations we planned as it had a eery isolated atmosphere as well as suitable settings for our narrative, such as car park and forest, it also was convenient for all group members and had lots of low key lighting which added to the mysterious scenes and created suspense within the audience. The costume/hair and make up we used was also as planned as we felt that the protagonist had to be in clothing which is relatable to the audience as they can form a relationship with this character meaning that they empathised with the emotions they feel and are more engrossed in the narrative. We also used the dark casual clothing we planned to use for the antagonist as the mask was essential in hiding his identity and therefore creating suspense as they don't know who he is, the dark clothing was also needed as it meant that he was remained mysterious in low key lighting, it also connotes evil. We felt that these elements had to be as planned to ensure that our thriller was successfully in meeting the genre's codes and conventions.

On the other hand the code/action and shot type and duration we used was not all how we initially planned. We kept the key scenes the same as planned as we wanted to keep the same narrative as planned but we slightly altered the less significant scenes to ensure that the miss-en-scene elements was as suitable as possible and evoked suitable emotions within the audience.

Shot	Date & Time	Location	Conduct/ Action	Shot type and duration	Costume/hair, make up	Iconography	Personal	Equipment
1	1.12.2013 4:00	Repton Park. Road.	The camera follows the car down an isolated road.	Establishing shot. Panning shot.	Formal wear with everyday make-up.	Car.	Husband/ Editor/ Director? Hair and Make	Digital camera Batterys Memory card tripod
2	1.12.2013 4:10	Repton Park. Car park.	The women parks the car and villain is see in background.	Extreme long shot.	All black casual clothing with mask.	Car. Mask. Knife.	None/ Editor/ Director? Hair and Make	Digital camera Batterys Memory card tripod
3	1.12.2013 4:30	Repton Park. Forest.	The victim is chased by the villain out of the carpark into a forest.		Formal wear normal make-up . Black casual clothing with mask.	Knife. Mask.	Husband / Editor/ Director? Hair and Make	Digital camera Batterys Memory card tripod
4					None	Knife Chopping B Hob Cupboards	Editor/ Director? Hair and Make	Digital camera Batterys Memory card
4	1.12.2013 4:45	Repton Park. Forest.	The victim continues to be chased by the antagonist.	POV	Formal wear normal make-up. Black casual clothing with mask.	Knife. Mask.	Husband / Editor/ Director? Hair and Make	Digital camera Batterys Memory card tripod
5	1.12.2013 5:00	Repton Park. Forest.	The victim falls over.	Aerial shot.	Formal wear normal make-up.		Husband / Editor/ Director? Hair and Make	Digital camera Batterys Memory card tripod

Risk Assessment - Miss Georgiou

Within my planning process i created a risk assessment to ensure that all the members of my group avoided accidents when filming our opening thriller sequence. This chart consisted of a description of numerous potentential hazrads and how we can prevent that particular risk. This was important within our filming process as it ensured that all our group members were safe when filming with potential dangers such as the knife. I believe this process was successfull as we avoided all accidents when filming, this was because we recognised what the potential hazards are then we under-went precautions to ensure we avoided these hazards.

Within our risk assessment the most obvious and dangerous risk was the one of the knife, this convention of the thriller genre would be used within our thriller to cause fear within the audience but was also a risk to the people creating the opening sequence. We planned to prevent this risk by not running with it as this would ensure that we wouldn't drop it, when filming we also used a knife cover when we wasn't using it this meant it couldn't cut anyone when being transported.

Description of hazard	Prevention of hazard
Trailing leads while filming	Use gaffer tape to secure leads
Running in a forest	Careful footing
Knife	Don’t run with the knife
Car	Look where you’re going
Slipping over	Use suitable footwear

Production Roles - Miss Miller

Within all films the film creators will be allocated numerous specific jobs which will contribute towards making the final film. To create a thriller film certain individuals are allocated specific jobs which they are most suited to these jobs can either effect the on-screen image or can contribute towards the editing of the film. The main roles within creating a film are producers, directors, actors, cameraman (director of photography), music producers, screenplay writer, MES Coordinators, editors. Each of these roles are assigned to a specific person who is skilled in that role and can do the best possible individual job in order to create a successful film.

As a group we discussed which individual will be best suited for each specific role and we concluded that each of our group members will have a significant impact on the production of our opening thriller sequence. A few of the roles will be distributed to numerous members of the group such as screenplay writer and editors, we decided that the group would complete these tasks together as it allows for numerous different opinions which will result in a better film.

Earlier in our research process we decided that our actors would be Ellie Holt, as the victim, and Jack Noakes as the antagonist. We decided that Ellie would make a successful victim as she is a young, attractive and blonde. These traits mean our target audience can easily relate to her and form a relationship with her. Her being blonde is also significant as stereotypically within thriller films the blonde victim represents vulnerability to the audience which presents her in danger and entices the audience as the had previously formed a relationship with the character. We decided to use Jack as the antagonist as he is quite tall and therefore stereotypically more intimidating due to his superior stature. This was the main factor in allocating our antagonist as he would be wearing a mask and dressed in a specific manner therefore his appearance was not as significant as his overall size. Within these roles both Ellie and Jack acted out the actions in specific ways we asked to create a full narrative with a appropriate atmosphere.

We decided that the director and cameraman would both be Benjamin Yarwood. We thought that he was best suited for these roles as he had previously used video camera's and therefore had experience in film. This meant that he was able to successfully link each shot making a flowing film which follows the narrative. He was also able to successfully choose appropriate shots which created the desired effect for each frame. This role involved Benjamin filming everything acted out by the acts as well as numerous other shots which set the scene and created a specific event. Benjamin had to choose a appropriate angle and shot to film each shot and had to consider numerous things such as lighting. The fact that he had previously used the camera made the production process easier as her could quickly set it up and edit many settings to make it suit that particular scene.

I was assigned the roles of producer and screenplay writer. Within my group i was influential in creating a narrative which was conventional to the thriller genre and successfully evoke emotions within the audience. I was also producer, i was suitable for this role as i was able to ensure that we had the appropriate facilities to make our opening sequence. I also arranged the location which it would be filmed in, the location i chose i believe was successful as it created a mysterious eery atmosphere and immediately created suspense.

The majority of the editing roles such as the main editing and music producers was done by Michelle Wood and Wai-Lam, they was also mise-en-scene coordinators. They was both very good at editing and adding appropriate music because they had both previously used the software and therefore knew how to cut each frame to make a flowing scene which also adds to the intended atmosphere. They also successfully dictated the speed of each scene which influenced the narrative. This  role involved them using 'Final Cut Pro X' to edit each scene together to create a flowing narrative. It also involved them adding numerous effects to enhance this narrative. Similarly they had to add sound effects and music which would enhance what is being seen on screen and evoke further emotions. They also had to add conventional credits and a title within our opening sequence which would give recognition to all those involved in its production.

To conclude i believe that allocating each of our group members a specific role within the filming sequence will result in a better opening sequence as that group member will is the most talented in that particular field and therefore can produce the best possible outcome in comparison with other group members. It will also make the production process easier and more efficient as they will know exactly how to achieve what we have planned and they can achieve this to a superior standard and in a shorter space of time in comparison to other group members.

Inspirations - Miss Miller

Inspiration is defined as a stimulation to do creative work and within this project i took inspiration from numrous other films from the thriller genre to give myself a idea of what will create a successful opening sequence. During this project i have reasearched numerous different thriller films and how they use each individual micro-element to create a full scene and create the intended atmosphere, and i have taken inspiration from each of these elements to help create my opening scene.

Within my cinematography research i studied the thriller 'The Strangers' this film used numerous different camera shots to create various effects and within my thriller i aim to use cinematography to achieve a similar outcome. My research into the film 'The Strangers' revealed that a consistant use of long shots successfully establishes as well as making the protagonist appear vulnerable and small. The consistant use of long shots also emphasises the extreme close up of things which are significant to the narrative.

To futher my knowledge of mise-en-scene i studied The Omen. This research showed that the five mise-en-scene elements of setting and iconography, costume hair and make-up, facial expressions and body language and lighting have a significant effect on the narrative and the atmosphere of the scene. The Omen uses a happy setting of a fair ground with bright lighting this contrasts the actions within the scene whoch highlights the horror of the occurances. The costumes portray the focal characters as extremely wealthy this makes them appear to be living a happy life but in reality they are living a troubled life.

I also studied Saw 5 to further my knowledge of the conventional editing effects used within the thriller genre. This film was a good film to gain inspiration for editing as it frequently changes pace and the editing they use makes this contrast in pace less obvious. Within this Saw 5 clip the montage effect is frequently used when the victims head violently shakes to represent his distress and panic. Thrillers frequently use this effect as it successfully creates excitement and allows for the audience to empaphise with the charcters panic.

Planning Opening Credits - Miss Georgiou

 

Credits play a important role within all genres as they give the audience a idea of who made the film, this could possibly give the audience a very slight idea of what will feature within the film if they are aware of the film-makers previous work. Credits also give them film-makers recognition for their contribution in creating the film. The listing of the actors which will feature entices the audience as they be a fan of that specific actor and able to relate to their appearance, this means that the audience will hope that this character doesn't get into any danger and stays safe.

The credits within the thriller film Se7en are written in a white font with a contrasting black background. This contrast between light and dark could also possibly represent the contrast between good and evil. This is often used within thrillers as it immediately gives the audience a slight idea of the narrative as it suggests that  there will be competition between a protagonist and antagonist. These credits also are shaking about violently and handwritten this immediately creates a eery feel of uncertainty as the names don't stay still. The scruffy handwritten font also creates a mysterious feel as the audience wonder who wrote it. As these credits are being played there are numerous different images in the background such as a man reading the bible, this particular image is peculiar as it is random but it does connote that the narrative will be linked with religion which suggests that the characters are helpless and vulnerable.

As we group we discussed what credits we plan to feature and we came to the conclusion that our credits will give recognition to all members of the group. This means that our credits will be shorter than stereotypical thriller credits as we will include less names because we have less people to give regonistion to in comparison to a large film production crew. Our credits will list the names of: Beau Abery, Benjamin Yarwood, Michelle Wood, Wailam Pang, Ellie Holt and Jack Noakes. These names will indivually listed in our first scene when the car is seen driving down a dark scary road, this is a suitbale scene for the opening scenes as there is slow paced which means the audience will be more focused on the credits.

The fonts and styles which feature within thriller films vary depending on the sub-genre of the thriller, the font and style of he title will also be similar to the fonts and styles this is because they are trying to build a certain atmosphere. For example this poster uses the same scruffy hand written font which appears to have been carved into something. The font used within this poster is also used within the opening credits this means there is a consistant eery atmosphere created. The title is red which rpresents danger and blood, it also contrasts the background which helps it stand out. The white font used for their names is white which also contrasts the black background which draws the audiences eyes to actors which could appeal to their target audience. The white font could also represtent innocence and purity of the characters they play, this use of colours could represent the contrast betwen good and evil.

 

Planning Sound - Miss Miller

Sound plays a vitol role within the thriller genre, even-more-so than any other genre, as thriller films revolve around suspense, shock and exciting scenes and sound is involved heavily in creating these specific emotions. Thrillers usually heavily feature non-diegetic sound such as sound effects and music rather than diegetic sound which are more significant within the majority of other genres as they rely more on dialogue to influence the narrative. This huge impact on the film means that the sound within a film has to be planned and this planning process plays a vital role within the planning process as it gives the film maker a clear idea of what sound they will use for each frame and its affect on the audience and narrative.

Within my opening thriller i will initially use a lot of diegetic sound to set the scene, this lack of music and other sound effects also adds suspense as it makes the scene extremely quiet. For example as the car drives down the road at the start of our sequence the audience will only be able to hear the car engine and the car radio. This creates a normal atmosphere and lures the audience into a false sense of security before the following chaotic occurances. It also is very relatable for the audience as they have often been in these situations which helps create a relationship between the characters and audience. This sound effect is often used within the thriller genre as it creates a sense of normality as they can decipher where the origin of the sound is and therefore are not left confused by it and can focus on more significant elements.

Following this initial diegetic sound a significant use of a car alarm will be used. This is another example of on-screen diegetic sound as the sound is caused by something which can be seen within the frame and is not added within the editing process. Hopefully this use of a car alarm will shock the audience as we will had previously used numerous other elements to create suspense, this means they will be on the edge of their seat and enticed into the calmness the scene has created, this calmness contradicts the car alarm whcih will be loud and hopefully shock the audience.

As the narrative progresses the pace of the scene increases. Sound will play a crucial part in increasing this pace and creating excitement within the audience, to do this we will use fast paced music which is a example of non-diegetic sound. This music will reflect the action on screen and will therefore get the audience heart racing as the music will be loud and fast and in context with the visual. This technique is often used within numerous film genres as well as thrillers as it successfully creates excitement and can be adapted to suit numerous different scene's. Fast paced music is conventional to the thriller genre as it enhances the excitement within the audience dramatically and can therefore successfully get the audience's heart racing when necessary.

During this fast paced scene we will include a sudden decline in pace before using the same fast paced music again. During this brief slow section we will include parallel sound as we will include the non-diegetic sound effect of a heartbeat. This sound will reflect the noise from footsteps as well as the protagonists heavy breathing. This will make the audience empaphise with the charcter as these particular sounds of  a fast heartbeat and heavy breathing suggest that she is in distress and scared. Within the thriller genre parrllel sound is not particularly common and raely features but when it does it is also used in similar situations with similar sounds.

To conclude we plan to use numerous different sounds effects to create scenes which create suspense and contrasting scenes which create excitement. This will make our thriller more conventional as films within the thriller genre often use similar sound effects and music to evoke the emotions of suspense and excitement. The sound we plan to use will emphasise the effects we created on-screen this means that it will engross the audience in the narrative.

Group Storyboard - Miss Miller

Within the planning process of my opening thriller sequence me and my group each made a individual storyboard which recorded how we will shoot each scene. As a group we compared our individual storyboards to create a group storyboard. This group storyboard stated camera shot, location, iconography, lighting, actors, sound, editing and narrative description as well as a rough picture. Each of these elements gives us a clear idea of exactly how we are going to create each scene. We used elements from each individual storyboard to create a completed final group storyboard.

Planning Characters - Miss Miller

Characters are the main focal point within any film and play a key role in engrossing the audience. Characters keep the audience engaged as they form a relationship with specific characters. This means they are more interested in the narrative as they are concerned about what will happen to this character. Characters also play a crucial role within the narrative as stereotypical thrillers will follow a protagonist being terrorised by either ghosts or the antagonists therefore the narrative will closely follow this journey usually focussing on the victims, such as the Purge, or in rare occasions the narrative follows the antagonist like in Human Centipede 2.

My opening thriller sequence will only consist of two main focal characters. We plan to use a blonde female victim and a masked male villain. These two types are stereotypically used within the thriller genre as the blonde female victim is often appears vulnerable which adds to the fear factor within the audience as they are aware of the antagonists superior stature over the victim. Her 'normal' appearance also allows the audience to easily relate to this character and therefore can empathise with there emotion.

 The antagonist is also stereotypical to a thriller film as he will be masked and quite tall, this will make him appear powerful and intimidating due to his superior stature. The mask will hide his identity making appear mysterious and create suspense as well as making him appear scary. This type of killer is very common within the thriller genre used in many films such as Scream and The Strangers this is because a simple contrast between the sizes of the two characters easily makes the victim appear mor vulnerable and in more danger. Masks are usually worn by villains as it hides the identity and see fore creates suspense as it could be anybody within the film and therefore the audience don't know how or why he is acting in such a brutal manner.

Our victim will be played by Ellie Holt, she will be blonde female who's about 17 years old this is a stereotypical victim to the thriller genre which means the audience will immediately recognise her as vulnerable. This character will reflect a large number of our audience therefore characters of similar age and gender will be able to relate to her and instantly form a relationship. This bond they form and the 'vulnerable' stereotype means that the audience will be extremely interested in the film as they don't want her to be in any danger yet they know she most probably will be.

The other focal character will be a tall 25 year old man who will be significantly wearing a mask. He will be wearing a mask throughout the opening sequence which is stereotypical to a thriller as it is often used to create suspense due to the unknown identity of the antagonist. The villain is the main method used within thrillers to create fear within the audience as they have formed a bond with the protagonist and therefore his position of power is emphasised by the vulnerable victim.

To conclude character play a vital role within the narrative as they are stereotypically the focal point within thriller story lines, they also help intice the audience as the audience will for, bonds with the characters they can relate to therefore they are conscious of that characters journey and its outcome. The characters I plan to use are stereotypical to the genre as the young blonde victim is relateble to my target audience and the tall intimidating villain immediately evokes fear within the audience.