opening sceneration

Thriller Opening Sequence Explained

In the beginning of our thriller there is going to be a short section that is been shown as a dream, this dream is very important in understanding the rest of the opening. This shot we be shot using mid shots and long shots, there is also flashes of colours to let you know that it is not real life and that it is a dream. there is also music in the background which is carried out through out the whole clip. Next there is a close up of the victim asleep on her bed and wakes up to the dream that she just had. there is then another mid shot that pans the bed when you see her wake up. Then she gets out of bed and walks down stairs to get herself a drink of water. On the way down there is a Point of View shot of one of the mysterious men in a mask watching her  walk down stairs. then the camera changes to a long shot so that you can see her walking and also the mask through the window. Next is a close up of Yeliz getting a bottle of water form the fridge and we placed the camera inside the fridge so that we could capture her facial expressions. The shot then changes to a long shot of her pouring the water to then change to another POV shot of her looking into the cupboard window. This is when she sees the first man, she sees a reflection but when she turns around there is no one there. As she goes to open the glass door the phone rings. There is then a mid shot of her walking towards the living room were she answers the phone. the camera changes to a long shot which is placed on the the shoulder of a killer. this is to show that she is vulnerable because she has no idea that he is there. When she answers the phone she was told to look outside and right infront of the window was the second killer. she then runs upstairs scared but all of a sudden all of the doors upstairs shut and locked themselves but not far behind her was the killer but she kicks him down the stairs. Next she runs back down the stairs and out the door. There is then a 360 pan of Yeliz who then sees her dream in real life right in front of her then the title comes up. through out the scene there are credits and music.

Group Storyboards

Group Meetings

Week one
Met to discuss narrative and possible location me, Arthur, Orçun. Talked about potable camera shots while thinking of the conventions. Decided on location and date to start filming (oct 26).

Week two
Met a day before filming to arrange the mise to save tim
e next day. Me, Sam. Arthur and Orçun discussed editing techniques we could use. Started filming.

Week three
Relocated the thriller as felt could be better. This delayed things as we had to edit the narrative and shots used. Thought additional actress was needed so started looking. We all changed ideas about costume so Arthur and Orçun searched for a mask.

Week four
Got mask and other actress, started filming. All were their. Didn't get a lot done but finalised the camera shots for the first 3rd of the production. Filmed first scene, came up with idea for dream.

Week five
Half way through film now, Sam unavailable so just us four. Deadline is closing and we're a bit behind time. Filming slows as disagreement over shots in the kitchen.

Week six
Thriller filmed but not edited. Behind time and rushing to complete by the deadline. All working to Finnish In time. I organised pictures I took of us working over the whole time ready for my presentation on it all.

Filiming schedule

Filming schedule

Date	Length	Reason
7th November 2012	2 hours	Going through the whole story so that the actors know what they are doing and then we know where the cameras should go and we also tested lighting.
8th November 2012	3 hours	We filmed the first 2 pages of our storyboard and we had many attempts but got what we wanted in the end. We had some trouble thinking about how we would make the reflection without seeing the camera but we got sorted that out
14th November 2012	3 hours	We filmed pages 3 and 4 and we completed it very easily. We are very happy about the footage we got.
15th November 2012	3-4 hours	We filmed the last 2 pages of the storyboard.
21st November 2012	30 mins	We filmed started filming the outside scenes but it got to dark so we had to wait for our next meeting.
22nd November 2012	1 hour	We filmed all outside footage and any other footage that needed re-doing.

Risk Assessment

when filming there are always risks that can occur. in some extreme cases there can be fires and lighting can fall but in our small scale production you can see that there are fewer risks but at the same time there are risks. this is a table to show some of the risks that could occur and that we have to make sure don't happen.

Audience Feedback

Audience Feedback

Why is audience feedback essential to carry out?

Audience feedback is very essential when creating a film or a clip as it is used to collect constructive criticism which allows you to improve what you have made. It can be used to help people understand what they have done wrong and it gives them a clear guideline on what to improve and how to improve.

Where did you screen your production?

We screened our production on Youtube so that we can all see comments and responses of the audience. This is also a very good way to get a large range of people to see it, opening it up to all different styles of editors to give their responses.

How did Youtube help?

Youtube helped us a lot as it gave us instant feedback which allowed us to edit the clip faster and sooner. This helps us get it out quicker allowing more feedback which we would use to change it. Also the comments and feedback will not be biased as they do not know us and there are a lot of professionals that are out there. The range of people is also a lot wider as there are millions are users worldwide.

Feedback we received

We received a range of feedback that was very helpful to make our thriller better. We were told to increase the brightness slightly as it was to dark at parts because we made it darker while editing. we also did a little colour correction to make colours stand out and also change some colours to create a effect. Also the sound that we had inserted was slightly out of time and also to loud and to quiet at parts so we then changed to suit the level of the film. The length was also to long so we had to cut parts out and edit the speed of certain clips. Also we hadn't included certain clips and this made the story of the clip not make sense so we had to put in the dream at the start so it made sense.

Reflection

If i could do the thriller again i would some of the outside parts in the dream and real life outside parts so that it made a little more sense to people

opening sceneration

Our opening scene has been planned out so that the audience know that something bad is going on in the background and but at the same time the woman hasn't got a clue until the end. this is the way we have planned the camera shots and the props that have been used. for example one of the camera shots is in the kitchen and you can see one of the killers but the woman doesn't. the house is going to be dimly lit so that it creates shadows and makes the place look a bit more creepy. Then you see both of the killers but they are masked with a German WW2 gas mask and this creates mystery and puts fear into the character and the audience. we have also used reflections and parts that make the killers look like Yeliz is going crazy.

Mise-en-Scene Group

The different categories we need to follow in order to have a successful thriller are:

• Lighting
• Clothing
• Iconography
• Body language/expressions
• Positioning of character(s)

Lighting

There will be three main light sources. There will be light from outside which will be the back lighting. The lamps will be used as main light as to keep the room dark enough to keep to the common conventions to thriller films. The filler lighting will be a combination of different light all over the house and will be used antagonistically. We will use the fridge light to fill the lighting in the kitchen whereas the back lighting in the living room will be a lamppost and a dim flood light to just increase the power of the lamp post.  These lights are very slight so will not be very obvious but will give us the slight bit of light needed. We will use low key lighting to keep to the common conventions to a 'typical' thriller film. This is to create shadows so the characters look intimidating and allow the audience to see what is not directly in the camera shot. The lighting will help create key conventions of a thriller opening, this will also help us show insight to the characters in it because it shows that the villains do not want to be seen and are very secretive because they do it when no-one else is around and when they cant be seen.

Costume Design

For the victim, we want to make her as vulnerable as possible so we have put her into pyjamas.  This shows that she weak and that the killers unexpected arrival has confused her and taken her by surprise. The killers will be dressed all in black whilst their faces will be covered with German gas masks and these show a little into the villains past and into their lives. This is to put fear and an unknown  identity so the victim doesn't know who they are and what they are doing. This is important to the conventions of a thriller because it shows that they wont to be seen but not identified so that the audience is suspicious into who it is.

Iconography

For the props we will be using a small range; a phone, a door, a glass, a bed, a bottle, a fridge, and gas masks. we are going to use all of these because each plays a part in what the killer is doing. as the door and the phone are going to tell the audience that something is going to happen to the character because you know that there is a killer in the house and outside. the cup of water is the excuse for the lady to get out of bed which then leads into the rest of the story and finally the masks are for the killers to hide there faces and to add a fear affect to them. The phone is used to scare the audience and the character linking the two together.

Body Language/ Facial Expressions

The body language of the victim will first of all be calm and tired as she has just gotten out of bed to get her water very early in the morning. As the clip goes on she becomes more tense and weary as she has starts to get anxious and paranoid because she keeps hearing/ seeing things. Then finally to the end she is petrified and all her body language shows this by the way she is constantly moving, she looks like she is going to cry and burst out screaming. whilst all this is happening the killer looks like he is under control and is calm like everything that has happened has gone to plan. this is all to create fear and tension to put the audience onto the edge of their seats.

Positioning

We will position the Positioning of the character. All through the scene in the bedroom you notice the girl is always right up to the camera showing that she is the victim and the killer is a mid range to a long range to the camera showing the he is the killer because you can always see what he I doing. This tells the audience abut the characters and knows when something is about to happen creating tension.

planning sound

Planning sound

Why sound is important in thrillers

Sound in thrillers is very important to create suspense and to set a scene/mood of what the director wants. For example if you want to create a mood of fear you have fast past, strong beats, and in a minor key. If you want excitement you want it in a major key as major represents a happy mood. There are different types of sound in films as one being Diegetic and one being Non-Diegetic. There are also others but these are the main ones.

 

For the opening sequence we are going to use a range or sounds and three of these are; The opening, The phone and A door opening.

For the opening sequence we will be using a song by John Murphy called ‘In a heart beat’. This song is slow and builds up and it creates suspension and tension as all the other instruments come in and the chords that they play are Minor, which creates fear. This song lets the audience know that something bad is going to happen and because it is over the main character they know that something is going to happen to her. This creates a relationship with the audience and the character and shares their emotions and feelings.

The second sound that we will have is a phone ringing; this is for the character when she answers the phone. We are using this because we want the phone to be disabled so that the no actually calls during he recording. And then we need a sound for when the phone is disconnected to show that the phone line has been cut.

The third sound we will be using is a creaking door as we want there to be an opening door sound but it wont be on camera and the character will be in a different room meaning that we would not be able to her the sound in real life. This door opening tells the audience that someone is entering the house, which will create suspense as they are wondering what is going to happen next.

Character Representation

There are three characters in our opening. There are two villains and one victim.

Character 1:

Gender: Female

Ethnicity: Turkish

Character Background: Yeliz is a single lady that live by herself with no friends or family that is close. she has just moved into to the area and has not yet spoke to her neighbors due to the language barrier of being Turkish.

Connection to the audience: because Yeliz is alone and doesn't know somebody, she is weak and innocent and this makes a good thriller convention because these men are are big and strong so she cant defend herself. Also she is small and one of the killers is a lot bigger than her.




Character 2:

Gender: Male

Ethnicity: German

Character Background: This character has a history of a certain type of mental illness. this type means that he thinks he lives in the past and as a different person. in this case he thinks that he is his farther who was a German soldier in World War 2. his uncle fought as a front line trooper at the time that gas attacks were imminent. his father died by gas poison which is why this character wears a gas mask.


Character 3:

Gender: Male

Ethnicity: White British

Character Background: He is a very young, high earning business man who has everything he could ever want. but his Dad who owns the company that he works for has noticed that he is not acting right and doesn't turn up to work all of the time which is unusual as he has never missed a day. His Dad has noticed that he has been having secret meetings with someone who is new to the area, this guy is from Ukraine. He also started to notice that he was wearing old fashioned clothes and is starting to speak as if he was from the 1940's. This guy also has a collection of WW2 artefacts like an old Kar 98.

Connection to the audience:

The audience never actually see the men in this opening clip and why they are doing this and this makes the audience suspicious and weary of what might happen which would make them want to watch the whole film.

Film Credits

The purpose of the opening film credits are to state and tell you who are the producers, production company and other important people who are key to the production.

Colour

The colour of the text was white on a black background this makes the text stand out and makes it seem creepy and suspicious. The rest of the video clips for this section are also dull colours almost black and white apart form the blood which is a bright red, his shows death.

The style of the Credits 

there is a creepy style to the credits in this film as the words are not aligned straight this is because they are written at an angle and some letters are bigger then others. It also looks like t has been scratched onto the background, this shows that some has been tortured or that the killer is not mentally there. At the same time they were being flashed onto the screen, this males the audience scared and anticipated onto the edge of there seats. but the pictures behind are also flickering as if it is being played on an old time news real making it even more scarier.

Conventions

this is perfect for the conventions of a thriller because it is dark, the is creepy music that the tempo and he dynamics are increased for certain times of the clip. There is blood unclear clips, a crazy man in the background that is writing, sowing and using a blade to scrap his fingers. All of this creates fear, tension, and anticipation. The clips also show that the guy is a stalker as he is cutting up pictures, cross them out and writing up about them. also all the clips are a montage so the clips are changing within a couple of seconds.

Oder of Appearance

There is a list of people who are important and they come in a certain order, this order is as follows; Production Company, Director, Actor, Title of film, Actors Continued, Casting, Music Costume, Editor, Production, Camera Operator, Co-producer, Producer, Writing, and again the director because he is so important and famous.





Colours

The text in this clip is all capital and is in different colours with different names. some are red, some are white and some are black. some of the names just appear while some are written on paper and on see through plastic.



Style

The style of the opening credits are similar to the last clip as it is all dark mainly black and white. The text also flickers on the screen and this time they have shadows behind them making them stand out but at the same time they are hidden like there is something to hide which goes very well with batman as he is some that people know but yet is never seen. Even at the start where the makers and the production teams logos and introduction clips are black and white.

Conventions

because the clip is dark and things are hard to see it conveys that someone doesn't want to be found and they attack when no one knows where he is coming from who he is and what he is. This is conventional to a thriller as the audience has to try and figure out the mystery and this puts them on the edge of there seats with excitement and fear. Also the dark colours represents evil and death so you know that people are going to die. there are also photos of people which tells you that the killer/villain is after specific people and this gives you insight to who the characters are because the pictures match up with the names of the actors but they never show who the villian is so there is that secrecy that you have to figure out.


order of appearance

The order of appearance go as followed: Warner Bros., Legendary pictures, DC Comics, Syncopy, Warner Bros., Legendary pictures, DC Comics, Syncopy, Director, title, Actors, Characters by Bob Kane, Screen Play by..., Executive producers, and Dirctors. It is in this order as it goes through the most important roles in the production of the movie then it repeats the director because he is the mot important.

Group Analysis and Ideas

As a group we have discussed the different credits and which ones we liked and preferred. We like the used of motion tracking in other opening credits that we have seen and we also like the idea of white text on the background but with a glow like it would be a light. An example of this is:

But we want it to be white or more suitable colours. we want them to be gloomy and dark or at least the rest of the shot to be dim white a bright white text. one of the fonts that we liked we saw when we were watching a youtube video, the font is called optic and it has sharp edges that resemble a knife. this font was obtained from Dafont.com.





Another font that we liked was called face your fears and this was also from Dafont.com. this style looks like it is blood painted onto something which shows death and this is the font that we will be using. We want this font because it gives insight to what's going to happen in the future of the film. This will be the font that we will use because it is more conventional to a thriller

Planning Editing Styles

Why is editing important?

Editing is part of the post-production process of filmmaking. Editing is important because this is the part of the production that brings all the raw clips together. They put the film together and make sure that every part is in the correct place. They also edit other aspects such as the speed of the film, they can slow it down or make it faster, they can change the colouring and colour correct the clips, they put transitions between the clips and make the clips into a film.

What types of editing styles will you include in your thriller and why?

We will have a montage of clips that will increase the suspension because a montage sequence consists of a series of short shots that are edited into a sequence to condense narrative and we will also change the timing of cuts, we will make them slower to create tension to let the audience know something will happen. We will include straight cuts, which Shot A abruptly ends and Shot B abruptly begins so we will be going from clip to clip as we want to keep people aware and tense. We will also have a couple jump cuts otherwise the sequence the clip will get too long and will possibly bore the audience.

How will your editing styles help to make your thriller conventional?

They will add effect and emotions to the thriller. The audience will be anticipating what will happen next and who the killer is; it will add tension and suspension to put the audience on the edge of their seats. We wont the audience to be apart of the film and connect with the characters. We wont to make an atmosphere that brings the audience in so they are easy to scare. the clip will be fast paced, clear and the audience will see the feelings that the editor wants to put across.

Cinematography Group

Thrillers are made up of various camera shots to create different feelings and emotions and this helps to convey what the character is feeling. they engage the audience and open them up to be scary scenes that will make them jump.

The first camera shot that we will be including in out thriller is a panning shot. this shot is of Yeliz when she is in bed, this is to show who the main character in this film is going to be. This also tells you that she will be the victim, this is to get the audience's attention and so they will have a bind with this character so if anything is happening to her the suspence and tension will be higher.

The second shot we will include is a mid shot from outside of the window in the front door. this is also a POV of one of the bad guys. this is to let the audience know that someone is there and that the woman is in danger. this shot is also intriducing this first vilain, this is showing him to be a stalker and its also showing that he is very good at not being seen telling you that he will be hard to find after he has commited a crime.

A third shot is a close up, this is when Yeliz is getting a drink out of the fridge this shot is as important to telling you what is going to happen. This is to put the story together so it doesnt just cut to her pouring a drink of water.

The last shot that i will analysing in our thriller is a POV from Yeliz and from this you can see that she has seen someone through the relection of the glass cupboard door. this shot lets you know that Yeliz can see/ kows that someone is there and that something is going to happen. this is to create tension, supension and fear for not only te character but woth the audience and this is a convention that we really wanted to capture escpecially because as it is a thriller openintg

We have used these camera shots to get the audience involved with the film building a relationship with them and the characters. We want to create an atmosphere that the audience knew somehting was about to happen but we didnt let the character know until almost the end.

Production Roles

Camera Operator: Orcun and Arthur, this is because they know the story the best and they have a really  good idea of what needs to happen.

            A Camera Operators job is to assemble and set up the equipment that is required he also plans, prepares and rehearses scenes. The camera operator also has to follow the camera scripts, must have creative framing and captures action responding quickly to directions. They also liaise with he lighting and technician staff.

Actors: Sam and Orcun, this is because we have good hight making it better to be a villain because we are taller than the victim.

An Actor is in front of the camera and plays roles on stage, tv, radio, video and motion pictures. The must be good at copying the role that they are hired for. For example a Comic role, Action role, Depressed and sometimes are asked to sing and dance so they also need to be good in these areas.

Sound Technician: Sam, Harry, Arthur, Orcun, 

A sound technician is someone who sets up the equipment that is need to produce music, voices, and sound effects. They have to be able to use various tools such as microphones, mixers, amps, and speakers for indoor arenas, halls, studios and movie scenes.

Editors: Sam, Harry, Arthur, Orcun

An editor goes through the footage of a film once it has been filmed and selects the best scenes depending on the mood and dramatic scene that is need. They also trim segments add effects to those segments, makes cure the colour is correct if not they correct it to make the film flush. They add transitions, special effects, sound, music, and dialogue using his editing equipment. They put the whole film together making sure it is perfect for its purpose.

Film Director: Arthur, Arthur is the most experinced in film making and directing so he is the director since he is most suited for the role.

The film director is in charge of bringing the written narrative to the big screen so you are seeing what you reading. They also must have organising skills and technical skills so they are helping others grab the image that is in their mind.

Location Manager: Harry, Sam, We are filming in Harry's house so it is his location were we are filming and the second part of the film is recorded in Sam's garden which is his location, therefore they are both the ones organising the location, becoming the location managers.

The location manager finds a location suitable for a scene and for the entire movie. They make sure the weather is correct for the scene. Sometimes they have to find places all over the world for example Lord of the Rings was shot in New Zealand. If there is any problem with the location they sort it out and they have to make sure it is capable to film and have euipment there

Storyboard Organiser: Orcun and Arthur, Arthur and Orcun thought up the whole concept and story of the thriller so they will be the ones who will be coordinating the story correctly, since they are most clear of it and what they want the story to be filmed like.

This person makes sure the film is being shot in the right order of the story board and that the story board is correct to the idea that has been put forward.

Individual Storyboard

Can't upload, i need to bring them in on monday

Group Storyboard

History of The Thriller Genre

Thriller is a broad genre of literature, film, and television programming that uses suspense, tension and excitement as the main elements. It first came popular in America after the assassination of President Kennedy and an example of the directors of these films is the famous Hitchcock. There are usually us genres that are in thrillers and these can be psychological thrillers, crime thrillers and mystery thrillers. It group is a film that provides thrills and excitement that puts the audience on the edge of their seats as the plot builds to a climax. The highest point of tension usually comes when the victim is placed in an uncertain situation were the audience don't know what will happen to them. For an example when their life is being threatened by the killer who usually no one knows who he actually is. Thriller is also very closely coincided  with the horror genre which means there is usually a lot of blood and violence and there is always death but they both use atmosphere to grab the audiences attention. Thrillers are used in many ways to create an atmosphere which excites, thrills and entices the audience to carry on watching a film. This is done in several ways, such as through the use of lighting, mise-en-scene and also with the added use of non digetic and digetic music. The thriller genre was a popular genre during the past fifty years and is still increasingly popular within the industry today. There are many modern films such as Inception and the Dark Night Rises that are being lover the consumer and it is an ever growing genre that is widely regarded.

Questionnaire results

Prem Task

The purpose of the Preliminary task was to experiment with camera shots, editing style and sound styles and  to have a visual of each type of shot/style. There are some strengths and some weaknesses that are shown in this and some of these are:
Weakness; the story was not scripted so when we were taking different shot in the same conversation the actors were in different precisions and the conversation didn't flow well. there was also to many shot changes which made the clip look really bad especially at the start.
Strengths; when we changed shoulder angles we did it in different takes so that the camera is never seen.

with this task we now know that we shouldn't have so many shots for one small sequence as it gets to crowded. we also know to have a script but a script that can be improvised so its just a guide line but when different shots are being taken they must remember what they said and they must stay in the same position

Vox Props

We chose to go around and interview people because we wanted to get feedback for the questionnaire that we created. We wanted to do this so we know what conventions people like to see in a thriller film. We asked a range of questions so we know what content we should put in, what age to aim towards, what's attracts people to watch these types of films.

From these interviews we found out that people like the suspense and tension that is within a thriller, something that builds up to a point of uncertainty. We also found that they like it to be enjoyable, scary and play mind games. We also found that they don't only watch thriller films once a month if that so we need to make really good so that we can either make them watch it a few times or to get them more interested in thrillers.