Weekly Updates

Ident

This is what we will present before playing the opening. We have included all of our initials into it to create J.A.M productions.

 

Storyboard Feedback

After creating our story board, we gave it to people that fitted with our targeted audience and asked them what they thought. This is the feedback they gave:

·They didn’t approve with the idea of filming in a built up location. They said that the opening would fit more with the thriller genre if it was in a small isolated location. We have chosen to film in this sort of location because it will appeal more to our audience.

·They agreed with the use of the table prop in the middle of the room. They said that this would make the character on screen look more mysterious and will create tension as the video goes on. We have decided as a group that this will be definitely be in our thriller and will be one of the most obvious props.

·They said that another effective prop for our thriller was the lamp on the table. The lamp will light up what’s on the table. Such as the photographs, notebook and gun but will keep the face of the killer hidden. This will make the thrilling nature of the video more effective.

·The storyboard testers also said that our thriller plot fits well with its genre. They said that it will be successful in keeping the audience on edge and will build tension throughout the 2 minutes.

 

Questionnaire Evaluation

Target audience: 20-35 males who enjoy watching films.

1.    In a thriller, is fast paced or slow paced music more effective in creating a tense atmosphere?

Slow paced – 2

Fast paced - 4

Both – 2

-We asked this question to see which style of music is more effective when making people feel tenser. We’ve found out that most people think that fast paced is more effective, so we will include some fast paced music to increase tension.

2.    How do you usually hear about new films?

TV – 6
Newspaper – 1
Internet – 1
Social media – 1

-These results show us the best way to publically release a film. We have found out that people hear about new films mostly from the TV and adverts.

3.    What is your favourite film opening and why?

The Departed – makes it look interesting
Gravity – exciting

Rush – wets appetite

We’re the Millers – funny

White House Down – intense atmosphere

Anchorman – funny

Pacific Rim – exciting music

The Great Gatsby – Soundtrack

-The results that we have collected from asking this question lets us see what people determine to be a good opening, so we can draw from famous openings and include some of it in our own.

4.    What props would you expect to see in a thriller?

Weapons – 5
Crucifix and holy water – 1

None answers – 2

-We have learnt from this question that people expect to see weapons in an opening to a thriller. We will include a weapon of some kind to our video. We will look at famous thriller openings to see how different weapons are used and compare it to what we can do.

5.    What is the worst thriller you have seen and why?

Paranormal Activity - 4
Mama - 1

Ghost rider - 1

None answer – 1

- After collecting the answers to this question, we have a wider knowledge of what conventions and themes we should not use in our thriller. The results tell us that a thriller opening similar to Ghost Rider or paranormal activity will not appeal to our audience. We will not create an opening like this.

6.    What grabs your attention in a Crime thriller and why?

Good plot
Suspense

Death

Music – suspenseful

Thrilling events

An unknown killer

-We learnt from these answers what will help to grab the audience’s attention in our thriller opening. We found out that suspenseful music will grab the viewer’s attention and will make the thriller more effective. We will also make sure that our thriller opening has an effective plot that will keep that audience engaged.

7.    Do your personal interests affect the types of films you watch and why?

Yes – 6
No – 2
Why? Suspense

-After collecting these answers, we found that linking the thriller to people’s interests would make it more interesting.

8.    What is your favourite poster for a film and why?

The Departed – 2
Pulp Fiction

Die Hard

Friday 13^th

Star Wars

No answer – 2

-By asking this question we have learned what kinds of things people like when viewing a film poster.

9.    What characters appeal to you in a Crime Thriller and why?

The hero
Helpless victim – 2

Vulnerable female

Interesting characters

The killer

Psychopaths

-From asking this question we aimed to learn what people wanted to see in a thriller. We learned that people like a stereotypical hero and helpless victim. We will include a psychopathic killer and helpless victim in our film as a result of this question.

10. For a setting, would you prefer:

1)An isolated building-8               
2)An open area-0         
3)An urban setting-0

-       We learned that people prefer watching thrillers set in an isolated building. We are setting our crime thriller in an isolated barn as a result of this.

Font Ideas - Note book prop

 

Storyboard - Final

This is our final storyboard

Storyboard Draft

This is the storyboard for our first idea 

Test Shots

Extreme Long Shot

Long Shot

Mid Shot

Close Up

Extreme Close Up

Focus Pull

ISL 8

 

First Picture

The camerawork in the still uses a high angled shot to give the effect that the audience is dominant over the figure. Its also a longs shot which is used to show the figure in their environment. The editing throughout the opening is slow-paced to allow the audience to read the titles as they appear on the screen. They use straight cuts to the next shot and then a new title appears on the screen. The title in this still is central so it meant to catch the audiences attention and also its larger and bolder than the other title that appear on the screen from the other shots. The shot is filmed from under water or made to look like it been filmed under water, as well the costume that the figure is wearing seems to be a suit with a tie. There aren’t any props in the shot. The lighting is moderate in the fact the audience can only just see what is in the shot, also they can only just see what the figure is in the middle.

Second Picture (Next on to the right)

The camerawork in the still uses an extreme low angled shot to give the impression that he is falling/dying because the target actually falls towards the camera in the movie. Also the blod pouring out of the target might suggest that hes been shot and will tell the audience why hes falling. The editing throughout the opening is slow-paced to allow the audience to read the titles as they appear on the screen. They use straight cuts to the next shot and then a new title appears on the screen. There aren’t any titles in the still. The shot is filmed from under water again or made to look like it been filmed under water, there aren’t any costumes used. The target could be counted as a prop, the target slowly falls down to the camera and also there are lots of them floating around in the background.
Third Picture (Next on to the right)

The camerawork in the still uses a long shot to show the location of the shot however it doesn’t really show any dominace because there isnt any angles involved to connote inferiority or superiority. The editing through the scene is very slow so the audience can read the title that appears on the screen. The title in the still in more towards the top left corner. The shot is filmed so it looks like a woodland or a forest but I think they have used CGI to create the opening title sequence. As well in the shot there are objects relating to the character/movie but these are more CGI edited props because they weren’t actually filmed.

Fourth Picture (Under the first picture)

The camerawork in the still uses a high angled shot to show superiority to the audience, it is also meant to show inferiority to the character in the shot. Also a long shot is used to show what the character is doing and a bit of the location that he/she is in. The editing throughout the opening is slow-paced to allow the audience to read the titles as they appear on the screen. They use straight cuts to the next shot and then a new title appears on the screen. The title in this shot is in the bottom right corner but it is quite difficult to readbecause of the colours of the background and of the text. The shot looks like the background has been enhanced to look more hostile and dangerous, this suggests to the audience that the character is tough because he/she can handle the environment.

Pitch video

Shot List

Location

This is our first location idea for our thriller opening. For our main idea we wanted to shoot the thriller in an isolated location. We originally chose this location because it looks run down and adds to the thrilling nature of the video. This makes the intention of the video clear to the audience. We got the idea of a house like this from the movie seven. In the opening of seven there are various close ups of a man in a dark and secluded room. This is how we want to shoot our thriller opening.

 

This is another idea for our thriller opening location. With each of our ideas we agreed on the idea of setting it in a secluded location. This dark location will allow us to use multiple types of shots and will give the video more variety. The dark location will also enable us to use lighting to create tension throughout the video. This will make it possible to gain full marks for our production.

We got the idea of these houses from various horror films such as texas chainsaw massacre and house in the woods. Each of these films use the house to create a neative atmosphere as the location adds effect.

Props

For our ideas we will be using a backpack, torch and a camcorder.

 

We will be using a backpack to illustrate to the viewer that the two characters are adventurers and have all their belongings inside the backpack. that backpack fits the thriller convention because it shows that they have a limited amount of resources and they will have to use it to the best of their ability to survive.

 



 

As well as that, we will be using a torch so that when they are in the isolated house, only some of it will be illuminated. The touch fits the thriller conventions because it  makes the viewer feel tense as they can only see what the touch light is illuminating. From this it makes them feel uncertain about that will happen to the character.

 

Furthermore, the characters will enter the scene on bicycles which will make them seem vulnerable and it will make them seem more realistic. The bicycles fit the thriller conventions because the vulnerability makes them seem fearless and brave, like the stereotypical hero in a film.We got the idea from 127 hours where the man gets trapped. This shows that someone is isolated and has limited resources to help him survive.

 

 

Lighting

Actors

The actors that feature in our film opening will have different characteristics for the different roles. For the killer we wanted a tall & muscular male, we wanted the killer to be like this because we wanted the audience to see him as being more dominant and having control over the situation that we would put him in. Also it wouldn’t matter what he looked like because we would conceal his identity and not let the audience know who he was. We wanted him to be tall & muscular because they give the impression of power and dominance and also emphasise them, also using the camera effectively would help do this too.

 

 

For the victim we wanted a small & skinny male, we wanted the victim to be like this because we want to show inferiority to the audience and also that he wasn’t in control over the situation he would be in. Again it wouldn’t matter what he looked like because we plan to cover it in fake blood, but as long as it showing that he’s quite inferior and doesn’t really have control over the situation, we would also use effective camerawork to show this.

 

 

These characteristics are stereotypical because the bad guy always over-powers the victim and wants to inflict pain or suffering into their lives because of a past event. The victim isn’t really stereotypical because he doesn’t have any strengths, he gets beaten and hurt badly by the killer and can't do anything to save himself. We got these ideas from several thrillers like Seven and Memento because it uses the stereotypes well and it has a good use of actors.

Costume

The costume for the characters will be different;
- The killer will be wearing a smart suit
- The victim will be wearing a rough suit or smart clothes with dirt stains and rips in them

Smart clothes suggest that they work somewhere important so they have to dress accordingly. We wanted to use these costumes because they don’t fit the location that we wanted to film in. This will create an atmosphere of uncertainty within the audience because they know that something isn’t right because they look out of place. The costume itself is quite stereotypical because in most crime thrillers you have the person in charge who is always dressed smartly, and his men who work for him are dressed quite smart too. We have used this idea but slightly tweaked it so that the two smartly dressed characters are fighting instead of being on the same team, we liked this because it’s very high in action and sets the rest of the film up really well. We got the idea from Memento where the main character is dressed nicely and he kills is co-worker.

 

Brainstoming of Our Idea's

-       We discussed some new ideas for our 2 minute thriller opening. We came up with new ideas of the order of the video and chose which would be more effective.

 

-       Discussed multiple costume ideas for each of the characters. E.g. we decided that both characters will be wearing smart wear such as a white shirt and a tie.

 

-        Discussed possible locations to shoot our thriller opening. We talked about what kind of area would make our video more effective.

 

-       We decided that our video will begin by showing the result of a fight. There will be a bloody man who is injured and is being dragged along the floor. The killer will drop the injured man and will put a gun to his head. After a cut to black, it will start to show a man crossing out faces on a picture and loading a gun. It will show him loading a gun, crossing out names and looking at photos of people.

 

-       Credits: Carved name in table. The names of the director etc. will be on the list of names that the killer is hunting. The names will be crossed out after the team members names have been made clear.

Pitches

Pitch feedback

Thriller Openings Analysis

Se7en

The thriller se7en uses different camera techniques and editing to create an effective opening. The most obvious use of camera shots is the close ups of the hands during the openings. The use of close ups show a lack of identity within the scene and helps to build the thrilling nature of the film. The close ups also show the detail of what is happening in the opening. The character is shown to be writing in a book and handling a razor blade. This sets the atmosphere for the rest of the film as it shows a hint towards violence.

The use of props is also effective in creating an effective opening. The props used in the opening are revealed as it progresses through the scene. This helps the continuing build of a gripping atmosphere throughout the opening and keeps the audience more on edge as it goes on. The props are also used to create a sickening feeling as you see the hands crossing out names making it seem like he’s a murder and going to kill again. As well as this it adds a mysterious feeling to the opening because the audience don’t know who the person and makes them want to find out who it is.

No country for old men

The opening for this thriller is not like any of the others, instead of car chases or killings; it just has different shots of what looks to be a desert in America. Because most of the shots are extreme long shots of quite peaceful locations, it connotes calmness and gives the audience the impression that nothing bad will happen but really a lot of bad things happen.

There is also a voice over during this opening; because the voice isn’t shouting or aggressive it also connotes calmness as well as the scenery. But, the audience is made to worry about the male that gets in the police car at the end of the scene. We are made to worry because of the weapon that this man has on him.  This makes it a good opening because of the mixed feelings that are expresses through scenery and mise-en-scene.

Skyfall

The opening for Skyfall is a rather strange opening and as usual to a 007 movie it is mainly based on special effects in a type of montage effect. This is effective as it gives us some idea what will happen in the movie, such as drowning which happens towards the end. It is also effective as the music available also relate to the destruction that happens in the movie. The effects on the titles is also effective as it dissolves and fades. This makes it good as it makes the title seem more interesting towards the audience. It is also effective as the montage effect makes the whole title sequence seem smooth and steady as it does not flick between clips as it is one large edited piece that merges into different items and scenes as it is going on. This shows continuity within the movie. Also, the use of blood in a part of it and the use of red also relates to the danger that the main character is constantly placed in throughout the movie. This also makes it effective as blood is common in fights which also go on in a lot of the movie.

Conventions of a Thriller - Holiday Homework

Prelim Evaluation