Our Moodboard (By Sam Barber)

Our Draft Storyboard.

Shot Sizes

There are 8 main shot sizes you can use when filming. These are explained a bit more below.

Problems and Solutions: During our Planning Process.

During our preparation and research for our thriller opening we have came up with multiple ideas which we have had to develop or completely change due to problems that have occurred; 

Problem One: 

 Our original idea was based upon a mental patient with OCD, when planning our opening scene we came up with the idea of filming in a hotel room and have multiple props which signify mental illness and OCD; bottles of pills and ordered books. Although we realised this wasn't practical as hotel rooms are too clean and making it dirty ourselves would be risky. 

 Solution: 

 In order to over come this we decided to scrap the hotel theme and try to come up with another suitable set for our filming. In the end we agreed on changing our idea completely and focussing on a Schizophrenia patient. 

 Problem Two; 

In addition we planned to include fireworks in our production and due to firework night being scheduled in half term, our group arranged a meeting in order to get footage for our opening. Although we did not know that Cameras could not be taking out during half term due to upcoming exams. 

 Solution; 

As we could not include fireworks in our opening as we originally planned, we carried out more research and analysed more Thriller openings till we came up with our current idea.

Problem Three:

In our original idea we wanted to include a smashed window to symbolise someone had escaped, when planning where to record we realised it was a practical idea as none of us would be able to break our windows or knew of any building which would match the other footage.

Solution:

To eliminate the problem we decided not to use a broken window.

Cutting Edge Documentary

We watched a documenarty and I made a few notes of what I found within the vdeo.

It discussed slow pace build up and slow motion. It goes on to mention that in a chase scene there is almost always peaks and valleys which are moments of intensity. Peaks stimulate excitement and Valleys are at normal intensity. 

There is a lot of juxtaposition within chase scene. Juxtaposition is the act of placing two different ideas, images, objects or characters side by side or in similar positions for effect. By placing the two opposing things together, their differences are even more prominent.

Cutting Suspense

Between characters- parallel action
music
never any long shots always close ups(to see emotion)/medium close ups(see emotion aswell as body language) in thrillers
Lighting shown- key light, back light and there tends to be no more than 2 lights in scene in thrillers.

Scream

The scream in one of the thrillers in is a medium close up
they cut from her to the scream mask then cut back to her again
music creates hype and tension
When she saw the car it was a valley(because you think she is going to get away) and then the Peak is where she gets stabbed(stimulate excitement)

Silence of the lambs 1991

Breathing- non-diegetic
point of view show- you are the camera(we will try to include this in our opening sequence as it's a good way to involve the viewers thinking that they are there)
following her movements
The valley in these thriller is the build up
The peak is when we see the gun- close up shot
Night vision- binoculars- green, your point of view again. He could see her but she couldn't see him which is sensory deprivation.

Our questionnaire feedback

We asked 10 females and 10 males to answer our questionnarie and here are the results.


Question 1. Are you male or female?

10 people were female

10 people were male


Question 2. What do you come under in these age spans?

3 people were between 10-15

10 people were between 16-20

1 person was between 21-25

6 people were between 26+



Question 3. Do you enjoy thriller films?

13 people said yes

7 people said no


Question 4. How often do you go to the cinema?

1 person goes once a week

10 people go once a month

9 people said between 5-10 times a year


Question 5. What attracts you to thrillers?

2 people said music

11 people said tension

5 people said actors/actresses

1 person said the plot


Question 6. How often do you watch thriller films?

10 people said rarely

0 people said I don't watch them

5 people said often

5 people said frequently


Question 7. How do you feel after you've watched a thriller?

8 people feel fine

6 people feel scared

6 people said excited



Question 8. Do you buy thriller dvds?
11 people said rarely

5 people said often

2  people said frequently

2 people  said never


Question 9. Do you prefer thrillers in 3D?

5 people said yes

15 people said no

I0 people said they don't watch thrillers


Question 10. What is your favourite thriller?

10 people mentioned a film of some kind from Paranormal activity

5 people mentioned a film of some kind from Saw

Other answers included, Seven, House at the end of the street and final destination

Target Audience Questionnaires

Here are a list of 10 questions that as a group we came up with that we could ask a varity of people to gain some knowledge of what people think about thriller movies.


1.Are you male or female?



2. Where do you come under these age spans?

10-15

16-20

21-25

26+

3. Do you enjoy thriller films?

yes

no


4. What attracts you to thrillers?

music

tension

actors/actresses

other.. please specify


5. How often do you go to the cinema?

once a week

once a month

other..(please specify)



6. How often do you watch thriller films?

rarely

I don't watch them

often

frequently


7. How do you feel after you've watched a thriller?

fine

scared

excited

other.. please specify.......


8. Do you buy thrillers on DVD?

rarely

often

frequently

never



9. Do you prefer thrillers in 3D?

yes

no

I don't watch thrillers


10. What is your favourite thriller film?

Our Target Audience

The target audience for our film primarily would be C2, D, and E of the socio-economic group: skilled working class, working class and those at the lowest level of substance. Although it may be consumed by C1, lower middle class as although it isn't hugely horrifying and gory, it is quite hard to follow and to get your head round, you really have to watch the film to be able to make sense of it, it does take some clever analysing and can be interpreted in many different ways.

Our secondary would be 27-40 year olds, this wouldn't be primary as I feel it has quite a modern feel and it isn't really something that an older generation would be familiar with, for example the technology in it, yet it does makes use of some older things too, when the flashbacks are used. creating some sort of nostalgia.

Lastly, our tertiary audience would be 16+ it would be no lower than 16 due to its content but some mature sixteen year olds may understand the film and will relate with it very well.

Our target audience for this opening sequence would primarily be individuals with disposable income, we chose this as these individual generally spend more money as it is not their own and therefore we have more chance of making a profit.

Age wise we decied to choose from 15 to 18 as some of the contents may not make sense and also as some of it is at a fast pace it may confuse the younger generations. Our sequence could also be viewed by adults to encourage all ages to watch our opening sequence.

Role of the team

We all decided on what each of us were going to do to make our opening sequence successful.

Liam will mainly be doing the editing, and creating a story board in order for the other members of the group to post on their blogs. Sam will be doing the filming and Chenell. I will be doing the researching and planning. Although we have these specific roles we decided that we would try doing a bit of each in order to give everyone more experience.

Analysis Of "Shawshank Redemption"

 

 



The opening sequence of this movie begins with a black background with white writing, this represents the hope of the entire film. There is hope throughout as we see as an audience which is reflected in the first few seconds. It begins with an establishing shot of an isolated hut, this isn’t the main setting of the film but begins the plot to come. We know that this is an opening sequence as there are credits throughout the opening. There is music playing from a car radio and it is operatic and serene and sounds very sad and depressing like the mood. There is a range of shots to show the development of the scene and gives the audience hints of what is about to happen. The lighting is dark and it is dark establishing that it is at night and that the people don’t want to be disturbed. The hook of the opening sequence is the murder that takes place, is it who we think? Or is that too obvious for the audience? There is cross cutting between the court room and the event that takes place, it keeps our attention on the sequence and we as an audience do not get bored. The opening continues and is quite dramatic, we are drawn in as an audience.

 

The first thing I realised after watching the clip was its very clever use of flashbacks and the way that makes use of after effects to separate the two,(Present tense and past tense) they do this by mainly 3 techniques, these are some of the techniques I will now be analysing.

Firstly, lighting, most of the whole opening section of the film, is in low key lighting, which creates dark shadows that darken the mood and add mystery to the scene. Uplighting is used to distort the mans face using on light from below the actor: creating shadows which distort his face and highlighting his expression. During the court room scene the overall lighting is grey and somewhat colourless.

 

Further to this when the lovers enter the cabin the filter is yellow adding the sense of past tension within the scene and on entrance both male and female have silhouette and low key lighting is used once again but to add a sense of passion.

Secondly, camera work, this is also very complex and clever firstly, it makes use of reflections, a common conventions of thrillers, which is quite disorientating. There are alot of close ups and extreme close ups in this scene, and some shots are in between medium and close up, mostly when he is getting out of the car, the particular shot just after he gets out of the car is a dominant medium shot, making him look very powerful and dangerous. Tracking is used frequently during the court scene to put emphasis on the persecutions authority and to highlight the intimidation. We could use this technique in our short film when the antagonist is on screen, making him also look powerful and dangerous.

The way the "flashbacks" are separated from the present tense, are the fact that in all the flashbacks, the shots have a yellow filter on them, making them look very vintage and old, they also have music playing, (The title sequence music) as if it is on a record player as you can hear the crackles of it. I feel this was very clever, and if we were to use flashbacks in our piece we would most likely use a similar technique.

 

 

Furthermore, mise en scene, they're are props like drink, the bullets, the hammer in the court case, even the womans red dress and jacket she wore, red connotes passion, intense, blood, love, lust, i feel this was particularly chosen also to emphasise the love, lust, and passion in the scene, i feel this was very clever.

 

In addition the film is edited very slow; which makes the viewer pay attention to detail  and also during the court scene makes the viewer experience the pressure that the male is under. The font used for credits and titles, is very 1950's setting the scene, also it is much like bars and fences, like a prison or prison bars, it is quite formal, and very masculine.

 

Sounds in Media.

There are many sound techniques in media,
Firstly, there is diegetic sound, sound whose source is visible on the screen or whose source is implied to be present by the action of the film for example if we are in a bedroom scene and an individual is playing music, a shot will be taken of the cd player from which is the sounds source. On the contrary Digetic sound can be either on screen or off screen depending on whatever its source is within the frame or outside the frame; if we were to hear a door bell or a Television, although it isn't in shot it is diegetic as it is still possible. Another term for diegetic sound is actual sound

In contrast to this, there is non diegetic sound. This is sound whose source is neither visible on the screen nor has been implied to be present in the action. For example, narrator's commentary or voice overs, sound effects which are added for the dramatic effect and also mood/ atmospheric music. The difference between diegetic or non-diegetic sound are emphasised film viewing and listening. We know of that certain sounds are represented as coming from the screen, or story. while others are represented as coming from outside the space of the story events. A play with diegetic and non-diegetic conventions can be used to create ambiguity (horror), which is most like what we will be doing when creating our thrillers.

Furthermore, there is parallel sound,Parallel sound describes the condition where audio and visual effects match, not in synchronity, but in tone and mood. It is "parallel" with what happens on the film, for example if something emotional is happening, emotional music, most likely minor chords. I think the majority of our thriller will contain this. May also be called synchronous sound.
In addition to this there is contrapuntal sound,Contrapuntal sound is where the sounds or music used contrast with the film; sound that does not fit in with the events happening.  The example we were shown done this technique very well, it was Trainspotting, the scene where Ewan McGregor is talking of drugs etc, and the music being played is triumphant orchestral music. Which completely doesn't fit, but it gives a very unique and clever effect for example it makes you feel as if he thinks what he is doing is good and triumphant.

Lastly, sound bridges are when the scene begins with the carry-over sound from the previous scene before the new sound begins.

We could use  many of these within our thriller as I think it would create confusion and disorientate the audience.

Analysis of the opening of 'The Machinist' 2004.

The film starts with a sound bridge, of a man groans, breathes,and sighs, which is almost sexual sounding, whilst on screen all we see is titles slowing fading in and out on a black background, this immediately disorientates the audience wondering what is going on as, these previous groans which were most likely assumed to be sexual by the audience are shown to be the groans of a man rolling up something in a carpet.There is use of music, which is mainly, once again consistent of violins and synths, the volume of this goes up and 

down parallel to the tension in the film.

• There was low key lighting
• Slow pace (only used 6-10 shots in the 2 minutes)
• Fade in with a sound bridge of a man struggling with someting
• relection of the city lights on the window which creates tension
• MCU and Close Ups
• Over the shoulder shots to show what he is doing
• Voyuerism and some of the shots seemed to be 'spying' on him and he doesn't know about it which creats suspension and more tension
• Sensory depriavtion- dpriving our sight which makes it scary
• You can tell he is an unhappy man by the way his clothes are untucked you would say that he had an office job and he was wearing a shirt
• He has cuts and bruses on his face
• Eyeline Match is used(This is when two people are having a conversation, you have to make sure that the eyeline match, no matter where the camera is.)
• The torch is reavled by paning
• Music- instruments
• sound effects- water running
• Reflections from the Mirror
• Mysterious sounds( grunting 'uh', sexual connatation which is intentional)

 

 

 

In the first scene (where we can just about make out that he is rolling up a body in a carpet), the camera makes use of another technique which is even more sensory deprivation, firstly the black screen although we can hear, and then when the visual fades in the cameras focus is on the window, and everything in the room, (the significant part of the shot), is blurred, disorientating the viewer.
 

Atmosphere of the opening is definitely reliant on the suspenseful tone of the music and as the piece continues it almost feels like that what we are watching is following what we are seeing like the opening has been cut to fit the music. For example the cuts between the approaching torch in the dark towards Christian Bale and Bale’s reaction happens during a wavy hum which stands out against the rest of the piece giving that scene a feel of panic and continues that feeling afterwards not with the hum but with an increased volume and tempo with the other instruments to keep up the tension as the body Bale kicks down the slope unravels itself during this time the cutting and editing still feels like it is following the audio as it increase speed much like the tempo of the music.

The atmosphere and mise-en-scene used in “The Machinist” is fairly common amongst other similar thrillers. It is a dark time of day so early morning or late at night alongside the dead wasteland like setting gives an ominous feel. The way Bale looks himself shows how edgy and paranoid he is with how he carelessly is wearing his clothes and how dirt covered he is especially his face. Bales truck like the setting itself appears old and rusted almost like the entire place is dying. 

The camera shots are very steady and contain little or no movement at all giving a sense of a false calm in the opening. Many of the shots are done from low or high angles. The camera shots also use voyeurism, this is a technique that makes it seem as if it is from the audiences perspective, as if they are spying on him, this is noticeable, once again in the first scene where it is shot from outside the window, and then when he is throwing the body into the water, we are almost "hiding" as many things  obscure our vision in the shot yet the main character can always be seen.The first 2 scenes are also establishing shots first of the character and second of the location. Going back to the end of the clip the identity of the body is not shown the audience only Bale’s reaction doing what thrillers do best and builds tension and intrigue.

Eyeline Match.

Eyeline match occurs whens people are having a conversation or where someone is looking at an object and then you see what he is looking at. At this point the camera has to match with what the person is looking at in order for the shot to be successful. An example is below;

An eyeline match is a film editing technique associated with the continuity editing system. It is based on the premise that the audience will want to see what the character on-screen is seeing. The eyeline match begins with a character looking at something off-screen, followed by a cut to the object or person at which he is looking. For example, a man is looking off-screen to his left, and then the film cuts to a television that he is watching.

Anaylsis of Thriller opening, Leon.

• Sound effects and instrumental music creates realism

• Low key lighting was a key aspect of the opening especially on the face which encourages mystery and from that you instantly know that it's going to be a thriller.

• The name of the film is show in capital letters which makes the stand out

• You can tell that it's in a New York City- you can establish this by the use of the setting i.e tall buildings and the fact there is yellow taxi's on the road which is an icon of New York City. I also noted that it's in the backstreet as it's run down and not busy which contrasts with the city.

• There were many close up's of faces- the closer you get to someones face the more tense it becomes. Low key lighting is also on the close up as shadows are created.

• They have cleverly used the significance of the glasses which give a reflection of what's going on in the scene.

• Fast pace as it enters the door

• The 180 degree rule is followed at all time as well as shot reverse shot

• There is also fade in and out which suggests time passing by- mysterious

• You could gather that at times the camera was hand held which could imply that it's form your perspective and that you're actual there which shows realism. (documentary realism)

• And finally I also spotted that instrumental music enters when he is drinking his glass of milk which implies that something is about to happen.

Lighting techniques within Thrillers.

There are many lighting techniques and conventions assocuated with thriller movies, two of which are high and low key lighting. Both High Key images and Low Key images make an intensive use of contrast, but in a very different way.

 

 

   High key lighting

The term high key and low key lighting is regularly heard in photography circles but often misunderstood. In it’s simplest terms a high key image is a bright image full of light and mostly white tones. It making use of reflectors and minimising and stopping any chance of shadows being caused. Usually using filters, so the hard light is softened. An example of this is shown to the left, it is using high key lighting.
High-Key lighting is almost the opposite, having many lights, making use of reflectors and minimising and stopping any chance of shadows being caused. During the set up of low key, varies different cameras are used to aliminate as many shadows as possible.

 

     Low key lighting

For low key images, less lights are often used but precision is required in the application of the lighting to control important shadow detail. Successful low key lighting is often directed towards camera from behind the subject and is flagged to avoid spill and directed to bring out edge detail.




The skill is in making sure that the areas of importance are either pinpointed with controlled pools of low powered light or the careful application of reflectors. In the set up of low key lighting only one light is used generally, this one light used is also usually hard light, to exploit the shadows of the face even more, the contrast created with low-key lighting makes it very "in your face" and makes it stand out; although it Is possible to use a soft light and still have low-key lighting.

 

 Three point lighting technique

The Three Point Lighting Technique is a standard method used in visual media such as video, film, still photography and computer-generated imagery. It is a simple but versatile system which forms the basis of most lighting. Once you understand three point lighting you are well on the way to understanding all lighting.

 

Key light

This is the main light. It is usually the strongest and has the most influence on the look of the scene. It is placed to one side of the camera/subject so that this side is well lit and the other side has some shadow.

Fill Light

This is the secondary light and is placed on the opposite side of the key light. It is used to fill the shadows created by the key. The fill will usually be softer and less bright than the key. To acheive this, you could move the light further away or use some spun. You might also want to set the fill light to more of a flood than the key.



Back light

The back light is placed behind the subject and lights it from the rear. Rather than providing direct lighting (like the key and fill), its purpose is to provide definition and subtle highlights around the subject's outlines. This helps separate the subject from the background and provide a three-dimensional look.


 

Analysis of the thriller opening in 'The Beach'

The Beach is an adventurous and seductive thriller featuring Leonardo DiCaprio as the main protagonist called Richard.

Throughout the scenes during the opening, the scenes fade between opening credits and the opening scene, at one point the scene dissolves to show the title of the film, The Beach, and then fades into the scene which creates a good effect for a thriller opening.
In the opening sequence of the thriller, the location is based in a foreign country, the idea of the film being based in a foreign country sets the tension automatically for the audience as it is not a location, country that most people have common knowledge about or know very well, this creates an uncertain atmosphere due to a combination of continuity editing, which makes the audience feel like they're taking part and are uncertain where they are being lead at the beginning of the thriller. This meets one of the thriller conventions which is that thrillers give you this sense of uncertainty in order to build up that 'thrill' the audience is waiting to happen.

The camera shots which have been edited to create a sense of continuity editing used in the film were, shot reverse shot, which is used in conversation with the protagonist and another character, the audience feel like they're part of the scene which helps create the tension. There are reaction shots used at various times which helps the audience read the mood the character is in, how they're feeling.

Analyse of opening credits in 'The Stepfather'

The stepfather

• simple black writing
• set in the suburbs america, nice community, family homes
• everybody on the street gets a news paper and he has cancelled it
• music, quite, creepy, piano, mysterious, something bad has happened
• household things that you have connotation of danger e.g scissors, tweezers act
• also all the appliances one would use during a make over e.g hair dye
• music intensifies when the man character is shown, get more creepy indicating someone bad has happened or will happen
• hair dye
• surroundings in the bath room are clean and even to an extreme of ocd
• changing appearance
• cut himself with a razor.. blood
• change in appearance contact lenses, one changes appearance when running from something or someone or to discieve someone 
• house is bare
• suitcase indicates your running from something
• phone of the hock normally associated with something bad happened
• kitchen is untidy in comparison to the rest of the house
• all the colours are bright and room are spacious, maybe too clean?
• christmas music

The initial scene thats starts The stepfather cuts to a medium shot of a truck in a suburban street, with a man inside delivering copies of the ‘Salt Lake City Gazette’, throwing them out of the window onto the driveways of the houses. The truck then stops outside one of the houses, looking down a clipboard to see that the house’s subscription to the gazette has been cancelled, and drives on. In the top left of the screen, the names of the other production and distribution companies are shown in a black, bold font. In the background, quiet, sinister music plays, creating feelings of tension and suspense, even though the film has just begun.

The film then cuts to a slow tracking shot, moving from right to left focusing on a shaving kit, presumably inside the house seen in the last shot. A man then appears in the mirror, while the name of the film, The Stepfather, appears in the bottom left.
He continues with a normal morning routine, including shaving, and showering, but then, when he changes his contact lenses to alter the appearance of his eyes, we realise that he is deliberately trying to change his appearance. Throughout this routine, the names of the main actors fade in and out in different corners of the screen, appearing for a few seconds and then disappearing.  A close up shot of the man is seen after, this shows that he is going to change his appearance. He changes his appearance which consists of: dying hair, shaving beard, changing contacts, no glasses. He looks like a completely different person after he has gone through the stages of changing himself.  This indicates that something has happened or is going to happen in which he has to run away from something.

The credits all appear in simple black capital letter and fade away. Black indicates danger and something bad has happened. Throughout the opening the music is slow and creepy, although when it arrives to the main characters face the music intensifies and begins to get faster increasing the mystery and excitement of the makeover.

He come down with packed bags which indicates that he is either leaving his home for a while or leaving town. Before he leaves he continues like its a normal day, he goes to the kitchen to make breakfast and walks past a dead body of a child like it is normal and nothing is wrong. 

The man then walks out of the kitchen and around the house, and is followed by the camera, which then tilts to the side to show a dead child leaning on the kitchen table. The original sinister music then comes back in with a sharp high-pitched stab, to make the audience jump. The camera then pans around the house to reveal more dead bodies lying around, on the floor and on the sofa. The man calmly walks around the house, collecting his things before leaving. As he reaches the door, he has a flashback, and there is a cut to a close up of a girl screaming, then back to the man. He picks up his suitcases and walks out the door, while the camera cuts to a close up of the same girl lying dead on the floor.
We then see the man in his car, adjusting the rear view mirror.

Opening scene of the Stepfather: 

Lookroom

Look room is the space that you leave in front of someones face on the screen. This space gives the person room to breathe, as well as gives the impression that the person is looking at or talking to someone just off screen. If you don't leave enough look room, your subject will appear to be boxed-in and confined.
It  is a basic technique in the world of filming where by which you film a person and most of the screen, if not taken up by a character is taken up by where they are looking, unless something is going to happen behind them, much like in a thriller movie, below is a very good example of using the Look room/head room rule.
 

Analysis of opening credits in 'American Psycho'

American Psycho' opens with the credit sequence, the music begins in the ident, this is very slow, low pitched music, which makes the audience feel apprehensive, and weary and are likely to expect something bad to happen. We are then introduced to the credits which are displaced in sans-serif font on a white, blank background. what we might recognise (in this mood set by the music) as blood drops appear falling on the screen with higher-pitched noises, which we could perceive as stabs.

The credits being very simply, by the plain white background and the ordinary font style, this gives the impression of simplicity and smartness as everything looks very sleek and organised. There is a hint of themes that could be included in the movie as there are drops of 'blood' dripping down from the screen as the text appears. Further to this the blood drops also follows the codes and conventions normally associated with Thrillers.

When the main character's name appears in the credits, the importance of his name is signified by the slight change in the sound and the image of a knife on the screen. This alerts the audience because of the props used, making the audience acknowledge this part more. This part also confuses the audience as a knife usually connotes the idea of death/danger, whereas in this circumstance the knife is being used in cooking, which misleads the audience. As the knife aggressively cuts the meat on the screen the diegetic sound highlights it signifiance by making the sound exaggerated.

A pan shot is then used of a birdseye view of lots of food plate that looks very glamorous and expensive. The music changes here to a very soft, instrumental music that is very cheerful. This is a transformation that has gradually changed from the beginning of the credits. The audience are fooled into thinking the theme is fairly negative, whereas the true theme are displayed to be very positive. In addition the food on the plate is the climax of the tension that builds throughout the opening credits. 

American Psycho opening credit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AT9CxFuR_lY