Thriller opening final edit

Thriller Evaluation

 

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Our opening thriller sequence represents many social groups, although my piece particularly represents middle class teenagers of both genders between the ages of 15-19. Although it is targeted to both genders I believe females are more likely to watch this due to the fact the two main characters who are the victims are both female. We found this idea from watching Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho 1960. To convey some of our representations we used actors and actress around the age of 17 this allows our main target audience to connect with them. Both the female characters are shown in natural clothing such as jeans, tops, jumpers and coats which portray the girls class and status of “middle class” we did this to add to the mise-en-scene as we wanted to portray a normal/ typical day which would then produce impact when the true story line is revealed, this also connects to the typical thriller conventions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VP5jEAP3K4

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

The type of media institution that might distribute my media product would be a local independent low budget company such as ‘EM Media’ or ‘working title’ which mainly work and distribute British films. However EM Media is an independent, not for profit organisation. It only raises finance to invest in and support the digital content industries across the East Midlands region. Therefore it wouldn’t be able to distribute my product however could raise finance to the rest of my product which would give us great advantages.

Other larger scale distribution companies that specialize in the thriller genre distribution are Hammer Films, Universal Pictures UK and Fox Film Corporation. These are all large scale distributors and have produced successful films which are within the same genre. If we had more money and further resources these would be the types of distributors I would consider.

Not only this but I could also advertise, as though our thriller is aimed at teenagers using the Internet would be a great way to get audience attraction from the many social networking sites and video sites available, I would be able to put trailers and sneak previews on YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/

Other great independent film distributors are also advertised on this website.
Some example are: Gravitas Ventures, IFC (Independent Film Channel), Oscilloscope Laboratories and Createspace. http://www.brighthub.com/multimedia/video/articles/64306.aspx

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

An opening title sequence is extremely important to a film it should draw the audience in without giving away too much detail. Directors spend millions of pounds just on the title sequence, a lot of research and development has to be done on an opening sequence and scenes of a film. This includes opening credits, titles, and setting the narrative this is done because it is the first visual and audio aspect of the film a viewer sees. Films in which has done this brilliantly include; Black Swan directed by Darren Aronofsky 2010, Seven directed by David Fincher 1995 and inception directed by Christopher Nolan 2010.

My opening title sequence conforms to the codes and conventions of an existing title sequence by:

- Having opening credits

- Introducing the antagonist
We introduce our antagonist within the first couple of seconds of the sequence however do not reveal his true identity this is a common used convention in a thriller opening sequence as it puts the audience into a false sense of insecurity.

- Drawing the audience’s interest though the number of shots and the suspense of what may happen to the victims
The variety of shots used creates interest for an audience. The shots also link to the worry and panic of the two victims during the running scenes which illustrates they are being chased by someone. This certain convention is also used in thrillers to build tension it is also used to gain impact before reaching the climax of a thriller.

The opening credits are a very important part of a thriller it can really add to the creepy, intense, thriller genre of the film if done correctly.  I believe we have done this well though adding a “smart but sinister” font for all the credits.

- Using females as the victims

Using females as the victims are regular occurrence within thrillers, stereotypically females are seen as weak and vulnerable gender so we automatically created female victims. We portray the characters in “normal” natural clothing such as jeans, tops and jumpers to show there age of 17 which also attract our target audience.

My opening title sequence also challenges the codes and conventions of this genre by:

- Challenging the lighting with bright light rather than dull and dim.

Normally thrillers would have a more sinister lighting theme to create tensions and mystery however we have challenged this convention through using a much lighter and brighter light. This was done particularly to represent the time of day which would then create more impact when within the finale scenes. As this shows the days have passed.

- Having dialogue in the opening sequence.

Dialogue isn’t generally used within an opening sequence of a thriller however tensions filled music and sounds are used. We decided to challenge this convention as it would give a clearer indication of the plot line of our sequence.

- Thrillers tend to show everyday life and we have challenged this by instantly turning the characters life upside down.

Who would be the audience for your media product?
The audience for our thriller project would be working/middle class teenagers to young adults.  Due to the fact the characters within the film are of around the age of 17, this makes it easier for an audience of this age range to relate to the characters. I also believe the audience would be mainly of teenagers as according to http://www.valmorgan.co.nz/nz/audiences/profiles/thrillers/. I believe that our piece would be unsuitable for anyone under the age of 15 due to the fact the opening hints to elements of unsettling topics such as abduction, stalking, harm etc. 

 

“Thrillers are generally particularly popular with the under 25's”
http://www.valmorgan.co.nz/nz/audiences/profiles/thrillers/.

Another reason why my media product would be aimed at and audience age of around 17 would be due to the comments we got back in our questionnaire results we asked a majority of 10-20 year olds and the majority of them said yes to enjoying watching thrillers

http://2011gs17.blogspot.com/2011/02/questionnaire.html

How did you attract/address your audience?

My opening thriller sequence attracts my target audience through a number of ways such as the sound and mise-en-scene. Our thriller sound starts slow and sinister but then eventually builds up the tension with the quick running sequence this would attract my audience as it builds suspense and creates the atmosphere.

The mise-en-scene is set in a familiar setting which would be found during a thriller, the variety of shots makes the sequence interesting and exciting to watch. I have also addressed my audience through casting; the victims in my opening are the same age as my target audience.

We took great inspiration from last house on the left directed by Dennis Iliadis 2009 due to the great ways it uses slow and sinister lyrical music and then enters a heavy and atmospheric beat. We also liked the way the movie used mise-en-scene with its locations and we wanted to represent some of the skills into our sequence.

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

From the process of constructing my opening thriller title sequence I have learnt a lot about several technologies I have come across and used. Throughout the process of shooting I have developed my knowledge and understanding of the equipment that was available to me. I have used tripods, cameras and editing software. The first time that I learnt about the technology was during our camera safety and preliminary task lessons, as shown in one of my previous posts http://2011gs17.blogspot.com/2011/01/introduction-to-course-and-camera.html

“We were given instructions on camera safety for example learning about the certain buttons on the camera and also the specific ways to open a camera stand and connect the camera upon it.” When I started to create the preliminary task I used basic camera shots such as close ups, long shots, mid shots and high angle and low angle.

I also used editing software to edit the shots together “Adobe Premiere Pro”. The preliminary task was a short and simple task to help us familiarise ourselves with the camera equipment and the editing software. I believe that this task helped us a lot with our thriller task as it gave us the knowledge of certain techniques Adobe uses therefore we could pre-prepare certain elements.

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

From my preliminary task I believe I have learnt a lot during the whole experience. Its vital to if you’re in a group have members you can trust and cooperate with as it’s means you will be working with them for the entire project and if you can not work together it shows within the project. Another part of working in a group I have learnt and progressed with is the amount of ideas each person has, it is important to listen to each idea however it’s hard to work when people have a variety of different thoughts for a 2:00 piece. Time management is also a very important issue, it is crucial to stay on time with the deadlines set as it makes completing work a lot easier. I believe I could have done better within this area at the start of the task however I feel I have learnt and progressed from this. I have also learned and progressed a great deal with the editing process after filming my preliminary piece I had no knowledge on the editing equipment of adobe. During the prelim task and finale thriller opening I have become more experienced and confident with the software.



Feedback on draft edit thriller opening

We got feedback on our draft edit of the thriller opening to allow us to make certain changes to areas of the sequence that we would not have originally have seen. Everyone commented upon the lack of music however we did originally put music on but we are unsure on why this isn’t working. Another comment that was made was the sight of a finger over the lens during the 30/34 seconds mark; these shots will have to be re-filmed as it looks extremely unprofessional.  Another class mate said “I think you need to sort out the credits, Daisy’s and Rosie’s ‘starring’ names look good because they’re towards the side of the screen but Tom’s is in the middle which looks a little odd.” There were also comments made about the lack of some production company’s names, directors, etc. this can be easily altered through “Adobe Premiere Pro”. There were also suggestive comments made about the ending scene by making more of the sequence by trying to start with a pan or tilt in the garage.  

Thriller Draft Edit

Editing day one and two for thriller

Editing day one

Today we begun editing we started with our woods section as we knew we were going to re-film the last “abduction” scene. We uploaded our thriller to the computer and went through each shot carefully and decided upon which parts were wrong and couldn’t be used, we then put each shot into order and gave it an appropriate name. We then started cutting certain parts of shots to make the whole sequence look more professional, further though the editing process we made a decision to add a cut reverse shot in of both a close up shot of myself and daisy feet walking and a long shot of myself and daisy running. I believe this was a good decision as it creates tension and atmosphere within our thriller before sound is even put in.

Editing day two

On our second day of filming we entered each clip into “Adobe Premiere Pro”, this lesson we had to complete the editing process this consisted of making changes, cropping, transitions, entering sound and finishing the credits. We started by cropping certain shots to make them work better within the sequence, after we looked at music and choose three different music tracks to go with certain parts of the sequence. We had a look though the thriller and decide we wanted to use a dissolve transaction from the credits to the start of the abduction scene as a straight cut didn’t look correct. We finally finished off with the opening credits which took little time.

Filming day one and two for thriller

Filming day one

Today we started filming our thriller, we had originally planned to film at Bramcote and at toms grandmas but we decided to change our location as Bramcote was further than we wanted to go, so we decided to film at a closer location (school woods and run down building) which was also perfect for what we wanted to achieve. Once we got to the woods we spent the first 15 minutes on deciding what order we were filming in and the best parts to film in. we completed a number of test running shots and then performed the real running shots from both behind myself and daisy and in front. We then went onto close ups of each of our faces to show our reactions to what is happening. Once we finished each of our shoots within the woods we went to our second location which was an old run down building however when we got there the entrance had been blocked off therefore making it impossible to get it, this was a huge set back in our filming day as it meant we had to re-consider a new location. As a group we discussed areas such as the school barn, class room, drama room etc. we decide to go to a class room as we thought it would give us more privacy and we could move tables and chairs out of the way. We then started to film as originally planned and everything went well, however when we watched the shoots back it looked extremely unprofessional as you could see other school tables and chairs as well as cabinets and shining light though windows. So we all agreed we wanted to re-shoot at a better location which was within my garage.

Filming day two 

We decided to re-film certain areas to improve our thriller opening. We went to the school woods and set up the tripod and camera and then created a panning shot to show the setting and atmosphere of the woods this part is going to replace the establishing running shot which we quickened which became poor quality.

Another section we re-filmed was the last abduction scene we arrived at my house and got set up in the garage, we made an area in which would work well for the particular shot we wanted to achieve. This included a small tight area with dim lighting; we had props such as planks of wood, covers and tape to cover our mouths. I believe this scene is a lot better than our other attempts as there are no props that suggest we could be in a garage rather than a rundown building.

Filming Schedule

Date: 4th March 2011

Location: Bramcote

Props needed: String, Tape, Chairs.

Actors needed: Myself, Rosie, Tom.

Order of shots: We are going to film all of the outside shots first in an order which is easiest for us. We will then do the inside shots also in an order best suited to us.

Risk assessment

Risk	To what/ who	Risk level and how to prevent the risk
Weather risks to camera-	The camera equipment	Medium risk We cannot prevent the weather however we will take precautions to protect the equipment such as umbrella’s and a protective casing for the camera.
Damaging the camera and tripod-	The camera equipment	Medium risk As we’re shooting within the woods Damaging the camera and tripod comes at a medium risk due to the fact it may fall over, having unstable surroundings. Ways to prevent this would be to make sure the camera is securely placed and screwed onto the tripod.
Losing equipment-	All equipment	Low risk Losing the equipment would be of low risk as it will stay in contact with one of use throughout the filming process.
Falling over during the running scene in the woods-	Cast and crew	Medium risk This is of medium risk as the woods have unstable grounds and surroundings, during the running scenes this may become a risk for either me or daisy. To prevent this we should walk through the area we are going to be shooting in and take away any hazards.

Actors

There will be four characters in total and each one shall be seen, there will be two female characters and two male characters.

Victim 1
Name- Rosie Atkin
Characters Name- Rosie

Victim 2

Name- Daisy Ashmore
Characters Name- Daisy

Both these characters will be seen in the first shot.

Villian
Name- Tom Cassidy
Characters Name- Tom
This character is seen slightly in the woods, and during the ending scene

Props

There aren’t going to be many props within our thriller piece except a black cloth to cover daisy when in the abduction scene, some tape to go over each of our mouths.

Costume

We then talked about costume and as a group we decided that ‘normal’ but slightly dull clothing would be the best to use, for example colours such as blue’s, grey’s and cream’s this would then bring less attention towards the characters and make the audience think about the bigger picture.

Here are some rough ideas for the victims;

Here is an example of what the villian would wear; 

Location

When we were planning our thriller we all agreed we wanted to shoot part of it in a woods/forest we decided to go for Bramcote woods as it’s fairly close and has great of path route we can shoot on. We also want to shot this location when it is slightly dark this will then add to the thriller effect as it brings more mystery and tension to our audience. The second part of our opening will be shot at Tom’s grandma’s house, due to how the house is built there’s a under ground room which is left for storage however there is little decoration and one light bulb we are using this for our abduction scene.

Thriller task- storyborad

By this date we had completed our introduction towards the thriller genre and was now concentrating upon our own thriller task, we decided our groups which consisted of me, daisy and tom. We then as a group started producing our storyboard we took inspiration from both Marchlands and Se7en, as we were drawing the storyboard we wrote brief descriptions of camera angles, mise en scene, transitions and what was happening alongside the picture.



Brainstorming

When we started brain storming we started by writing our the key things we need to create a thriller opening;

As a group we wrote down different places that stereotypically used for an opening scene of a thriller, such as woods, offices, quiet streets and buildings. From our questionnaire we all agreed that we wanted to use woods and a house or what appears to be an abandoned building. This also suits the stereotype of locations within the thriller genre. We wrote down a number of different plot ideas that we could use for our thriller task, stereotypically murder, torture, crime, death, mystery are featured in a thriller film. As a group we wanted to stick to the conventions of a thriller and therfore stereotypically making the female characters the victims. We also wanted villain in our opening to make the opening tenser. We decided that light should be dark and mysterious, when editing we also wanted to change the contrast of the opening to make it seem more dangerous. we decided that the costume for the victims should be ‘normal’ but slightly dull clothing would be the best to use, for example colours such as blue’s, grey’s and cream’s this would then bring less attention towards the characters and make the audience think about the bigger picture. We brainstormed potential outcomes for eth ending of the opening such as murder, death and cliff-hangers.

Questionnaire

Today we created a questionnaire to help us gain more knowledge on what an audience like to see in a thriller film. The answers to these would then help us create a better thriller opening that would target all.

1.Male or female?
Male- 6
Female- 4

 

2.How old are you?
10-20- 6
21-30- 3
31-40- 1

3.Do you enjoy watching thriller films?
Yes- 4
Sometimes- 4
No- 2

4.What is your favourite sub genre?
Action thriller- 3
Mystery thriller- 3
Psychological thriller- 1
Crime thriller- 2
Medical thriller- 0
Sci fi thriller- 1

 

5.Where do you like opening scenes to be shot?
Woods- 3
Abandoned buildings- 4
Streets- 1
Rivers/lakes- 0
Unrecognisable places- 2

 

6.What should an opening scene consist of?
Crime- 1
Murder- 3
Mystery- 2
Abduction- 3
Other- 1

 

7.What type of shots do you like to see?
Short and fast paced shots- 4
Long and slow paced shots- 2
Action filled beginning- 1
Calm beginning- 0
Combination- 2
Other- 1

Within the questionnaire I questioned both females and males, a total of 6 males were asked do you enjoy watching films and the majority of them agreed therefore sticking to the stereotype of thriller is a genre for the male gender. I later asked each person what their favourite sub thriller genre was, the majority of people said action and mystery. This means that I should try and concentrate on both these genres when creating my own thriller opening. Question number five was of real importance as it allowed us to determine what the best locations would be to use, once again number six ‘What should an opening scene consist of’ is important as it would help our group focus on certain area that our film should consist from the questionnaire I can see that both murder and abduction are the two favourite’s. Finally ‘what types of shot’s do you like to see’ I asked this question so I could see how an audience would want certain shots to be portrayed the majority of people said short and fast paced however I think a combination of a few of these would make a better opening sequence.

Thriller Research

Thriller is a genre of literature, film, and television that uses suspense, tension, and excitement as the main elements. The primary subgenre is psychological thrillers. After the assassination of President Kennedy, political thriller and paranoid thriller films became very popular. The brightest examples of thrillers are the Hitchcock’s movies. The cover-up of important information from the viewer and fight/chase scenes are common methods in all of the thriller subgenres, although each subgenre has its own characteristics and methods

A Thriller contains certain characteristics. The pace must be quick, there has to be a lot of action, and there should be suspense and plot twists aplenty. Thrillers should have the reader on the edge of their seat, wondering if the good guy can get one over the bad guy and save the world (even though it's extremely rare for the bad guy to win, in your classic Thriller).

Sources http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thriller_(genre) http://www.illiterarty.com/genre-thriller

Orphan opening sequence

The opening sequence of orphan starts with a dull and unlife like image of the ‘Warner brother picture’ and ‘Dark Castle’ production companies logo the images then quickly flickers back and forth from the dull image to a bright florescent neon splash of colours. The sound during this is incidental as the colour changes from dull to neon there is a quick sound of clicking and scratching. The sequence then changes though fades to black, the picture then reapers to a scratchier, more sinister font there is then violent artwork shown of what appears to be children, books, families etc. similar to how the production companies were represented the picture goes from dull to  being surrounded by fluorescent paint. This effect also occurs with many of the names shown in the end title sequence. When the pictures come into view the sound starts to quicken and picks up a menacing tone which makes the audience feel nervous, tense and anxious. Each shot uses a fading transaction to get to the next one this is effective as it focuses upon a spot in the title sequence as well as making the audience feel on edge. Once the credits finished the title ‘Orphan’ comes into view using the same effect of the neon paint.

 

Marchlands opening sequence

Marchlands are a gripping story of three different families living in the same house in the 1960’s, 1980’s and the present day. The families are linked by the spirit of a young girl – the 1960’s family’s daughter who died in mysterious circumstances.  However this is not a film I believe that the opening sequence of this is particularly good as it abides the codes and conventions of a thriller using sound, lighting, mise en scene, stereotypical charactering and editing to make the audience fell tense and on edge. The first shot we see is an establishing shot of what appears to be an abandoned forest, however a few seconds later a young girl come into view from the left hand side of the screen. There is use of ambient sound of birds although as the young girl fades away into the trees a more sinister sound creeps in ‘incidental music’. The shot then cuts to mid shot of the same girl running though the trees, the shot is shown out of focus and in slow motion this making more emphasis upon the main character. The camera changes angles from both high to low to show the girl running this put the audience in an emotional position as they can see the girl is running from something this also makes them feel tense to what it could be. A transition is then used to slide into the next shot, the camera then goes into a low angle mid shot to make the young girl seem vulnerable  and defenceless. Synchronous sound in the form of heavy breathing also comes into this part of the scene which also builds up the tension as it suggests the character is truly scared of something which makes the audience feel a wanting of helplessness towards the character. We then are taken though a number of different short shot’s such mid shot’s, long shot’s and point of view shot with both the music and pace quickening. The camera then cuts to a high angled shot of the forest floor with leaves and twigs before a quick cut to women’s eye. The mise en scene within this sequence is practically good; with the stereotype of a girl is used, she is young and dressed is ‘normal’ the lighting is ambient although editing decisions such as contrast and glows have made areas of the sequence seem more intense.

Se7en opening sequence

The opening credits of se7en starts with a side view of a book this is seen through a close up alongside of this are also credits. Non Diegetic sound is used right at the start of the sequence what seems to be a short tapping of a drum. The camera then cuts to a black screen to show credits such as the Production Company, a bright light from the left hand corner then dissolves into view to show a pair of aged and disfigured hands. Various shadows then occur and the sequence goes through a number of short and snappy shots of mechanical objects, during this the same tapping of the drum is used however a quick squeaking noise is brought in such as a scratching of metals this builds tension as the audience cannot see the actual source of the noise which then brings suspicion to what it may be. More credits are shown after this and then more short shots are shown though close ups the audience see a pair of “normal” hands however the audience see’s the skin being scraped of the then ends of the fingers, this suggest the character who is doing this is not 100% sane this shot brings tension to a viewing audience as it begins to make them feel uncomfortable watching it as well as curious. An array of photo shots are then seen and then the audience see’s an editing decision of a super imposing comes into view this involves a close up of a hand writing in a book with a light contrast of the same hand upon it. There then comes a sequence of shots with cuts to credits the shots are all shown through close ups this suggests that the character and the accommodation wants to remain unknown. Further though the sequence the sound changes slightly as a new quicker beat is brought in, this suggests the sequence is more sinister this puts the audience on edge. Scratched imperfect lettering jumps and lurches to the screeching sounds, while rough-cut, up-close footage transforms ordinary tools of trays, scissors, paper, tape into ominous devices of torture. The handwritten words scribbled on the film are mixed with bits of what seems to be text from the bible make the audience curious about what the character is doing, why and what his/hers motivations are. These flashes of criminal obsession create an overall sense of precision and distress. Throughout the whole sequence disturbing images are used of people this represents the films plot of the seven deadly sins, the way the photos are shown through high angled shots makes the audience feel as though their inside the characters head straight off, making the tension that much more intense when he/she finally does show up.

Conventions

The Thriller genre normally would include the following conventions  

• A crime at the core of the narrative often murder, but not necessarily.
• A complex narrative structure, with false paths, clues and resolutions.
• A narrative pattern of establishing enigmas which the viewer expects to be resolved.
• A protagonist who is systematically dis-empowered and drawn into a complex web of intrigue by the antagonist.
• Extraordinary events happening in ordinary situations.
• Themes of identity, of mirroring and voyeurism.
• Protagonist with a ‘flaw’ which is exploited by the antagonist.
• Titles often reflect an aspect of the pro/antagonist’s psychological state.
• There is often a scene near the end of the film in which the protagonist is in peril.
• Mise en scene which echoes/ mirrors the protagonist’s.
• Quick pace with camera movements and sound.
• Dark and dull lighting to create suspense and to give a sinister effect.

Thriller introduction

Thriller is a genre of fiction in which tough, resourceful, but essentially ordinary heroes are pitted against villains determined to destroy them. Part of the appeal of thrillers comes from not only what their stories are about, but also how they are told. High stakes, non-stop action, plot twists that both surprise and excite and audience, settings that are both vibrant and mysterious, and an intense pace that never lets up until the climax.

In our first lesson to the thriller genre we looked at a lot of Alfred Hitchcock openings and how he presented them, he used camera angles, sound, and lighting to make a staring that is tense and buts the audience on edge. We then looked at other film openings such as “se7en” to get started on our thriller opening reviews.

Preliminary task – Final piece

28th January 2011


This is our groups final piece

Preliminary task – Final Edit

24th and 25th January 2011

On the 24^th we had a double lesson; we had finished our filming on the previous lesson and are now ready to start editing our sequence.  We started by connecting the video camera to the computer to be able to upload it to “Adobe Premiere Pro” we then had a quick discussion as a group to what the best ways to edit it was e.g. did we want titles first what type of transitions we would us and even if we wanted transitions between each scene.  After this we made a start on editing, we firstly got each shot into order and named them as we thought it would make it easier to edit when we came around to. We then inserted each scene in its rightful place and watched over it; after we did this we cut most scenes as they were too long and took up time. An example of this is where in the original take Jake run up the stairs and opens the door; however in the next scene we see Jake opening the door and running into a corridor. We had to cut the first part of this as it didn’t look correct when watching it through. 

Once we finished this we looked at transitions we started by entering dissolves to blacks for most of the scenes, however we decide to use a cube spin for the phone scene we did this because we wanted to represent two things happening at once and we thought this type of transition accomplished this. Further though the editing process we asked for Mr Lane’s opinion on what we have done and he agreed with our decision on the cube spin, however he thought the constant dissolve to black’s weren’t thought out. So as a group we watched over the piece and decided that the constant dissolves made our sequence look amateur and represented a passage in time and we didn’t want this. We then deleted these too straight cuts. The lesson then ended.

Our next lesson in media was the 28^th, our previous tow hour lesson consisted of editing the main sequence, this lesson our group concentrated on the titles to our piece. We started at the end by writing cast within the piece and then writers and directors which were “I, Daisy, Tom and Ellie”. We then moved onto the opening titles such as the title “I’m sorry” and producer “21^st decade mongoose”. We chose the title “I’m sorry” due to the consistent repetition of I’m sorry in the last scene.