The purpose of a filming schedule is to provide all of the group members with a detailed outline of what we are going to need to bring, and where we will need to meet in order to film our sequence. The schedule will keep us on track and motivated to film our sequence, and it will keep our group communicated with each other outside of the classroom. The filming schedule helped my group to plan our opening sequence as we now know when we need to get certain frames filmed by, and what each frame is going to involve. We also became more aware of what iconography and equipment we need for each frame, and who is in charge of costume, hair and make up. Also, the schedule will make sure that we all know who is needed for each of the frames so we will be able to film on the days that we have planned to. It was important that we made a plan before we filmed our sequence as this would ensure that we knew exactly what we needed to do so we wouldn't miss anything out while we were filming.
Or filming schedule is:
The beginning of our sequence will start in our school which will show the antagonist as he drags a chair through the corridor and into the basement. The idea is that the school will look empty which will cause the audience to feel sympathetic towards the character as there is no one around to stop him from killing himself. We decided to use my house to film the dinner scene between the mother and antagonist due to my house being and looking older than Molly and Jakes, which will therefore help us to create a more eerie atmosphere. We planned on filming the last frames of our sequence at a bus stop that is local to Chigwell station. This was due to the area around the station being quite isolated which will once again create an eerie, lonely atmosphere. We also thought that this would prevent people from walking into the shot or disrupting us as we film. In the end, we decided to film the last frames on one of the backroads near our school instead of at the bus stop. This would look as though the girlfriend was on her way to the antagonists house and therefore was still in the dark about the fact that the mother is dead. As the girlfriend walks out of camera shot, the audience will then see the antagonist standing behind her, who then follows her as she walks away. The audience will be left wondering what is going to happen to her once she has found the mother or what the antagonist is going to do to her.
After creating individual storyboards, we then compared our ideas and took the best ones to create a group storyboard. The purpose of a group storyboard is to give the other member's of the group a chance to look at each others ideas and to see if we had done anything different to each other. We could then also decide if their ideas incorporated elements that were better than our own. Due to our previous group meetings, we all had similar looking individual storyboards which made it easier to put together a group one. We all knew how we wanted the sequence to look, however for some of the frames we had used different camera techniques, or gone into more detail on the sounds and edits that we had planned to use. For example, Molly's storyboard was the longest out of all three as she used more frames and camera shots to show the audience the build up to the death of the antagonist at the beginning of the sequence. In her second frames she decided to use a medium shot to show them a side view of the antagonist dragging his chair through the school corridor, whereas Jake and I only used our first frame to give the audience a long shot of the antagonist walking towards the camera. We decided to use the frames that Molly had created as we thought it would prolong the sequence and make the audience wait longer in anticipation for the scene to finish. Also, during the frame that would show the audience a close up of the antagonists face right before he killed himself, I thought it would work best if there was no sound as this might distract the audience from what they are watching, and also the silence would emphasise his death due to the sudden sound of the chair hitting the floor shocking the audience and making them more aware of what has just happened. Whereas Molly wanted to have a low, eerie sound playing quietly throughout. We agreed that during the editing stage we would watch the sequence using both of our ideas to see which one works best.
This was our finalised group storyboard:
Together as a group we looked over our three individual storyboards before creating a group storyboard by using what we thought were the best frames from each. Overall, our group storyboard contains 24 frames, is set in three different locations and is around 2 minutes 20 seconds long. The group storyboard is much longer then our individual storyboards as we went into more detail in each of the frames. Frames 1 to 8 are set in the school, and show the build up to the suicide of our antagonists. We kept with the idea to have an enigma at the very beginning of the sequence as we are the only group with this idea and so we hope it will hook the audience. Frames 9 to 18 are set in the house and show the build up to the death of the mother. Frame 14 will be a blank screen as this follows the camera zooming in on our antagonists eyes, which he will then shut which we hope will surprise the audience. Similarly, frame 19 will be the title of our thriller film, "Disturbia" and will be accompanied by the chorus of the song "tiptoe round the tulips" taken from the film Insidious. Finally, frames 20 to 24 are set at the bus stop near Chigwell station. These will be the most difficult frames to film as we will have no control over the light outside, therefore we will have to try and film all of the frames on the same day as we cannot be sure that if we film the frames on different days that the lighting will be the same. To solve this problem we agreed that we could potentially use edits on the footage to keep the lighting the same throughout. Molly's individual storyboard was the most detailed out of the three as she often expanded her frames to sometimes show the audience the same shot but from different angles. There were only a few times during the group planning that we needed to make compromises on the camera shots we were going to use, for example, for the dinner scene, Molly had planned to use Point of view (POV) shots to show the audience what the antagonist was looking at. I, on the other hand wanted to use a close up shot to give them a better understanding of how he was feeling which would help to build tension due to the audience feeling as though the mother was in danger. As a compromise, we decided that we were going to start the frame with a close up of his facial expressions and then follow this with a zoom out to show the audience the bigger picture and include the knife in the shot.
I think our group storyboard is detailed and clearly shows how we want our opening sequence to look after we have finished filming. It was easy for us to do as we noticed after looking over our individual storyboards that someone of our frames were visually similar which made it easier to finalise our group storyboard. For example, the first frame of our antagonist walking towards the camera dragging a chair behind him was the same idea for all three individual storyboards. We all had the same beginning frame in mind for how we wanted it to look. We used the second frame in the group storyboard to show the antagonist walking from a side view as Molly had used two frames in her individual storyboard to prolong the sequence. If we could create the storyboard again we would try to incorporate more of Jakes ideas into our final one, but his individual storyboard was the least detailed and contained most of the ideas that mine and Molly's had together.
The purpose of a storyboard is pre-visualise how we want the scenes in our opening sequence to look after we have filmed it, and the appropriate camera techniques that will assist us in achieving these shots. The storyboard consists of a rough picture that shows the characters and setting within the frame, along with a brief description of the iconography, lighting, sound and editing that will also be present.
We each created an individual storyboard of how we think our group narrative is going to look once we have filmed it, including the camera shots, iconography, lighting, sound and editing. My storyboard consists of 18 different frames: frames 1 to 3 are the main shots from the suicide scene that takes place in the school, which is followed by frames 4 to 8 that show the build up to the death of the mother, Grace. Frames 9 to 12 introduce the character Harmony, who then goes on to find the mother dead in the house. Frame 13 is when the title of the film will play, along with the song "tiptoe through the tulips", and then finally, frames 14 to 18 are the build up to the end of our opening sequence, which will leave the audience with an enigma due to the possibility that the girlfriend could be in danger as she does not yet know who the killer is but the audience does, and they do not know what will happen to her once the sequence finishes. These individual storyboards will be discussed in our groups and the selectively joined together in order to create a group storyboard that will be the final outline for our opening sequence to the thriller film.
In my storyboard I incorporated different elements that are considered conventional to the thriller genre such as low key lighting, shallow focus and the fact that the victim is female and the antagonist male. Low key lighting will be used during the dinner scene in which the mother will be killed. The use of low key lighting is conventional to the thriller genre as the darkness of the light will suggest that something dangerous is going to happen but the audience will not know what, therefore suspense will be created as a result of this. The audience will have only just been introduced to the two characters in those frames, therefore they will not yet know who the victim is or who the antagonist is. But once the killing begins, the audience will sympathise with the mother who was not expecting her son to stab her to death. The antagonist will now be identified as someone for the audience to fear, especially when he is alone with other characters in the sequence. In the same frames, the low key lighting will be partnered with slow editing which is also conventional to the thriller genre as when the timing of the frames is slowed down, the sequence becomes prolonged leaving the audience waiting longer to see what happens next. The use of low key lighting was mostly inspired by the film Shutter Island, a thriller that uses low key lighting often to create dark shadows around characters and objects to make them appear dangerous and more significant to the frame. The use of low key lighting also makes it difficult to work out what is happening behind the characters, which will build tension within the sequence as it is more likely that the audience will experience jump scares due to things jumping out in the scene that they did not expect to be there. The fact that the victim is female and the antagonist is male are both conventional to the thriller genre as the woman will represent vulnerability and an easy target for the strong, male antagonist. The victim in the thriller film Psycho, Marion, was young, blonde and pretty, which is the most typical description of a victim. The colour white connotes the idea of innocence and vulnerability, which is why the victim in most thriller films, including our own, will be seen wearing white. In contrast, the colour black represents the idea of danger and hidden identity, which therefore means the antagonist will usually be seen wearing this colour. As a result, the audience will find it easier to identify which characters in the sequence are good and which are not, which they may find comfort in knowing. The use of a knife as the iconography is conventional to the thriller genre as the weapon requires more energy than, for example, a gun, which means the death of the victim can be prolonged and emphasised to create fear and shock within the sequence. The audience will be forced to watch the victim suffer for longer, and as a result they will sympathise with them. In contrast, the audience will begin to fear the antagonist who will appear brutal and personal in the way that they have killed their victim. In our sequence, the mother will be killed at the dinner table by her son, and so the knife will appear as part of the setting, due to the characters using the knife to eat. This will create shock within the sequence as the scene begins with a homely, natural feel and then suddenly turns violent which the audience will not expect. In conclusion, my individual storyboard is a rough outline of how I expect our group narrative to look after we have finished filming it. I think that when we create a group storyboard we will need to add in some more frames or extend some of the already existing frames in order to make the sequence more detailed. I think my storyboard may need to be slightly longer, however at the time I only needed 18 frames to show the most important ones within the sequence. Also, I feel as though I have been repetitive with the camera techniques that I have decided to use, such as the close up. In order to solve this our group will discuss alternative camera techniques that we can use instead of the close up. Using various techniques will make the sequence more interesting for our audience to watch. Our individual storyboards will help with planning our group storyboard as we will have three different interpretations of our group narrative, which we will be able to consider and take ideas from each to build up our final group storyboard.
The purpose of the opening credits is to let the audience know the different roles that will feature in the film and the film title. Usually the roles will appear in the order that they appear in the film. The opening credits will also tell the audience which production company has produced the film, and will introduce the mood of the film. For example, the thriller genre will feel eerie and tense.
As a group we analysed the opening credits to the film Se7en. We discussed the colours that were used during the sequence, and we identified that the main colour for the text was white, whereas the background was black. These two colours represent the relationship between the antagonist and the victim. We could also see that there were flashes of red throughout the credits which connote the idea of death, blood and danger; key elements of the thriller genre. The style that the credits were written in appeared messy, almost as if they were handwritten, which suggests that the antagonist is a mentally unstable character. There were different conventions of the thriller genre that were used during the credits of Se7en, including Low Key Lighting which is used to create suspense and an eerie atmosphere. There was also an enigma present throughout the entire sequence as the audience could only see the hand of who they presumed was the antagonist, and so they did not know who he is for sure. They could also see the faces of the victims, therefore they are left wondering what those people have done wrong. Finally, we identified the different iconography that the antagonist was using during the opening credits that implied to the audience that he was planning the death of his victims. Lastly, we were asked to consider the order of which the text appeared during the sequence. The first name that appeared on the screen was New Line Cinema, the production company of the film. This was followed by the name of the director, David Fincher, and then Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman, the main actors that the audience were going to see in the film.
We practised creating the credits for our groups opening sequence, and this was my final design. The title will fade into the screen at the beginning of the sequence and then out of the screen at the end, which I believe will appear mysterious and chilling. This is conentional to the thriller genre as the antagonist is usually hidden and lurking in the backgroup, which creates an eerie atmosphere and makes the audience feel unerved. The font text that I have used is bold and stands out against the black background. The line of red that runs through the middle of the white text represents that blood and death of the victims. This follows the conventions of a thriller as the death of the victim is typically brutal and bloody.
Molly used red and white font in order to make the title of the thriller film stand out again the black backgroup, this was similar to the colours that I used in my own idea. The white represents the victims within the film, and the red represents their blood and the danger that they are going to find themseleves in during the film. Whereas the colour black represents the dark side of the antagonist and how much power he has over the other characters; the black background is larger than the text. The text that Molly used for the title is bold and moves around the screen in a way that is similar to the title of our film. Overall, I think that her idea contains many of the conventions that typical thriller film credits have, and that it represents the status and characteristics that the characters in our sequence have.
After seeing the idea that Molly designed, I think there are many similarities that our design ideas have. I also think that as a group we will work on Molly's idea as the font stands out and fills up the entire screen. We want the audience to take notice of the title and to see how the word "disturbia" represents the behaviour of the antagonist. Also, the way the colour of the title changes from red to white can be used to represent the way our antagonist changes from being innocent to a killer, which the audience will see within the first few frames of our opening sequence.
During our opening sequence, the first credit that will appear will be the name of our antaognist, as he is the first character to appear on the screen and the most important in our sequence. The same goes for the two other characters that are featured in our sequence, when they are first seen on the screen their name will accompany them. We think this will make it easier for the audience to identify which actor is portraying which character. The title of our film "disturbia" will appear after the death of the antagonists mother, along with the song "tiptoe round the tulips". We decided to place the title here as it will give the audience time to process the first death and also it will hopefully leave them wanting to know what is going to happen next. The name of the director will appear at the end of the seuqence, followed by the names of the makeup and costume artists, which will show the audience the importance of the people involved in making our opening sequence.
Planning Characters Without characters, the audience of a thriller film would not be able to understand or connect with the narrative in the same way. Characters are what bring the narrative to life, and act the narrative out for the audience to enjoy and appreciate. Usually, the characters will use their dialogue to tell the audience a story, building up the narrative as the film goes along.
Our antagonist will be called Cameron and is the only male character to be featured in the opening sequence. He is an 18 year old school drop out who lives with his mother. To the audience he will appear worn out and emotionless, due to the amount of time he spends fighting his split personality. In the sequence he will be seen either wearing a white shirt to show his vulnerability and guilt, and then black to show his dark and violent side. He is naturally a very quiet yet disturbed person who behaves in a passive way. He prefers to suffer in silence than to open up about the way he is feeling. At the age of ten he lost his father, but the murderer was never found. This was the prime event that led Cameron to become the angry, unstable person that he is. His character is stereotypical of the thriller genre as without the antagonist we would be unable to build tension and suspense within the sequence, or be able to create an enigma of who the killer is. The audience are able to build a relationship with Cameron as they will feel pity and sympathy for him during the suicide scene when he is guilt ridden. But they will also fear his dark side and the things that he is capable of doing.
The first victim to be seen in our opening sequence will be Grace, the antagonists mother. Her name represents her innocence and her peaceful nature. The mother is around 44 years old and worked as a primary school teacher but quit her job in order to dedicate her time to looking after her son. Her brown hair is beginning to turn grey in places, but overall she is quite young looking. To the audience she will appear tired and stressed from all of the years that she has had to spend looking after Cameron on her own. She has a very nurturing and caring personality, which Cameron will find annoying. He will see her constant nagging as too overprotective. Grace was once happily married and had Cameron when she was 26 years old. When she was 36 her husband was murdered, which left her a widow and alone to deal with Cameron all by herself. Her character is stereotypical of the thriller genre as there is typically a female victim who does not deserve to die, and this will help the audience to build a relationship with her as they will feel sympathetic towards her and her situation.
The final character to be featured in our opening sequence is Harmony. A young girl who attended the same school as Cameron, and became close friends with him and his family. She is 17 years old, and very girly looking which the audience will see as an obvious target for the antagonist. As the sequence goes on she will become more and more paranoid about Cameron. Harmony will be more of an obvious, typical victim who the audience will be able to build a relationship with as her innocence will make them feel sympathetic towards her. Her character is stereotypical of the thriller genre as she portrays the character that the audience expect to be the victim, due to her innocence.
In conclusion, the three characters that will be featured in our opening sequence are all, in their own ways, conventional to the thriller genre. To start with, Harmony, the girlfriend of the antagonist, will come across to the audience as an obvious choice of victim for the antagonist. Her slightly stupid characteristic will suggest that she is going to get herself into a dangerous situation involving the killer, therefore the audience will view her as an easy target. The mother of the antagonist, Grace will be the first victim featured in our opening sequence. The audience will feel more sympathetic towards her due to the fact that she was trying to protect her son the same way any mother would, therefore she could not have expected such a violent reaction in response. Finally, the antagonist, Cameron is conventional to the thriller genre as he is the reason behind the main narrative of the film. Had he not killed his mother or committed suicide at the very beginning of the sequence, the audience would have nothing to watch or no questions that they want answers to. The fact that the antagonist is twisted and mentally unstable will make him more of an interesting character to watch, and the audience will want to know more about why he is the way he is.
The purpose of the group sound discussion was to decide which different types of sounds we wanted to use in our sequence and where they would appear.
Parallel
A parallel sound is one that the audience expect to hear with what they're watching. For example, when someone in a film gets shot, the audience will expect to hear the sound of the gun being fired or the bullet leaving the gun and then hitting an object or person. Our group has chosen to use a parellel sound when the antagonist is killing his mother during the dinner scene. The parallel sound of the the knife stabbing the mother and then the mother screaming will make the scene more realistic and will show the audience how violent the antagonist can be. This will be the first time in our sequence that the audience see the character as dangerous and the antagonist. We want this sound to emphasise how much pain the mother is feeling which will result in the audience sympathising with her and not wanting to be in her position. This will also create shock and the audience will fear the antagonist who was able to kill his mother is such a sudden and brutal way.
Non diegetic
A non diegetic sound is one that comes from outside of the narrative, for example, a VoiceOver is a non diegetic sound. Our group has planned to use a non diegetic sound of the song "tiptoe through the tulips" towards the middle of our opening sequence while our film title is being shown. The song is very childlike and joyful and follows the brutal death of the mother which we believe will create shock and unsettle the audience to hear such an unnerving and creepy piece of music.
Diegetic
A diegetic sound is one that is part of the narrative, for example, the sound of footsteps against the floor. We have planned to use a diegetic sound at the very beginning of our sequence when the audience see the antagonist dragging a chair through the school corridor. This diegetic sound will prolong the sequence and create antacipation within the audience as they have to wait longer to find out what happens. Although, the audience may already know what is going to happen due to the use of the iconography of a rope and chair in those frames. The audience will feel sympathetic towards his character due to him feeling as though his only option is to kill himself. We believe that if we keep the audience waiting longer for the inevitable to happen it will help our group to create suspense within our sequence. This will then create an enigma due to the audience not knowing why the character has killed himself.
Off screen An off screen sound is one that can be heard but not seen. For example, the sound of a phone ringing from a room in a house that the characters are not in. The off screen sound that our group has planned on using in our sequence occurs when the antagonist is on the phone to his girlfriend; the audience will be able to hear his voice but they will not be able to see where he is. This scene follows the death of the antagonists mother which means the audience will now know what he is capable of but the other character will not. This will therefore create suspense in our sequence as the audience do not know what is going to happen to the antagonist's girlfriend
The audience will feel fearful for her and also fearful of the antagonist due to them already seeing how violent his character can be. Off screen sounds are conventional to the thriller genre as they can create tension due to both the audience can characters not being able to see where it is coming from or who is making the sound. For example, the sound of floor boards creaking is a typical way of creating tension and suspense as usually the character in the frame is home alone.
Discussing the sounds that we were going to use in our sequence made it easier to edit our footage as we already knew where the sound was going to appear and for how long. We could also choose the sounds before we had started filming which would result in a shorter time needed to edit the sequence.
Editing is when certain shots are selected and then joined together in order to create a finished product. It is the time for any mistakes to be removed, and for sound and effects to be added over the footage. Our group had a discussion on the best editing techniques that we planned on using after filming our opening sequence. As the mind map shows, the three editing techniques that our group decided we wanted to include are a reaction shot, slow editing and filters.
A reaction shot is used in films to show the response that one of the characters has to another character or a situation within the film. Our group planned on using a reaction shot during the dinner scene of our sequence to show the horror on the mothers face as her son launches towards her with a knife in his hand. The audience will feel sympathetic towards the mother, neither of which were expecting the son to kill his mother in such a brutal way, therefore we want the audience to feel shocked by it. This will be emphasised by the use of fast editing which will represent the rush of adrenaline that the antagonist is feeling. We want the mother's facial expressions to show her pain and horror when being stabbed, which will further develop how sympathetic the audience feel towards her and also their fear towards the antagonist. We planned on using another reaction show towards the end of our sequence while the girlfriend is talking on the phone to the character that will have now been identified as the antagonist. This is conventional to the thriller genre as it will create tension due to the audience knowing that the antagonist has just killed his mother, but the girlfriend is still in the dark about it. The audience are aware that she is in danger but the character is not. This will leave our sequence on an enigma as the audience do not know what is going to happen to her character later on in the narrative.
Slow editing, as it sounds, is when the timing that the shots appear is slowed down.Slow editing is conventional to the thriller genre as it is used to create suspense within a film as the change between the shots is prolonged, leaving the audience waiting longer to find out what happens next. We have planned to use slow editing during the dinner scene to represent the antagonists growing imaptience with his mother as she nags him about his hospital appointments. The sound of the mothers voice will be muffled, so the audience can hear it the same way that the antagonist does. The use of our slow editing will prolong the build up to the death of the mother, which will create tension as the audience will see various shots of the knife but will have to wait longer to see it happen. The audience may fear the antagonist due to the sudden and brutal way in which he was able to kill someone that he loved.We have also planned to use slow editing again during the suicide frames at the beginning of the sequence as we believe that it will help us to create a more intense atmosphere, and emphasise just how serious the the situation is. It will also give the audience more time to process what the character is going to do. The audience will feel sympathetic towards the character who felt that the only way out of his situation was to kill himself. The use of slow editing will create anticipation and enigma within our sequence as the audience will want to know why he felt his only option was to kill himself.
Our group will use filters throughout our sequence, for example, to make the lighting more low key or to change footage from colour to black and white, but the most important filter that we are going to use is a flashback that will follow on from the suicide scene. By doing this we will be able to begin to tell the audience the narrative before his death and the events that led up to it. The audience will be able to build a relationship with the character as they are being given an insight into his personal life and the reasons behind his death.The use of a flashback in our sequence is conventional to the genre as it will create suspense and anticipation due to the audience already knowing how the film is going to end but they are unaware of what happens throughout the rest of the narrative.
In my group there is Molly Emmerson, Jake Butler and myself. The group meetings that we had were an essential part of the planning of our opening sequence as they gave each of us the chance to voice any of our new ideas and then work together in order to improve our final narrative. It made sure that we each had equal roles and made equal contributions within the planning process, and that we all knew how we wanted our opening sequence to look visually.
In the first group meeting we each explained our individual narrative ideas and then discussed how we would be able to incorporate the best elements from each into the overall group narrative. For example, both Molly and I came up with the idea to start our opening sequence with an enigma. We decided that the suicide of the antagonist would be an effective way to do this. For the outline of our group narrative plot we combined the idea that Molly and I had previously come up with that would be based around a character who has a split personality disorder. We all agreed that an easy way for the audience to identify that our opening sequence is the beginning of a thriller film is by making the victims female and the antagonist male. From the very beginning of the planning process we had decided that there were only going to be three characters in our opening sequence, the antagonist, Cameron, his mother, Grace and finally his girlfriend, Harmony. The female characters have names that represent the fact that they are the victims and therefore their innocence. This made it easy for us when it came to planning the characters in our sequence as we already had an idea of how we wanted them to appear on screen, what their characteristics would be and the background story to the antagonist.
In the next group meeting we began to plan the Mise-en-scene that we hoped to use in our opening sequence. We did this by breaking down our group narrative idea and then discussing the elements of Mise-en-scene that we believed would work best, this included iconography, the setting, lighting and colour, the positioning of the characters and their costumes, hair and makeup. For example, we decided that for the murder of the mother character our antagonist would use a knife as we would be able to use sound effects and make up during the editing stage in order to make the death more emphasised and shocking for the audience to watch. The planning of the cinematography involved discussing five different shots that we hoped to use in our opening sequence. The five techniques that our group wanted to use were a close up, handheld, point of view, low angle and a medium shot. This was easy for us to decide as a group due to them being common techniques that we had used in our individual narrative ideas. They are also often used in the thriller genre, for example, handheld is used to create a sense of panic due to the shaky movement of the camera which therefore creates tension and anticipation. Also, a low angle is used to make one character, usually the victim, appear inferior to another character, the antagonist. As a group, deciding the Mise-en-scene and cinematography that we were going to use was made easier by previous class discussions about which elements are conventional to the thriller genre and through analysising different thriller sequences.
For the next group meeting that we had we were asked to decided three different editing styles that we were going to use in our opening sequence that would be conventional to the thriller genre. Our group decided to use a reaction shot, slow editing and a filter to show the flashback following the suicide at the beginning of the sequence. A reaction shot is typical to the thriller genre as it helps the audience to get a better understand of how the characters are feeling. Slow editing is when the transition from each frame is slowed down which is conventional to the thriller genre as it helps to build suspense due the sequence is prolonged which leaves the audience waiting for longer to see what happens next.
During the sound discussion, we decided which on screen, off screen, parallel, diegetic and non diegetic sounds we were going to use at different times in our opening sequence. To do this we looked back over the most common sounds that are used in the other thrillers films that we had previously analysed. For example, we noticed that in Psycho, Saw and Orphan when the antagonist is killing their victim using a knife, the sound of the knife stabbing the skin and then the sound of the victim screaming are two diegetic sounds that can be heard by the audience. As a group we decided to use both of these sounds in our opening sequence while the antagonists mother is being killed. This will make it easier for our group to tell the audience what is happening without actually showing them the knife or the victim as she is being stabbed. Other sounds that the audience will be able to hear in our opening sequence is the dialouge between the characters and our chosen theme song "tiptoe round the tulips" that will play when our title is on screen.
Before we discussed how we wanted the opening credits of our opening sequence to appear, we were asked to watch the credits to the film Se7en, and then analyse how they were conventional to the thriller genre. For example, we discussed that the messy writing that the title and names were written in could represent the mental instability of the antagonist. Also, the pictures in the sequence could represent the victims within the film as there were occasional splashes of red on the screen which typically connotes the idea of blood, danger and death. We then created individual opening credits, making sure that they were conventional to the thriller genre. For my own idea, I decided that the title of our film "Disturbia" will fade into the screen at the beginning of the sequence and then out of the screen at the end, which I believe will appear mysterious and chilling. This is conentional to the thriller genre as the antagonist is usually hidden and lurking in the backgroup, which creates an eerie atmosphere and makes the audience feel unerved. The font text that I have used is bold and stands out against the black background. The line of red that runs through the middle of the white text represents that blood and death of the victims. This follows the conventions of a thriller as the death of the victim is typically brutal and bloody. After we had completed our own ideas, we sent them to the other members of our group to look over and discuss the strengths and weaknesses in each. For example, Molly used the colour black for the background to represent the evil side of the antagonist, and then red and white to represent the victims, and how the antagonist has power over them, due to black being the most dominant colour. Even though the three individual ideas that we had designed were all, in their own ways, conventional to the thriller genre, we agreed to use Molly's idea going forward due to hers being the most developed and relevant to our own group narrative, which was easy for our group to decide. To start with we each had to create an idividual storyboard that was roughly 20 frames long. This would give us an idea of how we expect our sequence to look visually. We then looked over each other's storyboards to see if we had done anything similar or differently. Due to our previous group meetings, we all had similar looking individual storyboards which made it easier to put together a group one. We all knew how we wanted the sequence to look, however for some of the frames we had planned to use a different camera technique.
The filming scedule was a guideline for our group to follow in order for us to complete the filming of our opening sequence in the time given. Most of the filming of our thriller was done by myself and Molly. I acted as the cameraman for the majority of the filming, while Molly was one of the actors within our production. However, we were able to film the sequence will limited problems due to the group storyboard that we had created together in previous lessons. We knew where the camera needed to be postioned in order to achieve a certain shot, for example, for the point of view shot during the dinner scene the camera would need to be placed directly in front of the antagonist, whose point of view we had decided to use.
The risk assessment meeting was to allow our group to identify any possible problems that may occur at any time during the filming of our opening sequence. If we were able to identify the risks before we started to film, it would help us to prevent them from happening at all. We all knew that the use of a knife and rope in our opening sequence were two of the biggest risks that we had. Then, after identifying any risks within our production, we discussed how we could prevent them from happening. There were some problems that we faced during the editing stage and were ones that we had not predicted would be a problem. For example, after looking over the footage we realised that some frames did not fit well with the rest of the sequence, which therefore resulted in us having to film the same frames again.
Cinematography is an important aspect of the filmmaking process as it is made up by all of the different camera shots, angles and techniques that appear within the sequence. The use of different types of cinematography helps to make the sequence more interesting, and also helps to dictate the way the audience feel while watching the film. For example, a long shot will give the audience a better view of the surroundings, which may make them feel more relaxed and comfortable with the scene. The planning stage before the filming is required in order to produce an excellent sequence as it will give us an idea of what we want to see during the filming of our sequence, and it provides us with a guidline that by following we will be able to meet the aims that the thriller genre has, which is to create tension and suspense, and to make the audience feel shocked and surprised.
Close up
We plan to use a close up shot during the phone conversation that takes place between Cameron and his girlfriend after she finds his mother dead. The close up shot is used to focus on the characters facial expression which will give the audience a clear view of how the character is feeling. We have chosen this shot as it will allow the audience to focus on the most important part of the sequence, the girlfriend's facial expression, which will lead to the audience sympathising with the character, and then being in fear that the same thing could happen to her. A close up shot is conventional to the thriller genre as it can hlep to build tension due to the audience only being able to see what the girlfriend character is feeling on the outside; they do not know what they spoke about on the phone or what is going to happen next.
Low angle We are going to use a low angle shot when Cameron is killing his mother. This shot is used to make certain characters look superior to others, and allows the audience to see how powerful that character really is. By using a low angle we will be able to build a relationship between the audience and the character as they will fear the antagonist and what he is capable of, and then subsequently, the audience will feel sympathetic towards the mother. Fear is a typical convention of the thriller genre as the victim will always fear the antagonist, and the audience will fear what will happen to the other characters that are still alive.
Handheld We are going to use the handheld technique when the girlfriend is searching around the house for Cameron after finding his mother dead. This technique is used to create a sense of panic, as what appears on the screen in front of the audience will be shaky and unsteady, and the pace of the film will also be picked up. We have chosen to use the handheld technique as we want the audience to feel sympathetic for the girl and worry about what is going to happen to her if Cameron finds her. The technique will be used to portray the fear within the girlfriend character, and the shock that she feels after finding the mother death. Handheld will also help our group to create suspense within our opening sequence as the audience will not know what is going to happen to the girlfriend, or where Cameron has disappeared to.
Point of view
A point of view shot is used to give the audience an insight into the perspective of one of the characters by allowing them to see what they can see, almost as if they are the character themselves. We have chosen to use a point of view shot when the antagonist is killing his mother as we believe this element of cinematography will engage the audience, and make them feel more involved with what they are watching. Point of view shots are conventional to the thriller genre as it helps to build engima if the audience do not know who the character is, or what they are going to do. The audience will also be able to build a relationship with the character as they are seeing things from their point of view, which will make them feel as though they are part of the film.
Medium shot
We plan to use a medium shot when Cameron and his mother are eating at the dinner table. A medium shot is a camera angle shot that is a medium distance from the characters are focus points in the scene. This shot will be used in our sequence in order to show the audience both the characters and their location, which we believe will help to build a relationship between them as the audience are more aware of the surroundings and the possibilities of what might happen. A medium shot is conventional to the thriller genre
Different types of cinematography can be used more effectively than others in order to create different emotions or get a reaction from the audience. For example, a close up is more likely to engage the audience and attract their focus. This is conventional in relation to the thriller genre as it will create tension as the audience are only given a shot of a specific thing or person, they are unaware of what is happening in the background.Planning what different types of cinematography we are going to use before we started filming allowed our group to decide where and how we are going to use those elements in our sequence, which also helps us to ensure that the cinematography we are going to use is conventional to the thriller genre. The planning process also allows our group members to voice any new ideas that they might have, which may help us to improve our opening sequence.
We analysed our group narrative and decided what elements of Mise-en-scene we were going to use in our opening sequence. Mise-en-scene is the arrangement of everything that appears in the frame of a scene. This includes the actors, props and lighting. There are five different elements that make up Mise-en-scene, these are setting and iconography (props), costume, hair and makeup, facial expressions and body language, lighting and colour, and positioning of characters and props that can be scene within the frame.
Setting Overall, there will be three different locations for the setting of our group opening sequence. For the suicide scene at the very beginning of the sequence, we have decided to use a small, dark room for the setting, preferably a cellar. This will hopefully make the audience aware that the sequence is the beginning of a thriller film, and that the rest of the film will be just as dark and depressing. We want the audience to be aware of what they are going to watch and prepared for any shocking or possibly scary scenes that will follow. This is conventional to a thriller film as it will help to build tension and create an enigma; the audience will be wondering why this character killed himself. We want this enigma to entice the audience and to keep them wanting to watch more of the film. The suicide scene will be followed by a flashback that will take the audience to an old, remote house. This is the setting for the murder of the antagonists mother. The house will be used to suggest the idea of family and closeness, which we hope will cause the audience to feel shocked when the antagonist kills his mother. However the isolation of the house can be used to show that the mother character is vulnerable in comparison to the antagonist. The audience will be introduced to his dark and violent side, which will contrast to his behaviour and innocence at the beginning of the sequence.
Iconography We decided that the antagonist will use a Knife to kill his mother in the dinner scene. The knife is one of the most typical murder weapons that is used in the thriller genre due to it's brutality and it's connotation of death which are conventional to the thriller genre. It will also give the audience time to prepare themselves for what is going to happen.
The antagonist will use a Rope in the suicide scene to hang himself with as we believe that this way the audience will be able to identify what the character is going to do before he does it. They will not yet know the depth of his character and so they will sympathise with him and wonder why he has killed himself. This is conventional to a thriller film as the audience will be surprised that there is an enigma at the very beginning of the sequence and will need to watch on further in order to find out his story behind the suicide.
Lighting and Colour During the suicide scene, our group has decided to use Low Key Lighting to show the audience that the scene is dark, and to represent and foreshadow the idea of death. Low Key Lighting is conventional to the thriller genre as it is used to connote the idea of enigma and suspense, and it can create tension as the audience are unaware of what is going on behind the characters. For the dinner scene between the antagonist and his mother we will use natural lighting and colours to make the scene feel more homely and genuine. This will relax the audience and make them feel more comfortable with what they are watching. By using natural lighting my group will be able to increase the shock factor of the death of the antagonists mother which happens during this scene. This is conventional to the thriller genre as the audience will not expect such a natural scene to turn into a brutal murder scene. It will help us to keep the audience hooked and on the edge of their seats as they know now that not everything is as they expect it to be.
Costume, Hair and Make-Up
Costumes can be used to highlight the differences between each of the characters. As well as this, we plan on using the costume to show the audience the different sides that each of the characters have, especially the antagonist. For example, he will wear white during the suicide scene to represent his innocence and guilt, and then black to contrast this in the dinner scene to show the audience his darker side. In the scene where Cameron kills his mother, he will be wearing dark clothing whereas she will be wearing white. This is so the audience will be able to identify whether the character is the antagonist or the victim. The mother will be wearing older looking clothes, with tired make-up to show her weariness and old age. We want the audience to be able to easily identify who the character is and what their age is by the way they are dressed. This is conventional to the thriller genre as it will help to build tension due to the audience knowing how the characters are likely to act based upon what they are wearing.
Facial Expression and Body Language
Our group will use the facial expressions and body language of the characters in order to give the audience a better understanding of how they are feeling. In our opening sequence, facial expression are most important during the phone call scene between the antagonist and his girlfriend. For example, she will show fearful and shocked expression after the antagonist reveals that he was the one who killed his own mother. This is due to the fact that they are on the phone and therefore the audience will not know what he is saying to her, this creates tension, anticipation and an enigma as the audience are left in the dark. The only way that they will be able to find out more is if they continue watching the film. The use of facial expressions and body language to create tension and enigma is conventional to the thriller genre as it will hook the audience into watching more of the film and will make them feel uncertain about what they are watching.
Positioning of Characters
We have chosen to use the positioning of the characters to show the audience the relationship between each of the characters. For example, the closeness of the characters that are seen in the frame will represent the antagonists innocent side. During the scene with the antagonist and his girlfriend the two characters will be seen closer together than what the antagonist and his mother were. This will suggest to the audience that he is not going to kill her, therefore they will be surprised when he does. This is conventional to the thriller genre as it will increase their anticipation of what is going to happen next. On the other hand, for the scenes where the antagonist is portraying his dark side to the audience, there will be an awkward distance between him and the other characters in the frame. For example, during the dinner scene the mother and antagonist will be at the opposite ends on the table, which we hope will show the audience that although they are family, they are not close. This is conventional to the thriller genre as his capability to kill his own mother in such a violent way will shock the audience.
