Final Piece Thriller Movie

This is the final video we had used for our thriller movie. This video contains all the different camera angles and transitions we had use whilst filming. Also, at the beginning we have added our production name which is 'VRHK Productions'. Next, this video also shows all the editing we had done and s you may be able to see, we have edited the lighting by making it slightly brighter so the audience would be able to see, we did this as the natural lighting was very low, and also it had started to get dark, however as we increased the contrast and brightness, it had made the movie better. Lastly, in this movie you can also hear our composition which we have included during the beginning of the film and towards the end. Our composition  goes very well as our film has very little speech. Also, we have used Diegetic & Non Diegetic sound throughout the film. 

Evaluation Q7 (Voice Recording)

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 think I have learnt a lot as now I know how to film different camera angles and transitions, also after filming my preliminary task, I had noticed that the camera was very shaky, therefore we had invested in a tripod to keep all the filming scenes steady so they do not move. Next, I have learnt how to edit better so the scenes make sense, also, the editing skills I had adapted was that I learnt how to merge different scenes together so that they can make sense. Also, I had learnt how to take a successful over the shoulder shot and a medium long shot combined with a long shot, as we had used this when the villain is looking at his victim, and when the protagonist and antagonist leave the scene. I also learnt how to edit and create music which is effective and fits for my movie, and something which would attract my target audience, even though I had learnt more on how to create a composition, I had little knowledge before which helped me to extend my knowledge on editing and creating music. Also, at the beginning when I had started filming, I did not know how to use iMovie, then when I had created my preliminary task, I had gained some knowledge, to increase my knowledge even further, I had taken some recordings at home and tried to merge them together. Me doing this had helped me as I then knew how to merge and cut scenes to make them fit together well, and what editing techniques would make my film look good, and attract the audience.

Evaluation Q6 (Voice Recording)

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

I have learnt how to use a movie editing software since we started editing, I did not have a clue on how to cut and edit pieces and merge them together to make sense, therefore the preliminary task i had created increased my knowledge on how to edit slightly, then i had also taken some videos at home and tried to combine them on my mac to increase my knowledge even further so i could make my final piece good. Also i have learnt how to create my own composition to use in the film which would fit well, even though i had little knowledge on how to create a composition, creating my final piece composition to use in my movie had extended my knowledge even further. Also, the movie editing software we had used, was iMovie and i did not know how to use this at the beginning  but after i had used it to edit my Preliminary Task, I had gotten used to it as i had received feedback from the class, resulting in me having a better knowledge how to use different editing techniques. Also, i had invested in a Canon 600D which is a hd camera that my group had used to film, i now know how to use the camera when filming in different weather conditions as it consisted with different shooting modes which could help with the different weather conditions. 

Evaluation Q5 (Voice Recording)

How did you attract/address your audience?

 

We had attracted our audience as we had used our own music we had created from logic pro, and the composition we created, fit really well with the film. Also, we had filmed in the dark and used natural lighting with natural sounds as thriller movies are similar to this, as we did this, it made our audience want to carry on watching our film to find out what happened after the kidnapping of the victim, and what the father did after he returned to find that his daughter was no longer on the swings. Next, we had used different conventions of thriller to build the suspense, at one point in the film when the villain is walking to get his victim, that is the highest point of suspense. This is shown in our Sheldon Curve Structure. Also, one other way I had grabbed the audiences attention was by using different camera angles and transitions to make all the different scenes in our movie fit well and make sense. 

Next, we attracted our audience by asking people who were in our target group, and we asked them what they would expect to happen in our film, and we asked them question which were:
1) From looking at our storyboard what would you expect the genre of the film to be?
2) From looking at our storyboard what do you think will happen in the film?
3) What do you think will happen next?
4) What do you expect to see in a normal thriller movie?

After we had received the answers back from the questions, we bared this in mind and made our movie according to the focus group recording. This helped my group as we had now known how we could keep the audience entertained throughout our film, without them getting bored. Also, we had told our participants from our focus group recording, that our idea was replicated from "The Lovely Bones", and they said that was a good idea as that film was a good example of a thriller, and also as it was rated 6.6/10 on the www.imdb.com website.

Evaluation Q4 (Powerpoint)

Who would be the audience for your media product?

The audience that we had decided to use for our media product was aged from 18 and above, which meant that no one under the age of 18 would be able to watch our film due to unforeseen scenes. We did want to rate it from 15 and above, however we had researched and we found out that as our film includes a little girl getting kidnapped, therefore 15 year olds would not be aloud to watch this, resulting in us changing the age category to 18 and above. Also, we had researched what things are aloud and are suitable in a 18 rated film, and these are: 
- very strong violence
- frequent strong language (eg 'f***') and/or very strong language (eg ‘c***’)
- strong portrayals of sexual activity
- scenes of sexual violence
- strong horror
- strong blood and gore
- real sex (in some circumstances)
- discriminatory language and behaviour

Due to limited access for filming, we could not film in places such as in a studio, therefore we had to make use of what we had which was environments such as schools and parks, which we could've edited to make it look dangerous or frightening, however the only editing we did to the scene was that we made it brighter as the natural background lighting was very dark due to the season being winter, and as the daylight starts to dim after 4pm. To find out who our audience would be for our film, we thought we would conduct a questionnaire to find out what our target group would look for in our film, therefore we had asked them questions which were:

1) From looking at our storyboard what would you expect the genre of the film to be?
2) From looking at our storyboard what do you think will happen in the film?
3) What do you think will happen next?
4) What do you expect to see in a normal thriller movie?

After we had received the answers back from the questions, we bared this in mind and made our movie according to the focus group recording. This helped my group as we had now known how we could keep the audience entertained throughout our film, without them getting bored.

Evaluation Q3 (Powerpoint)

What kind of media institutions might describe your media product and why?

Our film we had made would be produced and made by DreamWorks. This is because they made a similar film which can be compared to ours called 'The Lovely Bones'. This film consists of a unusual villain who has a diary which he keeps under his floorboard in his room, consisting of different items from a little girls, such as hair, hair tie etc. We have replicated this idea and made our villain also have a diary which he keeps pictures of his victims, and it consists of a hair bow of a little girl. Also, we have included many different conventions of a thriller genre which DreamWorks would prefer. Also,  even though we have replicated the story from 'The Lovely Bones', we have a complete different storyline which the audience would enjoy to watch. DreamWorks would like our idea as it is replicated from a film they had worked with, however we have a complete unique story line, which has a thriller genre. 

However, as we were a new film company, we had a very low budget as our film was aged at mainly 18 year olds. we did not have enough money for the best equipment to use throughout our film, therefore we had used decent quality items when filming, and editing so we had to work at home or school. Secondly, we did not have any professional actors acting in our film to sell to the public, also as we were not well known, we could not advertise as much as we could, due to the low budget we had. Even though we did not have studios as the best equipment available, we had made us of what we had.

Evaluation Q2 (Blog)

How does your media product present particular social groups?


My media product is aimed at everyone aged 18 and above because many thriller movies are rated as 18, however, some are rated at pg.15 to. We had used this age as we had found out that as our film contains a kidnapping and it involves the kidnapping of a little girl aged 3, this resulted in us having to rate it 18+, which meant that no-one under 18 is allowed to see a 18 film at the cinema or buy/rent a ‘18’ rated DVD. 18 rated works are not suitable for children under 18 years of age. Also, we had made this decision as in cinemas around UK, thriller films are usually aged from 18 and above and also adult. I had researched into my local cinema which is Feltham Cineworld to analyse what social group watched thriller movies the most, and we found that it was teenagers, resulting in us making the age 18 and above. Also, I had visited the pg. (www.bbfc.com) website which tells you what is aloud in a pg15 film, and I had made sure that it fits into a pg18 category. I had also researched to find what kind things could be included in a 18 film and they were:

- very strong violence
- frequent strong language (e.g. 'f***') and/or very strong language (e.g. ‘c***’)
- strong portrayals of sexual activity
- scenes of sexual violence
- strong horror
- strong blood and gore
- real sex (in some circumstances)
- discriminatory language and behaviour

Evaluation Q1 (Blog)

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

The aim of a thriller movie is to create suspense and excitement for the audience. The film we had created uses conventions of a thriller movie as our film creates suspense and excitement for the audience, we had shot our film on a park and the home of the antagonist. These two location would be used in a thriller movie as the villain's house who we filmed in was dark, and he had mysterious photos of his victim. Including this in our film, would create a sense of awkwardness in the audience, as they would wonder why he has pictures of kids. Also, the thriller genre often consists of an investigation of an enigma or the hero is the only person whom is able to solve this enigma and reveal the truth. Our film has a hero whom is the father of the victim who is kidnapped, he is the hero who saves his daughter from the antagonist to save the day. 

We have tried to use conventions of real media products as we included many different conventions which are used in the thriller genre. Also, we had gotten our idea of our story from a film named 'The Lovely Bones', which uses the idea of the villain collecting and storing items of his victims in a diary. We had replicated this idea, where our villain does the same collecting pictures and a hair tie. Next, we had used Diegetic and Non Diegetic throughout our film, we had used Diegetic when you can hear the trees in the park, and when the villain is walking towards his victim, and Non Diegetic sound is used when we had added our own music throughout the beginning and end of the film. Our composition went well with the film as it gave a sense of awkwardness throughout the audience. 

From my research of thriller movies, I had found out that Murder and Kidnapping is one of the biggest conventions used, and also I have seen either a murder or kidnapping in most thriller i have watched, therefore this resulted in us including a kidnapping in our movie, and to engage the audience even more we had used a little girl aged 3 years old. The idea that the girl is young makes it realistic about the fact that she would be easy to kidnap due to the size, age and gender. Also, we had dressed the child in a typical way a 3 year old would dress, by her being dressed with a flowery dress and with point tails. We had used girl to act as the victim, as it would contrast with the fact that the villain is a male, and males are the more dominant sex.

Movie Editing

After we had finished filming, we had chosen then shots we were going to use in for the final movie, and we pasted them on to iMovie and edited them. We used a number or different editing techniques, such as Cutting, Fade Wipe etc. At the end when we thought we were finished editing we realised our movie was 30 seconds too long therefore we had to cut some shots which were not so important. Also, as our movie was shot in the dark, we had to use a contrast and brightness setting which would make the scenes brighter so the actors could be identified. The antagonist was wearing all black clothing, hence it was important to change the brightness. We had also edited the composition we had created to make it fit in the scenes. We had encountered that we had to make the song longer as it was too short, so we extended it. We played the song at the begging and towards the end. The song went really well with our movie overall. 

Rough Cut

This is our Rough Cut of our work, as you can see from the length of this clip, it is 2 minutes and 31 seconds, however our final piece had to be a maximum of 2 minutes, therefore we had to cut and edit some scenes out which we thought were not so important. We had quickened some scenes up to take a couple seconds of. Also, from our final movie you will be able to see that some shots from the park have been cut out and edited such as when the victims father walks out of the park to go find his items which he had lost. We had cut this part out as this scene just added useless seconds which were of no use, therefore we had only included the shots we needed. We had also re-filmed the ending scene when the villain goes back to his dark room and writes on his weekly planner mission accomplished. We had taken This scene out and changed it as we had received feedback from the class and we were told that it seems as if our film finished after the kidnapping, therefore we had changed the scene to the villain showing a picture of his next victim. This made more sense as the audience would not have gotten confused, and also so it would have shown that the film has more to it.

Day 4 Recording

On 26th November, we had re-filmed our first scene again as we thought there were a few shots we could've added in to make the film more enjoyable for the audience, the changed that we had made on the filming was that we changed sides on the filming as the other end of the room was more darker, and there was more background lighting which we could've used. We had also used a overhead projector to show the pictures of the victims and when the antagonist writes on the board. After this the villain walks to his desk and sits down, and writes on his weekly planner once again.

Day 3 Recording

On 23rd November, this was the third day of filming when we had filmed in the park, we started to film after 4pm as this was the time the sun started to set, and we needed it to be dark so we could film. Also, this was when we shot the Protagonist and the victim (his daughter) in the park. We had also changed the location  of the park to Murray Park in Hounslow, this was because in the park we were going to film before there was construction work going on resulting in us changing location. However, the new location was better becuase there was more natural light that we could use, and there was more space to film. There was one benefit to us as there was barely anyone in the park which had advantaged our group as we could've filmed without any disturbance. Whilst editing, we had seen that the lighting in some shots was too dark, therefore we had used visual effects to make the lighting more brighter. Overall, the end result was great as everything went according to plan, there was no weather issues, and  all the acting went according to plan too.

Day 2 Recording

On 21st November, this was the second day of filming, this day we had repeated the first scene as we thought we could've made some improvements which were that the filming we had done was not steady, and there was some unexpected background noise, therefore we thought we should invest in a tripod so our filming would be still and would not move. After we had started to film, we realised we should make some changes such as the lighting in the room therefore we added some background lighting and we made the antagonist clap so he could turn the lights on. We did this as if the villain had clapped to make the lights turn on, this would add to the fact that the  villain was weird.

Day 1 Recording

On Tuesday 19th November was the first day we started filming, this is the part of our film when the antagonist is the dark room and is putting pictures of his victim on his weekly planner and writing on it. Also, this scene shows the victim and his diary which he has pictures of his victims and the location of where he took the pictures. Also, the audience see the antagonist smells a Hair Bow, this belongs to the victim. This shows how mental the antagonist actually is. We have used a dark room to film this scene as it is meant to replicate the antagonists bedroom which looks dark as thriller films are usually dark & dull.

Making of Movie (Photos)

These are the pictures i have taken whilst the making of our movie. These are different shots taken in different scenes, and majority of the shots include the villain and the victim. Also, there are some pictures which show my group filming. 

 This image shows the camera man filming one of the scenes when the victim and her father are getting ready to play on the swings.

 This is another image which shows the camera man filming the scene where the father is playing with her daughter. 

 This shows the camera man and the characters, where the camera man is taking a shot of the victim and her father.

This is a picture taken to show the beginning scene of the antagonist in his dark room looking at his week planner, and updating it. As you can see he is wearing dark clothing which slightly identifies that he is the villain. Also, the weekly planner shows pictures of the villains target. 

This is the notebook that the villain writes in about his victim, as you can see there are pictures which show his target, and an object which he collects in the park as the victim drops it. The name of the victims mischievous plan is called 'The Agenda' 

This is the antagonists weekly planner that shows that on this week, he is going to make his move on kidnapping the victim, but will be successful of not no one knows. 

This is the park which the victim and her father are playing on, and the swings that she gets kidnapped from. 

This is a shot that shows the victim and her father playing in the park, early before she gets kidnapped.

This is another picture of the swings taken from a different angle. 

This is when the victim and her father are playing on the swings, and minutes later the father realises he has lost his phone therefore he goes to find it, telling his daughter to stay there and not to move.

Props

 This is the book that the villain uses to write about the child that he will be kidnapping. (The Victim) This prop book we made shows various different pictures of the victim in different location. Also, as you can see the picture above shows a bow looking object. This object is found by the villain in the park when the victim drops it, therefore he takes it and inserts it in his book. The pictures show illustrations of where they are taken, what time and some information about the victim itself.

This is the antagonists week planner which shows the date when he is going to make his move on kidnapping the victim. Thursday is the day when he will make his move. Also, his planner shows the days from Monday when he has been spying on her, there are various pictures of the victim once again. Lastly, as you can see from the picture, the day of the agenda is written in bold black and red. The week of the antagonist plan is named 'The Agenda'.

Locations of Filming

We had filmed in 2 different places. The first place we had filmed was in a dark room at school, where the lights were turned off and there was a minor background light so the audience could see what the antagonist was up to. This dark room was meant to implicate a room in the antagonists room where he made his cunning plans. Also, the second place we were meant to film had changed from the Hounslow Heath Park to Murray Park. Both were based in the Hounslow Borough, 10 minutes away from each other, we had decided to change as Hounslow Heath Park had been closed due to construction work on going in the park. This change did not disappoint us as both location were suitable for the filming as there was barely anyone at the park as daylight was going, and both locations consisted of a play area. These two locations we had used went to plan as there were no discrepancies that had occurred.

Logic Pro

Logic pro is a software in which you can create different types of music. Logic Pro is similar to Garage Band, but Logic Pro is better, it is compatible with both Windows & Mac. I had used this software to create my composition in which I will be using on  my thriller movie opening. To create this composition piece, I started with 2 chords on a synthesiser, then I used the synth to tweak the piece to make it slow and then i had layered it with different instruments such as Boutique 808, Burning Pad, Black Sun, Cheerful Melody and Muted Bass, so it would flow with the opening scene that i will create. We will be using this composition throughout our piece, at the beginning during the credits, and when the victim gets kidnapped, we will replay it as there is barely any spoken words used in the scene. This is a software i had chosen to use as I am more familiar with this software rather than Garage Band. Also, I have used this software before to create a similar composition for another task.   

This youtube video shows the composition I have made, I will be using this in my final piece as a background as it is a thriller type movie, we will be using this composition throughout the beginning and the end of our film. We will use this to create diegetic sound. 

The Blake Synder Beat Sheet

Project Title: The Hidden Agenda
Genre: Thriller

1.  The beggining of our act does not contain the protagonist as the first scene contains a point of view shot on the book we created names 'The Hidden Agenda'.

2. The theme we have used is Thriller theme.

3. There are 3 main characters in our piece. The Antagonist, The Protagonist and the Victim. The conflict of the piece is that the antagonist plans a date to kidnap the victim, and the scene the kidnapping takes place in the park. After he has kidnapped her the protagonist returns to find that his daughter has been kidnapped, therefore he goes on a journey to find his daughter.

4. The protagonist is forced to take action as when he returns to find that his daughter has been kidnapped, it is his duty to go and find her.

5. The protagonist has no doubt to go and find his daugher as the victim is his responsibility, therefore it is his duty to go and find her.

6. The protagonist walks into act 2 when he goes on his journey to go and find his daughter, however we do not film this act as we are only meant to film act 1.

7. There are no new characters that help the protagonist in finding his daughter as there is no time for him to ask for help. However he does ask some pedestrians who are in the park during the time of the kidnapping.

8. The fun in the movie begins when the antagonist kidnaps the victim, and the protagonist returns to find that his daughter has been kidnapped, therefore he goes on his journey to find her.

9. The middle of the film includes the victim being kidnapped, and the protagonist returning to find that someone has kidnapped his daughter, therefore he goes on his journey to find her.

10.When the antagonist makes his move on kidnapping his victim, he uses physical strength to kidnap the victim.

11. When the protagonist returns to find his daughter has been kidnapped, there are a lot of thoughts running through his mind, however he does not give up, but returns to save his daughter.

12. The protagonist has a lot of thoughts running through his mind, however he stays strong of feelings, and goes to find his daughter to save the day.

13. At the end of  the acts, the villain is defeated as he gets beaten up by the protagonist himself, and the villain is forced to speak and tells the protagonist where he has hidden the victim.

14. The antagonist is defeated by the protagonist, and he finds the daughter and takes her home regretting that the mistake he made he shouldn't have made it.

15. Even though the antagonist had a bad mind of kidnapping the victim, he thought he would've been successful in his mission, however he is wrong, the protagonist saves the day by saving his daughter from the hands of the villain.

Sheldon Curve Structure

This is the Sheldon Curve Structure that a created. as you can see 2B has the highest amount of tension. this is when in the scene the victim is kidnapped by the antagonist. 2A leads into scene 2B as the tension slowly rises to its highest point. The tension is gradually built when the villain comes into play and gets ready to make his move on kidnapping the little girl, and then it slowly decreases when the victim and villain disappear  However, the tension once again rises when the father of the victim returns to find that his daughter is no longer on the swings. 

Script

1. EXT: Antagonist Basement (Dark Room) - Midnight

 

Gradually the music begins to play, as a point of view shot shows the book made by the Antagonist called "The Agenda". The face of the Antagonist is not seen, the audience will only see his hands flicking through the book as the music begins to play louder.

2. EXT: In The Park (Heath Park) - Early Evening

The scene switches to a medium long shot of the swing alone, as the swing will be swinging on its own. as this happens there will be a spooky sound effect descending, gradually the sound effect will stop and all you can hear is the squeaky swing getting louder.

3. EXT: In The Park (Heath Park) - Early Evening 

This scene contains dialogue. The victim is talking to her guardian as they walk into the park.

Jaanvi:

(laughing)

Ravi: How was your day at school?

Jaanvi: It was good Daddy

Ravi: (echoing laugh)

4. EXT: Antagonist Basement (Darkroom Flashback) Midnight

This scene is another point of view shot. This scene is shot in the Antagonists basement once again and it shows a birds eye view angle of the book the villain has written.The audience get a slight knowing that something bad is going to happen.

5. EXT: In The Park (Heath Park) - Later On That Evening 

This scene is of the antagonist sitting on the park bench. This is an overhead shot of the antagonist watching his target as she swings. By this time it becomes obvious to the audience what the antagonists motive it. 

6. EXT: In The Park (Heath Park) - Later On That Evening 

This scene is of the little girl (Victim) sitting on the swings. This is a straight shot of the girl on the swing. 

7. EXT: In The Park (Heath Park) - Later On That Evening 

This is a birds eye shot of the antagonists watch. It clearly shows the time in which he is going to take his crime forward.

8. EXT: In The Park (Heath Park) - Later On That Evening 

This shot is a straight shy of the swing after the antagonist has kidnapped the child. Also, this is the last shot that we will be shooting. After this our thriller movie trailer finishes.

Ammended Storyboard

After we had recieved feedback from our interviewes, we had to ammend our storyboard, and the thing we ammended was that we had changed the time from 10pm to 4.30pm. This is because as our main character was was a little girl, we thought 10pm would not be appropriate. Also, we needed the time to be when it is dark, and now as it is winter, the sun starts to go down at 4pm, therefore, 4.30pm would be a good time to film.

Film Company Research

There are many different film companies such as:
- Anchor Bay
- Capitol Films
- DreamWorks SKG
- DreamWorks Animations
- 20th Century Fox
- 20th Century Fox Animation
- Blue Sky Studios
- Warner Bros. Pictures
- Triumph Films

These are just a few film companies that make different genres of films. Our film we had made would be produced and made by DreamWorks. This is because they made a similar film which can be compared to ours called 'The Lovely Bones'. This film consists of a unusual villain who has a diary which he keeps under his floorboard in his room, consisting of different items from a little girls, such as hair, hair tie etc. We have replicated this idea and made our villain also have a diary which he keeps pictures of his victims, and it consists of a hair bow of a little girl. DreamWorks would like our idea as it is replicated from a film they had worked with, however we have a complete unique story line, which has a thriller genre.

Focus Group

For our focus group, we had to ask some people from our target audience (14 - 19 Year Olds) about what conventions they would expect in a thriller movie. We chose 4 open ended questions to ask our target audience. We did this so we could improve our story boards and character profiles.

Questions Asked:
1) From looking at our storyboard what would you expect the genre of the film to be?
2) From looking at our storyboard what do you think will happen in the film?
3) What do you think will happen next?
4) What do you expect to see in a normal thriller movie?

These were the questions asked, you can see by reading at them that they are very vague, however this was done purposely so we could get as much feedback as we could.

Analysis:

From question one, 5/5 people from our target audience said they would expect the genre of our film to be a thriller after looking at our story board. This was a good thing, as this is what we expected everyone to say. Also, it proves our storyboard is precise and clearly indicates the genre of what the movie is.


In Question 2, 3/5 people said they thought the little girl (the victim) would get kidnapped.  Which links to the character profiles as we said that men dominate over females, and from this question, the little girl is picked to be kidnapped. This shows our story board was accurate and explains the plot effectively, and that the audience could understand what we were hoping to achieve. However, 1/5 people said they think the girl was going to fall off the swing. This shows our storyboard may not be clear enough. To improve on this aspect, we decided to write more descriptive captions to ensure they understand the plot properly.

Question three was answered differently by the everyone in our target audience. One person said they expected there to be a hero to save the little girl from the kidnapper. Another person said that the little girl manages to escape from the villains trail. Someone else also said that the little girl ends up dying.

Question four was an interesting question as it helped us pinpoint what the audience would expect there to be in a normal thriller movie. 5/5 people said they would expect to see some sort of weapon used by the antagonist. Our group wanted to show originality through our thriller movie so we decided to not have a weapon in our film. This shows we did want to add a unique aspect to our film. 

Overall, our focus group was very useful as it helped us target what conventions we could use and add to our movie, also, it helped us on what everyone would prefer to watch, and the answers we had recieved from our questionnaire proves that our story board was interesting and did make sense. Lastly, it also helped us alter our storyboard to fit our criteria of a thriller film after we had recieved feedback from others.

Overall, we will not be changing our storyboard as the feedback we recieved from our focus group was postive, and it did not require us to make any ammendments to our movie.

 

Character Profiles

  

  

This is the villain that will be playing in our short opening of our thriller film. We have drawn him out to show how he will be dressed, black hoodie and black trousers. We've chosen black as this is a morbid colour. Also the colour black connotates evil and can show an element of the dark side in the character. The villain we also be wearing a black hoodie as hoodies are frowned upon in society therefore this will add suspicion so towards the character. The actor who is performing as the villain is a 5 foot 7 male. The reason for this is that the male gender shows dominance and height may add fear to everyone in the audience and generally to everybody in society. 

Next, this is the victim that gets kidnapped in our thriller. This image at the bottom shows a typical young girl whom would wear bright coloured dresses and have long hair. The idea that the girl is young makes it realistic about the fact that she would be easy to kidnap due to the size, age and gender. The actor will be dressed in a flowery dress with pony tails as a typical 3 year old would like to dress. This child will be a girl, as it will contrast with the fact that the villain is a male, and males are the more dominant sex.

Storyboard

This is a drawn image of our storyboard. It shows the opening from the left of the book named 'The Hidden Agenda' and it shows the villain looking at this book that he has written and it shows the time and date of this kidnapping. Next, the storyboard has short descriptions that explain briefly what is going to happen in each scene. from the storyboard you can see that the angle the book has been drawn in is a Bird's Eye View shot. Also alongside that, we will be using a Point Of View shot alongside the Bird's Eye View shot. 

As the scene goes on, the audience understand what is going to happen. From the story board you can see that the day of the kidnapping is a Thursday. The audience know this as in the book and in the storyboard the day is circled in a red pen. Also, the audience can easily identify the villain and victim due to the way they dressed, and as they are the main characters being recorded. 

The location that the film will be shot is in a park based in Hounslow. The park is close to The Heathland School, and is called Heath Park. We have chosen this place as there is a play area for kids, which will be used. Also, next to the Park there is a very big area which consists of only trees which is called the Heath. This will be a great location as the villain would be able to take the child into to heath to grab an easy escape, if he does. 

Overall, we will not be changing our storyboard as the feedback we recieved from our focus group was postive, and it did not require us to make any ammendments to our movie.

Shot Log

We will be using a number of different Shots in our film we will be creating. The camera angles that we will be using are:
- Zoom/Reverse Shot
- Stead Cam
- Focus
- Handheld
- Tilt

The shots we will be using are:
- Long Shots
- Medium Long Shots
- Close Ups
- Over The Shoulder
- Point of View

These are a few camera angles and shots that we are planning on using when we create our film. We will be using these as these are the most common shots and angles used in filming, and to keep the audience engaged so they don't get bored of seeing one angle and shot over and over again.

Film Treatment

Film Treatment
- Film treatment is similar to that of an often overview or synopsis of the film idea.
- What character might play the parts
- Are there any archetypes? e.g. Frankenstein or Dracula influences the characters to act the way they do.

The first shot of our film will contain a point of view shot of what the antagonist is looking at, a book that he has written called 'The Agenda'. While the villain is looking at the book he has written, there is a picture of a little girl, and a date being shown. The audience do not know who this girl is and what the date represents  but they get an idea that something wrong is going to happen. While the villain is looking at the book, the camera angle we will be using is a Bird's Eye View and a Point of View shot. We have replicated this idea from a film called 'The Lovely Bones'. 

The scene opens with a little girl wearing a bright dress walking to the park with her dad (protagonist) and the villain is seen to be looking at her. However the audience do not recognise the villain as his face is covered. The villain wears dark clothing, black trousers and a black hoodie. This is because villains are usually portrayed in the society in this manner. While the little girl is on the swings, her dad realises that he has misplaced his phone, so he goes to find it and tells the girl to stay there till he returns. When the dad is telling the little girl to stay where she is, we will be using the 180 Degree Angle. The audience get to know the setting through the camera movement. The setting is in the park. The villain is seen to be looking at the time as he realises that the little girl is now on her own, so he gets ready to make his move on kidnapping the little girl.

Timetable

Preliminary Task Editing

Editing is important as it keeps the audience engaged whilst watching a film or programme. If a video was not edited, the audience would not understand what is going on as the scenes being played would not make sense. Also, editing helps to get rid off parts of the video which are not wanted.

After we had finished recording our Preliminary Task, we had to edit it to  make the scenes videoed fit in. When editing the Preliminary Task , it was fairly difficult as it was the first time trying to edit a piece to make it go well. When the audience had watched our Preliminary Task, they had given us feedback to improve on, which we took into consideration so we could amend these mistakes in the final piece.

Preliminary Task

This is our preliminary task. This short clip shows different clips put together. Also, we did this to  practise on how to use different shots to use in our real task. 

I have learnt that when filming, make sure that everyone around are not talking so you do not have to mute the sound. Also, I have learnt how to film different camera angles such as: Match on Action, 180 Degree Rule, Point of View and a few others. A strong aspect of our videoing was that we used correct dialogue which was clear so everybody could understand, also we included all the camera angles we were supposed to. 

I learnt how to edit different clips so they could fit together, I also learnt how to trim shots which were not needed and put them together using different transitions. 

We showed our clip to the media class, and they told us that our target was: that the actors should not look at the camera whilst performing. Also, another aspect that we could improve on is that whilst filming, to make sure that the camera is steady, and is not shaking. 

Thriller Movie Director Research

Steven Allan Spielberg is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, and business magnate. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as archetypes of modern Hollywood blockbuster filmmaking. In later years, his films began addressing humanistic issues such as The Holocaust, The Transatlantic Slave Trade, War, and Terrorism. He is considered one of the most popular and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. He is also one of the co-founders of DreamWorks movie studio.
Spielberg won the Academy Award for Best Director for Schindler's List (1993) and Saving Private Ryan (1998). Three of Spielberg's films:
- Jaws (1975)
- E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
- Jurassic Park (1993)
 These films achieved box office records, each becoming the highest-grossing film made at the time. To date, the unadjusted gross of all Spielberg-directed films exceeds $8.5 billion worldwide. Forbes puts Spielberg's wealth at $3.3 billion.

Film Noir Research

Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classical film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s. Film noir of this era is associated with a low-key black and white visual style that has roots in German Expressionist cinematography. Many of the prototypical stories and much of the attitude of classic noir derive from the hardboiled school of crime fiction that emerged in the United States during the Great Depression.

The term film noir, French for "black film'', first applied to Hollywood films by French critic Nino Frank in 1946, was unrecognized by most American film industry professionals of that era. Cinema historians and critics defined the category retrospectively. Before the notion was widely adopted in the 1970s, many of the classic films noirs were referred to as melodramas. Whether film noir qualifies as a distinct genre is a matter of on going debate among scholars.
 

Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid

Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid is a dramatic action movie. This is identified through the opening scene. The opening contains Diegetic Sound of the instrumental music being played. This gives the viewer a dramatic feeling. Also, the font used during the opening scene is used throughout most of the opening, and this bold font is in Sepia that foreshadows action and drama. The opening scene is also slow paced and includes illegal activity of gambling, which hints to the audience that auction is involved. Also, the opening scene is shown to be very dark and the setting is of a old western cowboy setting.

Schindlers List

I had watched a film which was a very old film, and that was Schindlers List. The setting is from a very long time ago, during the mid-early 1900s, the film is shown in black and white which results in the audience knowing it is a very old film. During this film, there is a vast number of camera angles such as: Close Ups, Extreme Close Ups, Over The Shoulder, and many more. All these camera angles used create a sense of confusion in the audience as they do not know what is happening. There is a lot Diegetic Sound used during the opening of the film. When the people are lining up with there families, the audience do not know what is happening therefore creates confusion.

No Country For Old Men

Another film I had watched the opening of was No Country For Old Men. This film is a 2007, American neo-Western thriller written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, based on the Cormac McCarthy novel of the same name. The beginning of this film starts of with murder, therefore the audience would know it is a thriller movie. The weapon used for the murder is shown by the camera as it focuses on it before the audience know what it is. The first voice the audience hear is spoken in 1st person, and is a monotone voice. We are introduced to the villain of this film. The appearance and clothing the villain wears is a black jacket, handcuffs, pale skin, deep eyes, psychotic eyes, long hair and very smart shoes. This appearance is a usual type of appearance for a villain.

There is a vast number of Camera Angles & Transitions used in the opening of the film, such as: Close Ups, Medium Close Ups, Extreme Close Ups, Over The Shoulder and many others. There is a unusual camera shot used when the villain washes the blood of his hands. When the scene changes, there is very little diegetic sound, this adds seriousness to the atmosphere, and creates suspense and tension in the audience too.

No Country For Old Men is set in a western, abandoned area, it is a very deserted and dangerous area as no one is around. Also there are no eye witnesses whom could identify the killer. Juxtaposition is shown. The colours used are of a golden brown contrast. There is also a sense of a ruthless atmosphere, the weather is shown to be hot, and there is an unforgiving sunrise.

Deliverance

Deliverance was one the films I had watched, the opening scene consists of plain white bold font. it contains foul language which instantly sets a mood identical to the language. There is an explosion in the first few minutes of the film. This explosion foreshadows that something bad is going to happen or has happened. There is a lot of non diegetic sound which includes laughing and talking, which gives a sense of evil. There is a number of different camera angles and transitions used such as: Close Ups, Medium Close Ups, Point of View, and 180 Degree Rule. 

The main characters are males connotes violence and gives the film a masculine theme. The main storyline of the movie is identified in the opening scene as a group of men are on holiday, somewhere where the audience to not know. This automatically lets the viewer's mind loose and they start to think that as they are in a unknown place, it is not a known location and there is no escape. Therefore, they could easily get lost and something mysterious could happen. Lastly, there is a scene which consists of a petrol station and a mysterious old man at the petrol station which is a typical convention of a thriller movie; leading to automatic identification.

Insomnia

Insomnia was one the first films I had watched. This is a thriller film, and contains a number of different camera angles and transitions such as: Close Ups, Medium Close Ups, 180 Degree Angle, Point of View, Over the Shoulder, and many more. In the opening scene, the characters are in a plane flying to Alaska, the setting is cold and boring. The letters shown in the opening create a feeling of discomfort as they are black, white and red. Also, the opening shows a red liquid typed substance which looks like blood, but the audience do not know what it is, however they get a sense that something is wrong.

Vladamir Propp

Vladimir Propp Theory 
He concluded that all characters could be resolved into 8 broad character types in the 100 tales he analysed.

The Villain 
Struggles against the hero.

The Dispatcher
Character who makes the lack known and send the hero off

The (Magical) Helper 
Helps the hero in the quest

The Princess or Prize
The hero deserves her throughout the story but is unable to marry her because of an unfair evil , usually because of the villain, the hero's journey is often ended with the princess , thereby defeating the villain

Her Father 
Gives the task of the hero, identifies the false hero, married the hero , often sought for during the narrative. Propp noted that functionally , the princess and father can not be distinguished. 

The Donor
Prepares the hero or gives the hero some magical object.

The Hero or Victim/Seeker Hero
Reacts to the donor marries the princess.

False Hero
Takes credit for the hero's actions or tries to marry the princess.

A Lot Like Love

I watched the opening scene of A Lot Like Love, and this is a film about both Comedy and Romance. A film with 2 different types of genre is known as a Hybrid Genre. A the beginning of the film, there is diegetic sound when the pop song is being played. Also there is non diegetic sound when you can hear the surrounding noise of the plane and when the drink is dropped on Ashton Kutcher by the air hostess. Pathetic Fallacy is also used as when Ashton Kutcher is dropped to the airport by his sister, the weather looks nice and hot, this shows that everyone is happy.

The opening scene is set in the airport, so this tells the audience that this film is not a Science Fiction. There is a vast number of Camera Angles and Transitions used. some of these are: Close Ups, Medium Close Ups, Extreme Close Ups, Long Shots and many other camera angles. These different camera angles show surroundings, engage the audience and emphasise facial expressions and creates focus in the audience.

At the beginning of the film we are told that the film is shown 7 years before, so that shows how the couple change in the 7 years. The pairing of the couple is an unlikely pairing as the girl is good looking, whereas the boy isn't shown to be so good looking. Also, when the couple meet on the plane and start kissing, the audience get to know whom the main characters are in the film.

180 Degree Rule

180 Degree Rule:
 In film making, the 180-degree rule is a basic guideline regarding the on-screen spatial relationship between a character and another character or object within a scene. An imaginary line called the axis connects the characters and by keeping the camera on one side of this axis for every shot in the scene, the first character will always be frame right of the second character, who is then always frame left of the first. If the camera passes over the axis, it is called jumping the line or crossing the line. Cutting the line can result to confusion in the audience, and they may lose concentration. so therefore the rules of the 180 degree rule should be followed!

This picture shows the axis between two characters and the 180° arc on which cameras may be positioned. When cutting from the arc, the characters switch places on the screen.

Conventions of a Thriller Movie

The aim of a thriller movie is to create suspense and excitement for the audience. Thriller movies usually use busy streets and environments is usually of a urban or surburban area. The narrative revolves around the investigation of an enigma or the hero is the only person able to solve the enigma and reveal the truth. Violence is also central to most thriller movies as well as it often reveals the working particular institutions such as the police, the army or the government. The hero & villain although opposing sides, may share some characteristics. The hero is often an outsider, idolated secretive but moral.