Research - Opening credits - Ms Gibbings

Opening credits:

Opening credits are written information in a film that occur at the opening of a film. However, the opening credits are excluded from the actual film as only the audience are exposed to seeing them. The opening credits consist of who stars in the film, as well as the production roles. The opening credits are important because it enables the audience to be aware of the important people who are in the film, and who took part in the production of the film.

The opening credits of a thriller has a significant impact in the opening of the film. This is due to the fact that the credits can cause confusion and it also makes the audience think about what is going on in the scene while the opening credits are been shown. The use of sounds while the credits are been shown also enhances the impact that the credits have on the audience. Its essential to draw the audience into the action from the start.

'Se7en' Opening credits:

From the notable thriller 'Se7en' we can see the opening credits being portrayed through to the audience while the there is some action from the start of the film being taken place. We can see the names of famous actors that are in the film such as Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman. The names of the characters shown in the opening credits also flash continuously to draw the audience in, and is a thriller specific technique.

There are useful cinematography techniques that were also used during the opening credits. We could see close ups of the action that was taking place as the credits were occurring. Furthermore there is a male character using the needle and large scissors, which would create a negative impression towards him from the audience.

The low-key lighting is consistent throughout the opening credits. This conveys the opening as being mysterious and creepy as the audience is exposed to low-key lighting from the start of the film. 

The soundtrack used while the opening credits are going adds to the suspense that is created. It also makes the audience feel uneasy with the disturbing sounds such as scratches and a broken radio. Moreover, this is conventional because it relates well with the images that we can see as well as the credits.

To conclude, the opening credits of 'Se7en' is the type of opening credits that I should consider using in my own thriller. This is because in the credits they have managed to draw in the audience with the techniques used. The use of imagery has contributed in catching the audiences attention and I think that this is essential to do at the start of a film, especially doing so in the opening credits.

Research: Narrative theory: Ms Hawkins

What is 'narrative theory?

in media terms a narrative is a account of connected events. the audience needs a narrative in order to be familiar with what they are watching and to have an understanding of what is going on. in films there is always a beginning  a middle and an end. due to the narrative we can construct and understand the meaning that is portrayed through what we are watching. we looked at the main theorists' that had different theories of the narrative structure which was from Vladimir Propp and Tzvetan Todorov.

Todorov's theory:

Todorov simplified the idea of the narrative theory whilst also allowing a more complex interpretation of film with this theory of equilibrium and disequilibrium. At the beginning there is a state of equilibrium where everything is normal and going fluently as it should do. At the middle there is a form of disruption which is known as the disequilibrium. Finally there is a new equilibrium produced at the end of the narrative. Todorov's theory causes excitement and intensity within the audience as they experience both the equilibrium point and disequilibrium within the narrative.

Propp's theory:
Propp had the idea of the narrative being dependant on the characters which have purposes such as an antagonist and an protagonist in which there is a battle between the two sets of characters to determine who is the superior character. This usually happens in Disney films with a 'Hero' and a 'Villain' a notable example being 'Sleeping Beauty'

My Narrative:
For my narrative, I believe that Todorov's theory would be most relevant to my thriller opening. This is because the idea of a equilibrium and disequilibrium throughout the opening would have a positive impact on the audience and attract them in watching my thriller. Moreover, the reason as to why i do not consider to use Propp's theory is that it is not relevant as it does not relate to the thriller genre.

Planning - Character Representation - Ms Heath

Character representation is important because the audience needs to be aware of who each character is, and what type of character that each of them are. Character representaion would also result in the audience reacting to each character in a specific and different way. For example a stereotypical character would be the blonde victim from the thriller 'Scream' as she is represented as being weak in comparision to the antagonise so therefore the audience would feel sympathetic towards her.

Hygerta: (Victim)
Hygerta is a 16 year old female character in which she is portrayed as a attractive teenage girl that is confident and gets attension from a lot of teenage boys. Her being blonde categorises her as being vulnerable and not being smart. Her being attractive is the main reason as to why she gets targeted by the antagonist. She is represented as being innocent and and weak as the audience would be able to tell by her form of body language and facial expression. This character is significant in my thriller because she is represented as being the innocent victim and this gives the audience to take her side in the same way as the audience feel sympathetic towards the blonde character from 'Scream'













Kay: (Antagonist)
Kay plays the antagonist role as he wold be represented as being intimidating throught the whole opening. He also would be represented in a way so that the audience is aware that his main aim is to harm the victim. The equipment and iconography that belong to himwould portray his dark and evil side. After he targets the victim and doing research on her i.e her pictures he makes up his idea to capture her. Him being in the low-key ligthing setting also contributes to him being a dark and mysterious character.

Planning - Scene Narration - Ms Hawkins

In the first scene of my thriller there would be shots of thriller scpecific icongorahpy such as the knives, and large scissors etc. the audeince would be ware of all the equipment that the antagonist would have. There would be close ups of the thriller specific iconography such as the blood on the gloves to create a chilling response within the audience.

Then, there would be images of the victim that would be layed out on a table with candles around the pictures as the antagonist would be staring at the pictures. Moreover, the antagonist would cross out her face with a red pen implying that she is the next victim. There would also be a shot of the antagonist burning the picture of the victim in order to imply that she is in trouble.

Then, the victim would be introduced as we see her sitting in the park which would be the first setting that we would be using. She would be sitting at the bench as she would be starting to get dizzy as then the antagonist would make his move in capturing her.

We would then see her being tied up on a table with a extreme close up shot of her face displaying her as frightened and worried about what would happen to her. Ther would also be a POV shot of the victim looking up at the antagonist wearing a mask. This scene would consist of low-key lighting to portay the victim as being in trouble.

The final scene would consist of the antagonist on his with a close up and the camera only concentrating on him as he blows out the candle leaving the audience with a cliffhanger and wondering what would happen to the victim.

Planning - Mise En Scene - Ms Heath

Setting:
My thriller opening would consist of two locations. The first setting would be outside in a park with everything occuring in a natural way as there would be pedestrants walking. The other location would be a dark room with little visiblity to create a feeling of suspense within the audience. The dark room would be the location in which most of the action would take place because the dark room is more of a conventional thriller location.

The response I hope to create from my use of settings are that the audience could estanblish that its a setting the would be conventional to a thriller, and they would react to in the the relevant way depending on the setting for example they would feel the sense of being worried when the scene was in the dark room

Iconography:
In our thriller we are planning to use significant amount of effort into the iconography. We would use a various range of iconograhpy that would be relevent and conventional to a thriller. We would set up equipment such as knives, saws, large scissors to create a chilling experience from the audience. We would have reference to blood throughout the scenes for example there was blood on the antagonists' gloves. Moreoever, we are thinking to have red pens that would be used by the antagonist to target the victim on her picture. Candles would also be used to display the antagonist as having a myserious character.

The response I hope to create from the use of iconography would be that the audience would be aware of the strength of the antagonist and what he is capable of doing to the victim in order for the audience to feel sad for the victim.

Costume:
The antaonist would be wearing dark clothes to represent himself as being evil and having a dark personality. The dark costume would result in the audience going against the antagonist. The victim on the other hand would be waring light clothes to portray her as being pure and innocent. The antagonists' would be wearing masks to cover their identity as they would not want to be identified.

The response I hope to create from the use of costume would be that the audience would be able to acknowledge the victim and the antagonist by the use of costume as the antagonist would be wearing darker clothes in relation to the victim.

Facial expression/body language:
When the victim would be captured she would have a worried and anxious facial experssion as there was close up shots on the victim to portray the facial expression. Body language of antagonist would be calm and give the sense that he would be in control over the victim. On the other hand, the body language of the victim would be shown as weak and defencess against the antagonist.

The response I hope to create from the facial expression and body language would be that through the use of facial expression and body language the audience should be able to tell that the victim is in trouble and that the antagonist is in control

Lighting:
Low-key lighting would be used  when the victim would be captured to illustrate that she is in trouble and she could experience bad. In contrast, natural lighting would be used when the victim would be on her own before she gets captured to give the sense of her being free for the time being and living her normal life not being aware of the fact that she is going to get captured soon.

The response I hope to create from ligthing would be that the audience should be able to understand that when the lighting changed from natural to low-key the audience would be aware that the victim is in trouble.

Post Production - Audience feedback - Ms Begum

Audience feedback



Audience feedback is the reaction from the audience after watching the thriller opening. The feedback could be either negative or positive. Audience feedback is important because it gives an clear idea to us about what was good about your product and what we should of done better at. Therefore we can determine if our thriller was successful or not.

Before the production of our thriller product we carried out questionnaires to gain some feedback. I carried this out because I wanted to be aware of what were the demands of the audience so i could fulfil that. This was beneficial because it gave us an idea of what our thriller product should consist of in order to keep the audience satisfied. Furthermore, we were also aware of what narrative was most appealing to the audience.

We then screened our thriller product. We chose to screen our thriller product in relation to the target audience of my thriller product. This was an audience that was the age of 15 or over. I chose to screen it to this specific audience because from my research of questionnaire results i knew that my product was suitable and most appealing to an audience of 15 and over. This was beneficial to my thriller conventions and production film making because I was aware that the micro-elements I used was appealing and would draw my target audience into the product. 

Positive comments:

A positive comment that I had received was from Mehmet. The props (iconography) used was eye-catching and related to the narrative.

I think this comment was a good point to pick up on because we had put significant effort on the iconography to relate with the mysterious protagonist.

Hasret had said that ‘the soundtrack created tension and related to the thriller genre’

I was glad to hear this feedback because we had spent a lot of time on the soundtrack to make it a conventional thriller soundtrack and from the comment above we can conclude that it was successful.

Ryan had said that ‘the camera shots such as a close up camera shot of the victim were clear and purposeful.’

This comment was beneficial because we had emphasised on portraying the victim in a way to show her emotion and feelings at the time.

Constructive comments:



A constructive comment that I received by Selma was that ‘different and more camera angles could have been used.’

I agree with this comment as we could of used different camera angles, as different camera angles would give more meaning to our thriller product and display the characters in a useful way.

Another constructive comment was made by Cagdas was that the storyline could have been more creative.

I think that if we put more effort in the storyline the outcome would have been more positive. A more creative storyline could be a significant contributing factor in the success rate of our thriller product.

Sam had commented that ‘the scene when the victim was walking in and out of the shop seemed to drag’

This constructive comment was accurate because I could have made the shop scene more sharp and short. If this could be improved, the scene could have been more fluent and would have had a greater impact on the audience.

Now that I have receive the feedback on my thriller product, I think that I followed my brief and created a successful thriller because my thriller had consisted of the micro-elements which were conventional in thrillers. In which this had reflected on the feedback as the feedback which was mainly positive.

The audience feedback was beneficial to me even though I had created my thriller product because it allowed me to see if the target audience was satisfied about what they saw and what aspects I could have done better in. from the audience feedback, I think that my intended target audience had considered my thriller product as a success. Moreover, my product would enhance the status of ‘New Line Cinema’ as I believe the outcome of the product was a success. My film company would consider working in the future with me as the thriller product successful as conveyed through the audience feedback.



Planning - Final Idea - Ms Begum

Final idea

As a group we had three ideas to base our thriller opening on. the first two ideas were based around the theme of a stalker harassing a teenager, and the other idea being based around the theme of bullying and how a teenage girl was constantly getting bullied at her college. finally, we had the idea based on a religious ritual lead by a masked figure which targets a teenager.

The tittle of our thriller opening would be 'The Ritual'

The narrative of our thriller is as follows, the antagonist would target a young blonde victim. The antagonist would be familiar with her beforehand but the victim would not be aware of this. This would be presented by the antagonist having pictures of the victim. This would also convey that the antagonist knows what his victim would look like. The antagonist would then capture the victim by dropping a pill in her drink as she sits at a park bench. She would then later wake up to the shock of being captured and tied up in a dark room.

My thriller follows the idea of Aristotle which is the idea of themes making the narrative, in which the film is based around the themes that are presented. The theme of the narrative would be a religious ritual. Throughout the film there would be references to a religious ritual with the images that would be used, so therefore our thriller relates to Aristotle's narrative structure.

The characters in the thriller would be played by Myself, Kay and Hygerta. Me and Kay would be the antagonist character, whereas Hygerta would play the victim. The antagonist role would be represented as masked figures and would hide our identity throughout the majority of the opening. The victim would be represented as a blonde, teenage innocent looking female which the audience would feel sympathy for.

We took on board the 5 elements of Mise en scene while we came up with our final idea. We started of with looking at iconography and setting. we agreed that we would use conventional iconography such as blood on gloves, large scissors and items that would attract the audience. the setting would be in a dark room when the victim would be captured, but before being captured it would be outside. The lighting we wanted to use was low-key lighting when she was captured in the dark room with the antagonist. However natural lighting would be used when she would be walking in and out of the shop as she would be outside. The costume we decided that our characters would wear was that the victim would wear light clothing such as white to represent purity, on the other hand the antagonist characters would be wearing darker colours. The body language of the antagonist would be firm and upright to represent strength and confidence. whereas the victim would be timid.

The film influences were mainly from the film 'Stigmata.' This was because 'Stigmata' also follows the same theme as the one we decided which was the theme of a religious ritual. The idea of 'Stigmata' having the use of candles was also an idea that we came up to use on our own thriller. Moreover, another film that influenced us was 'Se7en' this was because of the iconography with the needles and large scissors at the beginning of the film which also caused confusion and gave a mysterious impression. Therefore, these two films were the most influential when deciding on our final idea.

Post production - soundtrack of the thriller production - Ms Begum

soundtrack of the thriller production

 

Soundtracks are important to thrillers because soundtracks follow the atmosphere of the film and is used in a way as assisting the narrative, and making it more appealing.The impact that a effective soundtrack has on the audeince is that it causes tension and results in the audience reacting to specific scenes in different ways. it can also enhance the success of the thriller as it results in the audience engaging further into the thriller.

 

A conventional soundtrack of a thriller would be a soundtrack that builds up as the intensity of the scene builds up. When there was action that was taking place in the scene, the soundtrack was getting louder which had an impact on the audience in being knowledgable that there should be more concentration taken into the scene as the main action is taking place.

 

The programme that we used was for our soundtrack was logic pro.The example portrays how logic pro was used to create our soundtrack.

 

 

This example shows how the soundtrack was used to effect:

 

 

The type of soundtrack that we used was a soundtrack that sounded eerie and also it started of slow, and as the scenes went on the pace started building up. The sound had a sharp tone to it, especially when the antagonists came together as the audience would see both antagonists together it gave a shapr and unique sound. The inspiration of our soundtrack came from Excorsist. this was because the tempo created in Excorsist and the sense of eerie sounds was effective so we thought our soundtrack should be done in a similair way.

 

What was effective in our thriller soundtrack was that it related to the conventional thriller soundtracks as the soundtrack was building up when it was neccessary, such as when there was action that needed emphasis on. Moreover, another factor that was effectice was that there were distorting sounds used when there was flashing images that popped up in the thriller.

 

To conclude, the soundtrack helped our overall prodution by complimenting our actual thriller product. The sounds that were used related to our actual footage and added to the quality of our end product. I believe that after the soundtrack our thriller is more conventional because the soundtrack consisted of sounds that built tension and related to the thriller genre,

 

 

Planning - Creating own storyboard - Ms Begum

Creating own storyboard

Before the production of our actual thriller product, we had to create our own storyboard. We had previous experience about storyboards as we found out what a storyboard was and looked at different types of storyboards  and now we had to put what we learnt into practice. The storyboard had helped me and my group because it made our production process have a structure and it was more organised as the back-bone of what the filming was going to be about was set by using the storyboard.

The order our storyboard was completed in:

Conclusion:

Significant amount of time was spent on creating our storyboard and deciding on the micro-elements, shot duration and other factors. However, the time spent on our storyboard had paid off because the storyboard had saved us time in our production process. Furthermore, the shot duration was essential because it made us aware of the total time that should be spent on the shots in order to get it the final product around two minutes.

Research -Mise en scene/Costume - Ms Heath

Costume

costume is the type of clothing a character wears. it is also one of the main elements in which a character is represented in a film. The typical antagonist is represented as wearing the colour black or dark colours. However, the typical protagonist is portrayed as wearing the colour white or relatively light colours compared to the antagonist.

From this image from ‘Halloween’ we can clearly address that this character is the antagonist by the costume he is wearing. The jumper and jacket is shown as being dirty, ripped and worn out which clarifies the character as being ruthless and rough. it also causes other characters to feel frightened towards him and shows the evil nature of the character. The dark gloves also is used to represent that the antagonist is trying to hide his identity along with the mask.  

On the other hand, we see that a potential victim which is a young body lady wearing a white plain jumper. The white jumper represents her as being pure and innocent. The white jumper is plain and does not consist of any form of defence for the victim, which outlines that she is defenceless against a attack from the protagonist and significantly weaker which would result in her being in trouble.

To conclude, looking into costumes has helped me gather significant amount of ideas for my own thriller. I'am now also aware of the conventional costumes different characters in thrillers wear. more importantly I now know the type of costume that an antagonist tends to wear and the type of costumes a victim wears. The colour also plays a key role in representing costumes as I'am now aware of the light clothing associated by a victim and a protagonist and dark colours being associated for an antagonist.

Research - Mise en scene/Iconography- Ms Heath

Iconography

What is iconography?

Iconography is an element of Mise en scene. It refers to the objects that you can see in a specific scene and the meaning that these objects have on the scene. For example the iconography that is conventional to thriller tend to be knives, large scissors hammers and other various objects that can cause harm and build tension within the audience.

Conventional iconography from thrillers:

Our research included looking into various amount of thrillers that convey the use of iconography in an effective way. Moreover we were also knowledgeable of the specific meaning that they had. In this specific scene from the 'Scream' franchise, there is iconography used as we can see the antagonist ‘ghost face’ holding a knife which is covered in blood. This gives the image that the antagonist is ready to use this weapon again as its been used before by the blood on the knife. His approach with his hand held high with the weapon on his hand implies that his ready to cause harm at any moment. Likewise, the other image from the thriller ‘unknown’ there is also a knife that’s been used as a form of iconography to imply to the audience that the blonde lady is in trouble.

During the opening credits of ‘se7en’ we can see scissors, needles and books that have been shown as forms of iconography. This has been used to create the sense that the film is based on mystery and to cause confusion and interest within the audience at the start of the film.

To conclude, the iconography element of Mise en scene is essential in thriller films because the objects themselves can cause tension within the audience such as a knife that has been shown. The audience is left having thoughts about what would happen with the knife or the other objects. Moreover, this research into iconography has gave me a broad idea on the iconography I could use in my thriller, and the specific iconography which are relevant to use in specific scenes. 

Planning - Preliminary Task - Ms Begum

Preliminary Task

Intro:

The Preliminary task is learning how to operate and use a camera. I gained experience and had a first feel on how to operate a camera. I captured different cinematography, Including angles, sizes and movements. This had helped me gain significant experience before shooting my actual film. the preliminary task was significant to do because it gave us an idea about who in our group was and wasn't comfortable behind the camera. Another factor which makes the preliminary task important is that it make us familiar with the editing stage in which we edited our footage.



What took place in our footage:

 We chose to base the preliminary task on a student in school who was trying to get away and hide from a bully.  In a group we discussed how the actor should feel and how he should act throughout the preliminary and we agreed on the actor which was being Kay feeling frightened and wanted to get away as far as possible. In which it also included dialogue in which he was talking to himself and questioning what he should do. We also acknowledged that there would be a variety of editing techniques in which we could add to the footage.

What we learned:

The preliminary task had taught us a number of essentials that we had to consider for our own footage. The first thing was that we were familiar with after the preliminary task was the different shots and effects that they had. As shown in the example, we had used a high angle shot to portray the actor as being defenceless and weak. In which we understood that this would imply that character as being the victim in the scene. Another shot we put into practise was the Poing Of View shot. This was where the victim character was walking in the corridor with steady steps anxious about being spotted. Therefore we learnt that the Point Of View shot could be conventional to use in our thriller specific opening. 

Another factor that we had learned from the preliminary task was that we should always film extra footage. This was because that the more footage we had increases the chances of having a better end product. Moreover in the editing stage some irrelevant parts in scenes get edited and deleted so we should be completely sure that the amount of footage is enough to use.

Difficulties:

There were some aspects of the preliminary task that we found challenging. A factor that we found difficult was the relationship between the character that’s acting and camera operator. At times the camera operator would start the scene too late or early, or the character would respond too late or too early which resulted in taking the scene again. However, after couple of times this did not occur as the relationship between the operator and the actor improved.

Next factor that we found challenging was the external factors such as people that were not part of the footage crossing the scene. We had to be patient and had to concentrate on timing while taking the shots, this was because we done the preliminary task in school. This problem would not have much relevance to our actual footage because when we take our actual footage it would be planned and we would make sure that these external factors would not have an impact on it.

After we took the footage:

After filming we had to edit our shots. We had used the ‘Final cut pro’ programme to do so. As this was our first feel on editing, as a group we had face some problems such as getting used to using the programme as well as the mac. However, out of our group the role of the editor was shared between me and Kay because were able to use the programme. Moreover, we also determined the camera operator as being Jessica because she was the best skilled member of the group during filming the footage.

Conclusion:

This task has been essential in creating my actual thriller because of a number of reasons. Most importantly it made me aware of what we had to do and the steps we had to go through to make our footage successful. Furthermore it made me aware of the cinematography techniques that we could use to make a conventional thriller such as the high angle shots and the Point Of View shots. We were also able to determined the role of who the editor and the camera operator would be within our group. The task also enhanced our group work and the relationship between all the members in our group because it made us aware of our strengths and weaknesses within the group

Research - Questionnaire - Ms Gibbings

Questionnaires

Intro:
In the Questionnaire task i had to create a set of questions in which i had to give out to people in which they would answer using their own preference and then this would give me an idea about what i should include in my thriller, also I would be aware of the target audience of the thriller genre and what the target audience would require to see in the film. The questions consisted of open or closed answers.

Questions:

What is your gender? Male/Female


What is your age group? 11-14    15-17   18-25   25+











Do you enjoy watching thrillers? please state below.











Roughly, how many thriller films have you watched? 0-3    4-8    9-12   13+


What sub-genre do you enjoy most? 

• Crime thriller
• Action thriller
• Psychological thriller
• Science fiction thriller
• Religious thriller

What is your favourite thriller film? please state below.


would the trailer of a thriller make you decide if you should watch the film or not? Yes/No


What is the most appealing factor of a thriller film?

• storyline
• director
• actors/actresses
• tittle

What do you think is the most significant factor that makes a successful thriller?


How significant would the opening of a thriller be in reference to the whole thriller? Please chose one.

• Very significant
• Significant
• Not so significant
• Not significant at all

Conclusion:
After conducting my questionnaire I had drawn out some significant factors about how different people feel about the thriller genre. The first point that I was able to see was that the higher the age of the person was  the larger amount of thriller films they had watched. Therefore, the thriller genre is not popular amongst under the age of 15. Therfore, i knew that I should aim my thriller product to audience who is 15 or over. In the favourite thriller film question the films ' se7en ' and ' Taken ' were the most popular thriller films that were watched. I should consider following the conventions of the two films in constructing my thriller opening. This task helped me with my thriller opening research because it made me familiar with the demands of the audience and i was knowledgeable about what the audience would expect from a thriller. Also factors such as what appeals to the audience and the sub genres were points that i needed to take into consideration because if I follow the guidelines of what the audience expect and prefer this would enhance the popularity and success of my thriller opening.

Planning - What is a storyboard? - Miss Begum

Storyboarding



What is a storyboard?

A storyboard is a plan, a way of figuring out the story of the film before you put in the enormous amount of work of the animation itself. A storyboard visually tells the story of an animation panel by panel similar to a comic book. Moreover, it helps to pre-visualize how the director wants the screenplay to be shot. The example shown is a template of a storyboard.

 Why is it important in the planning of a film?

 Taking time in creating a storyboard would save a significant amount of time in the future. If you jump in and start creating without a storyboard you are increasing the likely hood of wasting time on work that doesn't end up being used. Storyboards give an idea of what you're trying to create and they could be used as a reference to check your work whenever you like as you go along.

What elements need to go into a storyboard?
 The first element we need to consider in a storyboard is the shot number. The shot numbers determine each shot on the storyboard in order. E.g. shot 1,2,3,4.
Another element is the cinematography used. Each frame on the storyboard is labelled with a certain camera shot. For example the camera shot of a setting being an establishing shot.
The duration is also another element. This is when we determine how long each frame would be taken for. The duration would vary with the different type of frame.
The final element I would be discussing is the lighting that would be used. Low-key lighting is used more often that other types of lighting because it fits well with the thriller specific genre that we're working on.

What makes a thriller specific storyboard?
The specific type of elements that are used makes a thriller specific storyboard. For instance in the lighting element, there would be a large amount of low-key lighting being used to portray the intense scenes.
The location used could also relate to a thriller such as a haunted house or an abandoned alley-way.
The duration could also relate to the thriller genre because if there was an attack being implied through the storyboard, the duration of the frame would be longer than a frame without an attack taking place and it would be displayed as being more in depth.
In the example, we can see a thriller specific storyboard that has been created.

To conclude, I have now learned what a storyboard is, and how significant a storyboard could be in the process of film making. Moreover, I have concentrated on thriller specific storyboards which include elements that are used just for the thriller genre. Understanding the thriller specific storyboarding elements has helped me in creating my own storyboard because I now know what is required in my own storyboard.

Research - Mise en scene/Facial Expression and Body Language - Ms Heath

Facial expression and body language

What is body language?

Body language is the way that a character is positioned to the viewers. Moreover, its their actions,movements and the physical aspect in which they present themselves in. The body language can also determine how the character holds themselves or how they act. The way a character acts is conventional to a thriller because the way a character acts in a thriller is similar to other characters in thrillers. Therefore we would need to analyse the body language of a character.

The body language of a Protagonist:

 A protagonist hero would have a firm type of body language and they would be confident in their main aim which would be defeating the antagonist  Their posture is very upright, they also have elements of being proud and being in-charge.

The body language of a Antagonist:

A antagonist would have a closed form of body language, they also would feel intimidated by the protagonist.

Comparing body language from other genres:

In a romance film the type of characters are mainly protagonist. The type of body language we would expect is a open form of body language, in which characters are open towards other characters. This is conventional to a romance film because the characters are close to each other and the open form of body language shows protagonists being happy with each other.

In a thriller film there is always an protagonist and a antagonist. The body language they have is that the protagonist would be upright and proud, however the antagonist would have a closed form of body language. This is conventional to a thriller because the protagonist and the antagonist are portrayed in having different forms of body language which would result in them to act differently from each other.

What are facial expressions?

Facial expressions is the way a characters emotions are displayed to the audience. This concentrates on the look of the face and what meaning the character is trying to show. Facial expressions help the audience to understand the way that the character has been represented in more detail.

The way a character expresses themselves is conventional to a thriller because the audience would understand the emotions the character is feeling. E.g. the antagonist being angry.

Facial expressions and body language in the following clips:

Blade:
Both characters are represented in an aggressive way, with a firm body language in order to be victorious in the fight.we can also see Blade having a firm form of body language and being determined to overcome the antagonist which is clearly displayed through his body language. The facial expression in Blade was shown as him being angry, we can also see Blade being frustrated because of his struggle to kill the antagonist.

Scream:
The antagonist's had a calm form of body language before ghost face appeared. They both were laying down on the bed. However when ghost face was present they start panicking and start moving more sharply. We also see the girls' arms spread on the window to show how eager they are to help their friend. The facial expression of the girls before the attack takes place is displayed as both girls smiling and shown as being happy because of the conversation the girls have between each other. When the attack takes place we see the girls being frightened and implying how scared they are through their facial expression.

Planning - Sound - Ms Begum

Planning - Sound Planning - Ms begum

 

 

Sound is significant in films because it's a micro element that provides atmosphere in a scene. It is important to think about the different type of sounds, especially in thrillers because every sound has a different meaning and used for a specific purpose. Some sounds used in thrillers can cause the audience to be frightened, or causes shock within the audience. It can also builds tension within the scene.

 

Some of the conventional  uses in thrillers are:

• Non diegetic soundtracks: These are used to help set the opening mood of the film and aims to catch the audiences attention.
• Diegetic Sound: This is used so the audience can have a feel of whats happening in the scene and used so the audience can experience the same sounds that the characters can hear. Such as a telephone ringing.
• Off-Screen sound: An off-screen sound is used so that the audience can hear whats happening but not being aware of where the sound is coming from. This could be used when there is a killer approaching and only the footsteps can be heard

The sound I plan to use in my thriller are:

1. Non-diegtic sound would be used during the opening credits. I have chosen to use this because it would have a good first impression on the audience when the appropriate non-diegetic sound is used. Therefore this would catch the audience's attention straight away. This is conventional to a thriller because the correct non-diegetic sounds need to be used to create a thrilling atmosphere, with a thrilling soundtrack.
2. Diegetic sound would be used while the protagonist wakes up. I have chosen to use this because it would show that the protagonist is confused and is in fear because shes been captured. I have chosen to use this because the fear would be conveyed by the diegetic sound of the protagonist screaming. This is conventional to a thriller because the victim is faced by a dilemma and she feels scared because she has been captured by the antagonist. 
3. Off screen sound would be used when the antagonist stalks the protagonist. The reason behind my choice is that the audience would be able to hear the foot-steps but they wouldn't see the antagonist. This is conventional to a thriller because it builds tension within the scene, and the audience would have a feel that the antagonist is getting closer to the protagonist.
4. Non-diegetic sound would be used again when the protagonist wakes up. I have chosen this because the Non-diegetic music would relate to the situation that the antagonist victim is in. This is conventional to a thriller because the music would build tension and would give a feel of how the antagonist is feeling to the audience.
5. Diegetic sound would be used again when the antagonist blows out the candle at the end of the scene. I have chosen this because this would be the last sound that would be heard in the scene. This is conventional to a thriller because it would lead to a chilling experience to the audience and also the audience would want to know what would occur further on in the film.
6. Off-screen sound would be used when the antagonist approaches the protagonist when shes laying on the table. This has been used because the protagonist wouldn't be aware of who's approaching her, she would only be able to hear the antagonist approaching. This is conventional to a thriller because the heavy breathing and slow foot steps would cause the protagonist to be frightened, which would result in the audience to feel sympathetic towards the victim.

Planning: Pre-Production Paperwork - Ms Begum

Pre-Production Paperwork

Introduction: Pre-Production paperwork is important because it prepares you for filming. Pre-Production could be from  making a storyboard to completing release forms. Pre-production gives you and your team an idea of what you're going to do and what your finished production would look like. However,  above all pre production is relevant because of health and safety. Pre-production is carried out to make sure that the creation of your production is a safe and secure environment

Location Release form

30/11/12

Dear Sir/Madam

I’m writing to confirm our agreement which was:

·         You are willing to allow the producers to record in the chosen location. The camera would be important to use and the property would be needed to produce the film to the best of our ability.

·         The period would come from the 10^th of December until the 24^th of December and the other days of the half days would be agreed upon before filming

·         All the rights in the recordings made by the producers at the property chosen would be secured with the producers and they are entitled to be able to assign, licence and/or exploit the same by all means in all media as they may at their absolute discretion elect. The producers would be able to refer to the property as its real name.  Moreover, shall have no obligation to the owners to include any or all of the recordings in any films or programmes or to exploit to the same in any programme or film in which the same are included.

·         If an unfortunate incident occurs such as any sort of damage done to any product caused by the film crew, we would replace or pay for it

·         What we expect from the location is that it’s a safe place to film. Furthermore, at the film of filming everyone that isn’t a part of the film shouldn’t be present in the location. We would make sure that the location is left at the way it was originally after the filing has finished.

This agreement shall be easily assignable to the producers and shall be interpreted in accordance with the laws of England, Wales and Scotland.

Thank you for devoting your time in reading this agreement.

Yours faithfully,

……………………………………………………

Read agreed and understood by

Client: ……………………………………………………… Date ..................................

Ms Begum: ……………………………………………………… Date ……………….............

For and or behalf of the owners



Location Recce Form

This is the location recce form to confirm that the location the cast will be using for this Thriller is set in Leda Avenue Enfield United kingdom

The reason the cast agreed to use this location is because it best fits the scene to our film opening of “The Ritual”. This is also relevant to the thriller genre because it’s based in a dark room where the iconography and Mise en scene of the film meets the genre standard. We chose to use a dark room in Leda avenue because that’s where our opening scene will be created, filmed and edited. This is also a good place to shoot because it is not far from where the cast is originally based at. (In this Case, Oasis Academy Hadley.)

The difficulties the cast may face are based on when the location is vacant and can be used for filming and what time is the best time to start shooting scenes and to finish shooting scenes. Also the cast is to agree on contacting

each other to let the each other know that they won’t be Attending to the filming or running late to arrive at the Destination.

Given below are ways on how to get to the destination and what transport is needed to get there.

DIRECTIONS FOR LOCATION

TRANSPORTATION DIRECTIONS

1.     GET 191 GOING TOWARDS EDMONTON GREEN AT THE OASIS ACADEMY HADLEY BUS STOP

2.     GET OFF THE 191 WHEN YOU REACH INGERSOLL ROAD BY THE TESCO EXPRESS.

3.     WALK DOWN INGERSOLL ROAD AND TURN LEFT INTO RILEY ROAD AS YOU GO DOWN THAT ROAD YOU WILL BE PASSING RILEY COURT AND OFF ELMORE ROAD ON THE RIGHT AND YOU HAVE REACHED LEDA AVENUE.

To get more information on bus travel and London transportation please visit www.tfl.gov.uk

For Car, you also follow the same route as the 191 Going towards Edmonton Green and on Ingersoll Road you can either take a left turn down Elmore Road or Riley road Leda Avenue.

If you choose to walk, you could follow the same route as the 191 going towards Edmonton Green and continue the walk from Ingersoll Road or from Ingersoll Road you can go down Elmore Road around the side off the Tesco Express, you can also use quicker ways which will give you short cuts to the location (Leda Avenue).

Client release and consent form:

Name of Client:

Date:

Production:

Location:

The agreement is as follows:

· You hereby grant the producers the sole and exclusive rights to record and edit and distribute your participation in “The Ritual” during the 3^rd of December 2012 until the 17th of December 2012. Also you consent to the use of your name, likeness, voice and biographical material in connection with the publicity and exploitation of such sequences forever.

· All rights in the thriller “The Ritual”. You will be expected to arrive on time and complete what tasks you have been assigned with. You will be expected to co-operate with other members in order to create this production. You will also be expected to participate and contribute to all activities involved. Although there is a set time for working hours, if it is needed to go over time, you may be expected to work overtime unless a reasonable excuse is provided.

· This agreement shall be freely assignable by the producers and shall be interpreted in accordance with the laws of England and Wales and Scotland and especially the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Yours faithfully:

Read, understood and agreed by:

Client: ___________________________________

Date: ___________________________________

Director: ___________________________________

Date: _____________________________________

Producer:___________________________________

Date: ______________________________________

Teacher: ___________________________________

Date: _____________________________________

Production Schedule:

Location	Talent	Time	Scene/shot No.	Equipment/ Props
Kay’s House	Actors: Kay, Onat, Jessica, Jasmine	1pm 22nd December 2012	1	Camera Table Jars Gag
Park	Actors: Kay, Onat, Jessica, Jasmine	12pm 22nd December 2012	2	Camera Rope
Kay’s House2	Actors: Kay, Onat, Jessica, Jasmine	3:45pm 22nd December 2012	3	Camera Table chair Phone Bag
Kay’s House	Actors: Kay, Onat, Jessica, Jasmine	1:30pm 22nd December	4	Camera Table Knife Jar

Risk assessment