Production Roles- Miss Miller

Particular roles are allocated when creating a film or sequence as they enable people to focus on specific areas of the production. Each role is significant as it contributes towards producing a sucessful production and the person filling each particular role has a very important job to ensure the production comes across as professional. The necessary roles needed to create a production include:

• Production company
• Producers
• Directors
• Actors
• Music producers
• Directors of photography
• Screenplay writers
• Editors

When allocating these roles to our group members, we discussed the qualities and skills that would need to be applied to ensure each role is completed well so it is sucessful. I was allocated the role as an actor; the main character (female victim) because I haven chosen to take A-level drama, as I sustained a grade B at GCSE. This gives me an advantage over the other members in my group as neither Mikaeel or Tyler were as interested in having a large or main role in the production as they do not study drama as a subject. I also contributed towards the role of music producers, along side Mikaeel as we both spent time in lessons reseaching potential sounds and music that fit in with our narrative and could be used within our production. Examples of SFX that we found are heavy breathing and a heartbeat as they are conventional to a thriller as they create suspense and surprise.

We allocated Tyler as the editor, as he had used the editing softwear before with our preliminary task and knew how to cut, import, and put filters on our sequence. We were confident that Tyler would be able to finalise our sequence and make it flow as is played so it looked professional.

We decided that the director of photography will be Mikaeel as he has the least amount of time on screen, allowing him to be free to film whilst Tyler and I are in role. Mikaeel had to tell us where we needed to stand within the frame and instructed us on what we were doing right and what else we needed to do, as he could see what was happening from the audience's perspective. This also meant that Mikaeel took on the role of director as he kept track of what had been filmed and what we needed to do to complete all of the shots for our opening sequence.  

Filming Schedule- Miss Georgiou

A filming schedule is used to describe the shots, angles and transitions that will be used for each scene. It states the location of each shot, so we know exactly where to go when filming. The schedule included the content of each scene so when we we're filming, we knew what had to be included in that particular shot. We listed a variety of shot types for each section to ensure that out sequence had different shots throughout so it wasn't boring to watch. Costume, hair and make-up was included on the schedule so we knew exactly what the actors needed to wear to make our sequence conventional to a thriller and so every shot matched up and didn't look odd. We wrote down the iconography that would be in the shot so we knew what props needed to be included in each frame. The schedule also states who each role will be played by and we listed all of the equipment we needed to film our sequence. This schedule kept us organised and ensured we knew exactly what we needed to have to make our thriller sequence work. 

Risk Assessment- Miss Georgiou

 

When filming our opening sequences, there will be a variety of risks that we need to take into consideration in order to stay safe ourselves and also to be aware of potential elements of danger for members of the public near where we are filming. These hazards need to be addressed so everyone stays safe so any injuries can be prevented. 

In the table above, we have outlined hazards that we can prevent to keep everyone safe. For example, as our sequence encourparates the antagonist running with a knife, we had to make sure that when the knife was not being used, it was covered up and safe to pick up so it did not cut anyone. Everyone had to be aware of where the knife was so no injuries occurred throughout the process of filming the whole sequence. This risk assesment table helped us with the dangers of each scene therefore made us think about the details of the scene before we filmed it so we can adjust parts of it to make it safe. 

Inspirations- Miss Georgiou

We need inspirations before we can create something because they give us ideas when planning and ensure we can create a successful product. I was inspired by the clip from Scream we watched in class: the female victim in a deserted car park with no exit to safety and no one around to help.

The low key lighting in this clip helps set an eerie atmosphere and creates suspense which is conventional to a thriller sequence. This will be good to include in my own thriller sequence because it will help contribute to making the audience feel anxious about what might happen. The eerie music and obsure silences are conventional to a thriller sequence as they cause the audience to feel suspense and shocked. If we used this in our opening sequence, it would make the audience interested in our film, making them want to carry on with watching the film. We can make these elements from this sequence our own by using them at points in our narrative that are intense, to ensure the audience are aware of the dangerous situations that will take place.


Watching a variety of thriller sequences/ film clips broadened my knowlegde and my research has inspired me to encourparate some ideas into my own narrative, to make my sequence better and extremely conventional to a thriller sequence.

Opening Scene Narration- Miss Miller

The opening sequence starts with a long shot, with low key lighting in an isolated car park, where a couple are arguing about problems in their relationship.  The camera zooms into a mid shot, allowing the audience to witness the dialogue, facial expressions and body language between the couple. The female character accuses the male character of cheating which leads to them breaking up. As the audience become aware of the break up, an over the shoulder shot, from behind the female character will be used to show the reaction on the boyfriend as he agrees with the break up and begins to walk away. As the male character goes to drive off from the female character, the camera zooms out into a long shot to demonstrate her being isolated and alone from everyone. The camera then zooms back in, to show a mid shot of the female character standing on her own in the car park. An over the shoulder shot is used again to show the female character noticing a dark figure standing in the distance. The camera remains over the female character's shoulder as she takes out her phone to try and reach someone to make them aware of a possibly dangerous situation she could be in. A close up is then used to show how her phone has no signal leaving her un-reachable and unable to contact anyone. The camera then zooms out, back to an over the shoulder shot and into a shot reverse shot to show the antagonist, then the victims reaction and then back to the dark figure of the antagonist in the distance. A long shot is then used as the victim runs up a dark alley to try and escape the stalker. The camera then changes to a POV/ handheld of the antagonists perspective as he chases the victim up the alleyway. A close up is used again to show the scared and worried facial expressions of the victim. Panning will then be used to show the chase in the alley and then the camera will change to a two shot  to show the stalker catching up with the victim. The camera will return to a long shot as the victim runs through a forest pathway to attempt to hide or get to safety. A mid shot will be used as the victim hides in an area in the forest. The camera will remain in a mid shot as the antagonist discovers the victim, and then finally a high angle will be used as the atagonist stands over the victim, who remains on the floor scared. 

Group Planning- Miss Georgiou

My group members are Mikaeel Khaliq and Tyler Osman. Group meetings are essential to have as we can all contribute our ideas towards our narrative of our thriller sequence. Ensuring our planning stages are thorough is essential because without planning, our sequence will not work and will not include everything a thriller sequence needs to.  The meetings allow every member of the group to confirm all of the final decisions made.

In our first group meeting, on the 13.10.14, we discussed our individual narrative ideas and created a a group narative between all three of us. We all contributed suggestions for the final narrative to ensure it made sense, and included a variety of conventions to fit with the thriller genre. We decided to use the general idea of my idividual narrative, with aspects of Mikaeel's and Tyler's, because we thought my idea would be the clearest portrayal of the conventions we needed to include in our sequence.

On the 4.11.14, we planned all the elements of mise-en-scene; settings & iconography, costume, hair & make-up, facial expressions & body language, lighting & colour and positioning of characters/ objects within the frame.

On the 5.11.14, we planned what cinematography we would include in our sequence, for example, POV, close ups, high angle shots, low angle shots, panning, canted, handheld, eye-level and extreme long shot.



 







On the 13.11.14 we planned the sound that we intended to include in the opening sequence.











On the 18.11.14 we planned each character that will be in our opening sequence.

Group Planning Meetings:

Having group meetings and discussions were important when planning our thriller production, because they ensured that the decisions made were finalised and agreed on so that there would be no difficulties or arguments when creating our sequence. The meetings we had consisted of writing down all our ideas and discussing why we would use them to make the events in our sequence conventional to a thriller. These discussions also allowed each individual group member to have their say and to put forward ideas that they think could make the sequence better. The group meetings were useful as they contributed to the planning of the sequence; ensuring that all of the micro-elements were included. Tyler, Mikaeel and I worked well together when planning our opening sequence as we all contributed various ideas and we were quick with deciding what we wanted to involve within the sequence.

Individual storyboard- Miss Georgiou

The purpose of story boards are to help plan and structure a sequence before filming it. The storyboard helps organise the production of the sequence and allows the angles, movements and positions of the camera to be sorted out and given reason behind the choice of each one. We have created inidvidual storyboards before creating a group one so we have a variety of ideas and choices for each single frame. This will ensure that everything we want to include in our sequence is encourparated and reasons for angles, movements and positions can be discussed within the group to ensure we have planned the best possible sequence. I hope my individual post will help when planning our group storyboard as it includes a variety of shots and angles which have reasons for them being used I'm each frame.

In my story board, I started off by using a long shot in the car park, as the couple start their argument  to show that they are the only people around, which emphesises the isolation of the characters. I have said there will be low key lighting and eerie music to make it conventional to a thriller; it creates suspense. I then used the idea of shot reverse shot as the couple's argument starts to comes to an end and they agree to go their separate ways. As the boyfriend drives away, the camera will zoom out to emphasise her standing on her own in a deserted car park. This makes the audience have sympathy for the victims character, creating a relationship between them. The isolation of the victim creates suspense making it conventional to a thriller sequence. I said silence will also be used in this frame as it will create tension and an eerie atmosphere for the audience. Over the shoulder shots will be used in several frames where the antagonist and victim are both in the frame. This demonstrates the distance between the characters; physically and mentally. Non diegetic sound will be included in the sequence, such as a heartbeat, and emphesised footsteps. The heartbeat will be used in the most dramatic parts of the sequence to emphesise the danger the victim faces. For example when the victim tries to contact someone on her phone for help but has no signal, the heartbeat will suggest the panic the victim is experiencing. A POV shot and diegetic sound of heavy breathing, will be used by the antagonist as he is following, and eventually running after the victim as she attempts to get away through the alleyways and the forest. This will build up tension and create surprise and suspense as the sequence plays, making it conventional to a thriller. A low angle shot will be encourporated at the end of the sequence as the victim has fallen over in the forest and the antagonist stands over her, emphasising the power and strength the antagonist has in contrast to the weak victim. This will create sympathy from the audience towards the victim as they anticipate what is going to happen to her I'm the dangerous situation. 

Group Narrative- Miss Georgiou

In my group there is myself, Tyler Osman and Mikaeel Khaliq.

My group narrative:

My idea of a narrative for a new thriller film is a teenage girl has an argument with her boyfriend, causing him to walk off to go a get his car from the car park so he can go home. The girl goes after him but is too late. The car park is dark and deserted with no one around. As she stands in the middle of the car park alone, crying, she notices a tall figure standing in the way of the exit. She soon realises that it is a man who she often sees looking at her regularly; like a stalker. She starts to become panicked as there is no exit apart from the one he stands in. She pulls out her phone to call for help but has no service, leaving her unable to reach anyone. She decides to risk walking out of the dark car park without acknowledging him, however he grabs her and threatens her with a knife and says she is to go with him otherwise she will die.

advantages:

• There are 3 characters, therefore each member of the group would have time on screen.
• Enigma is incorporated into the scenes
• Conventions of a thriller are included

disadvantages:

• the torture scene may be hard to create 
• May give too much away for an opening sequence 

Group member 2: 

Farmhouse into oblivion 

A thriller in which the family that mysteriously went missing in a secluded farmhouse, in which a group of sixth form students (aged 16-17) go out to investigate the structure to see if they can find the origins of the disappearance. The protagonist of the film would be one of the group members, who will receive the most screen time (antagonist undecided)

advantages: 

•  Included conventions of a thriller 

disadvantages: 

• antagonists not specified
• there isn't 3 characters
• Location might be hard to find

Group member 3:

• Forest
• low key lighting
• killer might have a mask
• urban myth that a killer lives in the forest
• group of teenagers
• wanting to explore the urban myth
• all sneak out of house at night 
• decide to meet at forest 
• all explore the forest
• they think its not true 
• they hear some rustling 
• start to get a little scared but brush it off
• then killer comes running out 
• briefly show him with the handheld camera
• they all start to run back 
• screaming and shouting
• end  

advantages:

• Conventional to a thriller film: for example the location 
• Location would be easy to access 

disadvantages:

• May need more people to fill all characters needed 

Final group narrative 

A teenage girl has an argument with her boyfriend, causing him to walk off to go a get his car from the car park so he can go home. The girl goes after him but is too late. The car park is dark and deserted with no one around. As she stands in the middle of the car park alone, crying, she notices a tall figure standing in the way of the exit. She soon realises that it is a man who she often sees looking at her regularly; like a stalker. She starts to become panicked as there is no exit apart from the one he stands in. She pulls out her phone to call for help but has no service, leaving her unable to reach anyone. She decides to risk walking out to one of the exits and notices that the strange man behind starts to follow, she gradually starts to increase the pace of her walking as she starts to panic.Eventually when the pressure and suspense builds up she decides to start running with the killer behind her holding a knife, there is an entrance to the forest which she decides to enter in order to try and escape. The chase carries on within the forest however the female trips and tries to hide although the killer sees her and runs at her but then the scene cuts.

Planning Opening Credits- Miss Georgiou

The purpose of opening credits is to let the audience know of the different roles, in the making of the film, to introduce the film title, to name the production company and to introduce the mood or style of the film. We analysed the film Se7en to look at the order the credits appeared and to give us some ideas of what opening credits can look like in a thriller production. We discovered that the production name is the first credit that is shown, and the director appears last. The black background has connotations to death, where as the white credits represent innocence. This shows a representation between the victim and the antagonist. There was also hints of red shown throughout the sequence, relating to blood, death and danger; drawing attention to these parts of the sequence.

We then used Final Cut Pro to design our own style of font for our opening credits. When designing my idea for the opening credits, I concidered what would make it conventional to a thriller. I started by chosing a font that I thought looked distorted and then added a blured effect to make it look slightly creepy. I was inspred by the opening credits for the film Se7en, as I thought they created enigma in the sequence. I then added another distorted effect which made the writing change colour as the opening credits appear. I did this to make the credits stand out on the black background, so the audience could clearly see the title of the film. The slight movement of the letters would make the audience feel unsettled as they watched the opening credits unfold the title, cast and production company. This is conventional as the audience are kept on edge and it creates suspense. I chose to put the title in the top left hand corner to demonstrate an unbalanced sequence, to emphesise the disturbed mind of the anatgonist. This creates tension and allows the audience to feel uncomfortable.

Tyler's idea: 

Tyler's design idea consists of a spaced apart, thin, white font which would be good to use in our thriller sequence as it shows a contrast in colours and portrays the idea of the victim being innocent; the colour white, and the black protrays death, emphesising the danger of the antagonist. This design idea would benifit our sequence as it creates enigma as it appears on the screen. However, this design may be a disadvantage to use as it may be seen as bit simple, as it does not have any distaughted features. If this was seen in our sequence it may be considered that the film about to be seen is an action film rather than a thriller.

Mikaeel's idea:

Mikaeel's design will be extremely effective in our thriller sequence as it is clear, big and bold, and the white font stands out on the black background. The distorted effect emphesises that it is a thriller sequence and the blur at the end links to how the antagonist's mind is disturbed. The font of the title will inform the audience of how creepy the antagonist makes the victim feel which creates tension and an eerie atmosphere. Disadvantages for this design are that it appears across the whole screen so any action behind it might be difficult to see. Apart from this, we decided that this will be the best design to use as it is the most conventional to a thriller as it will create surpise and suspense as it appears on the screen.

Planning Characters- Miss Miller

The characters in our thriller sequence will include the anatagonist as a stalker, a female victim and a cheating boyfriend. These characters are all conventional to a thriller sequence and we have chosen them for this reason. 

The antagonist's occupation, age, name, ethnicity and past are all unknown throughout the sequence as the stalker remains with a hidden identity. However, the audience are aware of this characters gender being male and will see the antagonists clothing: black hoodie, with the hood worn up comstantly and dark colored trousers and shoes. This character is stereotypical to the thriller genre as the identity and information about the stalker is unknown, therefore the antagonist's character creates enigma, making this character conventional. 

The victim in the sequence is named Nicole who is a female, white British student who is 17 years old. She will be wearing, jeans, a coloured jumper and a coat to make her look casual and not over dressed. This character is stereotypical because she is a blonde female, immediately making her vunerable, which is conventional to a thriller. This also emphasises how igsigmificant and weak she is in comparison to the antagonist, making the audience anxious to what the antagonist is capable of and what will happen to the victim. 

The last character in our sequence is the cheating boyfriend of the victim: Zak. He is 17 years old and will wear jeans and a coloured top/ jumper to make a clear comparison between the boyfriend and the antagonist. As his character cheats on the victim, the audience automatically have more sympathy for her, therefore building a relationship with her character and allowing them to understand her feelings throughout the sequence. This creates suspense within the sequence which is a typical convention of a thriller film. 

Planning editing- Miss Georgiou

Editing styles are important in a thriller production because they allow the audience to experience the three main elements that a thriller needs to include. These elements; surprise, shock & suspense, create the atmosphere of each scene which engages the audience further into the sequence. Relationships between the characters and the audience can be built through the editing styles that are used, which allows the audience to connect with the narrative of the sequence.

A reaction shot will be used as the victim comes to the realisation that the antagonist is present. This will take place in the dark car park, as her boyfriend has left her standing alone after their argument, allowing the audience to clearly see she is isolated and scared. The reaction shot will be shown as the victim sees the antagonist (stalker), standing in the car park watching her. This shot will emphasise the danger of the stalker which is conventional to a thriller production as it creates shock and surprise. The audience therefore have sympathy for the victim and are anxious to find out what is going to happen; they will want to carry on watching the film.

Montage editing will be used in our opening sequence as the female victim runs through the dark, obscure forest, attempting to escape the antagonist. This style of editing will speed up the segment, creating an eerie atmosphere. Therefore it is conventional to a thriller as it emphasises panic which creates surprise and excitement; engaging the audience further.

Fades will be included at the end of our sequence, at the point where the victim survives. This is used to close the scene as if leaves the audience questioning what is going to happen next to the victim. This creates suspense, which is conventional in a thriller sequence.

Slow editing will be used in our sequence as the victim acknowledges the antagonist, as she stands alone in the dark, isolated car park. This builds tension and it keeps the audience on edge as they anticipate what is going to happen to the victim. Suspense is created making it conventional to a thriller. 

Planning Sound- Miss Miller

Sound is essential in a thriller production as it allows the three elements of a thriller to be shown; surprise, shock and suspense. These elements allow the film to manipulate the audience to have particular emotions which will set a certain atmosphere.

Non-diegetic sound will be used in our sequence when the female victim tries to get away from the antagonist, by running through the alley ways and the forest. This creates suspense as it sets a creepy atmosphere. It is conventional to a thriller as it contributes towards emphesising the three key elements; surprise, shock and suspense.

Dialogue will be included in our sequence, which is an example of diegetic sound. The dialogue will be spoken between the couple as they are arguing in the car park at the beggining of the sequence and also included as the victim is hiding in the forest, anticipating her fate with what the antagonsit will do if he finds her. This creates tension and allows the audience to experience the feelings and emotions of the characters. An example of the dialougue that will be used is screaming from the victm as she is running away from the stalker. This draws attention to the victim, which highlights how frightened she is. It also shocks the audience, making this conventional to a thriller.

Parallel sound will be shown in our sequence as the footsteps of the victim running through the alley ways and the forest will be emhesised so they are heard. The speed of the footsteps demonstartes the panic experienced by the victim allowing the audience to see that the victim is genuinly scared. This makes the audeince anxious and also builds a relationship with the victim as they will want her to get away from the antagonsit. This is conventional to a thriller as it creates suspense and an eerie atmosphere.

Silence will be included in our sequence as the victim stands alone in the dark, isoclated car park. This will be done to create tension and to demonstrate to the audience how alone the victim is; with no one around to help her in the dangerous situation. This emphesises enigma and makes the audience focus on the emotions of the victim; her facial expressions and body language, building a relationship with the victim as they have sympathy for her. This is conventional to a thriller as it emphesises the three elements of surprise, shock and suspense.   

Planning Cinematography- Miss Miller

Cinematography is important in films as it demonstrates a variety of angles and shots, when filming the film. Each angle or shot creates a different effect for the audience to experience and there will be a reasoning behind why each shot or angle is chosen. 

One example of a shot we will use is POV as the victim runs through the forest and alley ways, attempting to escape the anatagonist. This shot shows the perspective of the victim and the stalker allowing the audience to build a relationship with each character; they will have sympathy for the victim as she dramatically tries to get away, whereas they will feel anxious towards the character of the antagonist as they are unaware of what he is capable of and what he will do. This is conventional to a thriller as it creates an eerie atmosphere and the audience anticipate what is going to happen, making them want to watch more of the film. 

A high angle shot will be used just before the female victim is going to be attacked by the antagonist, whilst she is hiding, to demonstrate her vunerablilty and weakness and the power and stregth the antagonist has over her. This angle of the camera will make the victim look insignificant and will allow the audience to see her as a small, scared character, leaving them having sympathy for her. This is conventional to a thriller as it builds a relationship with the audience and the female victim as they will want her to get to safety and not to get hurt. 

Panning will be used in the sequence as the victim runs through the forest, and at the beginning of the sequence when the couple are arguing in the car park. This will show the entire scenery which will emphasise the elements of isolation and danger. This is conventional to a thriller as it will demonstrate to the audience how much danger the victim could potentially be in, creating an eerie atmosphere for them to feel. 

A low angle shot will be use in the sequence, as the antagonist has the encounter with the victim. This will emphasise the power and danger the antagonist has and will make the audience scared of the stalker. This is conventional as it is commonly used in a thriller production to portray the antagonist as a superior character. 

A close up will be used in the sequence to highlight the importance of the victims phone, which shows no signal can be found, demonstrating that she is unable to find help when in the dangerous situation. This creates suspense and an eerie atmosphere, making the audience feel uncomfortable and anxious to what she is going to do. This will make them want to carry on watching the film as they will want to find out if the victim gets to safety or not. 

Planning mise-en-scene- Miss Georgiou

Settings and Iconography:

My group and I have selected to use an abandoned, isolated car park, empty long alley ways and an obscure, dark forest as our settings for our thriller sequence because they are conventional to a thriller film and create enigma and an intense atmosphere. The car park will be the first part of our sequence where, the couple have their argument and the stalker sees the girl and tries to kidnap her. This then leads to the girl running away through the alley ways, eventually ending up in the forest. This will allow the audience to feel on edge and make them wonder what is going to happen to her. This is conventional to a thriller as it creates surprise, shock and suspense throughout the sequence.
The iconography we will include is a knife, because it is a typical convention of a thriller and is easily identifiable as a weapon; it is dangerous and can easily cause harm. The knife will be used by the antagonist ( the stalker) as he threatens to kill the female victim if she does not go with him. This is conventional to a thriller as it makes the audience feel shocked and it creates an eerie atmosphere. A phone will also be included in the sequence, as the victim notices the stalker and attempts to call to inform someone of the situation she is in, and get someone to help her. However, there is no service in the car park, leaving the girl panicked and unsure of what she is to do. This is conventional to a thriller as it creates enigma and the audience anticipate what will happen to her; whether she will escape the dangerous situation.

Facial Expressions and Body Language:

As a group, we decided that the victim should have scared and panicked facial expressions as she is being chased through the alley ways and the forest. This will allow the audience to see how worried she is about getting to safety and make them anticipate what is going to happen to her. This is conventional to a thriller as it allows the audience to experience surprise, shock and suspense when they see this. We discussed the idea of using closed body language, for example: crossed arms, slumped sholders and head down, when the couple are arguing in the car park. This will portray the low emotions that the couple are experiencing  which will allow the audience to understand the characters' perspectives. On the other hand, will want the antagonist to show open body language, such as standing tall and holding his head high to demonstrate the power and authorisation he has over the female victim. However, the antagonists' facial expressions will not be seen throughout any of the sequence, as he remains with a hidden identity; creating enigma and an eerie atmosphere for the audience to experience.

Positioning of characters (objects withing the frame)




Costume, hair and make-up

For the antagonists clothing, we thought that it should be dark colours, for example black or navy, because it will make him stand out as unusual. The antagonist will also remain with a hidden identity, by wearing a hood and a ski mask. This is a typical convention of a thriller as it creates enigma and leaves the audience anxious about whats going to happen, and whether the identity is going to be revealed. As the antagonist will wear dark items of clothing, my group and I thought that the other characters in the sequence should wear casual, colourful clothing to show a contrast between the characters. The female should wear girly colours, such as pink, to demonstrate her innocence and to emphasise her vunerablility. As the antagonist wears a mask, there will be no visible make-up used, and the same for the boyfriend, as there is no need for him to wear it. The female character will wear normal make-up and fake blood will be used to show cuts on her body; from the trees and bushes, as she runs through the forest, escaping the anatagonist.

Lighting and colour

As our sequence is a thriller, my group and I decided that low key lighting will be used throughout the sequence, as it is conventional to a thriller and creates an eerie atmosphere. However there will be exceptions as we want to use high key lighting, as th arugment takes place betweent the couple. This will highlight the importance of this scene as it is a key part of the narrative. This will allow the audience to understand the narrative, which will make them want to want the rest of the film to find out what happens.

Research into target audience- Miss Miller

We created a questionnaire to find out what our target audience will be when creating our thriller sequence.

 

 

 

PLEASE CIRCLE YOUR ANSWERS

1) Please specify your gender:

Male   

Female           

 

2) What is your age?

11-14            

15-17

18+

                       

3) Do you like the thriller genre?

Yes                 

No                  

Sometimes    

 

4) What type of thriller do you enjoy?

Psychological

Action            

Crime             

Other             

 

5) What type of settings/ environment do you prefer to see in a thriller film?

Forest

Deserted house/warehouse

Abandoned outside area, for example car park

Other

6) What gender protagonist do you prefer?

Male

Female

 

7) What type of weapons do you like to be seen & WHY?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

 

8) What type of soundtrack do you like to hear in thriller sequences and WHY?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

 

9) Do you like to see gore when watching thriller films?

Yes

No

Sometimes

 

10) Do you prefer your antagonist to have a hidden identity or to be seen throughout the film and WHY?

Hidden identity

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Seen throughout

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

After our questionnaires were completed by 40 people, we decided to show the results through pie charts because they show the data we collected clearly.

This pie chart shows the percentage of each gender that took part in our questionnaire to help us find out what our target audience will be for our thriller sequence. Males and females have different perspectives on the thriller genre therefore they should give a variety of answers to our questions. However our results may be inaccurate as there are only 43% of males that answered the questions, and they will have a different perspective to the 57% of females. 

We thought it would be important to ask the age of the students who answered our questionnaire because thriller films are often only watched by a particular age group, due to the age certificates of the films; usually rated a 15 or 18, therefore asking a large amount of people of a younger age would not give us reliable answers as most of them may not even watch thriller films. The 32% of students we did ask of the age 11 to 14 made our questionnaire answers varied but will not help with giving us an understanding of where we should aim our target audience. However, the 55% of 15 to 17 year olds and the 13% of 18+ will help us as they are the ages that will know about the thriller genre.

We asked people if they liked the thriller genre to find a rough number of the amount of people that would want to watch a thriller film. This helps with our analysis for finding an appropriate target audience for our thriller sequence as it has demonstrated that 47% of the people asked would be potentially interested in watching it, just based on the genre of the film.

We wanted to find out if there were any particular types of thriller that interested people, so asking this question allowed us to see which was the most popular. A psychological thriller proved to be the most popular as 37% said they enjoyed them the most. However, 35% of the people we asked said 'other' when asked this question. This demonstrated to us that the type of thriller may not be the most important aspect of a thriller film because it is not always considered when choosing a thriller film to watch.

We wanted to ask people what gender they prefer the protagonist (victim) to be so we could include this in our thriller sequence. More people prefered the idea of a male protagonist however we decided against this as we thought we should use a female as they are more vunerable.

We asked people what settings they prefer to see in a thriller film so we could possibly include it in our sequence. A deserted house/ warehouse was shown to be the most popular, with 32% of people choosing that option. This demonstrated to us that the audience like the atmosphere to be tense and have enigma, due to the iscolated setting.

We asked this question to see how many people like to see gore in thriller films, so we could decide whether to include it in our sequence or not. 42% of the people we asked said they do like to see gore in thriller films, possibly because they find the thriller film to be more exciting and interesting to watch when there are elements of gore included.

 

We asked people an open question to see if they could develop their answers further when answering 'What type of sound or sountrack do you like to hear in thriller sequences, and WHY'. We gave three options for people to chose from, these included:

• Dark and Eerie
• Fast paced with action
• Slow paced with tension

The most popular option was fast paced with action, with a percentage of 45%. This demonstrates that more people like to be kept excited and in anticipation when watching a thriller film. We will incorperate this in our sequence when the female victim runs through the forest.

 

In the questionnaire, we asked another open question: 'What types of weapons do you like to be seen and WHY'. We gave a selection of options: Axe, Gun, Knife or Other. The Gun proved to be the most popular answer for this question and people chose it because it kills the victim sharp and quickly, leaving the audience in shock.

 

 

 

 

Our final open question was 'Do you prefer your antagonist to have a hidden identity or to be seen throughout the film' This pie chart does not show the correct answers but we will go back and correct it.

 

Research into Conventions- Miss Miller

Conventions in films are elements that are common within different film genres, for example thrillers.  They are patterns that can be seen or used in films from the same category. The exact definition for 'conventions' is: conforming or adhering to accept standards. In thriller films there are many examples of conventions that are included to highlight to the audience the genre of the film, such as weapons, death and blood. These elements all demonstrate conventions of a thriller as they create a tense and uncomfortable atmosphere for the audience to experience. I have chosen to analyse a clip from The Purge: Anarchy as it displays a variety of conventions that can be highlighted to show how the genre of the films is a thriller.

In this sequence, the victims of this particular 'Purge' are female, which is a typical convention of a thriller film as they immediately demonstrate vulnerability. The females' scared facial expressions provide the audience with a clear indication of how frightened they are when they are attempting to hide in a dark cupboard from the masked kidnappers. As it is unknown whether the kidnappers find the girls at this point of the clip, it creates suspense and anxiety as the audience anticipate whether the girls are safe or not. As the kidnappers discover where the girls are hiding and drag them away, it shows the audience how vulnerable they are as they struggle to fight back; a male might find it easier to prevent the kidnap from taking place as they would be stronger. This highlights the danger the girls are in as it demonstrates what the kidnappers are capable of.

Low key lighting is used throughout this sequence which is conventional to the thriller genre as it creates suspense and makes the audience anxious towards what is going to happen. It is displayed in this sequence when the girls are finding somewhere to hide from the antagonists. The only source of light that can be seen is the lamp on the side, infront of the mirror. This light highlights the reflection of the anatgonists as they search the room which builds tension as the audience anticipate whether they will find the girls or not. The low key lighting creates a dull and gloomy atmosphere for the audience to experience which makes them have sympathy for the girls as they want them to be safe.

A reaction shot is used in this sequence as the antagonists find the girls hiding in the closet. This excites the audience as they accept that the girls will no longer be safe and are waiting to see what will happen to them. The reaction shot is conventional to a thriller as it allows the audience to experience shock and surprise whilst watching. This is key in a thriller film because it gives the audience members a scary experience which you would expect to get whilst watching anything from the thriller genre.

The antagonists have a hidden identity, therefore, the audience anticipate when they will be revealed. This creates an intense atmosphere where the audience are unaware of the capabilities of the antagonists which makes them have sympathy and worry for the victims. The hidden identity of the antagonist creates enigma and the audience wonder what will happen to the girls, leaving them questioning what will happen next in the film.

Overall, this post for conventions will allow me to have a better idea of what to include in my thriller sequence and will help me to include conventions of thrillers so the audience experience shock, surprise and suspense whilst watching.

Individual narrative ideas- Miss Georgiou

Narrative is important because without the it, there is no story to be told. The narrative forms the whole idea of the film which allows the audience to follow the story line, without getting confused about what is going on and where the film is going. Without the narrative for the film, it can not be made as there would be no ideas or instructions that are needed to follow to create a successful film.

My idea of a narrative for a new thriller film is a teenage girl has an argument with her boyfriend, causing him to walk off to go a get his car from the car park so he can go home. The girl goes after him but is too late. The car park is dark and deserted with no one around. As she stands in the middle of the car park alone, crying, she notices a tall figure standing in the way of the exit. She soon realises that it is a man who she often sees looking at her regularly; like a stalker. She starts to become panicked as there is no exit apart from the one he stands in. She pulls out her phone to call for help but has no service, leaving her unable to reach anyone. She decides to risk walking out of the dark car park without acknowledging him, however he grabs her and threatens her with a knife and says she is to go with him otherwise she will die. The antagonist takes her back to his house, and ties her up in an empty, cold, dirty and dark room and tortures her until she eventually dies.
I will include the 5 elements of miss-en-scene, for example: the deserted car park and the antagonists home will be the setting, the knife, rope and weapons will be the iconography. These are typical conventions of a thriller where the audience will feel uncomfortable and anticipate what is going to happen. The lighting i will use will highlight key symbols and objects, however I want the lighting in the car park and room to be low key to create suspense.
The conventions of a thriller i will include are:

• female victim
• male antagonist 
• weapons, such as knives (iconography)
• hidden identity of the antagonist 
• low key lighting 
• reaction shots
• slow editing
• close-ups 

Opening sequence analysis- Miss Georgiou

How does the opening sequence of the film Halloween, inform the audience of the conventions of a thriller film?

The purpose of an opening sequence is to foreshadow what will happen in the film and to set the general theme. The narrative is introduced to the audience which shows the type film it is. An opening thriller sequence should contain credits of director, producers, cast etc, an introduction to characters in the film, iconography that may be used as symbols, clues of who the victim, antagonist or protagonist might be, thriller conventions and the 4 micro elements: cinematography, editing, sound and miss-en-scene. The opening sequence shouldn't give too much away but should include enough information to make the audience keep want to watching the film.

In the opening sequence to Halloween, cinematography is used throughout the sequence to create suspense, surprise and shock for the audience. Cinematography involves camera angles and positions that are used to engage the audience and focus on particular things being shown in the frame. POV is used throughout the sequence which gives a perspective from the antagonist as he walks around/inside the house and as he stabs the victim. This is effective as the antagonist is given a hidden identity which creates suspense and anxiety for the audience. It engages the audience as they experience an outlook from the killers eyes which would make them feel like they are inside the killers sick and twisted head. A high-angle shot is used as the camera zooms out to reveal the little boy standing before his parents in a clown costume, holding the bloody knife which was used to kill the victim. This juxtaposes the previous events in the opening sequence as they were all shown from the antagonists perspective. This leaves the audience shocked and surprised as it is unexpected that the killer is a little boy dressed in a clown costume; would normally suggest innocence. The high-angle is effective as it makes the audience look down on him for what he has just done, as the child would not normally present any danger or threat.


Editing is used in this opening sequence to imply how the audience should react towards the events occurring in the scene. For example, as the antagonist is walking up the stairs to kill his victim, slow editing is used to build tension and suspense as it foreshadows the victims death. This makes the audience worried for the victim as they want to know what is going to happen but the slow editing prevents them from finding out straight away. This gets the audience's minds racing about how the scene is going to end. A reaction shot is displayed, as the mask is taken off of the antagonist; to reveal the little boy. This is conventional to a thriller opening sequence as it shocks the audience leaving them frightened and anticipating what will happen next. This makes them want to keep watching the film. so they can find out what actually happened, as they are left baffled by the little boys reasoning to kill his sister. In the sequence, the tempo increases as the antagonist runs away from the murder he has just committed to imply he is trying to quickly get away. This excites the audience as they grow more eager to know the reasons why the victim has been murdered as they are unknown at this point of the film.

The soundtracks in the opening sequence are essential to ensure it fits the thriller genre, as they create an eerie and tense atmosphere for the audience to experience. For example Off-screen sound is used at the very beginning of the sequence: a children's nursery rhyme is played as the camera is moved towards the house. This acts like a scary chant and foreshadows the unveiling of the antagonists identity; a young boy/child. This makes the audience feel uncomfortable and on edge when watching the rest of the film. The off screen sound adds impact to the scene as it makes the audience members feel tense and causes them to be more jumpy and frightened when something or someone jumps out at them. This is what thriller films aim to do therefore the music is an essential part of a thriller film. Silence is also included in the sequence as the boy is watching through the window at his sister and her partner. This makes the audience feel intense and anxious as they anticipate what is going to happen. The silence highlights how the antagonist doesn't want to be seen and how he remains with a hidden identity, leaving the audience feeling apprehensive and fearful. This hooks the audience as they want to find out the identity of the antagonist. Digetic/parallel sound is used when the antagonsit is stabbing the female victim. The sound of the knife is emphesised as it enters the female victim to encourage the audience to believe it is realitic. This also creates sympathy for the character as they hear the pain she is experiencing and want her to be saved.

The characters in the sequence allow the audience to try to understand what happens in the film, for example through most of the opening sequence the antagonist is displayed with a hidden identity, until the end of the scene. This is demonstrated by the camera as it remains in POV, which creates enigma and suspense for the audience to experience whilst watching. This is convention to a thriller opening sequence, as the audience are left anticipating for the reaveal of the antagonist which makes them feel uncomfortable and anxious. As the character of the antagonist is revealed, the audience experience shock and surprise as they are unsettled by the fact that the killer is a little boy. This leaves the audience questioning why the young boy has killed his older sister which ensures the audience continue watching the film to find out what and why the murder has occured. Having a female victim in the sequence, imediately makes her vunerable and the audience expect something bad to happen to her. This is a typical convention of a thriller as the audience understand a female victim would be easier to kill as she would not have the strength to potentially fight back her killer or protect herself. The audience therefore feel sorry for her as the murder takes place as they realise she is going to die as she cannot defend herself.

The whole narrative of the film is based on halloween, which suggests the film will include connotations such as: costumes, bad things happening, people expecting to be frightened and potentially murder. These themes create shock, surprise and suspense for the audience to experience which they would expect to do so from watching a thriller film. The fact that the film has been awarded a 15+ age certificate suggests that the film will contain blood, death, gore, nudity etc. This implys that the film is not appropriate for those under the age of 15 as they might find the content offending or frightening. The ending of the opening sequence leaves the audience on a cliff hanger, creating an intense atmosphere which makes the audience want to watch the rest of the film.

Overall, the opening sequence for Halloween demonstrates a variety of conventions for a thriller film as it creates suspense, shock and surprise throughout, leaving the audience anticiapating what is going to happen in the film. The use of iconography, such as knives suggests to them how dangerous the antagonist is and displays what he might be capable of; murdering his victim. Watching and analysing this opening sequence has given me an idea of what I could include in my thriller sequence and has identified the conventions that need to be included to allow the audience to experience surprise, suspense and shock.

Research into editing styles- Miss Georgiou

Editing is essential within the thriller genre because it creates shock, surprise and suspense for the audience. The editing consists of the transitions and timings used in the scenes which links them together to make a film that fits together without long breaks in-between each transition.

In this sequence from the thriller film Human Centipede, directed by Tom Six, many editing styles are used to create suspense for the audience, as she tries to escape from the doctor. For example a jump cut is used when the doctor finds the victim in a room, where she has locked herself away and as they scream at each other, it demonstrates a change of viewpoint and location from each character and fosuses on them idividually. Using a straight cut is effective in this scene as it shows the two different situations which creates tension for the audience as they do not know what is going to happen next which will make the audience feel suspense. The audience will have sympathy for the victim as they would not want the doctor to get to her and want her to be safe.
Shot reverse shot is used where the two female victims are in the surgery trying to find a way to escape or survive. The camera follows the conversation bewtween them as one shot quickly follows the other, allowing the audience to understand the conversation and situation the girls are facing. This makes the audience have to think quickly about what is going on which gets their minds racing about what is going to happen next. This makes the audience surprised, epsecially as she manages to get away from the bed.
A straight cut is used when the victim is running down the corridor and then enters a room. This cut demonstrates the change of location which provides the audeince with an understanding of how desperately the victim wants to escape and it also shows how scared she is. The audience will have sympathy for her and therefore will feel the suspense as they do not know if the doctor will find her.
This post will help me when I create my own opening thriller sequence as it will allow me to consider which cuts i could use to make the audience feel shocked or surprised.
 

Research into Sound- Miss Miller

In this sequence from Scream, lots of different sound techniques are used to create surprise, suspense and shock for the audience as they watch the film. One example in this clip, is where the antagonist is on the phone to the victim, and as he threatens her, a non-diegetic technique is used; where music has been added to the scene to create suspense, as the audience feel the atmosphere become tense and anticipate what will happen next.
Diegetic sound is included in the film as the antagonist fights to get through the jammed door as banging and smashing sounds are heard as he hits the door. This makes the actions appear as realistic for the audience which creates shock and suspense and the antagonised tries to get to the victim. The audience would feel scared and worried for the victim as they do not know whether he is going to reach her or not.
Off screen sound is used as the male character, who at first is expected to be the hero, comes through the window to comfort the female victim and a dog barking is heard in the background. No dog is seen on screen in this clip but the barking creates tension for the audience as the chaos is taking place, therefore the dog barking foreshadows how things are going to get worse and are not going to end well. This will make the audience feel uncomfortable as they do not know what will happen to the victim as the film goes on. This technique is a typical convention of a thriller as it keeps the audience guessing what might happen that will cause them to be shocked and surprised.
Parrallel sound is included in this sequence as Sidney, the female victim, attempts to open the front door but the chain is pulled across, making it harder for her to escape easily. The noise of the chain being stuck is emphesised and makes the action seem more realistic as you would expect to hear the rattling of the chain when trying to pull the door open. This demonstrates how desperate she is to escape from the antagonist which builds tension as the audience want to see her escape and get to safety.
Sound is a key convention in a thriller film as it creates suprise, shock and suspense, therefore this post will help me as i create my own thriller opneing sequence as I will need to include lots of different sound techniques to ensure typical conventions of a thriller are displayed.

Research into Cinematography- Miss Miller

Cinematography is the art of photography and camera work in film-making. It includes lots of camera techniques which help the audience build relationships with the characters to understand how they feel in particular scenes within films.

 

In this sequence from the 2002 physiological thriller film Murder by Numbers, directed by Barbet Schroeder, Gosling is threatening to kill Pitt and make it look like a suicide, however Pitt explains how he would not get away with it due to the science that could identify Gosling as the killer.

There are a variety of different camera angles, movements and positions used to portray the relationship between the two characters. 

For example, when Gosling has power over Pitt when he has the gun held to Pitt's head, a two shot and a low angle is used to show both characters and to indicate the power Gosling has over Pitt; Pitt is looking up at Gosling whilst Gosling is looking down at Pitt. The low angle also illustrates the levels used by the characters. (Pitt on his knees and Gosling standing up). This makes the audience anticipate whether he is going to pull the trigger.


As Pitt stands up, and Gosling is holding the gun under his neck, making Pitt walk backwards, an extreme long shot is used to minimise the two characters and increase the importance of the background. This allows the audience to see the danger of the area they are in; walls haves collapsed and nothing looks stable, so could increase the element of danger dramatically as one of them could seriously injur themselves if they fell. This makes the audience feel uneasy as they do not know what is going to happen; there is a possibility one of them might die.

Shallow focus is used as Pitt stands behind Gosling, however Gosling is shown in full focus whereas Pitt is slightly out of focus and blury. This is done so Gosling's facial expressions are clear to the audience so they focus of his face instead of Pitts. This demonstrates the importance of his expressions.