Possible Logo.

Annonymous Logo

Annonymous male
annoymous women

This symbolizes the use of Social network and how you do not know who you're talking to via the internet.

Location for our Thriller Opening

For the schoolgirls room, we will use Molly room and a pink laptop, which will show elements of youth and especially vulnerability as this would be her private space where she alone, talks to her anonymous attraction.

Her laptop will be placed on her lap whilst she talks to the online Predator, of which will be located in Starbucks, we will use jump cuts to go from each location as their conversation continues via instant messaging.

Opening thriller mind map (plan)

Short Preliminary Match Cut Video

Analysing the Filming Process of our Prelim.

We filmed our Prelim today and through using our Storyboard; which we created last lesson, we were able to find our filming process much easier and concise. We followed it closely matching the shots we had written down, however we chose to change the dialogue as it suited the situation better and was more realistic. 

We all shared responsibility of filming our Prelim, as well as using a range of shots to make our Prelim look effective.  We used match cuts and point of view shots, we also used Manual Focus on out Camera as we wanted to include a transition from unfocused to focused at the beginning of our Prelim, which we thought would look quite effective and it would allow us to experiment with Manual Focus, incase we decide to include it within our Thriller Opening. 

We were also dedicated to keep within the 180 degree rule, which would ensure that the end footage would not confuse the audience, however we were successful as we kept the camera in the the zone. Therefore, when complete our footage will look good and understandable. 

We used the tripod, as well as used the camera by hand, which would help us show a range of shots. Here we have filmed Augusto in Minh's point of view, this worked well as we were able to make it look as if Minh was looking directly at  Augusto. 

Here is where we aimed to show an unfocused shot turn to focused. This would become a Match cut which would go from Minh looking down to showing the view of the ground from how high up he is.

We would then focus in on the ground, which would give the effect that Minh's eyes may have been blurred and then the focus on the ground would show how he has come to the realisation that he may fall from a great height.





Overall, our filming process was successful and we enjoyed exploring a range of different shots and understanding how to film correctly, by abiding to the 180 degree rule. We are also considering whether to use dome of these techniques for our own Thriller.

Student film opening

Bathory

Sound:
As soon as the opening plays, intense music plays and you immediately feel a bit scared due to the heavy soundtrack. You can tell it's going to be a horror/religious thriller because you can hear the immense soundtrack, as well the instrument of the triangle playing, suggesting it could be in a church.

Mise en scene.
The use of a book that looks as if its a religious book, marked inside with blood stains and the word 'vengeance' which indicates a plot to kill someone. The blood suggests someone has been killed, this is a vital prop to the film opening as it conveys murder and mystery. The church, is also significant because it conveys it is a religious thriller. At first you see the church, therefore the audience assumes the main character is a religious person. The candle lit, with blood draining down indicates murder, and tragedy of a being. Many books and cut out newspaper are places on the table, in a dark room with the candle lit, this suggests that the main character is collecting evidence or news about murders that they may have committed  logging it into their book. 'The book of lies', is placed on the table alongside other books which allows the audience to figure out, that the person he wants to get his revenge on, is someone who lied to him/her.

Editing:
A variety of editing is used within this clip, the negative effect at the start of the scene is of a grave, indicating death and where the victim lies beneath  or it can foreshadow that someone is going to die in the film. The church, with the special editing effect the background is red and the church is black which indicates blood, death.

Camera:
There are a lot of extreme close ups of mise en scene, such as the book with all the notes and evidence of a vengeful character. There are many extreme close ups to this book, because it signifies importance, the blood stains of fingerprints conveys the victims blood, and the word 'vengeance' written on it is highlighted because it reveals the purpose of the film.

This use of the extreme close ups can influence on my opening thriller because, I like that idea of singling out important mise en scene props that gives the audience an idea of what the film could be about, and leaving them to wonder what the significance of the prop.

Target audience for thrillers

Psychological thrillers are mostly aimed at 18+ because it may include a lot of violence  psychological issues which can be disturbing to younger viewers.

The target audience for thrillers depends on the content of the film. for example:
I,robot aims at 12A, as there isn't a lot of explicit or violent scenes. Whereas, in Fatal Attraction it has the target audience of 18 year old and this is because it has content to which a 12 year old cannot view as it is unappropriated.


One of the best thrillers, Silence of the Lambs are rated R, which means this was targeted at young male adults. The overall target audience for a generic thriller film, are young adults between the ages 18-25.

Genre & Subgenre

In film, genre is refers to the method based on characteristics or similarities in the construction of a film.
Sub-genre is a mix of genres combined together, examples:

• Crime thriller: Inside Man, Reservoir Dogs
• Disaster thriller: 2012, Mayday
• Mystery thriller: Shutter Island, Flight plan
• Political Thriller: State of play
• Psychological thriller: Psycho, Cape Fear
• Religious thriller: The Da Vinci Code
• Techno thriller: i,Robot
• Romantic thriller
• Comedy thriller
• Horror thriller
• Action thriller

The same genre, such as romcoms (romantic comedies) are used over and over again, sometimes with the same story line. This is how the film industry makes money, they exploit the audience as they know what the target market wants. For example, the romcom 'Friends with benefits' attracts many young consumers as celebrities such as Justin Timberlake starrs in them, attracting young females. 

       

Mr. & Mrs. Smith, is a romantic thriller. This film inspires me because of the action and how, both of the characters show hate and love at the same time. The mix of the two genres allows me, personally to feel that anything is able to work out even if you are woeking to kill each other. The significance of love conveyed, overtakes hatred, at the end of the film they work together rather than against each other. Although, this doesn't influence the film opening of my thriller, i still love the idea of a romantic thriller. Maybe, aspects of romance can be portrayed in my opening thriller.

Preliminary Storyboard.

The screenshots above show the storyboard of our preliminary activity. We have taken digital images for the storyboard of our planned idea, which is a bullying scene, the techniques used are Match cutting, shot reverse sht and using the 180 degrees rule.

Titles and Soundtrack task (Arlington Road)

Process of re-editing Arlington Road

The opening scene of Arlington Road was cut up into sections, we had to put it in the sequence we think it goes in. We done this by viewing all of the scenes before we did any editing or putting them back together.

First, we put the two production companies at the start, following on by a long shot, blurred out scene where the boy is walking towards the camera. We also added the title Arlington Road in big, after the production companies because it was signifacnt. In addition, we had to also add the film credits such as: casts, producer, director etc. We did this by selecting an area of a scene, for example we added the name 'Nicole Shockstar' a cast in Arlington road, to the side of the boys extreme close up of his blue eyes.

To add the text, we click on the text box and edited the name, we the wire frame to give us a guide of were we can place the text, the text should be within the box so that when it is viewed in the cinema, it is cropped out. To move the text around, we just clicked on the text and placed it where we wanted. 

We also used a fade/dissolve transition for the text because it looks more realistic to a film opening rather than having the names pop in and out, which is dull and boring.

We all had a contribution to what scene goes where and when, after we have used the clip we re-named it 'USED' so then we knew we have used the clip, it narrows down what we haven't used which made it easier to identify what more we needed to do to finish the film opening. After this, we saved the clip to our video drive.

Introduction to Soundtrack

We have learnt how to export a soundtrack clip from the actual opening scene, from final cut pro to soundtrack pro. The process of exporting the soundtrack:

• Open up re-edit of Arlington Road
• In-out the beginning and the end of the scene
• Export to soundtrack & saved it as 'soundtrack'
• Open up soundtrack pro, dragged 'soundtrack' into video area

These processes allows us to learn how to export soundtracks and opening them up to edit them. The process of editing the soundtrack, from the tutorial fro the teacher at the start, we got on pretty well with the soundtrack as we found exactly what we wanted. 

Using the scene as a template for our soundtrack, we managed to find the right sounds be preferred to suit the opening of Arlington Road. We have learned how to select different types of foley, instruments, or scifi sounds and apply it o the soundtrack. In addition, applying the sound effects to the film opening, we have also learnt how to fade the sound effects away and moving them along the timeline in sync with the scene.

We have experimented with a lot of sound effects and foleys, we went through quite a lot to get the right sound for each camera shot, for example where the boys injured arm starts dripping blood, we added a foley sound of water dripping, in sync with the scene and it sounds realistic. 

Exporting from soundtrack, was a chronological process that we had to follow in order to export the soundtrack correctly into the film opening of Arlington Road. The process of exporting the soundtrack:

• In-out point of beginning and end
• Find and click on mixer tab
• Highlight submix 
• go to the bottom of the tab
• click on stereo than 1+2
• click on 'file export' and name the soundtrack 
• finally save it to video drive (must say 'all sub-mixes')

The whole process that we have done to export the soundtrack from the actual re-edit of the film opening, to importing it back into the film opening, gives us a general idea of  how we are going to get a soundtrack as well as adding special effects sounds or foleys to our own thriller film opening. We now know the process, steps and skills of soundtracks and apply it to our thriller.

TV Show Opening - Breaking Bad.

Although it is not a movie, the opening of the American TV Drama Breaking Bad is a very good opening, the plot of the show is about a chemistry teacher and the opening scene uses the Periodic table with peoples names, which is a good idea as the title sequence, and names of the director (and some actors, however it is not shown in the opening) as it follows the main plot of the show.

Spit screen idea.

An idea with the instant messaging would be to have both parties on screen simultaneously however each on either side

Ideas so far.

From discussions we have held in our own time, we have thought of a rough idea of our film opening. We discussed an idea of a stalker/creepy character preying on a younger character via the internet, specifically Instant Messaging.

The stalker character will be portrayed as very alone, however portray himself online as a popular, masculine male. He will stalk the younger character via facebook, twitter, tumblr and other social networking sites, whilst inciting her via instant messaging.

Another idea is that his obsession of her will be expressed by having photos of her around his room, or on his wall, even possibly his wallpaper.

We have discussed an idea of flashbacks showing him killing another victim, foreshadowing what he plans to do to the new victim.

We will have the characters talking through various devices, texting and instant messaging for example.

We are still unsure of the initial murder weapon, or where the murder will take place

Momento Title Sequence Analysis.

Discrete Title Sequence Opening

Casino Royal

Casino Royal uses a mixture of Narrative opening, and Discrete Title Sequence. First starting with a narrative opening introducing the characters and one of the story lines, it then continues with the animated sequence of Casino Royal, which contains animated remakes of casino activities, such as shooting with Hearts, Clubs, Diamonds and Spades using a Roulette wheel as a sniper sight, using Spades and Diamonds as a knifes. It also showed the violence that is conveyed in all of the James Bond films and gives the audience an idea of what to expect. The song played in the background has no relation to what is occuring on screen, however it is an example of synergy.


There is another type of major opening that Casino Royal avoided, however this was due to their target audience, and wanting to grab attention of their viewers. The final main film opening is "Title Over Blank Screen"which is literally, a title over a blank screen. This is usually avoided by high budget films as it is seen as quiet a "boring" introduction.

Genre and Sub-genre

Genre is the classification of any media texts into types or categories.  Each genre can be identified by a range of elements that allow us both to recognize that particular genre and to expect certain things to occur within it.

Sub-genre are subdivisions within genres that become established through repetitions. For instance there may be Comedy in a mainly Romance film which is called Romantic comedy.

In our thriller, will are adding Physiological features which may relate to the audience and hit home for them. It could happen in everyday life, so we believe it can create a big impact to the audience. 

Orphan is a film that has the same category we are following. I like the way they presented the actor in this fashion, the light pale straight face helps tell the public that this could be a horror/physiological/thriller movie. 

We could use make up and lighting to help us create a effect we want to audience to have like they did.

Health and Safety

When introduced, we learnt about the health and safety of each procedures. Each time we borrow an equipment  our contact number must be noted down just in case the worst happens. For the equipment  i learnt   what can be dangerous about each equipment.

JVC Camcorders

The JVC video cameras are expensive technical equipment that must not be harmed or lost because it's expensive to replace. It is a fragile equipment that can easily be damaged, so therefore when in the hands of a user, the user must use the attached handle to support the camera, they can also use to hands to help keep it steady.


Tripod

Tripods are one of the most dangerous equipment demonstrated of them all. They are used to support the camera's - giving it a steady shot. They are extremely heavy, therefore can be very dangerous if not used properly. When stretching or closing the legs, the tripod can easily catch your hand and pinch it. If the camera is not fully placed on to the tripod, by twisting the handles to make it tight and secure, the camera or tripod can easily fall and get damaged.



External hardware/storage device

When on the Mac's, we learnt to make sure to eject each external device that is used before removing it from the computer because the data from the device can be all erased.

Research into Film Audiences

Films specifically target their audience through branding their films with a genre which specifically entices them to goto the cinema and watch that film.

Through exploring the traditional film audiences in class, we were able to recognise what films we relatively enjoyed.

Some of us goto the cinema purely because one of our favourite actors/actresses is starring in that particular film. Therefore, it has been recognised that most of the Tom Cruise films have been branded with his name and image instead of the film title itself. 

Some of us goto the cinema because we are interested in a particular genre, as we are a class of 16-17 year olds a wide variety of genres are available for us to preview. We tend to enjoy action films and rollers, however Romantic Comedies (RomComs) seem to divide the class due to gender. The females in the class tend to watch RomComs, e.g Friends With Benefits features Justin Timberlake who is seen by many as a heart throb, whereas the males in the class are probably only intrigued to RomComs due to the Female actress in that film: Mila Kunis.

On the other hand, Thriller films were enjoyed by the majority of the class. Most thriller films are targetted at a wider audience who enjoy suspence and possibly have an aspect of Crime. Although cinemas usually targed the 13-25 age reange, Thrillers are primarily based around more mature aspects, as their sub-genres show:

• Psychological Thriller
• Action Thriller
• Sci-fi Thriller

Futhermore this wide range of subgenres can apply to a broader audience, hence making the appeal to the Genre much more attractive.

Health and Safety with equipment.

There are many health and safety issues with the filming equipment provided (Video cameras, still cameras, tripods, lighting ect).

JVC Video Cameras:
The video cameras are both heavy, and fragile, pieces of equipment. If miss-used it could easily harm someone using it, for example if it is dropped on a body part, or if it is jerked away from someones hands whilst their hands are in the grip, allowing bones to be bruised/broken. To prevent this the cameras should be held with two hands at all times, and carefully passed between users. The cameras are also very fragile, meaning if they are dropped they can break very easily, again meaning they should be passed carefully and only put down on suitable platforms.

Still Camera:
The still cameras are not as dangerous, however they can also break very easily, alike the camcorders they should be passed carefully and only be placed down on suitable surfaces.

Tripod:
The tripods are a very dangerous piece of equipment if used incorrectly. When opening and closing the tripod, the legs come in and out quiet fast this is something that you must be careful with, as your skin can get caught in it creating an unpleasant experiences. They must also be fastened correctly when placing the camera ontop of them, as if they are not tightened it can lead to the camera falling off and breaking.

Lighting:
Lighting is one of the most dangerous pieces of equipment, both the small and big lights heat up in an instant, making you prone to burning yourself, meaning they must be handled in a sensible manor.

Student Film Research.

An analysis of the student produced film "Inside".

                                                                                    Password = Student.
                                       

The clip is an opening to a thriller film. The opening is important as it is what hooks the viewers to watch the film. I personally found this to be a very good opening, as even with it only being 3 minutes long I would be interested to watch a whole film like this. The use of technical elements create a good clip all together.

There are a variety of camera techniques used in this clip, there are two distinguished types of camera shots in this clip, ones that directly focus on the actors, and others to emphasize the location. Long and wide shots were used to show the viewers that this clip is being filmed in the populated city of London, showing it from many different view points, but capturing landmarks (such as the Gherkin building) and black cabs, double decked buses as well as the red telephone boxes. The use of camera movement inside the telephone box portrays the character who is on the phone as scared, or paranoid, due to her constantly looking around. The use of the mid shot on the suited character, showing his garments and brief case, however not his face, until the end, creates an interesting air about the character and leads the viewers to question his importance. The closeups of the cellular devices allows the viewers to get a jist of what is going on, without the characters needing to speak.

The mise en scene is used to create the look of a busy city central, by capturing the one of the main characters in a suit, the packed streets and the surrounding area. The use of the red phone box, opposed to using a mobile phone is interesting, as it creates two different responses  one of the phone box being red, and red being a colour that represents danger, the other being it creates anonymity from the caller, making you wonder who is calling.

Sound is used perfectly in the opening clip. There is no audio from any of the characters, and the only digetic sound is the ringing of the phone booth, showing its importance in the story line. The non digetic sound is also used in a very good way. The back music creates an eeiry mood for the viewers, they are put on edge and begin to question what is occurring due to the music, the use of a Doppler effect sound that signifies the slowing down and speeding up of time.

Editing is used on screen with the names of the cast, this coincides with the sound effect causing the speeding up and slowing down. The use of linking shots, i.e the girl looking around in the phone box, is edited in a way to allow the users to fully grasp what is occurring.