Planning; Final Idea/ Opening scene narration

In our group, we came up with and decided the narrative of our final idea for our thriller production. Our thriller is about a young woman in her late teens or early 20's, Who breaks up with her boyfriend after finding someone new; The boyfriend mentally snaps, he then decides to sneak into her home to murder her.

Our Chosen Title: It's Not Over.

Narrative/Plot:

The beginning starts with a mid-shot introducing the female character walking home during a night time setting. The location for this will be on the Great Cambridge Road, this location would be suitable for this first shot because it provides a generous amount of lighting but still dark enough to keep it low-key. As she is walking, a close-up shot will be used to show her messaging her boyfriend saying ''It's over ! I'm sorry but I'm in love with someone else..'' She will then continue walking home. A variety and mixture of shots will be used to then show her entering her garden. The lighting is a mixture of natural with low-key.

We then see mid-shot again from the behind of the female character as she opens the front door and enters her house. As she enters her house, a high angle long shot will be used to show her walking into the house. The lighting here will be low-key as no one else is at home and the house is covered in darkness.

As we continue into the scene , we then see the female victim go up into her bedroom to change into her pyjamas, we will use a camera trick to "jump" the process of her getting changed; once she is changed she will then walk out of her bedroom and enter her bathroom to wash her face, A high-angle mixed with a mid-shot is being used to film her as she does this. The light will be on in the bathroom this will provide some lighting in the shot.

Once she returns to her bedroom The female victim will then lay down on her bed to sleep. There will be lighting provided by a small lamp.

As the female is laying down in bed sleeping, a panning shot is being used to film slowly her feet and travelling up to her head, to then showing a clock on her chest of draws next to her bed displaying that it's really late; the pan will continue to travel towards the lamp to reveal the antagonists hand turning it off . The female wakes up in a panic turns the light back on, she then goes down to her kitchen to get a cup of water. Once She has then walked downstairs into her kitchen. As she enters the kitchen, she then gets her cup of water. There will be lighting used in the kitchen provided by the kitchens light.

After drinking her water she places the glass down on the kitchen counter, we will then use a close-up shot to zoom in to a reflective surface, this will be used to reveal a reflection showing her ex boyfriend standing behind her holding a knife. He then lunges out at her and grabs her by her hair, throw her on the ground and stabs her repeatedly in the stomach. A long shot is being used  to show what is going on but a close-up will then be used here to show her facial expressions as she's is being brutally stabbed to death. 

After a certain number of stabs, we then see the female victim once again wake up in panic from a nightmare. Once sat on the bed a reaction shot mixed with close-up shot will be used to show the relieved expression of the female victim as she realizes that it was only a nightmare, a point of view shot will be used to show her looking around her bedroom. She will notice a dark ominous figure, holding a knife is gazing at her from the corner of the room. Then it will cut to black to add tension and suspense.

Narrative Structure:
Aristotle & Bathes

Characters:
Female victim, antagonist.

Mise en scene:

- Locations: Home, Street

- Lighting: Natural lighting, back lighting, low-key lighting.

Costume:

- Female victim: White/Cream jumper + a coat, Light blue jeans.

- Boyfriend (antagonist): Black trouser, black hoodie + black coat.

Film influences:

- Takers 2010 gave us the idea/ theme of obssension.

-Panic Room gave us the idea of a mysterious killer sneaking into the female victim's home.

-Scream 1996 influenced us the idea of the female victim being home alone.

Why is the opening conventional to a thriller?
- Our thriller opening is conventional to thriller because we include typical themes of death and obssesion which is conventional to the thriller genre.

What themes does our thriller present?

- The themes that our thriller present are Obsession, Love and Death. 

Conclusion

- Our group have come together and discussed and agreed as to what we want for our final idea to be and we are all happy with the idea.

Planning: Storyboard

A storyboard is a visual plot or plan of how each shot is or will be structured

This is essential planning because it's a very efficient and allows filming to run smoother because it gives the crew members an idea of what is to be filmed and what will be on screen e.g. Characters,
Iconography, Lighting. A storyboard also tells you the length of each shot and whether sounds will be used in that shot.

Key conventions of a storyboard are:
-Duration
-Shot number
-Lighting

Below is the storyboard I created for how I wanted my thriller to look.

Conclude:
This has been beneficial to me as it has given me a visual insight on how I want my thriller to look.

Planning: Cinematography, Sound and Editing

Planning: Cinematography

 

Cinematography is one of the most crucial features within a film. It allows the audience to see the scenes at different angles and views and creates connotations and different meaning in the film.

 Cinematography I plan to use in my thriller:

- A mid-long shot will be used at the very beginning to introduce the female character walking home alone during the night time. This has been chosen because it allows the audience to see the character and see her body language and to see her surroundings. This is effective and conventional to thriller because it allows the audience to have a look at the female victim and see that she's young a white female, this is a stereotypical/ conventional description of a female victim to the thriller genre

- A close up shot will be used when she's texting her boyfriend to show the audience some of their conversation and what she's writing. I have chosen to use this because it will make the audience feel suspicious as they don't know much about the character yet. This is conventional to thriller because it makes the audience to have different connotations right from the beginning of the scene.

- A long-shot will be used from behind the female victim as she enters her house. This has been chosen because it allows the audience to see where the female character lives. This is conventional to the thriller genre because a lot of thriller films tend to be set in houses, this also connotes that she is now safe in her home.

- A pan camera movement will be used while the female victim is asleep showing . This has been chosen to show that even though she is safe in her home, she is still meek and feeble. This is conventional because it almosts make her seem like prey.

- An extreme close up shot will be used when she's looking at the reflective surface. This will be done to reveal the antagonist standing behind her. This is conventional because it shows that she is being watched and that something bad is about to happen to her.

- A reaction shot will be used again when the scene changes back to the victims bedroom with her waking from the nightmare, this will then reveal the antagonist standing infront of her holding a knife looking at her. this will be used because it helps create a cliff-hanger effect for the audience as they are left fearing for the safety of the female victim.

 

Planning: Sound

in our our opening we plan to use various non diegetic sound to create realism to the scene and to make the audience more aware of whats going on around the characters as the action is taking place.

we will add other non diegetic sounds to create tension or suspense among the audience, this will be to give them an indication of whats to come or to tease them but also drawing them into the the story more and more.

Sound plays an essential part within a movie production. It help creates different connotations, emotions, interpretations and expectations for the audience.

 The sounds that I plan to use in my thriller:

- Non diegetic sound will be used when the female victim opens her eyes from the first nightmare she has. This is used to build up tension slowly and create fear for the audience as the sound will be sudden and unexpcted.

- A soundtrack/non-digetic sound will also be used when the female victim is in the kitchen. This has been chosen because it builds up tension and prepares the audience for something bad ahead. This is conventional to the thriller genre because it will create fear and tension for the audience.

- Diegetic sound of screaming is being used when the female victim is being attacked by the antagonist. This will be done to show the audience the level of fear that the victim is experiencing.

- Non diegetic sound will then be used again when the female victim opens her eyes from the second nightmare. This will be done to shock the audience as they wont realise that she was dreaming within a dream.

 

Planning: Editing

In our thriller we will use various editing techniques to engage our audience and to help the pace and smoothness of the scene.

we plan to use slow editing at key moments to highlight what is going on and to make the audience aware of whats happening. this will give the audience time to absorb whats going on and allow them to generate thoughts aand feelings and what they've witnessed

The editing that I plan to use in my thriller:

- Fast editing will be used when the female victim is being attacked by the antagonist. I have chosen to use this to make the scene happens in a faster paced to builds up tension and puts the audience to the edge of their seats. This is conventional to thriller because tension and suspense is being created towards the audience as they are witnessing the female victim who's being brutally attacked.

- Straight cut and shot reverse shot will also be used when the antagonist is attacking the female victim. I have chosen to use this to creates a sensational action within this scene and puts the audience to their climax. This is conventional to thriller because it helps to creates different connotations within the audience to questions themselves about why is the antagonist have chosen to attack the female victim.

- Slow editing will be used when the female victim falls to the floor. I have chosen to use this to make a dramatic fall of the female victim. This is conventional to thriller as the audience will feel sympathy towards the female character after being continuously stabbed by the antagonist.

 Conclusion:

- I have identified all the cinematography, sounds and editing that I planned to use in my thriller and this has been taken from my storyboard and is something I will consider when editing.

Research: Opening Credit / Typography

Opening Credits:

Intro:

What is their purpose?

Opening Credits are the text we see at the very beginning of the film; Opening credits are not only used at the start of the film to tell the audience who are the main stars of the film, but to also state the producer(s), director and any executives. They also tell us which film or production companies are linked to the film.

What information they provide?

Order of apprearance:

- Production Company

- Actors

- Production/ Title

- Producer

- Director

How do they make the audience feel?

Opening credits give the audience a feeling of excitement or anticipation when they see the actors that are playing a part of the film. they will also help determine what genre the movie will be. For example, 

 

Opening credits can be very effective in thriller movies when assisted by a good soundtrack generating suspense, tension and fear. 

 

Conclusion

In doing this research I have learned the order of appearance within opening credits.  in my opening credits  I will credit the actors and actresses, hair and make-up, lighting operator, Producer, Sound Operator, Editor and Director.

Typography:

What Is Typography?

Typography is the style or "appearance" of a text within a film.  a font in order to portray a message . It plays an essential part in the presentation process.

The typography for thrillers tend to be twisted and disturbed this is to set the mood or generate emotion for the audience.

Conclusion

Through research I have found that thrillers use a certain type of font or text style to indicate what sort of thriller will be shown. This effectively generates emotion among the audience as they anticipate what will happen during the film. In my thriller I will explore the different styles of text to effectively generate fear among the audience.

Planning Initial Ideas

Planning Initial ideas

Narrative:
A man with psychological issues comes across a theatre and watches a group of ballerinas rehearsing. He then sees one particular girl who he then gets really obsessed with bue to the fact that she looks like a former fiance he loved that left him. He returns to the theatre to watch and follow the ballerina. After setting up a shrine dedicated to her and wanting her he then decides to kidnap her and keep her prisoner in his home to torture her.

Title: Silent Audience

Sub-Genre: Psychological Thriller

Characters:
Antagonist- Crazy Man

Victim- Ballerina

Extras- Other Ballerinas

Narrative Structure:
Aristotle & Barthes

 
Mes En Scene:

- Location: Theatre and House.

- Iconography: Pictures and frames, Lockett, Rope, Knife
 and candles

- Costume of characters:

Protagonist: Ballerina- Leotard and ballet pumps

Antagonist: Crazy man- Dark clothing (trench coat, trousers, dark shoes

Lighting: Natural lighting

Advantages:This is quite conventional to the thriller genre as it includes themes such as Love/ Obsession, Kidnapping and has quite a clear narrative structure.

Dis-Advantages: Being allowed or gaining permission to work within the locations chosen at certain times.

　

                                                                Khanh’s Idea:

 

Narrative: A young women moves to her new home to live on her own, one night she heard her doorbell rings, she went to open the door and see a little girl crying outside her door. She then feels sympathy and adopts the girl and she claimed that her mother was trying to kill her and doesn’t have any related family members. The little girl appears to have a tormented mind-set, she claimed to have an invisible friend and draws a lot of disturbing pictures about horrific killing and extreme violent pictures. One night, the women had a dream that flash back her memories when she was young teenager and was pregnant, she was too scared to do abortion so she gave birth to the child, chocked the child to death and left the child in the public toilet. And now her nightmares are becoming more concern as everything the child said about what her mother did to her was exactly the same thing as what she did. The child appears to be a spirit of the women’s child and came back to torture her for her horrific actions she did in her past.

2. Title: ‘’The Unborn’’

3. Sub-genre: Psychological Thriller

4. Characters: Evil child, female victim

5. Narrative structure: Aristotle & Barthes

6. MES:

- Location: House, park, public toilet.

- Iconography: Blood, Knife, Colour pencils, Papers…

- Costume of characters:

Evil Child: White costume with black eye make-up.

Female Victim: Bright colours clothing.

- Lighting: Low-key lighting, background lighting, top and under lighting.

- Body language of key characters:

Evil Child: small, physically weak, mysterious, and confident.

Female Victim: quite small and short, clueless, innocent, physically wear and vulnerable.

7. Advantages of this idea: Conventional to psychological thriller, the idea of the evil can help to manipulate the audience and create fear and also have clear narrative structure for the viewers to be understood.

8. Disadvantages of this idea: May not have the permissions to for the child to act as the devil character and the child might not know how to act. Might be time consuming because the child might be messing around and not taking filming seriously.



Abdullah Idea
1. Narrative: a couple that cannot conceive a child and they wants to adopt a child. The couple with their bad fortune visit a fortune teller to read their destiny and to see if they can have a child of their own one day or they will have to go ahead with their plan to adopt. The fortune teller is petrified and taken back by the couples impending destiny. The fortune teller warns the couple that there is darkness that will soon to occur. The couple leave unmoved by the fortune teller’s advice.

Title: Restless

Sub-Genre: Psychological Thriller

Characters:
Protagonist(s): Man and Woman (The couple)

Antagonist(s): Killer and Child

Narrative Structure:
Aristotle & Barthes

Mes En Scene

Location: House.

Iconography: Knife and blood

Lighting: Natural lighting


Advantages:This is conventional to the thriller genre because it is set within the home and is quite covenient.

Dis-Advantages: Working with a child can be quite difficult in terms of the acting, and using a knife around the child without them being affected in a certain way. 

Research: Mis en Scene (setting & iconography)

Mise En Scene: Setting and Iconography

What are setting and iconography?

Setting-

Setting is the location the film is set in; the setting can be pretty much anywhere from buildings and towns that you see on a day to day basis, to even countries on a much wider scale.
Setting is a very important because it makes the movie more conventional to its genre and creates numbers of different connotations and denotations.

Typical/ conventional thriller settings are locations such as Run down or derelict houses, warehouses/ factories, Abandoned and desolate locations, Family homes, forests and schools: Settings such as these all carry different connotations and denotations which the audience notice/ pick up on. For example, setting it in a family home would denote that its just a family home, although it may connote that a place usually tied or linked with safety and security is not all trustworthy.
　

Iconography

Iconography are the objects that are used to help carry out or accomplish roles within the film, certain pieces of iconography hold different connotations and denotations that we can physically see or we can infer. For example, a childs doll can denote the innocence of childhood but can hold evil connotations.

　
Settings and Sub-Genre: How are settings dependant on sub-genres?

The Setting is dependent on the sub-genre the movie falls under to make it conventional to the sub-genre and to make it more interesting and help the audience engage in the action taking placem, and to generate tension and suspenseful moments.

Psychological thriller: The setting would normally be in a Run down house, Abandoned warehouse, Basement of a house, School and forests etc... this is because the action taking place is in a smaller and more secluded enviroment and would allow the audience to be drawn into focus on whats happening.

Crime-Thrillers: The setting for this thriller sub-genre would tend to be larger populated. For example, Banks, Towns and Cities etc... this is because there tends to be a bit more action taking place in these settings


Iconography and Sub-Genre: How is iconography dependant on sub-genres?

Iconography is dependant on sub-genre because the sub-genre helps build an understanding of the type of objects that will be seen or used. This also has to do with the fact that

Psychological-Thrillers: the type of iconography used in this sub-genre tends to be quite sinister. for example, Knives, Blunt objects and Power Tools etc... this is because these objects are common everyday objects and arent normally used for the purpose of harming even though they hold the potential to do so.

Crime-Thriller: Things like guns and other form of weaponry are more commonly used in this sub-genre because they are mostly used in commiting crimes such as Bank Robbery, Mass Murder and other larger scale crimes. This ties very well with the genre to give the film life, meaning and create understanding as to why it is a crime-thriller

Conclusion:

In conclusion looking at Setting and Iconography within thrillers has helped me understand what sort of setting and objects I can expect to see in certain sub-genre, and why they may have been used. Also I have learned what sort of setting and iconography I can use within my own thriller film and how it can support the sub-genre it falls under. in planning to do this it will help my thriller be more conventional to also make the narrative effective.

Planning: Production Roles

Production Roles

Director- The director's job is to visually create a work of art. Their role is also to delegate to the other roles, although the role of the director is vital, they also need the help of the other production roles to help carry out their job. I chose to take on the responsibility for this role because I like to take a leadership role when it is called for, Ken is the Assistant/ Co-director; this is because he also is very good at managing or leading a team. I believe the both of us can make the groups idea come true.

Producer- The role of a producer is to make sure that production of the film is carried out smoothly. The producer has the right and responsibilities to make changes to scenes even when the filming has been completed, the producers can ask that additional footage be filmed to alter any parts of the film to help make it better understood. For Our Group, Abdullah has taken on the role of producer, this is becuase he holds a great deal of organisational skills, he also very reliable and trustworthy when carrying out tasks to ensure that the group has all the resources to carry out any jobs that need doing.

Location Manager- The role of the location manager is to search for and obtain suitable locations in which to film in, they will be given a rough Idea of what sort of location(s) they need, to then go and search for them. I have taken on the role of location manager. This is because I am confident with identifying or choosing locations that are suitable to film that also makes sense to our thrillers narrative.

Camera Operator- The camera operator holds the role of operating not only the camera and it's equipment but also has the responsiblity to ensure that foorltage is being filmed. They directly work/ support the work of the Director by carrying out and following their instructions on capturing certain shots to make the final piece. The camera operator also has to ensure that lighting used in each scene or piece of footage filmed does not distort or interrupt the quality of the film. This role has been given to Rex as he was very keen to take on the role and displays very good skills with using camera and has a good knowledge of how to complete certain shots and is flexible with camera movement.

Lighting Operator-  The Role of lighting director is to ensure that every shot that needs light will have the correct type and amount of light to correspond to the type of scene that is taking place, their role is to also ensure that the lighting can create and set an effective mood. They also have to ensure that the lighting does not destort or disrupt any footage. This role was given to Abdullah because he is familiar with the storyboard and understands where certain lighting will be used.


Costume & Make-Up Artist- The Costume & Make-Up artist is responsible for the designing of any costume that is needed to suit each individual character to show and portray what sort of role each of them hold.

Editor- The editor is the person that is in charge of editing scenes within a film to ensure smoothness and comprehension. The editor will work along side other roles such as the  Director, camera operator and the sound technician to make sure scenes are edited correctly without cutting out any vital information important to the film. For our group, Ken is the chosen editor. This is because he has experience of editing and has knowledge of the software that we will use to edit our thriller piece.

Storyboard Manager- The role of the story board manager is to make sure that all the ideas and scenes for the film are drawn in detail before filming. This is to avoid any confusion when setting up a scene and to help the necessary crew know what is to be filmed. This role has been given to Abdullah because he possesses a really good artistic drawing skill to sketch and plan each scene comprehensively.

Sound Technician- The job of the sound technician is to create/ choose the sounds which will be used and to also identify where they will be used. They will work alongside the director and editor to ensure that the correct sound is being used an placed in certain scenes to create an effective atmosphere for the audience. This role has been given to me because I believe that I can create and use effective sound to create tension or build suspense among the audience to get positive feedback.

My Role
I am the director, sound technician and location manager; I have taken on these roles because I believe I hold te necessary ability and skill to effectively do these jobs to work with the other members in my group to make a good thriller opening scene.