Production - Miss Miller

Production

Introduction

People as apart of the production team need specific roles as other wise if all the roles were left to the Director then there would be too much of them to do and it would effect the way the film comes out. The roles that are assigned need to be specific for that person because its no use having the Director of Cinematography being someone who can't use a camera. It is best that there is on person for each specific role because then they can produce what they need to to there best ability for instance being just the Hair and make up designer and co ordinator then they will have there full focus on the design of that and it will look good within our opening sequence. 

Director: Elizabeth Lawrie (Myself)

I volunteered myself for the role of  Director as I enjoy the role of organising everyone and showing people how to do things. I think I was good at this role because when we were filming I had to quickly arrange all the actors into the scenes and made sure that they were in the right place for the frames so that we could get on with them quickly instead of wasting time arguing and make sure chloe was positioned in the right place for filming.

Actors: Amy Durrance , Molly Johnson and James Myers

As a group we decided it would be convenient to ask Amy Durrance to play the role of Gemma (the first victim) as Gemma is depicted as being blonde and coincidently Amy is a blonde, she was happy to take part in our thriller opening sequence, was free on days of filming and attended an expressive arts school so was experienced in acting.

Molly Johnson has been chosen to play the role of Holly (Gemmas friend) as she is a natural brunette who was like amy interested in taking part of our thriller opening sequence, was free on days of filming and also attended an expressive arts school so had experience in acting.

James Myers was cast by the antagonist by our group as he is tall and....

Director of Photography: Chloe Eustace

Chloe volunteered herself for the role of Director of Photography because she had some experience in using cameras and getting a good shots, as do I. However, we decided it would be for the best if Chloe was in charge of the cinematography we didn't want to take on too many large roles per person and I already had volunteered for the role of director therefore its seemed suitable that Chloe take on this role as she has experience with using camera and had not already been given a major role. We decided as a group that it would be best for someone who knows how to use the camera to be in charge of filming as then it will be easier whilst filming because Chloe would know what and when she needs to be doing.  Chloe was very good at organising the shots during filming and managed to get all the shots that we needed for the opening sequence acquired a variety of different angles  for editing. 

Mise-en-scene Co ordinator: Elizabeth Lawrie

We decided as a group that it would be best for myself to be in charge of mise- en-scene as I had already found the location for us to film and I was interested in organising everyone and making sure that costumes and hair are in order.  As a group we decided that it would be best for me to be in charge of this as neither Chloe nor Miranda had any interest in arranging people and getting things for each shot organised. 

Producer: Miranda Simpson

Music Producer: Chloe Eustace

Screen Play Writer: Miranda Simpson

Conclusion

In conclusion we decided on these roles in peoples best interest and roles that would be good for the film, we didn't want to ruin filming so we needed to make sure that each person who had a role could follow through with it other wise it might effect the outcome of our final opening sequence. During filming we took to these roles well and it made it easy then to get the shots that we need because everyone stuck to what they can do well and this caused less arguments or tension whilst filming and editing to produce our final product. We could have changed some roles around because although some people had experience with different roles we found that other people could do that role better anyway. This would have been something that we could have practised a few more times while filming practise so that we could see how people reacted within there roles before we filmed completely. 

Opening Scene Narration - Miss Miller

Opening Scene Narration

Introduction

Our narrative is about two girls on the way to a party, who had were being followed by someone, and they didn't notice, so when they break down on the way to the party the stalker is behind them, (the stalker of which is the main antagonist and has a hidden identity from the audience and the girls, no body knows who this antagonist is as the scenes with him in we will use the camera shot Point of View.) which creates tension for the audience and dramatic irony because the audience know that they are being followed but the characters (girls themselves: Holly is the driver and the story bases around her. Gemma dies in the forest when she walks away from Holly at the car and she gets murdered by the hidden antagonist) are unaware of this. One of the girls gets out of the car and wanders off away from the forest to get signal, and the other girl stays behind and freaks out when she hears her friend get murdered in the forest, the camera will jump back to her and her reaction to this moment. It would be set in an abandoned road by the entrance of the forest where there is no one around and in the middle of the forest.

Narrative

The opening sequence will commence with a panning shot following the car which Gemma is driving down an empty road close to an entrance of a forest. Holly is also in the car, the girls are both on their way to a friends party. The girls will be seen a in an upbeat mood and looking forward to the part as they both sing along to upbeat pop music coming from the car radio. As this  shot comes to an end we begin to hear some strange clunking noises of the car engine and soon after we see it come to a halt as its clear the car has broken down. The camera then jumps to a P.O.V. shot  from the perspective of the antagonist. The antagonist, although not seen, is clearly depicted as a dark character lurking behind the trees, keeping a distance and stalking his/her prey, Gemma and Holly. The antagonist watches the girls as they get out of the car while Gemma has a look to she can find whats wrong with the car. The camera will then zoom out of the P.O.V focusing on the two girls as they talk about how they plan to get home/help as they have no phone reception before Gemma decides to have a look around the area and see if she can find a public  telephone box or anyone to help her. Following this will be a mid-shot of Holly who has been left alone in the car while Gemma goes to seek help. Holly gets impatient and calls out the car door for Gemma to come back before there is a long silence.  Meanwhile Gemma has spotted a house or building of some sort, we see her walk towards the house from the antagonist's perspective and hear the crunching of leaves on the forest ground as the antagonist closely follows. There will then be a close up of Gemma from behind as she knocks on the door, however there is no response only a long silence. This is followed by another P.O.V shot from the antagonists perspective, he/she continues to stalk Gemma, quietly and patiently watching her as she walks away from the dark and empty house. Other than the sound of the crouching of leaves and the heavy breathing from the antagonist this frame is very quiet. Continuing to a P.O.V. shot the camera then focuses on the cold forest ground, in this frame the audience will be able to see their first glimpse of the antagonist, as we see his feet, his pace quickening and the crunching of leaves and hear his heavy breathing worsen as he gets closer and closer. The camera will then shallow focus on Holly as she gets out of the car to see if she can get a better look as to the whereabouts of Gemma. Following this will be yet another P.O.V. shot from the antagonists perspective as he chases Gemma through the dark, damp forest. The film will then jump cut back to Holly sitting silently in the dark car, before she hears a loud scream. Again the camera will quickly jump cut to Gemma. The camera will focus on Gemma as it blurs the background. The surroundings will be silent to exaggerate the sound of Gemma struggling to breathe. We will then jump cut to the antagonist, viewers will be given their first glimpse of the killer as he or she calmly walks away from the scene of the crime before the shot fades to black.

Risk Assessment - Miss Georgiou

Risk Assessment

Introduction

It is important to consider risks before filming as doing so will enable us to take precautions to avoid these hazards. It will assist us during  filming enabling us to be able to to prevent hazards before they become a real danger whilst trying to film. This will make it safer and easier for our group while filming. A risk assessment also ensures and aids us in keeping cast and crew safe while filming. 

We decided on some examples of risks that may become a problem while filming such as the fact that we are filming at night in the dark in the forest so we quickly realised that it will be dark so we are going to need extra sources of light in order to make the thriller work as we know that we need to film in the dark to make it conventional. So from this we spoke about it and realised that we need to bring extra torches and lights. We also considered the weather as it may likely rain, and so it could be a problem but we decided to obviously make sure that we have umbrellas and stuff with us and if it gets to rainy then we may have to come back the following day. We are using a knife when we are filming so we decided that we need to take extra care and make sure that nothing happens. 

Conclusion

In conclusion this risk assessment was very important so that we could discuss what would be useful to prepare for and any event that may happen that could be dangerous or interrupt filming. 

Filming Schedule - Miss Georgiou

Filming Schedule

It is important to have a filming schedule so that everybody involved in the filming of the thriller opening sequence knows when and where they are needed. Also it informs the cast and crew on the order in which the scenes which they will be involved in will take place.

Filming Schedule:

While filming, the group and I, used out filming schedule as a plan of our time. We ran into complications while filming as actors were unable to attend on the day of filming and the car we planned to use we were unable to as it inconveniently broke down therefore we had to improvise the beginning of our thriller opening sequence which we as a group didn't find too challenging. However we did find that the schedule was still very helpful in the aid of positioning the cast and crew and informing them on where they were needed to be, in what order scenes would be filmed, the content of each shot, the shot type, the hair and make up required per shot and the props and equipment used for the frames following those meant to contain the car.

In conclusion, creating a filming schedule was a productive use of our time as is enabled the filming of our thriller opening sequence to be straightforward and time effective which i believe is essential, taking into consideration the complications we ran into while filming.

Group Storyboards - Miss Miller

Group Storyboards

Introduction

The purpose of having a group storyboard is to collectively incorporate ideas from each individual within our group so that we can ensure that our thriller includes everyone in the group's ideas making our narrative the best that it can be. As a group we have combined our individual ideas by taking the best frame ideas from each storyboard and putting them all together  in a final group storyboard to make certain that we have a clear idea in regards to how and when filming should take place. We decided on our group storyboard by looking at each other’s storyboards and picking out the best elements, of which we would include in our final group storyboard. We chose the ideas in each other’s storyboards that stood out and the ones we all liked.

Conclusion

I think our overall group storyboard includes a clear narrative which has elements of my group and I's ideas. The fact that our storyboard includes everyone's ideas will make everyone want to put 100% effort in as everyone has been included therefore making everyone want to contribute, this will make my group communicate well and end up with a good, clear narrative for our thriller.

Research into sound - NEED TO FINISH

Resaerch into cinematography - NEED TO FINISH

Research into Cinematography 

Introduction: 

Cinematography is the different camera shots and camera angles that are used in a thriller film in order to create tension, suspense and excitement to an audience. Camera shots and angles are used because otherwise if the camera was always straight ahead then there would be certain parts of scenes in the film that is not seen or just looked at and there would be no great effect like when the camera focus' and zooms in it creates effects and helps the audience to understand that this is the main character and helps the audience to see what s happening. If there was no camera shots or angles then the scenes would probably loose there effect and it may not draw the audience in.

Chosen Film Scene: Saw 2 - Needle Scene



Technique 1 - Two Shot

Two shots are when there is two people that are established in the shot and featured in the frame. In this scene there is the two characters of whom one is looking at the other and the other is looking down at the floor. A two shot can establish the power that the characters may have such as the front man may have more power over the character behind and can help establish how the protagonist of the film may be. A two shot allows the audience to see two characters and the chemistry between them and get to know the characters a better as there is only two characters and they can see the facial expressions of the characters more clearly and really get to know about them characters and how its relevant to the scene. In this scene these two characters don't really have any chemistry at all as they are both concerned about whats going to happen to the woman in the needle pit. The boy behind actually looks disgusted and the other man is looking down because he doesn't want to see whats happening in the room so he is looking away.  The two shot may help the audience feel for the characters in this seen as they are both probably feeling ashamed and sick at what is happening in the scene. This makes the scene conventional to a thriller because they are in an abandoned room with dark yellow grotty wall that don't give the audience a good feel about the situation they are in and they are the victims of whom are being watched by the 'villan' this creates a 'good guy' - 'bad guy' situation. 

Technique 2 - Panning

Panning is a shot that has the camera to moving back and forth from side to side in sync following the character or characters in what they are doing. In this scene the character is pacing back and forth because in the room they have just found out that they are going to have to hunt for a key within a pit of needles. The character is pacing back and forth around the room because he is scared and panicked. Panning can really give the audience a sense of panic for the character because they are clearly scared that they can't stay still. The audience feel that there is a sense of stress or tension because the camera is following the character so the audience is following the character. This means that panning helps relate to the conventions of a thriller because there is the sense of panic which can create tension for the audience as they don't know whats going to happen next. 

Technique 3 - Zooming In

 Zooming is when the camera moves in on a specific object, in this scene it was the needles in the needle pit that was zoomed in on quickly because they came out of nowhere for the characters and was an unexpected show for the audience.  Zooming in creates importance on the needles because they were unexpected and it then has the audiences focus that this is going to be the main part of this scene and makes the audience wonder what is going to happen next. Zooming in tends to lead to an extreme close up of the image to highlight its importance even more so in the scene, which gives the audience in some cases dramatic irony as sometimes the audience will see an important object before the characters. In this case the audience saw the needles in the pit as the characters were removing the lid.  In this scene the needles are zoomed in on and then a close up of the needles in the pit. The audience then can feel sorry for the characters because they automatically get the sense that these are a weapon and show them that something bad may happen in relation to whats happening in this scene. This is conventional to a thriller film because the needles are essentially weapons and this then makes the audience feel tense as they now know that something bad is going to happen. 

Technique 4 - Shallow Focus

                                                         
The technique of shallow focus is used to show the main subject in full focus this of which can be an object that is important or a main character that is going to speak and needs to be focused on. In this case the man at the front of the shot and the rest of the shot is blurry including the woman that is just behind him (the background). This is done so that it highlights the man, and so that he is in full focus in order for the audience to know that he has been highlighted and that he is important and what he is doing in the scene. The shallow focus also helps the audience to get to know the character on a bit more of a personal view by seeing his facial expressions and body language much more clearly. The background is blurry and makes the audience attention be brought forward to the man. This makes the audience feel the way that the character is feeling and they know that from his body language that if he is tense about whats going to happen next they should feel sorry or be concerned of whats going to happen next as well. This is conventional to a thriller as there is the tension and suspicion of what is going to happen next and grips the audience with the setting and the characters. 

Technique 5 - Mid Shot

Mid shots are where the camera frames the character from the waist upwards. Meaning that the audience gets a good look at the body, costume and the way that they are positioned. This can help the audience to understand the character and what may possibly be wrong in the scene. This can really show the audience the facial expressions of the character and can help them to relate to the emotion in the scene at that given moment. In this scene the man is shot from the waist up showing his surprise at what he is seeing in this instance it is the exact moment where the lid is removed from over the pit and the needles can be seen. Whilst this moment was shocking for the audience because they didn't expect it, it was also shocking for its character which can be seen by the camera shot. By the audience seeing that that character is surprised it can make them feel the same feeling and help the audience to connect to the character. This relates and has conventions of a thriller because there is shock and suspense.

Conclusion 

In conclusion there are a number of different camera positions and techniques that can be used but the main one however is the use of Handheld which I a most likely to use within my thriller because it creates the sense of drama and urgency because the camera is literally following along with the characters and when they move. There are a number of camera angles and shots that I would use within my thriller sequence in order to create suspense,and shock which is conventional to a thriller. Some that I would consider using include panning as this is the camera following the characters and usually the protagonist, which creates effect for the audience that what they are doing is important. As well as zooming in because this creates the Suspence of this character is important you need to look at there facial expressions and what is going on and the fact that they are important.