Filming Schedule - Miss Georgiou

Introduction:
Filming schedule is important to have as it makes the group understand more about what we have done and how we done it; it's important to have a filming schedule as it makes it clearer when each blog was due and it organises our work; with a clearer idea of when we did them. It's like a storyboard however it is more in detail of the times we would be doing each frame(scene). By nothing down everything we would need to create a successful opening sequence it is key to have all everything organised. The filming schedule makes us have a better idea of what times would be appropriate to film.

When we began filming we followed the schedule as it made us as a group more organised and made us have a clearer idea of what we needed to do to make the filming not stressful and confusing. With the Filming schedule it gave us a the mindset of what needs to be done and where it should be done by, by setting deadlines of each filming session; it gives us more time to develop on what we have already filmed by editing it. When we discussed our group storyboard we discussed that their would be a shot of an abandoned house- this house is now and abandoned house in Buchurst Hill. Also with this first frame we discussed and decided that it would be a long shot however now it's an establishing shot to begin the sequence, as this is more effective and creates a sense of sinister more to the audience.

By having the filming schedule it's made my group and myself, understand that with this schedule we need to follow step by step to ensure that it's a successful sequence; if we didn't go through with planning the whole ideas of the schedule then it would be confusing to everyone in the group as to when we would need to film our sequence. Moreover the whole idea of this is also to ensure that everyone has a copy of what is going to happen, so nobody in the group gets confused or doesn't know what needs to be filmed when or what iconography will be included in certain days for filming. It's to get every member prepared for the process of the upcoming filming.

When we began filming we followed our filming schedule as it made the group and myself more organised as to what we would need to include. However we made changes when filming such as not using the accurate sounds that we discussed in our schedule. However the outfits are slightly different as we mentioned that the victim should wear black leggings however didn't follow through with this idea; also the victims make-up wasn't natural and didn't look innocent whatsoever, the character for the victim only was conventional as her gender and overall appearance besides her involvement in costume and hair and make up; The victims costume was only a white blouse which wouldn't be necessarily conventional as it doesn't really portray innocence; to improve this it would be more conventional to add in the filming schedule that we are going to use a white floaty dress or top as that is more of a purer look.  The role of the filming schedule makes the whole group have a better understand of what we would need to do once we begin filming.

Opening Scene Narration - Miss Miller

My final ideas came from putting all of our ideas together; with our individual storyboards we managed to make our own ideas on how we would picture our thriller sequence. We then done a group narrative which we then discussed all of individual ideas, this makes our group storyboard more effective as it has different ideas from each member in the group.  We discussed in detail what would be better to use and what we would need to include, for example when we was discussing all of our ideas I mentioned on having our first scene of the storyboard based on the setting of the sequence as it would create an enigma to the audience throughout because the setting is in the middle of nowhere which would look eery and very sinister to the audience.

The start of the the storyboard is showing the setting of the scene, the camera shot being used is a long shot this is to show the audience in detail what the setting is and what is in the setting in full detail, The location of the first frame is a isolated wooded area this is to create an enigma through out the rest of the sequence. In this frame there is no iconography as it's not needed in the frame, due to it just being a shot of the location. The lighting in this storyboard is low-key; it's low-key as it's creating a sense of sinister straight away in the scene; which is conventional to the thriller genre, by using the low-key lighting it shows the audience that something bad is possibly going to happen. The sound is non-diegetic as it's creating tension for the audience not the characters in the sequence; the sound is a low rumble noise as this specific sound builds up suspense. Lastly the editing of the sequence is Linking of section this is to show the audience that the next frame upcoming links with the first frame to create an effect on the audience.In our second frame there is an extreme long shot, this is to creating even more tension to the audience as it's showing you how derelict and isolated the house is. The location again is an isolated wooded area, as it's creating an enigma to the audience, there is no iconography in the sequence as it's not needed. The sound is non-diegetic with again a low rumble noise, which is continuing from the previous frame. The editing in this frame is also Linking of section as it's showing the audience that straight away it's being linked with the next frame to again create an effect and sense of fear to the audience.With frame number 3 there is a point of view shot of someone tied up; this shows the audience that the character would be a victim as there is someone tied up and a point of view shot shows the audience that they're trying to be put into this particular characters place, which is normally used within a thriller when a victim is being exposed. The location is in a derelict basement this is to show the audience that there's no one in the location but the victim which is scary to the victim and makes the audience feel sorry for her. The iconography being used is a rope, this is one of the key elements throughout all of the frames in the storyboard as it signifies the victims incapability to escape from this disaster she is in. The lighting in this particular frame is low-key as it builds up tension and a sense of mystery, this is conventional which is why it's being used in this frame. Non-diegetic sound is used, but this time it;s a low rumble sound but gradually getting louder to build up more tension for the audience. A jump cut is used, to jump from one specific frame to the next to add a sense of shock to the audience.Next frame is showing the audience the victims identity and facial expressions with a close up shot, this is to show the audience the characters detailing in her face and what she is feeling at that very moment, The location is in the basement as it's creating a sense of fear and horror, due to it being isolated and due to the victim being alone. Only the victim is included in this frame as it's just going to be focused on her at that very moment.Frame 5 is a close up of the knife (weapon) this is to show the audience what weapon is the key element in the film; this is to scare the audience and make them think as to why there is a knife which creates an enigma. The location is in the basement as it's eery. The lighting is low-key. The sound is non-diegetic as it's creating an effect on only the audience. The editing is the Kushelov effect. The victim looks around and this is when she sees the blood covered knife. Frame number 6 is a mid shot of victim no.2 laying on the floor dead. When she turns around she sees that the body has blood on and comes to her senses that the body is in fact dead. There is non-diegetic sound as it's creating an effect on only the audience. And again is a kushelov effect. Frame number 7 is a long shot of the two victims in the basement. The lighting is low-key and again there is non-diegetic sound; The shot shows the victim alone in the room with the knife and the dead body(victim no.2).Frame number 8 is a point of view shot from the victims perspective, which is set in the basement and there is low-key lighting. There is no sound at this moment of the sequence as it's trying to engage the audience on seeing her break from the rope that was tied on her hands. The editing was a jump cut to create a sudden effect on the audience. Frame number 9 is a long shot/ zooming in effect. This is in the basement and the lighting is low-key. This time the only actor in this frame is the antagonist; the sound is parallel. The victim suddenly sees a shadow figure in the mirror and begins to panic but all attention is on the shadow figure potentially the killer (antagonist). Frame number 10 is of the victim making her way towards the mirror with a zooming in shot; the location is in the basement which creates a sense of suspense and eeriness. The sound again is parallel, the editing is slow editing to create an effect on the audience, such as suspense. Frame number 11, is a point of view shot from the victims perspective and is still in the basement. The iconography used in this is a smashed picture frame. The lighting is low key as it's trying to create a sense of foreboding atmosphere. The sound is diegetic and the editing is linking of shots. Which then triggers her memory of how this all started. Frame number 12, it a point of view shot of herself on Facebook in her bedroom. She's typing away on her laptop which is the iconography in this frame and the sound is diegetic and the editing is linking of shots. Frame 13 is an extreme close-up of the video on Facebook. This is set in her bedroom and the iconography involved is just the laptop with low-key lighting to create tension. The sound in this frame is diegetic sound of the video playing; then a jump cut to the next part in the sequence to create a sudden effect. Frame 14 is a point of view shot if the broken phone on the floor in the basement; the iconography is the smashed phone, with low-key lighting. The sound in this is a diegetic sound of shattered glass. The editing is linking of shots. Frame 15 is an extreme close-up, in the victims bedroom and the extreme close-up is a flashback of all the messages; the editing is again linking of shots. Frame 16 is a picture of a victim, the camera shot used is a shallow focus. This happens in the basement. The lighting is low-key with a non-diegtic sound. The editing involved is a jump cut again to create a sudden effect. This is when she sees a targeted photo of herself and begins to panic. Frame 17 is a shallow focus in an abandoned room; the iconography is a picture frame, with low-key lighting. the sound is non-diegetic and the editing is a jump cut again. this is when the vicim also sees a targeted photo of the dead person she saw previously. Frame 18 is a mid shot in the abandoned room; with low-key lighting and high pitch suspenseful music; the editing in this is a reaction shot; the reaction shot is of the girls face after she sees this targeted photo. Frame 19 is a mid-shot in the basement; non-diegetic sound is used with slow editing; she then becomes closer to the mirror. Lastly there is a shot of the victim and their is complete silence, theres a mid shot; the iconography involved in this is a mirror and a knife. Their is low key lighting as she sees the bloody knife in the mirror.

The mise-en-scene in the storyboard is conventional to the thriller genre as it creates sinister. For example the iconography in the storyboard are one of the key elements in the sequence as it represents the thriller genre conventionally, it does this as one of the iconography is the main weapon which is a knife; the knife is the Killers iconography which relates to his character role of being violent and domestic, due to him looking threatening with a knife.

In our narrative it starts of with the setting of the film then theres slow editing straight into the start of the storyboard, when the victim is tied up and there is an over the shoulder shot of the victim; this is to put the audience in the victims shoes and makes us build more of a relationship with the character as we're seeing what the victim is.

Risk Assesment- Miss Georgiou

Introduction:
The purpose of a risk assessment is for all the group members in a group to know all the hazards that could potentially happen, when planning out what risks could possibly happen it makes my group and myself could look out for. It's also key because when we're filming we can prevent ways of certain risks occurring. It's important to include discuss this before filming as it's highlighting all the possibilities that could happen when filming, it makes the group more aware as to what could happen and makes the risks less likely to happen as your being more careful.

Risk Assessments are carried out before any filming is started, it's important to ensure that the whole group are aware of what could potentially happen when we begin filming. Risk assessment is identifying all the risks, discussing the potential risks that can occur and then analyse how we would avoid these risks.

As a group we spoke about what we would do to increase the risks that could possibly happen, As a group we discussed all the risks we had, and we were aware of all the possible hazards and if something did happen we had a back-up plan, so we would know how to fix what went wrong. We knew how to be careful with what we are doing and what we should do to fix our faults. Also to ensure that the risks are highlighted and made obvious to each group member. When we was managing the equipment, we followed our risk assessment discussed what we should and shouldn't use to decrease the possible risks that could occur when filming. We all understand the risks and would could potentially happen which is why we have made a decision to use the safest of equipment.

When filming we didn't encounter any risks as they were avoided as we wrote down the risks and followed what to possibly avoid that may occur. We ensured that all risks were avoided, due to every member in the group being aware of what was happening around them. The role of a risk assessment is to ensure that all risks are avoided and it made every member in the group have a better understanding of what not to do when we began filming. When we was filming we ensured that all group members had suitable footwear on, this was to make sure that everyone involved didn't step in glass, due to the scene where there is broken glass and we avoided going on the grass as it had been raining a lot which would of made it slippery and a hazard to everyones safety. To ensure that everyone was aware of what is going on around them we followed our risk assessment on what not to do, Every time we was filming we made sure that the camera was fully charged as we didn't want to have a camera wire in the way; which could cause one of our group members to trip and injure themselves.

Group Storyboard - Miss Miller

Introduction:
Group storyboards are to initiate everyone's individual ideas and combine them all together to create a final successful storyboard, with a group storyboard it has a piece of everyone's individuality which shows the audience a different range of ideas. By having a group storyboard it makes everyone in the group involved as it's including everyone's ideas, Some members of the group may have more effective ideas compared to other members in the group which is what we would discuss with each other.

From all of our individual storyboards we selected elements which we thought would work well from each of our own ideas, however the beginning of out storyboard starts with the setting as it creates an enigma throughout the rest of the film; even though this wasn't apart of anyone's Idea on individual storyboard, I mentioned that we should add this at the start due to the reason of it creating an enigma which is conventional to the thriller genre. Even though all of our group adding in the flashback which will happen in the sequence, Sasha's idea was more effective as to how it will be triggered, the leading up to it, is more effective due to their being a lot of suspense and focusing on certain iconography in the sequence that may trigger it.

Luca's idea however started with an over the shoulder shot of the victim where she wakes up tied together with a rope; instantly this triggers a sense of fear towards the audience as well as the victim due to the over shoulder shot as this makes the audience feel more involved and build more of a relationship with the victim, as your placed in her position and experiencing everything the victim is.

In another part of our group storyboard we used Sasha's idea when there's a close up of the hands tied together with a rope; this clearly highlights the specific iconography being used as it makes the audience wonder why she's tied and they can clearly see what the victim is tied up with, it creates a relationship with the audience as it makes the audience worry for the victim as she's tied up; rope is known to be very strong and hard to get out of, by highlighting the specific iconography it shows the audience that it's the main element in this part of the scene.

In another one of our ideas that we discussed and compromised on was a picture of someone with a cross on it; this is from both Sasha's and John's idea, this is conventional to the thriller genre as it's revealing an identity of someone who's unknown to the victim; this is creating a sense of foreboding atmosphere as it's introducing another victim through a picture who has been crossed out, so it shows that, that victim is dead and the main victim now could be next.

From my idea we used the idea of a reaction shot straight after seeing the messages from the anonymous person; this showed the audience the victims feelings towards the messages and how sad she is, this is conventional to the thriller genre as it's using shock to create an effect on the audience; this makes the audience build a relationship with the victim as you begin to understand how the victim is feeling.


In conclusion the group storyboard made us a group come together and discuss our own individual ideas, which made our group storyboard effective and a piece of each of our members own ideas. With the group storyboard it made my group and myself have a clearer understanding of how to set out our opening sequence and what micro-elements we need to include to make it a successful thriller opening sequence. By putting all of our ideas together it made our sequence a lot more conventional and sinister as there is different thriller elements included.

Planning Opening Credits- Miss Georgiou

Introduction:
Opening credits are to introduce the narrative of a film; in some films the beginning of the film is added to make the audience understand what is going to happen in the film; it shows us what genre it is going to be; It will show the audience this by the design of the Credits for example for a thriller film the credits would normally be Bold with red or black writing, Red will show the audience that blood is going to be involved which will then make the audience realise that death will also be involved. The opening credits will make the audience see information on the film and about the characters, due to the way their name of the opening credits appear to be. The production team shows the audience what the genre of the film is going to be for instance if the production film was going to be PIXAR it will show the audience that the film is going to be a Disney film.

When watching the opening credits for the film Seven; there was Jumpy credits this was presented by using a flickering effect of each credit; this is conventional to the thriller genre as it will make the audience see that the film will be jumpy. Throughout the opening credits their is tension building music such as loud thudding to scare the audience and drums; these sounds will be associated with a loud heart beat thud, which will create a relationship with the audience as it makes them wonder what will happen in the upcoming sequence. The colours of the opening sequence match the convention as there's one killer that kills the people, the white represents the innocence and the black represents the evil in the opening credits. Within the opening credits their are hints of red- which will be associated with danger,pain,blood. This again shows the audience that something bad is going to happen. Throughout the opening credits there's pictures of the victims; hiding their identity, this creates an enigma as you don't fully know who the victims are. Within this you can see certain iconography such as a weapon of a blade which shows the audience that this could be one of the key iconography that could create the murders in the film. Not only does the opening credits make it easier for the audience to understand but it shows the audience who the Director is; this makes the audience understand what the film is going to be like. The credits of the film starts of with the production of the film; the production team; the actors; the producers and finally the director.

Within my opening credits; I had a black layout for the background which represents death that will happen in the film, also it will associate with misery which is relevant within my sequence as the girl is going through an emotional dilemma such as bullying and being belittled. The font of my credits are red which will show the audience that blood and pain is going to be involved, the credits for my film title and the film production slowly slide past each other which creates tension for the audience as the attention is focused on the film title which has hints as to what the film is going to include. With this I ensured that I followed the conventions of a thriller as the font colours are the main colours used in a thriller sequence opening credits. However even though my font is white, I would change it to red as white isn't that conventional to the thriller genre. With my credits they would slide past each other slowly, to build up tension to the audience, then when both of the credits meet they would pause to show the audience what the credits are saying. The credits movement all together is going to be slow as I'm trying to build up tension through my credits.  I have chosen the film title as ' The untold events' as it creates a mystery as to what the untold events could possibly be, the film title alone creates an enigma as your unaware as to what the credits actually mean. Then the production of the film is a known production 'New lines Cinema'.

Johns opening credits however is conventional as the font is used for the production, johns idea is also very unique but may be seen as cliché as it has the obvious colours and font which is normally used in other thriller opening credits but the way he's done it, is like he's own original version which is why it would be seen as unique. The opening credits is effective as it looks like blood dripping down the credits which is very conventional to the thriller convention. His background is white which will make the font of the credits stand out more as it stands out; due to the red colour. However even though this is a conventional idea it doesn't create a dark foreboding atmosphere and doesn't seem very sinister.

Sasha's opening credits is based on the idea of the film seven it has the same similarities such as the way it's set out; its sharp and in your face which catches the audience attention, this could associate with the iconography of a knife as it's sharp which is conventional as a knife is a key element in a thriller. The colours is a mixture of black and white which could resemble the good from the evil; in this case the antagonist from the protagonist; so the killer and victim. However the only weakness from Sasha's idea is that it looks very basic so doesn't really have much sinister involved, to improve it there could be more darker colours to resemble the death that is going to happen. We have chosen Sasha's idea as it would create an effect on the audience as it portrays essential elements that would be seen as conventional for the opening credits. The text of this is what you would normally see for a thriller opening sequence for the credits; which shows it's conventional but may be seen a cliche. However this is why it works due to it being a very conventional text.

Luca's idea is a unique style for the font and the title for the production company. Luca used the font from the film Friday the 13th which is found on a text website we all used, Luca used this as it had already been used in this film and was very successful and created a atmosphere of tension. Luca's idea is very in your face, which is similar to Sasha's but has a bit more sinister in it due to the Friday the 13th font. It also has some resemblance to John's as it has blood dripping also, which is conventional, Luca's weaknesses is that it may be too much as there's too much going on, there's not much to focus on. It could also be seen as bland as there is two dark colours, it's not unique either as the font is used from a different thriller film.

Overall with this planning I think that Sasha's idea is the most conventional as it catches the audiences eye straight away as it's straight away in your face with the sharp text; even though their is not much sinister involved the text draws that away by having an effective font for it. It also shows the audience what could possibly happen in the thriller sequence as it's separating the protagonist from the antagonist due to the use of colours being portrayed in the credits.

Individual Storyboard- Miss Miller

During the process of making any film, it's easier to have a plan of what you want to do in your sequence ; not only does it help you have a clearer idea of how you will set out your sequence but it gives you a clearer view on what you would need to include in these particular parts of the sequence such as Sound, Editing, Iconography and a brief description of the Narrative. It gives you a clearer understanding of how you imagine your sequence to be. It gives the group overall different opinion's as to what you would need to add, different ideas from your own individual storyboard and will give the overall group storyboard different elements that are your own ideas.

My storyboard starts of with an over the shoulder shot of the victim overlooking a dead body in front of her in the isolated house. The iconography in this is a rope and the weapon which is a knife just laying on the floor, which creates an enigma for the audience. Going over my storyboard I  think it would've been a better idea to do an establishing shot of the setting which will show the audience that it's in the middle of no where and will create an enigma throughout, this would be very conventional throughout.



My sound in my storyboard the lighting is the same in the first four frames as it's trying to create tension straight away in the beginning of my sequence. The Low key lighting is showing the audience that something bad is going to happen, which would create an enigma to the audience as they don't know what is going to happen yet. The camera shots in my individual storyboard in frame 7 is a reaction shot of the victim this is to show the audience how the victim is feeling, this camera shot builds a relationship with the audience as your experiencing what the victim is which makes the audience feel sympathetic for the victim. In frame 14 in my individual storyboard there is an over the shoulder shot of the victim on her laptop this is to put the audience in the victims shoes and experience what the victim is experiencing, this builds a relationship with the audience as your feeling what the victim is feeling.  The extreme close-up in frame 12 is of the victim, this is to show the victims facial expression in clear detail and makes you feel sympathetic towards the victim, which the audience the grow a relationship with the victim as you can see gig emotional the victim is.

Creating individual storyboards within my group is to create different ideas that we may all have different ideas that we can add in our group storyboard. Individual storyboard is your own ideas on how you want your sequence to go; With the whole group having individual storyboards it means having everyone's ideas which will be a piece of everyone's own idea. Within my individual storyboard there's elements such as Editing in one of my editing ideas is a reaction shot; this shot is to show the victims reaction to what is going on which will engage the audience more as you understand how the victim is feeling and shows us their emotions which will make the audience grow a relationship with the victim. Moreover I also used slow editing; this is to slow down one part of the scene to another, which will create suspension due to everything slowing down it makes the audience feel intrigued as to what is going to happen after this particular editing. I took these two particular inspirations from different Thriller films such as Misery and from my previous post the film Cabin in the woods, I used this inspiration as it created an effect on me when I watched the sequence; which is what I want to do to the audience watching mine.


The cinematography in my storyboard has an over the shoulder shot this is to make the audience feel like they are in the characters shoes. By doing this it makes the audience feel like they are apart of the scene; which makes it more suspenseful for the audience. An over the shoulder shot is to put the audience in the characters shoes, an over the shoulder shot is normally used when the victim is going to experience something, this helps the audience build a relationship with the victim and go through what she is going through. This is the most significant as it includes the audience more.


The mise-en-scene that I have included is low key lighting the low key lighting, low key lighting is they key element used in a thriller film as it highlights the vulnerability which is about to happen to the victim. Within the first shot of my thriller film we are going to use low-key lighting as its relevant in this particular shot, as it's highlighting the victims vulnerability. The shots after the first shot all use low-key lighting as each time it's highlighting something key in the shots.


The sound used in  frame number 3 in my storyboard is non diegetic tense music as it helps engage the audience also makes the audience wonder what is going to happen next; non-diegetic sound helps the audience feel like their more included within the scene. By having non-diegetic tense music it makes the audience feel more tense and uneasy, which is how we want our audience to feel. In one of the thriller films we have previously watched was 'Psycho' and within this film there is a well known scene, which is the shower scene, where there is non-diegetic music, which is now a popular sound that is known to the film 'Psycho'.


The editing within my storyboard in the last frame is fast pace editing this is used as it's showing the audience how fast her life is going by, by using the fast pace editing is speeds everything up showing the audience that she is running out of time, which makes the audience feel more tense.





My storyboard overall has a clear planning on how my thriller sequence is going to go; the elements link with each of the drawings in the scene; With the clear understanding of what is happening in my storyboard it gives the rest of the group better understanding of what they would want to include from my storyboard. My storyboard has a short but detailed narrative description which links perfectly with the next scene of the storyboard, The only weakness within my storyboard is that the editing techniques should be different but most of mine is the same.

Planning Sound - Miss Miller

Sound is one of the most important elements in a thriller film, in order to have a successful thriller film, sound elements need to be planned out specifically because it needs to fit in well with the thriller sequence. Sound in thriller films is used to create different types of mood in a thriller, in most thriller films sound is used when something is going to happen, or would need to create suspense or tension. Soundtracks (music) is used to help tell a story to the audience, if there is tense music it would show the audience that something bad is going to happen, when tension is building up it would make it clearer to the audience that the narrative is going to be conventional. Specific music (dialogue) helps tell the story to the audience. Sound in thriller films is used to evoke the characters feelings and emotions, which could symbolise the characters movements.

One of my first sounds I will be using is silence this sound will be used when the victim sees the killer it will have the audience wondering why everything has suddenly gone quiet and will make the audience feel more engaged as to what is going to happen next.This will create a sudden effect on the audience as it would go from loud effective soundtracks to nothing at all. This specific sound will show the audience that the victim is scared as she has nothing to say and the atmosphere has died down to concentrate on the two characters (victim&killer) this sound will create an effect as it's revealing to the audience who the killer is and is allowing the audience to take in who the killer is without anything else going on in the background. All attention will be focused on the killer and the victim which is the most important part in a thriller as it's making the audience feel uneasy as to what is going to happen now the victim has seen the killer. This is conventional to the genre as it creates an enigma as to why silence is being used; when you hear silence in  a thriller you automatically think that something bad is eventually going to happen which will create a sense of shock and suspension to the thriller genre.

I will be using a diegetic sound within my opening sequence when the young girl steps on the broken glass (picture frame) this picture frame contains a picture of a group of girls, this creates a sinister theme. The sound of broken glass doesn't just frighten the audience but also the character in the sequence, the diegetic sound will create a sudden effect on the audience as you weren't expecting the young girl to step on broken glass, when this happens there is already tension being built up so when the girl steps on the broken glass it causes a fright for the character and the audience. This is conventional as it creates a sense of fear to both the audience and the character as I mentioned before; by doing this it engages the audience and also builds a relationship with them as they begin to feel the fear that the character is feeling, just by using this specific sound.

Non-diegetic sound will be used during the flashbacks, music will be played over them as it will create suspense. The music which will be played will be spooky low pitch music; this will make the audience feel more engaged to the event that is happening as it makes them feel more intrigued as to why the music is playing only to the audience, this is to create an effect on just the audience. When the flashbacks are happening it tells a story of the victims past and how she got where she is now. With the non-diegetic sound it will help elaborate on the story. The audience will begin to build a relationship with the victim as you begin to see that she's been bullied and the non-diegetic sound is showing us that something bad and horrible has happened during these flashbacks. The non-diegtic music is conventional as it's building a relationship with the audience by creating fear to them, and showing them that the flashback isn't going to be a positive flashback.

Lastly sound bridge will be used, the sound will be low music this will create an eerie atmosphere, which is conventional to thriller genre;this will be used when it first shows the isolation of the house and the girl with her hands tied up straight after this shot is shown; this will create a foreboding atmosphere as it's making the audience see the setting in clear detail but it's making it suspenseful and tense with the sound bridge sound. The audience will begin to understand that something bad will happen in the isolated house, this is conventional to the thriller genre as it makes the audience feel more involved with the eerie atmosphere that the characters are experiencing which also builds a relationship with them.

Overall this planning has helped me develop ideas for my thriller opening as it's showing the audience different moods that can be created. This blog has made it easier for my group and myself to  elaborate on the sounds we have chosen and where to use them, by having a clear plan on what sounds we want in our thriller it makes our sequence more organised and successful as it would be clearly planned out.

Planning Characters - Miss Miller

Characters in a thriller narrative are important as they give the audience a better idea of what is going on in the thriller sequence; having different characters helps express the characters individual storyline as to why they are needed in a thriller narrative, each character tells a personal story through their role. Within thrillers, the key characters are always the victim who is preferably a girl and a killer who has a hidden identity to create an enigma throughout. Within my groups who I'm making my thriller sequence with; we discussed the possibilities as to what we could make our characters out to be and how they should be dressed, and what their overall appearance would be like; within this planning it made me realise that characters in a thriller sequence is one of the key elements to have, especially when it comes to their backgrounds.

My thriller sequence there will be a victim; This character is a young girl who is vulnerable and in complete distress over something she has seen on the Internet; she has been getting cyber bullied and causes her complete distress as she doesn't know who's saying all of these mean things to her. The victim is a young girl as it makes the audience feel more sympathetic towards the character; Within every thriller film there is most likely going to be a girl as girls are seen as more vulnerable and weak compare to boys. The age of the victim is 17, which is young; The character is around this age as it makes the audience feel empathy due to the fact she's young and clueless as to what is going to happen to her; if the young girl was going to die it would be upsetting and a shock to the audience as she had her whole life ahead of her, the audience would begin to form a bond with the young girl as you want her to stay alive. The victim would be wearing a white costume throughout this is to show the victims innocence and purity, which is stereotypical in a thriller convention.The victim is small and innocent, she has brown/blonde hair, the victim is a typical teenager who uses social media. The idea of the victims character role gives the audience a better idea of what the role is and would also show the audience that she is an easy target and will end up being killed by the antagonist. The fact that the victim is a normal teenage girl, who goes to school etc. Makes the audience relate better to the character as she's just an everyday teenager. The picture above is taken from the film Friday the 13th; this young girl is a victim of the killer whom is behind. The young girl is also blonde which mine would be as well, this shows me that the idea of having a blonde girl as a victim seems to be the more popular option as blonde girls are clearly seen as the more pure and innocent type compare to brunettes or other.

Also in my thriller opening sequence their will be the Killer who is the antagonist they will be portrayed very negatively to the audience, so the audience are aware that this character is the bad one on the sequence. The character would be dressed in all black which will show and portray evil and misery; due to black being a dull and miserable colour, this colour could also resemble back to death, as the killer is wearing the colour black it shows the audience that whenever the killer arrives death is about to happen; or some sort of misery/trouble. The killer would be broadly built to show the dominance and the power within the body language being shown through the characters representation of themselves. The antagonist in my thriller sequence will also be wearing a black mask which will resemble to death and violence, it will make it easy to the audience to understand who is the killer who will be played by an antagonist in my sequence. The killers identity is hidden throughout the sequence with the black mask as it creates an enigma throughout which will make the audience feel uneasy throughout, this is conventional to thriller convention as it makes the audience more engaged as to what will happen next. The Killer is a man as it's conventional for a man to be seen as the killer, the reason why my killer in my thriller sequence isn't young is because it isn't conventional to the thriller convention as it wouldn't be as scary for the audience to watch; In the film Halloween it isn't conventional to the thriller genre as the killer turned out to be a young child, which created a shock however didn't scare the audience; Even though my idea is cliché as all thriller films normally have an older male as the killer, it still creates tension on the audience, as males are much more dominant. The audience would also build a relationship from the killer as they would feel intimated and also threatened by the killers intentions throughout the sequence. With the picture above it is an example of my antagonist; the man in the picture is the main killer in this film, who also has a mask on to hide his identity and make it scarier to the audience as he's not revealing his true identity; This built a relationship with the audience as it created suspension and surprise, due to him not revealing his identity and to him revealing his identity to the audience and the family who are all in fact victims of his 'purge', This idea has influenced me on using a mask to hide the killers identity as it built tension and suspense when I watched the film myself.

My characters will be wearing costumes that is conventional to the thriller genre; for instance the female victim would be dressed in all white, this is to show the victims purity and innocence; by having my victim wearing all white it would be seen as cliche but is what people would except to see when watching a victim in a thriller film. The killer will be dressed in all black, this would be to show the killers possible hatred towards the victim; the hatred would be unknown which would be conventional as it would be seen as an enigma; by having my killer in all black it makes the killer be seen as having a hatred towards someone because the colour is seen as a resentful and deathly colour, this could be seen as a negative outlook on the killer. These two are the two main characters in my thriller genre and both of the characters are seen as conventional.

In conclusion the idea of having a clear idea and planning for the characters I will be adding to my thriller sequence has made it better to understand where I will be using each character and also when I would need to add each character to create suspense. In a thriller genre you need both a victim and a killer these two characters are key to have in a thriller sequence as they are both conventional to include; both of the characters create tension throughout. Having characters is key also as it enables the audience to build a relationship with them and feel more included into the thriller, the way the characters are represented gives the audience a clearer idea of how the film/ sequence is going to go. My characters are conventional to the thriller genre and this will further help me develop my creation of my thriller sequence as it's making the narrative more understanding on how to develop our characters as well as our sequence.

This is one of our characters before the filming of the sequence; from this you can tell that the role of John being a killer in our thriller sequence is conventional as he's a male who has conventional characteristics of a thriller film.

Planning Mise-en-scene - Miss Georgiou

Introduction:

Mise-en-scene in thriller opening is one of the key conventions that make a successful thriller sequence, mise-en-scene include Setting and Iconography ,Costumes, Lighting, Positioning and lastly Facial expressions and body language. These elements are all important to include in a thriller film because they all have their own way in leaving an effect on the audience, which makes each of them unique in their own way, these elements create an effect and clearer understanding on what is going to happen in the thriller opening, they allow the audience to have a connection as the mise-en-scene tells the audience a lot about their character.

Facial expressions will be shown to the audience when the victim is scared, it will show the audience that the victim is shocked and worried and will have the audience feeling sympathetic towards the victim, without the facial expressions being shown and expressed with detail to the audience, the audience wouldn't be able to tell whether the victim is scared or not. The antagonist expressions however is more of the opposite of the victims; The protagonists face would be focused which will show the audience that the killer is determined to kill and to be a conventional killer in a thriller genre. This will make the audience have a clearer understanding of each of the characters roles. Body Language is related in with the facial expressions; The victim in my thriller opening sequence will have a hunched over closed in body posture this will show the audience that the victim is weak and vulnerable as her body posture is closed up. The antagonist body posture is relaxed and comfortable this will show the audience that the antagonist isn't the one who's scared, also shows the audience the protagonist has the power in the sequence. These two elements help explain my narrative as it will show the audience the characters personality through body language and facial expressions. Within my discussion as to what I will be using for my characters it is conventional due to the victim and protagonist being portrayed in a specific way that will be conventional in a thriller opening sequence.

Lighting in my opening sequence will be conventiona as I will include low-key lighting when the victim wakes up and sees a dead body laying next to her this will set a sense of foreboding atmosphere as low key lighting in a thriller shows the audience that something bad will eventually happen such as a murder or a revealing of a killer. When the victim is walking up towards the curtain there will be a backlight being used such as a lamp this will help create a sense of suspense as it's unknown to the audience why there is only a back light being used in this specific part of the sequence it creates a sense of mystery, this is conventional as it's creating an enigma to the audience, as they don't know what's going to happen next or what my group and I are going to create due to the tension of these specific lighting. Colour will be used in my sequence also, such as the shadows; this will be used when the victim sees a object in the curtain this will create tension to the audience as they are unaware as to what is behind the curtain, when shadows are used it makes the audience wary as they don't know who else is being involved in the sequence, a shadow is conventional as it's creating an enigma to the audience such as the unknowingness of who is behind the curtain. I would also include the colours red and black. I will use the colour red as it's associated with blood and blood will be shown at the very start of my opening sequence when the victim sees the blood on her and on the dead body behind her. Black will be used to signify the power and misery of the antagonist this will portray the coldness and disturbance of the character.

 

The costumes within my opening sequence will help the audience understand the characters role more as the victim will be dressed in a white dress this will show the audience the victims innocence and purity this relates to my narrative as the victim is stuck in a building and she has no recognition of how she got there, the costume shows us how vulnerable she is, moreover this is conventional to my thriller genre as it's showing the audience who the weak and vulnerable is which will make it clearer to the audience to understand who the victim is also. In mostly all of the thriller films the victims are mostly always wearing white in their costume as it gives the audience a better understanding of the character roles. My antagonist however will be dressed in all black, as it will show the audience that the antagonist is the more dominant and evil one in the thriller sequence. This is conventional to a thriller genre as it's giving the audience a clearer understanding of the character roles.

 

The setting and iconography in my opening sequence will be in either a isolated house or room which will create an enigma as it's an unknown eerie location, when the flashbacks begin to happen the location soon changes to somewhere, this was to show the audience that it's not in the same scene; This is conventional to a thriller genre as it makes the audience wonder why the setting is somewhere unknown it engages the audience into wanting to know more. The iconography which is going to be used in my sequence is a knife for the weapon, this was voted one of the most popular weapons in my research into target audience post which is one of the reasons why my group and myself have chosen this weapon, the knife is to show the audience that the antagonist is threatening and dangerous. Rope is also going to be used, this will be used at the start of the sequence when the girl is tied up, it limits her movement and shows her struggles to escape, this is conventional as the victim is struggling to escape from the antagonist's master plan. A mask will also be used for the antagonist as it will hide the identity of the killer until the ending of the sequence, this again is conventional to the thriller genre as it's to make the audience feel suspense as to who the killer is.

 

Conclusion:

This planning has helped me plan what I am going to include in my thriller sequence, as I now have a clear understanding as to what I need to include for mise-en-scene and why my elements of mise-en-scene will be conventional to a thriller genre.

Planing Editing- Miss Georgiou

Introduction:
Editing styles are important to include in thriller films as they make the audience view certain things from a different perspective, which also creates shock, tension, suspense and a surprise as the audience are unaware what editing technique is going to be used. The audience feel more engaged into the film as it makes them see things from a different perspective and makes the audience see the characters from different view points which will leave an effect on the audience.

The first editing technique I'm going to use is a Kushelov effect this will be used when the victim first sees the dead body on the floor, this is as kushelov effect as the audience doesn't see who murdered the person laying dead next to the victim; This makes the audience feel sympathetic to the victim as your unaware as to who is killing these people, as she is the victim it makes the audience feel even more sympathetic as it's going to happen to her eventually, within this shot it's making the audience feel uneasy as it's creating an enigma, it's a mystery as to who the killer actually is. This is conventional to a thriller genre as it's making the audience wonder who the killer is as there not being shown just yet


I will be using a reaction shot in my sequence as this will be used when she sees the killer in the window/when standing behind her this will create a sudden effect on the audience as the camera goes straight onto the victims face for a reaction, the reaction shot will put the audience in the characters position which makes the audience see things from the characters point of view, this editing technique creates elements of surprise and suspense. This reaction shot was used in the film psycho, it was taken of the victim when she first sees the killer, I will be using inspiration from this shot as it will make the audience relate more to the scene as they've seen it before, moreover I will ensure that my reaction shot will create a suspense and shock factor on the audience just as this shot did in the film Psycho. A reaction shot makes the audience see how the character is feeling in that very moment, within my opening sequence I will make sure it will leave a significant effect on the audience as a reaction shot tells the audience a lot about the scene and what is going to happen.

Within my opening sequence I will use slow editing when she is making her way towards the curtain and she sees a mysterious object behind the curtain; Slow editing leaves an effect on the audience such as suspense and tension, the scene is being dragged out which will make the audience feel more engaged as to what the tension is building up to, also it will make the audience wonder what the mysterious object is behind the curtain it will make the audience think that it could be the killer, which is why there is tension being built up. As this builds up suspense it keeps the audience on edge due to them not knowing what's going to happen next. Slow editing shows the audience that something bad is going to happen as the tension is being created with a slow effect. This editing technique is conventional to the thriller genre as it's creating suspense and leaving the audience clueless for that specific time as to what is going to happen next.

In my thriller opening sequence i will ensure that their will be certain code and conventions in a thriller such as montage of shots; this will create a sense of fear to the audience; also throughout the sequence I will add quick cuts in to create a sudden effect to the audience, this would make the audience build a relationship with the characters as it would show sudden movement which resembles to fear.

I will be using is a linking of section when the flashbacks start happening this will make the audience understand that the flashbacks and where they are now aren't suppose to be in the same scene, linking of section is to also show the audience that we're trying to show what happened to the young girl (victim) in the past which will make the audience have a clearer idea as to what got her to the point she is now,This will intrigue the audience into wanting to watch the film more as they are beginning to have a clearer understanding of the victims background story which will make the audience feel even more sympathetic towards the victim.

Conclusion:
This research into editing made me have a clearer understanding as to what I would include into my thriller opening sequence, Within some of my editing inspirations I have found inspirations from other thriller films such as psycho where the reaction shot was used, within the research it has shown me that I could use inspiration from different films to make a successful thriller opening sequence.

Research into Target Audience

Introduction:

A target audience is something that you aim it at, for example if you have a thriller film and violence your target audience will be over the age of 12, so the film rating will be a 12. Overall a target audience is a group of people that a product is aimed at and made for, when a media product is being planned you always have to consider the audience. Research is carried out as it's to see what the audience like to see in a thriller film with my results, I will take into consideration what the audience would prefer to see in a thriller opening sequence, by asking a variety of people you get a different range of results and different opinions of what people think would be best in a thriller film.

With this pie chart it's showing us where the audience would prefer to see a thriller film set. With the results we got it showed us 47% would prefer it in a house as it's an enclosed conventional setting to a thriller. 23% would prefer it to be in a forest as it's a mystery to the audience, as they are unaware of why the setting is in a derelict area. Then there's the Basement which was 20% and the graveyard which was 10% this two are conventional in a thriller as it's in an unknown setting which hardly anyone goes to unless your on your own. A graveyard is conventional as in thriller films it's normally a popular setting that is used as it's seen as spooky. Which is odd to my results as only 10% would want to see this as a setting for the thriller film. Whereas a house is the most popular; people may prefer to see this as in Ouija for example they were in a confided space with no escaping.


Within my research people have said that they would expect to see thee victim dying as it's the most popular in all thriller films, from this pie chart it showed me that the audience would always like to see someone die, as it creates tension and suspense throughout. Not many people said they would expect to see everyone die as it's not conventional and is too cliche. Lastly 22% of the audience would prefer to see the antagonist dying which is second from favourite, in thrillers both antagonist and victim die which is what I would take into consideration in my opening sequence.

Within this data it shows us that 97% of the audience prefer to be scared/thrilled. In thriller films it's conventional to a have a thriller opening / film that will scare you which is why we have these results. However 3% of the audience don't enjoy being thrilled; these are the ones that might not enjoy thrillers and being scared as much as other people. Within my thriller opening sequence I will take into consideration that It can't be too thrilling for the audience as not everyone enjoys being scared.




Jump scenes and gory scenes are both conventional in a thriller genre; however within my research 55% of the audience prefer jumpy scenes and 45% of the audience prefer gory scenes; Therefore within my opening sequence I will take into consideration that the audience would like to see jumpy scenes. Moreover the results I have been given because thrillers are based on jumpy scenes and creating enigmas etc, however gory scenes are more for thrillers. So within my sequence I will ensure there is more jumpy scenes than gory scenes, but add mild parts of gory scenes in my opening sequence.

The most popular film was Saw as it contains gore which will make the audience feel more engaged as you don't know what is going to happen next in the sequence. The second most popular thriller film was Final Destination and this tells me that the audience like being kept in suspense as Final Destination constantly builds up suspense This will help me with my Opening sequence as I will be using elements from these films as they were voted for most popular,  this will make the audience feel more engaged in my sequence, however The conjuring and Annabelle was voted the lowest for a favourite thriller film, therefore I wouldn't be adding that many elements like I am for Final Destination and Saw. 

From this pie chart it shows me that the ages that are most popular to watch thriller films is 26+ this was 43%, which shows the audience that these ages prefer thrillers. Thriller films are for the ages preferably above the age of 15, however with this research it has shown me that not that many younger ages like to see thrillers as much as older people do, this could be because of how long thrillers have been going on, older people have seen generations of thrillers and are used to the effect it leaves on the audience. 

Most people would prefer to see a knife being used in a thriller film as it's one of the most conventional thriller weapons, 45% of the audience said they would prefer to see a knife being used in a thriller sequence, in films such as scream a knife was one of the key iconography that was used, within my previous research such as the favourite thriller film, scream was one of the most popular. From this I would use the elements from scream such as the knife as it't the most popular from the audience point of view. A saw was voted second favourite with a percentage of 32% then a gun which was 12% an Axe 8%. Only 3% had said other, the research has shown me that a Knife and a Saw is the most popular in a 

thriller. 

In a thriller opening sequence the audience would prefer to see a death happening as it's what makes a thriller conventional, the death normally happens to a victim swell; 57% of the audience have said this. Low key lighting is one of the most popular options in this pie chart as it's also a conventional element in a thriller this was 18%. A masked antagonist was the third most popular which was 10%. An unknown location was also 10%, lastly a point of view was 5%. Within my thriller opening sequence I will ensure that I will include a death happening and Low key lighting. 

Within this research It has shown me that a female victim is the most popular to be shown in a thriller opening sequence,as female victims are more vulnerable which makes the audience feel sympathetic towards the victim more as females are always portrayed as the weaker gender. 92% of the audience have agreed that they would prefer to see a female victim rather than a male victim, only 8% said they would prefer to see a male victim. 

These results show that 65% of the audience are a male,which shows us that males are the ones who enjoy thrillers one than females do. For my opening sequence I would be able to contain more gory scenes and violent scenes as males prefer to see a horrific films rather than females. 

I created these vox pops because when your asking someone a question you get the answer what first comes to their head which is more effective as they don't have time to copy what others say and just say it from their own knowledge. Vox pops are effective as they give a straight accurate answer as to what they would excpect to see in a thriller film. 

Overall this research has helped me have a clearer outlook on what the audience would prefer to see in a thriller opening sequence. It will help me consider what I will need to include to suit my target audiences expectations in what they would prefer to see in a thriller opening sequence.  With the pie charts it's made it clearer to my group and myself what we would need to include to make a successful thriller opening. The vox pops have also made it clearer to me what I would need to include in my thriller sequence as your asking the audience face to face and you get an honest open answer which will be shown to audiences that also enjoy thriller films.