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. 

Group Narrative- Miss Georgiou

Group Member 1: John
Idea: John's idea is based on cyber bullying, in the opening sequence it will show a young girl watching an embarrassing video of herself which has been posted by an annoymous person that you will later find out in the film. She beings receiving disturbing and hurtful messages telling her that she is eventually going to die which is going to happen soon. As the film goes on more and more people begin to die by the same anonymous person. Within this thriller opening sequence my group and I have discussed that the strengths of the sequence is unique and has a well explained narrative that will engage the audience as you would want to know who the anonymous person is. This isn't a typical psychological film, it's more of a reality which makes it more realistic to the audience. This would also be more realistic to film, also it can be filmed anywhere and still be conventional to a thriller genre due to the narrative. The plot of this isn't complicated either so it will be easy for the audience to understand. However this idea doesn't create much of a mystery as a disequillibrium doesn't happen at the beginning of the sequence. The audience might not feel as engaged towards the end as it doesn't leave enough suspense as to what is going to happen next. A death doesn't take place at the beginning she just gets threats and just gets warned that she is going to die. The target audience for this film would range from 12 and over as ages younger than 12 would see this as scary or could be inappropriate.

Group Member 2: Myself
Idea:My idea for my narrative is going to be about a young girl and her boyfriend who go on holiday to Russia but she soon realises that since she's been away everything is going wrong back at home, she's unaware that her boyfriend is part of the Russian mafia and they want her, which is why everything back at home is going wrong,They're taking away all of her family and everything she has so she decides to stay in Russia. The Russian mafia take young innocent girls who are vulnerable and will believe anything they tell her. The strengths of this would be that it's creating suspension due to her not knowing what's going on back at home,she's unaware that the person she trust the most is the one ruining her life. My thriller opening sequence is creating an enigma throughout which is another strength; by creating an enigma it's showing the audience that something bad will eventually happen later on in the film, This is conventional to a thriller genre. Lastly it will engage the audience as you start feeling sympathetic towards the young girl who's being persuaded into doing the wrong things. However the weaknesses of my thriller opening is that it would be hard to set it as I would need more characters to take part for the Russian Mafia; also certain iconography such as the weapons would be hard to take into school and use. Another weakness of my thriller opening sequence is that it doesn't create enough suspension for a thriller opening. My rating for this film would be a 15 due to the weapons, violence, language and the narrative; It could be seen as inappropriate to ages below this rating. My thriller opening sequence is conventional to the thriller genre as it's creating an enigma, it leaves you thinking what the boyfriend's purpose was to do what he is doing to her.

Group Member 3: Luca Khan
My film idea is about a home invasion by a unknown man that is never seen while the man who owns the house definitely knows someone is there he is searching the whole of his house trying to find him and as the film goes on there are hints and his family is killed as the killer taunts him and makes him look all around his locked up house. Throughout the opening sequence the man is trying to find out who is inside his house and is not too afraid at the time, he keeps all his family with him and throughout the sequence the antagonist is making noise and putting signs around the house, the sequence ends with the antagonist still not revealed and given a sign to the victim as the antagonist locks the family in their own house with now way to escape. This is conventional to a thriller genre as the characters are unknown which will create a mystery to the audience, throughout the sequence it's creating a sense of foreboding atmosphere due to the victim who plays the man not knowing who's in his home, finally the unknown man is revealed and targets the victim; However in this sequence the victim in this is a man, when normally in thriller films is likely to see a female as a victim. The weaknesses for this sequence is that it's cliché which will make it clear to the audience what is going to potentially happen, so not a lot of suspense will be built up.

Group Member 4: Sasha
Sasha's narrative is about a girl who is held hostage and wakes up from being tied to a chair. The girl struggles to escapee but finally she does, The girl sea a person lying on the floor next to her covered in blood. The girl looks down at her body and in fear she realises that her body is covered in blood also. Suddenly she sees a shadow in the curtain, she slowly manages to get up in pain and fear and opens it, a face suddenly appears. The girl panics for a bit and as she turns around she sees the killer standing there with a blood covered knife; the opening sequence will end with an enigma which is conventional to a thriller film. Then there's constant flashbacks from how she was kidnapped and begins seeing traces from how it all happened. The flashbacks contain her at home on Facebook and she sees an embarrassing video of herself and she suddenly gets a lot of messages from an anonymous person. The messages contain the annoumonyus person bullying her and making her feel small about herself due to the video. Sasha's strengths is that it's conventional to a thriller genre and it will build up suspense throughout the opening sequence; this makes the audience feel engaged as to what is going to happen after the opening sequence,  Sasha's narrative is unique as you haven't seen this in any other thriller sequence, which will make the audience clueless as to what is going to happen. Her weakness' however is that the narrative may be seen as cliche in some parts such as the victim being the main person in the opening sequence, it would be made clear to you that something will happen to the victim. Some parts in the thriller opening sequence will be hard to film, which will also not make it realistic to the audience as it would be filmed in places that wouldn't make it as scary.

Out of Vlamidir Propp, Tzvetan Todorov and Aristole our group follows the Aristole's theory the most because his theme was narrative and included a protagonist and antagonist. For our opening sequence we would be influenced by his theory, due to it being similar to our idea and what we want to portray in our Thriller sequence. It also relates to our narrative as the audience are constantly feeling sorry for the victim and there is a dramatic question which will create an enigma throughout. However it doesn't follow Vlamidir theory as his was based on characters including an victim. Todorvos theory was based on a fairytale narrative which doesn't go well with a thriller genre narrative.

Planning Cinematography - Miss Miller

The importance of cinematography within films and why planning is key is that it brings different mood and effects on the audience, for example if there was a low angle shot it would show the audience that the character being shot in the low angle shot is dominant and has power. It lets the audience understand the narrative and characters role more, as it's perceiving them in different ways.





Within my sequence a P.O.V shot will be used this will be used when the young girl sees the dead body on the floor besides her; the point of view shot will let the audience experience and see what the victim is seeing; by using this shot it will create an effect of suspension as you begin to panic and worry like the young girl (victim) is as your sceptical as to what's going on. By using this shot it makes the audience feel more sympathetic towards the victim. This shot is conventional as it makes us feel more empathy for the victim in the thriller, with the point of view shot your not looking at anything else but what this specific character is seeing. This will begin building a relationship with the characters as it's making the audience see things from the characters viewing point.

High angle shots are usually used in thrillers when a victim is the main one in the scene, this is to show the audience that they are vulnerable and the weaker character. Within my thriller opening sequence I will be using this shot when the girl has a flashback on the leading up to where she is now, this high angle shot will be used when she is on her phone looking at the embarrassing video that was put up of her, whilst watching this she is getting abusive and threatening text messages which will show the audience that she is the victim with the help of the high angle shot, high angle shots are conventional in a thriller as they highlight the victim in the sequence as high angle shots are always used for victims, it makes it conventional as a victim in a thriller is one of the main conventions, the shot is just making it more obvious to the audience who the victim is. The audience begin to build a relationship with the victim as you begin to feel sympathetic due to the high angle being shown you know that something bad is going to happen and with the high angle shot is shows us that she is the main victim so the audience begin to feel more connected to the character in a way as you don't want nothing bad to happen to her but you already know it will as the victims in thrillers always end up getting hurt or killed.

A close up is to show the audience how one particular character feels once they've seen something, this shot builds up suspense as your wary as to what is going to happen next to that character after they've seen something they didn't want to see. The close up will be used when the victim wakes up and realises that theirs a dead body next to her, this close up will show the audience how she feels towards what's going on and will give the audience a clearer outlook on the victims emotions as something bad is happening. This is conventional to a thriller as it's building up suspense for the audience which is what thrillers are suppose to do.

A shallow focus will be used in my opening sequence when the antagonist is sneaking up on the victim this will make the audience feel uneasy as you want the victim to be safe but you can't do anything but sit and watch and feel sympathetic towards the victim. The shallow focus creates tension for the audience as you can see the antagonist but the victim cant which makes you feel even more sympathetic towards the victim as their clueless as to what is going on. The shallow focus will make the audience focus on the antagonist which builds up suspense because the audience are unaware of what the antagonist is planning to do. This is conventional to a thriller as it's building up the tension for the audience, making us think that something bad is going to happen, this is also creating an enigma as the audience are unaware of what is going to happen.

At the beginning of my opening sequence I would add an establishing shot as it would make it clear to the audience where the setting is and what mood is going to be created. It shows the audience who is in the setting, for my opening sequence my setting is in an abandoned house/room this will show the audience that the victim is isolated from other people and has no way of escaping also it shows the audience that the victim is alone. Moreover the establishing shot shows the audience where the setting is which will give the audience a clearer idea of what might happen in the sequence. An   establishing shot is conventional, as it's creating tension straight away as to why the victim is in an isolated area. It makes the audience think throughout the sequence how the victim got there and why the victim is there.

Conclusion:
Overall this research helped me with analysing my cinematography ideas as it gave us a clear structure as to what we would need to include in our opening sequence. It made my group and myself have a clear structure also as to where we would put certain angles to help create an effect on the audience. By planning cinematography it makes it easier as to how your overall sequence is going to be planned out.

Preliminary Task- Miss Miller

Introduction:

In my group there is Luca Khan, John Mavideniz, Sasha Wallage and Myself. The purpose of the preliminary task is to be able to show our understanding of certain camera movements such as close-up, Mid-shot, Long shot, Panning Shot and Oss. We had to get two people from our group to have a conversation, we made up the narrative for this as it was to demonstrate our understanding of the camera angles that we had to do in our clip we filmed. The sequence was only a minute long with editing we done on the computer, when we edited it we realised that it looks better with special effects which made the clip more realistic and entertaining for the audience. When we quickly edited the scene together we realised that a sequence looks more effective with certain camera movements, it makes the scene more effective to the audience by showing it from different perspectives.

Within our sequence we used certain iconography such as a spanner this was used to portray John (The aggressive boyfriend) in a negative way; the spanner was to show the audience that he is the more dominant character and is violent, this shows the audience this as it made the audience think that he abuses his girlfriend (Sasha). However with other iconography in my sequence it didn't go well with the storyline, so therefore I would change certain iconography in my sequence in further sequences; also the background music towards the end wasn't relevant to the storyline as the soundtrack didn't create tension. Next time I would research popular soundtracks. My group and myself struggled with certain camera angles; as we didn't know where to place the characters due to them being on stage and the Tripod and camera being on the floor which was at an awkward angle to film. However my group and myself did well with deciding on our storyline and what we would need to do to make it look effective such as the weapon that John used to show his violence as a character.

We used a close-up whilst it being hand held when John was getting angry at Sasha when he found out she cheated on him. This was to express to the audience the aggression in his face and make it clear to the audience who was the violent and aggressive one in the scene. The long shot was used at the end of sequence when John realises he hurt Sasha this was to show the audience what was going on in the scene and shows the audience both of their characters body language towards what was going on this was used on the tripod as we had to get the shot precise. The panning shot was used when they was both seated down having a discussion the panning shot goes from Sasha to John this was to show to the audience in slow motion the emotions that they were both feeling and was to create suspension as to what their reactions were; The panning shot was used handheld as it had to be moved from one person to another to create an effect. An over the shoulder shot was used from Sasha's point of view when arguing with John it puts us in her shoes and makes the audience feel sympathy for her, due to her being accused of stuff she hasn't done and being verbally abused by her husband. This was used on a tripod as it would create more of an effect as it would be still and focused on John from Sasha's point of view which will show the audience that this is a serious part of the sequence.

My group together did well as we all agreed on a narrative straight away, which made it easier for us to plan where to use the camera shots/angles. With struggled with the long shot

as we done it on a stage the camera and tripod was on the ground so it look lower when it was suppose to be a long shot. Next time we could do this differently by ensuring the characters and tripod are on the same level. With the opening sequence I feel that a specific soundtrack in the background will help me with my opening sequence as it will create a foreboding atmosphere, for example if I was to have noises in the background whilst the sequence is going on then it would create an enigma as you don't know who is out there and will have the audience thinking who it is; which will engage them more, so within my thriller sequence I will ensure that their will be a specific soundtrack that will help set the atmosphere for my sequence. Looking back on my footage I realised that there was a lot of faults in it such as unnecessary acting, When I begin filming my sequence I will ensure that the camera shots/angles In some parts of the clip there was laughing which needed to be cut out when we began editing our sequence I realised that when we begin film every clip in the sequence is key, so when the filming begins every shot needs to be precise otherwise there will be a lot of work that'll need doing when we begin editing the final project.

When we used an over the shoulder shot we used the tripod this is to show the audience the seriousness of the scene, as it's still and concentrated on one particular thing/person. We did well with filming the close up shots as we had a still camera that got a precise shot of what was going on.  We did particularly well with setting up the tripod as it was simple to set up and wasn't time consuming at all.  As a group, we worked well when setting up the equipment because we knew what to do, as it wasn't a complicated task. When using the camera it was easy for my group and myself to understand how to use it which caused no complications in this process. When filming our close up shots to keep the camera steady we use the zoom in button on the camera which worked well.

My group and myself worked well together as we all discussed on how each camera shot shall be used where in our act we made up; it was easy for us to come together as a group and discuss what needed to be done in order to make a successful preliminary task; we shot everything in time as well which made us have spare time to add on different effects, working as a group made it easier to make up a plot where we could use every camera shot Miss gave us.

When filming our close up shot we stood the tripod still and used the zoom-in button on the camera we done this as it made it look more effective as the camera wasn't moving at all. When filming our panning shot it was a bit complicated as we didn't unattached the tripod making it difficult to carry it around whilst tracking the scene. The long shot was done in a similar way to the close up; but this time we used the zoom out button on the camera to make it look as if it's further away then it originally is. Mid shot was used the same way the close up was used however we didn't zoom in as much as we did with the close-up.

When we put our preliminary task on to the computer we began editing, we had slight problems such as accidentally cutting out parts in our task that we needed which made the preliminary task a tiny bit jumpy when we watched the overall finished one.
 

Overall this helped my planning of my opening sequence as it gave us a clearer idea of what to add for the opening sequence of my thriller film and not what to add; the reasons of doing a practice sequence is to get use to the use of editing after and also get a clearer idea of what camera angles to add and what camera angles not to add. Moreover the sequence was to get a clearer idea of how to film my thriller opening sequence. I've learnt that when I'm filming my thriller opening sequence I need to keep both the tripod and what I'm filming on the same level so it won't be on an awkward angle to film the scene and characters. 

Inspirations- Miss Georgiou

Introduction:

Inspirations is a convention or something that is included in a sequence of a film.Inspirations gives you a clearer idea as to what you would need to analyse for your own thriller sequence. We need inspiration as it makes us have a clearer understanding of what to include in a thriller genre. We could take inspiration from other thriller films and other pieces of work and make it out own. The inspirations taken from others shows that I've researched the inspiration ideas.

In one of my posts I have analysed before it was based on Editing; I analysed the film Cabin in the Woods, as this particular sequence is one of the most popular thriller sequences. In this sequence there was mise-en-scene, cinematography and sound, but I chose editing as this is what made it clear that it was a thriller film as the editing was clear to a thriller genre. Within my thriller opening sequence I will take into consideration that mise-en-scene, cinematography, editing and soundtrack is always key in a thriller opening sequence as it makes it more effective and makes the narrative more understanding to the audience.

In the film Cabin In The Woods I analysed the editing techniques. The first editing technique I picked up on was a reaction shot, this was used when the werewolf growled and tried to attack the girl inside the box lift; the camera then turned on her face which showed the audience her fear and horror towards what was going on. Within my thriller sequence I would use this as an inspiration as it would show the audience what's going on in the sequence and one of the characters reactions to it. Reaction shots are to show the audience the character's feelings and emotions to what is happening in the film. It shows the audience a lot about the character, if the characters reaction is scared and in fear it would show the audience that their vulnerable to another character in the film.

 Another editing technique which is used is a shot reverse shot this is used to show the audience both characters reaction in the sequence, this was used in Cabin In The Woods when the nightmare for the girl begins walking towards the box lift and stops right near her face, this shot reverse shot is showing us how one of the characters is emotionally stable and intimidating whilst the other is screaming in fear. This shows the audience that different emotions can be portrayed in a thriller film which can have a different effect on the audience. With my thriller opening sequence I would use this as an inspiration as it will create an effect on the audience, as it will let them see how my characters in my thriller react to certain things being said during the conversation.

Within my research in analysing this sequence; slow editing was used when the demon ballerina girl turned around this is to create suspension and a mystery (which could be seen as an enigma) as she's taking her time to reveal her identity, Within my Opening thriller sequence this will inspire me because now I have a clearer idea of how I will create tension in revealing a victim or horror to the audience. For my opening sequence slow editing would be relevant as my narrative I have created is based on a innocent girl being fooled into believing everything she is told and is taken away by a mafia that have a hidden identity; until she later realises her boyfriend is part of it which will be revealed with the slow editing technique.

However in previous posts such as my one about Sound which I analysed The strangers for; this sequence was based on a young woman stuck in her home, hearing intruders outside making a lot of noise trying to get into her home. Without the certain sound techniques that is used in this sequence it wouldn't be as successful as it has been, because the sounds in this make it more understanding of a thriller film.

In this sequence, when the lady walks up to the door she sees an intruder and falls back, she knocks a record player; this is when the most effective sound begins playing. Throughout the sequence after this sound is played you think that someone is going to get her as the sound, sounds like someone saying "I'm coming to get you" this creates tension to the audience throughout as you wonder if someone does get her. This has inspired my ideas for my thriller opening as it has given me the idea of using a certain soundtrack to build suspense as it will make the audience feel uneasy and will engage them more to what is going to happen.

Also in this sequence non-diegetic sounds are included when there's metal scraping outside her home, this happens at the beginning of the sequence, straight away shows the audience that there's someone outside waiting for her, creates an enigma as your unaware as to who is out there. For my thriller opening this would inspire me as the smallest sounds such as throwing something in the background will be a noise that will be a mystery to the audience and will create an enigma which is conventional to a thriller genre.

Lastly I analysed the sequence MAMA, in this sequence a high angle shot was used this was to show the vulnerability of the two young girls that were about to be tortured by a demon, this showed the audience that something bad was going to happen to the two girls as the shot is highlighting their weakness. For my thriller opening sequence I will be using a high angle shot as this research has influenced me, it has also shown me that for my opening sequence it will make it clearer to the audience who the weak and vulnerable people are. High angle shots are used on the victims, which will make it clearer to the audience who's the good people and whose the bad people.

Opening sequence analysis of Halloween

Introduction:

The opening sequence shows the audience what characters are going to be in the thriller film and what it will contain such as who's the protagonist and who's the antagonist. In thriller films there's always a victim and normally is a female which shows the audience that she's in need of someone saving her as she is in distress. It slightly explains to the audience as to what the plot is going to be like and how the suspense is going to be created throughout the sequence. An opening sequence shows the audience what the film is going to be like throughout, shows the audience suspension within the first part of the film. Opening sequences always reveal how the rest of the film is going to be, for example if there is a murder in this beginning of a sequence then there will either be a hunt to find who did it or the murders will continue.

Narrative:

The narrative of this film is based on a young girl on Halloween sitting in with her boyfriend- he eventually leaves, leaving her home alone on Halloween night; This is conventional itself as on Halloween scary things are suppose to happen. The opening sequence has a fast scan of the setting, but from then the final moments of the opening sequence is slowed down to create suspension. The killer slowly enters the home and stabs the innocent girl leaving her to bleed to death. Towards the end of the film the killer reveals his identity which was hidden throughout the sequence. This is conventional as it's an enigma, a sense of mystery was created throughout the sequence until the ending. The narrative is based on a young boy who kills his sister for an unknown reason which creates an enigma for the audience, this is conventional to the thriller genre because it's creating a sense of unknown.

Soundtrack:

The first element I will be analysing is Sound. For example in the sequence there's tense music throughout which creates suspension, this makes the audience wonder what is going to happen as tension is being built up. Moreover this creepy soundtrack was used as it's key for an opening scene to have dramatic and clear plot. Tense music is conventional in a thriller film as it builds up anticipation until the killing eventually happens, which will have the audience at the edge of their seat.

A creepy piano soundtrack is used on top of the suspense music this is to create anticipation up to the point where a new character is shown in the sequence( the teenage boy). The piano noise is to show that the killer is walking towards the room where the girl is, but the piano music stops as does the killer does, this is showing the audience that the creepy piano soundtrack is representing the killers footsteps. This is conventional to the audience as it's create suspense. This makes the audience think that something bad is going to occur.

A bell begins playing when the killer is walking up the stairs which would show the audience that the girls time is up and that the killing is about to occur. The bell is symbolising to the audience that it's time for the killer to kill. This makes the audience think of what is going to happen, even though there's a soundtrack of a bell we don't necessarily understand why it's used, which creates a mystery to the audience.

There's a sudden screeching noise when the killer goes back to the bedroom window and sees that the bedroom light has been switched off, this gives the audience an alert of when he can go and begin his killing. The sudden alert shows us that something bad is going to happen very soon because of this particular sound. This makes the audience feel sympathetic towards the boy and the girl in the room as they are unaware of what is happening downstairs, you feel scared for them both.

Cinematography:
In this sequence cinematography is used at the beginning of the film which is a point of view; this is used for when the killer is entering the home. This is to put the audience in the killers shoes which creates anticipation, It will begin making the audience think what is going on and who the killer is as he/she is anonymous to the audience which is conventional to a thriller film as it's an enigma.

 In this sequence A zooming out effect is used at the very end to show the audience that this part of the film is over and also to take away attention from the main character(The Killer). As something bad has just happened, it's now going to be ignored until further on in the film. When the zoom-out effect is happening his identity is also being revealed as the clown mask is being taken of his face, a zoom-out effect is added to this as it will leave the audience in shock as you wouldn't normally see a young child as a killer in a thriller film.

There's a high angle shot when the killer is stabbing the girl, this shows the audience that there is someone more dominant and stronger that's in the scene. The shot is showing the audience that the girl is weak and incapable to defend herself as she's the victim in this sequence. High angle shots highlight the weakness of a victim which is what is happening in this part of the sequence. This shot is where the killer has a mask on and you can see through the holes of the mask, which isn't very clear but however it is a high angle shot this is to signify the killers dominancy. Even though it isn't very clear, you can still tell it's a high angle shot.

Editing:
At the very beginning of this sequence Tracking is used this is to show the audience the setting in detail, even though it's being rushed. It's rushed as it begins showing the audience a mystery as to why everything is happening quickly, it jumps from just a normal night to a tracking of the setting to showing the characters, which would show the audience that something is going to happen to either the innocent girl or the teenage boy.

 A kuleshov effect is used towards the end when the mask is pulled off of Michael's face revealing his identity, It's used as his holding the knife in his hand with dripping blood on whilst his parents are standing there in shock just staring at him, this shows the audience that a murder has occurred/ something bad has happened and there is more to come later on in the film. This creates tension as the 3 of them are just standing there, this is conventional to a thriller as suspension is being created.     

Linking of section is used when the camera looks at the victims and then at the bedroom, this shows the audience where the killing is going to happen, also it shows the killer where to go, as he's watching there every moment, which is creepy and makes the audience eager to know what the killer is going to do next and how he is going to do his killing. This editing technique is conventional as it has a change of shots which is one of the many conventions in a thriller opening.

Before the killing happens, the girl see's the killer and screams out his name saying "Micheal" unaware of what he is about to do, her reaction to him standing there holding a knife shows the audience that she is scared and confused, as she doesn't know why he would do this to her, due to her being the innocent one in the sequence. A reaction is key as you get to see the victims reaction to the  Killer before being stabbed to death.


Representation of Character's:
The character's are all portrayed in different ways.For example the Innocent girl is dressed in a white blouse which can symbolise her innocence and also her weakness, The girl is a normal teenager boy is messing about on Halloween, she's doing nothing wrong that could anger someone to kill her. This is how it always is in thriller films, the most innocent character always gets killed.

The teenage boy is shown to be immature and silly as he uses the mask and plays round with it whilst laughing and making jokes( This particular mask is used later on in the sequence).

The killer in this sequence is shown to be mysterious as he/she is hiding their identity until later on in the sequence. His full identity is shown when he walks out of the house as the camera rotates the killers mask gets taken off it soon becomes un-conventional to a thriller genre as the killer was a child, children in thriller films are normally seen as the innocent and pure ones.

Codes and Conventions of a thriller:
Low key lighting is used inside and outside the house, which shows the audience that it's a thriller film as it creates an eerie atmosphere throughout the sequence which will make the audience feel wary, as the killing could happen at any time. The low key lighting makes the audience more engage also more eager to know what is going to happen. Suspenseful/tense music is used when your put in the killers shoes until the killing happens, this makes it scarier and more suspenseful for the audience.

 The iconography in this sequence that is main, is the mask and the knife. The mask portrays that identity is going to be hidden in the sequence, we first see the mask when the teenage boy is messing about with it, so it shows us the killer was watching them when the teenage boy put it down somewhere. It's conventional as a mask means hiding something, which is a mystery.

 The knife is one of the main iconography elements as it's the weapon that is used, using a knife is also conventional as in a thriller film weapons are always included.  The victim in this sequence is an innocent female, who is seen as weak and vulnerable, this again is conventional because a female victim/victim is always included in a thriller.

Research into conventions- Miss Miller

Convention's is the conforming or adhering to accepted standards- this is the definition. Moreover conventions in films is the elements that relate with the specific film genre. Conventions would show the audience what each film would be like, such as an action film this film genre will always have conventions of stunt doubles as it could contain violence and fighting. There's always a hero that's preferably a man also a Female victim that is need of saving from the hero. Lastly there would be a villain. These conventions would show the audience straight away that it's going to be a action film. Low key lighting is always used in a thriller to build up suspense, which would make the audience feel wary. An enigma is always used in a thriller this is when a mystery is being created.

The film I'm analysing is Misery this film is based on a lady who is a massive fan of Paul Sheldon's books who is a famous author. This thriller film has key conventions in such as the lighting, the tense music, the setting and the iconography. Within this essay I'm going to be discussing how these conventions are being used in this sequence and how they make the film conventional.

A convention being used in this sequence is the setting of it as it's in the middle of nowhere, no one will know that Annie is keeping Paul captive in her home as no one would know where her home is.
This would create mystery to the audience as no one would ever know where Paul Sheldon was as he's in somewhere where no one knows about. This makes the audience think and worry for Paul as he might not ever be found and he might just be kept in Annie Wilkes home for a very long time. It would make the audience feel more engaged as they would want to know if he manages to escape from his "number one fan".This is conventional as it's an eerie location, which would scare the audience and create suspension more.

This sequence also includes a typical convention you see in a thriller such as tense music, which is used when the camera goes from Paul and straight onto the appearance of Annie, which is when the tension music is introduced. This is to make the audience feel wary, it draws attention on Annie's face which will let the audience know that Annie is about to do something bad as tension is being built up. This is conventional due to the fact that tension music is key in a thriller genre. When Annie's face suddenly appears with the tension building music it shocks the audience as they weren't expecting to see her in this part of the scene.

Also in this sequence iconography is used when she has a hammer as a weapon towards Paul Sheldon, when she breaks his ankles which creates fear to the audience. This makes the audience see that Annie is violent and has the control and dominancy at that moment as she is the one holding the weapon whilst Paul is drugged up and tied up to the bed. In this sequence also there's a needle, this is used when Annie drugs Paul up so he doesn't know what's going on. She uses this needle as it will take away the pain from Paul getting his ankles broken again as she doesn't want him to be able to escape from her. This shows the audience that she knows what she's doing because when she injects him it goes straight in the right place. This makes the audience again feel sympathetic towards Paul as he has no say in whats going on and no say in what Annie is doing to his body. This makes the audience begin to build a relationship with Paul and begin feeling sympathetic towards him as they now just want Paul to have the strength to get up and leave the torture that Annie has been putting him through.

Within this thriller sequence the victim is a male, which isn't conventional. However Paul the antagonist builds a relationship with the audience by making the audience experience his fears and struggles to escape from his worst nightmare; it makes the audience feel more attached to Paul as you begin to feel sorry for him due to him being in an accident then being tortured by Annie. As the sequence goes on you begin to learn a lot more about Paul as a person, such as how much he was willing to take from Annie's torture it makes the audience want to see him escape successfully.

Another key convention used in this is low key lighting when Paul is laying in the bed after being injected with a needle. The low key lighting is to create a sense of unknowingness and suspense due to the scene dramatically getting darker and more of a mystery. When there is low key lighting there is also a high angle shot of Paul which shows his weakness and vulnerability at this moment. This makes the audience feel sympathetic towards Paul as he's left in a bed weak unable to defend himself from Annie as he's tied to a bed with no escaping.

Overall the piece I have chosen to write about/analyse for my research into conventions has shown me that by having conventions in a film it makes the film more effective without the certain convention's such as lighting for example you wouldn't be able to tell what sort of mood is being set. This will help me with my sequence as it will give me a clearer outlook on what conventions I would need to include to create a successful thriller film. With the research I have done on the film Misery it's shown me that I can used different character's even if their not stereotypical just as long as I include convention's to go with a thriller genre. When filming my thriller sequence, the conventions I'd include would be the ongoing tense music as it builds a high suspense of fear for the audience.

Research into Editing - Miss Georgiou

Introduction:
Editing is key in a thriller sequence as it can create different effects and can leave a different on the audience which is effective; when editing it allows the audience to experience different view points of both the characters and the setting. Editing creates different moods and can create an enigma through the editing, for example if a shot reverse shot was used it would show two characters in a scene together, which would create suspense as your seeing reactions from both characters in the scene; which can create an enigma.

For my research into editing I'm analysing the clip The Cabin In the Woods, the clip is when there standing in the lift and all the demons/nightmares. That stare and torture with their minds mentally, it makes them go into distress reacting out violently towards the demons/nightmares on the other side of the lift. Within this essay of research into editing the film had made this clip have effect by using particular editing terminology.

The first editing technique is when the werewolf comes out of no where growling at them both, the camera goes straight to their faces which is called a reaction shot. This reaction shot shows the audience how terrified they are, the girl puts up her arms infront of her face as a protection as she is in complete fear, the boy has pierced eyes staring at the werewolf. They both go backwards as an instant rection. This reaction shot would show the audience that their scared for there lives as they don't want to die and it's looking very likely that they will. The reaction shot is to make the audience feel sympathy towards them both as their in a tight small space with no where they could escape to.

In the clip a shot reverse shot is used when they nightmares/demons begin coming up to the see through lift, the camera focuses on the man with the things in his head to the girl and the boy which is also a deep focus as you can see her and partially him. Even though the man with the metal in his head isn't talking to her, it's like he's saying something through his eyes cause he's staring at her and she's understanding what he's trying to say which is why this shot reverse shot is necessary in this part of the clip, because it helps the audience understand more of what is actually going on. Moreover it builds up tension as it's showing different point of views for the characters which will also draw the audience into the clip. The whole idea of the shot reverse shot is to show the audience also what could potentially happen later on in the film.

Slow editing is used when the ballerina girl is slowly turning around to reveal her identity, which is when two different shots are juxtaposed together to create an effect, this is exactly what this part of the clip is doing as two shots are being combined to create an effect on the audience. The audience can see that when the little ballerina is turning around slowly it's trying to create suspension and shock as to who the little ballerina could be or what she's trying to hide, such as her scary face. Slow editing is all about trying to create suspense which is what the little ballerina part is doing. When the man is waiting for the little ballerina to turn around his face is in complete fear which shows the audience that he's scared and makes the audience feel more engaged as to what could possibly happen next.

Lastly the shot which is used is a linking shot, this happens when the camera zooms out on all of the blocks in which the demons/characters are in to show the audience what the two characters are going to be witnessing. It creates a massive fear factor on the audience as your put in their shoes and begin wondering how they could manage to get out of the lift to avoid all of the fear, but is looking impossible to do such a thing. The linking shot is showing the audience what is happening in the scene completely with the help of a zoom-out effect to take the attention away from just one of the blocks(lift).

Overall this research has helped me with further planning's on my sequences as it makes it easier to understand what sort of edits are most popular in a thriller convention and what the audience would like to see in a thriller. This research has also made it clearer as to what editing terminology I'm going to include in my sequence. I would be including slow editing as it builds up tension and creates suspense.