Flat 94 Evaluation

Media Thriller Evaluation

To help us with ideas for our thriller we watched some scenes from other thrillers in class for example ‘what lies beneath and ‘se7en’ and we took notes on which techniques worked well and why it worked so well. In ‘what lies beneath’ we watched the bathtub scene and they used emphasized sound really well because every single thing they done was loud e.g. when she was taking out the plug and her scream.
In the opening of Se7en they edited it really well using creepy writing and used extreme-close-ups on the person’s hands well also because you don’t ever see the persons face which makes it freakier.
In our thriller we used techniques from the films we watched:
we used emphasised sound like in the scene where Kassi (actor) locks the door to show that she is scared of something and is locking the door to prevent anyone or anything from getting in, close-ups like the shot of someone sharpening a knife, the shadow of someone holding a knife which is similar to the one in the Alfred Hitchcock film ‘psycho’

and a weird font for the title of the thriller and the credits. We also used a technique which is to film what will happen at the end of the film and put it right at the beginning and then show/ tell what happened and give hints so in the end it will make sense – this is like going back in time and having flashbacks, this will then make the watcher/ audience ask questions about the storyline.

The famous picture from the 1980s film psycho.


Our thriller’s knife shot.
Like most other thriller we used we used a 17 year old teenager as the main actor who gets stalked and then killed. We used a 39 year old man as the stalker/ killer.

I think if our opening was a complete film it would be released by film4 because as they promote English/ UK films and we are based in the UK.
We would not try and go for a Hollywood distribution because it most likely would not be a success because we do not have any famous actors but I think it would have the potential to make the top 20 films of the year, but another path is that we could be exhibited in an art house cinema due to very little funding and that we are a independent British film. Our film might be tested in a few cinemas across London to see the reaction of the public and if positive then we would talk about the possibility of releasing it in Europe and America.
Our thriller would then be released on DVD and played on film4 possibly, it should not be on the internet but this is inevitable as DVD piracy is a major loss in a film company’s profit because people could just download it on the internet and watch it for free instead of going to the cinema and paying to watch the film.

Due to our target audience would be teenagers of both male and female aged 15 to 30; it would likely be certified as a 15, as I think most movies that are certified 18 are mostly horrors. Throughout the film you would see other female characters being shown as weaker and the male characters would be more dominant which may not appeal to the female audiences.
We would target the normal audience as well, the type of people who enjoy shows such as CSI Miami and other detective shows.
We would also attract fans of the directors Alfred Hitchcock or Steven Spielberg for Jaws and Duel because I think that our film would be similar in terms of creating tension and suspense such as ‘What lies beneath’. Many thrillers revolve around investigation e.g. Saw audiences of this film should like our thriller as well as I think they are quite similar by the fact that you know what has happened but you don’t know who done it or how it happened until the end.

To attract our target audience we would use media techniques to intensify our film’s interest and appeal. We could sell things such as a similar knife to the one in our thriller in shops which would advertise in the form of merchandise and would also generate some form of income. We could sponsor a McDonald’s burger to advertise as well e.g. Dark Knight and Burger King. Advertise on billboards; advertise trailers on the internet and during TV adverts. Methods we could use to draw an audience into the opening of a film are:

• Excitement
• Action packed
• Introduce characters
• Sound
• Establishing shot
• Dramatic
• Tone/ mood
• Raise questions

Before this task I had only used a video camera two or three times while on holiday and all times they were only handheld amateur shots.
So I did learn quite a lot about technology and cameras. I knew how to do the easiest thing which was how to actually record, all you had to do is set up the camera facing which ever way you want to shoot and press record to record and then press the same button to stop recording. We had to turn the camera off whenever we weren’t recording because the battery would drain quickly. I learnt how to lock the camera onto the tripod so it would not fall off however we did not use the tripod a lot because our film is about a stalker so if we wanted it to look realistic then we had to use a lot of handheld shot which worked well e.g. running up the stairs, which obviously would have been incredibly difficult if we used a tripod.
In editing I learnt many things like how to use the editing programmes such as Final cut pro and Live Type which was extremely important for making the opening of our thriller that much better; these programmes were completely new to me so it was good we got to practise on our first piece of film in the preliminary task, otherwise I would have not gotten to grips with the programme and would therefore have not finished out thriller in time to hand in before the deadline.
Internet has also helped us finish our thriller; we researched and watched other thrillers to get ideas for our own thriller. We also had to blog about everything we had done in the build up to the finished thriller, basically like keeping a written journal on the filming process, for example like what we done in editing and how we made the music.
We also uploaded both our preliminary task and our thriller opening on Vimeo which is also on blogger, which means the internet has widened the potential audience for our thriller.

From looking at our preliminary task I have learned that planning is a vital part in film making; you can’t just dive straight in and start filming when you have not planned because you will eventually run out of steam and get stuck which will then slow you down. You will have to have a detailed and well-thought out plan on from the start of your filming, till the end. I have also realised that shooting takes a lot longer that I expected because you need around 3hours of film for a 3 min clip which means a whole movie would take a few years, this is because of editing and sound. We filmed around 15 minutes of film for a 2 minute opening, although we did film a few shots twice but it without a doubt is better to have too much than to have too little.
In our preliminary task we didn’t plan in enough detail so we got stuck quite a lot, taking that into account we knew we had to have the most detailed plan we could so that we knew exactly what we was doing every lesson. We also learned which shots looked good e.g. the reflection shot, in the bathroom when kassi walks in and the point of view shot where it seems like the person is running up the stairs and you could hear them breathing heavily. This time round when filming the thriller I felt more confident with the equipment and what I was doing. We was told not to tell a story in the opening 2 minutes because a lot of people have done that, and that was not what was asked, we was asked to film only the opening 2 minutes.
- Reflection shot in bathtub mirror.
- Point of view shot running up stairs.

evaluation 'FALT 94'

Flat '94'

For the AS Media coursework, we were asked to produce a two minutes thriller film over a time of approximately two months. After watching examples of thriller openings in class, such as, ‘Shinning’ and ‘What Lies Beneath’ we were given a clear idea of the conventions which were used in real thriller films. For example some of the conventions that were repeatedly used in the opening of real thrillers were establishing shots to show the location of action, time, setting and the atmosphere of the film. Also, there was a use of dark lighting to position the atmosphere of the thriller movie and titles were snap up in the opening of the thrillers to give information about the actors and the directors.

We also found out that in every thriller movie, there is victim and a villain with a basic beginning, middle, and an end layout to the movie keeping the thriller simple and clear for the audience when watching. We also learned that the plots in the films are usually very simple stories and they are performed by the effects and camerawork used. As a result, we tried to use some of the regulations and conventions of existing thrillers movies. Therefore, our thriller would keep in line with the quality of efficiently made thrillers.

The key motivation for our thriller opening was ‘What lies beneath’ this is because we wanted to create a strange mood in our thriller and we felt that ‘What lies beneath’ gives off an enormous amount of strange atmosphere.
Therefore, the things that actually demand us were the setting which was set in a house with an individual person. This created a nervous reaction around the film, also the noises that formed a self-conscious atmosphere, with the use of house, props and lighting. Also we thought that the emotion of bareness and being alone went really well. Therefore, we decided to use this theme in our thriller movie. As a result, we thought that all of the rules and conventions listed worked very well in the film. Therefore, we decided to work with the same theme when creating our thriller opening, using the basic method that was used in ‘What lies beneath’.

As a result, our thriller opening fits with the feature rules and conventions of a thriller movie. Our thriller also challenges real media products by using its conventions and rules, that it is not a clear thriller movie type until it is watched carefully. With real conventions such as, a range of camera angles, quick cuts, music creating tension, over emphasized noises, and the use of props.

Also, when creating the thriller opening there are many things to be thought before going ahead and filming, as a result, we needed to find out how is the media product we are filming going to represent particular social groups. Such as, teenagers, adults, and elderly people. Therefore, we have tried to represent a particular social group, by using a seventeen years old female actor; our particular social group was teenager’s age sixteen to seventeen. This is because, teenagers are more interested in going to cinema then adults. Therefore, our media product was linked to teenager, which means that there would have been more people going to cinemas to watch the thriller. As a result, this would have made our media product more successful.

We have used an adult killer and a female teenager as the victim; this is to show the diversity in gender. Also, female teenagers are more unsecure than male teenagers. We have used an actor that has a mixed origin. Therefore, our thriller is not aimed at a particular racial group. We also have not included any religious themes or props; this is because we didn’t want our thriller film to be aimed at a particular group and to restrict audience or viewers. Therefore, we have used an identifiable every day girl that had no significant of any religious people.

We would like to distribute our thriller movie worldwide, this is because we would like to prevent piracy and give everyone the same chance to watch the thriller on same day, such as, Indiana Jones was one of the films released like this. Therefore, this style of release prevents all piracy and illegal downloads. Also by releasing our thriller worldwide will maximize our profit of the thriller movie.

We would also choose to release it over the internet such as, on youtube, facebook, vimeo and myspace. This is becuse the social group we are presenting will have access to these types of social sites. Therefore, this would be one of the ways we will advertise our media product to the audience. We would also like to distribute our thriller movie in all cinemas; this is because everybody has their own choice of cinemas, also people would find it more accessible then going to one specific cinema.

Subsequent to researching many institutions and distributers we have chosen Maple Pictures to distribute our media product, this is because they have had many successful films and people may associate the name Maple Pictures, which has already existing movies that have done excellent on liberate. As a result, if our thriller movie is to be distributed under this name then people may use this association and think the similar about our thriller movie. Maple Pictures has had successful films, such as, Transporter. This film has done well under this name and also has stars such as some of the Hollywood’s major names.

Our media product would have the rating of 15; this is because it isn’t as scary enough to have a rating of 18. However, we wouldn’t want a 12 year old to see it because we consider if the movie was taken further then it would have had more violent blood and killing. As a result, we think it is not suitable for a 12 year old to observe. Also, the market for our viewers would be older teenagers, such as 15+ this is because they could identify and communicate the story of the movie. Also, this age would welcome the content and the plot of the movie. The class of our viewers may possibly be both working and middle class people. This is because our thriller is situated in a flat and the main character is a normal girl, therefore both upper class and middle class would watch this if they had a choice to. The audience we have chosen is normal rather than a niche market. This is because it is easier to appeal to a wider range of audience than to appeal to specific criteria of smaller audience.

A characteristic who would fit into our target viewers would be teenagers between sixteen to seventeen (16/17) years old. Who is in full time education at school or college and is interests in thriller movies. Also, teenagers who have spare time and likes to go out with their friends. It is very important to attract audience to go and watch the thriller; there are range of ways, such as, TV advertisements. This is because the majority of people watch TV and also we would choose to market it on prime time television because that’s the point where large amount of the public watch TV. Therefore, more people would see the advertisements and making attempt to go and see the thriller.

Another way we could market our media product is by putting a trailer in the cinemas when there is a well known movie that has a huge population of audience. This is because it would show to cinema lovers who go to the cinema every often to watch a movie. In addition, we would advertise it on social network or internet sites, this is because teenagers 15+ will use these types of networking sites as a result, this would have a big impact on the thriller. This is because our target audience who we have aimed our thriller would have access to all the networking sites such as face-book, and by putting a link to the trailer anybody will have the change to gain access to this trailer online.

In the period of our project we have learned a range of different types of technologies from the process of constructing our media product; this is because everything was new to us, when we first started our project. As a result, we went on in the process of everything we learned and found it useful for us coursework. When filming the footage for the media product we found that we had to use lots of different media techniques with the camera such as, recording, tripod, moving it, and angles.

When all the footage was filmed we then had to transfer it into an application called Final Cut Pro this is where most of the cutting and editing was done to produce the final clips of our media project. We establish final cut pro easy to use and simple to understand, this is because one of the technicians had showed us how do us it. After using final cut pro to edit our piece of work we then had to add sound tracks. As a result, to add sound tracks we had to use an application called Soundtrack Pro to produce the music that fitted our piece of work we have created. However, after the sound we had to create the moving image. This is where we used it to top it off and make our media project look like an already existing thriller. For this we used a program called live Type to make the titles at the beginning of the thriller opening. This was the basic Apple Mac program that we used to create the final product.

Last and final technological program that we learned and used was an Internet based site called Blogger. This is where we recorded everything we done in class like a diary. We also mentioned, what we did to film, and edit. After finishing the media product we have posted the website on the blogger so that people could see what we had created, also, giving people the chance to see others thriller opening.

Looking back at my preliminary task, I feel that as a group we have done very well in both filming and time catching to match cut and editing. Looking back at my match cut exercise I have learned that group working is very important in media and also to film an opening or a movie it is very important that storyboarding and planning is made correct. Also, to make a media product successful the editing and soundtrack is very important in media.

Media Evaluation

Media Evaluation

Before going off to film our thriller we watched clips of different thriller movies to get inspiration for our own films. We watched such films as What Lies Beneath
The Shining

Because we watched these clips, we were able to extract certain camera angles that we could use in our thriller, or even similar themes that we could follow. It was a useful way of compiling ideas together.
After completing the opening there are many things that are noticeably different compared to typical thriller movies. Normally, a film would use an establishing shot as the very first shot; this is to set the scene so the audience is aware of where the film is taking place.
However, our thriller opening started with a close up shot of a face. Comparatively, it’s against the conventional opening of a movie – not necessarily a thriller.
As a group we decided to use flashbacks in our opening as a way of raising questions, this is a typical way of beginning a movie because the audience wants something to grab their interest the minute they start watching.
Not many movies begin their story with the end, but we decided to do that because it would make the opening itself more entertaining, as it makes you wonder “who is that?” “Why are they dead?” “Who is the killer?” etc.
We discussed the audience together, as a group, analyzing our ideas for the thriller and to which age groups they would be suitable for. In the end we chose the idea for our opening along with the age group we would be creating the film for: 15 plus.
A typical person that would probably see this movie would be around the age of fifteen or sixteen; likes to watch movies that make them jump, but can’t see 18’s yet. Probably an independent person, and wouldn’t go and see this movie with their parents. They would most likely enjoy it because it gives a slight eerie mood, but it’s not full on scary. There’s a lot of elements that could give a slight jump to that sort of audience but not enough to terrify them.
In order to attract this sort of audience, it is important to advertise in ways that would be visible to them. Technology nowadays allows us to advertise things in a much larger scale:


Television allows adverts to be broadcast all over the world.
This movie would be a big Hollywood production, so the first main thing that would attract the audience to the movie would be if there was a huge celebrity as the lead role.
Because there would be, massive billboard posters, and bus advertisements would mean that people would see it every day. Although, it would have to be an explicit poster to capture the attention of our target audience. Also, television and computer advertisements would successful ways of getting our target audience to notice our film, and to get them interested in going to see it.

The thriller itself, I felt was successful. Our use of sound was simple yet effective, as it emphasized simple sounds (such as a knife sharpening) into sounding menacing and creepy. We also, made sure that we used a lot of different camera angles when filming the opening,

because we wanted to display our knowledge of working the camera. This worked well when editing because it enabled us to select what we thought worked best when putting all of the clips together. We also decided on using a point of view shot in our opening, from the aspect of the killer; to one make our thriller different from others, and two to allow the audience to see everything from the perspective of the killer.

The aim of our opening was to raise questions, and to start a story which wouldn’t be a conventional story line to most other movies. It would have been easy to have a girl being stalked on her way home, but we decided against it, and to have the killer already watching menacingly only meters away.
We also decided on a broken narrative in our opening, cutting from flashbacks to the present, and back again. We decided on this because we didn’t want to tell the whole story within the two minute opening, we wanted to raise questions and to keep the audience wanting more.
When it came to editing the opening itself, I found that the process wasn’t hard at all. It did become tedious at times when clips kept un-rendering themselves, and sometimes when the effects didn’t work so we had to keep replacing them. But as soon as we go the hang of Final Cut Pro we were editing the clips well.
Once we had all the clips in the right place, and we were certain that was the final sequence for our opening, we began to add the text.
We decided against overlaying the text on to the clips of film because it might distract the audience view. So, we kept it simple with a black background and white text. Although, it was important to have a font that looked creepy to keep in relation to the theme.
The appliance of text didn’t take very long, so it soon became time to add our soundtrack to the opening. This was the bit that was probably the hardest, mostly because we had to find suitable music to play over the opening. We went to Soundtrack Pro as the program to use for our music.

We soon came across a simple violin melody that sounded rather eerie, and we decided to loop it because it sounded good against the film. We added sounds over the melody, and these were the sounds of water running, and a knife being sharpened etc.
On a whole, creating the two minute opening was a rather simple process, with a bit of help from the technicians when it came to editing, but once we knew what we were doing we had no problem in creating the mood we wanted.
Each lesson we had, we had to record it on our blogs by using Blogger.

This was the way we were meant to keep track of our filming process, and it was also a way to post our movie on to the internet. Other ways in which we could have done that are by uploading it to Vimeo or YouTube.

By doing this, we are releasing our film to a much larger audience, as they these websites are visited by people from all over the world.
Looking back over the whole experience, I feel that I have learnt some vital skills when it comes to filming; learning about angles, and how to capture a shot, and how to work the actual camera itself.
I found the planning was probably the hardest part of the process because it was vital to get the right idea in our minds before we went off and filmed. We didn’t want to go out and film something and not know what we were going to actually shoot. I think the filming worked well because we all worked well as a group, which meant we listened to each other if someone had a suggestion on how to film something.
Overall, the whole process wasn’t too difficult, our group worked well together and we managed to create a brilliant piece of media that shows our true potential. I’ve learnt all about the different elements of a movie – how it is made, the camera work, the music, and editing. I’ve become more confident in producing a piece of work that has been well edited and has clean match-cuts. I think as a group we all worked well together, each giving our own ideas and agreeing and disagreeing when necessary, if it wasn’t for that then the opening might not have been finished.

Media Evaluation

Media Evaluation:
In the build up to creating my final media thriller, we watched already existing thrillers to gather inspiration and analyse the conventions of the openings to see what was effective in them to help us when creating our thriller. We watched the openings to The Shining, What Lies Beneath, Seven, Psycho and many others.

Some conventions that we found frequently occurred when watching these openings were: An Establishing shot to show us the place of action, the setting, the time and place and setting the atmosphere for the rest of the film, dark lighting to set the mood of the thriller film, titles popped up in all of them. Sounds were over emphasized for the ‘thriller’ (jumpy) effect, we found that there is always a victim and a killer with a simple beginning, middle, end format to the film keeping it straight forward and understandable for the audience when watching, the plots in the film are usually very simple stories but dramatized by the effects and camerawork used.
I tried to use some of these codes and conventions of existing thrillers so it would keep in line with the quality of thrillers that are being made professionally.

The main inspiration for my thriller was ‘What lies beneath’ because I felt as if it give off a great eerie mood which I wanted to create in my own. The things that really appealed to me when watching it were – That it was set in a house with a girl being alone, the tense feeling around the film, the over emphasized noises that created a awkward atmosphere, the use of house props+ lighting that are familiar to everyone and the audience can relate to it. Also I thought the feeling of emptiness and being alone really well so I used this theme in my own. All of the conventions listed I thought worked well in that film so I decided to work with them when creating my thriller opening, using the basic techniques used in ‘ What lies beneath’.
Even though my thriller opening does fit with typical conventions of a thriller by using its conventions, it also challenges real media products in the way that it is not an obvious thriller genre until watched thoroughly when real conventions (Variety of camera angles, over emphasized noises in the film, quick cuts, music that creates tension, the use of typical props, mirror, knife etc) are noticed. In addition, it challenges the camerawork and angles of already existing thrillers by keeping the shots tighter rather than loose and by creating different angles to excite the viewer when watching.

When creating the thriller opening many things have to be thought through before going ahead and shooting, like how is the media product we are going film represent particular social groups. The character, girl that stars in my thriller is 17 so therefore I believe that the thriller opening that I have created could be aimed at a teen and above audience because of the relation of audience to the character, she is also a normal everyday girl so that everyone could identify and relate to her. Also the gender audience could be an issue when creating a thriller but I believe I have equally balanced the genders and the main character is a girl and the killer is a man so could show diversity in gender rather than just appealing to one. Another representation that has to be taken into consideration is racial groups as this is very important when marketing the film. The girl that stars in the thriller is of a mixed origin, as it is not purposely aimed at a particular racial group. I purposely didn’t use any religious themes or props in the thriller because I didn’t want it to be restricted to what audience could watch it. I am conforming to standard representations that are made in films where the evil killer is the male and the victim is a female.

Media institutions and distributions are a big deal when marketing a film as they can make or break a film as such. I would like to distribute my thriller film worldwide as to prevent piracy so to give everyone the same opportunity to watch the thriller, like Indiana Jones was released like this and because of this style of release it prevented all piracy and illegal downloads etc. Also thinking of the financial side of the business a worldwide release of a film would maximize the profits for the film. I would not choose to release it over the internet (you tube , my space) because some people may not be able to gain access to or be familiar with it therefore again I feel that would limit audience figures. I would also like to distribute my film in all cinemas allowing everybody with their own choice to get involved.

After researching many institutions and distributers I have chosen Maple Pictures to distribute my media product because they have had many successful films and people may associate the name Maple Pictures with already existing films that have done well on release so if ours is distributed under this name people may use this association and think the same.
Maple Pictures successful films: The haunting, Transporter, The Spirit, Crank etc these films show how many films have done well under this name and also these films star some of Hollywood’s biggest names including Jason Statham who is a well known British actor and does well in America too.

Attracting audiences and ratings to do with the thriller is another big theme when thinking about films and marketing. I would make the rating a 15 because it is not scary enough to become an 18 but I wouldn’t take a 12 year old to see it because I believe if the film was taken further it would have blood, killing etc which I don’t think is suitable for a 12 year old to watch. I would say that the market for our audience would be older teens from 15+ so that they could sympathize and relate to the girl in the film and also this age would appreciate the content and storyline of the film. The class of our audience could be both working and middle class as it is set in a flat and she is a normal girl so I wouldn’t think the upper class would watch something like this is they had a choice, I made the thriller with this in mind. I don’t believe that by doing this I am losing a great audience because others would be attracted to it. The audience I have chosen is mainstream rather than a niche market because it is easier to appeal to a wider audience rather than using specific criteria to appeal to a smaller audience.

A typical person who would fit into my target audience would be a older teen (16/17) who was at college and had interests in thriller/horror films and in their spare time likes to go out to the cinema with friends etc.
Attracting audiences to come and see the film is very important as this can be done in a variety of ways, if done well then is very successful. I would market my film by TV advertisements because the majority of people watch TV and I would choose to market it on prime time television because that’s the time that most of the public watch TV so therefore more would see the advertisements and be tempted into going to see the thriller.

Another way I would market my product is by putting on a trailer in the cinema before already existing films because it would be shown to cinema lovers who go to the cinema and want to watch a film, also lastly I would advertise it on social network/ internet sites because there is frequent use of those by people of 15+ who I have aimed my film at. There could be a link to the trailer so that anybody can gain access to this trailer.

When creating this thriller opening I learned a lot about technologies from the process of constructing my media product. I learnt a hell of a lot when creating this project, as everything was new to me, so as I went on in the process everything I learned was new and effective for me. I filmed most of the footage for the media product so I found that I had to get to grips and practise a lot with the camera for example: recording, tripod, moving it, angles etc. When all of the footage was filmed when then transferred it into an application called Final Cut Pro where most of the cutting and editing was done to produce the final clips. I found final cut pro easy to use and simple to understand one the technicians had demonstrated what to do. After using final cut pro to edit the piece we had to add sound so we used an application called Soundtrack Pro to create the music that fitted with the piece we created. After the sound and the moving image were created to top it off and make it look like an already existing thriller we used a program called live Type to make the titles for the beginning of the opening. These were the basic Apple Mac programs that we used to create the final product. We also used an Internet based site called Blogger where we recorded the filming process and practically wrote a diary on our progress when making the thriller. We commented on what happened in the lessons, what we did to film, edit etc and overall what we learned from doing this. After finishing the media product I posted on the Blogger website so that people looking on the website could see what I had created again giving more people the change to see the opening. I believe by doing this the Internet could widen the potential audience for the product.

Looking back on the build up to of this project we did many exercises and practise films etc to gather experience for when we created the final product. We did a match cut exercise where we had to make a practise film using match cuts and go through the same process and edit etc the film so that we had experience when doing our final one. I found helpful that we had practise sessions with the camera to get us familiar with the use of it and also the tripod. I also found that storyboarding and the postproduction exercises that we did really helped in consideration with the final product. I believe now looking back at it that the planning in the build up to this product was critical because it laid out a plan of what we had to film and we made a schedule on where and when we was going to film to we had a set criteria and plan for all of the days of producing which really helped.

Final Thriller Project Video

This is the final thriller project video after the sound, titles and , moving image are all combined together.

sound and music effects

On the 6th of February we completed the editing process. We then got to a point where we thought that the piece looked strong just with the clip. However, we then took the two minute piece into a Soundtrack pro where we put down a backing track for the whole piece. Then over the top of the backing track we added sound effects that built-in with the action in the sequence, For example - when the killer was sharpening the knife we really over bring out the noise, also, added over the top sound effects on to the opening of doors, running water and knocking. As this is one of the techniques that real thriller movies use. At the points of climax or significance we changed the sound to a higher or lower pitch, to let the audience know when there was a change in action, or just to keep them re-interested if interest was lost in the original music used.

Editing

On the wednesday we started editing,
it took us 3 lessons (a double and single) to capture, name and put the shots in order.
After that Mickey showed us how to play around with our shots e.g. speed them up/ slow them down, Melissa then showed us how to put text (e.g. Produced by, Starring, Music by) in using LiveType which you can play around with the text aswell - there was many different fonts, different styles and colours.

We then was showed how to put together the music, which we also done to enhance the sounds and make our opening scene more like a thriller.

Filming

we first filmed the shots on monday inside the house because we never stayed late,
on tuesday we filmed from 3 til 8 which meant we could film the shots outside the house because it was dark and this creates a more spooky effect.
At the end of tuesday we had 21 shots altogether
we filmed most of the shots 3 times so that when it comes to editing then we have more choices to pick from.
Brooke took the camera home again and filmed some extra shots like someone sharpening a knife, which we used.

Planning and presenting film.

On a double lesson - Friday morning, our whole class was asked to plan and present their idea by the end of the double lesson.
so in the first half my group (kassi, faruk, brooke, me) sat down and gathered ideas from each of us.
there was many ideas that sounded good such as a spooky, old chruch at night, a graveyard at night, dark alleyway etc but we thought about it in a bit more detailed and realised how much time and how hard it would be to use them ideas. also those ideas are used alot and we wanted to be original and stand out from the others.
In the end we all agreed on a girl being watched. And then we also got ideas from other thrillers and we decided to show the end of the film at the beginning and then as u see more, u will see what happened and how it happened.
Then we had to go deeper into the storyline and decide how many shots we was going to have and exactly what was going to happen in each shot and what camera angle we was going to use.
In the second half of the lesson we presented our ideas to our teacher and class and Annabelle seemed okay with it so we decided to stick with our ideas.

Music and Sound Effects:

In the lesson on the 6th of February we finalized the editing process when we got to a point where we thought that the piece looks strong just with the clips etc. In the lesson we then took the 2 minute piece into Soundtrack pro where we layed down a backing track for the whole piece and then over the top of the backing track we added sound effects that fitted with the action in the sequence, For example - when the killer was sharpening the knife we really over emphasized the noise and also added over the top sound effects on to the opening of doors, running water, knocking etc as this is one of the techniques that real thriller movies use and if used well create a good thriller. At the points of climax or importance we changed the sound to a higher or lower pitch etc to let the audience know there was a change in action or just to keep them re-interested if interest was lost in the original music used.

Music, Sound Effects and Titles:

In the lesson on the 6th of February we finalized the editing process when we got to a point where we thought that the piece looks strong just with the clips etc. In the lesson we then took the 2 minute piece into Soundtrack pro where we layed down a backing track for the whole piece and then over the top of the backing track we added sound effects that fitted with the action in the sequence, For example - when the killer was sharpening the knife we really over emphasized the noise and also added over the top sound effects on to the opening of doors, running water, knocking etc as this is one of the techniques that real thriller movies use and if used well create a good thriller. At the points of climax or importance we changed the sound to a higher or lower pitch etc to let the audience know there was a change in action or just to keep them re-interested if interest was lost in the original music used.

Editing

After the filming of our shots we took the camera and captured the footage on to the Apple Mac and then we started to begin the editing process. After the editing process we used the Final Cut Pro were we started to cut and past the shots. Also we arranged them in order and started to make it like a thriller opening.

The editing Process took us for three lessons, which was our lessons on wednesday 28th January, Friday 30 January and Wednesday 4th Febuary. This is because we tried to get the cuts, transitions and the continuity of editing as perfect as we could. Then we had the media technician which showed us all the basic techniques on Final cut Pro. Therefore, we could add them to our thriller. For example the technician showed us how to overlap shots and also to slow or speed up the shots. We then started to add the credits on the film such as, starring, produced by, edited by and music by. To do the credits we used a program called Live on the Apple Mac's. The Live program allowed us to create a range of things such as, text, fonts, effects, size, and also to move it around the screen.
Lastly we were briefly taught by the technician on how to add music over the top of the film which we will start producing it on Friday.
We then decided that it was missing shots. Therefore, we are going to take the camera out again and re-film a couple of shots so that the thriller will look scarier.

Wednesday, 28 January 2009- Filming the opening

Monday 26th and Tuesday 27th January - Filming Opening
Monday was the first day of filming the thriller so we had planned to get the first 10-12 shots done so that got a good 10-15 minutes of film to edit. we filmed for about 2 hours straight to get them done and we achieved this by creating the shots very well and filming each shot at least 3 times so that we had choices when editing the film. On the first day of filming we got 9 shots done which was ok because there were only 21 to film so we did quite well collectively as a group.
Tuesday we decided to film again to try and finish up the filming so that in wednesdays lesson we could edit. we ended up filming the entire other 12 shots so collectively we had 21 in total to edit on the macs. we were filming from 3 in the afternoon until 8 o clock which was good because again we filmed each shot at least 3 times so we have a variety of shots, angles and choices when we come to edit it.
Now we have the entire 21 shots filmed we are now going to think about editing the film and making music to go with the thriller opening. we wanted to get the filming done quickly and in a short space of time so that we had a lot of time to arrange shots, music and edit because that adds the finishing touch to the opening.

After the filming, editing, music, text

After we finished filming the shots that we wanted to create we took the camera and captured the footage on to the Apple mac's to begin the editing process.
We took all of the footage and then using Final Cut Pro we cut and pasted shots, arranged them in order and made it look like the opening of a thriller movie. This editing Process took a double and single lesson because we tried to get the cuts, transitions, continuity editing perfect. Mickey showed us all of the basic techniques on Final cut so that we could add them to our piece for example how to overlap shots, to slow things down and speed things up etc.
After we have the basic film that we wanted to show, we then decided to start adding the credits on the the film (Starring, produced by, edited by, music by) and to do this we used a program called Live type that was also on the Apple Mac's. This program allowed us to create text, add fonts, effects to it, change the size, move it around the screen etc so that we could play around with the text and see what worked best.
Lastly we were briefly taught how to add music over the top of the film which we will carry on producing in the next lesson.
After seeing the basic layout of the our film, we collectively decided that it is missing something so we are going to take the camera out again and re film a couple of shots so that they look more scary, thriller like and fit in more with our story/task.

AS thriller practical assignment

Over the course of the term we have been looking at thrillers, this is because our practical is creating the opening of a thriller film. 

In our media lessons we have been studying and analyzing clips of different thriller movies to find out what should be included in our own project, we have focused on camera work, editing, lighting, and mise en scene. Each of these things are important when creating any type of film. In both Dan and Annabel's lessons we have been concentrating on the different elements that make up a  thriller, we have studied this profusely so that we remember to add certain elements to our own thriller.

Music is the key to most movies as it creates the mood, and also can distinguish a horror from a romance, or a comedy from an action movie. It's important that we create a soundtrack for our opening that fits with the opening itself, it needs to create an eerie mood to create suspense.

The editing is important as well, because the editing can set the pace and even the mood. Each shot needs to be well edited so it looks consistent and makes the thriller look its best.

On Monday 26th January, and Tuesday 27th January, we filmed our shots for the thriller. We were determined to get it all filmed so that we could begin the editing process which would take a longer time than the filming would. 

Brooke had planned out each shot from the plan we wrote in class, and we went by that so that we wouldn't get mixed up with what we filmed and what we hadn't. It was important that we filmed some scenes last as they were harder to do during the day, or not possible until everything else was finished. For example, the bath scene had to be filmed last because it was the messiest scene and also would take the longest to create. 

Also, scenes that were supposed to be shot in the dark had to be postponed until it was darker outside. 

We managed to get all of the shots filmed, shooting them a couple of times to make sure we had enough choice for the editing process. 

Today, and Wednesday have been our first editing sessions, we have managed to complete the sequence for the movie, but there are still some elements we need to include. We still need to create the music for the opening, we also need to film another shot - a knife being sharpened - to heighten the fact there is a killer. 

During the editing process we have paid close attention to match cutting, this is important because without it the shots would look inconsistent and wouldn't fit together properly, making the film look poorly made.

Until the opening itself is fully edited and we are happy with everything we have added into it, the music will be the next big thing to create because it's important that we set the right mood, and of course we will need to be able to see the finished production in order to create the music that is eerie in the right places.

 

editing

Filming Thriller Opening

Part one of filming:
On Monday the 26th January 2009, we started to film our thriller. So, the first day we planned to get the first 10-12 shots filmed. As a result, we got a good 10-15 minutes of film to edit. It took us about 1 and a half to 2 hours to get the 10-12 shots filmed and as a group we completed this by producing the shots very well and filming each shot at least 3 times so that we had a range of choices when editing the film. However, on the first day of our filming we managed to film 9, which was acceptable because there were only 21 to film so we did quite well as a group.

Part two of filming:
The next day, on Tuesday the 27th January 2009, we started to film the other half of our shot and we try to finish the filming. As a result, we could start to edit our film on Wednesday. As a group we were filming from 3 to 8 o clock for Monday and Tuesday, which was in a responsible time this is because we filmed each shot at least 3 times so we had a range of shots, angles and a range of choices when we come to edit the film.

Planning of our thriller opening

We sat down in our groups and together we brainstormed some ideas about the opening of our overall thriller. As a result, we all had different ideas of what we wanted within the opening of our thriller film, so as a group we tried to merge all of the ideas and add them into one collective opening for the thriller.
In addition to this, we came up with many different ideas such as, using a church, graveyard and dark alley ways. However, we then realised that these ideas were a bit formula therefore, at the end of our brainstorm we decided to film the opening of a girl inside her house who is having a normal day. However, then a guy gets into her house and starts to watch her all the way through until she is murdered.
We then decided that we wanted to be creative and show the ending as if the whole film was being made and then kind of going back in time and showing what happened, including the events that leaded to her being murdered.
After getting a primary idea we then brainstormed the type of shots we wanted to add to the opening of our thriller to make it attractive and appealing to the audience. As a group we then went through shot by shot and planned every shot we was going to use in the opening of our thriller such as, the camera angles / movement. Also, in the second half of our lesson we had to pitch the plan to the class and to the teacher to see if it was good to go ahead to process. We also personated our idea in a PowerPoint presentation informing the class about everything they needed to know about our thriller opening.

Monday 26th and Tuesday 27th January - Filming Opening

Monday was the first day of filming the thriller so we had planned to get the first 10-12 shots done so that got a good 10-15 minutes of film to edit. we filmed for about 2 hours straight to get them done and we achieved this by creating the shots very well and filming each shot at least 3 times so that we had choices when editing the film. On the first day of filming we got 9 shots done which was ok because there were only 21 to film so we did quite well collectively as a group.
Tuesday we decided to film again to try and finish up the filming so that in wednesdays lesson we could edit. we ended up filming the entire other 12 shots so collectively we had 21 in total to edit on the macs. we were filming from 3 in the afternoon until 8 o clock which was good because again we filmed each shot at least 3 times so we have a variety of shots, angles and choices when we come to edit it.
Now we have the entire 21 shots filmed we are now going to think about editing the film and making music to go with the thriller opening. we wanted to get the filming done quickly and in a short space of time so that we had a lot of time to arrange shots, music and edit because that adds the finishing touch to the opening.

Friday 23rd January - Planning Lesson and Presentation

For the first half of the lesson the whole group (Faruk, Andy, Kassi and Me) sat down together and brainstormed some final ideas of what was going to be our overall idea for the opening of our thriller. we all had different ideas of what we wanted within the opening so we tried to combine all of the ideas and incorporate them into one collective opening for the group. We came up with many vague ideas like using a church, graveyard, dark alley way etc but then realized that these ideas were a bit cliche so at the end we decided to film the opening of a girl inside her house just being normal and then he gets into her house and is watching her. This is the idea that we are going to film and edit to become our opening. With the thriller we decided that we wanted to be creative and show the ending as if the whole film was being made and then kind of go back in time and show what happened in the events leading up to that point. After getting an initial idea we then decided what sort of shots we wanted to add to the opening to make it interesting and appealing. we ran through a shot by shot scheme where we planned what was going to happen in each shot and the camera angles/ movement that we was going to use so that when we decided to film we would be totally prepared.
When the thriller opening was planned according to shot types and content, in the second half of the lesson we then had to pitch it to the class and teacher to see if it was ok to start the process. We presentated our idea in a powerpoint presentation telling the class everything that they needed to know about the opening (Some brief Examples of what we pitched in the powerpoint):

• The Basic Plot - Simple and effective, Based around a girl being watched, show the ending at the beginning to create speculation...
• What we wanted to achieve in the opening - Add an element of weirdness, physco, portray storyline and tension without dialogue but through mainly music and camerawork. We dont want to add to much information to the opening that tells the whole story but add enough information that the audience want to watch on and ask questions.
• Quick run through of what the 2 minutes is going to contain - Expained the storyline as above
• Some Camerawork and angles included in the opening - Extreme close ups to highlight specific parts and show emotion, Zooms to add a sense of revelation, through shots for example through doors, cupboards to add an element of being watched, Handheld camerawork to show that the camera is conveying the mans eyes that are watching the girl, an establishing shot to show the location and setting of the opening, low angle shot to show the vunerability of the character in the situation she is in and we are going to keep the camerawork quite close and compact to create tension etc.
• Basic name ideas for the film - They're already in, watched, watching, Alone, Enter, They are back etc. These were just some names that popped into our head whilst planning but we are going to continue to think about the name of the film whilst filming because it is crutial to the film and its content.
• Location, setting, Characters - location of filming is my house in the EC1 area in an esate but the actual filming is taking place in my home because that is going to be where the girl is 'living'. Some settings we are using to film is the living room, kitchen, bathroom, front door etc, so typical household settings.
• Elements added from already existing thrillers - variety of shots, tension, hanging questions, dark lighting, suspense, credits and title etc.
• Key Images we want to create - Framing the girl alot on her own to show isloation and the sense of being alone in a situation, we want to make the camera his eyes, shots through things and around corners so to create a real sense of being watched and also to make the audience feel really involved with what is going on.
• Lighting in the opening - we want to use dim lightingto create a dark, weird, scary mood in the opening, house lighting and street lamps will also be used because of the location and setting we are filming in.
• Music used - music is going to be a key part of our opening as it is going to set the pace of the opening, set the mood, feeling, and gather character emotion. we are going to stop and start music at certain points in the opening to highlight specific parts of the opening or just to show the importance of somethings. we also want to convey thoughts, feeling and atmosphere, tension through music which means it is going to be a major factor within our opening.
• Audience - we want this to appeal to audiences that enjoy thriller movies already and also people over 15 because thats probably what the rating would be on the movie if it was actually being released because it contains death, blood, stalking etc.

Above is a few points that i included within my presentation to give the class a real feel of what i wanted to create in the opening and what its content was going to be.

After we finished the presentation we watched others pitch theirs to class which was good to see what others ideas were and how they were going to portray this when filming. As a group we then created a schedule of times and date we were going to film. overall we had 21 shots to film so when knew we had to get started straight away. The group decided to start filming at 3 on moday afternoon and at 3 on tuesday afternoon at the location that was my house.

Match Cut Practice Film

Practical Film 2

In this lesson we were given a task, to go out and film a practice sequence so we can improve are camera shots and camera movements etc for the real thriller film. We had to include the following sequence, in are film and they were to making sure that we have use at least one match cut, an example of shot/ reverse shot and showing are understanding of the 180 degree rule. The story of are practical film was A character opens a door, walks into a room, sits down opposite another character and they share a few lines of dialogue.

The camera work movements used in our film sequence was excellent as we used a wide-ranging amount of shots and also experimented with movement and angles. My personal judgment is that, I feel that as a group we have improved are skills in camera work from the last practice film we created. As a result, we also have learned from the mistakes we made last time and have improved them for our second practical film.

The shots that were most successful in our film, was the over the shoulder shot, close up (of feet and hand opening door) and the match cuts. That was used to create a sense of flow and stability in the sequence. However, the panning shot we used in the beginning of the film didn't work good as the character was not located in the frame properly and was not capable to judge the speed of the person walking so therefore it was a bit muddled as an general shot.


The editing in our practical film was very successful, this was because the clips we filmed were simply fitted together following some touching up as a result the film looked very good and made sense. We also used continuity editing productively in editing as the film flowed and appeared like there was no editing done. The short film that we have made in our group did make sense because of the thinking and planning that went in beforehand. Also of the shots and angles used and in the editing we formed the scene therefore it would appear straight rather than appearing as though it have been edited.

We also learned as a group that the Mise-en-scene was very important in the shots. This is because it created the atmosphere and emotion which also gave the viewers an idea of where it was set.

As a group we also managed to create a sense of tension, at the beginning when the character was walking in have not shown fully. Therefore, we only determined to show a close up of his feet and hand opening the door. Therefore, it would collect questions to the viewers, like where he was going and why?
One thing that we forgot to do when filming our film was to add the 5 seconds rule before and after the shot which would have specified us more time and space when editing the film.

However, we also tried to use various conventions from a real thriller film like tracking the characters footsteps, close up of his hand which creates suspense and also a range of camera shots giving the viewers more to look at.
After filming our film and editing it, we had some feedback from the teacher and she told us that the film we made was very good and also the match cuts we used worked out well. Also she told us that the camera work was well thinking out and planned.

In my personal feelings of the practice film, was very successful and I also have enjoyed playing a role in the film with the group. Also, i personally believe that the work we was set to do was well done and it was to its highest standard including all from the brief in the film.

Practical Film 2

The task given in this three hour lesson was to film our practice film that would be submitted alongside our thriller as a practice piece in order to practice match-cutting also, In this film everyone in the class had to film the same thing which was 'a character opens a door, walks into a room, sits down opposite another character and they share a few lines of dialogue.' and in this film we had to make sure that we had at least one Match Cut and showing our understanding of the '180 degree rule'.

I am very happy with our camera work, we planned it thoroughly and used a lot of different camera shots. The shots that worked well were the Over-the-shoulder shots and the low-angle-shots, they worked well because it showed two perspectives of the characters. If i had to pick, the camera shot that didn't work was the panning shot but it worked in the end because of editing which went well. Our continuity editing was very successful. I have learnt a lot about mise en scene because i have learnt that it is incredibly important to how the film is portrayed and how the story is told.

Our film did create an element of suspense as I walked in in the opening scenes with the close up of the feet and hand opening the door shot, you think to yourself 'where is he walking and why?' We did come across some errors and mistakes when we got to the editing process, we realised that we did not add a extra five seconds at the end of each shot to make it easier and gave us more time to edit. I do not think that we used any of the conventions from other thriller films we just made it up ourselves. 

Our feedback from our class and our teacher was positively. Annabelle said it was 'short which was good'. After watching our short piece of film i thought it was quite good for a practice, but this would mean we would have to work twice as hard for our thriller because our expectations may have been higher now, we could take the negative feedback and learn from out mistakes for the thriller. We feel that our thriller should be better as we already have a lot of interesting ideas already off the top of our heads.

Practical Film 2

The task we were given for todays lesson was to go out and film another practice sequence so we can practice camera shots etc for the real thriller film. The Brief we were given was: 

Film the following sequence, making sure to use at least one match cut, an example of shot/ reverse shot and showing your understanding of the 180 degree rule - A character opens a door, walks into a room, sits down opposite another character and they share a few lines of dialogue. 

The camera work used in the sequence was very good as we used a varied amount of shots and also experimented with movement and angles, i feel we have improved in camera work from the last practice film we created as well have learned from the mistakes made last time and fixed them. The shots that were most successful were: Over the shoulder shot, close up (of feet and hand opening door) and the match cuts used created a sense of flow and continuity in the sequence. The panning shot we used in the beginning of the short film didn't work very well as the character was not positioned in the frame properly and was unable to judge the pace of the person walking so therefore was a bit messy as an overall shot.

The editing was very successful because the clips we filmed were easily fitted together after some touching up so the film looked good and made sense. We used continuity editing successfully in editing as the film flowed and looked like there was no editing done to it. The short film that we made did make sense because of the thought and planning that went in before hand of the shots and angles used and also in editing we created the scene so that it looked straight rather than looking as though it had been edited. 

We learned that Mise en scene was very important in the shot as it created the mood and feeling and also gave the viewers an idea of where it was set and taking place.

We did manage to create a sense of suspense at the beginning when the character walking in (Andy) was not shown fully we only decided to show a close up of his feet and hand opening the door so it gathered questions like where he was going and why? the close ups used created this suspense because of the involvement with the character and the waiting that was needed to find out what was happening.

One thing that we forgot to do when filming was to add 5 seconds before and after the shot which would have given us more time and space when editing it.

We tried to use some conventions from areal thriller film like tracking the characters footsteps, close up of hand creating suspense and also a variety of camera shots giving the viewers more to look at and thing over. 

The feedback from the teacher was that the film we made was good and the match cuts used worked well and also the camera work was well thought out and planned.

my feelings of the practice was that it was very successful and i enjoyed filming with the group, i also believe that the work we was set was done well and to high standard including everything from the brief in the film. 

Openings to films:

Blogging lesson (9th January 09)
In our first lesson back today we analyzed and picked apart the openings of films specifically looking at thrillers, we watched a BBC documentary called ‘Watching’ that analyzed film openings and also as a class we took notes on the opening of films and also watched a few of last years thriller coursework’s to see how we could go about making ours and gave us ideas to get started on.
From the documentary I learned a lot about what the openings of films should do to us as an audience and how is makes us carry on watching. At the beginning of the documentary Thomas Sutcliffe says: “films need to seduce their audience into long term commitment. While there are many types of seduction, the temptation to go for instant arousal is almost irresistible” This quote is saying that as a film maker you have to grab the audiences attention by luring them in slowly and carefully with the opening without giving too much or too little away that may bore them, also the opening has to make a viewer want to watch on so it should arise questions to the viewer making them want to watch on and find out the answers. Openings of films should not give everything away at once they should “nurture the desire” of the viewer so as to make them watch on.
The opening of a film should give bit by bit in the opening making them wait and wonder what’s going to happen next, creating and imaginary interaction between viewer and character making the viewer want to find out more and get their questions answered. The opening initially is to establish the setting and scene that is set, to capture viewers attention, instruct us of the mood and tone and leads us into the story telling us about the story line, the characters and the tone set for the movie.
In the documentary critic Stanley Kauffmann described a classic opening to a movie:
It should give you enough questions and information to make you want to carry on watching to find out answers, it should ask yourself questions, not much dialogue in the opening so that mood can just be created by the music, setting and action rather than just focusing on what characters have to say through dialogue. Lastly he says that the opening of a film should be subtle but effective on the viewer to again make them want to carry on viewing.
The documentary carried on to show the opening of Kyle Coopers film Seven which was very effective as an opening because it created an atmosphere and mood for the film through just the edited clips of a close up of the mans hands and also the film was cleverly created through the credits as they flicked up and down creating a surreal, psychopathic mood and gave this off to the audience without anything being said and just focused on a close up of a mans fingers sewing which is simplistic but effective.
Orson Welles created a film called ‘A touch of Evil’ where he wanted to not put any credits at the opening of his film but just to focus on the content of storyline and characters rather than making the viewers read the credits and loose focus from the film. Universal studios then took the film in to their own hands and decided to add credits at the bottom of the screen that killed the effect of the film and blunted the storyline that was originally meant to be effective but was taken away by the credits.
“A favourite trick of film noir” is used in movies because it is believed to work well in films against viewers. Noir is meaning black, filmed at night and also means that the director is putting the ending of a film at the beginning of the film to look ahead to what’s coming up with one of the critics saying “ destination as much of a departure point”.
The opening of the shining cleverly creates suspense by not using any dialogue and just followed a lone car in the middle of a deserted forestland like a predator. It created a sense of ‘wrong’ just by camera shots where “Every image leads you in”. The opening used high angled, crane shots and panned the car with Kyle Cooper saying it “Tuned viewers into a dissonant pitch”.
After the documentary we brainstormed as a class about openings of films and what worked and didn’t work. We discussed the methods that are used to draw audiences into the opening of a film and the most important factors of an opening:
• Gradual build up to keep the viewer interested
• Excitement/ action
• Introduction of characters and a brief incite into the story line/s
• Name of the film, titles and credits
• Music/ sound
• Establishing shots (set the scene)
• Setting the tone, time, place, mood, atmosphere, characters and settings
• A dramatic opening to excite the viewer and carry on their viewing
• It must raise questions and interests
• It MUST NOT tell the story as it would give the viewer the story in the first 3 minutes and then it would bore them, so not carry on watching.
• Logo and music first off all draws and leads you in
• The opening must create speculation, curiosity, pleasure and promise
• It must set up and destroy assumptions

“A good beginning will signpost its destination” meaning that a good beginning will give directions to where the film is heading leading you carefully through the story and what to expect next. This quote is telling us that it has to give us little information, not too much but guidance into the next part of the story.
Elements that worked well in the films seen today including editing, shots, distances, music, mise en scene:
• Editing that conveys pace
• Overlaid/ overlapped editing
• Effects on images EG: negative, red tint
• Extreme close ups, establishing shots, panning, close ups, medium shots all work well in the opening as we have seen from other film openings
• Music that creates a mood and atmosphere just by listening is a good soundtrack but it works very well when the beat of the music fits with the edited cuts of the sequence.
• Mise En Scene must be a good choice like churches, streets, graveyards, buildings, estates work well as they have a sense of professionalism about them, more thought out and work well with the thriller genre but using college corridors doesn’t work so well as it adds a sense of slap bang and messiness to the production.

What role do you think planning played in the films seen?
A great amount of planning is needed when making a film and is the planning is thorough and thought out then it is reflected in the film itself whereas if not much planning is involved with the film then it shows in the film as it looks rushed and carefree.
Elements that I hope to avoid in my film:
• A sense of tackiness
• Mobile phone shots and knives because these are always used in films and get boring for the viewer if overly used
• Overly thought out or not thought out enough
• Too many camera angles
• Too much overlap etc