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