Thriller

Thriller

This is the thriller that we planned to use as our final piece.

We plan to do a screening, were we will create a questionnaire for our class who will watch out thriller and answer the questions.

Rough Cut Analysis

Rough Cut Analysis

After being given feedback on our thriller rough cut we have seen several things that need to change or add to improve the quality of our film. One person said that our rough cut had too many shots in the conversation which made it hard for the viewer to follow what was being said, they also said that it would have been more effective if there was music in the background. When we do the final piece we will consider all of this feedback and make sure our thriller is easy for people to understand.

For the running scenes we may add more POV shots as our audience found them very effective for the action. We may also have to find away to explain why the friend disappears when the protagonist starts to walk away. We could do this by showing that girl walk away behind her.

I think that our fast paced scenes are very effective as it keeps the audience intrigued, and adds tension. Most of the comments on our thriller said that they really liked the plot of the story even though it was confused, and they also wanted to know more about the characters.

Rough Cut & Rough Cut Feedback

Rough Cut

Before the finished result of our thriller opening we had to make a rough cut. We Posted the video on youtube.

Then we had to collect all the feedback that was left for us.

We will take all this feedback into consideration when we do the final piece. 

Editing 2

Second Editing Session

In the second lesson for editing our thriller openings we edited the second scene and added sound/music.

When editing the last scene into the movie, we filled in the gaps that we left last time with parts of this scene to represent flash-forwards, this would make a viewer curious and question why those things will happen.

We then had to edit in sound/music to give an emphasis on the scenes. We added parallel sound into the sequence so that the music and the action would give the viewer the same feeling. The sound editing went well because we chose good soundtracks that made the scenes more interesting. We could have used more edited sound in our film to make sound transitions more effective.

Editing 1

First Editing Session

After filming we had to edit all the scenes that we filmed on the first day of filming which was at the park. 

We edited the first scene and left gaps to add in any other footage that we might need later in editing. I think that the editing went really well as we both worked together to put our ideas into it. I think that if we had more footage we could have made the editing even better. We could have also spent more time paying close attention to the smallest details of editing to make sure all the scenes and cuts flow very well.

Filming 2

Secong Filming Session

For our second filming session we filmed the hostage scenes which made most of the flashbacks in our opening thriller sequence. What went well with this filming session is that we had more people to cast as characters in our opening sequence which made all the scenes successful. The setting we used for filming these scenes was a drama room and this was a good thing because in this room we had access to equipment such as lighting and dark covers for a dark background which helped us set the atmosphere of the scenes, in the room we also had access to objects and props to help us make the scenes look more realistic. In the end we didn't use the studio lights we used lighting from our phones, we think this looked interesting because it gave a darker atmosphere than the studio lights and made it seem more eerie. As the photos show, we made a square guide to show the filming and acting space.  

Filming 1

First Filming Session

The first scenes of our opening thriller sequence was set in Central Park. We decided to shoot these scenes in the morning as only a small fraction of people would be around whilst we were filming which could create the atmosphere of isolation. We also filmed different sections of these scenes in different places in the chosen area. It is also convenient for us as while we were filming our footage, we would not get interrupted.  What went well by filming in this sort of setting is that we didn't have any interruptions and it was an easy setting to film in, there was a lot of space for us to do so. What we thought that didn't do so well is that we could have moved to a complete different area and used more types of shots and angles for the scenes we have filmed. 

Fourth Production Meeting (Ident)

Fourth Production Meeting

At our fourth production meeting we had to create an ident and company name for our thriller opening.

Our company name is: London D&T

These are the images we used to create our ident:

This is our finished ident: 

Speed and Style of Editing

Speed and Style of Editing

Editing-

 It's the process of looking at all the footage shot during the making of a film/TV programme and placing it in the desired order and joining it together.

The two key areas that we have concentrate on with editing are Speed of Editing, which is how long each shot lasts, and Style of Editing, which is how each shot is joined to the next. In a film each scene may last a matter of seconds, or it could continue for minutes but the length of each sequence shows the pace of the film moving the action along. The speed of the editing will help to determine the mood of what is taking place on screen.
If the audience is to feel anxiety and suspense the editing will be quick and the scenes/shots would be changing frequently for example in an action scene.




If a relaxed mood is desired, the scenes last longer and change less frequently. For example in a romantic comedy.


Nevertheless a film need not have any editing. The film Russian Ark  was filmed in one take using a steadicam and a digital camera. This required split-second timing and organisation.

A trailer for a film needs to pack in detail from throughout the film. Therefore the editing will be very fast. 

Straight Cut:
 Most common and 'invisible' form of transition. One shot moves instantaneously to the next without attracting the audiences attention. Straight cuts help retain reality. They do not break the viewers suspension of disbelief.

Fades:
 A gradual darkening or lightening of an image until it becomes black or white. One shot will fade until only a black or white screen can be seen. It can indicate the end of a particular section of time within the narrative. It can also show the passing of time.

Wipes:
 One image is pushed off the screen by another . Images can be pushed left or right. It's more common for the image to be pushed off the left-hand side as this movement is more consitant with the sense of time moving forward. Wipes are used to signal a movement between different locations that are experiencing the same time.

Jump Cut:
 A jump cut is where the audience's attention is brought into focus on something very suddenly. This occurs by breaking the continuity editing, this is known as discontinuity. It appears as if a section of the sequence has been removed.



The gap in action (when Seberg picked up the mirror) is emphasised by the use of a jump cut. A jump cut is used to startle the viewer and to draw attention to something.

Modern Thriller Openings

Modern Thriller Openings

1. Memento

The use of camera in the opening sequence of the thriller Memento creates a very mysterious atmosphere. The opening sequence is filmed close up to a polaroid picture, then to a close up of blood then a bullet then glasses and nearer to the end of the opening scene the camera changes to a wide shot to show a man shooting someone in the head. This opening sequence was edited to show everything thats happening backwards, this is effective because it makes the audience question why it's going backwards and what could it mean. The sound in this opening scene is very low and monotonous non-diagetic sound (Soundtrack). At some points you can hear diagetic sound like the polaroid picture being waved around, sound of the polaroid camera flash, gun shot and the mans scream. 

The mise-en-scene in this scene is very dark, the setting is a dark room, the man two men in the sequence are waring dark clothes (Coats), the polaroid picture is very dark metaphorically as the picture is of a dead man. The whole scene in general is very dark and gloomy. 

2. Brick

The use of camera in the opening sequence of the thriller Brick creates an intense atmosphere because the shots change quickly from a girls body to the boy staring at her, also this is a very effective use of eye-line match because it shows that something happened between them. This scene is a flash-forward because the next scene is 2 days before this opening scene. The non-diagetic sound (soundtrack) is very calm which intensifies the scene. We get some diagetic sound of the phone ringing. The costumes for the two characters that we see in these two scenes are casual and teenage like just to exaggerate their age. The first scene is dark as its showing a dead body in a river, this dark lighting suits the scene because it emphasises the seriousness of the scene.

3. Zodiac 

The use of camera in the opening scene of the thriller Zodiac shows us the setting of the scene, first we get a pan of the city from above then we get a moving wide shot of houses and fireworks in the background. The opening scene is made up of short quick, over the shoulder and wide shots. The non-diagetic sound is very romantic, the audience would see that the two characters they see at the beginning are going on date. The music changes to very intense when a car drives up behind them and once the two people are dead the music is louder.