Indivdual Storyboard - Miss Miller

The purpose of a storyboard is to illustrate how we each envision the opening sequence of our thriller film. Storyboards will help us in our current planning stage as we will each express our own ideas of what we think the opening sequence should look like. This means that everyone involved in the creative process of a film can express their individual ideas before a finalised storyboard is produced. In turn, this means the film will include only the favoured elements, as crew members would have decided, after the initial individual storyboards are made, on what features to include in the film.

We have each created an individual storyboard because it is important that we illustrate what we would like to include in our opening scene. Each member of the group will have good points and bad points in their storyboard. After we have created our individual storyboards, we will combine all of our best ideas to create our final group storyboard. This allows for the best possible group storyboard.

I feel that my opening sequence idea portrays influences from films such as Saw, as the killer has a backstory/reason for the killings, and there are dark and mysterious locations involved. It may even be noted that there is inspiration taken from Psycho, as no actual stabbing/violence is shown on screen. Inspiration has been loosely taken from Orphan, as the opening scene/narrative has the idea of not always knowing what a person is capable of. Furthermore, Orphan has a female killer and so does this film. This film's killer has a hidden identity, which is something that most thriller films have in common.

I think my storyboard is a moderately good illustration of what I would like to see in my thriller opening scene. It may help my group in this storyboard process as I may have ideas that they like and want to include in the finished product. Although I conveyed my ideas in these storyboards, I feel as if I should have included more frames. This is something my group and I will consider when creating our group storyboard.ž

Storyboard page 1

Storyboard page 2

Storyboard page 3

When planning my storyboard, I encountered an issue. I found it relatively difficult to convey my ideas into set frames. To overcome this, I thought carefully about everything that I wanted to include in the film, and converted them into the storyboard(s) above.

Rough Cut - Miss Miller

Group members: Amber-Louise Reed-Johnson, Jazz Chrystie, Lily Badcock

Watch our rough cut here.

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It was important for us to make a rough cut before finalising our opening sequence as we needed feedback so we could make our thriller sequence as good as possible. Also, myself and my group members watched the rough cut and pointed out mistakes, so now we can make improvements ready for our final cut of the sequence. Rough cuts help reveal any editing mistakes, sounds that need changing, music that needs to be added in, shots that need re-filming, etc.

It is imperative that we consider audience feedback as it is critical that we get our film up to the highest possible standard. The feedback that we received from our rough cut was given by an audience of our target audience's age, which means that it is highly relevant to our film. We must make changes and improvements to our film according to the feedback that we received. Furthermore, the audience may have discovered a mistake or bad-quality part of the sequence that myself and my group may have overlooked (possibly due to bias, as this is our film and we want it to be good).

We received our feedback by uploading our rough cut of 'Eternal' to YouTube, creating a PowerPoint presentation discussing our narrative, inspirations and conventions and showing both of these things to our peers (aged 16-17). We received positive and negative feedback and many possible improvements to make on our thriller film. We must make the following improvements: add more music and make the sound/sound effects more relevant to each shot; include more credits and change the font of some of them; re-film some of the shots that are towards the end of the sequence; and generally 'touch up' our thriller sequence. This helps us immensely with finalising our thriller sequence as we now know exactly what can be/needs to be improved, and we will do this as thoroughly as time allows.

Group Narrative and Narrative Theory - Miss Georgiou

Group: Amber-Louise Reed-Johnson, Lily Badcock, Jazz Chrystie.

Group Narrative

A narrative is the way in which a story is told within media texts. The purpose of a narrative is to tell a story to an audience through written/spoken words or in a sequence of moving pictures. This post will discuss the narrative of my group's future opening scene of a thriller film.

My group showed each other our 'individual ideas for a narrative' posts. We discussed which aspects of our narratives that we all did or didn't like, and combined all of our good ideas into our group narrative.

Group member 1: Lily Badcock [read narrative here]

Lily's narrative involved a damaged man who was abused in his childhood. He blames the whole world for what happened to him. He was a burns victim, therefore fire is a theme throughout, as the man burns his victims. The opening sequence would involve a montage of childhood images, overlayed with footage relating to fire and smoke. The killer uses a mask to cover up his burns and also hide his identity.

 A good point about Lily's narrative idea is the originality behind it. However it is still quite conventional, as many horror/thriller films involve a killer with a terrible childhood/backstory who blames everyone else for his past and who targets innocent people (this is also seen in Saw). However, a disadvantage of this narrative is that it is quite difficult to film because we cannot realistically burn people/buildings.

Group member 2: Amber-Louise Reed-Johnson [read my narrative here]
 

A summary of my narrative would be that a woman's fiance leaves her at the altar, and her mental state deteriorates and she kills him for revenge. The opening sequence includes her in a dark, basement-like atmosphere flipping through a photo album of everyone who was invited to the wedding [then a flashback to the wedding], and landing on her ex-fiance's face and crossing it out. Flashbacks to killing him and his family.

An advantage of my idea for a narrative again is the originality of the plot. Also, the creepy atmosphere would build suspense, keeping up with the conventions of a thriller. A bad point of the plot is that there isn't anything that the scene is building up to because we know the ex-fiance is already dead/been killed by the woman. An improvement could be that we see that she has already killed his family, and she is preparing to kill him. Then, the scene could cut to show her standing outside his house, watching him. This would build a lot of tension and frighten the audience because they know what is coming next, but don't know when.

 

Group member 3: Jazz Chrystie [read narrative here]

To summarise Jazz's narrative, his idea is about a man who is obsessed with insects and uses them to kill his victims. He is tall, angry and 'dominant' and his victims are usually attractive females. The opening sequence involves many bodies in a room that contains many dead bodies with insects crawling all over them. The scene would have low key lighting, and eerie sounds such as dripping water to be heard, to emphasize the quietness of the room. The killer will drag in many dead bodies throughout the scene. The opening scene will also keep cutting to investigators trying to find the serial killer. Blood and insects will be a motif throughout the scene.

A good point about this narrative is that there are many conventions, such as a male killer and vulnerable female victims. However, the scene would be almost impossible to film as we would need many dangerous insects for the scene to make sense. Furthermore, the scene is not building up to anything and therefore lacks the elements of surprise and shock.

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My group has decided to create a thriller film for my narrative. However, we are changing the plot slightly. The opening sequence will now show a room covered in wedding decorations, invitations, flowers etc. and a woman crying on a bed. The woman, whose ex-fiancé left her at the altar, is wearing a wedding dress and sitting on the bed in the room, surrounded by the wedding decorations. A flashback will then be shown of her and her best friend/maid of honour getting ready for the wedding, and there will be a generally positive atmosphere in the flashback. However, the next frames will be of present-time 'bride' writing on the wedding balloons, crossing out "together forever" and writing "RIP". She then has a flashback, seen in wedding-video style, of her [now ex-]fiancé getting ready for the wedding with his best friends. The scene then goes back to the 'bride', who then looks through a photo album of everyone at the wedding that she knows. She has written various things across the several photos. She is then shown crossing out one of the best friends, previously seen in the 'groom's flashback, and the scene cuts to her walking behind him holding a knife, implying that she's killed him and this is a flashback. This then repeats with the other two men. Then, she circles the 'groom's face, and the scene cuts to the 'groom' with his new girlfriend, the best friend of the 'bride', and he goes upstairs to the bathroom. As he walks out, the 'bride' is there with a knife, waiting to kill him.

We decided on this narrative as it both challenges thriller conventions (stereotypical genders of killer and victim are swapped) and includes them (shock, surprise and suspense). We also thought that the plot was interesting and different, which would draw the audience in. It may also receive a higher female audience as it does not include a stereotypical/conventional blonde female as the victim. Our narrative was inspired by films such as Orphan and Saw, which are both very popular thriller/horror films. Orphan inspired our film due to having an unexpected and female killer. Saw inspired our film with its unique plot, and killer with a backstory. Scream also inspired our film as it includes a conventional, classic weapon - the knife. We have tried to incorporate all of these things into our thriller opening sequence.

Narrative Theory

There are 3 main narrative theories: Vladimir Propp, Tzvetan Todorov and Erving Goffman.

Vladimir Propp (1895 - 1970) was a Russian literary critic and scholar. He analysed over 100 Russian fairytales in the 1920s, and proposed that there were 7 broad character types in the tales that he analysed, which could be applied to other media.
These were:

1. The donor (prepares the hero, #2, or provides the hero with some sort of magical object)
2. The hero (reacts to the donor, #1, usually weds the princess, #4, winner)
3. The villain (opposes and struggles against the hero)
4. The princess (person the hero marries, usually sought for during the narrative)
5. The [magical] helper (helps the hero in the quest)
6. The false hero (believed to be a good character in the beginning but is revealed as evil)
7. The dispatcher (sends the hero on his way)

The model highlights similarities between seemingly different narratives and stories. It also gives a good structure for a narrative. Some films' narratives fit this model, whereas others' do not.

Tzvetab Todorov is a Franco-Bulgarian literary theorist. He suggests that most narratives start with a state of equilibrium, wherein everything seems 'normal' and happy. He proposed these stages of narratves:

1. A state of equilibrium
2. A disruption
3. A recognition of disruption
4. An attempt to repair disruption
5. A restoration of equilibrium

This model can be correctly applied to a wide range of films.

Erving Goffman proposed a character theory which suggests that there are four main types of broad character in a media text/production.

These are:

• The protagonist (the leading character)
• The deuteragonist (the secondary character)
• The bit player (a minor character, the audience is not aware of their specific background)
• The fool (a character that uses humor to convey messages)

Our narrative will most closely follow the narrative theory proposed by Erving Goffman. The protagonist of the film is the unnamed 'bride'/killer. The deuteragonist is Hayden, the 'groom'/ex-fiancé/victim. The bit player is the maid of honour/bride's best friend. She is unnamed and her story isn't quite known. The fool(s) are the 'groom's friends. We chose this narrative theory to follow as it most closely applies to the film industry. Vladimir Propp's narrative theory is most suited to fairy tales, and there is not enough time in the opening sequence to accurately follow every step of Todorov's narrative theory.

Opening Scene Narration - Miss Miller

Group members: Amber-Louise Reed-Johnson, Lily Badcock and Jazz Chrystie.

Our thriller opening's narrative starts with showing a room full of wedding decorations, apparently ruined. This connotes a ruined wedding or a failed marriage. The camera pans to a woman sitting on a bed in a wedding dress wearing a veil; she has smudged make-up. This implies that she has been crying, and has gone 'crazy'. This then further implies that she is upset/crazy due to the failed wedding. She has many flashbacks to the wedding, which are in wedding video-style format. She thinks about when she was getting ready for the wedding with her best friend and bridesmaid, and also thinks about when she first saw the footage of her [ex-]fiancé getting ready for the wedding with his friends - his best man and ushers. The 'bride' also writes on the wedding balloons; she crosses out 'together forever' and writes "RIP". The 'bride' then looks through a wedding photo album. She eventually gets to two pages where two men, previously seen in the ex-fiancé flashback, are crossed out in marker pen. The woman then has two flashbacks, of killing these men. The camera then shows a photo of the ex-fiancé with a ring around him in marker pen, and the audience infers that she'll kill him next. The scene then cuts to the ex-fiancé and the 'bride's best friend sitting on the sofa, implying that they're a couple now. The ex-fiancé goes upstairs to the bathroom, and when he leaves, the 'bride' is standing there with a knife.

The iconography throughout the opening sequence will help to enhance the intense and frightening atmosphere, such as the knife that the 'bride' is seen with a few times. This tells the audience that the 'bride' is a killer, and the first scene/shot where she is holding the knife is very intense. Also, the iconography will help tell the story and make it more realistic. For instance, the audience will realise that there is a theme of weddings through the wedding decorations and wedding photo album. This makes the story more believable, because we know that the 'bride' is obsessed with the wedding that didn't happen. It is conventional for thriller films to include killers that are obsessed with one specific life event to the extent of homicide.

There are a few different settings in our thriller opening sequence. The main setting in which the woman sits during most of the opening sequence is dark and seemingly isolated. This represents her dark personality, and isolation from society and 'normal' behaviour. Dark and isolated settings are also conventional to thrillers, helping to increase our thriller film's conventionality, due to how they enhance frightening and intense atmospheres as the audience can't really see all what is going on. This then adds more shock to any shocking scenes that may come afterwards. Furthermore, the settings in which the groom's friends are killed are either domestic or outside at night. These are both conventional for different reasons. Domestic settings are conventional because they give both the character and the audience a false sense of security. Settings outside at night connote danger and mystery, adding to the enigma of the narrative. Both of these settings build up the relationship between the audience and the character, because the audience fears for the character(s).

Lastly, the costume and make-up for the main character, the 'bride'/killer, helps the story to flow better. The smudged make-up implies and foreshadows her unhealthy mental state and strong negative emotions (sadness and anger) towards the wedding and wedding decorations. The wedding dress that she is wearing further enhances this effect, because the audience then gets a vague sense of the narrative of the opening sequence/film. It is conventional for costume and make-up to connote, even vaguely, some ideas of plot and narrative.

The sound in the first frame, the panning shot of the room, is a small section on a eerie musical piece. The piece was credited in the credits to the film. The second, third and fourth frames are flashbacks. They are handheld shots of the bride and her maid of honour/best friend getting ready for the wedding. The maid of honour is straightening her hair, the bride shows the wedding balloons, and they look in the mirror together. The shots are made to look like a home wedding video due to an effect added in editing, where the screen shows a 'rec' button and a frame. In turn, the audience understands that the bride is recording the wedding video. Also, the sound in the second, third and fourth frames is all the same, happy and upbeat song. This contrasts with the previous soundtrack, and the upcoming scenes and sounds. The sound could also be considered contrapuntal as it is very upbeat, and thrillers conventionally do not include upbeat music unless it is necessary or relevant. The next frame is of the bride picking up one of the wedding balloons - it is a mid shot. The sound has reverted back to reflecting the eerie sounds that were in the opening of the film. The following shot shows a close up of the 'bride' crossing out the "together forever" that is written on the balloon. The frame after is again a mid shot of the 'bride' writing "RIP" on the balloon and turning it around slowly. This adds suspense and creepiness to the scene. The next frames are wedding-video-style flashbacks to the [ex-]fiancé getting ready for the wedding with his 3 best men/ushers. They are all excited and chatty, but the scene suddenly cuts back to an extreme close up of the bride's eye, as soon as the line "how do I look?" is spoken by the now-ex-fiancé. Another extreme close up of the 'bride's lips are shown, as the lipstick is smudged and this implies her unhealthy mental state. The next frames are of the 'bride' flipping through the photo album including photos of herself, her best friend, her ex-fiancé, and his best friends. The photos are on paper and have been written on, words such as "innocent" for the bride and "cheat" for the ex-fiancé. Eerie music plays all throughout these frames, and the next frames of the 'bride' killing the 'groom's best friends (pictured in the photo album with X's through their faces). When the extreme close up of the 'groom' is shown, the 'bride' circles his face in red marker pen. The next shot shows him and the 'bride's 'best friend' sitting on the sofa, implying that he left the 'bride' for her best friend. The scene is silent apart from the 'groom' talking with his new girlfriend. He then leaves the room, and tense music slowly builds up. He is shown in the bathroom, there is brief silence, and then a loud piece of intense music is played as he opens the bathroom door and the 'bride' is standing there with a knife.

Group Storyboard - Miss Miller

Group: Amber-Louise Reed-Johnson, Lily Badcock and Jazz Chrystie

In our groups, we discussed each of our individual storyboards. We have combined our favourite parts of our individual storyboards and put these ideas into our group storyboard. Before we finalised the group storyboard, we discussed all of the ideas that we had.

Jazz, Lily and I all added flashback shots to our storyboards. These include getting ready for the wedding (Lily's and Jazz's storyboards), and the murders of the groom's friend (all individual storyboards). We have decided to keep all of the flashback shots and include them in our group storyboard, as we feel that they enhance and create the atmospheres in the film that we are trying to achieve. We are also keeping the first shot - panning around the room - because it adds slight context to the situation of a strange woman in a wedding dress/veil. We are also keeping the shot of the woman in the wedding dress crossing out photos of the two men who will be killed (to be shown before the flashbacks of the woman killing them). This is a very important element of our film as it shows the woman's very dangerous and homicidal mental state.

Our individual storyboards were combined to create a group storyboard. We have featured the best elements of each of our individual storyboards (seen above) so as to create the best sequence possible.

Production Roles - Miss Miller

Group: Amber-Louise Reed-Johnson, Jazz Chrystie and Lily Badcock

Specific roles were necessary for each group member to have to ensure the easiest and smoothest filming process. It helps keep the filming organised, and speeds up the process if people are doing all different jobs at once. There are several roles that are necessary for creating a film: producers (in charge of generally everyone and everything), directors (guides technical crew to create their vision for the film), actors, director of photography (cameraman), sound producers/music, screenplay writer, mise-en-scene co-ordinators, and editors.

Jazz, Lily and I allocated ourselves 3-4 important production roles each. This was an easy way to organise ourselves, as it saves time because we are all doing many jobs at once. Firstly, we all had acting roles within the film. We needed many characters, so we each had one role. It was necessary to have other actors outside of our group due to our narrative, and so extra roles were played by 3 other boys. Lily played the main character, I played her friend/bridesmaid who ran away with her ex-fiancé, and Jazz played the ex-fiancé. The extra roles were Jazz's character's friends/best man/ushers. We all acted in the film as we all have at least some acting experience from previous education (secondary school). All acting roles were performed well and there were no issues in this area. Furthermore, filming was made easier by the fact that we had extra actors readily available.

I was the director of photography/cameraman for most of the film, therefore I am being credited in the film as director of photography. Also, I have experience with using a camera, and it was therefore decided that I should be appointed director of photography for the majority of the film. This made filming easier as I was only in the film for two/three short scene and so was available to be the director of photography for the rest of the sequence. I feel that I carried out my role well and nothing went wrong in relation to camerawork. I was also the sound producer for the film - deciding which sound techniques to use, which sounds and music to use and where they go. I am primarily responsible for the sound effects that take place during production and post-production of the film. Again, I am not in most of the film, so making me the sound producer was the easiest option. I had more time to finalise how the film should sound and what sound techniques it should include, and to find the appropriate sounds for the sequence. This makes filming and editing easier because I have the most time available. I also feel as if this role was carried out well, which made the pre and post production of the film easier, as there were no problems with sound.

Lastly, all group members (including myself) will edit the film. However, I am lead editor, and my name will appear in the credits for editing. I also have the most experience out of all group members with using editing software, so to make editing easier and quicker, I was appointed lead editor. I will do the majority - but not all - of the editing on the film. All group members will be consulted whenever the film is edited to make sure that the final product turns out to be what we all envisioned in our group storyboard. This speeds the process of editing up, as we all know exactly who is doing what and what is happening.

Jazz is the producer of the film. His role is to make sure everyone is doing their job, and well. This makes filming and editing easier as it ensures that everyone is focused all of the time. This speeds the film-making and editing processes on further as it ensures that all production roles are being carried out up to a good standard. Jazz was also only in the film for a short period, which means that he was able to manage everyone with his free time. Jazz is also the mise-en-scene co-ordinator. While we all contributed, in the planning stage and filming stage, to the mise-en-scene of all shots, Jazz was appointed lead mise-en-scene co-ordinator. He understands the group storyboard well and helped 'bring it to life' on camera. This ensures that our film is up to the best possible standard, as our ideas are portrayed well on camera.

A film director leads the artistic and dramatic aspects of a film, guiding the technical crew and actors to help create the director's vision. Lily was the director of our film, as she had good ideas to create our script and storyboard on camera. While Jazz and I did contribute to 'directing', Lily was main director. Lily was a very good choice for this role as she is very creative and artistic, and understands how she wants the scenes to look. Lily was also lead screenplay writer, as she knew exactly what she wanted to happen, and Jazz and I agreed with her plans for the film. This in particular made the process smooth as well as enjoyable because we were all completely aware of what the film is going to be.

Overall, we all did well in our production roles, and the filming process was relatively smooth. This is because we all knew exactly what we were doing in regards to our production roles, and this prevented trying last-minute to fix things etc. However, we did not film all that we wanted to exactly on time. This is simply due to underestimating the amount of time needed and the immediate unavailability of extra actors. We could have avoided this with better planning and more communication within the group.

Risk Assessment and Filming Schedule - Miss Georgiou

Risk Assessment

It is important to consider all risks before filming, as the health and safety of everyone included in the film-making process is important. Furthermore, identifying all risks and how to avoid them minimises the potential hazards. The below risk assessment will therefore assist us with filming in that we now know how to avoid hazards.

Hazards:

1. Trailing leads while filming. We can prevent this by securing all leads with tape to minimise chance of tripping and keep every crew and cast member safe.
2. Knife. We will be using a knife in our film as it is the murder weapon. To minimise the risk of getting hurt due to this knife, we will use a fake knife. This reduces the chance of injury, self-inflicted or other.
3. Filming near roads. We were careful when filming the outside scenes near the road to not be near cars, as this could cause an accident.

Filming Schedule

It is very important to have a filming schedule. It helps organise the filming and speeds up the process of filming. We tried to follow the schedule exactly as it was, however, we did not quite manage to do this. The photo album was not completed in time for filming, so the 8th shot needed to be filmed after the originally planned day/time, on Tuesday 10th December. Moreover, some shots were filmed slightly later (up to an hour) later than planned due to unplanned delay. However, all shots that we were able to film were filmed.

Film schedule:

Shot	Date & time	Location	Content /Action	Shot type & Duration	Costume/ hair/ make up	Iconography	Personnel	Equipment
1	21/11/13 15:30	Loughton – inside, bedroom	Antagonist sitting on bed of dark room filled with wedding decorations and flowers	panning shot - 5 seconds	Wedding dress/veil, smeared make up	Wedding balloons, flowers	Actress, director of photography, costume designer, make-up artist, location manager	Digital camera, charger, tripod, memory card
2	21/11/13 15:50	Loughton – inside, different bedroom	Flashbacks of getting ready for the wedding & wedding balloons & bride coming downstairs	Handheld mid shots – approx 6 seconds	Wedding dress/veil, wedding make up. Bridesmaid dress, minimal make up.	Hair straighteners, wedding balloons	Actress x2, director of photography, costume/make up person, location manager	Digital camera, charger, memory card
3	21/11/13 16:15	Loughton – inside, bedroom	Present-time antagonist drawing on wedding balloons	Mid shot – 7 seconds	Wedding dress/veil, smeared make up	Balloons, marker pen	Actress, director of photography, costume/make up person, location manager	Digital camera, charger, tripod, memory card
4	21/11/13 16:30	Loughton	Antagonist with smeared eye make-up and messy lipstick	Extreme close ups – 3 seconds each	Extremely smudged/messy eye make-up, and badly-applied lipstick		Actress, director of photography, make-up artist	Digital camera, charger, tripod, memory card
5	26/11/13 16:45	Loughton – inside living room	Flashback to groom and friends getting ready for the wedding	Handheld mid shot – approx. 10 seconds	Suit and ties		Actors x3, director of photography, costume designer, location manager	Digital camera, charger, memory card
6	26/11/13 17:15	Loughton – outside in street, at night	Flashback to first killing	Long shot – 7 seconds	Wedding dress/veil, smeared make-up. Casual clothing for victim.	Victim talking on phone, knife	Actors x2, director of photography, costume designer, make-up artist, location manager	Digital camera, charger, tripod, memory card
7	26/11/13 17:40	Loughton-inside, kitchen	Flashback to second killing	Long shot – 7-10 seconds	Wedding dress/veil, smeared make-up. Casual clothing for two boys – victim and his friend.	Mugs (sets the scene of casual meeting)	Actors x3, director of photography, costume designer, make-up artist, location manager	Digital camera, charger, tripod, memory card
8	26/11/13 18:00	Loughton – inside, bedroom	‘Bride’ looking through the photo album	Mid shot -10-13 seconds	Wedding dress	Photo album	Actress, director of photography, costume designer, location manager	Digital camera, charger, tripod, memory card

Inspirations - Miss Miller

To create something, we need inspiration to help expand our creativity and ideas. Taking small elements from other films etc and changing/personalizing them helps immensely with the creative process. I have taken inspirations from openings and scenes from other thriller films, as shown in previous blog posts. This is a list of all the thriller films that I have looked at: Se7en; Halloween (1978); Orphan; The Happening; Scream 4; The Conjuring; Dawn Of The Dead (2004); Saw II; Saw V; Saw 3D; Psycho (1960); The Shining; The Sixth Sense; and Final Destination 5. I will now discuss how some of these films have influenced and inspired me and my group.

The first of the sequences that I have previously researched that I will now discuss is The Happening. I researched and analysed the cinematography used in this film's opening scene. It gave me and my group inspiration for our opening scene. This film's opening sequence contains conventional-to-the-thriller-genre cinematography that we have tried to incorporate in our thriller sequence, but in differing ways. For example, a point of view shot is used to show the audience what the character sees - people stopping in the street all of a sudden. This engages the audience with the narrative, and also makes them empathetic with the characters. We will also use a point of view shot in our thriller opening to create the same effect. We will use this type of shot whilst showing the photos in the photo album. This will build the relationship between the audience and the character as the audience will be seeing exactly what the character sees, and can draw their own conclusions about what is happening - helping them relate to or empathise with the character's situation. This will make the audience actively involved with the story.

Secondly, I researched Saw 3D in relation to sound techniques. The sound in this film is quite conventional to the thriller genre. It has inspired me to use conventional sound techniques in my thriller film as it gives the audience a sense of familiarity if they are experiencing things that they've seen in other thriller films. The audience is then more likely to enjoy the film and build a relationship with the characters in it if there are familiar, conventional sounds included. Also, thriller genre conventions are used because the audience reacts well to them and likes them, so this is partly why we will use these techniques. For example, we will include creepy and intense music throughout the sequence to enhance the atmosphere and engage the audience. This general technique is widely used throughout the thriller genre.

I researched conventions within the film Saw V. This research involved the several elements shown throughout the entire thriller genre. These conventional elements include: hidden identity; isolated setting; low key lighting; unexpected twists; and 'scary' weapons/iconography. Firstly, the killer in our thriller film will have a hidden identity as they will be wearing a wedding veil, obscuring the face. This is conventional as it leaves a mystery for the audience as to who the killer is. Secondly, the setting will be seemingly isolated - no other characters will be seen within the main setting in the sequence (dark bedroom). Isolated settings also add to mystery, and suspense. The isolated setting in Saw V (and Se7en) inspired this isolated setting in some way. Thirdly, there will be low key lighting, as briefly mentioned in the previous conventional element. Low key lighting creates a sense of danger, frightening the audience and making them anticipate the murders to come. Fourthly, there will be one or two unexpected twists in the plot of our thriller film - seeing the woman in a wedding dress, the woman searching through a scrapbook, etc. Unexpected twists are a big part of thriller films because they keep the audience engaged in the narrative and on-edge/tense. We considered using this convention of unexpected twists as most of what makes the Saw V sequence that I analysed interesting is the unexpected twist of the man - who was supposed to survive - died, which keeps the audience connecting with the characters and narrative. Lastly, the main pieces of iconography in the scene will be a knife and a photo album. These objects are connecting because the killer is stabbing some people whose pictures are in the photo album. Knives are especially conventional to the thriller genre. The audience can build relationships with characters and narratives more if they are somewhat conventional and familiar. Also, conventions in thriller films are common mostly because they are effective in engaging the audience and helping them enjoy a film.

I researched a clip of Scream 4 in relation to mise-en-scene. I, and my narrative, has taken much inspiration from this analysis, such as having a domestic setting for most of the opening scene. This is very conventional as domestic settings in thriller films provide a false sense of security for the audience and the characters. For example, in the ending of our opening sequence, the 'groom' and his new girlfriend are sitting innocently on the sofa, watching tv. The 'groom' then goes upstairs. This domestic setting is relatable for the audience, increasing their sense of fear, as they can empathise with the character that is about to be killed.

In many of the films that I have previously analysed, there are both conventional characters and characters that challenge the conventions of the thriller genre. The film Orphan which I have previously researched includes an unconventional, female and unexpected killer. The killer in Orphan [appears to be] a young orphaned girl who has been adopted. She is revealed to be 33 years old who wears ribbons to hide scars from her straitjacket. This shows that not every character is as they seem. We have adopted this idea for our film - the 'bride' in the film looks like she should be innocent, but she is in fact a killer. This engages the audience as they are caught off guard because they do not expect a bride to be a murderer.

My research was incredibly helpful while planning my group's thriller film. We familiarised ourselves with popular thriller films, and learned the conventional aspects of the thriller genre that make up a thriller film. This is useful as we can apply most of these elements to our thriller film opening, making it more enjoyable for the viewer. For example, we now know that building suspense is essential for the shocks and surprises to be effective for the audience. Our thriller film opening sequence includes some aspects similar to those seen in the film Halloween that I researched in this post and this post. The setting is domestic - in a house - and our opening scene is also set in a house. Furthermore, the killer is someone close to the victim in Halloween - this is also true for our opening scene.

Planning Opening Credits - Miss Georgiou

Credits are important as they highlight everyone who has worked on the film, and all of the important people involved with the film: the actors, directer, producers, editors, etc.

Se7en - Opening Credits

  The opening credits for Se7en can be viewed here.

The credits for Se7en appear in the following order: production company, New Line Cinema; director, David Fincher; actors, Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman (most famous actors first); title, Se7en; several more actors' names; casting by; music by; costume by; edited by; production by; director of photography; co-producers; co-executive and executive producers; producer; and director (again).

The opening credits to Se7en are conventional in relation to the thriller genre due to the jerky, raw and spiky look of the credits, and are effective in creating a tense/scary atmosphere. Firstly, the font is spiky, uneven and looks handwritten. It gives the credits an authentic and 'thrilling' feel. Additionally, the colour of the font contrasts with the images the credits are laid over. The monochromatic credits add to the intense atmosphere of the opening scene. Added to this, the credits jump and jerk in sync with the creepy/tense music to further create a suspenseful atmosphere. The images behind the font are of a mysterious man creating what looks like a scrapbook - this creates an enigma and intrigues the audience because they do not know what is happening.


Insidious - Opening Credits

 The opening credits for Insidious can be viewed here.

The credits for Insidious appear in the following order: title - Insidious; actor (x9); casting by; costume designer; music by; edited by; production designer; director of photography; line producer; co-produced by; executive producer; produced by; written by; and directed by. 

Firstly, the credits' font is quite traditional and neat looking. This contrasts to the scary and intense premise/plot of the film's narrative. Secondly, the credits are red-coloured - this symbolizes blood and danger, which can indicate the plot of the film. The sharp red colour of the font contrasts with the monochromatic images behind. The audience distinguishes between the narrative - fiction- and the credits - real life - and thereby engages them to pay attention to the opening sequence. Lastly, after a short delay, there is a smoke effect which causes the credits to go up in smoke and disappear. This adds to the creepy atmosphere of the opening scene. The way that the credits add to the tense and spooky atmosphere of the opening scene is conventional to the thriller genre, as many horror and thriller films use the font of their credits to enhance scary atmospheres.

Our Opening Scene's Credits

The order in which our credits will appear will be as follows: production company, 'Pine Alley Productions'; Title, 'Eternal'; Actress x2, Lily Badock and Amber Reed-Johnson; Executive producer, Jazz Chrystie; Music by Peder B. Helland (credited the person who wrote a piece of music that is included in our thriller, with automatic permission); minor actors x3, Cassius Chrystie, Gurbir Tiwana, and Kofi Offori; co-producer, Lily Badcock; sound by Amber Reed-Johnson; make up by Lily Badcock; Edited by Amber Reed-Johnson; Mise-en-scene co-ordinator, Jazz Chrystie; director of photography, Amber Reed-Johnson; written by Lily Badcock; co-written by Amber Reed-Johnson and Jazz Chrystie; casting by Jazz Chrystie; and directed by Lily Badcock.

We have decided on this order of credits as it seems the most realistic, and somewhat resembles the credits to Se7en (having two sets of actors' names in between other credits). Also, the font of our credits, we have decided, will be coloured red such as in Indidious. This will cause contrast with the neutral and dark tones of the images behind the font. Also, the letters will be uneven, to foreshadow the upcoming fatal events and create a suspenseful atmosphere for the audience. The credits will be layered, much like in Se7en and Insidious. This will create a doubled and blurry effect to represent the mystery within the film. Our credits will also have a shaky effect, similar to that of the font in Se7en's credits, to provide a sense of uneasiness and unsteadiness in the atmosphere, reflecting the 'bride's mental state.

Planning Sound - Miss Miller

Sound is very important within films as without sound, the story would not make sense. Furthermore, sound is used in thrillers to create an intense or frightening atmosphere - this can be through use of creepy music. Music and sound adds context to the images on screen, therefore the audience can make sense of the story. In order for our opening sequence to be at its best, we must carefully plan what sounds we are going to use at every point in the scene. Our thriller sequence will include many different types of sound techniques.

At the beginning of the sequence, during the panning shot of the entire wedding-decoration-filled room, there will be complete silence. This will build a lot of tension and the audience will anticipate a shock (the scary-looking woman sitting on the bed). This also engages the audience with the story, as they wish to know what is happening in the scene. Silence is a common technique within the thriller genre as it is an effective way to increase the tension in the atmosphere.

The same piece of music will be used throughout the flashbacks of getting ready for the wedding and a couple of the shots of the ex-bride. This sound technique is a sound bridge. It maintains continuity by linking the series of images together. The audience then understands that the images are related, and can infer that the getting-ready-for-the-wedding scenes are indeed flashbacks. This builds a relationship between the audience and the characters in the scene, as the plot is made more clear, which further engages the audience. Sound bridges are used often in films, and sometimes in the thriller genre, to link scenes together, or create a montage effect.

Non-diegetic sound in the scene will include the creepy and intense music during the shots that imply the murders of the groom's best man and friend. The music is non-diegetic as it will be added during the editing stage, and the origin of the sound cannot be seen in the frame. The music will build the relationship between the audience and the victim, as it will help them sympathise with the characters. Using this kind of music is very common in thriller films, as the music is mostly laid over action/killing shots/scenes, which are dominant in the thriller genre.

Also, at various points throughout the opening sequence, there will be non-diegetic contrapuntal sound - The Police - Every Breath You Take will play at points throughout. The seemingly positive tones of this song, but the actual negative tones of the song, reflect the same tones of our thriller sequence in general. It is conventional for thrillers to use music and sound that relates to and reflects the general story and tones of the sequences/scenes themselves. Furthermore, the audience can build their relationship with the 'bride' by using the music to identify with and understand the character(s).

Our sequence will be effective in creating tension and frightened emotions (for the audience) via the use of sound techniques and music. This will be achieved by tense music, and loud sound effects. In relation to the thriller genre, our sound choices are quite conventional. It is typical of thrillers to include tense/scary music, and also silence in places, which also creates tension. Planning our use of sound has been extremely helpful as we know which sounds and music we want to include in our sequence, and where in the sequence they will appear.

Planning Cinematography - Miss Miller

Cinematography is the use of camera shots and angles to create certain moods and atmospheres within a film. Cinematography is very important to a film, and all shots/angles are planned out carefully. Planning is crucial for a film to achieve the desired effect with its cinematography. We have chosen to use several camera angles and shots in our opening sequence.

The first shot of the sequence will be a panning shot. This will show the entire room that is featured in the opening scene. The audience will be introduced to the setting and everything in it, which will then give them some idea of what will happen in the rest of the sequence/film. This is important as the first impression of a scene/film determines the mood of the rest of the scene/film. The shot will portray the general wedding-theme - as shown by the iconography - which will intrigue the audience and make them anticipate a unique narrative, as it is unconventional and uncommon for thrillers to incorporate a theme of weddings/romance. Furthermore, panning shots are conventional as they are an effective way to show all of the objects/characters that are in the same setting.

Another shot in the scene will be a close up shot of the woman/ex-bride's face. This will help convey her strong, negative emotions, and the audience will understand that the woman wants to get revenge on someone (they do not know much about the actual plot at this point). This will create and build the relationship between the audience and the killer. Moreover, close up shots are conventional to the thriller genre as they help convey small but important parts of the scene. The use of this type of shot then goes on to engage the audience with the narrative and/or the characters.

In the sequence, we will use handheld shots during the flashbacks of the wedding. The handheld shots will symbolise the unsteadiness of the wedding, and the villain's mentality. The audience will then infer that the wedding could be the cause of something terrible, or that the wedding was terrible. This will engage the audience as they wish to find out what will happen next [or what already happened that they will find out about in a flashback - the deaths]. Handheld shots are conventional to the thriller genre and are commonly found in thriller films, as they convey unsteadiness and instability, and we chose to use handheld shots for this reason. We will also use them with the flashbacks to the [implied] murders.

Similarly, some shots in the sequence will have a canted angle. This will also suggest uneasiness and unsteadiness, and portray the ex-bride's unhealthy mental state, and negative emotions, as well as how the wedding was ruined. The canted angle will be present when the 'bride' is writing on the wedding balloons, which will portray her unhealthy mental state - she is dwelling on what could have been. Canted angles are common in the thriller genre, as they help portray unsteadiness and uneasiness in a similar fashion to handheld shots. Canted angles tilt the shot and make the audience understand that something is uneven or disorderly.

Point of view shots will be used in our sequence when the camera shows the photos in the 'wedding' photo album. We will use this type of shot as it connects the audience with the character as they can see what the character sees, and therefore experience what the character experiences. Point of view shots are typically used in films, particularly the thriller genre, to build and enhance the audience-character relationship. When the audience can relate to the character through seeing what the character sees, it improves the viewing experience because the audience feel more emotionally involved with the story.

Our sequence will be more effective through our use of cinematography. We have planned each shot appropriately, and are going to use only the most suitable shots throughout the sequence. The shots used will help portray a character's emotions, in turn provoking the same emotions in the audience, as the shots help the audience identify with characters. Our use of cinematography is quite conventional to the thriller genre as we are going to use a lot of close up shots, panning shots and handheld shots. All of these shots help the audience connect with the narrative and the characters. Planning our cinematography has helped us greatly as we know exactly how we want our sequence to look, which emotions to portray and where.

Planning mise-en-scene - Miss Georgiou

Mise-en-scene consists of 5 different elements, all of which are important and make up the film. The first element, settings and iconography, is important because it sets the feel of the film. For example, if the setting is a house and there are normal, every day objects on display, the audience will feel a (possibly false) sense of security. The second element of mise-en-scene is costume, hair and make-up. These things are important as they decide how the characters will look. The audience will identify with a victim who looks very ordinary. Facial expressions and body language, the third element, are important because they help convey the feelings/emotions of the character. This makes them more readable, and the audience can understand them and their situation more. The fourth element of mise-en-scene is lighting and colour. These things are important because they also determine the mood and atmosphere of the scene. For example, high key lighting is used in situations where everything is normal and ordinary. Low key lighting is used to create tension and suspense. The final element of mise-en-scene is positioning of characters/objects within the frame. This is integral to the scene as the positioning of everything decides what aspects are the scene are important for the audience to see. Mise-en-scene is extremely important within a thriller film because every small detail is significant in telling a story.

Settings & Iconography
The setting of our opening scene will mostly be in a dark, isolated bedroom. This is where the woman sits and thinks about the wedding, leading to the revelation that she killed the 'groom's parents. This particular setting was used as it symbolizes the dark and uneasy nature of the plot of the opening sequence/film. Other settings in the opening scene, such as in the flashbacks, will be the outside of a church (briefly), field/forest at night (briefly) and outside in the streets at night (briefly). The church setting will be bright and seemingly cheerful, as it will show the wedding party arriving. This provides a false sense of happiness and joy. The two outside-at-night settings will be used in the flashbacks to the [implied] killings of the 'groom's parents. The dark, scary and intense atmosphere will create an appropriate mood for that part of the story. This isolated, dark setting is conventional to the thriller genre as thrillers commonly use settings such as this to create an intense atmosphere.

The iconography in the scene will include the following important objects: photo album, full of wedding guest photos; wedding decorations; knife (flashbacks) and the stereo/radio that will play the music in the background of the scene. The wedding-centric iconography indicates that the film is somewhat based around the events of a wedding. The knife is important, and conventional to thriller films, iconography as it represents a murder symbol. The inclusion of the knife in the flashbacks is important as it implies that the deaths happened, without showing anyone being killed. Knives are common iconography choices in thriller films in general.

Costume, Hair & Make-up
The main female character, the killer, will be wearing a wedding dress throughout the opening scene. She wears it when reminiscing over the failed wedding day, when killing her victims, and in the brief flashback to the wedding day. The constant wearing of this costume indicates that a wedding affected her deeply, and she is too unstable to take off the dress. Wearing it as she kills her victims further indicates her emotional instability. She also wears her veil at all times, which maintains a hidden identity. Furthermore, her hair and make-up will be made to look as if she is a bride. Her eye make-up will be smeared, to indicate crying. This all indicates that the wedding strongly affected her emotionally. This element of the mise-en-scene is quite conventional to the thriller genre as the costume/hair/make-up is related to the character's role in the story, and helps the audience identify and understand the character more.

Facial Expressions & Body Language
The 'bride' will be continuously upset/crying throughout the scene, except in the happy flashbacks and the angry implied-killing flashbacks. She is weak-looking when she is on the bed, looking over the photo album - her posture is poor. This highlights the effect that the wedding had on her. However, when she is killing, her posture is sure and confident. This shows that she is still stronger than her victims, despite her unhappiness and mental instability. Thrillers conventionally convey most of the characters' emotions through their facial expressions and body language, as it is easier for the audience to understand the character's feelings this way.

Lighting & Colour
There will be low key lighting all throughout the scene to create a tense and suspenseful atmosphere, except in the positive flashback to before the wedding. This contrast will alert the audience to the shift in mood - it indicates that she was a lot happier back then. Now, she is broken, lonely and distraught. Low key lighting is a conventional, common part of the typical thriller film as it highlights the bad, violent and frightening parts of the story.

Positioning of Characters/Objects Within the Frame
In the opening shot especially, it will be visible that wedding decorations are scattered all around the bedroom, surrounding the woman on the bed. This suggests that the wedding still surrounds her and fully engulfs her memory and mind. The audience can infer straight away that a failed wedding/marriage is an integral plot point of the film. This element of the mise-en-scene is quite conventional to a thriller film as the positioning of objects in relation to a character can, a lot of the time, indicate certain parts of the story.

Our target audience for our thriller film is 15+ year olds. We will engage this target audience, and older viewers, by using a variation of objects, characters and other elements of mise-en-scene listed above. Females especially will be intrigued by the inclusion of a wedding in a thriller film, as females tend to be more interested in romantic themes. Furthermore, our young target audience will be able to relate more to the film and the characters as the characters are all quite young (approximately 18 years old). This builds the relationship between the audience and the characters because they can empathise more with the narrative.

Planning Editing Styles - Miss Georgiou

Editing is very important within a thriller film, as most of the suspenseful or tense atmosphere is derived from editing of the film. The way that specific shots are put together is integral to the atmosphere of the thriller film, as is sound editing - appropriate music, sounds and editing is key.

Firstly, we will include slow editing in most of the sequence to create a tense atmosphere. This will draw the audience in and engage them. The audience will suspect some sort of shock or surprise, but will be unsure when this will happen. The slow editing prepares them for this. Secondly, we will include fast editing when showing the flashbacks. This will create excitement, and the audience will be curious as to what is happening. The fast editing will also create a sense of action and possibly fear, especially when used with the flashbacks related to the 'bride' killing the 'groom's family. Slow editing is very conventional to the thriller genre as it is one of the best and most effective ways to create tension.

The Kuleshov effect will be used when showing the flashbacks in relation to the groom's parents. The shot of the red 'X' through the parents' faces and then the following shot of the 'bride' walking up to each parent holding a knife will imply that the 'bride' has already killed both parents, and is reminiscing over this while looking at the photo album. This alerts the audience to the death of the 'groom's parents without actually having to show any death/violence - the murdering is implied via the Kuleshov effect. The Kuleshov effect can be popular within the thriller genre as it adds a sense of mystery and slight confusion to the atmosphere.

There will be jump cuts throughout the opening sequence to create focus on a specific object or person. For example, when the woman picks up the photo album, there will be a jump cut to the photos inside. This will ensure that the audience knows the importance of this object. Jump cuts are conventional for films, especially in the thriller genre, as it is common in thrillers for the scene to constantly cut to objects that are or will be important to the narrative.

These editing styles are quite typical to thriller films. The slow and fast editing in tense and action-filled parts of a film (respectively) are widely used throughout the thriller genre. They create the appropriate atmospheres for specific parts of an opening sequence, and in a film in general. This is the reason that we will include these types of editing in our thriller opening sequence. Also, jump cuts are frequently used in the thriller genre, as they help the audience focus on a specific part of the scene, which may hint at certain aspects of the future plot. For instance, if at some point in the thriller, someone will get stabbed, there may be a jump cut to a knife beforehand. The editing that we will use in our thriller will appeal to the audience because, although it is seen in most thriller films, they will still be engaged with the plot due to the editing techniques that we will use.