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For this idea we created a moodboard that consists of inspirations for our thriller.

On this we thought about costume, makeup, props and set design that we have in mind. We considered makeup designs such as shallow cuts and scrapes on the face to show that he's been slightly beaten up beforehand. We also looked at inspirations for how we will scatter the keys on the floor or the wall and considered using modern yale keys to keep the sequence modern. We also looked at set designs such as the room and the door. We looked at fridge doors as they are heavy duty and almost impossible to break. In addition to this, we looked at using a bulky padlock so that it is something the protagonist cannot break. Furthermore we looked at costumes, we looked at a smart and mature suit as that is the stereotypical connotions of what a spy would wear.
We took the feedback we received from our pitch into consideration and started rebuilding our idea.
We thought about conventions we might see in a Thriller instead of a horror, which is what we previously were accidentally creating.

We looked at a more "hero" figure, where the audience will support the protagonist. We came up with an espionage thriller where the character is similar to a James Bond style figure. We thought of a man who is an ex-police man. He retired from duty due to the murder of his wife under his police-watch. He now lives with his terminally ill daughter

 The opening sequence consists of the protagonist waking up in a blank room with a big metal door. As he looks around he notices that the door is bolted with a big padlock and scattered around the floor are hundreds of keys. There is a note on the door that orders him to find the correct key before time runs out. The protagonist begins to panic and fumble for the correct key, unsuccessfully finding the correct one. There is some diegetic sound that increases in volume to which the protagonist can hear and starts to panic as the noise gets closer. The sequence ends with the protagonist finding a key and putting it into the padlock, however we don't see whether the key worked or not. 

 We then pitched this idea and the feedback that we received was positive. However there are some things that we need to think about, such as what is going to make the protagonist more franctic. We thought about some sort of disturbing diegetic sound that's advancing closer to the room.

 We will continue developing this idea and move into pre-production discussions.
We then pitched our idea to the school's filmmakers, Matt and Luke, who will be helping us in creating our final sequences. We presented them with this powerpoint, which consisted of the movie plot, the opening sequence, details such as locations, props, costumes, the moodboard, the test shoot, and a brief but potential back up idea.

In preparation for this, we also began to make some phone calls to potential filming locations. We contacted Hampton Court Palace, which is conveniently only around 30 minutes away; however their requirements include £350 an hour to film, and we must film outside of opening hours (10:00-15:45). We tried Hever Castle in Kent, which is double the distance from us than Hampton. They said that there will be a filming fee, however it will be significantly smaller than Hampton's, they also confirmed that the maze is closed in January anyway, so if we filmed there we would have no problems in terms of the general public. They informed us that to apply for filming, we must officially request to film it with what equipment we will have, number of crew etc.
As a backup, we also called a local vineyard called Denbies. They agreed to this with no fee and an availability at any time. We're glad to have a certain back up plan if we fail to recieve a filming agreement in any of the mazes.

The feedback we got was generally to rebuild our idea and develop it even further. One of them thought that the location of a maze and the whole 'chased by a man' idea is too overused and cliched, and has too many conventions towards a horror film, rather than a thriller. I think as our group was developing this idea, we perhaps lost sight of the conventions of a thriller and instead accidentally created a horror - as a thriller is meant to excite and anticipate an audience, rather than frighten them.

We were also told to perhaps look at a character who is more of a hero figure, rather than someone who is scared and frightened. The audience do not really want to watch someone lose. In addition to this, we were also told to consider whether our idea applies to anything that's happening in the real world right now. Perhaps we will look at BBC News and other articles on what is happening to obtain some themes for our thriller.











Mike’s feedback:

After pitching our idea, we received some feedback that we will discuss and develop further.

Overall, Mike, whom we pitched to, thought our idea was original and generally very good. He liked the idea of using a maze as no one has filmed in a maze before. He let us consider these points:

Ø Filming in the dark – although filming in the dark would create the optimum level of atmosphere that we want, it is very difficult to technically film. The quality would nowhere near be as good as if we shot at day. We decided that we would shoot during the day with smoke machines etc. to make it creepy, and later edit the footage to make it more gloomy.
Ø Furthermore, as we would shoot during the day, we no longer needed the lantern idea. We discussed using something else such as a teddy bear for her to hold, however this would not be as effective and therefore we decided to keep the lantern.

Ø Mike also raised the issue of locations. Since there is no maze that is conveniently close to us, the issue of transport and distance was a major concern. However we did mention that we had called up the nearest mazes such as Hampton Court Palace and Hever Castle, requesting to film.

In preparation for our Thriller Sequence, we created a test shoot, to get a glimpse of what the developed final product may look like. In this shoot, we only included the vital shots that really convey the story; therefore we excluded any complex or establishing shots that we discussed using for the final product. We filmed on an Iphone 6S, around the campus in locations that looked similar to a maze. We also shot inside a bathroom to use the mirror, as we couldn't bring a mirror outside. I believe we successfully and clearly conveyed our idea of a girl being lost/trapped and someone is chasing after her.

I believe our idea has translated well to film, as it includes the conventions of a thriller. Despite being the basic foundation of our desired final sequence, it is already formed of discomforting shots and jump-scares. In particular, the slow pace of the shots are very effective as it creates the tension that we wanted the audience to feel. The slow pace of the extreme long shot creates the jump-scare of the feet appearing in shot, as it is unexpected. The total length of the opening sequence is fairly good, however, obviously the final sequence will be longer as we will include more shots.

The camera angles and movements we used were fairly good. They represented the type of shots that we would like to use. For example, the camera angled perpendicularly, to make a profile shot of the girl in the mirror is what we were considering using in the final product. Camera movement was a bit shaky, however this will not be an issue in the final sequence, as we will be equipped with tripods etc. Perhaps we could develop some shots, such as the first shot which is a close up - instead we could perhaps zoom in and create an extreme close up to add more discomfort and tension.

If we had more time to edit the shoot to perfection, I would completely remove some sound in the shot that we do not wish to have. I tried to reduce the sound, however it can still subtly be heard. In addition to this, we could perhaps have included more shots that we would like to try. This includes an establishing shot and perhaps one where she finds the mirror.

I believe that overall, the relationship between some of the shots and the tension created worked really successfully. Particularly the extreme long shot where the feet walk into shot. I believe this to have worked well as the sudden boom sound made the audience jump. I also believe that editing audio worked really well; we had many layers of different sounds, such as ambient sounds like the wind and the crickets, as well as pleonastic sound of the feet stamping on the ground. Together, these came together nicely to really establish the setting and themes of the film, whilst subtly underlaying the non-diegetic music.







Our moodboard consists of images of locations, props, costumes and cinematography that we would like to replicate. We mainly added images of a maze and a vineyard - which links to our idea, as ideally, this the location we desire to film in. We also added the idea of using a lantern to create an eerie glow upon the girl's face and to make the sequence more surreal.  In addition to this, we added the image of the pyjamas to show what type of costume we had in mind and what it would look like.
We began to think about setting up pre-production. We began to discuss casting, costume, location, props and set design. 







  • As we now have the concept for the thriller opening sequence, we began thinking about shot types and laying out a storyboard.

[INSERT STORYBOARD IMAGE]


We decided that we think it would be effective to use a drone for a panning establishing shot; and then zoom quickly throughout the maze into an ECU of the protagonist's face. However, this may be difficult particularly as we do not have an official drone - fortunately I have a mini remote-control helicopter that we may be able to use. 
This idea I took from this clip regularly used in Doctor Who
We have started to replicate the main shots that we will have. We created a test shoot to show a vague idea of how we are going to film the sequence. We used shots and audio that we have previously discussed such as the ELS of the protagonist walking throughout the maze. We are going to shoot our thriller in the dark and and use props such as a full length mirror , a lantern and a fog machineWe have also started looking at locations that we can shoot for the maze - we considered Hever Castle or Hampton Court Palace as they have tall hedge mazes which is what we pictured.
We also looked at using different sounds for our thriller. We looked at different compositions such as:






After presenting each member's ideas, we split into groups and began to discuss our final thriller idea. We debated about everyone's ideas, and finally decided to combine my idea of the mirror and Jess's idea of the maze and someone chasing the protagonist. We stuck with my general film idea that a young woman begins to have dreams of her death in 7 days (6 nights) and discovers that she is seeing visions. This film is of the psychological thriller sub-genre. 

  •   We created the idea that a young girl suddenly finds herself in a maze, she begins to explore further, unaware of a shadow following her. She then discovers a mirror located in the maze, she sees someone lurking in the background of the reflection. She turns around to see that no one is there. She turns back and sees that the shadow has taken over her reflection and looking right back at her. 
  • We have begun to consider details such as props, costume, setting and shot types. We all agreed that we would like the protagonist to be a young woman dressed in pyjamas and carrying a lantern. This is to give the sense that the sequence is all a dream. We thought it would be really effective to film using unique methods: such as using a drone, and a fast POV zoom shot following through the maze. 
  • We work together really productively, as we all contributed to the idea and discussed the overall plan with great detail. 



we took inspiration for the idea of the reflection being different to the protagonist; from this scene in The Woman in Black

Yew Maze at Hever Castle, Kent.
  • We also thought of our second idea, which had the same concept but with different locations. 





Today we each presented our individual ideas and filled out a feedback sheet commenting on each one. This will help me to consider what I should develop and what to avoid in my own idea. I personally favour Honor's idea as it's thrilling idea and the location is easy to film in.

I decided to go further with my mirror idea, and created a story based around dreams and reflections. this idea will be in the genre of a psychological thriller.

MOVIE IDEA: "Dream a little dream of me"
    A young woman suddenly begins to get multiple dreams of her inevitable death, in a futile attempt to make sense of them; she discovers that they’re actually visions. 



      my idea for an opening sequence starts in a large abandoned room, with furniture covered in dust-proof sheets. The protagonist is exploring the room, uncovering sheets and discovering what’s underneath. She finds an old vinyl player and puts the needle on. We hear the song “walking after midnight” or “dream a little dream of me”, she continues to explore the room and sees a tall but thin object towards the back of the room. She walks over and takes off the dust sheet. It’s an antique full-length mirror. She inspects herself in the mirror until the music suddenly crackles out and stops. She turns to see, the needle has been knocked off the vinyl. She looks back and she has a different reflection of herself drenched in blood and holding a knife. She looks frantic and starts panicking. She suddenly wakes up, sweating and panicked. 


    Ideas with shots: 
  • Start with a low angle CU of the sheet being drifted over the camera, as the girl is taking it off the furniture.
  •  Tilt up to a mid shot of the girl. ELS of the abandoned room, to show the proportion of its size. The room has a slight blue tint to show that it’s a dream sequence. 
  • Over the shoulder, profile mid shot of the girl uncovering the vinyl. Profile CU of her face
  • ECU of her hand placing the needle on the vinyl and starts playing.
  •  over the shoulder shot of her uncovering the mirror,
  • ECU of her waking up











INSPIRATION









Preliminary task analysis

This week, using Adobe Premiere Pro, we edited the footage of our preliminary task to make it into a sequence.  We wanted this scene to convey tension and suspense, to leave the viewer wanting to find out more about the characters. This tension is shown through the facial expressions of the characters. Honor looked quite concerned and scared, whilst Sofia looked serious and angry. Through this, it is clear that Sofia has the most status in the scene.
             We also used props and setting to create tension. Sofia held scissors in her hand which added tension and conveys the iconography of a crime thriller, however we decided not to use them as we were not unscripted; this means in some shots the scissors were not there which resulted in continuity errors. The costumes that they wore suggested to the audience that this sequence is set in the modern day. 
           
We began with a wide shot. This was effective as it simply established the scene and introduced the audience to the set and the characters. The wide shot allowed the audience to first see Sofia’s determined and angry persona through the aggressive way she opened the door. The diegetic sound for the door creaking was effective as it created a tense and ‘dodgy’ atmosphere.


            For the rest of the sequence, we edited a combination of Close Ups and Extreme Close Ups. We did this as close ups create suspense and help the audience connect to the characters. Through these shots, we can clearly see the character’s emotions and focus on them more; this is important when presenting a tense scene, as we want the audience to feel the same level of tension as the characters onscreen. I believe this was successful, particularly with the extreme close ups, as we can really connect to the characters and want to find out more about them and the story.

            We tried to make Honor look scared and hopeless through her facial expressions and voice. This mise-en-scene is important when filmmaking as it non-directly tells the audience the story and the characters thoughts towards it. We also made the shots slow paced; we wanted the audience to focus on what’s happening in the scene. We believe this was successful in focusing on the scene, as it helped to connect the audience to the characters and feel their tension.


 We used shot/reverse shot in most of the sequence. We started this with a close up of Honor, followed by a close up of Sofia. This is the starting point to the tension of the scene. Placing the close ups directly after the establishing shot, allows the audience to be fully introduced to the characters and their persona in the scene. 

We used over the shoulder shots of Honor and Sofia. This was effective as it includes the audience into the scene as well as maintaining the sense of continuity, as both characters are involved in the scene. We shot these angles within the 180-degree rule so the placement of the characters in the scene does not disorientate the audience.



 We then reverted back to a close up of Sofia, before transitioning into an extreme close up when Sofia says, “I can’t wait for you” the cut from a close up to extreme close up emphasises the escalation of tension that’s building in this scene. The audience know, through the cut between close ups, that Sofia’s character is very serious and threatening behind her words.
            We then cut to an extreme close up of Honor. This graphic match of the eyes was very effective, as it emphasises the threatening relationship between the pair; and is the climax of the tension. This is a typical convention we may see in a Western genre, which is used in order to climax the tension between the characters. The extreme close up were successful in making the audience on edge, as it’s very personal to the character. The audience feel quite uncomfortable, as they are so up close to the faces. This was also supported by the slow pace footage, which forced the audience to watch and focus, despite whether they wanted to watch or not.
There is also a lack of diegetic sound in Honor’s extreme close up, this creates suspense as the audience is not sure of what will happen next.





We then cut to a moving mid shot of Sofia walking to the door. The lack of sound continues so the audience is still on edge waiting for the next thing to happen, this effectively drags the suspense. Sofia speaks the final line “I won’t wait for you” her facial expressions connoted to the audience that she is very impatient in this situation, and clearly doesn’t care for Honor. The audience want to find out what Sofia wants Honor to do and why she can’t do it. It is clear through the mise-en-scene that Sofia will continue with her task without Honor’s aid.
            It then cuts to another extreme close up of the door handle opening and closing as Sofia walks through. This final shot was very effective as its slow paced, which forces the audience to watch and hear the door creaking shut until the very end. This diegetic sound is repeated from the start of the sequence, bringing back that discomfort we felt when we first heard the door squeak. The audience continues to feel on edge and wants to find out what happened next; its as if this final shot ended on a cliff-hanger.



 However there is a black frame between the mid shot and extreme close up. This is where we did not place the final shot correctly in premiere pro. This removes the verisimilitude of the sequence, as the clean cut editing is no longer realistic and smooth. Next time I will make sure that every cut is smooth and shots are placed immediately after each other.

In addition to that, audio was fairly jumpy and in some parts very quiet. Particularly in the first close up of Honor where she says, “I can’t”, we had to duplicate the audio while editing so that Honor can be heard.
           
            We also realised that while filming, the actors didn’t take long enough pauses between lines. Because of this, we found it very hard to edit and cut audio, so for many of the scenes we can hear a glimpse of the end of the previous line.  Next time, I will make sure that if dialogue is used, the actors will make long enough pauses to make it easier to cut and edit shots together.

 There was also static background noise, which takes away the tense mood of the film, especially in shots where there is no diegetic sound. I will learn how to reduce background static noise and perhaps add some non-diegetic sound such as tense instrumental music to really support the conventions of a suspenseful thriller.
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      • Keys Moodboard
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  • Camera Angles/Shots/Movements
    Establishing Shot:   Usually the first shot of a scene. Lets audience know where action is taking place. Usually a very/extreme wide shot. ...
  • Music Video Analysis: Madonna's Like a Prayer
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  • Studio Camera Lesson
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  • Studio Lesson 2
    STUDIO LESSON We began with learning about the 180 degree rule. We saw a demonstration of a motorbike traveling across a road to visua...
  • Researching Musical Styles and Campaigns: Meghan Trainor
  • Preliminary Lip Sync Exercise
    For our preliminary task, we created a short music video to Meghan Trainor's All about that Bass, which is a quirky upbeat and catchy ...
  • Looking at Websites: Ariana Grande
    I began looking at websites as a component of music campaigns. I compared the websites of Ariana Grande and Rihanna, both very popular arti...
  • Looking at Websites: Rihanna
    The viewer is similarly first greeted with an introduction page, offering the viewer products to buy by displaying a countdown to her to...
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