Feedback for final production

1) Camerawork

Point of view was effective.
Variety of shots was effective.
Close ups added intrigue.

2) Sound

Heartbeat added tension and suspense.
Diegetic sound, running, and a catchy soundtrack.

3) mise-en-scene

Restricted view of characters adds to thriller effect.
Made use of forest, thrillery.
Lighting was dark and tinted

4) Editing

Colour correction
Fade at the beginning
The title screen is very good.

5) Constructive critisism

Shot duration of the red room needs to be longer.
Repetitive use of camera angles.
The last static shot had no text.
Turn down the sound.
A more subtle use of colour correction needed.

6) Most effective element of the project

Sound added atmosphere
Point of view shots.

Analysis of opening sequence (Se7en)

Se7en (1995) is a crime drama mystery film, so it is not the same genre as  our film. However, there are many similarities between our psychological thriller and this crime film.

camerawork
the camerawork in this opening sequence helps to develop the genre. the shots are often of a long duration which causes the audience to feel the strangeness of the scenes involved.  when the shots arent slow and long they are very fast paced, which confuses the audience. a very large amount of the camera angles are extreme close-ups, this engages the attention and also makes you feel like you are watching something that you should not be watching.

editing

There are a lot of jump cuts, which add to the tension as they are very sudden changes, it makes the audience feel wary. when the titles appear there are flashes of light in which you can see an unclear picture. the titles also seem to shake which add to the strangeness. as well as this there are repeats of some of the credits which flash across. there is the occasional effect in which the subject of the picture seems to be blurring as it moves, i think this makes it seem as though the subject is moving faster but when you pay attention to it it is going at an ordinar pace. there are also alarming squiggles which appear and disappear very quickly.

mise en scene
the sequence contains scrapbook making, including needles, photographs, a book, the fingers working away creating a scrapbook, the shadow of the person. also when you can see the writing you can read stuff about pregnancy and transsexuals which combined with everything else causes these subjects to seem very creepy, especially as the character involved is crossing out soe words with a marker pen

sound

The sound in the Se7en opening is mostly non-diegetic music. The music is highly distorted, like the camerawork. This adds to the sensew of uncertainty and tension. The music fits the images shown well, with the credits.

What we needed to change.

After getting the feedback from Amar it made us understand that our ending to our project was not succesful and left the ending dead. Rather then leaving it open, so the audience would want to watch the rest of the thriller. So therefore we had to change the overall ideas of our storyboard, that we had originally planned. Maybe in the future we should really think about the ending because from this we have learnt that it plays a big part in the whole project.

In alot of professional thrillers the end of a titale sequence often ends with some kind of text, usually ''based on a true story'' or the production name, also the title of the while thriller. So we decided to add the title name at the end, making it more eye catching and making the audience more aware. Alot of proffesional thriller often put the title over the top of one of the clips however we wanted the title to be really prominant to the audience by making the background completely plain.

Music in Pshycological thrillers.

We looked at other professional pshycologica thriller sounds (within a title seuquence)
and we found that looking at 'Catch me if you can' we realised this is what we wanted our thriller to be most like.
In the title sequence it has running, much like our thriller, this is why we looked into the sounds to try and get an idea of the perfect ''chase'' music.
Its really upbeat, and fast paced, emphasising the fact the character is on a run or in our project running away form ''something'. The sounds are not happy, but non diegetic and fast, making it jumpy but keeping in the mind of a pshycological thriller.

Things we need to do.

• Create a sounds on garage band.
• Add sounds to seuquence
• Create a name for our thriller
• Add name of thriller to the end of our title sequence
• Add more transitions making it flow (continuity)
• Rearrange order of some of the clips
• Maybe add in a logo
• Add movement to the text at the beginning of sequence.
• Lighten some of our clips.
• Upload more feedback, and what we have done.

Editing

Wednesday 9th March
In todays lesson we created a sound track on garage band, we wanted the first part of it to be slow to keep in order with the overall tone of the title sequence, then as the fade begins the pace of the song increases for the running parts of the thriller. using garage band we decided to use dark and intense but also upbeat sounds.

Editing lesson 3

Monday 7th March

In this lesson we gained feedback from Amar leaving us with lots of better ideas, but alot more editing!
We had to rearrange the order of the clips to make it have a better ending, and also adding certain transitions to introduce the different parts of the thriller, also making the production name look more appealing and intresting.

First of all we decided rather then adding a background to the production name, we decided to make the text a typewriter, keeping constant with the rest of the text throughout the thriller, also adding a red shadow to the text making it more appealing.

We also added a fade in fade out making it introduce the thriller, and the narrative.
We cut and paste the clip of the eye to the end, and then made a short clip of total darkness just before it. Then using garage band we created a sound of a door closing and footsteps to create a better and tenser atmosphere.

Next lesson we will carry on to produce the underlying song of the whole thriller.

Feedback from Amar from watching our video

For the production name, add some sort of background to make it less plain, maybe add movement, a transition, perhaps add a logo? Fade in fade out effect.
Using more transitions making the whole thing 2 or 3 times longer.
When introducing the first clip, make the sounds go over the top of the production name, making the audience wanting to find out whats happening.
Underlying song throughout the project, and everytime there is the white noise effect make the sounds higher.
Also add ''based on a true story''.
Cut out the eye clip and move it to the end, so it leave the end, an opening sequence...
Make it fade out to black when the eye closes making it look more real, leave the shot black for a little while with maybe a heartbeat sound, or an footsteps sound, then leaving the ending as the eye opening and being in a dark room, making it more intense and mysterious.
Also ADD A TITLE AT THE END.

SHOTS

SHOT 1 ETX. handi cam, almost a high angle shot, showing character which isnt established at this point, running through a forest, clearly running away from something but it does not show what exactly, panting sounds are used to enphasise the fact the character (victim) is running.

SHOT 2 ETX. further shots of character running through forest, but the camera tilted higher so that the location is established, same sounds as shot 1.

SHOT 3 NONE. white noise, with title sequence, first name of person in our group, with black BROKEN GHOST text.

SHOT 4 INT. over the shoulder/point of view shot of a different but also unknown character in a dark room (maybe walking around.. whilst) looking through photos, or paper cuttings, of the ''victim'', unusual sounds of character singing/humming, creating a pshycological feel.

SHOT 5 INT. close up showing photographs of victim, underneath non diegetic sounds of erie music, fast paced, to emphasise the genre of pshycological thriller.

SHOT 6 NONE.  white noise, with title sequence, second name of person in our group, with black BROKEN GHOST text.

SHOT 7 ETX. handi cam, much like shot 1, showing character running through forest with a underlying non diegetic sound, soundtrack created on garage band.

SHOT 8 NONE.  white noise, with title sequence, third name of person in our group, with black BROKEN GHOST text.


SHOT 9 INT.  another point of view shot, of the antagonist which still remains unknown walking around the dark room looking though the photographs.

SHOT 10 NONE. white noise, with title sequence, fourth name of person in our group, with black BROKEN GHOST text.

Micro Elements

Editing

Mise-en-scene

the location of our production helps to generate the genre of the film, set from the very beginning in a dark and desolate area, with strange and unusual lighting which makes the audience feel uneasy from the very first few moments. in this sequence you do not see the characters, but what you do see can help to establish the character types, you see the boy running through the forest, all you see is his shoes which establish that he is an ordinary person, fairly young as he is wearing white trainers, which could help the audience to decide whose side they think they ma be on for this film. they may feel sympathy as in this shot he is clearly in danger, which is shown by the way this character is running and panting.



Camera work
When filming our product we made sure that we did not use a tripod, we wanted a point of view, hand held camera to be used. To make a better effect, so the audience would be in the characters point of view. We got the idea from parts of 'Momento' and mainly the 'Blaire witch project' which is a little more horror then thriller however we wanted to see the effect it had on the audience, it would make them feel in the position of the suspect, running away from the antagonist, and also being in the antagonists point of view when in the dark rooms. There was not much camera work involved apart from the handi cam, because we didn't have to ensure any particular shots etc.

Sound
when we filmed our sequence we got some unwanted sound - wind, voices, background noises etc.. so when we were editing we removed some of these sounds, as they make our production sound unproffessional. We did, however, use some of the sounds we had such as the sound of the running, the dialogue etc, which helped to put across meaning in our opening, and gains the reality of the situation the characters are in. We also added in some sounds upon editing, such as the white noise inbetween clips, this heps to make the white noise very frightening, as the unnatural sudden lack of picture combined with the sound can startle the audience.

Font and colour scheme of title sequence.

INCEPTION

This shot of the title sequence from inception shows the colour scheme being simple, black and white, black background with white bold and in capitals writing so that it stands out and the audience is immediately drawn to it, because it is the production company name. The font looks simple and sophistocated perhaps trying to suggest the genre.

What we have learnt from Amar

Script writing

• Write all ideas
• Write it simple like so that everyone knows what the story does entail.

Writing your script

• Each scene should have a new paragraph
• Label with interior and exterior
• End with day or night to show what time it is.

Walkthrough

• Acting it out will help to identify problems
• Don't make it too complicated.

Location Recce

• When you find a suitable location, take lots of photographs to know where everything is.
• Source info, e.g location of toilets, car park, food etc.
• Think about filming location without background noise for dialougue.

Digital storyboard

• Take a variety of shots so background etc. is visible.
• How things look

Shotlist

• Always have shotlist, annotate script
• Tell story in the simplest way

 Sam, Michael, Saffron and Lindsay

Risk Assesment

Possible hazards or difficulties which we may comes across whilst filming, also health and safety risks we need to consider and be aware of whilst filming.

Shooting Scheduel

LOCATION 1- The forest
LOCATION 2- The Dark room


Friday 4th February- Day time

4.10- Collect camera equipment from college.

Monday 7th February- Day time

9.00- Go to LOCATION 1 : The forest

9.05-10.00- Set up equipment and begin to shoot. Shots 1, 2, 6.

Tuesday 8th February- Day time

12.20- Go to LOCATION 1: The forest

12.30-2.40-Film shots  7, 9, 11.

2.45- Go to LOCATION 2: Dark room

2.50-3.30- Set up equipment and film shots 3,4,5.

4.10- Return equipment to college.

Wednesday 9th February-Day time

11.00- Collect filming equipment

11.05- Go to LOCATION 2: Dark room


11.15-11.45- Shoot shots 8, 10.

Thursday 10th February- Day time

9.00- Go to LOCATION 1: The forest

9-05-10.00- filming last shots of 12, 13, 14.




By Saffron and Lynsey

Location recce

`First location: Forest ( in college grounds )

• if there is construction work/maintenance taking place.
• train going past - would make too much noise.
• alot of background noise for example winds
• weather may make it hard to film e.g. rain. snow!
• other students in forest filming might get in the way
• areas off limits
• health and safety issues

Second location: Dark room ( in college )

• other students using it
• not enough light in the room to see what is going on
• too much background noise from students/machines
• not aloud to film in certain times, ( when class is on )
• health and safety issues
• chemicals on floor or on work tops
• not have permission to film

Saffron and Lynsey

Pictures of our location ideas.

Google Maps of College grounds.

Facilities
Considering we are filming in the college grounds, we know that we are surrounded by the possible needed facilities, eg. Toilets, are close to the forest and the dark room, also food places are close by (refectory) and also in the case of the dark rooms for health and safety there are teachers who are around for first aid, and also eye wash stations available. So in the case of an emergency or need of toilet or food the facilities are close by and every member of our group are aware so there would be no disruption to the filming.

Saffron and Lynsey

Planning for Pitch Part 2 (Thriller Opening Sequence)

Characters
The main characters in our opening sequence do not appear in the sequence, they are not explored until later on in the film. The identity of the character in our opening sequence is unknown. We have decided to have it set out this way to add suspense from the very beginning of the film.

Suggested Locations
A forest implies isolation from civilisation, which scares the civilised person. A dark room is also a proposed location, as humans are generally afraid of the dark because it implies the unknown which humans are scared of.

Pitch

Narrative of opening sequence

• starts as a hand held camera (used for effect)
• shots of a unknown characters face, and feet, not giving away who the character actually is
• no introduction to any main characters
• running through forest- scene
• only dialogue is screams and ''help me''. 
• shots of a shadow lurking around in trees
• use of tv cutting out as a erie effect 
• insipred by 'blaire witch project'

Overall, its a pshycological thriller, with hints of mystery and perhaps horror. The opening scene starts with the title sequence (short) followed by a character which is unknown, panting whilst running through the forest, clearly running away from something but its not shown what, non diegetic sounds of heart beating, and shots of the characters face cutting in an out with the tv white noise, and also shots of s mysterious character looking through pictures, and negatives and newspapers,  as part of the title sequence. Nothing else of the narrative is revealed, the scene ends with the camera being dropped on the floor and the camera still recording.

Subgenre 

Conventions:

Psychological thrillers narrative usually contain a character with some kind of mental illness or issue, the thrillers usually contain twists in the film, also emotions or feelings are explored, also characters discovering reality, the core of the narrative is situated round the mind, themes of identity and also the characters are normally in search for their purpose. 

- From this we was hoping that through the opening scene the audience would be able to gather it has something to do with a psychological thriller, its all about mind games making the genre obvious, also with the main characters not being shown directly at the beginning of our film.


When thinking about the subgenres, we thought about what other thrillers made up come up with our idea, we found that momento and parts of blair witch project have helped us to construct our opening sequence. 
Looking at the opening sequence of momento you can see from our narrative ideas which parts we have came up with from inspiration.

Openings of Panic Room and Rear Window

The opening of Panic Room consists of calm, areal shots of New York city, contrasting with the creepy dramatic music. After a time, the music becomes more fast paced, but still dramatic, which against the unfitting footage of a normal day in New York, creates an unsettling sensation. It implies that everything is not quite as it seems.
The opening of Rear Window consists of light, jazzy, energetic music with footage of blinds opening. It is perculiarly unfitting for the thriller genre, and seems to lull the viewer into a false sense of security. Both openings use unfitting micro-elements, but to create different macro elements.

Marking Criteria

Video
Level 4

• holding a shot steady, where appropriate;
• framing a shot, including and excluding elements as appropriate;
• using a variety of shot distances as appropriate;
• shooting material appropriate to the task set;
• selecting mise-en-scene including colour, figure, lighting, objects and setting;
• editing so that meaning is apparent to the viewer;
• using varied shot transitions and other effects selectively and appropriately for the task set;
• using sound with images and editing appropriately for the task set;
• using titles appropriately.

Research and Planning
Level 4

• there is excellent research into similar products and a potential target audience;
• there is excellent organisation of actors, location, costumes or props;
• there is excellent work on shot lists, layouts , drafting, scripting or story boarding;
• there is an excellent level of care in the presentation of the research and planning;
• time management is excellent

This is the highest level possible to achieve for this unit, and these are the marks that we have given to the past students blog that we have analysed - Q1-07 from last year.

Research and planning
overall i have given this group a Level 4 for their blog although they had some elements of Level Three quality.

Video

• they have excellently held the camera steady where appropriate, and unsteady in appropriate places
• they have used a variety of shot distances, 
• it is very appropriate to the task which has been set
• there were a large amount of shot transitions, such as fades and such
• they have created a professional looking title sequence at the beginning, with a special 'jjr' productions logo sequence
• they have used sound with images and editing appropriately
• the soundtrack is very good, and very fitting for the sequence.

Planning and research

• they have done excellent research into similar products, what a thriller is, their potential target audience
• there is excellent organization of the actors, they have clearly thought hard about the setting of their preliminary task as they have pictures of other possible locations.
• they have clearly done allot of preparation as they have a rough plot idea
• they have planned what they are going to film in each session

By Lynsey, Sam and Michael.