Preliminary task - Miss Miller

For my preliminary task I was in a group of me, Amy Sowerby and Alfie Harris,  the point of the preliminary task was to get used to the camera equipment, etc, it was also used to practice certain camera angles and see how they look, it was also to help me and Alfie get comfortable in front of the camera in preparation of the opening sequence. We had to film a conversation for thirty seconds to one minute, the point of the task is that we had to make sure we got certain shots in from a checklist made by miss miller, we had to edit out certain parts of the film to make it seem like one running sequence and not a number of different scenes, for example we had to edit the phone ringing so that it would sound like one constant ring and not two separate ones,  also we had to cut out certain parts where someone was walking to make it seem like they was walking from the same position, I think my group done this effectively.

The shots we had to do were panning, shot reverse shot, over the shoulder shot, close up and long shot, all of these are likely to be used in our opening sequence, I think our group used shots well and completed the task as we used all of the camera shots stated before, we achieved this by doing a lot of different scenes and seeing what worked best, we decided this after and I believe we used the camera shots effectively. It was difficult to think of a narrative in the short time given, we had to make up a story on the spot and I believe the narrative was slightly confusing and irrelevant. We should pre-plan the narrative and make sure the story is easy to follow and makes sense, the fact that we have been allowed to get used to, this will allow us to have a better quality film, also we have got used to acting infront of the camera under pressure as we had to make up the narrative as we had not pre planned it. I feel that if we had been able to use more relevant iconography or make the storyline relevant to a thriller it would have helped us produce a better opening sequence. Watching the footage back allowed us to see how we unconsciously acted in front of the camera, for example, we, unknowingly, kept looking at the camera at the beginning of the scene, we should not do this in our opening sequence as it is unprofessional as it makes it feel less realistic, the audience should feel like we don't know the camera is there.

This task was extremely useful to our group as we were unsure on how to move the camera and what shots are effective for certain part of the sequence, we have also learnt from our mistakes on how to focus the camera, before, we did not realise we had to do this but after seeing our live conversation we realised the video was very blurry and poor quality, we have found out how to refocus a camera now and this will be incredible useful to produce a good quality opening sequence. We need to make sure we use the shots as effectively in our opening sequence as we did in the small conversation, this is one thing we done very well, we need to make sure we don't look at the camera, refocus the camera before filming, pre plan the narrative and use sounds/props to create suspense, shock, surprise and enigma.

Group Narrative - miss Georgia

In my group of three we have me (Danny), Alfie and Amy

Group member one (Danny): For my story the narrative will be based in an isolated area, possibly a forest, about a crazed stalker who has been following the protagonist for years, one day he finally snaps, and decides to take action, she is running in the forest, and suddenly she feels a blunt object hit her over the head, instantly knocking her out, the screen goes black, he kidnaps her and takes her to his house, when she wakes up she is drowsy and disorientated, and doesn't realise what is happening, she gets up, trying to exit but finds the door is locked, she screams for help, but is trapped, she decides to look around the room and there are pictures of her scattered all over the walls, pictures that look like they have been taken from a distance, she was clearly unaware of the picture being taken, she is starting to become anxious, she frantically looks around the room, searching for an exit or a weapon to smash the door down with, as she is looking around the room the lights start to flicker, she hears the door creaking open, so she tries to find a hiding place in this small room, she gets into the wardrobe, attempting to evade the unknown man, she cannot close it fully, so she ends up peeking out, she sees the man walking around calling out her name (she doesn't recognise him and whimpers as he comes closer) he disappears out of her sight, she stays silent until she hears footsteps going up the stairs, then suddenly he appears in front of her, peeking round the door, she screams and jumps back into the wardrobe, he casually opens the wardrobe door and greets her, she kicks and punches him screaming at him asking who he is, he ignores her and closes the door, a sound of a key rattling in a lock can be heard, then a click, indicating it has been locked, she screams at him to let her out, he calmly replies, "i'll be back for you at six for dinner, make sure you're ready"

A few hours later and she hears the creak of the door and then footsteps, he knocks her out with chloroform and she wakes up at the dinner table, the camera uses a panoramic shot across the table and we see the antagonist, he explains how the dinner will be ready soon and not to worry, she looks around the room for an escape (POV shot) (handheld camera), she jumps out her chair (speed of shots fast), running for an exit, the antagonist, annoyed, gets out his seat, "I was hoping it wouldn't come to this" it cuts back to her sprinting around the house she runs towards the door, its locked, she runs frantically towards the front door but as she runs down the corridor he jumps out of no where and stabs her (high pitch noise), gently lowering  her onto the floor, the camera slowly zooms out as the lighting gets darker, a background noise of a heart beat slowing down can be heard in the background.

Advantage: Conventional to thriller due to the iconography which is an isolated are, used in the majority of successful thrillers, this helps create suspense as the audience know she is unlikely to find help and has little chance of escapinng, also the fact that its in a forest makes it seems more realistic and engaging, also surprising due to the forest being an everyday place and shots used, to create suspense, shock, surprise and enigma, shots such as POV, panning and long shot help create these effects.

Disadvantage: Hard to shoot due to the different settings used, as we are on a tight schedule we need to film scenes in one place to speed up the process, this may also make the narrative difficult to understand for the audience if we change the setting as it may not make sense to the narrative

Group member two(Amy): A narrative for a new thriller could be about a girl who has a sister who was murdered a few years back. Ever since this incident the killer has not been discovered, yet the brother had also disappeared since it occurred. It turns out that what they believed that the sister is dead, but in fact the brother is killed by the sister and she is seeking to come back and kill the girl, to take revenge on the result of their childhood. I think this idea of a narrative is quite unique as the majority of killers tend to be male so this puts a slight twist on it. Additionally, not many thrillers have a conflict between siblings to the extent of murder so this also adds some originality. 

The opening sequence would include point of view shots of the sister who is shown to be stalking the girl (her sister). This would give the audience the perspective of the sister but they would not know that.  The audience would also not find out her identity at the end of the opening sequence as I would want to create that suspense and make them experience the feeling of wanting to see more. Furthermore, the setting would be isolated and there would be low-key lighting. These elements create enigma and tension and are also key conventions of a successful thriller. The setting being isolated will create more of an eery atmosphere and complemented with low-key lighting will ensure that the audience feel worried for the victim. Low-key lighting will mean that not everything will be distinctively visible including intricate detail, so this will leave suspense and the audience pondering as to what is lurking in the darkness. The girl will be represented as innocent and just like a normal everyday person so the audience can feel more relatable towards the character. In contrast, the sister will be represented as the opposite however, not so much in the opening sequence as her identity would be hidden. There would be a tense, eery, non-diegetic soundtrack with uses of diegetic on and off screen sound such as car engine and mobile for example. Use of silence will also be present to create prolonged shots to create a build up on tension in order to create an effective climax. In addition, the target audience would be a 15+ and anyone who enjoys watching thriller films with a certified age of 15 as the criteria would be a appropriate for this particular age certificate. It would include some violence and discriminatory behaviour and language but not exceeding the criteria and the limits that would push it to an 18. Most thrillers are targeted at 15+ year olds and so mine would be very much influenced by these thrillers. 

Advantage: Uses unique ideas and goes against the conventions of a thriller this creates shock, surprise and suspense as the audience are not used to the narrative, this engages the audience into watching the film, there is also an enigma as to how the sister was killed, shock, when we find out who the killer was, surprise, that a family member has killed a sibling, these factors together will grip the audience into watching the film as it is not a stereotypical movie.

Disadvantage: Bit of a risk as it is not stereotypical to thriller genre conventions so we have little inspiration to follow which makes it extremely difficult to tell whether audiences would enjoy the narrative and whether it would engage them, also hard to produce due to complicated storyline as well as difficult setting to get hold of whenever needed

Group member three(Alfie): A narrative for a new thriller would be about a young couple arriving at a summer house on holiday. Upon arriving at the house, they realise they are in a isolated area and the summer house has very little electricity  They go to sleep on their first night and begin to hear strange noises and shadows roaming around the bedroom. The man wakes up in the middle of the night and walks into the kitchen to get a glass of water, where he finds the television still on. He walks over to the tele and turns it off to find bloody handprints over the remote control and a table. He attempts to ring the police but he can't get a signal. Whilst he attempts to find out were the bloody handprints have come from, a shadowy figure appears on the wall by the stairs and the sound of footsteps creek on the floorboards. He then grabs a torch out of the cupboard and follows the bloody footsteps up towards his bedroom. Non-digetic music is playing in the background to add suspense and it matches the sound of his heartbeat. Suddenly, screams from his girlfriend come from the bedroom. He rushes into the bedroom to find her dead body lying across the bed. The camera closes in on his shocked face as he frantically tries to save himself, rushing down towards the front door. Panicking and panting, he can't find the key and the sound of the radio plays in the background. The killer is standing their, gazing at his next victim. His name is Richard Keys. 

Advantage: Easy/interesting to follow due to stereotypical thriller narrative as it has the classic storyline as well as conventional camera shots, these camera shots build suspense as well as create shock and surprise, due to the slow moving narrative and build up to finding out who the killer is suspense is created throughout and is a main feature in this narrative.

Disadvantages: Hard to find correct setting as we need to find a setting plus film in certain hours within a tine limit, we need it to be an area that will always be available as we need to film whenever possible, so a public area like a forest is the best option

Final group narrative:

The narrative will be set in a forest, it will be about a crazed stalker who is following a girl, his face is always hidden, she keeps hearing weird noises/voices, leaves cracking as if someone is behind her, she also feels a presence around her, she gets that feeling you get when you feel like someone is watching you, she tries to leave but sees a masked man step in front of her path, around fifteen yards away, she turns and sprints, trying to get away from the masked man, eventually she realises he has not been chasing her and she doesn't know where she is, she searches around for a way out/somewhere she recognises, the camera cuts to behind her, you can make out the man again, she doesn't see him and carries on walking, as she is walking toward a path the man steps directly infront of her, she freezes out of panic, he goes t grab her but she turns and runs, he swipes the knife aimlessly catching her arm, causing a wound and blood, she carries on through it, eventually she faints due to the blood, when she wakes up she is drowsy and disorientated , she looks and her arm has been cleaned up and bandaged, she sees the masked man again, he hasn't realised she's awoken, she tries to escape, she slowly walks to the door and tries to open the door, it's locked, he turns around and she has nowhere to go , she attacks him, in a panic he pushes her off and stabs her, the lighting fades as the sound of a heartbeat gets slower in the background.


My narrative follows Aristotle as it uses nearly every part of it, it has a dramatic question as to who the antagonist is and why he wants to harm her as she is portrayed as a harmless, innocent you g girl and the audience struggle to understand why this is happening and feel sympathetic toward her, a character goal, this was to capture the victim and kill her, the victim didn't have one at first but it quickly became to escape from the antagonist and get to safety, due to the antagonist having complete superiority it is easier for him to complete his goal in comparison to the victim. The opening sequence has an antagonist and protagonist, the antagonist being the killer/stalker constantly watching the victim in preparation of him murdering her, making sure she doesn't escape from the isolated forest before he can attack her, and the protagonist being the woman victim, her goal is difficult in these circumstances as the forest is large and isolated, should you go off track it is difficult to get back on track/out of the forest, also the audience feel empathy/sympathy for the victim as she is vulnerable and has no one to help her, also the fact that she is murdered for no apparent reason and that she gets lost in the forest and doesn't know where to go to escape, also they feel sorry for her as the antagonist clearly has the upper hand.

My narrative is conventional to a thriller as it has the typical iconography (knife), a masked antagonist, protagonist and antagonist, female victim, suspense, surprise, shock and enigma, an isolated setting, a male antagonist, I am also planning to use eerie music in the background this will appeal to my target audience as it has all the key conventions that previous successful thrillers have had, I feel that the opening sequence is interesting and would draw in the audience, making them want to watch the rest of the film

Research into target audience - Miss Miller

The research was carried out to find out what our target audience expect/want from a thriller so that we could put these ideas into our opening sequence, we asked forty people as we wanted a large sample size to represent our target audience, we can generalise all the answers to the rest of our audience, this will allow us to see what type of things we should include in our opening sequence as from the answers we have been given we know what our audience want/expect.

Questionnaire

1.     How old are you?
…………………………


2.     What gender are you?
Male
Female


3.     What is your favourite thriller and why?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………


4.     What sub genre do you like to be used in thriller?
Romance
Psychological
Horror
Comedy
Other


5.     What conventions do you expect to see in a thriller and why?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………


6.     What type of setting would you expect to see in a thriller?
Abandoned house
Forest
City/Town
Natural setting (house)
Other

7.What sort of iconography would you expect to see in a thriller?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

8.     Would you expect the killers identity to be hidden?
Yes
No


9.What sounds would you expect to hear in a thriller?
Eerie/Dark music
Screams
Panicking

Weapon being used
Other
10. What shots are most effective in a thriller?
POV
Close up
Steadicam
Panning
Other

This pie chart is purley used to show us the ages of the people answering this question, we then know what our target audience will be and what they want in the opening sequence

 This pie chart shows the most popular conventions in a thriller for our audience, the most popular for our target audience is an eerie soundtrack, this is because is is used in some of the best thriller movies, it is used to create suspense and also shock/surprise, it builds up a scene and the audience know something is about to happen but don't know what, we will be putting this in our opening sequence as it is a clear audience favourite and will be very useful for creating an effect on the audience (shock, suspense and suprise, also could be used to create an enigma).





This pie chart shows the preferred shots in a thriller, the most popular is POV, this allows the audience to feel like they're really in the film and makes it much more enjoyable, the least popular is the steadicam, we will try to minimise the use of this as much as possible as it is clearly not a favoured camera shot, POV will be used in the opening sequence to create enigma as to what is about to happen and also suspense due to the same thing, also shock can be created a lot easier in POV.

This pie chart shows the favoured sounds in a thriller, again, the most liked is eerie/dark music, we will make sure that this is used as it is clearly a key part of a successful thriller in the eyes of our target audience, also screams are favoured by our audience, this is due to it being a parralel sound, it is what the audience would expect to hear in a thriller

This shows that the majority of the audience enjoy a masked/hidden antagonist, this makes a much more exciting/shocking/surprising/suspense filled thriller, also the enigma is enjoyed, all of this bonds into one and is one of the reasons for a successful thriller, we will make sure that the opening sequence involves a masked/hidden killer whose identity is unknown, creating an enigma as to who is behind the mask and suspense to find out who it is and finally surprise when you see who the antagonist is

 This pie chart shows preferred iconography, our target clearly prefer the knife due to it giving the antagonist power while holding it, before this the film was balanced and the protagonist had an equal power, the use of the knife shows the transfer of authority and creates fear for the audience as they have usually created a bond with the protagonist in the film, a knife shall be used in our filming, this will portray the dominance of the antagonist, it will also help the audience fear the antagonist as the knife is an everyday item making them realise how dangerous their everyday life is and how easy it is to get a hold of these things, creating shock.

This pie chart shows the preferred setting for our target audience, they have voted for an abandoned house, they feel this is the best place to set a thriller, although I agree it is difficult to find the setting for our opening sequence so we may stick to the forest theme, the forest is easily accessible for filming, it is also an everyday setting, helping the audience engage in the film, the fact that it is an everyday setting helps create shock as to how dangerous it is even though people always go there .

This shows what thrillers our target audience enjoyed the most, from this we can gather what type of storyline they like to be used and possibly take some ideas from the film to make it enjoyable, as scream and silence of the lambs are clearly enjoyed we will take some ideas from them but possibly from the others as well as lots of people voted for them, this will allow us to see which thrillers people enjoyed the most and we can pick popular/unique conventions from each of these to create a successful thriller sequence.

This is showing us what type of sub genre is enjoyed the most by our target audience, the most favoured is horror, this is good as it backs up what sub genre we was going to use and makes us confident of our choice of sub genre, we are definitely using this as our sub genre as it is great for creating suspense, shock and surprise as well as enigma, also it makes it a lot easier to engage the audience.

This is just used to show us the gender of our audience, this doesn't help us out massively but maybe could be used to see what gender we should target our film at. Over half were male so it may be a good idea to aim it at males more than females but not completely cut them out, I feel males would enjoy our thriller more.




The purpose of the vox pops was to provide evidence that we have questioned real people, these have allowed us to see what our target audience enjoy in thrillers and why (for open questions), this is good for us as we can see what we should do and how we should do it, also the fact that they can expand on points allows us to see why we are doing it and what impact it'll have on the audience, we can look back onto these to see which answer people picked in from our questions later on, it also allowed us to record the answers into qualitive data to look back on and evaluate, helping decide key parts of our opening sequence.

This research was useful as we can see what our audience want/who they are, it allows us to see why the audience want certain things and what it does to the film, we will try to incorporate all the results into the film but that may not be possible, some ideas that we have taken from other films we have previously done research on will be kept, if i were to carry out the research again i would try to even it out (eg 50 percent of males and females, around same amount of people from each age group), this would allow us to see what the whole population wants and not just dominated by one audience, this would be much more effective and creates a film that more would enjoy.

Proof of vox pops

Individual narrative ideas - Miss Georgia

The narrative is so important as it provides a story line for the audience to follow, it gives the film a point as without it there would be no story line, giving the film no meaning or purpose.

For my story the narrative will be based in an isolated area, possibly a forest, about a crazed stalker who has been following the protagonist for years, one day he finally snaps, and decides to take action, she is running in the forest, and suddenly she feels a blunt object hit her over the head, instantly knocking her out, the screen goes black, he kidnaps her and takes her to his house, when she wakes up she is drowsy and disorientated, and doesn't realise what is happening, she gets up, trying to exit but finds the door is locked, she screams for help, but is trapped, she decides to look around the room and there are pictures of her scattered all over the walls, pictures that look like they have been taken from a distance, she was clearly unaware of the picture being taken, she is starting to become anxious, she frantically looks around the room, searching for an exit or a weapon to smash the door down with, as she is looking around the room the lights start to flicker, she hears the door creaking open, so she tries to find a hiding place in this small room, she gets into the wardrobe, attempting to evade the unknown man, she cannot close it fully, so she ends up peeking out, she sees the man walking around calling out her name (she doesn't recognise him and whimpers as he comes closer) he disappears out of her sight, she stays silent until she hears footsteps going up the stairs, then suddenly he appears in front of her, peeking round the door, she screams and jumps back into the wardrobe, he casually opens the wardrobe door and greets her, she kicks and punches him screaming at him asking who he is, he ignores her and closes the door, a sound of a key rattling in a lock can be heard, then a click, indicating it has been locked, she screams at him to let her out, he calmly replies, "i'll be back for you at six for dinner, make sure you're ready"

A few hours later and she hears the creak of the door and then footsteps, he knocks her out with chloroform and she wakes up at the dinner table, the camera uses a panoramic shot across the table and we see the antagonist, he explains how the dinner will be ready soon and not to worry, she looks around the room for an escape (POV shot) (handheld camera), she jumps out her chair (speed of shots fast), running for an exit, the antagonist, annoyed, gets out his seat, "I was hoping it wouldn't come to this" it cuts back to her sprinting around the house she runs towards the door, its locked, she runs frantically towards the front door but as she runs down the corridor he jumps out of no where and stabs her (high pitch noise), gently lowering  her onto the floor, the camera slowly zooms out as the lighting gets darker, a background noise of a heart beat slowing down can be heard in the background.

I think this is a good narrative as it has enigma, shock and suspense, it uses a variety of shots and sounds and is fairly easy to shoot, I will email and discuss this narrative idea with my group and get their opinions, I will also assess theirs.

Opening sequence analysis - Miss Georgia

An opening sequence is used to give the audience a gist of what the film is about but not giving the whole story away, it sets the tone for the rest of the film, showing you what kind of genre or theme the film is going to have, also the main actors are usually shown.

Cinematography-

Shallow focus is used when the knife is taken out of the drawer, it focuses on the knife, creating suspense, the audience start to question the antagonists reasons/purpose, shallow focus is very conventional of a thriller, it is used to show who/what you should be looking at to take your mind off other things in the background, possibly to create a jump scare or help you keep up with the story, or even just to create tension/suspense , it is also to help you realise what the main thing in the scene is, the fact it is a knife creates shock as the audience know that this is not good so are in suspense wondering what will happen next, engaging them, the audience create a relationship with the antagonist, they begin to fear him due to him having possession of such a lethal weapon and they know he is going to do something serious with the weapon as it has been focused on. Shallow focus is conventional to the thriller genre, it is constantly used to create suspense and surprise, and sometimes even shock, the use of this engages the audience and helps them realise that something is going to happen with whatever is focused on, creating a tense atmosphere within the audience and engaging them into watching on to see what happens.

Editing-

Timing of shots is used to speed up the scene where the murderer 'michael' is trying to run away after stabbing his sister, this shows he is trying to quickly get away before anyone sees him or notices she has been killed, this creates suspense as the audience wonder whether he will escape in time or not and also a hint of suprise that the antagonist is rushing as he seemed calm and composed before murdering the woman and it is unconventional to see the killer in a rush, the audience question the antagonist as it is unusual for them to run, therefore they wonder what is happening.

Conventions-

The scary/eerie music used in the build up to the murder creates an enigma aswell as suspense, we wonder what is going to happen and why the antagonist would have these intentions and how the victim and the antagonist know each other (or if they do not), all these questions help build the tension along with the music, letting us know that something is about to happen but doesnt tell us when. This type of music is used constantly in thriller movies to put viewers on the edge of their seats, the music puts the viewers on the edge of their seats, they know something is about to happen but they don't know what or when.

Sound-

Non-diegetic sound is used after Michael kills his sister, it is used to create a tense atmosphere among the viewers and let us know what kind of mood/tone the movie is at the time, the sound is parrelel to the images we are being shown. This is typical of a thriller film as non-diegetic sound is always used to create an atmosphere in sounds, the audience are in suspense as to what may happen, they want to watch on to see what is going to happen to the antagonist, the music is also used to create shock and emphasise what Michael has done, also sound is used to create surprise when it is revealed that Michael is a child, the audience were not expecting this and are surprised as well as shocked, the audience create a relationship with michael, they fear him as they wonder what makes a little boy murder someone, the audience are cautious of his character yet question whether what they have seen has actually happened. non diegetic sound is conventional to the thriller genre, it is used to create shock, suspense, surprise and even enigma, it is a key part of thriller films and without it these shock, surprise, suspense and enigma are very difficult to create within the audience are very difficult to make, this makes it extremely difficult to engage the audience.

Character-

The hidden identity of the killer because he is wearing a clown mask creates a sense of enigma and suspense, we wonder what this crazed antagonist looks like and wonder why he would want to do such a thing, also it is much more of a surprise when we find out who the antagonist is. Hidden identities are typical of thriller films as the audience are always in suspense when they know little/nothing about a character, especially a main character like the antagonist, this makes it easier to create surprise/shock when the identity of the character is revealed. The fact that the antagonist has a mask creates an enigma, the audience know little about the antagonist, this helps create a relationship between the antagonist and audience as they fear him as they know very little about him.

Narrative-

Due to it being on Halloween night, hidden identities are not out of the ordinary as everyone is dressed up, there are elements of enigma throughout as the killer is completely anonymous due to the POV camera shot plus he puts on a mask, this enigma creates suspense and a much bigger shock when we find out who the killer is. This is typical in a thriller film, Halloween nights are known for being a night where lots of people are scared, this is why it is so commonly used in thrillers, the audience have already associated halloween with murder and hidden identitys so the movie plays up to it, allowing it to be much more realistic in a sense  .

The target audience are in suspense throughout the whole scene, they are also shocked when the murder victim says the name of the killer, implying she knows him, which creates enigma, we wonder what his motive is and how he knows her. We feel fear towards the antagonist, at no point do we know that he is a child, there are no indications of this, whenever an adult character is in the scene he always looks around the same height, this is because he is always put on a 'platform'/higher position, for example, when he walks into his sisters room she is sitting down whereas he is standing up, then when he walks outside and his parents get out the car he is on a pathway which is higher than the road they are on. We feel sympathy towards the sister as she was clearly not expecting what was about to happen, she knew the killer and had no chance to react and escape as she was not expecting to be killed by Michael.

The audience are shown many conventions during this opening scene, a typical household, a place you would see in everyday life, making the scene feel a lot more real and shocking, but the house looks very isolated, a conventional part of thrillers, this makes the audience realise that no one will be able to intervene in what the killer is about to do, also the victim is a typical helpless female victim, this is again, a convention of thrillers, the males tend to be the antagonist or protagonist and the females the victim that needs help, also the shots focus on the iconography like the knife and mask, these two are conventional to thrillers, the mask creates an enigma as to who the antagonist is and the knife shows you the true intentions of the antagonist, camera shots like POV are used a lot in thrillers, it allows us to feel like we are really in the scene and we cannot see the antagonist, only what they are seeing, it creates an enigma as to whats around the killer as we cannot fully see the setting. All of these show the audience some typical conventions in thriller movies.

This research has allowed me to realise what kind of conventions i should put in my film, i know that i should use a setting that people see in everyday life, this makes the scene much more shocking , also it should be in an isolated area to make the audience feel suspense as to whether the victim will be able to survive alone against the antagonist, i should use eerie music that is not heard during everyday life, making the audience nervous as to what this means for the victim and parallel sounds like the clock chiming, this is a recognisable sound and is a symbol of the victims time running out. I think the idea of a child antagonist is unique and exciting/shocking, this is unique compared to other thrillers and think this could possibly be a good idea for my thriller, but the main reason it is so shocking/disturbing in comparison to a adult antagonist is because children are seen as helpless and innocent, the fact that it is not revealed that he is a child until the end of the scene is why it is so shocking, i may use the idea of not revealing the killer until the end as well, it creates a lot more shock than knowing who the murderer is before the killing

Inspiration - Georgia

Inspiration

We need inspiration to get ideas for the film, without inspiration it would be very hard to create a film of the top of your head, not using any inspiration from any other things. Also to know what has previously worked and not worked, you can take ideas from other films and just anything around you. I have taken ideas from The Shining, Se7en and Silence of the lambs, Halloween : resurrection and The strangers, all of these thrillers have given me ideas for my film, this will help me know what camera angles to use and what conventions would be used, also I know the sounds that would suit my clip and when to use them.


The research into cinematography post helped me identify which camera shots, angles and movements I would like to use in the thriller sequence, the main camera technique I will definitely use is high angle, I feel this is a key camera shot in thrillers and lets the audience see that whoever the high angle is focusing on is in real danger and extremely helpless at this time, helping create a relationship between that character and the audience as the audience will fear the character. The film 'silence of the lambs' inspired me to use the high angle as I thought it used it particularly well, this really emphasised the power Hannibal had at the time and this is what I want to demonstrate in my thriller sequence with Marius (the antagonist), I will use this angle when Marius is attacking/has attacked Chloe (the protagonist) with a knife after she attempts tp escape from him, it will also be used when she is scared walking through the forest, before she is  attacked, this will show she is vulnerable and helpless at the time.

 A shot we will use is POV, this shot makes the audience feel as if they are within the film, helping create suspense, shock and surprise, this helps engage the audience, this was also used in the film silence of the lambs, it helped create shock to its maximum effect as the audience felt as if they were in the film and could see the gruesome details of the antagonists face, we will use this when the victim is running from the antagonist, from both the victims POV, this will help engage the audience, the audience will also be able to create a relationship with the victim, they will be able to emphasise toward the victims situation and understand how much danger they are in. The movement we will use is panning, this can be used to create suspense, surprise and shock, this was used effectively in silence of the lambs as it panned across Hannibals whole cell, showing us a little bit about his personality and then panning over to him, the audience are in suspense as to what would be at the end of the panning, when the camera is showing Hannibal, the audience are surprised as well as in suspense again, the audience wonder what he is doing but the audience realise it is not good, we will use the panning movement when the victim is face to face with the antagonist, we will start on the protagonist, standing still in fear, the audience will be in suspense wondering what is causing this, the camera will then pan over to the antagonist, creating shock and surprise, the audience will feel sympathetic toward the victim as the realise she has little chance of survival and is clearly inferior.







The research into mise en scene helped me decide on things such as setting, lighting, iconography, etc. I know that the setting will be an isolated area, the forest, this creates suspense within the audience due to them knowing there is no chance of her getting help because she is in an isolated area, this causes the audience to become more fearful of the antagonist as they know he is in complete power and sympathetic for the protagonist as she has little chance of survival, we will use the forest in our sequence and hope it will build suprise, shock and suspense, due to the forest being an everyday place, this makes it more realistic engaging the audience much more, I used the movie se7en in this research and it uses an isolated area in the final scene, it is extremely effective and builds extreme suspense, leaving the audience on the edge of their seats.
The iconongraphy will be different to se7en, in both there will be weapons used to show where the power/dominance is at the time but in our sequence it will be a knife instead of a gun and instead of the protagonists having the weapon (like in se7en) the antagonist will have it, creating shock in the audience as the know how much power he has and that he will easily overpower the protagonist and also fear of the antagonist within the audience, the superiority of the antagonist will create shock and also make the audience feel sympathetic toward the helpless victim. Lighting will be like in se7en, during dark/eerie scenes the lighting will be low key in se7en this was proven effective and really put the audience on edge, making for a big shock when something big happened, this lighting leaves an enigma about the scene as well as builds suspense, we will use low key lighting throughout the victims time in the forest, this helps create suspense and portrays to the audience the danger she is in, creating sympathy toward her within the audience, the costume for the antagonist will be all black, showing the danger and also putting a sense of enigma around him, the audience wonder what his real identity is and fear him due to the black clothing and mask hiding his face showing the danger he is, this was inspired from the movie 'Halloween', in this movie the antagonist wears full dark clothing as well as a mask, this successfully created an enigma, the victim will wear white/bright clothing, this shows the innocence and harmlessness of the girl and makes the audience extremely sympathetic towards her as they wonder why such a horrible thing would happen to such a harmless girl, it also shows where the power and dominance lies, should the antagonist attack the victim. The body language from the antagonist will be extremely shifty, as will his assistants, it will make the audience cautious of the characters and wonder what their true objective is, the victim will have innocent, almost a careless way of going about, she will unknowingly walk right into danger, causing frustration but at the same time sympathy from the audience.

The research into sound was also helpful, this allowed me to understand the different types of sound techniques used in thrillers, it allowed me to understand when and why they are used, I used 'the shining' to research this and I thought it used sound extremely well, the use of the sound track helped build suspense extremely well, then the shock in the audience was even more effective due to the big build up, this inspired me to use soundtracks to build up tension while the antagonist is in the scene the soundtrack will always be present, this will help the audience create a relationship with the antagonist as they fear him and know that he brings danger, for diegetic sound we will use things such as dialogue at the beginning, this helps the audience follow the narrative and stay engaged in the film, we will also use the cracking of leaves and voices the audience cannot see for off screen, this creates shock and makes the audience even more fearful of the antagonist, they realise there is no escape from him and she has no chance of survival for the victim, creating sympathy from the audience towards her.

Research into editing styles was a useful post, this helped me understand the different editing styles used in films and what effect they have on the audience, this post helped me realise which editing styles I definitely want to use, I decided a reaction shot would be effective in a thriller as we need to show how the protagonist is reacting so the audience see that she has little power in the situation, the face of the antagonist is hidden but the audience assume that the character is calm due to the body language, he seems in complete control and is never seen running, yet always there. The second editing style I will  use is timing of shots, this can be used to create suspense within the audience as well as set the mood, when it is fast there is a sense of panic about the scene and the audience are shocked, when the editing is slow it causes suspense and the audience are frightened as well as on the edge of their seats, the audience feel fear towards the antagonist from this technique as they can see the protagonist is in panic running away or cautious so instantly realise that he is dangerous, this fast timing of shots will be used during the protagonist running away in our opening sequence.

The conventions of a thriller post was extremely helpful, this post put all the conventions into perspective, basically generalising other posts, the biggest convention of the thriller genre is suspense, shock and surprise, these three conventions are key to thriller films, without them it would not be a 'thriller', I used the film 'Halloween' to see how all the conventions worked, how they were created and how they effected the audience, I will use all three of these in my groups opening sequence, this will make for a quality thriller sequence, the antagonist is key to all these conventions as well as the protagonist, without these to characters the three conventions would be extremely difficult to create, these conventions make the audience watch on, without these the audience would not be engaged, they wouldn't be bothered about watching the next part of the film, this would be poor and is not what I want in my thriller sequence, this is why this part is so key to the opening sequence.

All of these posts were key to the development of the thriller my group are creating, without this research I would not be as knowledgeable on the subject as I am currently and would make a horrific opening sequence, the films I have analysed gave me ideas I have restructured and turned into my own, helping me create a good thriller.

Research into conventions - Miller

A convention is a stereotypical thing in a movie or a way it is usually done, it helps us understand what genre the film is as we associate certain conventions with certain genres, for example, in thriller movies conventions would be:

• Slow editing 
• Fast editing
• Violence
• Enigma
• Isolated - No one around to help
• Suspense
• Shock
• Surprise
• Low key lighting

I have chosen the scene from Halloween : Resurrection where Laurie Strode is murdered by Michael, I have chosen this scene as it has many of the conventions of a thriller so it is easy to analyse

Slow editing - As he walks up to the bed thinking she is there, you can just see the bed and the bump in the duvet, implying the protagonist is under there, this is used to build up suspense in the audience, it allows the audience to analyse the situation and realise how much danger the protagonist is in, the audience, it allows the audience to build a relationship with the protagonist as they feel sympathy for her and hope she survives the ordeal, this is used in lots of thrillers and is very conventional, the audience fear foe the protagonists life and begin to lose hope of her escaping, this is done by making us assume she is there because of how in control the antagonist seems to be due to the slow editing, creating the effect he is slowly walking towards her, preparing to murder her.

Low key lighting -  while he is next to the bed, preparing to attack low key lighting is used, this again build suspense but also a sense of enigma, you cannot properly make out the surroundings but get the basic idea, also you cannot see whether the protagonist is under the sheets or not, creating suspense again, the audience get a sense of the dark tone of this scene fue to the lighting, also the audience fear for the characters safety, creating a relationship with her, this type of lighting is very conventional to thrillers, the audience are still on the edge of their seats, wondering if there is any possibility of the protagonist escaping as we think it is her due to the antagonist thinking it aswell, we are just as clueless about her not being there as he is, the lighting is dim so we cannot make out 100 percent what is there, this also adds to stopping us knowing she is not there.

Eerie music - Still while walking towards the bed, the same surroundings can be seen along with the eerie non diegetic sound,  this music is used to create suspense and make the shock much more effective, this music makes us realise that the protagonist/ victim is in serious danger, this is conventional to thrillers as it keeps the audience on edge and they really want the character to escape, this is done by not actually showing what is under the cover but impllying who/what it is by the music used, we assume it is the protagonist and fear for the character.






Enigma - She captures the antagonist in a trap and he is hanging over the edge of the building, the mask used by Michael is keeping his identity a mystery, this is done to create suspense and if his face is ever revealed, shock and surprise, enigma is constantly used in thrillers, typically masks like in this movie, it creates suspense and we are weary of him. The audience feel fearful of the antagonist due to this as they don't truly know who he is, stopping any sympathy/liking of him



Isolation - As she is running away from Michael, the fact that no one is around to help her is eerie, especially as it is based in a public building, we can see her trying to escape and running through numerous corridors, it seems as if she doesn't know where she is going, she is isolated and has no chance of anyway helping her, this creates suspense and surprise that there is absolutely no one, the audience feel sympathy for the character as to how unlucky and in danger she is, this is conventional to the thriller genre, allowing the scene to be as suspense filled as it can and making the antagonist always look on the upper hand, the convention does this by making her isolated and in serious danger

This has helped me understand when, how and why conventions are used in certain scenes of a thriller, also it has helped me decide what conventions I shall use in my opening sequence and what will go well with my idea, I shall use the isolated protagonist as it creates a lot of suspense, eerie music, again, for suspense and more shock/surprise and finally the hidden identity, this creates an enigma and puts the audience on edge.

Research into editing styles

Slow editing

During the walk towards the window the editing is very slow (timing of shots), this is showing the caution and showing how weary the protagonist is, this makes the audience doubt what the protagonist is doing and creates suspense within the audience because they are expecting something to happen but unsure of exactly what, this allows for surprise/shock due to the tension helping build this. This style of editing is typical in thriller movies and is constantly used to create suspense, the long, slow build up let the audience know something is about to happen but we don't know when and then it surprises us when there is a jump scare, this helps the audience build a relationship with the protagonist as the audience can see the position the protagonist is in and the fact that it is going extremely slow shows the anxiety the protagonist is feeling, the audience become extremely sympathetic towards her and her situation.

Reaction shot

After she sees the antagonist at the window the reaction shot is used, this shows the protagonists fear and along with this makes the audience fearful as well, the protagonist is clearly frightened and the audience know she hasn't got control of the situation, this causes shock to the audience as they realise the true danger the protagonist is in, it also helps the audience build a relationship with her as they feel sympathy toward her, hoping she will escape. The reaction shot is used a lot in thrillers as it shows the audience how the character feels and also the audience often copy the emotion, most will be frightened at this stage, the reaction of the character shock/surprises the audience due to them thinking she had more power due to the weapon she is holding.

Fast editing

In the scene where the protagonist is running, trying to find a place to hide the editing is fast (timing of shots), this is portraying the panic she is feeling and her heartbeat beating rapidly, the protagonist is desperately trying to get away from the antagonist, this creates suspense as to whether she will escape from the antagonists or not, the audience create a relationship with the protagonist, they are fearful for her and hope she escapes, they also feel extreme fear toward the antagonist due to the clear power they have over her, fast editing is constantly used to show the victim trying to escape, it shows the panic and fear they feel and also makes the viewer feel like she is escaping when in reality the antagonist is right behind her, this is conventional as thrillers constantly try to use this style of editing to keep audiences on the edge of their seat, they feel like the protagonist is finally getting the upper hand, escaping, yet the antagonist is still close behind them, it shows the true and almost alien like power these antagonists have, helping create fear within the audience.

Linking shots

Linking shots is used when the protagonist is walking towards the window after hearing a noise, this editing style creates suspense as they realize the character is weary and cautious, creating a doubt in their mind as to whether she is going to be safe and the audience have now guessed that something is about to pop out which will shock the audience, this is constantly used in thrillers to put the audience on the edge of their seats just before a scene which is made to scare the audience, this creates the maximum effect for shocking the audience.












The reaction shot is used when the protagonist screaming is shown on screen, this surprises the audience as they were not ready/expecting that kind of reaction, they realise how much danger the protagonist is in and feel extreme sympathy for her, they also fear the antagonist even more as the protagonist is clearly petrified of the antagonist so the audience assume there is a danger there, making them weary of the antagonist.

Shot reverse shot is used when he goes back and fourth between the protagonist and the antagonist, this is used to show the reaction of the protagonist in comparison to the antagonist, the sheer calmness of the antagonist shows complete superiority and puts the audience in suspense as to what will happen to her due to her being so inferior, also the audience are shocked as to how much power the antagonist has considering that they are not even inside the house and the protagonist has a lethal weapon, this makes the audience extremely fearful of the antagonist due to the sheer power and domination, they become scared and extremely cautious of this character.

This will help me with my opening sequence as it will give me some inspiration for editing styles, before this I was struggling to decide which editing styles to use, but now I have a clear idea on which editing styles will be most effective in my opening sequence and why they work and when they should be used and how they help the audience build a relationship with the character, for example, I will be using fast editing to show when the protagonist is running from the antagonist, this creates suspense and shows the audience that the protagonist is in danger, giving the antagonist power over them.