Production Schedule: Monday 19th December

Weather check: Group Blog

We will be filming Monday the 19th of December and Wednesday the 21st of December.
We will be filming at two different locations, in Connie's Nan's bathroom and in public toilets in Dartford, here is the weather check for both days.

There is a chance of raining and even a thunderstorm on Wednesday, however we will be inside for most of the day at Connie's nan's house, so it would be as much of a problem, however we will be in Dartford, outside for most of the day on the Wednesday, therefore we need to be careful as we will have expensive equipment and we need to ensure our shots are in continuity.

Call Sheet

Here is the call sheet I have composed in order to have the phone numbers of the cast and crew.

Vox Pops: Audience Expectations

Here is my finished video of Vox Pops, the questions in which were asked were the following:
1) How old are you? I chose to ask 15 to 25 year olds as from researching thriller audiences in class, I found out the majority of people who watch thrillers fit this age range.

2) What are you expectations of a thriller film?
3) What is your favourite thriller film?

From my findings I found that most of the people I asked expected a thriller to have mystery, suspense and an enticing storyline. Plus, the majority preferred newer thriller films, which I believe is down to the updated, modern storylines and effects on the films.

Vox Pop: Planning

Tomorrow I plan to interview people between the ages of 15 to 25 as that is the target audience of my group's thriller. I shall be filming my interviews tomorrow between 12.15 until 2.15 in order to get a varied sample of answers. I am aiming to interview at least 5 people of varied ages for this.

Group Work - Reservoir Dogs

Here is a commentary I have done about how I edited Reservoir Dogs

Mood Board: Planning: For a Suspense Productions Thriller

Here is the mood board myself and Frankie have composed in order to see the aspects that will be incorporated in our film. In this storyboard the presence of female characters is very prominent therefore our film will appeal to a female audience. Also, the females in our film will be in their mid 20s therefore the film will appeal to young adults and teenagers as the plot includes problems teenagers and older people may face, our target audience is 15 - 25 year olds primarily. We have incorporated genre conventions in our film, such as guns, murder, blood and hostage, we believe that this will make our thriller as convincing as it can be. Also, we have included the gun and drugs in our mood board due to the fact, this is a key convention of the thriller genre.  From this mood board you can gain the idea that our thriller will fit into the sub-genre of ' psychological' as one of the key characters is mentally disturbed and another is a transgender girl, plus the plot is very complicated and due to it being psychological, the audience will need to be engaged. 

Brainstorm: Redundancy

As a group we were given these scenarios to choose from individually, so that we could each produce a brainstorm for a thriller of our own. In total our group should have 4 brainstorms, one for each member.

Here is my brainstorm, I chose to take homage to Taxi Driver and Se7en, as my thriller is a psychological thriller called 'Redundancy'. 

The reasons I chose Taxi Driver as I felt it has a very enticing storyline and the whole concept of being trusted when you are a taxi driver by your customer, made me think that this would be an ideal character for my thriller. Plus, the audience would expect the taxi driver to be trustworthy at first and would be surprised when he turns out to be the murderer of the film. I also chose Se7en as the murders in Se7en are very different to each other and yet they all have something in common, for instance, like John Doe, Luke Corseno is mentally unstable and even though they both give off the impression that they are sane, it is a front.

From this task, I found it easier to understand why the directors of thriller films included certain characters, props and the idea for their film a lot more clearer, as when thinking about the different aspects I wanted to incorporate in my film, I wanted to ensure that the plot would be enticing to the audience, that the story would conclude well and that it was understood. In all, this task has helped me a lot to think about the many different types of thrillers, the genre conventions and why they are used.

Individual Response: Treatment

Title: Redundancy

Synopsis: After being made redundant from the cab firm he worked at, Luke’s true colours begin to show, followed by his sordid secret, he’s the reason as to why the toll of missing people has arisen and what is worse, his plan is flawless. Carrying out his normal life, being a taxi driver even though he is no longer legally employed, he lures his victims to his secluded house in woodlands, and murders them all, with no remorse, to his naivety, his killings are not so ‘random’ after all. Introducing Lana Reed, who has suspected Luke from the beginning and concocts a plan to not only let him continue his sordid murders but to play a part in those he kills, unbeknown to Luke and the audience until the ending. In the end, Lana murders Luke and stores him in his shed along with the other victims, she seems to be the hero in this story and yet she continues the killing spree. Cliffhanger; does she ever get caught?

Plot: Psychological thriller where redundant taxi driver goes on killing spree, the obstacles on the way and the consequences, murder, espionage and vengeance all in one.

Treatment: The journey of Luke Corseno, who kills his 'clients' while taxing them, and the journey of the detectives on his tail, to solve the case.

Homage to director/films: Taxi Driver

Characters: Luke Corseno, Lana Reed, Dt. Miles and Dt. Lower.

9 Frame Analysis: V For Vendetta

In my analysis of V For Vendetta I have covered 5 questions:
1 - What makes it a thriller?
2 - What happens in the scene?
3 - How does it set up the story?
4 - How does it introduce the key thriller characters?
5 - How does it relate to the ending?

Group work - Audience Research Statistics

Double Indemnity

From looking at the ratings, it is denotes to me that this is a very popular film, as 28.6% of the people who rated gave the film a 10, 25.9% gave a 9 and 23.9% rated it an 8, therefore compared to the other ratings, it has fulfilled its aim of attracting it's target audience. 18-29 year old males rated the film the most so in effect I think that this film was aimed at the male gender and the specific age range of 18 - 29. Generally, due to the content of the film being scandalous and fast paced, it would keep the male audience enticed as they are primarily interest in action, plus seeing as the main character is a man, they can emphasise with him.

Fight Club

Setting aside that Fight Club is one of my all time favourite films, when looking at the statistics, it is relevant to say that many others enjoy watching the film as much as I do. The fact that 43% of the ratings are a 10, 28% are a 9 and 16% an 8, it is very clear that many of the people who have seen the film have enjoyed it rather than the minority of people who gave a low rating. The older the person, the lower rating they gave, which to me denotes that the target audience for this film was the younger generation of adults. Plus, due to the cast being male, with a fast paced storyline, it would explain why mostly men watch this film. Fight Club was one of the first films I watched knowing it was from the Thriller genre, therefore while watching it I could see it was a prominant film within the whole of the Thriller genre and its timeline.

Se7en

In comparison to the ratings for Double Indemnity and Fightclub, it seems that the older the viewer, the lower the rating, which in conclusion could be down to the fact that thrillers are dominantly certified for the viewing of 15 year olds and 18 year olds, therefore people of these ages are more likely to watch them and find them appealing. Also, following the trend of a male dominant audience, Se7en follows suit with 268,000 male ratings and just 45,000 female ratings. I think the reasoning behind the amount of males watching this film is due to the disgusting images from each crime, the male dominance of the cast and the enigma code of the film.

Research: History of Thriller

Editing.

Editing –how raw material is taken and prepared to be broadcast or published. For example, after filming something, you can transfer the film to a computer, cut bits you don’t need out, rearrange it, and add things like opening credits and special effects. 

Composition

To extend my skills and knowledge, I researched aspects of Composition.

Rule of Thirds

The rule of thirds is how a film or other forms of media place an object/s in order to make sure they are the key focus of the scene. For instance in Memento the main character's body is positioned in the middle of the shot, in order to draw specific attention to his tattoos on his torso and arms. Another example is in Fightclub where the two main characters are facing each other, where the characters fit into two separate sections of the rule of third. This particular example of Rule of Thirds is very relevant to the storyline as the characters seen on screen are in fact the same person, who has a split personality. The composition of this picture is demonstrating juxtaposition.

Looking/Lead Room

Well-composed shots leave space in the direction the subject is moving, this is called looking room. It refers to the space left in front of the object in order for the audience to see where the object is moving to, whereas if the leading room was behind the audience would not, plus in the event that the lead room is the wrong side of the object, it makes the image out of proportion.

Depth of Field

Depth of field refers to the focus of the camera, as you can see in this picture, the red car is in focus and 'the depth of field' whereas the other two cars are blurred as they are out of focus.

Narrative Techniques.

Narrative is telling a story, for instance tv, radio, films and forums. It is a sequence of events that are organised into a story with a particular structure.


Narration: How the story is shown on the screen/told.


Forms of Narrative: 
Story - The events in the narrative that are explicitly presented and the ones that the viewer infers. These events occur in chronological order. Story can also be referred to as 'Fabula'.


Plot- Plot is used to describe everything visually and audibly present in the film before us. This is the way the story is told throughout the text, and may include non-chronological order and flashbacks. Another way of referring to the plot is 'Syuzhet'. 


Techniques:
Linear
The linear narrative is a storyline in which is shown in chronological order, therefore it progresses from beginning, middle and end. 


Non-Linear
The non linear narrative is a storyline in which is not shown in chronological order, therefore it can include flashbacks. This technique is used to heighten suspense, drama and intrigue and to engage the audience. Non - linear is a process of revealing the story by not showing the events in chronological order but by revealing the events in a way that carefully controls the information the audience receives. This means the revelations are very dramatic. An example of this is Pulp Fiction:

Omniscient
In the Omniscient Narrative we know everything in which is happening. This narrative is not just tied to one character, therefore the audience knows more than the characters in the story.


Restricted
Restricted narrative is where the narrative is tied to only one character, therefore the audience only sees 'one side' of the story. We do not know everything. This helps to elaborate on their feelings. An example of this is in Taxi Driver (1976), Robert De Niro plays mentally unhinged cab driver Travis Bickle. Throughout the film, the camera follows this character and no one else. The effect is that all we know is what Travis knows, and nothing else.

When a movie is filmed by the point of view of only one character making it so that we know only as much as him or her.


Enigma code: The code is associated with the French narrative theorist; Roland Barthes. His theory refers to the mystery or question that is established in a narrative, normally towards the beginning, for instance an example of a question could be; who is the murderer?

Se7en Interpretation

Here is my interpretation of the Se7en Opening Title, I have used surveillance shots that Mr Barton gave to us to use for this task.

Film Noir Research: What is it?

Following the production of my group's preliminary task, and due to the fact it was edited to be black and white, in the film noir style, I researched film noir and the modern film noir, neo noir.

Film noir means'black film or cinema', and are in black and white. It is not a genre but the mood, style, point-of-view, or tone of a film. When studying Film Noir during my time at college, I was taught the word chiaroscuro which is two words, it  means light-dark, therefore relating to film noir, it is referring to the use of contrasting light and shade, which is most likely generated by low key lighting or high contrast lighting.

The primary moods of classic film noir were sadness, alienation, disillusionment, pessimism, moral corruption, evil, guilt, desperation and paranoia.There are many characteristics and paradigms of Film Noir films, such as smoking, fast pace talking, a femme fatale and the signature black and white. An example of a film noir film is Double Indemnity which was released in 1944.A femme fatale is 'a woman of great seductive charm who leads men into compromising or dangerous situations, an example of a femme fatale is Phyllis Dietrichson in Double Indemnity who seduces an insurance rep into helping her commit the murder of her husband so she can get the money from his life insurance.

Not only is there film noir but there is neo noir which means 'new black', so in effect neo noir films are more modern films with updated visual, style and themes. Neo Noir films incorporate film noir characteristics, an example of a Neo Noir film is Se7en which incorporates moral corruption, the same dark downbeat tone. Plus, the in depth plot which includes murder and corruption with very original styles of murder, the insurance scam in Double Indemnity where Walter (the insurance rep) pushes Phyllis' (the femme fatale) husband off of the back of a train and then poses as him and in Se7en where every crime committed is carefully executed by John Doe for each of the seven sins. In Se7en the femme fatale could be seen as Detective Mills' wife Tracy as she becomes caught up in the murders and eventually, the downfall of her husband follows. In both Double Indemnity and Se7en we are seeing the murders through the killer's eyes in a manner of speaking, in Se7en the murders are thoroughly planned and in Double Indemnity we have the main character Walter Neff, the murderer, confessing to his crime and telling the backstory and planning to the murder.

 

My Evaluation of My Group's Preliminary Task

Here is my evaluation of my Group’s Preliminary Task:

The Planning Process:

What planning did you do and why?

We all took roles in our preliminary task, for example, I took charge of lighting and Connie filmed the preliminary.

How well organised were you?

Truthfully, we were organised to an extent, for instance we had composed a shot list which Connie and myself worked on to follow and the script which Connie wrote, however, we did not plan beforehand the direction we were going to film from, so this is most likely the reason why 180 degree rule was broken.

How could you change next time?

Next time we could plan the stage directions better so that we know what angle to film from and the actors know their directions clearly. Also, we could compose a storyboard in order to follow from.

The Video Production:

The production itself could have been better as we were in a noisy environment which made it hard to set an atmosphere efficiently whilst filming. Also due to the errors we made, the production failed in some aspects of filming.

What did you do, does it work, do the edits (match on action) work well?

I think the match on action did work well seeing as it was our first task as a newly formed group, however, we did break match on action when George walked in without a suitcase and then had a suitcase when he sat down.

Have you stuck to the 180 deg rule?

We tried to stick to the 180 degree rule however we did not manage to as after we successfully use a shot reverse shot, we then filmed the scene from the opposite side, therefore breaking the 180 degree rule.

Are the shots & angles well framed (rule of 3rds)?

In some shots the object in which is important is cut out, for instance, the mug is out of view in part of the clip.
Does it look convincing as a conversation?

Yes it does, the actors maintained eye level contact and the shot reverse shot made the conversation even more convincing, plus we used an over the shoulder shot which added one of the characters point of view.

What would you change to improve it?
To improve in future, we should ensure we keep to the 180 degree rule and match on action, plus, the camera was very shakey at times therefore we would address this by using a tripod. Also, the framing could have been better as the vital objects were sometimes either out of view or not framed correctly. In future I would ensure I edit out the background noise if possible to help create the atmosphere we were missing for this task.

Overall -  how well have you completed the preliminary task?

In all, for a first group effort, I think we did as we planned and brought along props which included a fake gun, a briefcase and a mug. Also, we performed a shot reverse shot efficiently, so in all a good try.  

End of Module 1: Evaluation.

The reasoning behind the level I have given myself is due to the planning and research I have posted onto my blog is incomplete, however the information I have posted are detailed and in my own words. My research into the thriller genre is detailed to an extent but could be improved by including visual examples of some of the thrillers I have watched in my own time. 

My time management was poor to be honest, however I intend to put in extra hours for the topics unaccounted for in my blog. I will do this to ensure I can obtain a higher grade. 

I have the relevant task outlines in my draft blogs, however I am as of yet to physically post the completed blogs to my profile, such as iconic soundtracks. Plus, some of the posts I have included on my blog are incomplete or in the drafts, I need to ensure they are complete! 

The overall presentation of my blog is well laid out, but at a closer glance, I need to make sure the work is more interesting rather than essay like and boring, so I propose to rectify this by adding edits, voice overs and more analytical techniques. I have used storyboards, mind maps and mood boards which I think does improve the presentation a little, but the storyboard needs text added to it. 

Overall, my self evaluation would have to be 10 marks out of the possible 20 marks, which coincides with Level 2. The level is out of the range of levels in which we could achieve for this module, from Level 1 to Level 4.

In all, to get to the next level or higher, I need to plan my work initially in order to ensure I know the ins and outs of what I am gong to do and how to achieve it. For instance, I will make a list of the tasks I need to do and post them to my blog. Also, I will manage my time very wisely as I have learnt time management is key to success. 

This module has taught me a lot about the paradigms of Thrillers, the skills I will need to make a Thriller film, such as how to use a camera properly and efficiently, plus the different factors which are vital to make the film such as continuity, composition and framing. Also, how to work in a team has played a vital part in my learning,  I found that due to my group coming together last, we had a harder time getting the work done, however by putting the time and effort in, we prevailed. I am proud of my achievements in this module and I hope to progress further and complete the tasks at hand.

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Storyboard.

For this assignment, following our storyboard of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, we chose 9 shots from the films, which we print-screened, in which to film. During the process, we ensured we payed close attention to the shot at hand and the elements within the shot, for example, what angle the shot was shot at, which type of shot it is, such as a close up or mid-shot and reconstructed each shot as close as we could to the actual movie.  After processing the shots into a short sequence in Final Cut Pro, we noticed that two of our shots had gone missing, therefore if I was to do this task again, I would ensure we labelled the tape and had saved the files in a safe place.

Group Blog.

ccfthriller.blogspot.com

9 Frame Analysis: Opening title of Dirty Harry

1) what is the purpose of the opening of a film?
The purpose of this opening, establishes the setting with the extreme long shot of the city and introduces the main character, setting the mood of the story and the mystery. 
2) how does it set up thriller conventions of characters, story, mystery, Enigma code? 
There are many genre conventions in this opening title, for instance, there is a gun, an assassination/murder, a bullet and a city setting. At first we see a gun aiming at a woman in a swimming pool, the man with the gun takes a long time to pull the trigger, therefore creating the enigma code of, will he pull the trigger? It introduces the audience to the main character, who from what we have seen is a detective, setting up the story and the sub-genre of crime thriller.
3) What makes the audience want to watch the rest?
It denotes to the audience that there will be many other killings, which will entice them to watch on, the enigma code of why this woman has been murdered and why the murderer has left a note.  

9 Frame Analysis: Taxi Driver

For my 9 frame analysis of the opening title sequence to Taxi Driver I will go through each one separately.

Se7en: Title Tagging

I was set the task of editing the opening titles to Se7en, to include descriptions of the conventions used and the effect they have in the sequence.

Camera Angles: Research

Camera Shots.

Shot type/Shot size: Refers to the distance between the camera and its subject.

Types of Shot: Long Shot, Mid Shot, Close up. There are differentiations of each of these shots.

Iconic Thriller Directors

Insight into the Camera Positions: Memento.

For this task Mr Barton assigned my group the opening scenes of  'Memento' which is directed by Christopher Nolan. I was given questions to answer regarding the camera positions of the shots. 

What does the audience expect when watching a thriller?
The audience expect to be confused by the initiating scenes so that they are enticed to watch more, such as in Memento, the beginning shots are in reverse, therefore the audience are wondering why the main has this picture, why was the man in the photo murdered? and why are we seeing the murder before we have seen it happen? The enigma codes of Memento entice the audience to watch on and find the answers to these questions. 


How are camera effects used in the opening scenes of Memento?
At the beginning of memento, Christopher Nolan uses one of his classic flash backs, as he has done before in other films such as Following and Inception. Except this flashback is different as the events taking place are in rewind, so we start with the very first shot we see; a hand holding a polaroid photograph in which has a picture of a dead body on it, this shot is a close up, therefore it enables us to see the picture in great detail.

What other effects are used in the opening scenes of Memento to captivate the audience?
The polaroid photograph shot at the start has been edited so that the sequence is going backwards rather than forwards as if we are slowly rewinding the film, for instance the first thing we see is the polaroid photograph with a dead man on it but as the character holding the picture flicks it for what we think is to develop it, isn't, instead the picture fades and fades until it is a blank polaroid.

9 Shot Storyboard: Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels

26th September 2011
In this lesson we were allocated groups where we had to watch the poker game scene from Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and capture 9 different shots to use in a story board and to then progress into filming the sequence ourselves. We ensured that we payed close attention to the position of the character and props, referring constantly back to the pictures from our storyboard. We filmed each shot by starting and pausing the camera, ensuring we did not break the 180º rule and that we had match on action continuously, therefore we then uploaded the shots onto the computer to edit our work with Final Cut Pro. 

Mood Board: Thriller

Enemy of the State - Opening Title Analysis

When watching this opening title, the use of CCTV shots such as sweeps of the city and Ariel shots, showing crimes being committed, accidents and general  footage, this established a sense of mystery; what is the title referring to? Why is it showing these specific locations? What is the significance of the locations? Plus, watching carefully, the opening sequence starts and finishes with the same shot which I think is a very clever and useful technique as it really does make the audience review what they have just seen.

The font used is in the typical colour white, which is generally used in thrillers, plus the font is comparable to that used on computers, as it looks very squared and computerised. 

The music choice for this sequence was classical music, which I think was very well chosen as it contributes to the atmosphere of suspense and mystery, by going from piano to crescendo which ascends and descends creating suspend as to when the next pitch will hit, like the desired effect of the opening sequence as a whole.

In all, the sequence is very fast which means the audience has to pay close attention in order to really capture the many aspects incorporated.