Planning: Preliminary Task - Miss Begum

Purpose of preliminary task

The purpose of the preliminary task was to get used to and familiarize ourselves with the camera and the editing software. Our group had limited time and therefore had to prepare, film and edit efficiently. This was also a sample for the final film project and how efficient we have to be when we begin to film that.

Video

The scenario

We decided to have a scenario with 2 characters having a conversation that would last 30 seconds. Trang played the role of a girl that has forgotten her homework and Pervin as her friend or classmate who reminds her.

The scene begins as there is a panning shot to show Trang walking and as she walks past Pervin she is stopped by her to be reminded of the homework. As they are speaking there is a medium shot showing their conversation.

As the scene develops, there is then an over the shoulder shot as Trang panics as she has not done the homework. An over the shoulder shot is used to observe Trang's facial expression as she is the character with the dilemma in this scene, with Pervin having a supporting role.

In this scene there is a high angle shot to emphasise Trang's body language to accentuate her problem and she is upset by it.

There is then a closeup shot of Trang frantically going through her book trying to find the homework, the close up shot shows her rapid hand movement as she goes through the book which portrays her as being upset or worried about this.

Towards the end of the scene, there is an over the shoulder shot of Pervin telling Trang to "fix up" as this isn't the first time she has forgotten her homework. The over the shoulder shot puts focus on Pervin's face as she is telling off Trang.

Finally, Trang runs away and there is a long shot to show her whole body and the environment she is in, to show her going off screen so the audience can see she has gone looking for her homework.

Group roles and has this changed

For the preliminary task, I had taken the role of camera operator and director as I have had previous amateur experience with a camera and I believe as director it would be easiest behind the camera in such a small group, and I would develop my leadership skills which will hopefully be transferred onto the final project. Trang and Pervin were actors in this scenario and in our final production, Trang will be an actor but Pervin will not be as she has been chosen to do costume, hair and makeup and be our location manager, which was not relevant in the preliminary task. Furthermore in the final production Trang will be the writer/storyboarder and be in charge of the lighting, this was not relevant in the preliminary task. We decided as we are a very small group that editing will be a group role and will not rely on one person, this will mean that we will also get different perspectives when editing our final productions to make sure the final piece leaves very little mistakes while we all develop our skills to edit.

Difficulties while filming

• As the camera operator, I had to get used to using and turning on the camera, as well as playback to check if there had to be retakes, this was difficult as I was not used to the make and model of the camera and I have had limited experience.
• Finding an appropriate filming location so there would not be many people in the background or a lot of noise.
• Some scenes had people walking past or making too much noise and therefore had to reshoot those scenes 
• The actors were not experienced and kept laughing during the scenes, there was no script and therefore they had to improvise after being given an idea of what to talk about.

Difficulties while editing

• There was a filter on the whole scene when we played it back, after searching for the filter to see if we could remove it, and asking someone with editing experience with the software we could not find it, therefore had to leave the filter which created lines on the shot.
• We were not used to the editing software and under limited time could only produce very simple straight cuts which made the changing of angles look very unprofessional.
• There was also a lot of background noise we were unable to remove which slightly drowned out the speech in some takes.

What have you learned

As the camera operator and the director in the preliminary task, I learnt how to properly operate the camera, and how to make movements look smoother. I also learnt how to use a tripod although I chose not to use it as I think handheld movements would be more effective in my final production, therefore I used handheld movements in the preliminary task to gain experience. While editing I learnt how to merge clips together, and to delete and crop unnecessary clips. This editing experience will be vital for the final production. I also developed my skills to work in a team, as director this will be very important, I will need to tell people where to stand and move, as well as make sure they are portraying the correct facial expressions and body language. The preliminary task has also helped me and my group identify who will be suited for what roles during the final productions, we learnt that some of my group did not want to be actors as they were more suited to lighting and costume hair and makeup.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the preliminary task has been beneficial for me as it has given me a small sample of what the final production would be like. It has developed by skills with a camera, editing and my teamwork and leadership skills, all these skills will be vital for when I need to do my final productions as I am expecting it to be completely different to my preliminary task in terms of quality. I have also discovered what sort of mistakes can be made on a set and how to deal with them quickly and efficiently, as well as how to coordinate actors and positions.

Planning: Final Idea - Mrs. Quinlan

Final Idea

Introduction:

My group's final idea has come together after we all pitched our initial ideas and we then based our final idea off one, with contributions from the other ideas, evidently creating a new narrative but with the same general tone and idea. We gathered the most effective and relevant parts of our initial ideas to thrillers and adapted them to our final idea, this ensured that everyone was involved and our final idea was the most effective for a thriller opening.

Title: 

P.S. Your Stalker, One of Us

Sub-genre:

Supernatural (the idea of ghosts and the dead being seen) and Crime (murder that is suggested)

Narrative:

A man is seen walking from a graveyard, he is wearing a suit. The scene then cuts to inside of a house and the same man is seen walking through the door of this house. As he walks through the door a girl is visible behind him who is very pale and bruised. He then picks up a chair which is revealed to be bloody, walks towards his stairs and some dead bodies are seen around the house. He is walking in a very casual manner and he then walks up the stairs. As he walks up the stairs there is another body visible, once he gets to the top he walks into the bedroom, he goes to the wardrobe to get his jacket, as he closes the door to his wardrobe a male victim is visible behind the door, this victim is tied up and barely conscious. He then walks outside and turns off the light behind him, there is a figure visible behind him, he quickly turns around forgetting something and turns on the light, but there is nothing behind him. He walks over to his bed and grabs his phone, then turns off the light again and the figure is visible again. The man then walks downstairs and there is a cut to outside of the house, we see the man exit the house and there is then a tilt movement to a window upstairs, the girl who has been following him is visible with one hand at the window, staring at the direction of the man who is out of frame. There is then a panning shot to the man, whom we see now is walking in a public place.

Narrative structure (theory):

Our final idea will use the narrative structure of Aristotle as his theory states that tragedy is used to evoke emotion. Tragedy is suggested with the dead bodies all around the house and the victim following the antagonist, this will all evoke emotion amongst the audience.

It could also follow the narrative structure of Todorov's theory as the narrative could follow the equilibrium, disequilibrium and new equilibrium order. The antagonist would appear stable at the beginning, and then something disruptive would happen to him as it is evident in the opening there is a ghost or demon following him, although this would only show if the narrative continues further than the opening. It could then end with a new equilibrium as the supernatural being either stops following and tormenting the antagonist or has it's revenge.

Characters (theory):

Antagonist - The antagonist is the man walking around the house and the main character in the narrative. We are following the antagonist who is an apparent murderer due to my question in my primary research "What kind of character would you want a thriller film to be centered around?". The results came back with even responses to Hero and Murderer, therefore due to the narrative I will be going with murderer (antagonist), this would be the most appropriate due to my primary research.

Main Victim/Anti-Hero - The main victim will be the girl following the antagonist, she will be very pale and look very ghostly, therefore she will be presumed dead and is still following the antagonist, her character is the one that brings the supernatural sub genre to my opening as she will make sudden unexpected appearances.

Other Victims - The will be other victims scattered around the house which will suggest that they are victims of the antagonist who is casually walking around his house.

Mise en scene:

Lighting: Low lighting will be used when the antagonist is outside and high key lighting is when he is inside the house, this is to show that the house is an innocent place but this is controversial in my opening as there are dead bodies scattered around, ultimately confusing and chilling the audience.

Setting: The start of the scene will take place in a graveyard, it will then move onto the house as the scene develops and then end with a public place such as a street.

Iconography: A phone will be used when the antagonist is in the bedroom, he will go to pick it up and this will serve as a distraction for the sudden appearance of the main victim, as well as a chair for one of the victims and other furniture which will be in the house, but these will not be directly used in the opening as the characters will not interact with them.

Costume and makeup: The antagonist will be wearing a dark coloured jacket and trousers, to not draw attention to themselves. The victims will wear light coloured clothing to show the innocence.

Body language and facial expression: The antagonist will have have a very upright posture as he is confident in what he does and should not display any amount of fear as he is possibly psychotic. In terms of facial expression he will not show any emotion at all, this will further portray his madness as he lacks emotion which is a normal trait for sane human beings. The main victim/anti hero will also not show any emotion whatsoever as they have a goal which is to possibly seek revenge.

Film influences:

I was influenced by The Stepfather (1978) due to the unexpectedness of the bodies around the house in the opening and the fact he walks off like a normal person in a very casual manner, this opening heavily influenced my final idea.

I was also inspired by Halloween (1978) as this opening also had a twist or something the audience did not expect at the end of the opening. That is the main thing I am going for, to make the audience feel uncomfortable as the killer could be anyone.

I was influenced by The Grudge (2009) for the design of my main victim, this is because of the supernatural look the pale makeup that is used. The character in the grudge is difficult to look at and makes the audience uncomfortable.

Advantages:

The advantages of our final idea is that it is mysterious and will confuse the audience. It is also relatively easy to film, with minimal props and not too much editing. Our opening will also make the audience uncomfortable due to the characters attitude to having dead bodies around the house he is walking around, my opening should end with leaving the audience not knowing much but wanting to know more about the film.

Problems that may occur:

The problems that may occur are that the actors may not be convincing enough and this won't persuade the audience to feel tense or uncomfortable the way they should be. As well as this, there may be location problems such as asking for permission to film in a graveyard and being refused to do so. There also may not be enough actors to be extra bodies around the house. I may also experience editing problems as I do not have experience using the software we have been told to use, as well as editing the jump cuts properly to scare the audience effectively therefore I will have to shoot some scenes multiple times to ensure when editing I can put together the scene appropriately, this may also help any errors while filming.

Why is this opening conventional to a thriller?

This opening is conventional to a thriller due to the mise en scene we use, the lighting will be low key, and the setting will be a convention as a house and a graveyard is used a lot in thrillers. In addition to this the costumes my characters will also be conventional to a thriller, the antagonist will wear dark colours and the victims will wear lighter colours.

What themes does your thriller represent?

My thriller uses the theme of death which is evident with the bodies scattered around the house. As well as possible revenge due to the girl following the antagonist, it can be assumed that she is a victim and she is stalking the antagonist, the person who possibly killed her.

What response will you get from your audience?

My audience will be confused at the start as there is no explanation as to why the man is walking from the graveyard, once the man is in the house during the middle of the opening, the audience will have a frightened response as it is very tense due to the bodies scattered around the rooms, also the man's reaction will contribute to this. At the end of the opening, the audience will feel scared as there is a tilt movement to reveal the girl inside the house watching as the antagonist walks way, this will be a suspenseful shot used to set up the rest of the movie but also close the opening.

Planning: Opening Scene Narration - Miss Begum

Opening Scene Narration

Introduction:

My opening scene narration is written to solidify our final idea and to make the structure of the narrative clear, this would also be useful during the making of the opening as it provides narrative for the director to imagine the story and put their own view on it. As it is just an opening, the audience did not need to necessarily understand the narrative as a lot of films are effective this way, but it is important for the director to understand the narrative of the opening to get the general tone of the film.

Opening scene narration:

The scene begins with an establishing shot of a man slowly walking through a graveyard.he is wearing a black suit with a white shirt and a black tie, indicating that he has been at a funeral. The weather is gloomy and therefore there will be low key lighting, reflecting the man's mood.

As the man is walking away a panning shot is following him, once it stops, he continues walking and there is a straight cut to the inside of a home. The door is the focal point with a medium shot. The door opens and the man from earlier, still wearing the suit enters this home and as he closes the door behind him, a girl is visible behind him who is bruised and extremely pale, staring at him as he closes the door. The man does not notice the girl. The house is very well lit, to show that there are no abnormalities, until the man picks up a chair that was out of frame in this medium shot and the chair has blood on it. The man casually begins to walk towards the staircase and we start to see many dead bodies scattered around the house, both male and female. As the man walks up the stairs which is shown in an extreme close up shot of his shoes, another body is visible on the stairs. The audience would be very confused at this point as this man shows no interest to the dead bodies in the house, although they will wonder who's house it is and why the man is there.

As the scene develops, there is a medium shot when the man enters a bedroom, he appears to walk over to his already open wardrobe and goes to get his jacket, as the man closes the door to his wardrobe, we see a victim who is tied up and barely conscious, wounded and hidden in the corner of the room, this man is only visible when the wardrobe door is shut. However when it is open the male victim is clearly visible and it is clearly more evident the suited man has descended into madness.  As the man walks out into the corridor he turns off the light in the bedroom and a figure of someone is visible in the darkness, however the man does not notice this and turns back around to turn on the light, walks into the room and reaches for a phone that has been left on the bed. Yet again he leaves the room and turns off the light, the figure is visible again behind him, he is still unaware that someone is clearly after him. As the man continues to walk around his house there are still more bodies visible, as well as photo frames on window sills which contain pictures of random people, other possible victims, all the photos contain people who look nothing like the suited man.

Towards the end of the opening we see the man walking down the stairs from a high angle medium shot, and then a straight cut to a long shot outside of the house. The man is seen walking away from the house but the camera does not follow him, after the man is out of frame the camera tilts up to see the girl that has been supposedly following him place one hand on the window she is standing at, looking in his direction. The camera then pans and we see the man walking off into the public in a very casual manner, as he has been throughout the scene. The scene then fades to black. At this point in the opening, the audience are intrigued as well as extremely frightened and many questions can be asked. The audience do not know who the man is exactly, why he has presumably done these things, they also do not know why the girl is following him, her movement is not shown which instils a great amount of fear into the audience.

Audience response:

Throughout the opening the audience would feel suspense and confusion. I aim for the opening to be very tense as there is no clear narrative as to why there are dead bodies in the house this man is in, also the fact there is a very pale, wounded girl who is following him. The start of the opening should confuse the audience, the middle would frighten them due to the amount of dead bodies in the house, as well as the man's casual attitude to this. The end of the opening should leave the audience in disgust as well as frightened, they should be asking themselves questions and be eager to see more. 

Planning: Developing ideas in groups - Miss Begum

Initial Planning

Introduction:

Idea 1: Dillan

Narrative:

A news report about a serial killer on the loose is playing, warning people in the local area to stay indoors and not be alone if they have to go outside until the police catch the killer.
There is then a cut to the killer who has gagged a young woman and as she is struggling, he violently murders her with a sledgehammer. The murder is not shown but the blood is to suggest that she is being brutally murdered.
There is another cut to a victim in their house, about to go upstairs and sleep, they turn off the light and there is a figure visible in the dark, when they turn on the light there is nothing there, they turn off the light again and the figure is there yet again. One last time they turn on the light but this time the same killer is up close to them, before he or she can scream, they are grabbed by the throat, slammed against the wall and strangled to death. The then either takes the victim's clothes, or removes their own clothing and changes their hairstyle, then walks down a road into the public just like a normal person from society.

Title:

One Of Us - Based on the idea that the killer could be anyone, not every killer is mentally unstable as far as we can see. They could be your friend, a family member or a girlfriend/boyfriend.

Sub-genres:

Horror thriller - I will include jump scares to suddenly shock the audience and to feel suspense.
Psychological thriller - The twist at the end of the opening as the killer is seemingly a normal person.
Crime thriller - The idea of a serial killer and the public are aware that there is one out there.
Mystery thriller - The fact no one knows who the serial killer is, my opening may set up a detective or someone from law enforcement looking for the antagonist.

Characters:

Killer(s) - Who is or are the antagonists, as my narrative will revolve around them due to the results from my primary research.

Victims - The woman who is getting murdered and the second victim in the house which can be either a male or female.


Theory Application:

The narrative will follow either Barthes or Aristotle's narrative theory as Aristotle uses tragedy (the killings) to arouse emotion from the audience as well as through themes. Barthes theory may also be used as the denotation of a sledgehammer to murder a woman can connote violence, as well as anger or revenge depending on how the killing is presented.

Film Influences:

For my initial idea I was inspired by The Stepfather (1987) due to how chilling the opening scene was. I especially liked the ending of the opening which I am planning to shoot in my own way but to give the same effect.

I was also inspired by Halloween (1978) as this opening also had a twist or something the audience did not expect at the end of the opening. That is the main thing I am going for, to make the audience feel uncomfortable as the killer could be anyone.

Mise En Scene:

Lighting: Low lighting will be used throughout, this is to represent the killer's unfavourable intentions as well as the overall dark tone of the film and opening.

Setting: The first murder will take place in either a graveyard or a forest. The second will then take place inside a home, to further petrify the audience as a home is meant to be a safe place.

Iconography: The murder weapon, a sledgehammer, as well as blood to show the murders happening.

Costume and makeup: The killer will be wearing a dark coloured jacket and trousers, to not draw attention to themselves. The victims will wear light coloured clothing to show the innocence.

Advantages:

The advantages of my thriller opening are that they are influenced from different films, with my own narrative to it and therefore will be quite different to other thrillers. The opening will also scare the audience and leave them in suspense, wanting to watch the rest of the film as they have chosen to watch a thriller opening. Therefore it will use jumpscares and the appropriate music to show that.

Disadvantages:

The disadvantages of my opening will be that I may not be able to shoot in some settings such as the graveyard or the forest, due to not being able to access them. Also it may be difficult to shoot all of these scenes into a two minute opening, therefore I may have to cut out some scenes. The acting may not be to a good enough standard and the audience may not understand what the character is doing in an ineffective way.

Conclusion

My initial planning has allowed me to work in a team and brainstorm many ideas. By doing this I can find many flaws and places to improve in my idea through constructive criticism from my group. Also I can combine my ideas appropriately with my group to make a strong final idea.

Idea 2: Trang

Narrative:

My initial and final idea for my thriller opening will begin with a man who seems to be at a funeral, he looks clearly upset with the lost of his close one. This will be one of the main characters introduced to the audience. There will be a abrupt transition to the next scene where we see him and another character that appears to be his girlfriend, lover etc having a serious conversation. A caption will appear below the screen reading '32 hours ago' to inform the audience that this has happened already. The couple are in a warm and cosy conventional family home that connotes safety and security, in addition, I want the audience to feel confused because this is not your typical thriller opening however it certainly begins with mysteriously as a soundtrack will start to play as its off-screen sound. I want this off-screen sound to build tension for the audience as I am determined to generate mix emotions of uneasiness and discomfort. Then a flash of montages as well as jump cuts will take place implying that murder has been taken place.

The next scene will be the female character alone checking her phone if her boyfriend has called her back. She's getting ready for bed, when she walks down a long and dark corridor to her bedroom, the audience will witness an unidentified figure lurking in the shadows behind her. A close-up of her phone will read the date and time so the audience are aware of this as this will be relevant later on as the opening progresses. Another close-up, this time of a different phone will be the male protagonists phone reading 9 unread messages. A reaction of the girl will initially be a jump scare for the audience but we are not able to see the antagonist.

The last scene will be the protagonist leaving the funeral as he looks up, we get a reaction shot of him but we are not able to see what he's reacting to.

Title:

I decided to call my thriller 'P.S. Your Stalker'. This title is based on a supernatural theme in which the protagonist is being followed by a mysterious and unidentified antagonist. In the opening of 'P.S. Your Stalker', we are able to infer that this stalker is a psychopath as he/ she evidently murders his girlfriend. The audience will definitely question why the particular event has occurred and who is this mysterious person.

Sub-genres:

• Supernatural - I've included the supernatural theme as it consists of supernatural and questionable elements to the opening such as the unidentified, mysterious and spooky figure that I intend to portray in the first couple of seconds of the opening.
• Horror - I've included at least one jump scare that will definitely shake the hearts of the audience, in addition, also including a murder scene that will only last about 5 seconds to not give too much away.
• Mystery - I thought the sub-genre of mystery is appropriate for this type of narrative as the whole opening consistently asks the audience who the antagonist might be.

Characters:

• Protagonist - The male protagonist will be introduced first as he is the main character of the whole opening as the situation is revolved around him.
• Antagonist - The antagonist is still an unidentified character but we will be able to have a glimpse of the characters silhouette in the opening.
• Victim - The victim will be the protagonists girlfriend who will be killed.

Theory Application:

My thriller opening follows the theory Aristotle and Barthes. Aristotle's theory applies to my thriller opening because it consists of a beginning, middle and end with and clear and understandable narrative. Moreover, the problem always sets off aroused emotions and the audiences mentality by having the key action point start in the middle. Although I have a clear narrative of beginning, middle and end, my narrative seems to be mixed up which will confuse the audience however they will understand after it progresses. My thriller opening also follows Barthes theory as it highlights explored and diverse ranges of developed cultural understand, connotation and denotation.

Film Influences:

Film influences such as 'The Grudge' has helped me develop this idea. Themes such as jealousy, obsession and murder all consist in my opening furthermore using the key character as a mysterious and supernatural antagonist similarly to 'The Grudge'. In my opinion, I believe that 'The Grudge' is a fantastic supernatural and psychological thriller as it has not failed in making me constantly think about it. It sends cold shivers down the audiences spine which is what I want to achieve for the audiences response as well.

Mise' en Scene

• Lighting
• Setting
• Iconography
• Costume, hair and make-up
• Cinematography

Advantages:

I've created my own narrative using other successful film influences that will indeed create an exciting and thrilling opening. I believe that my thriller will create a particular audience response such as fear and discomfort, according to my data I've collected from my primary research, a psychological and supernatural thriller are most popular amongst thriller watchers.

Disadvantages:

The disadvantages of my thriller opening might be that challenging camera shots I need to take when creating this thriller opening. If I want to create the mysterious figure in the background, I must educate myself working the camera correctly to receive successful and spooky shots which might be difficult to achieve.

Research: Questionnaire Results - Miss Begum

Results from Questionnaire

Why is it important to receive and analyse feedback?

It is important to receive and analyse the feedback I got from my primary research because I need to understand what my audience want when making my thriller opening. My primary research has allowed me to engage with my audience and make key decisions on what I should do when making my thriller in terms of characters, iconography, theme and genre.

Examples of graphs and analysis

Conclusion

My research has helped me make key decisions when making my thriller opening, for example what iconography to use or theme to follow. My questionnaire is the only piece of primary research that I have and therefore it is vital for me when getting an appropriate audience response as long as I follow the results from my questionnaire.

Research: Questionnaire - Miss Begum

Questionnaire

What is the importance of primary research?

Primary research is a collection of primary data that is collected by the researcher to answer specific issues or questions. It can involve a questionnaire which is what I have gone with. The purpose of it is to get direct feedback from the audiences to gather data quickly and efficiently. It also helps make decisions of conventions and characters that I will use in my thriller opening, different age groups and genders will have different results but after analysing the data I will be able to find similarities and find something common amongst the audience.

Advantages and disadvantages of questionnaires

Advantages

• The data is quick and easy to collect
• Data is easy to analyse
• Researcher can focus on both qualitative and quantitative issues
• Addresses specific research issues as the researcher controls the search design to fit their needs
• Information can be collected from a specific target audience

Disadvantages

• It will take longer conduct primary research rather than secondary research
• There is usually a low response rate
• Some people may not fit the target audience due to age, or they may not watch thriller films
• Respondents may ignore questions
• Questions could have mistakes in them
• If a mistake is made in a question, it is hard to go back to respondents
• Respondent may not understand a question due to vocabulary used such as 'protagonist' or 'iconography'

Who did you ask and why?

I gave my questionnaire to ten males and ten females in my school, their ages ranged from twelve years old to over twenty-four. They were generally all students except some teachers and members of staff. I felt as if it would not be appropriate to ask children under the age of 12 as most thriller films were rated 12 and above. I asked people of different ages and gender to understand my audience and understand what my audience would enjoy about thriller films, as long as they watched them.

My questionnaire

Conclusion

In conclusion, my research has helped me understand what my audience's expectations are for thriller films, this will greatly help me for when I have to plan and film my thriller opening. I asked questions such as "What technique do you think is most effective in thrillers?" to get a sense of what the audience do expect in a thriller film, also what would give them a reaction from a thriller opening. Also my question "Which of these typography do you prefer?", the results from this question can help me in choosing the typography for my opening credits, this is very important to getting a reaction from my audience and the questionnaire has greatly helped me decide what to use. The questionnaire overall will help me make key decisions for when I make my thriller opening.