Lighting

This is an example of a place to not film a thriller the reason is because it is bright and sunny and it is also to cheery to be a place that a thriller is set. The camera angles also suggest happiness as it is a picture of the entire landscape which suggests that it is a place that everyone wants to see and be there. A thriller is never set in a place with full sunshine as it defeats the point of it being a thriller.

Here is an example of a place a thriller could be filmed, although there is bright colours and bright light it is a hidden away place where cliffs could be etc. This picture is just like the cliffs in Shutter Island where the rocks and water is and also where the trees and grass is around.

This is also another example of a place a thriller could be filmed. Thrillers are commonly filmed in a big city when it is a dark day or when it is raining or foggy weather so that it would create the effect of the thriller itself.

Animatic Storyboard

Here is our final animatic storyboard, the opening sequence includes title blocks which provide all the required information for our opening sequence.
This sequence uses the following title blocks
- BEV Productions
- Staring Ben Homewood
- Filmed by Ellie Rackham
- Casting by Ben Homewood, Ellie Rackham & Vicky Smith
- Production designer Ben Homewood
- Directed by Ben Homewood and Ellie Rackham
- Produced by Ben Homewood
- Edited By Ben Homewood
- Story by Ben Homewood, Ellie Rackham and Vicky Smith
- The Case

Opening Scenes Analysis

This is a range of screenshots from the film Batman. The background is very dull and dosile, it is portrayed to the audience as very tense and eerie. Also in contrast to the background yellow writing is used, which is an unusual combination just like the film. The background scene is also very desolate which adds unawareness and suspicion. The font is also all in bbold and upper case, this would be a good idea to use in our final opening scene.

Here is another range of title scenes from the film Edward Scissor Hands. This clip is also very dark, which has a chilling effect. The titles are incorporated into the scene as if they were in the acutal scene itself, this adds realism to the opening scene. The background images are very dark and lacking in colour which also gives the idea of an upcoming tense and thrilling film. The font used looks like handwriting, this could also be used in our opening scene but a bold font will have a greater effect.

This screenshot has a selection of title slates from the opening sequence of Catch Me If You Can. This opening scene in comparison to the other two is very colourful and eventful at the same time. The screenshots show the scenes have colour and give you an idea of what will happen in the film by providing animated scenes. The use of animation of the scenes and text could be portrayed as a film for all ages which doesn't require you to really follow along and remember every detail. The font in this opening scene is very clever as it is incorporated into the acutal scene, it would be very effective to use this in our opening scene but in a more negative way. For example change the font to a more bold font and make it move with objects using object tracking in Adobe After Effects.

Final Storyboard

Here is our storyboard that shows the basis of the opening sequence, this was created using screenshots from our test footage and using an app on an iPad ipthe images were placed in chronological order. This provides and shows the different camera angles used. This storyboard will also help us keep track of what needs to be filmed when it comes to filming the final opening sequence.

Prezi about "The Case"

Here is a prezi talking about our opening sequence and influence on our opening sequence idea.

Location of filming

Here is the questor house where we will be filming we will be using the office inside where we will shoot the scenes we need for all of the office scenes. It is located at 191 Hawley Road, Dartford, Kent, Da1 1PU. It is the best location that matches our needs and it will help us a lot.

This is a picture of Charing Cross it is located in London we will get a train from Dartford straight to Charing Cross where we will then walk around and choose places for us to film things that will go with our idea.

Parity Recreation - Final Edit

Here is the final edit of Parity. I used a camera to complete all the shots to get our footage, I them edited it all together using Final Cut Pro adding a sound track, sound effects and the opening title at the beginning. The flashback shows his victim looking at him in the mirror, this shows neglect and upset. This is emphasised by some sound effects. Throughtout the clip are non diagetic sounds of the muderer yelling which is a flashback sound. This creates drama. The whole clip creates a lot of tension due to the dramatic, tense sound track all the way through. 

Directed by: Vicky Smith

Filmed by: Vicky Smith & Ben Homewood

Edited by: Ben Homewood

Here is a screenshot of editing Parity: 

Omniscient and Restricted Animations

This video shows two types of narratives, omniscient and restricted. Omniscient is where the audience knows everything, but restricted is where the audience only know what the characters do.

http://goanimate.com/videos/0CjrCvUC50GU

This is a short clip of an animation video about Omniscient and Restricted narratives.

Target Audience

These are the types of questions I will be asking audience of Thrillers.

How old are you?
Do you enjoy watching Thrillers?
What do you like about Thrillers?
What Thrillers have you seen?
How often do you watch Thrillers?

I'm going to ask people within the target audience about Thrillers and also other people out of that target audience so that the target audience isn't necessarily 18-29, there can be other age range and gender who may enjoy Thriller, but the most popular target audience is men between the ages 18-29. I have also asked people out side the target audience to make my research more strong. Through this research I have noticed that there are many girls enjoy watching thriller between the ages of 16-18 years old.



The link below is a video of the target audience we have interviewed and also other people outside the target audience.

Thriller Genre

Conspiracy - hero or heroine, journalist investigator linked into a powerful organisation, enemies, secret organisations, lies and propaganda,

Identification of good to over rule the evil of the world, secrecy of governments and secret organisations in history.

Crime thrillers - focuses on criminals and what they do, emphasises action over pscychological aspects, serial killers/murders, robberies, chases, bank robberies.

Disaster thriller - survival in conflict with natural or artificial disasters, causes of human activity, future going to bring. Eg. The Impossibe, based on a true story of a family on holiday where a tsunami takes place and the family get separated

Mystery thriller - crime related, detective/private investigator, mystery that needs to be solved, circumstance of the mystery of crime, gets audiences attention and makes the audience think, dramatic effect.

Political thriller - stability of government, hero or heroine prevents bad things happening, 

eg elections, like V for Vendetta

Psychological thriller - plays with audience mind, produces suspense, shows mentality of the character and the thought processes. Eg. Flight Plan

Religious thriller - plots closely religious objects, institutions and questions. Show and provide good and bad points of religion.

Supernatural thriller - otherworldly element that shows something, tension and suspense, unsuspected twist, villains have supernatural gift, closely linked to religious thrillers. Eg. Avengers Assemble

Techno thriller - manipulation of sophisticated technology which plays a part of taking over the world, mostly based on fictional speculations on life. Based on world wars, action, and science fictional/supernatural events such as alien invasions.

Non linear - Where the film has a clear beginning, middle and end. A basic film to follow like The Impossible, they are together then the tsunami takes place then they find each other at the end.

Eg. Seven

Linear - has flashbacks of past life, like in Shutter Island where the woman has flash backs of the past.

Eg. Taken

Omniscient - where characters and the know details about what's happening, eg. Why someone is killed or what the aim of the event is.

Restricted - This is where only the audience know why a certain event is happening, for example the audience should know why a character is being killed and why whereas the other characters don't know who did it or why.

Story Board

Test Footage - First and Final Edit

Here is our test footage of our idea. It shows the rough idea and basis of our final opening sequence. It demonstrates camera angles, props and mis en scene. Like the office, case file and driving.

This video shows the first edit which included a backing track and sound effects, after discussing at watching back I decided to edit further and change around the sound and add a end title to enhance the overall opening sequence.

Filmed by Ellie Rackham
Edited by Ben Homewood

This second video shows my improvements through editing. I changed around some sounds and I make the "mystery sound" at the end longer and faded into the title of the film. I also added a footstep sound at the end to add tension. This will provide the audience with something they will want to figure out and get hooked onto.

Camera Angles - With test shots

For our opening scene we will be using the following camera shots:

Jump cut shot - this will add masculinity and tension to the scene, as the jump cut shot doesn't take up time and adds drama

Medium long shot - this will show the location and character at the same time, giving a hint onto the location as you will see the background.

Close up shot - this will be used to show the case file

Panning shot - this will show the character delivering the case file smoothly and quickly

Test Shots:

Jump cut shot when coming upstairs (CCTV shot will be from above)

Medium shot of case file

Close up of case file

Music and Sound Effects

The music we will be using will be high paced. A heat beat like effects will be used to help dramatise the scene. Also music with a fast beat will he used, these sounds being used will be non diagetic as you cannot see the source of the music. Other sounds will include general city sounds like cars, traffic and crowd noise to help and realism to the opening scene. As the tension builds the sound effects will enhance this as it will increase and become louder. Adding sound effects and music will help grab the audience and increase suspense and mystery.

Here is an example of the type of music and sound effects that we will produce and incorporate into our opening scene: 

http://youtu.be/XOzCgLA3tKw

http://youtu.be/MTn6DHfF9Q8

http://youtu.be/VjZ-iUStAEI

Inspiration For Thriller Opening Sequence

There are many Thrillers which gave us inspiration are four films as their opening sequences have had an impact on out opening sequence.

The examples of the films that have given us inspiration for out Thriller are:
-Seven
-Falling Down
-Limitless
-Bourne Identity


Sevens opening sequences shows case files of a person and the brown file which will be shown in ours will be filed with slimier documents like that file had.

Falling Down opening sequence hasn't got any dialog, the suspense is built by the music and sound which we want to include in out opening sequence.

Limitless hasn't got much dialog in it, it has very little dialog, but we have come to the conclusion that the little to no dialog builds the suspense better to the Thriller.

Bourne Identity is also another Thriller which hasn't got any dialog with it. The music and sound as this creates more suspense and gets the audiences attention.

Scene Walk Through Timeline For Opening Sequence

Or title sequence will mainly feature an intensive sound track to build suspense as their will be no dialogue thoughtout the opening sequence.

-0.0 - 0.07

Production introduction

-0.07- 0.14

Typing on laptop

-0.14 - 0.22

Looking at files

-0.23 - 0.25

Circling face on paper

-0.25 - 0.31

Close up of photo

-0.31 - 0.34

'The Case'

-0.34 - 0.42

On computer

-0.42 - 0.45

Picking up cable tie

-0.45 - 0.48

Close up of cable tie around hands

-0.48 - 0.58

POV of walking

-0.58 - 1.05

Text message

-1.05 - 1.07

Location of road shot

-1.07 - 1.14

Man walking

-1.14 - 1.16

Closer shot of walking

-1.16 - 1.22

Low angle of men meeting

-1.22 - 1.30

Exchange of documents

-1.30 - 1.36

Low angle of walking away

-1.36 - 1.37

Pan of area

-1.37 - 1.48

Man looking at file

-1.48 - 1.55

Tilt up from young woman's feet

-1.55 - 2.03

Close up of young woman's face

-2.03 - 2.07

Black screen with music finishing

Linear and Non-linear animations

Linear and non-linear by ellie.vicky.ben on GoAnimate

This is the link to our animation on linear and non-linear. We used an on-line website called goannimate which is a free website to make short 30 second long clips about different things.

Title Sequence Research

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

The title sequence of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo shows that the use of lots of different conventions such as the names of the cast and crew with a dark backgrounds which relates to the title of the film. Only 2 of the characters are introduced in the title sequence which tells the audience that they are the main characters when we see their faces form from a strange liquid that the whole title sequence is made up of. The title of the film is then put in bold dark writing which relates to the title again and is a Chinese/Japanese font, which also relates to the title of the film as dragons are known as a big icon in the Chinese and Japanese culture.

Seven

You can see some words being highlighted on paper and they are highlighted with a black pen. The black represents death and that something bad is about to happen as black is a dark colour and very dull. The objects shown such as blades and needles also help create a dark mood. The props such as the book and the images etc, add to suspicion to the viewers and make them wonder what the person is doing.

Fight Club

The title sequence begins with a plain black image when the music appears, making it mysterious. The music is at a fast, exciting and effective pace. The first title appears as the music suddenly goes very loud, which emphasises the “thriller” genre. The writing is in large, white block capitals. Which makes a strong image as the light letters contrast with the dark background. This contrast could be linked with the schizophrenic character the film is based around. The title then becomes blurry and fades out, as if it was hiding from something which goes with the thriller genre.

Vertigo

The title sequence of Vertigo however does not do any of this. First we see a a women we do not know who she is or where she is. This woman isn't Kim Novak and in fact we never see her again throughout the film. This type of filmmaking is extreme, it disorientates the audience. We fall into her eyes and then into a whole story of mystery. The representational turns into graphics. There is no direction or stability here,The colours do not match and only the motif of the spiral is constant.

Health and Safety of the location

The locations health and safety is mainly fire safety but there are also other things to make the office safe enough for filming.
 The emergency numbers for everyone would be:

Ellie: 999 - Police, Ambulance and Fire (emergency services)
Ben: 999 - Police, Ambulance and Fire (emergency services)
Vicky: 999 - Police, Ambulance and Fire (emergency Services)
Actors: 999 - Police, Ambulance and Fire (emergency Services)

There will be fire exits around the building which will be easy for everyone to access. There will be an alarm which will alert the emergency services which will then send out the right services.

This is am image of the the fire exit and the rules you should follow when exciting the building, to make safer and quicker for the people to exit.

The red box is for setting the alarms off before the smoke has alarmed the drill. The assembly point is where we would have to get to so the emergency services know who's left in the building. There are also escape stairs for us to get out of which unlocks when the alarm is triggered.

There are also other health and safety in the building, such as,  in the kitchen, there will be a sign where the kettle is as it's boiling water, therefore being a hazard. There will also be a first-aid kit in each room incase of a cut.


The main thing that could occur is most probably a fire, as this could occur at anytime. There are many health and safety areas at a work place. The main emergency number would be the emergency services, as they will be the people most likely to be able to help. 

British Film classification

In the Uk Films have different rating to prevent younger people watching inappropriate material. This was formed in 1912. This is divided by age classification like U, PG, 12A, 15, 18 and R18

This shows the age of films. As Thrillers normally contain a lot of violence and fight scenes. Our opening sequence will not have much violence included in it so therefore it will be suitable for everyone to watch.

Call Sheet

Here is our contact information, this allows us to iMessage each other to plan and discuss media studies

Ben Homewood

Email address: ben.homewood@live.co.uk

Ellie Rackham

Email address: ellie.rackham@hotmail.co.uk

Vicky Smith:

Email address: vicky_121_@hotmail.com

Production Schedule

For our opening scene we will include a production introduction that will show the production company. This will be shown at the beginning of the opening scene followed by the 18-20 title scenes that will be shown throughout the opening scene.

We will be using Adobe After Effects and Final Cut Pro. Here is an example using Final Cut Pro:

This is a screenshot of our production schedule for filming the opening sequence there will be another on for the editing one as we edit the footage ourselves.

Weather for Filming

This is the weather forecast for the location we will be filming in, the location is Dartford, this is an example of the kind of weather it will be when filming. This forecast covers the dates we will be filming. The colder days for example 30th-1st or the 9th or 10th are better because the thriller needs to have gloomy weather rather than sunny.

This is the weather forecast for one of the locations we have chosen the location is in London. When we are filming this is the kind of weather it will be. This forecast does cover the dates that we have chosen to film. The colder days and raining days would be better as the weather cannot be sunny and bright as it is a thriller. The days best to film in London is 31st/1st or 3rd/4th as they are the dullest days.

Film Inspiration

There are many Thrillers which gave us inspiration are four films as their opening sequences have had an impact on out opening sequence.

The examples of the films that have given us inspiration for out Thriller are:

-Seven

-Falling Down

-Limitless

-Bourne Identity

Sevens opening sequences shows case files of a person and the brown file which will be shown in ours will be filed with slimier documents like that file had.

Falling Down opening sequence hasn't got any dialog, the suspense is built by the music and sound which we want to include in out opening sequence.

Limitless hasn't got much dialog in it, it has very little dialog, but we have come to the conclusion that the little to no dialog builds the suspense better to the Thriller.

Bourne Identity is also another Thriller which hasn't got any dialog with it. The music and sound as this creates more suspense and gets the audiences attention.

This is a collection of films which have inspired us for our idea.

Production Introduction

For our opening scene we will include a production introduction that will show the production company. This will be shown at the beginning of the opening scene followed by the 18-20 title scenes that will be shown throughout the opening scene.

We will be using Adobe After Effects and Final Cut Pro. Here is an example using Final Cut Pro:

(http://youtu.be/F3h2pbZkMT4)

Here is the video I created to be put at the beginning of our film to introduce the Production company "BEV Productions" the ending of the video is just black this enables us to choose how long we want this when we use it for our opening scene. We will cut this so that we only have a black screen for around 0.5 to 1 second.

Production Schedule

Here is our schedule, this will help us manage our time and keep us on track. We will use and refer to this to help us be more time efficient.

We will be filming on Tuesday 31th December 2013 and on Friday 3rd January 2014

Production Logo

Here is the logo we created to represent our production company. Having a logo will help people remember the company. To create this logo I used Photoshop

Logo Research

This research shows that most logos are very simple and basic. This enables audiences and other people remember them more easily. They all use a minimal amount of colour and the name of their production company as the main part of the logo. This gave me the idea of creating a simple but effective logo that features "BEV Productions" as the main part of the logo with a small video image next to it against a black background. The black background draws attention to the text and image.

Assess list (filming equipment)

The filming equipment we need to film the footage on.

-camera
-tripod
-tape
-camera battery
-camera wire
-camera bag

The camera is so we can record the footage on having a built in mic makes it easier when recording the footage as we will not have to bring more things with us.

The tripod we will be using so the camera can stay still making the footage more clear and better quality.

The tape is so we can store the footage somewhere and also we will be able to transport it easier. 

The camera battery is so we don't have to charge it while filming. 

The camera wire is so the footage can be transferred easily from the tape to a computer then edited. 

The camera bag is so the camera will not get damaged when getting to the filming destination. 

We will be getting this equipment from school as they will be providing this all for us, it's our task to plan, research and film an opening sequence to a Thriller.

This is all the equipment needed to film the opening sequence to our Thriller, making an asset list is key as it almost acts as a tick off list of the things we will need to make sure we will be needing to film our opening sequence. 

Actors we will be using

These are the actors we plan to use in our opening sequence of our Thriller. We will have back up actors just incase someone falls ill and can't make the filming date. We only need three actors to produce our opening sequence, business man, trespasser and the woman, who's the file is about.

These are the actors we have in mind to act for us in the opening sequence:

This is one of the women we have asked to act and be photographed as the women who is being targeted by the trespasser to blackmail the businessmen.

This is one of the possible treaspasser as they need to dress smart and also look as though they are old enough to work in an office.

This is the business man we will be using when we produce our opening sequence.

Asset List (props)

This is as list of props that we need for our Triller. There will be a main prop which will give out a lot of information needed. 

The props we will be using are:

-A brown envelope

-Desk 

-Office

-Brief case

-Gun

The brown envelope is probably the main prop which will contain the information on the women being stalked which has a very strong relationship with the man who works in the office. The trespasser will be dropping the brown envelope off. The brief case will be brought in by the business man. The office is where the main part of the opening sequence will be filmed. The gun will be in the draw of the business mans desk as it will get the audience thinking.

The brown envelop and gun we will be getting from Amazon, the gun will be a fake plastic gum. The desk and office will be at the location and my dad has a briefcase which we will be using. 

This is a collection the props, we will be using all of these as our main props. The brown envelop will contain all the information on the man's wife or girlfriend, who the  trespasser is black mailing with to the business man.

This is a pitcher of that will be inside the brown folder about the women who is being stalked.

The brown file will contain things, such as, passport, finger prints, mortgage details, passport photos and also bank statements.

Costume of the characters

This is the type of costume the characters will be wearing while filming the opening sequence to our thriller. As we will be using cctv for our evidence we will need to have a number of different outfits to show that this has been going on for a while, there will be a number of different outfits that the woman may typically wear. The business man will be dressed in a suit and also the business man who is trespassing into the office, dropping off the file will also be dressed in a suit.

This is the kind of clothes that the female who is being stalks will wear. This also covers the kind of make up she will be wearing which is quite natural. This clothing gives the image of a stereotypical woman, it also gives the image of a woman who could be very vulnerable. This clothing also draws male attention.

This is the kind of clothes that both of the men will be wearing, as its very business dress so it will draw less attention to what the second male is dropping off the file. a smart suit indicates a working class person, also it gives the impression an individual is very independent and high class.

After looking at the outfits for the characters we now know that the female has got to have a number of different outfits as she will be seen on different days wearing different outfits. The males will be wearing smart suits as its going to be set in an office and the male trespasser wont want to be caught out. These costumes will be brought by myself as we are producing the opening sequence and the actors are doing us a favour.

Location for our Thriller Reccess

The location of our thriller will be in a office, the office will look like a normal office as it will  draw less attention to what is going on. The men we will be dressed in a smart suite. We will follow the office working to work as though it's like any other day. The man being followed will have research on the building plan so he knows where he needs to be.

This is the outside view of the office we will be using when filming our opening sequence.

This is the inside of the office we will be using. The business man who works in the office will have his own office which the trespasser will know the building as he'll know his way around the building almost as though he works there. The brown envelope will be posted under the business mens door and after he's looked at the file the trespasser will then come in and aim a gun at the business man.


The address of our location is:

Questor House
191 Hawley Road
Dartford
Kent
DA1 1PU

How we will be getting to the location is a number of ways, such as, buses the 414 stops out side the location, we will be running lifts for actors unable to get to there, the location may also be in walking distance but it all depends on the weather as the actors will not want to get wet on their way to the location. If the actors use their own form of transport, such as, their own car then we will be giving them petrol money. If one of the actors use trains or busses we will sub them the money. We feel as though we should do this as they are helping us out and are using their own time to help us produce the opening sequence.