Final Thriller

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00vMjVPWQW8

Introduction to evaluation

For my coursework I was set the task of creating an opening sequence for a thriller film, therefore I had to research and plan different conventions and effects used within the thriller genre. Within my group there was myself, who had the role of director and producer, Tom Tovey, who was allocated as an actor and editor and finally Scott Arbuckle, who was cameraman. As director and producer I was responsible for the settings, filming schedule, positioning of the actors within scenes and has the final say in the editing stage. From my experience of this I had learnt how to give out directions and constructive criticism in order to improve and create a successful piece of work.

I believe my group did work very well together during the planning and filming stages we each contributed ideas, which we agreed would to use within our opening sequence. However when it came down to the editing stage, there was quite a lot of conflict as we disagreed on several choices in terms of the sound effects and editing pace. Although we disagreed it benefited us in the long term because we had decided to compromise and combine the ideas, which created a better effect within our opening sequence. Even though there were many sections we could have further improved if we were given more time and expertise.

 I believe my opening sequence has been successful, because it included many features and conventions of a thriller e.g. enigma, low key lighting, death and many more other effects.

Question 6

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Question 5

How did you attract/address your audience?

Thriller comparison - Miss Georgiou

I believe my opening sequence of a thriller was successful in most areas, for example our opening sequence used low key lighting effectively to create suspense for the audience watching. I believe because we knew the features needed to make a successful thriller, therefore made appropriate and effective choices. Most of creativity was shown through the element of cinematography, this is because we made many brave choices which were risky in taking as they subverted from the conventional thriller camera angles. For example when the killer is at the end of the alley and it is a long shot in which not much of the character is easy to see.

There are many micro elements in which aspects of our opening sequence can be compared to, however I can compare my thriller to any successful existing one and still prove that my thriller is conventional.

Psycho

Psycho is a very successful and important film within the thriller genre, it was an Alfred Hitchcock movie that was released within the 1960's and now ranked one of the greatest films of all time.

• The narrative involves a deranged character who becomes two personalities, he then kills other characters because of hes unstable state of mind. This is similar to my narrative as the killer within my thriller is deranged and is a lot not in a stable state of mind as he chooses to kill an innocent character within the clip. This narrative is proved to be successful and therefore I believe is a sensible choice to have made.

• The editing withing Psycho is very simplistic however this is due to the lack of development within the production stages and technology at the time period the film was created. Therefore my thriller has used slightly more advanced editing although we did not include too much as we did not want to distract the audience from the realistic storyline.

• The setting within Psycho varies within different scene however the main setting is at the hotel of the killer, which is in the middle of a derelict area. This is slightly similar to the setting I used within my thriller as it takes place down an empty alley and an overgrown forest, I believe this is a sensible choice to have made for my thriller. This is because it creates alot of suspense for the audience as they build up the instinct that the victims will not survive due to there being nobody around to save them.

Question 4

Who would be the audience for your media product?

Target audience feedback - Miss Georgiou

Audience feedback is important within a production, because it helps people make changes based on what their specific audience wants. With the criticisms and positive comments, the material can be altered to fufill the pleasures of the target audience, this will help make a much better and appropriate sequence.We collected our audience feedback through our media class, as they are within the age range of ourn target audience, we played our rough copy to them and handed out feedback sheets for them to fill in. Within the sheet, there was questions on how effective and pleasureable certain features of the film were. This then helped us make changes within our opening sequence to make it more successful in fitting the criteria and following the conventions of the thriller genre.

Constructive comments made by other groups

• Narrative - One of the comments made by the other group was to make the narrative of our thriller clearer, this is because the target audience found that our narrative was not clear enough for them top understand.
• More sound effects - The audience found there was not a wider range of sound effects and found that the ones that are there did not have a great impact on them, feeling that the sound effects should be used for more effect.
• Improved lighting - The other comment we recieved was that the lighting in the final scene was too dark, meaning
  

  that they couldn't see clearly what was happening in the final scene.

  How we overcame these comments

  
  
• Narrative - We overcame the narrative problem by adding extra clips to the sequence, this gave the audience more to watch and to help them understand the narrative.
• More sound effects - We overcame this problem by finding more suitable sound effects, especially ones to use during the chase scene as this intensifies the clip which means it would have a greater effect on the audience.
• Improved lighting - We overcame this problem by going out and filming the sequence again at an earlier time, this
  

  meant there was more sunlight which made the scene alot clearer, during this time we was able to make improvements the actual narrative of the sequence.

  
  

Question 7

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Before I had to begin to start my planning and filming my opening sequence I had to carry out a preliminary task, in which we had to film and edit a simple scene. Within our preliminary task Tom was appointed the role of director of photography which Scott and myself were starring in the clip.

From carrying this out I had discovered how to switch angles of the camera to create a realistic effect for the audience watching, so that they could feel connected to the characters. This played a massive role in helping our opening sequence much more professional and more pleasurable to watch.
We also learnt that through re-doing clips it became much easier within the editing stage, this is because if one clip was not up to our standards or incorrect in anyway we would not have to go back to re-film as we would have backups. This became very useful when filming our footage for our opening sequence as even though it was time consuming at the time, in the long term we had saved a lot of time.

Having completed this preliminary task, we now have experience on how we can film and edit our opening sequence using different angles and editing skills. We learnt how to use the stand and camera and use many techniques for creating different effects using them. However we did struggle to repeat certain angles and positions of the camera when filming the conversation between myself and Scott, this is because we had to change the camera position each time one of us replied in the conversation. This was tricky as we had to return the camera into the exact same place, otherwise the whole clip would have been out of focus.

Here is the female victim, played by Sophie Ledwith and next to her the killer, played by Tom Tovey.

Question 3

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Question 2

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Within my opening sequence I used two characters, a female victim who was played by Sophie Ledwith and the male killer played by Tom Tovey. Sophie played the victim who was eventually murdered by the killer; this is a very conventional representation of victims within the thriller genre. The victim tends to be a female gender to represent vulnerability as females are stereotyped as the inferior sex. My group and I chose to use this convention, as we believed it was a successful method to relate the audience to the narrative of the opening sequence.

Tom played the villain who murdered the female victim, this is another conventional choice of characters as stereotypically males are portrayed as the superior gender therefore the female would be very powerless compared to him. I chose to abide by the convention as it is a very effective element used within thrillers. This characters was tall and had his identity hidden, I believed this would appeal to our audience, as they would most probably react in the same way the victim did. Having the killers identity hidden created a larger impact of suspense on the audience, as they were unaware of the killer's appearance therefore unaware of what he might do.

I believe my characters build a relationship with the audience as they are of similar ages therefore can connect with them in a stronger way, this included the characters wearing very conventional clothing for their age group. This will make it more relatable for the audience watching as they become aware of the age of the characters through this. There are many different existing thrillers that include female victims and male killers for example;

• Halloween- Male killer, many victims equally of both gender however main victim was female.
• Scream- Male killer, many victims all of the female gender.
• Psycho- Male killer, other victims however main victim is female.
• Last house on the left- Male killers, female victims.
• Hide and seek- Male killer, few victims however main victim female.

Question 1

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

My opening sequence included many generic thriller conventions including;

• Chase scenes- which is used in many famous, successful thriller films such as Scream and Halloween. Within these thrillers several victims are chased by the villain, therefore within my clip there is a chase scene where the female victim is chased by the Killer in the forest. Throughout my research I found that during the chase scene the killer seems to walk in a fast pace rather than run like the victim, this is believed to make the victim seem more vulnerable and the killer seem deranged and superior.

• Female victims- which is the most common thriller convention, used in many films such as Paranormal activity, Jaws, Roommate and Scream. Within these thrillers, the main and majority of the other victims are female. For example Roommate, which uses a young, pretty female as the villain of the film. However within my thriller I decided not to subvert against the codes and conventions of a thriller, as I did not have much research collected on thrillers that did this and stereotypically females are the weaker more vulnerable gender. Therefore the audience can relate to my choice of characters as they are aware of these stereotypes.

• A forest setting- which is used within The Blair Witch Project, which is where most of the surprise and shock elements come into action. Within my thriller 50% of the footage is filmed within a forest location, it creates a higher level of suspense and fear for the audience as it is not a comfortable or familiar setting. The use of all the dead trees conveys the victims future, as she is in danger at the specific time the trees appear in the frame. They also create more suspense and drama for the audience as they become connected to the character and become distressed as they can not see anywhere for her to hide from the killer.

• Low-key lighting- which is used within aspects of most if not all thriller films for example Halloween and Scream. This is the main convention used to help build suspense for the audience. Low key lighting begins in my thriller sequence when the chase scene begins, this was used to create a scarier atmosphere, as the low key lighting builds up more suspense and shock for when the killer captures the victim. The low key lighting used within my opening sequence gradually becomes more apparent as the narrative becomes darker and more dangerous, this is used to alert the audience of the upcoming events within the narrative.

Handheld camera- which is used within documentary films such as Paranormal Activity and The Blair Witch Project. This is used used to create a very realistic effect for the audience. Within my opening sequence the handheld camera effect was used many times from the victims point of view, it was used to show her point of view and portray her emotions to the audience as the camera becomes jerky and unstable. There is also another point within my opening sequence in which the killer is holding the handheld camera, this is used to convey his control and emotionless behaviour towards the victim, we added in an effect over the footage to emphasis this representation. 

• Iconography- I chose to use a hammer as the weapon, this is because it gives effect when the weapon choice subverts from the stereotypical weapon. For example within Texas Chainsaw Massacre, a chainsaw is used instead of the stereotypical knife. Although I did make a slight choice in iconography which was not conventional to most thrillers. Instead of using a knife was the weapon, I chose to use a hammer, this is because my killer had to be portrayed as deranged and I believe this is a good way to reflect this. I directed Tom to hold the hammer and make a hand gesture with it, I believe this gave him a much more terrifying portrayal as it looks like he is enjoying stalking his victim.

All of these conventions plus many more are used within thrillers to help build suspense for the audience so that they are aware of the genre of the film and become frightened. When watching a thriller the audience become drawn in by the conventions as they experience the three S's, suspense, shock and surprise. To create the 3 S's films need to include many generic conventions, however many films challenge the codes and conventions of a thriller. 

Overall I do believe my thriller is conventional, as it includes many codes and conventions in which the audience can become aware of the genre of the film, they can associate all of the elements and effects that I have used towards the thriller genre. The title of my opening sequence is 'Aphotic' which is another word for 'Dark'. I chose this to be the title of my thriller as it is very mysterious which reflects the narrative of my actual opening sequence. I believe this is a very conventional title for a thriller as it has a deeper meaning which represents the atmosphere of most thrillers, it builds suspense for the audience as they are unaware of this deeper meaning until the end of the film. 

Rough copy - Miss Miller

As a group we had created a rough copy which we then presented to our class and teachers along with a powerpoint explaining why each element was used within our opening sequence.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TFiGapK1e0

The purpose of creating our rough copy and then presenting it was to gain others peoples perspectives on how we could improve our opening sequence. The suggestions and criticisms we received were very constructive and helpful, for example some comments said;

• More sound effects should be used to create a larger impact on the audience.
• The editing should be faster to build up the suspense.

We took the comments on board and decided to add more sound and speed up the editing, this has made our opening sequence a lot more professional and conventional to the thriller genre. We added in a constant soundtrack within the background of our sequence that begins when the killer is first seen, this is used to emphasis the danger of the character. We also added in sound effects to enhance things such as the footsteps through the forest which are loud due to the build up of suspense, we also added in a heartbeat sound effect for the victim during the chase scene to relate to the audience as they all have a heartbeat that they have experienced fasten in scary situations.

We also received positive comments such as;

• Very clear narrative
• Good variety of camera angles
• Well presented credits

The positive comments made us realise what not to change within our opening sequence, because of this we carried on presenting our credits in similar ways to keep pleasure for the audience. The feedback we received was very helpful as it was from people who fit into our target audience, as they are in the age group of 16-17, therefore we have made our opening sequence suitable for our specific audiences pleasures. 

Planning editing styles - Miss Georgiou

Editing is part of the creative post-production process of filmmaking, and is used to connect to the audience by creating different emotional responses. Editing is important because it can change the whole atmosphere of the film, e.g. a very fast edited sequence will create a lot of excitement and a very slow edited sequence will create suspense. 

Within our opening sequence we will use many editing effects to help set the narrative and connect to the audience. One main editing style we will use will be timing of shots, this is when within the editing stage some shots are either edited slower or quicker to add emotional impact or to create suspense. This is a very useful editing style to use as it can can be used in many different situations within the sequence, for example; quicker editing when the girl is being chased to create suspense and slower editing when the girl is hiding to create an emotional impact towards the character. This will help connect to the audience as they will have an emotional connection towards the situation within the opening sequence. This editing style is conventional to the thriller genre as it creates emotional responses that all conventional thriller films create, for example; suspense is a very big emotion desirably created throughout all thriller films and it will created throughout our opening sequence.

Another editing style that we would focus on within our opening sequence would be the kuleshov effect, which is when two shots are put together to give the audience a third meaning. This effect would be used when the girl is first being followed, the audience can see the girl being nervous and worried and they can see the killer behind her with a hammer. From this they receive a third meaning that he wants to follow her and kill her, this is a third meaning that they have assumed. This editing style will help connect the audience to our opening sequence, as they will be interested in the narrative and characters. This editing style is conventional to the thriller genre as there is always mystery involved within thrillers to help create the three S's; suspense, shock and surprise. Thrillers aim to create these three S's as they entertain the audience which is the aim of all movies.

The third main editing effect we will use within our opening sequence will be the wipe, which is when one part of the screen moves away to wipe another. This will be used at the very end of our sequence when the phone is the only thing on the screen ringing, once the phone is wiped the end of the scene will suggest that the victims life has been taken. This will help connect to the audience as they now know the main focus of the film is the killer and they will want to carry on watching to see what happened to the victim and what the killer will do next. This editing style is conventional to the thriller genre as the wipe stereotypically represents death, which in this case represents the death of the female victim. Death is a major convention within thrillers because it create shock, which engages the audience to the rest of the narrative. 

Opening scene narration - Miss Miller

The narrative for our opening sequence is a teenage, blonde girl on her way home from her friends house, she enters an alley and then turns into a road, while the killer makes hes first appearance when he is revealed behind her.

• For this shot we used many different angles to establish the character and the setting, therefore we used mostly long shots and mid shots.
• The lighting used was a natural lighting as we was outside, however gradually the lighting became darker as the night approached.
• For the shot of the killer we used a long shot that helped create effect as he was in line with the victims body and as she turned away he began to hit hes hammer showing a very disturbed hidden agenda.

 She then begins to feel as if she is being followed, this makes her paranoid so she turns around to check and nobody is there however this does not ease her worry. She decides to cross the road and enter a field.

• For this shot we used handheld to create a jerky and unstable atmosphere as the victim is feeling very paranoid and unsafe. Other shots used are long shot and mid shots as the setting is constantly changing so we choses to keep establishing it.
• An editing affect is used on the handheld shot when the killer is watching the victim, this shows an unhinged behaviour from the killer.
• The lighting remains the same, natural from the surroundings, however as the victim is walking through the alley leaves and bushes block out a lot of light for form a mild aspect of low key lighting.

As she begins to enter the field she here's a loud noise from behind her, she turns around quickly to see there is the killer standing behind her dressed in all black, with hes face covered as he is holding a hammer.

• We used handheld again to make the transition of shots quicker and more effective to the audience, the audience also get to experience the victims perspective which helps create a relationship between the two.
• The camera is never held close or for a long period of time on the killer as we hoped this would create more mystery and keep hes identity hidden more effectively.
• The lighting is still natural to the setting and no extra light is being used from artificial sources.

 She decides to run further into a forest, while she keeps turning back to check for him and he is getting closer and closer, she then falls over a large stick and hides behind a tree.

• As she is running through the forest the last handheld shot is used, throughout the duration of the chase scene. This is used to create fear and suspense for the audience as they can see how close the killer is behind the victim and the struggle she faces trying to move fast through the forest.
• The lighting is beggining to get darker therefore low key lighting is being used. This creates danger and suspense for the audience watching.

 The killer walks in the opposite direction so suggest the victim will survive, however then killer grabs her and drags her from behind out of the camera view.

• The shots used now consist of mid shots and a close up. The close up is used when the victim is hiding and waiting for her chance to escape, her face is very distressed and worried therefore we chose to use a close up to highlight her emotions.
• The lighting at this point is very dark, the low key lighting makes the scene much more scary and conventional to the thriller genre.

The final scene is of her phone ringing again on the floor with her unable to pick up, this suggests she is dead.

• The shot used for this is a high angle which represents the killer having the superior power over the victim, the shot of the phone also suggest the victim has been murdered.
• The lighting is very dark to highlight the phones screen once it starts to ring.
• The ID of the person calling is anonymous, this is because it represents danger and also projects enigma as the identity of the caller is hidden which is simular to the killer.

We believe a lot of our improvements will be made through the editing stage, this is because our opening sequence involves a lot of different angles, shots and no sound. We will add in a lot of sound effects to enhance the noises of things such as; leaves crunching, heavy breathing and heartbeat, as this will create a lot more of an effect.

Risk assessment and filming schedule - Miss Georigou

 There was few possible hazards during filming our opening sequence which we took careful precautions to avoid, doing this is very important during production because it makes it easier and more efficient to record, here is our risk assessment table;

We also made a filming schedule which is very important as it is very helpful for us to follow and avoids being time consuming. Even though we did not follow the schedule exactly, we only made changes when we were unable to follow the directions for example when it became to dark to record because of this we had to change our originally planned ending. However we believe this could possibly benefit our opening sequence. Here is the filming schedule;

 

We made several changes in terms of our filming schedule, due to factors such as bad weather, when the weather was wet we could not film incase the next time we filmed the setting appeared vastly different due to the dry floor and dark sky. We also has to refilm due to the material we had was too dark to use, however there was a downside to this as the lighting change was not as accurate as it could have been. We also faced trouble as the leaves had fallen off the trees which we tried to work around so that it was not noticed by viewers.

Production roles - Miss Miller

Within films there are many different production roles that need to be taken control of, different people are assigined specific roles which are capable to their ability in order to create a good quality film. Roles include;

• Producers
• Directors
• Actors
• Director of photography
• Music producer
• Screenplay writer
• Mes coordinator
• Editor

Production roles are used to provide organisation and consistency, everyone knows what role they have and can focus on that specific job. If a certain production member needs to change something or discuss a certain aspect of the film they know exactly who and where to go to do this. This results in the filming and editing becoming less tom consisting, as the film can produced as efficiently as possible. Production roles also allow the film to be consistent as each person knows how to do their job and keep at the same quality throughout, whereas if roles were not allocated then the quality of each job would be non consistent and the film would not be to a acceptable quality.

Within our opening sequence we were all allocated 2 roles each and we share the two remaining roles. My two roles consisted of producer and director, I was appointed these roles because we decided I had the most leadership qualities and was not scared to show authority. As the producer I had to arrange the meeting times and places, as well as assigning the roles of each actor, this meant I had a lot of responsibility and had to spend a lot of time organising each detail of the opening sequence. My other role was director, this meant I had to check each individual clip recorded and decide whether to retake and what to change about each one. I also have to role of over viewing our final piece, once I have I can give my opinion on any changes I feel should be made.

Tom was allocated the role of editor, which meant he had to cut each clip down and place them in chronological order to make each different angle run smoothly into the next one. Once this is done he needs to add in sound and editing styles which will make the opening sequence conventional to a thriller, eg adding in heaving breathing and a heartbeat. This is a very important role within our group, therefore myself and Scott will also be available to help out and attempt to edit our clips so that we have the experience and knowledge on how to do this. Tom was allocated this role because he has experience from editing our preliminary task and he has good technique on how to cut and copy each clip.

Scott was allocated the role of director of photography (camera man) for this Scott had to place the camera in the angles and positions he believed were appropriate to create effect on the scene. We had a camera stand which we could rotate and change heights of the camera, this came in very useful for us to find the right angle to record at. As having such a large responsibility, I also helped Scott with the recording by giving him my opinions and taking it in turns to record. Scott was chose for this role as we believed he was the most creative out of the three of us, he came up with new ideas on how to film the scenes which we believe will benefit our final opening sequence.

For each role that was allocated, there was a reason behind each decision. Reasons behind me being chose for the roles of director and producer was that we all believed I had the most verbal confidence and creative ideas to use whilst filming. As director I told them how to approach each of there tasks and as producer I orangised most of the details for meeting times and settings, I beleieve I did a good job therefore I was the best choice for both of the roles.
Tom was allocated as the actor for the killer, we chose him because he is tall, which is a very conventional quality killers tend to have within thrillers. Tom was also allocated the role of editor, which was because he edited our prelimary task and therefore had the knowledge and skills to edit our material.
Scott was chosen as camera man because we believed he had a good perception as to how we wanted our thriller to be filmed, he contributed a lot to our narrative therefore had a planned view of our opening sequence in hes head. I believe he did a very good job, however I shared the role of director of photography as Scott was busy one day. This could have been a weakness within our filming however I believe it strenghtened our opening sequence as a new perspective on the filming gave our opening sequence a positive effect.

Planning opening credits - Miss Georgiou

In a motion picture, the opening credits are shown at the very beginning and list the most important members of the production. They are now usually shown as text superimposed on a blank screen or static pictures, or sometimes on top of action in the show. There may or may not be accompanying music. 

Within the opening sequence from se7en the opening credits are written in white font, this was to stand out from the setting which was filmed in low key lighting. The font was very jerky and handwritten which emphasises danger, this is an effective use of design. The music within the background was also very effective as it is very high pitched and fast paced which creates excitement and adrenaline for the audience. The individual names within the opening credits change to the beat of the music and with the image on the screen, this is a very professional way to present the credits and creates a very strong effect on the audience.


Within the opening credits for Shutter Island the font is written in red, which implies danger and blood, this represents the death and mystery used within the film, the red font also stands out against the dark setting used. Very eery and dark music is used within the background to create suspense and tension for the audience, conventional to a thriller as they want the audience to be on edge. Iconography was also used including guns, jail cells, chains, matches ect; these objects all portray the thriller genre as they are all negative and represent danger. 

Opening credits in thrillers are used to set the atmosphere of the film, they do this by normally being written in a handwritten font to make the audience feel unstable and builds anxiety, they are also normally written in an opposite colour to the contrast of the opening scene. E.g. when the scene is dark, normally set in night with low key lighting, either red or white font will be used to stand out and represent either flesh or blood and when the setting is in a more brighter lighting, black font is used to stand our and represent death. 

Our opening sequence will include red coloured font, as this connotes death and danger, it will also be written in a handwritten, slightly jerky font, this connotes an unstable and unpredictable narrative. We will put our credits in the conventional order of appearance, which will be to put the actors names first, followed by the producers, cameramen, editors, filmmakers, director ect; followed by the title of the film in a larger and bolder font. We will have the music from the opening sequence included instead of a continuous soundtrack suitable to the credits, we will also have the credits placed in various parts of the screen, to avoid interference with the actual opening sequence. 

Our credits will be used in a very authentic font to represent a spooky and retrospective effect, they will be placed in different corners of the screen to avoid clashing with the narrative. The colours we will use for all of the credits will be black, as this colour represents death and mystery, however the film title will be white as it will be shown against a black background. Editing effects will be used for the credits to transfer on and off the screen, this will be used to represent professionalism. We will use credits for the production roles in this order;

• Film title - Aphotic
• Production company - Grey house production
• Actors - Sophie Ledwith & Tom Tovey
• Producer - Devon Thomas
• Director of photography - Scott Arbuckle
• Editor - Tom Tovey
• Director - Devon Thomas

Sound planning - Miss Miller

Sound refers to everything we hear in a movie such as; words, sound effects, and music. Sound is used in film to heighten a mood, provide us with information about the location of a scene, advance the plot, and tell us about the characters in the story.

Within our opening sequence many sound effects are used to change the atmosphere and connect the audience to the characters. Non-diegetic sound is the most common sound technique used throughout the clip, it is sound or music that is added in, during the editing stage. Non-diegetic sound is used when the victim is hiding behind the tree, heavy breathing and a heart beat noise is used. This technique is effective as it emphasises the fear the character is feeling, and the noises are relatable towards the audience as they can connect to her through the beat of her heart. Other non-diegetic sound that is used involves the sound track used as the victim is being chased. A fast paced, high pitched soundtrack is used to create suspense and excitement for the audience. These uses of non-diegetic sound are conventional to thrillers as they create an emotional response for the audience including suspense and tension.

 

Diegetic sound is music or sound that belongs within a frame, that is an natural part of the narrative, it is used in the opening sequence when the phone is ringing at the end. Within the whole opening sequence there is not much diegetic sound used, as we are creating effect using editing techniques and cinematography, however the sound used from the phone ringing being real highlights the importance of the scene. The phone ringing also signifies the death of the victim therefore needs to be emphasised. This is conventional to a thriller film as the representation of death is very common within thrillers.

 On screen sound is when you can see and hear where the sound is coming from within the film, it is used when the victim is running through the forest. As the victim is running leaves are being crunched on the floor, the setting of the forest is shown in the camera therefore the audience can see the sound coming from the leaves. This connects to the audience as they can hear the same noises they would if they was in the same situation. 

Silence is used within our opening sequence when the phone is laying on the ground at the end of the scene, this sound technique is used to represent the victims death. The silence represents her life being over, it also portrays the life coming out of her, however we do not confirm the death of her as we do not show her being murdered. We believe this is a very important sound technique to use in thrillers and it is conventions towards them as it normally represents the ending of an equillibrium or represents the begining of one.

Group storyboard - Miss Miller

From creating individual storyboards, we then had more creative and much more entertaining ideas for our opening sequence. We conferred over our individual storyboards and then developed a group one in which we will used to film our sequence. When conferring we each had an idea which was added into our final storyboard, therefore we all made a useful contribution.

Tom had decided to include the alley way within our sequence, the alley way was considered because it offers a lot more enigma and danger before the chase scene begins as the victim cannot see what is behind her and around each corner she turns. We all discussed the idea and then decided to use the alley way and added in the killer standing at the top watching over her. However we struggled with trying to find a forest with an alley way near it, although we didn't want to lose the idea so we had worked out a place that will be appropriate. We believed including an alley way within our opening sequence as well as using the forest, would create even more suspense and fear for the audience to watch.

Scott's idea was to change our weapon from a knife to a hammer, we immediately agreed with this as it is a much more appropriate weapon for a deranged killer. The knife is very stereotypical weapon which we do not want to use as stereotypically most sane killers use, we want our killer to seem as insane as possible. However we wasn't sure how to fake the killing scene using a hammer as a weapon so we decided not to show the actual death, this is also benefited us because it leaves the audience in suspense. The hammer portrayed the killer to be as deranged as possible as it is a very violent weapon choice that is not commonly used within thriller films, this breaks the codes of conventions however worked better for us within our opening sequence.

My idea was to have the phone ringing in the last scene, the ringing phone would represent how she is unavailable to answer and implies her death. The phone would relate to the audience as they all have one and can understand the difficult situations they get into because of them. However we had difficulty in discussing who's name would appear on the screen. We considered using an 'Unknown' name to imply the killer was the one ringing to find out her whereabouts, however we struggled finding a reason as to why he would ring again once he had killed her. We decided to use the phone to be emphasised on instead of a piece of clothing or jewellery because it creates a stronger and longer impact on the audience. This is because her only way of escaping the killer is receiving help, which she cannot get without her phone to contact anyone, therefore we highlight how she has left her phone behind to imply she is almost indefinitely dead.

Creating a group storyboard has helped our filming in a very positive way as we had a better idea on how to film each scene, this made our filming more efficient and easier. Completeing the story board as a group also positively effected our filming as we each contributed to create better and more creative ideas. However a negative to having created a storyboard is that when we changed our ideas we found it hard to film as we had a set our schedules.

Character planning - Miss Miller

Within our opening sequence there is two characters featured throughout of it, the characters include a female victim and a derranged killer. The purpose of characters within films is to give the audience something to connect with and focus on, they also project the narrative to make it entertatining and give it purpose. Without characters there wouldnt be much point within films because there would be no narrative to help entertain the audience.

Female victim
Our victim is blonde female, which is a very stereotypical element used within thriller films. Females are often associated with being vulrunable and innocent which is a strong representation of our victim as she will be naive and weak for the killer to catch her and kill her. The audience will be able to connect with this character because our target audience is of a similar age to the victim, therefore they can relate to how the victim is responding to her situation. Representing our victim as innocent also helps create emotions for our audience as they will empathise for her and want her to escape the killer, this means the audience will be much more engaged within the narrative.

Killer
Our killer is a tall male, which even though you cannot see hes true identity the build of the body makes it very obvious as to the gender of the killer. A male is used to represent a masculine, powerful being who is close to being invincible. The audience can connect to the killer because he is a stereotypical character used within thriller films, therefore they can compare existing thriller villains to the killer within our film. The killer character is also known as being deranged which will engage the audience as they want to find out what the true motive of the killer is.

This character planning post has been useful within our planning for our opening sequence of a thriller film because we know how to portray our characters in terms of connecting with the audience and applying to thriller conventions. This will help make our opening sequence more entertaining and technically good.