Our Thriller opening

This is the completed version of our Thriller opening. Hope you enjoy

Below is also a link to our thriller opening on you tube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Voo-3Lz-y7o&feature=plcp

Thriller flashback soundtrack music

Above is our Thriller flashback soundtrack that was used every time that we used a flashback in our Thriller. This sound gave us a very effective sound that clearly identified that the certain scenes with this noise in where flashback scenes and not present scenes.

Thriller fire soundtrack music

Above is our Thriller fire soundtrack. We used this in the burning of the paper in our credits. This made a very good noise that amplified the sound of the credit paper burning.

Thriller credits soundtrack music

Above is our soundtrack for our Thriller credits. The credits were made to be mysterious and eery to build up the opening to the Thriller. This worked well in creating a good opening for our Thriller.

Thriller main soundtrack music

Above is our main soundtrack for our Thriller. This soundtrack is an eery and strange sound which is supposed to sound like wind rustling to make the scene seem disturbing.

Thriller questionnaire responses 5

Above is a pie chart to the results from the question What type of Thriller sound would you hear in a Thriller? from the questionnaire. The results show that the the most popular answer was creepy. So this is what we have tryed to do for our Thriller soundtrack?

Thriller questionnaire rsponses 4

Above is a bar chart showing the results from the question What Thrioller film do you like the most? from our questionnaire. From the results you can see that Batman the dark knight is the most popular. This means that we should analyse that film and see what they have done well in order to make it a good Thriller film.

Thriller questionnaire response chart 3

Above is a pie chart showing the results from the question what features do you expect in a Thriller? from our questionnaire. The results show that most people expect tension from a Thriller as you can see in the chart.

Thriller questionnaire response chart 2

Above is a bar chart showing the results to the response of the question What type of shot do you like the most in a Thriller film? The results show that the audience like the close up shot the most in Thriller's which will show the most emotion in people's faces. Due to this we will try to use a few close upo shots in our Thriller to make the Thriller more popular with the audience.

Thriller questionnaire response chart

Above is a pie chart on one of the questions from our Questionnaire which is what Thriller sub genre do you like the most. From the results you can see that the response is that 3 out of 5 people like the Psychological Thriller sub genre the most. This is why we have chosen this sub genre for our Thriller as it is the most popular.

Thriller questionnaire 2

Below is our 2nd Thriller questionnaire. We decided to make a second Thriller questionnaire in order to find out a little bit more about the audience research.

(Circle where appropriate)

1. What Thriller sub genre do you like the most?

Psychological                Criminal                    Action               Legal          Other

2. What type of shot do you like the most in a Thriller film?

Close up        Extreme close up         Long shot             Shot reverse shot      Other       

3. What features do you expect in a Thriller?

Violence          Action         Love             Tension           Other

4. Which Thriller film do you like the most?

 Batman dark knight         Seven           Shutter island         Casino royal      Other

5. What type of sound would you hear in a Thriller?

Creepy       lively         Fun             dark             Dramatic       Other

The Thriller soundtrack

Below are screen shots of our Thriller soundtrack music that was created on Audacity. Our Thriller soundtrack helped us a lot to create a dramatic tension during the Thriller.

Our Thriller mood board

These are sticky notes that the killer would use in order to write down notes about his victims. This shows that the killer is well organised.

This is where the killer would be washing is hands after finishing with his victim. This will give an insight to the audience showing what the killer has done.

This is a knife which might be used as the killers weapon of choice to show how dagerous he/she is.

This is when the killer will be digging a hole to put the body into. This way the killer is covering up his evidence.

This is the killers phone and he/she will ring the victim telling them were to meet him/her. The victim will not know anything about this though.

This might be used for two things. One will be for the use of titles ass we might burn pieces of paper that have our names on it to start the opening. The other use of the burning paper might be the killer getting rid of his evidence by burning it.

This might be used as a murder weapon. To show the dangerous acts which the killer may produce.

This is the killers map showing him/her were all the victims are. This will also show how methodical and organised he/she is.

Our Thriller reactions

Above is a video showing two people's reaction to our Thriller after watching it. The general reaction was very positive clearly outlining the positive things about our Thriller. This gives us good confidence with the final version of our Thriller. Here are the questions that we asked to our two classmates.

1. What do you think about the sountrack for our Thriller?

2. What do you think about the camera shots used in our Thriller?

3. What do you think about the location of our Thriller?

4. What features where good about our Thriller in particular?

5. Was it what you would expect in a Thriller?

6. What could be improved in our Thriller?

7. What is your overall view of our Thriller?

Thriller ideas presentation

Below is all our 3 ideas for our Thriller that we showed via a powerpoint presentaion to our class to get their reactions on the ideas.

Idea 1 

•A stalker style thriller opening.

•Set in a forest.

•POV shots of killers perspective.

•Fast pace editing/music to juxtapose the fast pace scene.

•CU/EXU to show characters emotions.
Chase sceneVulnerable main character
Blood on the killer and victim
No clear image of the killer
fear and anxiety
eery music

Idea 2

•From the criminals perspective

•Just murdered someone, getting rid of the evidence

•Polaroid pictures mapped out, general information about victim

•slow paced music, fast and slow editing.

•Having pictures of more than one victim and crossing off when he’s killed them.

•Monologue of killers voice

•Newspaper titles

•Integrated titles (not using Imovie)

•Dark scenes, black and white editing

•Washing bloody hands

•Mask to hide killers face, lighting to only show mouth talking

•Crimewatch style lighting (only shows specific body parts)
The criminals perspective
the killers evidence is being destroyed

•

Idea 3

Set in a busy area (queensgate)

Film person stood still for roughly 5-10 minutes and speed it up-filmed in or outside queensgate as it is a busy place.

Mysterious setting

eery music

Mysterious character
fears getting lost in the busy area
lots of non-diegetic sound
Tipped that somone is after him

Vox pop video

This is our vox pop results video showing people's opinions on the Thriller genre and their thoughts on our Thriller itself. From this Vox pop video we got some good responses which clearly show how popular the Thriller genre is because of the amount that the students knew about Thriller's.We were also pleased with their response to our own Thriller idea which were very promising comments.

The Rationale behind our Thriller

We have chosen idea 2 out of 3 for our Thriller because we believe it has a good plot which is a bit different to the normal Thriller's, especially with the gender reversal included. As a group we decided that this idea would be the best one to  use in terms of the audience research. This is because it is the idea that is the most interesting to the Thriller genre. We also choose this idea because it includes good Thriller conventions. This includes things like the lighting, camera angles, mise-en-scene and more. We want to make our Thriller a pyhscological Thriller in order to make the plot more involving and creepy.

Our Thriller plan

Our final Thriller idea is going to be idea 2 out of 3 on the PowerPoint that we proposed to our class. For our idea we would like it to have a similar idea to the opening to the Thriller film called "Seven". This is because we have identified the great success that the scene has had because it makes the opening to that Thriller very interesting and dramatic. Seven has a great opening because all the way through the opening you are always interested into what is going on and this is the type of impact we want in our Thriller. Our Thriller will start off with scenes of the killer and the hostage together in a creepy abandoned house for our Thriller location. During the scene between the two people we will use flash backs of the killer tieing up the hostage and digging a grave ready for the hostage to add dramatic tension to the scene. One of the big features of our Thriller will be the gender reversal which will make a big surprise at the end of the Thriller. Flash backs will also include scenes in which you see the hostage meeting up with the killer thinking that the killer is just a normal person. At the end of the Thriller opening we will repeat this scene but there will be a different person as the hostage which will represent that the killer has done this thing to not only one person and that the killer looks to be killing by using the same technique to lure the people. At this point where the second person is being lured to the killer we will then show the killer's face and they will see that the person is a women which will be a good twist instead of the obvious male killer's. By adding Joel's music soundtrack and some very good editing techniques the Thriller will be of a good standard for an interesting view. In our Thriller we are also going to add some interesting mise-en-scene that suits the idea behind the Thriller. For example we are going to pour fake blood onto the victims shirt to suggest that he has been beaten up and injured. This mise-en-scene prop will suit the Thriller genre as it is a typical convention in Thriller's especially in a Psychological Thriller. Another example of the use of mise-en-scene is when we used the gaffer tape for the killer to tape the hostage. This is relevant to the scene when the killer captures the hostage. The aim for the mise-en-scene features is to make them all appropriate to the Thriller genre. This means using features that are used in Thriller's and not in other genre's. We did this correctly as the sound, editing, props and more is appropriate to the Thriller. We also used some good mise-en-scene lighting in our Thriller that suits the genre. This is because we have made some of the scenes in particular very dark and mysterious which you would expect in a Thriller to make the scene interesting and gripping.

Reactions to our powerpoint pitches

As a group we presented 3 ideas for our Thriller to the class. After we presented our ideas the class gave us a good idea into which idea to use for our Thriller and this worked out well as this was the same idea that we were going to choose for our Thriller. The reason why the class choose idea 2 is because it had an interesting plot which made the Thriller a bit more different to your average Thriller. The class input was very helpful as they also gave us some good ideas for our Thriller which would make it even better. One of these was the gender reversal plan which has worked very well in keeping the audience guessing. The gender reversal would be used for the killer in our Thriller and we will make it seem that the killer is a man all the way through the Thriller by not showing their face and other details but then by the end of the Thriller we will show the killers face and it will be a good twist at the end when the audience realise that the killer is a women. The idea that was the least effective to the class was idea 1 and this was because the idea was too similar to some of the more common Thriller films. So as a group we all decided to go with idea 2 and add some good ideas that will boost the quality of the Thriller for a good showing.

The day of the shoot

On the day of the shoot for our Thriller we all planned to meet at the "horseshoe pub" in Thurlby at 9.00 am as it was a good convenient place to meet in order for us all to walk to the shoot location at 9.05 am. I live in spalding so i had to catch my bus to school as normal and then once at the school in bourne i would walk to Rhys's house. Then we would both make sure we had all the equipment ready for the shoot and then we would catch another bus from Bourne to Thurlby at the pub. Jamie moulds lives in Thurby so he can make a 5 minute bike ride to the pub and Joel senior lives in Bourne so he made a bike ride as well which will take about 10 minutes. So once we all met at the pub we then walked to the shoot location. When we arrived at the shoot location we set up our equipment and got ready to film our Thriller at 9.15 am. When we were finished preparing we started filming at 9.30 am. During this time we filmed for 1 hour and a half until we stopped at 11.00 am to have some lunch and a break. after half an hour we started filming again to finish it of and we eventually finished at 1.45 pm. At this time we then packed all the equipment up and began to walk back to the pub. After a very successful day of shooting we all went home via bike or bus. I think our shoot went very well as we managed to get all the footage we needed within a good time. One issue that we had to overcome was the transport to the shoot. This was because me and Rhys were going to bike to the pub meeting location but Rhys only had one bike so we decided to take the bus instead which turned out to be a good decision in the end as it was quick and did not cost that much money. A positive to take out of our shoot was the amount of footage we got filmed. We did this so that we had plenty of filmed footage that could go into the Thriller this was so that we did not just have to go with the bare minimum of footage that we may of not liked. So with additional footage we ensured that we could be happy with all the footage we had and the Thriller would be successful. When we got back to school we downloaded all our filmed footage to the school's apple mac's and started to edit the clips to suite the Thriller. We edited sound, colour, scenes and more. With some of the clips we had to make sure that all the clips had the same levels of colour. So to make sure we did this i wrote down all the Numbers that we needed in order to make some of the scenes the same colour etc. Our editing was done very well as we have made our Thriller more effective and interesting by adding good elements of editing. One big factor that has increased the quality of our Thriller is the music soundtrack that Joel created as it adds a lot of tension and suspense which is very common in most Thriller's.

The effects of audience research

Audience research has a big impact on the outcome of the Thriller as it will help identify what changes does and does not need to be made in order for the Thriller to suite the audience. For example if in our Thriller we were to make a hostage situation, then we would need to ensure that the scene is made tense and dramatic so that the audience keep on watching because of the satisfaction they get from watching something that is put together well. On the other hand though if we were to make the scene relaxed with no worry for the hostage etc. then the scene would not be interesting and the audience would not be encouraged to watch the rest. The audience research is also vital to the genre as well. This is because we need to research the typical conventions to a Thriller in order to make a Thriller so that the opening film does not seem like other genre's like sci-fi, action and more. The research will give us a good understanding of the genre and what needs to be done in order for the opening film to be a Thriller. Our Thriller needs to be made with great concentration so that we make sure we are ticking all the boxes in the Thriller genre.

Vox pop questionnaire

For our questionnaire we decided to create some questions, ask some people their responses and then make a vox pop filming the answers so that the results could be shown, clearly showing their feelings about the Thriller genre. Below are the questions we decided to give the people to answer.

1. What do you expect from a Thriller?

2. What defines a Thriller?

3. What are the characters like in a Thriller?

4. What sort of sound would you expect from a Thriller?

5. Can you name any good examples of some Thrillers?

6. What are the main conventions of a Thriller?

7. What sort of scenes would you expect?

8. What makes you like and enjoy the Thriller genre?

9. What sort of props would you expect in a Thriller?

The results of the questionnaire in video format will be up on the blog shortly.

Prelim task Evaluation

Our Prelim task went well as this task gave our group a good insight into how to film correctly in order to make a good short movie. I reckon that after doing the Prelim task we could have made it a little better because of the new skills we learned along the way but considering we were new to the media skills needed to film, we made the prelim task with a good standard of quality. An example would be the sound in our Thriller. This is because at the moment we are editing our Thriller and we have got a great track that was made from one of our group members called Joel for the Thriller. So maybe if we created a track in our Prelim task then it would have made it even better. In our Prelim task we had to consider factors like camera angles, editing, sound, mise-en-scene and more in order to complete the task given. This was a big positive to our task as we constantly made sure that we were keeping to the guidelines of the task. For example one of the guidelines was to hold a shot steady were appropriate. Completing all these guidelines would ensure that we would be in the chance of getting the highest marks possible. After completing the Prelim task we now know a lot more skills in Media that we can use in our next filming task which will be the Thriller. This means we will have a better understanding of the vital aspects of Media like camera angles, sound, mise-en-scene, lighting and much more. The strenghs of our task was the great balance so that we did not overflow the short movie with as many different skills as possible because if for example we had to much music then the task will not be very interesting and the plot will be distracted by the amount of music and no dialogue. Another example would be if we decided to add as many different camera angles as possible into the task. This would not have worked because the viewer would be confused with the amount of movement and not be able to concentrate on the real plot of the Prelim task. So by keeping a good balance in the Prelim task we have ensured that the audience fully understand the plot and still be able to have a few media skills added into the Thriller at the same time.

mise-en-scene suitability

This image is from the Thriller film Seven. The mise-en-scene is very typical of the Thriller genre. For example their tends to be some violence in Thrillers which is represented in the gun that one of the main characters is holding. Violence is also shown from the the person on the floor as he has orange clothing on which represents that he has been in prison. This is also shown as the shirt he is wearing says county jail. This might suggest that he has done something violent and against the law. This image shows the tension and suspense in the scene as it looks like the main character is about to shoot the person on his knees. So this is typical of a Thriller film because they always provide lots of tension and suspense to keep the auidience always guessing.



This image is from Batman the Dark Knight. In this image the mise-en-scene shows the character called the "Joker" in a police car withhis head hanging out the window. This suggests an element of madness as he appears to have stolen the police car and he is acting a bit crazy. These are all typical elements of a Thriller film as Thriller's can often be dark and filled with suspense. The make up on the Joker's face suggests more that he is crazy and violent. This is because in all Thriller films there is always a villain to make the plot interesting.



Opening Thriller conventions

At the start of a Thriller film the credits are usually in context with the opening scene so that the credits are followed by the opening scene which is usually a shot which sets the location of the scene. Most Thriller films start by building up the tension to set the film up with an interesting plot. An example of this is when in the film seven the killer is sorting out his files etc and try's to get rid of the evidence he has created. This is made more dramatic with the creepy and daunting music at the start  of the film. Lighting is very important in the start of a Thriller film as it can make the film seem creepy, dark and suspicious which always keeps the audience guessing. A common editing technique that is used in Thriller opening's are the jump cuts. This is because it makes the action quick and powerful which create a dramatic tension. If the footage shown was slow paced and steady then the audience will not be as concerned about the scenes in the film. Jump cuts are a typical technique to use in a Thriller film.