Filming Schedule

why is a filming schedule important to have
A filming schedule is important to have because it is a part of the planning process and has a huge impact when filming as it gives you a structure. It makes filming easier as you are aware of what you are doing and what you are in order to do next. It organizes all of your work and helps keep up on target.

did you follow the schedule while filming, or did you make any changes
Throughout the filming, our group struggled to keep on top of the filming schedule as we changed our ideas last minute therefore it was harder to follow.

Risk Assessment

Risk Assessment 

It is important to consider risks before filming so we are aware of what could potentially go wrong and how to prevent it. Also, not only do you have to protect the equipment but you must protect the actors/actresses as well ensuring they does not trip, fall etc and damage themselves. The movie must be professional and if a main character becomes injures, it affects the whole movie making it un-professional as the character therefore has to be removed and a new one character has to be added in. The risk assessment will help us so we know how to react if something was to go terribly wrong, and we are prepared. 

openin scene narration

My opening sequence to a thriller film will begin with me listening to my music and playing on my phone. This will roll over for about 20/30 seconds as we will then add on a voice over of the music i am listening to on my phone. The voice over will blend in with me talking saying something along the eyes of "As i picked up the news paper, I couldn't believe what i was seeing and reading. The picture stood out to me and i recognized the face instantly. I was so shocked at what was in front of me. It was the man that had been following me and Kate the other week. I couldn't take my eye off of the word SERIAL KILLER that stared straight at me. My heart beat faster and faster. All i had left to do was tell Kate." I then walk alone towards the kitchen to find Kate and explain to her the situation. 

In the kitchen, i show Kate the newspaper and she is as shocked as i am. She then makes me a tea and as i am sipping on it, she reads the paper. I remind Kate the Ouiji board was still left on the front room floor and we head back to tidy up. Whilst Kate is picking up the letters off of the floor she struggles to notice it spells out a name. My eyes instantly lock onto the name and in my head i read Tayler Coe. The name of the serial killer. I point it out to Kate and we both become startled. As Kate reads out the article in the paper i stand up in shock with my hands covering my mouth. As i rise, Tayler is in the corner of the room and strangles me till Kate screams, ending the opening scene.

history of thriller

Thriller is a genre which is used in literature, film and television to create suspense, excitement and tension. The most common use of this subgenre to thriller are mystery, crime and psychological thrillers, however there are also many other subgenres. Thriller is also very closely coincided with the horror genre, To which both use suspense and atmosphere to cause feelings of dread in their audiences. The genre of thriller film developed from well known novels. Then later these novels were studied and adapted and later reproduced into a thriller film.

A film is portrayed as a thriller when the storyline gives the audience thrills, and keeps them on the ’edge of their seats’ as the plot builds up towards the climax. The tension is usually built up by a character being placed in a menacing situation, a mystery, or a trap which seems impossible to escape. There is also use of life threatened during a thriller film, as the main character is usually unsuspectingly or unknowingly involved in an extremely dangerous situation.

The common plots in crime thrillers are ransoms, revenge and kidnappings, which are elaborated on for the effect on the audience. In mystery thrillers, the common methods are investigations and the ‘whodunit’ technique. This is technique when there is a complex plot of a detective story where the audience is provided with clues of the identity of the criminal. The elements which are usually shown in a psychological thriller are mind games, stalking, death traps, obsession. These elements are generally combined to a certain extent, where it creates a complex plot which creates thrills the audience.

The atmosphere in a thriller film is also enhanced through the lighting and use of music. An example of this is from the opening of the film ‘Alien’ by Ridley Scott in 1979. In the opening of this film, the lighting is minimal and dull, this creates the atmosphere of suspense and mystery which links into the thriller genre.

One of the most well known and popular thriller films is ‘Psycho’ which was directed by Alfred Hitchcock and was produced during 1960. This film is a psychological thriller based on the American 1960‘s time period. The film was adapted from the1959 novel which was written by Robert Bloch also called ‘psycho‘. Both the film and novel are based on the cases on convicted serial killer Ed Gein, this therefore allowed the directors of the film to associate the film with other genres such as horror, drama and mystery, as well as the thriller.

Overall, the genre of thriller is used in various ways to create an atmosphere which excites, thrills and entices the audience to carry on watching a film. This is done in several ways, such as through the use of lighting, mise-en-scene and also with the added use of non digetic and digetic music. The thriller genre was a popular genre during the past fifty years and is still increasingly popular within the industry today.

planning cinematogrophy

why are camera shoots important to include within a thriller film


discuss 4 different camers shots youl will include wiyhin your thriller film and explain how the camera shots will help to make your thriller film conventional

overall how will your target audience buld a relationship with your characters, through your camera shots

Camera Shots

Camera shots are important to include into a thriller film as they give off effects that may intise the audience and make them feel emotion, it can also build tension or suspense or give off that something is about to happen.

One of the camera shots we will be using in our opening scene is high angle, this is when the camera is positioned above the object and this makes the image look smaller but only really focuses on one thing. We are going to use this camera shot when the girls are on the floor/bed playing with the Ouija board, this is relevant and it may build suspense as your only focusing on one thing.

Another shot we will be including is zooming in, this is when the camera moves in towards and object increasing its magnification, this can be used to draw in the relationship between cast and audience. We are using this particular shot when the movie comes to an end and when i appear as the demon standing behind the girls when they have no idea i'm there, this will be used to build suspense and tension and will make the audience feel as if they want to watch more to see what will happen.

Hand Held shot is to produce a jerky, bouncy, unsteady image which can be used to create a sense of chaos and immediacy. We are going to use this shot when the girls first suspect the ghost is in the room when things start to go wrong for the girls when they do the Ouija board and smoke is surrounding the room, this is when the hand held shot will come into place, this is conventional as it creates a sense of fear and chaos.

The other shot we will be including is panning, this is when the camera is on a stand still but is moving from left to right. This will be used when the room is smokey and the demon is out and running across the room, there will be a vague black shadow going across the camera and the camera will be panning the room to try and find the demon. This is conventional as it allow the audience to know someone's in the room but creates the enigma of what it is and what will it do.

Overall my target audience will build a relationship with the cast with the specified camera shots in different ways;

High angle - The audience will get a feel for the cast and what they are doing with the Ouija board and may start to feel scared for them as they may think what if it was their daughters.

Zooming In - The audience will build a relationship as the camera will be zooming in on them and the audience can see their face and get a feel for their emotions and may start to create some emotions for the cast themselves.

Hand Held - This will effect the audience as they will sense the chaos and may start to become scared for the cast and think about what they would do if they were in the same situation.

Panning - This will reach the audience as they will feel as if they were in the room and start to feel the emotions and feelings that the cast would be acting ou

character representation

Character Representation

It is important to have a variety of characters so it makes the story line more interesting and allows the audience to view different people and feel different emotions for different characters. With all different varieties of characters it is more likely to become less bored of the film quickly as more is happening and with different personalities the audience will be able to connect with all the kinds of people.

Brittany Terrelonge

Age: 
17
Gender: 
Female
Race: 
Mixed Race
Background: 
White and Black British
Purpose to the narrative: 
Within our movie, I will have the role of a young girl who turns into the victim. It starts off as I am at a sleepover with Katie when we decide to do the ouiji board. As we are doing the ouiji board, it goes wrong and demons begin to appear, messing with the room. Tayler becomes the demon and ties me to a chair, to then put his knife upon my throat and kill me.
How will the character appeal to an audience:

Tayler Coe

Age:
16
Gender:
Male
Race:
White
Background:
White British
Purpose to the narrative:
Taylers role consists of him being the antagonist in our thriller. He undertakes the part of a main character therefore the movie focuses on him throughout a lot of the time. Being the demon, Tayler has to haunt us girls at the sleepover and eventually ties us up and kills us.
How will the character appeal to an audience:

Taylers character will struggle to appeal to the audience as he is an evil character, therefore the audience will look down at him. However, the audience will build up a relationship with his character, as although you do not see his face often his unidentified causing the audience will want to see him more.

Will Stacey

Age:
16
Gender:
Male
Race:
White
Background:
White British
Purpose to the narrative:
Will takes on the role of the camera man. He films the whole scene using his camera skills therefore actually creating the movie. He has a big part in the movie as without Wills role the movie will struggle to How will the character appeal to an audience:
Will is not applicable to appeal to the audience as he will not be viewed in the thriller scene.

Katie O'Shaughnessy

Age:
16
Gender:
Female
Race:
White
Background:
White irish
Purpose to the narrative:
Kate is the same as brittany playing a girl at the sleepover but with Kate she is haunted by the demon.
How will the character appeal to an audience:
I think Kate will completely appeal to the audience as she is innocent but not quiet enough to annoy the audience the fact that the innocent one is being targeted will allow the audience to feel for her and connect to her emotions.

Mise En Scene

Mise-en-scene

iconography- we will be bedroom including a bed lighting  desk chair and bathroom, this links with our thriller idea as our title is paranormal sleepover which in the title suggests would most likely have to be staged in a bedroom and therefore that is the idea we are going for. Extra props included will be an Ouija board which links in with the paranormal aspect of our title, this all intwines to make our opening scene relevant to our group narrative. This is conventional to thriller films as the set of the bedroom will be relevant to our title and can be staged easily with space.

facial expressions and body language - our facial expressions and body language at the start of the scene will be happy and joyful as anyone young teenager is when there with their friends at a sleepover telling secrets etc, but towards the end of the scene when the mishaps start to occur it will change completely and the expressions will turn into scared and shocked. This will link into thriller films as the face will change showing shock and horror towards the audience which will allow the audience to be able feel the emotions the cast are going through.

location - We will be using a premier inn in Buckhurst Hill as we need a bedroom with space to use and the room at this hotel matches our exact requirements for our opening scene.

costumes -  We will be using 'lazy' clothing such as tracksuits and pyjamas as we are at a sleepover however the demon will be dressed in all black with a hood so the face in concealed creating an enigma towards our scene.

lighting- Our lighting will start fairly light with secondary lighting surrounding the room but with the plot and when the demon comes the room will become smokey with the back light shining through the window which will give the effect of something scary happening which links in completely with thriller films.

colours -

position of characters - The main cast consisting of the girls will be in the centre of the camera throughout the whole of the scene however when the demon arrives he will be able to be seen in the background of the shot, this will link in to the thriller genre as the demon is behind the main cast showing how he may be haunting them and it was be seen by the audience as creepy or eery.

Production Roles

Research and define the main roles within a film production (camera operator, actors, sound technician, editors, film director, location manager, storyboard organiser)

as a group decide on which role each group will be taking and why

Camera Operator

Whether movie set, television or commercial shoot, directors and cinematographers (also called the director of photography or DP) rely heavily on the camera operator. On most productions, the DP doesn’t touch the camera. This is why the camera operator must intimately know the equipment selected for a production.

A camera operator has a unique position in taking instruction from the director and DP that must be relayed quickly to a camera crew. For each scene, the director and the DP devise a plan for conveying a mood or emotion. The camera operator then executes on that plan, using technical skill and their personal style to get the desired footage.

While revered within the industry and a close proponent to directors and DPs, camera operators are not always recognized in the public eye, at least not in the way a director, cinematographer or editor may be. The reward is good pay and being at the frontline of the action with actors and sets in getting that perfect shot.

Editor

The film editor works with the raw footage, selecting shots and combining them into sequences to create a finished motion picture. Film editing is described as an art or skill, the only art that is unique to cinema, separating filmmaking from other art forms that preceded it, although there are close parallels to the editing process in other art forms like poetry or novel writing. Film editing is often referred to as the "invisible art" because when it is well-practiced, the viewer can become so engaged that he or she is not even aware of the editor's work. On its most fundamental level, film editing is the art, technique, and practice of assembling shots into a coherent sequence. The job of an editor isn’t simply to mechanically put pieces of a film together, cut off film slates, or edit dialogue scenes. A film editor must creatively work with the layers of images, story, dialogue, music, pacing, as well as the actors' performances to effectively "re-imagine" and even rewrite the film to craft a cohesive whole. Editors usually play a dynamic role in the making of a film.

Location Manager

Location managers are responsible for making all the practical arrangements for film or photographic shoots taking place outside the studio. Productions are made in a wide range of places and location managers need to research, identify and organise access to appropriate sites.
As well as arranging and negotiating site use, the role usually includes managing sites throughout the shooting process. This involves working to strict budgetary and time limits and maintaining a high standard of health and safety and security. The demands of organising crews and dealing with a range of people make this an intense and varied role.

Storyboard Organiser

Location managers are responsible for making all the practical arrangements for film or photographic shoots taking place outside the studio. Productions are made in a wide range of places and location managers need to research, identify and organise access to appropriate sites.
As well as arranging and negotiating site use, the role usually includes managing sites throughout the shooting process. This involves working to strict budgetary and time limits and maintaining a high standard of health and safety and security. The demands of organising crews and dealing with a range of people make this an intense and varied role.

Actor

An actor communicates a character and/or situations to an audience through speech, body language and movement. This usually involves interpreting the work of a writer under the instruction and support of a director, although some work may require the actor to devise a character or improvise the reactions of a character to a situation.
Work varies enormously, from live stage performances of the classics and community theatre to soap operas, radio work and film parts. An actor's role may also involve education, training or therapy, as well as entertainment.
An acting career inevitably incorporates periods of unemployment, underemployment and alternative employment.

Sound Technician

Sound technicians are required to assemble, operate and maintain the technical equipment used to record, amplify, enhance, mix or reproduce sound.
They identify the sound requirements for a given task or situation and perform the appropriate actions to produce this sound. Sound technicians of different types are required in a range of industries including film, broadcasting (radio or television), live performance (theatre, music, dance), advertising and audio recordings.

Film Director

Often called the captain of the ship, the Director is the primary creative force behind a Film. He or she is the person who translates the screenplay onto the screen through a definite vision. In doing so, he is aided in equal measure by a host of creative & talented technicians, such as the Director of Photography, the Editor, the Actors. But the entire visual language and the final say rests with the Director. It’s the Director’s unique interpretation of the story and of the characters told through an individual cinematic aesthetics that makes the Director the torch-bearer of a Film.

In my thriller film out of the group i will be the ghost that is haunting the group since they made a mistake on an Ouija board letting out a demon, i have chosen this role as i feel i am most suited being the tallest and dressed in black can make a good effect of a ghost/demon. Will be taking the role of the director and camera operator, Brittany and Kate will be actors in the opening scene acting as two school girls at a sleepover.

Individual Narrative

Individual Narrative

Target Audience =15

My idea for our thriller is based on a sleepover and a ouiji board. I think this will be very effective as it is extremely scary and is clearly a thriller. The ouiji board will get out of control 

The beginning of the thriller starts off that there are a group of girls at a sleepover in their pyjamas and cuddling their teddy bears. They are sitting wtching a film, eating popcorn and telling eachother secrets when someone comes up with the idea of doing the ouiji board. All sleepover crew go along with the idea and they go on the laptop to see how to set the ouiji up  porperly. Once they are aware of how to do it they set it up and begin to play it. As they are playing the game it all goes as plan and it works properly when it spells out a name that is Familiar to Kate therefore Kate begins to panic and asks to leave the game. The glass moves over to the word no, explaining if they leve the game they will be haunted forever. However whilst playing the game suspicious things start happening to the room they are sitting in. They begin to hear noises of whistling and assume one of the friends is joking around and making the noises. They beg to believe it is none of them and the noises become louder causing the characters to become scared and worried. As they are so startled they come together in a group and take their hands off of the ouiji board when someone shouts out letting them know they are not supposed to take their hands off the glass, everyone becomes more paranoid. Just when they begin to calm down they see a light come on in the room next door and assume it is the friends mum, then realise they are home alone and the light flickers on and off. As they are concentrating on the light a flower vase smashes infront of their eyes and they begin to get even more worried when a dark shadow runs across the outside of the window.

Pie Charts

Our group decied to use pie charts to show our results for our questionaire, as we felt that this is the clearest way to display the information we found out about thriller films. It is the easiest form of chart to read information quickly and easily and is visibly the ................

Interviews

For our interviews we went around the school in our group, our group consists of Tayler Coe, Will Stacey, Brittany Terrelonge and Katie O'Shaugnessy. We walked around West Hatch High School with camera recorder and interviewed 5 people. We asked various questions about thriller films, what they like about them and what conventions they felt appropriate when watching a thriller film. The clips will last around 1 minute each and once completed we will upload them to the computers and edit them and post them to our blogs

preliminary task

what was the purpose of the preliminary task?
The purpose of the preliminary task was to improve our groups knowledge on working with cameras and editing. It was to give us an insight view of what we are required to do within our own thriller movie.

what did you learn through the process?
(equipment, camera shots and distances, locations, sounds, framing)
Throughout the process we as a group learned exactly how the cameras work and how to deal with them in order to get a steady shot by using the tripods. We learned how to store
how will it help you with the main thriller task

evaluation

The purpose of having a target audience is so that you can find out who your thriller film is targeted towards and therefore can appeal to the audience. The research that we carried out to find out our target audience was a opportunity sample where we went into our schools common room where we handed out questionnaires. We done this particular sampling method as we an get an even spread of what we want and there is no bias or demand characteristics involved. We surveyed 40 people to get a good sample where we can get mixed views and find similarities on what people want giving our task population validity. The vox pops that we carried out helped us as we got a first hand view on what people want and we can tell if they are lying or being serious, however this particular method does contain demand characteristics.

group narratives

Out of our group we have each made an individual narrative but with all of them there will be advantages and disadvantages, by the end we will choose one of them and stick by it for our opening scene to our thriller film.

Brittany Terrelonge

For Brittany's narrative it is 4 friends sleeping over starting off as a normal sleepover watching films as discussing secrets when one of them decides to put across the idea of doing an Ouija board and they all end up agreeing to it. But when they do it one of them gets spooked and drops the glass, this is bad and as soon as it happens spooky things start happening around the house and they all become scared and what follows is unknown.

Advantages of this is that is has a good basis for a film and can easily include special effects that could show the house to be haunted and what things happen could be presented well. It is also is good as it relates to the age group as it is something that would happen at a sleepover but includes what could go wrong.

The disadvantages that come from this are that it may be hard to include all special effects as we only have the basics, it will also be hard to create a scene and make the house seem spooky and haunted. It will also be hard to be all serious about what is happening and will have to include some good acting which may be hard to do.

Katie O'Shaughnessy

Katie's individual narrative is that there are 4 people living in a house and one of them becomes possessed, this is because she is the youngest and most vulnerable, the other 4 get spooked out and decide to do an Ouija board and it spells out the girls name, and says other various spooky things, in the end the get in an exorcist to sort her out.

Advantages of this theory is that it is a good set for a thriller film, you could include various jumpy scenes, eery sounds and edits to make it seem as if the girl is truly possessed.

Disadvantages of Katie's narrative is that it would be very hard to edit it to a good standard to make the story believable and also have to include various props and things that may be hard to obtain, another down side is that it seems the narrative for the opening scene has all of the story embedded in it and what happens later on will just be little extras and no real surprise.

Questionaire

Questionnaire

1. Are you male or female?

Tick the selected box below

Male          Female

2. How old are you?

Tick the selected box below

15-18         19-21           22-25           26+

3. Within a thriller film, what would you see is your preferred age certificate?

Tick the selected box below

12                15                18

4. What advertisement would you say attracts you into a thriller the most?

Tick the selected box below

TV            Posters      Recomm-       Other

                                   endation     

5. What are you expectations of a thriller film?

Circle your choice below

Flashbacks, main characters as hero, protagonist/ antagonist (goodie/baddie), night scenes, car involvement, weapons, blood or other

6. What type of sound would you say works best within a thriller film?

Circle your choice below

Tension building, suspense sound, various sound effects, horror sounds or other

7. What characters do you intend to watch within a thriller film?

Circle your choice below

One main character, 2 characters (male/female), group of main characters, young characters, old characters

8. What well-known actors are expected to be seen in a thriller movie? Make a lost of the selected actors below

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

9. What setting within a thriller film would you say is most effective?

Circle your choice

A creepy house, graveyard, outdoors, haunted room, street, alley way or other

10. What other genres do you think works well when combined with a thriller film?

Tick the selected box below

Comedy      Action/            Crime            Other

                 Adventure

11. Would you prefer a thriller film to start with a story line and work its way through to the main plot or start with a scary opening and use flashbacks throughout the rest of the film?

Complete your answer on the dotted lines below

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………