More Planning

After we begun filming Chelsea, Gabrielle and I decided to do some more planning as we found that certain parts of our opening were weaker than others. This included things like the type of shot that was used for that particular scene, what costumes are to be worn, parts of the storyline etc. Here are the certain parts of our opening that we decided to improve or change...

• At the beginning of our opening we decided to include a montage of shots taken from the same position, which suggests the idea of time passing. We thought this would work better than normal shots like mid shots and close ups as it is different and unique.
• We have also decided to add other shots like pans and tracks to add variety to the scene. It will make it more interesting for the audience instead of boring.
• Another part of the beginning we have decided to improve was the phone call. After a discussion about shots and the limited time of the opening we have we decided to change it to a text message conversation instead of a phone call. This allowed us to ensure that the scene does not drag on for to long, in order to keep the audience hooked for the next scene and hopefully throughout the opening.
• In addition to this we also decided to add a unique shot where we take Long Shot of Lydia from the door, she then walks into the camera and it goes to a black screen. There is then a quick jump cut where it goes from the black screen to Lydia walking away from the camera. We found that this would be an interesting and unique transition, to help the scenes flow.

We will be filming all of these new shots and transitions the next time we plan to film.   

Prezi Beginning Plan

Here is a plan that my group and I made at the beginning of the project. This outlines our first plans and ideas for our Thriller Opening. After a few discussions between the whole group some of our plans have changed since this was made, however it is still a basic outline of what we are aiming for.

Beginning Our Filming

This past week we have begun filming our Thriller Opening, which would help us study our scenes and decided what works best and what we want to change in order to get the most effective overall opening.

On particular this day Chelsea, Olivia and I begun filming parts of the park scenes, which included different types of shots of me (aka. Lydia) sitting down, standing, falling etc. Filming has been successful so far in finding out what shots work best and what we should change or cut out. However making sure that the position that I am in stays the same in each take and making sure things like my hair are in the right place after each take are important. This is because we don't want any mistakes that might effect the mood of the opening or the professionalism. We have learnt to look out for these kind of mistakes from our preliminary task.

A few days later Gabrielle and I begun practising different and more complex shots in preparation for the day we have planned to film that particular scene. For example we practised a Pan shot that will be taken in 'Lydia's bedroom' at the beginning of our opening. We looked out for things like shakiness (we want it to be a smooth pan) whilst also making sure that we get all of Lydia in it (she is not cut out by accident). In addition, on the same day Chelsea and I did some filming in my garage for one of the flashbacks in our opening (kidnapped scene). We used face paint and makeup to create bruises on my face and neck, whilst also using props like a chair, tape and rope to create a creepy and scary atmosphere. We included extreme close ups of my face in order to get the fear in Lydia's eyes as well as a clear view of the injuries that she has sustained.

We are continuing to film regularly in order to get the most out of our time and get the best suited shots for each scene.

Here are some images of the different shots we had tried when beginning filming...

Questionaires For Our Thriller Opening

Here is a questionnaire our group created in order to find out what a certain audience what prefer to see and what there ideal movie would be, whilst also finding out general information about people when it comes to movies.

Question 1: 

What is your gender?

Female: 15

Male: 3

Other: 2

Question 2:

How old are you?

0-15: 15

16-30: 11

31-45: 0

46+: 4

Question 3:

Where do you prefer watching movies?

At home: 14

At a friends house: 3

Cinema: 2

Other: 1

Question 4:

What type of genre do you prefer?

Comedy: 8

Romance: 3

Thriller: 4

Horror: 1

Chick flick: 2

Other: 2

Question 5:

What type of thriller do you prefer?

Action: 2

Crime: 7

Mystery: 2

Psychological: 4

Supernatural: 3

Other: 2

Question 6:

How many times do you watch a thriller movie annually?

Never: 4

1-3 times: 8

4 or more: 8

Question 7:

Favourite aspect of a thriller?

Car crash: 1

Flashbacks: 7

Deaths: 4

Chases: 4

Explosions: 2

Arguments: 1

Other: 1

Question 8:

What actor/actress do you want to see in a thriller?

- Johnny Depp

- Will Ferrel

- Josh Hutcherson

- Zac Effron

- Harry Styles

- Benedict Cumberbatch

- Theo James

- Liam Neeson

- David Jason

- Tom Hiddleston

- Lily Rabe
- Ansel Elgort
- Michael Caine
- Leighton Meester

Question 9:
Which title is more effective and suited to this kind of film?

When I was gone: 5
Abduction: 3
Deception: 11
Other: 0

Question 10:
Which Location would you prefer it to be set in?

House: 6
Town: 8
Park: 1
Empty garage: 3
Other: Bathroom

Script For Thriller Opening

Here is our script for our thriller opening 


Lydia is sitting in her bedroom on her phone when she gets a text from her best friend Mia. Here is their text message conversation.

Mia: Hey, you alright? Heard you've been having flashbacks or something? 

Lydia: Hello, and yeah they're of when I was kidnapped... I just can't stop thinking about it. 

Lydia starts having a flashback of when she was kidnapped. While she has been having her flashback Mia has been sending messages as she is worried.

Mia: I'm always here
         Lydia?
         Hello?
         Are you okay?
         Lydia, are you there?
        Whats happened?
         HELLO??

Lydia: Sorry, Flashback again!
Mia: Oh, can we meet soon in the park? We can talk.
Lydia: Yeah sure, just leaving. 

Lydia puts her phone down and we then see Lydia sitting on the park bench waiting for Mia to arrive. As Mia is approaching, Lydia backs up as she is afraid of the figure walking towards her. She then falls to the floor and Mia runs over to help her.

Mia: Lydia! What’s wrong? Come on, sit here.

Mia sits down on the bench with Lydia.

Mia: What happened?

Lydia: I thought you were.. you know.

Mia: Oh, was it what I’m wearing, I’m sorry I didn’t think

Lydia: No no it’s fine, it’s not your fault, I’m just still not over what happened

 Mia: What happened when you were taken? What did they do to you?

 Lydia has a flashback where she is tied to a chair in the middle of a room, there is no talking in this scene but she does gasp at the end when water is thrown over her. The flashback is over and she continues to gasp, scaring Lydia and is now frozen with fear.

Mia: Lydia? LYDIA?! Are you okay? What happened?! Talk to me. Please Lydia says something! What did you see? LYDIA!

Storyboard For Our Thriller Opening

Once we decided our story line for our thriller opening I begun creating and typing up a detailed storyboard. This outlined what camera angles we would use, what cuts we'll be using, what costumes our characters will be wearing, what non-diegetic sounds and music will be added etc. After typing up everything we then printed them off and each person in our group got a sheet. Where we each drew the shots we are going to use in that particular scene when filming. This would make it eaiser for us when it came to filming, so we wouldn't get confused.

The Sixth Sense Analysis

After watching the film 'The Sixth Sense' there were many scenes where there was an increase in tension and suspense in order to scare the audience and put them on edge. This is due to the produces use of Mise en scene, Camera angles, Editing, Sound. Here are some examples of scenes where this was clearly shown.

The first scene I have chosen is of one of the main characters Cole. It is clear from this scene that he is in some distress and the use of the extreme close up (camera angle) emphasises this, in order for the audience to sympathise with that character. Due to this extreme close up we also get to see the tears in his eyes and how they fall down his face which increases the audiences concern for Cole. In addition to this the use of Mise en scene also emphasises the feeling of fear and darkness which the producer is trying to create. For example; the clothing he is wearing is quite dark and dull which links to his situation and how the ghosts/darkness is all around him or how he has been touched by the darkness. Also, the use of the lighting could also highlight the fact that Cole is being pulled into the evil and ghostly world, due to half his face being light and half being in the dark.

The next scene I have chosen is one of a character called Vincent. This seen was meant to come across as frightening and creepy. This was achieved by using a Mid shot (camera angle) which allowed the audience to see Vincent's body language. This suggested that he was in some distress and shows fear, due to his arms being wrapped around himself, which grasps the audience attention and makes us fear for the other characters. Moreover, the use of non diegetic music during the scene increases the felling of fear whilst also increasing the tension of the scene (which is meant for the audience).  

This next scene is interesting because it has a hidden meaning in it. During the film we find out that the mother (the woman in the picture) is evil as she was making her daughter sick. In this scene the use of Mise en scene is important, because of the use of her red clothing and red lipstick. The colour red can be associated with evil, the devil, blood etc. In addition to this, considering she is the only person in the room who is wearing red this emphasises the idea of her being evil and unforgiving. 

AS Media | Preliminary Task Evaluation

Here is our final edit of our preliminary task which we all planned, filmed and edited ourselves. We made sure that we used a variety of camera shots including close ups, mid shots, over the shoulder shot etc. In addition to this we also used all three different features in our task, which are Shot Reverse Shot, 180 Degree Rule and Match on Action. All of these shots were used effectively in order to make the story line flow better and to help the audience understand it better.

When filming we made sure that everyone had a chance to film in order for us all to gain skills, in preparation for our thriller opening.

When editing, again, we made sure everyone had a chance to edit our footage. This would help us all develop our skills for the thriller opening.