Feedback On Our Thriller

Positive comments:

The point of view shot of the message was very clear.
The use of music in the introduction works well with transitions and the feeling of the film. The effects of the photographs are good.
The camera angles chosen make it feel like someone is following the character, building tension and creating suspense.
The polaroid picture at 1:30 was good and the sound effects worked well.
The use of handheld camerawork was good and it created a feeling that somebody was constantly watching the character.
The use of the closeups on important props and the characters faces were good as it helped show her emotions to create a mood.
The use of still images in the market scene were good as it helped feel like someone was watching her.
The polaroid photos of her while she was walking through the market were good. It gave a feel of suspense and uncertainty. The main character appears to have no idea of whose taking the photos.
The camerawork was clever such as the zooming in and the slow motion which added suspense.
The sound effects were good as it added tension.
The music was intense and it was good acting.
Good music, it went well with the footage. Good shot of the phone when she gets a text.
The use of the pictures building up on the screen is good as it builds tension as you know she is being stalked for a while.
The use of polaroid pictures was good and they were used well to give a sense of reality.

Things to improve on:


The background sound is too loud.
The scream at the end is too short.
 The zoomed out shot of the stalkers note could of been clearer as you cant read what it says very easily.
To improve the sequence we could have considered a better setting and possibly somewhere not in college as the sound can become crowded and does not go with the sequence.
Couldn't read the note left in the book and the scream at the end sounded slightly unprofessional.
The sound effects of the photographs almost break the tension created with the music.
There should of been more focus on the letter as the viewer doesn't know what it says. Could of made use of the character talking to create more of a mood.
The ending of the sequence was a bit comic, not sure the scream worked well, could of used a fade instead.
The title sequence could of done with being more interesting.
The picture she's holding at 0:46 is hard to read, could of zoomed in further.
Could of made the background noise the same and not notice the change between shots.

Final Thriller Opening Sequence

U1-29 Review

This group has used sound in their thriller opening really well. Both diegetic and non-diegetic sound have been clearly and clevery included in this opening, and the non-diegetic sound really shows their understanding of how to use it and where it's needed. I can tell that the non-diegetic sound that has been used is everyday background noises of cars etc, especially in the scene where Jess + Tom are playing football. The diegetic sound that you can hear throughout the clip is very clear considering they were filming outside and it was windy (often makes sounds quite fuzzy and hard to understand) but they managed to do it really well.

Rough Cut

Thriller Opening Analysis

The opening title sequence I have decided to analyse is Vertigo (1960). The start of the title sequence, some intense music is used which creates a sense of mystery and tension, and these types of emotions are often created when watching a film in the genre of thriller.The use of dark lighting in the very first shot of an eye, is the first imperession we will have on the film, and due to this it unnoticeably makes us as an audience assume that it will be quite darkly lighted throughout the whole film. As darkness usually has conotataions of danger, the audeince will instantly start to come to terms with the fact that Vertigo is in the genre of a thriller or a horror.


It is not just the colour black that is related with danger and mystery, red is also known for this. So the fact that the black tint in the opening shot changes to red may suggest to the spectator that there could be some grusome scenes in this film, as red really portrays blood and gore.

We decide to make these shots black and white to emphasise the old memory of the main character. We also made the decision to defocus these shots and slow the pace of the shots down, this created the idea of it being a memory more and had a larger impact on the viewer. we reduced the speed to 65 and defocused the shots twice.

Props And Costume List

Costume for all shots: Everyday clothing.

Shot 1: Props: Umbrella and other items in the locker.

Shot 2: Props: Mobile phone.

Shot 3: Props: Mobile phone.

Shot 4: Props: Folder, Letter written in newspaper cuttings, School bag.

Shots 5 & 6: Props: Folder, Letter.

Shot 7: Props: Photographic paper, Negatives, Processing trays, Tongs, Rubber gloves.

Shot 8 onwards: Props: Mobile phone, Handbag, Shopping bag.

Preparation For Final Shoot

Images From Final Shoot

Test Sequence 2

Test Footage

Before actually filming our final opening sequence, we decided it would be a wise idea to shoot a few practice shots of the scenes first. This gave us a rough idea of what we planned worked and an idea of what shots suited which scene best. A few of our shots did change due to location and space to work with. The first shot is now an establishing shot whereas before it was going to be an over the shoulder shot, and watching the footage back we prefer this shot compared to the first one as you can see more of the location and the character. We still have more test footage to continue with and various shots to experiment with.

Sonic Mood Board

Storyboard

Thriller Final Idea Feedback

After sharing our idea with the rest of the class, we have realised that we need to give less of the plot away during the opening sequence so that the viewer is enticed to carry on watching the film.

In addition to this we also need to develop more of a story behind why the girl is being stalked and what is going to happen to her in the future.

We also need to consider using a wide variety of different lighting and need to be careful of the quality of our footage when filming at night.

We need to consider all possible locations that may suit our thriller and be more adventurous with the places we choose to shoot to make it more imaginative and enticing to the viewer.

Final Thriller Idea

Our final idea is to have a character being stalked by someone and they receive texts and letters from an unknown number. Our film would be a psychological thriller as it is messing with the mind of the character.

The font we would use would be cut out letters from newspapers and magazines in either black, white or red as this would create a sense of mystery before the film begins. Throughout the credits certain words could be circled or highlighted that are of importance which will send out a message which will be picked up on later on in the narrative.

The title we would use for our thriller would be called 'The Unknown'. The reason we would use this title is because it provides a sense of mystery at the start of the film which instantly introduces you to the genre of the film.

The main character in our thriller would be a typical teenage girl being stalked and this would make it easier for others to relate to her. The other main character we will use will be the stalker however he will not see be seen throughout the film providing the audience with a greater sense of the unknown. We will use point of view shots from the stalker making it easier to relate to both characters.

 The location we would use would be mainly in school and outside in Cambridge. When filming our thriller we will have to respect the public and will be willing to explain what we are doing if they ask. The lighting in our thriller will be natural as we are filming outside and as we are filming this time of year gets darker easily so we could choose to film later on in the evenings if we wanted to create a darker atmosphere.

The costume for the main character being stalked would be a typical girls college and later on in the film the costume would change to darker colours as the stalking gets worse. This will show the emotions of the girl how she is feeling and how it's affecting her every day life.

The music we will use will be tense and gripping. At the beginning of our thriller the music would start off with a steady beat and throughout the thriller the music will get more dramatic.

We will use handheld movements when using the camera making the audience feel as if they are there. Close ups of the face would also be used to show facial expressions clearly and the importance of other objects. Tracking will be used when following the girl as it helps add to the point of view to the stalker and increases the pace. Jump cuts will also help to increase the pace as everything will speed up throughout the opening sequence which will have more of a thrilling impact on the audience.

Thriller Ideas

Idea One-
This would be in the genre of a crime thriller. The storyline would involve an unsolved robbery. We would use flashbacks in black and white which would show the character recalling certain memories of the event. The opening credits would show detectives solving the problem and collecting any fingerprints and information. This would be blurred to show the confusion and uncertainty of the memories. We would use a voiceover which would be slightly echoed to create the atmosphere of how distant the memory is.

Idea Two-
This would be based on a storyline of a teenage girl being stalked. This would be a psychological thriller as it messes with the mind of the character. The opening credits will be newspaper cuttings and text using the colours of red black and white. We would use fast editing such as jump cuts to show the pace of the film and handheld camera work to make the audience feel as if they are there.

Idea Three-
This would involve a teenage boy being kidnapped by the father of his ex girlfriend. We would use close ups in the credits and extreme close ups to show that he is tied up to make him look vulnerable. The camera work will involve high shots to show his vulnerability and low angle shots to show how inferior he is to the father. A blackout would be used to create a mysterious atmosphere before we see that he has been tied up.

Student Thriller Opening Reviews

R1-14


At the beginning of the clip, we are introduced to very soft music which slowly gets louder and this instantly creates a very tense atmosphere and suggests to us that the genre of this film is thriller. The camera pans across a wall which is covered in polaroid photos, showing their name and age, all of which written in red hand writing. This instantly gets the viewer questioning why this is all relevant, and will these photos appear later on in the film?

The lighting throughout the whole of this opening is very dark, and this creates a sense of mystery and really supports its genre of a thriller. The use of handheld camera work makes the scene very jumpy and unnerving to the viewers and almost makes you feel as if you are there.

The high angle shot of the girl sitting down makes her look very vulnerable and like she is not in control whereas with the protagonist he is shown with a low angle shot which is a point of view shot from the girl makes him look very over powering and like he has authority over her.

The clever use of location, a deserted barn, makes you believe the girls have been cut off from society against their will with no one to help by the protagonist, this makes you feel sympathetic towards them as they are helpless.

Halfway through this opening title sequence, a flashback occurs which is in black and white which has connotations that the footage is old so it is like a memory that the girl has of the events that lead up to her being in the location of the main footage.

The clip uses backing music throughout most of the clip which creates tension and atmosphere. The echo that can be heard when the girl speaks due to the location being in a deserted barn really emphasises how alone the two girls are, and how beyond help they are too.

P2-38


The non diegetic sound helps to create tension when the letter is posted through the door and the point of view shot looking out of the window

Psychological Thriller Conventions.

* Central theme of identity - mistaken identity, stolen identity, dual identity, doppel gangers, confused identity and amnesia.
* Perception and reality - Seeing the narrative from the perspective of multiple characters, a character having a different perspective of what is and isn't real compared to the norm established in the film.
* Memory - The torture of an individual with a traumatic memory, the trauma of a specific lost memory.
* Stream of consciousness - This is a devise often used in psychological thrillers to give an insight into the psyche of a particular character usually the main character.
* Unreliable narrator - Psychological thrillers often play on the idea of the inherent trust placed in the narrator or the character that the narrator follows.
* Technical devices - Flashbacks and repetition in editing is common.
* Imagery - Eyes are a frequent motif.

Evaluation Of Vertigo

At the beginning of the title sequence to Vertigo, the first shot we see is an extreme close up. Only half of the face was shown, which instantly creates a sense of mystery, and gets the audience questioning why we can't see the whole face.

The next shot we see, is that of an eye. The shot is in red, and this has connotations of danger, therefore we instantly have our own outlooks on the genre of the film. Either horror or thriller. Then a hypnotic type effect circles the pupil of the eye, this gives off a sense of mystery to the film before it has even started, but it prepares us for what types of things may occur in the narrative. Identity is key in a thriller, and you can tell a lot about a person by their eyes. So having an eye for this opening also has a link that the film coming on may be a thriller.

The third shot is when we are introduced to the characters of the film. They are running across the roofs of different buildings joined together being chased by police officers. The shots, panning and tracking, and the use of quick music, are used create pace and tension in the clip.
We see here a point of view shot, we see the man from the police officer's point of view, and get a sense as if we are there.

One of the characters gets into trouble as he slips off one of those roofs in an attempt to jump from one to the other. Holding onto a drain pipe, and the use of a birds eye view shows his vulnerability in the situation. Behind him we can see the location of the film, a city, and due to the buildings being so tall, this also contributes to the fact he is theoretically against the world.

A zoom out shot before the character falls to his death shows just how steep the drop is, and puts the audience in an awkward, and frightened state of mind. 

As the character is falling to his death, only one shot is used to show his fall, and that is also birds eye view shot. We see him getting smaller and smaller as he falls, and this shows just how helpless everyone is to him at this point, as there is nothing anyone can do. 

The first shot below shows how desperate he is at this moment in time, as he is holding on to dear life, on something so weak and unlikely to hold his weight.

Preliminary Task

We had to use many different shots, which were: establishing shot, close up shot, match on action shot, reaction shot, long shot, filming conversation.