We did a simple first edit of our thriller opening. We cropped down all of our shots before placing them in the correct order. After this we added very basic titles and sounds. After this edit we will show our peers and ask for their opinion before making changes to the parts they believe could be improved. (See blog post called 'First Draft-Audience Evaluation')
To make our editing faster we renamed all of our shots appropriately so the construction of shots was easier. As a result of us doing this I believe that it allowed us more time to carefully chose our sound effects and create some titles. However, when adding our sound effects we found it difficult to match the sound effects of the footsteps to the steps the actor was taking, this resulted in us finding a different sound effects before cropping it down and adding it in different stages.
Our opening sequence is too short at the moment so Emily and I have planned to go out and refilm parts to make them longer for example when we film the trees to make the pan last longer to pad out the duration of our opening sequence.
When we arrived at our chosen location Emily checked the battery on the camera while I set up and ensured everything was working properly with the tripod. In class time Emily and I planned every shot we were planning to film in detail. This allowed us to complete our filming quickly and efficiently. Throughout the filming process Emily and I took turns to film the different shots. While one of us was filming the other was positioning the actors and ensuring the shots followed the rule of continuity.
However, while we were filming
we noticed that the bag filling wasn't heavy enough, so it didn't look
the way we had envisioned it. Also when filming some shots we didn't use
the tripod as they were tracking shots, as a result of this our shots
are slightly shaky making them look less professional and to an amateur
standard. I would like to re-film our opening shot of the trees to
improve the quality of our opening sequence. If I was to film the whole
opening sequence again I would change the outfit of the male character
to have him wear either a mask or hat to obscure his identity and add additional
mystery and suspense to the thriller.
The
flashbacks play an important role in the narrative enigma as the audience are
wondering about the flashbacks and what they mean. These flashbacks create a
tense and dramatic feeling as the audience anticipate what is to happen next in
the narrative and what has happened in Teddy’s life and his motives throughout
the thriller.
Sound:
The low tones and dragged out nature of the
non-diegetic music throughout the opening scene creates tension. The pitch of
the music stays very constant, the dips in the music portray boat horns which
match his surroundings, each time the ‘horn’ beeps tension builds as the
audience wait to see what will happen next. As Teddy is walking through the
boat there is sounds of chains rattling which creates an eerie and disturbing
atmosphere for the audience as this sound is usually associated with imprisoned
people and has strong connotations of torture, making the audience once again
question what the boat is used for and who else is aboard this mysterious
vessel.
Mise-en-Scene: Both
characters are dressed in more old fashioned clothing as they are both seen in hats
and long duster coats and, which add a sense of mystery. These outfits are well
known for detectives in the 1950’s, this makes the audience wonder what these
detectives on the boat are doing and what has happened for the detectives to
have to go there. The dull lighting in the establishing shot makes the audience
feel the eerie atmosphere and creates mystery for the viewers of the thriller.
Camera:
Right at the beginning of the scene an
establishing shot is used. This shot shows a large boat floating through a
foggy mist; this creates an eerie atmosphere and makes the audience question
where the boat is headed. This establishing sets the scene for the entire film so
it plays an important role in the film. The setting of the film doesn’t give a
lot away to the audience so the narrative enigma is high as the viewers
anticipate what is to happen next. There is an over the shoulder shot of Teddy
looking in the mirror at his reflection. His intense glare makes the audience
question what is wrong with him and they want to know what he is thinking.
The majority of this opening scene is
filmed in mid shot making the thriller lack excitement as the audience can see
everything that is happening. Also the lack of diversity of the shots makes the
opening seem unprofessional and lacks suspense and tension.
Camera:
The use of straight cuts doesn’t allow the opening sequence to have any
depth as the shots are very basically edited, creating a very blunt and
uninteresting opening scene. These cuts drag out the narrative and doesn't add
any excitement or suspense. Mise-en-Scene: The lack of props in this opening
scene makes it bland for the persons watching as it lacks any narrative enigma
towards misplaced objects or any hints to what may be taking place later on in
the narrative.The low key lighting in this thriller opening follows the typical
convention of a thriller, therefore creating a sinister and mysterious
atmosphere for the audience. However, in the final part of the
scene, it is really dark with the only light being torch light which makes it difficult
for the viewers to see what is going on. Also the lack of/bad lighting
makes the scene appear to be amateur.
Sound: The dialogue doesn’t add anything to
this opening as the script is rather vague and allows no insight into what may
be coming later on in the narrative. A narrative enigma is good in the opening
of a thriller as it entices the audience to continue watching however in this
thriller the dialogue doesn’t create any enigma so in my opinion it wasn’t needed.
However, the sound works well in this opening two minutes as it creates a tense
atmosphere. The non-diegetic music sticks to the thriller theme as this spooky
music creates an eerie atmosphere for the audience.
Throughout this thriller opening there are inserts
used to have quick black and white flashes which are accompanied with images of
broken Barbie dolls. As a result of these inserts the audience is questioning what
is happening but it also gives a small insight into what is going to happen
later on in the thriller. A thrilling atmosphere is created as the audience
wait for him to turn the door handle and reveals what lies behind the
creaky shed door, adding to the unnerving atmosphere.
There are lots of sharp, quick cuts showing the
audience all of the tools being used in the shed by the mysterious man. During
the editing the collection of shots were changed into black and white. This creates
a contrast to the coloured images, drawing the audience eye to these shots. The
slow cut parts of certain images make the audience feel uneasy as they have to
look at the tools for longer which makes the audience question why there are
tools and dolls and what they are going to be used for.
Sound: The beginning high pitched sounds create an eerie atmosphere but the sudden change of music to a more light hearted song which sounds almost child-like creates a mysterious
effect as you don’t usually associate that type of music with thrillers. This strange
music style makes this thriller opening look creative because they have used an
unconventional song instead of the usual loud dramatic horror song. The opening
scene contains very little dialogue which adds to the mysterious atmosphere.
Camera: The use of close ups makes the filming look more professional as
it shows a range of filming techniques instead of the opening being shot
entirely in mid shot. The close up and extreme close up shots that are used in
this opening scene are of hands and show them doing different things which aren’t
clear which creates questions for the audience as the narrative isn’t revealed
by the shot.
Mis-en-Scene: The main props in the opening scene are Barbie dolls and
workshop tools. The deformed nature of the dolls creates a disturbing
atmosphere for the audience. The dismembered dolls create questions as to why
they are there as they are in a man’s works shed which isn’t unusually a place
to find dolls. This added to the costume creates suspense for the audience as
they are desperate to find out more.
The main character is
wearing a dressing gown and slippers, this outfit choice is typical casual every
day wear. Because the costume is so casual it creates a suspicious effect as
you don’t typically suspect someone in pyjamas to be carrying out anything
sinister. Also the costume creates narrative enigma as the audience want to
find out what this character is doing, therefore creating tension and mystery.
We have decided to use very basic props as they will be easy to gather if any filming was needed to be completed. Also the simplicity to our props will add to the narrative enigma of our thriller opening scene.
We took photos of possible locations to shoot our thriller opening sequence. Both of these locations share similar attributes as they are both wooded areas. By giving ourselves more than one place to shoot we can choose to film parts at one location that may suit the narrative more accurately.
The first photo is of the woods on Chetwynd Barracks.
The second shots are of the woods near Toton Sidings:
Emily and I decided to film in the woods near Toton Sidings because there is a clear natural pathway for the characters to walk down, giving us better shots. Also the natural lighting at Toton Sidings was better as the area is less over grown and the trees do not hang over the area we decided to film in. Another reason for us choosing Toton Sidings is a park is near by which also fits our narrative idea of the young girl and her mother playing nearby.
Costume: Harry is wearing going to be wearing all black outdoor clothing while completing our narrative. The black clothing reflects his sinister, mysterious character.
Emily will be wearing 'normal' everyday clothing to match the theme of her character. Emily's outfit will portray the vulnerable nature of her character.
Actors: To complete our narrative we need three characters.
A male character dragging the bag, this role is going to be carried out by Harry but we have arranged to have a backup in case he isn't available (Jay). The reason we have chosen Jay and Harry is because they are often around and would be easy to get a hold of if any re-filming needs to be completed.
The girl is going to be Emily, my work partner, the reason we have decided to have Emily in our thriller is because she fits the role of being the young, innocent girl. Due to her and I working together, Emily will have to be around to filmso is therefore reliable and would be available to complete any re-filming that may be required.
Also to make our narrative more believable and make more sense we have decided to have Emily's character walking her dog through the park before she sees the man. The dog we will be using is Emily's dog Jack. Again, Jack would be easy to use if re-filming is needed and is going to be obedient for Emily, making the filming process much easier.
In today's lesson Emily and I attempted to make our title
sequence. We experimented with different effects and colours (See results
above). Neither Emily nor I have used Adobe After Effects before so it took us
a while to learn how to use the program. Now we have experimented with the
tools and know how to work them, because of this we have a general idea of what we want our title to be like. Also, I feel better prepared to create the title for
our final piece.
Emily and I completed a precise time table of each part of our filming. By creating this schedule and following this schedule we will be able to meet our deadline and complete all parts of our filming accurately.
Emily and I wrote down the potential risks we could face while filming. We looked at ways we could overcome these risks and rated the severity of them before and after our prevention measures.
Of the 20 people emily and I asked (10 males and 10 females), we found that males mainly liked watching crime thrillers and women mainly like psychological thrillers.
The main responses we received from our opening thriller idea were positive. Many of the people that we questioned gave us responses such as:
"Your idea sounds like it is going to contain a large amount of suspense."
"I really love this idea! It sounds intriguing!"
"This idea sounds really interesting, I would love to watch the whole film."
The main age range that watched thrillers more often were in the region of 19 years old to 21 years old. This means that when Emily and I create our thriller opening sequence it needs to be created to suit the needs of a more mature audience.
Emily and I created a questionnaire to find out who our audience for our thriller would be and what type of thriller they would like to see. Also, we asked them their opinion on our thriller. The questions that we asked were: How old are you?
13-15
16-18
19-21
22-25
25-29
30+
Are you male or female?
Male
Female
How often do you watch thrillers?
Daily
Weekly
Fortnightly
Monthly
Yearly
Never
What is your favourite type of thriller?
Crime
Psychological
Action
What is your opinion of this idea for a thriller? A man dragging a bag containing a mysterious object before dumping it in a wooded area. However after he dumps the bag he turns to see a teenage girl watching him. He then follows her to silence her!
Our thriller opening scene is going to start off in a foggy wooded area. From watching other thrillers and from audience feedback we decided to switch from long shots of the trees and close up of the man's body parts. Our first shot will be a long shot of some trees before going to a close up of the man's walking shoes. The next shot will be from a different angle of the trees then to a forward tracking shot of the man dragging the bag. There will be another shot of the trees before a close up of the man's tight grip on the black bag. The final shot of the trees will be followed by a close up of the back of the man's head. Our next shot is of the girl walking her dogin the field area of the park. This will be demonstrated with a close ups, a low down shot, a pan and a mid-shot. During the walk the dog is going to run off into the bush area of the play park, the girl will go to collect the dog where she sees the strange man disposing of the bag, our final shot of the opening sequence will be an extreme close up of the man's eye before cutting to our title sequence of 'Hidden'.
