Results from Audience Questionnaire

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.

Audience Questionnaire

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!

Audience Research

Emily and I created some questionairres to find out who our audience for our thriller would be.

We asked a variety of questions:

1. Are you male or female?
2. Do you watch thrillers?
3.  How often do you watch thrillers?
4. What type of thriller do you prefer? Action, Psychological, Mystery or Crime
5. What do you like about thrillers?
6. Do you like our thriller idea?

Below are some of the responses we received:

Narrative and Shot Plan

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 dog in 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'.






Questionnaire for Ideas

After we narrowed our ideas down to two we created a questionnaire to ask our peers what they thought of our ideas.

We asked the following questions:

• Which one sounds better?
• Which one do you think creates the most suspense?
•  Which one would you rather watch and why?

These are our results:

Most people thought that our first idea of the man dragging the bag through a field was the best idea as it created the most questions for the audience as they all wanted to know what happened next. 

As a pair we decided to go with the first idea as it follows the conventions of a thriller closely. 

Thriller Planning

We made a mind map of our ideas for what our thriller could be about. We came up with four ideas. (See above)

After discussing these further we decided to pick between two of the ideas. 
These ideas are:

• A man dragging a large bag through a field before dropping it in a ditch. When he looks up there is a girl opposite him watching what he is doing. The man then walks towards the girl before it cutting to a close up of the girl's scared face.

• A man sat in a messy office looking through lots of pictures before stopping on one and staring at it for a long time. He then puts the picture in his pocket before leaving his house with a gun. The last image seen before the titles appear is a close up of the gun clutched in the man's hand.  

The reason we chose these ideas over the others is because we feel that these two ideas would create the most narrative enigma for the audience. The locations we would use for these ideas are easily accessible. Also the characters only need to wear basic costumes these could easily be recreated if any re-filming was necessary, we feel these two ideas would be the easiest to complete yet the most effective.  

Preliminary Task-Final Evaluation

I am very happy with how our final product turned out. If I was to change anything about the footage I would attempt to make the part where the main character sits down before she starts talking smoother as this makes the filming and editing seem less professional. The part of the preliminary task that I found the hardest was the editing as I had never used adobe pro before so it took me a while to learn how the software works. But after asking my teacher and other members of the class who have used the software I got the hang of it quickly. Once I learnt how to cut the clips and add sounds I found the editing the most enjoyable part.

As a result of our thorough planning of each shot, once we had changed our location, the filming went smoothly and was completed quickly. After we filmed each shot each member of the group watched it to make sure everyone was happy, before we decided whether we needed to delete and re-film or stick with the shot we had created. This made the editing process much easier as we didn't have lots of unneeded shots to sift through.

When we first started filming we only used the handheld camera, this wasn't adequate for the type of shots we were trying to create as it was unsteady, and so we found a tripod to use. The tripod improved the standard of our filming immensely so I am glad we made the decision to use this piece of filming equipment.

My favourite shot is the slow motion of the cup hitting the floor. This turned out a lot more
successful than I thought it would. I am proud of this shot as it was the first part of filming I have ever completed.

Preliminary Task-Editing

Editing the footage

During the editing we split up into groups of two. While two of us started editing, the other two searched for appropriate sounds to add to the piece. We then switched, this allowed everyone to have a chance at editing. 

We found the editing rather easy. It took us a long time to put our clips into place and cut off any unnecessary parts to the clips. Another part of the editing that took a long time was the sound as we found it difficult to edit the volume on Adobe Premier Pro as we wanted the sound to be quieter at parts and too fade out. The quality of our film greatly improved after we added our sound. As good practise we added titles to our preliminary task. While adding these titles we played around with the different transitions on and off of the screen.

As a result of completing the editing for our preliminary task I now feel better prepared for when I have to complete the editing for my final thriller piece.

Preliminary Task-Filming

Filming the Preliminary Video
We each took turns with filming different shots, this allowed everyone to get used to using the camera.

During the filming we found it difficult to locate a room that fitted our narrative.
We started off in an English classroom at school but once we started filming we thought that it would be more believable to have the killer in a 'home' setting, this is why we decided to move to a food technology room located at our school. As a result of this scene change, we had to re-film some of our shots as the English classroom has carpeted floor but the food technology room has laminate flooring. For example the cup drop shot had to be re-filmed to make the film have continuity as the long shot of the main character would be on laminate flooring but the close up of the cup hitting the floor would be on carpet.

When we started filming we used a handheld camera but found this created shaky, unsteady shots so we then decided on using a tripod, by using this piece of equipment our shots were created at a higher, professional standard. 



 

Preliminary Filming Planning.

In today's lesson we were put into groups (I am with Lucy Hickling, Emily Brookes and Melissa Hogg). In these groups we were set the preliminary task of filming and editing a continuous piece involving someone opening a door, sitting down before engaging in a short piece of dialogue with another character. The piece must contain shot-reverse-shot, match on action and stick to the '180-degree' rule.


We started the planning for this task. Our group decided on the theme of a lady walking into a room only to be faced with a well-known-mass murderer. 

See below the story board created during planning: 


 Lucy drew the pictures and wrote the ideas for each part of our short extract while the rest of the group gave and discussed ideas.

1. The first shot we are going to be filming is a forward tracking of the main character walking towards the door. This shot is going to be accompanied by creepy music to create suspense.
2. The shots being filmed in the next frame is a long shot of the mass murderer sat in the empty room. This shot is going to be accompanied by dramatic music.
3. In the third frame we are going to film a close up shot of the characters shocked expression before cutting to her hand and then to the cup as it hits the floor (to create our match on action). As the cup hits the floor there will be sound effects of the female gasping in shock and of the cup bouncing.
4. The next camera shot we are going to be filming is mid shots on each of the characters as they exchange the dialogue, these will be turned into shot-reverse-shot during the editing stage. The music accompanying this shot is going to build in tempo and be quietly playing in the background.
5. A reverse tracking shot will be filmed as the main character moves to sit down opposite the mysterious killer. The sounds effects used within this shot is going to be slow footsteps to demonstrate her reluctance to approach the killer.
6. More mid shots of the characters are going to be filmed as they exchange more dialogue before going to a close up of the killers face before cutting to a black screen. Before the screen goes black there is going to music overlaying the image of the killer's evil smile. This music we are planning to use is going to gradually build to a crescendo. 

During in the filming there are some props that we need to use, such as a cup to be dropped to show surprise, a table and chairs at which the killer and main character will sit at to exchange the dialogue. 
The characters are going to be dressed in casual everyday clothing, adding to the narrative enigma of the piece as the audience won't know that one of the characters is a killer until the main character reveals this. 

Silence of the Lambs Opening Scene Analysis

Silence of the Lambs Clip

The opening title for ‘Silence of the Lambs’ is shown in black sans-serif font with a white outline, making the text stand out from its background. The emphasis of the disturbing and confusing nature of the film as the titles is set in front of a blurry image of a wood. The colouring used in the title sequence has connotations of mystery as the dark colours reveal very little about the type of film about to be viewed.

Sound:

Diegetic sounds of her surroundings of nature are used also being accompanied by non-diegetic sounds of classical music from instruments such as violins, the tranquillity of the scene is set by this music but this changes at the tone of the music changes as the bass tones get louder creating tension for the audience as they anticipate what is going to happen next. Diegetic sounds of footsteps are then heard as the main character in the clip runs to, what the audience assume her boss’ office. The pace of her footsteps increase as she gets closer to her destination building tension for the audience as they anticipate what is going to happen next. 

Mise-en-scene:

Props are used to place emphasis on her job role and the danger she experiences as part of her job. Guns and vast amounts of folders are seen throughout her work space. The females’ character is shown to one of an untypical female who is strong willed and independent as she is seen wearing sweat covered gym clothes with messy hair and is working in a male orientated job.

 

Editing:

The quick nature of the film shown with an ellipsis of time when the female character enters an elevator and then comes back out with the journey being cut out, showing that she is in a rush. The fast pace editing builds narrative enigma as the audience want to know what is happening and why has she been asked to see her boss. An eye line match is used to show the audience the horrific photos of murders on an office wall, this editing technique allows the audience to experience her shock and disturbance at the same as her.

Camera:

The clip shows a female character completing an assault course. The camera angle used to show this is a low angle shot, this type of shot portrays her character as superior and independent as the audience have to look up to her.  An establishing shot is used to show the audience her surroundings, some form of training camp showing the females occupation.

 

Se7en Opening Scene Analysis

Titles:
The credits that appear at the beginning of the clip are very confusing as the text is stretched out, repeated and difficult to read. This may be foreshadowing the upcoming events on the film. The colouring of the titles is plain creating an eerie atmosphere. The titles flash up and randomly and seem to have no pattern to when they appear.  The quick nature in which the titles appear and then disappear give the impression of a fast paced film to follow.

Editing:
Cross-cutting is used to show the audience different things happening throughout the scene. This form of editing creates confusion as the scene regularly jumps and doesn’t have a continuous flow. The cuts used on the end of the scenes give the scene a fast paced nature and makes it unclear on what the plot of the film is going to follow. The inserts of parts of the title over the top of the background action adds to the uncertainty of the opening clip as it jumps around and doesn’t focus on one particular part of the title or the background action.

Camera:                                                                                                                               The main camera angles used are extreme close ups. The objects seen in the clip create tension as they are only small parts of the objects create narrative enigma for the characters as they anticipate what is going to happen throughout the film. These close ups are also used to focus attention on the props as they may contain some significance later on in the film. The fact that the camera doesn’t show the face of the characters in the film makes the audience of the film feel uneasy. 

Sound:

The sounds in the clip are low crackle sounds of hissing and some form of drum banging, the slow pace of the drum creates tension and makes each beat sound like a heartbeat. Over the top of this are mechanical noises and high pitched screeching, that has a similarities of screams, create an unnerving atmosphere that adds to the fear and tension of the clip. The music sound used in the clip makes the audience ask questions to why these sounds have been used and what is making the screaming noises, adding to the suspense of the scenes.

Mise-en-Scene:
The parts of the characters we do get to see in the close up are someone’s damaged fingers that have parts of skin cut from them and dirty fingernails, this makes the audience question what they have been doing for their fingers to be in this state. There is a short clip of the character using a scalpel to remove parts of their skin, this isn’t typical behaviour for a human so the audience again question the behaviour of this character. The props used in the clips are weirdly placed and are images of body parts just adding to the strange nature of the clip. This clip has dim lighting and has shadows which create confusion and fear for the audience. The darkness within the scene gives the impression of danger and that something bad is going to occur throughout the film.

Lost Highway-Opening Scene Analysis

Camera:
At the start of the ‘Lost Highway’ clip there is a close up of the main male character. This character is shown to the audience as disturbed and bored as he sits in his house smoking a cigarette alone before pacing the length of the room he is in. Further on in the clip the male is portrayed as being unnerved after receiving a disturbing message over the intercom in his apartment. The pan of the road in front of the house, showing the man looking for someone creates tension as we see the anonymous voice through the intercom is not a friendly one. After the character is seen looking out of his window, an establishing shot is used to show the audience of the thriller the character’s fancy accommodation, giving the impression that the main character has a well-paying job as it is in a modern, urban area and his house is high end.  

Editing:

As the protagonist is pacing around his apartment a long take is used to demonstrate the slow paced nature of the opening scene that contains very little action. Also, the slow paced editing creates a tension build, therefore making the viewer feel on edge and anticipate upcoming events.  There is an eye line match when the intercom buzzes, before there is a cut from the intercom onto the main character creates tension and allows the audience to see the stress building within the man’s face. Another long take is used to follow the man around his apartment, this creates a tense moment as the audience question where he is going and what his next move will be.

Sound:

Throughout the clip there is non-diegetic music playing. This music is low toned and is used to create tension and suspense, causing the viewers to be on edge. A deep male mysterious voice over the intercom is used to help communicate the scene as he tells the main character about a death, helping the narrative enigma of the film.  The tone of voice used by this mysterious character creates fear for the audience as he is portrayed as threatening.

Mise-en-Scene:

When the main character is first introduced low key lighting is used, this reflects his mental state and to show he is going to be a dark, troubled character. The subdued lighting in the apartment creates confusion and disturbance. The dark tones in the scene follow the typical conventions of thrillers, creating a sinister feeling for any viewers. His facial expression presents that he is feeling boredom; this is also demonstrated by his slouched, reserved stance. Through his facial expression stress is portrayed giving the impression that the issues in his life are ongoing.