Evaluation - Question 7

Question 7: Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from t to the full product?

What was the purpose of the preliminary task?

The purpose of the preliminary task was to learn how to operate the camera and get used to its functions in preparation for filming our opening thriller sequence. Within our preliminary task we were told to film a short conversation between two people in our group that we had been set in. The conversation could be based around any subject. The short conversation had to be around 1-2 minutes long so that we could incorporate many different camera techniques and angles, which was the purpose of the preliminary task. We had to practice around with the camera in order to learn how to use it properly. This included figuring out the settings and which angles worked best for different shots and how to film using different camera techniques. This helped prepare us for our main task this is because if we encountered any issues or problems we could find a resolution for the issue as quick and effectively as possible. Another reason for the preliminary task was to get used to using the tripod which is the equipment that holds the camera steady and can move in different angles and paces. This helped us to establish which person suited the role of the cameraman so that they could have this responsibility throughout the process of our opening sequence.

What did you learn from the preliminary task?

I found the preliminary task insightful and helpful. I mainly found that without the tripod, scenes look very unprofessional and raggedy. It is always best to have the camera on the tripod for a smooth shot. In addition to this I learnt it is best to use a wide variety of angles and shots to make the sequence more interesting. Not only this but it enables to give different portrayals of scenes and characters, for example, a low angle shot could illustrate dominance to the higher up character. Another thing that I learnt from the preliminary task was not to make do with certain shots, and to re film as many times until it was filmed the way the group were happy with the outcome, this way is more beneficial to the over result of the thriller opening.

What skills did you learn from the preliminary task that helped you with your thriller film?

I felt that the skills that I had learnt from the preliminary task were beneficial to myself and my group when it came to producing the final product. The main skills include how to set up the tripod and attach the camera safely to it. This helped in the long run as it then meant we did not waste time in setting this up every time we came to film, we could get the process done quickly. In addition to this we also learnt how to create many different camera angles and shots. This included mid shots, long shots and over the shoulder shots. To do this we secured the camera onto the tripod, and positioned the tripod in the position which would help us to achieve this shot. Furthermore, we learnt how to use the basic tools in the editing software which we would be using, Final Cut Pro X. In this we learnt how to upload our shots, edit them together, increase or decrease speed and add transitions and effects. I would say this was one of the two most beneficial aspects of the preliminary task as the saved us valued time when we came to the editing phase as we already had basic knowledge which could only be expanded upon when coming to edit. 

Evaluation - Question 6

Question 6 - What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

https://prezi.com/1bulufnuqibp/what-have-you-learnt-about-technologies-from-the-process-of/

Evaluation - Question 5

Question 5: How did you attract and address your audience?

Primary research was essential to the production of my thriller opening. This is because myself and my group did not have much knowledge of this media product. This research helped us find what was conventional to the thriller genre to help us with creating a successful narrative and helped with parts which not to include in our opening sequence.

We began with researching history of thriller films, with help of the internet to find which thriller films were most popular and famous in particular eras and how technology and equipment has changed.

We then moved on to researching age certificates and the organization the BBFC. This stage helped us to understand age ratings and guidelines of films, to know what we should, and shouldn't include.

Following on from this we then started research into our thriller opening sequences. The conventional camera shots and how they could portray characters differently, to the costuming of characters which helped to represent them clearly. We also researched generic sounds within the thriller genre, as this would help to create the best effect for our audience, building up tension and suspense.

We also researched into editing styles, and how this would work in our thriller opening sequence and if they would create the right effect for our target audience. With deciding our target audience, we created questionnaires which asked a series of questions trying to find out answers such as what age watches thrillers most, and their favorite conventions that they expect to see in a thriller film. This helped with the making of our opening sequence as we could incorporate these answers into our opening sequence to appeal to our target audience.

The research helped plan our opening sequence as it showed our group what conventional aspects we needed to include in our thriller film to engage our target audience. 

Our group took inspirations from films such as Scream and The Strangers. The research found that  many thriller films have a male antagonist. This helps to create suspense and tension as the victim is stereo typically a female, so a male may look alot bigger and threatening than a female as they are usually perceived as weak and vulnerable in thriller films. This however would help for the target audience to build a relationship with the victim as they sympathize for her as she looks less inferior to the antagonist. We also have taken inspiration from many thriller films for using low key lighting in each scene. This helps to create an dark and eerie effect for the audience, and immediately puts them on edge as somebody could be out to get the victim and harm her. We also took inspiration from The Strangers as the victim is alone in an isolated setting. Much like our film is located in the isolated forest. This puts the audience on edge as it is unknown if the victim will escape, or get any help if she needs to. 

My primary and secondary research assisted me with the planning of my thriller as we then new what conventional thriller aspects our target audience expected to happen in our opening sequence. Not only this but it helped my group to come up with a narrative as we could see what thriller films each had in common to create something which our target audience would enjoy.

Evaluation - Question 4

Question 4: Who would be the audience for your media product?

Explain why a target audience is important and why

A target audience is important when producing a media product as it
 helps as a guide of what  conventional aspects should be included and what is suitable for that age group. Aswell as this it is important as you can research different successful films within that genre with a similar target audience to see what would appeal to certain age groups and see what conventional elements they would expect to see.

Explain who your target audience is and why

The target audience for my groups film "Obscurity" is for ages 15 and over. This is because our film would not include any strong language or violence. Also through the research that we collected before planning our thriller film we found that the most popular audience for thriller films was people aged 15 and over. So we would not include any aspects which would mean the age rating would have to increase as we would loose a main part of our audience. 

Explain how your thriller film appeals to an audience ( narrative, soundtrack, characters, camera shots, mise en scene)

My thriller film appeals to a target audience of ages 15 and above. This could be due to the narrative of our thriller film. The audience watching our product must have an interest and know what to expect in the genre, so this may appeal to them as we have included many generic aspects of a thriller film. In addition I think my thriller film appeals to the target audience as the they are a similar age to the characters, the audience will then build a relationship with this character as they will sympathize as they could imagine themselves in her position. My film would also appeal to our target audience through the mise-en-scene of their costume as it is conventional. The dark colours worn by the antagonist contrasts with the victims school uniform which suggests her dominance and power is automatically lower than the antagonists suggesting something bad is going to happen, making the audience wanting to watch on to see what happens. My thriller film appeals to an audience due to the sound used. This is because it is  generic to the thriller genre. The sound which we used helps to create different effects and emotions  for the audience. The sound creates enigma and an eerie sense to the scene which puts the audience on edge. Aswell as this the diegetic sound used of the victims scream creates shock and surprise making the audience question what has happened to the victim. These two elements are conventional to the thriller genre and are what the audience would want and expect to see. 

Camera shots also help my thriller film appeal to an audience. An example of this could be a long shot of the victim walking into the dark, isolated forest. This helps the audience relate to her as they could imagine being in this situation as it could be scary and do not know whether the antagonist will leave her unharmed or not. In addition the point of view and over the shoulder shot when the victim is directly facing the antagonist appeals to the audience because this shows the fear of the victim as she doesn't move when she sees him and completely freezes, and sympathize for her, building up suspense and tension of whether she will escape or not. Lastly, the editing of the thriller sequence appeals to my target audience as it helps to create an eerie sense, always questioning what may happen next. Especially the montage scene of the antagonist, the effects used makes the scene raggedy and unsteady which could represent the thriller as it is uncertain what may happen next. With the opacity change of many of the scenes this makes the scenes look alot darker and as though it was night time, a darker surrounding is conventional of the thriller genre as this creates suspense as the audience do not know what will happen to the victim as it will be harder for her to see and make her way out of the forest to get home safely.

Evaluation - Question 3

Question 3 - What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

https://prezi.com/davz9v2ohzlx/what-kind-of-media-institution-might-distribute-your-media-p/

Evaluation - Question 2

Question 2: How does your media product represent particular social groups?

In our opening thriller sequence there are two main characters. This is the female victim and the masked antagonist. The masked antagonist is mentally unstable and has previously harmed many other young, innocent victims and is now seeking his next opportunity. During the sequence we see the antagonist stalking and targeting the victim which has no relation to the antagonist on her journey home, which includes the shortcut through the isolated forest. 

The victim in our opening thriller sequence can be portrayed as innocent and vulnerable. This is because she is unaware of the antagonist following her on her journey home. Furthermore the victim is also represented as innocent as she is a normal, young, teenage girl making her way home and has not done anything to provoke what forebodes. We can see that the victim is also represented this way due to the costume that she is wearing. Throughout the opening sequence the victim is in her School uniform on the way home from her friends house. The use of the Mise-En-Scene micro-element of costuming we can perceive the School uniform as an insight and connotation to her vulnerability and innocence as she has not yet discovered what people are like in the outside world and is still naive. In addition to this the victim can be represented as frightened and terrified. We can infer this from the diegetic sound of the scream which is meant to be coming from her. The high pitch scream again, shows her vulnerability as we can tell this is from a young girl. Not only this but it can be inferred that the young girl has not fought back to the antagonist which may signify that she must have been understandably  frightened in his presence. 

We decided to include these generic representations of the victim so it followed the conventional representations in a thriller film. We then hoped this would help to add the conventional elements to our opening sequence. Not only this but each representation of the young, female victim helped the audience to build a relationship with this particular character. I think this is because our target audience is of a similar age range to the victim so they will sympathize for as as they can relate to how they would be feeling if they too were in this situation she is currently involved in. Not only can the audience relate to the victim, but the generic representations help to create an eerie effect which consequently builds suspense and tension throughout. This keeps the audience on the edge of their seats wanting to continue to watch on to see whether the victim escapes unharmed or not.

The masked antagonist throughout our opening thriller sequence is generically represented in many different ways. It can be seen that the antagonist could be perceived as controlling and dominating. This can be seen through the story line as the killer is a man, with a young, female victim which is stereo typically less dominating then him, so he has an easy advantage. In addition to this we wanted our antagonist to be male with a female victim as men are stereo typically more dominant than females and automatically puts the audience on edge as they feel a threatening sense as it is unknown if the woman will be unharmed. This leads to another generic convention of our antagonist of threatening and frightening. Both the audience and the victim feel threatened by him. This can be seen through various shots in our opening thriller sequence such as a point of view shot from the victim which sees the antagonist appear slightly larger in size, portraying his dominance and power in the situation.

We decided to include these representations in our opening thriller sequence as we wanted both our antagonist and victim to be portrayed stereo typically. This would then help to create the conventional thriller genre elements such as shock, surprise and tension. 

 I think that gender is represented in a stereotypical way in our media product. This is because our antagonist is portrayed as powering and dominant and our female victim is portrayed as weak and vulnerable. This can be inferred as the young girl screams, with the audience questioning whether she is dead. This shows that the antagonist is inferior to the victim as he has overpowered her ability to fight back and harmed her. We can also see this representation through the over the shoulder and point of view shot used near the end of the thriller opening when the antagonist is hiding within the trees. This is because the victim is looking directly at the antagonist portraying fear as she is not moving. I think the gender stereotypes will help to build a better relationship with the characters as the audience can sympathize towards the victim and will want to continue watching the opening due to the antagonist making the scene gripping to watch. 

I think that our victim would appeal to our specific target audience of teenagers as we have portrayed her to be of this age. Furthermore, this means the audience would be able to relate to her as she is a normal girl, which lives in a normal village who is kind and friendly. They also may relate due to stereotypes as girls may feel that they too can feel dominated in the presence of a male. So when the teenage girl comes face to face with the antagonist, they immediately feel on edge as they can sympathize for her and understand how she must be feeling. The audience would fear for the victims safety and want her to get home safely. 

I think that our antagonist in our opening thriller sequence would appeal to our target audience as through our research we have concluded that our target audience find it more interesting  to watch when the antagonists identity is hidden. This is because it creates enigma of who is behind the mask and why, wondering also what their intentions are. This keeps the audience wanting to watch on as they watch on to find out who is behind the mask. Additionally to this, he fits in with the stereotypical conventions of the antagonist as he is larger than the victim so the audience will automatically feel threat and dominated. This gives the narrative a structure as it is possible the female victim will not leave unharmed. This therefore will keep the audience interested and engaged in what is going to happen.

Evaluation - Question 1

In what way does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Our opening sequence defines the thriller genre as it includes many of the codes and conventions of a stereotypical thriller film. This includes stereo-typical codes and conventions which are important to incorporate into a thriller film in order to ensure its success. Firstly, a generic convention of the thriller genre is the use of low key lighting. Low key lighting is a style of lighting within film. Low key lighting helps to accentuate objects within any scene. Not only this, but the use of low key lighting helps to create a tense and eerie effect due to the darkness. An example of a successful thriller which uses low key lighting includes "The Strangers" which low key lighting is used throughout the scene of the female protagonist alone in the isolated house. This is conventional to thriller films because it helps to add suspense to This also creates a sense of foreboding as it is suspected something bad may happen to the character as her safety is jeopardized. Our entire opening thriller sequence was filmed in low key lighting. This helped to establish the vulnerability and safety of the protagonist as she made her way home during the dark 

Another generic convention of a thriller film includes iconography. More particularly within a thriller film a knife is more commonly used as it is more personal and creates an effect for the audience as it could be possibly someone the victim knows intentionally trying to harm them. Whereas a gun can be used further away and unintentionally harm somebody. 
A knife is more personal than a gun as it implies the antagonist is willing to directly kill someone and strike many times. A use of iconography can be seen throughout the clip of "Halloween 4" when the antagonist is attempting to stab the protagonist during a chase scene over the top of the roof. Iconography is generic to the thriller genre because it helps to build a relationship between the antagonist and protagonist as well as the audience also. The use of the weapon helps to build suspense and create tension as the audience will begin to sympathize and relate to the protagonist as they begin to imagine themselves in her situation. They will grip onto the edge of their seats as they want her to become free from the antagonist. Although iconography is a conventional aspect of any thriller film we did not include this in our opening thriller sequence. The reason for this is there was not any need for one for the scenes we included during the time frame that we had. The scenes did not need to include iconography such as a knife. However, one piece of iconography that we did use which is conventional to the thriller genre was a mask, this was to keep the identity of our antagonist hidden to create a sense of enigma. 

In most films within the thriller genre a chase scene is usually included. A chase scene usually helps to build up tension as the audience begin to wonder whether the victim will be able to escape the antagonist or not. This helps the audience to build a relationship with the victim as they begin to imagine the emotion the protagonist is feeling. An example of this portrayed through the clip in "Scream" when the female protagonist is on the phone to the antagonist and makes a run for her freedom, running past her deceased boyfriend, unknown to her being followed by the killer. Within our opening thriller sequence there is not an obvious, distinct chase scene. However when thought about our entire sequence is predominately a chase scene as we see a young, vulnerable, female protagonist followed on her journey home by an unidentified antagonist and killed.

Another generic convention of the thriller genre is an unidentified antagonist as this keeps the identity of who is behind the mask hidden. This helps to create a sense of enigma as the audience begin to wonder who is the killer and there reasoning behind their actions. This begins to build up suspense and tension as the narrative continues as it proves difficult to build a relationship with the antagonist as they can't see him or understand his motives by his expressions. An example of a successful film from the thriller genre which includes a masked antagonist is Scream. Our opening sequence was based around an hidden antagonist which wore a white vendetta mask, this helps for the antagonist to come across as cold and distant, creating suspense and tension as it reminds the audience he doesn't care who he harms. 

Sound is also conventional to the thriller genre. Sound is used to create tension with intense and eerie music being played either as diegetic or non-diegetic sound. The use of a high pitch and fast tempo sound makes the audience feel uncomfortable and on edge as they spectate something unpleasant and unexpected may happen. The thriller genre uses many different, unique sound effects throughout the film creating a direct tension making it seem like they are experiencing what the character is feeling at that moment. A good example of a successful film which uses a series of different sound techniques is "Insidious". Throughout a particular scene of the film a song is played "Tiptoe through the tulips" this non-diegetic sound isn't a generic sound played throughout a thriller film. But it helps to create an eerie sense as it sounds creepy and child like. We also had non-diegetic sound throughout the entire sequence of our thriller opening. Much like "Insidious" we had a child like song playing. As ours was a nursery rhyme "Twinkle twinkle little star" this goes against the generic tension building music but I feel like it creates as much as an effect as generic sounds would. 

Another generic convention of any thriller film is for it to be set in an isolated location, whether this be an isolated forest, part of land, or some sort of building/house. This is because if the protagonist end up in danger there is nobody nearby to try and help them. This helps to build a relationship between the character and the audience as the audience fear for the characters safety. An example of this being used is in the successful thriller film "The Strangers" as we see a female protagonist alone in an isolated house surrounded by animal masked antagonists which are suspect-idly trying to harm her. Throughout our opening sequence we also use the generic convention of an isolated setting. This is when the girl is walking through the forest as a shortcut to make her journey home quicker. This has the audience holding their breath as they watch wondering what may appear on her journey home. This also creates a sense of foreboding as they begin to wonder will she exit alive or will somebody be there to help her if she encounters any danger on her journey.

I think that my thriller film compares to successful thriller films such as Scream. This is because they both have similar generic conventions. One could be a male antagonist who is masked. This is stereotypical as it keeps the audience on the edge of their seats anticipating what may happen next as it is clear that the male has more dominance within the scene as the woman is stereo typically portrayed as less inferior and weaker compared to the man. Another reason why my thriller film compares to Scream is because my entire sequence is a chase scene, this is because the antagonist is following after the victim. We have imitated the antagonists hidden identity as we have used a white vendetta mask, similar to Scream as they also have a masked antagonist. This gives an eerie sense as it is unknown who is behind the mask and could possibly be in relation to the victim, which makes the audience want to watch on.

Evaluation - Introduction

Evaluation - Introduction

In our Media lessons the brief was to create an opening thriller sequence which lasted around 2 minutes. We were put into groups of mainly 3 to 4 members which each member would all have input and help to create the opening thriller sequences. In my group, we had 3 members, myself, Ella Sawtell and Oliver Longshaw.

Within our production we all had separate roles which we took on, but we also shared roles which helped to make the role easier. Myself, Ella and Ollie took on the role of Producer and Mise-En-Scene coordinators. We felt that both of these specific roles had alot of responsibilities and would determine the success of the thriller. As a Producer there are alot of important elements to considered when making the thriller opening sequence, so with 3 individuals it helps us to remember and consider all aspects to make the thriller opening sequence a success. Similarly, a Mise-En-Scene coordinator also has to consider all of the aspects within the scene, making sure they are generic to the thriller genre and everything is in the correct place to get the best effect. To make these roles easier we thought it would help if all 3 of us took on the role to each put individual input in and discuss and expand on each others ideas.

I also took on the role of being a Director, in which I helped with the overall creative aspects of the thriller opening and brought to life the project which our group had envisioned. I also took on the role of the Director of Photography, which I helped to oversee the use of camerawork and lighting. If there were any issues I had to find a solution for the issue.

Ella also took on the role of Screenplay Writer, in which she helped to come up with the overall narrative idea for what would happen throughout the opening thriller sequence. Ella also took on one of the main roles which is the Editor of the entire production. This role gave Ella the responsibility of editing and finalizing the entire opening sequence which we had created.

Ollie had the role of being the Music Producer were he helped to choose and decide which sound and music effects where suitable for a particular scene and moment which will overall help to improve and enhance the overall opening sequence. Ollie also took on the role of an Actor which was an important role to the film as this helps to make all of the scenes more realistic, as without actors and actresses our opening thriller sequence would not be successful.

I felt that all 3 members worked well together as a group. Each member of the group helped contribute towards the project and helped with making each others roles and responsibilities as easy as possible, by following instructions and giving advice and suggestions which would help. Throughout the entire making of the thriller sequence each member put in individual ideas and input which helped to enhance our opening thriller sequence as we had many different ideas and ideas which could be expanded upon to create a successful thriller opening.

Final Group Thriller

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nka6Xa7pTOs&feature=youtu.be

West Hatch High School 16807

Hannah Hobbs - 9338

I also worked alongside, Oliver Longshaw 9351 and Ella Sawtell 9363

Rough Cut

Rough Cut

When making a production like our opening thriller sequence it is important to gain feedback. Feedback is information and reactions to a product or a performance of a task, which helps to create a basis for further improvement. Feedback can help to identify strengths and weaknesses within the product to help with knowing what needs to be done in order to improve. This could be anything from minor small errors that need to be altered slightly, or a dramatic change within the product which is beneficial to dramatically improve the final result of the product. Our rough cut was the best that we could achieve in the time and with the resources that we were allocated in our opinion, however by getting audience feedback from peers, and comments on our YouTube with the rough cut uploaded, this enabled us to get constructive criticism and feedback of small things people have noticed to help improve the production further. Furthermore, feedback is not only about what is wrong or could be improved with the final product, it is also about what is good with the product you have made, this is so this part of the product is not altered as the peers and people giving feedback think this is an essential, and good part of the production.

Once we had completed our rough cut of our opening thriller sequence we received audience feedback from our target audience by the class screening our production in class, including our teachers which have helped us throughout the process. By showing this to our target audience, we know that the feedback that they have given us would need to be taken into consideration, as this is what they would like to see in a thriller opening sequence and is representative of other people in their age group. The group gave us verbal feedback on what they enjoyed and what worked well in our thriller opening sequence, and what was conventional to the thriller genre. Next were suggestions on how we could improve our opening thriller sequence. This included suggestions such as we need to make the brightness lower on specific scenes to match the rest of the sequence. This is easily done when we go back to editing our opening thriller sequence as we can simply turn the brightness down on the screen which will make the scenes look like they were all filmed continuously on the same day. Another feedback comment was that we should take into consideration the transitions. This is because some of the transitioned moved to quickly into the next seen and seemed too quick in some peoples opinions although the actual transition worked well with the scene. Again this is easily changed as we will adjust the time of the transitions of Final Cut Pro X, I think this feedback is very helpful as not only will it slow down the rate of the transitioning to improve the sequence, but it will also add to the suspense and tension building as the audience are waiting to see what will happen next.

The feedback we received from the screening of the production to our class benefits both our production and the film industry. This is because we had an opinion from a different point of view of what our opening sequence was like when somebody watches it for the first time. Once you have watched your own sequence so many times, you begin to become oblivious to any slight errors or minor mistakes as you forget to watch out for them and focus on main points of the sequence instead. This is helpful to have someone else watch the sequence as they can point out any of these errors that may have been missed out. Overall, the production and industry both benefit as any good or bad comments are pointed out, allowing us to improve our production making it more successful and conventional to the thriller genre.

Here are some comments left on our YouTube video of our opening thriller sequence "Obscurity":

When receiving comments and feedback, positive feedback is useful and helpful to as it has given our group an insight of what elements do not need any additional changes and why they have helped to make our production successful. We have taken these comments from both the screening of our production and the comments left on the YouTube video that we uploaded of our thriller opening sequence rough cut. Firstly our feedback suggested that our transitions were well selected, in the way it wasn't too obvious that we were transitioning into the next scene and swiftly changed into the next scene keeping it professional looking. Another comment made was the fact it was clear in what our narrative was. I personally think we spent alot of our time making sure it was clear for the audience to understand the order of our thriller and what the narrative was, so this feedback was very helpful showing that our work in trying to reach this has worked. Another positive comment from our feedback from our YouTube video was that the sounds that we ended up using on our opening sequence, which were many overlapped created a good effect. The person giving this feedback suggested that the overlay of all the different sounds and effects really help to build up the tension in the seen and created an eerie sense that made the audience want to continue watching. The selection of the sound effects that we used took a long time to decide on as we wanted to create the right effect for the audience when they were watching the sequence. To hear that spending a long time on choosing the right sounds is beneficial to us at it has proved it was worth spending the time doing so and has made a good effect for the audience which is also conventional to the thriller genre.

Alongside our positive comments which we received, we also received constructive comments which helped us to reflect on our opening sequence rough cut, and helps us to decide which changes should be made in order to improve our final product. The first piece of constructive advice we received and the main piece, which more than one person commented on was to add more credits to the sequence. I think this is a beneficial comment towards my groups opening sequence as we have many more credits that we can include. To improve from this constructive comment we will add more credits along the course of the opening sequence with roles of the crew and the casts names. This will help and improve our product as this will ensure it stays looking like an opening sequence rather than a short film. Another piece of constructive criticism given was to draw out the protagonists journey on her way towards the forest. I do slightly agree with this, as it can help to build more tension and anticipation for the audience, however myself and my group will have to carefully decide on how to improve this as we do not want to have the audience watching alot of footage of the protagonist simply walking towards the forest as this may be uninteresting to watch. However, to improve this we could have more significant events of the protagonist walking to the forest that are giving her signs not to enter, keeping on building the anticipation and keep the audience wonder whether the young girl will actually enter the forest or not. Lastly, another piece of constructive feedback which we received was we could extend the use of footsteps and the heart beating sound effects to build more tension. I agree with this comment because by extending these sounds we could build up the tension even more then we have already created, this will then add to how conventional our thriller is as we have created one of the main elements which is needed.

Production Roles

Production Roles

Producers: Hannah, Ollie and Ella

Directors: Hannah 

Actors: Ollie and Ella

Directors of Photography (Cameraman): Hannah

Music Producers: Ollie

Screenplay Writer: Ella 

MES Co-ordinates: Hannah, Ollie and Ella 

Editors: Ella and Hannah

When creating a film people need to be allocated specific roles. This is because it enables every member of the group to have a significant and individual role and to contribute into one specific area. Each individual has a different role as we all have different qualities which will make us suitable for different roles rather than others, so we can each focus on a different role for a better production. The main roles within the crew are:

Directors - This role has the most control of the creative aspect of the project which is ongoing and who is in charge and oversees an activity, department or organisation. The director helps bring to life what the crew have envisioned for the project by following the script and guiding the crew and actors to create the project. Furthermore, a director ensures that all departments are running smoothly and there is no reason why there are any hazards or problems in the way of producing a professional final result. 

Producers - Producers help to prepare before the filming begins as they have overall control on most aspects of the films production either with conventional aspects, or to  supervise the production process whilst filming and presenting the final product and to create a suitable and environment where the cast and crew to create a successful production.

Director of Photography - A Director of Photography is also another important role which is always used when creating a film. The Director of Photography helps to oversee all of the camerawork, lighting and crew members working on any film production. If anything is wrong or there are any errors within these departments it is the Director of Photography's job to solve the issue so the filming process can start running smoothly again. As well as this, Directors of Photography are also responsible for any technical and main decisions to do with the film, if they do not agree with the way something has been filmed or shot they can make the casting decision on what they would like to do to change the scene if they feel that this will benefit the overall production

MES Coordinator - A mise en scene co-coordinator ensures that everything within the scene to do with, costume/hair/makeup, lighting, iconography and the setting is all in order and place and is ready to be filmed on schedule.

Editor - The role of an editor is to edit and finalize the entire opening thriller sequence.

Music Producer - A Music Producer helps to choose and decide which music and sound effects are suitable for a particular scene or moment within the thriller opening sequence and overall helps to improve the production by adding soundtracks and effects.

Screenplay Writer - A Screenplay Writer is the role of the person who comes up with the idea for a story and writes the script/narrative for what is going to happen throughout the sequence. A screenplay writer practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media such as films, television programs, comics or video games are based.

Actors - Actors and Actresses are also important for creating a film as we need people to act within the opening sequence. This is to make it more realistic and without the actors and actresses we would no be able to create our opening thriller sequence.

We decided that every member of our group will take part and take on the role of Producer in our film. This is because we did not decide to use one of our individual ideas as the final narrative, and have incorporated all of our narratives together. Having all our individual ideas and input into the opening sequence will work better than one persons decisions and ideas, as we can discuss ideas to develop ideas further, making the best opening sequence we possibly can. We thought it was important that all three of us helped to make the decisions as all of our input is important to the success of the thriller. However, I did find that by all three of us taking on the task of the producer this made the role much easier and enjoyable as each of us had never had taken on a role like this, or similar so we were able to help each other making it fair.

Again, all members of our group decided to take on the role as the MES Coordinator as none of us have any qualities that would specifically relate to this role which would help develop the sequence. I think this role would be alot for somebody to ensure was all running smoothly by themselves so with the three of us taking on the role we can all help each other and give ideas and input into what we think would work well when ensuring the mise-en-scene works well with what we are aspiring to create. 

Together we decided that I suited the role as a director of the filming process. This was only because I had taken GCSE Media and had also created a thriller opening sequence then, so we decided I could take information and tips I had learned from this and incorporate them into our current thriller opening. We also thought this as I also worked in a larger group and help to organize and manage the group well, so with a smaller group we decided that it would be easier to organize and I could suggest what I knew would work well and what wouldn't work well based on what I have learnt in year 11.  I have taken on this role of the director of photography for similar reasons to my other role, this is because I took Media at GCSE and have learnt about the camera skills before so could suggest to the other members of my group what camera angle/technique may work well in a particular scene. 

We decided that Ella suited the role of the Screenplay Writer the most. This is because Ella takes English at A-Level, and has the qualities which enable us to develop our narrative as much as possible to make it enjoyable for the audience and keeping the conventional thriller aspects to the opening sequence.

We also decided that Ella suited the role of the Editor of our opening sequence. We think that she suited this role as she took GCSE art and knows which effects/colours and schemes work well within the thriller opening sequence. Although this role is mainly Ella's, myself and Ollie still continue to play a large role in the editing phase of creating the thriller opening sequence as we all have different ideas and input of what we think works well, which will enable us to create a sequence that we all like and is developed to the best that we can make it.

We decided that Ollie would suit the role of the music producer as he volunteered as we have studied and researched which sounds and music is most effective to use within a thriller opening genre. In addition to this both Ollie and Ella offered to take on the role of an actor and actress within the thriller opening sequence as they both wanted to do this role as they enjoy acting and drama and suited the roles of the characters that we came up with.

Filming Schedule

Filming Schedule

A filming schedule is important to have as it not only keeps individuals organised, but it keeps the whole group organised as it keeps track of time and each member knows what they are meant to be doing, when, where and what time. The schedule also enables the group to plan outside activities around the filming schedule, so we can all agree on a day that we can film without a member of the group not being there. Another reason a filming schedule is important is because it helps us to meet deadlines of when we need to have filmed a certain scene, this helps with the editing phase as we will not be behind with work. It also helps to plan ahead so that we leave enough time at the end to go back and film any scenes if we need to.

We originally began filming with sticking to our filming schedule. The first scene that we shot was of the two girls walking out of the house taking their dog out for a evening walk. This night we also shot the scenes of the girls entering the forest, and also of the antagonist walking into the forest. However, once we reviewed the scenes we realized quickly that they were too dark and needed to be re filmed. At this point we had already not followed our filming schedule precisely. Two days later we decided to film again. We then realized that it was raining outside and could not film until it had finished as it could not be raining with dark skies in one scene, then not raining and clear, bright skies in another. During this time we decided to film inside the scenes were the antagonists sets alight the pictures of the protagonists. This was originally meant to be filmed last, but we changed the order as this time was more suitable and convenient and could be then out of the way. This was a good use of our time as during this time the weather cleared up, after allowing us to go out into the forest when it wasn't raining. We then filmed and re filmed scenes such as the antagonist and protagonist walking into the forest, the scene where the protagonist first sees the antagonist and the antagonist then leaving the forest on a cliffhanger. The scenes we now need to film are the original scenes that are too dark. This is when the protagonist is leaving her house to take her dog out for a walk, this lighting will match the rest of the scenes.

From using this filming schedule, and seeing that many changes were made to it when we actually came to film it has been beneficial as we will know how to plan a filming schedule in the future. Things that I have learnt from creating a filming schedule is that we need to take into account everybody's day. For example, on days that we filmed, we still needed to travel home from School before hand, therefore we should have taken this into consideration and could have chosen a location that was nearer the School grounds so that we did not have to take the journey home and let it begin to get dark out before we even started to film. Another aspect of the filming schedule I would take into consideration is the scenes that we would be filming on which day. We found it easier to film scenes in the same location on the same day instead of going to another location, this would have made sense at the beginning but we did not think of this. We decided originally to shoot our sequence in order, then found it easier to shoot scenes as an when we were in the same location which made the filming schedule less time consuming and actually found that we had finished the majority of the filming much quicker than we anticipated which benefited our group as we could start the editing process much sooner than we thought.

Opening Scene Narration

Opening Scene Narration

Our opening thriller sequence will be 2-3 minutes long. Our opening thriller sequence is the narrative which would be at the end of our film. We decided to do this because the audience will watch this, and want to know the entire story line leading up to the events that have been seen in the sequence. This has shown disequilibrium as we have shown the end at the beginning of our opening sequence. We believe that this will entice our target audience and make them want to watch on further. Our opening scene begins with a black screen, so the audience can concentrate on what is being said within the diegetic news report of the missing children around the local area. This scene then fades out slowly to show the audience a view of a living room which is dimly lit by low-key, natural lighting. The two young protagonists are sitting on the sofa discussing what they are going to watch on tv and the fact they are going to take out their pet dog later on that evening. Once the girls have finished discussing the news report about the local children going missing, and discussing the activities they need to finish before the evening ends, the camera zooms in slightly to reveal a close up shot of the dark, masked antagonist.  The scene fades and then unfocused slightly as it transitions into the masked protagonist walking away from the window, leaving the audience wondering where he has gone. 

Slowly, the scene transitions out with a simple blur and then continues to a long shot of when the two girls leave the front door ready to go for a late evening walk with the dog. In this scene it is evening time and has now become slightly dark, which helps to create tension within the scene. The camera then pans to the right as we then see the two girls beginning to walk down the long stretch of road. Next, we have the use of a handheld camera, which follows the girls as they walk down the road heading towards the forest. This then blurs out into the next scene of a flashback were the antagonist is setting alight pictures of his victims that are taped onto the wall which creates a sense of enigma as the audience wonder what and why he is doing this, and if the victims safety which pictures left not burnt are now in jeopardy, the scene then leads on to a close up of the last victims picture on the wall that is going to be set alight. The scene is then in slow motion as the flames begin to slowly burn the photo.

The scene then reverts back to the scene of the two protagonists walking down the long stretch of road, this time the camera is not following after the pair, and is a long shot so the audience can see where the protagonists are. The scene then blurs slightly to a mix of the same shot from different angles of another flashback to the zoom in shot of the victims picture being burnt on the wall. Furthermore, the scene then appears in the setting of the isolated forest and immediately pans around the tree as you see the rope which is tying up the young boy victim.

We then move on to film a mid shot of the girls as they have a casual conversation about what they have done that day and what they are going to do later on that evening. This then fades out to yet another flash back scene of the pictures being burnt on the wall, almost as a montage of the same clip repeated as it is flashing on screen to give a sense of enigma as this confuses the audience as they do not know what is happening. The camera then zooms into the scene of the picture to just see the fire flickering slightly, this helps to build suspense and tension. The scene then fades to darkness for a couple seconds as it then begins to reappear on a slight shadow of the masked antagonist on the forest floor behind the two protagonists. This immediately creates a sense of foreboding as it is unknown what is going to happen to the two girls.

The last scene then flashes up a quick scene of the mask in a montage shot, along with following shots to continue the montage editing of the girls within the forest, the boy that is tied up to the tree, the masked antagonist closely followed by screams and heart beats over the top of this scene to create a scene that is rushed, making the audience question what is happening.

Group Storyboard

Group Storyboard

After we each planned our own individual story boards, we have incorproated our decisions within each of our individual storyboards together as a group to create a final, group story board of 20 frames. Our group story board helps the group to create a final idea and make a final desicion on which techniques, editing styles and iconography we will be using. By incorporating each others individual ideas from our own storyboards this enabled the final storyboard process to be much quicker and easier. 

Within this storyboard we have included shots of a black screen and a living room. This scene begins with a black screen which has a news report over the top of the scene about missing children in the area. This helps to build and create tension as it creates a sense of foreboding for the rest of the scene as it makes the audience wonder what is going to happen next. The black screen then fades out into the scene of the living room which helps to set the scene of a family room were there is no sense of danger. This immediately changes as the storyboards illustrates that a dark figure walks past the window and ruins this danger free feel as the audience automatically assume that the dark figure would put the children in danger, keeping the audience on the edge of their seats and keep them wanting to watch on to find out what is going to happen.

Within this storyboard that myself and my group have created it begins with a close up of the empty window. This is after the dark figure has disappeared. This makes the audience wonder where the dark figure has disappeared to and wonder if he is on the way to get his next victim, creating suspense and tension. The scene them moves on to the two girls walking down the road together. This also shows that the camera is being handheld by another person which is portrayed to the audience that it is the antagonist. This creates a sense of foreboding for the audience as it makes them think that the antagonist is following them around and can put them in possible threat and danger. This makes the audience empathise for the characters as they could not help but put themselves in this situation and wonder what they would then be feeling like. The storyboard leads on to show the flashback scene of the antagonist burning pictures of his victims and future victims on the wall. This creates suspense and tension for the audience as the un burned pictures of victims demonstrate to the audience that they are the next possible victims, making the audience want to continue to watch on.

We then created the third section of our story board. This was also another 4 different scenes. This storyboard begins with the two girls walking down the road again, this is because it has gone back to the scene to show that this is the current day after the flash back has already occurred. To the audience this could be seen as reliterating the scene to portray to the audience this is a significant event  of when the girls are entering the forest to suggest something bad is going to happen when they do. The storyboard then goes on to show the flashback scene again of the antagonist looking at pictures of the victims and then burning them. This automatically creates a sense of enigma to the audience as they wonder what the antagonist is doing and why. The audience will also empathise for the victims as it is unknown if they are innocent or not. 

The fourth storyboard we then created as a group began with the two girls in the forest wondering around, which immediately creates a sense of foreboding as two vulnerable, young girls are in the middle of an isolated setting without any escape or anybody near by to there them if they are in danger. The next scene flash  to the scene of the antagonist lighting the pictures of his victims. The purpose of this scene is to show to the audience that he is not going to stop untill he is finished with all of his victims, creating suspense and tension for the audience. 

We then went on to create our fifth storyboard for our opening thriller sequence. This storyboard begins with a scene of a shadow of the antagonist on the forest floor. This creates enigma for the audience as it is unknown whos shadow is reflected onto the floor, and why they are in the forest, and if the protagonists safety is jeoprodized. This scene fades as a raged transition flashes up a scene with just a close up of the masked, unidentified antagonist. This is to create a shock for the audience as they were most likely not expecting this to happen and has now kept them intrested. The scene swiftly fades out and into the montage scene. This is where lots of clips are edited together quickly, confusing the audience as they do not know what is going on, as they are waiting for the scene to end to see if something bad is going to happen at the end of it. The final scene on our storyboard is then a high angled shot of the two protagonists standing looking directly up at the camera seeming possessed. This creates enigma for the audience as they wonder what has happened to the girls in the short while they were not on the scene, this would encourage the audience to want to watch on further to find out the truth behin what is within the forest and what has happened.

Overall, I think that our storyboard works well as the scenes flow well after eachother. There is a range of different camera techniques throughout the opening sequence, including a long shot, point of view shot and a high angled shot so it is not one continuous mid shot scene. At first we did not include a close up shot, but it was Ella's idea to include one of the masked antagonist to show how scary and mysterious it looks to create suspense and enigma for the audience. We also included a close up shot of the victims and their eyes. This is conventional to the thriller genre as you can see the worried expression on the protagonists faces and how scared they are in this situation. The audience will begin to empathise for the characters as the target audience is of a similar age and cant help but imagine themselves in this situation. Our orignal group storyboard also did not include any flash backs to the scene were the antagonist is burning and circling pictures of his victims once he had endangered them and hurt them. The point of this was to cause confusion, worry and create a sense of enigma for the audience as this would make them wonder what is going on, and why the antagonist would want to hurt the vulnerbale characters.

Risk Assessment

Risk Assessment

Myself and my group created a risk assessment as it is important to consider risks before filming so we can ensure we are safe throughout the filming process and can eliminate any hazards that could have possibly occurred and ensures safety.

 Our first potential hazard was that wires could be leading from the plug to the camera if it was on charge, meaning would could trip or fall over them and end up with one of our group hurt or injured. To prevent this we decided that we will lay mats over the top of the wires to prevent any tripping or falling. Also we will ensure the camera is charged fully so we do not have to repetitively charge the camera with more chances for an accident to occur. 

Another hazard we could encounter is the uncertainty of the weather. The weather is very unpredictable and we can not have one scene with clear skies, then the next seen with raining, thunder and lightening as this would not be continuous and would be obvious to the audience that the scenes were filmed on different days. To avoid this, we decided filming when it was dark out would avoid the problem as there would be no sun, and if it was raining then it would not matter as it would add to the eerie overall effect and could make the opening sequence better with more sound. Another problem we could face regarding weather is that if there is any rain it could land onto the camera lense, damaging the camera. To prevent this from occurring we will take an umbrella out with us whilst we film to hold over the camera.

Another hazard that could be dangerous whilst filming is the amount of light we have. For example, if we are filming in the pitch black, or very dark lighting it may be difficult to see what is on the floor within the forest floor or uneven pavement, which could lead to a injury of one of the group members. To prevent this hazard from causing any danger we will bring extra sources of light such as a torch to help find our way round and watch out for any objects on the ground so we do not fall over.

In addition to this another hazard we may encounter during the filming process in the forest may be the amount of branches hanging from the trees or falling randomly, which may hurt if they were to fall on one of the members of the group. Furthermore, if branches have already fallen onto the floor this could be a hazard as they could be sticking out in different directions and could have someone tripping up over them. This relates back to my last point of lighting. If where we are filming is lit well, the issue of falling and hanging branches will not be an issue. However, if the setting is in darkness where we are filming, such as the forest it may be a possibility of not seeing the branches. Therefore we will use our extra sources of light such as a torch to help us see any hazards in our way.

Another hazard may be a risk of burns from the fire that we will be using for a scene of the victims pictures being burnt, or setting alight objects that are surrounding this scene. To prevent this hazard from harming or destroying anything, we will have a water source nearby to put out the fire if it somehow spread. If anybody was to catch any part of them in the fire, we will then  immediately place any burns that may have occurred in the freezing water so it will not leave damage and begins to bring down the wound immediately.

Weaponry that we could possibly use is a hazard that we could encounter and could be a problem when using in a public area. This is because the public do not realise that the purpose of the iconography is to create an effect for the

audience, creating suspense and tension to enhance our thriller opening sequence and may not altogether realise we are filming for an opening thriller sequence and think we are carrying weapons. To prevent any fear for the public, we will carry around the iconography sensibly and discreetly , and try not to use in front of anybody. However, if this is the case and the public do see the weapon we will politely explain to them why we are using the iconography so they will not feel any sense of threat and can continue on without worry that they haven't reported the situation.

Furthermore, another hazard could be the wildlife and animals in the forest late at night or in the darkness. We do not want to scare or cause the animals harm within the forest, so if they come near to us we will keep well away from the wildlife as this is their habitat.





The hazards listed above are what myself and my group have thought of which could set us off task whilst filming or could prevent us from filming specific scenes. These were the only hazards we could have encountered whilst filming. They are also what could happen when we begin filming so we have come up with ways which we can deal with the situation but also prevent the situation before it occurs. Planning ahead for any hazards is important as it helps us to prevent any potential hazards early so we can get on with filming. During filming we did not encounter as many hazards as we thought we were going to. One main issue for us was the lack of light we had available as when we began to film it was very dark and was barely visible on the camera. However, we used extra light sources such as a torch, however this was not a major issue as when we came to the editing phase we could alter the brightness of the scene. However, another issue that we encountered with the darkness is not being able to see obstacles such as hanging branches, or uneven surfaces on the pavement and forest floor, we used the torches to guide us when it was total darkness on our path to ensure that we did not trip or fall. Apart from the minor hazards we encountered this was all that could obstruct us from filming our opening thriller sequence.