Friday 18 March 2011
Editing
For the editing we decided to use this sound as one of our sounds; http://soundbible.com/1548-Scary-Scream.html and also sound off of this website http://incompetech.com/m/c/royalty-free/index.html?genre=Horror
We felt that this was appropriate because we thought that it would scare some people when we put it into our clip. This is because they would not be expecting it to come up into their hearing. This is a typical convention of the Thriller genre. When people are not expecting what they hear, they are scared because it is natural of the human nature to want to know what is happening. When they don't know they feel uncomfortable and out of their comfort zone.
We decided to use many straight cuts instead of using transitions such as fade because we felt that this was appropriate as we did not want people to wait for something to happen. We did straight cuts so that we could get straight to the point and make sure that people felt on edge when they were watching our clip. We made everything that we did within transitions fast and straight to the point as we thought this would be most effective. Although we did use a fade edit when changing from the train to the house, we decided that we would make this a quick fade so that we did not leave the audience waiting for too long. Flashing shots were also used for effectiveness because this meant that the audience we scared and waiting for something to happen. The audience want to see what is going to come after the flashing shots. We used a zoom effect on the weapons inside the bag as we also thought that this would be effective as it gives the audience a chance to recognize the weapons that 'The Watcher' is going to be using to get away with his crimes.
Towards the end of the clip, we decided to use some white flashing images so that we could let the audience see what the important parts of the clip are and the parts which they should have picked up on e.g. the hanging pictures below. We thought that the white flash to the next image would be effective because it basically tells them the storyline.
We felt that this was appropriate because we thought that it would scare some people when we put it into our clip. This is because they would not be expecting it to come up into their hearing. This is a typical convention of the Thriller genre. When people are not expecting what they hear, they are scared because it is natural of the human nature to want to know what is happening. When they don't know they feel uncomfortable and out of their comfort zone.
We decided to use many straight cuts instead of using transitions such as fade because we felt that this was appropriate as we did not want people to wait for something to happen. We did straight cuts so that we could get straight to the point and make sure that people felt on edge when they were watching our clip. We made everything that we did within transitions fast and straight to the point as we thought this would be most effective. Although we did use a fade edit when changing from the train to the house, we decided that we would make this a quick fade so that we did not leave the audience waiting for too long. Flashing shots were also used for effectiveness because this meant that the audience we scared and waiting for something to happen. The audience want to see what is going to come after the flashing shots. We used a zoom effect on the weapons inside the bag as we also thought that this would be effective as it gives the audience a chance to recognize the weapons that 'The Watcher' is going to be using to get away with his crimes.
Towards the end of the clip, we decided to use some white flashing images so that we could let the audience see what the important parts of the clip are and the parts which they should have picked up on e.g. the hanging pictures below. We thought that the white flash to the next image would be effective because it basically tells them the storyline.
Filming
As planned, we were supposed to go to Alex's house to film in his basement on Friday 11th of March but unfortunately he was not available on this day so we decided that to make things easier for ourselves that we would change the location and film at Ben's house in his garage. As we were filming in the daytime we had a few problems with the lighting as the garage was not as dark as we needed it to be. We managed to come across these small problems by using bin bags to cover up the places where the light was coming through. We used a small lamp so that we could get some light into the room and this light managed to create some good shadows which also adds to the eerie effect.
The next shot was done outside of Ben's house which was done as an establishing shot of the house. Ben stood outside of the house with the camera to film whilst I stood inside and dimmed the lights. We wanted this shot because it makes it seem as though somebody is watching from outside and it also lets the audience know that there is somebody inside the house too. By filming this shot it lets the audience know that the person inside of the house is more than likely in trouble or that there is somebody in the house that isn't supposed to be.
We filmed some shots on the platform of the train station so that we could get a shot of 'The Watcher' on one side of the train and then when a train went past we made sure that he had disappeared which created a shot which confused people as they did not know where he had gone so fast.
When we shot in Ben's garage we used my hands to create the shots with the gloves. This was an easy shot that Ben had to shoot as my hands were already being used. This shot was used to create tension for the audience because when the leather gloves are placed on it gives the impression that a crime is going to happen because they don't want their fingerprints to be placed onto whatever they are damaging or harming.
The next shot was done outside of Ben's house which was done as an establishing shot of the house. Ben stood outside of the house with the camera to film whilst I stood inside and dimmed the lights. We wanted this shot because it makes it seem as though somebody is watching from outside and it also lets the audience know that there is somebody inside the house too. By filming this shot it lets the audience know that the person inside of the house is more than likely in trouble or that there is somebody in the house that isn't supposed to be.
We filmed some shots on the platform of the train station so that we could get a shot of 'The Watcher' on one side of the train and then when a train went past we made sure that he had disappeared which created a shot which confused people as they did not know where he had gone so fast.
When we shot in Ben's garage we used my hands to create the shots with the gloves. This was an easy shot that Ben had to shoot as my hands were already being used. This shot was used to create tension for the audience because when the leather gloves are placed on it gives the impression that a crime is going to happen because they don't want their fingerprints to be placed onto whatever they are damaging or harming.
Analysis of seven opening titles
Seven (David Fincher,1995)
When we were told to design an opening to a thriller the film that came into my mind was Seven. Seven was well above its time in the thriller genre when it came out and was nominated for an Oscar. Me and Ben found most of our inspiration from Seven.
Sound
Non diegetic music is used within this film clip and it has an electric sound to it which sounds a lot like screeching. This is not necessarily a nice noise that many people would like to hear. This is done deliberately because similarly to the soundtrack in 'The Collector' it hits some peoples nerves and makes them feel uncomfortable. The music has definitely been done to make the audience feel tense and uncomfortable. This is typical of the Thriller genre. There is a height in the music when what seems to be a razorblade goes across the persons finger. This is something that would also hits some nerves because it makes people feel uncomfortable again.
Camera work
The shots that are used are mainly close ups of different objects such as hands and animals. This gives away the storyline a little bit because the director would not put clips of different objects into the opening scene unless they were important and part of the film. It would seem unlikely because the opening scene sets the scene for the whole of the film. There is also a lot of close ups on a book which shows that this book must be important because they would not focus on the book otherwise. I like the way that the flashing is disturbing and they use shocking images so that you feel as though you shouldn't have seen the image. The lighting is also good in this opening scene because it is dark and off colour which makes it look merky which gives the impression that it is dirty where they are filming.
Editing
The editing is mainly just straight cuts to the different images. They have decided not to use any fancy transitions and the straight cuts do exactly the job that they need to do. There is a flicker effect which makes it seem old fashioned and not very modern in the film industry. Even though it could have been done this way because of the lack of technology at the time but it creates a good effect for the thriller genre.
Mise en scene
I feel as though the mise en scene for this scene is very good because all of the props fit into the killers mind. For example, in the image below there is a man with a long drill through his head which shows how the killer is researching death and murder. On some of the images it almost shows the inside of the killers mind because he thinks fast about what he is doing and seems as though he doesn't hesitate before killing someone.
Titles
There is a white font on black background font on the titles ground. There is also a flicker effect which could be done to create a ghostly effect. It attracts the audiences attention when it is flickering because they see something moving on the eye. I really liked that the titles were floating in random places on the screen because it gave the impression that not even the title knew where they were meant to be. The font and how to words are scattered around suggests that the titles are not really put together but this is done deliberately because this is what the director wanted the audience to feel.
When we were told to design an opening to a thriller the film that came into my mind was Seven. Seven was well above its time in the thriller genre when it came out and was nominated for an Oscar. Me and Ben found most of our inspiration from Seven.
Sound
Non diegetic music is used within this film clip and it has an electric sound to it which sounds a lot like screeching. This is not necessarily a nice noise that many people would like to hear. This is done deliberately because similarly to the soundtrack in 'The Collector' it hits some peoples nerves and makes them feel uncomfortable. The music has definitely been done to make the audience feel tense and uncomfortable. This is typical of the Thriller genre. There is a height in the music when what seems to be a razorblade goes across the persons finger. This is something that would also hits some nerves because it makes people feel uncomfortable again.
Camera work
The shots that are used are mainly close ups of different objects such as hands and animals. This gives away the storyline a little bit because the director would not put clips of different objects into the opening scene unless they were important and part of the film. It would seem unlikely because the opening scene sets the scene for the whole of the film. There is also a lot of close ups on a book which shows that this book must be important because they would not focus on the book otherwise. I like the way that the flashing is disturbing and they use shocking images so that you feel as though you shouldn't have seen the image. The lighting is also good in this opening scene because it is dark and off colour which makes it look merky which gives the impression that it is dirty where they are filming.
Editing
The editing is mainly just straight cuts to the different images. They have decided not to use any fancy transitions and the straight cuts do exactly the job that they need to do. There is a flicker effect which makes it seem old fashioned and not very modern in the film industry. Even though it could have been done this way because of the lack of technology at the time but it creates a good effect for the thriller genre.
Mise en scene
I feel as though the mise en scene for this scene is very good because all of the props fit into the killers mind. For example, in the image below there is a man with a long drill through his head which shows how the killer is researching death and murder. On some of the images it almost shows the inside of the killers mind because he thinks fast about what he is doing and seems as though he doesn't hesitate before killing someone.
Titles
There is a white font on black background font on the titles ground. There is also a flicker effect which could be done to create a ghostly effect. It attracts the audiences attention when it is flickering because they see something moving on the eye. I really liked that the titles were floating in random places on the screen because it gave the impression that not even the title knew where they were meant to be. The font and how to words are scattered around suggests that the titles are not really put together but this is done deliberately because this is what the director wanted the audience to feel.
Risk assessment
Risk | To Who/What | Prevention of Risk |
| Loosing equipment | Camera , tripod, film | Make sure all equipment is accounted for before and after every filming session and locked away in media storage cupboard as soon as possible after filming is completed. |
| Impaling/ being sliced by tools | All members of crew | Careful handling of props to make sure no injuries occur. |
| Falling into train lines | All members of crew/equipment | Make sure no filming happens over the yellow lines on the train platforms. |
| Weather damage of equipment | Camera, tripod, film | Don’t film in the rain or make sure the camera is covered well. |
Filming Schedule
Date, Location, People Attending
Friday 11th - Alex Brown's cellar - Jake Frost, Ben Clarke, Alex Brown
Monday 14th - Attenborough Lane - Jake Frost, Ben Clarke
Monday 14th - Attenborough Train Station - Jake Frost, Ben Clarke
Friday 11th - Alex Brown's cellar - Jake Frost, Ben Clarke, Alex Brown
Monday 14th - Attenborough Lane - Jake Frost, Ben Clarke
Monday 14th - Attenborough Train Station - Jake Frost, Ben Clarke
Props
The Teddy Bear
We used a teddy bear as one of our props so that it was known to the audience that 'The Watcher' has been watching a child. It makes the audience believe that 'The Watchers' crimes are being aimed towards children which makes the crimes a lot worse. People tend to be more scared if the crimes are aimed towards children.
Leather gloves
We decided to use some leather gloves because they could become very important for our scene as he needs to hide his identity and fingerprints. It shows that 'The Watcher' is good at what he does and has the knowledge to keep his identity hidden so that he won't get caught. The fact that they are black gloves represent his dark nature.
Gardening tools
We decided to use gardening tools in our production so that we could show that 'The Watcher' does not use the stereotypical knife or gun to kill someone. We wanted our villain to be different so we decided that we would use gardening tools for his weapon. This is what he will kill his victims with.
Location
Our friend Alex has quite an old house which has a basement and we thought that this location would be great for some of our footage. We would be able to catch the eerie look that we wanted within our sequence, the natural darkness and old features to the house were perfect and hopefully will come up well on our sequence.
The second location which we have decided to use is Attenborough Lane. This is Ben's road and where his house is there is a lot of bushes which means we can get inside them to create a point of view experience for the people watching our sequence.
The last location that we have decided to use is Attenborough Train Station. It is easy to get to and we are going to produce a shot where somebody appears after the train goes by. This can only be created at a train station and this is the most convenient one.
We have decided to use Ben's garage instead of using Alex's basement because when we have to do improvements it is more convenient as it is easier to get to each others houses. It does not take any organising whereas going to Alex's house in Stapleford would.
Update :
We decided that another location that we are going to use is the train track and platform. We have done this because it is very convenient and we are able to get some good shots e.g. the shot of 'The Watcher' on the other side of the train track and when the train goes past, he is gone. This was a shot that we thought was very effective as it plays with the audiences mind and makes them wonder when he has gone.
The second location which we have decided to use is Attenborough Lane. This is Ben's road and where his house is there is a lot of bushes which means we can get inside them to create a point of view experience for the people watching our sequence.
The last location that we have decided to use is Attenborough Train Station. It is easy to get to and we are going to produce a shot where somebody appears after the train goes by. This can only be created at a train station and this is the most convenient one.
We have decided to use Ben's garage instead of using Alex's basement because when we have to do improvements it is more convenient as it is easier to get to each others houses. It does not take any organising whereas going to Alex's house in Stapleford would.
Update :
We decided that another location that we are going to use is the train track and platform. We have done this because it is very convenient and we are able to get some good shots e.g. the shot of 'The Watcher' on the other side of the train track and when the train goes past, he is gone. This was a shot that we thought was very effective as it plays with the audiences mind and makes them wonder when he has gone.
Actors
Character : The Watcher
Actor : Ben Clarke
The Watcher is a peadophile, stalker and killer. He hides to watch children hence the name of 'The Watcher'. Ben does not have any Drama experience but he when he does act he does not need to speak or do any actual acting which means that this is not a problem. He just needs to stand on the other side of the train track and we cannot actually see his face because this would mean that 'The Watchers' identity has been revealed.
Character : The Watcher's hands
Actor : Jake Frost
I have experience in Drama as I did it at GCSE and also am taking A Level Drama. I am comfortable with being in front of the camera as I do not have any problems. Our sequence does not involve a lot of acting as we would like to concentrate more on objects.
Internet Audience Research
The collector (2009 Marcus Dunstan)
When I knew we had to get some inspiration for the opening of my thriller I went out looking for something a long the lines of the film Seven and I decided to research on the Internet about The Collector opening scene which I found was similar to that of Seven but does everything a lot more extreme.
Sound
Non-diegetic music is used throughout the clip which creates a very sci-fi feel to the clip due to the music which has been used. The music which has also been used seems to be created to go through you because it creates a sound which is a bit like scratching fingernails on a blackboard which hits a lot of peoples senses and they do not like the sound for this reason. This is a great choice of music for a thriller opening scene because it automatically within five minutes hits the audiences senses and nerves. The sound keeps on getting louder to make people feel the suspense so that they keep waiting for something to happen.
Camera work
Not many shots have been used throughout the clip as they are very fast shots so that not much is given away. Quick panning shots are used to show frogs, spiders and other objects which are contained in jars to keep it concealed. Many close up shots have also been used on the animals which are moving. I believe that this has been done to scare people and hit their senses as a lot of people are scared of animals such as spiders and suffer from phobias such as arachnophobia. Another shot which is recurring is one of what we guess is 'The Collector'. It is a shadowed image which is done to make people feel scared as people tend to fear what they cannot identify.
Editing
Throughout the opening scene there are many different clips with fast changing sequences. At one point there are three different shots within a second which demonstrates how fast changing the transitions are. We only see an image of 'The Collector' which shows that he is the main character who we should be interested in. The fact that he has been set to be shadowed within an orange background and we cannot see any facial features which makes the identity of 'The Collector' unknown. Orange is also a connotation of fire. Different shots have blurs within them which makes sure that the audience cannot quite make out what they are seeing which can make them more scared as they want to know what is happening otherwise they begin to get on edge and curious. Most of the images have a backing colour of green which could be used deliberately because they give connotations of darkness and oddness. The fast cuts makes the audience feel confused because they cannot see one thing long enough to realise what is going on.
Mise en scene
We cannot really interpret the location but we know that it is somewhere underground. We know this because when the image of 'The Collector' is shown we can see a roof above him. This is also typical of the thriller genre as when somebody is underground there is nowhere that they can actually go. They cannot get out into the open from underground. An image of a spider is used to get to peoples worst fears as many people have arachnophobia in the world and when they are beginning to watch the film they cannot handle it for very long without being scared.
Titles
The titles in the sequence are a simple white font on black background in a typewriter font.
Monday 7 March 2011
Thriller Questionnaire
How old are you?
15-21
21-35
35-50
50+
How often do you watch a film?
Daily
Weekly
Bi-weekly
Monthly
What is preferred genre of film?
Comedy
Horror
Thriller
Drama
Romance
When watching a thriller what do you expect?
To be scared
To be on the edge of your seat
To be on the edge of your seat
To not know what is coming
How do thrillers make you feel?
Shocked
Excited
Thrilled
Scared
After you have seen a thriller does it make you think deeper into it?
Yes
No
Do explicit images make more of an impact than subtle implicit shots?
After you have seen a thriller does it make you think deeper into it?
Yes
No
Do explicit images make more of an impact than subtle implicit shots?
Yes
No
No
Results
Age:
Our sample was mainly in the ’15-21’ age category. This was mainly for convenience as it was easier to ask our peers to partake in the questionnaire as they were in college with us at the time that we created the questionnaire. They seem to have a similar intake on thrillers as we do but with some variations.
How often do you watch films? :
This shows that the people we asked watched a film at least once a week if not every other day. Also showing that they have some knowledge about film and are likely to watch many different genres and have a lot of knowledge and opinions on thriller films and the conventions that they would like to see.
What is your preferred genre? :
When we asked people this question they said that they had more than one preferred genre and that it depended on the mood they were in. But from the results given most people had preference to comedy. Perhaps because comedies are easy-watching and keep people entertained without having to put too much thought into it.
When we asked people this question they said that they had more than one preferred genre and that it depended on the mood they were in. But from the results given most people had preference to comedy. Perhaps because comedies are easy-watching and keep people entertained without having to put too much thought into it.
When watching a thriller what do you expect? :
The majority of people replied that they expected to not know whats coming to keep them guessing, so it is useful to take that into account and live up to the expectations of the audience. However, only filming the first 2 minutes means that we can’t give away too much of the story.
The majority of people replied that they expected to not know whats coming to keep them guessing, so it is useful to take that into account and live up to the expectations of the audience. However, only filming the first 2 minutes means that we can’t give away too much of the story.
How do thrillers make you feel? :
Most people said that they tend to be scared when they watch thriller films. This could be for many different reasons such as the jumpy scenes and not knowing what to expect. People are prone to get scared when they feel something is not right and when they do not know what is happening.
Most people said that they tend to be scared when they watch thriller films. This could be for many different reasons such as the jumpy scenes and not knowing what to expect. People are prone to get scared when they feel something is not right and when they do not know what is happening.
This shows that people expect a huge twist at the end of the films with people making reference to ‘The Sixth Sense’ and ‘Shutter Island’.
Do explicit images make more of an impact than subtle implicit shots?
The majority of people said that the diegetic sounds make more of an impact on them than actually being able to see a graphic shot.Thriller insperation.
Seven is my inspiration for the Thriller that me and Ben are going to create because I think that the view it takes is unique and individual. I would like to be able to create something like this because the effects that it manages to give off are great. It was a great film, way ahead of its time and I want to be able to thrill people in a similar way which this film manages to do so.
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