Rough Cut - Miss Miller

A rough cut is the first draft of what our final opening scene, it roughly resembles the final product but still is not properly edited meaning that it doesn't flow as well as the final product. Our rough cut included all the appropriate scenes which we plan to use in our final product but the editing of the sequence is not at the standard which we aim for in our final opening sequence. Our rough copy showed that we need to improve the digetic sound of our sequence as we didn't take it out when it was meant to, we also plan to change the opening credits as they didn't relate so much to a thriller film 

I believe our rough cut was extremely important in creating a successful opening sequence as it gave us a clear idea of what specific elements we needed to improve about our opening thriller sequence, it also allowed us to understand if our thriller was successful in evoking emotions and if not how we could improve it to build relationships between the characters and audience.

After producing our rough cut we showed it to many people who are within our target audience category and they gave us feedback on how we could improve it to make a complete opening sequence. I believe this feedback was extremely beneficial towards making our final sequence as within our thriller we aimed to use many elements such as relatable characters and settings to help form a relationship between the characters and audience hoping that this would cause them to emphasise with the protagonists emotions and therefore be more engrossed within the narrative.

To receive this feedback we presented our rough copy to 20 people of our target audience of 17-25 year olds. Within this presentation we created a powerpoint this powerpoint consisted of a brief outline of our narrative, a slide on how our opening sequence fits codes and conventions of the thriller genre and a couple of slides on how we created our thriller. We then played our thriller opening sequence and asked the audience to fill out a form which stated what they think went well within our thriller, what we could improve and the mark they believe we got out of 60.

The feedback we received from showing our target audience our opening sequence was consistent in the fact that they believed that the overall narrative of our opening sequence was successful and the specific cinematography we used was appropriate and effective but from the feedback we received from peers was, that we could improve  the digetic sound the we had not yet removed, and also the credits they had to be more relative to the thriller genre as they was not eye catching or scary enough for this genre. 

Planning Opening Credits-Miss Georgiou

Planning Opening Credits

Credits are important and significant within a film because they introduce the film to the audience and what the film is called. Also the credits introduces who is in the film such as the actors, the directors' names, the production name and the editing/producers name. In the opening credits they also inform and prepare the audience for the type of film that we will be watching. Some directors have a trademark on their opening sequences so the audience know who the director is before his name even appears on the screen. 

Se7en Opening Credits Analysis

In the opening sequence of Se7en the colours used in the opening sequence were mostly black and white with the background being black and the text being white which can show a contrast between good and evil, black being evil and white being good. This can inform the audience that this film can be between good and evil. This is conventional to a thriller because in thrillers there is always a villain and a victim and the villain is the evil and the victim is the good person which shows that this is a war between good and evil. 

The style of credits used were short snippets of photographs as the background and the text in front of the background which shows that this is an opening sequence and not a trailer. This shows that this is a thriller film because everything is jerky and disturbing which shows that the film will be disturbing and jerky and that the audience should expect this in this thriller opening sequence therefore it will connect with the film and give the audience an insight. This is conventional to a thriller because not everything in a thriller is normal and 'plain sailing' it is not normal and causes the audience to become scared and disorientated. 

The creepy font and the flickering of the text creating an earthquake effect gives a sense of mystery as if the person that is behind the opening credits who looks like is going through some evidence is quite shifty and that may describe the character in the background. The credits are like hand written which almost matches the written text on the book behind it. The jerky and disturbing images might be an insight for the audience that, that is what the film is going to be like, and that the audience will be jerky and slightly disturbed by the following film. 

The thriller conventions used in this opening sequence are pictures of victims as this may be the only recognition of the victims that we will see because they have already been killed off. Also low key lighting is used to create tension and suspense within the film which can show the audience that this film will be scary. Blood is also mainly used in thrillers as it shows that there is a murder that has happened, blood is a main convention in thriller films because people are always murdered in thrillers. Dead bodies are always shown in thrillers because there is always a mystery behind a thriller and who the unidentified murderer is which is another convention that you find in thrillers. 

Individual Analysis

My individual analysis was from the film Memento, in this film the opening credits where in hand writing style. By making it this font it makes the scene seem spooky as though a child has wrote it or a villain, this is conventional to a thriller because by using a hand writing style it can make the audience feel paranoid and instantly get them thinking in who could be writing the credits.

The colours used in the opening scene of memento where white and the occasional snippet of black, both these colours are related to good or evil. By doing this it shows there could be a mixture of good and bad throughout the film, and also a villain and victim relationship.

Also the credits in this opening scene will fade in and out, this automatically creates suspense as well as a feeling of fear. This is conventional to a thriller because the fade puts the audience on edge as it gets them thinking about the likelihood of the film and what is going to happen.

My Groups Credits:

My group credits will be similar to the film memento as I liked the fade of the text as it appears, so  will try to input that onto our own credits, i will also try to get a typewriting effect put onto them as this makes the scene seem interesting and how the rest of the film will pan out.

The style of font i will be writing is a handwriting type, this is because it looks scary and is conventional to a thriller, because by using this it indicates someone could have wrote it on a wall to make someone fear them. Also by using this style it looks some what aggresive and it will get the audience thinking into who could of wriote them weather it be a villian or victim.

I havent decided yet to use a red font or white, so i will discuss this with my group before i make the final decision. I am thinking about using red because it is the colour that indicates fear and blood, and looks dangerous. Also by using red it ties in with the style of font i will be using so it looks like someone may of wrote it with blood. Where as the white will look more professional and this can also relate to a thriller as it looks cold and would be unfamiliar to the audience.

The order in which the credits will go is as follows:

• Company Name
• Director
• Fim Title
• Actors
• Casting
• Sound Technician
• Costume
• Editor
• Production Designer
• Director of Photography
• Co - Producer
• Co - Executive Producer
• Producers
• Screenplay
• Mese-En-Scene Co ordinator
• Director

Production roles - Miss Miller

People need to be allocated specific roles when creating a film because, it makes everything a lot more organised, it becomes more organised because people understand what elements of the film they have to focus on, and if there was a problem in there field they wouldn't have any other people distracting them and telling them the wrong things. People who are good at certain things will be allocated the roles that they specialise in, which allows the production to be more efficient and successful.

Some of the roles used in productions are:

• Producer -  A is a person responsible for the financial and managerial aspects of the making of a film.  

• Director - A person who is in charge of an activity, department, or organisation.

• Actor - A person whose profession is acting on the stage, in films, or on television

• Director of Photography - A cinematographer is the chief over the camera and lighting crews working on a film, and responsible for achieving artistic and technical decisions related to the image

• Sound Technician - They prepare, operate and maintain technical equipment to amplify, enhance, mix or reproduce sound.

• Screenplay Writer - A screenwriter or scriptwriter or scenarist is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media such as film

• MES Co-ordinators -  This is someone who controls costumes, make-up, iconography etc

• Editors - Somebody who makes the film flow by editing the scenes and cutting things out

Leandra: Actress/sound technicians/screenplay writer/producer

Nathaliah: Editor/mise-en-scene coordinator/screenplay writer/producer

James: Director/director of photography/screenplay writer/producer

We decided who would take on what role by the amount of responsibility that we can handle and the abilities that we possess because each one of us have our own abilities and we use them in different ways as we have different ideas and plans to make something. 

I was assigned the role of director because I have the ability to take control in difficult situations so for me to overlook the whole project. I believe this will help improve our sequence because if i'm able to take control when things get difficult we will be able to overcome it quicker and and get on with the work without out any more problems. The director and has numerous amount of abilities to make the film a lot better and believable. I also have the responsibility as director of photography because I am the only one with the ability to work a camera and be able to use it to create character representation by using different camera angles in the scene and to know how to introduce a character or scene. I was also given the role of screenplay writer as well because if we incorporate the three of us in our group we can create a good piece of script that will be interesting but not too complicated that it will confuse the audience. 

Leandra is one of the lead characters as the actress playing the victim because she has the ability and responsibility to act appropriately according to the scene and able to make the correct facial expressions and act the correct way to connect with the audience, also to make them feel a part of the film. I believe by making Leandra the actress it will improve our sequence because she is the one in the group who fits the 'vulnerable female' look, so the viewers will be able to relate to it more. She looks more like a victim because of her vulnerable posture and body language, also our character representation we chose to go for a girl who was a typical English white girl which was the whole description that Leandra was able to fit into and to complete because of her look. So far in our filming she has succeeded as the victim because she has been able to pull off a vulnerable look,

Leandra is also a screenplay writer because she has the ability to make a story and to plan out who says what line and when and also including narrative words and actions so that they work and are synchronised with the words and the scene that the victim and the villain are in. I believe by allocating this role to Leandra it will help improve our screenplay because she is the best she has the widest vocabulary in the group so this will help improve our screenplay  Also it helps the camera man and producer to know where the camera should be placed, also this helped the sound technician which was also Leandra to know what type of sounds should be put in the specific scene. This made the film a lot more enjoyable and the music related to the opening sequence created suspense and tension which is what we aim to make the audience feel tense as they see it all unfold. 

Nathaliah was assigned the role of the editor because she has the ability to know how to make the scene a lot better and more tense. This will help us to create a successful opening sequence because Nathaliah has the responsibility of creativity which is what she owns, a creative spirit which will enable us to have a successful opening sequence. Nathaliah is also the mise-en-scene coordinator because she has the ability to set a scene, use certain iconography, lighting, colour, hair, make up and also positioning the characters in a certain way to make the characters become represented in certain ways. This will be useful as we intend to make the villain seem scary and intimidating while we make the victim seem vulnerable and small. This will show the audience which character is what and how their actions take part in the opening sequence. Nathaliah also played a part as a screenplay writer as she helped my by using her own individual ideas to incorporate her own ideas into the script to make the opening sequence a lot more believable and interesting to grab the audiences attention. 
We assigned all three of us the role of producer because we each have the ability to set up the scene and not apply it to one specific person because they may not have an idea that will make the scene better, instead someone else in the group may have a better idea therefore it would be best to assign all three of us the role of producer.     
                     
Having specific roles and jobs in a film/opening sequence is better because it means that we are each able to focus on our own jobs and then feedback to the group instead of there being no organisation and there being a problem and a lack of communication or there may be a disagreement in the group and may leave one of the group members unhappy and not satisfied with the end result of the opening sequence.

Risk Assessment - Miss georgiou

Risk Assessments

Risk assessments are important in the film industry as the cast and film crew should feel safe while the film is being produced. A Risk Assessment is aprocess of evaluating the potential risk that may involve in a project or undertaking.

The reason why risk assessments are done is in order to identify,
 analyze and evaluate the risks associated with the production of the opening scene. Thanks to risk assessments, one can determine the appropriate ways to eliminate or improve the hazard.  A risk assessment is an inspection on the future or current filming scene in order to identify different situations orprocesses that can cause harm to the actors or filming crew. Providing that an identification of a hazard is made, one can evaluate the risk and then decide what measures should be taken in order to prevent or control the hazard.

Risk assessments are  also important as they provide a plan for a safe filming facility. Safety rules create awareness for the hazard and risks in the working place. They can identify who may be at risk and show the measures that the employee needs to take in order to prevent himself from becoming a hazard.
As you can see, I have made a chart with all of the risks I have found and how to 
prevent it.

Description of Hazard	Prevention of Hazard
Filming with cables attached to the camera	Duct tape the cables to the floor with the end cable attached to the camera is free so that the camera can move freely.
Weather conditions while outside	It may rain and effect the floor that the victim and the villain will be running on and the camera may get wet therefore an umbrella and a sturdy pair of trainers should be worn by the villain and victim.
Uneven ground	The tripod may not sit properly and may cause issues while filming and the tripod may fall with the camera on top and may damage the camera. Therefore we must find even ground that will not disrupt the scene and still be able to get a good shot from the ground.
Darkness outside	This can effect the lighting and the scene as you cannot see the characters and what is happening therefore you must try and use the scenery around and maybe torches or street lamps.
Using the camera while running	The person holding the camera may have to run along with the camera and may trip therefore the camera man must wear suitable running shoes and must look where he is going and that the area is clear and no obstructions i.e dog walkers or joggers.

We encountered another risk when filming, this was when we was making the shrine of the victim. We had to use a candle but rest it on a pile of leaves. The problem with this was that if it was to fall it could easily set fire to the leaves, so to prevent this from happening we cleared a small area from the leaves and dug it into the floor. We then surrounded it with leaves so it still looked like it was on the leaves.

Filming Schedule - Miss Georgiou

A filming schedule is useful when planning an opening sequence with your filming group because when you and your group are in sync, and know what you wish to get done on a particular day then it is easier for your group to be able to get the appropriate amount of filming done without stressing the group out. If you do all the filming in one day then you become stressed and may mess things up in the filming, and may miss out important scenes and small details. 

We followed the schedule on getting the first small clip done, but as we realised that we had a lot of time as we were ahead of schedule so we were able to finish the house/bedroom scene so therefore the last scene that we need to film is the scenes in the forest where most of the action will take place. 

Here is our film schedule:

Shot	Date & Time	Location	Content/Action	Shot type & Duration	Costume, Hair and make up	Iconography	Personnel	Equipment
1.	22/11/13 4:00pm	Barkingside Hobart Road	Suburban neighbourhood at night with trees and houses	Panning shot	N/A	N/A	Director, camera man, make up and hair artist.	Camera, Tri-pod
2.	22/11/13 4:30pm	Barkingside Hobart road	In the victims bedroom when she is sitting on the bed and receives a text message	Mid-shot and close up	PJ’s and no make up and natural hair style	Book and mobile phone	Victim, hair and make up artist, director and camera man.	Camera, tri-pod
3.	24/11/13 5:00pm	Barkingside Hobart Road	Looking over the victims shoulder	Over the shoulder shot	Villain wearing a black jumper, trousers and timberland boots.	Mobile phone	Victim, Villain, Camera man and director	Camera, tri-pod
4.	27/11/13	Claybury forest	Where the victim will be followed and kidnapped	Long shot, hand held shot	Villain wearing a black jumper, trousers and timberland boots and the victim wearing jeans, jumper and trainers with natural hair	N/A	Victim, villain, camera man, director	Camera, tri-pod
5.	27/11/13	Claybury forest	Victim is really alive	Close up	You only see the victim who is badly bruised	N/A	Victim, camera man, director	Camera, tri-pod

Group Narrative - Miss Miller

In this blog I shall be evaluating our group storyboard, including the content of the storyboard and the specific elements we have used from our individual storyboards. The purpose of the group storyboard task is so that we can incorporate all the ideas of each individual into one storyboard. The storyboard will allow us the organise the shots, editing, iconography, actors, sound and lighting  we will be using in each frame. This will allow us to keep organisation and structure when it comes to filming.

In our group storyboard we have included several elements from each of our own individual storyboards that we created. In frames 8 and 12, we incorporated my idea of a point of view shot from the victims position, this means the camera shot will be filmed as if we are looking out the window. This creates a relationship with the audience by using this shot because it will make the audience feel as though they are the person looking out to the killer in the garden, and will also create some suspense. This is conventional to a thriller because

We also incorporated Leandrah's idea of the close up shot on the phone when the victim receives a text from the killer. By doing this it shows emphasis on the phone, as the message comes through the camera angle will change instantly to the close up of the phone. This creates a relationship with the audience by using a close up on the phone because it will make it feel as though it is the audience that is looking directly at the phone. By using a close up shot it creates suspense and shows emphasis on the phone which is conventional to a thriller because when you would want tot create suspense you could use a close up.

Nathalias idea of showing the surroundings in the first scene was put into the storyboard, as we felt
that would give the audience an idea of the surroundings. It also shows how the killer may watch the victim, this then creates a relationship with the audience because it will get the audience thinking throughout the scene how will the killer follow through with his crime. This is conventional to a thriller by filming the surroundings because they are usually set at night and in spooky places so by showing the surroundings it instantly makes the scene or film more frightening.

We included the long shot feature of my storyboard, these long shots consist of the victim and the killer. The reason we included this feature in our group storyboard was because it creates the atmosphere of isolation as we can clearly see the empty background. This allows the audience to identify the fact that the victim is helpless and alone, thus therefore will create a relationship. We included this element of my storyboard as it generates the convention that this creates is a vulnerable female victim.

In using the group storyboard it enabled us to split our narrative into separate sections, this allowed us to see where we wanted low key lighting, diegetic sound, editing etc. This is helpful as when we are filming we can make sure that each element that we require for each shot is available. Using the group storyboard has also enabled us to not only note the key elements that we will be featuring in each frame but also conduct a sketch to make it easier for each member of our group to visualise our ideas.

I think our storyboard is very good and has been managed very well as it has broke our opening sequence down into separate segments making it easier to understand and also make it easier for filming. I found that the ideas each member of our group put forward were very helpful as we have built a very well structured storyboard. I thought it was a little bit tough incorporating all of our ideas into one storyboard as we had to leave some out. But overall I do believe that we have made the best possible storyboard with the ideas that we had.

Planning Cinematography - Miss Miller

Planning Cinematography - Miss Miller

The importance of cinematography in films is that it creates different emotions for the audience and the characters through camera angles. The different camera angles can suggest different scenarios within the film which helps create a relationship with the audience and build tension within the film. The cinematography is used to show different angles within a scene and can play an important part in the plot, giving the audience tension and suspense which is needed within a thriller.

Planning is required to produce excellent sequences because without planning it is easy for us to go off track and lose sense of what our plan actually is within out thriller. The plan for our cinematography is critical so that it makes our scenes more interesting and effective making and inspiration a reality.

the camera angles that me and the rest of the group thought would be the most effective to use are,
- Close Up
- High Angle
- Point Of View
- Long Shot
- Mid Shot

All of these camera angles have been use to add different effects to different scenes. We have included point of view camera angle as this shot makes the audience feel like they are the character themselves and see what they can see. We have used this in particular when the killer is outside and the girl is looking out the window at him. The shot makes the audience feel as if they are the victim as they can se what she sees which creates a relationship with the audience as they believe they are in the victims shoes adding suspense as they wonder what they are going to do next in the sequence. We hope this camera angle makes the victim seem inferior to everything that's happening and hope that it makes the audience connect with the victims emotions, and make them feel sympathy towards them. This would be conventional to a thriller as it would created suspense and tension for the audience which is always needed in a thriller.

We have also used High angle shots when the young girl is in her bedroom dancing to music. We have specifically used this here so that it looks like she is being recorded by the killer whilst he will be watching the footage outside the house which she obviously is oblivious too. We got this inspiration from Paranormal activity where everything is recorded, we thought this would be a good element to add as it's like somebody is watching the young girl. This camera angle will create a relationship with the audience as they will feel helpless and the suspense and tension will be create in a lot more depth. We want this angle to make sure the characters are portrayed as vulnerable so that the audience feel sympathy for them making them create a relationship with the characters themselves. This is conventional to a thriller as the angle makes the victims look vulnerable which in every thriller they are portrayed as.

Another camera angle we have included is close ups. We have included this as it will focus on the emotions of the characters when we are closed in on their face and not the background. We are using this in several scenes as we need to show the pain of the characters when they are in a lot of trouble with the killer,  and see the unawareness of what is going to happen. This angle is effective as you can really make the emotions from the characters create a relationship with the audience, from changing to sympathy and remorse, to suspense and fear of what is going to happen next, as the close up blocks out the background the audience can't see what else is around the character and only their faces. This cinematography element is conventional to a thriller as it makes us believe that the characters are real which gives it that sense of reality but then the suspense that they need in a thriller.


I think that the sequence will be more effective in terms of creating an emotional reaction through cinematography as the different angles and shots makes and conveys different emotions which will help make our thriller more exciting whilst it intensifies. It is conventional to the thriller genre as they make the audience more engaged within the film whilst creating different emotions such as shock suspense and tension. The planning has helped us with the preparation for the filming as it has broken down all of the elements we need to make out thriller more intensifying and scary, and has made sure we know what we are doing before we decide to go ahead with the filming.

Planning Character - Miss Georgiou

Planning Characters 

Character representation is essential to narratives as it is how someone is presented to the audience which gives an insight into how they might react according to their clothing, background and attitudes.


 We used the planning outline of:

• Name 
• Age 
• Gender 
• Race 
• Background
• Purpose to the narrative
• How will the character appeal to an audience?

Victim

Name: Chelsea

Age: 18 years old

Gender: Female

Race: English, British 

Background: Normal average girl

Purpose to the narrative: 

-This character will be a typical university student who is living alone and is forced to believe that she is being followed and that someone is watching her, the villain has an unhealthy obsession with the victim and plans to marry her. If he cannot have her then no one can. 

How will the character appeal to the audience: 

- The character will appeal to the audience because she will be like any normal girl, so other girls are able to relate because of the way that she looks, acts and portrays herself through her clothes and her make up. 

Villain

Name: Sylvester

Age: 24 years old 

Gender: Male 

Race: English, British

Background: British, Russian

Purpose to the narrative:

-The character is an ex-convict who has a strange obsession with the victim. The villain has a strange obsession with girls especially Chelsea as he has a picture of her and stalks her. He plans a scheme to capture Chelsea and potentially murder her. 

How will the character appeal to the audience: 

- The character will appeal to the audience as in the news you find that many ex-convicts have been let out of prison and some people have a strange obsession with people especially girls. Many girls in the news have been murdered because their ex-boyfriend or murder has a strange obsession with someone. 

Friend on the phone

Name: Harley

Age: 18 years old

Gender: Female

Race: English, British

Background: Typical British girl

Purpose to the narrative: 

-The character will be Chelsea's best friend in the opening sequence, who the victim will ring when she feels that someone is following her. 
How the character appeal to the audience: 
-The character doesn't have a very large part in the opening sequence as she is in the background over the phone you cannot see what she looks like.