Our group's audience feedback is essential to our thriller film as it can tell us if the thriller that we have made is conventional and a success or a non-conventional thriller film and the audience will not connect to the film. This will also help us to understand what we did wrong and what the target audience would like us to do differently so then they would feel the film is better. This feedback would then help us to make these changes if we ever did it again so the film would be more conventional and would be able to appeal more to the audience and specifically the target audience.
When my group and I discussed where the production of our film should be screened we had many ideas, but we agreed on the thriller film to be screened on youtube. We decided to post it on youtube as our target audience are the main users of the internet and this would therefore lead to many more people seeing and commenting on the thriller film and therefore giving us more comments to go on. We asked each viewer to make a positive and negative comment so we could see what we did right and made the film conventional but at the same time get constructive criticism so we could change what we had to appeal to the audience more if we did it again. We used youtube as it gave us a wider variety of people to show the thriller film and will give us a lot of comments back, we also used it as the people on youtube don't know who we are making the comments less bias. When people began to comment on our thriller film we then took the two most common positive comments and the two most negative comments and then wrote them down.
These comments were:
positive comments:- The thriller has a good narrative. It is easy to follow and captures the attention of the audience quickly, ensuring that they are fully enticed into finding out what will happen to the main character as she is pursued by her stalker.
- The over the shoulder shots are effective in showing the scene from the point of view of the attacker, and highlight to the audience how much danger the victim is in. In turn, this is effective in building suspense within the scene.
negative comments:
- The lack of violence took suspense away from the narrative and caused an anti climax.
- The film should have included more close up shots in order to fully highlight and express the feelings of the main character, to enable the audience to empathise with her.
We then sat down as a group and discussed all four comments both positive and negative, this gave us a great insight into what our target audience think and this showed us what to change if we ever did it again. If we were to do anther thriller film we would have to add in more violence as it created an anti-climax for our audience and they wanted more violence. Also more close up shots should have been used to show the emotions of the main girl character and this would then lead the audience to feel more empathy towards the victim.
My group and I have decided to try and have a group meeting every week so we could talk about what progress we had made over the week and to talk about what could be improved within our thriller films. I felt this was good for the group as we could keep up to date with each other and get everyones input so then we could make the most conventional and successful thriller.
All my group worked good together talking over everything we was doing and helping each other out with everything. We all took it in turns to do all the tasks and the duties were also shared out fairly.
Date
Action
To be done by
By whom
Discussions
5th November
Target audience and age certificates
7th November
Group members
We decided on the age of our target
audience, which would be 16 to 20, and the age certificate would match this,
by aiming for a certification of 15.
8th November
Conventions
9th November
Group members
We decided on the conventions that we
would aim to include in our thriller, such as the hidden identity of the
attacker and a vulnerable female victim.
9th November
Cinematography and storyboards
12th November
Group members
We decided on the camera shots that we
would like to include in the thriller, and the way in which we would organise
these, planning them out on our storyboards.
12th November
Mise en scene
15th November
Group members
We decided on the way in which we would
create the scene, final locations, costumes, hair and make up, lighting and colour.
15th November
Editing
16th November
Group members
We discussed the way in which we would
like to edit the scenes together, and how we would like the final film to
appear.
22nd November
Sound
23rd November
Group members
We discussed the sound that we would use
in our thriller, and listened to different examples.
29th November
Filming
7th December
Group members
We filmed the scenes for our thriller,
making sure that we had filmed every scene.
10th December
Editing
21st December
Group members
As a group we edited all of the scenes
that we had filmed, putting them together in the correct order and adding
effects to the imagery.
17th December
Editing – sound
21st December
Group members
We imported the sound clips into the
software and gave our thriller a soundtrack.
20th December
Editing – credits
21st December
Group members
We discussed the credits, how we wanted
them to appear and where we should have them. We then created them and put
them in place within our film.
All these five mise-en-scene sections are very important to the conventions of a thriller film that's why my group and I have used all five sections within our thriller so we can make it as conventional as possible.
My group and I felt that the most important aspect of the planning the mise-en-scene was the setting location and Iconography. We have decided to have two locations these are a residential road and an empty field. We have used a residential road as the four girls have left school and are walking home, we felt tat using a residential road will give a realistic feel for the audience. It will also show the audience how happy the girls are and oblivious what is going to happen, we then decided to use an empty field as this location can create a lot of suspense and tension as the audience don't know where the attacker could be and where he is going to come out of. The empty field will also give my group and I and good space to use a lot of different camera shots to show the surroundings that the girl is walking in to create the aspect of mystery and nobody knows where the attacker is within these surroundings. The iconography that my group and i have chosen to use is the girls are all wearing school uniform, this will be a conventional to a thriller film as this will show the innocence of the girl as it shows that she is young and vulnerable, we have also used the girl wearing earphones as this means she will not be able to hear anything around her and this again will be able to create suspense as the audience will be able to hear the surroundings but the victim will not, also it will create empathy for the girl when she gets attacked. My group and I ten decided to have the attacker a dark tracksuit and his face covered, we decided to do this as it would can exaggerate to the audience where the attacker will be and will create a mystery as who the man is and why is his face covered. We also decided that the attacker should have a baseball bat as he wants to attack and kill the girl this will give the impression to the audience that he is angry and wants to hurt the girl with the baseball bat.
My group and I felt that the school girls body language should show her innocence, vulnerability and helplessness as this is conventional to a thriller film. We felt that her body language set in this way then the audience would feel more empathy for her and connect with the character emotional as she was helpless and couldn't do anything about what was going to happen to her. The facial expressions of the girl should show her always laughing and smiling this will show her innocence and happiness to the audience. She will stay this way until she feels like she is being watched by the attacker then she becomes to look worried and scared, this will show the audience that she is helpless and frightened. My group and I felt that the body language of the attacker should be very dominant and overpowering as this again is conventional to a thriller film, the attacker should be stronger than the girl meaning he will overpower her with ease. The attackers face is never seen therefore there will be no facial expressions from this character, this will create suspense as the identity of the attacker will be unknown to the audience, this will also create an element of mystery to the thriller.
My group and I felt that the girl should have her hair down and straightened as this shows the signs of a normal school girl and shows her innocence as the audience will again feel empathy for her. We also decided that the girl should not wear any make up as this would mean that it shows her in another light as it will make her look older and therefore if she did then the audience will not believe she is innocent and helpless. The girl should be wearing her school uniform as she has just left school, this will show the audience that she is young and innocent. The attacker will be wearing a dark track suit with his face covered this will create a sense of mystery as the audience will not know the identity of the attacker a therefore will add suspense every time the attacker appears. This is also conventional to a thriller film as in the many films that I have analysed most of the attackers are unknown until they either show their identity or they unmask themselves to their victim when they are about to kill them. The attacker will have his hood up and his face covered therefore there will be no need for hair or make-up, this again will hide the identity of the attacker while also creating tension.
My group and I decided that there will be high key lighting when there are all 4 girls together and they are talking, this will show the audience that they are happy and oblivious to what is going to happen and this will give the audience hope that there will be nothing happening to any of the girls. When the victim then leaves the other girls the lighting starts to become darker and slowly turning into a low key lighting this is because it will show the audience that the attacker is getting closer and closer to the victim this will create suspense as the audience doesn't now where or when the attacker will expose himself. The girl will be wearing a standard school uniform of black blazer and black trousers while the attacker will be wearing a dark blue tracksuit and a balaclava covering his face. This is conventional to a thriller as every thriller film that I have anaylsed use these two different types of lighting as it will exaggerate what happens within each shot and ca show the emotions of the characters within each frame that the lighting has been changed.
My group and I decided that the positioning of the characters should exaggerate the innocence and helplessness of the girl and the dominance and overpowering nature of the killer. All camera shots that shows the victim should be above her looking down on her as when the victim is getting looked down on this shows a sign of a less domineering person and this will again show the innocence of this character. Whereas every shot that the attacker is in the camera should be looking up at him as when somebody is getting looked up on then it makes them the more dominating character within the thriller film, this will show the audience how the attacker is more domineering than the victim therefore making it easy for him to attack her. Then when the attacker catches up with the girl the camera shots should show the girl on the floor at the feet of the attacker and the attacker standing up as this will show the audience that the victim has been dominated by the attacker by being the more domineering person.
There are various people that have certain roles that are all needed to ensure a full working motion picture. But here are some of the most important:
The Film Director is one of the most important roles in the whole of the production of a film, as this is the person who interprets the script that has been written and then making it into a film, they also choose what camera shots that want to use to ensure the best shot can be chosen for each frame. Lastly the director coaches the actors and tells them what he/she wants as he is the one who interpreted the script, lastly the director draws up a timetable and makes sure all the deadlines that were set are met by everyone. The role of director has been taken on by Amy Fountain as the group felt she had could easily interpret the script and tell the actors how she would want them to portray themselves within the play and lastly we felt she had the biggest grasp of the best camera angle shots to use within our thriller film.
The camera operator is another extremely important position within the making of a film, camera operators will have to operate the camera while listening to the commands of the director but at the same time choose which lens will be most suitable for the frame as this will ensure that the shot could look the best. While operating the camera they will also have to operate other camera equipment such as dollies, cranes. The role of camera operator has been taken on by Hannah Waugh as the group felt she had the most experience using a camera making her the best at using the camera and also we felt she would know what lens to use to make the frame the best it can be.
The role of the actor is to listen to the director and portray the person that they are playing in the way that the director would like as the director had interpreted the script. The role of the actor who will be playing the masked attacker will be me as the group felt that I was the best option for this as I'm the best actor within the group.
The role of the location manager is needed to choose the best possible location that there can be for the film as the location is very important within thriller films as locations can create suspense and erroneous this will allow the audience to feel emotions for the characters. For example the location manager needs to make sure that the a road has been closed down if the group needs to film on a road as there needs to be no noise or other people in the shot. The role of location manager has been taken by George Hoy as we felt that he will be most relevant to the group as we will all have different ideas and he could take the ideas and come up with a location that we all agreed on.
The role of storyboard organiser is the person who writes and draws the storyboard out, this again is another very important role as this will determine what is going to happen within the thriller film and it gives an aspect of narrative. Also this would decide the iconography that will be used within each frame. Again the role of Storyboard Organiser had been taken by all our group as we again felt that we all have different idea and they would be better than one person ideas.
The editor is the role that edits the film to make use different editing styles within each frame to either exaggerate or not a frame to emphasise to the audience about what is happening within the scene. They also choose what parts of the film that has been recorded so they finalise and polish off the final cut of the film. Again the role of editor had been taken by all our group as we again felt that we all have different idea and they would be better than one person ideas.
My group and I put our ideas together and discussed what we was going to do for our storyboards and how we are going to set our film out, we did this by all doing an individual narrative and storyboards so then we could al put our ideas together in a group storyboard as this would be much better than using only one persons storyboard as we could incorporate more conventions of a thriller and create more camera shots that would be relevant to each frame. We have all decided that using a young school girl victim would be the most conventional to do in our thriller film as it shows innocence and makes the audience feel empathy for her when she is going to be attacked. We then decided to use a masked attacker as this would be the most conventional and suitable attacker to use for our thriller film as it gives a sense of mystery as the audience never sees his face and therefor doesn't know what he looks like and also why he is attacking the girl. We then decided to not show the victim getting killed by the attacker this was because we felt the audience will be left in suspense as they will not see her get murdered by only hear it, this will also create a feeling of anger towards the attacker. My group and I have decided to use a number of camera shots as each of the camera shots will show a different perspective of the attacker and the victim and will show the audience different emotions that each of the two people may have. Lastly we again decided to use suitable and different editing styles as the same editing style would not have been conventional to a thriller film as thriller films use a number of editing styles to exaggerate the important scenes and his works well as the audience will know and understand why the editor as edited it in this way.
The group individually had produced there own individual story board as we thought that it would be better if everyone put different parts from their storyboards into a group story board and therefore it would be a much more conventional thriller film. We each proposed the ideas that we had within our individual storyboards and discussed who's storyboard was best and that's the one that we would take most of the conventions from. Then we would add in different parts from everybody's individual storyboard and then produce a larger group story board.
Editing is important to use within a thriller film as its one of the most vital parts of a film as it gives the film coherence and continuity. The editing gives the film a final polish. Editing links each scene and shot together but some different editing types can do this in different ways e.g. a straight cut is where the scene before cuts straight into the next scene this is the most simplistic type of editing there is. Editing could also be used to create tension and suspense to the film as they can speed up or slow down the editing to create an effect of going slow or fast.
The first out of four different types of editing styles was; jump cut, this editing style is used to break the continuity of the timing used by jumping forward from one part of action to another. This editing style is conventional to be used within a thriller film as it will engage the audience more as they would want to see more action scenes throughout the thriller film. Within my groups and I thriller film we will be using this editing style when the attacker is seen by the victim when he's behind her then he appears from behind a bush in front of her. This created suspense as the audience will not know how the attacker got there. This is conventional to a thriller film as there us always an attacker within a thriller film and also the suspense is conventional as it leaves the audience holding their breath as they want to know what is coming next.
The second editing style is, the Kuleshov effect this is where the editor puts two shots together to give the audience a third meaning. This will give the audience more of an idea what is happening within this scene and makes the audience feel they have more idea of what is going on than the vicim. Within our thriller film we will be using a Kuleshov effect when there are 4 girls walking home then a flashback of the attacker is the next scene and this gives the audience a third meaning as they now know who the attacker is and also shows that the attacker is ready to attack the victim and the attack is imminent. This is conventional to a thriller film as there is always an attacker in a thriller film and this then shows the audience that there is going to be an attack within the thriller film.
The third editing style that my group and I used was, Dissolve this is where the editor blends one image into another image, this is used by the editor and this is makes the thriller film connect together and make sense to the audience. Within my groups and I thriller film we will be using this editing style when the attacker has a flashback, this will give more idea and background of who the killer is and why he is trying to attack the girl. This is conventional to a thriller film as it informs the audience more about the attacker and gives the audience a sense of what his motives are.
the final editing cut that my group and I will be using is, Fade this is where the screen fades to black and this often means an ending to a scene. This will create tension as the audience will not know what is going to happen within the next scene and this will mean the audience will be scared or worried for the victim for what is coming next for her. My group and I will be using this editing style when the attacker has grabbed the victim then it goes black and you can hear the victim panicking and the attacker breathing and getting more and more angry. This editing style is conventional within a thriller film as it will create suspense as the audience cannot see what is going on when the screen is black but they can hear what is going on.
All four of these editing styles would be the most relevant to use as they are the most suitable ones to use for our target audience and the conventions of a thriller that we would like to add in. The style of jump cutting from frame to frame would be good as our target audience would want to see more action in the film as they would want to be entertained at all times. The Kuleshov effect would again be very relevant style to use within our thriller film as our target audience would not want everything to be so straight forward, they would want the film to make them think. This would mean the film would attract and appeal to our target audience and this is what my group and I have been trying to do thoroughout this process.
Overall my groups and I editing styles are conventional to a thriller film as they create suspense for the audience e.g. when there is a fade and the victim can be heard but not seen panicking and screaming, this creates suspense as he audience cannot se the victim being attacked but can still here her being hurt and killed, this will create sympathy for the victim but will also create a sense of anger towards the killer. We have used different types of editing styles and felt that it would be more conventional to do this as many thriller films use many different editing styles, it will be more engaging for the reader but will also be more conventional by creating lots more suspense and tension moments but will also make the audience feel emotions towards each actor.
Opening credits are important at the beginning of the film are important as they show in the cast and camera crew who has done what job, e.g. George Hoy - Director. Also the opening credits give the audience an idea of what the film is going to be about and what type of genre it's going to be also the music that accompanies the opening credits will also tell the audience more about the film. For example if the opening credits were red and bloody then the audience will know that the film is a horror film then if the music that accompanies the credits is eerie then is creates suspense for the audience as they will not know what is going to come next.
I analyzed the opening credits of the thriller film se7en, the colours of the film were all dark dull boring colours, however half way through the opening credits a drop of red blood covers the screen. This creates tension for the audience as they know that the man who is doing all these things at the beginning is anger and wants to hurt somebody and the colour red and blood are connotations of this. This shows the audience that there will be bloodshed within the film and anger and passion will also run alongside the bloodshed.
The writing on this opening credits are all white, crocked and all the letters are different sizes, the credits look like they have been scratched onto the screen and not written. This will create tension for the audience as the credits show a sense of mentally instability as they look like they have been scratched on.
The conventions of a thriller film that are within this opening credits are the digetic sounds that have been exaggerated by the director to create a sense of suspense as the loud noise of pages turning and sticking things down are eerie sound as none of the audience knows why and what he is doing. The music that accompanies the opening credits is also very eerie changing from loud music to quiet music during the opening scene this also creates tension as it makes the audience again think of mental instability as the person could go from a normal person to an evil exaggerated killer in a matter of seconds. All these conventions of a thriller exaggerate what the actor is doing within the film and makes the audience think more about what he is doing and his mental state. The man is also mysterious and this again builds up suspense as the audience do not know who he is and why he is sharpening up blades but they do know that he is angry and wants to kill nut the audience do not know who are why he wants to do it.
The order appearance in this opening credits; production company, director, actor, title of film, actors continued, casting, music costumes, editors, production, camera operator, co-producer, producer, writing and director. The director is mentioned twice within the opening credits as it emphasises the director of a film as he is one of the best thriller directors and his name is last because he is the most important person within the credits as he makes the film. The title of the film is the middle of the credits, this is not conventional for a thriller film as the title is normally at the end of the play. The title being at the middle of the play doesn't create suspense as the audience know half way through the play the name of the film whereas the title being at the end of the film will be more conventional and will also create more suspense as the audience will no know for the whole opening credits what the film is called.
The second thriller films opening credits that I have analyzed is The birds by Alfred Hitchcock, the colours used in the opening credits are again quite plain and dull it creates the sense of eeriness as this type of opening credits doesn't really give you many clues about what the film is about except for the birds flying across the screen at the beginning.
The writing being on a dull white background creates tension for the audience as they do not find a lot out about the film and what's it about this therefore lets them use their own imagination for what the film is about. However the writing within the opening credits are light blue, this creates a sense of hopefulness and this bright colour is happy, this will let the audience know that there is some hope for the people within the film this creates a sense of enigma as the people will be puzzled why there is dark dull colours then the writing is bright and hopeful.
Conventions of a thriller film are used to specify thriller films from any other genre of film. Within these opening credits the conventions of a thriller film consist where the dark, black birds fly across the screen at the beginning this creates suspense as the audience know that the film is going to be about birds however they do not know what they are doing. The birds are black and it almost symbolises a funeral as the music is eerie and a violinist, it sounds like something that would be played at a funeral or when somebody has just died. The black birds also exaggerate this as black is associated with funerals and the birds are flying around aimlessly and looked distressed, this would evoke the idea that there is a lot of unorganised chaos and also distress, the audience will pick up on this and they ill realise that the birds are a lot to do with the distress they cause.
The order of appearance this opening credits; Director, Film Title/ Writer, Actors, Director of Photography, Production Designer, Assistant director, Costume designer, Editor, Production Manager, Special Photographic Advisor, Special effects, Pictorial designer, Sound Recorder, Make up, Hairstylist, Assistant, Set decorator, Script supervisor, Wardrobe supervisor, Title maker, Electronic sound production, Composer, Sound consultant, Colour technician, Screenplay and Director. The director chose again to put his name at the beginning and the end of the opening credits as he is the most important person within the whole credits as he directed the film. The title is the second credit to come up his again is not a normal convention of a thriller film as they are normal at the end of the credits, but the film title being at the beginning of the opening credits doesn't create enough suspense as it would have if the film title was at the end of the opening credits, this would create suspense as the audience wouldn't now what the title is and wouldn't give them any clues what the film is about.
For the opening credits of our group thriller film, we collectively discussed our ideas for the text size, colour and the font style.
Using different films as our inspiration, we decided that we would want the font to appear fragmented (as it does in Psycho) or to flicker, (as in Se7en) as though the mind of the attacker is mentally unstable.
We also decided that the size of the font for our title should be the biggest, as this is one of the most important elements within this opening credits sequence. The size of the font will gradually decrease as the different names appear on the screen, to connote both the importance of the members of the production team, and also hold connotations about the fading sanity of the attacker, as the unstable and twisted part of his mind consumes him, just like the size of the font decreases.
The order of appearance that we will use is:
Production Company
Director
Editors
Music
Actors
Casting
Storyboards / screenplay
Costume / make up
Location manager
Safety manager
Director
We will also use a mixture of natural sounds and dramatic music as the soundtrack for our opening credits. As in Se7en, the natural sounds will be enhanced, and play over the top of the dramatic music. This will enable us to make the film appear as realistic, and therefore as threatening as possible.
I will suggest this font to my group as I feel this is a good way to start our thriller film, this shows signs of a conventional thriller film opening credits as it looks fragmented and this then gives the impression of mental instability, it also looks like it has been shaded and coloured in this would Give the impression to the audience that somebody has spent a lot of time on this and drew it out. But at the same time shows the good and neat writing this will show the audience that there are two sides to the person who has written this a mentally unstable and also very neat and tidy.
I will also give this as a suggestion to the group as I feel this will give a good indication to the audience what is going to happen within the thriller film and almost foreshadows it as it looks like that the writing has been written in blood. It will then show the audience that within the film there is death this is very conventional of a thriller film as every thriller films opening credits that I have anaylsed give clues to the audience within the opening credits about what is going to happen within the film.
