Feedback on First Draft

On Tuesday's lesson we all watched each others drafts and gave feedback on them. This was done so that we could improve our sequence as much as possible to get into the higher grade boundaries. As a group the feedback that we were given was;

• Add more credits to the opening of the thriller so that our clip is elongated as it is too short at the moment.


• Some of our shots are too exposed to the light so we most probably need to reshoot and create new footage but with the same shots.


• Make the sequence longer as it does not reach the two minute mark as it needs to.


• Add a soundtrack to create tension for the person watching.

I think that if we want to improve our thriller that we should also try to get inside of a church. When we shot the inside shots we were inside Emma's house and although we had the camera at a birds eye angle, the bed in the background was still in vision. This was disappointing but something we can film again in a proper location that fits the scene.

First Draft

Editing

As we re-shot everything on the Thursday and the deadline for the first draft was Friday we did not have a lot of time to do our editing. Although this was the case we did actually manage to get some good footage and also managed to get some good editing done. All four of us had some periods off throughout the day so there was always someone in the media room editing. Me and Louise put the footage into Adobe Premiere and had to decide which scenes were best for the sequence and choose between many different shots. We then put the footage in order with what the storyboard says and then also had to cut the different scenes so that we had the footage we wanted. When Lizzie and Emma joined us we all spoke to see if we were happy with what had been done so far and we decided that we would move some of the different scenes around to make it more synchronous. After lunch, Lizzie and Louise were left to do the transitions and make the scenes fit together, this involved making different scenes flash in to give the effect that we wanted which was quick and scary. When we were all happy with what we had in the sequence we uploaded it to YouTube and put it onto our blogs.

Props

We used a candle to create an eery effect because they are typical of the thriller genre e.g. in the film Stigmata, when there is a spirit there in the room the candle light will flicker and be blown out.









These are the matches which we used to light the candle with.












This is the ouija board that we used. We used the ouija board because it fits in with our paranormal genre which involves spirits and ghosts. We are going to use the glass also with the ouija board within a flash shot to make it seem as though there is a spirit there when we will be moving it.






We used the glass to create the ouija board shots and also to push it across the table to make it seem as though there is a spirit there.







We used the table to create the table tipping shots and also to push the glass across.

17th March

As a group we do not have much footage at the moment but we are going tonight straight after college to do lots of filming at different locations. We plan on going to Emma's house to use the ouija board and table tipping then we plan on going to the church in Attenborough to film the gravestones and the church as the actual setting. We then intend to all come into the media rooms throughout tomorrow day and do our editing.

Change in Location

As we have decided to change the location to Attenborough Church as it is more convenient for us as a group and it is similar to the setting that we were aiming for. Tutbery castle is too far away for us to keep going back to when there are many other options available to us closer to home. We feel that Attenborough Church is a good location because of the eeriness that it has. The pointiness of the tip of the church looks good because it makes the church significant from others. I have also been to Attenborough Church before and it is surrounded by trees and also has lots of gravestones which is good of the paranormal genre.

This is now our new location;

Planning - Filming

When Lizzie and Emma went to Turbury Castle to do the filming, unfortunately Me and Louise could not go with them because there was not enough room in the car. After thinking about the setting we chose, we think that we chose somewhere which was too far away and hard to get to. Lizzie and Emma managed to get some footage whilst they were there but there were some technical issues. When they got there, the camera was fine but the camera did die on them which meant that they had to use an iPhone to record some footage. The footage that was recorded unfortunately was no good because they did not use the tripod for a lot of it, this meant that it was handheld and very shaky which is a shame. This means that when the footage was bought back to the next lesson that we couldn't really use the footage as it wasn't to the standard that we wished it would be. After having second thoughts we have decided to find a new setting which is now Attenborough Church because it is a lot closer and easier to get to once our first draft has been handed in and if there are any problems we will be able to reach the location a lot faster. Another advantage is that we are able to all take part in the filming rather than just two people be limited to filming. Although we have had to create a second plan and this means that we will have limited time this is definitely a better option for the group because we are all taking part as a group within the filming.

Risk Assessment

Breaking the camera When we borrow the camera from the school we have a responsibility to look after it. The possible damages that we could cause are by dropping it, losing it and also if any water damage was to happen. This means that we need to be careful when we are using schools equipment because it is not our property and if we damage it then we will have to pay for the costs or replace it. Health and safety When we film we will be using ourselves as the actors but we need to ensure that we keep ourselves safe. We will be filming some of our shots from a road so we will need to be careful with the equipment at this point and also our own physical health. We should not put ourselves in danger in front of any cars. We are also filming in a graveyard and we should make sure that we are not disrespectful to any of the other people in the graveyard as that would be childish and very irresponsible. As one of our props we are also using some matches and a candle. As this is a fire hazard we should be careful as we do not want to set anything on fire or burn ourselves.

Location, Props and Actors

We have decided as a group to film a paranormal thriller and we thought that a castle would be appropriate as the setting. Emma's mum owns a company called Haunted Happenings which does ghost walks and we have chosen our setting to be one of the venues which they use for the walks called Tutbery Castle. We have designed the storyboard together around the castle and what we think that the setting is going to be like because we have not visited the castle before.

We are going to use some different props within our clip which include; ouija board, a glass, a table (which will be used for the tipping). We will need to find a ouija board to use but the glass and table are props which can be easily found.

Within the clip we do not necessarily need any actors because our clip is a paranormal thriller which is more to do with the actions of what is happening rather than the acting within the clip. If we need an actor we could easily find one on the spot but the clips we have chosen to use within the storyboard do not actually have any people in them.

Thriller - Planning

As a group we came up with some ideas which we thought would be suitable for a Thriller genre clip. Emma's mum has produced her own business called 'Haunted Happenings' which is to do with ghosts and as paranormal thriller is a type of thriller we thought that we could take advantage of her company and use one of her venues 'Tutbery Castle' for our setting.

The mind map includes ideas on editing, actors, shots, mise en scene and sound.

Storyboard

The first shot will be of the gates of Tutbery Castle and we are going to make the camera jolt

a little to create tension. The next shot is going to cut to very fast from above (birds eye shot) of some peoples hands on a table which is supposed to interpret a table topping activity which is something which is done on the company's walks. As the room will be dark due to the way the walks are done this will manage to help our filming to look thrilling. The next shot will be again of the gates which will now be opening to give a sense of the audience entering the film. The shot will carry on with us walking through the gates and footsteps will be heard in the background. The next shot will be a mid/long shot of some gravestones which shows the audience where the potentially are. There will then be a zoom up towards the gravestones which could be significant of the film with the names of the people on the gravestones. Afterwards there will be a shot of the mansion which shows the audience where the film is going to be set and they might be able to start thinking about what the film is about.

The next shot will be a long shot which will show the mansion door and this will stay still, after this the shot should stay the same but show people walking through the doors which creates tension for the audience as they are walking into an unknown building and mansions are normally known to be full of unknown things in thriller movies. Next will be a quick shot of a Ouija board which will flash off almost instantly. Because of the fast shot this should scare the audience as they are not expecting it. The flashing images which are shown are done to show what happens later on in the film. The shot will then go back to the door and pan the first room. When the pan is about halfway through there should then be an image of a glass with two hands above it moving quickly which should be a flash shot again. Lastly, there should be an establishing shot of the castle to remind the audience of where they are again which will jolt once edited.

Thriller research - The Dark Knight

Editing

The first shot of the company logo is very dark and they use a shadow effect which is a typical convention of a superhero as they are normally portrayed at the beginning of the film with a shadow of them in a wall or house. There is also something which seems to look like an explosion but they have used a dark blue and black instead of orange which creates a sense of darkness which relates to the film title. Throughout the opening sequence there are many different cuts which feels as though there is lots of things happening at once, the cuts are very quick just like the storyline is.

Camera shots

Camera shots are a very important part of building tension for a film and within The Dark Knight there are lots of different shots which are used to create tension. The first shot is an establishing shot of a large building which we believe to think is going to be significant to the film. This lets us as an audience know the setting is going to be set in the city/built up area. A zoom shot is then used on a large building which makes the audience wonder what is happening inside the building. Suddenly a window breaks on the building which makes the audience think that something that something unexpected is happening inside the building. Next is a pan shot which pans across towards the left and shows two men who are wearing masks and this shows the audience that there is a crime going on. Due to the masks there is a sense of mystery and we wonder how many other people are involved in the crime. The equipment which is being used is very technical and because the men are using them it seems as though they are experienced with the equipment which means its not the first time that they have committed a crime. Next there is a cut shot to a man stood in the street who is holding a mask and holdall bag. This creates more mystery for the audience because we do not know what he is doing in the street or what is happening. We also do not know what is in the bag which is another reason to be curious. The mask shows that he is part of the crime as it links him with the other people who were in the building. There is also an example of a mid shot when the two men are breaking into the electrical system. We do not know what the building has inside of it and what they want to change or break the electric system for but we know that they must want to steal something otherwise they would not have to go into the wiring systems.

Mise en Scene

The main mise en scene which is used within the opening sequence is the masks that the men are wearing. We know that they must be doing something wrong because they do not want their faces to be seen. This automatically makes the audience believe that they are committing a crime. The fact that they are also wearing gloves makes the audience feel as though they are part of a crime because it stops your fingerprints from being put onto the objects you are touching which would be found through DNA tests. The people that we believed are involved in a crime are all wearing black which is also common of a crime.