filming

we went to film on friday after school at samson's house with our 2 actors joel and becks we decided to wait until it was dark to start filming and then we went to the dark alleyway samson was in charge of filming i was in charge of directing and playing the stalker and percy was the technical manager.

we went to the alleyway then realised the lighting was bad so we then got a torch to shine on the scene this made the lighting better. we did a various amount of shots more than we innitially anticipated because we felt that it would be better to have allot more shots then less. after filming the following scene with the tripod we then did it hand held for the point of view shot.

we then went up to samsons room and filmed the turning of the pages of the scrap book and zoomed in on a picture of rebecca.

after this we filmed the scene of joel aka ollie eating in his living room and being watched from outside his window panting ... we then did various shots of all of these scenes and added more shots that we felt would be affective like a birds eye shot etc ...

during this we swapped rolls and i became the person filming and samson the director alongside percy and they where both technical managers ...

SHOT LIST

1. LS (Long Shot)- Scrap book. (Music ??)

2.MCU (Medium close up) - Scrapbook turning pages

3. CU (Close up) - Of a photo (with titles in front)

4. MCU ( Medium close up) - Scrapbook turning pages

5. CU (Close up) - Of a photo (with titles in front)

6.MCU (Medium close up) - Scrapbook turning pages

Zoom..

7.CU (Close up) - Photo

Fades out into..

8.POV (Point of view) of Stalker - Following Rebecca

9.Two shot- Of Rebecca and stalker behind her walking on phone.

10.Long shot - From behind the stalker following Rebecca (non digetic, phone call of Rebecca saying, "shes being followed" , it muffles then it goes silent)

11.POV (Point of view) of antagonist running behind protagonist moving forward past her.

12.MCU (Medium close up) - Scrapbook turning page

Zoom..

13.CU (Close up) - Photo of Rebecca and Ollie in scrap book. (non digetic, voice mail message of detective saying " Ollie should be careful and should phone the detective back")

Fades out into....

14.POV (Point of view) of Stalker- Voyeuristic shot of Ollie eating chinese through window

15.MCU (Medium close up) -Of Ollie eating and just general relaxation

16.OTS (Over the shoulder shot) - Of Ollie eating and watching tv

17.CU (Close up) Answering machine bleeping.

18. EC ( Extreme close up) Of red light on answering machine.

19.THE SCRAPBOOK (BLACK BACKGROUND)

production planning and prop list and location

This is our Production Schedule, where we specify, where we film, when when we film, what we film & who is included in the filming.

1. The first day of filming
Date: friday the 4th december
Time:3pm-7:00pm the latest
Location: samsons house
we will be filming the scene in samson's house of the man at home eating chinease food and stalker watching from the window we will then film the scene in the alley way with the stalker following the woman. we will also film the scrap book scene at samsons house.

The props we will be using on this date is,
- answering machine

- romote control
- chinease

- scrap book and a picture of percy and rebecca

- rebecca to where some formal clothes

-gloves

-mobile phone

-black hoody

2. The second day of filming
Date: saturday 5th of december 2009
Time: ?
Location: samsons house this day might not happen if we finish our shooting on friday however if not we will finish it all on saturday.

props the same as yesterday

After doing all of this we will then see if there are any parts that we want to be re filmed or re done or if we changed some certain shots or wanted to add extra things.

CHRACTER PROFILE

Character profiles

In our piece there are 3 main characters in the opening scene who play a significant part in the entire film if we where to film it all :


Rebecca : Female early 20s business woman has had a hard past a bit paranoid of her surroundings has something to hide and constantly feels like she is being watched however she acts ( normal ) on the outside concealing her real emotions. She lives alone because she is sooo focused on her career and the reason the stalker follows her is because some point in her life she has done something that has hurt him physically or emotionally. She went out with the stalkers best friend and the stalker used to like her.

Ollie : Male early 20s as well, is quite a cocky person and thinks he is very good looking. He is in a relationship with Rebecca and has quite an easy past. He used to be best friends with the killer but he betrayed him and went out with some one that the killer thought he could end up marrying (Rebecca) .

Timmy : The killer ( stalker ) HE STALKS AND COLLECTS A SCRAP BOOK OF ANY ONE WHO HAS EVER DONE WRONG TO HIM. HIS FIRST VICTIMS ARE HIS BEST FRIEND AND EX FIANCEE AND THE SCRAP BOOK SHOWS THE ORDERS OF HIS NEXT VICTIMS


Detective Sean Johnson :He is following the case as it happens and tries to uncover who is the next victim. He is not seen in the opening scene only his voice is heard through the answering machine .

target audience

our target audience is quite varied and our film could appeal to different audiences, such as teenagers and adults because our plot consists of someone who is in their early 20s so it could appeal to the older generation and the younger generation. it is quite complex so i would say some one in their early teens would find it too complicated.
However someone 15 and above would be the right target audience.

Our film has the right amount of complexity and fun that it is sure to grip any audience.

Thriller film ideas

as a group we brain stormed ideas on what we wanted our thriller films to be based on .

samson, percelle and i each incorporated our knowledge and research of the genre and concluded that our thriller would be based upon ideas we have seen from various other thrillers such as valentine,saw and i know what you did last summer but to remain a thriller we had to ensure that when filing we do not incorporate any scenes which show the deaths happening otherwise that would become borderline horror and the lines between the sub genres are quite vague

the opening scene is of a scrap book being turned ( medium close up )

whilst this is happening the titles are coming up

Locations, mise-en-scen

In thrillers location and set design are a crucial part of the film as it can add or take away from the naturalism of the thriller.

In our piece we are going to try and use location and set design that will enhance our piece and make it more real and entertaining to watch.

When filming Rebecca being followed we will have walking in a dark light street which is quite deserted, the alley way she then turns down is long and thin and very dark light, this will help build the atmosphere and suspension of the piece.

When filming Ollie eating chinese, we want the house to be quite cosy and ordinary so the audience will be able to relate to him, we want him to be eating chinese and watching tv just so the audience can see that this and be able to empathize with it, making it more naturalistic and real when will then make our thriller more chilling.

production companies

There are various production companies which produce thrillers and such as the Coen brothers they have produced various thrillers like no country for old men they are American producers and as well as producing thrillers they have also produced dramas and other genres

Coen brothers
Ethan Coen and Joel Coen at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival
Born	Joel David Coen Ethan Jesse Coen November 29, 1954 (age 54) (Joel) September 21, 1957 (age 52) (Ethan) St. Louis Park, Minnesota

as well as the Coen brothers there are other larger companies like newline productions and warner brothers these are the big production companies that produce various films not only thrillers but other genres of film on a mass scale.

Type	Division of Warner Bros.
Founded	1967
Founder(s)	Robert Shaye Michael Lynne
Key people	Toby Emmerich (President & COO)
Industry	Theatrical distribution, marketing,home video
Owner(s)	Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc.
Parent	independent company (1967-1993) Turner Broadcasting System(1993-1996) Time Warner (1996-present)

Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc.

Type	Subsidiary of Time Warner
Founded	Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S. (1918)
Headquarters	Burbank, Californialocation_country = U.S.
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Barry Meyer, Chairman and CEO Alan F. Horn, President and COO Edward A. Romano EVP and CFO
Industry	Entertainment
Products	Motion pictures, television programs
Revenue	▲$11.7 billion USD (2007)[1]
Operating income	▲$845 million USD (2007)
Website	warnerbros.com

the use of music in thrillers

MUSIC IN THRILLERS

music in thrillers is used to build to a climax like in jaws this is just the music however in the actual film this music connotes that the shark is coming and now this music has become iconic in being recognized with the great white shark .

Target audience

Thrillers target audience

It depends on the kind of thriller film. Like all genres, there are sub-genres and therefore with each sub genre there would be a different target audience

Silence of the Lambs and No Country for Old Men and they're rated R. Their target audience was probably for the young male adults. so 18 years of age

Meanwhile, there are those thrillers that are borderline horror films, such as M. Night Shyamalan films The Sixth Sense, Signs, The Village. Since they're close to horror (and horror films target teenage girls), the demographic would be slightly different... probably younger and more female based.

And then there are legal thrillers (Fracture, Runaway Jury) and crime thrillers (Memento, Se7en) that target a more mature audience... and classic thrillers (any Alfred Hitchcock film) that are rated PG, but are intended for adults. like the ones we watched in class would appeal to a wider variety of people


But if you just need a target audience for a generic thriller film... I'd have to say the young adult demographic from 18-25. That's my opinion. however again if its a political thriller like the one i analysed that could appeal to a wider audience

Thriller actors

Birthdate:

July 6, 1927

Death date:

October 3, 2004

Grace Kelly

• 1. Rear Window (1954)
• 2. High Noon (1952)
• 3. Dial M for Murder (1954)
• 4. To Catch a Thief (1955)

Matt Damon

Birthdate:

October 8, 1970

• 1. Departed, The (2006)
• 2. Bourne Ultimatum, The (2007)
• 3. Bourne Supremacy, The (2004)
• 4. Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002)

THESE ARE JUST A FEW OF THE ACTOS THAT HAVE ACTED WITHIN A THRILLERS HOWEVER I DID NOT MENTION THE ACTORS THAT WE HAVE ALREADY ENCOUNTERED THROUGH OUR FILM ANALYSIS OF MEMNTO AND SEVEN

Janet Leigh

• 1. Psycho (1960)
• 2. Touch of Evil (1958)
• 3. Manchurian Candidate, The (1962)
• 4. Fog, The (1980)

the 180 degrees rule

This is the 180 degrees rule

In professional filming the 180 Degree Rule applies while filming (with a digital video camera) two characters (for example having a conversation) where there is an imaginary axis. The camera stays within 180 degrees on one side of the axis. If the camera goes around to the other side of the axis the characters right/left will change (which can be quite confusing) it is called crossing the line. The shot from the opposite side, is called a reverse angle.

the characters should always remain on the same side , which is why we stay 180 degrees within the axis. The 180 Degree Rule is often used in conversations where Shot Reverse Shot is required and it is an important element required for a style of film editing called continuity editing. This way in dialogue you can always identify who is speaking or responding using their facial expressions.

if the 180 rule is not followed then in a circumstances where the characters are talking they can be on the wrong side and this therefore losses its continuity .

we abide by this rule through our prelim task as in most of it we use shot reverse shot and it is really easy to make the mistake this is apparent in the prison scene .

directors

There are various directors who influenced the face of thrillers like such as

Christopher Nolan- was born 30th July 1970. He is a British American filmmaker, writer, and producer. Christopher Nolan is best known for directing psychological thriller 'Memento'. He is known for his thriller movies such as 'The Dark Knight' (2008), 'Memento' (2000), 'Insomnia' (2007) and 'The Prestige' (2006).

Quentin Jerome Tarantino His films include My Best Friend's Birthday (1987), Reservoir Dogs (1992), Pulp Fiction (1994), Jackie Brown (1997), Kill Bill (Vol. 1, 2003; Vol. 2, 2004), Death Proof (2007) and Inglourious Basterds (2009).he has one various recognised awards .and is considered one of the best thriller directors of our time

Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock- Was born 13 August 1899 and died 29 April 1980. He was a British filmaker, and producer who changed the way people looked at thriller films and made way for new ideas and concepts. After a successful career in the United Kingdom, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood. He is one of the most renound film

Martin Scorsese

• 
• Birthdate:
  • November 17, 1942 Departed, The (2006)
  • After Hours (1985)
  • Bringing Out the Dead (1999)
  plus many morever (1976)
• 
  

Steven Spielberg

Birthdate:

December 18, 1946

• 1. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
• 2. Jaws (1975)
• 3. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
• 4. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)

James Cameron

Birthdate:

August 16, 1954

• 1. Aliens (1986)
• 2. Terminator, The (1984)
• 3. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
• 4. Abyss, The (1989)

David Fincher

Birthdate:

August 28, 1962

• 1. Fight Club (1999)
• 2. Zodiac (2007)
• 3. Se7en (1995)
• 4. Game, The (1997)

Editing

Today we looked at what we had filmed last lesson and began editing our prelim task we looked at different software and how to crop our footage ... we began with all of our footage and then refined it we edited using final cut pro we began by capturing the footage that we already have on the camera an then we used marking in and marking out in order to make sure the film flowed .

my individual research

after getting briefed about what are task was going to be i decided to do some individual research on what a thriller is and came to the conclusion that there are different sub genres of thrillers such as political thrillers i wanted to investigate further in to a political thriller as it intrigued me so i went to watch a film called 31 east 62 north and also did some research on politics this made me think of this as an option for one our thrillers as it is a thriller but a sub genre and also i looked at different ideas like a murder investigation.

because although there are some structure of a thriller it is quite a broad genre

as research i watched some other schools attempts at thriller and looked at what was good about it and what wasn't

i thought this one had a similar concept to the bourne fims i thought some aspects of it worked such ads the principle and some shots however i felt

the quality of the video i watched was poor this could have just been from youtube or when the where shooting it they could have made it fuzzy

i also watched bigger budget thriller like phone booth and i felt that this was such a contrast from

this the use of shots where amazing at one point they did a 360 degrees panning of the phone booth

analysing seven

we watched he movie seven with brad pit, Morgan freeman and \Gwyneth Paltrow
Seven (also marketed as Se7en) is a 1995 American crime film directed by David Fincher and written by Andrew Kevin Walker. The story follows a retiring detective (Morgan Freeman) and his replacement (Brad Pitt), jointly investigating a series of ritualistic murders inspired by the seven deadly sins. However we are not made aware of this in the first 3 mins of film however from the first 3 mins film i concluded that they used many techniques in order to portray to the audience that it was a thriller : for example the use various types of shots such as a close up of morgan freeman putting on a tie this creates an intense feeling which again emphasizes the elements of a thriller . there was also allot of panning which gave a sense of slowly revealing something. furthermore there was also a use of a pov shot to show the story from the characters perspective . Non-diegetic sound is used in the opening scene and from the opening scene we can already deduce tat the film will be in a linear sequence in chronological order and that it will be naturalistic furthermore pathetic fallacy is used in the opening sequence with the rain reflecting there mood .
.

prelim task

we got in to groups and our task was to show continuity through different shots and have a dialogue within this . so our groups concept was to attempt to do a prison visit and use a small flashbacks and so various shots such as a pov shot and a 2 shot and over the shoulder however inevitably within the school it was hard to shoot it as the different sound Interferences and external people attempting to be in our shot however we feel like we have enough shots so during the editing we can have a good final piece

using the camera and the tripod

introduction in to how to use the camera and the tripod .we looked at a camera and became accustom to using it we then each had a go in recording something on it and then took out the tripods. our task was o then go out in o the school and our brief was to film a journey and use as many interesting camera shots as possible in my group was meron, ismail and i .
continued...
We began by deciding that our journey was going to be a simple journey to the canteen so our first shot was of Ishmail climbing the stairs s I was on the floor with a hand held camera shot zoomed in on his feet then as he climbed the stairs the shot zoomed out and the mis en scene was revealed. Then the camera was moved to the top of the stairs and we showed ishmail at the top walking toward the lift … he stopped and said hello to Ben this is when we zoomed in on that in counter to medium close up then Ishmail walked toward the camera. When the shot came in again I (Hiba) was in the place of Ishmail I walked toward the lift and Meron zoomed the camera in on me and had an extreme close up of my hand pressing the button of the lift .the next shot was of me and Meron leaving the lift (this was a 2 shot)and then the shot changed to a p.o.v shot however this was tainted by someone trying to put there hand in the shot . we continued this until we reached the canteen and the camera panned over the whole canteen and that is where it ended.

analysing the opening sequence of memento

The film starts of with a medium close up a poloroid picture that is developed and slowly begins to fade this gives the viewer connotations of a loss of memory whilst this is happening the credits are playing .

after this the whole scene looks like it is being rewound and then there are various close ups of objects like a bullet .Then you here a gun shot then it goes in to a black an white scene of the man in a room . After this the colour comes in and the actual story starts s already by this short 3 mins of film we can deduce as an audience that the film is not going in chronological order and probably starts with a flash back . furthermore the colour of the credits are blue which gives connotations of a cold nature and the man in the film might be cold hearted .

also the sounds in the film where a mixture of non diegetic and diegetic.

THIS FILM WAS MADE IN 2002 BY A DIRECTOR CALED CHRISTOPHER NOLAN

individual research on what a thriller is

for individual research on what a thriller is i went to leicester square empire and watched a film called 31 north 62 east

its about a corrupt government

whilst watching this film i identified many different shots and technique which fit the (main ) structure of a thriller

it has a assassination

it also has a puzzle to be solved however the audience already know it but the characters within the film don't know .

i went to watch the film to give me an idea about a thriller and possibly give me ideas for my own thriller that i will soon have to make .

intro to thrillers (past student examples)

After looking at camera angles and shots we then looked at past student examples and established which ones we liked an why and which ones we thought weren't as good and why. we also looked at what a thriller is and established that " the thriller is a broad genre of literature,film,and television. it includes,often overlapping sub genres such as spy thrillers military thrillers,horror thrillers etc . Thrillers are know by there fast pace and frequent action . to conclude if it thrills its a thriller.

themes usually consist of the following :

*spies

*enigmas puzzles to be solves

*lone figure against the system

*assassination

* conspiracy ....

etc

here are the student videos we watched

Taken from BDC on Vimeo.

i liked the opening scene as i like the music playing over it it created a tense feeling to the audience however i felt it stopped abruptly in saying this however i wanted to know more . i liked the varied use of shots especially when the girl was climbing up the stairs and when they had a close up of the computer to emphasize the severity from this short clip i concluded that through different shots we can change the audiences idea of the whole piece.

Passion Productions from BDC on Vimeo.

i thought the opening sequence of this was really good i specifically

like the use of black and white and the different shots i thought this was used very effectively and i felt they fit the criteria of a thriller really well and as an audience it left you wanting to know more

intro to shot types

on our first lesson we looked at the different shot types and tried to get images to match them tis was done to enable us as students to be able to recognise the different shots and camera angles with confidence.

Extreme long shot = ELS
Long shot =LS
Medium long shot=MLS
Medium shot =MS
Medium close up =MCU
Close up=CU





Low angle
HIGH ANGLE
WORMS EYE
BIRDS EYE
CANTED
EYE LEVEL




TWO SHOT
OVER THE SHOULDER SHOT
POV =POINT OF VIEW



MOVEMENTS
PAN= photography, panning refers to the horizontal movement or rotation of a still or video camera , or the scanning of a subject horizontally on video or a display device.

CRAB =left to right or right to left and lens stays where it is as if staying passed it

TRACKING =when you follow something (a physical track is laid down where the camera person follows using the track i. e. used in car chases

ZOOMING =lens zoom in and the camera stays the same

PED =where the whole camera moves up or down however it stays at eye level

Difference between hand held and steady cam
Steady cam is when a camera is on a harness
Hand held is literally of the tripod and filmed in your hand

introduction to me

my name is Hiba and i chose to do media studies as i fell it can benefit me allot in further life whether it be just in reviewing a film or creating my own films and music videos. i especially chose to do this course as not only does it focus on the practical side of creating it. it also focuses on the other side of evaluating the process in which you create and analysing others creations. furthermore i study musical theatre and i wanted a subject that would fit nicely alongside it.