Sunday 7 December 2014

Planning: Risk Assessment

Risk: Tripping on Equipment/breaking equipment
Prevention: Equipment will only be out during filming. When scenes aren't being filmed, equipment will either be put away or placed out of the way of actors and any other people who may pass.

Risk:Burns/hot spotlights
Prevention: The lights will be placed as far away as cast as possible during filming. When filming isn't taking place all lights will be switched off to prevent them getting too hot and becoming a risk to surrounding people.

Risk:Cuts/Grazes from props
Prevention: Sharp props such as scissors and needles will only be out during filming and put away when not. To prevent the actor from being injured by the props during filming, she will be shown how to handle to equipment in a way in which is safe.

Planning: Filming Schedule

Filming Day One: Wednesday 3rd December
During the first day of filming, the first three scenes of the sequence will filmed. The protagonist will be present and will be using both  a tripod and camera to film the shots. The first three shots should take no longer than 1 hour and 30 minutes to complete. If the shots arent complete within the time frame, Sunday 7th December will be used as a back up date in order to complete any outstanding filming.

Filming Day Two: Friday 5th December
On the second day of filming, scenes four, five and six will be filmed alongside the black and white still which will be included within the sequence. The protagonist will be needed alongside a tripod and camera. I plan to have completed this within two hours. If anything is unfinished after the time frame, Sunday the 7th will again be used in order to finish any outstanding scenes and complete any improvements I may want to make.

The sequence will be filmed by Wednesday 17th December ready for editing.

Planning: Location and Props

Due to the content of plot of my opening sequence, the clip will be shot within a suburban bedroom. The usual, everyday setting helps to reflect the normal and realistic role that the protagonist has within society. With filming within the protagonists bedroom, it helps to belittle her extraordinary plans but increase the uncertainty of the character as it helps to emphasise her deranged and aberrant mind. The setting is also realistic and won't make my clip seem out of place. Using a common place will help create an uneasy and nervous effect on the audience as they will be able to relate it to real life.

Props will be used throughout my clip in order to create and even bigger effect. The protagonist will be hunched over a darkly lit desk throughout the sequence. Books and disturbing images will be scattered around the desk and the nearby area, helping to create horror aspects and a frightening feel for the audience. The protagonist will be working on these images/books throughout the sequence until she is disturbed in the ending sequence.

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Planning: Actors and Costume

The only actor present within the sequence is the protagonist of my thriller. My actor is a 17 year old girl. This makes her suitable for the role as she is the same age group as my protagonist. She is also a similar age to my target audience making my thriller appeal to them as they will be able to relate to her life. The actor will be dressed in dark, but everyday clothing. The clothing shows that the character doesn't stand out within society but the dark colours help to represent her hidden side. The girl will be a hidden beauty, but her looks will not be emphasised. This helps to show her disapproval towards similar girls her age and more importantly, her disapproval towards her crushes glamorised girlfriend.







Thursday 4 December 2014

Planning: Titles

Moonstruck

    Moonstruck
Moonstruck
The title of my sequence will be called Moonstruck. The name came about as it typically means the person is strange or weird, demented. The word also means that a person is unable to act normally due to the impact of their love for somebody. This fit my sequence perfectly as it's based around a young girl who has been affected by her school crush and her devilish and deranged plans in removing his girlfriend from the equation.

The title of the film will be the first piece of text on the screen. The text is planned to swipe onto the screen. The text will be in an off-white to represent the word 'moon' within the title. I plan to have the title in a large, italic font. The italic font will add a feminine touch helping to represent and create links the female protagonist. The smaller titles (actors names etc...) will be in a clearer font but may also have an italic feel. The titles are planned to be in the same colour as the main header. The titles are planned to swipe onto the screen during the title sequence.

Produced by Sophie Padmore
Produced by Sophie Padmore
Produced by Sophie Padmore

Wednesday 3 December 2014

Planning: Storyboard

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Images of Original Storyboard Plans

Planning out my sequence in a storyboard form was a crucial part of the planning process. By planning out the sequence, it made the order very clear in my mind, this makes it easier when coming to film the clip. By planning my clip out scene by scene, it also meant that I was able to plan  out timings, this made sure that I would stay inside the time limit.

I planned my clip by setting it out into six main scenes. After doing this, I was then able decide where my titles would appear on the screen. It also then gave me ideas on how they would appear, helping me in the next process of planning. The first scene was planned to show the chosen title of my opening sequence. This scene will show a black screen with the background music playing. The title will then quickly appear from the left hand side of the screen. The second scene will be a mid shot that slowly zooms into the subject on screen. The room will be low lighted,only containing a small spotlight on the main character sat at the desk. The text will then quickly swipe onto the screen, just as the title did. Scene three is a side shot view of the subject. The shot will again pan, but slower than the last. The text that appears within this scene will enter just as the last but will come from the opposite way in which the shot is panning. Scene four will be a close up shot of the main characters hands on the desk, giving a clear view of what they're doing. The shot will show many different disturbing images and flashes of black and white stills to give my clip a very realistic, thriller feel.  I will then use another close up shot in the fifth scene. Similar to the the third scene, the shot will again pan but more to the speed in which was seen in the second. Again, the text will appear in the opposite direction in which the shot is panning. The background music will play over scenes 1-5. Scene six will be an extreme close up of the protagonists eyes. The background music will play but then cut out when a piece of dialogue comes in. The character will then move, the background music will comeback in and the screen will turn to black, marking the end of the opening sequence.

Planning: Brainstorm


As the start of the planning process of my thriller opening sequence, I began by mind mapping initial ideas. I began looking at different areas such as sound, setting, props, editing, filming and lighting. during this process I also  began creating an initial idea of the plot in which the sequence will carry. I used the knowledge that I gained during the research process of my project in order to make my thriller plot as realistic as possible.

Lighting was one main feature in which I looked at when brainstorming my ideas. As thrillers carry the main feature of low key lighting, I plan to recreate this within my opening sequence. I then went on to develop the idea and plan to try and use different lights such as spotlights in order to create a better effect.
When planning costume for my thriller I knew I wanted my psycho character to look as normal as I possibly could so I plan use normal and everyday clothing, something basic that won't make the character stand out as their designed to blend in and not appear as a suspect to a murder. I also brainstormed and thought about the colour of the clothing and decided that dark or dull colours would help to add to the effect in which I was aiming for.
The next step in brainstorming my ideas was to look at the editing in which I will use. From my previous research into thriller movies I know that black and white shots and stills are a common convention of thriller movies. As I aim to recreate the feel of thriller movies, this is an area in which I want to be evident within my work. I plan to recreate the stills by including photographs taken by myself while filming into the course of my sequence. I then plan to use my knowledge of Photoshop in order to edit that images into black and white. Having flashes of these stills in my thriller will hopefully clearly reflect the convention.
Filming is an area in which I feel that I need to plan well as it's an important part in making my thriller realistic. From research I know that close ups are a convention of thrillers so my first thought was to include them. I will use close up shots alongside camera panning in order to add variation as well as creating suspense and tension for my audience. I also plan to experiment with various other camera angles before I begin filming my final edit in order to work out which will work best. I plan to experiment with a range of angles including high angle, low angle and mid shots.
A common sound convention of thriller movies are sound effects. As I'm trying to recreate the feel of a thriller, sound effects was my first thought. I plan to use a range of sound effects within my sequence. I will plan and research into sound effects and which ones will suit my thriller. During brainstorming I also thought about backing music in my sequence. I came up with idea of fast music, possibly from the rock genre, as it would build excitement and anticipation in the build up to the start of the film. I have also thought about the idea of a voice over. Adding a voice over will add a dramatic feel, building suspense.
The final area on my brainstorm is the planning of the plot. I came up with the idea of using a young, adolescent character, possibly female, to play the role of my protagonist. The idea will be developed on, but my initial thoughts of my protagonist came about as I aim to have a character that isn't stereotypical protagonist of a thriller. I also want my character to blend in with society and not stand out in any way so that the audience are unsuspecting of them. 

Tuesday 2 December 2014

Research: Internet Audience

Most thriller movies are aimed towards the age group of 18+ due to the content of the movies. Content such as aspects of horror, crime and violence gives thriller movies the high age rating. The type of thriller in which I'm aiming my sequence around, psychological thriller, also carries the 18+ age rating. This ultimately means that I should be aiming my sequence towards this age guide.

The link above is was the source of my information.


Hammer Logo

Hammer, a famous production company of horror and thriller movies produced one of the biggest selling psychological thriller/horror movie, The Woman In Black. Hammers intentions when creating thrillers is to create a frightening chill in the most stylish way possible. They use the element of suspense in all their work to create the most interesting and spine tingling thrillers and horrors. Hammers intentions are to create scares and chills that stay with the audience, they like to show of their credentials to the audience by being determined to create every film to the highest possible standard.

http://www.hammerfilms.com/ourwork/3/the-woman-in-black



 

Research: Questionnaire Analysis

I sent out my questionnaire to 20 different people of all ages and both genders in order to get an accurate and detailed view of the type of audience I should be aiming my work towards. The questionnaire was only given to people who were interested in thriller movies.

1. What age group are you?
From the results of my questionnaire, the most popular age group for thriller movies are for the ages between 16-20. Out of 20 people, 16 belonged to that category. From my results, I should be aiming my work to younger audience, containing ideas within my work that will appeal to younger people. 

2. What gender are you? 
From my results, there is an equal split in numbers to who watches thriller movies. Both genders enjoy the genre, meaning that my work must appeal to both a male and female audience. 

3. What is your favourite type of thriller?
From the four options given in my questionnaire, a psychological thriller proved to be the favourite with supernatural a close second. This result will help me when planning my thriller as I now know what kind of plot my thriller should follow. With supernatural thrillers proving to be a close favourite, I will aim to include a slight horror feel in my work as both supernatural thrillers and psychological thrillers carry many aspects of the horror genre.

4. What is your favourite thriller movie?
From the four options given in my questionnaire, The Woman In Black proved to be the most popular. This backs up the results from the previous question as The Woman In Black is a psychological/supernatural thriller with many aspects of a horror movie.

5. How often do you watch thriller movies?
My results show that the majority of my audience watch between 3-5 thriller films per month. The results show that the genre is popular with the people that were questioned, making my results accurate and reliable.

6. Which of these thriller titles do you prefer?
From the titles given, Moonstruck was the clear favourite out of the three options.

Research: Questionnaires

Questionnaire
What age group are you?
o   16-2
o   21-35
o   36-40
o   41-50
o   50+   
  
Male or Female?
    o   Male
      o   Female

What is your favourite type of thriller movie?
      o   Psychological Thriller
 o   Crime Thriller
     o   Supernatural Thriller
o   Spy Thriller

What is your favourite thriller movie?
          o   Silence of the Lambs
       o   Woman In Black
o   Taken
         o   Other ....................

How often do you watch thriller films?
  o   Never
          o   1-2 times a month
          o   3-5 times a month
          o   5+ times a month

Which of these thriller titles do you prefer?
               o   Moonstruck
             o   Derailed
             o   Unsound

Shown above is the questionnaire in which I sent out in order to gain knowledge about the audiences of thriller movies.

Using this questionnaire, I aimed to find out who were the most popular audiences of the thriller genre. I aimed to find out what gender watch more thriller movies and the age group they belong to. I also wanted to find out what type of thrillers were more popular so I'm able to aim my own sequence towards the outcome. In the questionnaire I also included ideas for a title for my own opening title sequence in order to see which would be more popular.