I finished the script!

Link to the script!

Character Details

Inspiration for the girl
Angelina Jolie in Salt

Characters
(preferable casting)

• Girl in custody (villain): Pauli
• Inspector: James
• Policewoman: Darina 
• Extra: Simon (Media teacher)

Character Details

Inspiration for the inspector
David Boreanaz in Bones

 

Girl in custody

A strong and free willed independent teen. When in the investigation room she flirts with the inspector to trick him into falling into her trap. The inspector describes her as slightly delusional as she always seems distant and not bothered about the situation she is in.

 

Inspector

A well respected investigator part of a well known police force for London. He is smart and overpowering, however he cannot help but feel intimidated by the girl. The power battle that goes on in the scene brings out the worst of qualities in the man and he ends up shouting at her to get her to talk.

 

 

 

 



 

Lesson

Today we have been thinking about our set.
At first we drew a basic idea of what we wanted from the two rooms and where we would place the props.

 Then Bella went into more detail and produced a 3D sketch of the rooms.

Now we are going to research materials that we would need to build this set.
Also this lesson we have been producing our final script, which is yet to be completed.

Props and Set for Thriller

Security Camera

Props:

·     Metal table and chairs (investigation room)

·     Modern tape recorder(investigation room)

·     Confidential file(investigation room)

Tape Recorder

·     Security camera (investigation room)

·     2 Cups  of coffee

·     Handcuffs(investigation room)

Set: (investigation room)

·     Tilled walls (grey)

·     Glossy floor (grey)

·     Metal door (grey)

·     Investigation room glass mirror

Analysing our Thriller pilot

Analysing in class 

 A pilot allows you the opportunity to get a feel of what your final shoot is going to be like and to experiment with the shots you want. It was a great opportunity for my group to see what shots worked for example and which ones didn't. For example we played around with he shots where the camera pans from right to left matching the action. This was definitely one of the most challenging shots because without the proper equipment the shots often turned out quite wobbly, however we felt that the footage we got was suitable and worked for its purpose. For the shoot we used flip cameras, which were easy to use and handy, however it was challenging when it came to getting steady shots. 



Flip Camera 



At first when getting our actors we considered maybe using a girl as an investigator, we thought it might bring power rivalry between the law and the criminal to our thriller and could perhaps challenge gender stereotypes. However at the beginning of shooting we realised that a female investigator wasn't working and didn't have the same affect because we wanted the girl to flirt with he detective to dominate in power. For this task we took into consideration who our main character would be, and we were really happy with our choice and will be asking her to play the part on the day.

IMovie editing software layout 

 Our thriller is generally not very demanding for props, however we do need the basic necessities for an investigation room, such as a confidential file, tape recorder, desk, chairs etc. We tried to include as many props that we could get our hands on in such short time. This did mean though that we had to make compromises with a confidential file and a tape recorder. For future references we have been given the opportunity to create a props, set and costume list so we can have everything ready for the day of filming.

For the pilot we came up with a rough script for our characters, however we let the characters explore different phrases so they could have a better understanding of their character. Although on the actual day we will have created a script that we would like to stick to, for editing reasons it will help with flow of the scene.

We tried to follow the storyboard, however we did not include all the shots because we did not have all the right props and characters available. This will therefore make our thriller a lot longer when we include everything next time.

Overall, we think the pilot was successful!  

Thriller Pilot

Evaluating the storyboard

What is storyboarding?

My group, consisted of myself, Santi and Bella, started storyboarding for our thriller opening sequence. On creating the storyboard we have taken our timeline and created each frame by quickly illustrating them out into a table. We have also included on our storyboard important detail such as lighting and the length of the shot. Bella took the role of beautifully drawing the frames. 

Why storyboard?

Although not everything is included, such as backgrounds, it has helped my group to think about each individual frame vividly because we need to take into consideration what characters and props should be included. Additionally we have included technical notes such as camera angles and movement to help understand the flow of the visual images. 

Has it helped us capture our thriller genre?

To capture the sense of the thriller genre we have taken into consideration light, where we have thought that it should always be slightly dim creating a sinister atmosphere and creating tension. Also having this information prepared on the day will help us focus on getting the footage we need. To complete our storyboard we need to include a frame of our thriller title. We were thinking that we would include it at the end of our opening sequence when the suspense is at its peak.

For example

In this shot we have the investigator dropping the file heavily onto the table to startle the girl in questioning. We have included the shot type, which is a mid shot because we want the focus to be on the file. We have considered having this shot in slow motion to and having the next shot of the girl looking up at him normal to emphasise her confidence in the extract. 

 In this shot we have the girl crossing her legs connoting that she is relaxed and feels confident that she can overpower the investigator. Additionally the girl is wearing muddy boots to give hints of the event from the night before. 

Overall...

I do believe that producing a storyboard has helped my team focus more on the shots and has prepared us for our difficult task of shooting a pilot on this coming Monday. 

Presentation

Presentation

Analysis of opening sequence to One Hour Photo

The opening titles of the film use non-diegetic sound which creates an eerie feel and generates suspense. The titles flash on the screen like a camera when they transition into the next set of titles. the layout of the title sequence is also like a camera screen.

The first shot is a medium shot of the camera used to take mugshots of the man in questioning, there is a long pause and the motif begins to get louder and faster, increasing the intensity. Until the camera flashes then there is a black out. The opening location is a police station, which tells the audience that the man in questioning has committed a crime. This tells the audience that this film is a crime thriller.  

The camera used for the mugshots is old fashioned. This film was based in 2002 and since then there has been a rapid increase in the development in technology. However, at this time the camera used probably would have been the state of the art professional. 

The rooms in the police station are always empty and have the maximum of two characters in them, for example the investigation room and an office. This creates uncertainty for the audience or could imply that this scene takes place in the middle of the night, so people would not usually be around. 

During the investigation the man in questioning and therefore the audience are not allowed to see the photographs inside the file. This creates suspense and further questioning because whatever the crime this man has committed is in that file. Because the man asks to see the photographs, we get this idea that he is proud of what he has done.

We are first introduced to the main character when the camera flashes and we see a mug shot on a screen. The main character is a middle aged man, he is dressed respectfully and doesn't look like your typical criminal.

The investigator is polite to the man in questioning, for example he makes it clear that he does not have to ask any questions until his lawyer is present, this connotes that the criminal is unstable and should seek as much help as he can. 

Sub-Genres

Audiences recognise a thriller by, for example, their typical plot where the protagonist goes onto a discover to create suspense. Typical themes of a thriller are mystery, crime, suspense and some sought of enigma. This relies on the principal of repetition in a genre. Thrillers are not as visually defining as other genres, such as Westerns, where usual locations are set in wild west saloons, for example Django Unchained. While there are certain characteristics that define all thrillers, the large category can be subdivided into several 'sub-genres' which have their own distinct formulas. For my group, we felt our thriller fell under the sub-genre of a Crime Thriller. These films often focus on criminals dealing with a successful or failed crime and the suspenseful results. common themes include robberies, murders, and double crosses, for example Inception. Usual characters in a crime thriller include: criminals, investigators and victims, which we all have in our thriller. Usual settings for a crime thriller include: investigation room, abandoned warehouses and family homes, which again we have used in our thriller.

Who is the target audience?

The audiences are categorised by the industry as a potential market. For research my group tried to discover who was our potential market. The intended audience for Caleidoscopio are 16- 30 year olds of both genders. The audience would have an online presence as they would be attracted by the online promoting, such as IMDB and Facebook. Other profile psychographics include Inception, The Usual Suspects, The Dark Knight and Se7en. 

By finding out Caleidoscopio's target audience, we construct a typical market for our product. At first my group thought that the film would appeal to mostly young males, however by having a powerful and independent female protagonist we felt that this would also attract a female audience. Demographics point out an audience's significant social criteria e.g. age, gender, occupation and social class.

Teenagers dominates our target audience, so we found out what are typical values, attitudes and lifestyles choices of a teenager. Caleidoscopio attracts trendies and a rebel audience, they crave attention and admiration from their peers and wish to remake the world in their own image. These qualities also represent the protagonist of the film.

PLOT: A daughter of a well-established drug dealer is kidnapped by one of the most dangerous mafia clans as a revenge of her incompetent father unable to pay his debts. A twist of fate leads to the daughter’s surprising change in character, she falls in love with her kidnapper and they team up and turn against the father. Six months later during an assignment the plan crumbles, leading to tragic murder of her mother. There is a close call with the police, but getting caught only makes them stronger and the gang fight back to get what is rightfully there’s. Power.  

OPENING SEQUENCE: the extract takes place in a interrogation room at a police station/ prison. The girl has been taken into custody for the murder of her mother. The investigator is trying to get to the bottom of the situation so they can lock away the girl, because it is clear she is guilty. The girl acts calm and cocky throughout, trying to wind up the investigator while she buys her team time. She has been constantly looking at the door and her watch, as if she is waiting for something vital to occur. At the end the investigator asks her "Is there anything you would like to add or clarify?"and she replies

“Its show time” then the camera cuts to a wide shot from a security camera that is in the corner of the room and crashes out. 

The Meeting with Matt

During this lesson we had to pitch our ideas to Matt, who will be helping us with our thrillers. As a result we were given feedback which will help us develop our ideas more. For example, we were given the advice that the girl that is being interrogated will need to have strong and articulate dialogue. 'Now You See Me' was recommended to us for inspiration. Overall, we're on the right path but we need to be careful about casting to do the sequence justice.

MEET THE TEAM

Thriller ideas

Opening sequences:
1. security guard - watching people - follows certain people - zooms in on a particular female - walks out - as if to follow her
2. male cooking - flashbacks to when he murdered someone - then intensity of cooking - end sits down to eat and smiles at the camera
3. male at cafe booth - shaking and sweating - the background noises get louder (dialogue, cups clashing, laughter, footsteps, door opening) - tipping point - shouts at the other customers and shoots a gun into the air- demands them to give him their possessions- customers react - guy crouches down to pick up the possessions and receives a blow to the head and blackout

Understanding film genre

Genre is a type of story, for example:  thriller, comedy, science fiction. Films within a particular genre share things in common. A science fiction film usually contains some story line where the science of that particular time undertakes something out of the norm, like contact with alien life forms or time travel. The thriller genre is different from most other genres because on the surface many of them look entirely different from each other. Thrillers generally have similarities though, for example they all involve some sort of dramatic plot twist, like in the Shining where Jack Torrance goes mad and starts to attack his family or when the shark in Jaws attacks the defenceless civilians.

Here are a few examples of typical thriller posters.

Genres, audiences and institutions

Genre is relevant to audiences because an audience has expectations of each genre, for example if you go to see a sic-fi film you would expect to see themes of space and/or time travel, or to a horror where you would expect to see iconography of blood and murder, e.g. Scream 4.
Genre affects film production because there are some aspects of a genre that the creative team would need to take into consideration. For example: location, you would expect a teen movie to take place in a teenage community, a place where someone of this age can relate to.
When a film is marketed, the audience will need to be aware of what the genre of the film is, so the film trailer will need to portray this. For a thriller, the trailer would need to reveal some elements of suspense and mystery.

2nd Editing Lesson

In this lesson we were given the chance to finish off editing our sequence. As a class, we all watched each others sequences and gave feedback.

Link to the prelim sequence

1st Editing Lesson

In our groups we used Final Cut Pro, an editing software, to edit the footage we shot last week for our prelim task. Remembering we needed to have 5 different shots, we carefully selected which footage we wanted in our final sequence. With the shots we wanted we were able to drag them into the correct 'bins' which we learnt to create in the lesson. These bins help organise what raw footage is being used and what footage isn't. By dragging the footage from the rush bin onto the timeline, we were then able to experiment with which parts of the footage we wanted by using the blade tool (shortcut B) and the In and Out (I and O) keys to easily cut. 

Prelim Task

For our prelim task we were set into groups to shoot a basic story board scene. In this scene we covered 5 different shots: a WIDE SHOT, 2 different CLOSE UPS, and 2 different OVER THE SHOULDER shots. Our scene was set in my classroom, which meant that the use of lighting, props and set was limited.  During the filming process we did have a problem, unfortunately some of the earlier shots, such as the wide shots and close ups,  were not focused which meant that we had to start from the beginning again to make sure that we had covered each shot properly. Overall,  I highly enjoyed the filming experience, and I felt that my team worked well together.

First page of our story board scene

Week 1

In our first lesson with working with the cameras we first learnt how to set up a tripod. We changed the height by locking the nuts on the legs, then bubbled the trip to balance it, and then attached the camera securely by locking it in place.

Once the tripod and camera were set up, we started to learn the basics of how to use the camera. I learnt how to focus the frame, by zooming in on an object and adjusting the focus ring. We also experimented with lighting, to show the difference between indoor and outdoor light temperatures, and how to expose the camera correctly in reference to the light.

About Me

Hi, I'm Katie McLady, I'm 16 and I am currently taking AS Media Studies, English Literature, Geography and Theatre Studies at Hurtwood House. I am addicted to watching Breaking Bad and my favourite film of all time is Back To The Future (1985). Media Studies is a new subject to me and I am excited about everything I am going to learn over the course of the year.

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