1ST DAY OF FILMING!- BEHIND THE SCENES

Today, Katy, Mae, Chloe and I all went to our local coffee shop to do the first part of our filming. This post will show you a sneak peak of our film, and what we got up to.

Here, we have Katy ( filming) and Mae ( acting). Here, we have Katy filming Mae on the phone to Tara. It took a while for us to get the correct angles, as our reflections where showing a lot in the windows of the coffee shop. We eventually got the correct angles we needed, in able to get a sufficient piece of filming.

LOCATION:

We decided that a coffee shop would be an ideal place to film part of our clip. Coffee shops are a local and busy area that the general public enjoy going to at all points in the day. Thriller films, always have a local/ busy place shown in the film, such as restaurants ( in the James bond films) and shopping malls. This is because it shows a sense of reality to the audience. It can make the film more relatable as people can relate to going to coffee shops, or well known places. We chose the coffee shop "Costa" to film where Tara is supposed to be meeting Ellie. We feel it was a good place, where our characters meet to catch up and have a coffee, until Ellie gets stood up, as Tara does not turn up. We also brought drinks from the shop, to emphasize the reasoning on Ellie being there. ( They were also a good treat to have while filming :) )

We used a tripod to hold the camera in place. The tri pod had many different functions so that we could move the camera around into the places that we wanted. It was light to carry around and easy to fix the camera into place. If we did not have the camera, then our footage would have been wobbly, and not straight and visual footage. We used a NIKON D3200. This camera had exceptional focal lengths, and allowed us to change these as well, to get good camera movement such as zooming and panning. The camera also had very good mega-pixels, which made the objects in focus look realistic on the camera. The sound was also good, but we can always edit the sound levels using adobe premiere.

MISE EN SCENE:

we wanted to focus a lot on our characters clothing. We didn't want her to look too extreme or over the top. Mae ( our character) was wearing a green, puffer jacket, jeans, and a black top, with a silver watch on. We wanted our character to appear innocent, and slightly vulnerable. This is because we wanted her to be relatable to the audience, and appear like an average, ordinary girl. We didn't want to use bright, vibrant clothes, as we wanted to keep the negative, mysterious effect that our genre has. ( thriller)The watch was also an important prop/ item of clothing to use. This is because we record a part where Ellie looks at her watch. This immediately shows the audience that she is waiting for someone and becoming slightly impatient. We thought this would be better than using her phone, as we have already included the phone a lot during this scene. We ensured that she had a bag, so that she appears like an ordinary women, holding her handbag.

TIMING WHEN FILMING:

We ensured we filmed around 14:30-3pm. We thought this was a good time to film as it was very quiet around our local town. This was good, as there was not too much background noise, so we could get a good clip. Also the lighting was good. As it is November, it gets dark a lot quicker. So there was a darkish, negative mood in the weather, which helps to emphasize our mysterious, thriller genre.

We will be editing our film using Adobe Premiere.

Inspirational film -TAKEN 3

As our film is a thriller, we needed a film that had both kidnap, and assault in it. We chose Taken 3, as we all enjoyed watching the film, it also fitted all the conventions of a thriller film. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JW3QONAeVTg 

The film begins with non diegetic music playing, while a series of establishing shots are shown on the screen. The music has a slow tempo to it, and has a male singing slowly. This creates tension, and a unusual atmosphere, as it makes the audience wonder what is going to happen next. The establishing shots show the setting effectively. We see a city at night time, with lights glowing the entire city up. There is also a lot of cars moving around, with their lights on too. Just from the opening scene, we can tell that the setting is busy, and run down. The camera seems to jump cut around the screen, creating an edgy atmosphere. This helps to set the theme of thriller, and makes the audience feel the suspense. 

We then see a a medium/over the shoulder shot of a women taking off her makeup. This could suggest that she has been on a night out, and has now returned home. From her clothing, we can see she is a robe/dressing gown, which suggests that she is going to bed. Furthermore, the use of the mirror as a prop, is effective, as it only the audience and her can see what is behind her. This type of shot is stereo typically used in horror films, where something usually comes up behind the mirror. The director has used this shot, to make the audience feel tense, and atmospheric.  We then see another character being introduced. A male is shown sitting on a bed, through a medium shot. There is deigetic sound shown where he says "Hunnie, have you seen my wallet?" The use of the interrogative, suggests that the female and the male are a couple, due to the nickname "Hunnie". Additionally, the double bed in the background emphasizes that they are a couple. The women responds deigetically  with "its in the living room", and he goes to look in the lounge. 

This close up of the wallet is very effective. The foreground of the close up is in focus, and the background is not. This is called a shallow depth of field. As the wallet is in focus, and the man is not, it suggests that the wallet is significant, and a important prop in the film. We hear non diegetic music in the background which is opera like. Although this could seem very calming and relaxing, it can also come across as creepy and sinister, especially because its opera music, with the cameras showing a house. This makes the audience feel on edge, of what is going to happen next. 

Next, we see medium shot of the male pouring a glass of water. This is a regular/normal thing that people do, which creates a sense of reality in the film. This is a  classic thriller convention used in thrillers, as the directors want to portray the victims as innocent and relatable, so that we sympathize with them, and makes us feel the suspense, as the attack could happen to anyone. Furthermore, his clothing supports this idea, as he is wearing a ordinary hoodie, with a normal top. This shot is also effective, as we can see that there is no one behind him. When he turns around, we here a non diegetic sound effect of a "thud" typed sound, and the opera music stops. We then see two big and overpowering men standing in front of him. The men are wearing suits, which holds connotations with authority, and empowerment. This suggest that the men are strong and intimidating and could cause harm to the victim. The use of the "thud" sound effect is effective, as it causes a dramatic drop in the film. It suggests to the audience that something bad is about to happen to the man.

 The two men then point a gun at his stomach, which immediately tells the audience that they are the antagonists in the film. The women shouts down the stairs diegeticlly, " is everything okay?" in which the antagonist holds up a dog lead, in which he responds saying " Im just taking the dog for a walk." The men then grab him aggressively, and lock him in the boot of the car, where his dog is laying there dead. This part in the film creates a lot of suspense. The use of the dog being killed in the boot, is effective, as the audience can sometimes sympathies with the pets and animals, than the people sometimes. The music then dramatically changes from the opera, to harsh, thudding typed music, which contributes to the idea of the suspense of the man being taken. 

The film then goes to the original establishing shots that was shown in the first place, but this time, with deeper, darker music. This shows the audience straight away that the film is based a lot on crime, and thus makes it a "crime/action thriller. The audience is thrown straight into the action in the film, which is a typical convention of the genre, thriller. 

I feel this was a good film to use as a inspiration. It has kidnap in the film, and  lot of action. We will use a dog in our opening two minutes as well, to show a link between the two films, and to help emphasize our innocent character.

Our film brainstorm- Initial Ideas

Idea:

The main idea of our thriller opening two minutes, is to have a murder in an alleyway/in the woods. We thought of this as it is a classic convention that is found in thriller films. We also thought it would be fun to film, and be able to use interesting camera shots and editing in able to create an exciting and tense atmosphere in our film. We have decided there will be 4 friends that are fairly close. One of which will become the victim of the assault. Character 1 and character 2 agree to meet up in a local coffee shop, however character 1 mysteriously gets killed. This creates a rift in the friendship, as character 2 is unsure why she has been stood up. We then have character 3 and 4, who we want to represent as being shady, and mysterious. We feel this will fit the conventions of thriller films, as there is always a mysterious character that has underlying problems that are revealed to the audience at the end of the film. We may include some theft in the film to suit to conventions of horror, and we want to introduce the concept of technology, as gadgets are a common prop seen in thriller films. We may include a mobile phone, with creepy, weird messages. By doing this, it will create suspense, and excitement to our audience, as our target audience is 15+ meaning that this is the age where mobile phone use is at its peak. This will make our audience be able to relate to our film more.

Characters:

Tara- Our Victim of assault. Played by Nadiye Killick.

Ellie- Tara's best friend, girl waiting for her in the coffee shop. Played by Mae Fisher.

Rosemary- Our antagonist, responsible for assault of Tara. Played by Chloe Bennett.

Bella- Rosemary's partner in crime, helps to cover the assault. ( side kick). Played by Katy Welch.

Film name suggestions:

We feel that our film is hard to come up with a name, before having filmed it. This is because some of our ideas main change, meaning the name may not make sense. However, we have come up with some brainstorms to help get us started:

"Missing" - We feel that by having a short, snappy title can engage the audience more. By keeping it "short and sweet" as it were, we feel it can be more captivating, as it is very ambiguous, leaving the audience to use their imagination to suggest what happens.

"Help"- We thought of an idea of having a text at the end of the film reading the word "help" coming from Tara's phone onto Ellie's phone. We feel by incorporating this text to the title, would show a clear link to the film and the name of it. The use of the monosyllabic language, creates tension, and suspense, which will keep our audience of edge, which we want to be able to do. 

"Murder Alley"- This is my least favorite of our suggested film names. I think this because, i feel it gives too much away in the title. By naming it "murder alley" it immediately  insinuates that someone gets killed in an alley, which defeats the purpose of having a dramatic climax in our film.

Technology:

For our film we will be using various film equipment and applications in order to achieve a successful and realistic film. We will be using Adobe Premiere, to edit our film. This is a software that allows you to be very creative with how you want your film to look. I feel this is better than using " Movie Maker" or " IMovie" as it has more complex sound systems, and better use of applications to use as well.  We will also be using photoshop. This will be used for our front cover of our film, as it has effective editing tools to help us edit our film effectively. To film our opening two minutes, we may use  a go-pro. We feel this is the best film camera to film with as the motion is really good on it. They are also easy to function, and have a long battery life which will be important if we are filming all day. Along with this, we will have a tri-pod. This will help us to film precisely, without any movement on still shots. Alternatively, we may just use an ordinary Nikon camera, as they are easy to function.

Mise en scene:

For the beginning of our opening two minutes, we want to have the shot of an alley way or the woods. We feel this fits the conventions of a thriller film. This is because woods and alleyways are very isolated, and desolate. There is very few people there, which creates suspense in the film. Also, it allows people to be camouflaged behind trees, and be able to grab people easily, with an unlikelihood of being seen. Furthermore, by filming in the woods to begin with, the lighting will be darker, but light enough for our audience to see efficiently. This will help set a spooky, sinister atmosphere for the beginning of the film. This is important, as we want our audience to be thrown right into the action of the film, to make the audience feel the suspense. The victim, will be appearance will be kept very ordinary and natural. This is because we want her to appear innocent, which will make the audience more on edge, as it proves an attack can happen to anyone. It will also make it more relatable. Props consist of a dog on a lead, and the killer with a see-through plastic bag to kill the victim with. (suffocation). By using a dog, it will help emphasize the innocence, and give the victim a reason for being in the woods. Different locations will be used- we will use a coffee shop to place the victims best friend in. This is where the victim was supposed to be meeting the friend, but has obviously not turned up. We thought using a coffee shop is effective, as everyone can relate to it. Its a popular, busy place where the general public enjoy going to. So, we wanted to show a sense of reality, so that our audience can relate to the settings as well as the characters emotions. Furthermore, we will also be using a house, where the antagonist will return home, after having attacked the victim. This will create a tense climax, as its unusual for a killer to return home after having attacked or murdered someone.

Sound:

As this is only what we have planned, our ideas may change. We thought for sound, we would have non-diegetic sound playing  at the beginning, we would have spooky, mellow, music playing, which will help create a tense, sinister atmosphere, and keep our audience on edge. We may use our own "Foley Process" to emphasise the sound of the victims footsteps at the beginning, this will make the footsteps seem significant, and will make the audience question why the footsteps have been made louder. It could suggest that she is being followed? or that something shocking is about to happen? We know that diegetic sound will be used when the characters are talking. However, we have not planned a script yet. When we write the script, we will write on there whether its diegetic or non diegetic, so it is clear to the reader.

Target Audience Research For Our Film.

We decided that the target audience for our film will be from 15+. We feel this is an acceptable and appropriate age for target audience, as our film is certificated 15. Although this gap is very wide, i have took into consideration the target audiences of action thrillers, and ordinary thrillers, and combined the two. This is because our audience, will have to be interseted in action thrillers and ordinary thrillers to be able to understand the film. On this post, i will be finding different surveys and pie charts which will demonstrate the target audience which is best suited for the genre of thriller. This will help us, as it will make us understand what different members of the public, and ages of the public are best suited for thrillers. 

The target audience for many physiological thrillers is usually 18+. This is because there is very graphic violence, which an aggressive nature in the film, which would not be acceptable for young children. This type of information is usually displayed on the back of the DVD, or is presented on the screen before the film is displayed. E.G "the following programme contains strong violence, and sexual scenes and nature."

We wanted to research the best gender to aim our film at. We feel our film will be pred-
 ominantly aimed at males. This is because the male sex is more attracted to aggressive, and violent nature in films. The violent nature will be shown in our clip when Tara gets suffocated by the killer, the use of blood being used, and when the killer (Rosemary) hits/punches Tara in the face.  Females are usually aimed at more emotional films, such as romantic comedies. This is because women want to be able to relate to the relationships that are shown in romantic comedies.  Our film will be aimed at 80% male and 20% female. Although females are not usually attracted to a thriller, our film has female characters, which may attract a small percentage of female viewers, as they may want to see what stereotypes our characters have, and how the female gender is suited into a thriller genre.  I created this pie chart above, to show the readers our target audience. The orange is male, and the purple is female. I feel using data can explain clearly to the viewers, what our target audience is. 

Films with a similar target audience: 
American Physco
Rear Window
Silence of the lambs
Taken 1/2/3

Our overall target audience:
Males (80%) Females (20%)
Ages 15+ 

Certificate Research

All films made or created by some of the most talented directors all have something in common- they all have a labelled certificate on them. Age ratings on films can go from a U all the way to an 18. Although, the certificate on the film, should match the target audience of the film. This is because if there was a film aimed at an audience for children, yet was certificated an "18" this would make the film company loose money, and fans to the film, as 18 year olds + would be there main target audience. Films have certificates on them, in order to either protect the viewers from harmful or offensive content or to prevent children under age from watching content that they might find offensive. Certificates on films are created by the BBFC, which stands for BRITISH BOARD OF FILM CLASSIFICATION.

PG stands for parental guidance. As probably presumed, this type of certificate is aimed at a younger audience. " A PG film should not unsettle a child aged 8 or older"-THE BBFC. However, a PG is considered to be for general viewing, but some scenes may be unsuitable for young children. Not all PG films have been made with a younger audience in mind, such as "saving Mr Banks" however, the certificate still implies that the content in the film should not upset a child of 8 or younger. It is suggested that if the child wants to watch the film, they are accompanied by an adult. This suggests that some PG films must appeal to the older generation as well. The accompanied adult can decide if they want their child to watch the film, this can be done by viewing the trailer, to see how sensitive, or graphic the film is for their child.

The U symbol stands for universal. From the BBFC it Is said that the film should not upset viewers from ages four and under. The U certificate is used, as it is practically impossible to predict what might upset a particular child. Violence in U rated in films, is usually kept very mild. Any fights that happen are usually resolved quickly, to avoid the viewers from tress or unsettlement.  There may also be brief scenes of victims in danger, however the scenes are well balanced with reassuring elements, such as comic interludes of light hearted music. U rated films are usually set in a moralistic, and positive atmosphere. It teaches right from wrong, which helps young children in their learning development. These types of films are sometimes cartoons. This is because they suit the target audience, and will attract more viewers as the younger ages can find them more relatable.



12 and 12A films are video networks that are not suitable for the ages of 12 and under. No one under the age  of 12 should see a 12A without an adult ( hence the letter "A"). The parents should also take into consideration whether the film is appropriate for that child, as some viewers could still find it distracting, meaning the adult must take full responsibility if the child becomes harmed or offended. The 12 rated certificate clearly and concisely shows that children can watch the film, if they are aged 12 and above. The colouring is effective, as the colour red has connotations with danger, with exaggerates that the 12 rated film may contain more offensive/harmful viewing than a 12A certificated film.


The film with a 15 on it, obviously shows that the particular film is aimed at people 15+. Aggressive violence, nudity, sexual scenes and nature, drug taking and discriminatory language and behaviour is all common material expected in a 15 rated film. In addition, 15's tend to be either horrors or adult comedies as there is rude or offensive material, that younger viewers would not appreciate, or would not understand. There is no limit on how much offensive language can be used, however continual use of it, will be rated at a 15. Films such as "the ring" and "paranormal activity" are rated at 5's.




Films aged at 18's are not suitable for anyone under the age of 18. This is because the content in the film, is too graphic or offensive for anyone who is not considered an adult. You can also not purchase a film rated at an 18, if you are not 18 or older. You would have to prove your age with I.D, as the 18 rated films are considered too harmful for children.


What will ours film be and why?
We want our film to be a 15. This is because our genre is a thriller/action, in which are mainly aimed at 15 year olds. We feel that if our film was set as a 12, it would not attract our target audience, as they would not be as passionate about a thriller than a young adult would be. We didn't want to choose an 18, as it would be too high, and people may presume that the film is too graphic and violent, turning viewers away. We feel that a 15 is an acceptable age rating, through researching thrillers, and finding their target audiences.

Research on our chosen exam genre.

For our coursework opening two minutes, we decided to go with the genre of thriller/action. We decided to go for this genre as it exciting to film. It also enables us to use props such as guns, knives, weapons etc. Compared to a romance comedy, you cannot use as many props to create a more intense atmosphere to the film.

Films such as Taken, Casino Royal, Abduction,License to kill are all films that we are going to watch for our inspiration for our film. These movies all fit the conventions of thriller,containing a protagonist and a antagonist usually in some kind of battle,when there is a distribution between a equilibrium. Thrillers usually have a long chain of bad events that lead up to final battle between the protagonist and the antagonist creating a tense climax on the way.

Some conventions used in thrillers:
Low key lighting
Montage of shots.
Monochromatic shots
Non- diegetic sound ( tension music)
Diegetic sound of breathing- This shows the characters fear.
Quick cuts
Changes in angle shots.
Protagonist and Antagonist in a battle/fight.

Differences between a Horror and a Thriller:
In some ways, thrillers and horrors are very similar Some thrillers will contain certain aspects from horrors. The main goal of a thriller is to keep the audience on edge as the plot builds to a climax. Furthermore,some thrillers may end of cliff-hangers.This makes the audience more engaged  and captivated by the film. Also, this allows the film to have a sequel,unlike in horrors where the film ends properly. 

Different types of Thrillers:

Physiological Thrillers:
 This usually involves a character in a mental state. The protagonist usually becomes involved in a situation that causes them to become "weird" or "abnormal" which can affect their sanity. An example would be "Black Swan."

Mystery Thrillers:
Mystery Thrillers keep the audience in suspense.They usually have a good plot line, meaning the audience must pay close attention to the film,in order to figure out the ideology of the film. An example of a Mystery thriller would be "SEVEN."

Crime Thrillers:
 A crime thriller is usually a combination of crime,drama and suspense. The film usually focuses on the criminal,rather than the other characters. An example "shawshank redemption"

Conspiracy Thrillers:
In this type of thrillers, the protagonist usually comes across a person or organisation who is more powerful than them. The protagonist usually notices the threat first. An example would be "Arlington Road"

Action Thrillers:
An Action thriller contains suspense and a dramatic atmosphere to the viewer. There is usually a protagonist fighting to achieve or accomplish something, in order to save the public. An example would be " Bourne supreamcacy"

Comedy Thrillers:
 A comedy contains elements of comedy and thriller thus,containing suspense and humor.An example of this would be "kindergarten Trap"

The amazing spider man two (3)

For my third opening to a film,I chose the amazing spider man two. I wanted to change the genre compared to the second opening film.

When New York is put under siege by Oscorp, it is up to Spider-Man to save the city he swore to protect as well as his loved ones.- IMBD.

The film begins with powerful,loud and energetic deigeic music playing in the background. It almost sounds like superhero music, that you hear when they have defeated the protagonist in a film. We then see the spidermann symbol appear on the screen. This is effective,as it successfully shows the audience a direct indication about what the film is based on. It also holds strong connotations with power and strength, due to the fact that spider man is a hero.

Next, we see a behind shot of spider man falling from the sky. This is effective as it jumps straight into the action of the film. From my research of action/adventure films, i know that this is a typical action/adventure convention used in film. Furthermore, we can see the city through the gaps of spidermans arms. From what we can see, it looks very urban and busy. It seems like there is a lot of people living there, which makes spider mans role even more significant. As spiderman falls deeper to the ground, we hear cars beeping loudly. This could have been done through using the Foley Process. This is a process by which sounds are made physically, by using objects that would create similar, if not the same sound. For example, if they wanted to emphasize the sound of a broken leg, they would snap a carrot or a celery stick. This could have been used with the car's horn, by using a claxon. The Foley Process helps to emphasize the sounds, so they are more dramatic and appealing to the audience.

We then see a low angled shot of spiderman swinging through the air. This is effective as it makes the character look like they are authoritative and more dominant, as the camera is looking up at them. The perspective shows spider man to be more powerful and strong and emphasizes his heroic figure.

We next see an establishing shot with spider man and a helicopter involved. Using a helicopter is effective as its a strong convention used in action films that the audience expects to see. It is also seen as a "cool" gadget/technology to use in filming. We now know where the film is set as spider man mentions "look out for me today new york". We know that New York is a busy, eccentric city, which the audience can clearly see from the establishing shots.

Towards the end of the first minute, we see a car chase between a large truck and police men. The guy in the truck looks rough and scary. We can see this through the gold chains around his neck, and an adidas tracksuit. This makes the audience automatically think that he is the protagonist in the film. 

John Tucker Must Die (2)

For my second analysis of a film, i chose a romantic comedy/chick flick film called John Tucker Must die. Its based around a popular, attractive and likebale guy named John who is dating 3 girls at the same time. They then meet a girl named kate who helps them to get revenge on him tactically, but all comes falling down in the end.

The film begins with non diegetic music playing in the background. The music is upbeat and cheery, which helps to set the setting of a high school in America. We see a close up shot of our main character Kate. She has blonde hair, blue eyes and is quite short. Having blonde hair is stereo typically seen as the individual being dumb and clumsy, however as we get to know Kate we see that she subverts to this idea. Kate describes herself as "anonymous" so from this idea the audience can already start to work out the kind of girl that she is.

She introduces her life story, about her mum, location, friends etc. We then jump cut to a high school basket ball game, where we meet one of our main characters, John. John is shown to be muscly, he is playing basketball, and we see him score numerous times. This indicates to the audience that he is sporty and athletic. The use of the establishing shot to show the crowd, helps to set the setting of an American high school. Also, by showing a large crowd it indicates a popular and well known event that is going on, which helps to correspond with Johns "popular" character.

We hear diegetic sound being made through the screams of the crowds voices when we see that they have won the game. We see this through a long shot. This is effective because it shows the body language of the characters, demonstrating that everyone is happy that they won the game.

On the right we see a two shot/medium shot 

of John and 1 of his girlfriends Carrie.

We can see through Carries face that she likes

John and she is smiling at him. From what she is

wearing, we can see she is an average, teenage girl

at school. In contrast, from Johns facial expression

we can see he is really into the game, and pleased that he has just won the game. The use of the microphone prop, further connotes the idea of Johns popularity, as it suggests he is on T.V

Opening film analysis (1)

Need for speed opening two minutes:

I decided to analyse the opening two minutes to need for speed. The first scene the audience sees is an establishing shot of a city and night time. We can see all the cities lights glowing, and can see a lit fire burning on top of the building. This immediately, makes the audience think that something dramatic has happened to the city which captivates the audience into the film, so that they will reveal what has happened.  The use of diegetic sound is used with the sound of police cars and people rushing around. This further enhances the idea that something has happened in the city that the audience do not know about.

The scene then jump cuts to a slow motion clip of man putting on a jacket and walking away from the camera. The camera is placed in a medium shot as the man begins to walk over to, what looks like a cars n the background.  The jacket the man is wearing is leather, with bold letters stating "block" and the number 43. Due to the title of the film, we know its going to be about cars. Due to the characters clothing, we can suggest that he races cars, as stereotypically, leather jackets and numbers on them, have strong connotations with racing and race car drivers.

Next, we see a close up shot of a mustang car, and the lights light up and the screen shakes, with a sound effect of a cars engine drumming in the background. The use of shaking the camera, suggests that the engine of the car is powerful and overbearing. It shows a strong link to the title of the film, making the tension build up to the audience.

We then see a medium shot of an Asian man looking at the camera with a mysterious look on his face. He is wearing a hoodie, which has strong connotations with "chavs" and is seen as very informal. In the background we can see a key hook with many keys hung up on it. This immediately shows the audience that there Is more than one car in the garage like area where the beginning of the film is set. We can also see a skull poster, a plastic cup and a lamp. It suggests that it is a rural setting where many people work.