Planning Opening Credits - Miss Geourgiou

The purpose of opening credits is for the audience to be able to identify the names of actors, directors and film production companies that play key roles in films.

Black Swan Opening Credits:

The colours used in this clip are black and white with low key lighting to draw attention of the audience to the names that appear on a canvas sheet that is being drawn on with black chalk. The colours used 

The credits begin with the name of the production company which is an example of how I can present the name of my film production company to the audience as it is written on a plain black background so that it stands out.

The names of the people appear on the canvas and then swiftly fade away, this goes with the movie theme and the music used for the opening credits because swans move gracefully.

The writing font for the credits are formal because the film is filmed on formal dancing and Swans are perceived as quite peaceful and elegant creatures.

Se7en Opening Credits:

The credits in Se7en begins by introducing the production then introduces the characters, the font of the writing is white on a black background, producers are recognised and there is intense music in the background.

Order of appearance:                    
Company                             

• Production                              
• Director
• Famous actors
• Title

Thriller Conventions:

• Use of dipping blood on the paper
• Jumpy,flash lighting
• Scraping noises

Black and white is used in the credits to represent good and evil. Credits were flickering which creates enigma as the audience do not know who the person writing is. 

For my opening credit idea, I used red for the writing which is conventional because it represents blood which foreshaddows that something bad will happen.I Used lined paper to make the thriller opening to seem more realistic.

The contrasts between the black background, red and white colour are used to show the difference between good and evil or the victim and vilian.The sharp font which is bold emphasises and makes the audience wonder what the film is about.

Deanna used a contrast between white and black to represent good and evil or villain and victim. Ink smudges were used for a realistic effect as ink is accessible, this could be a metaphor foreshadowing the film will not be straight forward and the audience will realise that it will not be a simple narrative. The audience will also guess an accident will happen as ink spillages are accidental.

For our final idea we used red with a black outline which makes audience think about meaning of word. Then we used red, black and white to show the difference between good and evil.

We changed colour of the ink to make it look like blood which is conventional to the thriller genre.

Inspiration, Miss Miller

Inspiration is needed before something is created because whatever is being produce needs to relate to something that is likely to occur in everyday life circumstances. Inspirations can be taken from books, films, role-models etc.

Mise-en-scene inspiration:

For my Mise-en-scene post, i chose to analyse the movie Black Swan and i gained inspiration from the use of low key lighting used in the scene to add depth and intensity to the scene and to also cause the audience to focus on the main character of the scene.

The positioning of the main character in this movie inspired me to keep the character in my movie at the main focus  of my camera in order for the audience to connect with the audience which is conventional to the thriller genre.

Cinematography inspiration:

For my cinematography post, I chose to analyse the movie Inception and gained inspiration from the different use of angles to create obscure effects in order for the audience to feel confused by looking at it.
For my thriller film, I will use mostly zooming in camera angles in order for the audience to concentrate on what it is I want the me to focus on whether it be an item of clothing, object or character.

Editing Inspiration:
 I will be able to use a range of editing styles like a wipe cut, straight cut, montage and reaction shot in order for my clip to have of an effective impact on the audience, these editing styles make a great impact on my thriller film as using these editing styles will improve the quality of the film that I am producing. minds up on whether they think that character is the victim or the villain. The clip that I analysed for my Editing styles post is from the film Sinister and I was inspired by the use of the straight cut shot to create confusion within the audience and drama, this is conventional to the thriller genre and will be useful to use when making my thriller film.

Sound Inspiration:
For my thriller film, I will use most of the different types of sound such as: Diegetic, non-diegetic, on-screen,off-screen,parallel and contrapuntal sound.
Sounds are very effective when making a thriller film, the film that I did research into sounds is from the film Along Came The Spider.

In conclusion, these inspirations have influenced and shaped the ideas that I have to produce a successful thriller to a high standard and quality so that my intended audience will enjoy it and feel the emotions that I intend them to feel whilst watching the thriller film clip.

Risk Assessment - Miss Georgiou

There are a lot of risks involved in creating thriller films and these are are the risks involved in our thriller film.

Planning Editing Styles - Miss Georgiou

Editing Styles:

 

 

Editing styles are very important when making a thriller film because the way a thriller film is edited has a huge impact on the way it is recieved by the audience watching it.

 

For my thriler film, I am going to use wipe shot edititing styles quite frequently because this would give the audience a feel of surrealoism and will be very effective to my film as there will be alot of flashbacks involved in the film.

 

A reaction shot will also be useful to my thriller fim as this is conventional to the thriller genre because reaction shot are used very often in order for the audience to identify with the way a character is feeling at that given time, when the audience can identify the way a character is feeling in a thriller film, I will be able to use a range of editing styles like a wipe cut, straight cut, montage and reaction shot in order for my clip to have of an effective impact on the audience, these editing styles make a great impact on my thriller film as using these editing styles will improve the quality of the film that I am producing. minds up on wether they think that character is the victim or the villan.

 

In conclusion editing styles are some of the most vital factors in the produce of an effective thriller film, and the way I use editing styles will determin the quality of the thriller film that I am going to be producing.

 

 

Planning Sound , Miss Miller

Why is Sound important within a thriller film?:

Sound is important in the thriller genre because it is very important for the audience of the film to be aware of what is going on in the film by sounds used as well as visual images. There are different types of sound that are used in thriller films to convey different emotions within the thriller genre. Sounds are used in films to create an understanding for the audience and to create more meaning about the characters and their emotions. Sound is used to create a response from the audience.

Diegetic Sound:

Sound which is part of the film for example; dialogue or music from the a radio. The sound can be on or off screen.

Non-Diegetic Sound:

Sound that is not part of the film for example soundtracks.

On Screen Sound:

You can see where the sound is coming from.

Off Screen Sound:

You can hear the sound but cannot see where it comes from.

Parallel Sound:

When the sound you hear in a film is what is expected e.g. kids laughing whilst playing.

Contrapuntal Sound:

When the sound does not match the expectations of what you are viewing.

How Sound will be used in my thriller film:

For my thriller film Diegetic sound will be suitable for the flashbacks in the film, the effect that this has on the audience is that the audience will develop more of a connection to what is going on in the film.

Examples of On Screen Sound that will be used in my thriller clip is sounds of the water and crunching of leaves etc. These sounds will be exaggerated throughout the clip in order to make the audience feel paranoia within them, this is conventional to the thriller genre because On Screen Sound is usually used and exaggerated in thriller films to suggest to the audience that what is occurring in the film could possibly happen in everyday life.

In conclusion to this, sound the use of sound in my thriller film will be very vital because the sound used in a thriller film affects emotions felt by the audience and how affected they are by the content of the thriller film.

Planning characters representation, Miss Georgiou

Representation:

The representation of a character is how a character is presented to the audience and how the audience judge someone  by looking at their clothing, background and attitudes etc.

Characters:

Name: Annie

Age: 10

Gender: Female

Race: Mixed race

Background: She and her sister (Ayesha) are close, their close relationship will be shown through flashbacks of happy memories between them.

Purpose: She will play the victim, her body language and facial expressions will help the audience to identify her as the innocent victim.

How will the character appeal to the audience?: She will come across as naive, timid and vulnerable; causing the audience to feel sympathy for her and will therefore cause them to become emotionally connected throughout the clip.

Name: Ayesha

Gender: Female

Race: Mixed race

Background: Also close to her sister but is suspected to be the villan which confuses the audience.

Purpose: Her purpose is to cause confusion within the audience of the film

How will the character appeal to the audience?: The audience will be in doubt of whether Ayesha is the villain or not.

Name: Unknown name

Purpose: Possibly the big sister.

The audience does not know much about this character.

Planning Mise-en-scene, Miss Georgiou

Why is Mise-en-scene important within a thriller film?:

Settings and iconography are very important within a thriller film because props use in the setting of a thriller film can give the audience insight on what may be due to occur in the film for example if the opening scene of a thriller movie is set in a forest, then it is likely that a murder, kidnapping or something negative is going to take place and this can be enhanced by the setting and iconography. In Media Studies we see iconography as part of genre, and particularly film genre. Students need to know the term and how it is used. It is quite a complex concept, that informs image analysis and the deconstruction of genre. Iconography originates from the study of art. 

Costumes and make-up are equally important because in a thriller film, the villain is usually identified by make-up used and the costume that they are in for example a vampire would have pale make-up and would usually be wearing dark colours such as black, grey and also red at times, this is conventional to the thriller genre because the audience immediately senses that the character dressed and made up in this way will commit a murder or something else negative.

Costumes are part of the visual composition of each frame of film. Just as the elements of a painting work together to create a harmonious image, costumes must work with the lighting and sets. Colour, shape, line, and texture are all considered when designing costumes for a movie. Colour, one of the most important elements in the designer’s tool kit, suggests the mood and atmosphere of a story. Warm reds produce a different effect from subdued blues, for example.

Facial expressions and body language are important within a thriller film because they provide an indication of how someone is feeling which causes the audience to begin to identify with way they may be feeling a particular way by looking at their facial expressions.

The positioning of characters and objects are also beneficial to a thriller clip or film because positioning of characters or objects within a frame can draw attention to an important character or object; this makes it easier for the audience to recognise the main character or characters of a particular film.

Lighting and colour are equally as important to the thriller genre because denotation carries certain connotations which may add meaning to a scene, connotation can also be used for dramatic effect in order to put fear into the audience. Low key lighting adds a sense of mystery to the film, the effect this has on the audience.

My thriller Film:

In my thriller film the setting will be in a bedroom, using low key lighting that will be created by using a lamp in order to create mystery throughout the audience.

The aim of the use of low key lighting in this scene is to cause uncertainty within the audience of exactly how the film is going to develop whether in a negative or positive way.

From the use of low key lighting in this scene of the film, the audience are immediately given the impression that something negative is due to occur in the film.

Because the characters in my thriller clip are based on two sisters, they will be dressed in casual clothing to give the audience the impression that what may happen as the scenes progress in the film can also happen in reality which enables the audience to feel more connected to the two sisters as they relate each scene to reality.

Face paints and food colouring will be used to create artificial blood which adds depth to the scene as well as realism, also conventional to the thriller genre and the colours in the clip will be  varied in order to attract the audience more to the film.

The audience can build relationship with my film because they are given the indication that it is very normal for siblings to have a close bond, but to their surprise, one of the siblings will become the villain suspect as she is the closest person in the clip to the younger sister which will cause a lot of suspense within the audience about who the killer really is, the low key lighting that I will use will add emphasis on the purpose of the clip which is to create a sense of fear, suspense and panic through the use of camera angles, low key lighting and diegetic and non-diegetic sounds.

Questionnaire results, Miss Miller

What Gender are you?

Male – 28

Female – 12

What Age Certificate do you expect a thriller to be?

12 = 0

15 = 24

18=16

What interests you to watch thriller films?

Adverts – 16

Posters – 4

Recommendations – 20

 

What Gender are you?

Male – 28

Female – 12

What Age Certificate do you expect a thriller to be?

12 = 0

15 = 24

18=16

What interests you to watch thriller films?

Adverts – 16

Posters – 4

Recommendations – 20

 

What Gender are you?

Male – 28

Female – 12

What Age Certificate do you expect a thriller to be?

12 = 0

15 = 24

18=16

What interests you to watch thriller films?

Adverts – 16

Posters – 4

Recommendations – 20

 

What do you expect to see in thrillers?

Main Characters – 2

Killer & Victim – 8

Flash backs – 4

Blood – 5

Conflict – 3

Death – 9

Chase Scenes – 5

Fight Scenes – 4

Other – 0

Do you enjoy thrillers to have a sequel to continue the story?

Yes – 24

No – 16

What types of sounds would you like to hear in a thriller film?

Tension Building – 14

Sound Effects – 8

Loud Music – 6

Silence – 12

Other - 0

What characters would you like to watch in a thriller, and why?

Male – 6

Female –6

Villain – 10

Victim –14

Group of People –0

Psychotic – 4

Other – 0

What type of setting would you like to see?

Forest – 14

Abandoned House – 12

Park – 2

Old Basement – 4

School – 6

Other – 2

Would you enjoy other sub-genres to be used? If so which ones?

Psychological thriller – 6

Conspiracy thriller – 6

Crime thriller – 14

Other – 0

What type of setting would you like to see?

Forest – 14

Abandoned House – 12

Park – 2

Old Basement – 4

School – 6

Other – 2

Would you enjoy other sub-genres to be used? If so which ones?

Psychological thriller – 6

Conspiracy thriller – 6

Crime thriller – 14

This information shows the the majority of individuals that we questioned for our research were females as the pie chart shows; less than half of the people that we interviewed were male. This indicates that females may be more interested in thriller films than males.

Evidence from this pie chart shows that half of the people that we questioned confirmed that recommendations from other people such as friends and family, interest them to watch particular thriller films, 40% confirmed that they are persuaded by adverts to watch thriller films and only 10% of the general public are persuaded by posters to watch thriller films. This confirms that the audience of thriller films are persuaded both visually and by recommendations from people that they are familiar with rather than posters as they do not provide a lot of information about the content of the film.

This pie chart shows that the majority of the general public expect the age certificate of most thriller films to be 15, this could be because they feel that 15 year olds are mature enough to be exposed to certain themes in a thriller film that people of younger ages may not be able to handle.

The pie chart shows that death is expected to be seen in thriller films more than other things such as: main characters, killer&victim, flash backs, blood, conflict ,death chase scenes and fight scenes. The majority of the general public may feel this way because previous thriller films that they have previously watched which may have an impact on what they would expect to see in another thriller film.

The results on this pie chart show 60% of the general public enjoy having sequels after movies to continue the story, this may depend on how much each individual enjoys the original film. If they do enjoy the film then they would most likely be eager to watch a sequel of the film.

This pie chart shows that 35% of he general public expect tension building sounds in thriller films, the reason for this could be because most very successful thriller films include tension building sound effects.