Once we had written our group narrative, myself and Amy designed the group storyboards. By drawing out the narrative scene by scene, we were able to plan how we would like the different events to appear and be presented to the audience, what close up shots we would use, and where the different flashbacks should be shown. We were also able to decide how long we would like each scene to last for, in order to ensure that the opening sequence didn't run longer than we needed it to, two or three minutes at the most.
In order to form our group narrative, and then draw out our group storyboards, we had a group discussion about the ideas and scenes we each felt were most important to include. This meant that we were able to use the best ideas from every member of the group to make our narrative as effective as possible. Once we had discussed these ideas in detail, myself and Amy spent time putting them together in chronological order, making sure that the scenes made sense where we had placed them, in terms of the whole narrative.
Our storyboards then took on the role of a plan for us, while we shot the scenes, enabling us to ensure that we had included everything that we needed to. We did however, make some changes to the order of the scenes within these storyboards during editing, as we realised that different scenes worked better together than others.
When creating a film it is important to consider the style of editing that will be used in order to link the scenes together. Different types of editing styles will have various effects on the audience and their interpretation on the events taking place in the film. For example, a straight cut aims to remain unnoticed and natural, making the film appear as realistic as possible to the audience.
In our group thriller, we aim to include four different types of editing styles, in order to have the best, and most tense impact on our audience.
The first type of editing style we aim to use is a jump cut, which will be used to link together the scenes whilst the attacker is stalking his victim. This style of editing keeps the pace of the film as fast as possible, ensuring that the audience's attention is fully captivated and drawn into the story. To the audience, this editing style will also seem more realistic than a fade or dissolve, as the scenes simply jump from one to the next, without any visible editing effect on the images seen, whereas a dissolve would see the images fall apart, unnaturally. A jump cut is conventional of a thriller film as typically, the pace of films in this genre are kept fast, in order to keep the events appearing as dramatic and out of control as possible.
The second editing style we would like to use in our film is a dissolve, as although this style of editing may appear vaguely unrealistic to the audience, it will enable us to connote different meanings to the audience. As the image 'dissolves' it appears to break down and disintegrate, before reforming as a flashback scene which focuses on our attacker. The way in which the images break down connote to the audience the instability of the mind of the attacker, and the fragmented way in which his thoughts are formed. Dissolve editing will enable us to make the thriller conventional as it highlights the instability of the attacker's mind, a stereotype which is manipulated and focused on in many different films of this genre, one of the most famous of which is Psycho.
As the flashback scene comes to an end, the images will fade back into the present time, highlighting to the audience that the events taking place in the flashback occurred in the past. The audience sees the brooding nature of the attacker, and, through knowing the victim is being stalked by him in the present scenes, will begin to worry about her. Feelings of empathy and suspense will be formed within members of the audience as they wonder what dangerous actions the attacker will carry out to avenge his anger. The use of a flashback scene is conventional to a thriller film as it provides the audience with key information about the motives of the attacker, yet enables the director to keep the narrative enigmatic and full of suspense, as the audience is unaware of what will take place.
Our narrative will focus on two different times, the past, or 'flashback' scenes, and the present, the scenes where our victim is being stalked by the mentally deranged attacker. Through the use of these two different scenes and the time that they are set, we are able to connote a third meaning to the audience: that the man in the flashbacks is the same man stalking the young girl. This style of editing is known as the kuleshov effect, and is conventional to thriller films. Many films use the kuleshov effect to connote a third meaning to the audience, yet keeping this meaning enigmatic is it is just an assumption made by the audience. This meaning hasn't been confirmed in the form of an actual scene.
Overall, these four different types of editing styles will work together in order to create a conventional thriller film. The jump cuts enable us to keep a fast pace in the present day scenes, while the kuleshov effect allows the audience to draw their own conclusions about the motives of the attacker, whilst keeping the real motives hidden and enigmatic.
The opening credits create audience expectations about what is to come within the film. For example an upbeat, happy opening credits sequence will convey to the audience that the film will be lighthearted, fun and uplifting, whereas a darker, more brooding opening sequence with dramatic music will convey a much more serious atmosphere within the scene highlighting to the audience that the film will not be lighthearted and fun, but one which is packed with suspense and drama.
The soundtrack is vital to the opening credits as they further enhance the audience's expectations as to the pace of the film, as well as the atmosphere.
The different type of text, as well as the colour used to display the names of the director, actors and other members of the production can also be used to connote different meanings to the audience. For example a blood red colour font will connote danger, violence and bloodshed within the plot of the film, building up audience expectations and drawing in their attention to the film.
A fun, girly font with swirls on every letter will connote a fun feel to the film, conveying to the audience what target audience the film is targeted at, appealing to their interests and drawing their attention into the film.
An example of a thriller film which uses the opening credits to create intense amounts of drama and suspense, manipulating the audience's emotions is Se7en, the 1995 film directed by David Fincher.
As the scene opens, the main protagonist is introduced to the audience, yet at the same time their identity remains hidden. The audience watches as the character cuts up pictures, un-developed film, and scribbles out the faces of unidentified individuals in black pen. These actions build up the suspense and expectations of the audience, forming the generic conventions of a thriller film through their enigmatic connotations.
The soundtrack to these opening credits is dramatic, drawing in the audience's attention as they listen to the tension which this non-diagetic sound creates, as they attempt to find meaning within the enigma and try to form expectations as to what will happen in the rest of the film.
Natural sound is also featured within the credits, however all of these sounds are enhanced, made more sharp and dramatic to highlight their importance and sinister nature to the audience. The enhanced sound of a blade being sharpened is amplified to the audience in order to convey the danger of this individual and their violent intentions. As well as this, the intensified sound of the character highlighting words in a book is so magnified that it is reminiscent of the high pitched sound of nails on a chalkboard, a sound which will set many members of the audience on edge, making them feel uncomfortable in their anticipation to discover the identity of the individual.
The font used in order to display the names of the production team is a key part of these opening credits, as the flickering, fragmented nature of the writing clearly connotes the unhinged and dangerously volatile nature of the protagonist's mind. This is another key convention of a thriller film as the audience will be able to recognise the psychotic nature of a traditional triller attacker.
The opening credit also informs the audience of who was responsible for creating the different areas of the film within production, such as the director, actors and camera operator. The director's name (David Fincher) appears within the opening credits twice as he is an acclaimed director of films within the thriller genre, whose name would be recognisable to members of the audience. For audience members who recognise his name and are a fan of his work the anticipation for the film to begin will increase, as they are keen to discover what will take place within his latest film.
Another example of a thriller film with inconic opening credits is Hitchcock's 1960's classic Psycho. Using only black and white images, the audience watches as horizontal and vertical rectangles move across the screen in different patterns. These rectangles are similar to the cell bars which keep dangerous criminals away from the rest of society, and in the case of these opening credits, they are representative of the way in which the twisted mind of the attacker Norman Bates, (whose identity at this time is unidentified) is kept hidden from the public as he hides behind the persona of his mother, blaming her for the murders that he has in fact committed.
The fragmented way in which the title is formed connotes to the audience ideas about the warped mind of the main protagonist and attacker, as he cannot form a straight idea or motive as to his actions. His mind is so splintered that his thoughts are out of place from the ideals of society and turning him into a monster.
The use of black and white images also holds strong connotations which are interpreted by the audience. Good and evil are two characteristics which are usually represented through black and white, and this is what Hitchcock is aiming to connote through the use of black and white film, rather than using colour. The black background is a huge contrast to the white title and other text on screen, highlighting to the audience the contrast between the characters which hold these traits within his film. However, aswell as using these two colours, Hitchcock also uses the colour grey, as this is an middle ground between the two different extremes, and the connotation that is formed through the use of the grey bars in this scene is that good and evil can both exist within an individual, that there is a duality within human nature.
The soundtrack used for this opening credits sequence is critically acclaimed for the suspense and tension that it builds within the audience members. The music is packed with various different dramatic notes, foreshadowing the future drama that will take place in the upcoming scenes.
order of appearence, director, title, actors, screenplay, members of production, editor, costume, make up, assistant director, composer, director
Similarly to the opening credits of Se7en, Psycho also features the names of different members of the production team within the opening credits, and, just like Se7en, the credits feature the name of the director twice. As such a well known director with a reputation for creating well recieved thriller films, the use of Hitchcock' s name will draw in the audience's attention, and for some people simply the fact that he directed the film will cause them to watch it.
For the opening credits of our group thriller film, we collectively discussed our ideas for the text size, colour and the font style.
Using different films as our inspiration, we decided that we would want the font to appear fragmented (as it does in Psycho) or to flicker, (as in Se7en) as though the mind of the attacker is mentally unstable.
We also decided that the size of the font for our title should be the biggest, as this is one of the most important elements within this opening credits sequence. The size of the font will gradually decrease as the different names appear on the screen, to connote both the importance of the members of the production team, and also hold connotations about the fading sanity of the attacker, as the unstable and twisted part of his mind consumes him, just like the size of the font decreases. For the font style that we will use in the opening credits, I have found some examples of different fonts which I will suggest to the other members of the group. The font shown in the image below is an example of a font that I think will be a good choice of font that we could use in our opening credits. The font appears to be distorted. This will prove to be a good signifier of the instability and fragmentation within the mind of the attacker, and the way in which his sanity is slowly fading. This will enable us to link the font to the thriller convention of the warped and unstable mind of the attacker. The cracked appearance highlights how the conscious thoughts that the individual holds. This factor makes this font much more convention than the second example below.
I believe a font like the one above, will be much more effective on our opening credits than the example font shown below. This font does not provide the audience with any signs about what will take place in the film as it is plain and uninteresting. Therefore, I believe the best choice for our font, will be one similar to the font shown above, which appears to be disintegrating (just like the poisonous and rotten mind of our stalker).
Thriller Film
The order of appearance that we will use is:
Production company
Director
Editors
Music
Actors
Casting
Storyboards / screenplay
Costume / make up
Location manager
Safety manager
Director
We will also use a mixture of natural sounds and dramatic music as the soundtrack for our opening credits. As in Se7en, the natural sounds will be enhanced, and play over the top of the dramatic music. This will enable us to make the film appear as realistic, and therefore as threatening as possible.
It is important to have a filming schedule to ensure that there is enough time to film all scenes, while also allowing time to re film any scenes that aren't perfect.
We did follow our initial filming schedule, however we may need to carry out further filming in order to perfect some scenes where the filming is interrupted by cars in the background, or the actors glance at the camera.
It is important to consider the risks when filming in order to ensure the safety of everyone involved in the production.
By considering all of the risks through an assessment, we will be prepared for these obstacles and be able to come up with a way of overcoming them, and ensuring the safety of the group.
For our risk assessment, we completed a health and safety table which listed all of the problems we may encounter, and the ways which we will overcome these problems, in order to ensure safety.
For example, the uneven surfaces in our main location of the forest and field could pose several obstacles for us to deal with. As well as being dangerous to walk on, the uneven surfaces could mean that the tripod our camera is on will not film an even picture, with the scene potentially appearing wonky. This would take away from the effects of our different camera shots, as the images would appear unprofessional and amateur in comparison to successful thrillers.
As well as the uneven surfaces being a danger to actors, and affecting our camera shots, they could also cause damage to our equipment. Uneven surfaces could make the tripod unstable, meaning it could easily fall should it be left unattended.
The dark clothing and sinister appearance of our attacker may make members of the public uncomfortable, especially as to the scenes that we will be shooting in public. We will have to carefully consider how our actions impact the public, making sure that we don't cause any damage to land (grassy areas) whilst filming, and ensuring that background noise is kept to a minimum, i.e. cars and lorries which may be passing by on the main road.
We will also have to ensure the safety of the actors, as they will be taking part in scenes, on, and near the main road, which can be extremely busy at times. To ensure the safety of everyone in the group we will make sure that the area is clear of traffic, ensuring that we film during the day, when the amount of cars on the road is at a minimum.
The cinematography of a scene is the camera shots which are used to create the film. The director uses different shots in order to create a story which can be watched and understood by the audience.
Different camera shots can be used to connote and denote things to the audience about the film, and the hidden meanings behind the characters actions.
When creating a thriller film, camera shots are a useful device to create tension and a sinister atmosphere.
Close up shots clearly convey the feelings of the character to the audience, highlighting their intense fear or maybe happiness, before they know that anything is wrong.
A low angle shot can be used to convey the power of a certain character within a scene, as they appear dominant and threatening, in comparison to the weak and vulnerable victim, who may be filmed with a high angle shot.
In our group thriller film, we decided to include an over the shoulder shot from the point of view of the attacker, in order to highlight to the audience how close they were in relation to the victim, standing only meters behind her. This will create a sense of sinister foreboding for the audience as they know that her fate is inevitable now he is slow close to her and she remains unaware of his presence.
It isn't conventional to show the scene from the point of view of an attacker, however by using this type of shot, the face of the attacker will remain a mystery as you will only be able to see the side, or back, of his head. This effectively creates an enigma within the opening scene, an element which is conventional to thriller films.
We also decided to use close up shots of the face of the victim. This will enable us to clearly convey her feelings to the audience, allowing them to empathise with her.
When she finally sees the face of the attacker we plan to use a close up shot which will display the fear that is radiating through her as she sets her sights on the mystery male.
The use of a close up shot is a common convention of thriller films, as directors like to create feelings of empathy for the character, in order to draw the audience's attention into the film completely, compelling them to watch it for the duration, in order to discover the fate of the character they have built these empathetic feelings towards.
A panning shot is another type of camera shot which we plan to include in our film in order to follow the steps of the girls as they walk down the street. This will make the film appear more realistic to the audience, as they feel as though they could be in the scene with the characters too. Realism is a common convention of thriller films, as the director aims to create a situation which scares the audience through the idea that the images taking place on screen, could easily happen to them in real life.
Rather than deciding to use an establishing shot as our first shot, we instead decided on using a long shot which focuses on the group of girls walking home from school. This will act as an establishing shot, as the target audience (who are in the same age range of the girls) will recognise the walk home from school from their own personal experience, and understand straight away the context of the opening sequence.
It is conventional for thriller films to leave out the use of an establishing shot within the first scenes, as it creates a much for enigmatic opening if the audience has no idea when or where these events are taking place.
I believe that our target audience will be able to form a relationship with the characters in our thriller through our choice of camera shots.
The close up shots will clearly convey the feelings of the character, for example her pain or fear, to the audience, enabling them to feel empathy for her and the situation she is in, therefore forming a relationship between the audience and the female protagonist.
The panning shot will enable to the audience to feel as if the film is real, and they too could be there with the characters, and making the scarier scenes appear more sinister.
The opening sequence of my thriller film will begin with a long shot, clearly showing a group of 4 girls walking home from school. This will act as an establishing shot, as the audience will recognise the familiar walk home from school that they (the target audience) are all familiar with as they are close to the age of the character. In order to link this shot to the following over the shoulder shot, I plan to use a straight cut, as the next part of the scene is from the point of view of the attacker. Filmed over his shoulder, the scene will follow on the girls as they walk home talking and laughing, focusing particularly on one of the girls more than the others. The audience will realise that, from this focus, that she may be the reason the mystery man is hiding out of sight. This shot will be followed by a dissolve, with the way the image fades and breaks away into the new scene representing the unstable and fragmented mind of the attacker, as he watches the girl. As the new shot becomes clear, the audience will watch as the girl says good bye to her friends and walks through a metal gate into the field on her own. This will use a mid shot so that enough detail is included in the scene to make it appear realistic. The audience will clearly be able to recognise the youthful innocence and vulnerability of the female protagonist. The shot will feature the use of natural sound, heavy breathing from the male creating a sinister atmosphere as he watches the group of girls. The next shot will be introduced via invisible editing, as the female victim walks through the field on her own, earphones in and music blasting so that it is audible to the audience, even though it is muffled. A shallow focus will also be used in this scene, to blur out the background and keep the character in main focus. The audience will however be able to recognise a dark shadow in the background, and therefore make the connection between this figure, moving closer to the female, and the figure who was watching her as she talked with her friends. This will create a sinister atmosphere as well as dramatic irony within this scene, as the audience knows that the outcome for the victim is not looking good, yet she is still in the state of equilibrium (as proposed by Todorov's theory) before she even knows that anything is wrong. This shot will then change to the next, again using a dissolve to highlight the unbalanced mind of the mystery attacker. The location of this shot will be different to the previous location of the empty field, with the scene now being set in a darkened room, with a man sitting at a desk, facing away from the camera, cutting up pictures. The audience will recognise the girl in the pictures to be the same girl who is walking home from school, through the field on her own. All of the scenes so far will feature natural sound and as will this one, with the sound of female laughter seemingly echoing through the room. The scene will then dissolve back into the previous scene, as the female looks over her shoulder, as if she is conscious that someone is there. The shallow focus will be removed, and the audience will clearly be able to see that there is no one there. This adds a sense of ambiguity to the scene as the audience wonders how the man could have disappeared so quickly. As well as the ambiguity this creates, it also makes the male appear more powerful, as the audience has no idea how he could have got out of the shot so quickly, and remain unnoticed. Yet another dissolve will follow the mid shot in the previous part of the scene, changing the location back the same darkened room as before. This time however, the male stands up, grabbing a balaclava and baseball bat, dragging this behind him carelessly as he leaves the room. This scene foreshadows what is about to happen to the victim, further enhancing the dramatic irony which is present throughout the opening scene. This scene will dissolve back into the previous shot, as the female continues to look over her shoulder, before turning back to face the camera. The audience will watch as her expression changes to fear, as a man in dark clothing walks into the scene in front of her, balaclava over his head. A jump cut will then be used to merge the next scene with this one, and the audience will watch the mid shot as she begins to back away from the attacker, frozen with fear. Another jump cut will then feature, as the camera pans downwards and focuses on the baseball bat, swinging in the man's hand, as he holds it loosely at his side.
