Ideas for my thriller: 28 days later

In this lesson we were shown thriller openings such as 28 days later, collateral, The shining and What lies beneath.
We also explored the different types of thrillers such as -Psychological, Supernatural thrillers, Comedy Thrillers, Political thrillers, Romance/Murderous, Passion thrillers, Horror Thrillers, Action thrillers and many more.
As we analysed the clips, we looked at he mise en scene, the lighting, use of camera angles, music, editing and setting.
The clip that inspired me the most is from 28 days later. I really liked the camera angles and movement. They used wonky angles to indicate the confusion of the character exploring the abandoned desserted city of London. The were more shots such as tilts, low angle and over the shoulder. Long shots were to show how desserted the area was.
The clips were short but continuous. The lighting was natural and a yellowy shade. There were also shots of the inportant places of london to indicate the setting. The big ben, river thames and the buses were shown.
I like the way the film starts with confusion and desserted areas. This makes the audience anxious and curious in what is going on.
For my thriller, id like to create a sense of confusion and mystery. I think itis a good way of keeping the audience on their seats.
I also like the natural Lighting that is used, as it also represents a sens of calm in the city, but the audience do not knw that the complete oppostie happens after the sun sets.

Editing our Thriller

In this lesson, Dan was absent and so we had Tony as our cover teacher to help continue edit our thriller. In this lesson, we used a software called 'final cut pro' to log and capture our specific scenes and then organised them on the time line. Whilst doing so, we added a few edits to make it more effective and 'Hollywood' style. For example, the fast zoom in my character's face presented the unexpected outcome of being shot. We also included sound in the clip to help build suspense. We used the software called 'soundtrack pro' to do this. The choice of sound we used related to each scene.

Second Lesson

I was absent ):

First Lesson - Filming our Thriller

For this practical, we had to record and edit out own Thriller clip using up to 12 shots and some props. In our first lesson we were put in to groups. My group consists of Susan, Lipi and Amrita.

Each group was given a camcorder and we had to watch a presentation of using it. We learned the basics e.g how to insert a tape and how to manually focus. We also learned the responsibilities, what not to do and what to do when using the camcorder.

After the demonstration clip, me and my group created a storyboard. As a group, we decided me and Susan to act while Lipi and Amrita recorded. We also used a table, two chairs, a deck of cards and a gun as our props. This was effective as it emphasised the thriller being a bit 'gangster'.

Our clip begins at a low angle and slowly tilts upwards to Susan's body to show the audience that she's the main character and in this case, the killer. Then, there was an over the shoulder shot as she was about to sit down. This help to see Susan's view. The extreme close up of the deck of cards presented the two characters gambling and the extreme close up of me and Susan's face showed our serious expressions. There was also a close up of Susan pointing straight in front of the camera to help build suspense as it was recorded from my view. The shot recorded from Susan's view, of a close up of me clearly showed i was scared, with my mouth wide open and my arms held high. The last part of the sequence was an over the shoulder shot of Susan throwing the gun on the floor whilst i was lying dead. This was effective as it created suspense and makes the audience wanting to see more. Unfortunately, we couldn't record the way Susan killed me because it's only a practice and we didn't have what was need e.g. fake blood.

What Scares Us

The things that scares us when watching a thriller movie are:

• Blood
• Weapons
• Screeching and screaming noises
• Flashes
• Quick cuts
• Sharp editing
  
• Drumming noises that relates to a deadly scene
• Plughole scenes that are intertextuality
• Shadows
• Dark light
• Scary locations like suburbs
  

Let 'Em Play God

Key notes from the extract "Let 'Em play God" are:

• You have suspense when you let the audience play 'God'
• When the audience watches actors go blithely through an atmosphere that is loaded with evil creates suspense
• Making the audience question builds suspense
• Characters that are real creates a real suspense
• Through the ages, in literature, acting, directing, and the dance, style has been the mark of the man, the element of his work which has tended to set is apart from the work of others
  

Let 'Em Play God

"Let 'Em Play God"

• Every maker of mystery movies aims at getting the audience on the edge of their seats. The ingredient to keep them there is called “suspense”.
• You have suspense when you let the audience play God.
• If the audience does know, if they have been told all the secrets that the characters do not know they’ll work like the devil for you because they know what fate is facing the poor actors. That is what is known as “playing God”. That is suspense.
• One of the necessary ingredients of the formula is a series of plausible situations with people that are real. When characters are unbelievable you never get real suspense, only surprise.
• It is important in a story with sinister implications to use counterpoint, great contrast between situation and background.
  
  
  

'What Lies Beneath'

In Tuesday's lesson with Mary we watched lots of film clips to help structure our own thriller movie. Out of all we watched in class, i enjoyed watching 'What Lies Beneath' because it made me curious on finding out what would happen next in the film and this is the kind of impact i would want to create on my audience. The way it portrays this, is from the beginning of the sequence effective use of the camera pan from the actress to the bathroom door. This was also filmed on a slow pace to illustrate to the audience that something was not right. As she entered the bathroom there were good use of point of view and match cut shots. Also, not forgetting the effective use of mise en scene when the diegetic sound of the woman watching a ghost reflecting on the water. This help create the audience 'jump'. The mise en scene related to the clip by using dim lighting, this set the atmosphere of the narrative. The end was very expected, the way that there was a slight zoom whilst water was being drained was classic and a shot that most viewers would remember.

Clip Ideas for my thriller: what lies beneath

In mary's lesson today we were shown openings of a variety of thriller films. We watched the opening of what lies beneath.

Lipi's clip

Thriller Practical - Editing Tutorial

In our second lesson, we went to the editing suite. Here we used the mac computers to edit our thriller practical recorded from last lesson. Mikey, our media studies technician came to show us how to operate Final Cut Pro. Final Cut Pro is the editing software we used to edit our video.

We were taught how to input our recorded film into the computer using a big memory disk, this is also where all our ork was to be saved. We were shown how to cut each shot and save it as we were to use the video clips later on. We were also shown how to put our selcted clips in the right order on the timeline. And finally we were shown how to include sound, effects and transitions.

In our next lesson we will edit our own clip.

lesson 4- editing our footage

In this lesson, we edited our footage using the softwares 'final cut pro' and 'sound track'. This lesson was both difficult and a lot of fun as there was a lot of work to do and alot to explore within editing our footage.
Me and my group were very happy with the camera shots. The good thing about ours was that we took the same shot more than once in case it never worked. However we should have had longer shot of the close ups of there faces as it is too fast. Our editing had a good continuity and it made sense. It was very clear of what was going on. The use of closeups connotated what the status of the person and how the situation is meant to be. Our music had a tense beat..it wasnt that fast either so it created slow suspense and then shock when the gun is shown.
After we finished editing our little scene, it showed sense and looked simple. We had used a video transition such as fast zoom. This was done to create shock and show how the shocked character felt. It went with ouur gun shot as its still when she pulls the trigger and then zooms in when she shoots. This also shocks the audience aswell because with the gun shot they are led to the zoom in of her face. Our clipz were not very long they were short and sharp. Especially towards the end of the scene.
We then minimised our clip and went on to creating the sound on 'sound track'. Our scene starts off with the creaking sound of the door. Our group decided to do this as this would be a convention most thriller films use. It creates mystery and curiosity. Another convention of a thriller film was the tilt up to show the face of the character. This created alot of suspence as the audience were addressed later who the person was. After the creaking of the door the beaty music starts, our music is quite slow and mysterious as if we are waiting for something to happen. Finally theres the trigger and the gunshot. We didnt show the actual shooting of the victim because we knew that we wouldnt have the equipment such as blood etc to have that in the scene. Our scene ends with the villain throwing the gun on the floor and the other character on the floor. It only shows half of the villains body and all of the victims body laying on the floor. This is to show how powerful the killer as the victim is on the floor and them standing.
When the rest of the class and our teachers watched it, we got very good feedback. Everyone was shouting when there was a gunshot and they started clapping in the end. Our teachers also enjoyed the ending and we were told it looked professional.
I really like our footage as we worked and thought about it properly. We also looked at thriller films to get some ideas. Such as the mise en scene. Next time i will make sure that we take alot of footage so that we get a bigger range for editing.

Thriller Practical - 1st Lesson

Our first lesson was an indroduction of how to use cameras. The media department technician - Mikey had shown my class a video clip of how to operate cameras. After each demonstration we were to practice using the cameras, for example: how to turn on and off the camera, replay what we had recorded, using the tripod at high, medium and low angles, how to insert the battery and tape.

After the demonstration we were given a task to create our own thriller using a pack of cards and a gun. From watching the thriller film - The Shiney, we had some sort idea of what we wanted. In my group - Lipi, Susan and Elelta, we had to first plan each shot, describe the scene, what angle it would be shot and the length of each shot. After we finished planning we head off to shoot.

As this was a practical we were given the mac computer room to shoot our thriller. Our thriller was based on two gamblers. Our first shot was of Elelta walking into the room, we had recorded her feet as she was walking into the room, but due to character change we had to change Elelta to Susan. Therefore we had to cut out the tracking shot of her feet. We then started from Susan walking into the room. This started from a low angle shot tilting up to show Susan's body. The next shot was a high angle shot from above Susan's shoulder. As she takes her seat opposite Elelta, the camera is then focused on Susan and Elelta, here we have a sideways close up of both.
The next shot is a medium shot of Susan and Elelta palying cards. The following shot is a close up of Susan and Elelta's hands laying cards on the table. The next shot zooms out into a midium shot of Susan throwing the cards off the table the taking out a gun from within her jacket. The camera then zooms into Susan who holds the camera infornt of the camera. The camera was from Elelta's point of view in this shot, therfore Susan was pointing the gun to the camera. The next shot was a midium shot of Elelta shocked to have seen the gun held at her. This shot was taken from Susan's point of view. In the last shot which was taken from a medium - low angle. Here Susan drops the gun while Elelta lays on the floor, to show that Susan has finished her job of killing Elelta.

Let Em Play God

Thriller

First Lesson :
We watched a thriller film called 'Let 'Em Play God' , we had to analyse film on a basic note

• Every maker of mystery movies aims at getting the audience on the edge of their seats, keeping them there is called suspense.
• You have suspense when you let the audience play god.

• It is important in a story with sinister implications to use counterpoint, great contrast between situation and background,
To make the audience feel that adreneline every time something they know is about to happen.

The things that scare us:

• Blood
• Scary voices
• The dark
• Sudden shock
• Sudden loud sounds
• Silence
• Dead bodies
• Bathroom scenes
• Knives

The Second lesson we watched a short camera demonstration clip. We were taught how to use the camera using a tripod and how to insert and eject a tape in and out of the camera and also how to turn it on and off.
We learnt how to insert a battery into the camera and how to take it out.

We were shown how to open up a tripod and attach it to the camera, how to set it up depending of what type of camera shot to use e.g- high angle or low angle.
After being showed the video, we took turns in setting up the camera and placing it on the tripod. We also learnt some rules when using the camera and tripod, such as, to check if the camera is correctly set up in case if it falls. This was done by lifting the tripod.

After the clip was finished, we were set a task within our groups to shoot our own footage. It to included two people playing cards.
As a group we decided to make a violent footage including a gun. Our first shot was a mysterious villain walking through the coridoor only showing their legs. After that, when they open the door to enter a room, the camera tilts up from the legs to show the face. Another person is sitting on the table ready to play cards, the villain then joins that person. We have close ups of the villains evil looks to the other person. And then suddenly, the villain, throws the cards on the ground and shows the gun on the other person. Then there is an ending where the other person is dead on the floor and (me)the villain throwing the gun to the floor.

We had a minimum of 12 shots to create our mystery and suspense scene
We included the following:
Mcu shots
over the shoulder shots
low and upper angle shots
We used the following Props:
two 'game players'
two chairs
a table and
pair of cards.

The next lesson i was off sick

There fourth lesson:
In our practise filming session, Our class was moved to the editng suite, where were taught how to use the editing software 'final cut pro'.
We were taught how to convert our footage on to the computer, using a disk.
We were shown how to sequence a footage onto a timeline. And how to edit video by using transitions and sound, how to sound onto a clip. Iwas really happy with the camera work because everyone's effort was put in.I liked all the shots because we had little cutting to do. I learnt a lot about mise en scene because i have realised that there is a lot than just whats in front of you e.g detail and timing.We managed to create an element of suspense by adding sound. We managed to meet all our targets including filming the extra 5 seconds before and after each shot. We used all the conventions from real thriller film e.g props ; the gun and the costume e.g black clothes because villains usually wear them in such films.
As Dan was absent we showed the cover teachers our clip and the rest of the class and they really liked it they didnt really have any negative feedback for us. Finally i think that our practise was really really good because everyone contributed something into it.

The video below shows editing on the footage that we had done.

lesson 3- Editing tutorial

In this lesson, our class were moved to the editng suite, where we are taught how to use the editing software 'final cut pro'.
We were taught how to convert our footage on to the computer, using a disk.
We were shown how to sequence a footage appropriately onto a timeline. We were also shown how to edit using video transitions and sound. We were shown how to add the sound into the clip. Our next lesson includes editing our footage that we had done.

Lesson 2 - camera work tutorial

We watched a little clip that demonstated how to use a camera. We were taught how to use the camera using a tripod. We were taught how to turn and turn off the camera. We were also shown how to insert a tape and eject a tape in and out of the camera.
We also shown how to insert a battery into the camera and howto take it out.
We were shown how to open up a tripod and attach the camera, and to set it up in different heights, depending of what type of camera shot u wanted e.g- high angle or low angle.
After being showed the video, we took turns in setting up the camera and placing it on the tripod. We also learnt some rules when using the camera and tripod, such as, to check if the camera is attached to the tripod by lifting it up. Another rule was to not move the tripod while there is a camera attached to it.
After being taught all of this, we were then told to get into groups and shoot our own footage. It had to include two people playing cards.
Me and my group decided to make a violent footage including a gun. Our first footage was set in the room that they play cards in, the villain opens the door to enter the room, the camera tilts up from the legs to show the face. Another person is sitting on the table ready to play cards, the villain then joins that person. We have close ups of the villains evil looks towards the other person. And then suddenly, the villain, throws the cards on the ground and shows the gun on the other person. Then there is an ending where the other person is dead on the floor and the villain throwing the gun on the floor. There are also other shots such as mid shots and longshots. Also including over the shoulder shots. These shots are chosen to create tension and suspense which most thrillers are composed to show.
From this tutorial we learnt how to work in a group as a small production team. It was very difficult as our actors were not professional, however it was great fun. I also learnt alot about mise en scene, and how it is really done and what it consists of.
We also wanted to add another tracking shot to start off the whole senquence, but was delayed due to character change. The shot consisted of just the characters feet walking toward the door in a corridoor.
This practical was very fun and maintained us with alot of practise for the main thriller.

What Scares Us?

What scares us?

• Blood
• Knives
• Scary voices
• The dark
• The colour red
• Sudden shock
• Sudden loud sounds
• Bathroom scenes
• Silence
• Creatures
• Psychos

Let 'Em Play God

Let ‘Em play god
• Every maker of mystery movies aims at getting the audience on the edge of their seats, keeping them there is called suspense.
• You have suspense when you let the audience play god. For instant, if the audience have been told all the secrets the characters don’t know they’ll work like the devil for you because they know what fate is facing the poor characters.
• It is important in a story with sinister implications to use counterpoint, great contrast between situation and background.
• To make the audience at such a pitch that they want to shout every time something they know is about to happen, one of the necessary ingredients of the formula is a series of plausible situation with people that are real. When characters unbelievable you never get real suspense, only surprise.