Group: Planning Summary

• So far filming is going well (see filming feedback posts.)
• We found it challenging but managed to get all the shots we needed
• We have almost finished drafting the storyboards and made improvements when filming upon our ideas
• General effect ideas have been formed and more specific situtations have been discussed
• The final scene we need to film is the office of the detective looking through papers and pictures of the crime scene
• We need to take lighting into account when filming in low light conditions and need to find a way to give the illusion of night
• We have a main focus of the types of shots we want but they are not yet chronologically configured
• We will film this on a evening at a time when all of us are avaible
• Many close ups of evidence and character emotion are going to be shot
• Overall the scene should flow fluididly with the previous scene and make sure the titles and conclusion should work

Group: Filming Feedback - Day 2

Where, when and with whom did we film?

• We filmed with Alex, Alex, Dan and Katherine
• We filmed on one location, inside Alex's Garage
• The whole scene was shot during the day but in an inside location so outside lighting was irrelavant. 

What did we film?

• Video footage of the killer talking to the camera.
• Other emmusive shots to create realisum
• Lots of close ups of the scene

What difficulties did we have?

• Getting the correct framing in the small enviroment proved difficult so we had to move around the scenery in order to fit characters and camera in it
• The availabilty of the actors was limited so we had to film quickly and effectively to get it all done in one day
• Continuity was important due to the constant monologue of the character
• Lighting made it so digital noise occured in parts of the footage

What did we think about the footage?

• The footage was key in creating the suspense and making the audience believe it was pre-recorded while still adding cinematic elements
• Some footage had bad framing and lighting made some shot unusable

How important was the storyboard?

• It was important in maintaining continuity
• Idea's were generally formed on location
• Test footage was more important

What will we be filming next and when?

• We will be filming the office scene with minimal cast
• Soon in a coming weekend
• As soon as the location is avalible in a convinient time

Group: Location Reccie - Garage

This is the garage that we will use in the film of the killer showing the detective his new victim. It shows some of the dangers and risks of filming on this location

Group: Filming Feedback - Day 1

Where, when and with whom did we film?

• We filmed with Alex, Alex, Dan, Tom and Laurie
• We filmed on two locations, outside Dan's house and in a nearby alley way
• For the crime scene we filmed mid-afternoon when it was not too sunny
• For the alleyway scene we filmed at about 6:00pm when it was dark and dimly lit by a single lamp post

What did we film?

• Crime scene of dead body and SOCO's taking pictures
• Establishing shot of the detective
• Tracking shot of the killer walking down a darkened alley way

What difficulties did we have?

• We had to do multiple shots of the crime scene to ensure that we had enough footage for the opening
• The availabilty of the actors was limited so we had to film quickly and effectively to get it all done in one day
• We had to ensure that the continuity of the filming was perfect so that when we edit it all together it fits perfectly
• When filming the alleyway we had to wait a few hours before it started getting dark. However we then found that it became dark very quickly so we were rushed for time when filming this scene
• Weather conditions hindered acting capabilities

What did we think about the footage?

• The footage that we collected was very good however we need to take into account the framing of our scenes to ensure that everything in the shot is there for a reason
• Not all of the footage that we collected will be used as some of it gave an unrealistic and unproffesional look to the scene when we edited it together

How important was the storyboard?

• We found the storyboard useful as it allowed us the opportunity to develop ideas before we filmed them
• It also gave us an order of what to film so that when we edit it together it will look continuous
• In addition to this it enabled us to plan shots and establish where the camera would need to be set up for each shot
• We did however not include some of the shots and altered others on the day as we had some difficulties setting up the camera and getting the right angle with the correct lighting and mise-en-scene

What will we be filming next and when?

• Next we plan to film the scene that will be played on the disc that the detective finds later on in the film
• It is mostly handicam shots of the killer filming himself and his new victim
• This will be filmed over half term in Alex's garage as it looks conventional to the genre of thriller movies

Group: Animatic

Here is our animatic; the idea of this was to film each frame of our storyboard for the predicted length of time to see how the film fitted together and, crucially, whether it fit within the time of two minutes.

As is quite clearly evident, the piece at present is way over the two minute target; therefore when we actually begin filming, we envisage that we will cut down the shot length to a more realistic length as at the moment we are purely predicting how long we want each shot to be.

Group: Location Reccie - Alleyway

• On February 17th, we conducted a reccie of the alleyway near to Dan's house.
• We propose to use this area to film the opening scene following the killer as he ventures out on an unknown walk, the restricted space and the lack of of available light will allow us to create a sense of mystery toward the antagonist, conventional of the genre.
• We took pictures of the area from a number of different points in the alleyway and filmed the whole length of the alleyway. We then examined and photographed the risks. 
• There seems to be no major flaw in filming here at all, all risks can be accounted for and properly managed in a safe manner. 

The short video will show all of the above and also describe the risks:

Group: Location Reccie - Crime Scene

• On February 17th, we conducted a reccie of the area outside of Dan's house.
• We propose to use this area to film the crime scene, as its urban mise-en-scene is perfect for setting up a crime scene, it is conventional of crime thriller to have this type of location and there is plenty of space to do so.
• We took pictures of the area from a number of different points of the cul-de-sac and then examined and photographed the risks. 
• There seems to be no major flaw in filming here at all, all risks can be accounted for and properly managed in a safe manner. 

The short video will show all of the above and also describe the risks:

Group: Audience Research

Methodology

To test out some of our idea and build apon our target audience, we created a survey on the website Survey Monkey. The main purpose was to see if the ideas that we had established fitted with that of the expectations of our target audience of 15-21. To make the results valid we sent the survey out to a sample of 45 people via social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter; of these 45 people, all of them responded which was very useful. The main type of question we used were multiple choice questions, as although it allowed the participants to give any answer they wished, it meant we could integrate our own ideas and see if they were selected. 

Here is the link to our survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ZZ6DWFV

Results

• The above two questions provided an indicator as to how we should look at the results to follow; a mixed gender audience based largely between 15-21 which, is the core audience we aim to establish in our opening.

• This fairly simple question allowed us to see whether our core audience actually watched thriller movies, let alone enjoyed them; answers laid heaviest between "Often" and "Now-and-Then", we aim to make the thriller genre more popular, therefore the fact that people do actually watch thriller makes this a bit easier. 

• In the above question we learned that our ideas turned out to be very popular with our key demographic; for each category, the top two selections include our ideas. The fact that those who partook in the survey agree with our idea means that any doubt we had been having about them have been more or less eliminated. 

• This question has given us a basis for a script / storyline; in that, it has given us an idea of how far to take the opening and how to write it, especially to incorporate the most popular option of involvement with the audience.                                                                                                            
  

• The most popular colours, as shown above, are compliant to our ideas about how we wanted our opening to look; featuring mainly blacks, reds and greys, we want our piece to incorporate a film noir, traditional thriller look, with the audience perhaps not being able to see all of the shot adding to the mystery created.

Evaluation

After taking a detailed look at all our responses and how our initial ideas appealed to our target audience; we feel that our concept and individual aspects of the film that we favoured are also ones that our target audience favour. Furthermore, some of the answers, especially in the 'When Watching..' quesiton, have given us a way of effectively developing a script to suit our opening as before we were struggling with ways of making the whole thing sound not only believable, but suitable for our crime thriller genre. Ultimately, this process has been very useful and we now feel that we can move on with confidence.

Group: Wilderness Woods

Wilderness Woods - Evaluation and Video

• On Wednesday, February 6th, we went to Wilderness Woods in East Sussex to practice different shot types, develop our creativity in terms of our filming capabilities, get used to filming in an outdoors location and to become more familiar with the equipment. 
• This was an invaluable experience as we mostly used it as a reccie for a filming day, in that we practiced being far more creative in the types of shot we used and how we framed them. 
• Furthermore, the vast number of locations and varying light levels in those locations gave us an idea of the camera's reaction to fluctuating light levels. 
• Also, the large amounts of background noise made us consider diegetic sound more carefully, picking out sounds we wanted to boost and sounds we wanted to cut.
•  However, the most useful part of the day can be seen at the end of the short video below, it is a scene we propose to use in our final piece; the combination of the location and the light levels made it a perfect place to film a following scene, it also saves trying to find somewhere else to film that scene that we knew we wanted in our piece. 

Here is a short film showing what we achieved on the day: 

Group: The Pitch

Pitch

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Feedback & Narrative Revisions

• Storyline is slightly too complicated and could be hard to portray in an opening. To overcome this we have to excute shots perfectly in order to convey the correct messages to the audience.
• Crime scene replication could be challenging as props need to be accurate and realistic. To overcome this we need to pay particular attention to detail and make sure that everything in the mise-en-scene is there for a reason.
• Need to go to locations and take test shots of what we want it to look like so that we know what we want it to look like. We are going to do test shots before filming without characters. 
• Musn't take the story too far in the opening so it is more enigmatic for the audience as it is only the opening of the film so we must not give too much away at the start.
• Could add different twists to the storyline such as flashbacks for the detective which will create more atmosphere and create questions for the audience that would be answered later on in the film.

Group: Storyboard

Group: Animated Title Ideas

Here is a collection of fonts we have been considering to use as the "Directed By" "Produced By" etc. titles that are animated by a short fade up and down which we propose to use in our opening.

The second font used in the above video is the one we are most likely to use. The combination of the slim letters and serifs create a sharp looking font; in a white colour as well, connotes coldness and is somewhat conventional of a crime thriller as it anchors the chilling action in the piece. 

Group: Titles

Main Title (Taped)

• Blood forming into text.
• Done using Cinema 4D software to create fluid animation
• Constant flow of 35mm cinema reel in the background
• It slowly burns a hole in the reel and forms the title or Taped

Sub-titles

• Directed by etc. shall be shown during the crime scene
• White font called 1942 report, typed out like a type writer.
• Extreme close ups of the key elements when the titles appear
• Sketchy font to connote the dirty grimy nature of the killer.

Sherlock Holmes (Ritchie, 2009)

• The freeze frames and abstract images focus the audience on the titles
• The font and yellow background connotes the time period
  
  

Group: Sound

Non-diegetic

• Music
• Low eery droning music
• Minimalistic with many silences
• Crescendo's to build up tension

Diegetic

• Dialogue heavy
• Gun shot
• Slashing
• Shuffling papers
• Equipment noises (prodominantly camera)

Chernobyl Diaries (Parker 2012)



Inspiration from Chernobyl Diaries because the sound anchors what is going on in the film and makes it scary. It is very minimalistic and the sound builds up to a crescendo which is what we are looking for.

Group: Treatment

Characters for the opening

• Detective - A man of his late 30s. Works independantly from the rest of the police force 
• Murderer - Mentally unstable. Similar age to the detective
• Kidnapped girls - all with similar attributes such as age, hair colour and social background
• Un-named forensic officers - wearing conventional clothing, taking pictures of the crime scene

Plot outline for opening sequence

1. Long pan of an urban area
2. Long shot of families in houses on the street. The camera pulls back through a window to a POV shot over the should of a man. He leaves the shot.
3. Cut to black. The audience hears non-diegetic noise of screams and a slashing knife
4. Cut to crime scene. Audience sees the flash of a camera and then a dead body infront of someones house.
5. Long shot of crime tape. A man (the detective) is seen approaching crime tape and passing under it. He is dressed in a conventional trench coat and hat identifying him as the detective.
6. Mid shot of un-named individual taking a picture from a certain angle.
7. This shot then becomes a picture in the detectives hands. There is an over the shoulder shot of him looking at the picture then slamming it down on his desk.
8. Close up of the detectives face showing his frustration. His face is shadowed due to a single lamp in the room which suggests foreshadowing of the detective.
9. Camera moves to a long shot from the oppisite side of the room showing his silhoette against the desk. He then throws all objects off into the adjacent wall. Diegetic sound of a heavy object hitting the wall/floor.
10. Low angle of the detective picking up CD from the floor. He looks puzzled at how it came to be on his desk.
11. Close up of the disc showing the date and time written on it in red ink and scribbled writing.
12. High angle of detective putting disc into the computer and watching the content.
13. A shot of the TV can be seen, image enlarges until it fills the screen.
14. A CCTV style camera at a high angle is used showing the physco talking to a therapist. Other images of him pacing and looking crazed.
15. The murderer uses a handicam showing a close of his face however film noir style lighting will be used to conceal his identity. In the background a tied up victim can be seen. throughout this scene the villian will be talking about himself almost in riddles.
16. At the end of the clip he says "You have 24 hours" then the screen cuts to black
17. The detective looks at his watch showing the time and date however he is already out of time.
18. An over the shoulder shot of the detective is used to show him looking up into the mirror. In it a reflection can be seen in the window behind him. The detective turns abruptly.
19. Scene cuts to black and the diegetic sound of a single gun shot is heard. The titles appear.

AA: Storyboard Ideas

Some conventional shots for a thriller genre, especially a serial killer and detective lead thriller.

AY: Storyboard Ideas

These are four frames that I would like to re-create in our opening as I think they will be effective in creating tension and positioning the audience.

DW: Storyboard Ideas

Here are four frame ideas I would like to include in our film opening; mainly taking inspiration from films such as Silence of the Lambs (Demme, 1991), the four frames below seem to occur quite frequently in the thriller genre.

Group: Mood Board

This is our mood board revolved around our current ideas for our film opening. Within it, there are ideas about:

• Lighting
• Titles
• Fonts
• Soundtrack
• Characters
• Locations
• Camera Techniques
• Props
• Dialogue
• Style
• Costumes
• SPX

Group: Movie Synopsis

Movie Synopsis: A mysterious serial killer kidnaps and tortures young girls. A lone intovertive detective hunts for the killer who leaves video enigmas for him to discover and solve. The serial killer likes to make deadlines and is a loose cannon when it comes to what he says will happen. The detective later discovers the identity of the killer to be an old school friend who he bullied for his wierd mannerisms.
The detective tracks him down to a hide out where the killer kills himself, and frames the detective to look like the detective is the killer - and so the detective is left in a dilema of proving his innocence.