Storyboards

Here are our notes which explain the elements of what is going on in our project. It helped us with lighting, sound and mise-en-scene.

These two pages were just a rough storyboard of our thriller that we did before the production. We did this so we had an idea of what to do when it came to the production.

This last page shows the final scenes and the costume/make up of the characters.

It helped us with lighting and postitioning of the lights.

Account of First Meeting

When in our group we gathered our ideas together and came up with a good bunch of ideas all together.
We thought we would use the idea of an old house where a family were killed, all except one. The girl who survived is then a detective going back to view the case in a house inspired by the one below:



We thought of:

• having newspaper articles, clippings and old photographs etc put up all over a wall and using certain letters and sentances to highlight the credits much arranged like the picture below

• using a pan shot to show the clippings
• maybe having an old photograph of the surviving girl and a close up point of view shot from the picture to the woman present age.
• we could used spooky music and quick cuts back to a flashback if we end up giving ourselves enough time.

Our ideas conform to the genre as it is a detective and includes death, mystery, horror, etc and we were at first inspired by films with a possesive demon or similar such as The Amityville Horror and The Ring.

Analysis of the Opening Sequence of a Thriller - Shutter Island

When looking at different opening sequences of Thrillers, we looked at Snatch, Panic Room and Se7en focusing on sound, mise-en-scene, editing and camerawork. I decided to analyse Shutter Island.



We see immediate elements that make it a thriller. Some of these are:

• Dark colours in the sea and sky
• Stormy sea
• Props such as cigarettes and masculine costumes showing they are important and police officers.
• We then hear big booming non-diegetic sounds when we see an establishing shot of the island. This signifies danger which is an element of a Thriller
• The characters we see on the island are all scary looking and the music helps signify this.

Initial Thriller Ideas

My initial thriller ideas are as follows:

• I like the idea of it being set in an old building or house that isn't in use to create a spooky atmosphere.
• It could maybe be an old Hotel which used to be a house in which was occupied by a family affected by a demon (or something along the lines).
• I thought of the idea of using maybe a young couple to stereotype the horror film victims.
• We could use sound effects much inspired by the clip below. This will create certain effects that will build suspense.
• As we only have a short space of time for our sequence, I thought about the couple coming into the hotel to stay but having it quite slow pace therefore building up tension. Then seeing a face in a window or something similar.

It fits the genre of horror with some of the conventions I have mentioned such as creepy music, slow paced and reflections in the window.
The target audience would be similar to that of alot of modern day horrors such as The Orphan and Drag Me To Hell.

Denotation/Connotation of Horror images

Denotation and Connotation

Image	Denotation	Connotation
Still from Scream	We see a blonde girl on the phone holding a knife. A figure in a scary mask	The girl is the victim and is young. The masked figure is trying to harm her. She is scared and trying to protect herself.
Still from Psycho	Black and white picture. Woman naked in the shower. Scared expression. Shadows on the wall.	Black and white to show the shadows. She is vulnerable and naked shows shes the victim.
Still from Gothika	Red writing on the wall. Girl in clothes (tracksuit). She is facing the wall	Writing may be in blood and it suggests that it is aimed at her to read. She appears quite young
Still from The Ring	Small girl long black hair. Microphone on the floor. White empty room.	White symbolising maybe mentality or illness. White dress and young girl because maybe she is strange. Microphone to show she is being watched.

Conventions of a Horror film

In every horror film there are certain conventions used to build the right atmosphere and suspense.

Conventions of a horror film:

• Creepy music
• Weapons
• Darkness
• Ghosts
• Victim
• Death
• Blood
• Gore
• Zombies
• Masks

We specifically looked at the film Scream and the conventions that are in that. Some I noticed were:

• Empty house in an isolated area
• The victim is a blonde girl who happens to be alone
• The popcorn creating suspense
• It is set at night time
• We hear the doors locking
• We see props like knives

Other ways to build up tension is through the use of sound. The sound in Scream that I noticed involved:

• Creepy music at certain bits to build up tension
• The sounds of the dogs barking
• The doors locking
• The popcorn popping loudly
• Sounds of the wind

Also in scream the character they chose to be the victim was a typical blonde girl who conformed the stereotype. We see she is innocent but also don't really feel much sympathy as she seemed stupid to keep answering the phone.

We see a close up zooming into her which builds up suspense.

Preliminary Task Post-Production

During the editing process in my recent lessons, I have learnt how to access footage from the Final Cut server. This is the process I used:

1. Logging my shots: This step is where we selected the appropriate shots of every take and every angle we shot. By doing this we had to set up a Log Bin which becomes easier for us to access the good shots just by simply cutting and pasting the good ones into here. Selecting the different shot choices is important as we need to make sure there will be a sense of continuity and also so that the shots we want are the good ones and are properly selected. The ones we reject are important as it is important we dont miss out any good ones. During this process we also try and find the shot that is the best fit in our sequence because it isn't always best to chop up every shot.
2. Organising my shots: This is when we had to refer back to our original storyboard. We changed parts of the storyboard at this stage but stuck to the basic structure of it. This is important as this is where the shots are specifically selected to best tell the story.
3. Shot order: This step can also be linked in with the previous step as they are similar. But this is vital as certain shots have to appear in order so that the story will at least make sense and contain a sense of continuity.
4. Editing in Final Cut: In our editing sequence, I particularly like our focus pool which focuses from the door to the phone which then cuts into one of our characters looking worried. This fits in well and works perfectly for our sequence as it creates the right mood and suspense.

Continuity editing is the main type of editing in film and television. Its purpose is to make sure that the shots are combined in a way that is clear and understandable to the audience.
Continuity editing can be placed into two groups, time and space. in both groups, Certain techniques in each of these groups can either make a passage continuous (giving the viewer a structured narration to follow) or discontinuous (causing distraction and disorientation).

• An ellipsis is a break in natural time continuity as it is implied in the film's story.
• Continuous diegetic sound can also help to smooth out of place cuts by overlapping the shots.
• Match on action is when some action occurring before the temporally out of place cut is picked up where the cut left it by the shot immediately following.
• Temporal discontinuity can be expressed by the deliberate use of ellipses. Cutting techniques that are useful in showing the nature of the specific ellipses are the dissolve and the fade. some editing styles can show a change of time. These are also known as the flashback and the montage techniques.
• Flashback is a reversal of time within a story and allows the viewer to see a time before the present moment.
• Montage is achieved with a collection of related images, cut together in a way that suggests maybe a skip in time or place.
• An establishing shot is one that provides a view of all the space in which the scene or action is occurring. The purpose of this is so it is not difficult for the viewer to become disorientated as all of the story space is presented before them.
• Another way of preventing viewer disorientation in editing is to stick to the 180 degree rule. The rule prevents the camera from crossing the imaginary line connecting the subjects of the shot.
•  Another method is the eyeline match. When shooting a person,  he or she can look towards the next subject to be cut to, this uses the former's self as a reference for the viewer to use while locating the new subject within the set.
• Cross-cutting is a technique which conveys an undeniable spatial discontinuity. It can be achieved by cutting back and forth between shots of unrelated places. In these cases, the viewer will understand clearly that the places are supposed to be separate. So the viewer may not become particularly disoriented, but under the principle of spatial continuity editing, crosscutting is considered a technique of spatial discontinuity.
• The jump cut is a cut between two shots that are so similar that a noticeable jump in the image occurs.

It is important to follow a specific film language to ensure that the only relevant points in the story are shown and to manipulate time and space in the narrative. Following a film language also helps force the audience to identify with the right characters and its purpose is also to make sure that the story makes complete sense to the audience which is important otherwise they would be disorientated. 

Camera Operating

The camera functions consist of the timecode, white-balancing, aperture settings, focusing and more.
But the first step of setting up the camera, is positioning the tripod, making sure the legs are locked and firmly in place. The benefit of the tripod is to hold the camera in place and secure it when filming. When placing the camera on the tripod, you need to make sure it is "bubbled". This means making sure the camera is straight and in the right position to film.

When filming, it is important to maintain continuity. For example, the shot must be the same when re-taken and nothing should be moved or out of place to maintain a flow and continuity.
The rule of thirds applies to camera work also. The picture below shows the rule of thirds in the way the it is split into 9 sections, the lines being the focal points. In the shot there will also need to be looking space and head space, which the picture below is also an example of.




The picture above shows the 180 degree rule. This shows that cutting from the green arc, to the red arc, the characters would switch places. There therefore needs to be the 180 degree rule to make sure this doesn't occur.

What is a Thriller?

Thriller is a genre of literature, film and television that uses suspense, tension and excitement as the main elements. They use light, sound and Mise-en-scene to create the right atmosphere and thriller vibe.
Other elements of a thriller include:

• murder/guns
• mystery
• good and evil
• hidden identity
• a twist

 A movie that is a thriller is The Usual Suspects, which I have studied in class. We know it is a thriller from the start with the use of props such as cigarettes and fire to create a sense of danger. The lighting also signifies it is a thriller from dark dingy light at the beginning, as well as the sound which signified it was dramatic and we hear the sounds of fire.
We also looked at the poster and what was denoted and connotated from it. The denotation included:

• 5 men in a line-up (all dressed differently)
• All different heights
• No one is smiling
• Man on the end is holding his arm
• 2nd man from the left has an aggressive stance
• tallest in the middle (like a pyramid)
• Titles in red

The connotation included:

• one is guilty
• all in same situation
• red represents danger
• man holding his arm = disabled, insecure, guilty
• pyramid = hierarchy

Photography and Image Manipulation

Photography brings a visual language that is universal in understanding. We must then understand its vocabulary which consists of shapes, textures, patterns, lines, colours, shade of light to dark and sharp to blurry images. Just as we must learn to arrange words in a coherent order in order to make sense when we write or speak, so too must we put visual elements together in an organized manner if our photographs are to convey their meaning clearly and vividly.

 

Composition means arrangement: the orderly putting together of parts to make a unified whole; composition through a personal, intuitive act. However, there are basic principles that govern the way visual elements behave and interact when you combine them inside the four borders of a photograph. Once we have sharpened our vision and grasped these basic ideas of principles, then we will have the potential for making our photographs more exciting and effective than ever before.

Whilst using Photoshop in the last 2 weeks, I have learnt how to cut and crop an image but also to change and distort an image completely. I also learnt how to alter colours and create shadow/reflective effects in an image using the basic Photoshop tools and Brightness/Contrast levels. I had to cut an image of a woman and put it onto a background from the film Cloverfield. I did this using the Magnetic Lasso tool. I then made her look as though she was coming out of the water with a reflection using the Clone tool and changing the Opacity of the reflection. I also changed the colours of the image to make it work with the background by using Saturation levels.

About Myself

Hi I'm Sarah,



my previous school was Licensed Victuallers in Ascot but i live in Gerrards Cross near High Wycombe. i came here to study Media, Art, Photography and Psychology.



i'm into alot of music mainly post-hardcore and metal/rock but i do have a guilty pleasure for Miley Cyrus.



my favourite films are Superbad and Finding Nemo, but horror movies interest me too.



i'm interested in the media as it runs in my family and two of my relatives work full time at Pinewood Studios.



i also watch alot of TV such as The Inbetweeners, Skins and America's Next Top Model