Our Final Treatment

During the week I updated our treatment. I can now complete it with our new title and our change in synopsis.End Of The Line Production Treatment

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Our Thriller's Title

We had originally decided that our thriller would be entitled When The Cat Is Away, this was my original title and we couldn't think of anything with would suit it better. Whilst filming in the tunnel we saw a lamp which had been painted over, the lamp now read on it; End Of The Line. We all agreed that this would be a good title. Our titles would also have a more professional sense to it.

Filming Process

Today we have almost finished filming all of our footage so we can go into the editing suite in the week coming.

We started to film on tuesday. We set up in the meeting room and made it look like an office. We took things from the room and our teachers office to create the office atmosphere. We took a couple of shot but then we were told that it was quite dark. If our footage was too dark once we go into the edit suite our footage wouldn't look so good. We turned the lights on brighter and re shot most of what we had done, this only took an extra 10 minutes as we were sure of all the shots we needed. 

On Wednesday I went by myself down to South bank to film the London Eye. We decided tat for our titles we would film the London Eye in the evening from when it is light till dark. This would then be sped up. I encountered some problems whilst doing this shoot. I was approached by Police officers who enquired on what I was doing. I think I may have jogged the camera slightly while showing the officers what I was doing (I had the screen closed to save battery). Fortunately they did not make me stop recording when they spoke to me. Overall I think it will be OK.

On Sunday we did our shoot on location on the South bank. The entire shoot took about 3 hours to complete. We started at about 1 and did the shots on the street, our character coming out of a building and following him down the street. We then moved down the street into the tunnel where we shot the encounter with someone when the USB stick is stolen. On location we decided to change our plan. We decided that we wouldn't probably have enough for a good 5 minute clip. Luckily, Flanna was with a friend and we used him to steal the USB stick. We then decided that this man would give the USB to Flanna's character at a different location. We felt that this would make our opening much more interesting.

When we had finished shooting we sat down to review our footage. Unfortunately we had recorded over 2 or 3 minutes of footage we had filmed on tuesday. This was disappointing but we had earlier decided that we would need to film some extra footage anyway, we need to give the audience a sense of what was on the USB stick.

Tomorrow we are going to film our extra shots during our lunch time and that should be all the footage we need.

If all goes well we can start our edit in Tuesday's lesson.

Title Sequence

the title sequence to any thriller film is vital. it is the first part of the film the viewer see's and builds up and creates a mood for the film that you are about to see. 

we have decided on an idea for our titles. because of our location, waterloo area, we will film it near there by the london eye.

the idea is that we film the london eye from the grass at the bottom for a long period of time from about 4pm -6pm when the sun is setting. we then speed that up so it fits into a 20-30 second time scale and we play the credits over the top.

another idea was that we use the same basic idea of speeding a clip up. but we do it on a bridge over the thames filming the boats go past...:)

Our final idea - Synopsis

In class we wrote a brief synopsis of our opening. here it is:

Open with a man working at a laptop in an official looking building and office. The man is nervous, looking at the clock, waiting for the clock to reach a certain time so that he can leave. Clock reaches 6 PM and the man quickly closes his laptop, takes his USB stick and leaves hastily. Out side we follow the man down the street, the viewer will get the sense that he is being followed or watched. The pace is very fast, switching shots every couple of seconds to build suspense.

The pace slows as the man enters a tunnel but the tension is built again with the sound of footsteps as someone approaches our character. A woman bumps into the man, dropping everything she was holding, the man helps her collect her belongings and they connect. Shortly after the man leaves, anxious to get home. As the man leaves the woman stands up, smirks and we see she has the USB stick from earlier on. She walks off into the distance.

As you can see some camera shots have been worked into our synopsis, once we have a final shot list we can publish it and you can see how our thriller opening is coming together.

On Location

As I have explained in previous posts, the location is very important. Before we start to film we need to have a location in mind and we need to see what is achievable in that location.
I decided I would go to the locations we had chosen and to take some photographs so we had some visual reference when sitting around a table planning out our beginning.
The first location was on the Southbank in Waterloo. I liked this location as it has the official looking buildings but also the grimy underpasses. I think with the overpass across the road we can get some really nice high angle shots and we can use the pillars to create the feeling our character is being watched.

The second location is a conference room in the college staff room. We chose this because it is quite for most of the day so we can film for as long as we need. We also have a lot of space in there so we can fit our equipment into the room. Obviously though, we need to change some things around to build an appropriate mise en scene. We are fortunate as the room has black out blinds and dimmer lights. There is also a fan which could help us to build tension.

My treatment - When The Cat Is Away

I have been working on my idea for my thriller, entitled: When The Cat Is Away.

Below is the treatment of my original idea, since making this we have decided as a group on a different idea, but I thought it would be interesting to compare the differences between the original ideas and the final plan.

Group 3 Production Treatment

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Reviewing a previous AS class Thriller

In thursdays lesson we looked at previous classes Thriller openings. As a class we looked at 5 from the last two years and each chose one to review. I have chosen to review 'Silent Whisper'.

The colours seen in 'Silent Whisper' were very typical of the thriller genre, there were many blacks, whites and reds. As it was shot at night, the reds and whites stood out. The credits were disguised in the opening sequence, one of the characters was writing them onto pieces of paper or they were in the background.

I liked this opening more than the others because it didn't give away its story line as some of the others did, I felt that some groups wanted to fit a story line into their opening but the group that did 'Silent Whisper' left a lot to be decided on the audiences part.

We are introduced to two characters. First is a young girl. The girl is dressed in white and we first see her sitting by herself her back turned away. The white gown she is wearing gives the audience an idea that she is innocent. The white against the dark of night also makes her seem ghost like, especially as the way it has been filmed we can't really see her legs. We never see her face which makes the audience question her innocent look, she could be hiding something from us. The other character is very mysterious, we only really see his hands in the opening, and even then they are gloved. We see the hands writing letters and dropping rose petals. We feel that this man is some sort of a villain even though we do not see him do any kind of evil things.

The themes seemed to be Supernatural and could maybe incorporate Voyeurism. The Supernatural element was undeniable but we aren't given enough information about the relationship between the two characters to decide more, this already building interest and suspense.

The director chose very good shots and it was editing very well in my opinion. I particularly liked how some parts were sped up to make the girl look like a ghost, a technique often used in Hollywood films. Sometimes the camera work was shaky but I felt that this lends itself to the genre, it puts you in the position of the character and can simulate the fear the character would be feeling.

The musical score was also good, like any good thriller score it created tension and its main technique was to use jumpy high pitched keys to do this.

Overall 'Silent Whisper' was very effective, I was on the edge of my seat and genuinely intrigued as to the story behind the two characters. A very good opening in my opinion.

Thriller as a Genre

Thriller as a genre is what adds to make a thriller for example: types of characters , locations, what is the aim is it continuous, 

Characters that often occur in thrillers:

Convicts, criminals, stalkers, assassins, down-on-their-luck losers, innocent victims (often on the run), prison inmates, menaced women, characters with dark pasts, psychotic individuals, terrorists, cops and escaped cons, fugitives, private eyes, drifters, duplicitous individuals, people involved in twisted relationships, world-weary men and women, psycho-fiends, and more

The themes of thrillers frequently include terrorism, political conspiracy, pursuit, or romantic triangles leading to murder.

'Thriller and Suspense Films are types of films known to promote intense excitement, suspense, a high level of anticipation, ultra-heightened expectation, uncertainty, anxiety, and nerve-wracking tension. Thriller and suspense films are virtually synonymous and interchangeable categorizations, with similar characteristics and features.'

http://www.filmsite.org./thrillerfilms.html

Alfred Hitch-cock  was a very iconic and legendary filmmaker and director he first directed in 1925 and when he rose to become famous his films were well known as full of suspense and psychological aspects were always used this picture above is from a Hitch cock film called rear window which is also the fifth most popular thriller film according to IMDB votes.

Box office Figures

I have been looking in to box offices figures for thrillers, thriller is one of the hardest genres to classify there are so many types of thrillers for example: crime thrillers, sci-fi thrillers, action thriller and many more. I have research the Top 5 Thrillers in the Box office and what types of thriller they are to gage what sort of Thrillers are the most popular;
UK
1. Next - £795,012
2. Wild Hogs - £654,684
3. Fracture - £577,881
4.Mr Bean's Holiday - £507,064
5. Blades of Glory - £462,622
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6611675.stm
Source: Screen International

Top Rated "Thriller" Titles

1.The Godfather (1972)
2.The Godfather: Part II (1974)
3The Dark Knight (2008)
4.Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
5.Rear Window (1954)

http://www.imdb.com/chart/thriller

Looking At The Preliminary Task

The preliminary task was to introduce us to the equipment and editing suite. We were told to make a short clip demonstrating the 180 Degrees rule, shot reverse shot and match on action, all of which we incorporated.

First, we decided on our scenario. After 5 minutes or so we decided on something simple, a girl confessing that she is pregnant.

We then drew a story board which would be our guide to the shots we were taking and our narrative structure.

Location was decided on almost immediately, we chose a room away from classes that was big enough to film in and quiet enough so we wouldn't be disturbed.

The group was split into two, two of us were acting and two were filming. Although, We all helped each other when deciding exact points from where to film from.

We were efficient in our filming and had it done in one go, we were then ready to start editing. We all helped edit, that way we all gained experience on Final Cut Pro.

I was pleased with the outcome of our exercise, but there are a few things that I found fault with. I think the camera was tilted to one side in some of the shots, so the angles look a bit off and crooked. Sometimes the camera was a bit shaky too.

I feel that the over all outcome overshadows the faults however, the cuts are fluid and when watching you do not notice our mistakes.

The prelim was very important as an introduction to the course. We have learnt what we can do with the cameras and equipment. We also have learnt our basics in editing.

I look forward to exploring the possibilities of Final Cut Pro, it seems as though it has the facilities so we can make a really effective opening.

A Different Kind of Thriller - Death Note

Death note is a Japanese thriller film with a difference. Death Note follows the story of a young college student who finds a book which when a name is written in it, the person dies. Two teenage genius' are pitted against each other before one captures or kills the other. The film relies heavily on dialogue between the two main characters. The film was adapted from a popular manga novel.

Usually Thriller films are targeted at an audience of 18+ but Death Note has a target audience of about 12+. This once again shows how diverse the genre is and how its boundaries are being redefined all the time. This shows us that we can make a thriller that is suitable for people our age, it doesn't have to be gritty and dark. Death note is also a good example of a sub-genre within thriller, it is very supernatural orientated. The film inspires me because it has broken some of the rules of typical hollywood genres but none the less is a great film. Although it is a Japanese film it has been very popular in the US and Britain.

Death Note

Preliminary Exercise