Plannning Mise en Scene - Miss Georgiou

The importance of using miss en scene in a film is because miss-en-scene is everything that happens in the scene without each of the five components that make miss en scene up the sequence would be very boring. Not only does it focus on the important its of the scene but all of the little aspects as well like the background iconography and other aspects that the audience don't usually pick up on. It helps give the film an overall atmosphere that would be conventional to thriller films.

Throughout our sequence we will use mainly high key natural lighting coming from the windows. We will cover the windows that let in light with black paper when we are filming the scene where the antagonist is looking at all the pictures of the victim. We aim to film the rest of our film during the daytime . Before we start the filming process my group is going to go to the location and take some practice photos and videos to test out all the different ways in which we could shoot it to make it look the most realistic. The audience will relate to the different types of lighting as they are used to seeing this lighting everyday. Additionally this will also be relatable as they will be able to put themselves in the positioned of the character. As we can not see the antagonists face this builds up tensions the audience do not know weather the who the killer actually is. This will create an enigma as they are not able to tell who the killer is until the end which will lead to a greater shock element when the antagonist is revealed. Low key lighting is conventional in thriller films because it creates a dark and uneasy atmosphere which will build tension as the audience will be awaiting something to jump out or wait for something to happen to the victim. Low key lighting mise en scene helps the target audience relate because the antagonist could be hiding in the darkness and makes it hard fort he victim to notice the killer and what he is capable of. 

We then thought of what our colour aspect would be, we all agreed that the victim should be wearing her school uniform with a white blouse which is conventional as it portrays innocence and purity. The audience will build a relationship with the victim as she wears her school uniform which will relate as casual clothing is something that the audience will have so they will put themselves in her position. The audience will also relate as the white on her blouse shows that she wishes for her innocence back before the stalking began. The killer will be dressed in black t show the contrast between their outfits and also their personalities. The girl however will wear a few black items to reflect that her innocence is being challenged and so is her purity. Her make-up will be natural to prove she is just an ordinary girl. This will allow the audience to build a relationship as  they feel that she is similar to them and so the audience will put themselves in her position. The fact that her top is white will help the audience understand that she is pure especially as this is conventional to thriller films as the victim usually wears a light coloured top the fact that she is wearing her ordinary school clothes adds to the element of it being relatable as this could happen to anyone they know. Our antagonist will wear all black to reflect his dark personality and how simplistic he is, the fact that he is wearing a tracksuit is relatable to the audience as boys walk around like that today this could be found intimidating. It is however conventional as it helps the antagonist hide his identity in addition with the low key lighting. This also builds suspense as the audience never know when he is going to appear on screen so are constantly engaged to try and spot him.
We will also use the colour red to circle and cross out his victims on the photos, the audience will relate to the colour red as it is conventional to the antagonist as he has built up anger that has lead him to start stalking the girl he loves, which is also a connotation fro the colour red.

The sequence will be filmed in school; a dark room and then in  the hallways and corridors. As a result of this there will be no one around who she could tell about how she feels as she feel they will judge her, this shows she is vulnerable as she already feels isolated within her community which makes her an easy target. This increases suspense as the audience know there is no one she can talk to about what is happening to her so she is helpless, which helps build a relationship with her ass they feel sorry for the victim. Her uncertainty of her being alone helps build up a strong sense of suspense as the audience know the antagonist could attack her at any given time. The iconography used is going to include a knife, which is a common murder weapon used in thrillers as it means that the antagonist has to get close to the victim in order to use it. showing that they are not scared of what the victim is capable of and to further show their dominance. This is the chosen weapon for our killer as it suggests murder danger and a knife is easily found so the tension for the audience will increase. We will also use a mask to cover the antagonists face as it conceals the identity of the killer which is then revealed to the audience at the end which creates shock. It is conventional fort he killer to hide his identity from their victims and the audience as this builds up suspense within the scene the audience and the victim are unaware of who the killer is until the very end. Our target audience will build a relationship with the characters due to the location of the sequence as they will automatically identify something is wrong as the school will be empty, this will make them question why the girl is there after school and how someone is following her in a place that she is supposed to feel safe in. This could make them question if they are safe in their own schools.

Iconography of our sequence will include old photos of the victim and previous victims, this iconography is conventional as they audience will recognise what he is up to and what the implied meaning of all these photos are. They will then realise who his next victim Is so they will then feel empathy for the victim as these conventional items suggest he is a stalker and previous murder victims. This form of iconography shown in an opening sequence can have a serious affect on the audience and the relationship the audience will have with the victim immediately the audience will identify that this is not normal and sympathise with the victim. Furthermore the audience feel as though anyone could be the killer as it is o easy to get this from of iconography. 

As we have conducted reser=arch into characters within the thriller genre, they adopt a particular facial expressions and body language. The victim will have very scared facial expressions and her emotions of confusion will be shown through this. In order to depict this to the audience close ups of the victims face will be shot to emphasise exactly how she is feeling. The audience will be able to relate to this as they see her innocence and put themselves in her position. The girl will also have frail and timid body language when she is being stalked which is conventional to the victim in thriller films. This can be portrayed by backing away from the antagonist and running away from danger, which causes a typical chase sequence that is stereotypical in thriller films. This will allow the audience to see that the antagonist does not see the victim as a human being but an animal as the antagonist watches its prey and waits for the best moment to attack. This is conventional to the thriller genre as victims are usually weaker and the killers are more dominant, which increases the tension as the audience know what to expect from the film but don't know when it is going to happen. The audience will also fear the antagonist due to his conventions such as why he feels he needs to kill innocent people which shows he is pshycologially unstable. The audience will be able to put themselves in the position of the victim due to how thy relate to her just being an ordinary person, it is likely that they would feel intimidated if they were put in her position. 

This will make our sequence more effective in terms of creating emotions as it gives the audience an insight to all different elements that are created my miss en scene. It will highlight the characters feelings, which will play part on the audiences feelings as they will feel sympathy for he victim. Mise en scene also brings together the essential structure of a thriller and creates a connection between the audience and characters. Additionally features of miss en scene make the scene more conventional due to the feelings and emotion each individual element creates. All of these elements will help build a relationship with the target audience.

Planning Editing - Miss Gorgiou

Editing is very important within a thriller film, it creates interesting visuals for the audience so that it is more engaging for the audience, editing techniques also makes the narrative or a concept easier for the audience to understand and follow. Without different editing styles the thriller sequence would be less entertaining for the audience meaning the sequence would not serve its full purpose. Editing styles help to provoke shock, suspense and surprise which are all elements that are conventional to the thriller genre. They also engage the audience by helping them build relationships with the characters which keeps the audience uncertain of what is about  to happen next.

The first editing technique that we identified was the montage. We will use this editing style when the antagonist right at the beginning of the sequence. There will be various different shots taken of the stalker highlighting picture of the victim. This will emphasise every movement he does, giving it the effect that he is targeting someone. This will suggest that he has a well thought out plan and is sure this is what he wants to do. The fact that it will be rapidly edited shows the antagonist is methodical because he has throughout out his plan step by step. The montage will also show pictures of the girl, the audience will emphasise with the girl as they know she is oblivious to what is going on building a relationship with her.


We have also decided to use filters in our sequence to create several different affects, the dark lighting in the abandoned room this will create a creepy, disturbed affect in relation to the antagonist. Dark lighting is a connotation of the antagonist as we know he has a dark side and is evil as well as his identity being hidden for most of the sequence. This creates suspense as the audience does not see the identity of  the antagonist therefor creating suspense as they will wonder who he is and what relation he has with the victim. It also makes the audience wonder and fear what he is capable of when he eventually captures the victim. We are also going to use a red filter over the antagonist when the antagonist is watching the victim from afar. This will depict danger and caution which will create suspense as the audience know he is getting ready to attack her. The colour red also has connotations of blood and murder which foreshadows the death of the victim. This is conventional to thriller films as blood and fear is usually presented with the colour red. The audience will see the filters unlike the victim. Therefor they will understand what event is going to take place next causing them to feel sorry for the victim and in turn build a relationship with her.

The next technique that my group have agreed on was the reaction shot which will be used when the antagonist raises his weapon in order to kill the girl. The first shot will be on the murder weapon (the knife) after the victim has tried to escape and has failed the reaction shot will then be of the victims face as she knows she is hopeless and there is no way of escaping. After they try and fight it out as the victim tries to escape after not succeeding, the antagonist will pin her down. The reaction on her face will show her hopeless emotion she then knocks the knife out of his hand, this movement will prove that the antagonist is not in control for one and his power has been taken  by the victim.The audience will feel a sense of urgency, and encourage the victim to not let him get hold of her and fro her to keep on running in order for her not to be harmed or captured again. However they know this is unlikely as it is conventional to thrillers for a victim to always be caught as they try to escape.

Finally, we decided to include the kuleshov effect. This is when twi shots are show together to imply something that the audience did not spot first hand. In our sequence, we will show shots of the killer inside the abandoned room, with his weapon, shots of him planning which suggest to the audience that he is the killer. All these weird elements added together could show to the audience that he is planning to kill the girl. In the first shot we will see a timeline of photos of the girl there will be many images of her when she was younger, of her walking around the hallways at school and also of her at parties. This implies to the audience that the stalking has been taking place for a long time and that this girl is his next victim.

When creating any of our camera shots, we have to make sure the camera is placed at 180 degrees so that it does not break the 180 degree rule. This is a very conventional thriller editing technique as it helps the audience so that they do not get confused. 180 degree rule is very important when editing thrillers as if the audience notice something is not quite right they will get bored of the film and find it hard to follow.  We used these different techniques as by varying them it will help create a successful thriller that is conventional to the thriller genre that will help out target audience to stay engaged throughout the opening sequence. The use of a jump cut will set the pace of the sequence and build tension for the audience this keeps the audience unsure of what they are about to encounter. By planning the different editing techniques it has enabled me and Nojus to plan the music that we will be using to the individual editing techniques.

To conclude in my sequence, the editing techniques I have chosen are primarily because it will crete the most suspense for the audience and will create large amounts of suspense until the ending of out roping sequence which will scare he audience. Editing builds up  tension especially slow editing which signifies that something bad is about to happen. Editing creates a sinister effects towards the thriller genre and will portray how weak the victim is. The killer will seem intimidating to the audience which builds a relationship between the characters and the audience.

Research into Target audience - Mss Miller

Above is the questionnaire my group handed out to 40 individuals regarding the thriller genre. We carried out this research for numerous reasons. The first being so that we could question

our target market on what they would expect to see in a thriller film, along side we asked them what their preferences are when it comes to watching thriller films and why they think this. Through doing so we have created pie chats so we can picture their preferences and adapt our own thriller to the majority of the target audience. Through the given feed back from the 40 individuals we are able to alter our original film ideas by asking open and closed questions we can alter our previous narrative to incorporate the new given feedback into our thriller. We asked 40 individuals oppose to a smaller or larger number for the following reasons. The sample which we questioned couldn't be too small to the point where not enough results would to be as valid to be made into pie charts for example if we only asked 10 people it may lack validity as it may not represent the wider target population making the results only apply to a small minority of the people we are trying to target. For this reason we decided that 40 people was appropriate as it would increase how widely the results given can be applicable for our intended target audience. Questioning more people made this even higher, although this number was appropriate as trying to get an even larger sample of people would be more time consuming, as well as make the analysis of the results take longer and more difficult to categorise due to the higher number f responses. As previously mentioned, my group and i will use these results in our opening thriller, and add elements that we think would fit our target audience directly catering it towards them with the aim of making it more appealing to their age group, hill doing so providing them with content that they can associate with real life with use of the typical codes and conventions of a thriller.

The first question we asked was the age of the individual, this was then compared with other ages that we received. It was found that the majority of the people that were questioned were in fact 18-20, the second highest result given was people aged 22+, shortly followed by the age group 15-17. The age ranges stated consisted of the overwhelming majority of those asked, which shows that our target audience is predominantly teenagers and young adults, generally being the older age group. 

From this I will take on board that the thriller we are making will need to be catered towards the older end of the teenage scale. As of this, I will discuss with my group what elements should be included to suit this band of people in regards to codes and conventions within the thriller genre. This is as their are certain conventions which are present through thriller films which appeal to the older age range. An example would be more blood and gore as they are not the vulnerable age group, this would assist towards creating a feeling that the older viewers would be able to handle without scaring them to much as they understand that it is not real life, this would make it more appealing to the target audience.

For question 2 we asked for the gender o those taking part in the questionnaire. It was found that the majority of those questioned were intact male, although a large number of females were still questioned. This could potentially demonstrate how the target audience we are catering our opening sequence of our thriller towards has a larger male to female ratio due to the numbers given.

For this reason I will take on board that the results achieved may be more cater able to the male sex, and for this reason the content we chose shall be more suited to men rather than women. My group and i may include more male appealing conventions from within the thriller genre in our sequence as this way we are leaning towards a s larger demographic of our target audience. An example of this could be making our sequence a crime thriller rather than a psychological thriller which the majority of women seem to prefer.

One of the open ended questions we asked was 'what is your preferable murder weapon that is used in thriller films and why'. The participants had a list to chose from which they were then able to elaborate on . We asked this question so that we could get an idea about the similar detail in the film and what they like to see. The top 3 were, blade, knife and vehicle. One of the participants said she wold like to see a blade being used as it is 'powerful and effective'. Having the answers so close together made it hard for my group to decide what weapon would be used. In the end we agreed that a blade would be the most conventional, it is also the most stereotypical of a thriller film which would make ours just as entertaining to watch.

In the research we asked, we also questioned our applicants on what type of setting they preferred thrillers to be located in, we gave them a list to chose from. The domestic setting was the most popular closely followed by an abandoned setting. This conveys that our target audience likes thrillers to seem more realistic as a domestic setting could imply a family home. This adds to the fear factor as the juxtaposition of a place your are meant to feel safe in can make the audience feel quite the opposite. The results from this question are one of the most useful because deciding on the location or setting of a film is the most important part if the setting or location isn't chosen with consideration of the audience it could potentially ruin the whole thriller making it less affective and less scary. Although a domestic setting was the most popular from the results my group have decided that a school would be a better fit for our audience this will also make it conventional as a school is also realistic so it should affect the audience in the same way.

In our questionnaire we asked what thriller films our target audience enjoyed the most out of a list given. We asked this particular question so we would have an idea of what theme and narrative our target market preferred. From this research we learnt that scream was the most popular this was understandable as it related to there questions asked for example our audience gave answers that they liked their thrillers to be based in domestic settings which may be a reason why scream id so popular as the whole of the opening sequence is based inside the girls house. As both of the two favourite films picked have quite complicated narratives we have decided to make our original narrative more complex, both films have a strange narrative where the characters do not know who the antagonist is or his intentions. This helped my group and I decide on how to portray the antagonist we wanted there to be and element of mystery and not give to much away. We asked why these were their favourites and they revealed it is because they do not know much about the antagonists until he is revealed which then helps the story line to make sense.

The next question we asked our target audience is 'which of the elements do you find creates the most tension' the candidates were then able to pick from the following 3; Lighting; sound; camera. From the results we identified that almost half of the people agreed that sound was the most tension building element. Sound is conventional to thrillers as it creates shock, suspense and surprise. This question is one my group found the most relevant, from these answers we are able to determine what our target audience find the most engaging. As this element was sound my group have decided to focus more on the sound element of our scene rather than lighting as the audience suggested that they do not really pay attention to it as much as sound. In my scene we will make sound a vital prospect including all the typical diegetic and non diegetic sounds heard in thrillers.

One of the last questions we asked was 'do you prefer to have the antagonist hidden identity' this was another simple closed question which they could answer yes or no. My group asked this so we could have inspiration of our own killer who's identity had not been talked about yet. The target markets involvement meant that we were able to determine what they liked the best and what involved them with the film more. 80% of the people we asked said they would prefer the killers identity to be hidden until the end as it creates more suspense and mystery. For our groups killer we decided to keep the identity hidden until the end so more tension is built for the audience which would make them more likely to watch it to the end to find out who the killer is without making them bored. 

The next question was about the gender role of the victim, although we already knew that the stereotypical representation of women was to be the victim we wanted to see what our target audience thought. We asked them if they would prefer to watch a male or female victim in the films they watched. The vast majority of the people questioned said they would prefer to see a female victim which is what we were expecting to hear as this is stereotypical in the thriller genre and would make it easy for the antagonist to target if she is a woman.

The last question we asked was 'what gender would you prefer the killer to be'. The results from this question would help my group decide one final characteristic our our thriller opening sequence. Our results showed that the majority of our target audience preferred to have a male as the antagonist which is stereotypical of the thriller genre. 75% of the people we asked said that they would prefer to see a male antagonist this is because they feel it would make 

After producing my box plots i have come to the conclusion that they were very usefull in the decision making process for our final thriller sequence, I interviewed our direct target audience in order to understand what we should include in our opening sequence, what will make our sequence more entertaining and suitable fro our target audience. In our sequence we will include a plot twist that will make it more entertaining so they audience will relate to it. I am using the Vox pops as proof for my questionnaire results. Vox pox is a simple way of filming an interview with members of our target audience. It was helpful and gave me an insight of what the public really thought about thriller films. It was more insightful than a questionnaire as it allowed the participants to develop their answers and ask questions if they did not understand questions. As one of my participants said sound created the most tension and our results from our questionnaire showed the same result, my group has agreed develop our sound to help create suspense and shock for our target audience.

In summary,I believe that conducting research into our target audience has helped me with collecting ideas to include in our short opening sequence, as i asked members of the public their own opinions on what they would expect in a thriller and what they would enjoy. This post was useful as it helped me create my own individual ideas and gave me guidelines on elements i was not confident about. Further it gave me an insight to what the public like and also gave me an idea on what age group our thriller should be focused on and what is conventional in that age group.

Planning individual narrative - Miss Georgiou

The narrative of a film is the result of two main factors, the ideas of the story line and how the story line will be presented, a narrative is any recollection of connected events presented in a sequence in spoken word or moving images. Narratives can be spoken or written, it is made up of different events that link together to form a story. Narratives help the audience to make sense of the film or a scene as without a plot the story line would be hard to follow, it would mislead the audience and without a follow able story line the film would not be able to carry out its purpose of making the audience feel a certain way or effect the audience in the way it should.


My narrative is about a young girl who lives with her father after her mother passed away. Within the two minute sequence we are introduced to pictures f the two of them throughout the years, showing family pictures over a fireplace. The beginning of the film will be filmed from the perspective of the killer by using a hand held camera it will look like the killer is filming inside of the families house. The audience will not see who is holding the camera which will create tension and suspense within the audience. When the father and daughter arrive home they feel as if someone has been in inside their house and that someone may still be watching them. This is where the audience are properly introduced to the father and his daughter. The two of them become disturbed as they realise some of their possessions have been moved around (little do they know the killer is still watching them from inside the house). They convince each other that they are both over reacting and that there is nothing to worry about. Both the father and the daughter are mentally attacked during their sleep that night yet. These clips will be accompanied by slow passed music which is conventional to the thriller genre. The audience see the daughter become disturbed by a shadow outside the house. All the sounds and images build up tension.

The setting of my opening scene will be set in a house where there is only a fireplace showing in the frame, none is around but you can see pictures of a father and a daughter over the seasons in picture frames above the fireplace. This would make the thriller film conventional as a house setting that none is in is typical and leaves the audience wondering why no one is in the house and why someone is being secretive when walking around and staring at photos of the people that live there this leaves them questioning what the setting has to do with the rest of the film. The setting of the actual scenes are not all taken place in the house some of it is taken on the street which will shock the audience as we see the stalker follow the family on their way out, from the opening sequence the audience will be able to tell that the killer will stop at nothing to get them it will keep the audience hooked from the opening sequence.

Iconography used in the thriller opening sequence wold be the typical weapons such as knives which is conventional to thrillers as there is always someone that dies in the first couple minutes of the film who puts the audience on edge. The use of weapons will help the audience create a relationship with the characters as they know what's going on before the characters are made aware. Also iconography helps the audience feel empathy for the characters which is why I believe this is a good reason to incorporate weapons into our sequence.


The use of costume and makeup would just be ordinary clothes for the victims but for the antagonist he could be masked up and with a hoodie on to hide his identity. The victims would not carry any weapons as this would not be realistic and the audience will find this untruthful, this was if the audience can Identify the father and the daughter as ordinary people the audience may feel they are able to relate to them which creates an element of real life so they audience are scared and engaged more in the scene.


Advantages and disadvantages.


Advantages of this idea includes the fact that the idea is conventional to thriller films. It is conventional because there is a conventional use of characters and iconography. A point of view shot is conventional as we do not know who or what is looking in the victims house. The narrative would create an enigma because the audience will be left wanting to know the answers to many questions, wondering what would happen next which helps develop a relationship with the character as they want to find out more about the antagonist. The idea would create tension because the audience will be dying to see what happens at the end of the film. The disadvantages include the fact that there would not be enough to show just in the opening sequence this idea is very simplistic and would be hard to fit into a two minute sequence let alone a whole film.


Target audience
The target audience for this opening scene would be teenagers from the age of 15-18 which would fit the BBFC's requirements depending on how much blood and gore the opening would envelop. I think that the sequence would fit well in the 15 age band as there is not to much violence and in order to make the stabbing look real there must not be much coverage on it anyways as we do not have the technology and props needed to make it look so realistic.


In conclusion this idea is just a starting point that could be easily adapted if my group would like to alter any certain bits. It may not be achievable in the long run but the original concept and idea was there.

Group Narrative - Miss Georgiou

Group member 1:
Name: Harry Warren
Idea:
My individual narrative that will be used in my opening sequence will feature an ordinary girl that believes she is being stalked by somebody at school, with many shots showing the stalker in the background and never in the central frame to suggest that he is striving to be hidden, with many people disbelieving her as nobody ever sees the stalker while the climax of the sequence features the stalker coming to finally attack the girl but as he comes up on her she turns around and brutally stabs him with a knife before putting it away and walking off as if there is nothing wrong.

Strengths: 
Easily recognisable as thriller as the narrative is conventional to the thriller. Location would be accessible and characters fit the females and males in the group. By walking away from the killer it creates an enigma.
A murder occurs which is conventional to the thriller genre it would be effective in generating shock.
The victim is a girl that is seen as vulnerable and the audience are likely to sympathise with her.
Weaknesses: 
It will be difficult to pull of the killing without it looking fake, if it looks fake it will ruin the look of the play and the audience will not be frightened.
It would be hard for the story line to be fit in within 2-3 minutes.


Group Member 2: 
Name: Nojus Cinkus
Idea: 
My idea of a narrative for my two-minute intro scene is the story of a teenager who is relentlessly threatened and stalked by the gang he once used to call his own. He was once part of a gang that trafficked drugs to young people in east London - his only family. After giving away vital information to the police, the gang is destroyed, with only two members escaping. The two track and hunt the teenager down, eventually ending his life. In my two minute sequence, the film will show two thugs breaking into his home, leading to a chase. He will eventually become slowed down and stopped, resulting in a brutal death from hate-filled stabs to the chest. The scene ends with a friend arriving at the house and walking through the smashed door suspiciously. He finds the body and calls the police, closing the scene.

Strengths:
This sequence would be to film as it could take place in  any location, for example a forrest which is conventional to the thriller genre, the setting would be remote, eery and dark which is typical of thrillers.
This thriller sequence would incorporate a male antagonist which is conventional to the thriller genre this would be stereotypical this would engage the audience making it more entraining for them to watch.
Weakness:
The main disadvantage of this narrative is that it is far to detailed and would be challenging to portray in a short opening sequence especially considering there is only three of us in the group and would of us would be filing the sequence.
The plot overall is not very realistic and its not a narrative that you would expect to see in a thriller film and it may not make sense and confuse the audience.

My idea

My narrative is about a young girl who lives with her father after her mother passed away. Within the two minute sequence we are introduced to pictures f the two of them throughout the years, showing family pictures over a fireplace. The beginning of the film will be filmed from the perspective of the killer by using a hand held camera it will look like the killer is filming inside of the families house. The audience will not see who is holding the camera which will create tension and suspense within the audience. When the father and daughter arrive home they feel as if someone has been in inside their house and that someone may still be watching them. This is where the audience are properly introduced to the father and his daughter. The two of them become disturbed as they realise some of their possessions have been moved around (little do they know the killer is still watching them from inside the house). They convince each other that they are both over reacting and that there is nothing to worry about. Both the father and the daughter are mentally attacked during their sleep that night yet. These clips will be accompanied by slow passed music which is conventional to the thriller genre. The audience see the daughter become disturbed by a shadow outside the house. All the sounds and images build up tension.

Strengths:
A strength of my idea is that it is conventional to the thriller genre, it would include camera shots and editing techniques that suit the thriller genre it would also be easy to film in anyones house. This sequence would include many of the typical characters for example a masked antagonist and two victims.
Weakness:
For my idea we wouldn't be able to do any filming in school as it more or less all takes place in a house which is time consuming as all our lessons would be wasted. Secondly if we were to use a house of someone in our group we would have to rush the filming as if the house is  not available again this would mean we would have to change the location of the house which would be noticeable to the audience.

As a group collectively have decided that Harrys idea is the easiest to tim and is also the most conventional to the thriller. We decided on this because it would be easy to film due to it being located in a school as our target audience is based at teenagers this location would be ideal to use as they would find it relatable. This narrative is based around an ordinary girl being stalked around her school, witch many camera angles showing her stalker but he is never in full focous and only arts of him are seen. None she had told believes her as they have never seen him. The climax of the sequence shows the stalker coming out to attack her although he is masked although his true identity is revealed at the end. This is conventional as there is a plot twist they girl ends up fighting back and killer him before he kills her. Our idea does not follow Tordorovs theory as there is no sense of equilibrium, as we are just making an opening sequence there is not enough time to create an equilibrium and show it returning after the disruption. Secondly it does not follow Tordorovs theory as we have not included a realisation where everyone in our scene realises the problem and the chaos it causes. Secondly our narrative does not follow props theory as his theory only applies to fairy tales secondly our group only has three members and props theory is based around characters we would not have enough time to play all the different characters nor would they fit in with the narrative of our piece.

 However our group narrative seems to follow Aristotle's theory as it features an incident where the girl is attacked without her knowing kills the killer in an attempt to save herself. There is also an element of empathy and sympathy as there is a female victim which the audience feel sympathy for her. This can also be seen as unconventional to thriller films as the girl is the one that kills the man which is not typically how women  are represented in thrillers. By this happening it does create more surprise for the audience as they would not have been expecting it. The other theories such as Tordorov argues that narrative involves a transformation. The character or the situation are transformed through the progress of the disruption. The disruption itself usually takes place outside the normal frame work. This does not apply to our sequence as there is no pure incident just a girl trying to protect herself there is no transformation within the character. We have decided that there will be a story line behind our sequence  based around the connections of the characters as there are only two characters being used. The other narrative theories include that of Vladamir props which is a narrative that provides a structure for the text. Thordorovs theory is based on the idea of equilibrium and diseqalibrium. We did not follow this as within a two minute sequence it would not a be a satiable idea and we would be unable to convey all of that in the given time. 

This was the last piece of work Harry contributed to our group, Harrys idea for the opening sequence and his work ethic was not compatible to Nojus and myself. Therefore it was decided that Harry was better off working separately which meant leaving the group and continuing his sequence on his own. In hindsight this benefitted all of us, as Harry was able to take full control of his opening sequence and Nojus and I were able to make decisions we felt fit our narrative.

Preliminary Task - Miss Miller

The purpose of this task was we could familiarise ourself with the group we would be working in. My group consists of just three of us; Nojus, Harry and myself. This task helped us all to become aware of the equipment we will be using for filming our own opening sequence, this let us understand how the camera and tripod worked.We created a short sequence in which we were able to experiment using different camera shots. Our task was to film someone walking into a room and sitting down with someone else to have a conversation. They then had to get up and leave. Within this we had to use the following shots; close up, mid shot, long shot, panning and an over the shoulder shot. This short sequence has to be roughly 30 seconds - 2 minutes long.


Within our sequence we had to use a variation of different camera techniques, this included a panning shot, a long shot, close up, an over the shoulder shot and a shot reverse shot of a conversation. The equipment we used was a tripod to hold the camera so that it was still shooting, we used a digital camera to film the clip on.
When filming our short sequence I believe that my group did multiple things well. This includes quickly trying to put together a narrative for our sequence, in our narrative we included all of these camera techniques. The positioning of the camera and trip pod changed throughout in order to achieve the perfect shot. The shots we used did not break the 180 degree rule. My favourite shot was the over the shoulder shot we did which showed the setting over Harrys shoulder, all our camera techniques were added together and at the end they ran smoothly.
As a group there was only three of us which made the narrative hard from the beginning as it was hard to think of a scene where only two of us could be in it at a given time. If I was to re-enact the whole sequence there is a number of things I would have done differently I would have made he narrative follow a story line. As our narrative didn't have a strong beginning middle or end. I did enjoy the task as a whole was interesting as I enjoyed filming the high angle shot as I found the camera easy to move around, i was also taught how to refocus the camera by putting a piece of paper infront of it. If we were to re film I would say that I would repeat the filming of each shot 2 or 3 times, as if there is poor acting skills or the camera would look better from a different angle then we could have justified the situation. By doing so it would have allowed us to become more professional around the camera and let us gain more confidence and we could have gained a better end product. Through my experience I think the whole task helped my group to prepare for filming our opening sequence we used the most conventional shots that wee will incorporate into our own opening sequence we are now aware of how to film these different elements that we can add to our own clip.

For the close-up we had to lower the camera and the tripod in order to get the camera closer to the object we were filming. I think we used the camera really well when we had to do the close up of the books as it remained steady and showed the object clearly so the audience could see by having it in line with Olivia's shoulder as she examined the books, keeping them central to the frame and catching the audience's attention.

Overall I believe this task has helped me and my group prepare for our filming the opening sequence as it has allowed us to see how we all work within the group and help us become more familiar with each others working pattern, who prefers acting and who prefers filming. This helped as playing around with the camera and trip pod was hard to manage at first it has taught us our strengths and weakness as a group and individuals. From this task have learnt that camera skills do not come naturally and knowing where my character should be positioned. To ensure the same errors are not made I will re enact the same scene and watch it before we move onto the next part of the scene. This has also helped me understand the filming aspect my group have recognised what we need to do to engage our audience and make the scene look more realistic.

Inspirations - Miss Georgiou

Inspiration is the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially something creative. The point of inspiration is so we are drawn to do whatever we feel fit. Before creating something you must have inspiration his is because it will tie you ideas which will develop in what you what your end product to be like. Inspiration can be taken from anything it could be based on a previous experience or just an image. In terms of my own thriller sequence my inspiration has been built up over watching a series of different short scenes the various different ideas within the scenes have given me different perspectives on what my short thriller sequence's narrative could be an how to make it conventional to the thriller genre.




In the escape scene from the film 'Hannibal' directed by Ridley Scott in 2001. The timing of shots have inspired me to envelop this in my own short sequence i will be making. This particular timing of shot is conventional to the thriller genre as it is a typical editing technique that is used. This particular technique is particularly inspiring as it takes place between the two victims and the main antagonist. This is when the two guards are brining Hannibal his dinner. At first the timing of the shots is relatively slow which connotes a sense of normality that everything is normal and running as usual. This slow timing of shots however does create suspense as we know how Hannibal operates and will wait till everything seems ordinary to make his move to avoid being caught out by the guards. This to me is particularly cleaver and this has inspired me to make a moment like this in my own sequence as i feel it is effective to creep up on the audience. A few seconds pass and the timing of the shots become much quicker and are only shown on screen for split seconds, this keeps the audience engaged. This particular editing technique is inspiring as it creates an eery atmosphere which is the same atmosphere i would like to create for my audience.

I researched and analysed the cinematography used in the opening sequence of Halloween. It has given me ideas for my opening scene. This particular films opening sequence contains conventional to the thriller genre cinematography that I would like my group to incorporate into our own sequence. For example in the opening sequence for Halloween a point of view shot is used to show the audience what the killer is looking at. This engages the audience with the narrative, and also makes the empathise with the characters they meet. I think a point of view shot would be ideal for my group so we are able to create the same effect. In addition it would also be an ideal camera shot to use as the audience will be seeing exactly what the character sees, so the audience can draw their own conclusions to what is happening- helping them be in the same mind as the character, making the audience more involved with the story helps them satay entertained.

The sound in the black swan is conventional to the thriller genre and I find that it has inspired me to use conventional sound techniques such as non diegetic soundtracks. This music is edited and is conventional as the music is slow suspense building piano music. The suspense building non diegetic soundtrack is familiar among other thriller films. This would give the audience a sense of familiarity as they would be experiencing the same sounds that would be found in other thriller movies. The audience is more likely to be involved and stay attentive during the movie if they are experiencing things that are familiar to them. This makes the audience able to create and build up a relationship with the character. Also, thriller conventions are used because the audience will react well with them, like with the creepy piano music it creates an intense and eerie atmosphere which engages the audience. This is a general technique that is used widely throughout the thriller genre.

The most recent film I have studied is from Saw V. This research involved several elements found in the thriller genre: hidden identity; isolated setting; low key lighting; unexpected twists and scary iconography that you would typically find in thriller films. In the clip from Saw V the killers identity is hidden (jigsaw). In my own thriller sequence I want our killers identity to be hidden it may not be by a mask but hidden by a point of view shot. This is conventional as it leaves an enigma for the audience leaving them to question who the killer is. There will be low key lighting used to create a sense of danger this will frighten the audience by leaving them in the dark and being in the same position as the characters. Just like in the opening sequence in Halloween there will also be a plot twist, like finding out the killer is only an eight year old boy that murdered his own sister the plot twist in my story will be unexpected. Unexpected twists are a big convention of thriller films because they keep the audience engaged in the narrative. We considered using this convention of unexpected twists as most of what makes the opening sequence becomes part of  plot twist.

My inspiration for my mise-en-scene came from the scream opening sequence. My narrative has taken much inspiration from this analysis, such as having a suburban setting for most of the sequence. Not only is this easy to film in but having a domestic setting is conventional as thrillers provide a false sense of security for the audience and the characters. For example I would like my thriller sequence to take place in a house this is because it is relatable for the audience which makes them empathise with the characters as they feel it could be them in that situation.


While planning what I wanted to be in my thriller sequence and I found that using inspirations made the process easier. I familiarised myself with popular films and learned the conventions of thriller films. I can apply most of these elements into my own thriller sequence, making it more enjoyable for the audience. For example now I know that building suspense is essential for the shock and surprise to be effective for the audience. Our thriller film opening sequence includes some aspects similar to those seen in the film Halloween as it is a domestic setting in a house it makes the scene more relatable.

Conventions of a thriller - Miss Miller

Conventions of a genre are very specific, they are important as they make the film identifiable to its genre, they are what the audience would assume would be in that particular scene when watching a film. Conventions help set the mood, setting and feel of the overall scene, all the conventions add suspense and keep the audience engaged and on the edge of their seat. Typical thriller conventions include, low key lighting, point of view shots, close ups, damsel in distress, hidden identities scary non diegetic music and hand held shots. Iconography is also a factor that makes films conventional to their genres. Knives guns and weapons all create suspense and keeps the audience wondering what will happen next.




In the clip Saw V survival of the fittest low key lighting is used through out the clip this is conventional to a thriller as the darkness helps to create the mysterious scene build tension. Low key lighting is used throughout the clip, this is right from the beginning through to the end where light flashes occasionally. This helps create fear as the audience cant see clearly what is happening which adds an element of danger. This sis conventional to thrillers as danger is associated with darkness and therefor brings danger to the scene. This helps build a relationship with the audience as they can imagine being in the situation themselves and therefor feel more involved with what's happening building an attachment with the characters as they start to feel the same emotion.



Another convention used in this particular Saw scene is the fact that innocent victims are made vulnerable, they are either made to be killed or go through a series of tourchering events. In this scene there are many jumpy scenes. In this short scene we see all of the innocent victims be in the survival of the fittest which is conventional as they are all innocent and helpless which makes the audience feel sympathy for them. These victims look like ordinary people as they are wearing everyday clothes they also look and act like any normal person would when put in a situation like that. It also makes the scene more relatable to real life, which makes the audience feel like they are part of the scene.

Tension and suspense are also conventions of a thriller films as these are the parts that create the over all mood of the scene. They make the audience more eager to watch the film and find out what happened next. By creating such suspense and tension the audience start to imagine what is going to happen next as they dont know initially what is about to take place in the upcoming minutes. In the clip we see huge amounts of tension and suspense when they are instructed to smash the glass in order to find the key to open a safety pass way. They all started fighting over the key and one person will killed in the process which makes the audience question what character is going to die and which of those will survive, this makes the audience panic and are intrigued to see how they will perish. This is all conventional to thriller as the suspense and tension makes the audience feel more personally involved as they start to understand the mentality of each character and how they cope with the situation, further they will find out who's fate will end there.

Additionally there are a lot of jump cuts used and jerky camera movements and shots used through out the sequence, they are mostly at the beginning when we first see jigsaw it also happens occasionally through out. This creates a feeling of uncertainty for the audience as the clips movements change a lot, also the audience does not have a clear view of what is going on so it keeps the audience prepared to be shocked as they cant see the foreshadowing events. This is conventional to a thriller as it impresses the audience by keeping them on the edge of their seat in suspense as they are aware of what jigsaw is like and they know something bad is going to happen as the characters are careful with their movements. This creates a relationship with the audience as they feel empathy with the characters and they feel they are vulnerable and can see they are helpless.


The narrative is also very conventional for thrillers. Typically there are a group of innocent victims that are terrorised by one antagonist and are trapped into doing whatever they say. Within the clip the death of the character usually happen starting with the most vulnerable dies first. With the whole plot based around the vulnerability of the victims and the main killers manipulative behaviour. In this clip we see the characters at their most vulnerable point where we see one of the characters try and kill another one. This is conventional as the audience are made aware of how psychologically challenging being in that position is as they all turn on each other. This is stereo typical as in thrillers we usually see characters go crazy with fear, so will kill anything and anyone in their path to kelp them gain their freedom back.


Non diegetic horror sounds are also present within some of the clip, this stresses to what is taking place in the scene as the disturbing noises correspond with the clip. If there was no non diegetic sound in the clip it would become boring for the audience to watch as the dialog alone is not interesting enough. It would be un gripping for the audience to watch as it would look very ordinary and the music would not suggest uncertainty of what is about to happen. This is conventional to thrillers as the sound builds up suspense as the music builds up pace which matches the images on scene.


In my own thriller I will take into account all the different conventions of a thriller as I want my audience to be engaged and make it obvious to them what genre my film is. I want to keep them on the edge of their seat for as long as possible and not let them be bored. I know I will include jump cuts as this is a key element in keeping the audience attention and to keep the suspense level high.

Opening Sequence analysis of Halloween- Miss Georgiou

How does the opening sequence of the film Halloween inform the audience of conventions of a thriller film.

The purpose of an opening sequence is to establish the overall mood and visual character of a film the codes and conventions used with in the opening should make it easily recognisable to its genre. It is also used to introduce the audience to some of the following elements;  Characters, locations, narrative, plot, themes and visual style. The opening sequence of a film should grab the viewers attention form the very first frame it should either have you jumping from your seat of clinging to it, the opening sequence is a part of the film that the audience should remember fondly. By watching the opening sequence the audience has a taste of what is to come throughput the rest of the film. Character introduction usually takes place within the first couple of minutes if the film.
In the film 'Halloween' there is an enigma in the opening sequence. This gives the audience a feeling of uncertainty and as the film carries on slowly but surely, the enigma is being established. For example we do not know who the antagonist is but we later see it was actually the eight year old boy who kills his older sister as the film unravels we learn why he would commit such an act. Overall the purpose of an opening sequence is to introduce what the film is going to be about. Different directors will chose to plan out their opening sequences differently however if the opening sequence has made an impact on the majority of the audience and they are interested in watching the rest of the film then the director knows he has completed his first task of drawing in the audience.

The majority of the opening is filmed through the use of a point-of-view shot. This is very affective as we are seeing the opening throughout the eyes of a criminal, this builds tension and suspense as it is quite bizarre; usually in thrillers we see the scene through the eyes of the victim, this adheres from the stereotypical conventions of thriller films.  As a result of using a point of view shot it poses an enigma from the audience leaving them to question who this person is. This enigma creates fear for the audience as we are looking through the eyes of a crazed maniac. The point of view shot looks up at the bedroom which foreshadows the events that will take place there. This is a key moment in creating tension for the audience as they are left to question what will happen next adding to the suspense factor that this shot has created.The point of view shot is intended to represent the subjective view of the unknown killer. The camera lens is placed at eye level of the boy Michel who's point of view we are seeing. This is so we can see exactly what he sees. POV gives the audience an emotional attachment to the young boy as he is the antagonist we feel a sense of fear where as if we were seeing from the view of the victim this would create sympathy. Through the point of view we see the unidentified villain stab a young woman. The POV is later identified to Michel a six year old boys. Through the point of view shot we can see we can see the surroundings around the house which is conventional to thriller films as it is set in a relatable location to the audience this has the effect of playing with the psychological element of the move. In your own house you are supposed to feel safe and out of harms way this relates to he audience as they may question if they are safe in their own house.

In the opening sequence editing is also used, a jump cut is used to transition from the surroundings of the house to the knife. This implicates that this knife has particular significance that will later be revealed through the opening. This builds suspense as the audience are made aware there is a weapon involved yet we have not discovered who is holding the weapon so it may be in the hands of someone that plans to kill with it. After planting this seed in the audiences head it builds suspense as the audience are left questioning what the knife will actually be used for. By focusing on the knife as an individual element it creates suspense effectively which will have the audience feeling on edge anticipating when t will be used. A common technique that is  during the opening sequence's of thriller films primarily as the audience will have to keep watching if they want to find out what happens. Further it is also conventional as knives are common weapons to be used in thrillers as the victim is usually killed with some sort of knife. This panics the audience as being stabbed is a slow and painful way to die. This has the audience feeling sympathetic towards the victims which builds a relationship between the audience and the characters. This makes the audience engaged and more interesting for the audience to watch this adds to the thrill element.

The first convention that is identifiable in the opening sequence is sound. Sound is conventional in all thrillers as it has the power to create any kind of mood possible, it is also able to make the audience feel a certain way. In the opening sequence of Halloween we first hear the non dietetic sound track this plays at the beginning and then again at the end of the opening sequence. The soundtrack creates and eerie atmosphere which builds suspense for the audience, it also engages the audience from the first sound they hear which is conventional for any film. The sound is loud which is put at the beginning of the sequence on purpose. This non dietetic sounds misleads the audience to think nothing more that just an ordinary Halloween night. Although the music creates suspense it fits in with the Halloween theme therefore the audience may not realise that the music has a hidden meaning that something bad is about to happen. This high pitched sound would also have made the audience jump as the sounds sounds like a shriek which may foreshadow the shriek of the female victim as she is being stabbed.

The opening sequence is identifiable as a thriller due to it codes and conventions. The thriller codes and conventions are recognisable as soon as the thriller starts. Stereotypically it is set in a suburban area which is conventional as most thrillers are set in relatable settings. There is also stereotypically a female victim which is conventional as females in thriller films are always presented as weaker and inferior to the males in the scene. In most thriller movies it is always the female that is killed off first this conforms to the typical triller representation of women. This relates to the Halloween opening sequence as the first person to die Is a female victim. For the audience this conveys that she was weaker and unable to defend herself from the anonymous killer. This is a typical convention of the thriller genre as women are always seen weaker than men and are unable to defend themselves which is why they end up being killed first. This is because they are portrayed as being vulnerable and in need of protection. This representation dates back to the early era of when thriller films were made, the most sexist time this convention has stuck throughout. The female victim is usually killed in the most graphic way especially  which relates to this opening sequence as she was stabbed several times and the point of view shot used wee can see her dead body lying on the floor. The female character is also conventional to the thriller genre as she helps create suspense and puts the audience on edge especially when the audience are aware that the killer has a knife and know what it is going to be used for yet the girl is oblivious until it is to late to save herself. It is also typical of thriller films as the young girl was so preoccupied with her boyfriend she was unaware of the murderer on the loose this causes the audience to become annoyed with her as they are frustrated with how oblivious she is which builds up tension further.

The antagonist is the main character and the fact that we see him looking through the window outside of the house makes the audience immediately suspicious of him. All throughout the opening sequence the character is creepy and keeping his identity hidden just makes the audience wonder what or why he is hiding. This is conventional of a thriller film as there is always an antagonist who does not want to be revealed this makes the audience question the antagonists motives. We are not introduced to the antagonist until the end of the sequence however there is the point of view shot from his perspective throughout the opening sequence. This creates an enigma as we don't see who's point of view the audience is looking though and have no personal attachment to the antagonist, the audience are unaware of what this character is going to do. After the character has been revealed it is a shock to the audience as it turns out to be just a child presumably the brother of the victim which leaves the audience with great shock. As the antagonists identity is hidden until the end of the clip this is common for the thriller genre. The secrecy of his hidden identity is used to create suspense and add to the enigma, it leaves the audience confused as to why he would do something like that especially why he has chosen to kill his own sister not anyone else, but it also quite menacing as the doesn't seem to have this motive intentionally. The audience are left puzzled as they do not expect a young child to be capable of such a brutal murder.

The narrative of the whole opening sequence is based around the night of Halloween, this is a common day for a thriller to be based around and is stereotypically used in thriller films more than any other genre. This is because Halloween us seen as a day of children and costumes this day has connotations of which craft and black magic. Children dress up in costumes on Halloween which is likely to be the reason he is dressed up in a clown costume and is hidden under a mask. This is conventional to the thriller genre as there is a hidden identity as the antagonist is not known until the end. The audience build a relationship with the character as he is just an ordinary boy on Halloween that has dressed up but has decided to murder his sister. This creates shock, suspense and surprise as the narrative creates an enigma. This enigma is created within the scene because there are questions that the audience have that are not answerable. With out a narrative the story line would not hook the audience and make them want to carry on watching the rest of the film.

Conclusively, from the opening clip of the film halloween. I have depicted all of the conventions used to make this opening conventional to the thriller genre . This has given  me the inspiration to include these within my own clip. Watching Halloween has helped me understand how incorporating different film techniques can set the mood of a piece. It generally builds more suspense and shock to the audience. A specific convention that I will use in my own thriller sequence that I am going to include in my opening is the fact the thriller identity is hidden until the end of the sequence.