Evaluation post- Introduction

Evaluation introduction

 



Our brief was to make a 2 minute opening thriller sequence which included micro elements such as mise-en-scene, editing, sound and cinematography. These micro elements helped our thriller film follow the different codes and conventions that came with the thriller genre. The class was split up into groups of threes and each group had to come up with a thriller production name. In my group was Hannah Hobbs, Ella Sawtell and myself. Together we decided on "Dark Sky's" as being our thriller production  name.

We then allocated each group member with production roles. Hannah Hobbs took on the role as being Producer, Director, Director of photography and Mes- en- Scene co-ordinator. Ella Sawtell took on the role as being Producer, Actor, Screenplay writer, Mes-en-scene co-ordinator and Editor. Finally I took on the role as being Producer, Actor, Music producer and Mes-en-scene co-ordinator. I took on the Music producer role because I felt like I had a good understanding of what music was needed to make our thriller sequence successful. I have watched quite a few thriller films so I understand that to make it conventional to the thriller genre, the music has to edgy and eerie. I chose to be an actor as well because I felt like our thriller sequence needed a male antagonist to really emphasis the stereotypical link of the antagonist always being Male. This overall helped our thriller sequence because it made it more conventional to the thriller genre. Finally everyone in my group was allocated the role of being Mes-en-scene co-ordinator because we each had our own ideas that would help improve our thriller sequence. This was a really good idea because everyone got a say and no ones ideas were left out.

Overall I think that we all worked really well as a group. Everyone listened too each other and we all got along which in turn really helped when filming our thriller sequence. Also everyone had there own strengths for example Hannah was really good at the editing side of things and Ella was really focused on what camera angles would work best. I however tried to play the antagonist as best as possible to make our thriller sequence as conventional as possible. I did this by using conventional thriller techniques like wearing dark clothing and carrying a stereotypical thriller weapon (a knife). I think that each group member brought the best out of each other and we wouldn't have been able to do it if one group member was missing. Everyone was always on time and we all were knew that we had to be committed if we wanted our thriller sequence to be the best it could possibly be.

As a group I think that we have made a successful thriller sequence. We have done this by making our thriller sequence conventional to the thriller genre. For example we wanted to use low key lighting and shadow effects because we felt that this would portray a conventional thriller sequence. It also helped add tension to specific scenes which in turn also helped. We also used specific camera angles like panning because they are commonly known to be used in famous thriller films to replicate a chase scene. The use of diegetic sounds like footsteps were one of our favourite effects because they helped build tension into the build up of a jumpy scene. We also wanted to make our protagonist Female and our antagonist Male because we knew that this was very stereotypical technique used by thriller companies to help build a stronger bond with the audience.

 

Final group thriller

WEST HATCH HIGH SCHOOL- 16807

OLIVER LONGSHAW - 9351

I ALSO WORKED WITH:

HANNAH HOBBS: 9338

ELLA SAWTELL: 9363

Rough cut- Miss georgiou

Rough cut

Audience feedback is key to a production because it helps tell the makers of the film what was good about their film and also what wasn't so good. This helps the production team then go on and change things if they can or take on board the comments for any future films that they will make. Without audience feedback, production company's wouldn't know how they can improve their films so they would just carry on making the same type of films.

How we received feedback

We received our audience feedback in the form of YouTube, questionnaires and fellow classmates watching our thriller sequence. The public could see our thriller sequence on YouTube and then  comment on it or like it underneath. We could then see the comments and discuss, as a group, what we were going to change about our rough cut for our final sequence. This was very helpful because it helped us decide what we needed to change about our rough cut to make it the best it could possibly be. We also used questionnaires to see what the general public and family thought we should include in our thriller sequence. This broadened our minds to what we could fit into our film and how we could use it. Finally, other classmates watched our rough cut and then told us what was good about it and what we could improve. This helped us because we took into consideration their comments and we were also given the opportunity to watch their rough cuts so we could see how our sequence fared against theirs.

Comments

I thought that the use of lighting was very good because it created real tension on the audience. Also, I liked the fact that the antagonist was masked because it made the audience wonder who was really under there. Overall I really enjoyed the film because it had the elements of mystery and suspense to it. One thing I would improve is the lighting in some scenes. Certain scenes within the sequence are a bit too dark to see so this could perhaps be something to change.- Sue Longshaw


The editing is really good, the transitions and filters used are effective when trying to build suspense. An improvement could be to carry out the footsteps for longer to build anticipation.-Molly Emmerson




To the left and above you can see some other comments about our rough cut but some of these comments are from YouTube.


Changes we will make

From looking at the comments I have seen some opportunities to try and improve our sequence. The first thing we should change is the length of the credits which was pulled up by Bettie Cooper. Our credits are a bit too short so I think that this an important issue to change for our final sequence. Another problem is the lighting in some scenes which was spotted by Sue Longshaw. Some scenes are a bit too dark to see which can affect the audiences viewing. This is another thing we should change to make our final sequence better. The final improvement is making the footsteps sound in the background last longer to try and build more anticipation. This idea was given to us by Molly Emmerson. This idea will help involve the audience more and it will keep them on the edge of their seats.

Filming schedule- Miss Georgiou

Filming schedule

It is important to have a filming schedule because everyone needs to know what is happening and it also keeps everyone organised. It also tells other members in our group where and when we are filming which helps them prepare for that specific day. This also makes people in our group make those filming days available so that they don't plan other activities for that day.  

We started off following the filming schedule but overtime we had to change certain things. The first day we filmed it was already dark and we couldn't see the two characters very well on the camera.  This problem meant that we had to do all the scenes we did that day again. This was the first reason for not following the schedule. The second reason for not following the filming schedule was the weather. We noticed when reviewing our scenes that one day we rainy and another one was sunny and clear. We had to change this because it was obvious that the two scenes were filmed on different days even know they were supposed to be on the same day. These two things were the main reasons for not following our film schedule. We had to change the schedule for the greater good of the film and to also make it safer to film. If we would of carried on filming in the dark then the risks associated with filming could have increased.

Having a filming schedule is very helpful because it keeps everyone organised and it makes sure that no one has plans for that specific day. It also helps us plan for that day so that we don't become disorganised or become behind on work.

Production roles- Miss Miller

Production roles

Producers- Hannah, Ollie, Ella

Directors- Hannah

Actors- Ollie and Ella

Director of photography- Hannah

Music producers- Ollie

Screenplay writers- Ella

Mes co coordinator- Hannah, Ollie and Ella 

Editors- Ella

We decided to allocate people individual roles because it mass it very clear what everyone is doing. Also if something goes wrong in the film then we can easily identify who messed up and then we can fix the situation. Each person in our group needs to have at least 2 roles each so that each role is fairly distributed.

During our group discussion we talked about who will take charge of the different production roles. We looked at each others experience and knowledge of the different roles and then we came to a final decision. It was important to allocate these roles to make sure that everyone new what they were doing and also to make our thriller the best it could be.

Producers

The producers of our opening scene is going to be Me, Hannah and Ella. Film producers prepare and then supervise the making of a film before presenting the final product to the audience. We have chosen to have everyone in my group producing because it will be a team effort and it will let everyone put there ideas forward to help make the film the best it can be.

Director

The director of our opening scene is going to be Hannah. A film director is a person who directs the making of a film. A film director normally has complete control of the films artistic and dramatic aspects. They normally visualise the script while guiding the technical crew and actors in the direction of their vision. We have chosen Hannah as our director because she has taken Media in GCSE so she already knows the basics of directing. She also knows the storyline really well because most of her individual storyboard ideas were included into our group storyboard.

Actors

The actors who are going to feature in our opening sequence is going to be Me and Ella. Actors are used to portray characters in a film sequence. I think that me and Ella did well when acting because we kept the characters true to the thriller genre.

Director of photography

The director of photography for our thriller sequence is going to be Hannah. The director of photography is the person who gives the visual identity of a film or the look. They work with the director, camera crew and lighting apartment to do this. They also oversee the equipment used and they review the footage used. We chose Hannah to take up this role because she previously took Media in GCSE so she knows the main things that come with this role. I think that she was very god at this role because she kept everyone organised and she also kept giving us ideas to help improve our film.

Music Producer

The music producer we have chosen out of our group is going to be myself. The music producer has the overall control of the music used in the film. They also are the one who have the vision or ideas of types of music to place into the sequence. I have been chosen to be the music producer because I had clear ideas of what music to use that will suit the thriller genre. I think that I have done well in this role because the music will create a tense effect on the audience throughout our thriller sequence.

Screenplay writer

The screenplay writer in our group is going to be Ella. A screen play writer is someone who practises the craft of screenwriting for mass media such as films, television programmes and comics. We have chosen Ella as our screenplay writer because she was the one who came up with the idea of basing the film in a forest and she also had a clear idea of what she wanted to happen within the sequence. Ella has also studied Media in GCSE so like Hannah she has a clear idea of what a screen writer has to do.

Mes en scene coordinators and editors

Our mes en scene coordinator is going to be Me, Hannah and Ella and our editor is going to be Ella. The mes en scene coordinators look after everything from costumes to iconography. The editors try and make the different scenes link perfectly and they also add  lighting and sounds into the scene. We are all going to help out with the mes en scene side to our sequence because all of us are going to have ideas of what costumes to wear and also what iconography we should use.

As a group we decided that Ella was the best choice for editor and screenplay writer because she had the best understanding and background knowledge of these jobs. Straight away Ella stood out in the group at being good and very interested in editing. This gave me and Hannah the confidence to say that she could be leader of this role. We gave Ella the screenplay writer role as well because she was the main one in our group who came up with the storyline. After giving Ella these roles she has shown real dedication and work ethic to try and make our film sequence the best it can be. Looking back on it I still think that Ella was the best person for these roles.

As a group we also decided to give Hannah the roles of director and director of photography. We chose Hannah for the director role because she is very good  at keeping everyone in line and also at making key decisions. Hannah was also the one who straight away knew where she wanted to film and how it would be filmed. The photos in the scene being burn to a crisp and the mask idea was also thought up by Hannah so this is why we chose for her to have the director of photography as well. Since the day we gave Hannah these roles she has not let us down. She really helped pull our group through rough patches where we didn't know what we were going to film next and what time we should consider filming at. To this day I still think Hannah was the best person for these roles.

Overall I think that the filming process went very well. It helped massively that we each had our own jobs to sort out because everyone was taking part in the process and not just one person doing everything. It also helped make our thriller sequence better because we could all contribute towards ideas. In hindsight however I would have more then one person on editing because everyone in the group can help contribute towards that. Except from that I think that giving everyone different roles was a really good idea.

Group storyboard- Miss Miller

Group storyboard

The purpose of a group storyboard is to make sure your whole sequence has been clearly planned and thought out. We first looked at each others individual storyboards because we wanted to see what ideas everyone else had come up with. We then picked out different ideas which were best and then included them into our group storyboard. By doing this we made our storyboard better because it now includes the best ideas from everyone's individual storyboards.

Group storyboard Part 1

In this storyboard we start off with a fully black screen. There is a news report as background sound talking about an abduction that has taken place in the Theydon Bois area. The darkness then fades and we are shown a normal living room. This scene has natural lighting and there are two girls sitting on the sofa in front of the camera. As the camera slowly zooms in we start to see a reflection of a dark figure standing in the corner of the window. This story board is based around Ella's idea. Ella wanted to show the audience the antagonist straight away to try and build a relationship with the audience and the characters early on in the sequence. This idea will also keep the audience on the edge of their seats because the audience will want to know who the antagonist is and what he wants with the two girls.

Group storyboard Part 2

In this storyboard we see the two girls leave the house for the first time in the sequence. Although there is a change in location, the lighting will be the same because there will still be day time light. The camera then changes to show the antagonist crossing off names in a dark room. We see him burning pictures of characters within our film. This storyboard was based around ideas from Hannah's storyboard. Hannah wanted to show the element of mystery to really emphasis that our film was of the thriller genre. This is clear from the dark lighting and threatening actions. The fames burning the pictures show that the antagonist is planning out how he can harm the victims in the pictures.

Group storyboard 3



Storyboard 3 had four different scenes within it. It started by showing two girls walking towards a dense forest. The second scene then flashes back to a picture (slowly burning) of one of the girls. This scene has low-key lighting and a mid-shot camera angle was used to shoot it. The third scene is a long shot of an isolated forest whilst the camera is focusing on a tree.  Again this scene used low-key lighting to achieve the image of tension. In this scene eerie, diegetic music was being played in the background.  The forth and final scene showed the image of one of the girls in the centre of a circle of flames, giving the impression that the girl had been targeted by the antagonist. There is high key lighting in this scene, due to the flames and a fade out shot was used to close the scene.

Storyboard 4

Storyboard 4 was thought of as a group. We came up with new ideas for our lighting, sound effects and editing. We tried to really emphasis the thriller element in these two scenes so that we could engage the audience as much as possible. We had the idea of having the girls wondering around the forest because this made them look more venerable and helpless. The scene then changed quickly to show the antagonist setting pictures of the girls on fire. This scene is used to show that the killer will stop at nothing to get the girls which in turn makes the audience feel closer to the two girls because they are about to become in danger.

Group storyboard Part 5

In this final Storyboard, the first scene shows a panning shot of the forest. There is natural lighting in this scene with slow-paced, eerie music being played in the background. We then notice a shadow appearing just as the scene is ending. In the next scene we are shown a close up of an outline of the antagonists head. No face can be seen clearly to identify who it is, as the face has been covered by a mask. The camera angle used for this scene is an extreme close-up. The third scene shows a collection of eyes staring towards the camera. This scene is used to build tension on the audience to engage them into the scene.  The forth and final scene of the opening sequence is a fade-out shot of a forest with the sound of echoes of screams. This creates a sense of mystery with the audience because they want to find out who the screams belong to - creating intrigue and mystery.

Opening scene narration- Miss Miller

Opening scene narrative

Our opening scene has to be at least 2 minutes long. Our opening sequence starts off with a black screen with only the sound of a news report in the background. The darkness then fades and a shot of a family living room is shown. The camera will be zooming in on the sofa positioned in the centre of the room. The lighting in the room will be natural and there will be a quiet sound of a tv as background sound. The actor in this scene will just be Ella. The camera then starts to pan across the room showing a figure in the corner of the window. The lighting in the room will then become dim as low key lighting will be gradually included. The audience will soon notice a dark and mysterious figure pass the window and slowly look in at Ella who is still watching tv. Tense eerie music will also be playing in the background.

The next scene we see Ella taking her dog out for a walk. The lighting in this scene will be slowly getting darker as the scene goes on representing the sun going down. The camera then changes to show the antagonist crossing pictures of soon to be victims. The scene will be very dark to try and emphasis the fact that this man is dangerous. There will also be a visible knife in his pocket as well. There will be no sound in this scene, just diegetic sound of the pen moving across paper. The scene will then transition to show a close up of another picture being slowly burnt by a candle. The picture is of one of the girls (Ella)  which will indicate to the audience that she is in trouble.

The scene after will show the girls still walking down the road but this time a forest will be in view. There will be a fade in transition to this scene and the lighting will almost be completely black. We then switch back again to the picture of Ella which has no completely been burnt to a crisp. Like before there will be eerie music in the background and the lighting will be low key. A fade out editing technique will be used to transition to the next scene. The audience are then taken into the forest where a young boy has been tied up to a tree. The boy will not look up but the audience will clearly be able to see that he is scared for his life. The lighting in this scene will be low key and there will be diegetic sound of the wind blowing through the trees. a fade out shot will then take the audience back to the antagonists lair to show that the other girl in the scene (Hannah) has had her photo circled by the antagonist. In this scene there will be eerie music which will be fairly loud for the audience to hear.

In the 4th main scene we are shown a shadow of the antagonist up against a tree. The music in this scene will slowly build up as the camera moves in closer and closer. The lighting will be very low key and there will be a fade out editing technique to link in to the next scene. The scene will then quickly change to show an extreme close up of the antagonists face. This will be used to try and scare the audience when they least expect it. The mask will then disappear to show a bunch of montage clips of picture of his past victims. There will be a build up in tension in this scene by the use of sound. The pictures then link into a sweep of the forest shot, showing the two girls surroundings. This shot will then fade out to the final scene.

The final scene will consist of a final visual shot of both the girls pictures lying on the ground completely burnt. This will show the audience that both the girls are dead and that the antagonist has succeeded in his plot to harm them. The sound of rustling paper will be heard in the background as deigetic sound. The screen will then start to figure and then will go completely black. This will show that the opening scene has finished.