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.

Risk assessment - Miss Georgiou

Risk assessment

It is very important  to consider risks before filming because you need to make sure that there are no hazards and if they are you know how to deal with them. If you didn't have a risk assessment then there could be a accident and your group wouldn't know how to deal with it.

The first hazard we could encounter are loose wires. This is could be a risk because someone could trip and seriously hurt themselves from falling. We could stop this issue from being a risk by placing Matt's over the wires on the ground to stop anyone tripping.

The second hazard we could encounter is rainy weather. This is a hazard because we are using electrical which if get wet can electrocute someone. We can stop this from being a hazard by bringing an umbrella to shelter the camera and other equipment. This way the camera cant get wet.

The third hazard we could encounter is darkness. If we stay out too late then we could lose day light. This could be an issue because we would trip over logs or shrubs in the forest. To stop this from being a hazard we are going to bring flash lights to help us see where we are walking.

The fourth hazard we could encounter are sticking out or falling branches. This is a hazard because someone in my group could walk into a branch which could harm them or a dead branch could fall on them. To stop this from being a hazard we will chose a suitable location which is safe enough to film.

The fifth hazard we could encounter is fire. My group are using lighters which can cause a fire if wrongly used. To stop this from being a hazard we are going to bring wet towels with us in case a fire does break out. It someone does get burnt then we will place the burnt area in cold water immediately.

The sixth hazard we could encounter is animals in the forest. Animals could become distressed and scared if we approach them which cause them to become aggressive. To stop this from being a hazard we will not approach a animal if we see one and we will back off if one starts to become aggressive.

The final hazard we could come across is people. People could walk into our scenes if they are curious or confused about what is going on. To stop this from being a hazard we will warn people before that we are filming.

Individual storyboard- Miss Miller

Individual story board

The purpose of a storyboard is to get a real idea of how you are going to carry out the filming of your opening sequence. It helps you plan your cinematography, camera angles, iconography, editing and the overall narrative of the film.

I am going to make my own storyboard first before making a group one because I want to put my own ideas forward and also to see what parts of my own storyboard my group would like to use in our final storyboard. It will also help my group incorporate everyone's ideas into the sequence which will help make our opening sequence the best it can be. In my storyboard I have included the camera angles I will use, the location, the iconography used, the characters, the editing carried out and the overall description of the specific scenes.  In most of the forest scenes I have gone for low key lighting to try and make the audience fearful of what is going to happen in that certain scene. I am also going to use the reaction shot for scary scenes to show the audience how truly terrified that character is. Both of these techniques are to try and make the relationship between the audience and the characters stronger. I expect the audience to find my sequence really jumpy and mysterious because they wont know who the killer is and also the antagonist in my sequence will be masked and in a black cloak which will make him look really threatening. The main film that inspired my ideas is the shinning. The shinning is famous for its built suspense and also it original camera angles. From watching the shinning I have been able to copy some camera angles and also come up with new ideas of how I can scare the audience. Films like the shinning are really helpful because they help give me ideas to how my group can make my opening sequence the best it can be.

After finishing our individual storyboards my group will need to look at each others storyboards and pick good ideas from each one. After picking out good ideas from each others storyboards we will then need to decide as a group on our final storyboard. This group storyboard will be the final decision on how we want our opening sequence to pan out. From looking at each others ideas we can then chose the best ideas from each to include in our final. This will help make our storyboard the best it can be. We should also help each other by saying what is good about their storyboard and what they should improve on.  

I think that my own storyboard was well thought out and that it had clear thriller conventions. It also has good camera techniques that are typical of the thriller genre. It has an engaging narrative which will keep the audience on the edge of their seats for the whole sequence. It will also create the three thriller conventions: Shock, Suspense and surprise. I feel that my group will take a few ideas from my storyboard because they are creative and effective.

I have found this very helpful because it has given me ideas to take forward to the group narrative which are going to help make my opening sequence even better. Without doing the individual storyboards we wouldn't be able to compare our ideas which means that any good ideas that someone in my group thought of could be lost.



Planning opening credits- Miss Georgiou

Planning opening sequence 

The purpose of opening credits is to establish the theme of a thriller and also to introduce the main characters in the film. An opening credit also indicates the mood of a film and it also provides the title. Without the opening credits the audience wouldn't know what actors are in the film and also what genre the film is.

We looked at examples of credits and we looked closely at Sevens credits. These credits were very dark and gloomy. It started off with names of the most famous characters first and then it gave us the name of the director and producers. There is a black and white theme in the credits which is a clear indication of good and evil. The size of the writing was very small and jagged. The font changed throughout the credits which shows the emotion of the character who is shown on the screen is changing. The font used is conventional of a thriller film because it is small and the colour of it is black. The font flickers as well indicating that the man on screen is mentally unstable.

My opening credits takes the form of blood flowing down the page from corner to corner. At the end of the credits there is a puddle of blood with the name of our film above it (Obscurity). It is very conventional of the thriller genre because blood is known as being linked with death and harm. My title is going in the centre of the page to draw the attention of the audience towards it and also to make it bold and protruding. The colour of my font will be red which is very conventional of the thriller genre because red links to blood and murder. My background is black is to show death which again is conventional to the thriller genre.
(Insert pic of Credits here)

Hannah has gone for the same style of credits as me with the blood effect. This is a very good effect because it portrays the thriller genre very well. Hannah's design contains three colours black, red and white. These colours are conventional to the thriller genre because they can represent danger and death. I think that the use of these colours is a good idea because it links into the film very well.

However on disadvantage of Hannah's opening credits is it is a bit too fast and it wouldn't link cleanly into the rest of our opening sequence. This is the only disadvantage I have with Hannah's opening credits.  

Ella's opening credits have the same colours as Hannah's. Again I think this is a good idea because the dark colours like black and red can represent the antagonist and the lighter colours like white can represent the protagonist because white represents purity and innocence.  
The disadvantage of Ella's opening credits is there isn't a smooth transaction into the first clip. This would be a problem because it will stop our opening sequence from flowing.

Overall all of our opening scene credits are very similar in style and colour. This has made it easy to pick our final opening scene credits as a group. The final style will include white and black colours to indicate innocence and death and it will smoothly link into the first scene. Looking at each others posts have been really helpful because we can each take advantages and disadvantages from each others work. This will help make our opening credits the best they can be.