Filming

We planned to film in a university room or a hotel room, however these were both unavailable so we improvised and used Beth's bedroom and a music room found in college. We followed the storyboard and shot list accurately with the exception of a shot of the window for the title sequence and a shot of Beth looking at her wrists while Ollie is torturing Vincent. We could not include these shots because we didn't have an suitable window and the shot of Beth couldn't be included within the sequence due to continuity problems. We decided not to use diagetic sound because we thought that non-diegetic sound would make the thriller more dramatic and realistic as a film opening due to unprofessional acting.

Acting by Beth, Vincent and Ollie
Filming by Nicola

Rough cut

The rough cut was captured into final cut, separated into individual shots, put in order and then we used a day for night filter. This made the lighting of the shots darker as originally they were too light for the mise-en-scene suitable for the thriller convention. None of the shot transitions are completed, haven't included any titles and there isn't any audio yet. 

Animatic Storyboard Evaluation

We showed are animatic storyboard to a class to gain feedback from them. From this we learnt the following:

• We had clear mise-en-scene
  
• Good use of flashbacks in the storyboard
• Clear and concise storyboarding
• Good premise
• Good use of music to enhance the dramatics

However some things that we needed to work on were also mentioned:

• Increase continuity in some scenes
• Use the shot types we had more effectively
  

Acting/Costumes

We decided in advance who is playing which character in our thriller project. Ollie will be playing as the murderer while Vincent and Beth will be playing as a couple. The first thing we did was to take a picture of Beth and Vincent so we can shoot the opening sequence first by including a picture frame.

As for the costumes, we thought that it would suit Ollie to be in black as we want to keep his identity unknown. As for the Beth and Vincent, it should just be them wearing normal tidy clothes like how all people would wear everyday.

Animatic storyboard

For the animatic storyboard the whole group came up with ideas for what to do in our thriller. Beth and Ollie then created a storyboard on paper and went over it in pen. When this was completed Nicola and Vincent took pictures of it with a stills camera and we uploaded it into final cut. Beth and Nicola resized the individual pictures to 3 seconds long each. After we had to edit the sound track to fit with the sequences we uploaded it into final cut.

Shot Listing

We've arrived to the final stage of our planning. Ollie will be working on the shot list that we will be shooting in order from the storyboard. The order we will be shooting from is the opening credit title (page 1) and the scene of Beth waking up from her dream (page 3). We chose this order because it would be more convenient to shoot in the exact location that corresponds to our storyboard. This will also save time instead of shooting in chronological order according to our original storyboard.

Our second shot list consists of the dark room scene with Vince, Beth and Ollie. Again we've decided to combine these 2 storyboard pages so that we can easily shoot it all in one go.

The shot list consists of the type shots we will be using as well as the actions and extra info that will be required in the scene. These include the location, props and costumes.

Locations

For the opening sequence shots 2,3,4,5 we will either use a hotel room or a university room. For shot numbers 15,16 and 17 of the main sequence we will use an empty room. All the rest of the shots can be filmed anywhere.

Props List

• Picture of Beth & Vincent
  
• Teddy Bear
• Bucket
• Rope
  
• More frayed rope
• Torn poster
  
• Picture Frame
• Old Chair
  
• Weapons(knife,saw,gun)
  
• Fake Blood
• Red Pen
• Glue
• Desk
  

Storyboard

Our storyboard idea initially came from a vague storyboard that Oliver had created in his own time. We adapted this storyboard incorporating group ideas and techniques that we all felt comfortable with. Our idea centers around an interrogation of Vincent, however we never get to know in depth about Vincents character and this poses a question in the audiences mind. Beth's character however, develops more throughout the short sequence and as such the audience feel much more sympathetic towards her character.

We initially drew our storyboard out in pencil as to limit the amount of mistakes made and then copied over these in pen. At first we added only descriptions of what would happen in the scene then we added more detail including shot types, angles and movement.

After we completed the main story we then created a storyboard for the opening titles including names and locations. We tried to make it relate to the main story.

Garageband test

Nicola & Vincent spent a lesson testing out different sounds on Garageband. Over all we came through with an appropriate soundtrack, we looked through all the different categories that were on offer such as dark,intense & distortion. We wanted to start off with a slow beat and then for it to build up to the suspense gradually. For our final product, it turned out different to our first thought but it was still useful for a thriller project.

Initial ideas

For our thriller project we decided to do a sequence which made the audience ask questions.

The opening shots will consist of shots of photographs and memories of Beth and Vincent together, having fun. This should explain Beths emotions in the rest of the sequence more.

The sequence started with Beth(victim #1) in the corner of a dark room. The door of the room will open and a shaft of light from the hall outside will light Beth up. Ollie (Killer) then comes into the room and drags Beth out by her wrists. On the way out of the room Beth will obtain a large cut on one of her wrists. Ollie will then throw Beth into a new room where Vincent (victim #2) is tied to a chair. Beth now sits in the new corner, watching Ollie trying to get information out of vincent. When that is unsuccessful Ollie drags Vincent out of the room. The camera shot will then cut to Beth flinching as she hears a gunshot. Beth will then close her eyes tightly and in the next shot she will open her eyes in a different setting. She will sit up and look around and then look at the scar from the cut on her wrist.

Face Off Opening Sequence Analysis

The opening sequence we looked at was the 1997 thriller film, Face Off, starring Nicholas Cage and John Travolta.

From the opening sequence we were able to establish that this was going to be a conventional thriller. It displayed elements of suspense such as when the gunmen was going to shoot. The music that was playing through out the sequence was initially innocent and unassuming. However this soon changed when the gunman fired and also as the suspense was built pre-firing.

The setting was in a fairground specifically located near the carousel. The gunman who was still an unknown entity was located further away on a mound. Due to the carousel's movement, the camera angles constantly changed, this would have made continuity difficult however they managed to do this very successfully.

There were many different camera effects used. Some of these were the out of focus sight of the gunman which then changed to the gunman being out of focus and then sight being in focus as he changed to look through it.

The characters at this point are still unknown to the audience. This helps to build suspense and bring up a few questions to the audience, such as why is the gunman is there and what is the connection between the gunman and the man with his son. It is apparent to the audience, that there is an attempt being made on the man's life and the gunman seems unsympathetic towards his target. However when he accidently shoots the child as well, he changes and becomes more emotional showing though that he's a gunman and his job is to kill. He still has some sort of mortality.

Analysis of student work

The final product that we looked at used many of the technical skills needed for a good thriller sequence. They used a good use of sounds and effects throughout the sequence and the music was suitable for the task in hand and well timed.
They used many of the conventions typical to the thriller genre such as dark lighting, a murder victim, suspense. It also makes you ask questions about how and why the victim had died and how they had ended up in that location.
The editing between the clips was simple but effective. The editing is done well enough so that the audience can decipher what is happening.
They managed to hold a steady shot when needed even at difficult angles. They managed to use a variety of different shot angles and distances such as close ups of bloody hands and newspaper articles, medium shots of the investigator, and an establishing shot of the setting.