Feedback on Final Cut

- Tension
- Chase
- That there film would go back in time and then lead up to the end, which is the beginning.
- Camera work - hand held when running gives sense of unease
- Editing - clear in setting the scenes, titles, effective in creating the thriller effect.
- Sound builds tension. At the end tension from this section is revealed, but not for the entire film.

- Running, Paranoia, scared, the use of cox
- Sub-Genre = Chase Thriller
- nice camerawork, good editing, mise-en-scene okay

- subgenre: horror/psychological thriller
-titles made it look amateur, possibly the font, end title was good though (hitchcock? psycho?)
-diegetic sound was ok
-camera work aws a bit bad in parts, but effective
-last shot was fu*king wicked!

-mysterious thriller- someone being chased
-basic titles-no fade in or out
-rest of film- maybe she continues to be chased, running from someone/something
-Good convention of black & white night mode
- Looks professional, but maybe with some small improvments
-Camerawork could be better

Music

We had feedback on our music, which revealed that it was too repetitive. So we have changed our music to create an entirely new soundtrack.
Our new soundtrack uses a number of different instruments to create an eerie and suspense filled opening (using Garageband).

Thriller Titles

We have been having some trouble with our titles for the opening sequence mainly the style and names. Now we have sorted them out so that they have a good font and the names were taken from a script I have written, so they are completely original.

Response to Rough Cut Feedback

some of the feedback was useful, and we can understand why people may say the things they did. for example a number of people commented on the 'swing scene' and how it was difficult to understand what was going on. this is probably true but it was incredibly hard to film it as no one was on the camera, both people were in the scene and the tripod was unattended.

however some of the feedback we received we did think was unfair. for example that the titles were amateur compared to footage and the fade outs didn't work. we thought this was unfair because both of these aspects, our grop believed added to the effect. we suppose it is just a matter of opinion.

i think the most important thing now to focus on is to make it more understandable to others.

Rough Cut Feedback

Positive:

Editing -
-A good use of a variety of shots

Camerawork -
-A good range of shots.
-The running shots are very good as they are disorientating
-Shot behind tree is very professional
-Good use of tripod & hand held camerawork

Sound -
-Very mood setting
-Good music

Mise En Scenc-
- Its good as its in a rural open space, which sets the scene and gives the edge that she doesn't have any escape.
-The setting and shadows look good

Narrative-
-Acting was good. Was believable



Negative:

Editing-
-Title font could be more interesting.
-Black screen isn't interesting
-Try overlapping titles to the film footage.
-Titles look amateur compared to the footage. Because the footage has a faster pace.
-Would look more effective with quicker transitions
-Don't use the word "starring"

Camerawork-
-Frame of strangling isn't clear enough

Sound-
-Sound of heartbeat isn't in sync with the footage
-You could tell when It changed as the music didn't overlap.
-Fade out heartbeat and consider holding it for longer to give it variation.
-Soundtrack is slightly repetitive.

Mise En Scene-
-More establishment of the play area and setting is required
- Location could do with more establishing (but is a good idea overall)

Narrative-
-Some shots not totally clear
-Slightly confusing
-Would have been nice to have had a slightly visible perpetrator of the toucher and chase.

Filming Schedule

We are going to be filming during half term. We have decided to film -

- On friday 15th & Sat 16th feb
- We are choosing to film in the early evening (dusk) to get a better effect for our thriller


We hope to get all our footage in the 2 days we have planned or filming

Our Animatic

This is our finished Animatic...




During our animatic we made a soundtrack to fit, but it isn't the soundtrack for our actual thriller. However making it made us think about what we are going to have as our music. It will be loosely based on the animatic soundtrack.

We had a few problems with the transitions in our animatic but we sorted them out and they hopefully show the direction of the camera (camera movements)

Shooting Timetable

We wil begin all our shooting during Half Term [Feb 11th -15th]
We have booked to use a camera towards the mid-end of the half term week.

Our filming will be done during the day because at night we wouldn't get the same clear/crisp images. We will edit them later in Final Cut.

We have from:

- Feb the 5th/6th to shoot [inc. Half Term]
- Until the 19th/20th

All lessons after that will be used to edit and create/add to soundtrack.

Our Rough Cut deadline is on Feb 26th...

Type (based on)

- It isn't very narrative driven because it is slightly more abstract, but not so abstract that you get completely lost.
- We wanted it to be more creepy than gorey (or it would be too horror-ish) which is why we are shooting in a dusky forest.
- It is slightly action based because we include running, strangling and drowning.
- There are only two characters - means people think more about what is happening. [Suspense...again]

Working Title

We finally agreed to call our thriller 'DREAD'

We had several discussions about what to call it. We thought about:
- Fear
- Trepidation
- Entrapment (we liked it but its copyright...) :(
- Terror

We wanted quite a simple title (only 1 or 2 words) We thought a shorter title can sometimes be more effective than a long-winded one.

Opening Sequence Synopsis

A girl running through a park & wooded area, but is she trying to escape someone or is she trying to catch someone? Various flashbacks are shown throughout... is she the victim... or the killer?



What Happens [Detials]:

It begins by setting the scene and creating suspense because you don't know what is happening at the very start. All you see is a shot of the night sky. It then pans down to a shot of the ground, which is moving under the running feet of the main character. You realise the character is running faster and faster but you don't know why she is running. To add to the suspense there are flashing images which are flashbacks of the girl, but you don't know what they are referring to. She then runs into a wooded area and the suspense is built evenmore, Hopefully with the help of music [added later]. All the different locations shows that she's running for a purpose. The fact that we are having her run through a river shows she is desperate to get away or catch whoever or whatever. The shocked eye at the end shows TERROR & DREAD! The final 'Gasp' leaves you wondering....

Props & Costumes

Costumes:
We want to create the element of suspence and so we are keeping our costumes as casual as possible. We don't want to give away too much of her character by her costume.

For the chasing character we are using dark clothes. Only dark gloves are to be seen during the sequence.

Props:
The area in which we film contains most of the props we need (eg. trees, swings, river)
The extra props which we need to bring are:
- Black bag/hood
- Black Gloves

Shot List

Shot 1 : Shot of night sky (1st person) Fade - 1st set of credits

Shot 2: Credit Shot (1)

Shot 3: Shot of ground (1st person) Fade credit

Shot 4: Credit Shot (2)

Shot 5: [Low-mid] shot of someone running. Dirty/blood stained

Shot 6: [Close-Up] Girls face, looks back, keeps running.

Shot 7: [Close-Up] Swings, girl brushes past they creak & slowly swing

Shot 8: [Flashback] Night. Someone being strangled by swing chains.

Shot 9: Credit Shot (3)

Shot 10: [Long-Shot] girl running through orchard, towards woods.

Shot 11: [Close-Up] Girls feet running across river.

Shot 12: [Flashback] Someone holding someone under water, in a black hood

Shot 13: [Long-Shot] Girl runs past camera

Shot 14: [Mid-Shot] Girl rests on tree

Shot 15: TITLESHOT - 'Dread'

Shot 16: [Extreme Close-Up] Shocked eye expression, Gasp, Blackout

story & sound

Storyboard:
- Is finished and we have inked it.
- At the moment we are in the middle of creating our animatic in Final Cut.
- We are going to use it as our template & will try to stick to it

Sound:
- Diegetic = Sound of running, breathing, 'Gasp', Water splash (when running through river)
- Non-Diegetic = Music (made in Garageband)

progress

Now that the location has been all sorted out, we have been sorting out the finer details in class. We have begun our storyboard and we are getting all our ideas into a plot for our opening scene.

So far we have got:

- Location: Park/Woods/Orcahrd
- Actor(s): Amy & (Nathan)
- Camera : Dan
- Sound : Luci & Amy

We have drawn a rough storyboard, planned out what we need to shoot at what time of day etc.

Location confirmation and shot tests

Dan has now had a look at the proposed location and it is suitable for use of filming. He has also looked at where shots can be taken from and will take some test shots soon.

Location

We have chosen to film in Sawston at
- Orchard Park
- The near by Orchard
- The near by Woods


We chose this location because it is the ideal place create a thriller atmosphere. Its dark and eerie towards the end of the day and it's a large open space which gives possibility to many different camera angles and shots.

Our Idea, Changed

After thinking carefully about our original idea we decided that running through a forest was slightly to horror-ish and may be quite a common theme. to try and establish the thriller feel we have instead decided to set it in a park/woods, an area which is more recognisable, and better at setting the scene. rather than the forest from the first idea, which could be anywhere and too spooky.

Our Idea

The idea that we have chosen originally is of a forest.
We want to have an opening shot of the outside of a forest to set the scene. the main idea is to have a person running through a forest but you see it in first person, so the camera is being run through the forest so that the audience is sort of the runner as first person. we want to have the credits coming up, maybe on a blank black screen and then throughout the running, interpose fast flashing shots of flashbacks.

'Face-off' opening scene

we chose the opening of face-off to look at. this is a good opening title sequence because the characters and action are really typical for a thriller film.
you can instantly tell who is the 'goody' and who is the 'baddy'. John Travolta is first seen on a fair ground ride with a young child. whereas Nickolas Cage is first seen as a silhouette, wearing completely black, with dark glasses on.
the best shot i think is when when the audience look right down the barrel of Cage's gun. this puts the audience on edge as it is not a view you usually see in real life. another point this is a good opening is how the scene is set in a fair ground which is usually a place where you feel safe and not the kind of place you get this kind of action. but there is a lot of violence in it which again unnerves the audience.
when the credits start it is on a black background with calming music. however when the scene opens and becomes violent, the music is still slow and calm, which is spooky. at the end of the scene after the murder the horse becomes creepy, a different colour and the music speeds up, this is kind of psychological

Previous Student Work Evaluation

this is a student vedio which we looked at to help with inspiration
there were some really atmospheric shots in it which helped to set the scene at the beginning

The camera angles are good. Particularly the shot from inside the boot. We don't know what or who is in there and this adds suspence which is a key feature of a thriller.
However there were some really abstract bits in this thriller opening. For example when the guy opens the boot of the car he just walks away, leaves the boot open with the camera pointing at the sky & then returns for no reason.
We didn't really understand it.

Thriller Opening Ideas

Idea 1
- Forest (dark/dusk)
- Camera running through forest in 1st person
- Fast/flashing images (like flashbacks)
- Don't know if the persons the attacker or the victim
- Blood wiped on leaf. Zoom in on leaf. Credits appear on leaf.

Idea 2
- Starts black
- Credits drift across the screen (hear Diegetic sound)
- Slowly seea chink of light appearing at bottom of screen
- Gets brighter as credits go on
- Credits finish. Light gets brighter and you see its from under a door.
- Hear breathing an footsteps.

Idea 3
- Trapped in shopping centre
- Following someone in 1st person
- Superimposed footsteps
- Stop on the corner. Grabbed by mystery thing (person or creature)

Introduction

Our group changed from our Kids TV Group

Now we are now - Dan Luci & Amy



Dan will be doing the majority of the editing and will possibly act in it, as well as doing some camerawork.
Luci will be working on the music in garageband and will also be doing camerawork too.
Amy will be working on the music as well as possibly acting in our thriller.

We will all be helping with the camerawork and editing.

Welcome