Class feedback.

Positive:
-The non diegetic sound of the reports are very good
-Effects are amazing really well done and adds to the feel that is being created by the voiceover, mysterious and unknown
-Really good effects at the start and i love how you did the titles it goes well with the sequence
-The music was dramatic and had a good pace to it. I liked the idea of using voice overs of different people it made it confusing in a good way but linked it so well.
-Voice over added sense of reality to the opening.
-I liked the overlapping of different scenes to distort the overall appearance, it is good at drawing in the audiences attention in order to find out what happens next. the narrative  voice of the news woman is affective and creates tension.
- i liked the sound effects of the news report they were effective.
- good music, good location i like the effects throughout the clip and good use of the public
-voice overs fit in well with the music
- really nice distorting effects
- effective makeup
- i loved the effect during the titles
- you've done a really good job of making her appear
- the location are really good
- the voice over sounds really good giving a news report feel and the way it was all in black and white gave a really nice feel.
- Good use of non diagetic sound
- Good editing has been used
- The shots used worked well, especially the shot at the front entrance.


Improvement:
- the sound drags on and is repetitive also it gets to a point where there are too many effects.
- there is too much diagetic sound as well as the non diagetic sound of the news report
- not a great use of different camera shots
-the different shots layered were a little bit too much maybe use less shots to layer.
- the disorientated/ blurred effect was effective but i felt it dragged on a bit
- it wasn't specific to what the story line was perhaps an improvement would be a clearer story line however it gets the audience thinking which is good.
- better makeup?
- narrative is unclear
- music is repetitive
- music goes on for too long it would be better if there was some ambient sound.
- i didn't like the soundtrack as it got really repetitive quickly
- Doesn't give a clear understanding of what is going on.
- Voiceover is too quiet
- It is not too clear who are the main character(s) that are introduced, which is what an opening sequence is meant to do.

Screen Pane

Here is our screen pane, 9 images to demonstrate our thriller opening:



From Left to right - Top  row first:
1. Lighting - Here is a good example of how we used all natural lighting around dusk, to convey the mysterious atmosphere.
2. Props - A close up of our key prop, the umbrella, which is significant to our missing person although it is unexplained why. She holds this throughout even though it is not raining and it is always marks the place where she was spotted.
3.  Locations - A clear establishing shot which captures the sign "Grand Arcade" tells the audience where we are, as well as letting them recognize it is set in Cambridge. There is an equivalent sign in each establishing shot.
4. Camerawork 1 - A long shot of our protagonist sat on a bench, it is also slightly out of focus due to the overlapping. Putting her in this ordinary situation and observing her, highlights the extraordinary circumstances.
5. Costume - A profile full body shot of our protagonist in all black helps her to blend in to the dark mise en scene and the mysteriousness, a dress; leggings; gloves and trainers. This helps to reinforce her age and vulnerability, playing off stereotypical images of women. the make up along with the costume is dark showing bruising and again in keeping with the sinister atmosphere.
6. Camerawork 2 - Contrasting, a close up of our protagonist holding the umbrella inside. Zooming in on her allows us to begin to see her bruises etc on her expressionless face.
7. Titles - Over this long shot of just the umbrella, you can see how we added our titles and with what font: Rough typewriter - creating a newspaper article effect - in keeping with the theme of our voice over. They flicker and fade in and out, mirroring our protagonist.
8. Thriller conventions 1 - A close up of our protagonist with other passers by fading in and out around her; suggests the theme of identity, as we know nothing about her, but people continue to walk by without paying any attention. She is unnoticed amongst the crowd.
9. Thriller conventions 2 - Being shown some bruising on her face, hints at the crime that is at the centre of our narrative. We also begin to see our protagonist experiencing some form of peril.

Thriller Final

Here is our completed thriller opening sequence:

Here is a screen grab of how our project looked in Final Cut. This gives some indication of the process we went through to create our thriller opening: 

Rough cut

Here is our rough cut:

Filming

We filmed over two nights. The first time we filmed the costume and makeup weren't put on, so the footage didn't look as good as the standards we set ourself in the planning stage. although the footage itself was of good quality and we finished all the filming in one night, we decided to use the other night we had to film again with all of the costume and makeup.
when filming we didn't have much trouble with people in the public disrupting the filming although in some clips some people are looking directly at the camera. if we had time to film this again and use people we knew so that this would not happen and it would look more realistic.
Filming outside around Cambridge was very cold and so we were glad of the tripod to hold the shots steady, however we had to make a couple of attempts at the end pan, as this was very difficult to get smooth. The one used in our rough cut and final opening sequence was the best out of 3.
In all, our filming was pretty quick to do as we had planned well. It only took us an hour and a half out of lessons the second time round; and 20 minutes or so within a lesson to film.  Also our shots were not too complex to shoot and as it is a repetitive sequence,  once we had done it once we knew what we were doing.
Thanks to the preliminary task, we already knew how to use the new HD camera's and this allowed us to get straight on with filming, making efficient use of our time.

production companies

Many production companies produce thrillers and as our film would be a supernatural thriller we looked into companies that produce films like 'the sixth sense'.



spyglass entertainment produced 'the sixth sense' as well as 'the invisible' these are both supernatural thrillers that match the sub genres of our film. our films main character is a child that has gone missing, her appearance suggests she is a ghost. both 'the sixth sense' and 'the invisible' have a child as a main focus one who communicates with spirits and the other that is in limbo after being killed. this shows that although Spyglass entertainment does not just focus on thrillers as it has also produced comedies and animated films this production company would be perfect to produce our film as many films are thrillers as well as having the sub genre as supernatural.

Target Audience

For our thriller we need to think about who it is suitable to try and appeal to and how we are going to do this.
With the sinister implications of our film and the possibility of showing violence and abuse, this is definitely for an older audience. However as the main character is a college student, it would probably appeal to older students as well. Therefore our target age range would probably be 16 - 30 years old mainly. It would not be considered a feel good family film, but also not one to be watched alone.

There would not be much (if any) explicit graphic violence or scenes of sexual horror and so hopefully would not put off anxious or squeamish viewers. It is the suspense and mystery, along with implications that will hopefully make "Lost and Found" into a successful thriller.
The fact that it is set in locations which the audience would be familiar with everyday; and that the plot for some people is a reality, will stir up a sense of connection with the main character; and so being drawn more into the storyline and caught up in the thriller. Because of this, the people most likely to particularly relate within the film are students, commuters, parents and people who live in big cities.

We aim to appeal to these audiences by using locations well recognised within Cambridge, but that are easily transferable to other big cities; such as the train station, the grand arcade shopping centre, Parkers piece and Long Road Sixth Form. Also the sound we intend to use, voice overs from missing person's bulletin's on "youtube", will hopefully evoke an emotional response within the audience as they may remember certain cases, but it will also then include the emotional appeal which most bulletins include, making it more believable and suitable for the desired audience.  

Classification.

As a group we have decided that the classification of out thriller "lost and found" will be a 15, here are the guidelines for a 15:

Discrimination-The work as a whole must not endorse discriminatory language or behaviour.

Drugs-Drug taking may be shown but the film as a whole must not promote or encourage drug misuse. The misuse of easily accessible and highly dangerous substances (for example, aerosols or solvents) is unlikely to be acceptable.

Horror-Strong threat and menace are permitted unless sadistic or sexualised.

Imitable behaviour-Dangerous behaviour (for example, hanging, suicide and self-harming) should not dwell on detail which could be copied. Easily accessible weapons should not be glamorised

Language-There may be frequent use of strong language (for example, ‘fuck’). The strongest  terms (for example, ‘cunt’) may be acceptable if justified by the context. Aggressive or repeated use of the strongest language is unlikely to be acceptable.

Nudity-Nudity may be allowed in a sexual context but without strong detail. There are no constraints on nudity in a non-sexual or educational context.

Sex-Sexual activity may be portrayed without strong detail. There may be strong verbal references to sexual behaviour, but the strongest references are unlikely  to be acceptable unless justified by context. Works whose primary purpose is sexual arousal or stimulation are unlikely to be acceptable.

Theme-No theme is prohibited, provided the treatment is appropriate for 15 year olds.

Violence-Violence may be strong but should not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury. The strongest gory images are unlikely to be acceptable. Strong sadistic or sexualised violence is also unlikely to be acceptable. There may be detailed verbal references to sexual violence but any portrayal of sexual violence must be discreet and have a strong contextual justification.

We have decided on a 15 as our target audience is 16-30. There will be violence but it will not show massive amounts of pain or injury. There will be sexual abuse but it will only be implied in the film and not actually shown.

filming Roles

this is a list of jobs available in the film industry. we looked into just a couple of these before deciding what titles we would use on our film.


Eve will be under the title of camera work. Maura will be director as she is also acting and Ruth will be Production sound.
We also watched some thriller opening sequences, for some research into how and what titles appear.

These two opening credits are quite different, yet use appropriate movement and effects to create the right atmosphere. 

Having taken some ideas from this, we could have our titles ghosting in and out as our girl appears and disappears. 

Test Footage

We took some test shots mainly so we could try out the editing technique of ghosting or duplication that we wanted to achieve in our thriller; also to practice the zoom and panning which the character appears in and out of. By editing our shots together we were able to see where we would use the techniques learnt.

However the test shots also allowed us to think about framing and lighting as well. The day we filmed on was very bright, which was not really the effect we wanted. So when it came to editing, we played around with the filters to give a slightly darker, creepier effect. Framing Maura in the centre of the shot was always important to make her the focus, except for the end shot where she is slightly off centre; but this allows us to slightly follow her gaze.
Duplicating the footage disorientated the audience and looked effective, however we were still playing around the amount of times we duplicated, which looked most effective yet allowed us to see clearly what was going on.
Given more time we would also like to add more transitions to make the footage flow better.

We used the sound from our sonic mood board, as we liked the effect his created.

Here is out test footage:

Font Research

As further planning for our thriller, we started thinking about out titles and what sort of font we would want to write these in. We went to "DaFont.com" and looked through the gothic fonts, choosing our favourites.
We then downloaded them to our folder.

Here are a few screen grabs of a few of our favourite fonts:

Call Sheet

As we were missing a key member from our group we did not feel it was fair to organise times and dates without her. Also we did not want to decide her role for her.
This is why on our call sheet some information is followed by a (?), indicating "to be confirmed".
If Maura is not happy with the suggested role, we will reallocate within the group.
However we aim to do most filming during lessons and then book cameras for two overnights.

Call sheet

View more documents from Media Studies.

Sonic Moodboard

To give an idea of the atmosphere for our film, here is our sonic mood board:

Sound - Test shots

Whilst trying to decide on sound, we will try out recording our own voices doing news bulletins and alike, then putting several filters or effects to make them more authentic. This would be played as a soundtrack over our footage, to make it clear that the girl who keeps appearing is missing.

However if this does not work as we would like, we will take the audio from several youtube bulletins and then in Garageband cut and split each one. This will hopefully make it more realistic and the different voices will be disorientating whilst making it sound like different news reports.
Cutting the audio will allow us to make sure no actual names are mentioned and the reporters speak more generally of a missing person.
This would also act as a non-diagetic soundtrack over our footage, but this time with more of a montage effect.

Here is one example of a clip we could edit from youtube:

Planning - shots

Here are some practice shots for our filming. However we could only take shots from within the college, as the rest of our filming is done off site. Also in the 2 shots of the girl, she is not holding the umbrella, as she would during the actual footage.
As these are only practice shots, we have not bothered with any make-up or costume yet, these are just so we can see whether or not the location works.

Planning

Here are pictures of our storyboard:

Here are the pictures of our shot list:

Here is the picture of our risk assessment:

Pitch Post

Introduction - Story line. 
An idea for the title of our film so far is;  Lost and Found.
Our final idea was the story of a young person that went missing a long time ago, has been sighted in the playground of their old school. They were wearing the exact same clothes of the day they went missing, except holding a black umbrella to shield themselves. By the time anyone investigated, they was gone again but the umbrella remained lying on the playground floor. More regular sightings, but each time the child disappears again.


Sound.No dialogue would be necessary, just a constant non-diagetic sound track, as well as the surrounding diagetic sounds of traffic, rain and animals etc. The music will start off quiet, and strings dominated, then gradually build up in volume and with more drums. If possible we will try to use the weather to reflect the sinister nature of the film. This will therefore mean we have the sounds of the wind and rain adding to the effect of the soundtrack. Also the use of heavier breathing every time the victim appears will make the scene eerier. 


Shot Types. 
Varied and distorted shots would help to disorientate the viewer, and tie in with the confusion, manipulation and ideas about identity. First we would start with an establishing long shot in a fairly busy area, possibly a school entrance, just carrying on as normal. Then a slight juddering zoom and the missing person would appear in the background. Another juddering zoom and they have disappeared. 
This same sequence would be repeated in different locations such as, a town centre, a park and the train station. The zoom would continue to move towards a close up throughout the filming.  By doing so, it hints at the sub genres of murder mystery and fantasy with the possible ghost.


Mise-en-scene.A very dim mise-en-scene, mainly blacks and grey, with faded colours; minimal lighting but what is used should be all natural ie. the outdoor lighting. Titles would appear each time the victim appears, written in blood red, with dripping effects if possible. They would then fade out as the child disappears.
Suggestions of abuse in their costume, i.e. rips and blood etc. Also many ghost like qualities in the missing person's reappearance and disappearance. Their costume would entail either a little black dress (which we could purchase on the cheap) with rips, fake blood and then a jacket that is clearly too small for them.  They would be barefoot. Or, ripped jeans and a plain black t-shirt, with the same effects, if the dress is not possible to get hold of. 




 We would aim for a combination of these two make up styles. The paleness of the left image, but the dark eyes of the right.



This dress is something similar to the plain one we will look for and the hair style will hopefully be achievable.

Their make up would be ghostly white on their face, but dark eyes and artificial bruising. Hair would be scraggly, but tied back and possibly back combed. 


There will be four different settings where we see the victim disappear. They will be; A school, a local park, a station and a town centre. It shows the age of the girl as she is going back to the places she used to go. Almost as if she is haunting them this could suggest that she had a fatal experience as it is ambiguous to weather she's dead. 















































The only prop used in our opening is an umbrella it could suggest what type of weather conditions she was kidnapped in, just a normal winter day. It could also show that it has been a year since she went missing as it is winter again.














Editing
we will have to use many editing techniques as our filming will be simple so we will have to rely on editing to get the desired effect and right atmosphere. We would use continuity editing when it it showing the different locations as it would suggest that they were normal places in which she is appearing. We will use cuts to show the location as normal then showing the victim appear then disappear. Between locations we will use black outs to show the change in time and allow us to put in titles. We will use title animation this allows us to move the titles across the screen so they can move with the girl to reflect the girls disappearance and re appearance . The sound will go over the whole of the footage. 

Sound - Ideas

For our own opening sequence, we already have ideas as to what we want to do/ achieve.
No dialogue will be included, to help disorientate our audience. However a constant non-diagetic soundtrack will play, probably mainly strings dominated to reinforce the tension and sinister nature of the film. Also diagetic sounds such as outdoor noises and household noises etc will be selective to help emphasize key points within the narrative.
Sound will play a key role, as without it the images/ filming would not have the same effect. It will do the same job as dialogue, just leaving the audience to question the plot themselves.  

analysis of sound in thriller opening

There is not much sound in this opening sequence, however the silence is equally important in building the suspense.
At the beginning, in the establishing shot we hear the diagetic sounds of birds and the outdoors, letting us know it is an ordinary quiet night. We also hear the letter box go, telling us this is important to the storyline. When in the house there is silence, only the sound of the girl drawing the curtain.
When we are outside again the diagetic sounds return, except this time with the added non-diagetic sound of the attackers heartbeat,  bringing an increasing sense of fear.
At 50 seconds, a non-diagetic soundtrack begins to play quietly. This is strings dominated as it helps to create tension. Now all that can be heard is this soundtrack and the heartbeat. Gradually the heart beat becomes louder and more drums are introduced to the soundtrack as the attacker gets closer to the victim. Both stop suddenly when the victim to be, turns and we see her reaction shot.
The lack of dialogue in this clip, makes it unclear for the audience, creating a sense of mystery.

Right from the beginning there is quite a loud, threatening non-diagetic soundtrack, played by an electric guitar. The style of this music creates a sense of urgency. However we also hear the diagetic sound of someone's running footsteps, adding to this atmosphere. In the soundtrack, in the background there is an eerie voice, making the clip seem more sinister. The footsteps are not constant, only returning when we see the character themselves running. Added to this we then get the heavy breathing of the character, despite never seeing their face. This creates a sense of mystery.
The soundtrack then dies out and we are only left with the heavy breathing as the attacker approaches their victim. This lets the silence create the tension, until the very end when the victim spots the attacker and the soundtrack comes back in, as they fall to the ground and we are left with a closing high angle shot of the attacker. The soundtrack reinforces the menacing nature of the attacker.
This also has no dialogue, confusing the audience with the sense of mystery.

Thriller opening sequence ideas.

Idea 3
The film would be a psychology thriller about a man or woman who has a split personality and murders innocent victims. The opening sequence would be flashes of an eye going into long black transitions. The eye looks agitated looking from side to side. When the clip goes into the black transitions you see the titles of the film. At the end of the clip you see the frightened eyes, turn into a smile.
The soundtrack would be made of strings instruments, the music would build suspense until you see the smiling eyes then it would suddenly stop.
The mise-en-scene would just be the eye.
Camera work would be extreme close up of a single eye. There would be hand held camera work used for the shots of the eye, this would make it look more realistic and disorientate the audience.
Editing would be build suspense with the soundtrack, so would start slow and build up speed.

Idea 4
The film is a crime thriller about a man who comes across a large amount of money. The opening would set the scene so it would show business men in suits holding a briefcase. Then it would cut back to a family man. The titles would show up between cut shots.
The mise-en-scene for the business man would be suits, the briefcase and be in a quiet suspicious location.
The soundtrack would be fast and mainly made up from drums.
The editing would be fast to keep up with the ideas of the films.
Camera shots would be a variety of shots to show how both sides of the story are so different.