Target Audience Feedback

1. Is the storyboard typical of the thriller/horror genre?
    Yes = 9          No = 1

Question 1's results are useful to us as it shows that almost all of our audience identify this as a thriller film.

2. Would this film appeal to you?
    Yes = 7          No = 3

Question 2's results are also positive as the majority of the audience would be interested in watching our thriller based on the storyboard, the latter may not be specific fans of the thriller genre so this is not so much of a problem.

3. Do you think a rating of 15+ is suitable?
    Yes = 5          No = 5

Question 3's results is 50/50 which will be important in the next stage of our development as we are presented the obstacle of re-evaluating our storyboard and suggest changing the age rating, or even changing certain aspects to make it more appropriate for a 15+ rating.

4. Do you think the idea of flashbacks would work well with this genre?
    Yes = 7          No = 3

Question 4's results show that 70% of our audience believe that the flashbacks work well in this genre, this is good as it gives us confidence when including them.

5. Do you think the storyboard is long enough?
    Yes = 2         No = 8

Question 5's results is constructive as it shows how the majority of our audience believe that the storyboard is not long enough, therefore we will gather our ideas and add more to our plotline.

Target Audience Questionnaire

This is the questionnaire we have created and will hand it out to people of our target audience to answer after viewing our storyboard:

1. Is the storyboard typical of the thriller/horror genre?
    Yes          No

2. Would this film appeal to you?
    Yes          No

3. Do you think a rating of 15+ is suitable?
    Yes          No

4. What do you think the idea of flashbacks would work well with this genre?
    Yes          No

5. Do you think the storyboard is long enough?
    Yes          No

Actor Photographs

These are the actors we will be using to film our thriller, we have also decided to change using a doll as our antagonist and instead use an actor. This is because we feel it will be much easier to create the right sort of atmosphere for our thriller and will also give us more flexibilty with our shots.

Planning: Preparation and Shooting Schedule

Actor Photographing: 7th November

Audience Feedback: 7th November

Music Researched: 30th November

Fonts Researched: 10th December

Start Animatic: 6th December

Finished Storyboard: 7th December

Start Filming: 13th December

Non-Diagetic music

This is an example of the sort of non-diagetic music we want for our thriller, we believe that this will be effecting in terms of making our thriller seem spooky as it's oxymoronic to the action.

Planning: Location Shots

This is where we initially planned to shoot our thriller intro, we decided it would be a good location as we could use the staircase to our advantage. We were going to shoot the intro in darkness with some low power lamps to create an eery, spooky atmosphere.




















This is a view from the bottom of the staircase, where the doll would be sitting on a chair. On these stairs would be dead bodies.























 Here is another shot of the staircase, this time from the top where the camera would track down. This angle shows how with the right lighting effect, we could of created an effectively eery atmosphere.























Here is a shot of the bottom of the staircase where the doll would be sitting, this area would be completely dark with a light shining up at the doll from the floor to make the doll look scary.























Here is another shot of where the doll in the chair would be situated.

Planning: Initial Storyboard

Before we started filming, my group drew up a storyboard of our rough idea, which would include camera use and transition of shots. This is our initial ideafor our thriller intro, since this we have changed the plot of our intro drastically. After evaluating this plot, I believe that we were right to chop it up and change it alot as we needed to include more shots and editing to add new dimensions to our thriller intro.

Planning: Shot List

Corridor/stairs

LS: Of the corridor, to show opening setting.

Zoom: To the door of the room where the next part of the scene occurs.

LS: Down staircase to establish current setting of scene.
                             
High Angle: looking down the staircase and into the darkness, creates an eery atmosphere.


Tracking: Camera tracks down staircase.


CU: Of dead bodies on staircase.
                                                                
Doll sat on chair at bottom of stairs
 
Tracking: Camera tracks towards foot of doll's chair
                                                 
Tilt: Camera tilts up doll until it reaches face.

CU: Of doll's face which is covered in blood, this creates shock/horror.

Planning: Brainstorm

We brainstormed ideas for our thriller intro.

Genre: Thriller/Horror
Audience: 15

Mis-en-scene: Darkness, dead bodies, staircase, blood, disturbing scenery, doll sitting in chair and bottom of stairs, blood on doll's face.

Camera: LS down corrider, zoom to door, LS from high angle down staircase to reveal setting, trachking down the stairs over dead bodies, tilt at bottom of stairs up to doll sitting on chair, CU of doll's face.

Sound: non-diegetic baby music while the scene begins, as the scene has disturbing features such as dead bodies, the oxymoronic baby music will create an eery setting. Then as the doll raises it's head and looks at the camera, the non-diegetic music will fade out as diegetic laughter will be heard, which will the echo as the screen darkens.

Editing: smooth, consistant editing so the piece runs well. Jump cuts as the scene shows a change of location from the corridor to the staircase. Various editing sequences as the camera pans over the dead bodies.

Continuity Editing Task Evaluation

I believe that our film showed a good range of technical skills and we showed that we understood the task and were highly capable of following the guidelines. We included all the skills asked to present such as steady shots, accurate framing of shots, editing with clarity and continuity. We presented all of the key skills aswell such as a 'shot-reverse-shot', not breaking the '180 degree rule' and including a “two shot”.


We gave our continuity task a 43, which is a high level 3. We decided to give it this grade as we feel it has a well-presented range of skills and we accurately followed the guidelines of the task. If we were to do it again in order to gain a higher grade, we would try and get it all filmed in the one day. This is because we filmed it on two different days and some of the setting isn't the same which effectivaly meant some minor continuity errors.

Continuity Editing Task

Marking Classmate's Work

In groups, we watched other classmate's work and marked them depending on their use of skills and technical ability.

Group 1- Alexandra, Demi, Stephanie and Sareena

We gave this group a high Level 3, Mark 42 as we felt they showed good skills with their work.  They used a variety of shots, their plot was simple but followed the point of the task given and the camera work was good with some steady shots. The sound was suitable and the dialogue was simple and understandable. To improve, we believed that they could have faded the non-diagetic into the diagetic better and clearer. Overall it was a well-filmed piece and was suitable for the task in hand.

Group 2- Heather, Laura, Brogan and Sam

We gave this group a level 3, Mark 38, we felt that the plot was relavant and they used a decent range of shots but the editing wasn't particularly fluid.Their was some steady shots and the variety of shots were good, but the editing wasn't great and the cuts do not run smoothly in some places. Also the non-diagetic music dissapears before the end of the film which also shows the film to have less fluidity. To improve, we believe that this group could have improved the smoothness of the editing.

Group 3- Jessica, Luke, Hannah and Serena

We gave this group a Level 2, Mark 32, we felt that this group showed a basic set of skills but did not show any particular advanced skills at any point in the piece. The dialogue was too quiet and was hard to interpret, also the editing wasn't very good and showed no clarity. To improve their grade, this group could have made the no-diagetic sound more effective and increased the volume of their dialogue.

Continuity Editing Task Storyboard

We were given the challenge to storyboard and film a continuity editing task, it had to last aproximately 60 seconds and we had to use different skills to include certain features.

The basic and key skills we had to include:

Basic skills:
Holding a steady shot.
Framing a shot accurately.
Editing with clarity and continuity.

Key Skills:
Including a “shot-reverse-shot.”
Not breaking the “180 degree rule.”
Including a correctly framed “two shot.”

Before filming, we gathered our ideas and then created a storyboard.
This is our Storyboard of our continuity Task:

The Script for our continuity Task:

Person A- "Hi Mr Thumblequeef, you wanted to see me?"

Person B- “Yes, take a seat Mr. Merryfiddler.

Person A- "Is everything ok?"

Person B- "Another worker told me you have been vandalising the toilets. Is this true?"

Person A- "Errm, Well..."

Person B- "You’re Fired!"

Person A- "You’re an arsehole!"

Person B- "I know Mr Merryfiddler, I know."

Thriller Genre Conventions

What are the conventions of the Thriller Genre?

One convention of the thriller genre is the excitement. Thriller movies entice the audience and aims to keep them excited and 'on the edge of their seats'. Thriller films often feature fast paced scenes where the audience are made to gain a building anxciety and which keeps them thrilled.

Another convention of the thriller genre is a villain or an evil character with bad intentions. Many thriller movies follow this convention because the use of a villian creates excitement for the audience, this is because of the rivalry created between good and bad. This is because the audience grow a sort of 'relationship' with the protagonist and feel anxcious when the villain sets out to attack the their character.

A third convention of the thriller genre is the triumph of the protagonist. Thriller movies follow this convention because a lot of the film's content will feature the villain setting out to attack the protagonist, which makes the audience feel anxcious. So when the protagonist eventually triumphs at the end of the movie, the audience gain a sense of relief.

Analysis of Three Film Trailers

Analysing Three Film Trailers

Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows

Editing: Alot of fading is used in the trailer to introduce the setting. Then slow cuts are used to show the characters, then the pace of the editing is increased to show the growing intensity of the action.

Sound: The trailer begins with slow paced non-diagetic music until Voldemort is seen, then Voldemort is heard saying “Harry Potter, the boy who lives, come to die.” Then after he casts a spell the non-diagetic music suddenly grows in pace and volume. Then for the duration of the trailer, the frantic music continues with some dialogue intervals. At the end of the trailer, the music changes to the trademark Harry Potter theme music as the trailer finishes.

Spiderman 3

Editing: At the beginning of the trailer a sequence of editing is used,  firstly there is use of fading, then there is a series of panning and tracking. Then lots of fast paced cuts are used to show character expression, then the pace of the cuts decreases as dialogue is shown. Then for the duration of the trailer fast and slow paced cuts are used, some fading is also used later on in the trailer.

Sound: While the characters and setting are being introduced, non-diagetic music is played which starts quiet but grows in pace and volume. Then the non-diagetic music stops and diagetic dialogue is heard, then the music plays again. For the rest of the trailer, the music grows in intensity while parts of dialogue are heard in between, then at the end of the trailer the music builds up into a crescendo as the trailer ends.

Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Editing: The trailer begins with a panning shot of the shire, then a sequence of fading is used to introduce the setting. A zooming shot is then used when the ring is shown, this is to highlight the importance of the ring. A sequence of slow paced cuts are used to introduce characters and setting, the pace of the cuts grow and lots of fading is also used.

Sound: Throughout most of the trailer, the character Gandalf is heard narrating. As the non-diagetic narration stops, diagetic dialogue between the characters is then heard. The dialogue is present throughout the trailer, with non-diagetic music playing which grows in intensity. The music suddenly stops as Gandalf is heard shouting “You Shall Not Pass!” this brings an end to the trailer.

What Is Genre?

A set of conventions thta are recognisable, usually through iconography, familiar narrative, mise-en-scene, actors, and style of representation.

Genres are not static but constantly renegotiated between industry and audience - a combination of familiar reassurance and new twists.

A creative strategy used by film producers to ensure audience identification with a film - a means of trying to predict risk.

Genre is a way of working through important myths and fears of repetition, variation and resolution.

Genre offers comforting reassurance in an uncomfortable world. Threat is quashed, outlaws become civilized, gangsters are punished. Genre is a way of tidying up the mess of life.

Genre functions like a language - a set of rules and vocabulary with which to ornagise meaning.