Filming evaluation

Me and John started to film on Friday 2nd December 2011, we had a productive day of about 6 hours of setting up and filming our production, we got plenty of shots which we will use in our final production. Such as the dragging back scene, the courtyard mystery shoots and the interrogation/Narration shots. Which John wasn't too happy with, so we will re-shoot them at school with a different actor (Morris). John stars as Belakov, who is a the main 'bad guy' and I stared as the main character (Camera man) because all the shots in the production are Point Of View shots.

On Saturday 3rd December 2011, we were joined by Morris to get the finishing shots, we came up with a brand new idea which involved an external actor from outside of the group (James Franklin). The scene involved all four of us to play a part, John as Belakov, Me as the main character (POV shots), Morris as Captain Lionel ,and James as McNeal. The new scene inquired John to shot James, and then come back out of nowhere and knock me to the floor and beat Morris up as I ran away. The shot was a success, we shot it at dusk, allowing for a sense of mystery because of John being able to disappear and reappear from nowhere.

Overall the 2 days of filming were a success, now lets wait and see what we can do with the footage and what the final production looks like. I just hope its success and we get an A for it.

Shooting Script For Thriller Opening, Final Draft

Shot	Shot Description	Audio/Dialogue
1	POV shot, walking into a room and sits down facing a man behind a desk, Midish shot of man sat behind desk, starts being interrogated	Foot steps, Man speaking, “I knew you … Ha … Well I did know you before the accident”
2	POV shot of legs being dragged along, travelling backwards.	Heartbeat and Heavy Breathing, “You only killed for the state, now you just kill for revenge? You’re an animal”
3	POV shot of empty room, mainly focused on the door (sideward)	Heartbeat and Heavy Breathing, “I remember that mission, we knew what we had to do it was easy, easier than 1, 2, 3,”
4	Mid/long shot of man sat behind desk, being interrogated	" but it was just after your daughter had been brutally murdered”
5	POV shot of legs being dragged along, travelling backwards.	Heartbeat and Heavy Breathing, “You thought they were responsible, you took it to heart”
6	POV shot of empty room, still focused on door but camera starts to rotate (getting up)	Heartbeat and Heavy Breathing, “and you went after Belakov on your own personal mission”
7	Mid/long shot of man sat behind desk, being interrogated, Man Stands up, shouts, then sits back down.	“You jeopardised the whole mission! “
8	POV as dragging stops and character (camera) falls backwards onto the floor.	Heartbeat and Heavy Breathing, “You, I and McNeal were taken, tortured”
9	POV shot as man opens the door and enters the empty room	Heartbeat and Heavy Breathing, “But they took you away…”
10	Mid/long shot of man sat behind desk, being interrogated	“We thought you were dead …”
11	POV shot of character getting picked up to kneel.	Heartbeat and Heavy Breathing, “Well you were dead…”
12	POV shot as man walks towards the camera (door shuts)	Heartbeat, Heavy Breathing and amplified door shutting, “You came back looking for answers”
13	Mid/long shot of man sat behind desk, being interrogated, Pushes pictures over the table.	“And here they are”
14	POV shot as character gets shot (falls over)	Heartbeat, Heavy Breathing and Gun shot, “That’s him…”
15	POV shot of man grabbing character and shaking him	Heartbeat, Heavy Breathing, “WHY DID YOU DO IT! WHY WHY? (Echos, Discombobulated, background noise)” “you were right he did take your daughter, but he didn’t kill her…”
16	Mid/long shot of man sat behind desk, being interrogated	“our sources stay she’s still alive …”
17	Mid/long shot of man sat behind desk, being interrogated	“being held, but we don’t know where, if you wish to find her …”
18	POV shot of man walking away, eyes slowly closes	Heartbeat and Heavy Breathing, “You must take Belakov alive. That wont be easy …”
19	POV of man leaving as character falls back down, eyes slowly close	Heartbeat and Heavy Breathing, “He’s heavily guarded 24/7. He knows we’ll be coming, that’s why we need you cause after all…”
20	Mid/long shot of man sat behind desk, being interrogated	“You…Are…Dead!”

Narrative Script

I knew you … Ha … Well I did know you before the accident. You only killed for the state, now you just kill for revenge? You’re an animal. I remember that mission, we knew what we had to do it was easy, easier than 1, 2, 3, but it was just after your daughter had been brutally murdered. You thought they were responsible, you took it to heart, and you went after Belakov on your own personal mission,

(Stands up) you jeopardised the whole mission! (Sits back down)

You, I and McNeal were taken, tortured. But they took you away … We thought you were dead … Well you were dead, you came back looking for answers. And here they are.

Pushes pictures of Belakov across table

That’s him, you were right he did take your daughter, but he didn’t kill her, our sources stay she’s still alive … being held, but we don’t know where, if you wish to find her … You must take Belakov alive. That wont be easy … He’s heavily guarded 24/7. He knows we’ll be coming, that’s why we need you cause after all you … are … dead …

Roles for Final Thriller production

Acting Roles

Main Role (Person being dragged) - Zander Parkin
Bad guy - Morris James
Narrator - John Hughes (Me)

Directing and camera roles

Main Directing Role -  John Hughes

Assistant director - Morris James

Main Camera man - Zander Parkin

Sound and editing - Zander Parkin and John Hughes

Prop organisation - Morris James, Zander Parkin and John Hughes

Transportation

Zander Parkin - none needed, lives in Baston

John Hughes - Bus or possible getting a lift from relative

Morris James - Getting a lift off of a relative

Powerpoint

Shooting script for the Thriller Opening

Shot	Shot Description	Audio/Dialogue
1	Mid/long shot of man sat behind desk, being interrogated	Man speaking (Narrates the whole begging)
2	POV shot of legs being dragged along, travelling backwards.	Heartbeat and Heavy Breathing, Narration
3	POV shot of empty room, mainly focused on the door (sideward)	Heartbeat and Heavy Breathing, Narration
4	Mid/long shot of man sat behind desk, being interrogated	Man speaking (Narrates the whole begging)
5	POV shot of legs being dragged along, travelling backwards.	Heartbeat and Heavy Breathing, Narration
6	POV shot of empty room, still focused on door but camera starts to rotate (getting up)	Heartbeat and Heavy Breathing, Narration
7	Mid/long shot of man sat behind desk, being interrogated	Man speaking (Narrates the whole begging)
8	POV as dragging stops and character (camera) falls backwards onto the floor.	Heartbeat and Heavy Breathing, Narration
9	POV shot as man opens the door and enters the empty room	Heartbeat and Heavy Breathing, Narration
10	Mid/long shot of man sat behind desk, being interrogated	Man speaking (Narrates the whole begging)
11	POV shot of character getting picked up to kneel.	Heartbeat and Heavy Breathing, Narration
12	POV shot as man walks towards the camera (door shuts)	Heartbeat, Heavy Breathing and amplified door shutting, Narration
13	Mid/long shot of man sat behind desk, being interrogated	Man speaking (Narrates the whole begging)
14	POV shot as character gets shot (falls over)	Heartbeat, Heavy Breathing and Gun shot, Narration
15	POV shot of man grabbing character and shaking him	Heartbeat, Heavy Breathing, “WHY DID YOU DO IT! WHY WHY? (Echos, Discombobulated)” Narration
16	Mid/long shot of man sat behind desk, being interrogated	Man speaking (Narrates the whole begging)
17	Mid/long shot of man sat behind desk, being interrogated	Man speaking (Narrates the whole begging)
18	POV shot of man walking away, eyes slowly closes	Heartbeat and Heavy Breathing, Narration
19	POV of man leaving as character falls back down, eyes slowly close	Heartbeat and Heavy Breathing, Narration
20	Mid/long shot of man sat behind desk, being interrogated	Man speaking (Narrates the whole begging)

Thriller Questionnaire

1. What is your favourite movie genre?

2. What do you look for in the opening of a movie?
3.  If you had to choose a Thriller sub-genre what would it be? i.e. Crime-Thriller, Psychological-Thriller

4. If you had to choose, what would be your favourite Thriller movie?
5. What do you like about that movie? i.e. the tension it creates.
6. Where do you personally think is the best place to shoot a Thriller Opening?
7. Have you ever turned a movie after 5 minutes? If ‘Yes’ why?
8. What would you want to happen in the opening to a Thriller movie, in order to keep your attention and to keep you asking questions?

Costumes

This costume would have been perfect if we had decided to a Noire style 'Dective-Thriller'

Shot design?

We thought this shot was particularly effective because it was of a smartly dressed killer, looking kind of casual, in front of a neon sign, showing it is in the city. This was effective because he is in main focus and you do not know where or who he is preparing to shot at. 

Prop

Rural Setting

Lionsgate Entertainment

Lionsgate entertainment, one of the biggest film and movie distributor in the world. It produces and distributes hundreds of movies every single year. Founded in 6th June 1997, by Frank Giustra. Lionsgates has became renowned for their action and Thriller movies. Distributing movies like 'Blitz', 'Limitless' and 'The Dark Knight'. Thus making them now the leading Thriller movie distributor in the world. After selling off there sub distribution company 'maple pictures' Lionsgate has been able to focus 100% on there manly action films and there edge of your seat thrillers. Therefore making them a no nonsense, straight down to earth distributor.

Lionsgate would be a good distributor for my thriller because they distribute hundreds of Thriller movies each year, so people generally know what they are buying when they buy a Lionsgate film, therefore only the people who wish to watch thrillers will buy a Lionsgate film. All of the Lionsgate films normally focus upon the male audience, so you know when you buy a Lionsgate movie its gonna have some pretty manly things in the movie such as car chases, guns and other manly things, but also some of the movies entail a sense of confusion which almost every good thriller has and therefore my thriller will involve a crime and a massive sense of confusion therefore making it a crime thriller which fits in perfectly with Lionsgate main movie genre. So Overall Lionsgate would be a great distributor for my Thriller because they focus mainly on crime thrillers and also they are the biggest thriller distributor in the world, so therefore it is the perfect distributor for my Thriller.
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Preliminary Task Evaluation

We started the task with a major flaw in our plan, the classroom we had intended to use was in use, therefore we could no longer use that room for our Preliminary task filming, so we had to find another place fast and adapt the storyline to that place, which turned out trickier than we thought it would be.

We finally settled on the school library, we then had to adapt our storyline to the library, testing our improvisation skills.

By having to improvise with no plans or anything, we found it really hard to stick to rules like the 180 degrees rule. We managed to stick to the rule fine until we reached the dialogue part, were I made the mistake of putting the camera on the wrong side of Stephan in the 'Over the shoulder shot,' it didn't really effect the continuity of the film but people with a keen eye realised the problem that we managed to miss during the filming and editing stage.

We also had a problem with sound and lighting because half of the film was shot outside. We had to try and compensate for the silhouette effect the sun gave when caught at the wrong angle, causing no end of problems. Also because we were outside we had a problem with the wind distorting Stephan and Evan talking, but no matter how much we tried nothing work so they just had to speak up and hope for the best. This tested our knowledge of lighting to allow use to make rash decisions in where to put the camcorder and we overall got some pretty good shots.

But the main problem was that when we got to the editing stage, we realised that we didn't have enough shots but we made do with what we had and the good shots made, an overall, good Preliminary task.

Overall we made a good Preliminary task and showed knowledge of the criteria. We showed good filming skills and had no continuity errors. So overall we had worked well together on the Preliminary task, apart from the fact that I was left to direct, film and edit all of the task by myself.
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Location For Thriller Opening

Long and abandoned stretch of mud road

Setting for Thriller Opening

This would be a good setting for our Thriller opening because it seems very hostile and remote location.

Media Studies AS Preliminary Task

Blitz Opening Review

The opening tiles of the Thriller movie 'Blitz' starts with the main man "Sargent Brant" fast asleep on his sofa, this shows that the main character is a laid back and carefree man due to him falling asleep on his sofa, still fully clothed. During this shot Brant is always centre of the shot and the camera is giving us an over head view, showing us all of his body spanned out across his sofa.  This is significant because it shows us who we will be following throughout the film; you could say this was a kind of establishing shot. We then cut to a view of the side of him which exposes a table full of junk, from everything such as food tins to bottles of Scotch and Beer. Which then at that point he wakes up, pours himself some scotch into a coffee mug and takes a massive gulp, this shows that maybe Brant is a heavy drinker, maybe to drown his sorrows or maybe he might just be addicted to the stuff. During this shot Brant is still centre of the shot to show how significant he is going to be during this film, it also gives us the impression he is the 'main man.' We then change to an over the shoulder shot of Brant looking out of his flat window onto a bunch of thugs trying to break into an old Mercedes. I find this shot very significant because it shows us that Brant is very aware of what is going on outside of his flat, and that he is looking down on the thugs shows us that Brant is far more powerful than the short little Thugs.

We then see Brant step away from the window in disgust, put his 'coffee' down and pick up a wooden stick that looks a bit like a hockey stick. The weapon that Brant uses shows that he would rather inflict pain rather than kill, maybe because it teaches people more of a lesson if he damages them instead of killing them. We then cut to a mid shot of Brant walking down the street towards the thugs, armed with his hockey stick slung over his shoulder. Brant acts very laid back as he walks towards the thugs, this is to show that he is laid back no matter the situation he is involved in, and also it shows that he's not scared of them, which is very important throughout the movie because it shows that he isn't scared of any situation. Also the thugs are unaware of there ever approaching fate; this shows their arrogance towards the outside world because they're too focused on breaking into the car. They don't know he's there until Brant greets them with a laid back greeting 'Alright there lads?' He is then greeted back by one of the thugs saying 'what you doing up old man? I'll smash ya 'ed in!' This further shows the thugs’ ignorance to who they are dealing with. And then one thug says a little too much by saying 'Yeah give us ya wallet ya f**king c**t!' Brant then swings his blunt weapon of pain at the back of the kids legs, instantly breaking one of his knee caps. This shows that you should never judge someone by appearances; they think Brant is a weak old man, but he is actually a top hard man cop. He then gives an explanation of his weapon, that it’s a hurlect, used in the Irish game of Hurling, and that it’s the perfect mixture of 'Hockey and Murder.' This shows that he has a reason for using his weapons and has chosen them very carefully. One of the thugs then pulls a little Stanley knife out and threatens Brant with it. Brant asks a cocky question to distract the kid, and then while the kid is a bit confused, he shunts the hockey stick right in the kids nose. This shows that Brant knows exactly what he is doing when it comes to kids and knives and crime, and that he knows exactly how to deal with them. During the fight, the camera is always focused on Brant to establish he is the main character in the film, but the camera moves quick and sharp while panning, with very few cuts because the camera always follows the actions done by Brant, the whole scene is nearly one shot but it shows all the action sequence. The camera only was cutting out to show all the kids on the floor and Brant as the last man standing. He then leaves the kids winded on the floor, not without taking the Stanley knife cause he's 'been looking for one for weeks, after all that carpet just keeps turning up,' He then advises the 'girls' that if they're going to pick the fight then at least pick the right weapon. He then walks away as the title music starts to kick in. This shows that he has won the fight and that he is a force to be reckoned with, also that he can take on more than one person and win easily.

Overall, the opening scene gives us a clear understanding on which the main character is, it shows that Brant, is quick witted, smart, prepared and laid back. It also sets up the genre because it leaves mystery into what is going to happen later, whether one of those kids are going to come back for revenge or whether a new threat will occur which he will also have to deal with. 

Psycho Shower Scene Analysis

The scene starts with a girl getting into the shower, in a normal way that people do everyday; during the process we see a wide variety of camera angles, shots and compositions. Once the girl is in the shower we get a close up of the shower head, from the girls’ perspective. The head is depicted in the center of the shot. By using the rule of thirds we see that our focus is drawn towards the water droplets coming out of the shower head. This may draw our attention to how important the water is in this murder scene. The shot of the shower head is very unusual because it’s an establishing shot, but also acts as a cut away, also this cut away is used 2 or 3 times in the murder scene maybe to remind the audience it’s in the shower but more probably to remind the audience of how important the water is in the scene. Also the fact that the shot is from the victims’ perspective shows her arrogance towards her ever impending doom.

The next shot shows a the girl (victim) in the bottom right corner of the screen, with her back turned to the shower curtain and minding her own

 business, this shot also shows her arrogance cause we start to anticipate what is going to happen to her as the scene goes on creating a sense of ‘Dramatic Irony’ but it not the same because it makes the audience tense and the anticipation grows. During this shot we see the door open and a figure starts walking towards the shower curtain, but the sound of the door opening and the figures steps are masked by the sound of the water droplets hitting the girl and the floor, therefore making the water a more a part of the murder because the water makes the girl unaware of the figure moving towards her, to seal her ever impending doom. But also the fact that the shower curtain is translucent is also hiding the figures identity and therefore adding to the tension and anticipation. As the figure moves closer to the shower curtain the camera pans slightly to the left and zooms in slowly to make the audience aware that there is actually someone there and that they’re going to be important in this murder scene, cause it the murderer.

As the person gets closer the camera keeps zooming in then as soon as the 

murderer is at the curtain, she pulls the curtain back (we never see the pulling back of the curtain) but it goes to a straight jump cut the a close up of the killers blacked out face. The mise-en-scene of this shot depicts a person with a blacked out face which is also further masked by the water, which also reinforces the earlier point on how important the water is in the killing. Also the mise-en-scene of the knife being held, poised to kill, and that the knife is lit up, shows that the knife is something to be feared and it is the murderers tool of choice. Also the door is open wide shows that the murder isn’t a sneaky murder, but also shows the girls arrogance because she never saw the door open up wide. So she was unaware of the person wanting to murder her. Also the fact that the murder is about to take place in the shower, makes the viewer aware of the familiar, this convention adds to the Thriller genre because it takes an everyday situation and makes us scared and worried about it. Also the bathroom/shower room is normally a bright, white room, which is unusual for a murder scene cause most murders take place in a dark scary place, like an ally way, but by using a bathroom makes for a great place to show the blood and the effects of the murder also adding to the tension. Also the killers plan must be well thought out because she knows when she’s in the shower. Also the shower is normally a place for cleansing, so by making a pure place a murder scene also makes the audience more aware of an everyday process.

After the stabbing, we see the blood and water mixture being drained away, this connotes the girls’ life going down the drain. Also the sound of the water going 

down the plug hole is amplified to symbolise that her life is slowly draining away. We then have a dissolve transition to her eye, which is a graphic match to the plug hole. The camera also mimics the movement of the water as it zooms out from her eye to reveal her face on the cold wet floor, dead. As we zoom out the sound of the water distorts until we see that sees dead then it does back to the original sound of unamplified water droplets hitting the bath.