We began planning two weeks before filming had started. Planning was an essential part of our project so our group could discuss, write down ideas and then feed off of each other’s creativity. We started planning by brainstorming thriller conventions. We analysed lighting, plots, Mise en Scene and sound. We discovered that a dark and mysterious tone was majorly used in thrillers but we could also play with different emotions to make it even more mysterious.
After researching thrillers and coming to a conclusion on what a thriller should be, we than began creating our plot. We all agreed that an abduction scenario would be something we would like to do so we all out in our ideas. I came up with a suggestion of a young girl being kid napped whilst on a journey to a night out. Another member of my group suggested her being taken to a derelict building or house where she then finds a number of deceased girls similar to her age. This idea was based on a true story and we found it easier to build off a story that we know to ensure that it would turn out somewhat realistic. Unfortunately due to actors being un-available, we couldn’t use a large number of actresses so we decided to tweak the idea. I suggested, instead of being kid napped while she was out she could be abducted whilst in a cab on her way out. This seemed more realistic because of the lack of availability of the car and it would need less acting skills. We came to an agreement for the plot and story line and began our story board to plan our shots, camera angles and lighting.
We all took turns in using the camera, directing and editing. I found the camera work and directing easier than editing. I struggled with editing a lot as I was learning the software during the process but after a lot of practise it became easier to comprehend. Following the storyboard was hard because being on location and seeing the surroundings I was working with, more camera angles and shots could be used and some couldn’t. As we had to re shoot due to a fault with our camera, we were given a different camera which was different to the camera we were used to but to our advantage it had a night vision setting, which the previous camera didn’t have, that became an important part of our film. I and Jamie mainly worked on the sound and i think we worked very well together and had some great ideas. I think the shoot itself went better than I thought considering we had to re-shoot which meant us changing actors and location. I believe we worked well as a group but would have been even better if we all had a more advanced knowledge on the software.
As I was new to the camera, I don’t believe I used it to my full potential although i was lucky enough to have found the “night vision” effect which became a major part of our film. Also, I would have liked to have had a more advanced knowledge of Final Cut Pro so I could play around with the editing more. I felt much more comfortable with using Soundtrack Pro as i had used music and sound software before hand and the set up was roughly the same. If I had the chance to re-shoot with more advanced equipment I would use a dolly. A dolly would be very useful for the abduction scene because we could get a better shot and a steadier view of what is going on. I think that having different shot variations is very important to give it texture and make it more interesting.
If given the opportunity to re-make my thriller I would have used a bigger location and had more time to edit to my full potential. If the room was bigger in the bedroom scene, I would have had more space to film and would have been able to try more shots and angles. The exaggerated diegetic music in the “getting ready” scene gives the viewer an insight of the personality of the character and slightly confuses the audience as it doesn’t fit the stereo type of music for a thriller. Some feedback i received said that the music did not fit as a thriller, but i disagree. I think it makes it unique and makes the viewer slightly confused but intrigued as to know what is going on. After the re-shoot we used Final Cut Pro to edit the footage. We log and captured which meant creating clips for all of our film and naming each clip. We created a rough sequence of what we wanted the final product to be but we found that the abduction scene went on for too long and it needed to be faster paced. Soundtrack Pro is the software we used to create a sequence of non-diegetic and exaggerated diegetic sound. The sound made an immense impact to the thriller and gave it the right tone it needed to be a thriller. Unfortunately we had to use the Sony A1G. This was easier to use but had less effects to play around with.
I believe it worked well as a thriller and maybe even a thriller/horror. It fit the conventions of a thriller by having a main protagonist and a villain, low key lighting, fast cuts and dark sinister props such as the knife and rope.
After researching thrillers and coming to a conclusion on what a thriller should be, we than began creating our plot. We all agreed that an abduction scenario would be something we would like to do so we all out in our ideas. I came up with a suggestion of a young girl being kid napped whilst on a journey to a night out. Another member of my group suggested her being taken to a derelict building or house where she then finds a number of deceased girls similar to her age. This idea was based on a true story and we found it easier to build off a story that we know to ensure that it would turn out somewhat realistic. Unfortunately due to actors being un-available, we couldn’t use a large number of actresses so we decided to tweak the idea. I suggested, instead of being kid napped while she was out she could be abducted whilst in a cab on her way out. This seemed more realistic because of the lack of availability of the car and it would need less acting skills. We came to an agreement for the plot and story line and began our story board to plan our shots, camera angles and lighting.
We all took turns in using the camera, directing and editing. I found the camera work and directing easier than editing. I struggled with editing a lot as I was learning the software during the process but after a lot of practise it became easier to comprehend. Following the storyboard was hard because being on location and seeing the surroundings I was working with, more camera angles and shots could be used and some couldn’t. As we had to re shoot due to a fault with our camera, we were given a different camera which was different to the camera we were used to but to our advantage it had a night vision setting, which the previous camera didn’t have, that became an important part of our film. I and Jamie mainly worked on the sound and i think we worked very well together and had some great ideas. I think the shoot itself went better than I thought considering we had to re-shoot which meant us changing actors and location. I believe we worked well as a group but would have been even better if we all had a more advanced knowledge on the software.
As I was new to the camera, I don’t believe I used it to my full potential although i was lucky enough to have found the “night vision” effect which became a major part of our film. Also, I would have liked to have had a more advanced knowledge of Final Cut Pro so I could play around with the editing more. I felt much more comfortable with using Soundtrack Pro as i had used music and sound software before hand and the set up was roughly the same. If I had the chance to re-shoot with more advanced equipment I would use a dolly. A dolly would be very useful for the abduction scene because we could get a better shot and a steadier view of what is going on. I think that having different shot variations is very important to give it texture and make it more interesting.
If given the opportunity to re-make my thriller I would have used a bigger location and had more time to edit to my full potential. If the room was bigger in the bedroom scene, I would have had more space to film and would have been able to try more shots and angles. The exaggerated diegetic music in the “getting ready” scene gives the viewer an insight of the personality of the character and slightly confuses the audience as it doesn’t fit the stereo type of music for a thriller. Some feedback i received said that the music did not fit as a thriller, but i disagree. I think it makes it unique and makes the viewer slightly confused but intrigued as to know what is going on. After the re-shoot we used Final Cut Pro to edit the footage. We log and captured which meant creating clips for all of our film and naming each clip. We created a rough sequence of what we wanted the final product to be but we found that the abduction scene went on for too long and it needed to be faster paced. Soundtrack Pro is the software we used to create a sequence of non-diegetic and exaggerated diegetic sound. The sound made an immense impact to the thriller and gave it the right tone it needed to be a thriller. Unfortunately we had to use the Sony A1G. This was easier to use but had less effects to play around with.
I believe it worked well as a thriller and maybe even a thriller/horror. It fit the conventions of a thriller by having a main protagonist and a villain, low key lighting, fast cuts and dark sinister props such as the knife and rope.
