Individual Storyboard – Miss Miller

A storyboard is a sequence of pictures that illustrates a scene which in our case is the opening scene.Using a storyboard allows us to structure how the scenes will fold out and allow us to make any alternations if necessary. It can also be used as a tool to show the rest of the members in my group the ideas i have come up with or the perception of the scenes that we plan on producing.The storyboard will also allow us to plan the type of camera angles,lighting,sounds and editing techniques we want to use when it comes to filming our scene.

As previously mentioned the main reason for creating our own storyboard is so we can put our own perceptions of how the scene is going to be in a planned out structure. In my story board i decided to make some of the camera techniques to be handheld as it is something i had seen before in the thriller "Halloween" this helped to conceal the identity of the antagonist which is something we hope to fulfil in our thriller however it also added more shock and suspense to the scene as the audience were able to see a first person view from the killer which made the scene feel more realistic.The setting which the scenes were set in are all conventional of a thriller so there were many films like "friday the 13th" and so on that incorporated a large deserted forest which i felt was a good location to help emphasise the elements of shock,surprise and suspense as this sort of location had an eerie and mystical presence when watching the film and a location like this is easily found.I decided to include low key lighting throughout some of the scenes as this is the main type of lighting that creates more enigma and suspense in scenes as the audience are able to see less of the scene leaving them wondering what is happening.However we also decided to include a contrast in the lighting as this would provide a deeper shock for the audience as they would end up becoming used to the low key lighting so in order for this to be more effective there also needs to be a contrast in the lighting.I have also decided on adding eerie music into certain scenes in order to increase suspense, surprise or shock depending on where it is most appropriate, this is a technique that is used in practically used in every thriller film as sound always helps enhances a scene.
I think my storyboard proficiently expresses my perception of how i want the scenes to be set out this should help when we eventually make the group storyboard as we will be able to incorporate my  ideas if the group feels that it is something they also want to include into the opening scene. I might decide to change the lighting as i feel the lighting is more effective when the lighting goes from high to low key lighting rather then being at the same level constantly. 

At the end of the my storyboard i have decided to in corporate the use of high angles as i felt that the use of this camera angle would be most appropriate for the scene which is when the antagonist leans over the female victim and is now trapped. During our analysis of cinematography we came to the conclusion that the use of the high angle allows for whoever is lower to seem more inferior in comparison to any other character which is already true in that scene however by using this specific angle it makes it more apparent to the audience as they realise just how helpless the female victim really is. The use of low key lighting in my storyboard is significant as it ultimately sets the scene for the whole scene however upon refection i will most likely create a contrast in low key lighting and normal day light as this will allow for a greater effect on the audience as the sudden change in lighting will indicate that the something is about to happen therefore creating more suspense in the audience. Throughout the opening sequence there will be a sound track that like the lighting will add to the setting as the nature of the music can either make the scene seem eerie which is the aim or the opposite, so when it comes to editing i will be looking to find fitting music that can add to the eeriness of the scene and make the audience feel more on edge throughout. A soundtrack is also essential as there is only a small section that contains dialogue so the soundtrack also acts as filler for the rest of sequence.

Planning opening credits-Miss.Georgiou

The purpose of the opening credits is to show all of the production crew and cast members to the audience, it also informs the audience of the title of the films. There is usually a set sequence in which the title and name show, the sequence usually shows the more important members then the least important and back to the most important ending with the name of the director.

We analysed the thriller film se7en as it was a typical thriller film which adhered to many of the common conventions. The first thing that i noticed is that the font was white in colour however it was on a black background, both colours represent different features of a thriller film for example the white represents innocence and serenity whereas the black provides a connotation of death and fear which the makers of the film want the audience to sub consciously notice throughout the opening scene.These two colours could also be seen as the portrayal between the relationship of the victim and the antagonist as innocence and death are both appropriate words to describe each of the characters.There was also hints of red within the writing, this also has a meaning behind it which is blood and danger, this colour will stand out just as much as the white writing which means that the audience will also notice this colour and will hopefully come to the same conclusion to what this represents. The style of writing was also quite jagged in nature and seemed to constantly fade out and appear in different section of the screen and again there is another reason for each element of the font, the jagged writing is most probably supposed to represent the antagonists personality which means they are un-stable and may or may not have some sort of mental condition which makes them behave in this manor. The random placements of the credits also supports this theory and keeps the audience constantly thinking as they cannot anticipate where the credit will appear next. The font was also in a handwritten fashion which again relates back to the antagonist which is barely shown to the audience in the opening credits, as the credits is in written in this style this should make the audience feel that they already know something more personal about the character regardless of whether the identity is concealed or not as the hand writing of an individual is considered to be quite personal.The size of the font is was kept at a relatively pertinent size throughout the scene so the audience could clearly read the titles however they were also able to see the opening scene at the same time where a few of the characteristics of the characters are revealed. The scene opens with the name of the director which is typically quite unconventional however the director of this film is known to mention his name twice in the opening credits which is apparent in this film as it is the last and the first credit. Commonly the opening credits of the film mention crucial members of the production team and cast first which them progresses to the less relevant members of the film and lastly going back to the director which is considered to be the most acknowledged member of the film.

  

I have decided to create my own style of font for my opening sequence however i have decided to make sure that my opening credits will be conventional to a thriller film so i decided to take inspirations from films. The colour scheme is clearly quite similar to se7en as i felt that it reflected the personality of the two characters rather well as my characters also happen to represent innocence and death, this is due to both films being conventional to thriller films in the respect that the victim is always oblivious to the situation around them and the antagonist has a clear motive which is death in both cases. Although i took inspiration from se7en i decided not to add any hint of red as i wanted my design to be unique and i came to a conclusion that the black and white represented enough features about my characters.The font is also quite distorted which adds to the thriller theme as it can be seen as adding more mystery like the identity of our antagonist however it is still readable for the audience, The positioning of the credits is not something i have yet decided on however it is possible that i may decide to put the credits in different sections of the screen where it is most appropriate. The font is relatively simple as i felt that adding anything else to it would make the credits to hard to read as there is already many effects put on this simple font.

 strengths:
This design is quite conventional as it uses the contrast of black and white which both symbolise the same connotations which are serenity and death. The style of writing is also quite rugged which may mean this individual has tried to recreate a similar technique which is used in se7en so they might being trying to indicate that the antagonist in this case is unstable in some sort. So overall it does seem like the sort of font used in an opening scene of a thriller film.

Weaknesses:

It is possible to argue that the combination of the distortion and the font might make it hard for the audience to read continuously throughout the scene so will end up deterring in the audience to read the opening rather then encouraging them. The font of the opening credit is to small for the audience to read so would need to be increased if we decided to use this style.

Strengths:

This opening credit has also used to the black and white contrast of colours which may make it conventional to a thriller as it seems like this is a popular choice to use within the opening credits. The font is spaced out well which will make it easier for the audience to read as the opening scene unfolds.The size of the font is also sufficient in allowing the audience to read the opening credits better.

Weakness:

This opening credit can be argued as quite unconventional as the writing does not relate to any type of font used in thriller films as many elements are more likely to used in other genres of films.The spacing may also be considered a negative as it could take a large proportion of the screen which may not be wanted in certain circumstances. The style also does not relate to any character or to any feature of the film which is often used in thriller films.

We have decided on using my style of opening credit as it is the most conventional and also fits the criteria of film in the most appropriate manor.The appearance of the order of the opening credits will most likely start with name of the creator of the film and then go on to introduce the name of the main characters in the film, the title of the film will then be mentioned with the rest of the production members mentioned after. Lastly the opening credits will finish of the name of the director as he/she is often considered to be the most important in the making of a film.

Planning characters- Miss.Miller

The purpose of characters is to make the narrative more appealing to the audience as the audience will start to build a relationship with the characters which will make the scenes more interesting. The main purpose of planning the characters of a film is to ensure that the characters fit the narrative as the narrative needs to make sense in order for the audience to watch, it also allows us to create a more in depth background of the characters and control the characteristics that we feel that they need.

We have three characters named Zak, Nicole and the last is unknown as the identity of this character is concealed.Each character plays completely differently roles in out thriller sequence for example our character "Zak" plays a small role at the beginning of the sequence when he gets into an argument with his girlfriend in an obscure car park however his role is short lived as he eventually drives off and leaves his girlfriend stranded. This is relatively stereotypical as due to his actions he makes the the audience feel sympathetic to the female which fits in to the general stereotype of the females in thriller films as they are often a victim of some sort of situation. The characteristics of this character may not necessarily help the audience engage more with narrative although it may make them feel even more sympathetic to the female characters as "Zak" is a male. The audience will not have much of a relationship for the character as he is only part of the opening sequence for a short period of time, the only relationship that they will form is a spiteful relationship as the audience see the character break up with the female character due to actions which leads her to feel hurt, so the audience immediately have hate for this character.This character will be wearing casual clothes as a costumes as we need to ensure that he looks like a regular person in order to have a a greater effect on the audience as makes the audience realise that this character is a normal person like themselves.

The female character who is named "Nicole" is the main character of our opening scene as she plays the female victim throughout as she first gets into an argument with her boyfriend and short after into a chase for her life from a stalker who now wants to kill her. A female victim is extremely stereotypical and conventional of a thriller as majority of the victims in thriller films are female as this often makes the audience realise that the victim is less likely to escape as they are female and less likely to get away from a male antagonist.The gender of the female character will have a large impact on the audience as like i've previously mentioned this makes the victim even more vulnerable which is the start to the close relationship that the audience and this character will most likely have. The viewers will probably feel a sense of remorse for this character as she has been hurt by her boyfriend and is now trying to save her life from the stalker which makes this the strongest relationship between the characters and the audience.Aside from feeling remorse the audience are already inclined to feel compassion for her due to the mishaps.The background/environments we have decided to use will create more shock,suspense and surprise with the audience as the female character will have trouble getting out of such obscure settings.The costume this is character will being wearing is very similar to the character "Zak" which is casual clothing as we want to send the audience the same message which is that "Nicole" is an ordinary person as this will create more sympathy for her.

The unknown characters role in this scene is to be the antagonist through the second half of the opening sequence which will eventually lead into a chase. An antagonist is stereotypical as every horror film needs one however our antagonist is more stereotypical as we have made sure this character is male and also has a concealed identity so the audience are left questioning who the antagonist is.All the characteristics are concealed however the audience will be able to tell that the antagonist is quite tall.To aid to the concealment of the antagonists identity the costume we have selected for him is all black and baggy so the only physical feature the audience can see is the height of the antagonist this adds to the mystery and therefore makes this character seem a little more intimidating. The relationship between the antagonist between the character will slowly develop as the sequence unfolds however it is not similar to the female victims relationship as the audience will most likely feel hatred towards the antagonist as he is trying to murder and innocent girl which would also imply that they may form no relationship at all apart from the emotion of hate.

The characters we have chosen are immensely conventional as both the gender of the antagonist and victim are considered to be conventional. The antagonist is almost always male in thriller films which have seen in our previous research as males antagonists are considered to be more superior and can quite often have a far greater impact on the audience in regards to creating more shock and disturbance. The victim in this opening sequence is a blonde female both words being conventional components as during the same research all the victims were female and in fact blonde as this represented that character was innocent due to the light nature of the colour, the difference in genders makes the female character more weak and vulnerable.By ensuring that the characters chosen are conventional to thrillers this should make our opening sequence more successful as we are able to transmit the emotions of shock, suspense and surprise which are all essential in creating a successful film.

Planning editing styles-Miss.Georgiou

Editing styles are important top include within a thriller film as they help engage the three main elements of a thriller fully. The three elements are shock,surprise and suspense which are essentially the emotions that thriller films aim to create, various types of editing styles help to create each element for example slow editing emphasises the suspense created in the scene making the situation more intense for the audience.Certain styles of editing can also make characters seem more vulnerable, this makes the relationship between the audience and the character stronger as the audience feel more compelled to feel sorry for the character as they are helpless.

The three styles of editing we have decided to use are slow editing, montage editing and fades.The slow editing will be used during the beginning of the chase scene to help create more suspense to the scene as the character will slowly come to realisation that she is being followed by a  masked man. As the suspense is built up it makes the following scene more shocking as the audience are more on edge and may not be necessarily expecting a sudden change in events.This will immediately create a stronger bond between the character and the audience as they will see that she is a very vulnerable state from the argument she has just had and now suddenly she has a strange man following her, the audience will also slowly realise that there is no way that the female can escape.This editing technique is very conventional to thriller sequences as it often used to add more suspense to the scene and leave the audience questioning what may happen next.

Montage editing is the speed of editing , where shots are juxtaposed together. The main scene this technique will be used is during the chase scene as we want to create more excitement, shock and surprise to the scene which is conventional to thriller films as it helps create the three element of a thriller, it is also a technique used in all thriller films for the same purpose. The relationhship between the audience and the character will grow stronger as this is where their predictions become true, they will see that the female victim is now completley helpless and in a complete state of panic. The audience will start have an attachment to the character as they notice that the female victim is helpless so they feel obliged to root in her favour.

At the end of the sequence we will incorporate fade which is when the screen fades to black this often means an ending to a scene, this specific editing technique works well for our scene as it we are only producing an opening scene so this will allow us to end the scene and leave the audience questioning what will happen next. The sole purpose of the technique is to create a large amount of suspense and enigma at the end of the scene especially as the scene will be left on a cliff hangerm, this should continue to make our thriller film more coventional as every aspect of all the techniques add shock,suspense and surprise. The relationship between the characters and the audience may not neccassarily be strengthened however

Planning sound-Miss.Miller

 Sound is considered to be important in thriller films as it helps emphasise the three main elements of a thriller, it can also help the audience engage further with the scene. Planning is essential when creating scenes as in order for certain element so match up before hand there needs to be process where the initial idea is analysed and developed further. During the planning process we are also able to see whether the sound that has been chosen for that scene matches the situation for example in a chase scene we may decide to emphasise the heavy breathing of characters to show the panicked state of the victim.

A large majority of the sounds used in our scenes will be non digetic sounds which is sound or music that is added on after, such as in the editing stage. There are many types of non-digetic sound but we have decided to use eerie soundtracks for certain scenes like the scene where the female victim finds herself stranded in an abandoned car park. We hope that the eerie soundtrack will hopefully create more suspense as well as shock in the leading scenes as it will indicate when something is happening and tends to make the audience feel more uneasy, it will also help to create more contrast in other scenes.Like i previously mentioned before we also plan to use a heavy breathing in the chase scenes as it allows the audience to see how panicked the victim is and that they are struggling to survive this will also make the audience feel more shocked and allow suspense to build up to the ending scene of the chase scene. Both forms of non-digetic sound are quite conventional to thrillers as they create the three elements of a thriller which any convention should do to make the film more typical of the thriller genre.The audience will feel more compassionate to the female victim as both of these forms of non-digetic sound are aimed at her so they can only build a stronger relationship with that specific character.

Digetic sound which is music or sound that belongs within a frame can be considered to be a natural part of the narrative. This type of sound will be of use mainly in the first couple of scenes when we see the two characters arguing in an obscure car park. The manor in which the words will be spoken is what will dictate the emotion of the audience, the dialogue we have decided to use is going to be very aggressive so the straight away the audience are experiencing the element of shock and uneasiness. During another scene where the female victim notices that she is being following there will be another use of dialogue which is screaming, this will be used in order for more shock and surprise to built up at the beginning of the chase which will immediately show that the female is in fact extremely frightening and could add more suspense in the build up to the chase. This type of digetic sound is conventional as there dialogue in practically every film produced as it allows the narrative to be improved and also allows the three elements to be expressed more easily.

Parallel sound will be used which is when the sound and the images on the screen complement each other.This type of sound will be specifically used during the chase scene when the audience can hear the footsteps of the characters, it is not the sound we want the audience to concentrate on but rather the tempo as that will show the state that they are in so in this scene the tempo will be very fast as the female victim is trying to escape the antagonist. Once the audience notice this there should be an increase in suspense throughout the scene as they wonder whether the female victim will be able to escape or not.This is conventional as often in thriller films where there is a chase film the sound of the footsteps are emphasised in order for more suspense to be built.

Silence will be used in certain likes during the beginning of the chase scene. We have decided to use segments of silence as it often allows things to be more highlighted so the audience may analyse the scene more as there nothing to listen to, it can also be used another technique to make scenes more frightened in thriller films. However our main purpose for the use of silence is to create more suspense as like i previously mentioned it makes the audience concentrate more on the situation.It can also make certain scenes more shocking if it is accompanied with a large amount of sound afterwards as the contrast catches the audience off guard.This sound technique would be considered conventional as it allows for suspense and shock to be created within scenes which all conventions aim to create.

My sequence would more effective in creating emotions and reactions if there were more conventional like the sound a stabbing knife as this may create more shock and surprise in the audience however overall i think i have created enough conventions in my opening sequence in order for the suspense,shock and surprise all to be created within the my opening sequence.The planning period allowed me to successfully ensure that the sound techniques i wanted to use helped my opening sequence become more conventional to thriller films as i was able to analyse my ideas and pick the most suitable one to fit my narrative.

Planning mise en scene- Miss Georgiou

Setting and iconography 

The setting will be in two locations which is an abandoned car park and an eerie forest.We decided to use these two settings as we concluded that they are typical settings of a thriller which makes our scene more conventional they also fit well into our narrative helping us create a more mysterious scene. We may also incorporate a scene which shoes the character in a dark alleyway which make our scene even more conventional to a thriller it is will most definitely create more suspense in our scenes.The order of the setting will be the abandoned car park, alley way and finally the forest, there was no reason for using the settings in the sequence as it is just the way the narrative as been created although this sequence may help to add more suspense as it the environment becomes more obscure making the female character more helpless.As i previously mentioned every setting we are going to use are very conventional to thriller as they all help us emphasise suspense, shock and surprise which are narrative already contains.
We have decided to use two pieces of iconography which is a phone and knife. We decided to use a knife as it used in practically every thriller but also tends to create more shock as the audience are able to relate to this weapon as it is commonly used as a tool for murder.The knife will be seen in the antagonists hands once he chances the female victim and will be continue to be seen in his hand s throughout the narrative. We have also incorporated the use of a phone in one of the scenes specifically when the female victim tries to use it to call for help but comes to a realisation that she has no signal.The use of the phone helps portray more of a panicked state in the female victim as the audience finally realise that the female victim is helpless in the abandoned car park which will also create more shock for the audience. These use of these two objects very common in thriller as they are used as tools to create more shock and suspense which we have tried to replicate in our narrative as we would like our narrative would be more conventional.

Costumes, hair and make up

The antagonist for narrative will be wearing all black clothing with a possible mask.We have decided to use two pieces of iconography which is a phone and knife. 
Lighting and color

The main type of lighting used in our scene is low key lighting which is the technical opposite of the high-key arrangement, because in low-key the fill light is at a very low level, causing the frame to be cast with large shadows. This causes stark contrasts between the darker and lighter parts of the framed image, and for much of the subject of the shot to be hidden behind in the shadows. This type of lighting fits the general theme of the thriller genre as often most scenes are quite dark in order to create more suspense as the audience do not have a general sense of what is going on which can also cause the audience to be surprise and shocked once something significant happens. It seems that low key lighting helps all three elements of the thriller genre which is the reason it is going to used throughout our scenes. This type of lighting is very conventional to thriller films as it clearly helps emphasize all the elements which are key to creating to a successful thriller film so it very often used.

Facial expressions and body language 

During the chase scene the facial expression of the victim is clearly going to be very panicked as we want the audience to see that the victim is genuinely scared for her life, this will hopefully create more panic and shock in the audience as they are able to see how frightened the female victim is. The body language of either the female or male character during the arguing scene will be closed as they do not wish to show how they feel this will most likely be the female victim as the male will most likely have very open body language to show how aggressive and angry he is, this is something that the audience will pick up on as the two characters are acting in two very different manors.The antagonist will also have very open body language which shows the audience that he is confident with the actions that he plans on committing this actually makes the antagonist seem more frightening as he has no remorse. These facial expressions and types of body languages are generally quite conventional of a thriller as they are often used in many films to help portray the characteristics of the characters and allow the audience to engage more as they are able to see how they react to certain situations

Positioning of characters

The victim will most likely being using two camera techniques which are handheld or POV these two techniques are going to be used so we can emphasize the situation so the audience are able to see what is happening from the victims point of view this will help create add more shock and suspense to the scene as they will be able to see how panicked and desperate the female victim is. This technique will most likely be used during the chase scene so the audience can see situation more clearly and feel as if they are in the same position.We also plan on using a high angle when we show the female victim on the floor as this will help accentuate the vulnerability of the victim as these type of shots are often used to show that the individual is helpless and will be easier to convey to the audience.Both types of techniques are conventional to thriller as they help emphasize the elements of a thriller film and also help the audience engage further with the scene by allowing them to interpret the scene further