Evaluation of Thriller Opening

1) How does the product uses or challenge conventions?
We used Thinglink to annotate the scenes in our thriller opening in order to highlight the conventions we used or challenged.

 3) How does your product engage with audiences?
Firstly we have to determine who our target audiences are, we did this by using Yougov profiling gathered all the information onto padlet as shown below. This also includes films that inspired our thriller and films that resembles the motif and themes we explored. 

Created with Padlet

2) How does your opening represent social groups or issues?

Our annotated video

In the padlet below, I discussed the two chracters, the issues covered and also dream casting for our thriller 

Created with Padlet

4) How would it be distributed as a real media text?

The film itself is a psychological /crime thriller and could attract a niche market with audiences that likes to watch crime series or medical series as it plays with many issues relating to this. The film may not be suitable for a family movie as it may cause distress to younger children due to their lack in understanding about these issues and could come across as quite scary to children. It may be rated 15+ as our main target audience is teenagers onwards to adults giving us a wider market. Teenagers, especially girls may be more attracted to this film as the protagonists are both women therefore may find it more relatable and interesting to watch.  We will avoid distributing the film online or release it on platforms such as Netflix or putlocker because of the thrill factor of this film we want most audience to experience it on a cinematic screen. However later, The film will released on DVD to generate more revenue through distribution channels which will be discussed below. It is not a blockbuster film but rather more of an alternative style film and so to find distributors it could be screened at various film festivals. This can be used to our favour because the thriller is very ambiguous and abstract where a lot of the time, the scenes are open up to the audience interpretation, which will attract critics to write reviews about the film or people who have a passion for watching and analysing films.

We will go with how most films are distributed as we believe it is a safe, effective and also to a certain extent is financially rewarding to us in the end depending on the popularity. The ideal situation is to sign a distribution deal with a reputable film distributor who will then take care of all the possible distribution channels: theatrical distribution, television, DVDs, video on demand. The distributor will then pay us a decent advance and later split the revenues after the distributor has covered its costs. I chose this way to distribute the film as it has a strong advantage to ensure a level of success. As well as receiving the advance money another benefit is that this sort of deal really encourages the distributor to do its best with the film, because they paid you an upfront fee for it and are therefore highly motivated to generate some serious revenues. The film is not a family movie therefore releasing it in the summer will not be suitable. However it is the type of film which would be suitable for an award nomination due to its complexity and uniqueness so it should be released before awards season eg. Oscars in January or February. 

5) How did your production skills develop throughout this project?

Below is a top trump card comparing my what i rate my production skills at the start of the project (October 2015) and at the end of the project (Feb 2016). In total I believed I improved in all areas but some more than others

Creative confidence - thinking of interesting ideas and making them happen. 

I like to think that creativity and thinking outside the box are one of my strong qualities in this area therefore at the start I gave myself a 3 where i was able to brainstorm ideas for the thriller and had visions or images thats i wanted to film. Over the time when i had too many ideas it became more difficult to narrow down and decide on what to use in the actual opening. However through this process i was able to refine and develop some of the ideas and then as a team made it into the main themes an motifs of the thriller. An example of this is how first we want to include the use of steam but did not know how to incorporate it into the opening. Then after many discussions we decided to play on the element of steam and how it can evaporate relating to how the killer can disappear, steam representing the killer.

Planning and Organisation - ability to organise actors, locations, props for a efficient and effective film shoot. Ability to hit deadlines.

Since the beginning, as a team we were always organised and our work/planning were up to date which is why i rated a 4. We were able to delegate tasks effectively where each person had specific roles to do. For example, Saranya and I were actors as well as in charge of bringing in props and location hunting while Phoebe was the camera person and editor. There is evidence of this which is shown through our meetings documents and group discussions included in my previous blog posts. 

Codes and Conventions - understanding of thriller conventions, credit structure and what to expect from a film opening.
At the beginning of the course I did not fully know what the term thriller means and what it includes. I was then introduced to the thriller sub genres which we studied in details and also explored some of the conventions for each ones. In terms of credit structure, at first I did not know the general order of credits and how it is used but after doing research and finding example of these i became familiar with the order as well as the titles. This progress/improvement is reflected in our final opening where we challenged and included many of the main themes including, identity, obsession and mental issues which are some of the conventions in a psychology thriller. 

Visual effects - realising ideas using digital software, using credits in an interesting way
i rated myself a 3 for this category as I am unfamiliar with how visual effects work and how to create them in the softwares we used. However, over the course we had many lessons on how to create such effects including explosions, masking, using green screen etc. This is mostly done through premiere and affect fx which were difficult to use due to the complicated functions. Ultimately in our final thriller opening the main special effects we used was double exposure on the characters actions to play with the theme of identity. 

Editing - making meaning through editing. Making the narrative sense for the audience
I had some past experience with editing in software such as Imovie but not in premiere i learnt to use it relatively quickly. I edited the sample for the action thriller where i learnt how to make the jump cuts smooth and also added in sounds and filters for the footage. However Phoebe was our main editor for the final opening scene where she did most of the work. However Saranya and I also had input in how we pictured the final outcome to be like.

sound and music - using and adding diegetic and non diegetic sounds 
I did not have much knowledge about how sound and music can be added and used in film at the start. Throughout the course I learnt the terms diegetic/non diegetic and used it in my opening as well as in my writing. I also played around with editing sound where I took a clip from a film with no audio in and added diegetic sounds according to the actions to make it more realistic. Non diegetic sound played an important role in our actual opening where we used an ominous orchestra score to accompany the scenes. This took some research as we had to find a suitable music which would build and maintain the tension/suspense we created in the thriller, also not copyrighted.

Camera Work - confidence in building composition and using different shot types.
I rated myself a 4 at the beginning as i am quite confident in using camera work and the types of shots in making a film. The first one minute project i arranged the camera angles and also was the camera person in making the action thriller. I have learnt to use a variety of shots and techniques including close ups, panning, long shots, POV shots for examples.  I improved in this by getting inspiration form interesting types of shots which I found in films or tv shows and then used it in the thriller. 

6) How did you integrate technologies – software, hardware and online – in this project?  

Thriller Opening : Research AHS

American Horror Story opening credits was created by  by Kyle Cooper and his company Prologue, who also created the opening scenes for Seven and The Walking Dead which also have iconic opening scenes. The title sequence is almost like a mystery where by the time you see the 9th episode of this season every image in that title sequence will be explained.

The song also gives clues to the show, for example the ambient noises and the sound of dripping water which becomes relevant when you watch the series. The tone of the music is quite sinister which fits in perfectly with the images.


The main feature of the opening scene which inspired us is the fast cross cutting shots and how the rhythm/speed in which the images are sequenced. The short staggering cuts between frames gives a stop motion effect that also adds to the tension. Below is a video analysis of the 5 opening credits for each season of the AHS series.

 

Thriller Opening: Editing

Editing

All of us had our own attempts at editing as we all have different visions and ideas of the outcome so using this as a base, we will then incorporate them into the final product.

I used Imovie to create my short clip which was inspired by the American horror Story opening credits where there are short cuts of close ups switching between one another. The sound used in this are added sound effects to build up suspense in the scene as the killer is watching the victim without her knowing and then following her into the steam room. The tone/colour of the film is quite faded and low in contrast giving a gloomy and sinister feel. 

To create the fast switching shots of the face, I reduced each frame to 0.1 seconds and also overlayed two shots on top of each other and adjust the opacity. The faded scene of the steam and the character also adds to the ambiguity of the identity of killer/victim.

This technique is called cross cutting or parallel editing where it portrays alternating two or more scenes that often happen simultaneously but in different locations. If the scenes are simultaneous, they occasionally culminate in a single place, in this case the killer is watching the victim but the victim is suspiciously looking around.

Suspense is added by cross-cutting. It is built through the expectations that it is open up for the viewers interpretation to determine what is happening in the scene. The rhythm of, or length of time between each cross-cuts can also set the tone of the scene. Increasing the rapidity between two different actions adds tension, much like in work of literature where the use of short declarative sentences gives a more striking effect.

Below are some attempts on editing including the credits, playing around with fonts, timing and positioning of the names. The aim is to make the credits disappear/dissolve resembling steam evapourating in the air which is the main element of the thriller.

Thriller opening: Filming proccess

Filming Day : 15th January 2016

We were able to complete filming in one day as we had our storyboard as a guide to help make the process more efficient. It took approximately 3 hours to collect all the footage we wanted but we also encountered some problems which made some parts difficult to film.

Problems: One of the problem which interfered with the filming process was the public that was using our location. Since the bathroom is relatively small, it was necessary for it to be completely empty and silence in order to film the shots we needed. To overcome we waited until they have finished their business which took about 20 minutes off our filming time

Another problem was the steam, which was essential in filming as it is the motif of the thriller. The actors suffered from some steam burns and the camera also became blurry at times. However we used this to our advantage where the steamy effect gives an ominous sense of the location and the characters.

Teamwork: Everyone had specific tasks on the filming day where Phoebe was the camera person, Saranya and I were the actors. The teamwork was quite efficient throughout where we got most of the shots we wanted. However, the space of the bathroom was relatively small and so some shots eg. wide angle were not possible to film therefore we had to make some improvising to make up for shots we lost.

Thriller Opening : Introducing characters

In our thriller, there are two characters - Killer and the Victim. We are taking from tropes of a crime thriller to create these character which are represented through the micro-elements.



VICTIM: tropes from the "final girl" character which is basically The last character left alive to confront the killer in a Slasher Movie. The character tends to follow a certain set of characteristics. The most obvious one is being (almost) Always Female. Tropes from "Bathing Girl" character which is the girl that seems to enjoy baths and showers is often shown bathing more frequently than any of the other characters. In our thriller the setting is in a bathroom where the victim is seen using the sauna and so fits in with this particular trope. 

Representation : The character wears minimal makeup and basic clothing to convey the sense of innocence and how she does not know she is being watched. The victim is almost always in the the frame of each shots which highlights how she is the center of focus of the killer as well as the viewers.

KILLER: Shows trope of a typical compulsive killer in a crime thriller but in this opening scene the killer's face is hidden most of the time and when it is showed, only small parts of the face is visible to create ambiguity. This contrast with the victim as she is present in the majority of the credit scene.

Representation : This character will be in full black costume which associates with evilness and death. The killer is also shown in flashes or in short frames to once more create a sense of ambiguity as the viewer is able to see her for few seconds. It also suggests how the killer keeps disappearing and reappearing (like how steam evapourates in the air but creates a mist on the mirror)  like she may not actually exist and could only be from the imagination of the victim 

Thriller Opening: Inspiration

One of an opening credits scene that we used as our inspiration is from the movie "Insidious". The scene is relatively short but we are interested in some aspects of it for example the first 10 seconds of the clip shows a single circular light source where it rotates along with the credits. This makes gives an ominous and dizzying effect, it also gives a sense of uncertainty as from the beginning we did not know that the light was upside down.


This opening scene has an underlying background music and also added sound effects to create a spooky atmosphere. We want to do the same with our thriller where there will be no dialogue but simply let the camerawork and actions convey the message accompanied by some sound fx

As a group we tried to re create this rotating effect. A 4K camera was used so the clip would be in high definition and then can be zoomed in without losing its resolution. We did this by filming a still shot of a clock at 4 different distances and then playing around with rotation speed and degrees in premiere. Below is how we edited this clip and the result.

Thriller opening: Storyboard

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We had many attempts at creating a storyboard for our thriller where we tried to collate all of our initial ideas into one storyboard. This did not work well as we could not fully focus on the types of shots or where the credits would fit in each frame as too much emphasis was on including all the ideas. However, In our second storyboard, by selecting out our ideas we were able to concentrate on what kind of detail we want to include in the shots and how it would create tension/suspense in the thriller.

First attempt at sketching the storyboard, lacks in details and annotations, difficult to use as a guide in the filming process.

Final attempt at creating the story board, ideas are thoroughly selected, the types of shots are clear and can be used in the actual filming process

This is a time lapse of our planning process

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