INITIAL IDEAS - First few ideas as a GROUP

Initial IDEAS

GIRL

      CHASING SCENE   

       PICTURES LIKE EVIDENCE

       DIM LIGHTING

       WALLWINDOW LINKING PEOPLE AND EVIDENCE (CRIME THRILLER?)

       SCREAMING, RUNING FOOTSTEP

        PROPS: FAKE BLOOD, BUTCHER KNIFE

        LOCATION: THE CITY, FINSBURY PARK, LOCAL PARKS (somewhere with trees)  DARK NIGHTS. ALLEY WAY.

       OWN MUSIC, SOUND EFFECTS. (Footsteps, audio, traffic; transport.

THE STRUCTURE OF A THRILLER OPENING

            Discrete title sequence

                  OR

            Narrative Opening with titles running throughout.

GENRE IDEAS

CRIME THRILLER / ACTION THRILLER 

RESERVOIR DOGS

This is the original opening for Reservoir Dogs. We decided to make this our shot by shot remake because it goes along the constant theme of crime thrillers which is the sub genre that we want to base our thriller on. This also gave us good practice for using titles as we ad to do this as part of the editing process.

 This is our version of the Reservoir Dogs opening, we tried to make each shot the same as it is in the original. Many of the shots are the same but as we didn't have as much people in our group as there are in the original we had to stick to only four close ups whereas the original uses eleven close ups.

RESEARCH - Other Thrillers (Storylines)

 

sbs remake

Props

• Glasses
• Cigarette replica
  

Location

• Outside College
• On the road

Cast Crew

• Emadul
• Javayl
• Umar
• Remello
  

Storyboard

This is my storyboard of the shot by shot remake that we have chosen to copy.
The film is Resevoir Dogs. This excercise is to help us prepare for out thriller opening coursework.




storyboard rem

storyboard Umar

THE STORYBOARD - Reservoir Dogs

The Storyboard Created are from the opening of Reservoir Dogs which is not an accurate storyboard but I just illustrated the main sections of the clip. As a group we observed the different shots and then documented that as one storyboard spot. So every new camera shot was to be a new storyboard slot.



Also for every Square I noted down the main things that are shown to us in the few seconds the shot is taken, by looking at the editing, mise en scene, camera shot and sound.

Introduction to cameras

A) This is a worms eye view of feet

A) This is a high angle shot of feet

A) This is another worm eye view of feet

B) In this shot in front of the window the back of Umar is dark due to lighting

This shot of Umar in front of a window is good because the lighting doesn't  create any issues with being able to see him 

This is an over the shoulder shot, usually used to show a conversation between two people

This is a wide shot that establishes the scene

This is a wide shot

This is meant to be a mid shot but it is unsuccessful because the top third is empty 

This is more successful because all of the frame has people in it

This is a big close up and is used to show emotion and facial expression

RESEARCH - Conventions of Thriller Film Openings

Conventions Of a Thriller

An Opening to a Thriller Movie should include: Titles, Sounds, Camera Shots; used in interesting ways and shouldn’t really give anything away. Is should be a short teaser to the main storyline just to HOOK in the audience.

TITLES:

We are able to closely look at the way they are represented to us in some clips. For example every time a title may come up the movie might show this on a plain black background but in other cases maybe the text could be added into the moving action. To do this you must have a good idea of composition because if you place it in the wrong place it could be unreadable to the viewers and will create a flaw to your presentation of the movie. This is added in via special effects.

SPECIAL EFFECTS:

Special effects can be just simple editing like transitions that are used in interesting and creative ways like layering clips and making one transparent - done in this SEVEN clip.

SOUND: Used to create an insight into a character with dialogue. Other ways are sound effects and diegetic and non diegetic sound added in. 

Camera Shots: used to show us visual representations of the story line.

this is a screen shot of the clip from: SEVEN and highlights the
conventions i have talked about. The music played in the background,
 the transitions between shots and the way the titles are represented to the viewer.

Research - Conventions of film openings

Conventions of film openings:

• Titles: The first title we see is usually the producer id. we then usually see the title of the director, then the name of the stars, then the name of the film and then the rest of the cast. however in some circumstances the order may vary depending on who's more famous/important. The titles either appear over  the moving image or on a plain background separate to the video - usually a black background. 

• Special effects: We see special effects to do with the font of the titles, the editing of certain scenes or cuts with transitions such as fades.

• Sound: The sounds we usually hear are scary, atmospheric, mysterious and eerie to build up tension. The sounds we here may also just be music which is a part of the soundtrack. We may also hear some narration which could give an insight into either the film or characters/a character. Sound effects such as slamming noises or banging noises may also be used to create a certain atmosphere for the film.

• Throughout the opening, scenes/clips of the film may be show. These are usually teasers to the storyline which give an insight to the characters, location or narrative but don't give anything away

This is a screen shot from the opening of the film 'pelican brief'. 

This is the first shot of the opening scene and as you can see it's following the conventions as the first thing you get to see is the title of the producer identification. 

The title also appears over of the moving image

These are screen shots from the opening of "deja vu". as you cam see the titles follow the conventions as they are
shown on a separate background from the moving image. in this case it is on a black background.

Aslo, these are the first titles you see, and they are of the producer id.

This is the video of the opening of "deja Vu"

This is the video of the opening of "pelican Brief"

RESEARCH - Conventions of Thriller openings

A thriller movie is usually tends to be tense, jumpy and atmospheric. However, the opening of a thriller movie may be dependant when it comes to the insight of the movie, including characters, settings and also the narrative. From past experiences watching thriller films, i have realised that they do not tend to be short, but prolonged with taunting atmosphere, to almost put the audience in an instance thrill mood.

From our research and discussions, the conventions needed for a thriller opening is very specific.

The conventions are:

• Teaser to the story.

The teaser, also known as the hook, is given through the sound, performance and effects. this is key, as the opening should hold suspense, helping the audience to engage with the film.

• Special effects/special sound

The effects are also key, due to the atmosphere it brings through the mis-en-scene. effects, such as fades etc can bring a basic visual scene to an ongoing sequence of effects. sound could possibly be added instead of music, giving different ideas about the film through sound to build up the atmosphere.

• Sound 

Music would tend to be taunting, scary and mysterious. however, the visual scene must collide with the sound to make it more engaging and continuous, as the openings would be short in terms of time, but long in terms of the scene itself.

• Title sequence

Must be put in the opening of the film. some things that will be used : Producers Ident, Director, Stars, other cast, Name of film. these tend to appear in this chronological order but depending on the status of each aspect, some things may be swapped for others.

This is a snap shot from the opening of James Bond Casino Royale. the title is clear as well as the teasing background.

RESEARCH - Conventions of film openings

The conventions of thriller film openings are....

• A hook or teasers that relate to the story but don't give anything away
• Special effects that create tension or uneasiness in order to shock or scare the audience.
• Sound - Scary, atmospheric, eerie and music that builds tension. Sound is very important as it is one of the main aspects used to create atmosphere
• Producers Ident
• Titles of the people involved in the film e.g. Director, Stars, Name of the film, Rest of cast. The order of titles can vary based on the hierarchy of the people involved, if the director is not as famous as the main character in the film the the director may strategically be put after the main character
• They give an insight into what the film may be about (e.g. Characters, Location, Narrative)
• Tense and jumpy, to make the audience uneasy and on edge.

A Title from the thriller A History Of Violence

Title from the thriller SEVEN