Rough Brainstorm of opening ideas

Establishing shot and pan of empty field with a phone in the middle of the field

Cut to close up of phone. You can see the phone randomly ringing other characters.

No names but victim one, victim two and victim 3.

The phone starts ringing – a pop/well known song

Cut to another character in a room where this song is playing on the radio.

One character *everyday activity* over the shoulder shot of phone receiving call from withheld number.

Three characters receiving the phone calls.

Sunrise over the field when showing the phone.

Close up of the corner of the phone.

Camera on a step ladder being pulled up above to reveal the phone.

Everyday things

-         Getting out of bed, phone rings see hand on table answering.

-         Walking the dog

-         Driving

-         Making breakfast

-         Getting dressed in the morning

-         Coffee shop/café buying hot drink

Focus pull from activities to the phones ringing.

Once they all receive the phone calls shoot all 3 people walking out and closing their front doors.

List Of Roles

List of roles

• Script - Emma
• Imagery of locations - Chris
• Prop research - Emma
• Health and safety (risk assessment) - Chris/Jamie
• Lighting decisions - Emma
• Camera work - Chris
• Editing - Jamie
• Director /Casting- Laurel
• Storyboard designer - Jamie
• Costume/Hair/Makeup - Laurel
• Synopsis - Laurel
• Sound - Chris, Laurel, Emma and Jamie

5 Thriller Openings Emma Chamberlain

Batman Begins http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWcxPgH22RY
Misery http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cgqu2W3Ore4&feature=player_embedded#
21 Grams http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqKQp89DJoc
Donnie Darko http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_EtwhKmMMY
Final destination 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nxo1am-1xQ0

Batman Begins:
Camera work-This classic thriller uses fast tracking to follow the characters as they run, birds eye views to create a sense of depth within the shot and close-ups to see the reaction and emotion on the characters face. These techniques have been used to create a sense of fast pace action within this film and create a sense of thrill.
Editing- The sequence begins with an animation of bats flying past the camera, this leaves the viewer confused and, as it's an animation, it gives the feel of un-knowing. This shot quickly merges with a tracking shot across a garden. The mix of these shots is effective in thrilling the audience. Fast cuts are used throughout this sequence, giving a sense of action. Slow motion action is used as the child falls to empathise on this action and foregrounding is used to highlight the importance of a rock.
Sound- Music with a loud drumbeat stars the sequence, the drum-beat climates until the sound of bats begins to overwhelm it. The screeching of the bats is frightening and confusing as it appears to over power any other noise. Sound is then used parallel to the action of the children running until there is a change in the shot and setting and a sudden silence, then a loud sharp breathe is heard. This sudden change from bat screeches and loud drums to complete silence shock the audience. I particularly liked this technique.
Mise En Scene- The beginning of the sequence is very dark and bats are used as they connote darkness, fright and danger. The colours red and black are used throughout to create a sense of mystery and unknowing in the dark spaces. Children actors are used because they appear vulnerable, the audience feels afraid for them especially when the child falls through the well and is helpless and alone. Foregrounding is used to put empathise on a rock, we can tell from this that the rock is important.

Misery:
Camera work- close-ups of objects are used to begin the sequence with extremely shallow depth of field to have the audience focus on the objects in the foreground although the background has movement. This is an unusual technique but i think it's effective in creating a good mood for confusion and sets the tone that something is not right.
Editing- Cuts are used to create short fast shots although to begin with, long still shots are used to empathise on the objects. This is followed by the camera following the car, the shot length varies but is normally quite long as to not cause confusion too early.
Sound- A typewriter in the digetic sound with an eery non-digetic music piano played on top of this. I like this effect as it allows the audience to feel frightened without the need for action of the characters.
Mise En Scene- Foregrounding is used to highlight several objects to begin. The main character uses a pencil to write 'the end'. This is significant because a pencil can be erased, it shows that the end is possibly not as expected and therefore we know some danger is due in the sequence. The character is quite old and alone throughout, making him vulnerable. The setting is also at the top of a mountain which seems quite inaccessible, creating a thrill because the character is alone.

21 Grams:
Camerawork- Establishing shots where used to begin each diferent setting, with a long shot at eye level to start. No movement was used in the first shot. following this, the camera cut to a scene with a father and two daughters, the camera focused on the faces of all three using close-ups. This enables the audience to see the emotions of the characters and feel some empathy towards them. Then the setting changed again and an over the shoulder shot was used to give a point of view.
Editing- The sequence kept to the 180 degree rule to keep continuity when using an over the shoulder shot of the prisoners talking. This keeps the realism of the sequence. Most of the cuts where to show a change in scenery although in the second different setting (with the father and daughter) lots of short cuts where used, it created a sense of not having time to see these characters enough which reflects on the later story. 
Sound- The beginning 30 seconds of this sequence was in complete silence. I really liked the effect this had, giving a sense of uncertainty and drawing the attention of the audience to watch the characters. The digetic music used next created an atmosphere which was friendly and welcoming, reflecting on the characters within this shot. Following this, only dialogue was used. I find this very powerful as it draws our attention to what each character says and really focuses on them and no background noise.
Mise En Scene- The bright beginning shot is powerful in that it creates a uplifting mood, however this is contrasting to how the characters are in this shot as they have little movement other than smoking a cigarette which reflects the stress within the character. The next shot shows a father and his daughters, they are all smiling which conveys happiness within these characters. From the happiness shown in this shot, the sequence then shows a much stiller contrasting scene with a women who appears to be admitting to a problem in a meeting. We then see a prisinor guard and a prisoner sat in a room alone with a large cross hanging on the wall behind them. This is effective because we wouldn't usually associate prisoners with religion.


Donnie Darko:
Camera Work- This sequence begins with a long shot which tracks down the road and finally pans around the character. This shot establishes the entire setting and the movement is very steady and slow paced, allowing the audience to fully take in the surroundings. Next the camera pans around the scenery from what seems to be a POV shot of the character.
Editing- There is only one cut for the first 2 minutes of these opening sequence. Full filing the audiences desire to not be confused by several cuts, this technique creates a sense of realism.
Sound- There is silence in the sequence untill 1.30, leaving the audience unknowing of anything because there is no dialogue to guide them. Non-digetic music is used as the character comes into shot. Slow tempo, classical piano is used, creating a thrill with it's eery high notes.
Mise En Scene- Although this sequence has little action and sound, it is very powerful because of it's ability to create atmosphere within the mise en scene. The setting for example is a deserted hill top with just one single road, which when we see the character laying in the middle of, we realise that something unusal happened. Seeing as it's morning and we can see the sun rising from the back grounded hilltops we can tell that this event happened during the night before. The character is a teen boy who, when turning to the camera, has a smile on his face. Powerful because of the shock of it, the music and setting create a negative sense but the character smiles and contradicts this. I think this sequence is really powerful in it's simplicity.

Final Destination 3:
Camera work- Uses lots of tracking shots. Camera always moving, Low angles of horses. Close ups of doll to show importance of her and her finger choosing the fortune card which is later understood in the film.
Editing- frequent cuts to different parts of the funfair. Different pictures shown each time to create disorientation within the audience. Alot of digital editing is used which we could incorporate into our sequence.
Sound- Climactic non-digetic music is used. Screams are heard to create thrill and shock factor combined with the low slow beats of the music.
Mise En Scene- the setting is a fun-fair which usual connotes fear. It's at night time and most the colours used are black and red which connote danger. The sequence shows a plastic doll and this can provoke a creepy atmosphere because it shows an in-humane character. The word 'Death' is shown where the pinball lands, creating a strong sense of fright.
Emma

Thriller openings - Chris Bailey

The Bank Job

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0C8m_y_vcQ&feature=related

Sound: The sound we hear at the start is a well known song, however it does not relate to the period of time we have been shown 1970’s. Therefore we atomically know that we have gone back in time, which will be a relevant point in the plot. When we see the man sneaking up to take pictures, we can hear the sound of the camera going off. This would have been a sound effect that the editors of the film would have wanted to include to show that the images that the man is taking are going to be relevant in the story.

Camera Work: We see the use of underwater camera which is very effective, as we see them having fun under the water as well as the camera above the water showing us that as well. When in the water we see medium shots and also long shots, this helps us see the setting around them and we can see some small aspects of facial expression of the people having fun with each other. We see a shot reverse shot when the African man is taking pictures; this is very effective as we can see what he is taking the pictures off and then we go back to watch film taking his pictures.

Editing: The opening of the bank job is very clever through the editing process, we see that we have gone back in time. Also the cuts are simple so the audience can understand the plot without getting confused. The reason they have done this is so that we can see them having fun. The opening sequence the cuts are about 5 seconds long, which is perfect as we have enough time to take in what we are seeing. After the pictures are taken by the man we a fade to a black screen and then the name of the film, we realise that it is very important what we have just seen.

Mise en scene:  The opening of this film, we see young adults in the sea, however we see a sub title saying (The carabien 1970’s) this atomiactily tells us that we have gone back in time, the audience then known they have to pay attention because this will be a very relevant thing we need to known to understand the whole story. The lighting is very bright to show it’s the summer and its very hot, also as we see a bit of the villa we can tell whoever is having there picture taken unknown is a very wealthy man and highly important.

 

No country for old men.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kqoJevTIIQ

Sound:  During the long establishing shots that we have at the start of the film we have a voice over known as narration, this helps the audience start to understand what is happening and gives the audience some inside information about the story line, due to the shots shown with the voice over don’t have much action within them it helps the audience listen so they are not distracted to look and listen to something else that might be happening. With the sound of the man and narration he as a west country accent which helps the audience understand where the film is set such as in a west country and the long shots we see on the screen relate to the voice and the setting as well.

Camera Work:  The camera work we see is very normal, the camera is most likely to be on a tripod so it is a still shot. This helps the audience see the setting. I like the use of the shots in this sequence because they look very effective and you get the sense that these shots will be relevant later in the story.

Mise en scene: The shots that we see in the start of “No country for old men” are establishing shots. These shots are showing time passing as they start with darkness and gradually change and show light with the sun getting stronger. This is to give the audience the scene of time passing and this is the setting that we are going to be watching in this film.

Editing: The editing of the start of this sequence is very simple; they have used straight cuts to go between each different shot. One reason that the director wanted to use straight cuts is to give the impression that it is a normal town, and nothing normally happens when you are there, meaning there is not much trouble.

 

Face Off

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNOvfuybPao

Sound: The music that we hear at the start when we see the tiles and the fairy go around is very relaxing and you get the sense that nothing bad is going to happen. As soon as we see the gun we get a very big contrast and the music atomaticly changes in the mood. As soon as the gun goes off we get another change in the music, we start to get strong feels and we think the worst that the boy has died.

Camera Work:  We see the camera focusing on the man and son on the ferry go round. We see medium shots of them together which is very effective as we can see them having fun and enjoying each other company. We then see a long shot of the ferry go around which is also effective as we can see that it is not just the man and boy around there are other members of the public there as well. When we see the man with the gun for the first time we see different angles of him, at first we don’t see his face, this is clever as we are guessing on who it is.

Mise en scene: The setting is very effective by using a merry go around. It puts the audience in a place where they think nothing bad is going to happen as it is represented by being peaceful and having fun. There is a sudden shock for the audience as soon as we see a gun facing the child. When the man is shot the effect of the blood on the horse going around is perfect as the audience can then see straight away what has happen and they are not confused, also when watching this film people may be able to relate to it due to having fun with their child, there for they might put themselves if the mans shoes, when he and the boy get shot and what it would feel like.

Editing: In Face off, we see a lot of slow motion used, this is a good effective as ferry go rounds often can be fast and by slowing down time speed of the shot we have enough time to take in what we are seeing, There is a very special effect used when we see the scope for the gun, it looks just like we are looking down the gun so it’s a point of view shot for us of the villain.

Pulp Fiction

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMhI78yt0tw&feature=related

Sound: At the start of this film Pulp Fiction non digectic sound is used through out while the two characters are sat chatting about life. However at the end of the sequence there is contrapuntal sound that kicks in. This is very effcitve as the audience dont know it is about to happen. This type of sound is a very cleaver way to get audiences to enjoy the film a bit more and get more inloved , by adding an upbeat song where they can sing along to in their head.

Camera Work: The first shot in this opening is a two shot, however this is quite a long shot. The reason why this is a long shot is beacuse we get to know the chacters better amd there for we can realte to them later on in the film. After the waitress comes over we have a couple of shot revers shots, this is so that we can see the characters facial expression to what the other has to say. The way the camera focues on the gun is very effective also as it grabs the viwers attension

Mise en scene: The setting at the start of this film is in a restuant. However it isnt the best restuant it comes across quite dirty, however it fits in very well. You can see cars driving past in the window outside and that lets you know that its just off the side of a main road if you wanted to make a run for it. Also we get the impression due to everything being on the table when we start viewing the sequence that they have been in the resturant for a while chatting.

Editing:  The edditing in this clip are straight cuts, this works well as we are seeing the shot reverse shot quite often in the seccond half of this sequence. When watching this film i have looked for problems with counitinuity however i have not found anything. The way the plates are on the table is exactly the same as in the shot before which helps us belive what we are seeing is real.

Signs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lXURWUIVNE

Sound: Before the film start we hear sound but only with the subtiles. However the opening sequence there is not sound over the top, the sound we hear is the sound we hear such as the doors opeing and shutting and also him breathing. Due to there being no sound over the top it makes the sound we hear very clear. We hear the footsteps walking over small parts of corn and also running through the corn.

Camera work: We first see an establishing shot of a garden, this is a very stange type of shot to have at a start of a film and therefore we automaticly think that this films is a bit strange already. The camera work is very clever when the man is running through the corn due to it being a tracking shot. This is very effective as we can keep up with the action and it feels like we are running with him. And the end of this shot oppening clip the camera focues on the mans feet while he is staring infrount of him. This is very clever as the audience what to know what has happened but they can not see. This is known as a form of blocking.

Mise en scene:  The first shot we see is a shot of a garden this is fairly creepy as we are waiting for somthing to jump out at us. When running through the corn, it helps build up tension with the audience because we dont know why we are running. Due to the fast pace action we see it helps the audiene become on the edge of their seats

Editing: The use of straight cuts have been used which is very effective as it speeds up and shows time passing. Also the shot cuts vary as in we see differnt lengh shots. This gives the sence that anything is possible to happen.

Chris Prelim Evaluation

The group prelim task for my group turned out very well, and I was very pleased with the final product. Together all team members in the group worked very well together and made it easy as we all had selected individal roles to have which helped us produce a good piece of work. My role within the group was to film the sequence we had designed on the story board and also use my skills to help with the editing. When filming we stuck to the brief we got given, we had to create and use match on action and also use a shot reverse shot within our sequence which we successfully did. Also though out our film we made sure that we did not break the 180 degree rule.We used the shot reverse shot when the student (jamie) was in the teachers office at the end off the film, however as we had already gone over the length of the film it was ment to be by a few seconds we had to cut this scene shorter than we originally planed. We use the match on action when jamie is running through the door to the empty exam hall, this worked very well and looked very professional, as in both parts of the shot matched up with jamies leg going through the door. When editing together we also used parallel editing this worked very effectively and me and the group were very happy that we used this technique.

When watching our film back and in the editing process we saw that the White balance did not look correct in some of our shots, as we didn't have enough time to film again we had to use these shots, in future I believe that it would be best to take lighting sets out with me when filming so I can produce the best work i can. I also added sound onto our movie which was a very mysterious style of music, this helped the audience watching our film become more engaged as it was building up tension and making the audience want to know what was going to happen next.Overall I was ver pleased with the work that we produced as a group and thought it looked very affective.

Thriller openings - Jamie Parrett

Seven

Camerawork: Jumpy/lots of cuts to keep the audience on edge. Uses shadow depth of field to make certain objects more significant but shows alot of random objects to make the audience wonder why they have bothered to show them and are they going to be used for. Close Ups of pages of writing to confuse the audience. Only shows the characters hand, restricting the identity of characters to make the audience wait and find out what the character is like.

Sound: Eerie non digetic soundtrack to build tension within the audience. Upbeat soundtrack to worry the audience and put them on edge as they don't know what will happen next. No digetic/dialogue to hide the character’s identity and makes the audience carry on asking questions about the characteristics and personality of the characters.

Editing: Music links into the cuts made. The cross cutting used helps to build suspense within the opening. Uses lots of fades to smoothly exit and enter each clip either through text added to the film or objects filmed by the camera. The text is either cut into the clip or faded into show a sense of confusion within the opening.

Mise en scene: Dark and sinister inferior setting to make the audience ask questions about storyline. Pens/equipment used by the hands creates enigma of the character. The camera shots are used in such a way to make the audience ask questions and potentially confuse them and make them watch the rest of the film.

Misery

Camerawork: Uses shallow depth of field to focus on the objects in front of the character typing. Uses an establishing shot showing the location of the main character. Shows the character relaxing in their own house enjoying the peace and doing something they enjoy, this makes the audience ask questions to why they have got in the car and driven off, where is he going? and why are this document he wrote so important?

Sound: Has typewriter working behind black screen to make the audience ask questions. Uses contrapuntal sound within a serious matter to confuse the audience and make them wonder why is the music so happy within a serious matter? SFX used to make the film more realistic and calm the audience down to make the more jumpy parts in the film more effective.

Editing: Sharp cuts at the beginning to emphasis the pace he is typing at and also shows some of the things that he enjoys when he is relaxing . Uses discontinuity editing to also show how fast he is working and to make the audience ask question to why he is working quickly.

Mise en scene: Lack of dialogue to hide the personality of the character and creates confusion around the character and in return makes the audience want to find out more about the character. The props emphasised by the camera add to the characteristics of the character and creates realism.

The Dark Knight

Camerawork: Establishing shot to set the scene. Quick cuts to emphasis the pace at which the operation was taking place. Every shot is still to build suspense. Some camera shots are shakey to create a sense of speed and rushing but also realism as because its a bank robbery, they want to go in and get the job done without any problems.

Sound: Silent at the beginning to build tension, when the music starts, it is in time with the pace of action. Use of SFX to exaggerate little sounds which are usually unheard. Lots of dialogue suggesting they’re relaxed and organised about what they’re doing.

Editing: Lots of cuts to build pace and tension into the clip. Uses parallel editing to follow the paths of the groups of robbers also showing they’re organised. By using parallel editing, the location of the bank robbery is hidden and therefore makes the audience wonder what they're doing and where there rushing to commit the crime.

Mise en scene: Characters wear masks to hide their identity/makes the robbery realistic. Use of weapons to make the audience hate the robbers. Organised crime also makes the film realistic. The props used in the clip also make the film realistic as the guns make the audience shocked but also associate this with a real life situation which may of happened. It also allowed the audience to like and dislike certain sets of characters.

 

The Reeds

Camerawork: Lots of cuts creates pace into the beginning, also builds tension as you don’t know what will happen next. Use of shallow depth of field on the shotgun to make the audience realise danger and ask questions about that character. Still camera shots to build suspense.

Sound: Quiet and then builds into a loud eerie atmosphere. Non digetic sound to put the audience on edge. Lack of dialogue to restrict the personality of characters being revealed.

Editing: Parallel editing used to show the paths of 2 sets of people, making the audience ask question about what will happen next.

Mise en scene: Dark/low key lighting used to build tension around a certain character. Lack of dialogue so the audience know nothing about the character until other characters realise the problem, not being omniscience.

Disappearance of Alice Creed

Camerawork: Establishing shot showing the setting. Builds tension before the men brake into the van. In the shop, uses shallow depth of field to focus on items which are important/significant in what they do next. Makes the audience ask questions about what the two men are up to.

Sound: Soundtrack builds tension as its quite eerie sounding. No dialogue builds more tension and shows that they’re concentrating on the job in hand. SFX exaggerated to emphasis how much/quickly they’re working.

Editing: Quick still shots to build tension and put the audience on edge as well as showing them how quickly they’re working. Longer stills on significant items and cuts quickly to something not as important that is being viewed.

Mise en scene: Dark room with no light suggests that something bad is going to happen there. Builds mystery around that room to what is being planned for its uses. Characters committing organised crime make the film seem realistic. The props and setting are building tension and making the audience ask questions.  

Emmas Prelim Evaluation

The piece was successful in fulfilling all the elements of continuity such as 180 degree rule, this helped create a sense of realism within the piece and techniques such as match on action allowed the piece to flow successfully. The non-digetic music fitted with the sequence well in a parallel sense and create suspense and urgency. A mood of urgency was also created with the use of shooting Jamie running through doors and editing out the 'waste' time of him opening doors to make the shots fast, also using quick cuts in the editing stages created the speed we wanted to create in the sequence. Because of all the techniques that where used successfully we managed to meet the brief and completed everything it asked of us.


Personally, I created a sense of realism and kept the continuity correct by using the 180 degree rule during the shot reverse shot scene where Jamie (student) and Laurel (teacher) are talking. I placed the camera to the left shoulder of Laurel and then the right shoulder of Jamie. This followed the 180 degree rule and using the over the shoulder shot created a sense of point of view within the sequence which allowed the audience to see the characters in a realistic style. This scene helped complete one of the task within the brief  'to correctly use the 180 degree rule' and therefore was a vital part of our sequence.


Contrary to this, the scene had to be cut short to fit the 1 minute that was permitted for our task. This made the scene seem very rushed and time wasn't allowed for the dialogue that i would've liked to include, such as a more detailed explanation from the student character.


I think we completed all necessary tasks to make this prelim successful and create the mood that was desired, urgency and desperation, using the parallel editing and climatic music that represented stress.