Final Product

After a lot of time spent researching, planning, filming and editing, this is our final production!

Progress Made on Our Thriller

Alot of progress has been made on our thriller, as we rapidly changed from one idea to another and had to repeat the whole process. We quickly location scouted and discovered an urban block of flats which are very modern and symmetrical, and which suit the style of our thriller completely. During this process we also quickly discovered two much more reliable actors - Guy and Mary, who both have drama experience and who would co-operate and stay focused.

After re-planning our new thriller, we started filming. We concentrated alot more on establishing shots and mise en scene, using generic thriller signifiers including spiral staircases and a white van. We had two filming sessions with our actor and actress and one alone in order to create good focused shots. In general, the shooting went well and we achieved alot in the sessions.

Once we were happy with the shots that we had collected, we recorded our voice-over. We decided to have a female voice as the narrator, despite the female character being a femme fatale. We felt that this would go better with our shots and opening in general, and wrote the script as follows : 'It wasn't the first time I've got mixed up in a deal like this. For some reason something went wrong, and the rest is kind of a blur. All I remember is those flats and being carted away in that white van. Everyday I find myself walking back there, hoping that somehow I can change what happened.' We chose to keep the speech simple, and intend to separate it into sections to fit with relevant parts of the film.

As well as adding the voice over, we have chosen a break beat piece of music to add to it during editing. So far we have made great progress with our editing. We have changed the colour scheme to black and white in order to reflect chirascuro lighting and to give it a thriller-ish feel, whilst appearing more stylish. We have also used both fast and slow paced editing where necessary to create the desired feel. We interspersed the chase scene with clips of the femme fatale walking, to suggest a spiralling narrative, full of flash backs and intrigue. We have begun to add the credits along the bottom left of the film. We intend to add the final touches of the film title at the end and minor tweaks as soon as possible.

We have also decided on a name - "Iniquity", which means, according to 'Google' definitions - "Gross immorality or injustice, wickedness. Often interchangeable with the noun, “sin”". We felt this was a fitting, and catchy name for our thriller.

Thriller Filming

Over the past few weeks, our group have been filming scenes for our thriller opening. However, once we started, problems with our cast and getting all the actors together to be able to film became too hard, as all had different days/times that they were able to film.

We were unhappy with the footage we had produced, even when we began to edit, and so decided to refilm our thriller. Rather than using a large cast, we have altered it to have only two characters, a girl and a boy, and have focused more on the style of our thriller. We have also made the decision to use the feature of voice over, which is often apparent in thrillers, so we can depend less upon the acting skills of our chosen actors. Aswell as this, we plan to still use a chase scene, but will change the location to a block of flats rather than in a park.

Casting:

In order to cast our new actors, we asked around at 6th form to discover any young people wanting to star in our film with acting experience. We discovered two people - Guy and Mary who had both studied drama for GCSE and went to out-of-school drama classes, meaning they would be able to cooperate and perform better than our previous cast. Luckily, they fitted the kind of people we were hoping to get looks-wise aswell.

Props and Costumes:
White Van - connotations of crime etc are linked with the image of a white van, which makes it perfect for our thriller.
Gun - needed for the ending of our opening to make it more effective and drammatic. Guns and violence are also typical within the thriller genre, and I hope that this aspect of our production reflects this.

Navy blue pea coat (for narrator) - This coat has been chosen because it doesn't give any thing away about the character, and also creates a nice shady silhouette.

Black shoes ( for narrator) - These go well with the narrator's costume.

Jumper and jeans (for male) - This is a very typical outfit for a young male, which makes the character more believable. Provided by actor.
Plain top and skirt (for female) - This instantly creates a typical female's casual outfit, making the drama more realistic. Provided by actress.

Setting:
We have chosen to base our thriller in a block of flats in Aspley Court, Norwich. We have chosen to do this because we think it fits our urban, underworld of the city theme, and also think that it will be easy for audiences to relate to. This location was also chosen because we have discussed some nice, effective shots that we think will be possible to do here. The location also isn't very busy, which makes it easier to film there.

camera rules and shot types

match-on-action - this occurs when an action that begins in one shot is completed in the next shot, eg an exterior shot of a door opening, followed by a shot inside the house with the character.



shot-reverse-shot - this is when a character is shown looking off-screen at another character, and then the other character is shown looking back at the first character. This gives the impression that the chracters are looking at each other.



180° rule - this is a basic rule, which states that characters in a scene should always have the same left/right relationship to each other. If the camera passes over the imaginary axis, it is called crossing the line.



(picture from www.wikipedia.org)

Camera Shots

To get some idea of the different camera angles and shots, we used a camera to take our own.

The first shot we took was the Mid-Shot.

Mid-Shots are used to show detail and facial expressions, as well as the surroundings and settings. It also means that the audience can see any hand gestures the character uses.

We also took a Long Shot and an Extreme Long Shot.
Both types of shots are normally used to show a place, setting the scene and letting the audience know where they are. These types of shots are also used to show action, as it allows the audience to see the whole scene and all of the action and the characters' reactions. These shots tend to be used to help the audience understand where they are and what is happening.

We also took a close up, and then an extreme closeup. Close-ups are often used to highlight things to the audience, for example where a character's eyes are looking, and expressions the actor uses, to help the audience understand the meaning further, and to give them an idea of what the character is thinking. Close-ups in general are used to emphasise certain things to an audience.

We also took some photos using camera angles. The first angle we tried was the Down-Shot. Down-Shots are used to make the audience feel more important than the person they are looking down on - they are looking down both metaphorically and literally. They are used to make the character appear smaller and weaker. In contrast to this is the Up-Shot. Up-Shots are used to make the character appear dominant and more important. In general, Up-Shots make the audience feel intimidated.

Although we didn't take examples of them, Bird's Eye View and Worm's Eye View shots are also used. Bird's Eye Views help to set the scene to the audience, showing them the setting, and giving them a different perspective.