Storyboard for the opening of the Thriller

The picture above is a freehand drawing of the church that we will be filming at. The purple circles are the shot locations and the number inside of those circles are the order that they will be filmed in.

This is side one of the story board. it contains shots 1 through to shot 6. Shot 2 is a blank screen (music slowly gains pitch and volume as to build up tension through shots 1 and 2) this is the designated space for the job titles and who's role it is. Shot 3 is a POV shot through a Go Pro body camera on the police officer. Shot 4 is a high angle shot (to make him look vulnerable) on the 'suspect' while he is whimpering on a pew inside of the church. Shot 5 is from inside the porch of the church showing the police officer walking up towards the door (Again we used a high angle 'cctv' camera shot as to make him seem vulnerable as he doesn't know what situation he will be getting himself into on this call-out). 

  

This is side 2 of the storyboard which illustrates shot 8 through to shot 14. Shot 8 and 9 link together as shot 8 will follow the police officer walking down the path towards the second entrance and shot 9 will be the point where the camera stops moving with the subject and instead creates a pan round following him towards the entrance. Shot 10 is pew level and shows the 'suspect' as he is laying on the pew while the 'police officer' is outside the stained glass windows. 

The importance of the 'right' soundtrack

The soundtrack is detrimental to how the film will come across and if a serious scene will make an audience laugh or if a comedic scene will bore the audience. this is a tricky thing to get right and there have been many blunders in film where the soundtrack just hasn't quite matched with the effect that the director was trying for. For example, I found this video on Youtube which someone has edited to make the very serious scene of Darth Vader entering the death star and made it comedic and 'romantic'.

This is a prime example of using the 'right' soundtrack as it can make a scenes effect seem miles away from what it should be.

This will be taken heavily into account on my groups film as we want to set the ominous feeling so we will be searching for the soundtrack with the right effect as to not join the ranks of these blunders. 

Thriller task storyline and title chosen!

The story line that we have chosen is that of there is a 'murderer' on the loose and no one knows where. An unlucky police officer takes the call to go and have a look at a disturbance at the local towns church. The reason he is unlucky is that the murderer has chosen to hide there. Once the police officer knocks on the door and tries to gain entry everything becomes uncertain for him and he will want to 'pray' that he doesn't find what he is looking for.

The name of the thriller is still being developed and as of this moment is currently called

"The Hunted"

The reason we have settled on this name at the moment is because of the main connotations of "Hunted", as it connotes hunting animals or 'monsters'. Both are common words to describe cold blooded killers. The hunted makes the reader ask the questions "who/what is being hunted?" "why are they  being hunted?" "who are they being hunted by?". All of  which make the viewer more curious and make the reader want to know what is going to happen thorough the storyline of the thriller. It also leaves an air of mystery as it doesn't give any big hints as to what the full story will entail.

CONVENTIONS OF A THRILLER

By Spencer Graham

A thriller usually consists of a battle between a protagonist and a antagonist. The story usually revolves around a pivotal plot point of anarchy or disruption to everyday life. The story thorough the whole film usually builds up to a climax towards the end and then the antagonist is quashed and their plan is thwarted.

In a thriller there are many conventions that set up the emotions and atmosphere of the film for example here are a few;

• Montage of shots
• Protagonist is at the mercy of the Antagonist
• Low key lighting
• Shadows

The character of the protagonist is often courageous and this is often viewed as a male trait hence the protagonist is often a male who is trying to restore order and justice to the problem that has occurred.

The antagonist is a character that is often shrouded in secrecy in terms of his identity until the final revile. The antagonist is often looking for revenge for a past event, a good example of this is the character of Amir Barkawi who sought revenge for an American drone strike that killed his daughter in the film London has fallen.

The Storyline of the thriller is designed as to promote a sense of realism as to evoke the thought that the storyline from the film could actually happen to them. which can make the reader feel worried, un-settled etc. This would overall add to the enthralling nature of the film.

The Thriller Task

This week we have began to start to look into the research and planning of our thriller and what would best suit it and us. Now that the location for the thriller has been finalised - The St Johns church in Stavley - we have started to brainstorm on ideas for this thriller (general storyline, what we would need for these storylines, etc)

The one key idea that is set in stone is that we are going to have a murderer and a victim. But as to not be the same as the rest of the students we have been having ideas on how we can make our thriller different. we have thought about having a psychological thriller involving the murderer not knowing what he is and what he is doing at the point in time, A espionage thriller set back in the 40s with one of the characters being a German spy (Filming would be done indoors as to not compromise mise-en scene, also props and dialogue would have to be altered to that time period).

We will finalise the General storyline by the end of next week and get prepared to start planning a story and gathering the materials for that specific story.

Fury (2014) Textural analysis

I have completed a textural analysis on the opening to Fury (2014), The film revolves around a tank crew and their experiences in the second world war. Below is the link for a power point which has the textural analysis.

>>Click here<<

LIGHTING

This week we looked at the art of lighting in productions and what effect they can have on the reader. It can impact the reader by accenting certain things, Hiding certain things and overall by using lighting the director can create a plenitude of emotions. After the lesson we were also given the opportunity to practice the different ways we can use lighting to impact shots. here's what we created:

There are several lighting techniques for example;

• Natural lighting - can refer to the use of artificial lighting that has a yellow or white hue and gives the illusion of a naturally formed piece of light coming from the sun.
• 3-point fill lighting - 3 light points are used in unison as to create a "normal looking scene with soft shadows and average colours" this is the antithesis of Chiaroscuro lighting.
• Chiaroscuro lighting - Harsh lighting that creates an intense and extreme contrast between shots.
• High key lighting - It uses harsh bright lights to reduce contrast in a scene, giving the scene a white-washed look that removes any shadows in frame.
• Artificial lighting - This covers any light source that is man-made and not natural, For example light bulbs, ultraviolet lamps, etc
• Back Lighting - Back lighting is when the scenes source of lighting is from behind, this type of lighting is most common in romantic films as it creates silhouettes.