Evaluation

Final Outcome

Out-Takes

As explained previously, we were meant to come up with various different ways to shoot and demonstrate our actors and roles credits, as we took inspiration from the opening of 'Napoleon Dynamite', but instead of using student cards and food (as seen in the film), we wanted to try various scenario's but with school related objects instead, to keep within our school theme (such as the highlighting video below).

                                                                 

After many a conversation, we then decided to change this idea, as despite it's originality and uniqueness, we were advised that having too much variation within our credits was a bad idea, as they should all appear to the same theme. After this was pointed out, we agreed with this completely, hence our final product's credits appearing all similar.

Our third scene which was planned on our original plan was a time lapse of a typical lunchtime at our school. However, as you can see the camera jolted constantly within the clip, and no matter how many time we tried to adjust this, more problems began to arise. To make life easier, we concluded that we should just remove this brief clip, as we feel that we had already successfully set our school scene previously with our drone shots. 

                                                                 

My final example of some of our out-takes is our bully scene, which (in hindsight) was a key moment within our plot, as it highlights the motivation behind the hiring of the Hitman in the first place. However, after moving the clip around and adjusting it's colour, length and speed, we soon realised that this whole clip was not really needed to explain his motives. Wherever we placed it, we felt that the clip was out of place, so we just decided to permanently remove it.   

                                                   

Editing

For our actual main video editing, we used a system called 'Final Cut Pro'. I personally found this system really simple to handle, but also liked how it had complex capabilities when I really grasped the software.
When looking back on Editing as a whole, I realised our main editing was cropping each video clip, but most importantly was the use of colour correction.









As seen above, we completely transformed every clip we ended up using in our final project, and significantly adapted it's overall appearance. Our clips may appear slightly blue, as we took inspiration from the global phenomenon 'The Twilight Saga', as it was apparent to us during our preliminary research, that they also used the same colour saturation, as it confirms the eerie nature that we initially wanted to set out for our audience.

Music (Garageband):

As said in my previous post on music, my group and I knew that it was imperative for us to incorporate Piano and Strings into our soundtrack. We knew this, because we decided to be heavily influence by the soundtrack of 'The Exorcist', as we preferred to have a repeating riff of music running throughout, to stick within this Thriller Stereotype. We also wanted a repeating soundtrack like this as we wanted our project to be memorable... for the right reasons!

One difficulty Laura, Matt and I had to overcome

was the layering of each musical clip, so that the

beats were all the same, and that changes in the tempo and instruments themselves were in time with the clip changes we had organised previously. Another task we struggled (initially) with was the use of 'loops'. As predicted, once we all got the hang of Garageband and it's capabilities, we began to just hopelessly add loops that in fact crowded over our main

piano and string features, meaning we became unhappy

with how it worked with out project, compared to how

we imagined it would be (simple, repetitive yet effective).

Luckily, in the end we managed to source the correct balance between the loops, and legitimate instruments, and it is safe to say that we all agree with our musical outcome, and believe it works well with our project as a whole, finished product.

                                                                                                         

Our Filming Day

As stated before, on Sunday 29th of January, my media group and I organised to come into our school alongside our actors in order to finish our planned shots.

We had and kept to a strict schedule for the three hours we were on site, so we could accurately and efficiently finish what was needed to be done. Yes it proved to be quite a challenge, but luckily we managed to complete what was needed to be done.

However, before we could attempt to plan our shots for every hour, my group and I realized we would have to thoroughly plan all the aspects of Mise En Scene, to really depict and make apparent the finer details within each shot. 

We asked Jake (our main actor) to bring in his green jacket, and to wear his school trousers to continue to define our school theme within our Thriller. John (our Hitman) was advised to wear a dark coloured suit, alongside a Black Coat in which Matt (a member of my group) provided. I myself provided a pair of leather black gloves in order to solidify and finish the Hitman look in which we imagined previously. 
Matt, Laura and I decided to arrive at school slightly earlier than planned, in order to go over what we needed to achieve within our time slot, and also to set up all of the equipment. We also needed to re-arrange the English Room, as we established we should take down certain posters and pictures, to clearly direct our audiences that the room is an English. 

Our filming actually began at around 10:00 am:
My group experiences very minor complications with our camera and SD Card. We thought the best way to tackle our scene filming was to complete them in chronological order, as this saves all confusion! 
Thankfully, we had previously already filmed half of our scenes, so we started with the computer scenes, as these were the scenes that needed to be tackles most. Luckily, very minimal re-takes were needed for these scenes, as they were quite straight forward, and everyone cooperated well. 

It was now 11:00am; we were well on our way to accomplishing all of our shots within good time. As we came to our shot on Jake's close ups of his eyes, we encountered a slight problem with the lighting. The shadow from the camera angle continued to show up on Jake's cheek, which therefore was ruining our shot massively.
In conclusion, we were then challenged with the task of finding various spaces which would leave us with a cleaner shot, rather than a dark one due to the strength of light. Luckily, we found two angles and heights that rectified this problem.

Our final hour and a half consisted of clearing away all of our equipment, and then going over the famous 'Hitman Skip Section'. This had proved to be our hardest scene to correct to the highest level. Our first attempt was actually our favourite attempt as we feel all of our angles and positions were perfected to a very high quality. However when we then showed our media teacher, he pointed our several errors. There were countless prop problems, as school ties were within our shots, alongside our bottles of water and many more tiny errors.

On our second attempt, our camera lense was clearly not as clean as we thought, so most of our shots either came our fuzzy or completely unclear. due to sheer frustration, we decided to leave this scene until the Sunday, as then we would have had a lot more time to clearly fix any thoughtless mistakes.

Fortunately, our third and final attempt was very successful, and had no mistakes!





Storyboards

                                                         

Location

In order to initiate our school based thriller, we planned to incorporate various locations in order to solidify this theme. The sheet featured to the right was our establishing ideas sheet for possible locations. As demonstrated, our school setting would be easiest at Aldenham School as this way we have access to all classrooms/ areas, instead of trying to organise convenience with other schools or locations.

One of the first shots used is a birds eye view shot by a drone over a large tree. As said previously, we have chosen this slightly strange opening as we have decided to open our thriller based on one of our influences 'Sunshine on Leith'. The group and I have always loved our very opening, as the disorganised leaves change to a suddenly established and cleaner shot of our main school. 

Before our main actor walks into the main classroom shots where he accesses 'The Dark Web', audiences will see this corridor featured on the left.  

This location solidifies our school theme, as this really represents the stereotypical school vibe that we are aiming for. The bright light and colours etc also accentuates this theme further. 

Our last scene is filmed around a skip found behind our drama department. We originally decided to use this location as it creates tension and mystery, which fits the Hitman's characteristics perfectly. The dirty, unhygienic skip, the flooring and even the occasional leaves creates the ideal setting for our Hitman section. The brickwork on the building and the dated wooden fence directly behind the main feature also highlights the suspense with this location. 

                                  

Alongside our drone footage, we also used a wide shot to continue to construct our theme further. Here are some further images of our school site.

The image to the left is taken from the same place our drone was positioned in order to get as much of the schools features in it as possible. Throughout our filming for our outside locations, we aimed to plan it by day (and therefore the weather) as we wanted a continuous gloomy atmosphere and lighting, in order to keep the theme the same throughout.

Here, the photo was taken from a different angle in order to deceive our audiences into thinking the schools grounds were bigger than they really are, to then make the buildings seem superior, whilst our actor inferior, as he walks across the school field and to 'The Dark Web'.

What Sound Will Be Encorpourated In My Thriller?

Music in thrillers is essential! It is there to create tension and suspense in the audience, which only heightens the drama and paranoia even further. Music within a thriller is a key part to the telling of the plot, as at the build to the climax, the music will change slightly to heavier and eerier instruments and sounds, in order to solidify the anxiety the audience would be feeling at this point. 

Typically, a thriller film's sound will start off at a slow and at a gradual pace, but towards the middle and sudden scares, this pace will increase. Strings are a very popular sound to hear in thriller, as this creates a certain 'screech' which accompanies the mystery and uneasy mood of a thriller.

Alongside strings, the piano is also seen and heard in most thriller films, as its complexities to reacher various octaves is widely used. From high pitched keys, to the deepest ones, the keys of a piano are seriously exaggerated in order to force it's audiences into fits of shivers and goose-bumps, which of course is ideal also for the crowds ho watch thrillers. 

Diegetic and non-diegetic sounds are seen in most common thrillers, as soundtracks are key, and so are backing noises such as dog barks/howls.

Synchronous Sound is also a well favoured method of sound, as (for example) out of tune instruments like pianos create anticipation. 

Asynchronous Sound is another type of sound used, where the music heard has nothing to do with a thriller. This is seen mostly in Tarantino movies, such is using western soundtracks for a murder scene. 

In particular, 'the exorcist' soundtrack is of particular interest to my group and I as we have always said that we plan to incorporate piano into our accompanying music. We deeply studied this piece of music, and really idolised how it was such simple keys used, just repeated over and over. Despite this however, we are worried about this repetitive concept, as we concerned that this will not work with our opening shots and movements.

Filming Permission Slip

This is our permission slip that was handed out to John, Jake and Jon (our main actors), in order to gain parental permission.

Takes

For all sections and potential clips and scenes, we decided very early on that we would take various shots, angles and movements of each, in order to try and achieve the highest standard, and see what would work best. 

For instance- the establishing shot. We actually filmed on three separate days, in order to see how different lighting settings (caused by the weather) would effect the setting, and made sure we moved the drones camera around, in order to gain every angle of our schools site. 

Below are two movements by our actor (but from different angles). This allowed my group to look into finer details, and depict the minor problems that we wanted to erase before finalising each shot.

                            

Our Questionnaire

My group and I have devised a questionnaire in order to establish what our target audience is and what exactly they normally like to see in a thriller opening. We produced a questionnaire with various questions relating to Thrillers, and handed around 15 sheets out to various aged and gendered people. This is an example copy of what would have been received by our sample audience-

Using our results, we have then tried to incorporate our viewers preferences into our opening, in order to get maximum pleasure from our target audience. Our questionnaire found that our best suited age group would be 16-20 year olds, and that they prefer action Thrillers compared to Horror Thrillers. We also found that the most popular Thriller films were James Bond and Cape Fear; also that our audiences favourite TV Thriller was Dexter, which luckily we have taken into deep consideration when planning our opening. 

Preliminary Task

This is our preliminary task, which we created before we even started to film our main media shots, as we wanted to get a feel for how the camera works, and what can be achieved with our editing system 'Final Cut Pro' works. 

Final Plan!

Overview Plan For My Thriller

My group and I had spent much time brainstorming what we wanted our opening to feature. As expected, we all had different viewpoints, but we all knew we wanted to use psychological aspects of our Thriller research. We quickly came to the conclusion to base our Thriller on The Deep Web, which is a segment of the internet which is difficult to access. It is where Hitmen and Drugs can be retrieved, via the internet. As a slight change, we have decided to call our opening 'The Dark Web' as we feel this sounds more mysterious. 
Our opening will feature a schoolboy who is planning to hire a hitman in which to kill a member of his school, who happens to be bullying him. He gains access to 'The Dark Web' via a school computer, and it is all about him going through the various mindsets of him actually going through and hiring the hitman. 

This is our first plan for our opening. We decided to try and capture as many thoughts as possible, hence the messed lay out, but this sheet is the foundation to our final outcome. 

Days later, we then began thinking about all the different camera angles that we want to incorporate into our opening. This is where we depicted our brief plan even more and started to discuss the core details to our idea. 

Which Films Have Influenced Me In Planning My Thriller?

I began to really taking note on camera angles and shots, to get a feel for what is effective in an opening, and what is not.

Keeping this in mind, I have chosen three films, with key openings, which I have then interpreted into my planning for my opening. Each of these films have similar elements to what is used in my opening.

My first influence is the musical 'Sunshine on Leith'. In the first scenes, it switches from a war zone, to the camera flying over Edinburgh where the film is set. My first scene is planning to use this idea, as I have arranged to use a drone over my school (where my opening is set), and use similar camera movements to establish my setting. Continuing this, I am also to add my title very early on in my opening, to also show reference to this cleverly made opening.

My second influence is the TV Show 'Dexter'. I am always gripped to this opening due to it's continuous use of extreme close ups, which I have tried to incorporate into my own opening. In my opening, we have used a similar theme to 'Dexter', as we have included coding references (which is seen in the TV Show).

Finally, my last influence is the film 'Napoleon Dynamite'. This is one of my favourite ever openings as I love the use of food and day to day objects to demonstrate the opening credits in a unique way. I love this concept which is why I have enticed a similar idea into my own opening. Instead, I am planning to use school related objects, such as highlighting staring names, another name appearing on a water bottle, and finally the coding unravelling the final actors name.

Film Classification Guidelines

The purpose of Film Classification- besides basic assessments of films, is to make sure that they don't contain any material judged as unsuitable for that age group. Their job is to classify and sort films into particular categories to provide an advanced warning of what targeted audiences should expect to see, in terms of themes for particular age groups. 

There are currently seven official classifications in which films are placed. This has altered over the last couple of decades to encompass the differing themes that are now accepted for cinema release. 

U- stands for Universal, meaning it is suitable for all aged viewers. 

Discrimination- Such language or behaviour is unlikely to see in these films. Drugs- Such references would only have clear educational motive/messages for young children to learn from.  

Imitable Behaviour- Possibly dangerous in which such behaviour should not copy, no focus on easily accessible weapons are used. 

Language- Only mild bad language used.

Nudity- Seen occasionally, with no depth in context.

Sex- Once again mild actions, such as kissing.

Threat- Scenes which could be discomforting would be mild and brief. The outcome should be encouraging.

Violence- Again, very mild. Such scenes would be unrealistic and comedic. 

PG- stands for Parental Guidance, meaning parents are advised to watch with children normally around and under 5 years.

Discrimination- Language and behaviour is not really acceptable unless disapproved, in order to support education or life lessons. Discrimination again character is unlikely to be acceptable. 
Drugs- References to illegal substances or misuse must be innocent or carry subtle messages. 
Imitable Behaviour- Little detail used for dangerous behaviour, to prevent children from copying. Unauthorised weapon use should not be seen; no focus on anti-social behaviour either. 
Language- Mild bad language only. Frequent use may result in film becoming passed into a higher category. 
Nudity- May be seen, without sexual context (innuendo's only). Sexual activity should be discreet if implied. 
Threat- Scenes of danger should not be enormous or prolonged.  
Violence- Will still be mild. To an extent violence can be seen, but without detail. Fantasy or comedic violence is typically seen here. 

12 and 12A- Suitable for 12 year olds and over.

Discrimination- Discriminatory language must not be supported in work overall, and aggressive language or behaviour should be seen as unacceptable unless clearly condemned.
Drugs- Drug misuse must be rare and not elevated.
Imitable Behaviour- Should not be positively promoted, to avoid children copying. realistic weapons such as knifes should not be glamorised, alongside with no anti-social behaviour.
Language- Moderate language may be seen, however strong language may be permitted, dependent on its context and character.
Nudity- Nudity is authorised, sexual context must be discreet.
Sex- Such activities may be portrayed. References are permitted, however frequent references are unlikely to be seen/authorised.
Threat- Potentially moderate physical/physiological threat scenes, although some could be seen as inappropriate, overall it should not be.
Violence- Will be seen, however not in complete detail. No highlights on injury or fatal damage, however it can be seen if justified. Sexual violence is only to be slightly indicated, yet again justified by context.

 15- Suitable for children aged 15 and over.

Discrimination- Should not be seen to endorse discriminatory language or behaviour, yet such themes such as: homophobia, racism or others are seen.
Drugs- Use of such substances may be seen, however must not be promoted. The misuse of highly frightening substances is not acceptable (e.g Solvents).
Imitable Behaviour- Hard-hitting activities (such as self harm) should not be covered in precise detail. Glorifying easily acceptable weapons will depend on the work's context.
Language- Highly strong language may be permitted, depending on the context and character.
Nudity- Limited constraints on nudity as a whole are seen. Possible nudity in sexual context, however without sufficient detail.
Sex- Such activities may be seen, but without strong details. Verbal references could be portrayed, however the strongest sort is unlikely to be seen unless justified appropriately.
Threat- Strong threat and horror are permitted, however a prolonged focus on sexual threat is unlikely.
Violence- May be strong, but should once again not be shown in detail. The strongest types are unlikely to be seen, yet verbal references to sexual violence must be discreet and then justified.

18- Suitable for adults only. 

Viewers younger than this age may not see, buy or rent such films. 

However exceptions are made for these works too:

1. When such works is within criminal law, or has been designed based on       commissions of a criminal offence.

2. Where works connote danger or risk to a person through behaviour. Such risk includes: detailed portrayal or violence, or illegal drug misuse which could potentially cause danger to viewers health or morality. Other portrayals of sexual violence, especially enjoyment of such activities should not be dwelled upon. 

3. Where explicit images of sex context are seen, where the complete purpose of such images (or videos) is to cause sexual arousal, which may be accessible to younger viewers. Such intervention may be frequent more than for cinema's.


Sex Education at 18:
Sex Works at 18:

Explicit images of sexual activity may be permitted for educational purposes. Such purposes include safer sex, health and morality.

Such works only purpose is to serve sexual stimulation. These works that contain sex material are passed for over 18 viewers, as strong: images of sex, explicit videos, or real sex situations will be confined to the R18 category. If the material is unacceptable at the R18 category, it will definitely be unacceptable for the 18 classification.

R18- Stands for Restricted 18. These are very uncommon so therefore are only shown in specially licensed cinema's, sex shops, and are obviously on for adults.
  
This category is a special classification for explicit work, which contains sex or strong adult material. Such films are only shown in specially licensed cinemas, and can only be purchased in specially licensed sex shops. 
R18 work is filtered from public searches, as they will have explicit or offensive tittles throughout. Such details will only appear if a computer or search engine has enabled 'enable adult content'. 

Art Of The Title

The Affair:

This TV Drama, created in 2014 has been a global phenomenon ever since the beginning episode. It's riveting plot lines and engaging themes have encapsulated it's audience ever since, leading the producers, editors and creators to then further fabricate 2 more seasons on top of the first.  

The very first title is of the productions company behind the production of 'The Affair'. This is the only company based title seen within the opening, as it jumps straight to the character opening, as seen on the left.

               

The first three titles are extremely dark, and are set vaguely under water, within the deep sea, as occasionally there are waves of water that show various ripples and repercussions. By opening the drama this way, it sets out to the audience the gloomy and mysterious atmosphere trying to be conveyed to it's viewers.

The credits suddenly jump to a clearer view of the sea, again keeping to the same underwater theme however, as there are still various points where waves cover the camera lense*. The audience is then taken on an experience of various settings and shots, each displaying a new theme and idea.

The first is a series of book pages turning, which then somehow leads onto a darker blue scene, in which an eye is shown in the background. By referring back to the darker tones as seen at the very forefront of the opening credits, audiences are then thrown back into the menacing twists of the opening, and reverted back to the thought of the media being a melancholy one, not up-lifting.

Along this same wavelength, a continuation of body parts is then seen in the following three credits. A hand is next seen flexing against supposedly another aspect of skin, quickly changing to a short dark scene of two bare bodies laying side by side.

Therefore this enhances the creators use of scene changes and colour correction, to promote to the audience clearly (but subtly) the themes expressed in the material following.

The audience then switches back to the sea and beach clips, to revert again back to the original theme which was being expressed at the very start of the sequence.

Viewers suddenly then get taken aback to potential characters, or memories, which makes a more personal connection between the viewers and the sequel itself, giving a more defined insight into the characters explored subtly in the Drama.

The title appears at the end of the opening sequence, on a completely blacked out screen, to emphasises the title, which is a contrasting white font. The effect would not be deemed the same if the classic beach clips were used, as the white would be drowned out by the light colour saturations.